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Payvand Iran News Archive

Home News News Archive Sports News Interesting Sites Directory Persian Calendar Bookstore Archive	June 2003 Khatami: Iran has no intention of manufacturing nuclear weapons Voicing the deep concern of world countries regarding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Khatami called on the global community to treat all countries pursuing a nuclear energy program without discrimination. - 6/30/03 Iran's "Javan" daily banned A court here on Sunday suspended the Persian-language daily Javan for charges of spreading falsehoods and not specifying the name of the publisher. - 6/30/03 Iranian Opposition Movement's Many Faces What is not in dispute is that the Mujahedeen Khalq, or People's Mujahedeen, the Iraq-based Iranian opposition group the Rajavis lead, has been designated a terrorist organization by both the United States State Department and the 15-country European Union. Now, in an unintended consequence of the American-led war against Iraq, the United States and France are struggling to figure out just who these people are and what to do with them. -New York Times - 6/30/03 Iran's Ali Shariati: Intellectual in the Box There is an old joke that someone was asked: “Do you have historical monuments in your country?” And he answered: “No. But they are under construction.” Ali Shariati was in the business of making historical monuments. -Bahman Aghai Diba - 6/30/03 Straw categorically rules out military action against Iran British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, visiting Tehran Monday, categorically ruled out using military action against Iran if it refused to accede to US-led demands for more intrusive inspections of its civilian nuclear programme - 6/30/03 Britain's Straw presses nuclear, human rights concerns to defiant Iran Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrived in Iran, immediately pressing concerns over human rights and the country's suspect nuclear programme, but the Islamic republic offered him a defiant response. -AFP - 6/30/03 Iran Says $2.5 Bln Oil Accord with Japan May Be Delayed Iran, holder of the world's fifth- largest oil reserves, expects a contract with Japan to tap the Middle East nation's biggest oil find in 35 years may be delayed by intervention from U.S. officials, a government minister said. -Bloomberg - 6/30/03 "The Desert of the Tartars": Valerio Zurlini's Epic Nightmare Screen adaptation of Dino Buzzati's novel, shot in Iran's Bam Citadel -Darius Kadivar - 6/30/03 Iran 'invites' nuclear chief back Iran has reportedly said it will soon invite the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog to visit the country. -BBC - 6/30/03 France Defends Round-Up of Iranian Dissidents France's interior minister on Sunday defended raids earlier this month on the offices of an exiled Iranian opposition group, saying France would not become a "stomping ground for any terrorist organization." -Reuters - 6/30/03 For US troops in Iraq, safety vs. diplomacy Amid the surge of lethal attacks against US troops in recent days, the work of the soldiers here in Al Haswa shows the tightrope troops walk as they balance security with trying to win the hearts and minds of regular Iraqis. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/30/03 US begins Iraq crackdown as soldiers found dead The US military launched a huge operation yesterday to crack down on insurgents in Iraq as the civilian administrator, Paul Bremer, promised that America would "impose" its will upon the country. -Guardian - 6/30/03 Iranian Americans Settle In for Protest Group Angry Over Mujaheddin Arrests Keeps Pressure on French Embassy -Washington Post - 6/30/03 Iran to participate in international RoboCup-2003 competition in Italy The Iranian robocup teams are from Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University, Mashhad's Ferdowsi University, Hamedan's Bu-Ali Sina, Isfahan's Sana'ati and Qazvin's Azad Universities. - 6/30/03 Iranian FM criticizes Blair's statement on recent unrest in Iran Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, speaking in Tehran on Sunday, said that British Prime Minister Tony Blair should have differentiated between a student move and a turmoil which leads to destruction and insecurity in the society - 6/30/03 Iran refuses to budge on nuclear inspections after Straw warning Iran's clerical leaders showed little sign of giving into mounting international demands to open up their suspect nuclear programme to tougher UN inspections, despite warnings by visiting British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of economic consequences. -AFP - 6/30/03 Student protesters warn leaders to allow free speech or risk confrontation Student leaders, defiant after a wave of street demonstrations, are warning Iran's political leadership that they will face full-blown confrontation unless political prisoners are released and a protest rally is allowed to go ahead. -Guardian - 6/30/03 Iran: Four MPs defy arrest threats over unrest, start protest sit-in Four Iranian MPs defied judiciary officials' threats to arrest some parliamentarians on charges of provoking recent unrest and started a two-day 'self-imprisonment' in parliament in protest to the way police treated students - 6/29/03 Bemused and worried in Iran It has become almost impossible to explain American or British policy in a region where conspiracy theories always abound -Guardian - 6/29/03 Iran has 1.2 million hooked drug addicts: official Iran has 1.2 million hard addicts to assorted narcotics, while 800,000 others use drugs for pastime, a senior welfare official said in Tehran on Saturday - 6/29/03 Straw to press Iran on weapons UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has arrived in Tehran, where he is expected to press Iran over its nuclear programme. -BBC - 6/29/03 Straw arrives in Iran with appeal for Iraq help, stern warnings The hastily-arranged visit Sunday, Straw's fourth here in less than two years, was also expected to cover human rights issues in the wake of anti-regime protests and comes as European diplomats are showing increasing pessimism over the merits of engaging Iran. -AFP - 6/29/03 Palestinians back trial ceasefire There was cautious optimism that the Middle East's road-map to peace has found a tentative way forward yesterday as three Palestinian militant groups prepared to formally announce a three-month ceasefire. -Guardian - 6/29/03 US seeking alliance to block weapons exports by North Korea, Iran The United States is seeking an international alliance to block exports of weapons of mass destruction and missiles by North Korea and Iran, it was reported here. -AFP - 6/29/03 Iran former president says 0pponents of Islamic Revolution failed Pointing to the recent unrest in Tehran and some other parts of the country, Rafsanjani said the US President George W Bush has announced his support for a group of hooligans who have tried to set public assets on fire and destroy them. Such a move by the US president is surprising, he added. - 6/29/03 Iran volleyball team denied visa, cancels Italy trip The Italian federation officials had promised that the National Olympic Committee of the European country would make necessary arrangements for issuance of visa but it did not - 6/29/03 Iran Is Trying to Curb Porn and Politics on Web It is sometimes called Iranian porn. It appears on certain Web sites that specialize in mocking the Islamic Republic's puritanism, featuring women with hair tumbling out of their head scarves or exhibiting deep décolletage at family gatherings. -New York Times - 6/29/03 Student Arrests Spark Defiance in Iran Iran announced that more than 4,000 people were arrested during a month of violent pro-reform protests, and a student leader warned on Saturday that the crackdown was only fueling hatred of the ruling clerics. -AP - 6/29/03 Iran to try next week some of those detained in recent unrest The announcement came as officials said the riots had fizzled out in the wake of measures taken by the country's security and intelligence officials. - 6/29/03 Iran: Ayatollah Jannati calls firm dealing with rioters He called on the Judiciary to adopt tough measures against trouble-makers who were behind the recent unrests in the country. The offenders should know the price they have to pay for their crimes and offenses, he warned. - 6/28/03 Iranian Group Fights for Survival With neither a leader nor a sanctuary in Iraq or in Europe, "they are finished as a political organization," said Fariba Adelkhah, an Iran expert at the International Center for Research and Studies. -AP - 6/28/03 U.S. Religious Delegation Visits Iran on Mission of Peace Vatican Radio reported that among the representatives was Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, D.C., who appealed for a lasting solution to the conflicts bloodying the region. -Zenit - 6/28/03 Azerbaijan refutes assertions of negotiations with US on Iran Azerbaijan Defense Minister Safar A. Abiyev saud said in Baku on Friday that he did not held any discussions with his US counterpart on Iran on the sidelines of NATO session in Brussels. - 6/28/03 Iraq: Shi'a Holy Cities Regaining Their Former Prominence The Iraqi cities of Al-Najaf and Karbala are home to the most sacred shrines of the Shi'a branch of Islam and are centers of Shi'a theology and learning. The importance of the two cities is acknowledged all over the Shi'a world. -RFE - 6/28/03 Three Iranian opposition members ordered to leave France: lawyer Three men detained during a massive sweep against Iranian dissidents in France have been ordered to leave the country within three months, their lawyers said Friday. -AFP - 6/28/03 Post-9/11 Immigrant Roundup Backfired - Report Measures take by the U.S. administration against Arab and Muslim immigrants after the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against New York and the Pentagon have not only failed to protect U.S. security, but may have made it more vulnerable, according to a major report released here Thursday. -Common Dreams - 6/28/03 Iran rejects claims on presence of Bin Laden's son in Iran Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi here on Saturday rejected claims made by certain Arab media on presence of Ayman al-Zawahiri and son of al-Qaeda Chief Osama Bin Laden in Iran. - 6/28/03 Iran says UK's Straw to debate issues of mutual interest in Tehran visit The British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will arrive in Tehran on Sunday for a two-day state visit. The visit follows Iran's formal protest to British Ambassador in Tehran Richard Dalton last Tuesday over remarks made by Prime Minister Tony Blair that were considered to be an interference in the country's internal affairs. - 6/28/03 Iran negotiating extradition of senior Al-Qaeda members: diplomats Iran has been locked in highly secretive and complex extradition talks with Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia over prisoners held here who are widely believed to be senior members of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, diplomatic sources told AFP. - 6/28/03 Japan pressed over $2bn Iran oil deal The US is putting concerted pressure on the Japanese government to pull out of a $2bn (£1.2bn) oil deal with Iran that had been scheduled for signing within the next few days, a US official and sources close to the negotiations said on Friday. -Financial Times - 6/28/03 An Iranian Prostitute's Electronic Plea for Help In an online diary and radio interview, an Iranian woman selling herself to survive documents her ordeal and the plight of many women in Iran. The student rebellion against Iran's clerical government, the author writes, could change her fate for the better. -Pacific News Service - 6/28/03 Straw steps up pressure on Iran The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, is to visit Iran next week as part of the government's escalating campaign against the country's alleged nuclear programme. Mr Straw is to warn its rulers they must "urgently" allow wider access to nuclear weapons inspectors, officials said today. -Guardian - 6/28/03 Is Iran Building Nukes? An Economic Analysis (Part 2) The Bush administration argues that nuclear power generation makes no sense for an oil-rich country like Iran, implying that the country's power plants are for arms manufacture. The authors examine the facts. -Pacific News Service - 6/28/03 Iran Student Leaders Say Crisis Deepening "The confirmation of 4,000 arrests shows how insincere the rulers are and how the crisis has deepened in Iran," student leader Saeed Allahbadashti told The Associated Press. - 6/28/03 Thousands held over Iran demos In the capital Tehran - the focus of the unrest - 800 people were arrested. They include Abdullah Momeni and Mahdi Aminzadeh, leaders of the biggest student organisation, the Unity Consolidation Office. -BBC - 6/28/03 Let the lawmakers in Washington know how we feel about US intervention in Iran The students in Iran are risking their lives for the very freedoms we take for granted each day. We should use the power that we possess to help them! -Reza Zaheri, Texas - 6/27/03 US widens postwar Iraq review The Pentagon has sent a team of outside policy experts to conduct an independent review of postwar operations in Iraq amid growing criticism that the US failed to prepare adequately for occupation. -Financial Times - 6/27/03 The man who would be king of Iraq After 45 years in exile, Sherif Ali calls for the creation of a constitutional monarchy. