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

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  1. WJC SIGN THE PETITION TO BOYCOTT AHMADINEJAD’S SPEECH TO THE UN
    Dear Friend, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Iran is a threat to world security
    WJC logo
    STOP IRAN’S ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS! – People are imprisoned for their political beliefs, women and religious minorities are being oppressed, and people are persecuted because of their sexual orientation.
    STOP IRAN FROM HELPING TERRORISTS! – Iran is spreading its dangerous and extremist ideology to every corner of the world. The regime actively supports radical groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, providing them with funding, training and weaponry.
    STOP AHMADINEJAD’S INCITEMENT! – Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, spread anti-Semitic libels, and threatened to wipe Israel off the map.
    STOP IRAN’S QUEST FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS! – Iran has defied several rounds of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council and refuses to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. It is aggressively pursuing its nuclear program and if the world does not act now it will soon be capable of building an atomic bomb. In short, Iran poses the biggest threat to security, liberty and stability the world is facing today.
    SUPPORT THE BOYCOTT OF AHMADINEJAD’S SPEECH TO THE UN! – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has announced his intention to travel to New York and speak at the General Assembly meeting at the end of September 2009. On several occasions in the last three years he has hijacked similar meetings and given speeches in which he blamed all the world’s ills on “Zionist murderers” and “Western civilization”. It is time the United Nations put an end to the Ahmadinejad circus by refusing to give him the legitimacy he craves.
    The World Jewish Congress believes that the members of the United Nations should boycott Ahmadinejad’s speech to the UN General Assembly later this month.
    Help us in this endeavor. Click here to sign the petition to the UN General Assembly, and visit the website to see what else YOU can do to fight the Iranian threat.

  2. WELT –  Verfall der religiösen Despotie im Iran
    Der Philosoph Abdolkarim Soroush kritisiert in einem Brief an den Revolutionsführer Ali Khamenei den “Verfall der religiösen Despotie” im Iran. Soroush verwendet gar den Begriff Faschismus. Indessen befürchtet der Politikwissenschaftler Sadegh Zibakalam eine zweite “islamische Kulturrevolution”.
    Abdolkarim Sorush hat einen offenen Brief an den iranischen Revolutionsführer Ali Khamenei geschrieben, der am 9.9.2009 in Akhbare Rooz veröffentlicht worden ist.
    Der Brief ist datiert mit Ramadan 2009, in der noch laufenden islamischen Fastenzeit.
    In diesem Schreiben spricht der iranische Philosoph Soroush vom „Verfall der religiösen Despotie” im Iran.
    Eine neue Zuspitzung der Diktatur im Iran
    Tatsächlich setzen die khomeinistischen Machthaber des Iran eine neue Stufe der Zuspitzung der totalitären Diktatur im Iran durch. Sadegh Zibakalam, Professor für Politische Wissenschaften an der Teheraner Universität, spricht von einer „zweiten islamischen Kulturrevolution.” Ayatollah Khomeini selbst prägte zu Beginn der Islamischen Revolution den Begriff der „islamischen Kulturrevolution”, abgeleitet von der maoistischen Kulturrevolution.
    Die Ironie der Geschichte ist, dass Soroush selbst maßgeblich an der ersten Kulturrevolution zu Beginn der Islamischen Revolution beteiligt war, als die Universitäten, das Bildungssystem und der Staatsapparat weitgehend von säkularen Kräften gesäubert und islamisiert wurden. Heute gehört er zu den scharfen muslimischen Kritikern des Systems, die vergeblich die totalitäre Diktatur reformieren wollten.
    Der Revolutionsführer hat seine Legitimität verloren, sagt Soroush
    Abdolkarim Soroush schreibt in seinem Brief an den Revolutionsführer, – der hier nur auszugsweise wiedergegeben wird – dass Khamenei billigend in Kauf genommen hat, dass die „Menschen ihren Glauben an die Religion und an den Propheten verlieren, aber gegenüber der absoluten Herrschaft des Klerus gehorsam bleiben sollen.” Soroush meint, der Revolutionsführer wolle nicht, dass die Wahrheit ans Licht komme. Es gehe ihm lediglich um die Sicherung der eigenen Herrschaft.
    Soroush wirft dem Revolutionsführer vor einen „schweren Fehler begangen zu haben.” Er habe dem Revolutionsführer schon vor zwölf Jahren empfohlen gesellschaftliche Freiheiten für Parteien, für Vereine, für Kritiker, für Lehrer und Schriftsteller und für Medien einzuführen. Der Revolutionsführer habe dagegen noch nicht einmal allen muslimischen Klerikern Schutz geboten. Stattdessen habe er die “Mörder belohnt”.  

    1. JPWhite House wants talks to focus on Iranian nuclear program
      Obama spokesman insists, “We’re not talking for talking’s sake”; Iran FM: Nuclear issue could be discussed “should conditions be ripe.”

    2. Und nun also die nächste Runde. Es wird solange verhandelt bis Iran die ersten Atombombenversuche durchgeführt hat? Siehe Nordkorea. (U.)
      NZZ – Westen will mit Iran direkt verhandeln – Reaktion auf Verhandlungsangebot aus Teheran
      Die fünf ständigen Sicherheitsratsmitglieder und Deutschland haben sich auf direkte Verhandlungen mit Teheran geeinigt. Das Gesprächsangebot, dass Iran am Mittwoch vorgelegt habe, sei zwar enttäuschend, erklärte Aussenamtssprecher P.J. Crowley. Dennoch biete es die Chance eines Anfangs in Richtung Dialog.
      Iran hatte in seinem Vorschlag Verhandlungen über sein umstrittenes Atomprogramm ausgeschlossen. Dieses Thema würde bei den Gesprächen aber dennoch auf den Tisch kommen, betonte Crowley. Es sei indessen wenig sinnvoll, einen Dialog wegen der iranischen Weigerung gar nicht erst in Gang zu bringen. Auch die Europäische Union plädierte für Gespräche. Der aussenpolitische Repräsentant Javier Solana steht nach eigenen Angaben bereits in Verbindung mit Teheran, um einen baldigen Termin zu finden.
      Eine amerikanische Nichtregierungsorganisation veröffentlichte am Freitag ein iranisches Dokument, das Vorschläge für «umfassende und konstruktive Verhandlungen» mit der internationalen Gemeinschaft enthalten soll. Der auf der Webseite der New Yorker Organisation Pro Publica veröffentlichte Text fordert eine universelle Geltung des Atomwaffensperrvertrags (NPT), eine vollständige atomare Abrüstung und Massnahmen, die eine «Entwicklung und Verbreitung atomarer, chemischer und mikrobiologischer Waffen» verhindern.

