AUSZUG AKTUELLER MELDUNGEN ZUM THEMA IRAN AUS UNSEREM TÄGLICHEN NAHOST-NEWSLETTER…

JP – Syria refuses to sever ties with Iran
Arab press: Damascus rejects call to distance from terror groups. Hanegbi: Elections if talks succeed.  

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, left, standing with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, after a news conference in Tehran.  

1. HA’ARETZ – Iran reportedly irate over Israel-Syria peace talks
   Sources: Ahmadinejad ‚unable to conceal disappointment‘; Olmert: Talks won’t harm Palestinian front.  
   
   

2. YNET – Ahmadinejad furious over Israel-Syria talks

JP – Ahmadinejad ‚displeased‘ by talks 
„Syria’s overtures to Israel violate its commitment to Iran“; Turkish official says talks to resume. 

canadafreepress.com – „I Haven’t had a glass of Water in 20 Years…“ –– Dr. William Campbell Douglass II
Mushrooming House Churches
Iran: Police Arrest 12 Christian Converts
Four still imprisoned in crackdown in Shiraz.
ISTANBUL, May 21 (Compass Direct News) – Police in the southern Iran city of Shiraz this month cracked down against known Muslim converts to Christianity, arresting members of three Christian families and confiscating their books and computers.
The arrests began at 5 a.m. on May 11, when two couples were taken into custody before boarding their flights at the Shiraz International Airport and sent directly to jail. All four were subjected to hours of interrogation, questioning them solely „just about their faith and house church activities,“ an Iranian source told Compass.

pressemitteilung.ws – Nach Konvertierung zum christlichen Glauben: Iranische Polizei verhaftet zwölf Menschen  – Andreas Klamm
Teheran/Iran. 23. Mai 2008. Im Iran wurden zwölf Menschen mit ehemaligen moslemischen Glaubens-Hintergrund bereits vergangene Woche verhaftet, die zum christlichen Glauben konvertiert sind. Darüber berichten die Missions-Dienste, Mission News Network (MNN) und der Präsident von OPEN DOOR, in Amerika (USA), Carl Moeller. Der Sprecher von OPEN DOORS sagte unter anderem: „Bereits vergangene Woche wurden zwölf gläubige Christen mit ehemals moslemischen Glaubens- Hintergrund im Iran festgenommen. Vier der Christen befinden sich immer noch im Gefängnis.“
Iranische Behörden würden eine Bewegung der christlichen Haus-Kirchen im Iran wahrnehmen.

RIA Novosti – Iranisch-amerikanische Gespräche zum Irak unterbrochen 
TEHERAN, 21. Mai (RIA Novosti). Die Verhandlungen zwischen Iran und den USA über Sicherheitsprobleme im Irak sind „wegen Handlungen fremder Kräfte“ in diesem Land eingestellt worden. Das sagte Irans Außenminister Manuchehr Mottaki am Mittwoch in Teheran. „Angesichts der Handlungen ausländischer Kräfte und der Morde an unschuldigen Menschen im Irak sind die iranisch-amerikanischen Verhandlungen ausgesetzt“, sagte Mottaki, ohne einen Zeitpunkt und Bedingungen für eine Wiederaufnahme der Gespräche zu nennen. Vorige Woche hatten unbekannte Täter in Bagdad ein Fahrzeug mit iranischen Diplomaten beschossen und drei Botschaftsmitarbeiter verletzt. Iran beschuldigte daraufhin das US-Kommando, dieses sei nicht in der Lage, die Sicherheit ausländischer Diplomaten zu gewährleisten.

RIA Novosti – Atomstreit: Solana reist mit neuen Vorschlägen nach Iran 
MOSKAU, 22. Mai (Pjotr Gontscharow, RIA Novosti). Am 20. Mai stimmte Iran dem Besuch vom EU-Außenbeauftragten Javier Solana zu. Solana, der als Chefunterhändler im Atomstreit mit Iran agiert, wird in wenigen Tagen mit einem Paket von Vorschlägen der Sechser-Gruppe (UN-Vetomächte plus Deutschland) nach Teheran reisen. Anfänglich hatte Teheran die Vorschläge noch absichtlich übersehen. Die Bereitschaft zur Erörterung dieser Vorschläge scheint ein hoffnungsgebender Schritt Teherans zu sein. Die Frage ist nur: Wie konsequent wird Teheran handeln?

