|
You are here:
Articles 2005
(in chronological order, most recent articles on top)
Saturday, February 10, 2007Iran Suppresses Free SpeechWhile observers speculate about the risk of Iran developing nuclear weapons and the possibility of a U.S. military attack against Iran, we seem not to be giving adequate attention toward the actual situation of ordinary Iranian citizens. Iranians live under significant oppression from their government, including restrictions on the freedom of expression and many instances of suppression of other basic democratic norms. By Amit Pyakurel.
Iran Says It Might Talk To The Americans “On Certain Conditions”.Monday, April 24, 2006 Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad said on Monday 24 April 2006 that he was open to talk to the Americans, “but on specific conditions”, which he did not specified. By Safa Haeri.
Is Washington Planning a Military Strike?Saturday, December 31, 2005 Recent reports in the German media suggest that the United States may be preparing its allies for an imminent military strike against facilities that are part of Iran's suspected clandestine nuclear weapons program, according to the Spiegel Online, operated by the influential German weekly Der Spiegel By Der Spiegel Online.
“They Are Closing God’s Space To Us”, Lamented Former SpeakerWednesday, December 28, 2005 Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi, a “pillar” of the Islamic Revolution has decided to sue Mr. Ali Larijani, the new Secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of National Security (SCNS) for having banned the “Saba Television” from activities in Iran, opening a new challenge to the new islamo-populist President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad. By Safa Haeri.
The Houshang Pourshariati Award established by MESASaturday, December 24, 2005 The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA), the most prestigious association of universities, faculty and researchers involved in Middle Eastern Studies in the United States, added a new award to its list, the “Houshang Pourshariati Book Award in Iranian Studies”. By Safa Haeri.
Leaders of Tehran Bus Company Arrested, The Union DissolvedSaturday, December 24, 2005 In its first major social challenge and in continuation of the crackdown of all freedoms in Iran, the new Government under the Islamo-populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrested at least 14 members of the Single Bus Company of Tehran and Suburbs (SBCTS), informed sources reported on Saturday. By Safa Haeri.
Iran, EU3 To Continue Nuclear TalksThursday, December 22, 2005 “The talks are about talks”, had said a European diplomat before the start of a new round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the so-called EU3, namely Britain, France and Germany in the Austrian capital on 21 December 2005. “The talks are not about talks”, had said almost at the same time in Tehran the Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. By Safa Haeri.
Ministers of Murder: Iran’s New Security CabinetFriday, December 16, 2005 As the Islamic Republic is increasingly isolated on the international scene over the indignations provoked by outrageous anti-Semite statements from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a human rights organization implicated Iran’s new Minister of Interior for “grave human rights violations”.
HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST NOT ALLOWED TO ATTEND AWARD CEREMONYWednesday, December 14, 2005 In line with press crackdown, authorities in the Islamic Republic prevented dissident journalist and human rights campaigner Emadeddin Baqi to travel to France where he had been awarded the French 2005 Prize of Human Rights. By Safa Haeri.
WHO IS AHMADINEJAD AND WHAT HE IS UP TO?Monday, December 12, 2005 “…. He is viscerally anti Jew, anti West…This is rooted in his education, his fascination for Hasan al Bana, Gamal Abdol Naser and third worldism, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, the late Egyptian leader and the movement that once was the flag ship of developing nations… and above all his total and fanatic belief in Shi’a doctrine”. By Safa Haeri.
EU MUST INVOLVE GCC IN RESOLVING IRAN NUCLEAR CRISISTuesday, December 6, 2005 IRRESPECTIVE of what action the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Security Council take over Iran's nuclear programme in the next few months, the need to intensify international efforts to clear the air about Tehran's plan is crucial for the future of the Gulf region. The deadlock in the negotiations between Iran and the European Union-3, in consultations with the US, throws up a "damned if you do; damned if you don't" scenario for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. By Abdul’aziz Sager.
IRAN: PREPARING FOR THE NEXT BIG VOTESunday, December 4, 2005 It might seem early to think about the next election in Iran, since the presidential race, which ended in the upset victory of Mahmud Ahmadinejad, took place just six months ago... Nonetheless, political observers in Iran began discussing the next election -- for the Assembly of Experts, currently expected to take place in October 2006 -- as early as July. By Bill Samii.
PRESIDENT SEES LIGHT SURROUNDING HIMTuesday, November 29, 2005 ranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that when he delivered his speech at the UN General Assembly in September, he felt there was a light around him and that the attention of the world leaders in the audience was unblinkingly focused upon him. The claim has caused a stir in Iran, as a transcript and video recording of Ahmadinejad's comments have been published on the Iranian website, baztab.com. By Golnaz ESfandiari.
