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Payvand Iran News Archive

Home News News Archive Sports News Interesting Sites Directory Persian Calendar Bookstore Archive	December 2002 U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup Trade in Chemical Arms Allowed Despite Their Use on Iranians, Kurds -Washington Post - 12/31/02 Iran pollster stands trial for "manipulating public opinion" The first court hearing against Managing Director of National Institute for Research on Public Opinion Behrouz Geranpayeh was held on Tuesday. - 12/31/02 New Chomsky Interview: "U.S. Is A Leading Terrorist State" The fact is that war with Iran is probably underway. It's known that about 12% of the Israeli airforce is in south eastern Turkey. They're there because they're preparing for the war against Iran. They don't care about Iraq. Iraq they figure's a pushover, but Iran has always been a problem for Israel. -Bay Area Independent Media Center - 12/31/02 Boomtime for the Military-Industrial Complex: Arming for Armageddon In 2001, the US weapons industry controlled approximately 50 percent of the world arms market. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) reports that for fiscal year 2001, the US government exported $12.2 billion in weapons and was awarded $13.1 billion in new foreign contracts through its Foreign Military Sales program. That excludes the $36 billion in direct commercial sales by US weapons manufacturers to foreign nations. -CounterPunch - 12/31/02 INS Roundups Put Nation's Growing Ethnic Media in Bind Arrests in California and other states of hundreds of men and boys from Middle Eastern countries have put editors of U.S.-based ethnic media -- a growing source of news for millions of U.S. residents -- on edge, and in a quandary. -Pacific News Service - 12/31/02 The Barzanis ­ from Tehran to London A photograph published by Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency of the Dec. 9 meeting in Tehran between Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani and Iranian Expediency Council Chairman Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani brought back old memories. -Ali Nourizadeh, Daily Star - 12/31/02 Oil prices slide from two-year high Oil prices fell on Tuesday, dropping away from a two year high the previous day caused by fears of a war in the Middle East and disruption to Venezuela's exports from a national strike. -BBC - 12/31/02 Iran says Pak distorted Khatami's view on J&K What could have been a Pakistani-Iranian rapprochement sadly went awry over Kashmir. During the Iranian President, Mohammed Khatami’s visit to Pakistan last week, the Pakistani media had a field day mistranslating Khatami's statement on Kashmir to make it seem like he was taking Pakistan's side. -Economic Times, India - 12/31/02 They Choke on Coke, but Savor Mecca-Cola The idea, says Tawfik Mathlouthi, who runs a radio station for France's Muslim minority, came to him in the shower: to create a competing product to Coke that would satisfy the needs of Arab speakers in Europe and elsewhere for soft drinks, while providing jobs and economic growth. -New York Times - 12/31/02 More water through Hirmand for Iran's drought-stricken province An informed source told IRNA here that the volume of water entering Iran's Hirmand River through Afghanistan was increased by about 50 cubic meters per second on Monday. - 12/31/02 Iran to unleash terrorists in response to Iraq attack U.S. military and intelligence sources expect Iran to launch major terrorist attacks against Western targets in anticipation of or in response to a U.S.-led attack on Iraq. -WorldNetDaily - 12/31/02 Iranian renowned director to make six films in Afghanistan Iranian renowned film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf is to make six short films in Afghanistan. - 12/31/02 Rumsfeld 'offered help to Saddam' Declassified papers leave the White House hawk exposed over his role during the Iran-Iraq war -Guardian - 12/31/02 AFGHANISTAN: More than two million return home this year As the year ends, more than two million Afghan refugees and displaced persons have returned to their country and communities from the neighbouring states and camps inside Afghanistan in one of the largest repatriation efforts in decades. -UN - 12/31/02 INS detains some from Mideast who registered While the local (Bay Area) figures pale compared with the hundreds detained in Southern California, at least nine of the 25 known Bay Area detainees remain in jail in Yuba County or San Diego, attorneys representing the men say. -San Jose Mercury - 12/31/02 Quakes shake Kermanshah, Masjed Soleyman and Dehdasht in Iran An earthquake, with a magnitude of 4.2 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale, jolted the southwestern city of Masjed Soleyman on Monday. - 12/31/02 Our visit to Niavaran Artistic Creation Foundation in Tehran Many cultural centers (farhangsaras) are now in operation in various neighborhoods of Tehran and other cities in Iran. But during our trip to Iran this past summer, we were only able to visit one such center in north Tehran, Niavaran Artistic Creation Foundation (NACF). -Ali Moayedian - 12/31/02 Iranian conservatives: Hard centres A split between the hardest of Iran's hardliners and the softer middle -Economist - 12/31/02 Iranian Cleric Rules on Death by Stoning A senior Iranian cleric has ruled that death by stoning is not the only possible punishment for adultery, opening the way for women lawmakers who have campaigned against the practice to propose a bill banning stoning. -AP - 12/30/02 Official: Iran needs foreign loans to finance development Deputy Director of Management and Planning Organization (MPO) for Economic Affairs Hamid Reza Baradaran-Shoraka said here Sunday that the nation's current revenues are not adequate for the country's socio-economic development requirements and foreign loans are needed. - 12/30/02 Iranian police arrest more than 100 people in crackdown on sale of pornographic movies The arrests occurred in Ahvaz, capital of the oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan province. The arrests sparked protests from shop owners, who set tires alight to block the streets, MP Meidari said. -AP - 12/30/02 Fire at Iranian Prison Kills 27 People The fire broke out inside a prison in Gorgan, capital of northern Golestan province on the Caspian sea, the prison's director Abbas Ali Arab, was quoted as saying -AP - 12/30/02 The Accidental Imperialist As the United States enters the new year facing crises -- and the potential for war -- in Iraq and North Korea simultaneously, an obvious question presents itself: Did the Bush administration bring all this trouble on itself? -Washington Post - 12/30/02 Oil price surges to two-year high Oil prices have soared to a two-year high as fears of a United States-led war with Iraq and a national strike in Venezuela have disturbed the markets. -BBC - 12/30/02 'Arms Inspectors' Bolster Canadian Anti-war Movement A Canada-based peace and disarmament group plans to launch ''weapons inspections'' in the United States to draw attention to its claim that the country is a dangerous rogue state. -Common Dreams - 12/30/02 Is Saudi Arabia Tough Enough on Terrorism? Saudi Arabian diplomats have spent the last month on a public relations blitz, lashing out at Americans who raise questions about links between terrorist groups and the country's Islamic charities. -New York Times - 12/30/02 At Home and Abroad, Bush's 'War on Terror' Faces Mounting Criticism At home and abroad, US President George W. Bush's "war on terror" was facing mounting criticism over fears that fundamental human rights and freedoms were being eroded. -Common Dreams - 12/30/02 Iranian MP bailed out after standing trial over polling case Ahmad Bourghani, an MP from Tehran, was released here Sunday after posting 200 million rials (dlrs 25,000) in bail at a court which interrogated him in connection with the case of a polling institute that claimed most Iranians favored ties with the United States. - 12/30/02 Iranian reformist MP charged over poll A court in Tehran has charged a senior reformist official with misuse of public funds, in what is seen as the latest twist in the ongoing struggle between Iranian reformists and hardliners. -BBC - 12/29/02 Ankara seeks reward for assisting US war drive Diplomats said Ankara, a key Nato member and a strategically important ally for the US, wanted to keep its options open to exert maximum pressure on Washington for its support in a war that would be unpopular in Turkey. -Financial Times - 12/29/02 Iraq oppostion says it is ignored The Tehran-based Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) says it is regrettable the UN is only dealing with the Baghdad government and ignoring the opposition. -BBC - 12/29/02 Amid INS fears, LA immigrants turn to Persian-language radio In the days following the arrests of hundreds of Middle Eastern men who voluntarily registered with the INS, a small Persian-language radio station became a powerful gathering place for the immigrant community, taking calls from those being detained and spearheading a rally that attracted thousands of protesters. -AP - 12/29/02 Local Iranian family faces deportation An Iranian family living in Austin might be deported for what they feel are stricter immigration rules since Sept. 11. -News 8 Austin, Texas - 12/29/02 Armed robber publicly hanged in Iran A convicted armed robber has been publicly hanged in southern Iran, as another man sentenced to death for murder was given a last-minute reprieve, reports said. -ABC News Online - 12/29/02 Saudi Arabia said to assure US on use of bases Saudi Arabia has told American military officials that the kingdom would make its airspace, air bases and an important operations center available to the United States in the event of war with Iraq, senior military officials say. -Financial Times - 12/29/02 Iran's Parliament Speaker Calls US Anti-Iranian Immigration Checks Shameful "One can never expect such violent, inhumane, illogical and unjust measures against an educated, honorable and hard-working immigrant minority in the US," Karroubi said. - 12/29/02 Official says Iran can buy new planes despite sanctions Iranian air transportation has been lagging behind due to the use of ageing planes for transportation. Officials in charge of purchasing aircraft have come under criticisms for the purchase of second-hand planes, which have so far claimed lives of many innocent civilians and top officials. - 12/29/02 Iran vows to sue health officials who reject AIDS patients In a dramatic move to check the spread of HIV Iran on Sunday warned its health officials against rejecting AIDS patients, saying it will deal with any violations. - 12/29/02 Iran's Minister of the Interior to appear before Parliament for attacks on rallies Minister of the Interior Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari will appear before the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission this week to answer questions about attacks on recent rallies. - 12/29/02 Arrests, Abuse of Middle Eastern Residents Gives America Black Eye The episode makes America look unjust and dismissive of rights, writes Pacific News Service commentator William O. Beeman (Director of Middle East Studies at Brown University), losing credibility for Washington just when it is needed most for Middle East dealings. - 12/29/02 Kharrazi reiterates Iran's rejection of bilateral Caspian deals Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here Sunday reiterated Iran's rejection of bilateral deals over the Caspian Sea that has yet to be divided by its five littoral states for the exploitation of its hydrocarbon and other riches. - 12/29/02 Policy Brief: End of a Brief Affair? The United States and Iran (pdf) After the September 11 attacks, relations between the United States and Iran looked more and more hopeful. The two countries' common goal of eliminating Afghanistan's Taliban seemed to be an opportunity to build on progress seen since the election of Iranian reformists. However, President Bush's inclusion of Iran in an "axis of evil" now calls into question the likelihood of a true rapprochement. -Carnegie Endowment - 12/28/02 Kharrazi to appear before Majlis to respond to failure charges A group of Iranian lawmakers are to question Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi Sunday for alleged failure of his ministry to address national interests in the Caspian Sea due to what they called "unrealistic appreciation of regional conditions and its key players." - 12/28/02 Iran stops stoning of women adulterers Iran has abolished stoning as a form of capital punishment for women, a senior judiciary official in Iran has been quoted as saying. -BBC - 12/28/02 400 Iranians arrested in clampdown on films Iranian police and militia detained more than 400 people as a clampdown on foreign videos and satellite broadcasts sparked clashes with residents of the southwestern city of Ahwaz, Press reports said yesterday. -AFP - 12/28/02 Russia defends nuclear project with Iran The Russian government has defended its project to build a nuclear reactor in Iran but conceded that the two nations have yet to sign a pact that would return the spent nuclear fuel to Russia -CNN - 12/28/02 Israel Quietly 'Concerned' About Russian-Iranian Nuclear Deal "We are concerned," said an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official declined to give any further details but said that Israel was dealing with the problem in "certain" ways. -CNSNews - 12/28/02 Siemens, Ericsson to expand Iran's phone lines Iran awards two companies contracts to provide country with 1.2 million mobile phone lines, boost network. -Middle East Online - 12/28/02 MP summoned to court on polling institute case MP from Tehran Ahmad Bourghani was summoned here Saturday to the Bench 1410 of Tehran public court to answer questions relating to the case of the banned polling institutes. - 12/28/02 Iran boasts 30,000 women skiers Young women turning more to sport with dozens of ski resorts popping up, including four around Tehran. -Middle East Online - 12/28/02 Fueled by Russia But the precise details of the Bushehr agreement are not what makes the nuclear relationship between Russia and Iran so disturbing. The trouble is the larger context: Russian commercial and scientific institutions have a long history of involvement not only in Iran's civilian nuclear program, but also in Iran's clandestine military nuclear program. -Washington Post - 12/28/02 Turkey-Russia: Competition and Cooperation Ankara’s relations with Moscow exhibit marked "dualism." As Onis has put it, "Turkish-Russian interactions highlight how the relationship between key regional powers in the post-Cold War context can be characterized by significant cooperation and conflict at the same time." -Eurasianet - 12/28/02 Iraqi opposition say they have key proofs on Baghdad's nuke plans An Iraqi opposition figure said in Tehran on Saturday that Iraqi dissidents had 'important' evidence and documents that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and would put them at the disposal of the UN if the universal body cooperates with them. - 12/28/02 Pakistani-Americans Denounce INS Rule A group of Pakistani-Americans has denounced the requirement that young Pakistanis who are not permanent residents register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service by Feb. 21 or be deported. -AP - 12/28/02 A soldier's saving grace repaid 20 years on An Iranian soldier answered those prayers, saving the life of his sworn enemy (Iraqi soldier Najah Aboud) and then disappearing from his life. Mr. Aboud never expected to see his saviour again, especially not in Canada. -Globe and Mail, Canada - 12/28/02 US Muslims' lawsuit suffers setback The US Justice Department has declared that a massive lawsuit filed after the detention of hundreds of Muslim men in the Los Angeles area can only be heard by the Supreme Court. -BBC - 12/28/02 Life in Tehran Friday: It is getting really cold here, we had snow last Friday but Tehran traffic is as hot as ever. Life has been quite hectic for me these past few weeks. In the past three weeks or so, I have done the followings: ... -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 12/27/02 Iran's favourite car under threat The government-owned company that makes the Paykan is in the middle of a major transformation to modernise its facilities. Its modernisation could spell the end of the Paykan which is stuck in the past, like much of Iran's economy. -BBC - 12/27/02 Ney takes to Iranian airwaves AS PART of his ongoing effort to promote democracy in Iran, U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-St. Clairsville, recently addressed the young people of Iran in a radio interview on the Voice of America's new "Radio Farda" broadcast. -Martins Ferry Times Leader, OH - 12/27/02 As diverse as it gets I was sitting in a hotel lounge, in downtown Ottawa, with a table-round of companions some of whom I was meeting for the first time. The only reason that would bond us together was being Iranian in an Iranian get-together party. -Hooman Moradmand, Canada - 12/27/02 IAEA Says Very Worried About N.Korea Nuclear Move The U.N. atomic watchdog said on Thursday North Korea's move to activate nuclear facilities was "very worrying" as South Korea vowed to play a leading role in stopping its communist neighbor's brinkmanship. -Reuters - 12/27/02 S. Koreans Shrug Off Nuclear Threat Many believe the U.S. poses a bigger danger than the communist North. The young tend to view the crisis as a White House creation. -Los Angeles Times - 12/27/02 Forget Iraq: The Real Battle Is In Turkey All eyes are on Iraq these days, but conventional wisdom holds it's just the first step of the Bush administration's larger push to gain hegemony over the international oil and gas industry. Two factors could stand in the way of the US grand plan though: Central Asia and Europe. -Common Dreams - 12/27/02 Foreign students jailed in Colorado for cutting college course hours "I don't believe this is helping us with the war on terrorism," said Mark Hallett, director of international student services at Colorado State University. "We're alienating people who could be our best friends and ambassadors once they return to their countries." -AP - 12/27/02 Cities Urge Restraint in Fight Against Terror Nearly