Mathaba.Net – Iran: Foreign ministry summons Swiss charge d’affaires 
MOSKAU, 22. Mai (Pjotr Gontscharow, RIA Novosti). Am 20. Mai stimmte Iran dem Besuch vom EU-Außenbeauftragten Javier Solana zu. Solana, der als Chefunterhändler im Atomstreit mit Iran agiert, wird in wenigen Tagen mit einem Paket von Vorschlägen der Sechser-Gruppe (UN-Vetomächte plus Deutschland) nach Teheran reisen. Anfänglich hatte Teheran die Vorschläge noch absichtlich übersehen. Die Bereitschaft zur Erörterung dieser Vorschläge scheint ein hoffnungsgebender Schritt Teherans zu sein. Die Frage ist nur: Wie konsequent wird Teheran handeln?

Mathaba.Net – Mottaki: Iran to use all means to unveil terrorists‘ dirty image
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday that Iran will use all diplomatic and legal means to unveil dirty image of terrorists.
„We will use all political, international and judicial means to uncover ugly visage of terrorists,“ said Mottaki in a press conference after weekly cabinet session.
Asked about the April bombing in a mosque in southern city of Shiraz (Fars Province), Mottaki said the terrorist move in Shiraz and a series of planned terrorist bombings, which had targeted certain parts of the country, are on the common agenda of the Judiciary, the Information Ministry and the Foreign Ministry.

RTT News – Iran Accuses US Of Supporting Terror Group
(RTTNews) –  The Iranian Foreign Ministry has lodged a strong protest against the United States for allegedly supporting a terror group accused of bombing a mosque last month that killed 14 people and injured more than 200, the country’s television reported.
The Swiss Charge d’Affairs in Tehran, who looks after the U.S. interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington, was summoned by the foreign ministry to convey the protest.

wind-in-the-wires.blogspot.com – Frieden, Frieden über alles!
Während man im Iran daran arbeitet, eine Atombombe herzustellen, machen sich deutsche Experten daran, einen Weg aus der „Eskalationsspirale“ zu finden. Anstelle von Sanktionen oder gar einem Krieg, der das iranische Regime in die Knie zwingen könnte, soll man den Mullahs geben was sie wollen, da dies den Frieden garantiere: Da vom Iran kein Einlenken zu erwarten sei, müsse eben der Westen einknicken.
So argumentiert der Politikberater Christoph Bertram im Tagesspiegel: Deeskalation sei nur dann möglich, wenn man die andere Backe hinhalte und den Mullahs gebe, was sie wollen. Dass die Mullahs eine Atombombe entwickeln lasse sich ohnehin nicht verhindern und ein Krieg sei um jeden Preis zu verhindern:

YNET – Iran’s new enemy: Imported ties – Dudi Cohen
Senior customs official says importation of neckties contradicts nature of Iranian culture 
Iran’s war on neckties: The importation of ties, which „contradict the nature of Iranian culture,“ must come to an end, a senior Iranian customs official said Thursday.
„We must adopt serious actions in order to put an end to the importation of ties,“ Iranian Customs Deputy Director Asgar Hamidi was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Fars. „We must change import laws to that end.“

MEMRI BLOG – Muslim Council Of Britain Delegation Visits Iran 
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) today sent a delegation to visit Iran, with the aim of helping to improve relations between the Iranian people and the U.K.’s two million Muslims.
The six-member delegation is headed by MCB secretary-general Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari.
Bari earlier told Iran’s official news agency IRNA that the eight-day visit to Iran would be his first, although previous secretary-general Sir Iqbal Sacranie had made several visits.
The delegation will be meeting with officials and religious figures, and will visit the the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad.
Over the past two years, the British Foreign Office has organized more than 20 visits to countries with a Muslim-majority population, to „showcase the integral role Muslims play in British society“ and increase mutual understanding.
Source: Fars, Iran, May 23, 2008 

MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG – Iranian Dissident Journalist: Who Gets Human Rights In Iran?
Following the Iranian regime’s repressive measures against Baha’is, Iranian dissident journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi has called on the regime and on senior clerics in Iran to clarify their view regarding the Baha’i community.
Zeidabadi added that the regime should clarify whether respect for human rights in Iran is conditional upon the citizens‘ religion, regardless of whether they belong to the Iranian nation or not.

MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG – ‚Jomhouri-e Eslami‘: Iraqis Who Sign U.S.-Iraq Agreement Are Traitors
The Iranian daily Jomhouri-e Eslami has called on the Middle East countries to act to thwart the signing of the strategic U.S.-Iraq agreement, stating that Iraqis who sign it will be considered traitors, with all that that implies.

MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG – New MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis: Iranian Women’s Magazine Shut Down for Publishing Investigative Article on Martyrdom Movement 
In late January 2008, the Media Supervision Committee of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance ordered the closure of the women’s movement monthly Zanan, which had appeared in Iran for 16 years. The order came after the magazine published an investigative article on istishhad (i.e. martyrdom) operations. The conservative news agency Fars reported, citing a knowledgeable source, that the magazine had been shut down for „breaking the law and defaming military and revolutionary institutions, including the Basij,“ and for „publishing reports and [raising] issues that undermine [society’s] spiritual security, morale, and ideological strength, and that create a sense of insecurity in society and discredit the status of women in the Islamic Republic of Iran.“  
 The Zanan article in question dealt with the Iranian „martyrdom movement,“ which has been registering Iranian men and women for suicide operations and training some to carry out these operations. Zanan focused on the women volunteers, quoting Firooz Rajai-Far, a leader of the martyrdom movement and secretary-general of the World Islamic Organization Headquarters for Remembering the Shahids, as stating that some 20,000 women have already signed up for martyrdom operations, constituting a third of the volunteers.  
To read the full article on MEMRI.ORG, click here 

MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG – New IRGC Deputy Head Appointed
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has appointed Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi as deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Hejazi previously served as head of the joint IRGC-Basij headquarters.

MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG – Majlis Speaker: Liberation of Khorramshahr A Message Of Islamic System’s Might 

In an address today, Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel called the liberation of Khorramshahr the „turning point of [an] imposed war“ and a „message to the entire world of the might of the Islamic system.“  
Haddad-Adel was marking the anniversary of the liberation of the port city during the Iran-Iraq war, prior to the sermon at Friday prayers at Tehran University.He said that the liberation „shed the light of hope on the hearts of the Iranian nation and the nations that are our friends, while disheartening the enemies and their supporters.“ He continued, „We are responsible for informing the Iranian young generation of the realities of the sacred defense, including the selfless braveries displayed by our gallant warriors… so that the future generation would know the price Iran has paid to safeguard this sacred land and [its] holy revolution.“ He stressed, „Our other duty is keeping alive the memory of the late Imam Khomeini, of the brave combatants of Islam, and of the martyrs of our sacred defense, particularly those who played roles in liberation of Khorramshahr.“ 

MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG – New MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis: Iranian Women’s Magazine Shut Down for Publishing Investigative Article on Martyrdom Movement
In late January 2008, the Media Supervision Committee of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance ordered the closure of the women’s movement monthly Zanan, which had appeared in Iran for 16 years. The order came after the magazine published an investigative article on istishhad (i.e. martyrdom) operations. The conservative news agency Fars reported, citing a knowledgeable source, that the magazine had been shut down for „breaking the law and defaming military and revolutionary institutions, including the Basij,“ and for „publishing reports and [raising] issues that undermine [society’s] spiritual security, morale, and ideological strength, and that create a sense of insecurity in society and discredit the status of women in the Islamic Republic of Iran.“ The Zanan article in question dealt with the Iranian „martyrdom movement,“ which has been registering Iranian men and women for suicide operations and training some to carry out these operations. Zanan focused on the women volunteers, quoting Firooz Rajai-Far, a leader of the martyrdom movement and secretary-general of the World Islamic Organization Headquarters for Remembering the Shahids, as stating that some 20,000 women have already signed up for martyrdom operations, constituting a third of the volunteers.
To read the full article on MEMRI.ORG, click here

MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG – Iran Friday Sermon: Shiraz Bombing By „American Laical Group,“ „Terrorist“ U.S. Statesmen Nurture More Terrorists
 
In his sermons today, Tehran interim prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said that a U.S.-Iraq security pact would „belittle“ the Iraqi nation and amount to its being „taken captive by the U.S. for good.“
He also said that the nations of the world realize that „terrorist“ U.S. statesmen, particularly President Bush, are liars and nurture more terrorists, and that by the grace of God and due to efforts by Iranian intelligence officials, a plot „hatched in Washington… for sabotage operations in Iran had been uncovered.“ The ministry, he said, had „arrested the members of a network that had planted a bomb at the religious center in Shiraz,“ and that the U.S. had used „a laical group, and strengthened and mobilized it to launch terrorist attacks in Iran, the first of which was launched at Seyyed ul-Shohada Hosseiniyeh of Shiraz.“
Khatami said, „The pure blood of the martyrs at that religious gathering led the officials to arrest the terrorists and to dismantle their broader plots“ which he said included future bombings at Qom and at the Tehran International Book Fair, the Consular Office of Russia and the seabed oil pipelines at Iran’s Gonaveh Port City.
Referring to allegations that U.S. soldiers in Iraq had blasphemed the Koran, he said, „They had better realize that by grace of God, the international uprising of Islam has now begun, international developments are taking shape in favor of Islam, and they will not succeed in resistance against the revived Islam.“
Referring to the Doha conference and Lebanon, he said „What happened in Doha can be summarized as the absolute victory of Hizbullah… and we congratulate our Lebanese brethren on that victory.“
He also slammed alleged attempts by certain Arab countries to tarnish Hizbullah’s „brilliant“ reputation and to insult Iran during the Doha conference.
(To see the MEMRI TV page for Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, click here)
Source: IRNA, Iran, May 23, 2008

MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG – Muslim Council Of Britain Delegation Visits Iran
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) today sent a delegation to visit Iran, with the aim of helping to improve relations between the Iranian people and the U.K.’s two million Muslims.
The six-member delegation is headed by MCB secretary-general Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari.
Bari earlier told Iran’s official news agency IRNA that the eight-day visit to Iran would be his first, although previous secretary-general Sir Iqbal Sacranie had made several visits.
The delegation will be meeting with officials and religious figures, and will visit the the holy cities of Qom and Mashad.
Over the past two years, the British Foreign Office has organized more than 20 visits to countries with a Muslim-majority population, to „showcase the integral role Muslims play in British society“ and increase mutual understanding.
Source: Fars, Iran, May 23, 2008

Darauf freuen wir uns schon riesig…; mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit ist Naturei Karta ja auch wieder dabei und wird Bruderküsse verteilen…(bd)
MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG – Tehran University To Host International „End Of Israel“ Conference
An international conference on „The End of Israel“ is to take place May 26 in Iran.
The conference is sponsored jointly by the Iranian Justice-Seeking University Students Movement and University Students Mobilization Basij, and will be hosted by Tehran University.
According to a report by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, the conference will focus on support for the Palestinian liberation movement and on signs of the „upcoming downfall of the illegitimate Zionist regime.“
The agency said that participants will include students from Iranian and foreign universities as well as intellectuals and university professors from Egypt, Venezuela, Morocco, Lebanon, Indonesia, the U.S., Pakistan, Argentina, India, Iraq, Syria, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, France, Tunisia, and a number of other countries.
Source: IRNA, Iran, May 22, 2007