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They have threatened the family of Mohammad Mokhtari

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They have threatened the family of Mohammad Mokhtari

February 19, 2011

”Ma” newsagency from Tehran: Tomorrow it has been 7 days since the iranian regime killed two students, Sale Jale and Mohammad Mokhtari. A few hours ago we had a little chat with a friend of Mohammad Mokhtari. He had witnessed when the iranian police shot his friend (Mohammad Mokhtari).
The friend om Mohammad said that Mohammads father is being detained.
He also said that the cermony which was held for Mohammad was fully controlled by the iranian police and his family were not allowed to do anything.

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Iran seeks to upgrade nuclear technology

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Iran seeks to upgrade nuclear technology

February 19, 2011

The Wall Street Journal

By DAVID CRAWFORD

Iran is redoubling its efforts to enrich uranium by upgrading the equipment at its nuclear facilities, after its enrichment program was severely disrupted by a computer virus, according to diplomats familiar with a new assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, believes Iran is seeking to replace thousands of centrifuges it has been using to enrich uranium with more modern, carbon-fiber centrifuges that can enrich nuclear fuel at about five times the speed of Iran’s previous equipment, these diplomats say.

The diplomats say Iran is also replacing computers and other electronic equipment at its nuclear facilities, including its Natanz enrichment plant, after apparently failing to trace the source of a damaging computer virus known as Stuxnet. Replacing all of the electronics could take Iran up to two years, these people say.

The Stuxnet virus is widely believed to have been designed by a foreign intelligence service, possibly in Israel or the U.S., to slow down Iran’s nuclear program, although nobody has claimed responsibility for the alleged cyber attack.

U.S. officials say Iran is developing technology that could be used to produce nuclear weapons in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. The IAEA says Iran’s lack of cooperation prevents it from determining whether Iran’s nuclear program is military in nature. Iran says its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful purposes.

U.S. intelligence agencies’ recent classified assessment concludes that Iran’s leaders are debating whether to move further toward developing nuclear weapons, even as it works on nuclear-weapons research in addition to expanding its program to enrich uranium. According to the assessment, Iran’s debate over whether to proceed with an effort to build a nuclear bomb suggests international sanctions may be causing divisions in Tehran, U.S. officials said.

The new IAEA assessment of Iran’s militarily relevant nuclear activities was ordered by IAEA General Director Yukiya Amano, two people familiar with the matter say. Early drafts of the assessment, known as the “militarization report,” have been seen by diplomats involved with the IAEA’s work.

The carbon-fiber centrifuges are a concern, three of these diplomats say, because the new technology would allow Iran to reduce the time it would require to secretly produce enough fuel to ignite a nuclear weapon.

Currently Iran would need to operate about 6,000 of its original centrifuges for a year to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb. Using carbon-fiber centrifuges with steel rotors that Iran has tested at its Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, Iran could cut the enrichment time to under 12 weeks, according to an analysis by Germany’s government.

Iran’s enrichment program faltered in November, when the IAEA says 25 of Iran’s 54 sets of centrifuges weren’t functioning. Diplomats believe the Stuxnet virus was responsible for the disruption. Two of the diplomats say it is unclear how quickly Iranian engineers can install enough carbon-fiber centrifuges to revive the pace of its uranium enrichment.

The IAEA report aims to provide an up-to-date review of Iran’s nuclear activities with a military significance, based on evidence provided by both agency inspectors and member states.

In the past, Iran has rejected as forged some documents presented by the IAEA as evidence. The IAEA said it received the documents from member states and considers the documents to be consistent with evidence it has found in its inspections. The new report will be used to test the veracity of Iran’s disclosures to the agency, and could lead to new lines of inquiry in Iran, the diplomats say.

Since 2008, Iran has declined IAEA requests for access to locations in the country where military activities with possible nuclear dimensions may have occurred. The IAEA says it needs access to these sites in order to test the truthfulness of the allegations as part of its obligation to determine if Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful in nature.

Similarly, Iran has also declined IAEA requests to interview people who could assist in addressing open questions about alleged military aspects of its nuclear program.

IAEA inspectors pressed Iran to respond to these questions in a letter in October detailing outstanding issues the agency wants to resolve concerning Iran’s nuclear program. Diplomats say the list of outstanding issues is expected to be annexed to a forthcoming IAEA report on Iran to the agency’s board of governors.

