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Entries in uranium enrichment (20)

Thursday
May062010

The Latest from Iran (6 May): Rattling the Cage

1500 GMT: Posturing. Michael Theodoulou of The National posts a concise article summarising the possible Brazilian mediation effort on Iran's nuclear programme and Tehran's naval exercises in the Persian Gulf.

1400 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Another statement from Hashemi Rafsanjani to decode. Meeting with a group of journalists and young political activists, he said:
Promoting awareness in people is the main and fundamental element of any progressive movement....Today all the people in any corner of the country have become more aware, cautious and knowledgable. Don’t doubt it, the growth of awareness among the different classes of the people will reform the society....

Wrong management of the resources and wealth of the country will cause under-development for future generations....Giving space for criticism and review at all levels should not be abandoned in the country....Be sure that honest efforts for the high principles of the revolution won’t be in vain and will have effective outcomes.

NEW Mahmoud’s Iran Wonderland: Ahmadinejad Says “I’m in Favour of Protestors”
NEW Iran Snap Analysis: Ahmadinejad’s Nuclear Roadtrip
Iran Follow-Up: Ahmadinejad “Bin Laden Lives in Washington DC!”
A Female Detainee in Iran: “Stripped by the Basiji”
The Latest from Iran (5 May): “Protest is Not Provocation”


0915 GMT: The Reformist Front. Speaking with the family of student activist Milan Asadi, detained since 1 December, Mehdi Karroubi claimed that the pressure on Iranian people had arisen because of the lack of independence of Iran's judiciary.


Former President Mohammad Khatami has written an open letter to Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, the "hard-line" leader of Tehran Friday Prayers, suggesting that he should not sacrifice his salvation for the well-being of others.

Reformist member of Parliament Mohammad Reza Tabesh has complained to Speaker of Parlaiment Ali Larijani over attacks on reformists' offices in several cities, alleging that Iranian authorities have not guaranteed security.

0910 GMT: Watch Your Back, Mahmoud. While President Ahmadinejad has been away, conservative member of Parliament Ali Motahari has been making big noises about the need for major reforms in the Iranian system (see yesterday's updates).

Motahari has now restated his case in Khabar Online, calling on First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi --- who, far from coincidentally, has been pressed by MPs over corruption allegations --- to answer the claims of Government mismanagement of the post-election crisis.

0855 GMT: Brazil Denies Role in Uranium Talks. It may be just for public show --- a mediator doesn't necessarily want to be known as a mediator --- but Brazilian officials have popped Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declaration that Brasilia is acting as a broker for a possible deal on Iran's uranium enrichment:
A Brazilian foreign ministry spokesman told AFP [Agence France Presse] that no such plan had been proposed during a visit to Tehran last month by Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.

"We were informed that an official Iranian government website mentioned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad supported a Brazilian 'program'. But there was no presentation of a formal program during the foreign minister's visit," the spokesman said.

Even more interesting, however, is the confusion demonstrated by the denial from Ahmadinejad's Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai that Brazil was acting as a go-between. Since the original report of Brazil's involvement came from the President's office, one has the sense that Ahmadinejad's advisors aren't quite sure what they are supposed to be saying.

0840 GMT: Fantastic Interviews. Proof that, if you put the President and his advisors under pressure, you get answers that verge on fantasy.

In a separate entry, we've posted Ahmadinejad's declaration to The Boston Globe, "I'm in Favour of Protestors". Then there is the commentfrom Ahmadinejad's Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, in conversation with Laura Secor of The New Yorker that "there are actually not too many people in the prisons" before he proceeds to tie himself up in illogical knots.

0630 GMT: We've started the morning by dealing in a separate feature with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's US Nuclear Roadshow: "Will it get him enough political space to bolster Iran’s position abroad and his authority at home?"

Now to the important matters:

Head of Judiciary is Not Happy

If the regime is feeling secure about its suppression of post-election opposition, Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, sure isn't showing it.

Speaking to clergy in Hamadan, Larijani declared that some of the confidants of Ayatollah Khomeini have acted even worse than the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the political wing of the "terrorist" Mojahedin-e-Khalq.

Larijani added that the “seditious movement” has not ended, and it has caused confusion amongst the “pious”.

The Resurgence of the Labour Movement

Iran Labor Report has a powerful analysis/polemic of the state of the labour movement --- past, present, and future. The article concludes:
Fortunately, some in the labor movement have belatedly come to change their anti-Green approach somewhat, and this is welcome. Clearly, only with Green-labor unity can we stand up to the tyranny of the regime and free the country of its despotic rule. The popular struggle in Iran isn’t going away. The street demonstrations may have dwindled – for now – but a luta continua. Which side are you on?

Shutting Away Ayatollah Beheshti

Rah-e-Sabz claims that the organisers of the Tehran Book Fair removed the booth devoted to the works of the late Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti.

Beheshti is one of the heroes of the Islamic Revolution. leading the new Iranian judicial system until he was killed in the mass 7 Tir assassination by the Mojahedin-e-Khalq in June 1981. However, his son, Alireza Beheshti, was Mir Hossein Mousavi's chief advisor during and after the Presidential election, possibly putting the Beheshti name beyond the acceptable for the regime.

Another UK Deportation Case

The deportation of Bita Ghaedi from Britain was postponed by British and European courts on Tuesday, but another case reaches a critical point today.

Nadia Arzane and Bashir Foris, a married couple in their early 20s, are scheduled for forced removal on a Thursday afternoon flight from London Gatwick. Arzane is a Christian human rights activist who participated in protests in Iran in July; her father was allegedly detained and tortured for two months by Iranian authorities.
Thursday
May062010

Iran Snap Analysis: Ahmadinejad's Nuclear Roadtrip

The Ahmadinedjad roadshow in the US has finally closed. Given that it was a last-minute decision for the Iranian President to go to New York for the nuclear non-proliferation conference, this was a major public-relations campaign. There were at least three significant television appearances  --- one of them on a national morning programme --- and several newspaper interviews in addition to the United Nations speech.

I think Ahmadinejad, on the ground he has chosen, was successful in the tour. Of course he is unlikely to swing the opinions of many in the US, but he was able to put down his American interviewers. More importantly, he had a platform to play to opinion beyond the US, trying to persuade other countries --- especially "non-aligned", non-nuclear states --- that Iran has the high moral and political position on the atomic question.



The question is whether those states will support Iran's case against the "established" order. Both the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon criticised Tehran's stance even before Ahmadinejad took the podium on Monday. The Iranian President's speech, beyond the 11-point proposal for global disarmament, carried this message: "In the end, 'we' will stand against you and the 'nuclear' states like the US and Israel."

Will that get Ahmadinejad enough political space to bolster Iran's position abroad and his authority at home? And, on the specific nuclear question: is he trying to use that space to get a deal on enrichment --- the latest flutter is that Brazil will broker the talks --- or is he trying to avoid any commitment altogether?
Tuesday
May042010

Iran Video and Transcript: Ahmadinejad on Charlie Rose (3 May)

Hours after his speech at the United Nations, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was interviewed by Charlie Rose on the US Public Broadcasting Service:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTlNyC_W5Tg[/youtube]

CHARLIE ROSE: What is the status today of the agreement that Iran will send uranium out of the country to Turkey?


MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD (via translator): Let me give you a short history of an issue on my mind here that also involves our discussion. According to the rules of IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], all member states must give other member states, those who possess the fuel and the technology for fuel production. This has to be done without any preconditions.

Now, we have had a reactor in Tehran that develops medical isotopes that basically meets the needs of 800,000 patients in Iran. It needs a fuel to the grade level of 20 percent, a fission grade level of 20 percent.

Now our fuel is almost ending. And so we requested the IAEA to provide us with some more fuel. According to the regulations of the IAEA they have to provide that fuel to us and get paid by us. The IAEA instead of sending out requests to purchase the fuel to all countries decided to only send the request to two member states, the United States and Russia.

And acting against the spirit of the IAEA, they said that they will give the 20 percent fuel, but in return demand that Iran give a lower enriched grade fuel to countries abroad as an exchange. And we said very well.

And then negotiations happened and they were moving forward. But then some demands were set in place that were not right. We are the ones that want to buy the fuel. We have to have conditions, not those who want to sell it, because those who want to sell it have to provide the fuel basically within the framework of the NPT regulations without any preconditions.

And they came and said they want an exchange and fuel, and we said sure enough we can do that. But then later on they came and said we want Iran’s enriched uranium to be bought outside so that Iran moves farther from the ability to build a nuclear bomb.

Once that statement was made the people in Iran felt there was insincerity involved and there is something not quite fair about the process. And they reacted and prevented the process from moving forward.

Now today we wish to continue with talks but the agreement that is arrived at has to be mutual, based on mutual exchange. We are agreeing to have an exchange, and we had agreed to it beforehand as well, but, again, it has to be a mutual agreement in order to carry out an exchange, not for one group to say it’s my way or the --

CHARLIE ROSE: So what my understanding was that a representative of your government signed the agreement, your negotiator, for 1,200 kilograms to leave Iran by January 15th to go to Russia. What happened?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Every paper signed by a representative of Iran is acceptable by the Iranian government wherever in the world it was signed. But there was no agreement that was signed.

CHARLIE ROSE: So you want to today present a counterproposal to Russia and the United States and the IAEA. What’s that counterproposal?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: We believe we can find a middle ground.

CHARLIE ROSE: What is the middle ground?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: We have certain proposals that we have given to some parties involved. Now we have to talk about it and decide on the details. I mean after all, when I speak of an agreement we’re speaking of two parties, and both parties have to agree.

Now, some people want to unilaterally impose an agreement on the other. That can’t happen. That’s where problems arise.

CHARLIE ROSE: They want to have a negotiation, they want to have a conversation, they want to move the thing forward. And people in Iran tell me that you want to move it forward. You have opposition in your country, but that you would like to see this idea move forward. Is that correct?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Yes, and I agree that this should be done.

CHARLIE ROSE: So how would you do it? Tell us what you would do.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: You see, we agree to send 3.5 percent enriched feel to receive 20 percent and pay for it, for the 20 percent. But there are some technical details that require the technicians and those who are experts in the field to sit down and talk about and resolve.

CHARLIE ROSE: Well, has anyone responded to your counterproposal? Where does it stand?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Some have said very to sit down and reengage in
talks. There’s no other way but to talk, of course.

I’d like to bring your attention to the fact that we are able to produce 20 percent grade fuel. We don’t exactly need it in that sense, but we agree to accept the exchange idea to engage in cooperation as introduction for longer cooperation.

It’s quite interesting -- some have told us that either have you to engage in an agreement in trade with us or we’ll sanction you. Accept the exchange or we’ll sanction you. Is this the new world order that’s in place?

We happen to have 20 percent enriched fuel and we’re producing it within the legal framework of international law. And it’s only based on the spirit of cooperation that we agreed to the provision to have an exchange. Now, of course, after we lost hope, we started the production of the 20 percent.

CHARLIE ROSE: Here’s what Secretary Clinton said, "Iran is the only country represented in the hall that had been found by the IAEA board of governors to be currently in noncompliance with its nuclear safeguard obligations, the only one.

It has defied the U.N. Security Council and the IAEA and placed the future of the nonproliferation regime in jeopardy. And that is why it is facing increasing isolation and pressure from the international community. But Iran will not succeed in its efforts to divert and divide.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Again, who said this?

CHARLIE ROSE: Secretary Clinton.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Oh, Mrs. Clinton. Well, Mrs. Clinton says a lot
of things. Do I have to have a comment on every statement she makes?

Let it be just said that Iran has been the country that has cooperated the most with the IAEA. She cannot provide some documents and evidence that we have not carried our obligations within the framework of the agency.

We have continued to cooperate with the agency within the legal framework and we have responded to every set of questions they have put to us, and we have actually received a response back from the IAEA.

CHARLIE ROSE: They said you have not complied and not allowed them access to see scientists. You have not answered the questions.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: This is not the case. The agency makes the claim which is unlawful. Based on its own regulations, no member state can present an allegation against another member state.

The agency sends a series of six official, formal written questions to Iran. Iran responded to all six questions and then received sort of a receipt from the IAEA that they respond to.

Now the IAEA is in fact asking us to respond to the undocumented allegations presented by the U.S. administration, by the U.S. government. That is far beyond the framework of the IAEA. We have never committed to the agency that any member state that brings an allegation forward has to be responded to. And therefore, hence, there’s no violation.

It is the U.S. government, by the way, mind you, that has had the largest numbers of violations of IAEA rules. The U.S. government has violated this law by alleging that Iran has some activities that are illegal. But the director general himself cannot speak unlawfully within the framework of the IAEA.

CHARLIE ROSE: It was the IAEA, not the United States, that suggested you were not in compliance with their request. So what I want to do in this conversation is understand what the president of Iran would do and what he would like to see done to facilitate nonproliferation and facilitate Iran sending uranium outside of the country to be enriched.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: If we did that, do you think all the problems would be resolved? In other words, if Iran sends uranium abroad for enrichment and then it returns, do you think all the problems will be resolved including the world problems around us?

CHARLIE ROSE: Certainly not.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: It’s clear Clinton is an enemy of Iran. Mrs. Clinton is an enemy of Iran, it’s clear from the position she takes. She has always threatened Iran, and the agency does not have any evidence suggesting Iran has deviated from the legal framework of the IAEA, no documentation.

This is a simple political move under political pressure. I have said that over and over again.

Mr. Charlie Rose, if we want to resolve this problem we need to find the root cause of it. We can make a lot of political noise, we cannot really pose these kinds of political pressures. We must follow justice and law.

We want to prevent proliferation. We have to ask ourselves, who are those who proliferate? The very states that possess nuclear weapons, and you have to have those weapons to proliferate it. If we want to stop proliferations, the answer is quite simple. Those who possess the bomb have to eradicate it so that proliferation stops. Where else are the bombs being exported around the world from?

CHARLIE ROSE: The world worries about Iran having the bomb because they think it will set off a proliferation in the region, and that’s against everybody’s interest. The world would like to convince you that Iran should not want to have the bomb because it’s not in the interest of proliferation.

The president would like to say to you that they made an agreement with Russia to reduce the number of bombs, you know, and that the president is trying to set in motion nonproliferation and is asking you to engage in that.

You have said, you have said "We don’t want the bomb." Correct? Categorically you have said Iran does not want the bomb. Correct?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Mr. Rose, if we want to understand the truth, we have to look at it fairly. All our nuclear activities are being watched by cameras installed by the IAEA, all our nuclear facilities.