TEHRAN RENEWS WAR ON CULTURESaturday, November 26, 2005 After a period of some tolerance under former president Mohammad Khatami, Iran is now experiencing a cultural clampdown. President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad is implementing the hardest of hardline ideological tendencies in the cultural arena, consistent with his belief that his administration should prepare the country for the reappearance of the hidden imam (who is now more than a thousand years old). To this end, Ahmadi Nezhad has taken a host of provocative steps regarding: By Mehdi Khalaji.
WHY IRAN CAN'T BE TRUSTEDThursday, November 24, 2005 Within the next week or so the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency will have to decide whether or not to refer the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations' Security Council for alleged violations of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). We must thus expect a great deal of smoke-and-mirror diplomacy on all sides as no one knows how to negotiate this dangerous bend on the road. By Amir Taheri.
IRAN'S DISCONTENT GENERATIONMonday, November 21, 2005 They are well-heeled, sophisticated and full of energy. And, yet, since last August they have faced a growing sense of boredom because, for the first time in years, they have plenty of time on their hands with nothing to do. By Amir Taheri.
AHMADI NEZHAD FACES CHOICE BETWEEN MODERATION AND CONFRONTATIONWednesday, November 16, 2005 Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i, the leader of the Islamic Republic acknowledged that the man he firmly backed for presidency is under mounting pressures both at home and abroad, due principally to his lack of experience. By Safa Haeri.
AS IAEA IS TO MEET ON IRAN, US SAYS IT HAS EVIDENCE ON IRAN’S LIESMonday, November 14, 2005 With barely ten days before yet another of the endless meetings of the United Nations nuclear watchdog over the controversial Iranian atomic program, American intelligence sources have revealed the existence of “serious efforts” from the Iranians to build a nuclear weapon, according to “The New York Times”. By Safa Haeri.
AHMADI NEZHAD'S ANTI-ISRAELI OUTBURST SPLITS IRANIAN LEADERSHIPFriday, November 4, 2005 As the wave of international indignations continues against recent declaration of Iranian President calling for the destruction of the Jewish State, the damaging statement shattered the Iranian regime’s most sacred totem and driving principles. By Safa Haeri.
IRANIAN OFFICIALS MOBILISE BEHIND AHMADI NEZHADFriday, October 28, 2005 Senior Iranian officials rallied behind President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad’s cal for the eradication of Israel from the world’s map, stepping up attacks and criticism against Israel, accused of “murdering, slaughtering, mass killing of innocent Muslim Palestinians, but also the United States and the West in general. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN BANS FILMS PROMOTING LIBERALISM, FEMINISIM OR SECULARISMMonday, October 24, 2005 A leading Iranian journalist has contested the decision of the Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution (SCCR) to ban films dealing with secularism, feminism, liberalism or violence and drugs. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN GOVERNMENT URGING THE HIDDEN IMAM TO HELPFriday, October 21, 2005 “You don’t understand. These non turbaned men like the Iranian President Mahmmoud) Ahmadi Nezhad and others like him are the real believer in Shi’a scripts, not most of the akhound, who are aware of the theatre their ancestors have written and they continue to play.
MKO DISSIDENTS DEMAND THAT MAS'OUD RAJAVI ALSO BE PUT ON TRIALWednesday, October 19, 2005 On the eve of the trial of the toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, some former members of the Mojahedeen Khalq Organsation (MKO) demanded that the leader of the outlawed Organisation and some of his close associates be also tried for “crimes against both the Iraqi and Iranian peoples”. By Safa Haeri.
IRAQIS GAVE A LESSON TO TERRORISTSMonday, October 17, 2005 The international community, including Iran, welcomed the referendum of the Iraqi Constitution submitted to popular vote on Saturday 15 October and hoped that the result, in case it is positive as expected, would open the way for a smooth and gradual withdrawal of foreign presence and to the end of bloody violence attributed to so-called islamist jihadis. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN OFFERS EUROPEANS A GLASS HALF EMPTY, HALF FULLThursday, October 13, 2005 In a laconic statement that looks like a glass that is half full, half empty, Iran said it was “ready” to go back to negotiation table “without any conditions” but at the same time stressed that Iran’s “natural, national and legal rights” to full nuclear cycle must be recognized, a condition that is unlikely to please the European negotiators.
IRAN READY TO APPROVE ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL… IN CASETuesday, October 11, 2005 Sending the ball in the adverse court, Iran now says it would wait until the Europeans change their mind and come back to negotiation table, “knowing that Iran would never accept abilities for full nuclear cycle”. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN CONFIRMS STOPPING ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL OF THE NPTSunday, October 9, 2005 Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said that Tehran would leave the Additional Protocol but not the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). By Safa Haeri.
IRAN DENOUNCES NOBEL PEACE PRIZE TO ELBARADE’ISaturday, October 8, 2005 Iran reacted with a quasi indifference, if not anger, at the nomination of the United Nations International nuclear watchdog and it’s General Director as the winner of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for 2005. By Safa Haeri.