two dozen cities around the country have passed resolutions urging federal authorities to respect the civil rights of local citizens when fighting terrorism. Efforts to pass similar measures are under way in more than 60 other places. -New York Times - 12/27/02 Immigrants as 'enemies' THE United States may be a nation of immigrants, but that doesn't mean we always have welcomed them here. Throughout our history, there has been a tension between greeting foreigners at our shores -- and doing our best to keep them out. -San Francisco Chronicle - 12/27/02 Turkmen-Afghan-Pakistan Gas Line Deal Set Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed an agreement on Friday to build a multi-billion dollar natural gas pipeline connecting their states, dismissing fears that regional security could threaten the project. -Reuters - 12/27/02 6 Asian, European states to renovate Afghan transportation Iran will along with five major Asian and European states help its neighbor, Afghanistan, renovate its poor transportation services. - 12/27/02 Six-day ordeal for immigrants If immigration attorney Banafsheh Akhlaghi's clients had just stayed home last week rather than do what they were supposed to do, they would have avoided a six-day ordeal that included a 30-hour, six-stop flight through four states as federal authorities tried to figure out what to do with them. -San Jose Mercury - 12/27/02 No nuclear arms for Iran: Russia Russia has denied its deal with Iran to speed up construction of a nuclear reactor will give Tehran access to nuclear weapons. -CNN - 12/27/02 U.S.: Suit against INS has no merit A lawsuit seeking to stop the future detention of Middle Eastern men under a new immigration policy is without merit, according to court documents filed Thursday by the U.S. government. -AP - 12/27/02 Billings man goes on Peace Corps goodwill tour to Iran Labeled by President Bush part of an "axis of evil," Iran has not had diplomatic relations with the United States since 1979. But a group of former Peace Corps volunteers that included a Billings man is hoping its recent goodwill tour to the country will forge new friendships. -Billings Gazette, MT - 12/27/02 15 after-shocks recorded in Kermanshah within 48 hours The 5.3 degree quake striking part of the province at 20:33 on Tuesday night was centered at Dinvar district, 50 kms northeast of the provincial capital city of Kermanshah. - 12/26/02 Iranian Pollster, a Top Reformist Politician, Goes on Trial The trial of Abbas Abdi, a prominent reformist politician, began here today. Mr. Abdi, who in the 1970's was involved in the hostage-taking at the American Embassy here, heads the Ayadneh Polling Institute. -New York Times - 12/26/02 U.S. releases Iranian Jews, but fear still stalks community Ten Iranian Jews holding Israeli citizenship have been released on bail after being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for several days. -JTA - 12/26/02 Mohammad-Reza Khatami: Abdi's trial of political nature The first MP of Tehran Constituency who was talking to reporters after the Wednesday hearing session of Abdi said: "Despite vast propagation launched prior to the hearing session, the process of the pollsters' hearings and the Ayandeh Opinion Poll Institute proved that absolutely no crime has taken place." - 12/26/02 Iranian twins to decide on separation Singapore doctors say a unique operation to separate Iranian sisters joined at the head for 28 years is feasible but the final decision to split the twins lies with the women themselves. -Reuters - 12/26/02 Rollout ceremony held for 2nd 'Iran-140' plane Once the production and assembly of the second domestically produced passenger plane `Iran-140' was completed, it was rolled out at a ceremony in Isfahan on Thursday by Iran Plane Production Co. (HESA). - 12/26/02 Ukraine mourns Iran air crash victims Ukraine is observing a day of national mourning for more than 40 people who died when a new Ukrainian plane crashed into a mountain in Iran on Monday. -BBC - 12/26/02 Growing U.S. Need for Oil From the Mideast Is Forecast As President Bush seeks to reduce American reliance on oil imported from the Persian Gulf, new government studies predict that in two decades the West will be even more dependent on oil from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern producers. -New York Times - 12/26/02 Iran abolishes stoning as form of punishment Iran has abolished stoning as a form of capital punishment, an Iranian newspaper reported today, in an apparent bid to ease European Union human rights concerns ahead of a possible breakthrough trade agreement. -ABC Online, Australia - 12/26/02 Israeli troops kill six Palestinians Four of those killed were Palestinian militants, while two Palestinian civilians were reported to be among the victims. -BBC - 12/26/02 Georgia continues to distance itself from Russia Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze is scrambling for recognition. But he's not looking towards his neighbor to the north -- Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation. Instead, Shevardnadze, perhaps more than a touch intimidated by recent dealings with Moscow, is looking to NATO and the United States. -Yellow Times - 12/26/02 Iran Stands Second at Asian Youth Basketball Championships The champion China, Iran, and the third-placed South Korea will represent the Asian Continent in the world event to be held in Malaysia in late June 2003. - 12/26/02 Reza Pahlavi's Letter to President Bush Just last week, after voluntarily responding to a registration call by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Services, large numbers of Iranians were rounded up, were treated inhumanely, arrested and now face deportation. - 12/26/02 Help needed to raise bond money for INS detainees Some family members have difficulty raising the $5000.00 bond money. One individual urgently needs to raise the bond by tomorrow thursday. -Ali Golchin, Law Offices of Ali Golchin and Associates, San Diego - 12/26/02 Russia forges ahead with Iran reactor Russia and Iran have agreed to speed up the construction of the Islamic republic's first nuclear reactor, in the face of strong American criticism. -BBC - 12/26/02 3,000 houses destroyed by Kermanshah quake Some 3,000 residential units in 57 different villages of the Dinevar section in this western province were destroyed during last night's quake which hit the province, it was announced here on Wednesday. - 12/25/02 Iran's Red Crescent Society conveys concern to American Red Cross about Iranians arrest Head of Iran's Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Ahmad Ali Nourbala on Tuesday expressed deep concern about violation of human rights of Iranian migrants and several detention cases against members of Iranian Community in the United States. -IRNA - 12/25/02 Registration gives U.S. image another beating At a time when the U.S. government is attempting to buy space on Arab television networks to air propaganda programmes focusing on the 'pleasant'‚ lives enjoyed by Muslims in America, hundreds of mostly Arab and Iranian temporary U.S. residents and visitors have been handcuffed and imprisoned. -Linda S. Heard, Gulf News - 12/25/02 Archaic site is unearthed in Neishabour An archaic site dating back to the prehistoric era has been unearthed in the suburb of the city of Neishabour by a number of experts from Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization (ICHO), it was reported here on Wednesday. -IRNA - 12/25/02 Iran assures Japan oil sales in case of war -paper Iran pledged to continue to supply oil to its international customers including Japan in face of a probable U.S.-led war against Iraq, Hamshahri newspaper quoted a senior oil official on Wednesday as saying. -Reuters - 12/25/02 Weapons found during Khatami visit Police found a machine gun and grenades Tuesday on the side of a road where the Iranian president was scheduled to travel, authorities said. -CNN - 12/25/02 Democracy: A Chimera for Iran? The recent developments in Iran have once more revealed the enthusiasm of the populace to integrate with the outside world and terminate the enduring marginalisation the country has been hurled at hot on the heels of the institution of the current regime. -Vahid Isabeigi, Canada - 12/25/02 Iran and Pakistan boost ties Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is boosting business and cultural ties at the conclusion of a landmark visit to Pakistan. -BBC - 12/25/02 Iran must scrap deal of buying aircraft from former Soviet Union: daily Iran News' on Wednesday urged the Iranian government to take a lesson from Monday's plane crash near the central city of Isfahan and scrap the deal of purchasing outdated planes from the former Soviet Union, even if it entails losses. -IRNA - 12/25/02 Suit challenges arrests by INS A coalition of civil rights groups sued the federal government Tuesday, demanding that it stop arresting Middle Eastern and Muslim men who comply with a new policy requiring them to register with immigration officials. -Sacramento Bee, CA - 12/25/02 Ukraine Mourns Iran Plane Crash Victims Ukraine mourned the loss of the cream of its aircraft industry on Tuesday, after a plane crashed in Iran killing at least 46 people, including some of the engineers who helped design it. -Reuters - 12/25/02 3 tech workers freed after INS detention: Bay Area men face deportation hearings Ramsin Ziazadeh, a 30-year-old electrical engineer for National Semiconductor, Faramarz Farahani, a 42-year-old database manager for Informatica in Redwood City, and Faisal Qaisi, a 36-year-old software engineer for ATI Silicon Valley Research in Santa Clara, were released on their own recognizance late Monday. -San Francisco Chronicle - 12/25/02 Iranian Students Jailed for Supporting Dissident, AFP Reports Two Iranian students received jail terms for protesting the death sentence given to an academic who had questioned the authority of Iran's religious leaders, AFP said, citing a student news agency. - 12/25/02 Abbas Abdi stands trial over polling case A packed court here Wednesday started trial of Abbas Abdi who is held over a polling which claimed most Iranians favored ties with the United States. -IRNA - 12/25/02 Class Action Lawsuit Against John Ashcroft and INS Filed Today, the Alliance of Iranian Americans (AIA, allianceia.org), the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) , and the National Council of Pakistani Americans (NCPA) filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against John Ashcroft, Attorney General of the United States, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). - 12/24/02 Crowd (in San Diego) protests detention of foreigners More than 300 people, many of them Iranians, gathered downtown yesterday to protest the detention of foreigners held for nearly a week after complying with an INS order to register for a new tracking program. -Union-Tribune, San Diego - 12/24/02 U.S., Iran Relations Improve in Persian Gulf As tensions with Iraq increase, the U.S. Navy's relations are improving with another long-standing foe in the Persian Gulf — Iran, a top U.S. military officer said Monday. -AP - 12/24/02 Tech workers among 13 held on visa violations A National Semiconductor engineer (Ramsin Ziazadeh) and a database manager (Faramarz Farahani) from the Silicon Valley are among 13 Bay Area men of Middle Eastern descent behind bars after they voluntarily gave their fingerprints and photos as part of a new federal homeland security program, immigration attorneys said Monday. -San Francisco Chronicle - 12/24/02 Successful Demonstration by Iranian-Americans in San Diego The peaceful and respectful assembly of Iranian- Americans in San Diego, on Sunday DEC 22, was a great SUCCESS! -The Iranian-American Community in San Diego - 12/24/02 Russia ready to supply N-fuel to Iran Russia is ready to start delivering nuclear fuel to a power plant it is building in Iran, Alexander Rumyantsev, minister of atomic energy, said on Monday after talks in Tehran aimed at concluding an $800m (£503m) deal that has been strongly opposed by the US. -Financial Times - 12/24/02 Iran and Lenin Lenin also set up five preconditions that defined a revolutionary situation and that he said were needed to make a revolution. So now, applying Lenin's paradigm, the question is whether today's Iran is in a revolutionary condition 23 years later. -Washington Times - 12/24/02 Get involved, or perish With this article, I intend to not only inform the public of the unconstitutional arrests and inhumane treatment of individuals who voluntarily registered with the INS but to demand of the Iranian-American community a political and cultural renaissance to reflect our needs. -Payam Mohseni, Iranian - 12/24/02 Israelis and Iranian Jews said detained in L.A. According to Israel's consulate in Los Angeles, authorities conducting a dragnet in southern California aimed at "Middle Easterners" have detained at least 10 Israeli citizens and a number of Jews of Iranian origin, Israel Radio reported Tuesday. -Ha'aretz, Israel - 12/24/02 Prospect of Saddam Fall Brings Fear, Hope The prospect of a U.S.-led war to topple Saddam Hussein has touched off an intensifying debate on what effect a new Iraqi regime would have on the combustible Middle East. -AP - 12/24/02 Oil Prices Trade Close to 2-Year Highs Crude oil prices traded close to two-year highs on Tuesday and the dollar stayed weak as rising tension between the United States and North Korea jangled nerves already stretched at the prospect of war in Iraq. -Reuters - 12/24/02 Hezbollah Becomes Potent Anti-U.S. Force Israel remains Hezbollah's central target. Iran and Syria helped to build Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite group, into a proxy force to fight Israel. Sheik Nasrallah is adamant that his group — which military experts say undoubtedly plays a role in providing arms and training for Palestinian militants — concentrates solely on the Arab-Israeli dispute. -New York Times - 12/24/02 Global Interfaith Peace Calls For Peace Brigade To Iraq Global Interfaith Peace (GIP) is a new non-governmental organization committed to the ideal of peaceful resolution of global conflicts. GIP calls on the world community to create a great chain of beings around Baghdad to shield millions of its innocent, long-suffering inhabitants from the looming confrontation. - 12/24/02 Baha'i's commemorate 150th anniversary of the birth of their faith This month the nearly 6 million worldwide members of the Baha'i Faith are concluding a four-month long observance marking the 150th anniversary of the events surrounding the origins of their faith. -Frontiersman, AK - 12/24/02 Iran, Azerbaijan sign accord on supplying Azeri gas to Nakhicheva Minister of Cooperatives Ali Soufi and Azeri Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hassanov on Tuesday signed an agreement on the supply of Azeri gas to the autonomous republic of Nakhichevan. -IRNA - 12/24/02 Letter by American Iranian Council to President Bush concerning the INS Visa Registration process American Iranian Council today sent letters to President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, U.S. Attorney General Ashcroft, and members of U.S. Congress protesting the treatment of Iranians peacefully complying with the Justice Department's registration requirements. - 12/24/02 Iran seeks South Asia peace role Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has said he is willing to help reduce tension between India and Pakistan. -BBC - 12/24/02 Iran President's Pledge: No Nuclear Arms Iranian President Mohammed Khatami pledged on Tuesday to forge ahead with the construction of a nuclear power plant, but rejected claims that it might be used to develop nuclear weapons. -AP - 12/24/02 Iran Officials Blame Crash on Pilot Error Airport officials say that pilot "carelessness" caused a plane carrying Ukrainian and Russian aerospace scientists to crash in central Iran, killing all 46 people on board, Iran's state radio reported Tuesday. -AP - 12/24/02 EU calls first human rights talks with Iran a success The EU decision to open trade talks with Iran has been heavily criticized by Washington. While the 15-nation bloc sees contacts with Iran as a means to improve human rights there, the United States has imposed trade sanctions and accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism. -AP - 12/23/02 Muslims say detentions could hurt INS effort U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, a member of the House's immigration subcommittee who is of Lebanese descent, said the Justice Department's actions will be addressed when Congress reconvenes. He wants to know whether the new powers given to the Attorney General's Office to fight terrorism are being used fairly and effectively. -San Diego's Union Tribune - 12/23/02 Iran seeks to boost Pakistan ties Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has arrived in Islamabad on a landmark three-day state visit to Pakistan. -BBC - 12/23/02 Russia, Iran discuss nuclear fuel Russia's Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyanstev arrived in Iran on Sunday for talks with Iranian officials on nuclear cooperation between the two countries. -UPI - 12/23/02 Advocates protest arrests by INS Advocates expressed outrage about the detentions, saying the agency is profiling Muslims and Arabs unfairly and that it is treating innocent people as criminals. Family members lined part of the hallway outside a visiting room at the INS on Thursday, struggling to understand the fate of their loved ones. -Tri-Valley Herald, Ca - 12/23/02 Iranian Hardliner Decries Reform Plans President Mohammad Khatami and his reformist camp will be ``demolished'' if they insist on two proposed bills seeking more presidential powers, a hardline cleric said in remarks published Monday. -AP - 12/23/02 Terminally ill (for Mehri and Azim Azimi) Mehri and her husband are the kind of people who touch and embrace hearts. A kind and generous human being, Mehri has been a devoted mother, a wonderful wife and a great friend to all who know her. -Massoume Price - 12/23/02 NIOC remains world's fourth top oil company The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has retained its position as the world's fourth top oil company, according to the latest annual ranking by the Petroleum Intelligence Weekly (PIW). -IRNA - 12/23/02 When will we ever learn? When Hashem Aghajari, a Muslim radical intellectual with impeccable revolutionary credentials, was condemned to death for his opposition to the hardliners in Tehran, why weren't there any protests from Istanbul to Islamabad? -Dawn, Pakistan - 12/23/02 US condemns N Korea's nuclear move The United States has urged North Korea not to restart its nuclear facilities, and says Pyongyang's decision to remove United Nations monitoring equipment from its nuclear sites raises "further serious concerns". -BBC - 12/23/02 American Samoa bans nationals from 23 countries including Iran Citing a security threat, the US Pacific territory of American Samoa has banned nationals from 23 countries unless they have specific permission to visit, officials said. -Sydney Morning Herald - 12/23/02 Protest Demonstrations in San Diego (Sun Dec. 22) & San Francisco (Mon Dec. 23) The INS has detained hundreds of individuals from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan who voluntarily went to the INS office to register. We call on you, those who are concerned with the rights and dignities of all human beings and who believe that people must express their feelings regarding the violations of the United States Constitution, to participate in demonstrations being held in San Diego and San Francisco. - 12/23/02 INS Detainees From Northern California Experiencing Severe Human Rights Violations in San Diego Banafsheh Akhlaghi, together with represeentatives from various human rights activist groups, demonstrated on Sunday in protest of the gross violations on the civil liberties of the Iranian INS detainees, several of whom she is representing. -Indy Media - 12/23/02 Newsweek Cover: Who is next? Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri is one of a Dozen Faces to Watch in 2003. Ayatollah Taheri is a respected Islamic scholar whose protests could herald trouble for Iran's regime. - 12/23/02 Iran's NIOC To Complete Petropars Buy In 2 Weeks - Report Iran's state-owned National Iranian Oil Co. (C.NIO) will complete its purchase of semi-private Iranian oil-and-gas company Petropars in about two weeks, Petropars President Akbar Torkan said in remarks published last week. -Dow Jones - 12/23/02 Afghanistan signs pact with its neighbours The signing of a non-aggression pact with China, Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan follows 23 years of war in Afghanistan that began with an invasion by the Soviet Union in 1979. -Financial Times - 12/23/02 Persian Watch Center issues statement about INS blanket mistreatment of people of Iranian heritage Persian Watch Center, the Iranian American AntiDiscrimination Council strongly registers its bafflement with grave concern over the INS blanket mistreatment of people of Iranian heritage residing in the US. - 12/23/02 Asefi:Washington's maltreatment of Iranians shows its ill intention American officials' maltreatment of Iranian immigrants residing in the US shows that the Bush administration is not sincere in its claims of defending and respecting the rights of Iranians, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi stressed. -IRNA - 12/23/02 Play: Eye for Eye (by Gholaam-hussein Saedi) The curtain goes up; there is no one on the scene. Then two big legs appear on the cushion; there is the sound of a loud long yawn and following that the fat chubby body of the Ruler, who rises slowly and sits on the bed. He is wearing flamboyant clothes with all sorts of things from a shield, a shoulder belt, a bow to an old pistol hanging from his belt. - 12/23/02 Fundraising Event: Empowering Youth Through Cultural Awareness - From Farhangnameh to UCLA Iranian Studies Friday, February 28, 2003, Beverly Hills, California. International Children's Book Foundation's mission is to finance and promote projects that enrich Persian culture and civilization. - 12/23/02 Russian energy minister arrives in Tehran for nuke energy talks Russian Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev arrived here Sunday for a four-day visit to hold talks with Iranian officials over "speeding up" the completion of Bushehr plant and bilateral cooperation for a peaceful use of nuclear energy. -IRNA - 12/22/02 US Wrecks Cheap Drugs Deal Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, last night blocked a global deal to provide cheap drugs to poor countries, following intense lobbying of the White House by America's pharmaceutical giants. -Guardian - 12/22/02 U.S. Said to Ready Kurd Areas in Iraq for Possible War As the United States and Iraq publicly spar over the degree of Iraqi compliance with United Nations weapons inspections, an array of American war preparations are under way here in the independent north. -New York Times - 12/22/02 Expanding the Mideast agenda Democratic developments in Iraq may send out ripples across the Middle East that will topple other despotic regimes. Or not. If not, we will have to help the process along. Iran seems particularly ripe, since the "Iranian street" is already in revolt. -Washington Times - 12/22/02 The Last Cartoon Saddam Hussein has always been a unique political creature — a combination of Don Corleone and Donald Duck. He's always been capable of the most shrewd, but brutal, survival tactics, à la the Godfather, and the most cartoonish miscalculations, à la the Donald. -New York Times - 12/22/02 Iranian President to Visit Pakistan Iranian President Mohammed Khatami will make his first visit to Pakistan next week to discuss the conflict in Afghanistan and other security issues, a Foreign Ministry statement said Saturday. -AP - 12/22/02 Patriot Act Revolt: Cities Say No to Federal Snooping Fearing that the Patriot Act will curtail Americans' civil rights, municipalities across the country are passing resolutions to repudiate the legislation and protect their residents from a perceived abuse of authority by the federal government. -Common Dreams - 12/22/02 Is This Really Happening? Mass Arrests of Muslim and Jewish Immigrants in America Is this really happening? Or is it only a nightmare? The INS in Los Angeles, California and in other states, detained hundreds of Middle-Eastern Muslim and Jewish men and boys yesterday. -CounterPunch - 12/22/02 Iran summons Swiss ambassador on detention of Iranians in US Swiss Ambassador to Tehran Tim Goldimann who represents US interests in Iran was summoned to Foreign Ministry here Saturday to receive a protest against the behavior of US police with Iranians living in the United States. -IRNA - 12/22/02 Looking Inside Weary of Islam mixed with politics, many Iranians are altering their approach to religion -Babak Dehghanpisheh, Newsweek - 12/22/02 Iranians furious over INS arrests: Abuse alleged after men agreed to register in L.A. Members of Southern California's Iranian American community are still seething over the chaotic arrests and alleged mistreatment of foreign-born men arrested while voluntarily submitting to a special registration process. They say many innocent men remain behind bars. -San Francisco Chrionicle - 12/22/02 ACLU Calls Immigrant Registration Program Pretext for Mass Detentions In a development that confirms the American Civil Liberties Union’s initial fears about a controversial immigrant fingerprinting and registration program, the Immigration and Naturalization Service is apparently using the program as a pretext for the mass detention of hundreds of Middle Eastern and Muslim men and boys. -ACLU - 12/22/02 INS policy sparks furor Many men surprised to find themselves jailed, facing ouster. -Sacramento Bee - 12/21/02 INS order leads to arrests Bay Area INS offices arrested at least a dozen immigrants this week after they registered as part of a new anti-terror, border security program and officials discovered that they had overstayed their visas. -San Jose Mercury - 12/21/02 Russia ignores US over Iranian N-deal Russia's minister of atomic energy is to fly to Tehran tomorrow to finalise details of his country's support for Iran's civil nuclear programme, in defiance of continued US concerns that it could be diverted for military purposes. -Financial Times - 12/21/02 Foreign Ministry spokesman denounces detention of Iranians by US police as 'insulting' Iranian press Saturday also quoted editors of several Iranian newspapers as having sent a message to their American counterparts, in which they have condemned US officials' 'inappropriate measures' in detaining their countrymen. -IRNA - 12/21/02 Iran: Aghajari Case Prompts Reformist Students Back Into Action As the year 2002 comes to a close, there is still no end in sight to what was perhaps the most surprising and riveting crisis in Iran this year: the case of history Professor Hashem Aghajari. -RFE - 12/21/02 U.S. sees OPEC oil revenues rising 7 pct in 2003 A jump in world oil prices and higher production means OPEC's oil revenues will increase 7 percent next year, the U.S. government said on Friday. -Reuters - 12/21/02 2002: The Good, The Bad, The Worst As years go, they don't get much worse than 2002. The year's main saving grace – that we haven't yet invaded Iraq – suggests that, believe it or not, 2003 could be even worse. -Alternet - 12/21/02 U.S. Vetoes U.N.'s Israel Condemnation The United States vetoed an Arab-backed resolution that would have condemned Israel for the recent killings of three U.N. workers, saying it was "inappropriate" to single out the Israelis. -AP - 12/21/02 A New Generation of Iranian Americans Redefine Themselves Payam Mohseni, a second year student at UC Berkeley is one of the founders of the Society for Progress and Development in Iran (SPDI), a new student organization dedicated to Iranian causes in Iran and abroad. -New California Media - 12/21/02 Turkey and Israel Strategize In 1996, Israel and Turkey signed an agreement for military cooperation. Since then, much has been said and written about this evolving relationship, and political analysts have differed over how to define it. -Middle East Quarterly - 12/21/02 Poetry and pistachios the highlight of Iran's celebration of start of winter Iranians scurried from shop to shop in subfreezing weather Saturday, buying up special provisions for the feast of Yalda, an ancient tradition marking the onset of winter and the longest night of the year. -AP - 12/21/02 L.A. Roundup - Stop This Assault on Democracy A young Iranian American responds to the recent arrests in Southern California of hundreds of men and boys from the Middle East. -Shadi Rahimi, Pacific News Service - 12/21/02 Petition: Stop Arresting Immigrants in the US Ever since the despicable terrorist acts of 09/11/01 against our nation, neo-conservative and special interest groups have converged to enact and enforce some of the most discriminatory legislations and policy practices that are primarily focused on Middle Eastern / Muslim individuals from the so called “Islamic Countries.” - 12/21/02 Arrests amid INS effort spark ire About 450 Middle Easterners and Muslims on Friday blasted the INS for strip-searching and jailing their brothers, fathers and sons when they tried to comply with a new federal registration program. -Orange County Register - 12/21/02 Shab e Cheleh ((Yalda Festival) Yalda, a Syriac word imported into the Persian language by the Syriac Christians means birth (tavalud and melaad are from the same origin). It is a relatively recent arrival and it is refereed to the ‘Shab e Cheleh Festival’, a celebration of Winter Solstice on December 21st. -Massoume - 12/21/02 Bush Offers Friendship on New Iran Radio Service "If Iran respects its international obligations and embraces freedom and tolerance, it will have no better friend than the United States of America," Bush said in a broadcast on Radio Farda, a U.S.-run Persian-language radio service which began broadcasting to Iran on Thursday. -Reuters - 12/21/02 Critics say detention of Middle Eastern men harms terrorism fight A post-September 11 federal registration policy that led to the detention of hundreds of Middle Eastern immigrants hurts more than it helps the war on terrorism, critics charged. "People are selected on the basis of their ethnicity without regard to any particular crime being committed," Ken Inouye of the Japanese American Citizens League said Friday. -CNN - 12/21/02 Civil Rights Groups Protest Detentions of Middle Eastern Men in US US civil rights groups and Muslim leaders slammed a new US anti-terrorism measure under which Middle Eastern men are forced to register with the authorities and be fingerprinted. -Common Dreams - 12/20/02 Iran to abolish death by stoning Stoning is to be abolished in Iran as a form of capital punishment, according to official assurances given to a European Union human rights delegation. -Financial Times - 12/20/02 Top-secret Iraq Report Reveals U.S. Corporations, Gov't Agencies and Nuclear Labs Helped Illegally Arm Iraq On Wednesday, December 18, Geneva-based reporter Andreas Zumach broke the story on the US national listener-sponsored radio and television show “Democracy Now!” Zumach’s Berlin-based paper Die Tageszeitung plans to soon publish a full list of companies and nations who have aided Iraq. - 12/20/02 They were held when they showed up, as requested, for a registration program Relatives and lawyers of those arrested locally challenge that rationale for the latest round of detentions. One attorney, who said he saw a 16-year- old boy pulled from the arms of his crying mother, called it madness to believe the registration requirements would catch terrorists. -Los Angeles Times - 12/20/02 California orders mass arrests of Muslim foreigners Hundreds of Middle Eastern and North African men, some just 16, have been hauled into custody across southern California in the past few days, enraging civil liberties groups and drawing comparisons with the internment of tens of thousands of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. -Independent - 12/20/02 INS Arrests - Share Your Thoughts on this Issue Call and Write Your Congressman and then Spread the Word within our Community about this issue. Here are actions that you can take to help with the INS arrests that have been happening around the country. -NIAC - 12/20/02 Iran's Crumbling Revolution Western reporters tend to describe the current situation in Iran in alarmist terms, suggesting that the people are near revolt, the regime faces collapse, and the country is prone to political upheaval. -Jahangir Amuzegar, Foreign Affairs - 12/20/02 Iran and Britain discuss promotion of ties Also, UK MPs reiterate support for EU's constructive policy towards Iran. -IRNA - 12/20/02 Ayatollah Jannati calls for strong unity between universities and theological schools Substitute Leader of the Tehran Friday Prayers Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati blasted those internal and foreign agents who are after creating tension and trouble in the Islamic society of Iran. -IRNA - 12/20/02 Pictures from the Anti-INS Immigrant Rights Protest in LA Pictures from the Anti-INS Immigrant Rights Protest against the arbitrary detainment of Iranian and Arab Americans!!! -Indy Media - 12/20/02 Iran informs Europe,Africa lifters of Jan crude cuts Key producer Iran has made good on OPEC's pact to remove excess output, serving notice to customers in Europe and Africa of cutbacks in January crude supplies, a top Iranian oil official said on Thursday. -Reuters - 12/20/02 Full metal axis: U.S. ratchets up pressure on Iran, North Korea Policy disputes between Colin Powell’s State Department and Donald Rumsfeld’s Pentagon get a lot of press, especially those pertaining to Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But nowhere is the split inside the administration as pronounced as it is over Iran policy. -MSNBC - 12/20/02 Creating a secure America, or leaving another history of shame? Lives of thousands of innocent people will be affected if these new regulations are applied retroactively. And there will be waves of fear and hatred in the immigrant communities. It's ironic that the very fear of persecution that many people in these communities have witnessed and experienced in their own homeland is now coming back to them, but this time in the country they viewed as "free" and "just" and where they chose to make a new life. -Ali Moayedian - 12/20/02 Iranian Jews held in detention as part of roundup across U.S. Los Angeles’ Iranian Jewish community is joining area Muslims in accusing the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service of mistreatment during a federally mandated registration of certain immigrants. -JTA - 12/20/02 Immigrant Family Cites Rights Violation Gisroo Mohajeri clutched her pregnant belly on the steps of the downtown federal building and uttered a mother's lament: "I feel so guilty," she sobbed.Three days after urging her 16-year-old, Iranian-born son to voluntarily register with federal immigration officials under a new program, he now faces deportation proceedings. -AP - 12/20/02 INS frees some detainees Without apologizing, the Immigration and Naturalization Service on Thursday freed some of the hundreds of Middle Eastern natives who were detained when they tried to comply with a new government registration deadline. Justice Department officials said the majority of those detained had overstayed their visas and that, by midday Thursday, all but about 100 had been released after it became clear they posed no threat. -Los Angeles Daily News - 12/20/02 Iran receives new World Bank loan The World Bank's investment arm has approved its first investment in Iran since 1974. The loan could widen the rift between the World Bank and the US, its biggest stakeholder, over future funding. -BBC - 12/20/02 Iranian-Americans protest immigration policy About 2,000 Iranian-Americans protested outside the federal building in west Los Angeles on Wednesday to denounce a new immigration policy that they say has resulted in the unfair detention of immigrants. -CNN - 12/19/02 Alavi Foundation of New York Responds to Accusations Clearly, the Foundation is a convenient target because it received a substantial gift from the Shan of Iran almost thirty years ago and does not seek to hide its Islamic affiliation. The fact that the Foundation seeks to promote a better understanding of Islamic and Muslim culture does not, however, make it a supporter of terrorists or a “front” for the Iranian Government. - 12/19/02 Interview: Petropars Without doubt Petropars Ltd. is the most famous of Iran's aspiring managing contractor firms, whose recognition comes as much from the political controversies as it does from its technical capability. Most international oil companies active in Iran openly admit that Petropars is among the better choices as a potential local partner in projects. -Iran Energy Focus - 12/19/02 Mass arrests of Muslims in LA Ramona Ripston, executive director of the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the arrests were reminiscent of the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. "I think it is shocking what is happening," she said. -BBC - 12/19/02 Iran lets envoys see political prisoner Iran's judiciary has allowed European diplomats to visit Siamak Pourzand, a 73-year-old political prisoner whose trial this year was described by Human Rights Watch as a "mockery of the rule of law". He was released from prison last month on temporary leave, but diplomats are hopeful that he will not be returned to Evin. -Financial Times - 12/19/02 Sources Say Iran Lays Groundwork For Nuclear Bombs "The problem is that Iran is not cheating," said Henry D. Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, a research group. "They haven't broken any rules, and they won't until they have weapons." -Washington Post - 12/19/02 Khatami Says Iran Has No Plans to Make Nuclear Arms He was responding to remarks by U.S. officials last week alleging that two nuclear sites in central Iran were of a type that could be used for manufacturing nuclear warheads. -AP - 12/19/02 NIAC Meets with Subcommittee on Immigration On November 11, 2002, a NIAC delegation met with key members of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims to convey the viewpoints of the Iranian American community on pending and recently passed legislation. - 12/19/02 Iran not ruling out presence of suspects with links to al-Qaida in the country Members of a militant Islamic group with possible links to the al-Qaida terror network may have infiltrated Iran's borders, but security forces will seek them out if they are on Iranian territory, a government spokesman said Wednesday. -AP - 12/19/02 Kuwaitis question US ambitions Support for the US military presence is high, but many are suspicious of longterm Mideast goals.-Christian Science Monitor - 12/19/02 Coup de Petrol in Venezuela Exactly one year after the opposition's first "general strike," on December 10, 2001, which launched the campaign to oust the democratically elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, the opposition is engaged in its fourth "general strike" and has come very close to finally achieving its goal. -CounterPunch - 12/19/02 Photo essay: L.A. protests against detention of Iranians US immigration officials in Southern California have detained hundreds of Iranians and other Muslim men who turned up to register under residence laws brought in as part of the anti-terror drive. Reports say between 500 and 700 men were arrested in and around Los Angeles after they complied with an order to register by 16 December. -Iranian.com - 12/19/02 Global insecurity In the coming months, market insecurity will increase if terror attacks continue. With the recent spread of U.S. influence, the possibility of attacks has increased greatly. - 12/19/02 Iran to Increase Defense Expenditures "Upgrading (Iran's) military capability and deterrence, ... expanding and reinforcing military industries to achieve new technologies, have been given priority in the draft budget," Khatami told the parliament in a speech that was broadcast live on state radio. -AP - 12/19/02 Judge issues judgment against Iran in abduction case A federal judge issued a $301.2 million judgment against Iran on Wednesday, blaming that government for the kidnapping and beating of an American who was a graduate student in Beirut, Lebanon, when he was abducted in 1984. -AP - 12/19/02 Ayatollas Make “Presents” to the USA To all appearances, the US Administration will have to treat its potential allies more carefully in the struggle against the regime of Saddam Hussein. As it turned out, the leaders of the two strongest movements, Kurdistan’s Democratic Party and Kurdistan’s Patriotic Union, cooperated with Iran. -Pravda, Russia - 12/19/02 Khatami hopeful of approval of bill on presidential power President Mohammad Khatami here Thursday brushed off the 'ballyhoo' made by the opponents of a bill to bolster his power, saying he was hopeful about the oversight Guardians Council's cooperation in passing it. -IRNA - 12/19/02 December 18: UN International Migrants Day One year and three months after the devastating events of September 11, we continue to witness the devastating effects of fear, racism, and xenophobia on our immigrant and refugee communities. Immigrants and refugees continue to be the specific targets of intensified law enforcement and public scapegoating in the name of national security. -CWAME - 12/19/02 Meeting to promote Constitution to be held in the presence of Khatami The meeting named "A review in the root-causes of the vicious implementation of the Constitution" aims to shed light on the rights of the people enshrined in the Constitution. -IRNA - 12/19/02 U.N. Nuclear Agency to Visit Iran in Feb. The United Nations' chief nuclear inspector will visit Iran in February to tour facilities the United States says belong to a secret weapons program, his spokesman said Wednesday. -AP - 12/19/02 Powell Backs EU Efforts on Iran Reform U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said Wednesday he supports the European Union's linkage of trade talks with Iran to a commitment by Tehran to maintain a dialogue on political and human rights issues. -AP - 12/19/02 Genetic Politicology These days whenever I think of ‘revolution’ my whole body starts to tremble? Now I understand ‘Reformism’ with my flesh and blood. I have no idea what it exactly means in academic circles and how political specialists define and explain it. What I understand of this word is peaceful shift of power. -Roya Monajem, Tehran - 12/19/02 Letter by Alliance of Iranian Americans to INS Acting District Director in Los Angeles The Iranian American Community is outraged at the maltreatment that its members have been receiving at the hands of the Immigration & Naturalization Service ("INS"). We have been receiving and documenting the horror stories of defenseless Iranian immigrants... -AIA - 12/18/02 EU, Iran agree to continue human rights dialogue ''The EU will assess progress under the dialogue on the basis of concrete benchmarks. In this respect, the EU took note of the agreement made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to receive a number of UN Thematic Rapporteurs, including the UN Rapporteur on violence against women who will arrive in Iran in early 2003,'' it said. -IRNA - 12/18/02 Immigrants sue to block INS deportation proceedings Four men from Syria and Iran asked a federal court yesterday to stop the Immigration and Naturalization Services from trying to deport them. "This is an abuse of discretion," said their lawyer, Karen Meade of Cleveland. "It's a violation of equal protection under the law to single out men from certain countries who are in the process of working with the INS for relief." -Cleveland Plain Dealer - 12/18/02 President says his office is not implicated in polling case "The pollsters whose charge has not been proved should not be depicted as convict. Other issues should not influence the proceedings and the case should not be exploited for political ends," the president said. Asked about 'a looming political tremor', he said, "I don't know what you mean by the looming political tremor." -IRNA - 12/18/02 IIPF says two bills put forward by president minimum expectations The statement said that the two bills on extension of the president's authority and the amendment to the elections law are the criteria for cooperation with the ruling system. Otherwise, there remains no place for the reformers to remain in the political structure. -IRNA - 12/18/02 Isfahan-bound plane makes emergency landing at Tehran's Mehrabad airport Ja'fari said the plane was one of those second-hand aircraft purchased by the Ministry of Road and Transportation from Turkey. The Civil Aviation Organization bought six used Airbus-310 airplanes from Turkey last year in defiance of strong oppositions voiced by various scientific, academic and technical centers within the country to the purchase of second-hand passenger planes. -IRNA - 12/18/02 Event: Launching of Iranian Jewish Public Affairs Committee (IJPAC) January 5 in Los Angeles; The mission of IJPAC is to be the voice of the organized Iranian Jewish communities in the United States on public policy issues and political matters of importance to the Iranian Jewish community. - 12/18/02 Iranian student protesters bring hope to the post-9/11 world I had to rub my eyes. Did I read that right? The Iranian students who had practically invented the chants "Death to America" and "Death to the Great Satan" had -- on their own -- changed the tape. Now they are chanting "Death to dictatorship." And because they are, there is hope for the post-9/11 world. -Seattle Post Intelligencer - 12/18/02 Jews From FSU, Iran, Get Help The deployment of specially trained immigration agents abroad should help Jewish refugees and others hoping to enter the United States, immigration advocates say. -Baltimore Jewish Times - 12/18/02 Barber arrested for helping girls pose as boys Iran's moral police have arrested a male barber who gave short haircuts to young women so that they could pass as boys and go out in public without having to cover themselves from head to toe, a newspaper has said -Reuters - 12/18/02 Five articles on satellite usage wins final Majlis approval The remaining articles are to be examined at the next open session of the Majlis to be convened after its 10-day recess. -IRNA - 12/18/02 Where they stand on Iraq: Iran If the United States goes to war against Iraq, on whom can it count as a friend and who will line up as a foe? This week, CNN takes a look at five key countries and where they stand. -CNN - 12/18/02 US Worried That EU, Iran Trade Talks Send Wrong Message The U.S. is worried the European Union is sending the wrong message by launching trade talks with Iran, a top U.S. trade official said Tuesday. -Dow Jones - 12/18/02 Solidarity, Iranian Style Iran, in other words, is beginning to look a lot like Poland in the 1980s, when student protests, worker strikes and underground media helped create the conditions that led to the collapse of communism -- and some Iranians know it. Iranian questions about Eastern Europe are not, in other words, purely theoretical. -Washington Post - 12/18/02 OIL News: Tehran, Tokyo to sign dlrs 2.8bn deal for oilfield development Iran enters joint venture for refining Caspian oil resources; And 1st international oil exhibition opens in Qeshm. - 12/18/02 Khatami submits $107 bn budget bill to Majlis for new year President Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday outlined to the parliament the priorities of a new budget bill, totalling more than 107 billion US dollars, for the year 1382, with the 'special' focus on privatization, creating jobs and attracting foreign investment. -IRNA - 12/18/02 Mixed messages While Syria's despotic president gets his Downing Street photo op, Iran's reformist one (Khatami) gets the cold shoulder -Guardian - 12/18/02 Visitors to Tehran Being around at this time of the year, when many Iranians come back home for a reunion with their loved ones, is one of most wonderful things about living in Tehran. You get to see friends and relatives truly from across the globe. It is enchanting as well as being extremely enlightening. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 12/18/02 U.S. visa holders expected to remain in jail Immigration lawyers estimated at least 50 people – many of them Iranians – were held after they showed up at the Federal Building to be photographed and fingerprinted for a new system designed to track U.S. visa holders. "No one knows where anyone is," Sam Hamod, co-chairman of the American Muslim Coalition of San Diego, said. "Everyone in the community is very upset." -San Diego Union Tribune - 12/18/02 Men From Muslim Nations Swamp Immigration Office Over the past week, agency officials enforcing the program have handcuffed and detained hundreds of men who showed up to be fingerprinted. In some cases the men had expired student or work visas; in other cases the men could not provide adequate documentation of their immigration status. At one point on Friday, officials in the Los Angeles office ran out of plastic handcuffs as they herded men into the basement lockup of the federal building, said Ali Bolour, an immigration lawyer who shepherded several clients through the process. -New York Times - 12/18/02 Zanganeh says Japan to grant third tranche of loan to Iran soon Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh Monday said Japan would grant the Islamic Republic the last payment of a US dollars three billion loan in March 2003, the press reported here on Tuesday. -IRNA - 12/17/02 ECGD confirms first UK cover for Iranian project in over 20 years The British government's Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) confirmed Tuesday that it had completed the signing of the first full cover for an Iranian project in more than 20 years. -IRNA - 12/17/02 The "Axis of Evil" in Action Was Bush right when he made Iraq, Iran and North Korea a loathsome trio? -Time - 12/17/02 Iranian elected to presiding board of ruling German coalition party Iranian-born Omid Nouripour was elected to the presiding board of the Greens Party, a junior partner of the Social Democratic-led German government coalition, the daily Frankfurter Rundschau reported Tuesday. - 12/17/02 Iran ends ban on satellite television Iran's reformist-controlled parliament voted on Tuesday to replace an openly-flouted national ban on satellite television with restrictions on what residents of the Islamic republic are allowed to watch. -AFP - 12/17/02 Senator assails shift in U.S. broadcasts to Iran Sen. Jesse Helms assailed changes in U.S. government broadcasts to Iran, saying a new pop-music format may insult Iranians' cultural sensitivities, "as well as their intelligence." -AP - 12/17/02 Iran in History Iran was indeed Islamized, but it was not Arabized. Persians remained Persians. And after an interval of silence, Iran reemerged as a separate, different and distinctive element within Islam, eventually adding a new element even to Islam itself. -Bernard Lewis, Moshe Dayan Center - 12/17/02 INS to register Saudi, Pakistani men Male nationals of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan visiting or studying in the United States must report for fingerprinting and photographing by February 21 as part of an anti-terrorism program, the Justice Department said Monday. -CNN - 12/17/02 Sean Penn urges peace with Iraq Hollywood star Sean Penn is visiting Baghdad to seek a greater understanding of the issues behind the current crisis.The US actor and director said he did not want to criticise governments or presidents, but he was concerned at the lack of information being given to the American public. -BBC - 12/17/02 Pentagon: N. Korea delivers gunboats to Iran North Korea last week delivered 15 gunboats to Iran in a move that is raising concerns with the U.S. Navy about Iran's maritime capabilities, Pentagon sources said Monday. -CNN - 12/17/02 Afghanistan: Women Still Not "Liberated" Afghan women and girls have suffered mounting abuses, harassment and restrictions of their fundamental human rights during 2002, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. - 12/17/02 Oil, Iraq and America Of the two slogans that the Bush Administration has coined to sell the idea of invading Iraq--installing democracy and monopolizing Iraq's petroleum riches--the one about democracy means little to ordinary folks. -The Nation - 12/17/02 Iraqi exiles find common ground Iraqi opposition groups meeting in London extended their talks yesterday to try to form a united front to oppose the regime of Saddam Hussein. -Guardian - 12/17/02 UK Firm Sees Growth Potential in Iran Aquaculture Interest in Fusion Marine fish farming systems is growing in Iran following the company's attendance at a recent fisheries exhibition in Teheran. Fusion Marine was one of only three European companies participating at the International Fair of Aquaculture and Farming with its stand attracting a large number of visitors. -Seafood.com - 12/17/02 Pakistan, Iran Discuss Creating Rail Link To Europe A senior Iranian official urged Pakistan to upgrade the rail route between a southwestern Pakistan city and an Iranian border town so that by 2004 Pakistan could connect to a 550 km railway link to Europe, Pakistani officials said Monday. -Dow Jones - 12/17/02 Iran in Ferment Iranian student protests of the last few weeks -- the largest in at least three years, with scores arrested -- reflect widespread discontent with current conditions, felt not only by the younger generation but by Iranians of all classes and age groups. -Shaul Bakhash, Moscow Times - 12/17/02 An American goes to Iran Waiting to board my flight from Shiraz to Tehran, with time on my hands, I approached the Tourist Information Desk and, speaking entirely in English, asked the young woman behind the desk if she sold post-cards -Persian Heritage - 12/17/02 Italy finds Karaj suitable for exporting foodstuffs to EU Italian Food Association proposed here on Tuesday to convert the city of Karaj, near Tehran, to Iran's main center for exporting foodstuff and agricultural produce to European Union (EU) member states. -IRNA - 12/17/02 Powell Expresses Concern About Russian, Iranian Cooperation Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed renewed concern Monday about Russian nuclear cooperation with Iran. The Bush administration believes Iran is aggressively pursuing a nuclear weapons capability. -VOA - 12/17/02 Tehran police arrest international traffickers of Iranian girls Also, police in Isfahan bust prostitution gangs: press -IRNA - 12/17/02 For Iran, a question of faith: A clash of religion and politics stirs struggle for a nation's soul The question of religion and state, according to Ayatollah Seyed Hussain Mousavi Tabrizi, the former chief prosecutor of Iran's Revolutionary Court and a prominent