Now, show me one nuclear facility in the United States that comes under the watch of the IAEA cameras. The IAEA has no inspection over these facilities in the United States.

The United States and Russia have had discussions. Who’s going to supervise it and make sure that’s carried out? What independent, verifiable regime is out there to watch it happen? They themselves are agreeing to do a certain number of things. Perhaps there should be an independent boy that can verify what they do.

We at the end of the day welcome world nonproliferation and we welcome halting proliferation and we have announced we are post-proliferation. We have carried out our legal duties. What else do we need to do?

We are prepared to show the path towards disarmament and we are prepared to sit down and give political assistance, proposals as to how the United States and other nuclear countries who possess the nuclear bomb can disarm. Once they disarm, the solution is there, it’s finished.

How convenient that those who possess a bomb are not considered a threat, but those who don’t have a bomb but may possibly have a bomb in the future are considered a major threat. This is a paradox in and of itself. No one can accept this kind of logic. The international community cannot.

And the international community is not summarized by being just the United States and the allies. There are over 100 NPT or G8 member states who have supported Iran’s position. Are they not members of the international community?

You see, we oppose the spirit of the word that come American politicians thinking that they represent the world, that whatever they say is what the world thinks. This is not the case.

You heard my speech today. Some people got up and left. Those who speak of themselves as representatives of the international community, they were a minority, an absolute minority. And they like to think of themselves as the international community.

If we want to fix the world, we have to act fairly. And to be fair and just those who have bombs have to put them aside. That’s the end of the story.

CHARLIE ROSE: So you are saying the test --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: By alleging Iran has some problems, America’s problems aren’t resolved. Just alleging that Iran has problems is not going to resolve Mrs. Clinton’s problems for her.

CHARLIE ROSE: With respect to my question, you categorically say that Iran does not want either nuclear weapons or the capacity to make weapons, categorically, under no circumstance. You’ve also said it’s against the --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Yes, exactly so. I have said it categorically.

CHARLIE ROSE: And it’s against your religion, yes?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Yes. Yes. And it also against our culture and against our beliefs. And we just simply cannot accept to have nuclear bombs.

CHARLIE ROSE: Then why is it so hard to cooperate with the IAEA if
that is the principle that you act on?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: In our eyes we’re cooperating. Who said we’re
not?

CHARLIE ROSE: Not in their eyes. The IAEA --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: The IAEA comes under pressures. What you’re saying is because the IAEA comes under the pressure of the United States. They say that themselves. It’s quite obvious if you read what comes out of it. How come they don’t produce anything against the United States arsenal? It’s clear --

CHARLIE ROSE: You doubt the integrity of Mr. Baradei.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: No, not at all.

CHARLIE ROSE: He was a director of the IAEA.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: It doesn’t matter who the position or what the position is. It doesn’t mean just because you’re the director general of the IAEA that you can’t make mistakes. It’s quite clear you can make mistakes.

The question posed is quite clear. The United States has 10,000 nuclear warheads. Is the United States a threat, or is Iran? Which one is actually the threat? They say Iran may in the future produce bombs, hence it is a threat therefore sanctions are in order. But a country that possesses thousands of nuclear warheads and has used nuclear weapons in the past and is threatening to use them again now today is not considered a
threat?

This is a political position. It’s not a fair, legal, reasonable position. It’s quite clear it’s all politics.

And just weaving this into a thick story is not going help the IAEA. It’s quite clear where the threat comes from. It comes from the country that possesses nuclear bomb. The country that possesses it is a threat. It’s quite obvious.

CHARLIE ROSE: What’s quite obvious is there’s not a level trust between your government and President Obama’s government. There is not a level of trust.

So I ask you this question, what can be done to create a level of trust? Because Iran is a great nation. The United States is a great nation. Iran has considerable influence in the world. The United States has considerable influence. Where is the trust and how do you get the trust?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: I agree with you. There is no level of trust. Now this goes back to the history of relations between the two countries. I don’t want to, however, ponder over history.

CHARLIE ROSE: We’ve discussed it before.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Our people remember the coup in 1953, for example, or the support of the Shah and the dictatorship that went on before the revolution.

CHARLIE ROSE: And the Americans remember the hostage taking.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: I don’t want to go back to history.

Under the Bush administration we tried to talk as well as under Mr. Obama’s administration. And we do believe trust is built through talks and
not by clashing and by fighting.

CHARLIE ROSE: So take a step forward, how you would --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Allow me. Just allow me. I’m going take a step forward and say what you have in mind.

When Mr. Obama was elected I sent him a congratulatory note. That was a very big step. It was an opportunity that could have responded to in order to pave the way for talks. He didn’t respond to the note.

When the elections happened in Iran, Mr. Obama supported the people who were setting cars on fire in the streets. Now that wasn’t a good position.

Last year when I was visiting New York I said that I was ready to talk with Mr. Obama. But he didn’t respond.

It seems to me that the problem comes from inside America. If you can resolve the problem coming from inside America, the problem between Iran and the United States will be resolved quickly.

CHARLIE ROSE: Say that again. I’m sorry, say that again.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: I think there’s a problem within the -- inside the U.S. government, the politicians, the statesmen, that somehow prevents the relations between Iran and the United States to improve. Once that problem is resolved within the United States the problems between the two countries will be removed.

There are a group of radicals in the United States who see their interest in conflicts.

Now allow me -- allow me, if you may, please. I think that with Mr. Obama in office the United States has a great opportunity in its hands, perhaps a historical opportunity, perhaps even the last historical opportunity so that the United States starts improving its relationship
with the world.

CHARLIE ROSE: There is some indication the United States is improving the relations with the world.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: The United States has to address its problems in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and Afghanistan as well as in Iran.

CHARLIE ROSE: Yes, but you have to be a positive contributing factor too, a positive contributing factor.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: We have given Mr. Obama plenty of opportunities. But it seems to me that there’s a group that wants Mr. Obama to reach a point where instead of cooperating with Iran he starts entering resolutions condemning Iran.

Mr. Rose, I’m telling you as a friend, just a friendly conference here we’re having. I’m familiar with the world affairs and so are you. Mr. Obama is the biggest and the only and the last opportunity America has for itself.

Mr. Obama came with the idea of change, with the motto to change, to build and create change. Where can he built the change, where? What corners of the world? In Iraq, in Afghanistan --

CHARLIE ROSE: Mr. Obama went to Cairo and made a message about the world, and he reached out to the Islamic world.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Allow me, please. Mr. Charlie Rose, please.

CHARLIE ROSE: Yes, go ahead.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Mr. Charlie Rose, things are not resolved with one speech. A speech has to lead to action -- action.

Mr. Obama said that "I want to create change." And this change must present itself, must show itself in Iraq. It must show and happen in Afghanistan. It must show and happen in Palestine. It must show with regards to Iran.

Now, please pay attention. I’m trying to help here. I’m trying to help you. I’m trying to help America here. Those who are behind the scenes or within the U.S. administration, in the Obama administration, are moving things in a direction which will make Mr. Obama to take radical
positions especially with respect to Iran.

Some of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are also doing the same thing, leading Mr. Obama to a position that is irreversible, vis-a-vis Iran.

