Iranian Alert -- DAY 33 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST [Breaking News... Jamming Source Identified]

The world media has all but ignored this week's dramatic events in Iran. The regime has masterfully handled the world media. The regime appears to have a new ally in their efforts to silent the media, Cuba.

Several days ago we reported the jamming of LA based Iranian broadcasters, the key link of communication of the Iranian protest movement. The regime had been jamming the signals in the past within Iran using equipment purchased from France.

But days before the July 9th protests were to begin the broadcaster began reporting that their uplink signal was being jammed as well. This would require jamming equipment either in the US or nearby. We have been seeking confirmation of this story. We now have it.

Loral Skynet, hired a firm to investigate the source of the jamming. The result was that they have narrowed the probable source of the jamming to be in the vicinity of Havana Cuba.

The following is the text of a letter from Loral Skynet to Atlanta Direct-to-Home, the service providing satellite broadcast services to several Los Angeles based Iranian broadcasters. The matter is now in the hands of the FCC.

Peggy A Courter Director , Client Services Tel:(908) 470-2362 Fax:(908) 470-2459 Email: pcourter@loralskynet.com

Mr. Michael Day President Atlanta Direct-to-Home (ADTH) 5388 New Peachtree Rd. Chamblee, GA 30341

As reported in the news media, it appears that an unknown entity is blocking certain signals into Loral Skynet's Telstar 12 satellite, which signals carry Farsi language and Iranian programming. Skynet is taking all appropriate actions to resolve the interference, and regrets any inconvenience to Atlanta DTH ("ADTH") and its customers caused by the interference. This letter summaries our understanding of the source of the interference and our efforts to resolve it.

Interference into Transponder 10 on Telstar 12 was first reported to Skynet by one of ADTH's uplinkers on July 5, 2003 at approximately 5:35 p.m. EST, and ADTH spoke with Skynet operations personnel within minutes thereafter to discuss the problem. Skynet immediately instituted its standard procedures for detecting the cause of the interference, including investigating any cross-pole carrier or adjacent operator issues and any recent uplinking activity that may have adversely affected the carrier. Skynet determined that none of those factors contributed to the interference, and that the Telstar 12 satellite and Transponder 10 were, and had been, operating properly (and, in fact, continue to operate properly). As a result, Skynet concluded that the interference was caused by a third party.

Similarly, ADTH instituted several procedures to attempt to resolve the interference, including reducing its bandwidth and splitting capacity among three carriers. Despite these procedures, intermittent interference continued.

Accordingly, Skynet contacted a transmitter geo-location service, TLS, Inc., to attempt to locate the transmit source of the interference. TLS was able to provide an ellipse of the most probable location of the source of the interference, which it identified as being in the vicinity of Havana, Cuba. As the services being interfered with are licensed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the probable source of the interference is not within United States boundaries, on July 9 Skynet forwarded the information concerning the interference and TLS's investigation to FCC personnel. The FCC has contacted TLS for further technical discussions.

As Skynet continues its efforts to eliminate the interference into Telstar 12, I want to reassure you that Skynet understands ADTH's concerns and those of its customers regarding their broadcasting integrity, and Skynet remains full committed to resolving the issue as quickly as possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss this matter further.

This story has national security implications. We need to write the media and ensure they cover this breaking story. We need to contact our elected officials and demand they investigate this immediately.

These efforts by the regime, while successful in the short term, do not resolve the fundamental reasons why this regime is crumbling from within.

As Michael Ledeen posted recently, "...we can already say that the regime's intimidation was not successful. And you have to admire the courage of these young Iranians..."

Iran is a country ready for a regime change. 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.

Please continue to join us here, post your news stories and comments to this thread.

Reporters authorized to meet Iran protest detainees

6/17/03
Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutors' Offices announced in Tehran on Monday that reporters are now authorized to meet those arrested in the recent unrests in Tehran, IRNA reported.

The prosecutor's office public relations department said in a fax, a copy of which was sent to IRNA, that the courts have authorized reporters to meet and take pictures of the detainees.

It also called the detainees as "hooligans" and "opportunists" warning that the police will strongly confront those who aim to disturb the public peace.

