Iran/Nuclear: Tehran announces building second uranium-enrichment facility

According to media reports on Friday, Iran has announced it builds a second uranium-enrichment facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also declared that Iran had informed them about they are building "a new pilot fuel enrichment plant” earlier on September 21. According to the IAEA, Tehran is assuring it will provide "further complementary information (...) in an appropriate and due time". "In response, the IAEA has requested Iran to provide specific information and access to the facility as soon as possible. This will allow the agency to assess safeguards verification requirements for the facility," said IAEA spokesman Marc Vidricaire.

Meanwhile, the French Foreign Ministry has described the new development as “the latest grave breach” of United Nations resolutions. Earlier, US President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were to demand IAEA before the G-20 summit, an immediate inspection of the site. Two US administration officials, on the condition of anonymity, said Obama will accuse Iran for building the secret plant. United Kingdom and France has also urged the UN to consider increasing pressure on Tehran.

United Nations/Iran/Security: Ahmadinejad's speech angers UN delegates

(John Angellino/Photo News)

Delegates from the United Kingdom, the United States and France walked out in protest against a speech made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the 64th UN General Assembly on Wednesday. In his speech, Ahmadinejad accused Israel for its policies in the Palestinian territories. Ahmadinejad also lashed out against the increasing capitalism of the US, its Western allies and Israel.

"How can one imagine that the inhumane policies in Palestine may continue to force the entire population of a country out of their homeland for more than 60 years by resorting to force and coercion; to attack them with all types of arms and even prohibited weapons," he said. He has also accused foreign troops for the "bloodshed, aggression, terror and intimidation" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Later in the day, a spokeswoman for the UK delegation said it was "anti-Semitic" rhetorics that prompted the walk-out.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi also joined Ahmadinejad in denouncing “an unjust world dominated by five powers”. Gadhafi said the UN has failed to stop wars, further accusing its member nations for treating other nations as "second-class, despised" countries. "It should be called the terror council," he said, calling for the abolition of the veto power enjoyed by the five permanent members of the UN – the US, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France. He stated the membership should be expanded, “with a greater voice for Africa, Latin America, Arab and Muslim nations”. The UN and many other nations had earlier appealed for global unity.

Iran/Japan/Security: Tehran wants to cooperate with Tokyo against nuclear weapons

(Mohammad Kheirkhah/Upi/Gamma/Photo News)

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told Katsuya Okada, his Japanese counterpart, that Tehran wants to co-operate with Tokyo in working to abolish nuclear weapons. During a meeting on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Mottaki told Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada that Iran had no intention of acquiring nuclear weapons and that the age of nuclear weapons was over. Mottaki added that Iran was willing to work with Japan, the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack by US, in the effort to ban nuclear weapons, officials said.

Okada said it was a pity suspicion hung over Iran's nuclear activities and urged Mottaki to hold frank discussions with the Obama administration, but Mottaki said Iran had no intention of talking about its nuclear rights, the officials said. Iran has agreed to hold talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain, plus Germany, on October 1.

Iran/Demonstration: government warns of pro-Palestinian rally

(Eslamirad Mohammad/Gamma/Photo News)

Tens of thousands supporters of Iran's opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi took to the streets on Friday defying regime warnings and a heavy police presence at the annual al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day Palestinian solidarity rally. Reportedly, the opposition supporters chanted slogans in favour of Mir Hossein and demanded the release of political prisoners detained since the aftermath of the presidential election. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters staged a protest in the landmark Haft-e Square in the city centre where Mousavi himself was due to join the Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally later.

Hundreds more gathered near Vali Asr square where hardline supporters of the regime mounted a counter-protest. "Death to the dictator," the opposition supporters chanted. "Death to the United States, death to Israel," retorted the hardliners in the traditional Quds Day refrain.

But Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a warning on Thursday that it would deal "decisively" with any attempt to mount what would be the first opposition protest since a July 19 demonstration held to mark the anniversary of student unrest in 1999. "We are warning people and the movements who want to help the Zionist regime that if you seek any disruption or disorder during the glorious Quds Day rally, you will be decisively confronted by the courageous children of Iran," the Guards said. The security forces would tackle any "divisive and anti-revolutionary movement," it said.

Iran/Security: Tehran will never stop nuclear program, says Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Thursday that his country will 'never' abandon its disputed nuclear program to appease Western critics. "We don't need nuclear weapons," Ahmadinejad said in an interview with NBC-TV. Ahmadinejad did not offer a direct response when asked whether there were any conditions under which Iran would develop a nuclear weapon. "We do not see any need for such weapons. And the conditions around the world are moving to favor our ideas," Ahmadinejad said, speaking through an interpreter. He said Iran would "never" halt work on its nuclear program to mollify Western skeptics.

Tehran has repeatedly said it is enriching uranium only to generate electricity, not for fissile bomb material, although it has no nuclear power plants to use low-level enriched uranium. "We have always believed in talking, in negotiating, that's our logic. Nothing has changed," Ahmadinejad said. "If you are talking about the enrichment of uranium for peaceful purposes, this will never be closed down here in Iran," he said.

Earlier, Associated Press reported that Iran has "sufficient information" to build a bomb and is likely to "overcome problems" on developing a delivery system. However, dismissing the report the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday said, "With respect to a recent media report, the IAEA reiterates that it has no concrete proof that there is or has been a nuclear weapons program in Iran.”

Iran/Demonstration: former president Mohammad Khatami assaulted during the al-Quds Day rally

(Eslami Rad/Gamma/Photo News)

The Iranian former president Mohammad Khatami has been attacked this Friday during the annual al-Quds Day rally in Tehran. “A group of hardliners assaulted Mohammad Khatami,” reported a reformist website. “During the scuffle, his turban fell off and they wanted to beat him. But supporters resisted them and the riot police promptly intervened,” added the website.  

Mohammad Reza Khatami, the brother of the former president underlined that he was not hurt during the attack. Mohammad Khatami is a key supporter of Iranian opposition groups.

Iran/Security: Ahmadinejad slams Holocaust as a false pretext for creating Israel

(Mohammad Kheirkhah/Upi/photo News)

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday called the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis a "fairy tale" and urged Iranians that confronting the 'Zionist regime' was a 'national and religious duty' "The Holocaust is a false claim, a fairy tale, used as a pretext for crimes against humanity," the Iranian president told an anti-Israel rally in Tehran.

Ahmadinejad said that if the Shoa was true, then it was committed by Europeans who should, therefore, also be responsible for compensation. "When you [Europe] confess having committed such a crime, so also provide the Jews with lands in Europe, America or Canada," Ahmadinejad said. "Why should the Palestinians suffer from an incident in which they were not involved?"

Thousands of opposition supporters on Friday held protests in competition with government-sponsored mass rallies to mark an annual anti-Israel commemoration, the al-Quds Day that reflects the Persian nation's sympathy with the Palestinians. It has been reported that former president Mohammad Khatami has been attacked during the annual rally in Tehran.

Iran/Political unrest: Khamenei warns opposition of harsh response

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday warned the opposition that they would face a harsh response if they drew their "swords" against the Islamic Republic. "Resisting the system and taking out the sword against the system will be followed by a harsh response," Khamenei said in his sermon at Tehran University, which was attended by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and top officials. "If somebody stands against the basis of the (Islamic) system and violates people's security, the system is forced to confront it," Khamenei said.

Khamenei's stern warning, delivered at a Friday prayers sermon broadcast live by state media, was a clear signal he would not tolerate any perceived threat to Iran's clerical system of government. However, he said criticism and differences of views among officials are acceptable, but "should not lead to conflicts."

It was the first time Khamenei led Friday prayers since a week after the disputed June poll, when supported President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election and has dismissed opposition claims that Ahmadinejad's victory in the vote was fraudulent.