reformist-minded lawyer, is highly controversial and one that divides the Qom clergy into two distinct categories. -Farnaz Fassihi, Star-Ledger - 12/16/02 Iranian Lawmaker Opens Door to American Talks A prominent political reformer offered today to hold talks with the United States but declared that pressure from Washington has only hurt the cause of Iran's moderates. In a rare interview with the foreign news media, the deputy Parliament speaker, Behzad Nabavi, said he was willing to begin a dialogue with American lawmakers. -New York Times - 12/16/02 Iran's Reformists Approve Bill Banning Torture Iran's reformist parliament approved a bill banning the torture of prisoners Sunday after an earlier version was rejected by a hard-line constitutional watchdog, parliamentarians said. -Reuters - 12/16/02 Troubled Iran set for rights talks with EU The European Union is due to launch its first round of formal negotiations with Iran over human rights today, just as hardline conservatives controlling the judiciary appear to be intensifying a crackdown against their reformist opponents with a new wave of arrests and verdicts. -Financial Times - 12/16/02 Younesi: students gatherings authorized Few students which have been arrested in the recent days by the Judiciary have been released, the information minister said. -IRNA - 12/16/02 Power to the People, Anger in the Streets An academic's death sentence triggers student protests that shake Iran's rulers -Time - 12/16/02 Soccer: Alecko Eskandarian Signs With M.L.S. His father, Andranik, played for the Cosmos in the early 1980's and also played for Iran in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. -New York Times - 12/16/02 N. Korea delivers semi-submersible gunships to Iran North Korea sent 15 gunboats to Iran last week aboard an Iranian freighter that arrived about the same time that U.S. and Spanish warships temporarily seized a shipment of North Korean Scud missiles, The Washington Times has learned. - 12/16/02 Fractious opposition extends Iraq talks Iraqi opposition groups meeting in London have extended their talks into an unscheduled fourth day, as they struggle to find consensus on a future path for the country. -BBC - 12/16/02 Time to Expose the Mullahs Students are protesting in Tehran by the thousands. But this is not an equal fight. The ruling clerics have the money and the power -Newsweek - 12/16/02 Incoming Chairman of US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wants Answers On other issues, the Senator favors U.S. engagement with North Korea and Iran, two countries that have suspected nuclear weapons programs and are part of President Bush's so-called 'Axis of Evil'. -VOA - 12/16/02 Casey Kasem or Freedom? Two weeks ago, Radio Freedom abruptly disappeared from the air. Iranians were no longer able to hear firsthand reports of the protests or the nightly think tanks about their country's future. Instead, after two weeks of virtual silence, the broadcasts are being replaced this week with tunes from Jennifer Lopez, Whitney Houston and other soft-rockers. How did the mullahs pull off this well-timed lobotomy? -Washington Post - 12/16/02 Islamic Republic of Iran Police to employ 4,000 women for police duty By the end of the current Iranian year (ending March 20), announced the deputy head of the police's Ideological-Political Organization, as quoted by the Persian language daily Hassan Zakeri on Monday. -IRNA - 12/16/02 Iranian wrestlers to contest in world championships in US In the wrestling world cup in Boise, Idaho in April and the world championships at New York's Madison Square Garden in September 2003. -IRNA - 12/16/02 Immigrants' Catch-22 - Registration: deported if they do, deported if they don't "It's unfair and unjust," said Manhattan immigration attorney James Irani, who said he is in a bind as to what to advise his clients. Two of Irani's clients, both men from Iran, went to register with the INS in recent days. Both were photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed under oath. After the registration process was completed, the INS detained them and began deportation proceedings for being here illegally. -Newsday - 12/16/02 U.S. Says Russia Helped Iran in Nuclear Arms Effort American intelligence and defense officials have concluded that Russia — one of the Bush administration's most important allies in the campaign against terrorism — supplied Iran with much of the equipment and expertise it used to build two new facilities that appear to American intelligence agencies to be part of a nuclear weapons program. -New York Times - 12/16/02 American Iranian Council calls for release of all political prisoners in Iran Considering numerous observations and complaints by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as political prisoners, their attorneys and families, the American Iranian Council protests the continuing assaults on human rights of political activists and prisoners in Iran. - 12/16/02 Three Enemy Targets Require Three Different Strategies But last week the two other members of the "axis of evil," North Korea and Iran, suddenly created nuclear-sized distractions, raising a question the White House wants to glide past: Is the threat from Iraq the most imminent threat to America and the world? -New York Times - 12/15/02 Did Saddam's army test poison gas on missing 5,000? Why didn't Tony Blair and George Bush mention Saddam Hussein's most terrible war crime? Why, in all their "dossiers", did they not refer to the 5,000 young men and women who were held at detention centres when their families – of Iranian origin – were hurled over the border to Iran just before President Saddam invaded Iran in 1980? -Robert Fisk, Independent - 12/15/02 Guardians Council brushes aside MPs concern over rejecting bills The Guardians Council said on Sunday that a letter signed last week by 154 members of parliament expressing concern about the Guardians Council's rejection of several bills is not legally valid. -IRNA - 12/15/02 Iran through an unjaded eye Afshin Molavi's book, Persian Pilgrimages, is a study of Iran both past and present. It is a lucidly written account covering an astonishing range, from the Zoroastrian theory of light reflected in Islamic architecture to the Iran-Iraq war. -Globemedia - 12/15/02 Islam and the West: Incompatibility of Values In the months following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, it was politically taboo to say that the United States had in some way brought these attacks upon itself. Television talk show hosts and print journalists lost their jobs for suggesting such a thing. -Common Dreams - 12/15/02 Key Exiles Agree U.S. Should Not Run Postwar Iraq Iraqi opposition leaders who disagree on fundamental questions about the future of their homeland appeared united today in the conviction that Iraqis, not Americans, should run the country immediately after the fall of President Saddam Hussein. -Washington Post - 12/15/02 Slow-Motion Democratization Although the United States government is vigilant about demanding democracy from its enemies, it often turns a blind eye when the governments of allies are undemocratic, corrupt, abusive of human rights or all three. -New York Times - 12/15/02 Bush Administration Pushes "Regime Change" in Venezuela It's 10 p.m. -- do you know what your government is up to? It seems that Iraq is not the only "regime change" that the Bush Administration is working on. The US government has apparently decided that President Chavez of Venezuela must go, one way or another. -CounterPunch - 12/15/02 Venezuela's Chavez Rejects U.S. Call for Early Vote "There are no early elections planned here. ... I don't think that the United States government is suggesting to the world that Venezuela must break with its constitution just to satisfy the pretensions of coup mongers," the president said. -Common Dreams - 12/15/02 WTO membership imperative for Iran, despite success of EU talks: daily Iran News' on Sunday praised the recent Iran-EU bilateral talks and the mutual agreement of both sides to sign an accord to expand trade, economic and parliamentary ties, in Brussels, Belgium on December 12 as an "apparent success". -IRNA - 12/15/02 Ebtekar warns against severe regional crises Vice-President and Head of the Department of Environment Ms Masoumeh Ebtekar said here on Sunday that if regional countries do not prevent the current trend of environment degradation, the region will witness severe and irreparable economic and social crises soon. -IRNA - 12/15/02 Russian nuclear minister shrugs off U.S. concern about Iran's nuclear facilities Russia has no connections to the Iranian nuclear facilities that Washington suspects are part of a clandestine weapons program, and will continue building a nuclear reactor in the Iranian port of Bushehr, Russian Nuclear Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said Sunday. -AP - 12/15/02 Younesi warns of historical rift between youth and revolution Minister of Information Ali Younesi here Sunday warned of a 'historical rift between the youth and the past history of revolution and the nation'. -IRNA - 12/15/02 Khomeini’s Children Students, clerics and leaders of the ’79 revolution are clamoring for change in Iran -Babak Dehghanpisheh, Newsweek - 12/15/02 Court issues verdicts for FMI members: press The Revolutionary Court on Saturday issued court rulings for 52 defendants of the banned 'Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI)' party, stressing that none of the charges against the party members had been 'political', the press reported here on Sunday. -IRNA - 12/15/02 International Crisis & Neutrality: US Foreign Policy Toward the Iran/Iraq War In light of the aforementioned historical background, it will now be possible to critically analyze and evaluate the U.S. policy of so-called "neutrality" toward the Iraq-Iran War from an international law perspective. -Francis A. Boyle, CounterPunch - 12/15/02 Fashion And Ferment In Iran A new breed of man -- young, self-conscious and absorbed with self-expression -- is emerging in Iran, in a trend that runs counter to the Islamic revolution of 1979. -Farzaneh Milani, Washington Post - 12/15/02 Iran Women Begin Anti-Stoning Campaign Iran's female legislators are demanding an end to death by stoning as a punishment for adultery, saying it has harmed the country's image. All 11 women in the 290-seat parliament are behind the push to get the law changed, one of the lawmakers said Friday. -AP - 12/14/02 EU to reassure U.S. on Iran trade talks, aide says The European Union plans to offer the United States "very firm reassurances" that it will not sign a proposed trade agreement with Iran without progress on human rights and terrorism concerns, an EU aide said on Friday. -Reuters - 12/14/02 Payvand.com's Top 10 Best-Selling Books 1. Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys Across Iran; 2. Foreigner; 3. History of the Persian Empire - 12/14/02 Tracking the oil scent If recent history is a reliable indicator of things to come, then the Caspian Sea region may well become one of the world's leading centers of international conflict. -Yellow Times - 12/14/02 Iran closes Afghan Hizbullah offices in northeastern Mashhad An Iranian Foreign Ministry official said here Saturday that police in northeastern city of Mashhad had closed Afghan Hizbullah offices because of their illegal operations. - 12/14/02 Scientists Criticize Visa Restrictions Restrictions on visas for foreigners visiting the United States, imposed to deter terrorists, are hampering scientific research, leaders of the National Academies complained Friday. -AP - 12/14/02 The Selective Conscience Presidents Reagan and Bush Senior were worse than silent when Saddam was at his most genocidal. During the so-called Anfal campaign of 1987-88, when tens of thousands of Kurds were slaughtered in mass executions or fumigated with lethal gases, the U.S. regarded Iraq as a bulwark against Iran. Even after the gas attacks were documented the U.S. continued to ladle out credits for Iraq to buy American grain and manufactured goods. -New York Times - 12/14/02 Targeting Iran Before Iraq "We should turn the troops around 20 degrees and say to Iran, 'You see how we've just helped liberate the people of Iraq — it's your turn.' And it's going to be so much easier, because there are very, very few people in Iran who are willing to stand up for this regime. It's ready for the plucking," Doctor Amitai Etzioni, a professor at George Washington University, said. -Christian Broadcasting Network - 12/14/02 Saddam opponents seek united front Iraqi opposition groups are meeting in London to try to overcome their differences and map out a joint vision for a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. -BBC - 12/14/02 Powell says reform Saudi Arabia's choice US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said Saudi Arabia must "decide its own path" towards modernising its society. -BBC - 12/14/02 Iranian hardliners set to wrest power from Khatami Hardline conservative clerics in Iran are preparing for a takeover of power to save the Islamic regime from internal collapse. -Financial Times - 12/14/02 EU-Iran Conference Must Set Human Rights Benchmarks Human Rights Watch today expressed regret that delegates from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International were denied permission to attend the forthcoming dialogue on human rights issues between European Union representatives and Iranian government officials. The talks are scheduled to begin in Tehran on Monday, December 16. - 12/14/02 Court says Qazian's third hearing to be held in-camera: press The Tehran Justice Department has announced that the third hearing of the case against controversial Iran-US pollster Hossein-Ali Qazian will be held in-camera on Tuesday, the press reported here on Saturday. - 12/14/02 Nuclear Sites In Iran Worry U.S. Officials The White House expressed "serious concerns" yesterday about the construction of two nuclear facilities in Iran that officials say is part of a clandestine weapons program, adding to the growing list of nuclear headaches for the Bush administration. -Washington Post - 12/14/02 IAEA: Nuclear facilities not a surprise But International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, said the chief of Iran's atomic energy program had told him in September that the construction was for a 6,000-megawatt nuclear power facility. -CNN - 12/14/02 Khatami heads for defeat after long battle with conservatives The looming showdown between Mohammad Khatami, Iran's moderate president, and his hardline opponents is the culmination of five crisis-ridden years characterised by arrests, political trials, mass closure of liberal newspapers and the undermining of all his attempts to reach out to the US. -Financial Times - 12/14/02 U.S. has photos of secret Iran nuclear sites The United States has evidence that Iran has secretly been building large nuclear facilities -- sites that could possibly be used to make nuclear weapons, senior U.S. officials tell CNN. -CNN - 12/13/02 EU opens trade talks with Iran in good atmosphere The European Union said Thursday trade talks with Iran will only succeed if Tehran makes good progress in political cooperation and in its efforts to stamp out terrorism. -AP - 12/13/02 U.S. First Lady Laura Bush Visits Iran According to news reports, United States First Lady, Laura Bush, has paid a visit to Iran. Is this true? It is very true in fact. First Lady Laura Bush visited Iran on Thursday December 12. “You look like you're doing great!'' Mrs. Bush told Iran. “Bless you, darling.” -Payvand.com - 12/13/02 Iran and Iraq: Neighbours from hell Iran's rulers want Saddam Hussein to go, but dread the manner of his going, especially if his successors give rein to Shia free thought and Kurdish aspirations -Economist - 12/13/02 Iran Building Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities: International Transparency Needed (photos) Satellite images of two sites in Iran show the construction of secret nuclear fuel cycle facilities, according to Institute for Science and International Security assessments and confidential sources. - 12/13/02 Iran floats euro bond despite US sanctions Iran launched a 375 million euro bond yesterday, proving, analysts said, that despite US sanctions it can now borrow at will on the international markets. -Daily News, Bahrain - 12/13/02 Iraqi Kurd straps himself with bombs for God Iraqi Kurd Muhammad Awdil wanted God's word to rule the world. His masters in a group linked to al Qaeda told him the way to achieve that was to strap on explosives and blow up the commander of a rival Kurdish group. -Reuters - 12/13/02 Al-Qaida Suicide Teams Train in Pakistan Suicide squads are being trained in Pakistan by al-Qaida operatives to hit targets in Afghanistan and the bombers' families are being promised $50,000, say Afghan and Pakistani sources. -AP - 12/13/02 US cash for Middle East democracy The United States has launched a new initiative designed to spread democracy, education and open markets across the Middle East. -BBC - 12/13/02 Iran holds first military air exhibition The exhibition took place on the Persian Gulf island of Kish and was attended by 12 Western and other firms. The official Islamic Republic News Agency said the companies were from Britain, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Pakistan, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Ukraine. -MENL - 12/13/02 Iran, number one in producing pomegranate in world Iran with a total of 57,000 hectares of 'pomegranate gardens' is the biggest producer country of the fruit in the world, an Agricultural Jihad Ministry official said on Thursday. -IRNA - 12/13/02 Iran dealing with Fatah via Lebanon Iran has deepened its influence in the territories, creating contact with the armed wings of the Fatah in the West Bank, and becoming involved in issuing instructions for attacks. -Ha'aretz, Israel - 12/13/02 Iran bans film about women's prisons Officials in Iran have ordered cinemas in some areas to stop showing a film portraying life in a women's jail after the Islamic revolution of 1979, the state news agency IRNA reports. -BBC - 12/13/02 Winners of Golshiri Foundation's Second Annual Literary Awards Announced 44 novels and 21 collection of short stories published in the Iranian year 1380 (2001-2002) had been considered by the