    3. REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND – USA bereit zu Gesprächen mit Iran – Atom-Frage offen
      Washington/Teheran (Reuters) – Die USA wollen das jüngste Gesprächsangebot des Iran annehmen, den Atomstreit dabei aber nicht ausklammern.
      “Wir streben direkte Verhandlungen an”, sagte Außenministeriumssprecher P.J. Crowley in Washington. Ziel sei es, rasch ein Treffen herbeizuführen. Die USA würden die Regierung in Teheran “auf die Probe stellen”, um zu sehen, wie ernst es dem Iran mit seinem Gesprächsangebot sei.
      Irans Außenminister Manuchehr Mottaki zeigte sich beim Thema Atomprogramm allerdings weiterhin unnachgiebig. “Wir können aus Respekt vor den unveräußerlichen Rechten des iranischen Volkes keine Kompromisse eingehen”, sagte Mottaki auf einer Pressekonferenz am Samstag. Es würden die Themen verhandelt, die in dem vom Iran vorgelegten Gesprächsangebot enthalten seien. Bei Betrachtung der Antworten der fünf UN-Vetomächte und Deutschlands käme er zu dem Schluss, dass die Länder die Relevanz der Themen anerkannt hätten. Das könne die Basis für konstruktive Gespräche sein, sagte der Minister.
      US-Außenamtssprecher Crowley erklärte indes, die USA wollten sehen, wie sich der Iran von Angesicht zu Angesicht mit Vertretern der Sechser-Gruppe an einen Tisch setze “und alle Themen anspricht, die uns Sorge bereiten, einschließlich des Atom-Themas. Wenn es ein Treffen gibt, dann werden wir das Atom-Thema ansprechen und wir werden sehen, wie der Iran darauf reagiert.”
      Der Iran hatte der Sechsergruppe am Mittwoch ein Paket mit Gesprächsangeboten unterbreitet, dabei aber das umstrittene Atomprogramm nicht erwähnt. Die Bundesregierung kritisierte die jüngsten Vorschläge aus Teheran deshalb als unzureichend. “Das iranische Papier geht nicht auf die Nuklearproblematik ein”, sagte ein Diplomat der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters in Berlin. Die fünf UN-Vetomächte und Deutschland strebten deshalb ein umgehendes Treffen von EU-Chefdiplomat Javier Solana mit der iranischen Seite an.
      Im Rahmen von Gesprächen über das Atomprogramm sei die Sechsergruppe dann auch bereit, über die von der Islamischen Republik unterbreiteten Themenvorschläge zu sprechen, sagte der deutsche Diplomat. Bei einem Treffen sollte außerdem das im vergangenen Jahr bereits vorgelegte Anreizpaket an den Iran diskutiert werden. Solana ließ in Brüssel mitteilen, sein Büro bemühe sich um ein schnellstmögliches Treffen mit dem iranischen Chefunterhändler Said Dschalili.
      Auch Israel schaltete sich am Wochenende in den Konflikt ein und erklärte, die großen Mächte hätten derzeit eine gute Chance, in einer gemeinsamen Anstrengung das Atomprogramm des Irans zu stoppen. Dies müsse aber rasch geschehen, sagte der stellvertretende Ministerpräsident Dan Meridor zu Reuters.
      Der Iran wird verdächtigt, unter dem Deckmantel eines zivilen Atomprogramms insgeheim am Bau von Nuklearwaffen zu arbeiten. Die Regierung in Teheran bestreitet die Vorwürfe und verweist auf ihr Recht auf Atomforschung.

  3. N-TV –  Trotz sturer Haltung Teherans – USA wollen mit Iran verhandeln
    Die USA wollen das jüngste iranische Angebot zu einem direkten Dialog im Rahmen der Sechs-Staaten-Gruppe annehmen. Russland meldet indes Zweifel an, ob dabei auch die Hauptfragen geklärt werden können.
    Ziel sei es herauszufinden, ob die Teheraner Führung zu “ernsthaften” Gesprächen über das iranische Atomprogramm bereit sei, sagte der Sprecher des US-Außenministeriums, Philip J. Crowley, in Washington


    Präsident Ahmadinedschad möchte das iranische Atomprogramm nicht stoppen. – (Foto: REUTERS)
    Der Iran hatte am Mittwoch den fünf Ständigen Mitgliedern des UN-Sicherheitsrates und Deutschland ein Papier übergeben, in dem umfassende Verhandlungen angeboten worden waren. Die Forderung der internationalen Staatengemeinschaft nach einer Einstellung seines Urananreicherungsprogramms war darin aber nicht erwähnt worden. Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hatte zeitgleich einen Stopp des iranischen Atomprogramms abgelehnt.
    Vorschläge zu “formal”
    Entsprechend bemängelte auch die russische Regierung, das Papier gebe “leider keine ausführlichen Antworten auf die Hauptfragen”. Die Vorschläge seien zu “formal”, um die “Beunruhigung über das Nuklearprogramm zu beseitigen”, sagte ein namentlich nicht genannter Mitarbeiter nach Angaben der Agentur Interfax.

