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Iran forming pro-Assad militia in Syria: Panetta

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Iran forming pro-Assad militia in Syria: Panetta

Iran is working to establish in Syria a militia that is loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday, warning that Tehran’s growing presence could only aggravate the situation on the ground.

“It is obvious that Iran has been playing a larger role in Syria in many ways,” Panetta said at a joint press conference with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey.

There is now evidence that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are “trying to develop, trying to train a militia within Syria to be able to fight on behalf of the regime,” Panetta said.

“So we are seeing a growing presence by Iran and that is of deep concern to us. We do not think that Iran ought to play that role at this moment in time, that’s dangerous… it’s adding to the killing that’s going on in Syria.”

Panetta also called on Tehran to stay out of the conflict, saying: “Our hope is that Iran thinks better about how much they do want to get involved.”

“The Syrian people ought to determine their future, not Iran,” he added, before he
played down options for a no-fly zone over Syria.
“With regards to the no-fly zone, that is not a front-burner issue for us,” Panetta said.

Panetta said his focus was on ensuring that Syria’s chemical and biological weapons sites were secure and working with allies to help foster as smooth a transition as possible should Assad fall – something U.S. officials describe as an inevitability.

The imposition of no-fly zones by foreign powers was crucial in helping Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi last year, but it required NATO attacks to destroy Libyan air defenses.

In March testimony to Congress, Panetta warned of potential “severe collateral damage” in establishing a no-fly zone for Syria as the country’s air defense systems, which are far more sophisticated than Libya’s, were located in populated areas.

At the same March hearing, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that Syria had five times more air defense capabilities than had existed in Libya.

Dempsey, speaking at the Pentagon on Tuesday, said Jordan and Turkey had both examined the possibility of a safe haven with which “would probably come some form of no-fly zone.”

“But we’re not planning anything unilaterally, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said, just before Panetta said a no-fly zone wasn’t a front-burner issue.

Splits among big powers and regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia have stymied diplomatic efforts to halt the bloodshed in Syria, where opposition sources say 18,000 people have been killed.

Panetta said he and Dempsey shared concerns about Iran’s deepening involvement.

“It is obvious to both General Dempsey and I that Iran is playing a larger role in Syria in many ways, not only in terms of the IRGC, but in terms of assistance, training,” Panetta said, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“There’s now an indication that they’re … trying to train a militia within Syria to be able to fight on behalf of the regime.”

Iran has steadfastly supported Assad in his 17-month effort to crush the rebellion in his country and on Tuesday urged Muslim states to show greater unity ahead of a summit of Muslim leaders this week expected to focus on Syria.

Source: Alarabiya

Member of Pan-Iranist party arrested at home in Ahvaz

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Member of Pan-Iranist party arrested at home in Ahvaz

Political activist Omid Dehdarzade was sentenced several months ago by the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz presided over by Judge Rasouli to six months probation, 75 lashings and a financial penalty following his conviction of crimes, including harming national security, membership in a Pan-Iranist party and distribution of prohibited brochures. Since his arrest, Dehdarzade has not contacted his family and his whereabouts are unknown.

Source: Iran Daily Brief

‘Iranian regime seeking to exploit summit of Non-aligned Movement’

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‘Iranian regime seeking to exploit summit of Non-aligned Movement’

Iran’s opposition Green Movement has warned the leaders of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) of the Iranian regime’s attempts to draw political gains from the organisation’s forthcoming summit meeting in Tehran.

In a letter to the heads of states and governments of the Non-aligned Movement, the Coordination Council of the Green Path of Hope, the movement’s highest decision-making body, said that Iranian authorities intended to “use the conference to boost its tarnished international image, and buttress its precarious political position at home.”

“Suffering from deeply-entrenched widespread popular discontent, and gripped by mounting economic hardship, emanating from chronic inefficiency, mismanagement, and corruption and further worsened by the foreign sanctions related to the nuclear issue, the ruling clique has pinned its hopes on the NAM Summit. They expect to draw political capital from the presence and supportive political statements of the leaders of the fellow Non-aligned countries.”