The cases of Jacques Monsieur, the ANL Australia and the Arctic Sea: shedding some light on Tehran’s strategy of arms procurement 

By Claude MONIQUET, President of ESISC 

At the beginning of the month of August, an Australian container ship, the ANL AUSTRALIA was intercepted in the United Arab Emirates with a cargo of automatic arms having Iran as its destination. On 28 August 2009, the Belgian arms trafficker Jacques Monsieur was arrested in New York and accused of attempted illegal export of military materiel to the Islamic Republic. Finally, the incredible affair of the ‘hijacking’ of the Arctic Sea gave rise to many rumours. Some newspapers went so far as to write that the ship was transporting missiles purchased by Tehran.  These three recent cases shed light on a generally little known aspect of the activity of the Mullahs: the way in which the revolutionary regime of Iran procures its arms and military equipment… Read  

Les cas de Jacques Monsieur, de l’ANL Australia et de l’Arctic Sea : un éclairage sur la stratégie d’acquisition d’armes de Téhéran 

Par Claude MONIQUET, Président de l’ESISC  

Au début du mois d’août, un porte containers australien, l’ANL AUSTRALIA était intercepté aux Emirats arabes unis avec une cargaison d’armes individuelles à destination de l’Iran. Le 28 août 2009, le trafiquant d’armes belge Jacques Monsieur était arrêté à New York et accusé de tentative d’exportation illégale de matériels militaires vers la République islamique. Enfin, la rocambolesque affaire du « détournement » de l’Arctic Sea a généré de nombreuses rumeurs, certains journaux allant jusqu’à écrire que le navire transportait des missiles achetés par Téhéran. Trois affaires récentes qui mettent en lumière un aspect généralement peu connu de l’activité des Mollahs : la manière dont le régime révolutionnaire iranien se procure ses armes et équipements militaires... Lire  

Iran/Political unrest: government should free some post-election detainees-MP

Farhad Tajari, a member of a parliamentary investigative committee said on Tuesday that the government should immediately release detainees who did not play a major part in street unrest after its disputed election in June. Tajari said the committee, set up by parliament to look into post-election events, had met with new Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi.

"Members of this committee had some criticisms over the conduct of trials of detainees accused of being linked to the recent unrest," Tajari said, without elaborating. "One of the points we stressed during the meeting was to immediately release those detainees who did not have big roles in the unrest," the official IRNA news agency quoted Tajari as saying.

He said the fates of the others should be clarified soon. "If they are convicted they should be punished, if there is no evidence against them their detention should end," said Tajari. The MP also expressed criticism about the conduct of mass trials that Iran began last month of more than 100 reformers, activists and others accused of fomenting huge protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. "If they are convicted they should be punished, if there is no evidence against them their detention should end," he said.

A Belgian arms dealer connected to Teheran arrested in New York 

Jacques Monsieur – a well known Belgian arms dealer – was arrested last Friday in New York and is suspected of trying to smuggle fighter jets engines to Iran. He offered 400 000 USD to buy F-5 engines and parts but the alleged dealer he bribed was an undercover agent.

 

Iran possesses numerous U.S. fighters but have extreme difficulties to buy engines and parts since the Islamic Revolution, in 1979.

 

Jacques Monsieur – nicknamed “The Fox” – is a strange figure in the galaxy of international arms smugglers. Since the eighties, he sold arms to Ecuador, Bosnia (and other parties in the civil wars of the nineties in ex-Yugoslavia), and in Congo-Brazzaville.

 

But his network – which seems to be well implanted in France, in Belgium and in the United States - is working with Iran since more than twenty years. In 1985, he participated in the Irangate, smuggling arms to Iran and selling Iranian arms in Africa.

 

In 2000 he was jailed for two years in Teheran for spying and freed before his trial. Some years later he was deported from Belgium and briefly jailed in France for illegally delivering arms to Brazzaville.