    1. JTA Berman: Ready to move ahead on Iran sanctions
      WASHINGTON (JTA) — The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee says he will move forward on Iran sanctions legislation next month “absent some compelling evidence why I should do otherwise.”
      U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), speaking Thursday in Washington at the National Jewish Leadership Advocacy Day on Iran, told more than 300 Jewish leaders that he will mark up the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act in October and “begin the process of tightening the screws on Tehran” if Iran “does not reverse course.”
      The legislation would allow the sanctioning of companies that help Iran import or produce refined petroleum, which is seen as potentially having a large impact on Iran’s economy because the country imports 40 percent of its refined petroleum.
      Berman said the clock has “almost run out” on Iran.
      “If the Iranians are going to engage in a meaningful and significant way that will spell the end of their nuclear enrichment program, we’ll open a new chapter with them,” he said. “But let’s clarify ‘meaningful’  — we’re not going to be conned by an Iranian rope-a-dope, its stalling efforts. We have no intention of spending months analyzing old proposals which are offered merely to delay imposition of sanctions.”
      The Obama administration has signaled that it will reconsider its efforts to engage Iran on its pursuit of nuclear weapons if no progress has been made by the end of September.
      In addition to Berman, Jewish community leaders heard House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) both say they also were ready to proceed with sanctions legislation. Hoyer, speaking before Berman, said he had told his colleague that “once you move it, my intention is to bring it to the floor shortly thereafter.”

    2. JTA Getting a yes on Iran Advocacy Day
      WASHINGTON (JTA) — More than 300 Jewish communal leaders came to the nation’s capital to push for increased pressure on Iran — and they were pleased by what they heard.
      The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee says he will move forward on Iran sanctions legislation next month “absent some compelling evidence why I should do otherwise.”
      Speaking at the National Jewish Leadership Advocacy Day on Iran on Thursday in Washington, U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) said that next month he will mark up the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act and “begin the process of tightening the screws on Tehran” if Iran “does not reverse course.”
      The legislation would allow the sanctioning of companies that help Iran import or produce refined petroleum, which is seen as potentially having a large impact on Iran’s economy because the country imports 40 percent of its refined petroleum.
      Berman said that the clock has “almost run out” on Iran.
      “If the Iranians are going to engage in a meaningful and significant way that will spell the end of their nuclear enrichment program, we’ll open a new chapter with them,” Berman said. “But let’s clarify ‘meaningful’ — we’re not going to be conned by an Iranian rope-a-dope, its stalling efforts. We have no intention of spending months analyzing old proposals which are offered merely to delay imposition of sanctions.”
      The Obama administration has signaled that it will reconsider its efforts to engage Iran on its pursuit of nuclear weapons  if no progress has been made by the end of September.
      In addition to Berman, Jewish community leaders heard House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Minority John Boehner (R-Ohio) both say they were ready to proceed with sanctions legislation as well. Hoyer, speaking before Berman, said he had told his colleague that “once you move it, my intention is to bring it to the floor shortly thereafter.”
      Also speaking were House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.)

    3. NYT Russia Says Sanctions Against Iran Are Unlikely 
      MOSCOW Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov on Thursday all but ruled out imposing new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, brushing aside growing Western concerns that Iran had made significant progress in recent months in a bid for nuclear weapons.
      U.S. Says Iran Could Expedite Nuclear Bomb (September 10, 2009)
      Mr. Lavrov said he believed that a new set of proposals that Iran gave to European nations on Wednesday offered a viable basis for negotiations to end the dispute. He said he did not believe that the United Nations Security Council would approve new sanctions against Iran, which could ban Iran from exporting oil or importing gasoline.
      “Based on a brief review of the Iranian papers, my impression is there is something there to use,” Mr. Lavrov said at a gathering of experts on Russia. “The most important thing is Iran is ready for a comprehensive discussion of the situation, what positive role it can play in Iraq, Afghanistan and the region.”
      Mr. Lavrov’s comments underscored the challenge facing the Obama administration as it plans its next move in the United States’ longstanding struggle to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons.
      Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, allowing it to veto any sanctions resolution, and it has close economic and diplomatic ties to Iran.
      Iran says its program to enrich uranium is aimed at producing electricity, and it has refused to halt the process, which can have civilian and military purposes.
      On Thursday, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said Iran would not negotiate further with the major powers about its nuclear program, Iranian news services reported.
      A five-page letter that Iran delivered to the European powers, and sent to Washington via the Swiss on Wednesday, is titled a “Package of Proposals by the Islamic Republic of Iran for Comprehensive and Constructive Negotiations.” But it is devoid of specifics, and never mentions Iran’s nuclear program.
      Instead, the letter, which was published Thursday on the Web site of ProPublica.org, an investigative journalism group, refers in the vaguest terms to “creating a world filled with spirituality, friendship, prosperity, wellness and security.”
        

    4. TELEGRAPH US warns Iran’s nuclear programme nearing a ‘dangerous’ milestone
      Iran’s nuclear programme is nearing a “dangerous” milestone where its scientists could “break out” of international safeguards and build an atomic weapon, America said yesterday.   
      If so, the Islamic Republic will cross a crucial threshold in its possible evolution into a nuclear-armed power.
      So far, Iran has amassed more than 1.4 tons of low-enriched uranium using the centrifuges operating inside its underground plant in Natanz, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors the country’s nuclear facilities.
      If Iran chose to expel the IAEA inspectors and “break out” of the safeguards presently constraining its nuclear programme, its experts could then turn this stockpile into enough highly enriched, weapons-grade uranium for one nuclear weapon.
      This would, however, take some months and render Iran highly vulnerable to attack. Tehran would probably choose to amass more low-enriched uranium, enough to produce the material for a small arsenal of nuclear weapons, before considering such a risky step.
      America believes that Iran is coming close to that “break out” threshold. “Iran is now either very near, or in possession already, of sufficient low-enriched uranium to produce one nuclear weapon, if the decision were made to further enrich it to weapons-grade,” said Glyn Davies, the US ambassador to the IAEA, addressing the organisation’s board.
      Iran was moving “closer to a dangerous and destabilising possible break-out capacity”, said Mr Davies, adding: “We have serious concerns that Iran is deliberately attempting, at a minimum, to preserve a nuclear weapons option”.
      But assessments differ over the progress of the nuclear programme, which Iran insists is designed solely to generate electricity for its rapidly growing population.