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1000s call for death of Iran opposition leaders

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1000s call for death of Iran opposition leaders

Friday, 18 February 2011

The Washington Post/2011-02-18 – Thousands of government supporters called for the execution of opposition leaders at Friday prayers in the Iranian capital Tehran, following last week’s anti-government demonstrations.

Hardline cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said during the Friday prayers that the opposition leaders have lost their reputation among people and are practically “dead and executed,” while worshippers chanted for their actual executions.

Janati proposed more restrictions on Mir Hossein Mousavi on Mahdi Karroubi, opposition leaders who are under house arrest, but still managed to organize the largest opposition protest in more than a year on Monday.

“Their communications with people should completely cut. They should not be able to receive and send message. Their phone lines and internet should be cut. They should be prisoners in their home,” he said.

The head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani said Thursday that opposition leaders would be prevented from communicating with their supporters and a possible trial was still on the agenda, he said without elaborating.

The remarks by these prominent figures, suggest there is still no concrete plan for arresting the opposition leaders, possibly to avoid giving them more public attention.

Late on Thursday, Karroubi’s website, Sahamnews.net, quoted him as saying he was ready to stand trial.

The opposition demonstrations on Monday aimed at showing solidarity with Egypt’s uprising, but turned into a major opposition rally. Two people were killed in clashes with police.

Mousavi and Karroubi are leaders of a protest movement that grew out of the disputed presidential election in 2009 in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into the streets after the re-election of Ahmadinejad, calling it fraudulent. Opposition says scores were killed after the massive government crackdown.

Dozens of opposition members and activist were sentenced to prison terms from six months to 15 years in the crackdown.

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Iran tells Bahrain to respond to people’s demands

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Iran tells Bahrain to respond to people’s demands

Friday, 18 February 2011

Payvand/2011-02-18 – The Iranian Foreign Ministry has urged the Bahraini government to avoid resorting to violence in dealing with the popular demonstrations in the country and listen to people’s voice.

An unidentified source at the Foreign Ministry has said the ongoing developments in Bahrain are an internal affair, but called on the Bahraini officials to show restraint toward the protesters and respond to people’s political demands. 

Iran is deeply concerned about the developments in Bahrain, he added.

On Monday, February 14, the Bahraini opposition inspired by the recent uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa organized an anti-government protest in Manama. 

The protests continued on Tuesday and Wednesday, and reached a new peak on Thursday. 

On Thursday, large crowds of Bahraini protesters poured into the streets of the capital and demanded sweeping political reforms in the tiny Arab state. The protests turned violent as riot police opened fire on protesters.

Journalists arrested, relatives held hostage in new crackdown

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Journalists arrested, relatives held hostage in new crackdown

February 18, 2011

Reporters Without Borders condemns the government’s renewed crackdown of the past few days including a wave of arrests of journalists that began on 14 February and cases of harassment of journalists’ families.

The authorities have stepped up cyber-attacks on news websites and disruption of the Internet in a sweeping form of censorship designed to stifle the protest movement and prevent information about demonstrations from circulating. The same methods were used after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed reelection in June 2009 only this time they have been reinforced.

On 15 February, intelligence ministry agents attacked the home of Hossein Karoubi, the executive direct of the newspaper Etemad Meli, which has been closed. They broke down the front door and manhandled members of his family. They are still outside the house and are, in effect, holding the family hostage.

At the same time, Ganeh Jaleh, the brother of Sanee Jaleh, one of the demonstrators who was killed in the course of violence targeted against the 14 February protests, was arrested after giving an interview to Voice of America in which he contradicted the government’s claims in the media it controls that his brother was a member of pro-government militia.

Since 10 February, the authorities have been reinforcing censorship of all media likely to be used to relay information about the 14 February protests and the violent methods used to disperse them. Reporters Without Borders can confirm that the attacks on news websites and the disruption of mobile phone and Internet networks, first noticed on 10 February, are continuing (see the release).

Opposition websites such as Jaras, Kalameh and Balatarin (one of the bastions of the online protest movement) and Gooya News, one of the most popular news websites, have been the targets of cyber-attacks that have affected their functionality. Gmail, Google Reader and Yahoo! are now hard to access in several parts of the country.