It said among those arrested in Tehran are "corrupt street women" and accused the US as being behind the recent disturbances in the country.

Meanwhile, the head of a key journalists association has written separate letters to Iran's interior minister and police chief, in which he has complained of alleged harassment of journalists by vigilantes during recent on-campus unrest.

Rajab-Ali Mazrouie, the head of the Iranian Journalists Guilds Association, has called for "respecting the prestige and dignity of journalists and guaranteeing their freedom of activity at the time of various events".

"In the course of student protests over the past few days, several journalists have been beaten up by plain-clothes elements as well as unfortunately by police," he said in part of his letters, released Saturday.

"Article 5 of the Press Law recognizes gathering and publishing domestic and foreign news as a legal right, but unfortunately this important right is ignored during some events," Mazrouie, who also represents Tehran in parliament, said.

"The damage resulting from such illegal actions leads to ignoring people's right of being kept informed of the society's events and deprives state officials from the views of informed observers," he added.

http://www.payvand.com/news/03/jun/1097.html

"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail me”

Iran protest broadens to writers, teachers

06/17/03

Ali Akbar Dareini
Associated Press

Tehran, Iran - More than 250 university teachers and writers added their voices to students' bold demands for democratic reforms in Iran, telling supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he must answer to the people and abandon the idea that he is God's unchallenged representative on Earth.

The reformists' statement, published yesterday in the newspaper Yas-e-nou, was an encouraging sign for the students who demonstrated for about a week and even called for Khamenei's death before their protests were broken up by police and hard-line government backers.

Those who signed the statement did so even though the protests were put down by violence and even though politicians who have made similar calls in the past have been arrested. The signatories in cluded two aides to reformist President Mohammad Khatami: Saeed Pourazizi, an official in the president's office, and Saeed Hajjarian, who is widely regarded as the architect of Khatami's reform program.

The Bush administration endorsed the demonstrators, saying they "are asking to join the modern world," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. He said U.S. support is limited to that and nothing more.

On Sunday, President Bush said the protests showed a yearning for freedom. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi criticized Bush for the remarks yesterday, saying the comments reflect a "lack of knowledge or animosity and deep hostility" toward Iran.

"These remarks are a blatant interference in Iran's internal affairs," he said. Iran accuses the United States of playing a role in the demonstrations.

On Capitol Hill, 13 repre sentatives led by Rep. Brad Sherman, Democrat of California, introduced a bill Friday to provide U.S. help to democratic opponents of the Iranian government and to dissident broadcasts based in the United States.

The legislation also would impose a total embargo on imports of Iranian goods and allow the president to reduce U.S. contributions to the World Bank and other institutions that assist Iran.

In Vienna, Austria, the head of the U.N. nuclear agency urged Iran to allow more intrusive inspections of its nuclear-facilities to ease concerns that it is developing atomic weapons.

Mohamed ElBaradei's appeal before the International Atomic Energy Agency's board came 10 days after an internal report claimed that Iran had failed to honor promises to disclose its use of nuclear material.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1055842484295820.xml

MI6 Cheif said in a briefing with senior BBC executives:
Iran and Syria 'greater danger than Saddam'

By Kamal Ahmad
Sunday July 6, 2003
The Observer

The head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, secretly briefed senior BBC executives on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction before the Today programme claimed Number 10 had 'sexed up' part of the evidence.
In a remarkable revelation that goes to the heart of the increasingly bitter row between the Government and the BBC, broadcasting sources have told The Observer that Dearlove suggested that Syria and Iran posed a greater threat to world security than Iraq.

Although the MI6 chief was not the source of BBC allegations that 10 Downing Street deliberately exaggerated the claim that Saddam's weapons could be ready in 45 minutes, the meetings have strengthened resolve within the corporation to refuse Government demands that it should apologise.

Greg Dyke, the Director General of the BBC, will give a robust defence of the story and say that many of the allegations have been proved true.

This move will put him in direct conflict with Tony Blair, who dramatically upped the stakes last night by demanding a full retraction of the allegations about weapons of mass destruction, saying the charge against him was the gravest he had ever faced as Prime Minister.

In an exclusive interview with The Observer, Blair said the story was 'about as serious an attack on my integrity as there could possibly be'.