    5. HA’ARETZ U.S. wants Iran talks to focus on nukes
      White House statement comes after Iran FM says nuclear talks with West are ‘possibility.’

  4. WJC US official: new sanctions against Iran unlikely for the time being – WJC
    Western countries are unlikely to push for tougher sanctions on Iran immediately, an American official familiar with preparations for upcoming international meetings has told the ‘Reuters’ news agency. The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – plus Germany are currently evaluating a package of proposals submitted by Iran on Wednesday. The Iranian proposals reportedly include a global push to eliminate nuclear weapons as well as cooperation on Afghanistan and fighting terrorism. However, Tehran has made clear its unwillingness to discuss the substance of its nuclear program. 
    The US official told ‘Reuters’ that Iran’s proposals at first glance did not appear to pass “the smell test”. “Depending on how Iran’s recent proposals for talks play out, leaders will be in a position to take stock and decide on what measures might be appropriate as a next step,” he was quoted as saying.
    Russia, one of the five veto-wielding members of the United Nations Security Council, has already said that the proposals are a starting point and has ruled out imposing oil sanctions on Iran, a step currently being considered by the US Congress. The official said sanctions could not be considered “until everybody is on board. We are not looking for half measures.” He added that the UN General Assembly meeting in New York and the G-20 gathering of industrialized and developing nations later this month in Pittsburgh were an opportunity for the world powers to take stock on the Iranian nuclear stand-off. “I doubt there will be a decision to take action at the moment,” he said. “There will be in all likelihood some decision on what should happen next.”
    In a public statement, a spokesman of the US State Department said the offer by Tehran was “not really responsive to our greatest concern, which is obviously Iran’s nuclear program.”
    Meanwhile, around 300 Jewish leaders from across the United States, including representatives of the World Jewish Congress, flew into Washington to hold talks with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Senior Congressmen vowed tough action on Iran. “The clock is ticking and in fact, it has almost run out,” Democratic Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Jewish leaders. Eric Cantor, the sole Jewish Republican in the House, said he was “very anxious to see a demonstrated effort on the part of this administration and Congress to do all we can to coalesce with our allies to put as much pressure as possible on the terrorist regime in Iran.”
    “The nuclear threat from Iran already exists. And it is one that we literally cannot live with,” warned Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She has co-sponsored a bill which if passed would bar any foreign entity that sells refined petroleum to Iran or helps the country expand its refining capacity from doing business in the United States.

  5. JP Meridor: ‘The clock is ticking’ on Iran
    Deputy PM says Iran will “listen to reason” if West puts together “enough political and economic action.”

  6. JP‘Nuclear weapons against our religion’
    Iranian defense minister: Manufacturing weapons of mass destruction “has never been on our agenda.”
  7. TAGESSPIEGEL –  Irans geistliches Oberhaupt droht der Opposition
    Ajatollah Ali Chamenei hat auf das Recht seines Landes gepocht, Uran anreichern zu dürfen. Im innenpolitischen Teil seines Freitagsgebets griff er die Opposition an.
    Der Iran müsse in der Nuklear-Frage standhaft bleiben, sagte der oberste Religionsführer in seiner Freitagspredigt in Teheran. Auf seine Rechte zu verzichten – seien es nukleare oder andere –, bedeute den „Niedergang der Islamischen Republik”. Der Iran habe keine Angst vor den westlichen Nationen. „Mehr als 200 Jahre schon gibt es dieses heimtückische Verhalten der amerikanischen und britischen Regierungen gegenüber dem Iran. Also, was soll es. Sie können uns nicht mehr einschüchtern”, rief Chamenei aus, während seine Anhänger mit Sprechchören „Tod Amerika” und „Tod Israel” antworteten.
    Am Mittwoch hatte der Iran den fünf ständigen Vertretern im UN-Weltsicherheitsrat plus Deutschland ein fünfseitiges Schreiben mit neuen Vorschlägen übergeben. Wie aus dem Text hervorgeht, den die Internetredaktion „ProPublica” als gescanntes Dokument ins Netz stellte, beschränkt sich Teheran allerdings auf allgemeine Vorschläge zum Weltgeschehen, ohne mit einem Wort auf die eigene Urananreicherung einzugehen.
    Stattdessen schlägt die Islamische Republik in der Atompolitik vor, „reale und fundamentale Programme hin zu einer kompletten Abrüstung in Gang zu setzen” sowie „die Entwicklung und Verbreitung von nuklearen, chemischen und biologischen Waffen” zu verhindern. Der Iran äußere seine Bereitschaft, in umfassende, alles einschließende und konstruktive Verhandlungen einzutreten, hieß es. Man wolle eine neue Phase bei den Verhandlungen anstreben, „für eine langfristige Kooperation im Blick auf einen dauerhaften Frieden in der Region und in der Welt”. Für die künftige Kooperation zählt das Dokument drei Hauptbereiche auf: politische Sicherheitsfragen, internationale und wirtschaftliche Fragen.
    Washington, aber auch die europäischen Regierungen zeigten sich in einer ersten Reaktion enttäuscht. Aus dem US-Außenministerium hieß es, „der Iran geht nicht wirklich ein auf unsere größte Sorge, nämlich sein Nuklearprogramm”. Der EU-Außenbeauftragte Javier Solana ließ erklären, Irans Vorschlag beantworte nicht die Schlüsselfragen zu seinem Atomprogramm. „Das Dokument konzentriert sich mehr auf globale als auf nukleare Fragen”, sagte seine Sprecherin. Diplomaten der sechs Staaten wollten sich am Freitag durch eine Konferenzschaltung auf eine erste Einschätzung verständigen. Russlands Außenminister Sergei Lawrow gab bereits im Vorfeld zu erkennen, dass Moskau sich nicht an Benzin-Saktionen gegen Teheran beteiligen wird.
  8. Spiegel Online – Oppositioneller Karubi  Irans Justiz weist Missbrauchsvorwürfe zurück
    “Total konstruiert” nennt eine Untersuchungskommission des iranischen Justizministeriums die Vorwürfe von Oppositionspolitiker Mehdi Karubi. Er hatte behauptet, in der Haft seien Regierungskritiker missbraucht worden. Jetzt soll er für die Anschuldigungen zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden.
    Teheran – Nach dem Vorwurf, Regierungskritiker seien in der Haft vergewaltigt worden, droht dem iranischen Oppositionspolitiker Mehdi Karubi ein juristisches Nachspiel. Zwei Treffen mit Karubi und die von ihm vorgelegten Unterlagen hätten “keinerlei Beweise” für die von ihm erhobenen Anschuldigungen erbracht, zitierte die iranische Nachrichtenagentur Fars am Samstag aus den Schlussfolgerungen einer von der Justizbehörde eingesetzten Untersuchungskommission.

