Iranian Alert -- March 15, 2004 [EST]-- IRAN LIVE THREAD --Americans for Regime Change in Iran

Unrest and clashes continue in N. Iran

SMCCDI (information Service)
Mar 15, 2004

Unrest and violent clashes continued, today and for the 3rd consecutive day, in Fereydoon-Kenar and spreaded to the neighboring cities of Babolsar, Khezer-Shahr and Babol.

Thousands of residents came into the streets especially in Fereydoon-Kenar and resisted to the brutal assaults of the regime forces. Several more demonstrators have been wounded in the today's clashes after the regime heliported special forces opened the charge.

Barricades have been formed and tires set ablaze by the residents who are defended by armed masked young freedom fighters.

All night long, noise of sporadic shootings where heard in the city and a man hunt was organized by the regime forces trying to arrest those involved in the organization of the popular resistance.

Sporadic demos took place in Babolsar, Khezer-Shahr and Babol where the crowd came into the streets by shouting slogans against the regime and its leaders. Road blocks have been instated by the regime forces in order to keep the demonstrators separate .

The situation of the region is very tense and the security measures have been increased in the cities of Amol, Now-Shahr and Chaloos.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_5351.shtml

Iran Expects Nuclear Inspectors to Return

March 15, 2004
Reuters
Paul Hughes

TEHRAN -- Iran will allow the resumption of U.N. nuclear inspections it halted last week in protest at a tough resolution on its nuclear program, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator was quoted as saying on Monday.

But Hassan Rohani, secretary-general of the Supreme National Security Council, did not specify when inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be allowed back.

"We will definitely reach an agreement with the agency on the resumption of inspections," the official IRNA news agency quoted Rohani as saying.

Speaking to reporters before leaving for an official visit to Japan, Rohani said the suspension of IAEA visits was a "technical matter." He did not elaborate.

Iran suspended the inspections as the IAEA board of governors drafted a tough resolution criticizing Iran for failing to report sensitive nuclear research which could be used to make bomb material.

IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei said on Saturday Iranian officials had promised to give him an answer later this week to his calls for a swift resumption of inspections.

Several Western diplomats said they suspected Iran may have frozen inspections because it has something to hide.

Iran strongly denies U.S. accusations it is pursuing nuclear weapons and says its atomic program is geared solely to producing electricity.

HARD-LINER SAYS END COOPERATION

Rohani called on all members of the IAEA board to cooperate with Iran to "bring a closure to Iran's case."

But an influential hard-line commentator appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader said Iran would never get a fair hearing at the IAEA and called for Tehran to halt cooperation with the agency.

"It is now definitely obvious that the IAEA, in its sly moves and by killing time, is trying to deprive Iran of nuclear technology," Hossein Shariatmadari, president of the hardline Kayhan publishing group, wrote in the English-language Kayhan International on Thursday.

Shariatmadari, whom many analysts say is a close confidant of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran should "stop all cooperation with the IAEA" and resume uranium enrichment.

Iran agreed last year to suspend uranium enrichment and allow snap checks of its nuclear sites as confidence-building measures.

Shariatmadari suggested giving the IAEA a three-month ultimatum to pronounce Iran's nuclear program peaceful and allow it to develop atomic technology to generate electricity.

Should the IAEA fail to meet the ultimatum, Iran should withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), he said -- a move which would put Iran's nuclear program out of reach of nuclear inspectors and safeguards.

Iranian government officials have repeatedly denied Tehran intends to follow North Korea's example by exiting the NPT.

Western diplomats have often considered such threats by hard-liners in Iran to be aimed chiefly at the domestic audience and have little bearing on policy.

Shariatmadari addressed this theory and urged officials to disprove it. "We should stop sitting on our hands and do something to respond to such humiliating treatments by first of all stopping further IAEA inspectors' visits to Iran," he wrote. "In other words, we should shape up now or ship out for good."

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4566602

US Soldiers Kill 1 Uniformed Man, Wound 1, On Iraq-Iran Border

March 14, 2004
The Associated Press
Dow Jones Newswires

TIKRIT, Iraq -- U.S. soldiers killed one uniformed man and injured another, both possibly Iranian border guards, Sunday in a clash on the Iraqi-Iranian border, the U.S. Army said.