THE ENDGAME IN IRAQThursday, October 6, 2005 Even a brief visit to this southern Iraq port leaves me convinced that we are entering the endgame here. The coming Iraqi votes, in October over the new constitution and in December over a new Parliament, are going to tell America whether it is worth staying here or not for much longer. By Thomas L. Friedman.
NOT EVERYTHING IS HONEY BETWEEN AMERICANS AND ISRAELISSunday, October 2, 2005 Under pressures from the Americans, Israel has drastically limited the scope of its decades-long secret operations and cooperation with the Iraqi Kurds in the one hand and also a lucrative trade realized by Kurdish, Iraqi and Jordanian intermediaries, according to reports in the French centrist newspaper “Le Figaro”. By Georges Malbrunot-Safa Haeri-.
IRAN PRESIDENT DENIES INTERVIEW WITH KHALEEJ TIMESSunday, October 2, 2005 Iran on Saturday officially denied that President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad had granted an interview to the Dubai-based newspaper Khaleej Times.
IRAN WALKING INTO A TRAPThursday, September 29, 2005 As the drumbeat of war gets louder in Tehran it is, perhaps, time to wonder whether President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s new administration is not walking into a trap partly of its own making. By Amir Taheri.
A SENSIBLE WAY OUT OF THIS MESSSaturday, September 24, 2005 The irresponsible policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) in respect to the nuclear issue has created a present and real threat to the territorial integrity and national interest of the Iranian people. Subsequent to the fraudulent election of last summer, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nezhad’s appearance at the UN was another catastrophic performance. Of course some people believe he did a great job representing the true nature of the anachronistic and archaic regime that has ruled Iran for the past quarter of the century. By Shaheen Fatemi.
IRAN: RECREATE CONFIDENCEThursday, September 22, 2005 “The proliferation risks if Iran continues on its current path are very great. We hope all members of the international community will remain united. Collectively, we are responsible for meeting the challenge”, foreign affairs ministers from Britain, France and Germany as well as the EU’s Minister for Foreign and Security Affairs said in a collective article published Thursday 22 September 2005 in some major newspapers in France, Germany, Britain and the United States.
TAKING THE PLUNGE, IRAN MENACES WITH LEAVING THE NPTWednesday, September 21, 2005 Taking the standoff on its nuclear issue with the international community to a point of non return, Iran on Tuesday 20 September 2005 officially raised the specter of getting out of the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and resume enriching uranium if faced with a “language of force”. By Safa Haeri.
IN NEW YORK, IRAN’S PRESIDENT PERFORMED POORLYWednesday, September 14, 2005 In his first international appearance, Iranian new President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad badly deceived an attentive and curious world community Wednesday 14 September when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian analysts said.
EGYPT ENTERS THE ERA OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONSFriday, September 9, 2005 As expected, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak won Egypt's first popular election that contenders and opponents says was rigged, but most analysts, including the opposition agrees that opens a new era in the Egyptian political life.
AFTER PAKISTAN, NOW UNITED ARAB EMIRATESSunday, September 4, 2005 One day after the “historic” meeting of Pakistani and Israeli foreign affairs ministers in Istanbul, it was learnt that Israel has opened a diplomatic mission in the Persian Gulf sheikhdom of United Arab Emirates, based in Dubai, home also to hundreds of wealthy and creative Iranians with a total investment estimated at more than 30 billion US dollars. By Yoav Stern.
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC MORE ISOLATED THAN EVER BEFOREFriday, September 2, 2005 After months of secret liaisons between Israeli and Pakistani officials, the two countries came out of the closet in Istanbul Thursday and announced to the world – in the full glare of the television cameras – that they were dating. By Safa Haeri.
AS TIES WITH THE EU3 DEGRADE, ALL IS NOT LOVE BETWEEN CONSERVATIVESMonday, August 29, 2005 Like Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad, the 49 years-old Mayor of Tehran who created surprise by beating one of Iran’s most powerful, influential and richest clerics in Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the second round of presidential elections, the Majles, or the Iranian Parliament also created its own surprise when, on Wednesday 24 August, rejected 4 out 21 personalities the new President has proposed as ministers. By Safa Haeri.
PRESIDENT'S FORMER RIGHT HAND MAN FOR OIL MINISTRY REJECTEDWednesday, August 24, 2005 In a blow to Iran’s new President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad, the conservatives-controlled Majles rejected on Wednesday 24 August 2005 four out of the 21 ministers he had proposed as future members of his government, signaling that all would not be pure love between the president and the Majles.
ALL MKO SAY ARE PURE LIESSaturday, August 20, 2005 “All the information the Mojahedeen provides the western media is pure lies and fabricated to discredit the Iranian regime and help the United States and Israel to put more pressures on Iran”, a former senior member of the outlawed, Baghdad-based Mojahedeen Khalq Organisation (MKO) told Iran Press Service. By Safa Haeri.