 

The man who often said he was enjoying high level protections in France and Belgium – for twenty years, he was instrumental in helping some firms to bypass various embargos - was back in the business, for the count of the Iranian Islamic Republic once again, despite the complicate relationship he had with mollahs.

 

But this time, he could face up to 25 years in jail…

Iran/Political: opposition ally claims 72 died in post-election unrest

According to a report published by the Mosharekat website on Thursday, Alireza Hosseini Beheshti, an ally of Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, has claimed that 72 people were killed in the post-presidential election unrest in June. Earlier in August, he had claimed that 69 people were killed. "The latest number of victims in the street protests reached 72," the website quoted Beheshti as saying. Beheshti works as a member of a committee, set up by the opposition, that is investigating the fate of those involved in the violence.

However, Iranian authorities still claims that only 26 people were killed in the unrest. Tehran also blame the opposition for days of bloody unrests and street protests. The government also said several members of the pro-government Islamic Basij militia were among those killed. According to human rights groups, the Iranian authorities are still holding many people among thousands that were arrested after the election – including senior opposition figures. Tehran has begun mass trials of those accused of fueling the protests.

Iran/Terrorism: 26 PJAK rebels killed in IRGC offensive

Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC), declared killing 26 Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) rebels during an offensive in northwestern Iran on Sunday. “In an operation to clean up Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan Provinces of anti-revolutionary and terrorist groups, twenty-six of the elements of these groups were killed,” the semi-official Fars news agency quoted.

“We will establish security and peace in the region and will respond harshly to those who threaten the security of the region and the people of the area.” The commander further said the offensive was a 'massive blow' to PJAK and other terrorist organisations in the region. There were no reports of casualties among the IRGC members. A branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), PJAK is listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and other international community.

Israel/Iran/Security: diplomats blame IAEA for hiding evidence on Tehran's nuclear programme

(Didier Lebrun/Photo News)

The Haaretz newspaper, citing anonymous Western and Israeli diplomats, said Wednesday that the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is concealing evidences of Iran's nuclear weapon programmes. The officials further claimed that the new evidence was submitted to the IAEA in a classified annex. It has been reported that the documents were signed by the head of the IAEA inspection team in Tehran. “The document was not included in the final report,” said the sources.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei has declined the claims, saying the agency does not have any knowledge of such evidence against Iran. Senior officials from France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany had recently asked ElBaradei to produce the 'censored annex' at the organization's general conference next month. "We expect the details to appear in the new report and to be made public," said a senior Western diplomat.

France/Iran/Security: Tehran releases Clotilde Reiss after six weeks in jail on spy charges

(Ali Rafiei/Polaris/Photo News)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said in a statement on Sunday that Iran has freed on bail a French teaching assistant charged with spying. "The French authorities now ask that the judicial case against Clotilde Reiss and Madame Nazak Afshar, which cannot be justified in any way, come to a swift conclusion," Sarkozy's office said.

The statement said Clotilde Reiss, 24, was well and would stay in the French embassy in Tehran pending a verdict. Reiss, an assistant in French at Isfahan University, had been held in Tehran's Evin prison since the start of July after Iran disputed presidential election the previous month. She was charged with spying in a televised mass trial. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told state television earlier on Sunday that France had agreed to post bail for Reiss, saying the authorities had not sought an "enormous sum". "The verdict might come in the next eight days. Perhaps a bit longer," he said.

The French president Nicolas Sarkozy, has demanded her full release and return to France, saying "nothing can justify" the case against her. "Clotilde Reiss is in good health and has maintained good spirits," Sarkozy said after talking to Reiss on Sunday night. The French government said the charges against her were "fantasist" and the case has become a cause celebre in France, straining relations between Tehran and Paris. Nazak Afshar, a French embassy employee, who faces the same charges, was conditionally released earlier this week by Iran and will also stay at the embassy ahead of the verdict.