jury. 12 works, in four categories, reached the final stage and the following writes received the awards... -Golshiri Foundation - 12/13/02 Former judiciary chief calls for treason indictment of pollsters Iran's former judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi here Friday called for treason charge indictments in the case of three pollsters who are being tried for allegedly passing top secret information to foreign countries. -IRNA - 12/13/02 Iran's GDP growth predicted at 5.4 percent in 2003 Iran's economic growth is expected to be the second highest in the Middle East and the 25th largest in the world next year, according to the latest forecasts from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), published Thursday. - 12/13/02 Nuclear inspectors to visit Iran sites A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit the sites near Natanz and Arak, in central Iran, in February 2003, a spokesman for the watchdog told Reuters news agency. -BBC - 12/13/02 Khatami terms Taliban, US two blades of scissors against Islam Iran's President Mohammad Khatami here Wednesday described hardline Taliban and their imperialist opponents, obviously the United States, as two blades of the same scissors, which worked to ruin God's religion. -IRNA - 12/12/02 Hirmand River's water to flow into Iran again, soon: Afghan source An Afghan source told IRNA here on Wednesday that Hilmand River's (Hirmand in Iran's side) water will start flowing into the Iranian territory within the next few days. -IRNA - 12/12/02 Opec set to cut oil output The Opec cartel is likely to agree to reduce the amount of oil it produces when ministers meet on Thursday. -BBC - 12/12/02 Scud affair draws US apology The intercepted North Korean ship was allowed to continue its journey after Yemen assured the US that the 15 Scud missiles found on board were for defensive purposes only. -BBC - 12/12/02 Promising an Army, Afghan President Faces Immediate Threats Addressing a recent international conference in Bonn, Germany, Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged to replace today’s ragtag militias with a national army in two years. -Eurasianet - 12/12/02 A new doctrine and a Scud bust The capture of a ship carrying 15 North Korean Scud missiles in the Arabian sea Monday dramatically underscores Washington's new emphasis on using preemptive means to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). -Christian Science Monitor - 12/12/02 U.S. Scorned for Foreign Arms Stand It's the United States — the world's largest weapons seller and heartiest participant in the international arms bazaar — complaining about North Korea shipping 15 Scud missiles to Yemen, according to peace activists. -Toronto Star - 12/12/02 Washington at war Coming to the hyperpower capital from peace-torn Europe, I find three things. Washington is at war. Washington is going to war. And Washington is starting to think about a peace to end both wars. People in Britain, and the world beyond, need to wake up to all three. -Guardian - 12/12/02 Rumblings in Iran DRAMATIC confrontations in Iran between hard-liners and reformers, suggesting that the Islamic Republic may be tottering, recall the lesson history taught Mikhail Gorbachev: A political system rooted in lies and repression cannot long survive the telling of truth that comes with free speech. -Boston Globe - 12/12/02 Iran considers setting up new 1000-megawatt nuclear plant Iran is considering construction of a second major nuclear power plant, state-run television reported Thursday, despite U.S. concern that byproducts from Iranian plants could be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. -AP - 12/12/02 Dr. Mojtahed-Zadeh's interview with German daily Die Welt about U.S. goals in Iraq and the region "It appears that the United States will launch a military attack on Iraq aimed at overthrowing Saddam Hussein, despite Baghdad's approval to let in UN inspectors," Said Professor Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh of Tarbiat Modares University of Tehran and Chairman of the Urosevic Research Foundation of London in an interview carried out by Violet Pakzad for Germany's daily Die Welt, which appeared on Thursday 12 December 2002. - 12/12/02 Iran Students Say Ministry Has Arrested 12 Protesters With the possibility of a crackdown hanging over them, leaders of the student movement in Tehran appealed today to the domestic and international news media for help. -New York Times - 12/12/02 EU, Breaking With US, Will Kick Off Iran Trade Talks Thursday The European Union will kick off trade talks Thursday with Iran, deepening its differences with the U.S. on how to deal with the key Islamic country which Washington has branded part of the "axis of evil." -Dow Jones - 12/12/02 Iran's youth reveal anger and sadness The faceless men from the ministry called me on the mobile phone. "We are deporting you tomorrow morning because you have taken pictures of prostitutes. This is not a true reflection of life in our Islamic Republic. We don't have prostitutes." -BBC - 12/11/02 A visit to Tehran's Hafte Tir Center, Rehabilitation Home for Girls (photos) Hafte Tir houses about 90 physically disabled girls, mostly orphans. And it provides complete services to these girls (aged from 7 to 30 years) until they can leave the place and be on their own. Judging from everything that I saw, I could tell this is a very well run place with hard-working and caring staff. And they deserve every support they can get. -Payvand.com - 12/11/02 EU-Iran talks signal important step in rapprochement The EU announced Wednesday that the start of landmark negotiations on a trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) with Iran alongside a political dialogue in Brussels Thursday ''marks an important step in the rapprochement with Iran.'' - 12/11/02 Students hold meeting, calling for democracy Students of Allameh Tabatabaei University on Tuesday held a meeting calling for democracy and social justice. Three activists Ebrahim Yazdi, Ghlamabbas Tavasoli and Habibollah Peyman delivered speeches on the students movement and its advocacy of social freedoms. -IRNA - 12/11/02 Preemptive Strikes Part Of U.S. Strategic Doctrine A Bush administration strategy announced yesterday calls for the preemptive use of military and covert force before an enemy unleashes weapons of mass destruction, and underscores the United States's willingness to retaliate with nuclear weapons for chemical or biological attacks on U.S. soil or against American troops overseas. -Washington Post - 12/11/02 Aref: Iran should not be indifferent in joining World Trade Organization Meanwhile the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Tuesday approved Armenia's application to join the 144-member body, which was immediately welcomed by the European Union. -IRNA - 12/11/02 Iran's judiciary spokesman announces resignation in protest Iran's judiciary spokesman, Hossein Mirmohammad Sadeqi, announced here Tuesday that he had submitted his resignation since he thought the judiciary's involvement in political bickerings had been heightening tensions. -IRNA - 12/11/02 America's role is peacemaker, BV prof says Dr. Nasser Dastrange can see both sides of the Middle East coin, since he is both an American and an Iranian. Dastrange is a professor of mathematics at Buena Vista University, and has been teaching at BVU for 16 years. -Pilot Tribune - 12/11/02 Charges Issued in Smuggling of Parts to Iran A crackdown on smuggling military parts to Iran led to federal indictments today against three executives and three companies charged with violating export laws. -New York Times - 12/11/02 Aghajari submits complaint against Judiciary to Majlis commission Death convict academic Hashem Aghajari has filed a complaint against the Judiciary with Majlis Article 90 Commission, the press reported here on Wednesday. -IRNA - 12/11/02 Itar-Tass: Iran proposes Caspian summit Iran has proposed to host a summit of the five Caspian littoral states next year and Russia backed the offer, Russian Deputy Foreign Ministry Viktor Kalyuzhny told Tass on Tuesday. -IRNA - 12/11/02 Universal Declaration of Human Rights On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. -United Nations - 12/11/02 Dutch hold Kurdish mullah Dutch police acting on a tip from Iran's government arrested an Iraqi Kurd religious teacher when he stepped off an airliner in Amsterdam this fall, though at the time he wasn't wanted for any crime. -Washington Times - 12/11/02 INS Issues Reminder on New Requirements for Some Foreign Visitors The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is reminding foreign visitors from 18 countries that a new legal requirement calls for them to register with the INS during their stay in the United States. - 12/11/02 Thousands of Iraqis want to fight Saddam Thousands of expatriate Iraqis all over the world have expressed interest in a U.S. program to train them for fighting Saddam Hussein, the State Department said Tuesday. -UPI - 12/11/02 N. Korea Missile Shipment Intercepted The interception of an apparent North Korean missile shipment in the Arabian Sea threw yet another troublesome element into the delicate military and diplomatic drive against terrorism and the spread of dangerous weapons. -AP - 12/11/02 Armenia Gets Green Light to Join WTO Armenia got the go-ahead Tuesday from the current 144 members of the World Trade Organization to join the body, just six years after it began negotiations. -Moscow Times - 12/11/02 Cracks open in Iran judiciary A senior Iranian justice official has offered his resignation in protest against the death sentence passed on a liberal academic, Hashem Aghajari, for blasphemy. -BBC - 12/11/02 Iran Hard-Liners May Face Fall of Regime Iran's Islamic establishment may face the same fate as the country's deposed shah if student calls for reform keep being ignored, the leader of Iran's largest reformist group said in comments reported Tuesday. -AP - 12/11/02 Kamyar Cyrus Habib, an Iranian-American, among thirty-two Americans chosen as Rhodes Scholars Cyrus is a black belt karate instructor, a downhill skier, and a published photographer. He is also blind. He is also vice president of the Iranian students’ association at Columbia. -Rhodes Trust - 12/10/02 Majlis vice speaker: Students demands should be heeded "This is the point on which the reformists have insisted on for the past several years. We should consider the demands of students as part of the public demands," Mohammad Reza Khatami said. "We may not like some slogans the students are chanting, but, we should think over them to find out why such slogans are being uttered by the students" -IRNA - 12/10/02 Second hearing of Iran-US pollster Qazian held Director of Ayandeh Polling and Research Institute Hossein-Ali Qazian on Tuesday appeared before the court for the second hearing on a controversial survey about Iran-US relations. -IRNA - 12/10/02 EU to kick off ambitious bid to engage Iran The European Union will Thursday kick off what will be the most ambitious Western effort yet to engage Islamic Iran, with discussions on increased trade linked to thorny political issues. -Middle East Online - 12/10/02 U.S. to fund Iran-based Iraqi oppo group The United States has approved military funding for six Iraqi opposition groups, including an Iran-based organization that maintains close ties to that country's hard-line Islamic clerical leadership. -UPI - 12/10/02 Tehran to Fingerprint U.S. Journalists Iran will fingerprint U.S. journalists arriving in Iran in response to American officials imposing similar requirements on Iranian visitors, state-run radio said Monday. -AP - 12/10/02 Religious Bigotry Then and Now Bush's pragmatic gestures to the Muslim community, in the U.S. and elsewhere, clash with the positions of key administration figures and Bush supporters, such as Attorney General John Ashcroft, who has stupidly opined that "Islam is a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for him [whereas] Christianity is a faith where God sent his son to die for you." -CounterPunch - 12/10/02 The Fight for Iran's Democratic Ideals The issue facing the Iranian people is whether they have the right to discuss religious reform and the question of "Islamic Protestantism" - or any politically sensitive matter - without the slander of apostasy and the threat of death or imprisonment. -New York Times - 12/10/02 Iran can considerably progress in industrial designing: expert Iran which has an old history and civilization of thousand years and its willingness to excel in modern science and technology and synergize its economy with the old economy can progress immensely in the industrial designing, says Canadian expert on Tuesday. - 12/10/02 Analysis: Iran strives for a role in Iraq As talks for forming a post-Saddam government in Iraq shape up, Iran fears being left out of a major political development in the region which will have a direct impact on Tehran as well. -UPI - 12/10/02 IRAN: Aghajari crisis highlights division in the conservative camp But there have been a number of prominent conservatives and rigorists -- who are frequently presented as forming one homogeneous bloc -- who have voiced deep unease at imposing such a harsh sentence on Aghajari, an Islamic revolutionary and disabled veteran of the Iran-Iraq War. -Monday Morning, Lebanon - 12/10/02 Footballer booted for scoring in brothel An Iranian appeals court has confirmed a five-year ban on an international football player convicted of off-the-pitch antics in a brothel, a court official said on Tuesday. -AFP - 12/10/02 Carter Warns Against 'Catastrophic' War Former US president Jimmy Carter has warned of the potentially "catastrophic consequences" of a pre-emptive US war on Iraq. The comments came in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo. -Common Dreams - 12/10/02 Iraqi Opposition leaders seek to grow closer Three Iraqi opposition leaders have met in Tehran in an attempt to set aside deep-seated differences before what is planned to be the largest gathering of opposition parties for a decade.-Financial Times - 12/10/02 3 private banks to become operational: Nourbakhsh The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mohsen Nourbakhsh told a group of bankers that the Third Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2000-2005) has stipulated the operation of privatized banks along with state-run banks. -IRNA - 12/10/02 Iran FM: Iraq war to impose U.S. hegemony Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Monday the United States was using the threat of war on Iraq to impose its hegemony on the region and to cover up for Israeli violence in the occupied Palestinian territories. -UPI - 12/10/02 Iran may present greater threat than Iraq Perhaps it is just a question of time. Once the first member of the axis of evil is defanged, the United States can take on the second one with our troops already assembled in the region — unless, that is, Iran sees what happens in Iraq and immediately mends its ways. -USA Today - 12/10/02 For young Afghans, love is a tale of sorrow The end of the strict Taliban was expected to bring a fresh freedom to Afghanistan. Not so, Robyn Dixon reports from Kabul, where love fights for air. --Age, Australia - 12/10/02 Book Review: Iranian born American visits Iran Afshin Molavi is an Iranian born American journalist who makes a valiant effort to convey the character of modern day, theocratic Iran to an American audience. -Washington Times - 12/10/02 Turkey Looks to U.S. for Support Over EU Talks Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan, aware of his key role in U.S. plans for a possible war in Iraq, turns to President Bush this week for last-minute support in his campaign to win a date for EU entry talks. -Reuters - 12/10/02 Asia Piracy Costs $25 Billion a Year, Says Expert Piracy, mainly along Asia's busy sea lanes, is costing the world's economy $25 billion a year and the threat is growing as modern buccaneers equip themselves with the latest technology, a regional expert said Tuesday. -Reuters - 12/10/02 The Iran Problem Saddam's Iraq is vicious and nasty, but Tehran may pose an even more formidable challenge. -Journal of Air Force Association, US - 12/9/02 Hardliners Walk Out of Iran Parliament Hard-line lawmakers stormed out of parliament Sunday after a reformist called for a referendum to protest conservative power over institutions such as the police and judiciary. -AP - 12/9/02 In Iran, grim reminders of Saddam's arsenal Aminpour, who has two daughters, ages 9 and 7, is among the more than 100,000 Iranian soldiers who were victims of Saddam Hussein's biological weapons during the nation's eight-year war with Iraq. -Farnaz Fassihi, Star Ledger - 12/9/02 Three Iraqi Opposition Leaders Meet in Iran Ahmad Chalabi, head of the pro-Western Iraqi National Congress (INC), met Iran-based Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir Hakim who claims support from Iraq's Shi'ite Muslims and Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, also visiting Iran. -Reuters - 12/9/02 Boom time for Iran's stock market As a major oil producer, Iran's economy has benefited from high energy prices over the past few years. There are more than 300 listed companies on the Tehran Stock Exchange, with a collective value of about $13bn. -BBC - 12/9/02 Minority faction walk out of Majlis in protest at deputy's remarks Forty-one Majlis deputies from the minority faction on Sunday walked out of the chamber to protest against the remarks by Rajab-Ali Mazrouei, a deputy from Isfahan, thus bringing the session to a halt for a few minutes -IRNA - 12/9/02 New Breed of Patriots Speaking Up Under pressure from a campaign that drew together liberals and Libertarians, Democrats and even a few Republicans, the Eugene (Oregon) City Council recently joined a growing list of local governments calling for a full or partial repeal of the Patriot Act, part of a nascent nationwide effort organizers hope will persuade Congress to undo the law. -Common Dreams - 12/9/02 Zamzam factory planned in Bahrain A BAHRAIN company is to set up a $2 million factory to produce Zamzam soft drinks locally. The company currently imports the soft drinks from Iran -Daily News, Bahrain - 12/9/02 Hassan Khosrowshahi among the Rich 100 in Canada Hassan Khosrowshahi, 61; Rank 64; Estimated Wealth: $441 million; Retail, real estate; Rank last year: 92 -Canadian Business - 12/9/02 Nobel Winner Carter Says Iraq Moves to Avert War Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter arrived in Oslo Sunday to collect the Nobel Peace Prize and said Iraqi compliance with U.N. weapons inspectors was a "good step" toward averting any U.S.