The clash occurred between two checkpoints on either side of the border at about 5 p.m., a U.S. military official in Tikrit said.

U.S. soldiers based in Iraq were questioning two suspected fertilizer smugglers in a buffer area between the checkpoints when they were attacked by three men in green and brown uniforms, said the official, who didn't give his name. The gunmen fired from the Iranian side of the border.

The U.S. troops returned fire, killing one assailant and wounding another, the official said. The third man fled.

Based in Tikrit, the 4th Infantry Division's Taskforce Iron Horse is responsible for security in the area northeast of Baghdad where the clash took place. The exact location was unclear.

Saturday, Iraq's U.S.-led occupation authority announced that it will shut most border crossings with Iran.

The new border policy is meant to prevent terrorism in Iraq by monitoring and tightening controls on Iranians, and soon, on other states bordering Iraq, starting with Syria, coalition spokesman Dan Senor said.

By next Saturday, Iraq will close 16 of its 19 border posts on the country's longest border, the 1,440-kilometer frontier with Iran .

But an Iraqi spokesman said the policy ran counter to Iraq's interest and would be reversed after the country gains sovereignty June 30.

"Sooner or later we will have our sovereignty and we will want to have long and friendly relations with Iran ," said Entifadh Qanbar, a spokesman for Ahmad Chalabi, a member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council.

http://online.wsj.com/public/us

Iran Denies Border Clash With American Troops

March 15, 2004
Santa Fe New Mexican
santafenewmexican.com

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Gunmen killed a member of the city council and a bodyguard in the northern city of Kirkuk on Monday, Iraqi police said.

The Shiite councilor, Aggar Al-Taweel, was shot several times in the head as he drove to the weekly meeting of the city council, said police chief Torhan Yussif. The gunmen fired from a red car and fled.

Al-Taweel, who founded an Arab political party that later splintered, was known for frank opinions and he often outspoken in council debates.

Oil-rich Kirkuk has seen increasing ethnic tensions, occasionally erupting into violence, as Kurds, Arabs and ethnic Turkmen jostle for domination.

Kurds see the city as the heart of their Kurdistan homeland, and leaders are pressing for the city to eventually hold a referendum to determine if it will join a Kurdish federal region - a step opposed by many Arabs and Turkmen.

In another northern city, Mosul, assailants fired several mortar shells at a police station early Monday. The shells failed to hit any buildings, but lightly injured a civilian and damaged some cars outside the station.

Meanwhile, a senior official at Iran's Interior Ministry denied a U.S. military report that an Iranian border guard may have been killed in a border clash with American soldiers.

"There have been no clashes and no Iranian border guards has been killed or injured," he said Monday on condition of anonymity.

U.S. Army spokesman Maj. Neal O'Brien said the shootout occurred 17 kilometers (10 miles) east of the Iraqi town of Mawat on Sunday. American soldiers killed one uniformed man and injured another - both possibly Iranian border guards - who had fired on them from the Iranian side of the border, according to the U.S. military.

O'Brien said the soldiers involved in the shooting were from the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade.

Over the weekend, roadside bombs killed six American soldiers. Four died in Baghdad, and the other two were slain in Tikrit, the hometown of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=41889

Japan Urges Iran to Meet Nuclear Obligations

March 15, 2004
Reuters
Khaleej Times

TOKYO -- Japan wants Iran to respond seriously to a resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog reprimanding Tehran for withholding sensitive nuclear information, its top government spokesman said on Monday as Tehran’s chief nuclear negotiator arrived in Tokyo.

Hassan Rohani, secretary-general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors were barred from Iran for the time being to show dissatisfaction with an IAEA resolution. He arrived in Tokyo on Monday and will meet Japanese officials on Tuesday.

The IAEA board of governors said in a resolution it “deplored” Iran’s omissions of key atomic technology from an October declaration, including undeclared research on advanced “P2” centrifuges that can make bomb-grade uranium.

The board also said it would decide in June how to respond to the omissions, which diplomats said kept the door open for a possible report to the UN Security Council and economic sanctions.

“We welcome this (resolution),” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference. “We strongly hope Iran takes it seriously and follows it.”

