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Iran revolutionary guards’ commander set to become president of Opec

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Iran revolutionary guards’ commander set to become president of Opec

 

Rostam Ghasemi, who is blacklisted by western powers, could have major role in determining global oil price

A senior commander of Iran‘s revolutionary guards, who is subject to comprehensive international sanctions, has been nominated as the country’s oil minister, a position that currently includes the presidency of Opec.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, sent a list of four ministers, including Rostam Ghasemi, commander of the revolutionary guards’ Khatam al-Anbia military and industrial base, to the parliament for approval, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Should the parliament confirm Ghasemi’s nomination next week, the commander, who is targeted by US, EU and Australian sanctions, will be automatically appointed as head of Opec, giving the revolutionary guards access to an influential international platform.

Under Iran’s constitution the president is in charge of appointing cabinet ministers, who take office after the approval of parliament.

Iran took the Opec presidency in October last year, its first time at the head of the oil exporters’ cartel since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Unrest in the Middle East, especially the ongoing war in Libya, has given Opec a crucial role in determining the current oil price. Iran is the second-largest crude oil exporter in Opec.

The nomination follows an extraordinary power struggle between Ahmadinejad and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ahmadinejad attempted to take over the oil ministry as its temporary head in May but his move was blocked by parliament. He then appointed Mohammad Aliabadi, a close ally, as a caretaker.

By involving the revolutionary guards – who are under the control of Khamenei – in his cabinet, Ahmadinejad might be trying to alleviate the tensions with those of Khamenei’s supporters who have been threatening the president with impeachment.

The revolutionary guards have won significant economic power since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. The organisation has signed contracts with the government in fields such as oil, gas and telecommunications. Khatam al-Anbia’s involvement in the country’s gas field developments exceeds $7bn (£4.3bn), according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

In an interview with Fars on Wednesday, Ghasemi said the revolutionary guards would also work as a contractor with the oil ministry if his nomination were approved by parliament. “We have strong and skilful people working for Khatam al-Anbia who are capable of taking up oil-related projects and I don’t have any concerns over the activities of the base,” he was quoted by Fars as saying after the news of his nomination broke out.

Khatam al-Anbia, the construction arm of the revolutionary guards which is already in control of some of the country’s most important recent oil and gas contracts, was mentioned in a list of Iranian institutions targeted by UN sanctions.

Revolutionary guards’ assets, including those personally owned by Ghasemi and dozens of his colleagues, have been blacklisted by the US Treasury and western powers.

Other officials in Ahmadinejad’s cabinet have been also subject to international sanctions including the foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, the defence minister, Ahmad Vahidi, and the vice-president, Fereidoun Abbasi Davani.

In a letter addressed to the parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, Ahmadinejad also nominated Mohsen Abadi as the minister for sports and youth, Abdolreza Sheikholeslami as the minister for co-operative, labour and social welfare, and Mehdi Gazanfari as the minister of industries, mines and trade.

 

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Baha’i citizen Sahba Rezvani Denied Prison Furlough

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Baha’i citizen Sahba Rezvani Denied Prison Furlough

Prison authorities have denied furlough and conditional release for Baha’i citizen Sahba Rezvani.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, Rezvani who is serving her sentence, has been in prison for the past 2 years without furlough.

The law states that a prisoner can request a prison leave after serving one-sixth of her sentence. Rezvani who has been in prison since 2008, has been denied furlough other than a short one she had at the beginning of her sentence.

The law also states that a person can be conditionally released after serving half her sentence. She has also been denied conditional release because her charge includes a “security” charge.

Rezvani was detained in 2008 and was imprisoned for 2 months without a court document. She was later sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in prison for anti-regime propaganda, founding the illegal group of Khademin(Servants)and membership in the group.

 

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Iranian lawmaker says new oil ministry caretaker “worst choice”

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Iranian lawmaker says new oil ministry caretaker “worst choice”

Iranian lawmaker Hamid-Reza Katouzian said Saturday that the appointment of Mohammad Aliabadi as the caretaker of Iran’s Oil Ministry is “the worst choice” for the country’s oil and gas industries, local satellite Press TV reported.

“This is the worst choice for the oil and gas industry, and such decisions endanger the country,” Katouzian, head of the Majlis (Parliament) Energy Commission was quoted as saying.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed Aliabadi as the caretaker oil minister in a decree on Thursday.

Aliabadi has no experience or expertise in the oil and gas fields, said Katouzian, adding that the caretaker minister is not familiar with oil production or problems in the industry and he does not know the international situation.

As an Iranian politician, Aliabadi has served as the deputy minister of road and transportation, deputy mayor of Tehran, vice president in Ahmadinejad’s administration and the chief of Iran’s Body Training Organization.

Ahmadinejad said last month that he would run the oil ministry as a caretaker following his move to remove some ministers and to merge some ministries. Iran’s Guardian Council of the Constitution called the president’s move as “illegal.”