MORE MEDIA LIES ABOUT IRANWednesday, August 17, 2005 According to Reuters' Louis Charbonneau – a neo-crazy media sycophant if ever there was one – those despicable Iranians "broke UN seals at a uranium processing plant" last week. By Gordon Prather.
IRAN’S NEW PRESIDENT PRESENTS AN “UNDISCOVERED ISLAND”Monday, August 15, 2005 Faithful to his electoral promises to bring real changes, Iran’s new President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad presented the Majles on Sunday 14 August 2005 a cabinet that most of its members are unknown to even conservative lawmakers that control the parliament. By Safa Haeri.
RULING IRANIAN CONSERVATIVES ON THE BRINK OF EXPLOSIONFriday, August 12, 2005 As the new Iranian President is reported to present his cabinet next week, serious cracks start to show in the façade on the ruling conservatives, with the former president Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani criticizing openly hard line Ansar Hezbollah for having accused past Iranian governments of “not being Islamic”.
STARTING A MAJOR CRISIS, IRAN BEGAN WORK AT UCF PLANTMonday, August 8, 2005 Iran resumed nuclear works at the Uranium Conversion Facility on Monday 8 August, heralding a dangerous escalation of unprecedented crisis with the international community and above all, Britain, France and Germany, Tehran’s main three nuclear negotiators. By Safa Haeri.
UNRESTS CONTINUE IN IRAN'S MINORITY-DOMINATED PROVINCESSaturday, August 6, 2005 Bloody unrests continue in at least three Iranian provinces, with Kurdish sources accusing the clerical-led authorities of having killed “tens” of people in Iranian Kurdish dominated areas.
IRAN WOULD FACE SECURITY COUNCIL IF IT RESUMES NUCLEAR WORKSThursday, August 4, 2005 As the European Union announced Thursday 4 August that it will call a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Directors early next week to warn Iran against restarting By Safa Haeri.
NASSERI IS NOT ARRESTEDMonday, August 1, 2005 Mr. Cyrus Nasseri is not arrested and continue his duties as one of the members of Iranian nuclear negotiations team from Geneva, according to both “Mehr” and “Fars” news agencies. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN SUBMITS CRUCIAL LETTER TO IAEA (URGENT)Monday, August 1, 2005 Iran handed over an official letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) informing the international nuclear watchdog that it would resume activities at the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) in Esfahan, in central Iran, the official Iranian news agency reported from Vienna. By Safa Haeri.
AFTER STORM, A RELATIVE CALM IN IRAN-EU TROIKA RELATIONSMonday, August 1, 2005 As expected and according to its traditional diplomatic maneuvering, the Islamic Republic bowed to its European partners by accepting to delay resumption of nuclear activities by “another 24 hours and perhaps a week. By Safa Haeri.
CYRUS NASSERI ARRESTEDFriday, July 29, 2005 Cyrus Nasseri, one of the senior Iranian negotiators with both the European Union’s so called “Big 3” and the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been arrested.
KHAMENEH'I MUST GO, SAYS AKBAR GANI (URGENT)Sunday, July 24, 2005 “Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i is no more the leader, having overstepped his legitimacy by not responding to his Islamic duties. He must step down”, says Iran’s most prominent political dissident Akbar Ganji. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN’S BORIS YELTSINSaturday, July 23, 2005 Just over a month ago Sa’id Mortazavi, the Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor in Tehran, agreed to receive the wife of one of the many political prisoners languishing in his jails. The visitor wanted Mortazavi to know that her husband, then in the third week of a hunger strike, was nearing death. By Amir Taheri.
IRAN RELATIONS DEGRADES FAST WITH EU'S "Big 3"Friday, July 22, 2005 With less than two weeks to oath taking by Iranian president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad, the relations between Tehran and its main European negotiators on Iran’s controversial atomic projects crosses a “zone of turbulence”, Iranian and European analysts observes. By Safa Haeri.
OLD FOES IRAN AND IRAQ TO OPEN NEW CHAPTERWednesday, July 20, 2005 Iraqi Prime Minister Ebrahim al-Ja’fari ended on Tuesday 19 July 2005 a three days official visit to Tehran that some analysts described as “historic” and “opening a new, landmark” in the troubled Baghdad-Tehran relations.
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC TO EXPORT 40.000 "HUMAN TIME BOMBS"Friday, July 15, 2005 As the European Union and many other nations in the world observed two minutes of silence on 14 July 2005 commemorating and mourning the victims of the 7 July terrorist attacks in London, the Islamic Republic of Iran is quietly preparing 40.000 "human bombs" to be used against the West, targeting in particular Israel and the United States.
APPEAL TO WORLD MEDIA FOR AKBAR GANJIWednesday, July 13, 2005 As the case of one of Iran’s prominent journalists hits an international dimension, more voices inside and outside the country are calling for his unconditional release from jail. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN’S PRESIDENT-ELECT FACES FIRST CHALLENGESFriday, July 8, 2005 Ten days after his surprise election to the presidency and one month before taking office officially, Iranian president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad is experiencing his first political turbulence, with some hard line lawmakers and clerics urging him to “purify” the society from Western, un-Islamic “impurities”. By Safa Haeri.