  9. KREISZEITUNG – Moskau enttäuscht über iranische Atom-Vorschläge
    Moskau – Russland ist laut einem Medienbericht enttäuscht von den jüngsten Vorschlägen des Irans im Streit um das Atomprogramm. Die zentralen Fragen zum  Atomprogramm Teherans seien unbeantwortet  geblieben, hieß es.

     
    Der russische Regierungschef Wladimir Putin.
     
    Das am vergangenen Mittwoch den fünf ständigen Mitgliedern des UN- Sicherheitsrates und Deutschland übergebene Papier gebe “leider keine deutliche Antworten auf die Hauptfragen”, sagte ein Mitarbeiter der Regierung in Moskau am Samstag nach Angaben der Agentur Interfax.
     
    Die Vorschläge seien nicht ausreichend, um die “Beunruhigung über das Nuklearprogramm zu beseitigen”. Die internationale Gemeinschaft werde die Vorschläge prüfen und ihr weiteres Vorgehen abstimmen, sagte der namentlich nicht genannte Mitarbeiter.
     
    Der russische Regierungschef Wladimir Putin hatte den Iran nach Angaben von Teilnehmern einer hochkarätigen Diskussionsrunde am Vortag zum Dialog aufgerufen. Der frühere Kremlchef habe an die Führung in Teheran appelliert, die Sicherheitsbedenken Israels ernst zu nehmen. Das sagten Politologen aus mehreren Ländern nach ihrem Treffen mit Putin in dessen Residenz Nowo- Ogarjowo bei Moskau nach Angaben russischer Medien.
     
    Bei den Gesprächen habe Putin auch vor einer militärischen Lösung im Atomstreit gewarnt. Irans Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad hatte zeitgleich mit der Übergabe des neuen Verhandlungspapiers erklärt, sein Land werde an dem Atomprogramm festhalten. Die Außenminister der 27 EU- Staaten wollen am kommenden Montag in Brüssel über eine mögliche Verschärfung der UN- Sanktionen gegen den Iran beraten. Der russische Außenminister Sergej Lawrow hatte zu Wochenbeginn eine Verschärfung abgelehnt. Russland, das Vetomacht im Weltsicherheitsrat ist, sehe die diplomatischen Möglichkeiten nicht ausgeschöpft, sagte Lawrow. 

    1. Reuters Deutschland (Pressemitteilung) – USA bereit zu Gesprächen mit Iran – Atom-Frage offen
  10. RP ONLINE – Atomgespräche mit dem Westen: Iran zeigt Kompromissbereitschaft
    Teheran (RPO). Iran und die USA befinden sich auf vorsichtigem Wiederannäherungskurs. Teheran erklärte nun auch das Thema Atomprogramm nicht mehr als Tabu. Die USA begrüßten diese Bereitschaft.
    Gespräche darüber seien “eine Möglichkeit”, erklärte Außenminister Manutschehr Mottaki am Samstag in Teheran. Der amerikanische Präsidentensprecher Robert Gibbs erklärte, die USA und ihre Partner hätten das Thema ohnehin auf jeden Fall angesprochen. Der Iran habe eine Verpflichtung, sich von von seinem illegalen Atomwaffenprogramm zu verabschieden
  11. OA News – Solidarität mit den Menschen im Iran
    (Online-Artikel.de) – In der belgischen Stadt der Diamanten Antwerpen interessiert man sich für das Schicksal des iranischen Volkes. …

  12. sueddeutsche.de – “Die Revolutionsgarden bestimmen alles”  Macht-Verteilung in Iran

    Von Rudolph Chimelli Irans geistlicher Führer Chamenei muss laut seinem Neffen mit den Revolutionsgarden zusammenarbeiten, wenn er nicht seine Stellung als …

  13. presse-kostenlos.de (Pressemitteilung) – Irans Forstchef besucht Peter Wohllebens ökologischen Waldbetrieb in Hümmel
    VON MARION ZARTNER Am Freitag, den 11.09.2009 besuchte eine iranische Delegation den Forstbetrieb Hümmel. Eingeladen hatte das Bundesamt für Naturschutz unter Mitwirkung von Leit.Min.R. Wilhelm Bode, Michael Succow Stiftung; der Kontakt war durch das Buch „Wald ohne Hüter” des Revierleiters Peter Wohlleben zustande gekommen.
    Irans Interesse an ökologischer Forstwirtschaft kommt nicht von ungefähr: Das letzte große, zusammenhängende Laubwaldgebiet der Erde ist der Kaspische Wald im nördlichen Iran. Die darin vorhandenen Bestände an Urwald sind als Quelle der Artenvielfalt von globaler Bedeutung…