As soon as Mr. Obama enters into a series of behaviors that resemble Mr. Bush’s behaviors, two things will happen. First, Mr. Obama’s time is over. In other words, when Mr. Obama becomes radical in his behavior, what that means is there’s no change and therefore he’s been defeated. He’s failed. And his presidential term will be not useful.

Secondly, America’s most important historical opportunity will be lost and America will no longer be able to improve itself in the world. I’m saying as a person who sympathizes, who is just expressing what he sees. They’re constantly instigating. Over and over again I said I’m ready to
speak with Mr. Obama. Well, what happened? He’s never responded.

CHARLIE ROSE: Can you clarify one historical point to me. Did President Obama send a letter to the supreme leader of Iran?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: You should ask that from Mr. Obama.

CHARLIE ROSE: Well, what do you know?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: You and I should speak about our own affairs.

CHARLIE ROSE: I asked you an honest and sincere question, how do you build trust? And your answer had to do with accusing the United States of things and saying this was the last chance for the United States as a nation. It’s not. The United States is the longest democracy in history.
It’s not the last chance. President Obama is part of the continuum of democratically elected presidents which will continue after him.

But you’re important, and this is a time for trust to be done, and it has to have a give and take. I’m asking you what you want the president to do and what you’re prepared to do in response. It’s that simple.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Can you tell me what have they given us so far for us to give something back? What have they given us so far?

CHARLIE ROSE: They’ve made offers to --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: What offers? What offers? Can you tell me? Specify? You’re saying we should get something to give something. What have they given us so far?

CHARLIE ROSE: What have you given them?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Are our eastern borders any safer today? No. U.S. forces have increased in number in Afghanistan.

CHARLIE ROSE: Do you fear --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Are our western borders any safer today? The Americans are in Iraq still.

Is the Persian Gulf now free of American troops? Exactly what is it they have given us? You’re a member of the media. You must know. What have they given us and what in return are they expecting? They haven’t given us anything?

CHARLIE ROSE: They have reached out. The president has said to you he was holding his hand and would you like to unclench -- he said "I’m holding my hand out. Would you like to unclench your fist and shake hands?" That’s what he asked. And so --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: These are just words, Mr. Rose, just posture. Instead of that I sent a message, I sent a written letter, saying I’m truly extending my hand to him. And I sent a message saying we’re prepared to cooperate in the following fields that I expressed in the letter.

So we’ve been a step ahead. We’re in fact a step ahead. Nothing has been given to Iran accept the hand has been extended. So? We extended it earlier. We extended it many times before.

CHARLIE ROSE: You are concerned about sanctions. It’s not just the United States that’s talking about sanctions. It’s Europe. It’s Russia. Many people are talking about sanctions.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: With respect, we’re not concerned about the sanctions. Sanctions cannot be implemented. In the world of free trade, what does sanctions mean?

CHARLIE ROSE: You’re not worried about sanctions?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: No, we’re not. Sanctions are unimportant to us. We’re saying that clash is bad, conflict is bad. We’re not even speaking of sanctions. We’re speaking of a world filled with friendship and saying this goes against what we want, otherwise there have been three other sanction resolutions passed already. But we’re still alive and going on living and going on with our life, and I’m still sitting there despite three sanctions. And it can be a problem.

CHARLIE ROSE: And you solidified your support in some cases.

Speaking of that, how is your economy today?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: It’s good.

CHARLIE ROSE: Good?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Yes. It’s better than the economy here in the United States because in the past three years of economic crisis we’ve had a positive economic growth.

The volume of our trade is not anywhere close to the volume of trade the United States has. The volume of your trade is much larger. But in world crisis, in a global crisis when you’re economy was going down, our economy was still showing a positive trend, because our economy is based
indigenous and based on Iran’s own internal resources primarily. It’s not based on global resources.

So we don’t really have a major problem. We don’t worry about sanctions either. We’re worried that the opportunity for creating a better world and world peace are getting lost.

CHARLIE ROSE: But why are you attacking the United States all the time, then?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: We’re defending.

CHARLIE ROSE: No.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: We’re constantly defending ourselves. Mr. Bush, how many threats, and we kept defending ourselves. When exactly have attacked --

CHARLIE ROSE: Mr. Bush is no longer president.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Allow me, Mr. Charlie Rose. Are there Iranian forces around U.S. borders or are there American troops around Iran borders?

CHARLIE ROSE: There are American troops --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Are we the ones who are attacking?

CHARLIE ROSE: Not attacking Iran.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Where have we attacked?

CHARLIE ROSE: Are Americans troops attacking Iran? Are American troops attacking Iran?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Allow me. Mr. Bush four times officially threatened Iran with a military attack, four times. And the policy was regime change in Iran. He said it officially many times.

CHARLIE ROSE: But Mr. Bush is no longer president. You need so stop suggesting that there’s no difference between President Obama and President Bush. You say that all the time.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: I’m saying in fact there’s a difference between them. I’m saying there is a difference. Since Mr. Obama assumed office we have welcomed him and said we’re ready to help him.

If Mr. Obama wants to create change, we’re ready to help. We said in Iraq if you want to change we’re ready to help. We said in Afghanistan, if you want change, we’re ready to help. We said in Palestine we’ll help.

Mr. Obama did not make any changes in Iraq policy. He probably doesn’t need our help in Iraq, I suppose.

CHARLIE ROSE: No, no. He does.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: I mean, if somebody doesn’t need your help, you insist on giving it to them? You can’t insist on it.

CHARLIE ROSE: The possibilities of cooperation between Iran and the United States would make the world a better place. A better place --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: I accept that. I agree.

CHARLIE ROSE: And the United States is saying please, Mr. President, don’t engage in developing the capacity to have nuclear weapons, or --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Are you saying that or is the United States saying that?

CHARLIE ROSE: Am I saying what?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Are you saying Iran should not increase its ability to develop nuclear weapons or is the U.S. government saying that?

CHARLIE ROSE: I think that’s the U.S. government --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Why would we want nuclear weapons?

CHARLIE ROSE: I know, but you need to convince the world. You need to convince the Russians, the international energy agency, the Turks, you need to convince the Europeans, and you need to convince the Chinese.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Mr. Charlie Rose, do you see the world as the summary of these few countries? That’s wrong. Just for five countries to call themselves the owners of the world is wrong in the first place. We don’t even believe in that. This is a major difference we have with that and they have to accept that.

They have so sit and talk with us about it. We can’t believe that the world is summed up by five states. The rest of the world has issued declarations in our favor. If we go on like this, nothing’s resolved.

Where do America’s problems lie? Let me just set your mind -- I want to give your mind some rest here. We are opposed to the bomb, the nuclear bomb, and we will not build it.

If we want to build it, we have the guts to say it. We’re courageous enough to say it, because we’re not afraid of anyone. If we want to have the bomb, we’ll come and tell everyone he want to build it. We’re not afraid of anyone if we want to make it. Who’s there to be afraid of?

So when we say we don’t want it, we don’t want it. They want to engage in political games, and the agency, this, that. They’re not going to resolve anything. No, let’s settle this. This is not going resolve anything.

Mrs. Clinton might make 2,000 more speeches. That’s not going to resolve anything.

CHARLIE ROSE: But your speech --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Iran is not going to be harmed by those statements. It’s America will waste the opportunity. Exactly how, what harm will that bring to Iran?