Tonight the BBC governors meet in emergency session to discuss the corporation's response to the row. The briefings by Dearlove will make up part of the evidence presented by Dyke and Richard Sambrook, BBC Director of News, to the governors.

The two men, who have both been told of the contacts between Dearlove and BBC executives, will say these provided the 'background context' to the story first run by the Today programme's defence correspondent, Andrew Gilligan.

One meeting, over lunch, was attended by Dearlove, Kevin Marsh, the editor of the Today programme, and John Humphrys, its leading presenter.

At another meeting with a senior BBC executive, sources said Dearlove made it clear that Iraq was not viewed by the intelligence services as the primary threat.

A minute taken of the meeting, on which The Observer has been briefed, Dearlove was asked about the greatest threats to world security. He said that on an analysis of the danger from weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, Iraq was not the priority.

Asked whether Iran and Syria posed a greater threat, Dearlove 'appeared to assent'.

When Humphrys interviewed John Reid, the former Leader of the House of Commons recently promoted to Health Secretary, the presenter said he had met 'senior' figures in the intelligence services. Reid had said the claims made by the programme were those of 'rogue elements' in the security services. This claim was dismissed by the BBC.

'Well, let me tell you,' Humphrys said. 'I myself have spoken to senior people in the intelligence services who have said things, that the Government have exaggerated the threat from Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction.'

Blair refused to call for an apology from the BBC, but Number 10 officials made it clear that as soon the Foreign Affairs Committee publishes its report on the issue tomorrow, they will demand a retraction.

Although the committee is thought to have cleared Campbell unanimously over the 45-minutes claim, it was split over whether there had been attempts to strengthen the dossier.

It is believed the decision to clear Campbell was made only on the casting vote of the chairman, the Labour MP Donald Anderson.

'It is untrue. That statement is untrue,' Blair said of the claim that the original weapons dossier published last September had been deliberately interfered with against the wishes of the intelligence services.

'The idea that I or anyone else in my position would start altering intelligence evidence or saying to the intelligence services "I am going to insert this" is absurd.

'There couldn't be a more serious charge, that I ordered our troops into conflict on the basis of intelligence evidence that I falsified.

'You could not make a more serious charge against a Prime Minister. The charge happens to be wrong. I think everyone now accepts that that charge is wrong.'

But last night the BBC was still sticking by its story. Senior figures told The Observer they had a 'powerful case' for the governors.

Blair said: 'I am astonished if they are still saying it is accurate. On what basis are they saying that?'

'Whether they had a source or not, only they know. The issue surely is this, that if people make a claim and it turns out to be wrong, they should accept it is wrong.

'I take it as about as serious an attack on my integrity there could possibly be, and the charge is untrue and I hope that they will accept that. I think they should accept it.

'The only reason this issue has taken a long time is because the BBC still says, well I am sorry but you know even though we can't tell you who this source is, and it is perfectly obvious he wasn't even a member of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), nonetheless we are sticking by the story.'

The BBC will present a report to the governors outlining why they took the decision to run the story.

They will say the evidence on the 45-minutes claim was added to the September dossier 'at a late stage'.

It will add that Campbell asked for 11 changes to the dossier, some of which sought to strengthen it.

Campbell says that although he made some drafting suggestions, nothing was put in the first dossier that was not agreed by the JIC, a body made up of leading members of the intelligence service and civil servants.

Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesman, said the disclosure about Dearlove raised new questions. 'This fresh information only serves to underline the need for a much wider inquiry under the direction of a senior judge,' he said.

'The Foreign Affairs Select Committee and the Intelligence and Security Committee will doubtless have done their best but only complete disclosure will get to the bottom of this matter and be enough to satisfy the public interest.

'Britain went to war in circumstances of great controversy. Right at the heart of the matter is whether the evidence was sufficient in quality and quantity to justify the risks, casualties, and long- term consequences of going to war.

'There is an emerging suspicion that the intelligence was used in an effort to provide a justification for a political decision that had already been taken. Sir Richard Dearlove would clearly be a crucial witness in the kind of independent inquiry now necessary.'

Additional reporting by Martin Bright

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,992693,00.html

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