     
  14. JEWISH TRIBUNE Cotler presses South Africa on Iran
    MONTREAL – In what he describes as a “historic and moving visit” to South Africa, Mount Royal MP Irwin Cotler, Liberal special counsel for human tights and international justice, is optimistic that the country that finally rejected apartheid will begin speaking out against Iran.
    Cotler had the opportunity to meet privately with South African President Jacob Zuma and members of his cabinet at which time he discussed how South Africa could use its moral authority – and its moral leadership –
    in a number of areas. Canada, Cotler informed them, will be co-sponsoring a resolution at the UN General Assembly condemning Iranian human rights violations, as it has done in the past.
    “Regrettably, South Africa has voted against these resolutions,” Cotler said. “In light of the massive repressions since June 12, South Africa should now be supporting these resolutions. South Africa has also voted against UN Security Council resolutions sanctioning Iran’s attempts to become a nuclear power, which would threaten national peace and security. South Africa has been silent in the face of Iran’s state-sanctioned incitement to genocide. It is, as I said to President Zuma, the time to exercise moral leadership and hold Ahmadinejad’s Iran to account as it has emerged as a clear and present danger to its own citizens as well as the international community.”
    This was an emotional visit for Cotler. He gave two public lectures, one to the South African Human Rights Commission on freedom of expression/hate speech and another at Wits University in Johannesburg. This was the site of his 1981 arrest for speaking out for the freedom of Nelson Mandela (then a ‘banned person’ in South Africa).
    Cotler went on to become Canadian counsel to Mandela and a part of the anti-apartheid movement and was instrumental as an MP in granting honourary Canadian citizenship to Mandela in 2001.
      

  15. REUTERSIran cleric says “time to export the revolution”
    TEHRAN (Reuters) – A senior cleric urged Iran’s factions on Friday to end post-election infighting, suggesting they should focus on trying to “export the revolution” instead.
    Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani’s comments appeared to be an attempt to calm political tension inside Iran after its disputed election in June, which plunged the country into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
    But any reference to exporting Shi’ite Iran’s revolution may stir unease in nearby Gulf Arab states, which are predominantly Sunni Muslim with Shi’ite minorities.
    Iran’s late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini coined the phrase “exporting the revolution.” Khomeini, who died in 1989, remains a figure much revered by all political groups, but such language is rarely used by Iran’s present-day leaders.
    “In our Islamic society, if we want to hurt people’s prestige in our remarks … then it would lead to a fire which hurts everyone,” Kashani told Friday prayer worshippers in Tehran, in a clear reference to domestic political feuding.
    “It is now the time to export the revolution … it is not the time to treat each other like this,” he said in a sermon broadcast live on state radio. “Such remarks cause damage to the Islamic society and prevent the export of the revolution.”
    Kashani is seen as a moderate cleric who rarely makes politically controversial remarks.
    President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s pro-reform opponents say the June 12 election was rigged to secure the hardliner’s re-election, a charge the authorities deny.
    The vote’s turbulent aftermath exposed deepening establishment divisions, with hardliners accusing senior moderates of inciting street unrest in a bid to undermine the Islamic Republic.
    When Khomeini was Iran’s supreme leader in the 1980s, Arab states in the Gulf and others were alarmed by references to “exporting the revolution,” which they saw as a bid by Iran to stir up revolt in their countries.

  16. NATIONAL REVIEWObama at the UN: Hazards Large and Small    
    President Obama’s UN debut is fast approaching. But as he looks forward to his makeover as global conciliator and potentate, all the signs point to a train wreck that has the potential of making health-care reform look easy.
    Two problems are putting a wrench in his plans: Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libyan president Col. Moammar Qaddafi. Both are coming to the UN’s New York headquarters in less than two weeks with to-do lists that don’t include improving Obama’s poll numbers.
    Yesterday, Ahmadinejad called the president’s bluff. In mid-summer Obama decided that when the UN met in September, he would become the first American president to preside over a session of the Security Council (the council’s presidency rotates among its members, and this month is the United States’s turn). Before Obama’s move, the council’s agenda items for September had included “nuclear non-proliferation — Iran” and “nuclear non-proliferation — North Korea.” But upon inviting heads of state and government to join him, Obama chose a different agenda for his get-together, described by Amb. Susan Rice as “focused on nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament broadly, and not on any specific countries.” The Iranian president saw his opportunity, and yesterday he announced that Iran is ready for talks about “worldwide nuclear non-proliferation” and “global nuclear disarmament.”
    Obama undoubtedly added “disarmament” to his council moment to impress a non-American audience. He didn’t care that in UN circles it would be used to change the subject from preventing Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons to disarming Israel and the United States. Fine and dandy with Ahmadinejad.
    Furthermore, on Monday the Iranian president said he has no intention of halting uranium enrichment or negotiating over his country’s nuclear “rights.” With Obama running away from naming specific troublesome countries — at a summit of world leaders, at the Security Council, in the middle of New York City — why shouldn’t Ahmadinejad treat Americans as airheads who prefer photo ops too: “Nuclear proliferation — who, me?”
    Meanwhile, the Qaddafi problem is getting more “sensitive,” as Ambassador Rice has so delicately put it. Obama’s idea for a summit meeting, which seemed like a harmless international diversionary tactic in the midst of a domestic mess, has the potential to become an image maker’s worst nightmare. Libya is a member of the Security Council, and Qaddafi is looking for a hug (literally). So now Obama’s people are worrying about how to avoid him, or at least how to keep the cameras away when Obama embraces a man whom Americans understand to be a human-rights low-life extraordinaire. The irony is that it was Obama himself who issued Qaddafi the invitation to the council summit

  17. WORLD TRIBUNE –  As the pressure increases, Iran threatens to close strategic Strait of Hormuz Dr.Fariborz Saremi
    With Iran torn by political turmoil over the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Persian Gulf and its energy riches are once again in the eye of the storm and the focus is on the Strait of Hormuz, the only gateway to the Persian Gulf and arguably the world’s most strategic choke point. Iran’s leaders have repeatedly warned over the last two years that if the United States or Israel launch military strikes against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and other strategic targets, they would seek to close the narrow strait and cut off oil supplies to Asia, Europe and the U.S.  
    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, declared as long ago as 2006, that if the U.S. or Israel attacked Iran then “definitely the shipment of energy from this region will be seriously jeopardised”.
    There have been several confrontations in the Persian Gulf, particularly since the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003. Incidents in the Persian Gulf can escalate quickly in ways that neither Iran nor its potential opponents intend.