CHARLIE ROSE: Before you leave --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: It’s only made us stronger.

CHARLIE ROSE: Before you leave New York, present a program to the United Nations and the IAEA and the United States and others of, one, your commitment not have a nuclear weapon, and then present a program to the United States as to how you would like to create trust and credibility, how you would like to see the United States develop same kind of relationship
with Iran that it developed with China.

You could do that by reaching out. The initiative is there. How do you take steps to create an engagement? You take the initiative.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: We’ve given the U.S. government many opportunities it didn’t want. The political issues are there. We know that. It’s called politics. They’ve been our enemy 30 years. That’s nothing new. We don’t care.

We think that if they want to get into a level of cooperation with us they have to be sincere. Those who want to carry -- if they want to carry double standards, we want to hold the stick over Iran’s head and then give the carrot out, it’s not an issue, not a policy posture that can resolve
anything. It’s not a humane policy to begin with.

What is humane is based on justice. Whatever it is, put it on the table to discuss. Sincerely, let’s put everything on the table and respect each other for a change. Stop the double standards, because they failed in the past. It’s just a failed way of moving forward.

Now, that stick, whether it’s going on the IAEA or the U.N. Security Council, it doesn’t matter. A stick is a stick. The name of the stick, it doesn’t get purified the stick.

The U.S. influence in the U.N. Security Council can be used for sanctions. That’s not going to legitimize anybody. It can use its pressure on to the IAEA for somebody to say something. That’s not going to resolve the problem.

The problem’s not going to be resolved. You’re asking me to say it. It’s not going to be resolve and it’s only going exacerbate the problem. If the U.S. administration truly seeks to resolve the problem it has to bring a change of method, because the current methods have not given any
answers. They’re defeated methods.

I say that the root cause of the problem has to be sought behind the scenes of American policymakers.

CHARLIE ROSE: You had an election. There will be an anniversary on June 12th. The impression is you have strongly cracked down on the opposition in your country, that you have threatened, put some in -- arrested. How do you respond to that?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Mr. Charlie Rose, when you say that this perception this has been shaped, you mean among the Iranian people?

CHARLIE ROSE: Yes. Yes.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Let me tell you a few things about the Iranian people, because I got 25 million votes from them, and I’m the only official representative of the Iranian people elected by them.

All the main people who were opposed to us are free and walking around. The leaders of the opposition are free in Iran. They’re all free. They actually have official positions in Iran and they’re still holding their posts.

Sure, there are groups who went on the streets and put cars on fire and destroyed building, and the judiciary dealt with them. Otherwise the main opposition groups, my main competitors are all free. Who ever said anything to them? Has anyone ever confronted them? They’re all free.

In Iran, the judicial system carries out its decisions independently. If someone goes on the streets and hits people or creates conflict and induces conflict, the law will deal them.

Now, in America if a group of people go on around and break windows won’t you not deal with them? If they set cars on file won’t you not deal with them? I’m sure the police will confront them. It’s the same there in Iran.

The judicial system and the law, it’s all I independently done, carried out when somebody carries enough hands on the street, it’s dealt with. Otherwise all the leaders of the opposition were free before the elections and after. Which ones have been arrested?

CHARLIE ROSE: With respect, Mr. President, after the election that was contested, were the people tortured in prison, and did some people die in prison?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: See, these are claims that were made in the press. These claims have to be presented by -- before a court, before a judge. The judicial system receives complaints, and anyone, even if an officer of the law has a violation it has to be dealt with, because there is law in Iran and it applies to everyone, even the president. If I were
to violate the law I’d have to be dealt with.

If somebody complained against the prison ward or a prison officer or even the judicial system, anything, there’s a judge, there are documents, there’s evidence that has to be produced, and then the decisions are made.

It’s not our effort to defend anyone or condemn anyone every day. Something happens. The police confronts them and confronts the situation. They have to go to court. The police may be condemned. Whatever has violated the law has to be held accountable.

But there are claims made that have not been proven yet. In other words, the judge has not accepted the claims that anyone’s been tortured. If the judge agrees, accepts that someone’s been tortured in prison, then the perpetrator will come before the law. It’s quite clear.

And our judicial system is very independent. It doesn’t come under -- the Iranian judicial system is not selected by the president, by the way, mind you. It’s independent of the president.

In fact, the managers of our judiciary and his friends were people who were not unlike him in my camp, actually, to tell you the truth. So they were not about to defend me. They were kind of independent. They’re still independent. They didn’t belong to any camp.

So I can’t really interfere in what they do. Our judicial system’s is quite different than you have here in the United States. In Iran it’s not the president that appoints the judge.

CHARLIE ROSE: I understand, and I also am aware of the National Security Council having to do with nuclear policy as well.

Do you -- is the reform movement that was identified in Iran, in your judgment, what’s happened to it?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: What do you mean by the reform movement? Do you mean a party?

CHARLIE ROSE: Well, I mean the people who voted for Mr. Mousavi, the people who voted who were in the streets protesting. At the time, I’m asking a question, at the time, there were lots of people in the streets, and people thought this was the decisive moment in Iranian history. It
turned out that you clearly have prevailed at this time.

What’s happened to the reform movement? What did Mr. Mousavi represent?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: How many people do you think were in fact out on the streets?

CHARLIE ROSE: I don’t know.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Can you guess? Can you say how many?

CHARLIE ROSE: You tell me. You live in Tehran.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: You see in Tehran Mr. Mousavi got about two million votes.

CHARLIE ROSE: Two million. How many did you get?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: In Tehran, two million. In Tehran, I got about two million, too. So it was close.

So two million people come on the streets, how important is that? We already knew the two million didn’t vote for me. You see, Iran is in a very good position right now. The Iranian people don’t necessarily operate within party groups. They don’t really vote for any party.

Iran’s system is different from what you have here in the United States. In Iran parties don’t define what happens. People define what happens.

In the course of 30 years people have had opportunities to vote, and then move on with their lives and are friends. They don’t clash every day on the streets. They live like neighbors.

And those who didn’t vote for me are living their lives and are working and are in the bureaucracy and part of the government, they’re part of the organization. They work and live and have a life. It’s not the case that if they don’t vote for me they’re all going to stand in the
opposition camp.

Iran’s situation is very different from a party system. People are people. They vote. If they don’t win, they go on with their lives. And they still recognize the government that’s there and they can cooperate with the government for sure.

Sure, there are those that are in opposition. Every government naturally has an opposition. They’re living their lives too. They send declarations out and say things. It doesn’t matter. Iran is a strong country. Rest assured, it’s a strong country. You should be worried about and concerned about America.

CHARLIE ROSE: Do you fear that war may come?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Who would attack Iran?

CHARLIE ROSE: No one, I assume.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: I mean, you can’t just assume. Assumption aren’t made in the heavens. They’re made on earth. Who’s going to -- on this earth, who’s going to attack Iran on this planet?

CHARLIE ROSE: Do you believe Israel --

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Russia?

CHARLIE ROSE: No.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: China?

CHARLIE ROSE: No. The United States, no.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Then who?

CHARLIE ROSE: Would Israel attack Iran?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Israel isn’t even counted. It doesn’t even factor into our equation. It’s not even counted.