The Council described the international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme as “unjust,” saying that the military threats against the country were “unacceptable.”

“Equally, we are also of the position that opportunistic misuse of the occasion for domestic political purposes represents sheer hypocrisy and is absolutely unjustified,” the statement added.

“Three years after the ruthless suppression” of The Green Movement, the letter continued, “the ruling apparatus has turned the whole country into a huge prison and systematically intensified all forms of political suppression and blatant violation of the basic and fundamental human rights of the Iranian people.”

In their letter, the Council members also recalled the ongoing illegal detention of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Zahra Ranhavard, who have been under house arrest since February 2011.

They called on member state leaders “to be cognizant of the negative implications involved while considering their participation at the conference in Tehran, or its level.”

“The Iranian people justifiably expect the high-level participants to express, in their official statements at the Conference, interviews with the Iranian and foreign press, as well as in the course of the meeting with the Supreme Leader, their disapproval and objection to the current anti-democratic and repressive policies in Iran.”

The Council called on the body to utilise this opportunity to promote the “democratic aspirations and just demands of the Iranian people, including the release of all political prisoners and the leaders of the Green Movement under illegal house arrest.” It warned of the governing elite’s plans to “misuse the office of the Movement’s [NAM] chairmanship for illegitimate political purposes and as a ploy to perpetuate further repression.”

“A democratic Iran,” the statement stressed, “would be a better member for the Movement and can serve uphold the true message and mission of genuine non-alignment.”

Full text of the letter:

Special Appeal

to the

Heads of State and Government of the Non-aligned Movement

The 16th Summit of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) will be held in Tehran, Iran, from 26-30 August 2012. The ruling authoritarian apparatus expects to use the conference to boost its tarnished international image, and buttress its precarious political position at home. Suffering from deeply-entrenched widespread popular discontent, and gripped by mounting economic hardship, emanating from chronic inefficiency, mismanagement, and corruption and further worsened by the foreign sanctions related to the nuclear issue, the ruling clique has pinned its hopes on the NAM Summit. They expect to draw political capital from the presence and supportive political statements of the leaders of the fellow Non-aligned countries.

While we disapprove of the propagandistic and short-sighted policies that have led the country into the current impasse on the nuclear issue, we oppose as a matter of principle the increasing unjust sanctions against the country and unacceptable military threats against its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Equally, we are also of the position that opportunistic misuse of the occasion for domestic political purposes represents sheer hypocrisy and is absolutely unjustified.

Three years after the ruthless suppression of the popular peaceful, civic movement – The Green Movement – the ruling apparatus has turned the whole country into a huge prison and systematically intensified all forms of political suppression and blatant violation of the basic and fundamental human rights of the Iranian people. Continued detention since February 2010 of Mr. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, his wife Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, and Mr. Mehdi Karrubi under illegal house arrest without any indictment or legal procedure vividly reflects the state of political suppression in Iran today. Daily reports of open repression of all kinds of political and civil activity and systematic abuse of the rights of detainees, inclusive of pervasive and organized threats and intimidation of different kinds, illegal detention, mistreatment and torture, and denial of urgently needed medical care and treatment paint a very grim picture of the actual political situation in the country. Periodic reports on the gravity of human rights situation in Iran by independent sources, including the report by Dr. Ahmad Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur, and also by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, provide ample evidence for the on-going brutal violations in Iran.

Sadly, however, the international community’s preoccupation with the nuclear negotiations has totally eclipsed any serious concern with the human rights situation. On-going civil strife across the region and the tragic repression and ever-worsening blood-letting in Syria have also helped to allow the authoritarian clique in Iran escape a more robust international scrutiny.

The official policy of brutal political repression in Iran, and concomitant hypocritical defense of the popular, democratic demands of other people in the area – with the glaring exception of Syria – needs to be exposed and its perpetrators called to account.