    1. VORARLBERGER NACHRICHTEN Iranische Waffen in Afghanistan gefunden
  18. SPIEGELSchmuggel aus Iran – Polizei hebt Waffenlager in Afghanistan aus
    Raketen, Plastiksprengstoff, Sprengfallen: Nach Angaben des Pentagon hat die afghanische Polizei in der Grenzprovinz Herat ein Waffenlager entdeckt. Das Arsenal soll aus dem Nachbarland Iran stammen, zwei Personen wurden festgenommen.
    Washington – Im Kampf gegen die Taliban hat die afghanische Polizei einen Erfolg verbucht: Ende August fanden die Sicherheitskräfte in der westafghanischen Grenzprovinz Herat ein Lager mit iranischen Waffen – das gab das US-Verteidigungsministerium am Donnerstag bekannt.
    Unter den sichergestellten Waffen hätten sich Raketen, Zünder und panzerdurchdringende Munition befunden. Zwei Personen seien im Zusammenhang mit dem Fund festgenommen worden, heißt es aus Washington.
    Das Pentagon wollte keine Einschätzung dazu abgeben, ob der Iran die Waffen zur Unterstützung afghanischer Aufständischer in das Land geliefert habe. Auch der Zeitpunkt der Lieferung blieb zunächst unklar. Ebenso die Frage, ob es bei dem Schmuggel eine Verbindung zur Regierung in Teheran gebe.
    Den Fund bezeichnete der Sprecher als “beunruhigend”. Die Meinung der USA, dass der Iran in der Region weiter ein “destabilisierender Faktor” sei, habe sich nicht geändert.
    Nach Informationen des US-Nachrichtensenders CNN wurden in Herat auch Sprengfallen und Plastiksprengstoff gefunden. Das US-Militär vermutet, dass die Waffen mit Hilfe der iranischen al-Kuds-Brigaden nach Afghanistan geschmuggelt worden sind, heißt es in dem CNN-Bericht. “Wir glauben, dass al Kuds noch immer versucht, Afghanistan zu destabilisieren”, wurde ein US-Offizier zitiert. Schon in der Vergangenheit seien kleinere Mengen iranische Waffen gefunden worden, die für die afghanischen Aufständischen bestimmt gewesen seien, hieß es.
  19. ISLAM IN ACTION Wave of Arrests of Christians in Iran
    Just last week the Iranian Assembly
    approved a mostly hard line cabinet. With that taken care of, the insane Mullahs have placed their focus back on persecuting Christians in Iran. Yet the Islamic world is silent.
    Iran (MNN) ― Iranian Christians have seen a wave of trouble coming from the government over recent weeks.
    Last month, authorities arrested 27 believers of a Muslim background (BMBs) at a home church, seven of whom are still being detained.
    Glenn Penner of Voice of the Martyrs Canada says, “There does seem to be a certain pattern of deliberateness to this. Why again? We can only speculate. But we simply observe that this is taking place.”
    One BMB remains detained in Rasht after arrest in late July. Seven other BMBs from Rasht, arrested at about the same time, have been released.
    Voice of the Martyrs Canada also notes that two BMBs, Maryam and Marzieh, remain detained in Evin prison following their arrest on March 5. They appeared in court in early August when they resisted pressure to renounce their faith. No charges have been filed. One new report concerns Mariah Fish’s arrest on August 3. She too has had possessions confiscated and is being held in Evin prison.
    Another report concerns a number of BMBs being ordered to attend hearings at their local Ministry of Information offices within the western Kordestan province.
    Officials intensely questioned each one in a detainment that stretched into several hours. This has happened in several towns.
    Apparently, hope has drawn eyes to believers. Penner explains, “Young people, in particular, are desperate to know more about Jesus Christ. The churches are growing. Iranian religious leaders we know are very concerned about this and it’s sending a message of that concern. At the same time, we’re not really receiving any reports that this is having any sort of detrimental effect on the spread of the Gospel.”

  20. COUNTERTERRORISMIran Banks Move to Ecuador to Avoid Sanctions – By Douglas Farah
    In its latest bid to avoid international banking sanctions, Iran has reached an agreement with the Central Bank of Ecuador to allow the Export Development Bank of Iran to operate in this Andean nation.
    The move came even though Ecuador is fully aware that EDBI is under U.S. Treasury Department sanction for illicitly providing or attempting to provide financial services to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).
    According to the Treasury Department’s designation statement:
    “In response to international sanctions and the refusal of many responsible banks to do business with Iranian banks, Iran has adopted a strategy of using less prominent institutions, such as the Export Development Bank of Iran, to handle its illicit transactions.” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey. “Today’s action exposes EDBI’s role in helping Iran violate UN sanctions so that financial institutions around the world can take appropriate steps to protect themselves.”
    Established in 1991, the EDBI is an Iranian state-owned financial institution whose primary purpose is to serve Iran’s import and export communities. In addition, the EDBI operates as the Iranian representative for the Islamic Development Bank, a multinational institution that cultivates economic and social improvements in member nations, in accordance with Islamic law.
    However, the EDBI provides financial services to multiple MODAFL-subordinate entities that permit these entities to advance Iran’s WMD programs. Furthermore, the EDBI has facilitated the ongoing procurement activities of various front companies associated with MODAFL-subordinate entities.
    At the same it designated EDBI, Treasury also designated the “Venezuelan” Banco Internacional de Desarrollo (BID), a wholly-owned Iranian bank that was constituted in 2007.
    Its founding documents show the BID (not to be confused with the multi-national lending agency, Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, also known as BID) is wholly owned (all 40,000 shares) by Bank Saderat, an Iranian bank under U.S. and UN sanction. The BID (Venezuela) was also granted an operating license, along with EDBI, in Ecuador. My full blog is here.
  21. THE WASHINGTON POSTPakistani Scientist Cites Help to Iran – Official Aid for Nuclear Program Claimed
    The creator of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program boasted in a recent television interview that he and other senior Pakistani officials, eager to see Iran develop nuclear weapons, years ago guided that country to a proven network of suppliers and helped advance its covert efforts.
    A.Q. Khan, whom Washington considers the world’s most ambitious proliferator of nuclear weapons technology, told a television interviewer in Karachi, Pakistan, that if Iran succeeds in “acquiring nuclear technology, we will be a strong bloc in the region to counter international pressure. Iran’s nuclear capability will neutralize Israel’s power.”
    Although Khan has previously claimed nationalist and religious justifications for helping to spread sensitive technology, several experts said his latest statement was an unusually direct claim of broad, official Pakistani support for an Iranian nuclear weapon.
    The interview with Khan was broadcast Aug. 31 by Aaj News Television. A translation of his remarks — describing covert purchases by Iran of equipment through Pakistan’s “reliable” suppliers in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates — was prepared by the Director of National Intelligence’s Open Source Center and posted Tuesday on Secrecy News, a blog of the Federation of American Scientists.
    The Pakistani government has repeatedly asserted that Khan acted alone in illicitly spreading nuclear weapons technology, and it has denied that there was official support for helping either Iran’s nuclear program or North Korea’s. But Khan, who has spent the past several years under a form of house arrest, has long insisted privately that his contacts with both countries were approved by top military officials.

