Join Us At Today's Iranian Alert Thread – The Most Underreported Story Of The Year! 
"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail DoctorZin”
Posted on 08/04/2004 9:00:57 PM PDT by DoctorZIn
The US media still largley ignores news regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. As Tony Snow of the Fox News Network has put it, “this is probably the most under-reported news story of the year.” Most American’s are unaware that the Islamic Republic of Iran is NOT supported by the masses of Iranians today. Modern Iranians are among the most pro-American in the Middle East.
There is a popular revolt against the Iranian regime brewing in Iran today. I began these daily threads June 10th 2003. On that date Iranians once again began taking to the streets to express their desire for a regime change. Today in Iran, most want to replace the regime with a secular democracy.
The regime is working hard to keep the news about the protest movement in Iran from being reported. Unfortunately, the regime has successfully prohibited western news reporters from covering the demonstrations. The voices of discontent within Iran are sometime murdered, more often imprisoned. Still the people continue to take to the streets to demonstrate against the regime.
In support of this revolt, Iranians in America have been broadcasting news stories by satellite into Iran. This 21st century news link has greatly encouraged these protests. The regime has been attempting to jam the signals, and locate the satellite dishes. Still the people violate the law and listen to these broadcasts. Iranians also use the Internet and the regime attempts to block their access to news against the regime. In spite of this, many Iranians inside of Iran read these posts daily to keep informed of the events in their own country.
This daily thread contains nearly all of the English news reports on Iran. It is thorough. If you follow this thread you will witness, I believe, the transformation of a nation. This daily thread provides a central place where those interested in the events in Iran can find the best news and commentary. The news stories and commentary will from time to time include material from the regime itself. But if you read the post you will discover for yourself, the real story of what is occurring in Iran and its effects on the war on terror.
I am not of Iranian heritage. I am an American committed to supporting the efforts of those in Iran seeking to replace their government with a secular democracy. I am in contact with leaders of the Iranian community here in the United States and in Iran itself.
If you read the daily posts you will gain a better understanding of the US war on terrorism, the Middle East and why we need to support a change of regime in Iran. Feel free to ask your questions and post news stories you discover in the weeks to come.
If all goes well Iran will be free soon and I am convinced become a major ally in the war on terrorism. The regime will fall. Iran will be free. It is just a matter of time.
DoctorZin
Enriching uranium is Iran’s legitimate right: Kharazi
TEHRAN: Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi asserted on Wednesday that Iran had a "legitimate right" to enrich uranium.
"We will lobby for our rights in the international community to deal with the negative atmosphere our enemies have created against Iran and we will never allow the enemy to trample upon our legitimate rights enshrined in the international conventions," Kamal Kharazi was quoted as saying.
Britain, France and Germany have been pressing Iran to cease working on the nuclear fuel cycle in exchange for increased trade and cooperation and guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel from abroad. Such work is permitted under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but the concern is that once fully mastered, a country possessing such technology can easily divert it into military usage, the European Union’s big three argue.
Iran has agreed to temporarily suspend enrichment pending the completion of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) probe, but continues working on other parts of the fuel cycle and has recently resumed making centrifuges used for enrichment.
There was no substantial progress in the recent talks in Paris between Iran and the three European nations, who made efforts to restrict the Iranian nuclear activities. Kharazi insisted: "Iran would not stop enriching uranium, since enrichment is our legitimate right. Still we will continue negotiations with the European countries, the International Atomic Energy Agency and members of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)." He said Iran needs nuclear energy to go ahead with its economic development plan. He added, "We will not allow the Iranian file to be referred to the Security Council."
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/aug2004-daily/05-08-2004/main/main19.htm
Iran is No Surprise
August 04, 2004
Intellectual Conservative
Michael D. Evans
The much-anticipated 9/11 Commission report has now been released, and details evidence that eight to ten of the September 11 high-jackers passed through Iran a year prior to the attack on the United States.