We call on the esteemed Heads of State and Government of the countries members of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) to be cognizant of the negative implications involved while considering their participation at the conference in Tehran, or its level. The Iranian people justifiably expect the high-level participants to express, in their official statements at the Conference, interviews with the Iranian and foreign press, as well as in the course of the meeting with the Supreme Leader, their disapproval and objection to the current anti-democratic and repressive policies in Iran.

The community of non-aligned countries should utilize this unique opportunity to lend its collective support to the democratic aspirations and just demands of the Iranian people, including the release of all political prisoners and the leaders of the Green Movement under illegal house arrest. The leaders and representatives of the Non-aligned Movement should not allow an unpopular, authoritarian apparatus dominating Iran today misuse the office of the Movement’s chairmanship for illegitimate political purposes and as a ploy to perpetuate further repression.  A democratic Iran, as anywhere else across the developing world, would be a better member for the Movement and can serve uphold the true message and mission of genuine non-alignment.

The Coordinating Council of the Green Path of Hope of Iran
11.8.2012

Source: Iran Green Voice

Iran accused of ignoring deadly earthquakes

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Iran accused of ignoring deadly earthquakes

Iranian authorities have been accused of ignoring earthquakes that killed more than 300 people after state television failed to highlight the disaster and the country’s supreme leader took 30 hours to express condolences.

As the official death toll climbed to 306, President Mahmoud Ahmadienjad’s government was criticised for a chaotic response to Saturday’s quakes in East Azerbaijan province, with tents intended for survivors allegedly ending up in the hands of “profiteers”.

Masoud Pezeshkian, MP for the province’s main city, Tabriz, said local people had been forced to ferry victims to hospital in their own cars and claimed many of the 8,000 tents sent out by the Red Crescent had not reached the affected areas.

Emergency calls for blood donors were first communicated on social media after the state broadcaster, IRIB, provided only minimal accounts on Saturday evening while broadcasting a comedy programme and coverage of the Olympic Games.

The 6.3 and 6.4 quakes destroyed a dozen villages and left an estimated 16,000 people homeless after they struck within minutes of each other.

Two of the most influential conservative newspapers, Keyhan and Resalat ignored the event on the following day’s front pages. Keyhan, considered to represent the views of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, instead gave prominence to a report about western “plots” in Syria.

Political prisoner denied furlough for medical treatment

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Political prisoner denied furlough for medical treatment

Authorities are denying a leave for medical treatment for political prisoner Seyed Hadi Ghayemi, who was arrested in post-election events on charges of supporting the Mujahadeen. Ghayemi was originally sentenced to death, but the sentence was converted to 15 years in prison in exile. 64-year-old Hadi Ghayemi suffers from heart and kidney disease, and submitted numerous requests for leave to receive medical treatment, all of which were denied.

Source: Iran Daily Brief

Health of imprisoned priest deteriorates

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Health of imprisoned priest deteriorates

Human rights activists are reporting a decline in the health of Pastor Behnam Irani, who is serving a six-year prison sentence in Karaj Prison. Behnam Irani, who converted to Christianity and served as a pastor in the Iranian church,  is being held under worrying conditions along with dangerous prisoners. Irani was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of harming national security and an additional year for anti-regime propaganda.

Source: Iran Daily Brief

No information on condition of Baha’i family arrested last month

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No information on condition of Baha’i family arrested last month

Human rights activists are reporting that relatives Adel Naimi, Shamim Naimi and Elham Farhani were arrested last month by security forces. Since their arrest, no contact has been made with their families.

Source: Iran Daily Brief

Kurdish Sunni clergyman arrested

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Kurdish Sunni clergyman arrested

Human rights activists are reporting on the arrest of a Sunni cleric of Kurdish descent along with 12 guests he hosted in his home for the Iftar meal. The prisoners were transferred to a prison in Orumieh.

Source: Iran Daily Brief

Iranian officers led Syrian regime militias in Homs: defected general

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Iranian officers led Syrian regime militias in Homs: defected general

Defected Brigadier General Ibrahim al-Jabawi said on Monday that the Syrian regime’s gang-like militia, the Shabiha, were led by Iranian military advisors when they stormed al-Shamas district in Homs.