AHMADI NEZHAD THE "OSOULI"Saturday, July 2, 2005 It may take some time before the shock caused by the election of Mahmoud Ahmadi Nezhad as the sixth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran is absorbed. But one thing is already clear: The election signals the beginning of the first major shift in the balance of power within the Khomeinist regime since 1981. By Amir Taheri.
AMERICAN WAR FOR REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN HAS ALREADY STARTEDTuesday, June 28, 2005 According to a former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, operation for regime change in Iran has already started, with US special military bases established in neighbouring Azerbaijan and the CIA hiring the outlawed Mohajeden Khal Organisation (MKO) for covert operations inside Iran. By Scott Ritter.
DON’T SATANISE THE PRESIDENT ELECT, HE IS A STREET SWEEPERSunday, June 26, 2005 In his first press conference, the Iranian “street sweeper” President-elect presented a friendly face to Iranians and the world, stating that while abroad he would look to “friendship with all nations”, at home, he would use “all possibilities and potentials, without any exception, to make Iran a strong and advanced Muslim nation”. By Safa Haeri.
AND WHAT IF DEMOCRACY IS THE WINNER IN IRAN?Friday, June 24, 2005 As Iranians went to the polls in their most unprecedented elections, having to choose between the “pragmatist”, millionaire cleric and the “fundamentalist”, son of an ironsmith, some pundits said regardless of who becomes Iran’s next President, the democratization process would be the ultimate winner, some political pundits speculated. By Safa Haeri.
SURPRISES FROM IRAN ELECTIONS ARE NOT OVERSunday, June 19, 2005 “The Iranian people do not seek radical changes, preferring smooth evolution of the situation”, observed Ebrahim Nabavi, a satirical writer and journalist commenting on the surprise outcome of the first round of presidential elections in Iran held on 17 June 2005. By Safa Haeri.
THE BEST IS THE BAD CHOICEThursday, June 16, 2005 Imagine a Martian arriving in Tehran these days to observe the presidential election. The first thing he would remark is the low key in which the campaign is fought. With only a week to polling day, there is little sense of election fever By Amir Taheri.
IRANIAN WOMEN DEMAND CHANGE IN THE CONSTITUTIONMonday, June 13, 2005 More than a thousand women, rich and poor, highly educated and illiterate took part at a large demonstration stage on Sunday in front of Tehran University, calling for amending the Constitution, allowing equality of rights with men.
EXPLOSIONS IN AHWAZ, AT LEAST 7 KILLED, 70 WOUNDED, 5 IN TEHRANSunday, June 12, 2005 As the dead toll from today’s explosions that rocked the south-western city of Ahwaz, the capital of the Iranian oil-rich province of Khouzestan reached seven, with another 70 reported wounded, a “terrorist” group named “Brigades of the al Ahwaz Revolutionary Martyrs” claimed responsibility.
IRANIANS MUST CHANGE THE REGIME, SAYS AKBAR GANJIFriday, June 10, 2005 "In Iran, real power is not in the hands of the president, but in those of the religious guide, Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i. Therefore it is all the system of the Islamic Republic that must be changed”, veteran Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji stated in an interview with the centrist French daily Le Figaro. By Safa Haeri-Delphine Minoui.
CHANGING REGIME BY NON VIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCEThursday, June 9, 2005 While the international attention is focused on Iran’s WMD program and the phoney presidential "election", most observers seem to be missing a veritable seismic popular movement for radical change. By Shahin Fatemi.
OUTLAWED PARTIES TO BACK REFORMIST CANDIDATEWednesday, June 8, 2005 The decision of the Iran Freedom Movement and the Nationalist-religious group to both back the candidacy of Mr. Mostafa Mo’in, the reformists lead candidate and also to form a new political movement named Iranian Front for Democracy and Human Rights (IFDHR) was not welcome by veteran Iranian dissidents. By Safa Haeri.
REZA PAHLAVI URGES IRANIANS TO BOYCOT ELECTIONSFriday, June 3, 2005 Prince Reza Pahlavi joined his voice to other Iranian dissidents inside and outside Iran to urge Iranians not to participate in the coming presidential elections and give popular legitimacy a "discredited regime". By Safa Haeri.
QASEM SHO'LEH SA'DI PREVENTED FROM LEAVING IRANTuesday, May 31, 2005 In the framework of a new crackdown on political dissidents and opponents in Iran, the authorities have prevented recently tens of leading personalities critical to the regime, including Dr. Qasem Sho’leh Sa’di, sources in Tehran and Paris revealed. By Safa Haeri.