The telephone answering service of Radio Free Europe’s Farsi-language service, Radio Farda, which records messages from listeners for broadcasting to an audience of about 18 million Iranians, has also been disrupted as a result of attacks.

Radio Farda director Arman Mostoufi told Reporters Without Borders that the service was the target of “continual attacks.” Their purpose was obvious, he added, “to prevent the flow of information in a country known for its censorship.”

The latest detainees include Mohammad Hussein Khoshvaght, the head of the Fararu.com website, and Gholam Ali Dehgan, the head of the Aftab News website, who were arrested on 16 February. Like Sahamnews.org, a site that supports opposition leader Mehdi Karoubi, Fararu.com was one of first sites to be targeted by cyber-attacks on the morning of 14 February.

They were arrested for reporting that the interior ministry had given permission for the 14 February demonstrations at the request of Turkish President Abdullah Gül, who was on an official visit to Iran that day. The authorities also objected to their confirming that their sites had been the target of attacks by hackers.

Khoshvaght was director of the foreign press centre, an offshoot of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, during President Mohammad Khatami’s pro-reform government.

Where are Mousavi and Karoubi?

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Where are Mousavi and Karoubi?

February 18, 2011

Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s home is cordoned off by security forces and all communication channels between the former war-time Prime Minister and the outside world have been cut.  At the same time, plain-clothes agents continued to gather in front of the home of Mehdi Karoubi, another leader of the Green Movement, who called for the execution of Karoubi and other leaders of the Green Movement.  Conflicting reports continue to come about the whereabouts of Mousavi and Karoubi, and the dismissal of their personal security details.

According to a Rooz reporter from Tehran, after Mousavi called Monday’s demonstrations that were held across Iran in solidarity for the people of Egypt and Tunisia, “Spectacular popular resistance,” security forces completely cordoned off his home as all communications between him, his wife Zahra Rahnavard and their close relatives were also cut.

Mr. Mousavi’s relatives who were contacted said they had absolutely no information about his condition or that of his wife, while their children also said they could not contact their parents.

This situation comes after some Majlis representatives on Monday called for the execution of Mousavi and Karoubi, calling them the “leaders of the sedition.” Sedition is the term supporters of the Iranian regime use for protestors who have rejected the official outcome of the 2009 presidential elections that returned incumbent Ahmadinejad to the presidency.

Other reports confirm the presence of plain-clothes agents and Basij Militia across Karoubi’s house. Saham News website, the news outlet of Karoubi’s Etemad Melli party wrote of “gangs” gathering in front of Karoubi’s home. “As of 9pm a group of thugs gathered in front of Mehdi Karoubi’s house and engaged in disturbing the peace of the neighborhood. Around 12 o’clock another group join the first one and began chanting slogans in support of Iran’s supreme leader and insulting Karoubi, Mousavi, Khatami and Rafsanjani, and even family members of ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic regime.”

According to various reports, the protestors chanted offensive slogans against Hashemi Rafsanjani, and against seyed Hassan Khomeini, seyed Yaser and seyed Ali, the latter close relatives of ayatollah Khomeini.

Following the massive demonstrations that began on Monday, Karoubi also issued a statement condemning the violence and warned the authorities of the Islamic republic “to take out the cotton from their ears and listen to the calls of the people.”

While the whereabouts of the leaders of the Green Movement are unknown, the home of Hossein Karoubi, the son of Mehdi Karoubi, was once again raided by agents from the ministry of intelligence. Hossein Karoubi’s website wrote that 20 agents were involved in the raid. According to this report, even though there was nobody in the house, the agents broke the house door to enter the building. There are other reports that confirm that security agents have remained in Karoubi’s home. Hossein Karoubi was summoned to the Evin Prison three weeks where he was interrogated for hours.

Fatemeh Karoubi: These Childish Acts Will not Change my Husband’s Choice

As the conflict between the public and authorities intensifies, Mehdi Karoubi’s wife wrote a letter to the head of Iran’s parliament, the Majlis in which she writes, “I have now accepted that we have no right to live,” meaning the authorities have taken away their rights.