According to Jabawi, each Shabiha group followed an Iranian military advisor, Al Arabiya news channel reported him as saying 

The defected general said Shamas did not have elements from the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA), but it had people who fled other besieged areas in the central flashpoint city. Criticism is increasing against the FSA for hiding in civilian areas.

Jabawi also reported that 10 civilian men were executed and 350 others were detained.

His account was similar to the opposition Syrian National Council and activist groups on Sunday, when they said that the Shabiha summarily executed 10 civilians during a round-up in Homs.

“Ten young men were executed in the Shamas neighborhood of Homs city after the army and pro-regime gunmen stormed the area and rounded up 350 young people,” it said.

“The army called from the mosques surrounding the district for all the young men to come out into the streets with their hands behind their heads,” it said.

“Militiamen detained nearly 350 people from the Shamas district, assembled them in a courtyard and executed 10 of them,” activist group, the Syrian Revolution General Council, said.

“The fate of the nearly 340 others is unknown and we fear greatly that they have met the same fate as the 10 martyrs,” the group added.

Three children on a minibus were killed as they tried to flee with their parents from the Shamas district during the military operation, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Battles rage in Aleppo

Meanwhile, the Syrian army pressed its assault on rebels in commercial capital Aleppo on Sunday, while both sides reported atrocities and Arab foreign ministers postponed a planned meeting on the 17-month conflict.

The Arab League gave no reason for the indefinite postponement of its planned meeting in Saudi Arabia that had been due to discuss a replacement for international envoy Kofi Annan who announced his resignation earlier this month.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia is to host an Islamic summit focused on Syria to drum up support for the anti-regime revolt. Arab foreign ministers of the Gulf held talks late Sunday in the Saudi city of Jeddah to prepare for the summit.

In Aleppo, troops shelled rebel-held districts as fighting flared anew around a southwestern neighborhood that rebel fighters had quit last week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Shaar, Tariq al-Bab, Sakhur, Hanano and Bustan al-Qasr neighborhoods all came under bombardment, as the army pressed a ground offensive it launched on Wednesday to recapture areas seized by rebels since July 20, the group said.

The Britain-based monitoring group also said that “communications of all forms have been cut off in the city of Aleppo as well as large areas of the province since the morning.”

The Observatory said 150 people were killed across the country on Sunday, including 49 civilians, 56 rebels and 45 regular soldiers.

In Damascus, gunfire was reported in the Qadam neighborhood. Outside the capital, machinegun fire was heard in the town of Al-Tal, where 15 civilians were killed in shelling and clashes the previous day.

Meanwhile, FSA said that it stormed an air force brigade in al-Ain in the countryside of Damascus.

On the situation in the capital, the pro-government al-Watan newspaper spoke of “foiled bids to break the calm in Damascus, which was cleansed of terrorist groups who terrified residents.”

In Aleppo, the paper said that the army was poised to assault the Sukari neighborhood in the south of the city, after its recapture of the nearby Salaheddin district on Thursday.

They were among 148 people — 85 civilians, 43 soldiers and 20 rebels — killed across Syria on Saturday, according to the Observatory.

Source: Alarabiya

Workers’ rights activist transferred to the dangerous criminals division in Tabriz prison

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Workers’ rights activist transferred to the dangerous criminals division in Tabriz prison

Shahrokh Zamani, a workers’ rights activist and a member of the Council for the Establishment of Labor Unions, is imprisoned in Tabriz. For reasons that remain unclear, he has been transferred to the unit where dangerous criminals (murderers, rapists, etc.) are incarcerated. Zaman, 47, was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being accused of, among other things, establishing an illegal group that opposes the regime, known as The Democratic Worker’s Movement, for purposes of disturbing the security of the state by organizing labor strikes and armed rebellion.

Source: Iran Daily Brief

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