BIG 3'S ILLUSIONS WITH THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC NUCLEAR AMBITIONSaturday, May 28, 2005 During his visit to Washington last week, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told his American interlocutors that the European Union’s initiative on Iran, of which his government is a part, was heading for an impasse. But when asked what the next move should be, all that Straw had to say was: Keep talking until after the Iranian presidential election. By Amir Taheri.
TO RUN OR NOT TO RUN IN THE ELECTIONS, REFORMISTS FACE A DISASTERThursday, May 26, 2005 As Mr. Mostafa Moi'in, the controversial lead candidate of the reformists indicated Thursday 26 May 2005 that he would announce his decision to remain in the presidential race or not, his case has developed into a hot subject of debate among Iranian analysts, commentators and political formations inside and outside the country. By Safa Haeri.
KHAMENEH'I PROVED THAT ELECTIONS IN IRAN ARE FARCESTuesday, May 24, 2005 The intervention of Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i in favour of two reformist candidates disqualified by the Council of the Guardians proves, if proof was needed, that elections are not free in the Islamic Republic, political analysts said. By Safa Haeri.
BOYCOTTING ALL ELECTIONS AND INSISTING ON REFERENDUM: AKBAR GANJISunday, May 22, 2005 As the Council of the Guardians announced Sunday 22 May 2005 the names of candidates it decided fit to run for presidency, Mr. Akbar Ganji, considered as one of Iran's leading investigative journalist and writer, called on Saturday 21 May 2005 on all Iranians, particularly the democratic and free lover forces, to abstain from taking part in the forthcoming presidential elections in Iran, due on 17 June 2005. By Safa Haeri.
MKO ABUSED, TORTURED AND KILLED ITS OWN MEMBERSFriday, May 20, 2005 An armed Iranian opposition group in exile, the Mojahedin Khalq Organization, has subjected dissident members to torture and prolonged solitary confinement, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday 19 May 2005. By Safa Haeri.
IRANIAN JOURNALISTS MENACE THE MAJLES WITH NEWS BOYCOTTThursday, May 19, 2005 Relations between the press and the Parliament further deteriorated as for the second time since its inauguration last February 2005, the Iranian press has erupted against the conservatives-controlled Majles, with parliament correspondents menacing to stop reporting Majles' news.
IRANIANS COOL TO THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONSTuesday, May 17, 2005 The inscription of over 1000 people, some of them fully illiterate is the perfect illustration of, if not the "banality" of the job of president in the existing political system of Islamic Republic, but also its "futility", according to professional Iran watchers. By Safa Haeri.
HASHEMI RAFSANJANI’S DECISION GIVES IRANIAN ELECTIONS SOME COLOURSWednesday, May 11, 2005 As Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani announced his participation at the coming presidential elections, pessimism over the future of the country grew, with, in the one hand, two prominent grand ayatollahs expressed their doubts and on the other, more political figures inside and outside called for an outright boycott of the race. By Safa Haeri.
IN NEW YORK, IRAN REITERATED ITS RIGHT TO NUCLEAR POWERTuesday, May 3, 2005 As Mr. Kofi Annan, the General Secretary of the United Nations inaugurated Monday a troublesome four-week conference aimed at reviewing the 35 years-old Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), international nuclear experts expressed serious doubts about the sincerity of Iranian ayatollahs insisting that their nuclear projects have all non military purposes.
IRAN TO CONTINUE LOOKING FOR TIME IN NUCLEAR TALKSSunday, May 1, 2005 Iran continued its favourite cat and mouse policy Saturday on the second day of negotiations with Britain, France and Germany over the issue of enriching uranium. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN ENTERS FULL ELECTORAL PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNTuesday, April 26, 2005 The Council of Coordination of the Iranian Fundamentalists shot the first salvo in the campaigning of the upcoming presidential elections with the presentation, last Friday 22 April 2005 of Mr. Ali Larijani as their official candidate. By Safa Haeri.
LAST IRAN EU NUKE TALKS ENDED WITH NO RESULTFriday, April 22, 2005 Last round of nuclear talks between Iran and three European nations, namely Britain, France and Germany ended without producing any tangible result, negotiators told Iran Press Service. By Safa Haeri.
IRANIAN REGIME MORE ISOLATED AT HOME AFTER KHOUZESTAN RIOTSWednesday, April 20, 2005 Unrests continued unabated in the oil rich Iranian province of Khouzestan, with local and international sources putting the death toll at about 30 people, including seven revolutionary guards and security men in plain clothes and the number of injured at five hundreds.
IRAN'S ROAD TO DEMOCRACYMonday, April 18, 2005 A quarter-century has passed in Iran since the revolution of February 1979. This can be called the period of "three republics". The first began with the revolution, lasted throughout the 1980-88 war with Iraq, and ended with the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. By Mohsen Sazegara.
IS IRAN ON THE WAY TO A COLOUR REVOLUTION?Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Is Iran gearing for a new “colour revolution”, similar to the ones in Georgia, Ukraine and most recently in the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan? By Safa Haeri.