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/27/03 Iranian to get 600,000 yen for prison guard abuse The Tokyo District Court ordered the central government Thursday to pay 600,000 yen to an Iranian former inmate at Fuchu Prison for abuse at the hands of guards. -Japan Times - 6/27/03 IRAN'S SEEDS OF LIBERTY AS the Iranian opposition to the mullahs gathers momentum, a chorus of self-styled experts in the United States is trying to belittle the pro-democracy movement, presenting the Khomeinist regime as a solid and urging Washington to seek détente with Tehran. -Amir Taheri, NY Post - 6/27/03 Seventh Annual Cultural and Arts Festival of Iranians in Northern California Payvand Organization and the Iranian Federated Women's Club (IFWC) announce and invite you to their Seventh Annual Cultural and Arts Festival at the Cupertino Quinlan Community Center on Sunday, September 28, 2003. - 6/27/03 Militia Trained in Iran Controls a Tense Town in Iraq The Badr Brigade, a militia group whose members trained in Iran during the long rule of Saddam Hussein, controls this town of 50,000 people where six British soldiers and four Iraqis were killed in a firefight this week, residents said today. -New York Times - 6/27/03 Iranian art arount the globe Six Iranian Films in Poland; A number of Iranian artists were among the 117 international participants at the 6th Sharjah International Art Biennial.; Artwork by Seyed Alavi in California; ... -Tavoos - 6/27/03 Iranian student leader held An Iranian student leader, Abdollah Momeni, was seized in Tehran by unidentified men in plainclothes, another student told AFP. - 6/27/03 The Invisible The human cost of the 21st century's first war is already enormous. In addition to those who have died, staggering numbers have been detained around the world in violation of their human rights and international law. -Common Dreams - 6/27/03 Open Letter to the Iranian Opposition Leaders These are indeed crucial days in our nation's history. If it's not already too late for them, the hardliners of the Islamic Republic have very little time to respond to the demands of our nation's democrats to drastically shift the center of power to the liberal factions of the government in order to survive. -Mohsen Moshfegh - 6/27/03 Shadowy Neo-Con Adviser Moves on Iran Throughout his career, Ledeen has insisted that war and violence were integral parts of human nature and derided the notion that peace can be negotiated between two nations. He was a fierce opponent of the Oslo peace process. ''I don't know of a case in history where peace has been accomplished in any way other than one side winning a war (and) imposing terms on the other side,'' he said two years ago. -IPS - 6/27/03 Four thousand arrested during Iran unrest, 2,000 still being held Iran's security forces made 4,000 arrests during the recent wave of anti-regime protests and unrest, with half of that number still being held, the Islamic republic's prosecutor general revealed. -AFP - 6/27/03 Is Iran Building Nukes? An Analysis (Part 1) The Bush administration is turning up the heat on Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program, but the authors say the evidence just isn't there. -Pacific News Service - 6/27/03 US plans for Iraq 'flawed' A senior American official who spent two months helping the United States' post-war effort in Iraq has strongly criticised reconstruction plans. -BBC - 6/26/03 One US soldier, three Iraqis dead in latest attacks The latest deaths were a further sign that hit-and-run attacks against US forces are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated, to the point where they could pose a serious challenge to the forces trying to rebuild Iraq. -Guardian - 6/26/03 Palestinian militants offer 3-month truce Three Palestinian militant groups yesterday agreed to suspend attacks on all Israeli targets for three months. -Guardian - 6/26/03 Islamist, Marxist, Terrorist Art lovers know Auver-sur-Oise, north of Paris, as the backdrop of Van Gogh's most famous paintings. The French anti-terrorist police, however, see it as the nerve center of the Iranian Mujahedin Khalq -- or "People's Combatants" -- an Islamic-Marxist sect. -Amir Taheri, WSJ - 6/26/03 Ageing Iranian air force plane crashes near Tehran, killing seven Since then, Iran has been subject to tough US sanctions, hindering the purchase of critical spare parts for all US-made planes in its air force and the civilian flag carrier Iran Air. -AFP - 6/26/03 Iran's Daei calls sport big means for healthy society Iran's national captain Ali Daei said on Wednesday sport is the big means for making a society healthy - 6/26/03 Revolution in Iran missing key ingredient -- the military The Bush administration dearly would love to see the Islamic Republic overthrown in a democratic revolution. But while Iran possesses some of the ingredients that were present in other countries that experienced democratic revolution in recent years, it does not have all of them -- yet. -Mark N. Katz, Baltimore Sun - 6/26/03 Iranian Exiles Sow Change Via Satellite Islamic Government's Foes Tap TV, Web and Phones to Encourage Protests -Washington Post - 6/26/03 Iranian mountaineers set to conquer Himalayan Gusherbrum peak An Iranian team comprising 10 national mountaineers left Tehran for Pakistan on Wednesday to conquer the 8,046-meter-high peak of Gusherbrum in the Himalayas, Jammu and Kashmir - 6/26/03 Saudi in Talks with Iran Over Detained Nationals Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it was in talks with Tehran over Saudi nationals being held in Iran on suspicion of having links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group. -Reuters - 6/26/03 Russia Says IAEA Meet Solves U.S. Worries Over Iran Russia said on Thursday a June meeting of U.N. nuclear officials had cleared up international concerns over its nuclear cooperation with Iran and denied there were disagreements over the issue with the United States. -Reuters - 6/26/03 Bush, EU leaders condemn North Korea, worry about Iran President George W. Bush and visiting European leaders jointly warned North Korea to dismantle its atomic weapons program and demanded that Iran cooperate with the UN's nuclear watchdog. -AFP - 6/26/03 Drug Injection main cause of AIDS spread in Iran, says academic According to statistics, there are two million drug users as well as 1.2 million addicts in Iran where experts say the use of the ecstasy is on the rise. - 6/26/03 Iran MPs Urge Khatami to Take Stand Over Arrests Reformist Iranian lawmakers urged President Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday to take a firm stand over an apparent mass round-up of students following this month's protests against clerical rule in the Islamic Republic. -Reuters - 6/26/03 Iran President stresses people's lawful demands, accountability of officials President Mohammad Khatami, speaking in Shahriar, Tehran province, on Wednesday stressed that all should abide by the law regardless of their intentions. "Otherwise hoodlums and foreign and domestic enemies can take advantage of the situation," - 6/26/03 US Congressional Hearing on ILSA Pressures EU to Sanction Iran The Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee held a hearing on the implementation of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) which was first passed by Congress in August 1996 and reauthorized on August 3, 2001. -NIAC - 6/26/03 How not to win Iran President Bush's encouragement of student demonstrations in Iran may be satisfying neoconservatives in Washington who are pressing for a policy of "regime change," but it is not helping the pro-democracy movement inside Iran. -Bahman Baktiari, Christian Science Monitor - 6/26/03 Iran: Tehran's "Weather" is getting hot A kind reader reminded me that Iranians do not need to be preached from outside. I agree with him 100 percent and more. We don't need to be preached period. We have been preached too much and for too long. This time, the people, the future, the youth, hopefully have realized that it is up to them to make it happen. If they want change then they must do something about it, take responsibility and be prepared to pay the price. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 6/26/03 US Congressional panel blasts Iran, calls for dialogue Capitol Hill today hosted the "Panelist Briefing on US Policy Options on Iran" with several Middle East and Iran experts. The panel, hosted by House representatives Vic Snyder (D-AR) and Bob Ney (R-OH) included four distinguished speakers; Lee Hamilton, former ranking member of the House International relations Committee, Kenneth Katzman, a specialist with the Congressional Research Service, Giandomenico Picco, former Under Secretary of the UN, and Bruce Laingen, a former US hostage in Iran. -NIAC - 6/25/03 Blair comments outrage Iran The British Ambassador in Tehran, Richard Dalton, has been called in by the Iranian foreign ministry to receive a verbal protest over remarks made in the UK Parliament yesterday by Prime Minister Tony Blair. -BBC - 6/25/03 Iran's reformers voice unease over detained students Iran's reformist-controlled parliament have set up a five-member committee to meet students detained during the recent wave of unrest across the country, and have called on families to provide the names of any missing students, press reports said. -AFP - 6/25/03 Suspicions grow of Paris-Tehran deal on terror Iran may have struck a more cooperative tone over the al-Qaida suspects in its custody in return for France cracking down on exiled opposition groups, Tehran newspapers reported yesterday. -Guardian - 6/25/03 Photos from Mehr Cultural-Sports Festival in Iran Photos by Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) - 6/25/03 One killed in quake in western Iranian city of Aligudarz One person was killed as a quake with an intensity of 4.3 degrees on the Richter scale hit in western city of Aligudarz on Tuesday night, said Ali Barani Biranvand, head of provincial Natural Disasters Headquarters in Khorramabad, Lorestan Province - 6/25/03 Iran military cargo plane crashes in Robat Karim, near Tehran A C-130 military cargo plane crashed Wednesday morning in Robat Karim, Tehran province. Al seven crew on board were killed in the incident. - 6/25/03 Dear Ayatollah Ali Khamenei You do not know me, yet nothing I know about you makes me think that I would like you if we met. Neverthless, we do have some common concerns. I therefore decided to give you some comfort and advice. -Gabriel Ash, Yellow Times - 6/25/03 Iran to begin Caspian oilfield development Iran will begin developing its Caspian Sea offshore oilfields within two years. - 6/25/03 American rhetoric brings on feeling of déjà vu Here we go again! Now it's Iran which is developing weapons of mass destruction and has links to terrorist groups - or so we are told by the Bush administration, backed up, of course, by its faithful echo, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. -Linda S Heard, Gulf News - 6/25/03 Expert Said to Tell U.S. Legislators He Was Pressed to Distort Some Evidence A top State Department expert on chemical and biological weapons told Congressional committees in closed-door hearings last week that he had been pressed to tailor his analysis on Iraq and other matters to conform with the Bush administration's views, several Congressional officials said today. -Common Dreams - 6/25/03 Iran's defence minister says US nuclear pressure due to Iraq failure Iran's defence minister has accused the United States of pressuring the Islamic republic over its nuclear programme as part of an effort to cover up for its failure to find banned weapons in Iraq -AFP - 6/25/03 Troops 'killed by civilians' Tension between British troops and Iraqis reluctant to disarm could have led to the killing of six servicemen, Prime Minister Tony Blair has told parliament. -BBC - 6/25/03 Firefight Over Iran The next challenge: to help reformers in Tehran while stopping the ayatollahs from going nuclear -Newsweek - 6/25/03 Parents mourn 'brave girl' who set herself on fire in memory of uncle She was a Canadian computer science student who loved playing volleyball and listening to classical music, but Neda Hassani sacrificed her life for the memory of an uncle executed in Iran. -Guardian - 6/25/03 Iran to Give Saudis al-Qaida Members Iran will turn over to Saudi Arabia a number of Saudi members of the al-Qaida terror network who are in Iranian prisons, a senior Iranian official said Tuesday. -AP - 6/25/03 Letter from Tehran Neither George Bush, nor Mohammad Khatami, neither the anti-war Europeans nor the 'innocent' Palestinians nor the Conservatives really give a damn about us. They all have their own agendas. The reformists care about their reforms and their so-called freedom and democracy. Meanwhile our lives are plundered.-Guardian - 6/25/03 Iran President: Protests should be conducted in an orderly, civilized manner President Mohammad Khatami said on Tuesday that any criticism or opposition can be done freely but within the framework of the law - 6/25/03 Report: Iran Exiles Planned Killings An Iranian opposition group under scrutiny in France planned to assassinate former members suspected of betraying the movement, according to a report by France's counterintelligence agency. -AP - 6/25/03 Keep Your Hands Off Iran, Please! Fifty years ago I was also young, and a student in Tehran. Those days most student strikes and political demonstrations began at senior high school level, and then gathered momentum in the streets of the Capital. Iran's population was somewhere around eighteen million, and Tehran, perhaps 500,000. -Kam Zarrabi - 6/25/03 Graphic Equalizer (interview with Marjan Satrapi, author of Persepolis) But it is when Satrapi discusses Iran-U.S. relations that she becomes the most animated. She still despises the regime, one that keeps much of the oil-rich country in poverty, jails journalists, deems women unequal to men and operates under a constitution that hampers the efforts of reformers at every turn. Nevertheless, she believes there's hope for Iran -- if the United States doesn't interfere. -American Prospect - 6/25/03 5th volume of History of Iranian Children's Literature is published Foundation for Research on the History of Children's Literature in Iran (HCLI) welcomes any encouragement, support and advice from anyone who fascinated by the world of children's Literature both in Iran and abroad. - 6/24/03 Deterring Regime Change in Iran? Unfortunately, an aggressively proactive stance on the part of the U.S. government is more likely to make things in Iran worse rather than better. It might even stifle or short-circuit what seems to be an ongoing process that seems likely to bring significant change to the repressive Iranian regime some time in the foreseeable future, if not necessarily as quickly as some of us might like. -Antiwar.com - 6/24/03 Huge cash supply contributing to steep price hikes in Iran The huge supply of cash circulating in the economy accompanied by huge allocations to state bodies have, among other factors, fueled price increases in most commodities and public services in the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20) - 6/24/03 Iran Student Leaders Protest Detentions Student leaders held sit-ins Sunday to protest the detention of classmates following last week's fierce clashes between pro-clergy militants and anti-government demonstrators, in which police said 520 people were arrested. -AP - 6/24/03 Power Moves May Be Uniting Hard-Liners in Iraq and Iran In a step that may intensify a struggle between moderates and conservatives in Iraq, a hard-line Shiite cleric recently met with the leadership in Iran, according to his aides. -New York Times - 6/24/03 Iran's Khamenei