The New York Times reports that Iranian officials have instructed border guards on Iran’s western border with Afghanistan not to stamp the passports of Saudi citizens who may have been traveling to and from al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. An Iranian stamp in a passport would have caused closer scrutiny by U.S. immigration officials.
Is this really a surprise? Iran has harbored, financed, and cooperated with terrorists who have attacked the “Great Satan” since June 1985, when the United States began an embargo against Iran because of its sponsorship of international terrorism. These sanctions have been in place for more than a decade, now, squeezing the Iran economy, which suffers from inflation running as high as fifty percent.
Iran has been working day and night to stir up trouble throughout the Gulf region. Hezbollah factions have been infiltrated, and the seeds of a tremendous explosion on the world scene have been sown.
The world was shocked when Israel captured the Palestinian ship, the Katrine-A, in the Red Sea on January 4, 2002. The ship was loaded with Katyusha rockets with a maximum range of twelve miles, assault rifles, anti-tank missiles, mines, ammunition and explosives. Most of the weapons were Iranian.
The truth is that Iran was flying up to three jumbo jets laden with military supplies to Syria each month. The majority of the supplies were being ferried directly to Hezbollah guerillas for the war against Israel. At the same time, the Clinton administration was socializing with Syrian president, Bashar Assad.
On November 13, 1995, an Iranian-backed Islamic organization known as the Movement for Islamic Change claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Saudi National Guard at Riyadh, in which five American servicemen and two Indian workers were killed. This was the first of two promised attacks. On June 3, 1996, Iran vowed to resist the embargo imposed by the U.S., and then on June 9, Iran’s spiritual leader called for Iran’s military to prepare for war.
Ten days later, the U.S. House of Representatives cast a unanimous vote in favor of imposing tighter sanctions on Iran. The principle was added to pending legislation. The intent of the bill was to cripple Iran’s and Libya’s ability to continue their support of international terrorism. A week later, on June 20-23, Teheran hosted an international terrorism conference during which it was announced that attacks against U.S. interests would be stepped up in the coming months.
Two days later, on June 25, the truck bombing of the military housing camp in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, took place, claiming the lives of nineteen U.S. airmen and wounding hundreds of others. The Islamic Movement for Change, which had already claimed credit for the Riyadh bombing, took credit for this attack as well.
On July 16, the United States levied its version of sanctions against Iran and Libya. On the following day, July 17, the Movement for Islamic Change sent a chilling fax to the London-based Arab newspaper, Al-Hayat, warning:
The world will be astonished and amazed at the time and place chosen by the Mujahadin. The Mujahadin will deliver the harshest reply to the threats of the American president. Everyone will be surprised by the volume, choice of place, and timing of the answer. The invaders must be prepared to depart…dead, for their time of mourning is near.
That fax, intercepted by overseas operatives, was forwarded to U.S. agencies.
Mike Evans is a Middle East analyst, a New York Times bestselling author, and the author of The American Prophecies.
http://www.intellectualconservative.com/article3662.html
Khatami: Democracy Only Way to Secure Iran
August 04, 2004
Middle East Online
middle-east-online.com
TEHRAN -- Iran's reformist President Mohammad Khatami, increasingly isolated following the ouster of his allies from parliament, launched a fresh attack on his hardline rivals Wednesday by urging them to respect democratic values.
"The more laws and regulations are overlooked, the more the country will be prone to aggression by the enemy," the president was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.
The prevention of an "enemy" attack " can only be materialised through free elections, freedom of expression, being open to criticism, law abidance by the authorities and respecting the citizen's and human rights," he said.
"Power cannot be achieved without reliance upon public opinion," added the embattled president, speaking during a constitution conference in the northwestern city of Tabriz.
Khatami, whose second and final term in office ends in June 2005, has become increasingly frustrated in his bid to deliver "Islamic democracy" to Iran due to opposition from his more powerful hardline rivals.