Japan last month clinched a $2 billion deal to develop a huge Iranian oil field despite pressure from the United States to back off because of concerns Tehran was developing nuclear weapons. Japan, which relies on the Middle East for almost all its oil, had been juggling its desire to develop Iran’s Azadegan oil field with the pressure from the United States, its key security ally.

Tokyo said then that it would keep urging Iran to meet its obligations to the IAEA.

Rohani is expected to meet Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2004/March/theworld_March341.xml&section=theworld&col=

An Unwelcome Visit

March 15, 2004
The Wall Street Journal
Review & Outlook

Iran's nuclear pointman Hassan Rohani begins his official visit to Japan today. That's right, Tokyo is hosting the man who only last week practically admitted Tehran is intent on pursuing nuclear weapons.

"We want Iran to be recognized as a member of the nuclear club, that means Iran be recognized as a country having the nuclear fuel cycle, and enriching uranium," said Mr. Rohani, who is also head of Iran's Supreme Council for National Security, prior to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting in Vienna last Friday. At that meeting, Tehran announced a freeze on all further inspections of its nuclear program.

Tehran is well versed in the art of trying to drive a wedge between America and its allies. In recent weeks, it's been trying to do this with Europe, offering lucrative oil contracts and warning countries such as Britain, France and Germany to "resist U.S. pressure" for tougher action against its nuclear program.

Now it's Japan's turn. Indeed Mr. Rohani's already been laying the groundwork for the sort of message he's likely to be delivering in Tokyo today. In January, he warned Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi not to let "third parties" influence foreign policy.

That makes it all the more troubling for Tokyo to be facilitating such economic blackmail by hosting a known nuclear troublemaker. Japan says it'll use the visit to try to persuade Iran to implement the additional protocol it signed with the IAEA in December, allowing international inspectors to make extensive checks of its nuclear facilities. But judging from the latest freeze on inspections, any such pleas are likely to fall on deaf ears as Tehran continues its divide and rule tactics.

It's a strategy that's already reaped dividends elsewhere in the world. At the board meeting of the IAEA in Vienna last week, Washington gave in to European demands to tone down a resolution criticizing Iran's clandestine nuclear program. It now praises Tehran's "cooperation" with the IAEA, cooperation which Iranian President Mohammed Khatami had threatened to end in the event of a strong rebuke. The resolution also makes no mention of referring the issue to the United Nations Security Council, despite Iran's nuclear cheating.

The latest evidence of this came when inspectors recently revealed they'd found traces of bomb-grade, 90%-enriched uranium-235. There is no civilian application for uranium of that quality. Iran has also been forced to fess up to the military links of what it had claimed was merely a civilian enrichment program. And of course Tehran had denied having any enrichment program at all until an Iranian resistance group and Western intelligence proved otherwise. IAEA inspectors have also found traces of polonium-210, a radioactive element primarily useful as the trigger for a nuclear explosion.

No serious person can doubt that the Iranians are bent on building a nuclear arsenal. And there's no shortage of steps which could be taken to stop them, if the world would get serious.

Henry Sokolski of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center has useful suggestions on strengthening "country-neutral" non-proliferation rules. They include a declaration that countries cannot unilaterally withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a step hinted at in Iran's state-sanctioned press, the suspension of all nuclear cooperation with any nation that doesn't get the IAEA's full seal of approval, and support for interdiction efforts against countries failing the IAEA test. He also suggests asking the IAEA to spell out exactly what and how long it would take to certify that Iran is not in the bomb-making business.

The only question is whether America's allies will support Washington in pushing for such measures. So far, Europe has shown few signs of being willing to do so. We'd like to believe Japan is made of sterner stuff, but the signs are not encouraging. Mr. Rohani's visit follows similar trips to Tokyo by high-ranking officials from two other rogue states-Libya and Syria.

It's probably too late to rescind his invitation. But Japan should use Mr. Rohani's visit to make clear there will be no deals with Iran until it allows inspections to resume and comes clean about its nuclear program.

http://online.wsj.com/public/us

The Islamic Republic is Looking More Unstable Day by Day

March 15, 2004
Iran va Jahan
Potkin Azarmehr

The recent events in Fereydoon Kenar are a reflection of the anger felt by the Iranian people and their readiness to overthrow the 25 year old rule of clerics in Iran.