-led war. -Reuters - 12/9/02 Netherlands welcomes investment in Iran's gardening sector Amsterdam welcomes joint investment with Tehran in the gardening industry, Netherlands Director of Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries Roel Bol said in Tehran on Monday. -IRNA - 12/9/02 Iran, Syria call for action against Israel's arms arsenal Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and Syrian President Bashar Assad held talks Sunday centering on Iraq and Palestinian-Israeli violence, Syria's official news agency reported. -AP - 12/9/02 Coalition of Women from Asia and the Middle East's 16 Days of Activism In honor of our commitment to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, Coalition of Women from Asia and the Middle East is proud to be partaking in this event for the fourth year. - 12/9/02 Bush has little intention of playing by the book By presenting the UN with a mammoth report declaring Iraq free of weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein has won the opening round in his final attempt to stave off military action by the US. -Guardian - 12/9/02 Horrors of stoning captured on film The 15-minute film I viewed is an old one, shot outdoors in broad, sunny daylight in 1991 and very amateurish. But all is clear, much too clear for queasy stomachs. It was smuggled out only recently by agents of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. -Washington Times - 12/9/02 OPEC may raise formal oil quotas, cut supply-Iran OPEC member Iran said on Monday the cartel should consider raising official oil output limits and at the same time trim actual production bloated by chronic quota-busting in a bid to support crude prices. -Reuters - 12/9/02 Tehran City Council escapes dissolution after its presiding board resigns A controversial decision by Tehran Mayor Malek-Madani to stop selling "vertical building space" put City Council members face-to-face with the Municipality with council members blaming the decision for the soaring house prices. - 12/9/02 Quakes shake Naqadeh in West Azarbaijan and Takestan in Qazvin relatively strong earthquake, with a magnitude of 4.6 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale, jolted the northwestern city of Naqadeh on Monday. - 12/9/02 Trouble makers in student gatherings have been identified, official Managing Director of Tehran province Governor General Office for Political and Security Affairs Ali Ta'ali said Sunday that arrest warrants are out against certain people who cause trouble in authorized students gatherings. -IRNA - 12/9/02 Iran: Hardliners attack student protest Hardline Iranian vigilantes attacked and broke up a gathering of around 1,500 pro-reform students at a Tehran university Monday, after activists staged the latest in a series of vocal protests against religious hardliners. -Middle East Online - 12/9/02 Students, hardliners clash at Tehran university By late afternoon on Monday, the clashes had ended and most of the students and Basij had left the university, watched by hundreds of police who had surrounded the campus. -Reuters - 12/9/02 Students and hardliners clash in Tehran Witnesses said about 400 people, some of them students affiliated to the Islamist Basij militia, broke through locked gates into Amir Kabir University and marched into the rally held inside the campus sports hall. -Financial Times - 12/9/02 Tehran campus rediscovers old anger The tradition continued yesterday with the greatest outpouring of protest in more than four years. Some 2,000 students inside the university, bolstered by more than 10,000 people on the streets outside the campus, demanded an end to government oppression. Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested by regular police, special anti-riot police and the plainclothes militia called basiji. -Farnaz Fassihi, Star Ledger - 12/8/02 Thousands Protest for Reform in Iran, 60 Arrested Baton-wielding security forces arrested at least 60 people in the Iranian capital on Saturday, a city official said, as thousands gathered in and around Tehran University to call for political reform. -Reuters - 12/8/02 Students Want Referendum on Iran Future Chanting "death to dictatorship," the Tehran University students called for a national referendum on Iran's political future. "This is the demand of the Iranian nation today: referendum," the students shouted from inside campus. -AP - 12/8/02 Photos: Student demonstrations in Iran Iranian students chanted 'freedom for political prisoners' and called for a referendum on the country's political future in the first major pro-reform rally held in the capital for nearly two weeks. - 12/8/02 Afghan Defense Official Gulbuddin Looks Warily Westward Gulbuddin, the Afghan defense official known as "Doctor" from his former job as a surgeon, is worried about developments in the Middle East. An American invasion of Iraq, he says, could hurt his country’s efforts to build a lasting peace. -Eurasianet - 12/8/02 The US and Iran: A secret friendship Behind their frequently harsh rhetorical exchanges, "axis of evil" member Iran and "Great Satan" the United States are privately coordinating ahead of an attack on Iraq, diplomats and analysts say. -AFP - 12/8/02 In Iran, many are opposed to U.S.-led war against Iraq Stung by being labeled a member of an "axis of evil," many Iranians oppose a U.S.-led war to change Iraq's government, fearing they will be President Bush's next target in what they see as a bid to control the Middle East and its oil. -Knight Ridder - 12/8/02 Students clash with police in Iran On Saturday, the students shouted ''referendum, referendum'' and repeated calls for the resignation of the chief of the country's judiciary, whom they blame for the harsh sentence on Mr Aghajari. -BBC - 12/8/02 Student movements brought under question by extremist moves Majlis Second Vice Speaker Mohammad Reza Khatami said here on Sunday that some individuals intend to bring under question the student movements by their harsh approaches. - 12/8/02 Karroubi urges students to beware of US exploitation of situation "Our sermons, slogans and words may lead to disunity and discord and the enemy, notably America, which has been anti-student ... could exploit this situation," Karroubi said at the open session of the Majlis. Judiciary Chief Mahmoud Hashemi took up a more tougher line: "Outside the university campus, the enemies come to the arena and exploit the situation to the best of their benefits." - 12/8/02 ‘We’re Sitting on a Time Bomb’ More demonstrations are already planned for Monday in Isfahan and Tehran. Student organizers are also hoping to draw thousands to a large-scale referendum rally on Wednesday in Amjadiyeh stadium in Tehran — but they’re still waiting for permission from the government. -Babak Dehghanpisheh, Newsweek - 12/8/02 Photos: "Student Day" Demonstrations in Tehran 16 Azar, 138 (December 7, 2002); Photos by Iranian Students' News Agency - 12/8/02 Iran juggles with taboos, holds first session of prostitutes and police Iran is pushing across the lines of social taboos, holding the first authorized meeting in which police and prostitutes as well as women parliamentarians discussed the problems of the 'street women' -- a reference to prostitutes in the Islamic Republic. - 12/7/02 Iran students renew protests, call for referendum About 3,000 Iranian students chanted "freedom for political prisoners" on Saturday and called for a referendum on Iran's political future in the first major pro-reform rally in the capital Tehran for nearly two weeks. -Reuters - 12/7/02 Mazaheri says privatization to be speed up Minister of Economy and Finance Tahmasb Mazaheri said here Saturday that privatization will be expedited in Iran once amendments are made to the Third Five-Year Economic Development Plan. - 12/7/02 Noam Chomsky Analyzes the Bushies In a recent interview, Chomsky discussed the first Gulf War, Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration's current obsession with Iraq, and the Republican sweep of the midterm elections. -Alternet.org - 12/7/02 U.S.'s Powerful Weapon in Iran: TV While the United States is bracing for a possible military offensive in Iraq, behind the scenes a soft war is well under way. It is aimed at winning the hearts and minds of young people in the Middle East at a time when radical Islamists are encouraging anti-American sentiment. -New York Times - 12/7/02 Veteran Reporter Describes Economic Decay in Middle East The former Middle East correspondent for the Wall Street Journal says Islamic extremist groups such as al-Qaeda are the result of economic and institutional decay that has been taking place in the region for the past 80 years. -Washington Files - 12/7/02 ISLAM AND THE WEST: The bishop and the imam ask, Do we really have to fight? Now that pluralism has beaten communism, they say, the next great battle is between Islam and Christendom: or rather between the two chunks of the world that have grown out of those two different ideas of God and man. -Economist - 12/7/02 Iraqi Kurd leader Barzani due in Tehran Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in northern Iraq, is expected here Saturday night to discuss Iraq's future with Iranian officials as well as heads of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), an informed source here said. - 12/7/02 Eliminate Iraq and Iran For over 100 years, the British and Russians had played imperial games with Persia. An attempt to escape from Anglo-Russian dominance led Reza Shah into dalliance with the Germans. To curry favor with the new Nazi government, Reza in 1935, without warning or explanation, decreed that Persia would henceforth be named "Iran," or Land of the Aryans. -NewsMax - 12/7/02 Global anger at US 'growing' After 38,000 interviews in 44 countries, researchers concluded that in the past two years discontent had also grown in countries considered traditional US allies. -BBC - 12/7/02 Iranian Tanker Hits US Navy Destroyer An Iranian oil tanker struck a U.S. Navy destroyer yesterday in the northern Persian Gulf, punching a two-foot hole in the destroyer's side but causing no injuries, U.S. military officials said. -Washington Post - 12/7/02 Angry Venezuela Strikers Harden Stance After Deaths Opposition leaders blamed leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday for the fatal shooting of three protesters and threatened to prolong indefinitely a strike that has choked off oil exports in the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter. -Reuters - 12/7/02 Iraq Villagers Describe Life of Violence ``When they come, we can't leave the house,'' says Abdul Qader, 52, a shepherd in this northern hamlet caught between Kurdish forces and Islamic rebels. ``We're afraid. We have no one to protect us.'' -AP - 12/7/02 Our Earth as Art: Dasht-e Kevir, Iran Visit the Landsat-7 Earth as Art Gallery and view our planet through the beautiful images taken by the Landsat-7 satellite. Among the beautiful images in the gallery taken from around the globe there is an eye-catching image of Dasht-e Kevir of Iran. -Payvand.com - 12/6/02 Nuclear tech leaks to Iran are slowing down, Israel's PM reports For several years now, Israel has been trying to stop the leak of nuclear and ballistic technology from Russia to Iran, with the U.S. conducting talks with Russia. According to the most recent information available in Jerusalem, Russia has slowed down its assistance to Iran in the nuclear field, but has not terminated it completely despite a pledge made to the U.S. -Ha'aretz, Israel - 12/6/02 Repulsing Attack by Islamic Militants, Iraqi Kurds Tell of Atrocities An Islamic militant group with reported links to Al Qaeda has withdrawn today from areas it briefly seized from the Kurdish autonomous government, Kurdish military and government officials said. It left behind stories of battlefield atrocities and grief along the narrow front. -New York Times - 12/6/02 Iran's culture minister calls for fingerprinting US journalists "Given American officials' insulting behavior toward the Islamic Republic of Iran's nationals recently, which is assuming broader dimensions, please require that all American journalists, except those who are exempted by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance upon a written order, are fingerprinted at the aerial border of the Mehrabad (airport)," he said in a part of his letter to the police chief. - 12/6/02 Iran diplomats on security alert in Kabul -- paper Iran has placed its diplomats in Afghanistan on high alert after receiving information that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network plans to attack its embassy in Kabul, a newspaper reported on Thursday. -Reuters - 12/6/02 France: Cola Drink Hopes To Cash In On Anti-Americanism Taking a cue from a popular drink in Iran, "Zam Zam Cola," businessman Tawfiq Mathlouthi has launched "Mecca Cola" in France as a "politically correct" alternative to the very visible American brands Pepsi-Cola and Coca Cola. -RFE - 12/6/02 Iran announces Friday as Eid-ul-Fitr Iran announced Friday as Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk throughout the month. - 12/6/02 REVIEW: "Blackboards": Chalk Dust Torture Kimstim Films releases Samira Makhmalbaf's "Blackboards" today....The first image of "Blackboards" is one of those visually striking, symbolic moments that gets imbedded in one's psyche, irrespective of the number of films battling for space. -indieWIRE - 12/6/02 Eye-opening return trip to Iran I ran -- what a myriad of images come to mind for most Americans: the overthrow of the shah, the 444-day hostage crisis, Iran-Contra revelations and part of the President Bush-dubbed "Axis of Evil." -The Oregonian - 12/6/02 IRAN SEEKS TO INCREASE MILITARY LOYALTY Iran has launched an effort to bolster the military's loyalty to the ruling Islamic clergy. -MENL - 12/6/02 Caspian Sea: What Do the Russians want from Iran? The positions of the concerned states in a nutshell are: Iran wants a condominium or division of the whole sea into 20% sections. Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have divided their territories on the basis of the Russian made formula called "modified median line" which divides the seabed according to an equidistance line, and leaves the waters as free for all. -Bahman Aghai Diba - 12/6/02 Iran Leader Won't OK Any U.S. War on Iraq Iran's supreme leader on Friday made his strongest stand yet against a U.S. attack on Iraq, saying he would not support it under any circumstances. -AP - 12/6/02 What Would Mohammed Do? Islam produced Rumi, a 13th century Sufi mystic and poet who wrote verses such as, "When someone quotes the old poetic image about clouds gradually uncovering the moon, slowly loosen knot by knot the strings of your robe." Nowhere in the Koran does it say adulterers should be stoned. Nowhere does it say that women should be completely covered. -Salon - 12/5/02 Iran pursues liberal telecom reforms While much of the world's attention on the Persian Gulf region is focused on Iraq and the threat of a U.S. invasion, a quiet telecommunication revolution is taking place in neighboring Iran. -IDG Communications - 12/5/02 Iran to borrow two billion dollars in international markets Head of Management and Plan Organization (MPO) ohammad Sattarifar said here Wednesday that Iran will borrow two billion US dollars to complete the numerous unfinished and semi-finished projects. - 12/5/02 Government spokesman: Judiciary must implement leader's order on Aghajari Government Spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said on Wednesday the currently sensitive situation at the universities and the Judiciary rulings against student leaders encouraged President Khatami not to participate in the "student day" ceremony, to be held on December 7. - 12/5/02 Iranian Filmmaker Assists Afghan Cinema's Rebirth "Qat" ("Cut"), a woman hollers over a megaphone. This is the set of the first feature film to be made in Afghanistan since the collapse of the Taliban, and its director is the Iranian filmmaking prodigy Samira Makhmalbaf, 22. -New York Times - 12/5/02 Iran reveals combat-proven PGM family Iran has developed a range of powered and unpowered stand-off precision guided munitions (PGMs) that is now firmly established in service with the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF). -Jane's News, UK - 12/5/02 Dichotomy of Love/Mind (Reason) One of the hottest debates in what we may call 'methodology' of mysticism and by that I mean one 'way of knowing the Truth,' has been the subject of dichotomy of love and reason. -Roya Monajem, Tehran - 12/5/02 Asian states battle over Caspian wealth With an estimated 250 billion barrels of probable oil reserves and almost 600 trillion cubic feet of probable natural gas reserves, the Caspian Sea region is quickly becoming one of the most important areas in the world as the hunt for and securing of global resources marches relentlessly forward. -Yellow Times - 12/5/02 IRAN: Afghan repatriation slows with onset of winter Since the start in Iran of the joint UNHCR voluntary repatriation programme on 9 April, 362,949 Afghans have gone home. Of this number, over a quarter of million - or 255,876 people, including almost 37,000 family groups - have received assistance from UNHCR. -United Nations - 12/5/02 Official: Over 1.5 million dilapidated cars on Iranian roads Head of Majlis Industry and Mines Commission Reza Nourizadeh said here Wednesday that over 1.5 million dilapidated cars with average age of over 20 years are traveling on Iranian roads. - 12/5/02 U.S. pledges to push democracy in Muslim world The United States, moving on another front in its war against terror, announced on Wednesday plans to greatly intensify its promotion of democracy throughout the Muslim world. -Reuters - 12/5/02 Scottsdale (Arizona) man accused of laundering millions to Iran A June 3 trial date was set Wednesday for an Iranian businessman (Eskandar Khamooshpour) accused of illegally sending millions of dollars to his homeland. -AP - 12/5/02 Kurds, Islamic Militants Battle in Iraq Dozens of Kurdish fighters and Islamic militants were