Iran/Insurgency: 4 Jundallah rebels arrested

According to the ISNA news agency on Wednesday, Iran has arrested 4 members of the Sunni insurgent group Jundallah (Soldiers of God) in the capital city of the restive Sistan-Baluchestan province. It further quoted an intelligence ministry statement that said, "The terrorists were arrested from Zahedan. They had planed to trigger divisions between Sunnis and Shias by carrying out bombings in several places in Iran".

It has been reported that a huge cache of explosives and weapons were also recovered. Earlier, Jundollah had claimed responsibility for the bombing attack on a Shiite mosque in May that left 25 people dead. Tehran claims the United States is supporting Jundollah in carrying out its terrorist activities in the country. Washington shrugs off the charges.

In July, Tehran hanged 13 Jundollah members for alleged killings and attacks in the southeastern region. Apart from Jundollah's arms struggle for the minority Baluchis, the region frequently witnesses clashes between security personnel and drug traffickers.

Iran/Crisis: Protesters gather as Ahmadinejad is sworn in 

(Newsha Tavakolian/Polaris/Photo News)

As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in on Wednesday for a second term as Iran’s president, protesters gathered outside the Parliament in Tehran where the ceremony was being held. Official media said that no incident were reported but some witnesses have said that about a dozen protesters, some of them wearing black clothes in sign of grief, were arrested by the police. Hundreds of protesters who chanted “death to the dictators” were arrested near the Parliament, witnesses said.

Authorities had taken strengthened security measures, deploying hundreds of policemen around the Parliament and closing a nearby subway station. Today’s inauguration ceremony marks the end of the election cycle and comes as supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Moussavi lost significant momentum. Mass protests similar to those held following the election appear unlikely although some die-hard protesters could still spark some isolated unrest.

Iran/United States/Security: 3 American tourists arrested for “illegal entry”

Iranian authorities confirmed on Tuesday that 3 American hikers who had crossed the border from Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday had been arrested and charged with "illegal entry”.

They were arrested in the western Iranian city of Marivan, said Iraj Hassanzadeh, deputy governor of Kurdistan province, to the semi-official Fars News Agency. The 3 were identified as Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal. The fourth member of the group, Shon Meckfessel, reportedly stayed at a hotel in Sulaimaniya. Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which hosts the US Interests Section already, spoke to Iraian official to seek consular access to the detained.

Clotilde Reiss, a 23-year-old French student blamed for spying for Paris, is already held in Iran since July 1. While Tehran often arrests foreigners to use them as bargaining chips with Western countries, tensions have sharply risen since the political crisis has begun. Tehran has indeed accused Western countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, of backing the demonstration against the presidential election. This new incident involving Westerners therefore highlights again the risks for foreigners currently in the country.

Iran/Political unrest: Tehran releases detained protesters

Around 140 people detained during a crackdown on protesters following last month's disputed presidential election have been released from Evin prison (Tehran) on Tuesday during a visit by a parliamentary committee investigating prisoners' conditions. “Another 150 people remain in detention across Iran and could be released soon,” said Kazem Jalili, a spokesman for the committee.

The detainees were among at least 500 people believed to have been arrested during demonstrations that erupted after the June 12 vote, which resulted in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the country's president. Among those freed was Shadi Sadr, a prominent women's rights activist who was detained during a July 17 protest. However, the names of others who were released were not immediately known.

Separately, Iraqi forces took control of an Iranian exile camp north of Baghdad on Tuesday, triggering clashes that left four of the dissidents Iraq hopes to expel. However, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh could not immediately confirm or deny news of the deaths. Baghdad has vowed to close Camp Ashraf, home to Iranian dissidents for two decades, and return members of the People's Mujahideen of Iran (PMOI) to Iran or a third country. "Four residents of Camp Ashraf, members of the PMOI, were shot and killed by the Iraqi security forces as a result of opening fire on the unarmed people in Ashraf at 8 p.m. today," Ashraf spokesman Shahriar Kia said in a statement.