So who’s going to attack us? There’s no one there to attack us so there will be no war. We don’t think about war. We think about peace. We think about friendships. We think about cooperation, not about war.

CHARLIE ROSE: One step that you would like to see President Obama take to make the relationship better?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Let me just first say one sentence about the earlier issue that you raised. If we are not afraid of a threat, it does not mean that a threat is not an ugly posture. The country that threatens has done a very ugly thing.

Sure, we’re not afraid of it, but when an ugly thing happens, it’s ugly. We weren’t expecting the Obama administration to threaten us with a nuclear attack. That was a very bad thing to do. They did. They did.

CHARLIE ROSE: They didn’t.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: They did. If you’re saying they didn’t -- OK, some didn’t and some did. Let’s just say at least some didn’t and some did, to be fair. That’s what I’m saying, it’s a double standard.

We have said that Mr. Obama didn’t need to extend the sanctions against Iran. Those sanctions were of no use to begin with the ones that were extended. It just you know, dirtied the atmosphere, let’s say.

Mr. Obama when he came to office, we had a conversation with our people. We said let’s give Mr. Obama a chance. Now in Iran people don’t have much faith with Mr. Obama. There’s a lot of distrust and for us the task is harder to remove that distrust.

Mr. Obama we would say as a proposal should not give into pressures. That’s the one step I would. When you’re a president, you have to make a decision.

CHARLIE ROSE: May I make a suggestion?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: We’re ready to take any action. We’re ready to take any proposal. We’ll cooperate with him in the region to help resolve international issues, but within the framework of respect, they have to respect us.

CHARLIE ROSE: They respect you.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: And treat us fairly.

CHARLIE ROSE: They treat you fairly. They respect you. Convince them -- convince them that you do not want nuclear weapons. Convince them.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Who convinces who?

CHARLIE ROSE: You convince them.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: They’re the ones -- they’re threatening us with a nuclear attack. How on earth can I convince them? They have a nuclear bomb --

CHARLIE ROSE: Convince them you don’t want nuclear weapons.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: -- they want to drop it on us, how on earth am I to convince them?

CHARLIE ROSE: Convince them.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: We’ve given them a chance, in god’s name. They can move forward with reforms.

Mr. Obama’s policies in Afghanistan can change. We sympathize. When Afghans lose their lives, when NATO troops lose their lives, it doesn’t benefit us. We say every bloodshed in Afghanistan makes it harder there and more complicated there.

How else, in what language do we have to make this understandable in America? You tell me, maybe you can interpret this for the Americans. We’re saying every day that goes on things are getting worse in Afghanistan. You have to make a decision. Your policies have to change.
Your ten-year-old policies there have failed.

This is the biggest chance we’re giving. This is the biggest opportunity. We’re even willing to show them the way, by the way. Anything more? Who’s ever offered America such a great proposal? Any other country in our position that has been so wronged by America would sit
aside and just observe America’s fetters in Afghanistan and rejoice in it. We don’t. We don’t rejoice in it, because we say human beings should not lose their lives.

Why is it necessary to go down that way? Even to say American troops or Afghan people, they’re people. They are still different, by the way. The Afghan people are being killed in their homes while the American troops are losing their lives another place. But a death is a death.

CHARLIE ROSE: A death is a death, absolutely right.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Neither group decided to be there and both groups are losing their lives. So we’re giving a good proposal to America to show you the way out of Afghanistan.

CHARLIE ROSE: Can we continue the conversation in Tehran?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: Definitely. We welcome you in Tehran any time.

CHARLIE ROSE: Then we’ll continue the conversation there.

Thank you, Mr. President. You have been generous of your time. We have talked many things, and, again, on behalf of the audience of this program, thank you once again for taking time to appreciate the opportunity and the conflict that exists. Thank you.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: The opportunities will always be available. If we’re sincere, God will help us.
Monday
May032010

The Latest from Iran (3 May): Mahmoud's Road Show

1915 GMT: Start with a Sideshow, End with a Sideshow. Not our top priority at EA, but as most of the media will be  focused on Tuesday on the Ahmadinejad presentation, you can check coverage against the published text. And here's the video of the speech [now posted as a separate entry, together with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presentation].

Iran Analysis: The Scattering of Protest is Still Protest
Iran Eyewitness: “The Movement Is Still Strong and Vibrant”
UPDATED Iran Video and Translation: The Mousavi Statement for May Day/Teachers Day (29 April)
The Latest from Iran (2 May): Persistence


1830 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Navid Khanjani, a founder of the Population of Combat Against Educational Discrimination (PCED) and a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), has been released on bail after two months in detention.


1740 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Poorya Ghorbani, detained on Ashura (27 December), has been sentenced to six years in prison: four years for acting against national security, one year for propagating against the regime, and one year for insulting the Supreme Leader.

1700 GMT: Ahmadinejad's Gambit. The President's strategy at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation conference at the United Nations was simply, "Go Big".

The speech was dressed up as a declaration of 11 measures to lead to a nuclear-free world, but it effectively tried to block Western pressure on Iran's nuclear programme by proposing an entirely new system for international supervision. There would be a review of the Non-Profileration Treaty, a new independent agency to interpret the NPT, and states using or threatening to use nuclear weapons (effectively, the US) being expelled from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear states would promise not to pursue research and development of new weapons, while non-nuclear states would be given security guarantees.

This large proposal can be reduced to a dual gambit. On the international front, it is meant to check the pressure on Iran's nuclear programme from the US and other states. And on the domestic front, well, it's meant to take attention away from the domestic front.

1620 GMT: Meanwhile in Iran. Mir Hossein Mousavi met today with Iranian Azeri activists to discuss how to cope with the regime's restrictions on media, finding new ways to remain connected and to promote further interaction between reformist parties and the people.

Mousavi said, “We are moving within a moral framework, and for this reason during any event, the Green Movement has recognised the good and the bad for what they were. For this reason, the Green Movement will acknowledge any positive move on the part of certain segmants of the state which have until now stood against the vote and opinion of the people.”

Mousavi added that, while Iranian authorities have become captives of their own claims about the alleged links between the post-election protesters and foreign powers, the opposition will win out:
This approach [by the regime] may unite them for the time being, but it cannot prevent the truth from showing itself ... One cannot stop spring from arriving. Spring will come and greenness will prevail everywhere. This movement should not only be seen in the context of the street protests. The roots of this movement are undeniable. This movement eliminates ignorance. When people come together on different occasions, this is the greatest accomplishment [for the movement] and what is important is that this idea has been born.

In the specific context of Iranian Azeris and ethnic minorities, Mousavi maintained that the authorities' attitude and policies towards cultural diversity had not been appropriate. He made clear that he was against any form of separatism and stated that, on a national level, there was no place for those with separatist agendas.

1615 GMT: Al Jazeera is now reporting that the French delegation also left the conference hall.

1610 GMT: Walking Out on Ahmadinejad. Nothing surprising in the President's speech at the UN conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: it's a harsh denunciation of the US and Israel as nuclear powers with double standards discriminating against non-nuclear states and threatening the world.

The twist in the show's script, however, is that the British and US delegations (and possibly others unseen by Al Jazeera's cameras) have just walked out.

1420 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Maziar Khosravi, the editor of the Hammihan website, has been arrested and taken to Evin Prison. Khazravi had recently written an article about the attacks on Tehran University's dormitories days after the Presidential election.