Conservatives here wield their power through political oversight bodies, the courts, state media and the security forces.
Khatami's allies in parliament were ousted after the Guardians Council, an unelected political watchdog, barred most reformists from contesting February's polls.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=10863
Iraqi defence minister accuses Iran
of fuelling the fire in his country
KUWAIT CITY: Iraq’s defence minister has accused Iran of promoting the violence in his country, saying that Iran should not be using his country to ‘’settle its scores’’ with America.
In an interview published in Wednesday’s Al-Anba, Defence Minister Hazem Shaalan accused certain neighbouring states of a lack of concern for Iraq’s predicament as a land struggling to be reborn from the poverty and destruction left by the war that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. ‘’Some of the neighbours did not care about this. They added fuel to the fire, "Shaalan said. Asked if he meant Iran, the defence minister said: "Yes, it is Iran.
I have said it before ... and I say Iran, Iran, Iran.’’ It was the second time in two months that Shaalan has blamed Iran for the insecurity in Iraq. Last month he said Iran was Iraq’s "first enemy" because it was playing a role in the insurgency.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi later distanced his government from the remark. On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi rejected Shaalan’s remark, saying that "from the outset Iran has tried to help Iraq overcome its problems."
In his latest remarks, made during a weekend visit to Kuwait, Shaalan said Iran was trying to "create an imbalance in the (Iraqi) population in a way that would serve them in elections and other matters." The minister did not elaborate, but he seemed to be referring to the return of Iraqis expelled by Saddam in the 1970s because they were allegedly of Iranian origin. "I hope Iran listens to my words ... and considers them," Shaalan said. "If Iran has scores to settle with America, and it settles them on Iraqi soil, this is not a humane operation," he added.
Iraqi and US officials have accused Iran and Syria of failing to stop fighters from crossing their borders with Iraq to engage the US-led multinational forces. Iran and Syria deny they allow fighters to cross into Iraq, but say they cannot maintain absolute control over their long frontiers. Iraqi Human Rights Minister Bakhtiyar Amin said on July 12 that his government had 99 foreign fighters in detention, including 26 Syrians, 14 Saudis, 14 Iranians, 12 Egyptians, and small numbers of nine other nationalities.
Iran, a Shiite Muslim country with close ties to Iraq’s majority Shiite population is suspected of using money to influence the political field in Iraq. Tehran has denied this.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/aug2004-daily/05-08-2004/world/w9.htm
Iran News
Iran Denies Reported US Letter Sent to Khatami
Aug 4, 2004, 14:20
The United States has sent a letter to Iranian President Mohammed Khatami calling for better cooperation, according to media reports in Iran, but a foreign ministry spokesman said the reports were wrong.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly gave the letter to Khatami in a secret meeting on July 29 in Tehran, the press reports said. According to reports published in several Iranian dailies, the US called on Khatami in the "very important" letter to end the differences and start a new phase of cooperation.
The reports did not mention the letter's signatory. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi said the reports were incorrect, according to Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA). The Iranian press further quoted the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Hassan Rohani, as saying that one day relations with the US would be resumed.
"We should be realistic in this regard as with the involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US has de facto turned into one of our neighbors," said the conservative cleric, referring to Iran's long borders with the two states. Rohani further said the US has realized that settling the crisis in the region without Iranian assistance would be "quite impossible". "The end of the current presidential term (of George W. Bush) would be a suitable opportunity for new policies," said Rohani, who is widely regarded as one of the favorites to succeed Khatami in next year's presidential elections, Government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh however said last Monday that it would make no difference to Iran whether Bush or his Democratic challenger John Kerry wins the election in November.
Iran and the US have no diplomatic ties for almost a quarter of a century and all efforts to put an end to the hostilities have so far failed. Bush has branded Teheran as part of the "axis of evil" and Washington accuses the Islamic state of not only supporting the terrorist network Al Qaeda but also trying to acquire nuclear weapons. While denying the charges, Iran calls the US the "Great Satan" and main cause for all tensions in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf due to its unlimited support for Israel.