In her letter, Mrs. Karoubi referenced her earlier letter she had sent to the leader of the Islamic regime, in which she asked him what did the differences between him and her husband have to do with their right to life. In her latest letter she wrote, “Today I have accepted that in a regime for which we spent most of our lives fighting for and creating, there no longer exists a right for us to exist.”

She then describes the condition they are in. “Since Thursday, our home is completely surrounded by security forces so that even my children are prevented from coming to see us. All our telephone lines are cut and we do not even have the basic right to medical care while these security forces along with the thugs have raided the apartment of our son, Mohammad Hossein despite his absence there. But none of these ploys, inhuman and childish acts are going to deter my husband.”

In her letter to Ali Larijani, the leader of the Majlis, Mrs. Karoubi explained the events around her home with these words. “Following your speech in the Majlis yesterday and the chants of some selected representatives of the regime who called for the execution of two allies of ayatollah Khomeini, we received news of the gathering of a group of thugs and mercenaries to attack our residence. The presence of police and security forces apparently prevented this from happening in the evening. But around 1:30am until 2:45am this group approached our neighborhood and on one hand chanted insulting slogans at me, my husband, engineer Mousavi, Mr. Khatami and Mr. Hashemi, while on the other hollered slogans in support of the leader and the regime. “

In another part of her letter Mrs. Karoubi, herself a Majlis representative, directs the authorities and leaders of the regime to pay attention to what may be really happening and wrote, “What was most unfortunate was the use of religious language and chants at the end of this gangster behavior. Should the use of this primitive behavior which are no longer seen even in non-civilized societies any longer, not make the leaders realize that perhaps a group agents intend to hurt Islam and people’s beliefs.” She ends her letter by reminding Larijani, and the readers, that such acts would not deter her husband from the path he has chosen.

In the latest twist on the conflicting and alarming news coming from Iran, the country’s semi-official Fars news agency quoted a senior judiciary official Ali Razini as saying that Mousavi and Karoubi would “definitely” be tried.

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Iran asks for warships to pass Suez Canal say Egypt

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Iran asks for warships to pass Suez Canal say Egypt

18 Feb 2011

Two Iranian naval vessels have submitted a request to transit the Suez Canal, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Israel has expressed concerns over the plans, labelling them a “provocation”.

Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said Egyptian authorities have received the request to grant the vessels passage, while a Suez Canal official said the Defense Ministry would process the application.

In Tehran, Iran’s official English-language Press TV cited an Iranian naval official saying the two warships are to pass through the canal. The official said Tehran was in contact with Egypt about the ships.

Earlier, a canal official had said the Iranians had withdrawn a request to transit the waterway, without giving an explanation for the application’s withdrawal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.

Ahmed al-Manakhly, a senior Suez Canal official, said international agreements regulate the traffic through the canal. He said that only in the case of war with Egypt may vessels be denied transit through the waterway.

Al-Manakhly noted that Iran and Egypt are not at war, and said the final decision on whether to grant the vessels’ passage lies with the Defense Ministry.

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Germany criticizes crackdown on demonstrations in Iran

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Germany criticizes crackdown on demonstrations in Iran

February 17, 2011

The German government on Wednesday strongly condemned the violent suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations in Iran and countries across the Middle East.

Iran’s tough crackdown on peaceful protesters was ‘especially worrying and disturbing,’ said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert.

‘We call upon the Iranian government not to deny the Iranian people the very rights and freedoms to which they just congratulated the Egyptian people,’ Seibert said, in reference to Teheran’s words of support following president Hosny Mubarak’s resignation.

‘It is entirely unacceptable how the Iranian government is trying to suppress the right to freedom of expression with violence and intimidation,’ Seibert continued, assuring protesters of support from Europe.

‘The chancellor assures the many Iranians courageously taking to the streets that their call for freedom and human rights will be heard in Germany and Europe,’ Merkel’s spokesman said.

Seibert also condemned the more than 200 members of Iran’s parliament who on Tuesday demanded death sentences for opposition leaders.

‘The German government expects the threats against leading Iranian opposition politicians to have an immediate end,’ Seibert added, calling on Teheran to prove its strength by protecting regime critics and their rights.