Says Backs Investment By Private Sector Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the Islamic establishment cannot overcome its economic problems without security for both domestic and foreign investment, Tehran radio reported Monday. -Dow Jones - 6/24/03 A Risky Gambit for Global Gas Supremacy Russia and the United States are locking horns in Central Asia in a politically charged battle for global gas supremacy that will largely determine the fate of Gazprom, the government's single largest source of budget revenue. -Moscow Times - 6/24/03 Cover Your Hair Still no luck in my quest to help the administration find Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. But meanwhile, I'm getting the impression that America fought Saddam, and the Islamic fundamentalists won. -New York Times - 6/24/03 Anarchy Engulfs the New Iraq The war ended 10 weeks ago, but neither peace nor freedom prevail as the US struggles to keep control -Common Dreams - 6/24/03 Jobs gap 'fuelling' Mideast radicalism The potential labour force in the Middle East and North Africa region will grow by an alarming 40 per cent in this decade, underlining the urgency of reforms to counter social pressures and radicalism caused by economic hardship. -Financial Times - 6/24/03 US soldiers risk own goal in football challenge to Iraq In the present state of lawlessness in Baghdad, Iraqi fans are as capable of firing rocket-propelled grenades during a football match as they are of lobbing a few toilet rolls. But the US army insisted that tonight's game is going ahead anyway. -Guardian - 6/24/03 Vetting of overseas students to be tightened in UK Ministers were yesterday accused of compromising academic freedom after universities agreed to tighten a controversial vetting scheme for overseas research students aimed at preventing terrorists from infiltrating British laboratories and obtaining biological, chemical or nuclear materials and know-how. -Guardian - 6/24/03 Iranian Dies in Fire Protest in London An Iranian woman who set herself on fire outside the French embassy last week as part of a protest has died, police said Tuesday. -AP - 6/24/03 Iran Bans Street Protests for Anniversary Iran on Monday banned street protests to mark the anniversary of a bloody raid by hard-liners on a university dormitory four years ago, in an attempt to prevent new clashes after a week of unrest in Tehran. -AP - 6/24/03 Iran Balancing Game If Washington launches a "crusade" against Iran's conservative clerics, the Europeans, chastened by their experience during the crisis in Iraq, would almost certainly lend their support. If that happens, Russia would find itself in a sticky situation. -Moscow Times - 6/24/03 5.5 Quake rattles southeastern Iranian city of Iranshahr An earthquake with the intensity of 5.5 degrees on the Richter scale shook southeastern Iranian city of Iranshahr in the Sistan Baluchestan province Tuesday - 6/24/03 Bombing Iran Could Be Tempting Option For Bush Afghanistan remains a mess. Iraq is becoming so. But George Bush wants to march on to Iran. -Common Dreams - 6/24/03 UN body installs monitoring equipment in key Iranian nuclear site: diplomat The UN's nuclear watchdog has installed monitoring equipment at a nuclear site in Iran at the heart of allegations that the Islamic republic is developing atomic bombs, diplomats said here Monday. -AFP - 6/24/03 Respect Iran's sovereignty Dear Mr. President (Bush), We are writing because the history of the world is at a crossroad. On Friday 20th of June, Mr. John Bolton of the State Department, announced to the international media that you are putting all your “options are on the table,” in dealing with Iran’s alleged nuclear weapon ambitions. -Taymaz Rastin - 6/24/03 Poll: Majority Backs Use of Force in Iran Most Americans would support the United States taking military action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons despite growing public concern about the mounting number of U.S. military casualties in the aftermath of the war with Iraq, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. - 6/24/03 Iran's In The Crosshairs Of Bush's Bombsight Any regime in Iran, clerical, royal, or otherwise, will seek nuclear weapons. A nation of 68 million with great oil wealth, which lost 500,000 men in the U.S.-promoted 1980 invasion by Iraq, has as much right to nuclear weapons for self-defense as Britain, France, India, or the U.S. -Common Dreams - 6/24/03 Iranian interior minister says unrest has fizzled out Iran's Interior Minister Abdolvahed Moussavi Lari speaking in the city of Qazvin south of Tehran on Monday said several days of unrest in Tehran and some other cities had subsided in the wake of measures taken by the country's security and intelligence officials - 6/24/03 Iran's government slams 'crimes' of vigilantes, bans further protests A senior government official on Monday flayed vigilantes for 'crimes' committed during their recent raid of a university hostel west of Tehran, but said Iran had banned further demonstrations outside universities - 6/24/03 To Live or not to Live: This is the Question How awful it is when one feels and experiences oneself absolutely ignorant and shaky and uncertain, unable to decide and do anything. This is the kind of feeling I have been increasingly experiencing as the 'political' events in Iran escalate. The only thing I know is that I love Persia ... -Roya Monajem, Tehran - 6/24/03 Powell Denies U.S. Preparing for Conflict with Iran Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday dismissed as "absolutely wrong" any suggestion that the United States was preparing to attack Iran. -Reuters - 6/23/03 Tehran Art Scene Recently many young artists have been doing installation work but the one that I went to recently was different in a sense that it was a Performance Art and installation work. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 6/23/03 Armed attack against Basij, morals police base in central Iran: report A group of armed men carried out two armed attacks on a base of the Basij militia and morals police near the central city of Isfahan, resulting in five people being injured and 21 arrested, the student news agency ISNA reported. -AFP - 6/23/03 EU to tell US that negotiations with Iran will continue On Iran, EU leaders are expected to tell the Americans that Brussels will continue its dialogue and negotiations with the Islamic Republic, said EU sources in Brussels Monday. - 6/23/03 Open letter to congressman Brad Sherman in regards to his Iran policy I am sure some of my fellow Iranians, including Reza Pahlavi, are lifting their eyes to a foreign power to help change the current state of political affairs in Iran. Like them, I have some misgivings about the political situation in my country. -Massoud Tehrani - 6/23/03 Woo, don't isolate Iran needs security without nuclear bombs -Guardian - 6/23/03 Insecurity drives WMD proliferation - ElBaradei In an interview with the FT, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, also warned that ending the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East required addressing the root causes of insecurity in the region, including the Arab-Israeli conflict. -Financial Times - 6/23/03 Now Bush wants to buy the complicity of aid workers The Bush administration has found its next target for pre-emptive war, but it's not Iran, Syria or North Korea. Not yet anyway. -Guardian - 6/23/03 Proliferating Iranian weblogs give voice to taboo topics A proliferating form of alternative expression in the Islamic Republic, such online journals are a fascinating insight into a closed society, airing issues that may be taboo in public and revealing the underground lives of many young Iranians. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/23/03 FILA lifts wrestling ban on Iran: Taleqani President of Iran's Wrestling Federation (IWF) announced in Tehran on Sunday that the world wrestling's governing body FILA has lifted its four-year ban on the country - 6/23/03 Five Iranian opposition hunger strikers hospitalized in France More than 40 supporters of the Iranian opposition movement the People's Mujahedeen were continuing their hunger strike outside Paris to protest against last week's crackdown by French police. -AFP - 6/23/03 No Secretary Straw - President Bush Is Right Dear Secretary Straw, Your expressed reservations about President Bush’s vocal support for the Iranian students, although well intentioned, are totally unfounded. -Reza Ladjevardian, Texas - 6/23/03 Iran 'identifies' al-Qaeda suspects Iran says it has identified most of the al-Qaeda suspects it is currently holding in custody, but has refused release any of their names. -BBC - 6/23/03 Mojahedin urges calm as 17 face Paris inquiry The Mojahedin yesterday condemned Mrs Rajavi's detention, but urged calm. "We appeal to aggrieved compatriots to refrain from self-immolation and only pursue their demands through peaceful sit-ins, strikes and rallies," it said. -Guardian - 6/23/03 Iran Parliament forwards bill on Press Law to Expediency Council The Majlis on Sunday refused to rewrite certain amendments it had devised to the Press Law, as demanded by the Guardian Council (GC), and forwarded the bill to the Expediency Council (EC) for arbitration - 6/23/03 Iran FM spokesman criticizes US anti-Iran remarks as sign of "deep animosity" Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said in Tehran on Monday lashed out at the recent remarks by certain US officials on the possibility of a military attack against Iran, stressing that the remarks signified Washington's deep animosity toward Tehran - 6/23/03 In Iran, Student Activist Pays Price for Democracy Pursuits Abdollah Momeni is a student on the run. The university activist began challenging Iran's Islamic regime seven years ago, and since then he has seen peers get arrested, jailed — and even risk their lives to fight the system. -Los Angles Times - 6/23/03 Police arrest 520 people in Tehran unrest: press Police have arrested 520 people, including 18 women with records for repeated offenses, in Tehran in connection with recent unrest here which also affected several other cities, press said Sunday - 6/22/03 Some 166 Iranian MPs voice outrage at brutal treatment of students Some 166 members of parliament on Sunday expressed outrage at 'brutal treatment of students' by the lawless plainclothes men and at the same time called on students to be careful about infiltration of suspicious elements into their ranks - 6/22/03 Stay Out of Iran The latest student protests in the Iranian capital, Tehran, have quickened the collective pulse in Washington among those eagerly awaiting "regime change" in the Islamic republic. -Geneive Abdo, Washington Post - 6/22/03 Iranian protests fail to bring change A series of violent night-time disturbances in the Iranian capital Tehran and in other cities over the past 10 days appears to have largely died away, but has left a tense political fallout. -BBC - 6/22/03 Nuclear Ambitions Aren't New for Iran Before he was overthrown by an Islamic revolution in 1979, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran said that his country would have nuclear weapons "without a doubt and sooner than one would think." -New York Times - 6/22/03 Putin refuses to cut Iran link Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia would continue to help Iran develop its nuclear programme despite Washington's objections. -BBC - 6/22/03 Iran Parliament Speaker says 'very few' students among rioters Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi said in Tehran on Sunday that students were 'very few' in number at the recent unrest in capital Tehran and several other Iranian cities, which he blamed on the instigation of foreign media - 6/22/03 Iran reformist MP cautions US not to interrelate own agenda with Iranian nation Member of Parliament Peyman Ashuri on Sunday called on the US not to interrelate its agenda with the democratic demands of the Iranian people. - 6/22/03 More Mujahedeen return to Iran 22 former People's Mujahedeen members reunited with families in Iran with aid of Iranian Rescue Association. -Middle East Online - 6/22/03 France investigates Iran exiles French judges have placed 17 members of an Iranian exile group under formal investigation for alleged links to terrorism. -BBC - 6/22/03 Sen. Brownback Discusses Iran on Fox News Sunday You have a bill, I believe, that would provide American, U.S.-government funding to these American-based Iranian-American radio and television stations that beam their signals into Iran, much to the consternation of the government, and have been encouraging the pro-democracy movement there. -Fox News - 6/22/03 US general condemns Iraq failures One of the most experienced and respected figures in a generation of American warfare and peacekeeping yesterday accused the US administration of 'failing to prepare for the consequences of victory' in Iraq. -Guardian - 6/22/03 ElBaradei calls on Iran to cooperate on nuclear issues The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Mohammed ElBaradei, called for greater cooperation from Iran to "clarify" some issues concerning its nuclear programme, in comments to AFP here. - 6/22/03 Buy One, Get One Free Students in Iran are rebelling against the Ayatollahs. Is there anything we can do to help? The truth is we have very few tools to influence events in Iran, and even if we had more it's not clear we'd know how to use them. But there is one huge tool we do control that will certainly have an impact on Iran: It's called Iraq. -New York Times - 6/22/03 Iran: We'll Work With U.N. Nuclear Agency Iran will cooperate more with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the country's atomic chief said Saturday, but he suggested Tehran will ignore one agency request by maintaining plans to enrich uranium — a key step in making atomic bombs. -AP - 6/22/03 Friendship arrives in their e-mail inbox Lorilee Evans-Lynn, an English teacher at Big Sky High School, agreed to test the pen pal project in Missoula this spring. About 60 BSH students wrote letters to Iranian students. But the letters arrived at the Iranian schools a short time before students there were set to begin exams. Only about a half dozen Iranian students replied. -Missoulian, MT - 6/22/03 Iran Students See More Radicalism After Crackdown Iranian student leaders said on Sunday a crackdown on protests against Islamic clerical rule could make them adopt more radical and violent methods. -Reuters - 6/22/03 Conoco Chief Discouraged by Iran Standoff "I continue to encourage dialogue, engagement, negotiation -- face-to-face, government-to-government," said Dunham. "We hope that at some point in the future our governments will come together and resolve their issues and we'll have the opportunity to grow our company in that country as well." -Reuters - 6/21/03 Iranian Dissident Group Labeled a Terrorist Cult In its four-decade history, the People's Mujaheddin has had many identities -- mass political movement in Iran, tank-equipped army-in-exile in Iraq, U.S.