Source: Xinhua

Hundreds displaced by Iran-Iraqi Kurd clashes, ICRC says

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Hundreds displaced by Iran-Iraqi Kurd clashes, ICRC says

Fighting between Iranian military forces and Kurdish separatists has displaced hundreds of villagers in the border regions of northern Iraq, the Red Cross said on Monday.

Iran launched a major offensive Saturday against rebel Kurdish bases in Iraq in which eight of its own elite Revolutionary Guards were killed. The separatist Party of Free Life of Kurdistan, or PJAK, said it had lost two fighters.

“The International Committee of the Red Cross has provided humanitarian assistance to over 800 internally displaced people in northern Iraq, all of whom have been driven from their homes by the recent shelling in the mountains of Qandil,” along the border, the ICRC said in a statement.

“Having left behind all their belongings, the majority of these people are now living under makeshift shelters, tents, or sharing crowded houses with relatives and friends, while a few families could afford renting very basic accommodation,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration said Sunday it was involved in relief efforts in the area, providing basic needs such as beds, plastic furniture and water purification kits.

“Ongoing fighting between Iranian military forces and Iraqi Kurdish separatists has led to the displacement of hundreds of families,” the IOM’s Iraq mission said.

“The families had been forced to abandon their homes and move to a camp several miles (kilometers) away after numerous artillery strikes on the village. One villager was reported wounded by the strikes, which damaged several homes and the local school,” it said in a statement.

PJAK rebels operate out of bases in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, and have been involved in deadly clashes with Iranian troops for many years.

The regional government in Iraqi Kurdistan has demanded Iran respect the border after a Revolutionary Guards commander said Iranian forces had taken “full control” of three PJAK camps inside Iraq.

In Tehran, the commander of the Guards’ ground forces, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, demanded Baghdad and the Kurdish regional authorities prevent the rebels from attacking Iran from Iraqi territory.

Iranian forces have repeatedly shelled border districts of Iraq’s Kurdish region, targeting PJAK bases.

 

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Iran Human Rights chief says there is nothing wrong with Iran’s human rights record

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Iran Human Rights chief says there is nothing wrong with Iran’s human rights record

The Secretary of the Judiciary’s Human Rights Staff said that the West’s unilateral appointment of a Human Rights Special Rapporteur is an illegal measure…
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has no problems with the Human Rights Rapporteur as a person but appointing a rapporteur for the human rights situation in Iran is unacceptable and we will not accept this issue”, Mohammad Javad Larijani added.
Larijani stressed that there are no tensions or problems in Iran’s human rights record.
“The existing tensions in Iran are the West’s destructive political propaganda assault against the country”, he said.

 

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Baha’i Citizen Ighan Shahidi Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

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Baha’i Citizen Ighan Shahidi Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

Shahidi has been sentenced to 5 years in prison in the lower court presided by Judge Moghayeseh.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, he had been tried for membership in the “illegal” group of Education Rights, anti-regime propaganda and belonging to the Baha’i faith.

Shahidi who had been deprived of continuing his education was detained along with Navid Khanjani and Sama Nourani for their activities in regards to education rights.  They were transferred to the IRGC-run Ward 2A of Evin Prison. Shahidi was later released on bail.

 

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Latest Update on the Condition of Women’s Rights activist Maryam Bahreman

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Latest Update on the Condition of Women’s Rights activist Maryam Bahreman

Bahreman was detained for the charge of acting against national security. Her house was searched for 3 hours following her arrest and some of her personal belongings were confiscated. After 71 days of detention, no logical reason for her arrest has been declared.

She was transferred to Shiraz Intelligence Ministry after her arrest and after 55 days of solitary confinement,she was trasnfererd to a cell in Shiraz Prison where she is held with one other inmate.

Maryam Bahreman is a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign and was also a founding member of Pars Women’s Organization (Sazman-e Zanan Pars).

 

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Supreme Court says No Apostasy Execution if Pastor was Never Muslim and Repents

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Supreme Court says No Apostasy Execution if Pastor was Never Muslim and Repents

The Supreme Court of Qom Province issued an official verdict in the apostasy case of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, ruling that the lower criminal court and the appeals courts did not provide adequate background information as to whether or not Nadarkhani was ever actually a declared and practicing Muslim. In turn, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the Eleventh Branch of the Criminal Court of Gilan Province for a more rigorous factual investigation.

The verdict orders the lower court to talk with Nadarkhani’s neighbors, acquaintances, relatives, and Muslims that had known him before his adoption of Christianity to see if he was Muslim after reaching the age of maturity (i.e. 15-years-old).

The Supreme Court ruled that if Nadarkhani was a Muslim after the age of maturity then the lower court must find him guilty of apostasy and issue a death sentence. If Nadarkhani was not a Muslim after reaching the age of maturity, then he has the option to repent and renounce his Christianity. If he repents then will not be executed and apparently released. However, if does not repent he will be sentenced to death. The Supreme Court issued the verdict on 12 June 2011.