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/printer_3184.shtml
Good for you DZ!
Iran News
Teachers Protest Continued Detention of Colleagues
Aug 2, 2004, 21:42
Teachers from different districts of Tehran protested the continued detention of two activists campaigning for teachers' welfare this Sunday.
About 70 protesters from different parts of Tehran staged a meeting in front of the Ministry of Education on Sunday calling for the immediate release of Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, Secretary General of Iran Teachers Association and Ali Asghar Zati, spokesman for the nationwide association.
The two teachers have been detained since July 10 on the charge of organizing teacher's rights demonstrations in late February. The protesters carried placards reading 'detained teachers should be set free', 'end discrimination' and 'The Two members of Teachers Association should be freed'.
"The way they deal with teachers is not right," said Mohammad Khaksari Member of the Iran Teachers Association Board of Directors. "Those putting pressure on teachers will get nothing... there is no justification for the detention of Mr. Beheshti and Mr. Zati. They should be released soon or their possible charge be examined by court of justice soon," Khaksari said.
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/printer_3166.shtml
Iraqi minister engages in war of words with Iran
Daily Star - Compiled by Staff
Aug 5, 2004
Engaged in a war of words with Iran, Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem al-Shaalan demanded, in remarks published Wednesday, that Tehran immediately return Iraqi planes entrusted to Iran ahead of the 1991 Gulf War.
Shaalan also said that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein should be sentenced to death for his crimes in an interview with the Kuwait newspaper Al-Anbaa, which appeared as he arrived in Jordan to discuss "the latest developments in Iraq" with Jordanian Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez.
"The 130 planes should be given back to Iraq now," Shaalan told the daily.
The figure is less than what Iraqi officials had previously asked Iran to return, namely 113 military and 33 civilian planes entrusted to Tehran by the former regime of Saddam Hussein on the eve of the 1991 Gulf War.
Tehran has insisted that it was holding only 22 Iraqi planes and that it was ready to return them if asked by the United Nations.
Shaalan also accused Iran of "attempting to sabotage the demographic structure of Iraq and to denaturalize its national identity."
In an interview with The Washington Post last week, Shaalan said he had seen "clear interference in Iraqi issues by Iran" and accused Tehran of taking over some Iraqi border posts and sending spies and saboteurs into Iraq.
He said former fighters in Afghanistan had been helped by Iran to get into Iraq and that Iran was supporting "terrorism and bringing enemies into Iraq."
Tehran rejected Shaalan's allegations on Tuesday, describing his statements as "contrary to the official message we get from Baghdad."
Despite lingering suspicions on both sides of the Iran-Iraq frontier, the interim government in Baghdad has talked of the possibility of establishing diplomatic ties with its neighbor.
Shaalan also told the daily that keeping Saddam alive was "very uncomforting for the victims of his crimes. ... Saddam should die, this is an unavoidable sentence," he said, referring to the trial of the former Iraqi leader who was ousted in a US-led military invasion last year.
Shaalan also said his government would request the extradition of senior members of the former Saddam regime residing abroad.
He said Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi had asked Syria to hand over "all corrupted elements who are on its territory." Shaalan said his government was specifically due to ask for the extradition of Mohammed al-Duri, the former Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, and former Information Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahhaf.
There have been no reports of legal charges against the two former Baath party members who are thought to be residing in the UAE.
http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_7466.shtml
Iraqi defense minister asks Iran to return planes "now"
KUWAIT, Aug 4 (AFP) - Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem al-Shaalan, engaged in a war of words with Iran, demanded in remarks published Wednesday that Tehran immediately return Iraqi planes entrusted to Iran ahead of the 1991 Gulf War.
"The 130 planes should be given back to Iraq now," Shaalan said in an interview with the Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al-Anbaa.