1415 GMT: Helping Hands. From Press TV's website:

The National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) has offered to assist the US in efforts to prevent an ecological disaster from the spreading oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico....NIDC managing director Heidar Bahmani announced the firm's readiness to use its decades-long expertise to fight the oil slick, the company's public relations office told Press TV. "Our oil industry experts in the field of drilling can contain the rig leakage in the Gulf of Mexico and prevent an ecological disaster in that part of the world," Bahmani said.

1410 GMT: The Stabbing of the Minister. Amir Kabir University students are staging a sit-in protest over this morning's knife attack on professor and former Minister Ahmad Motamedi (see 1100 GMT).

1400 GMT: Top May Day Quote. Leaving the memorial service for the father of the Minister of Culture, Mohammad Hosseini, Mehdi Karroubi was heckled by a group of men he believed were plainclothes security officers. Karroubi approached the group and pondered why they might be present at a May Day demonstration: "It looks like your unemployment problem has been solved!"

1100 GMT: Rah-e-Sabz reports that Ahmad Motamedi, a minister in the Khatami Government, was stabbed in his office at Amir Kabir University this morning and is now hospitalized.

1055 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Ehsan Mehrabi has been released on bail.

Students at Allameh Tabatabei University have remembered their imprisoned professor Arab Mazar by sticking flowers to the door of his office and leaving messages of support.

1050 GMT: Detaining Teachers. Human Rights Activists News Agency has confirmed the names of 11 teachers arrested yesterday on National Teachers Day.

1035 GMT: Unity Does Not Mean Repression. Massoud Pezeshkian, Minister of Health from 2001 to 2005, has declared that "unity" is not possible by arresting, beating and issuing files, but requires cooperation and a desire not to create division in society.

1025 GMT: Clerical Challenge. Ayatollah Mousavi Tabrizi has renewed his criticism of the Government, saying that the judiciary does not follow justice in acting against law-breakers: those are poor or who do not have links to power or influence have no guarantees that they will be treated justly. Mousavi Tabrizi added that the Parliament does have not power to make laws, and those that they do pass are not implemented due to ineptitude.

1000 GMT: The Naderan Allegations. Yesterday we reported on the sweeping allegations of member of Parliament Elyas Naderan, linking charges of corruption to mismanagement and manipulation of power by the Ahmadinejad Government.

Khabar Online (gentle reminder: linked to Ali Larijani) has driven home the point with a lengthy English translation of Naderan's assertions:
Based on the experiences of the ninth government and his chanted slogans [2005-2009] on fighting with corrupt economy figures, Mr. Ahmadinejad was expected to revise the appointment of some government managers. He was supposed to make up for the shortcomings of the ninth administration and remove the concerns of his defenders including members of Hezbollah (Party of God) but actually the opposite happened....

On the one hand Mr. Ahmadinejad removed a number of ministers who were mostly dedicated to serve the Islamic Republic including Lankarani, Mohseni Ejei, Saffar Harandi, Fattah, and Jahromi [former Health, Interior, Culture and Islamic Guidance, Energy, and Labor and Social Affairs Ministers] and made new appointments of some whose unpleasant and negative characters are known to the majority of people and elites.

Naderan then focused on changes Iran's oil industry:
A few days ago, the Minister of Oil Mas'oud Mir Kazemi assigned Mr. Qal'eh Bani as the new managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC). Earlier when Mr. Qal'eh Bani was to be appointed as the head of Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), his suspicious financial activities was revealed through some documents published by Alef website [which belongs to the Principlist MP and Government critic Ahmad Tavakoli].

Later Qal'eh Bani filed a lawsuit against the website but to no avail, since the managing editor of Alef was acquitted of charges. At the time I think that the Minister of industry, Ali Akbar Mehrabian had made such a decision himself [to bring the lawsuit] to perpetuate his position, but now it's clear that the decisions are made at a higher rank. We must bear in mind that the financial authority of the NIORDC managing director is much more than any other in both governmental and nongovernmental organizations of the country.

Naderan concluded, "Such removals and assignments enhance the suspicion that these are intended to put an impact on the forthcoming elections," arguing that Ahmadinejad's Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai (who was blocked by Parliament from serving as 1st Vice President) has intervened in the next elections for city and village councils.

0755 GMT: As for Rafsanjani.... More on Hashemi Rafsanjani's statement yesterday to academics who are members of Parliament. The former President again played his balancing act, saying "illegal actions from each group cause serious public misbelief".

0750 GMT: Larijani Watch. Looks like Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani is bolstering his political position through another call of allegiance to the Supreme Leader. In an article in Khabar Online, he has said that "hardliners must unite", be pious, and accept velayat-e-faqih (ultimate clerical authority). ht

0615 GMT: Remembering the Teachers. Sunday's National Teachers Day passed with little fanfare, despite some talk about protest and hunger strikes amidst detentions and firings that have taken teachers out of the classroom. Photos from Shiraz are among the few markers we have noted of the day:



0605 GMT: Corruption Watch. The sky over alleged mismanagement and fraud involving members of the Ahmadinejad Government is getting darker.

Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, complained to his officials:
In our fight against economic corruption, there are rumours of opposition from certain individuals which unfortunately have also gotten into the media with amateur coverage....The judiciary will never allow people to take possession of public property and the treasury for themselves and their children through cheating and falsifying documents.

It remains to be seen whehter Larijani's defensive remarks --- yes, we really are going to pursue the corruption allegations, even if high-ranking officials are involved --- are more than public protest.

Meanwhile, Elyas Naderan, the member of Parliament who has accused 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi of running a corruption ring, told a group of university students, “In government meetings it has been announced that whoever speaks out against Mr. Rahimi will be dealt with.” He repeated that, as Rahimi is a liar and his credentials are fabricated, the Vice President is unfit for his position in the government.

0555 GMT: For most media, inside and outside Iran, today will almost certainly be taken up by the sideshow of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's trip to New York. The Iranian President, at relatively short notice, asked to attend the United Nations conference reviewing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the US Government, after some speculation that it might balk at the request, granted a visa. So Ahmadinejad took off from Tehran yesterday, with the conference and Mahmoud's moment in the cameras taking place today.

There is a chance that, behind the scenes, there may be some meaningful manoeuvring over the "third-party enrichment" proposal for Iran's uranium stock, given the presence at an international gathering of brokers (Turkey, Brazil), the "5+1" powers taking up the issue (Britain, France, China, Russia, Germany, and, most significantly, the US), and Iranian officials.

Publicly, however, the headline is Diversion. Just as Ahmadinejad used a trip to New York last autumn, with the guaranteed pantomime coverage of "Western" vilification and Iranian state media's glorification, so we are likely to get an outcome bigging up the President's international presence and belittling (if noting at all) the internal dynamics in Iran.
Saturday
May012010

The Latest from Iran (1 May): May Day and Mayday

2030 GMT: In the Dark. Shaky journalism from The New York Times: Nazila Fathi, who is usually quite good, relies on unnamed "analysts" rather than a close look at events to make the sweeping claim:
A planned demonstration in which Iranian teachers and workers were to join reformists in an antigovernment protest failed to materialize on Saturday, apparently the result of intimidation and a large police presence.

Two Iranian opposition leaders, Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, had called Thursday for workers and teachers to join the reformists in a broad-based coalition.