Karroubi:”Be brave and hold a public trial for us”

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Karroubi:”Be brave and hold a public trial for us”

February 17, 2011

In a message sent to Deutsche Welle via his adviser Mojtaba Vahedi,Mehdi Karroubi referred to the recent declarations by the ruling government in the aftermath of the February 14th, 2011 [25 Bahman 1389] demonstrations as “bogus” and demanded that he be put on trial “in a court similar to the infamous trials in which Khosro Golesorkhi and Mahmoud Taleghani were put on trial during the reign of the Shah of Iran.”

Mojtaba Vahedi told Deutsche Welle: “As an adviser of Mehdi Karroubi, I wish to read a direct message to your audience from Mr. Karroubi that I received minutes ago under very difficult conditions.”  Mr. Vahedi added: “Mr. Karroubi emphasized that although his message is addressed to the public at large, first and foremost he would like to extend a deep and heartfelt apology to his neighbors whose peace and comfort was once again disturbed last night Wednesday February 16th, 2011 until 3:00am by government thugs.  These individuals proceeded to use extremely vulgar words in their slogans, words that are not even worthy of families associated with this regime. Mr. Karroubi and his family would like to extend their deepest apologies to all those who were forced to listen to the vulgarities expressed by official government agents.”

While reading Mehdi Karroubi’s message his adviser continued: “The events that occurred yesterday clearly demonstrate that a direct order was given by high ranking individuals from within the government and in accordance to this directive, individuals were required to demand the the trial of Mr. Karroubi and Mr. Mousavi.  It is very clear that after 22 months, individuals such as Rohani, Nategh Nouri, Ghalibaf and other friends such as Abtahi have been pressured into giving interviews.”

According to Karroubi’s adviser Mojtaba Vahedi, Karroubi’s message to these individuals was as follows: “Now that you have executed the mission given to you by the government, I suggest you do something humanitarian. Ask the government to put us on a public trial. At minimum have the courage to hold a trial similar to those during the Shah’s reign, trials like those held for the late Golesorkhi, Taleghani and Bokharai in which media outlets were at least allowed to report on the trials and even publish some of the details of the defense.”

Karroubi’s adviser continued:”Mr. Karroubi said if this regime has the courage to hold a public trial, we will prove whether it is we who seek to overthrow the government or individuals from within the regime itself who have such intentions. It goes without saying however that the intention to overthrow [the government] has already begun, as this government is no longer a republic nor is it Islamic.  These gentlemen overthrew the Islamic Republic long ago.The tactics by the IRIB (Iran’s International Broadcasting) demonstrated how corrupt they are and in the event that there is a trial, Mr. Karroubi does not expect for his trial to be broadcast on the national television, but hopes at minimum that newspapers and other media outlets would be allowed to cover it.”

Mehdi Karroubi’s adviser concluded: “Mr. Karroubi emphasized that a government that puts so much pressure [on its citizens], if it was courageous, if it was willing to stand by its own words and was willing to tell the truth, would hold a public trial. In the event that such trial takes place, Mr. Karroubi will prove that this government was overthrown by its own leaders and is no longer a republic, nor is it Islamic.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard pledges to hold fire

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard pledges to hold fire

Feb 17, 2011

Senior officers in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have written a letter to their commanding officer demanding assurances that they will not be required to open fire on anti-government demonstrators.

Following the recent violence that occurred during anti-government protests in Egypt, the officers argue that it is against the principles of Shi’ite Islamic law to use violence against their own people.

In a suggestion of a major split within the Islamic Republic’s ruling hierarchy over its handling of anti-government protests, the letter has been circulated widely throughout the ranks of the Revolutionary Guards, the body responsible for defending religious system.

The letter, a copy of which has been seen by the Daily Telegraph, is addressed to Major Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Guards’ commanding officer. It calls on Major Gen Jafari to issue guidance to both the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij paramilitary militia to use restraint when handling anti-government protests.

During the violent anti-government demonstrations that followed the disputed presidential election in June 2009, which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad elected to serve a second four-year term, the government relied heavily on the Basij to suppress the protests over fears that it could not rely on certain Guards units.

But in the letter, which is signed by senior officers commanding Guards units in Tehran, Qom, Isfahan and Tabriz, they urge Major Gen Jafari to “use your authority over the Basij to order them to leave their truncheons at home next time.”

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