The figure is less than what Iraqi officials had previously asked Iran to return, namely 113 military and 33 civilian planes entrusted to Tehran by the former regime of Saddam Hussein on the eve of the 1991 Gulf War.
Tehran has insisted that it was holding only 22 Iraqi planes and that it was ready to return them if asked by the United Nations.
In 1991, Iraq also sent four planes to Tunisia and six to Jordan.
Shaalan also accused Iran of "attempting to sabotage the demographic structure of Iraq and to denaturalise its national identity."
In an interview with The Washington Post last week, Shaalan said he had seen "clear interference in Iraqi issues by Iran" and accused Tehran of taking over some Iraqi border posts and sending spies and saboteurs into Iraq.
He said former fighters in Afghanistan had been helped by Iran to get into Iraq and that Iran was supporting "terrorism and bringing enemies into Iraq".
Iran has consistently denied charges it has supported anti-US insurgents in Iraq, against which it fought a 1980-1988 war that killed an estimated one million people.
Tehran rejected Shaalan's allegations on Tuesday, describing his statements as "contrary to the official message we get from Baghdad".
Despite lingering suspicions on both sides of the Iran-Iraq frontier, the interim government in Baghdad has talked of the possibility of establishing diplomatic ties with its neighbour.
http://www.iranmania.com/news/040804c.asp
Iranian editor released on bail a year after arrest
TEHRAN, Aug 3 (AFP) - An Iranian newspaper editor arrested more than a year ago for publishing a front-page photograph of banned opposition People's Mujahedeen leader Maryam Rajavi has been freed after paying a huge bail, his wife told AFP Tuesday.
Saghi Baghernia, the managing director and license holder of the Asia Financial Daily, said her husband Iraj Jamshidi -- the paper's editor-in-chief -- was released from north Tehran's notorious Evin prison.
The release came after she submitted the title deeds of her printing house to match the 4.5-billion-rial (517,000-dollar) bail.She said her husband was facing 11 charges, including propagating against the Islamic regime, relations with a foreign group and bribery.
In addition, he is also still facing charges related to the front-page photo of Rajavi that the paper carried last July and which initially landed him into trouble.
He has already paid bail of two billion rials (230,000 dollars) to go free on that charge.Jamshidi has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Jamshidi was kept in solitary confinement for more than 200 days during his 13 months behind bars, and was also barred from receiving visits from family or lawyers for several months.
The flamboyant editor sparked outrage last year when he used a wire agency photograph of Rajavi being freed on bail by a French court. It showed Rajavi smiling, clutching a bouquet of flowers and being cheered by delighted supporters.
The regime refers to the Mujahedeen, Iran's main armed opposition group, as "Monefeqin", or "hypocrites".
http://www.iranmania.com/news/040804a.asp
Iran is No Surprise
Intellectual Conservative - By Michael D. Evans
Aug 4, 2004
The much-anticipated 9/11 Commission report has now been released, and details evidence that eight to ten of the September 11 high-jackers passed through Iran a year prior to the attack on the United States.
The New York Times reports that Iranian officials have instructed border guards on Iran’s western border with Afghanistan not to stamp the passports of Saudi citizens who may have been traveling to and from al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. An Iranian stamp in a passport would have caused closer scrutiny by U.S. immigration officials.
Is this really a surprise? Iran has harbored, financed, and cooperated with terrorists who have attacked the “Great Satan” since June 1985, when the United States began an embargo against Iran because of its sponsorship of international terrorism. These sanctions have been in place for more than a decade, now, squeezing the Iran economy, which suffers from inflation running as high as fifty percent.
Iran has been working day and night to stir up trouble throughout the Gulf region. Hezbollah factions have been infiltrated, and the seeds of a tremendous explosion on the world scene have been sown.
The world was shocked when Israel captured the Palestinian ship, the Katrine-A, in the Red Sea on January 4, 2002. The ship was loaded with Katyusha rockets with a maximum range of twelve miles, assault rifles, anti-tank missiles, mines, ammunition and explosives. Most of the weapons were Iranian.