The Islamic authorities in Fereydoon-Kenar, North Iran, declared the results of three polling stations null and void. Such blatant cheating in favour of Meghdad Najaf-Nejad, made the people spontaneously gather on the town's main bridge around 8:00 am on Saturday and shout slogans against the unashamed cheatings.

As the crowds grew and the slogans became more radical, the Law Enforcement Forces(LEF) started opening fire at the protesters with pellet guns. Far from pushing the crowd back, the shooting by LEF made the people angrier and they retaliated. As the crowd became more confident they targeted the Friday Sermon preacher Bakooyi, who was the driving force behind the election frauds in town.

The crowd moved towards Bakooyi's ostentatious residence, intent on killing the preacher. At this point they were shouting: "We will make his (Bakooyi) blood flow here, We will make his palace, his grave" "mA injA ro khoon mikonim, ghasresho ghabresh mikonim" and "All the criminals here are in the LEF" har chi injA jAnieh, nirooye entezAmieh".

Bakooyi is said to have fled the town for Qom, but one of his cars was completely destroyed and his lavish residence was set on fire.

Latest reports suggest the Friday Sermon preacher, Bakooyi is still hiding in Qom and does not dare to go back to Fereydoon Kenar.

As the protests spread, the people attacked the provincial government building and took control of a police station.

The Islamic authorities who were unable to control the crowd with the local LEF, brought in the special guards from Tehran, Isfahan, Amol and Babol. Five are reported killed (Three men and two women) and several hundred are wounded so far.

Three of the dead are known to be students by the names of Behrooz Khanlartabar, Hossein Ghavami, and Hossein Khodayi.

The hardline daily Jomhoori-Eslami, reported the incidence by saying "a throng of thugs marched towards the house of Friday Sermon Preacher of Fereydoon-Kanar but they were pushed back by the LEF. Some have been wounded"

E'etemad daily on the other hand in today's edition of its paper has reported the situation in Fereydoon-Kenar as completely critical, with all the schools, banks, and the Bazaar closed. The daily has reports the number of wounded 68 with 6 in critical conditions.

The selected winner of Fereydoon-Kenar 'elections', Meghdad Najaf-Nejad, either having realised the level of hatred felt by the people towards him or just aware of the futility of his selection has handed in his resignation.

The people of Fereydoon-Kenar have won the first round of battle for free and fair elections in Iran. With the ongoing teachers strike, youth riots during the Shiite mourning periods, and riots in other parts of Iran, the Islamic Republic is looking more unstable day by day.

http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2004&m=03&d=15&a=8

ElBaradei Says Iran Ends Halt of UN Inspections

March 15, 2004
Reuters
Reuters.com

WASHINGTON -- The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said he spoke with the Iranians on Monday and they told him the freeze on IAEA inspections would be lifted so they could resume on March 27.

"I was informed by the Iranian authorities that the new date for inspectors arriving would be on March 27," said International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei. "Although this delay is regrettable, nonetheless the new date is still within our time schedule for conducting inspections."

The IAEA's governing board condemned Iran on Saturday for withholding sensitive nuclear information. Iran hit back, saying the reason it had suspended U.N. nuclear inspections on Friday was to show its displeasure at the resolution, then in draft form.

In a statement to reporters on the first full day of his four-day official visit to the United States, ElBaradei said Iran would benefit from adhering to a policy of full transparency.

Washington says Iran's nuclear program is a front for building an atom bomb. Tehran denies this, saying its program is solely for the peaceful generation of electricity.

"It is clearly in the interest of Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA and adopt a policy of proactive cooperation, so the IAEA can clarify all outstanding issues as early as possible," ElBaradei said.

An agency spokeswoman said the new date for the arrival of inspectors would still give the agency enough time to reach some conclusions by the next IAEA board meeting in June.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4568569

Iran: Dead Regime Walking

March 15, 2004
FrontPageMagazine.com
Reza Bayegan

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been put on Death Row, not by the hawks on the Bush administration or what its rulers call their ‘Zionist enemies,’ but by the dint of its own internal contradictions. These fatal contradictions were outlined by the prominent Iranian economist and dissident, Dr. Shaheen Fatemi in a lecture delivered recently at The Iranian Society for Modernity and Development in Paris.