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC HAS NO LEGITIMACY: ABBAS FAKHRAVARThursday, April 7, 2005 “The events in Georgia, Ukraine and recently in Kyrgyzstan have spirited the people on Iran, mostly the young generation and dispirited the authorities, mostly the leadership that is thrown in full crisis, as it sees similar dictatorships relying on the bayonet have crumbled in one night and evaporated”, confirmed a dissident students leader. By Safa Haeri.
DOCTOR HOPES HIS REPORT ON Ms. KAZEMI WOULD HELP JUSTICESunday, April 3, 2005 As expected, the Iranian clerical-led authorities rejected on Saturday the terrible revelations made by an Iranian doctor who had examined Ms. Zahra Kazemi, the late Iranian-Canadian photojournalist murdered two years ago in an Iranian prison and labelled the medic as an “impostor”. By Safa Haeri.
DOCTOR SAYS ZAHRA KAZEMI WAS TORTURED AND RAPED IN PRISONFriday, April 1, 2005 Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was savagely beaten, tortured and raped while in Iranian custody in 2003, according to Dr. Shahram A’zam, an emergency-room doctor who examined her before she died. By Safa Haeri.
THE FRIDAY AFTER-SOCCER DEADS IS BAD NEWS FOR THE MULLAHRCHYSaturday, March 26, 2005 At least six people were killed Friday 25 March 2005 and more than 40 others wounded, some of them critically at the end of a decisive soccer match between Iran and Japan, making it the worst after-soccer incidents in Iran. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN-EU NUCLEAR TALKS TO CONTINUEWednesday, March 23, 2005 Started amidst fears of a clash, if not outright breaking, the last round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the European Union’s three main powers, namely France, Germany and Britain ended Wednesday in Paris with the two sides deciding to continue the talks. By Safa Haeri.
TIME HAS ARRIVED TO TRANSFORM ELECTIONS INTO REFERENDUM: ABBAS AMIR ENTEZAMSaturday, March 19, 2005 In a letter published on the occasion of the Iranian New Year, one of Iran’s most respected and popular political dissident called Saturday 19 March 2005 on the Iranian people to transform the occasion of the forthcoming presidential elections into a national movement for referendum. By Safa Haeri.
NOW ROUZ, THE STRUGGLE OF DAY AND NIGHTThursday, March 17, 2005 ALL Iranians, whatever their religious beliefs, language or origins and wherever they live, are strongly attached to Now Rouz, meaning New Year. By Abdol-Hosseyn Zarrinkoub.
OIL MARKETS FIRM DESPITE RISE IN OPEC OUTPUTWednesday, March 16, 2005 The Organisation of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) decided Wednesday to increase its production ceiling by 500,000 barrels per day (BPD) to 27.700 million BPD “effective immediately", the cartel’s president Sheikh Fahad Ahmad al Ahmad al Sabah of Kuwait announced.
PEOPLE CLASHED WITH SECURITY FORCES OVER CHAHAR SHANBEH SOURITuesday, March 15, 2005 Serious but sporadic clashes opposed Tuesday many young Iranians to security and police forces, leaving several injured, according to eyewitnesses.
PLANE-LOAD OF ANTI-AYATOLLAH IRANIANS DEMONSTRATED IN BRUSSELSThursday, March 10, 2005 A group of Iranians describing themselves as supporters of Monarchy forced Thursday a Lufthansa passenger plane to land in Brussels and in a statement, denounced the crimes committed by the clerical rulers of their native country.
IRAN, EU’S TROIKA IN HARD BARGAINSTuesday, March 8, 2005 Iranian and European negotiators ended the latest round of negotiations in Geneva on the crucial and controversial Iranian nuclear activities, with sources saying that Iran has toughened its instance on its right to enrich uranium. By Safa Haeri.
INCOMPETENT RULERS ARE DRVING THE NATION TO THE ABYSS: DISSIDENTSFriday, March 4, 2005 In an unprecedented open letter to the ruling clerical leaders, more than five hundred Iranian scholars, intellectuals, journalists, students, artists and politicians have denounced the “incompetence” of the present clerical-led leadership and warned that only bowing to the principles of a real democracy can save the country and nation from total collapse. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN DOWNPLAYS IAEA AND US’S NEW ACCUSATIONSWednesday, March 2, 2005 As the United States and the European Union’s so-called Big 3 increased pressures over Iran, accusing the Islamic Republic of gross violations of its engagements with the international nuclear watchdog, a senior Iranian negotiator downplayed the accusations. By Safa Haeri.
THE WORLD COMMUNITY CAN NOT TOLERATE THE ISLAMIC REPUBLICTuesday, March 1, 2005 “The international community, nor the Iranian society can not tolerate a regime that has set its ideology over the destruction of another country, namely Israel”, assures a veteran Iranian political activist. By Safa Haeri.