-designated terror group. Now, former members and people who watch the group say it has become essentially a cult. -Washington Post - 6/21/03 British ambassador calls for continuation of Iran-EU dialogue British Ambassador to Iran Richard John Dalton called for continuation of dialogue between Iran and the European Union - 6/21/03 Iran-Russia agreement on return of spent n-fuel to be signed soon: Official An agreement between Russia and Iran on the return of spent fuel from the nuclear power plant under construction in Bushehr may be signed in the near future, Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev told reporters. - 6/21/03 Antiwar Groups Turn Their Focus to Bush The Win Without War coalition and MoveOn.org, two of the biggest antiwar groups, kicked off their new campaign yesterday with a full-page ad in the New York Times that labeled Bush a ''misleader'' and demanded an independent commission to determine the truth about US intelligence on Iraq. -Common Dreams - 6/21/03 Rewriting Yesterday: Bush on "Revisionist Historians" The senior intelligence officer at the time, Col. Walter P. Lang, has said both D.I.A. and C.I.A. officials "were desperate to make sure that Iraq did not lose" to Iran, and "The use of gas on the battlefield by the Iraqis was not a matter of deep strategic concern." -CountePunch - 6/21/03 France questions detained Iranians Seventeen detained Iranian opposition supporters are being brought before anti-terrorist judges in Paris on Saturday. -BBC - 6/21/03 US Congress members warn France over anti-Iran crackdown Several US Congress members sought to pressure France to release Iranian opposition members detained in a crackdown that has spurred a series of self-immolation protests. -AFP - 6/21/03 Iranian reformers: to resign or not to resign? To resign or not to resign is the question gnawing at the reformers of Iran, today more than any time in their six-year tenure. Iran’s regional and international isolation and the extreme proximity of the business end of the Great Satan have increased the stakes of the resignation game. -Ahmad Sadri, Daily Star - 6/21/03 US highlights unanswered questions for Iran The US on Fridday claimed success in its efforts to convince the world that Iran has a nuclear weapons programme. John Bolton, US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, described a report on Iran made public this week by the International Atomic Energy Agency as a "significant step forward". -Financial Times - 6/21/03 US regards Russia, Iran as potential liquid gas suppliers The United States regards Russia and Iran as potentially the biggest suppliers of liquefied natural gas, which will help in the future to resolve the mounting problem with the supply of this product to America, said US Deputy Energy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow on Friday - 6/21/03 Iran: Guardian Council returns bill on localizing parliamentary polls to Parliament The Majlis last month overwhelmingly approved a bill on changing the election law for parliamentary polls that once enforced would make each province an electoral district. - 6/21/03 Dozens of Iranian Students Arrested After Protests Reformist newspapers on Saturday said the arrests (in recent days) were carried out by officials wearing plainclothes and the whereabouts of many of the detained students was unknown. -Reuters - 6/21/03 Bush Takes Risks in Iran Policy, Analysts Say The Bush administration has thrown nuance to the wind in its policy toward Iran, at the risk of strengthening its conservative clerics and offering false hope to the students and reformers who oppose them. -Reuters - 6/21/03 Under fire from all sides, Iran's leaders mull conciliation or isolation Faced with renewed domestic unrest and international alarm over their nuclear programme, Iran's clerical leadership have begun an urgent debate over whether to offer concessions or withdraw into siege mode, diplomats say. -AFP - 6/21/03 Major cleric calls on Judiciary to severely deal with those behind recent unresets in Iran Addressing thousands of worshipers gathered at the Tehran University campus for the weekly congregational prayers, Ayatollah Yazdi said there was no longer any room for tolerance for those who are jeopardizing the national security. - 6/20/03 Iranian Protestors Lack the Muscle for Regime Change Iran's ruling ayatollahs have little to fear from the student protests that are raising the hopes of regime-change proponents in the Bush Administration. -Behrouz Saba, PNS - 6/20/03 Iran assures Putin over nuclear weapons Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, said on Friday he had received assurances from Tehran that it was not producing or trying to procure nuclear weapons. -Financial Times - 6/20/03 'I Just Pulled the Trigger' But a closer look at these American GIs, sweltering in the heat of an unwelcoming Iraq, reveals the glazed eyes and limp expressions of those who have witnessed a war they do not understand and have begun to resent. By their own admission these American soldiers have killed civilians without hesitation, shot wounded fighters and left others to die in agony. -Common Dreams - 6/20/03 More than 200 Mujahedeen supporters held since ban: Paris police Paris police have detained more than 200 people since a ban on demonstrations by the Iranian opposition movement the People's Mujahedeen (MEK). -AFP - 6/20/03 Bolton: Military Action on Iran an Option The United States reserves the right to take military action to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons, a leading member of President Bush's administration said on Friday. -Reuters - 6/20/03 Iran Amok The ongoing showdown between young, reform-minded students and Iran's aging Islamic clergy portends Iran's likelihood as America's next major foreign policy crisis. A storm is brewing in U.S.-Iranian relations -Peter Brookes, CNSNews - 6/20/03 When Iranian American Media Shout, Iran Listens Members of Iranian American media, accused of fomenting recent unrest in Iran, say they're no stooges of the U.S. government. But most agree that, with the help of technology like the Internet, the Iranian community in America is affecting policy in its home country. -PNS - 6/20/03 Iran: Revolting Against the Revolution? Iran is seething with student protests, political violence, and growing anger at the radical Islamic hard-liners who dominate the country’s politics. -Heritage Foundation - 6/20/03 Pentagon Admits Iraq Guerrilla War US forces are waging a "guerrilla war" in Iraq where elements of the former regime inflict casualties almost daily, Paul Wolfowitz, deputy defense secretary said on Wednesday. -Financial Times - 6/20/03 The Ali Babas of Baghdad As US attempts to gain control in Iraq visibly fail, BBC Two's Correspondent witnesses the looting, chaos and devastation that have become the new order in Baghdad. - 6/20/03 Human Rights Watch: End Vigilante Attacks in Iran Iran should take measures to end violent attacks on students demonstrating against government policies and prosecute those responsible, Human Rights Watch said today. - 6/20/03 US backs Iran nuclear checks call Washington has welcomed a call from the United Nations nuclear watchdog that Iran should allow stricter inspections of its nuclear facilities. -BBC - 6/20/03 Top cleric threatens rioters, as Iran defies nuclear pressure Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, one of Iran's most powerful men, said in a Friday prayer sermon that "rioters" arrested during the often virulent demonstrations should be considered "enemies of Allah" -- a charge that carries the death penalty. -AFP - 6/20/03 Middle East experts discuss prospects for democracy; Roadmap for US-Iran sugggested The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a three-panel conference entitled The Middle East: Post Iraq. -Mersedeh Mehrtash, NIAC - 6/20/03 EU to get tough with Iran if co-operation fails European Union leaders are pulling out all stops to persuade Iran to accept enhanced nuclear inspections - otherwise they will halt trade talks as part of a more robust policy towards Tehran. -Financial Times - 6/20/03 Iran could yet be a model for the Mideast Strip away clerical authority in Iran and what you have left is secular democracy. What is more, you have democracy based on institutions that, unlike in Iraq, are considered indigenous and established by popular mandate, instead of by an occupying power. Iran could be the paradigm for religious reformation and democratic renewal across the Muslim world. -Cameron Kamran, FT - 6/20/03 Iran blames US for nuclear pressure Tehran is seeing the highly politicised atmosphere surrounding the IAEA's report as part and parcel of a broader hostile American campaign against the Islamic republic. -BBC - 6/20/03 Cult-like Iranian rebels reduced to fiery protest Television images of these men and women writhing in fiery pain have brought to light what Iranians and Iran experts say is the real nature of this shadowy group -- a cult of personality around Rajavi and her charismatic husband Massoud. -Reuters - 6/20/03 Statistics show opposition by Iranian-Americans to US-sponsored regime change in Iran The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) announced today new statistics on the opinions of the Iranian American community regarding the current US debate on Iran. - 6/20/03 Protests in Iran run into ninth consecutive night Thousands of anti-government demonstrators took to Tehran streets in cars for a ninth straight night of protests, with the focus of protests shifting away from the university campus. -AFP - 6/19/03 Iran President vows zero tolerance against 'vigilantes' President Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday pledged that the Iranian government would not tolerate vigilante groups which have violently assailed protesting students since last week, but he defended police for confronting rioters - 6/19/03 French Raid Throws Exiled Iranian Mujaheddin e-Khalq Into Spotlight Most Iranians despise Rajavi for siding with Saddam Hussein during his nine-year war with Iran. The European Union has also labeled the group a terrorist organization. To Bush administration hawks who see little reason to support President Mohammed Khatami, though, the MEK might look like a potent tool against Iran’s fundamentalist rulers. -Eurasianet - 6/19/03 Bush warns Iran on nuclear weapons President George Bush yesterday told Iranians protesting against the government in Tehran that "America stands squarely by their side", and warned Iran not to develop nuclear weaponry. The warnings were similar to those issued to Iraq in the build-up to the recent war, although no reference was made to military action. -Guardian - 6/19/03 Iran should accept stricter inspections: IAEA Chief UN nuclear inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei, said his agency was calling for Iran to unconditionally accept stricter inspections of its nuclear facilities, but Iran immediately rejected this. -AFP - 6/19/03 U.S. Prods Nations to Pressure Iran Wary of Iran's nuclear ambitions, the United States ratcheted up pressure on the Islamic country from two directions: before the board of the U.N. nuclear agency in Austria, and in comments by President Bush in Washington. -AP - 6/19/03 US exiles target Iran's regime Iranian exiles in the United States have played an important role in supporting the recent protests in Tehran - but their role is coming under increasing scrutiny. -BBC - 6/19/03 Iranian conductor Loris Cheknovarian bags Khachaturian badge in US The guest conductor of Tehran Symphonic Orchestra, Loris Cheknovarian, who conducted the Los Angeles Symphonic Orchestra on Monday marking the centenary of renowned Russian-Armenian Musician Aram Khachaturian, was awarded with Khachaturian badge - 6/19/03 France: Police Arrest Members Of Iran's Armed Opposition, But Why Now? The analyst says speculation about the reasons for the arrests ranges from the possibility that Paris learned the Mujahedin were using bases in France to plan an attack on Iran to the possibility that the arrests are part of Western diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to accept tighter controls on its nuclear development program. -RFE - 6/19/03 Quake shakes Oshnavieh A relatively strong quake hit Iran's northwestern city of Oshnavieh early Thursday morning - 6/19/03 How do you make a nuclear bomb? Earlier this week, Iran joined the growing list of countries suspected of developing nuclear weapons. On Monday the European Union said Iran's nuclear reactors could make the radioactive raw materials needed for a nuclear bomb and demanded weapons inspectors be allowed in. -Guardian - 6/19/03 In volatile Iraq, US curbs press L. Paul Bremer, the top US official here, says a new edict prohibiting the local media from inciting attacks on other Iraqis - and on the coalition forces - is not meant to put a stopper on the recently uncorked freedom of speech. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/19/03 Iraqis Were Set to Vote, but U.S. Wielded a Veto But last week, L. Paul Bremer III, the head of the American military occupation in Iraq, unilaterally canceled what American officials here said would have been the first such election in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. -New York Times - 6/19/03 Bush challenged over Iraq weapons US President George W Bush is facing fresh charges that he exaggerated the threat of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction to win support for the war. -BBC - 6/19/03 Iranian authorities open lifeline to thousands of Marsh Arabs The Iranian authorities will Thursday open the al Karkha dam in Iran to allow huge reserves of water to flow freely into the al Huweiza marshes of Iran and southern Iraq, announced a British Member of the European Parliament - 6/19/03 Those arrested in Tehran unrest to put on trial soon: Alizadeh Chief of Tehran's Justice Department Abbasali Alizadeh said in Tehran on Thursday that Saeed Asgar, his followers and those arrested in the recent unrest in Tehran will be soon put on trial once their judicial cases are complete - 6/19/03 Reza Pahlavi's White Revolution The Recent events in Iran have once again alerted public opinion in and outside Iran on the urgency of unity and support for the Freedom Fighters in Iran. -Ardeshir Hafezi, Germany - 6/19/03 Iranian film director Kia-Rostami stages Karbala passion play in Rome A passion play based on Karbala incidents and the campaigns launched by Muslim warriors at the early years of Islam, which was directed by the renowned film director Abbas Kia-Rostami, was staged in the Italian capital city of Rome on Wednesday evening - 6/19/03 Iranian group 'planned attacks' The head of France's domestic intelligence service (DST) has said an Iranian opposition group was planning to attack Iranian embassies across Europe. -BBC - 6/19/03 Three set themselves on fire in Paris over raids on Iran opposition Three people set themselves on fire to protest a French crackdown on the People's Mujahedeen, amid calls by Tehran for detained members of the Iranian armed opposition group to be extradited. -AFP - 6/19/03 Iran President says US links to terrorist MKO are 'suspicious' President Mohammad Khatami welcomed France's rounding up of members of the Mujahedin Khalq opposition group, but took Washington for task for having "suspicious" links to the terrorist organization - 6/19/03 Iran Exiles Protest, Leader Urges No Fires The NCRI said Rajavi, whose husband Massoud is the leading figure in the Iraq-based Mujahideen whose military camps have been taken over by U.S. forces there, had sent a message via her brother calling for an end to the self-immolation protests. -Reuters - 6/19/03 Iranian TV From L.A. Is a Regime-Change Hotbed Broadcasters fuel dissent back home, which earns plaudits from some but also criticism and suspicion -- and not just from Tehran's leaders. -LA Times - 6/19/03 Rumblings in Iran By breathing on the spark of freedom and leading the increase of pressure on a crumbling dictatorship, we may be able to limit the spread of nuclear weapons in Iran. -New York Times - 6/19/03 Iran order restored but rulers fear new protests The clerical establishment in Iran appears to have restored relative order to the streets of Tehran, after adopting a softly-softly approach to a week of student-led anti-regime demonstrations. Analysts believe the protesters' demands are more social than political, pointing out that more than 65 per cent of the population are under 30 years of age, many of them discontented. -Financial Times - 6/19/03 Letter to the United Nations on Iran protests (signed by 860 Iranians) In the last few days widespread demonstrations by students and other freedom loving Iranians have been taking place in protest against the policy of suppression by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran... - 6/19/03 Bush pressed to pursue 'regime change' in Iran Conservative US Republicans, backed by some Democrats, are seizing on anti-government protests in Tehran as an opportunity to press the Bush administration to adopt "regime change" in Iran as official policy. -Financial Times - 6/18/03 Sporadic clashes reported in Tehran, other Iranian cities late Tuesday Seven days on from the start of student rallies in Tehran to protest the alleged privatization of universities, there were still sporadic unrest in Tehran and several other cities on Tuesday evening for the eighth consecutive night - 6/18/03 Iranian MPs: US 'flogging a dead horse' in its bid to re-dominate Iran US government is crushing water in a mortar by interfering in Iran's internal affairs in a bid to re-dominate it, 217 Iranian MPs said Tuesday in a letter, using a Persian idiom which roughly equals 'flogging a dead horse,' - 6/18/03 Life in Tehran: Catch the Metro Please! The one way ticket has a fixed price for all destinations and costs 65 Rials or about 8 Cents. The stations are still clean, although I cannot say the same for the stairs. But the best thing about it all was that it was so cool there! I would even be happy to pay and go down to the metro station just to skip the summer heat above, and come back up once I have cooled off! -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 6/18/03 "Orson's last Sigh...": Orson Welles' Testimonial Film made with Iranian co-producers To Iranians Welles inimitable Voice is for ever associated to the 1971 documentary film on the Persepolis Celebrations marking 25 centuries of Persian Kingship. The King of the Silver Screen was also to produce two other personal projects in the years that followed with the help of Iranian producers, one of which was also to become Orson Welles last and unfinished film -Darius Kadivar - 6/18/03 Eighth Night of Unrest in Iran, Encouraged by U.S. Hundreds of Iranians demanding more freedom demonstrated for the eighth consecutive night early on Wednesday and scores of protesters were arrested and some injured in rallies in seven cities. -Reuters - 6/18/03 The Challenge of Nuclear Weapons in the Twenty-First Century: A Path Forward The peoples and governments of the world face an urgent challenge relating to weaponry of mass destruction and particularly to nuclear weaponry. -Nuclear Age Peace Foundation - 6/18/03 Heavy hand of America fans the Taliban embers into life The Taliban were supposed to have disappeared from Afghanistan 18 months ago, but in recent weeks they have begun a comeback with a series of primitive but deadly attacks on officials and the government's military allies. -Guardian - 6/18/03 Iran exiles set themselves on fire Two Iranian women have set themselves on fire in Paris in protest against a mass round-up of Iranian opposition figures in France. -BBC - 6/18/03 Three dead in Baghdad violence Growing tension between Iraqis and occupying US troops in Baghdad has flared into violence, leaving two protesters and one US soldier dead. -BBC - 6/18/03 Analysis: Iran's mullahs in a corner In Tehran, demonstrations against the government have raged for more than seven straight days -- and spread to other cities -- forcing the regime to bring in outside militias to attempt to put down popular unrest because the local police have refused. -UPI - 6/18/03 Iran: Who Are The Vigilantes Fighting Pro-Reform Protesters? Pro-reform protesters in Iran haven't just got the police and security forces to worry about. They also face beatings from motorcycle-riding hard-liners wielding clubs and chains. Who are these so-called plainclothes vigilantes? -RFE - 6/18/03 Iran lauds arrests of MKO members in France Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said that France's action in arresting a group of Terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) as a positive step - 6/18/03 Iran ranks 37th globally in terms of economic power Deputy Minister of Industry and Mines Reza Vaiseh said here Tuesday that Iran ranks 37th in the world in terms of 'economic power' and 69th in terms of 'purchasing power,' - 6/18/03 Iranian, Afghan, Uzbek presidents focus on construction of transit road The Presidents of Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan said on Wednesday that setting up transit routes between the three countries, for which they signed an agreement, would help economic development of the regional states - 6/18/03 Fresh clashes, arrests in anti-regime protests in Iran's provinces At least 170 people were arrested during sporadic overnight clashes in Tehran and several other Iranian cities, as anti-regime protests went into their eighth consecutive night. -AFP - 6/18/03 Powell Backs Iran Protests, But Says Talks Are Possible Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said today the United States encourages and supports demonstrations against the Iranian government. But he also held open the possibility of restarting secret direct talks with Iranian officials that were canceled after the bombings of Western residential compounds in Saudi Arabia last month. -Washington Post - 6/18/03 Dispute over how to react to Iran's nuclear inspection violations The UN's nuclear watchdog opened debate on how to react to Iran's nuclear safeguard violations, but some member countries were apparently resisting a US call for strong condemnation of the Islamic republic, diplomats said. -AFP - 6/18/03 Tehran calm Monday evening, rallies reported in other Iranian cities IRNA offices in Mashhad, Karaj, Kerman, Isfahan, Tabriz, Kermanshah, and Hamedan have reported small rallies in protest against the attacks by Ansar-E Hezbollah against students in Tehran. - 6/17/03 Vigilantes Crack Down Against Protests in Iran Yet observers say it is unlikely that the protests will bring about tangible change soon or spiral into a revolution like the one in 1979 that brought the clerics to power. The most the demonstrations can do, they say, is to warn the hard-liners that yielding to the public's demands is their only means of survival. -Farnaz Fassihi, WSJ - 6/17/03 Young Iranians Are Chafing Under Aging Clerics' Edicts The Islamic Association, a national student organization, is not quite what its name suggests. "No organization can operate in this country without putting `Islamic' in its name," snorts the elected leader of one association chapter, before launching a group discussion about dismantling theocracy established by the 1979 Islamic revolution. -New York Times - 6/17/03 Reporters authorized to meet Iran protest detainees Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutors' Offices announced in Tehran on Monday that reporters are now authorized to meet those arrested in the recent unrests in Tehran - 6/17/03 Protests ease in Iran as leadership mull nuclear demands Although several thousand demonstrators took to the streets in the cars around Tehran university overnight Monday for the seventh consecutive night, the numbers were down from previous nights and police appeared well in control of the situation. -AP - 6/17/03 Iran Protests Appear to Die Down on 7th Night Demonstrations against Iran's clerical rulers appeared to be dying down on their seventh night on Tuesday with uniformed police reining in Islamic militants who attacked protesters with clubs and chains on previous nights. -Reuters - 6/17/03 US Congressman Bob Ney Voices Support for Iranian Students' Demonstrations for Democracy "I lived in Iran in 1978 when demonstrations against the Shah were widespread and common. Yet here we are, more than twenty years later, and the Iranian people's desire for democracy and freedom remains unfilled and unmet by an oppressive regime that forbids the most basic human rights for its people" - 6/17/03 French police arrest over 150 in crackdown on Iranian opposition group Among those arrested in the operation -- which the interior ministry described as one of the biggest undertaken by the domestic intelligence services in the last 30 years -- was the group's figurehead Maryam Rajavi. -AFP - 6/17/03 Sending A Message To The Ayatullahs Iran's youth have been reared with piety and punishments. They've had enough -TIME - 6/17/03 Iran missiles a 'potential threat to 20m Russians' Iran could by 2006 mount a nuclear warhead on a missile with the potential to threaten 20m Russians living in the country's south-western region, according to a new study by the PIR Centre, a respected Russian non-governmental arms control organisation. -Financial Times - 6/17/03 Protesters Attack Iranian Consulate in Germany About 40 to 50 demonstrators threw stones at the Iranian consulate in the northern German city of Hamburg Tuesday and some managed to force their way into the building, police said. -Reuters - 6/17/03 Former Bush Intelligence Insider Assails Counterterrorism Tactics "The administration wasn't matching its deeds to its words in the war on terrorism. They're making us less secure, not more secure," said Beers, who until now has remained largely silent about leaving his National Security Council job as special assistant to the president for combating terrorism. -Common Dreams - 6/17/03 US not weighing war against Iran or Syria: Perle Pentagon advisor and leading US hawk Richard Perle said Washington was not considering going to war against Syria or Iran, in an interview with a German newspaper. -AFP - 6/17/03 Iran's Mosharekat Party worried about Abdi's conditions in prison Iran's leading Mosharekat (Participation) Party on Monday expressed deep worries over the conditions of its prominent member, imprisoned journalist Abbas Abdi - 6/17/03 Hope on the streets of Tehran Two young Iranians in Tehran told BBC News Online of their experiences of the protests... "When the time is right we will all join. I can smell it in the air. This time is different." -BBC - 6/17/03 Iran Official says 35% of protest detainees counter-revolutionaries, hooligans Ahmadi said that the police had cracked-down on counter-revolutionaries as well as plaincloth vigilantes groups. "Some of the latter and their ring leader Saeed Asgar have also been detained."Ahmadi said. - 6/17/03 EU intensifies pressure on Iran to accept inspections Iran was put on notice by the EU last night that it must accept tougher inspections of its nuclear programme to convince doubters that it is not developing banned weapons.-Guardian - 6/17/03 Paris police target Iranian groups French police have launched a massive raid in the Paris region on the Iranian opposition group, the People's Mujahideen. -BBC - 6/17/03 Analysis: What is US Iran policy? Iran has accused the United States of "blatant interference" in its internal affairs, after President George W Bush voiced support for student protestors there. -BBC - 6/17/03 Straw warns against interference in Iran The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, today gave Washington's hawks notice that Britain would not back interference in Iran, but also urged the Iranian government to let weapons inspectors investigate suspicions that it is developing nuclear weapons. -Guardian - 6/17/03 Ayatollah urged to abandon 'supreme leader' status More than 250 Iranian intellectuals today called on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to relinquish his status as Iran's "supreme leader" and abandon the principle of being God's representative on earth. -Guardian - 6/16/03 Bread and Life Compared to the life of Man on earth, consumption of bread as the main source of food for the majority of people throughout the world is only a recent event, a time span of six thousands years, that is since the first group of humans settled down and discovered agriculture. -Dr. Nadjmabadi, Tehran - 6/16/03 Sixth night of Iran protests The protests came as an influential group of Iranian dissidents issued an unprecedented declaration defending the right to criticise their leaders. -BBC - 6/16/03 Iran under pressure with protests, suspicions over nuclear programme Iran's clerical regime was under mounting pressure with US-backed protests mounting at home and both the UN atomic energy agency and the European Union set to take issue with its nuclear programme. -AFP - 6/16/03 UN nuclear agency meets in Vienna amidst concern over Iran program The UN's nuclear watchdog agency begins a meeting in Vienna to hear a report that says Iran, which is under pressure from the United States on several fronts, has failed to honor its nuclear safeguards agreement, diplomats said. -AFP - 6/16/03 Iran Internet Use at Risk from Conservatives The diary of a former prostitute is one of the hottest Web sites in Iran, a strict Islamic society where the Internet is coveted for the access it gives users to a forbidden world. -Reuters - 6/16/03 Iranian FM confers with a US delegation of Abrahamic Religions A visiting high-ranking religious delegation including Cardinal McCaric from Washington and a number of Christian, Muslim and Jewish professors from US universities held talks with Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi on religious understanding - 6/16/03 Iran: Rafsanjani urges Guardians Council and Parliament to set aside differences Expediency Council (EC) Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Sunday evening called on both Majlis and the Guardians Council (GC) to set aside differences and reach an understanding - 6/16/03 European Cultural Centers in Tehran There are many European cultural centers in Tehran belonging to different embassies many of them are involved in language teachings here. Among these one shines with destination in my book as they truly do a lot of hard work in promoting culture. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 6/16/03 Iran: Ripe for Revolution? Five days of student protests in Iran's capital have brought a smile to the Bush administration. Will the ruling Islamic clerics soon be ousted by an Iranian people-power revolution? Not likely. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/16/03 Ex-spokeswoman for hostage-takers says U.S. misreads Iran "Americans don't understand that there is a democratic process going on here, openly, especially under Khatami. We have no need for outsiders to come in and talk about freedom of speech, prisoners' rights or women's rights. These things are surfacing every day. There's nothing behind the scenes. Everything is discussed openly by the people. In fact, this is one of the most open societies in the world." -St. Louis Post Dispatch - 6/16/03 Iran Opposition Says Syria Abducts Two Members Iran's opposition in exile accused Syria on Monday of abducting two of its British members and deporting them to Iran, and called on Britain to intervene. -Reuters - 6/16/03 Iran says dialogue with US impossible, change of attitude needed Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said in Tehran on Monday said any Iran-US dialogue was 'impossible' in light of the recent remarks by certain US officials. - 6/16/03 Intellectuals Join Iran Reform Effort More than 250 university lecturers and writers in Iran signed a statement calling on supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to abandon the idea that he is God's representative on Earth. -AP - 6/16/03 New warning on Iran nuclear threat Iran may be able to produce a nuclear missile within three years unless Moscow steps up pressure to limit its military programme, an influential Russian research institute warned on Monday. -Financial Times - 6/16/03 Iran urged to accept tougher N-checks Iran has been urged to sign up to strengthened international inspection of its nuclear activities by the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog and the European Union. -BBC - 6/16/03 Quake jolts Iranian towns of Firouzkouh and Damavand An earthquake measuring 3.7 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale jolted the towns of Firouzkouh and Damavand in Tehran province early Monday - 6/16/03 President Khatami: Iran seeks a Middle East free from WMD President Mohammad Khatami said on Monday that Iran seeks the Middle East to become free from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) - 6/16/03 North Korea exports missiles to Iran by air North Korea has shipped missiles to Iran aboard cargo planes ever since a weapons-laden ship was intercepted en route to Yemen in December, a South Korean newspaper said. -AFP - 6/16/03 How should the US react to the student demonstrations in Iran? Tell President Bush what policy to conduct. NIAC has prepared three letters taking three different positions. Chose the one that you agree with the most or draft your own letter. - 6/16/03 30 hooligans arrested in connection with recent riots in Tehran The Commander of the Greater Tehran Police, Brigadier General Morteza Talaei, announced that 30 hooligans and anti-social elements were arrested in the early hours of Monday morning in connection with the recent riots in Tehran (+photos) - 6/16/03 Iran's angry young adults erupt in political protest After almost a week of protest, the violent demonstrations rocking the Iranian capital each night are limited in size and confined to less than a square mile. And they remain a leaderless expression of anger. But what started out as a paltry student demonstration is now loaded with significance for the future of the Islamic Republic. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/16/03 Iran inducts first home-made passenger plane into aviation fleet Iran on Sunday officially inducted the first Iran-140 passenger plane, built with the help of Ukrainians, into its aviation fleet at Mehrabad airport in Tehran - 6/15/03 EU-Iran move closer, Iranian MPs to make landmark visit to European Parliament A delegation from the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) begins a landmark visit to the European Parliament Monday aimed at promoting parliamentary cooperation and boosting dialogue between the Islamic Republic and the European Union - 6/15/03 Iran Parliament Speaker threatens to impeach Minister of Information over bribery controversy He was referring to the remarks by a high-profile cleric at a pre-sermon speech of Tehran Friday prayers on June 6 to the effect that certain officials have received as much as Dlrs 500 million from US officials. - 6/15/03 US condemns Iranian crackdown on protests The White House denounced Iran's crackdown on student-led protests, saying it was "alarmed" by reports of arrests and calling on the Islamic regime to free any detained demonstrators. -AFP - 6/15/03 Iran press ponders protests Iran's reformist press expresses hope that the continuing demonstrations will galvanise the reform movement, but the movement itself also draws criticism - along with the conservative militias - for causing the crisis. -BBC - 6/15/03 Hamas rules out ceasefire as both sides bury their dead US peace monitors fly in to salvage 'road map' as Gaza militants threaten to undermine Palestinian Prime Minister -Guardian - 6/15/03 Rafsanjani offers threats and olive branch to the US Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's former president, yesterday warned the US to stop inciting anti-government protests in Tehran and enter instead into negotiations that he indicated could help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and contribute to stability in Iraq. -Financial Times - 6/15/03 Official bemoans harassment of journalists during student unrest The head of a key journalists association has written separate letters to Iran's interior minister and police chief, in which he has complained of alleged harassment of journalists by vigilantes during recent on-campus unrest - 6/15/03 Tough crackdown on Iran anti-regime protests, US blasted for interference Thousands of Iranians took to the streets of central Tehran for more anti-regime protests, but the overwhelming presence of vigilantes and police meant the fifth consecutive night of demonstrations was largely a muted affair. -AFP - 6/15/03 Iran official: No student in police custody, vigilantes arrested Director of Tehran Governor General's office for political and security affairs Ali Ta'ala said in Tehran on Sunday that at present there are no students in police custody. - 6/15/03 Five banks, 22 cars, 34 motorbikes damaged in student unrest The head of the Iranian Police's Information Department, Ali-Asghar Mahaki, said in Tehran on Saturday that five banks, 22 cars and 34 motorbikes have been damaged during four days of student unrest from June 21-24 - 6/15/03 Protests Reported Throughout Iran Wild clashes between students seeking an end to Islamic rule and hard-line vigilantes subsided in Tehran Sunday, but sporadic violence was reported elsewhere in the country with one person being reported killed in a southern city. -AP - 6/15/03 Iran's invincible Rezazadeh lifts Norway Grand Prix title The strongest man of the world in the years 2000 and 2002 kept 455 kg above his head totally, standing top in Norway. Rezazadeh lifted 205 kg in snatch and 250 kg in clean and jerk. - 6/15/03 Tehran sees fifth night of protest Thousands of pro-reform demonstrators have taken to the streets of the Iranian capital Tehran for the fifth successive night. -BBC - 6/15/03 U.S. Deplores Violence Against Demonstrators in Iran, Tehran condemns US 'interference' "Iranians, like all people, have a right to determine their own destiny, and the United States supports their aspirations to live in freedom. It is our hope that the voice of the Iranian people and their aspirations for democracy and the rule of law will be heard." - 6/15/03 Sporadic riots in Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan Sporadic troubles continued in capital Tehran and several other Iranian cities Saturday night, including in central Isfahan, where rioters scuffled with police and pelted them with stones - 6/15/03 Pro-Clergy Militants Arrested in Iran Police on Saturday arrested dozens of pro-clergy militants who attacked university dormitories and beat up students in a wave of violence aimed at putting down criticism of Iran's Islamic government. Among those arrested was Saeed Asghar, a militant leader who two years ago shot and seriously wounded a top adviser to reformist President Mohammad Khatami -AP - 6/14/03 Uneasy calm on Tehran streets The streets of the Iranian capital Tehran are quiet once more after a fourth night of violence in which pro-democracy demonstrators clashed with hardline supporters of the country's clerical leadership. -BBC - 6/14/03 Fourth Night of Clashes Erupts in Tehran Hundreds of pro-cleric militants and security forces clashed with Iranians throughout the capital late Friday, firing machine guns in the air and using tear gas and batons to put down any public opposition to the country's hard-line regime. -AP - 6/14/03 US Congressman Brad Sherman introduces legislation "to foster democracy in Iran" Congressman Brad Sherman introduced the Iran Democracy and Freedom Support Act today, along with 12 cosponsors from the House of Representatives. - 6/14/03 Iran's hardline vigilantes bid to halt anti-regime protests with iron bars Hardline Islamic vigilantes chased thousands of protestors with clubs and iron bars around a Tehran university campus, seeking to bring an an end to four consecutive nights of vitriolic anti-regime demonstrations. -AFP - 6/14/03 Iranian police set up positions inside Tehran university campus The student news agency ISNA said the order to deploy on campus was issued by Iran's Supreme Council of National Security, the Islamic republic's top decision-making body on security issues. -AFP - 6/14/03 "The Legacy of Genghis Khan" at Los Angeles County Museum of Art--again Why should every act of Iranian/Persian resurrection from death and mayhem become, in the hands of western scholars, a credit to those who have shattered our lives and murdered our citizens? -Ahmad Kamron Jabbari - 6/14/03 European Parliament sees positive development in human rights dialogue with Iran The European Parliament has said that it considers Iran's readiness to enter into a human rights dialogue with the European Union with no preconditions as "a positive development with a view to the normalisation of relations between the EU and Iran" - 6/14/03 Iranians ranked second in obtaining German citizenship in 2002 Iranian nationals were the second largest group of foreigners who obtained German citizenship in 2002, according to the Federal Statistical Office - 6/14/03 First four days critical after operation to separate Iranian twins Dr Benjamin Carson, director of paediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in the United States, made the assessment at a press conference held in Baltimore on Friday to announce his participation in the surgery to separate the twins in Singapore next month - 6/14/03 U.S. Ponders Pro-Democracy Farsi Web Sites for Iran If it went forward, the idea could be funded out of $100 million that the United States has set aside this year for its Middle East Partnership Initiative, a plan to promote the rule of law and democratic and economic reform in the region. -Reuters - 6/14/03 Sabotage Hits Iraq Pipeline as US Prepares to Resume Exports An Iraqi oil pipeline was burning after being sabotaged as the country's crude was set to return to the world market, and despite an offensive by US-led forces against opponents of their occupation regime. -Common Dreams - 6/14/03 US and British Troops are Being Sucked Into an Iraqi Quagmire While attention has focused on the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, growing evidence that the war is far from over has been overlooked. Fighting with real weapons is on the increase. -Common Dreams - 6/14/03 USS Liberty: How past relates to the future It is surely ironic that while the Bush administration puts out lurid warnings concerning the nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea, America is the only nation, which has ever actually used them, and is abnormally silent when it comes to Israel's nuclear arsenal. -Gulf News - 6/14/03 EU to Link Iranian Nuclear Transparency to Trade The European Union will urge Iran on Monday to accept more intrusive, short-notice inspections of its nuclear program if it wants to see progress on a trade deal, diplomats said. -Reuters - 6/14/03 Gunfire heard during clashes in Tehran Gunfire was heard in central Tehran on Friday night as Iranian students and other stone-throwing protesters clashed with security forces in a fourth night of anti-government demonstrations. -Financial Times - 6/14/03 An Interview with Hussein Sabet, Famous Iranian Hotel Owner at Canary and Kish Islands Hussein Sabet is an Iranian reciting the songs of pride and the Persian culture for the fans of the Persian civilization. His soul of affection and optimism has given him a sense of patriotism and kindness toward Iranians. He built up the mammoth complex Persepolis next to the Darius Grand Hotel and a dolphinarium on Kish Island to impress the world with the Iranians' tendency of modernism. -Jahane Havanavardi va Gardeshgari - 6/14/03 Blues put on red alert: Perspolis 2 Esteqlal 1 Some 50,000 die-hard fans stopped waving their blue flags as the below-strength Esteqlal lost eagerly-awaited derby to its archrival Perspolis Friday (+photos) - 6/14/03 Iran's Islamic leaders spell tough crackdown for anti-regime demos Iranian authorities carried out a tough crackdown on spiralling anti-regime protests, setting brutal vigilante groups loose against demonstrators and rounding up opposition dissidents blamed as being behind the four consecutive nights of protests. -AFP - 6/14/03 Iran protests continue: Militants warned by Basijis, US condemned by Tehran A student association, affiliated to volunteer Basij militia, has warned 'vigilantes' against attacking students and their residences and said such raids could lead to playing to the hands of enemies (+photos) - 6/14/03 Iran protest rally at student dorm turns violent Hundreds of students residing at the Tehran University hostel held a gathering at the central square of the hostel complex at the invitation of the Islamic Association of Tehran University and the Medical Sciences University. - 6/13/03 Speak up for the Iranian students, Mr. President The history of U.S.