The Court also maintained that apostasy is a valid criminal charge in Iran, despite the fact that no written legal provision on the matter exists. The Supreme Court referred specifically to the scholarship of Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini as the source of law on apostasy.

Previously, family members and associates of Nadarkhani told the Campaign that officials from the Judiciary and the Ministry of Intelligence tried to force the pastor to repent and renounce his Christian conversion. So far, Nadarkhani has maintained that he has never done anything against Islam and will not renounce his faith. “Pastor Youcef has not budged,” said a close associate of his from Rasht.

Youcef Nadarkhani is a 34-year old pastor who was born to Muslim parents. He converted to Christianity at the age of 19. Before his arrest in October 2009, Nadarkhani led a congregation of about 400 Christians in Rasht. The congregation is part of a nationwide evangelical group called the Church of Iran, many of whose members have been arrested and prosecuted since 2009. On 23 August 2010, Nadarkhani’s apostasy death sentence was upheld by Branch Eleven of the Appeals Court of Gilan Province, and consequently appealed to the Supreme Court. Nadarkhani is currently being held in Rasht Prison.

 

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Three Ahl-e Haqq Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Yazd

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Three Ahl-e Haqq Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Yazd

HRANA News Agency – Three prisoners who belong to a religious minority commonly known as Ahl-e Haqq began their hunger strike in Yazd Central Prisoners on Sunday, July 24, 2011.

According to a report by Mukrian News Agency and sources close to these prisoners, Sahand Ali Mohammadi, Bakhash Ali Mohammadi and Abadollah Ghasamzadeh are on hunger strike to protest against being retried for unknown reasons.

These three political prisoners are residents of Uch-Tappeh Village located in Miandoab County, West Azerbaijan Province. During the clashes which took place in the city of Miandoab between Ahl-e Haqq followers and Iranian security forces in 2004, Sahand Ali Mohammadi, Bakhash Ali Mohammadi and Abadollah Ghasamzadeh were arrested, tried and sentenced to 13 years in prison. They were also exiled to Yazd Central Prison to serve their sentences.

 

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The Al Quds: Iran’s Elite Secretive Guard

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The Al Quds: Iran’s Elite Secretive Guard

 

By ZUNAIRA ZAKI

The United States has proof that the al Quds unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is involved in arming Shiite militias in Iraq, President Bush told reporters today. The president added, however, that he did not know whether Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was giving direct orders to the al Quds unit.

 

What Is Al Quds?

The name Quds is a direct reference to the city of Jerusalem, which is one of the holiest sites in Islam and is often referenced by Muslim militant groups now that the city is under Israeli control.

The al Quds force is a secretive, highly effective core Iranian military operation entrusted with only the most high level and sensitive of operations. Qassim Suleimani is thought to be their current leader. The force is believed to have come into existence soon after Islamic Revolutionary forces took control of Iran on Jan. 16, 1979. The unit was the intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is now thought to be very much a part of the Iranian government and very close to the conservative mullahs that make up Iran’s governing council.

There is no definite sense of how large this force is. ABC News consultant Fawaz Gerges points out that the effectiveness “of an underground operation cannot be judged by its size. This is exactly the mistake the United States made with al Qaeda.”

Former CIA Case Officer Robert Baer says that Ahmadinejad is very close to the al Quds force.

Baer, who has followed the movements of the al Quds as part of his work for the CIA, says it is very difficult to track the forces’ movements and gather any information on them. This unit avoids traditional means of communication, shunning the use of telephones, and instead relies only on couriers to carry out orders.

The al Quds force is also known to have been closely aligned with Hezbollah in Lebanon until the 1980s and is believed to have assisted or commissioned many terrorist operations there.

Baer describes the al Quds forces as the “bad guys … who 100 percent have American blood on their hands.” Baer points out that al Quds were involved in numerous terrorist actions until the 1990s. He believes that they scaled back their terrorist activities under the somewhat moderate Iranian leader Mohammad Khatami.

 

Al Quds and Iran

The al Quds force is thought to have gained its notoriety and great influence during the Iran-Iraq War, which lasted from 1980 to 1988. It was during this war that al Quds operatives are believed to have infiltrated Iraq.

Baer says he met with al Quds operatives in Iraq during the 1990s when they were involved in commissioning assassinations of Iranian dissidents, who Saddam Hussein supported at the time. Baer adds that al Quds forces have been involved in a string of terrorist attacks through the years. If they are operating in Iraq, he adds, this is very bad news for the Americans.

As for the al Quds arming Shiite militias in Iraq, Gerges says, “It is possible and probable that the Quds is training and helping some of the Shiite militias.” However, he adds, the U.S. administration still needs to prove that Shiite militias and not the Sunni insurgency are responsible for the attacks against coalition forces.

 

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