The call went unheeded on Saturday, analysts said, largely because of government intimidation.

The article is inaccurate on a number of key points.

1. There was no call for teachers and workers to join reformists on the streets today; instead there were a series of statements calling for solidarity with the demands of those teachers and workers, highlighting Government repression and Iran's poor economic situation.

2. Mousavi and Karroubi, in particular, did not call for a demonstration today. They are looking towards 12 June, the anniversary of the election, for a public show of dissent.

3. Fathi is quite right about the show of force by the Government to deter protests, but she seems unaware of the incident at Tehran University, with students demonstrating against the visit of President Ahmadinejad, and about the series of smaller, dispersed displays of discontent in Tehran and other cities.

UPDATED Iran Video and Translation: The Mousavi Statement for May Day/Teachers Day (29 April)
NEW Latest Iran Video: Deterring Protests, “Greeting” Ahmadinejad (1 May)
NEW Iran: US Filmmakers Demand “Free Jafar Panahi”
NEW Iran Document: Mehdi Karroubi “The Green Movement is Growing in Society”
UPDATED Iran: Tehran, Defender of Rights (Don’t Mention Boobquake), Joins UN Commission on Status of Women
Latest Iran Video: Shirin Ebadi on the Human Rights Situation (23 April)
The Latest from Iran (30 April): The Heaviness of the Atmosphere


1945 GMT: May Day Updates. We've fixed the coding of today's videos (with the transfer to Disqus comments, our YouTube plug-in is temporarily disabled), and we've posted an updated version of Mir Hossein Mousavi's message, now with English subtitles.


1900 GMT: Your May Day Irony. The top news on Fars News' website for much of the afternoon? May Day protests...in Europe, with "hundreds of thousands of workers" protesting economic conditions.

The story was so important to Fars that it must have diverted staff from its domestic bureau to European coverage, for curiously, there is no mention of any May Day demonstration in Iran.

1620 GMT: The scale of the regime crackdown on dissent has been evident in the limited footage coming out of Iran today. What has gotten out has been shaky film shot at odd angles to avoid detection by the authorities.

We've posted severa clips of the security presence and of students allegedly chanting defiantly as President Ahmadinejad came to Tehran University.

1400 GMT: Clashes? Reza Sayah again quotes a Tehran witness, "Security forces clashed with about 200 protesters chanting 'Death to the Dictator' at the Ministry of Labor." An Iranian activist is also reporting this news.

1330 GMT: May Day. CNN's Reza Sayah quotes Tehran witnesses, "Thousands of security personnel from Revolution [Enghelab] Square to Ministry of Labor. No sign of protests."

1310 GMT: Quote of the Day. "For a Government so sure that Green Movement is over and done with, they have a lot of security out on the streets."

A shaky, secretly-shot video offers apparent confirmation.

1300 GMT: Containing Rights. Human rights activist Hassan Assadi Zeidabadi has been banned from leaving Iran.

1230 GMT: Confirmation? Rah-e-Sabz is reporting that "thousands" of workers protested in Qazvin, 100 miles northwest of Tehran. Another story asserts that "hundreds" have demonstrated in Tabriz against unemployment and poverty.

The website also claims that Tehran University students protested when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived unexpectedly on the campus.

1130 GMT: May Day. We are following the stream of stories of protests in Tehran and in other Iranian cities such as Shiraz and Qazvin. At this point, we are treating the reports as unconfirmed.

0945 GMT: May Day. The first claimed picture of a protest comes from Shiraz.

0930 GMT: Rights and Wrongs. We've posted a separate entry on the petitions by US filmmakers, including Stephen Spielberg, Robert Redford, and Martin Scorsese, calling for the released of their detained Iranian colleague Jafar Panahi.

We have an update on Tehran and the UN Commission on the Status of Women, featuring two of the many statements condemning the vote for Iran's membership.

And we note an open letter from 20 journalists and bloggers in Evin Prison, complaining that their conditions worsen day by day.

0810 GMT: May Day Build-Up. Ahead of possible demonstrations this afternoon, Kalemeh is reporting a growing security presence in Tehran, especially at Enghelab and Azadi Squares. Forces are also guarding the Ministry of Labour on Azadi Street and the Ministry of Interior at Fatemi Square.

Kalemeh also reports that many employers have threatened to fire workers who protest.

0735 GMT: May Day Statements. The reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front Participation has issued its statement proclaiming that the workers' and Green movements will open the way to a better future.

An analysis in Rah-e-Sabz connects the seeking of justice with the seeking of freedom through the demands of labour. It does so in part to deny that the Green Movement is based solely on the "middle class" and, in fact, is built on links with workers.

0730 GMT: Economy Watch. Minister of Economy Mehdi Ghazanfari has said that stocks of cooking fat, rice, and meat will be built up to prepare for the implementation of subsidy cuts.

That sounds like sensible preparation, but building up stocks means less goods available for týsale, which in turn means higher prices.

0725 GMT: Rumour of Day. Aftab News --- which is not a reformist outlet --- claims that future elections will be manipulated to exclude Ahmadinejad's "conservative" rivals: Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Expediency Council (and 2009 Presidential candidate) Mohsen Rezaei, and Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf.

0715 GMT: Mahmoud and Cyrus. President Ahmadinejad's tactics on the eve of May Day? In a speech on Kish Island, he invoked Cyrus, the famous Persian ruler, and said that Iran is waging a fight over "ethics and humanity".

Ahmadinejad added, ethically and humanely, "Today Iran is the world's most powerful nation. We like all nations and are glad to see their prosperity. However, we have a powerful fist that will knock the teeth out of anyone."

0705 GMT: A Deal on Uranium? Reuters dares to go public with the story we've been following for weeks: "Turkey and Brazil are trying to revive a stalled atomic fuel deal with Iran in an attempt to help the Islamic Republic avoid new U.N. sanctions over its nuclear program, Western diplomats said on Friday."

With Turkey Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Brazilian officials both paying visits to Tehran recently, that's not exactly a shocker. The mystery is whether the US Government supports the initiative.

Reuters gives the impression that Washington is opposed, but I'm not so sure. Their big quote is "Nobody's going to stand in the way of serious negotiations. But is Iran serious about this offer? Or is it another attempt to stall for time and avoid sanctions, as has been the case before?" That comes from a "Western diplomat", however, not necessarily an American one and not necessarily one who is close to the discussions.

We'll watch closely and will have an analysis if there are further developments.

0645 GMT: We'll keep eyes open today for rallies and protests on the international day for workers. Indications up to May Day are that, with the tight grip the regime is trying to maintain, demonstrations will be small and diverse, rather than a concentrated gathering.

In recent days, new charges have been brought against Mansour Osanloo, the detained leader of the Tehran and Municipality Vahed Bus Workers Syndicate. Jafar Azim Zadeh, the head of the Free Assembly of Iranian Workers, has been summoned to appear in court, and other activists have been sentenced. Five members of the Iranian Free Workers Association have been summoned to the Intelligence Office in Sanandaj in Iranian Kurdistan. And, on the eve of National Teachers Day, leaders and members including Alireza Hashemi, Ali Akbar Baghani,and Mohammad Beheshti Langarudi, and Tofigh Mortezapour have been detained.

That does not mean, of course, that anger, frustration, and demands have abated. Let the day unfurl.
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