BOOSHEHR NUCLEAR PLANT HAS "SERIOUS TECHNICAL PROBLEMS"Sunday, February 27, 2005 Russia disclosed Sunday that the works at the nuclear reactor it is installing in the Persian Gulf port of Booshehr present "a certain number of troubling problems". By Safa Haeri.
IRAN CONFIRMS BUILDING SECRET NUCLEAR TUNNELSFriday, February 25, 2005 Iran confirmed Friday that is was building secret tunnel to hide some of it secret nuclear installations. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN, SYRIA ANTI-US-ISRAEL ALLIANCE IS A HOAX: ANALYSTSMonday, February 21, 2005 The proposed alliance between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Arab Republic of Syria aimed a thwarting threats from the United States is more a hoax than a serious project, Iranian analysts said. By Safa Haeri.
THE FIRE ON THE MOSQUE AND A BLAST NEAR BUSHER CARRY MESSAGESFriday, February 18, 2005 The fire at a big Tehran mosque, the over fly of Iranian sky by foreign drones and a mysterious explosion near the nuclear reactor in the Persian Gulf port of Bushehr are all “signals” heralding incoming operations for toppling the Iranian theocracy, Iranians say in the streets. By Safa Haeri.
IS THE IRANIAN REGIME TOTALITARIAN?Wednesday, February 16, 2005 On February 10, 2005, in an op-ed column entitled 'Condi's French Twist,' Maureen Dowd, the New York Times columnist, finds fault with Secretary Rice's characterization of the Iranian regime as "totalitarian". By Shahin Fatemi.
IRANIANS WOULD NOT DEFEND THE REGIME AGAINST A FOREIGN ATTACKFriday, February 11, 2005 "Iranians would not rise in support of the present clerical regime in case it is attacked by a foreign power", travellers coming to Europe from different parts of Iran assured. By Safa Haeri.
THE BALL IS IN THE AYATOLLAHS' COURTFriday, February 4, 2005 A visibly worried Islamic Republic reacted angrily on Thursday at the US President's open support for the Iranian people's struggle for democracy and freedom. By Safa Haeri.
RESULTS OF IRAQI ELECTIONS PLACED IRAN AND US ON THE SAME SIDEWednesday, February 2, 2005 The expected high turn out of Shi’a Muslim and the Kurds in the Iraqi’s Sunday elections is opening the doors of a new Pandora box in the volatile region of the Middle East, according to many Iranian and Arab political analysts. By Safa Haeri.
AMERICAN ACTIONS FOR REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN "INEVITABLE"Saturday, January 22, 2005 Slowly but surely, the United States is preparing local and international public opinion for concrete action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, now tagged as the main "outpost of tyranny", Iranian and western analysts and diplomats say. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN LAUNCHED HUNT OPERATIONS TO FIND US COMMANDOSWednesday, January 19, 2005 Iranian authorities have launched a massive, but discrete operation aimed at finding and arresting possible American commandos that an American investigative journalist said are now operating inside Iran. By Safa Haeri.
IRANIAN JUDICIARY DENOUNCED BY INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITYSaturday, January 15, 2005 Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian human rights activist and lawyer who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize refused to appear in court on Saturday, saying the summons had failed to state the charge against her. By Safa Haeri.
TENS OF MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS ARRESTED IN GERMANYWednesday, January 12, 2005 German federal police raided houses, offices, shops and mosques in five Landers belonging to Muslim fundamentalists, the Federal Prosecutor announced on Wednesday. By Parviz Mardani.
SA'ID MORTAZAVI MENACES WEBLOGGERSSaturday, January 8, 2005 Sa’id Mortazavi, the Prosecutor of Tehran and Islamic Revolution courts has threatened legal action against both the journalists and all those who alleged that detained journalists and Internet writers were abused to extract confessions and apologies. By Safa Haeri.
JUDICIARY ACCUSED OF TORTURING WEBLOG JOURNALISTSWednesday, January 5, 2005 In a dramatic twist of events, at least two of the four journalists and owner-writers of weblogs who had publicly “confessed” to their “mistakes and wrongdoings” said the confessions have been made because of tortures they have been subject while in prison, according to a former vice President Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Ali Abtahi. By Safa Haeri.
IRAN TO SEND LOW-LEVEL DELEGATION TO AMMAN IRAQI MEETINGMonday, January 3, 2005 In a protest move against the Jordanian Kingdom, Iran said on Monday that it does not think holding a conference of Iraq’s neighbours was necessary. By Safa Haeri.
IRANIANS ANGRY AT OFFICIALS DEFENDING DEATH PRACTICESFriday, December 31, 2004 Recent statements by some officials from the Judiciary and the Foreign Affairs Ministry concerning death sentences pronounced by some local courts against young women have stirred the anger of Iranians inside and outside the country. By Safa Haeri.
|