The truth is that Iran was flying up to three jumbo jets laden with military supplies to Syria each month. The majority of the supplies were being ferried directly to Hezbollah guerillas for the war against Israel. At the same time, the Clinton administration was socializing with Syrian president, Bashar Assad.
On November 13, 1995, an Iranian-backed Islamic organization known as the Movement for Islamic Change claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Saudi National Guard at Riyadh, in which five American servicemen and two Indian workers were killed. This was the first of two promised attacks. On June 3, 1996, Iran vowed to resist the embargo imposed by the U.S., and then on June 9, Iran’s spiritual leader called for Iran’s military to prepare for war.
Ten days later, the U.S. House of Representatives cast a unanimous vote in favor of imposing tighter sanctions on Iran. The principle was added to pending legislation. The intent of the bill was to cripple Iran’s and Libya’s ability to continue their support of international terrorism. A week later, on June 20-23, Teheran hosted an international terrorism conference during which it was announced that attacks against U.S. interests would be stepped up in the coming months.
Two days later, on June 25, the truck bombing of the military housing camp in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, took place, claiming the lives of nineteen U.S. airmen and wounding hundreds of others. The Islamic Movement for Change, which had already claimed credit for the Riyadh bombing, took credit for this attack as well.
On July 16, the United States levied its version of sanctions against Iran and Libya. On the following day, July 17, the Movement for Islamic Change sent a chilling fax to the London-based Arab newspaper, Al-Hayat, warning:
The world will be astonished and amazed at the time and place chosen by the Mujahadin. The Mujahadin will deliver the harshest reply to the threats of the American president. Everyone will be surprised by the volume, choice of place, and timing of the answer. The invaders must be prepared to depart…dead, for their time of mourning is near.
That fax, intercepted by overseas operatives, was forwarded to U.S. agencies.
Mike Evans is a Middle East analyst, a New York Times bestselling author, and the author of The American Prophecies.
http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_7468.shtml
Hey, Great!
Iran Denies Reported US Letter Sent to Khatami
Persian Journal
August 5th, 04
The United States has sent a letter to Iranian President Mohammed Khatami calling for better cooperation, according to media reports in Iran, but a foreign ministry spokesman said the reports were wrong.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly gave the letter to Khatami in a secret meeting on July 29 in Tehran, the press reports said. According to reports published in several Iranian dailies, the US called on Khatami in the "very important" letter to end the differences and start a new phase of cooperation.
The reports did not mention the letter's signatory. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi said the reports were incorrect, according to Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA). The Iranian press further quoted the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Hassan Rohani, as saying that one day relations with the US would be resumed.
"We should be realistic in this regard as with the involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US has de facto turned into one of our neighbors," said the conservative cleric, referring to Iran's long borders with the two states. Rohani further said the US has realized that settling the crisis in the region without Iranian assistance would be "quite impossible". "The end of the current presidential term (of George W. Bush) would be a suitable opportunity for new policies," said Rohani, who is widely regarded as one of the favorites to succeed Khatami in next year's presidential elections, Government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh however said last Monday that it would make no difference to Iran whether Bush or his Democratic challenger John Kerry wins the election in November.
Iran and the US have no diplomatic ties for almost a quarter of a century and all efforts to put an end to the hostilities have so far failed. Bush has branded Teheran as part of the "axis of evil" and Washington accuses the Islamic state of not only supporting the terrorist network Al Qaeda but also trying to acquire nuclear weapons. While denying the charges, Iran calls the US the "Great Satan" and main cause for all tensions in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf due to its unlimited support for Israel.
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_3184.shtml
An American who died in Iran for freedom
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1185325/posts
Iranians ask the Iraqis to return WHATEVER they stole from Iran during the 1980s war.
Iran sustains over $9B environmental damage in Persian Gulf war
http://www.payvand.com/news/04/aug/1035.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.