  22. MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG New On MEMRI.org – Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei in Friday Sermon: Iran Tolerates Constructive Criticism – But Whoever Threatens Iran’s Security and Principles Will Be ‘Confronted’ 
     
    Most of the Iranian news agencies gave only very brief coverage to the September 11, 2009 Friday sermon by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; their reports consisted mainly of stating that it had taken place. 
     
    This is unusual, particularly because of the importance of the occasion – i.e. the Friday sermon by the Supreme Leader himself – and also because of the challenges Iran is facing right now. 
     
    Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported in brief on Khamenei’s threat to respond forcefully to anyone who threatens the regime domestically, while the other agencies noted only Khamenei’s demand that the demonstrations and activities for the upcoming Qods (Jerusalem) Day maintain their traditional focus on the Palestinian plight and against Israel, and that they not be hijacked for other issues. 
     
    A few hours later, however, Iran’s Press TV posted a more comprehensive report, which follows.  

  23. MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG Iranian DM: Iran’s Arms Exports Double 
     
    Iran’s new defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi, has announced that the country’s arms exports had nearly doubled in recent years. 
     
    “Despite sanctions imposed on the country, the defense sector has seen its exports increased by 1.5 times,” he said, adding, that Iran is preparing for a “major leap” in its defense sector.  
    In 2007, former defense minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar revealed that Iran was exporting its defense products to over 50 countries.  
    Source: Fars, Iran, September 11, 2009


  24. MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG China: Iran’s Proposals Package A ‘Strategy’ 
    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said yesterday that China considers Iran’s new package of proposals to six world powers to be a strategy. 
     
    She told reporters that Beijing has received Iran’s new package of proposals on the country’s nuclear program, and added, “We are now studying the package of proposals.” 
     
    She commented that China seeks a peaceful and long-term settlement for Iran’s nuclear dispute with U.N. Security Council members.  
    Source: Fars, Iran, September 11, 2009


  25. MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad: Why Haven’t They Arrested Mousavi? 
    In his sermon today, Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabai-Nejad, representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Isfahan Friday prayer leader, called for the arrest of on former presidential candidate and Green Movement leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. 
     
    He added, “I ask openly… Why have they not arrested him?” 
    Source: Fars, Iran, September 11, 2009


  26. MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG Iranian Dissident Cleric To Supreme Leader: You’re Guilty Of Rape And Murder 
    In a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Abd Al-Karim Soroush, an Iranian cleric and intellectual critical of the regime, accused Khamenei of responsibility for the rape and murder of Iranian citizens arrested in this summer’s post-election unrest. 
     
    He said that the life of the Islamic regime was over, because even God had turned His back on it. 
     
    He added that the Iranian people would yet celebrate in this generation the elimination of the religious dictatorship.  
    Source: mowjcamp.com, September 11, 2009


  27. MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG Iranian Army Cmdr: “Our Support of Palestinians Benefits our Interests’ 
     
    Gen. Firouzabadi, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei 
     
    At a ceremony bidding farewell to Iran’s former defense minister and welcoming the new minister, Iranian army commander Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi said that the country’s support for the Palestinian cause is “one of many forms of investment to gain regional and international advantages.”  
    Firouzabadi, who is considered close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said that his country’s treatment of liberation and resistance movements arises from “purely humanitarian principles and it is compatible with the religious and ideological responsibilities of Iran.”
     
    Firouzabadi has headed the Iranian army staff since 1989. 
     
    He studied veterinary medicine in Mashhad and enrolled in religious studies under Khamenei.  
    He was a strong supporter of Ahmadinejad in presidential elections.  
    Source: Alarabiya.net, September 10, 2009


  28. MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG Press TV Posts Survey On 9/11, Obama’s Green Jobs Czar 
    A Press TV survey asked respondents: “How do you feel about the 9/11 attacks given that Obama’s green jobs ‘czar’ [Van Jones] quit over questioning the official account of the terrorist incident?” 
     
    Following are the results of the survey: 
     
     
    · The Bush administration masterminded the attacks as a pretext to invade Iraq and Afghanistan (87%) 
     
    · Al-Qaeda staged the attacks to settle old scores with the U.S. (13%) 
    Source: Press TV, Iran, September 11, 2009

  29. MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG Turkish FM To Visit Tehran 
    Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is to arrive September 13 in Tehran for a two-day visit.  
    Source: Fars, Iran, September 9, 2009


  30. MEMRI IRANIAN MEDIA BLOG Mousavi To Supporters: Beware Of Moves By Regime 
    Following the arrest of some of his relatives, former Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi called on his supporters to be wary and not to give the regime a chance to act against them. 
     
    He said that moves by the regime such as imprisonment and torture of citizens will ultimately work against it.  
    Source: Kaleme.com, Iran, September 9, 2009

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