killed in a battle that saw a remote hilly area of northeastern Iraq change hands twice in 24 hours, Kurdish military officials said Thursday. -AP - 12/5/02 EU threatens to cut ties with Hamas "Hamas has been identified as a terror group by the European Union but there is a dialogue with its political arm, which is backed by Syria, Iran and part of the Palestinian Authority. Hamas faces a clear choice between the Turkish model, of democratic Islam, and the Al-Qaida model. If it chooses the second model, the EU will cut its ties, drop out support and end our aid to it." -Ha'aretz, Israel - 12/5/02 New Turkish leader plays up secular credentials Taking votes from most existing parties, and further benefiting from a 10 per cent threshold to enter parliament, the AKP won nearly two-thirds of the 550-seat parliament with just 35 per cent of the vote. -Financial Times - 12/5/02 Investors stung by Kiss of Death with Caspian gas Global oil majors who have rushed to grab chunks of the remote Caspian Sea's mineral riches, are scratching their heads over one question: What to do with the gas? -Reuters - 12/5/02 Fifth Avenue Charity Is ‘Totally Controlled’ By Iran, NYPD Says In an interview with The New York Sun, a lawyer for the charity, the Alavi Foundation, denied that it was controlled by Iran. In at least two federal court cases, Americans suing Iran failed in their efforts to show that the foundation was an “agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.” -The New York Sun - 12/5/02 Iran's Khatami urges change in U.S. policy Analysts say Khatami was echoing recent comments by his still-powerful predecessor Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who Sunday called on the United States to give up its "bullying" so the two countries could move toward resuming ties. -UPI - 12/5/02 IIPF: pollsters' bill of indictment against knowledge, free research Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) issued a communique in which the judiciary's 120 page bill of indictment issued against an opinion poll institute is condemned and called "a declaration against knowledge, research work, and free researchers in Iran." - 12/5/02 Hard-Liners Declare War on Iran Reformers Hard-line vigilantes, best known for disrupting reformist gatherings and beating up students, declared a "holy war" Wednesday to rid Iran of reformers who promote Western democracy and challenge the country's supreme leader. -AP - 12/5/02 Iranian conservative (Muhammad-Javad Larijani) backs US ties A prominent Iranian conservative official has criticised the country's foreign policy, saying that opportunities for restoring ties with the United States have been missed. -BBC - 12/4/02 Khatami urges change in US policy President Mohammad Khatami said here on Wednesday that the only solution to the Iran-US relations is that the one who has done injustice to the other changes its policy and behavior. - 12/4/02 First court hearing against pollsters held The prosecutor listed his charges against the defendants including providing an opinion poll for Gallop and VN of France and said that the two agencies are affiliated to the intelligence service of foreign countries. - 12/4/02 An Islamic Reformation What's going on in Iran today is, without question, the most promising trend in the Muslim world. It is a combination of Martin Luther and Tiananmen Square — a drive for an Islamic reformation combined with a spontaneous student-led democracy movement. -New York Times - 12/4/02 Female MPs set to promote women rights Female legislators have met with three senior clerics in an attempt to promote women rights in the Islamic Republic and have controversies concerning women resolved, the English-Language daily 'Iran News' reported on Wednesday. - 12/4/02 Aghajari dismisses charge, says he will be cleared in open trial Academic Hashem Aghajari said on Tuesday that his statement to the students in Hamedan has been misinterpreted and the judge in charge of his case did not understand his philosophical challenge. - 12/4/02 President Khatami says US seeking pretexts to attack Iraq President Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday expressed hope that no military action would be taken against Iraq by the US although Washington is seeking pretexts to do so. - 12/4/02 Adult Siamese twins plead for separation Doctors in Singapore are considering whether to separate a pair of 28-year-old twin sisters who are joined at the head - an unprecedented operation for adults. -BBC - 12/4/02 Mohamed Khatami/2003: Balancing Act When NEWSWEEK named Mohamed Khatami a world leader to watch in 2002, it was as much for what the Iranian president seemed to represent as it was a nod to his ability to govern. -Newsweek - 12/4/02 IIPF castigates attribution of student rallies to political parties Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) Secretary General Mohammad Reza Khatami here Wednesday referred to attribution of recent student rallies to political parties as a way of burying the actual problem by some individuals to do away with their concern about true student movements. - 12/4/02 Son of late shah sees 'golden opportunity' for change in Iran Iran's Islamic republic "has reached a dead end," the son of the late shah said Tuesday, and the country should not be put on hold while the world deals with the crisis in Iraq. -AP - 12/4/02 Oil money threatens to make killing fields of Kazakhstan 'Wild east' could end the west's dependence on Opec but at a heavy cost . The largest oil find for more than 20 years - almost the size of the world's biggest, the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia - is being developed in the Caspian Sea amid growing anger from the local people. -Guardian - 12/4/02 Iran conducts testing of Taepo Dong Iran has launched testing of the North Korean Taepo Dong-1 intermediate-range missile. -Middle East Newsline - 12/4/02 Kissinger and bin Laden: Takes One To Know One Back in 1975, as a favor to the Shah of Iran, Secretary of State Kissinger fomented a Kurdish uprising against Saddam Hussein only to abruptly abandon the Kurds when the Shah made a peace agreement with Hussein. When asked about this later, Kissinger declared, "Covert action should not be confused with missionary work." -AlterNet - 12/4/02 Chinese company gets contract to extend Teheran metro A Chinese company has been awarded a 275-million-dollar contract to extend the Teheran metro system. -Monday Morning - 12/4/02 The moderate Arab majority has been silent too long While the world is focused on Iraq, one of the most intriguing developments in the Islamic world is taking place in neighboring Iran. -Christian Science Monitor - 12/4/02 'Clashes' in northern Iraq Fierce fighting has erupted in northern Iraq between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Muslim militants believed to be linked to al-Qaeda, it is reported. -BBC - 12/4/02 Avenging a Slight to America And yet, the noisy preparations for a regime change in Iraq could be part of an elaborate ploy. What if it turns out that the President’s real target is Iran? -The Globalist - 12/4/02 Iranian pollsters on trial for collaboration One of Iran's most prominent political activists and the heads of two polling institutes went on trial in Tehran on Tuesday on an array of charges that included collaboration with elements related to US and British intelligence services.-Financial Times - 12/4/02 Youth shapes Iran's economy Increased use of the internet is helping many young Iranians to connect to the outside world. But this poses a major challenge to the government as the urban youth in particular calls for greater economic and political reform. -BBC - 12/3/02 President appoints committee to investigate polling Institute case Khatami, in response to a letter addressed to him by 156 Majlis deputies, appointed a three-member committee comprising of the vice president for legal and parliamentary affairs as well as the ministers of justice and of culture and Islamic guidance to investigate the case of the polling institute. - 12/3/02 Iran's Islamic Revolution Mujahedin Organization calls Rushdie's remarks to support Aghajari "new Satanic verse" Karroubi hopes Aghajari's sentence be changed 'fundamentally' - 12/3/02 Russia-Iran consultations on Caspian status open in Tehran Itar-Tass learnt that the talks would address a range of matters surrounding the legal status of the Caspian Sea, which is bordered by five states -- Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. - 12/3/02 Iranian invents "black box" to analyze cause of road accident: report An Iranian inventor has come up with a novel way to shed more light on the Islamic Republic's phenomenal road accidents: installing "black boxes" in cars, the Persian language daily Tosse'e said on Wednesday. - 12/3/02 Antiwar Effort Gains Momentum: Growing Peace Movement's Ranks Include Some Unlikely Allies There is a labor movement against war, led by organizers of the largest unions in the country; a religious movement against the war, which includes leaders of virtually every mainstream denomination; a veterans movement against the war; business leaders against the war, led by corporate leaders; an antiwar movement led by relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; and immigrant groups against the war. -Washington Post - 12/3/02 Iran on the brink of regime change Americans who care about Iran had something to be grateful for this Thanksgiving: The State Department finally came out foursquare in support of the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who have been demonstrating for an end to the country's ruthless Islamic dictatorship. -Boston Globe - 12/3/02 Profile: Ismail Khan The last 10 years have brought mixed fortunes for Ismail Khan, one of Afghanistan's veteran warlords. But since last November, the warlord's star has risen. -BBC - 12/3/02 Jewish community, rug dealer to aid children "Children have nothing to do with adult quarrels," explained Beroukhim, a Jewish Iranian who came to the United States in 1973. For every purchase made at The Persian Rug Market on Cashua Drive, the Beth Israel Congregation will receive up to 10 percent to assist children on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. -Florence Morning News, SC - 12/3/02 In Iran, black boxes in cars Iranian inventor comes up with way to halt Iran's road carnage through installing black boxes in cars. -Middle East Online - 12/3/02 Iran rulers reveal their differences Rare public discord has emerged among Iran's ruling conservatives, with the hardline judiciary postponing two controversial trials while under fire from a traditional bedrock of support over the death sentence imposed on a dissident academic. -Financial Times - 12/2/02 Iran Watchdog Approves Women Divorce Rights Bill A panel of Iranian clerics and lawyers charged with ensuring that new legislation complies with Islamic law has approved a bill giving women greater rights to divorce their husbands, state radio reported on Sunday. -Reuters - 12/2/02 Justice Department says four students had been arrested for investigation Tehran Justice Department on Monday defended the 24-hour detention of four student activists membering the Office to Consolidate Unity (OCU) and said that they had been arrested for investigation. - 12/2/02 Karroubi slams talk of fourth branch of government: daily `Iran Daily' said Karroubi was responding to a remark made recently by Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, head of the 89-member Experts Assembly, saying that the constitutional watchdog, the 12-member Expediency Council, should be recognized as the fourth branch of government. - 12/2/02 Temporary marriages keep love alive in Iran The latest statistics from the registration office showed that the number of temporary marriages between March and August this year increased by 122 percent while the number of conventional marriages dropped by one percent and divorce cases increased by 17 percent. -ndependent Online - 12/2/02 Farmed sturgeon 'only hope for caviar' A fish that can live for 150 years and grow to six metres (19 feet) in length appears doomed to extinction. -BBC - 12/2/02 Iranian Pres To Visit Pakistan,Gas Pipe On Agenda Iranian President Mohammad Khatami will visit Pakistan to discuss the construction of a US$3.5 billion natural gas pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan, a news report said Monday. -Dow Jones - 12/2/02 Clashes resume in west Afghanistan after B-52 raid Fierce clashes between rival commanders close to a key air base in western Afghanistan resumed on Monday, the leader of one faction said, a day after a U.S. B-52 bombed one of the sides. -Reuters - 12/2/02 Iraq's Neighbors Seem to Be Ready to Support a War Most of Iraq's neighbors seem prepared to support an American military campaign to remove Saddam Hussein from power. But their backing is not assured and rests on several political and military factors. -New York Times - 12/2/02 Kissinger Investigates? Investigate Kissinger George W. Bush’s appointment of Henry Kissinger to chair an independent investigation into the September 11th terrorist attacks is utterly cynical but totally in keeping with the Bush Administration’s long-standing opposition to the very idea of such an investigation. -Common Dreams - 12/2/02 Hamedan top judge says Aghajari's lawyer appealed sentence The Persian-language 'Mardom-Salari' quoted the Secretary-General of the Islamic Revolution Mujahedin Organization (IRMO), Mohammad Salamati, as saying that Saleh Nikbakht had appealed Aghajari's death verdict to stop a possible misuse, stressing that the issue has had "negative impacts" on the system. - 12/2/02 Economy set to be next Iraqi battle While pundits speculate and ordinary Iraqis fret about the prospect of a post-Saddam Hussein regime in Baghdad, economists are beginning to consider how to clean up the economic mess left after decades of devastating wars and draconian United Nations sanctions. -Financial Times - 12/2/02 Iranian review panel approves women's divorce rights bill A panel of Iranian clerics and lawyers charged with ensuring that new legislation complies with Islamic law has approved a bill giving women greater rights to divorce their husbands, state radio reported on Sunday. -Reuters - 12/2/02 U.S. bombs scene of faction fighting in Afghanistan An American B-52 dropped bombs close to the scene of fighting between rival Afghan factions on Sunday, the first time the giant warplanes have been used in Afghanistan for months. -Reuters - 12/2/02 U.S. signals quietly to Iran American officials, who have limited goals in dealing with Iran, scoff at the idea of a drastic improvement in relations. But they hope to reach an understanding that would keep Iran out of a U.S. conflict with Iraq and cooperative during the period of reconstruction after an expected American victory. -Baltimore Sun - 12/1/02 Khatami highlights investments in sports, lauds weightlifting champion President Mohammad Khatami, in commemoration ceremonies held for the 2002 World Champion Weightlifter Hossein Rezazadeh, highlighted here Saturday the need for investments in sports. - 12/1/02 Operation aimed at clearing the mud in sewage system beneath Persepolis Palace started The manger of the technical team of experts commissioned to safeguard the Persepolis Palace, too, said, "The sewage system of the Persepolis Palace is the first modern sewage system ever designed in the world, and amazing as it may sound, after the passage of 2.5 illenniums it is still functional." - 12/1/02 Home-made Persian tiles In Iran, it's hard to resist the attraction of the striking turquoise, yellow and dark blue glazed tiles that Iranians use to decorate their mosques, offices, shops, tombs and even ATM machines. -Malay Mail, Malaysia - 12/1/02 Majlis to debate bill on citizenship for foreign spouses of Iranian women The Persian-language 'Afarinesh' quoted Deputy from Tehran Fatemeh Haqiqatjou as saying that the bill will seek to solve the problem of Iranian women who have married foreigners, particularly Afghan nationals, over the past 20 years. - 12/1/02 FMI lodges complaint with parliament commission against judiciary Secretary General of Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) Ebrahim Yazdi on Sunday lodged a complaint with the parliamentary Commission 90 against the absence of the jury in the court hearings against FMI defendants. - 12/1/02 Trials of detained Iran-US pollsters postponed The trial of Hossein Qazian, who directed a controversial opinion poll on Iran-US ties with the cooperation of journalist Abbas Abdi, has been postponed to Tuesday at the request of his defense lawyer while an exact date for Abdi's hearing is yet to be announced - 12/1/02 Woman applies to head Iranian football federation: report A woman has applied to head the Iranian football federation despite the country's ban on women even entering football stadiums, a website reported on Saturday. -AFP - 12/1/02 Rafsanjani urges US to abandon bullying to approach Iran Rafsanjani, addressing a meeting at Iran's Navy Headquarters, said it is only in that case that Washington can cooperate with Tehran, but regretted that the US has yet signalled no positive sign in that connection toward Iran. - 12/1/02 World Bank grants $96,000 for sturgeon farming Head of Iran Sturgeon Research Institute Mohammad Pour-kazemi said here Saturday that World Bank has allocated a grant of dlrs 96,000 to the the institute. - 12/1/02 A Welcome Strangeness The young Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf spins artlessness into art. Her movies, which weave fictional plot threads through real situations, feel so immediate that one watches them through an imaginary knothole. -New York Times - 12/1/02 Turkey lifts last state of emergency Doctors, lawyers and human rights activists have met in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir to mark the lifting of the state of emergency in the last two Turkish provinces where it was in force. -BBC - 12/1/02 Fighting erupts in west Afghanistan, 13 said dead The fighting began early on Sunday when commander Amanullah Khan launched an attack on positions held by the powerful governor of the province of Herat, Ismail Khan, in the Zeer Koh area 10 km (six miles) from Shindand air base, an official for Ismail Khan said. -Reuters - 12/1/02 © Copyright 2009 NetNative (All Rights Reserved)