As the forces of fanaticism and repression tighten their grip on the country, becoming less and less tolerant of dissent, the exiled Iranian community is assuming a bigger role in speaking up for the stifled voices of freedom and democracy. The Iranian Society for Development and Modernity that is based in Paris is an important venue where such an expression can find an outlet. Comprised of dissident artists, novelists, political experts and intellectuals, it organizes monthly lectures with the aim of looking at the economic and political situation in Iran in a balanced and non-partisan manner.

In the Society's latest lecture, entitled "Iran at the Threshold of Transformation," professor Fatemi explored two sets of opposing factors that detract from, and contribute to, the survival of the Islamic state.

Shaheen Fatemi, in addition to his impressive academic credentials, enjoys extensive connections with key political figures inside and outside Iran. Accordingly, his analysis has the advantage of being up to speed, while remaining down to earth and abreast of everyday political developments in the country.

First and foremost, Fatemi said, the clerical regime has kept itself in power by brute force using the most inhumane measures against the population. However, in spite of suffering excruciating hardship, Iranians are not willing to overthrow their rulers through violent means. They have learned from the frenetic turmoil unleashed by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 that the human thirst for justice and liberty cannot be quenched in the bloodstained waters of carnage and revolution.

The relentless violence perpetrated against legitimate demands of peaceful Iranian citizens has turned the force of international public opinion against the mullahs and has moved the most hesitant governments to speak up against the clerical regime’s breach of democratic principles. The European Union’s recent criticism of the parliamentary elections in Iran as "a setback for democracy" is bound to have a powerful effect on exposing and further isolating the clerical government. One cannot forget the importance of mobilized international opinion in bringing down ruthless political systems such as apartheid in South Africa.

A possible increase in the price of oil could contribute to the longevity of the Islamic Republic by providing the mullahs with the extra cash to prop up a prostrate economy, which is kept alive through artificial means. Not only the whole machinery of the clerical regime operates on oil revenue, but also thanks to the Ayatollahs, for the past quarter of a century the wealth of Iranian petroleum has kept the network of Middle Eastern terrorism in business; sponsoring death, instability and destruction. To sign an agreement with the mullahs to develop the oil industry as the Japanese have done in an estimated $2 billion deal to exploit Iran's Azadegan oil field, is therefore nothing short of contributing to this evil endeavor. It is about time that world governments realize that to make short-term gains in dealing with criminal regimes will cost humanity long-term suffering that no amount of cash can undo or repair.

Any gesture such as the ill-advised visit of Prince Charles to Iran, and his meeting with Mohammad Khatami that might be construed as a nod in the direction of the regime can only contribute to purchasing time for the mullahs and further postpone the fulfillment of the democratic dream of the Iranian people.

Now the unreserved support of the global community should be given to the Iranian opposition that is calling for a free and democratic national referendum to determine the future of the country. Mainly owing to the lack of democratic experience during the past two decades, the political opposition inside the country and abroad has suffered from fraction and disorganization. The painful mistakes that have contributed to the survival of the totalitarian government have taught us the necessity of patience and tolerance. We have come to recognize that agreeing to disagree is the cornerstone of a healthy pluralistic society.

Whether our people choose a republic, or a constitutional monarchy in the national referendum does not really matter that much. The difference between these two systems will only entail slight variations in a few articles of the future constitution. What matters is enacting laws and provisions that guarantee the democratic rights of each and every citizen.

A democratic constitution while guaranteeing freedom of belief for all citizens should at the same time ensure the separation of government from religion. In Shiite faith, religion has traditionally been in opposition to the temporal power. Its religious hierarchy has acted as a spiritual government within the state exerting enormous moral power. Its involvement in the day-to-day business of the country has undermined its spiritual authority and has eroded its moral credibility. This anomaly in the Islamic Republic that has plucked the Shiite faith from its traditional role in society and has stymied the performance of the government will inevitably unhinge the current system.

Lastly, the Islamic Republic is doomed to destruction by its hostility to progress and its inability to adapt to modern administrative and economic paradigms. In the dynamic world of the 21st century, freezing in the mental framework of the 6th century A.D. and deriving guidelines for a banking system and fiscal policy from what was practiced a millennium-and-a-half ago in Arabia is nothing short of suicide bombing one's way into the future. All these concerns must be taken care of before Iran can take its place among the great nations of the world – where it belongs.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=12573

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