-Iran relations for the past 50 years has been plagued by a series of well-intentioned, but ill-advised U.S. policies toward Iran -- all of which later came back to haunt American interests in the Middle East. America needs to break free from this vicious cycle of misguided polices. The solution is to support Iranian students, and the time is now. -Reza Ladjevardian, Texas - 6/13/03 Tehran protesters call for Khamenei's head Hundreds of demonstrators taking part in a third night of anti-government protests in Tehran called today for the execution of Iran's conservative supreme leader - an audacious move under the country's clerical regime, which has threatened a crackdown. -Guardian - 6/13/03 A tested theocracy More unrest on the streets of Tehran. Is America pulling the strings? -Economist - 6/13/03 U.S.-Based TVs on Front Line of Iran Protests U.S.-based Iranian television stations got primetime billing this week when they helped rally the biggest protests Iran has seen for months, filling a gap left by stifled local media and weakened opposition groups. -Reuters - 6/13/03 Who's Meddling Who? L. Paul Bremer, head of the provisional US authority in Iraq, has accused Iran of meddling. There may be a certain irony to the head of an occupying authority from the United States accusing Iraq's Shiite Muslim neighbor of meddling... but if there is, it's escaping Bremer. -Mother Jones - 6/13/03 Iran Questions U.S. Over Iraq Refugees The United States and Britain are delaying the return of tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees who fled to Iran during the reign of Saddam Hussein, a senior Iranian official said Thursday. -AP - 6/13/03 100 Iraqis killed in violent clashes Almost 100 Iraqis were killed overnight in two of the bloodiest attacks since the fall of Baghdad. -Guardian - 6/13/03 Iraqi women 'forced to veil' UN officials in Baghdad say they are very concerned that religious extremists are intimidating women and girls into wearing the veil. -BBC - 6/13/03 'Total war' engulfs Middle East as road map is torn to shreds Israel declared total war on Hamas yesterday, with the Islamic resistance movement responding by ordering all its fighters to immediately mobilise and "blow up the Zionist entity". -Guardian - 6/13/03 Iran and Mideast peace With the fall of Saddam Hussein, no regime in the Middle East poses a greater threat to President Bush's road map for Middle East peace than that in Iran. -Washington Times - 6/13/03 Ayatollah tells vigilantes to cool it as student protests continue In a clear sign that the establishment is worried that protests could get out of hand, the ayatollah went on television yesterday to urge caution on the vigilantes and blame the US for stirring up trouble. -Guardian - 6/13/03 UN Security Council Renews US Troop Immunity from War Crimes Court Despite Annan Warning A resolution to renew the exemption for states that have not ratified the ICC's founding statute for 12 months from July 1 was adopted by 12 votes to none. France, Germany and Syria abstained. -Common Dreams - 6/13/03 Women dress for change in a conservative nation With more hair on display and a more modern attitude about their place in society, women are pushing the boundaries of what is permissible in Iran's theocracy. -Age - 6/13/03 India, Pakistan peace moves to speed up Iran gas pipeline project The latest round of peace talks between India and Pakistan has offered a ray of hope for speedy execution of the proposed Iran gas pipeline project, Iran's ambassador to India Siavosh Yaghoobi said. -AFP - 6/13/03 Iran says US oil firms real victims of sanctions Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said on Thursday that Washington's belligerence towards Tehran was costing U.S. oil majors lucrative contracts in energy-rich Iran. -Reuters - 6/13/03 Nuclear threat to West's hopes of stability BY blocking the inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has brought the world’s attention on to its nuclear ambitions. -TIMES - 6/13/03 Rafsanjani warns Iranian students against US plots Addressing worshipers at the congregational Friday prayers at Tehran University campus, Rafsanjani said that the recent incidents stem from the students' anxieties. They believe universities are going to be privatized. - 6/13/03 Reform Protests in Iran Enter Third Day Pro-clergy militants on motorcycles chased down protesters and beat them with clubs early Friday as anti-government demonstrations took place for the third night in Tehran, witnesses said. -AP - 6/13/03 Washington 'applauds' protests in Tehran The US on Thursday congratulated Iranians for holding anti-government protests in Tehran, saying it supported their "aspirations to live in freedom". -Financial Times - 6/13/03 Clampdown deters Iran protests The Iranian capital, Tehran, has seen a third night of student protests against the Islamic authorities - but only a few hundred demonstrators turned out. -BBC - 6/13/03 Opponents of Iranian reform may soften stance Iran's powerful conserv-atives are sending signals that they could temper their opposition to domestic reforms demanded by President Mohamed Khatami, in an apparent attempt to fend off rising US pressure and mounting public frustration. -Financial Times - 6/13/03 The Reformers: Growing frustration on the path to the future These are worrying times for Iran’s reformers. There is growing popular frustration at their lack of progress in liberalising the Islamic system, America has given up on them, and there are fears that Washington’s hostile rhetoric towards the country will only galvanise Iran’s dour old guard. -TIMES - 6/13/03 Supreme leader says US behind unrest in Iran "The enemies bluntly support those adventurers who can become their mercenaries by perturbing people's security. Thus, the whole nation, the youth and and officials in particular, must remain vigilant," the supreme leader told a gathering of jubilant people in Varamin, south of Tehran. - 6/12/03 Anti-regime protestors back on streets of Iranian capital Parts of the Iranian capital were brought to a standstill as thousands of anti-regime protestors defied threats of a harsh crackdown by taking to the streets for a second night running. -AFP - 6/12/03 Technology finds its way into Iran's Mosques! Today I went to a "khatem" (a public memorial ceremony) which was held in a mosque in central Tehran. This is a popular mosque with middle class people of Tehran because it can accommodate large number of people at both its ladies & gentlemen sections. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 6/12/03 Iran's students plan more protests as July anniversary looms Iranian students yesterday said they would stage further pro-reform protests, after a march by a few hundred students in Tehran on Tuesday night became a spontaneous demonstration against the regime. -Financial Times - 6/12/03 Iran Government spokesman: Judiciary should rein in wayward groups Ramezanzadeh hinted that foreign influence may be cause of disturbances, 'ostensibly to show that there are parallel and multiple centers of power running the country." But, he added 'our nation is united'. - 6/12/03 Iran Denies It Hampered UN Nuclear Team Visit Iran denied reports on Thursday that it hindered visiting U.N. nuclear inspectors this week by prohibiting their access to the country's nuclear facilities amid allegations Tehran is secretly developing atomic weapons. -Reuters - 6/12/03 U.N.'s IAEA Won't Take Iran to Security Council Yet The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog still has many unanswered questions about Iran's nuclear program and is a long way off from sending the issue to the Security Council, diplomats said Wednesday. -Reuters - 6/12/03 Iran working on nuclear bomb, says Rumsfeld Mr Rumsfeld's remarks, delivered during a visit to Germany, appeared to be aimed at exerting pressure on Tehran and the UN's nuclear monitoring agency, which meets next week in Vienna to decide how to respond to Iran's failure to honour nuclear safeguards. His intervention also appeared to advance the next project of Pentagon hawks: regime change in Tehran. -Guardian - 6/12/03 Marjane Satrapi details Iranian childhood in 'Persepolis' Marjane Satrapi does not like being told what to do. "Here, in New York, I smoke twice as much as I do in Paris. Because it is forbidden, it tastes so much better," she says, referring to New York's new anti-smoking laws, her large, dark eyes shining with amusement. -AP - 6/12/03 Republicans Limit Probe of Iraq Intelligence Republicans in Congress on Wednesday rebuffed calls by Democrats for a full-blown investigation into whether the Bush administration misread or inflated the threats posed by Iraq before going to war. -Common Dreams - 6/12/03 U.S. Can't Rule Out N.Korea Strike, Perle Says The United States should be ready to smash North Korea's Yongbyon reactor if necessary to keep Pyongyang from trafficking in nuclear weapons, an influential member of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's advisory panel said on Wednesday. -Common Dreams - 6/12/03 Iranians in Fresh Protests Against Clerical Rule Thousands of Iranians protested against their Muslim clerical rulers for a second night as the biggest anti-establishment demonstrations for months appeared to gather momentum. -Reuters - 6/12/03 Iran Leader Urges No Protest Intervention Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged hard-line vigilantes not to intervene in "riots" after two nights of protests against the clerical regime. -AP - 6/12/03 Fashionable new drink in Malaysia is Iran's Zam Zam Cola The Iranian produced Zam Zam Cola, alternative to Coca Cola, is flying off the shelves in Malaysian Muslim restaurants and supermarkets as shoppers refuse to buy American products - 6/12/03 Bush struggles to salvage road map George Bush yesterday led a desperate effort to salvage his Middle East road map, only a week after pledging his personal commitment to brokering peace. -Guardian - 6/12/03 Iran Rejected on Nuclear Monitor Offer The Bush administration on Wednesday rejected an offer by Iran to permit additional international monitoring of its nuclear development in exchange for the right to import advanced technology. -AP - 6/12/03 Iranians protest for second night Thousands of Iranians have spent a second day protesting against their clerical leaders, clashing with hard-line vigilante groups in the capital, Teheran. -BBC - 6/12/03 Nuclear Pollution in the Caspian Sea: Introduction of several studies Nuclear pollution is one of the less known and rarely discussed dimensions of the serious pollution problems in the Caspian Sea. At the same time, the radioactive contamination is one of the most damaging and dangerous types of pollution in the world. -Bahman Aghai Diba - 6/11/03 EU to join US in pressing Tehran European Union diplomats on Tuesday said they remained dissatisfied with Iran's response to questions about its nuclear power programme after talks in Tehran last week and would work closely with Washington to press for an enhanced inspection regime. -Financial Times - 6/11/03 Iran Open to More Nuclear Monitoring Iran would agree to additional international monitoring of its nuclear development, but only if it is allowed to acquire more advanced technology, the head of the country's atomic program said Tuesday. -AP - 6/11/03 Bremer attacks Iran for 'meddling' in Iraqi politics The US civil administrator in Iraq on Tuesday criticised "meddling and interference" by neighbouring Iran, as relations between the US-led coalition and an Iranian-backed Iraqi political party continued to deteriorate. -Financial Times - 6/11/03 Policy Makers in Russia Concerned About Possibility of "Losing" Azerbaijan and Georgia A recent Russian media campaign claimed the United States had prepared a plan for military operations against Iran that would require the deployment of American military forces in both Azerbaijan and Georgia. -Eurasianet - 6/11/03 US and Britain have honest disagreement over Iran: Straw Despite a hardening of position towards Tehran by British Prime Minister Tony Blair last month, Straw reiterated Britain's line that it did not want regime change in Iran. -AFP - 6/11/03 Iranian twins optimistic ahead of potentially fatal separation surgery Displaying a defiant optimism, Iranian adult twins who are joined at the head said they were determined to go ahead with an historic operation to separate them even though they knew it could kill them. -AFP - 6/11/03 Iranian nuclear experts visited North Korea Iranian nuclear experts made three secret visits to North Korea this year even as the Stalinist state faced international criticism for its nuclear arms ambitions, a press report said. -AFP - 6/11/03 Israeli attack on Hamas: a blow to road map? The Israeli army failed in its attempt to kill a senior leader from the militant group Hamas Tuesday, but the missile strikes succeeded in casting further doubt on the US-backed road map for peace and deepening Palestinian distrust of Israeli intentions. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/11/03 Iranian Students Protest Ruling Clerics A student protest against privatizing some of Iran's universities Tuesday turned into a larger demonstration against the hard-line clerics that rule the country. -AP - 6/11/03 Rumsfeld Says Iran May Have Nuclear Weapons Soon Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Wednesday Iran was fast approaching a point where it may have nuclear weapons, although it did not appear to have any at present. -Reuters - 6/11/03 Blix: I was Smeared by the Pentagon Hans Blix, the UN chief weapons inspector, lashed out last night at the "bastards" who have tried to undermine him throughout the three years he has held his high-profile post. -Common Dreams - 6/11/03 Iraq: SCIRI Refuses To Participate in Any U.S.-Chosen Advisory Council The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is the first group to say publicly that it will not participate in any Iraqi advisory council chosen by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CAP). -RFE - 6/11/03 Analysis: U.S. faces Iran dilemma The United States may be angling to draw a new bead on Iran, the second compass point in the "axis of evil" and a major sponsor of international terrorism, with the toppling of Iraq's Saddam Hussein and the earlier excising of the Taliban in Afghanistan. -Washington Times - 6/11/03 Over 100 Iranian MPs call for judicial inquiry into IRIB finances Over 100 members of parliament on Tuesday threw their weight behind the report provided by MPs alleging widescale financial irregularities are taking place in the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) - 6/11/03 Congressman Sherman to introduce tougher sanctions on Iran and support for Iranian opposition groups California Democrat Brad Sherman is set to introduce a bill in the House of Representatives that would serve as a counterpart to Senator Brownback’s Iran Democracy Act, which will allocate approximately $57 million to Iranian opposition groups and satellite TVs. -NIAC - 6/11/03 Germany calls on Iran to sign IAEA's additional protocol The German government on Wednesday urged Iran to sign the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). - 6/11/03 Iran sees first student-led demonstrations for months Iran's political tensions boiled over into the first student-led demonstrations for months as thousands chanted slogans and smashed windows to protest the deadlock between reformists and hardline clerics. -AFP - 6/11/03 Iranians protest against clerics More than 1,000 people have clashed with riot police in the Iranian capital Tehran, in the first major protest against the Islamic regime for more than six months. -BBC - 6/11/03 Senate panel questions Bush’s policies on Iran Lawmakers of both parties on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are questioning whether President Bush has a clear policy toward Iran, which has risen to the top of the foreign policy agenda. -The Hill - 6/10/03 Bogus Intelligence, Foreign Policy and Crying Wolf-owitz When the question of the Bushehr nuclear facilities came up in media discussions about 10 months ago, I suggested bearing in mind the possibility of politicized "evidence" and "intelligence" at the service of agenda-ridden policy advisors. -Fareed Marjaee - 6/10/03 Neocons lied us into war – will they get away with it twice? The UN notification that the Iranian nuclear program is in violation of international protocols – variously interpreted by Tehran and Washington – should put us all on notice: in the case of Iran, the by now ritualized process preceding U.S. military intervention has begun. -Antiwar.com - 6/10/03 Iran Says Its Has No Hidden Nuclear Facilities Iran denied Tuesday having any hidden nuclear facilities that should have been declared to U.N. inspectors, following a critical U.N. report of Tehran's nuclear program which Washington called "deeply troubling." -Reuters - 6/10/03 Iran court slaps one-day publication ban on Persian daily Kayhan According to Judge Qadami's ruling at Bench 3 of Tehran prosecutor's office, the paper has been slapped with the one-day suspension because of publishing 'banned material'. - 6/10/03 Putin snubs Israeli foreign minister over Iran Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to meet with visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, possibly because of their dispute over Iran, the Kommersant business daily reported. -AFP - 6/10/03 US troops in Iraq arrest journalists of Iranian TV channel US troops in Baghdad on Monday arrested three journalists who worked for the Arabic television channel Al-Aalam, broadcast by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) - 6/10/03 U.S. Seeks Exemption from War Crimes Court With U.S. troops deployed in more countries than ever, the Bush administration is pressing the UN Security Council to exempt all U.S. troops and officials from the jurisdiction of the new International Criminal Court (ICC) for a second straight year. -Common Dreams - 6/10/03 Tremors jolt Iranian city of Shiraz Two earthquakes measuring 3.5 and 3.6 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale rocked Shiraz, in the southern province of Fars, on Tuesday - 6/10/03 The question in Kabul: to rebuild or start afresh? Three decades of almost constant war and crushing poverty have left much of the Afghan capital in a pitiable, almost uninhabitable state. Instead of rebuilding it, argue top Afghan leaders, why not start anew? -Christian Science Monitor - 6/10/03 U.S. says Iran harbors al Qaeda 'associate' A top al Qaeda associate in Iraq has fled to neighboring Iran, where he and several senior al Qaeda leaders apparently remain under the protection of the Iranian government, U.S. intelligence officials say. -Washington Times - 6/10/03 Two prominent Iranian musicians to conduct symphonic orchestras Tehran Symphonic Orchestra is scheduled to perform a concert in Tehran's Vahdat Music Hall on July 3-6, conducted by the renowned Iranian guest musician, Shahdad Rowhani - 6/10/03 Iran's FM gives US timely history lesson on Persian resistance Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi called on the United States to cease interfering in Iranian affairs, giving US Secretary of State Colin Powell a history lesson on the Iranian people's resistance. -AFP - 6/10/03 Pressure Alone Will Not Deter Iran from Its Nuclear Path If the aim is to persuade Iran to abandon interest in acquiring nuclear weapons, Washington will need a strategy to convince Iranian nationalists that their country will gain security, respect, and a prominent role in post-war politics in the Persian Gulf. -YaleGlobal - 6/10/03 Iran critical of IAEA discrimination in assisting member states Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) Gholamreza Aqazadeh said on Tuesday that Russia has been exposed to pressure since the early days of signing the deal on Bushehr power plant with Iran but has proceeded with the project - 6/10/03 Iranian MP speaks of breakthrough with Guardian Council over twin bills The parliament and the Guardian Council opened a series of negotiations on Monday on the twin bills about the election law and the executive procedure for the president to ensure respect for the constitutional rights of the people - 6/10/03 Iran's frustrated president asserts role as Iran's number two Frustrated reformist President Mohammad Khatami hit back at his powerful conservative opponents by asserting his right to exercise his number two position in Iran's leadership. -AFP - 6/10/03 Bush's New War Threat: Is Iran the Next Target? Washington's sabre-rattling toward Iran is part of the U.S. drive not just to dominate the Persian Gulf, but to prevent the emergence of any rival at a global level. -CounterPunch - 6/10/03 Russia grows wary of Iran nukes Even as a leaked report on Iran's nuclear program cites a string of safeguard "failures," Iran is enhancing its cooperation with UN inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and trying to mollify deepening concerns in Russia and the US that it harbors secret nuclear-weapons ambitions. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/10/03 Iran President calls on concerned institutions to deal with rioters President Mohammad Khatami on Monday called on the Judiciary, provincial security councils, the information ministry and the police to work together to help deal with pressure groups, including rioters - 6/9/03 US Wrestler returns home with unexpected picture of Iran "It was so green," Ellsworth said. "I didn't see a single camel when I was over there. I was expecting to see the whole place be a desert. "It was totally different than what I expected it to be." -San Jose Mercury - 6/9/03 Iran sways Iraqis with food, aid Tehran's support of Iraqi opposition groups like SCIRI wins hearts and minds. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/9/03 Iranians Fear They Might Be U.S. Target Political scientist Sadeq Zibakalam maintained that while Iran may have suffered military defeats and foreign domination in the past, it was never a colony — and Iranians of all stripes would resist become one now. -AP - 6/9/03 NIAC helps Iranian-Americans in California become influential On May 31 and June 1, Iranian-Americans in California attended a workshop conducted by Marjan Ehsassi, NIAC Executive Director, and Trita Parsi, NIAC President. The workshops were NIAC's first activities in the California area, and the focus was to educate Iranian-Americans on how to become influential in American political life. - 6/9/03 Shalom in Russia for talks on Mideast peace, Iran Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom arrived in Russia for three days of talks focused on the halting Middle East peace process and Moscow's nuclear cooperation with Iran. -AFP - 6/9/03 Iraqis fear rise of clerics Muslim clerics in Iraq have been taking advantage of the political vacuum left by Saddam Hussein to try to impose their own strict version of Islam. -BBC - 6/9/03 NIAC helps Iranian-Americans in California become influential On May 31 and June 1, Iranian-Americans in California attended a workshop conducted by Marjan Ehsassi, NIAC Executive Director, and Trita Parsi, NIAC President. The workshops were NIAC's first activities in the California area, and the focus was to educate Iranian-Americans on how to become influential in American political life. - 6/9/03 North Korea admits to nuclear plans North Korea today made its first official admission that it intended to build up a "nuclear deterrent" in a further escalation of its stand-off with the United States. -Guardian - 6/9/03 Child sickness 'soars' in Iraq The number of children in Iraq suffering from diarrhoea and related diseases appears to have risen dramatically in the past year, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) said on Sunday. -BBC - 6/9/03 Expanding Role of US Defense Department Spurs Concerns The Department of Defense's responsibilities have grown beyond anything that military commanders had imagined at the end of the Cold War, according to national security specialists; some have voiced worry that the department's expanding roles could tax the Pentagon's resources or compromise some civilian authorities. -Boston Globe - 6/9/03 Iran greets Iraqi Shia militant The Iranian Government has invited a militant Iraqi Shia leader, Moqtada Sadr, to the country despite warnings from the US that Iran should stop meddling in Iraqi affairs. -BBC - 6/9/03 UAE-Iran ties to help settle regional disputes: UAE envoy United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Iran Khalifa Shahin al-Marri on Monday underlined the need for further expansion of Tehran-Abu Dhabi trade cooperation and stressed that friendly relations between the two states will help settle the existing regional disputes - 6/9/03 Iran Admits Not Reporting Uranium to U.N. Iran admitted Sunday it failed to inform U.N. authorities that it imported a small quantity of uranium 12 years ago but said that failure did not violate the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. -Reuters - 6/9/03 Iran refuses to confirm it has identified detained al-Qaeda members Iran's foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny that a number of al-Qaeda members being held in Iranian custody had been identified, saying only the suspects were still being interrogated. -AFP - 6/9/03 Tehran Stock Exchange opens portfolio in Bahrain for foreign investors Iranian Foreign Investment Company (IFIC) has established a euro 50 million (dlrs 58.5 m) investment fund in Bahrain that will allow foreign investment for the first time in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) - 6/9/03 Iran in the crosshairs and at the crossroads The confrontational stance between Iran and the United States is seemingly coming to a head now after a quarter century of unnecessarily hostile and mutually counterproductive relationships. -Kam Zarrabi - 6/9/03 Dangers of an aggressive US approach to Iran If the US commits itself both to regime change and to preventing Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons by all means, including strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, a vicious circle of pressure and retaliation may develop, ending in full-scale war. -Financial Times - 6/9/03 Iran appeals to United States to stop "threatening language" Iran's foreign ministry appealed to Washington to stop using "threatening language", warning that US posturing would only undermine the cause of dialogue and strengthen the hand of hardliners in the Islamic republic. -AFP - 6/9/03 Iranians bring back some Persian history "The glory of ancient Persia has been revived. It is the rebirth of Persepolis," tourist Hasan Ezzati said after visiting the new Dariush Grand Hotel on the Persian Gulf tourist island of Kish. The name reflects the modern Farsi pronunciation of Darius, the ancient king. -USA Today - 6/8/03 U.S. Calls on Iran to Disclose All Aspects of Its Nuclear Program State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States is calling on Iran to "disclose all aspects of its nuclear program." Boucher was speaking to the press at the State Department's regular briefing on June 6. - 6/8/03 Iran stands third at Malaysian futsal meet as Brazil routs Uruguay Iran finished third at an international futsal event in Kuala Lumpur as the skilled Brazilians demolished Uruguay in the semifinal on Saturday - 6/8/03 Civic Responsibility We Iranians grew up in a culture where we were pushed to learn our three Rs (Writing, Reading, and Arithmetic) very well. However, no one encouraged us to learn about the fourth R (Civic or Social Responsibility). -Mohammad Ala - 6/8/03 Iran Resists Pressure to Give Up Nuke Technology Iran said Sunday its nuclear capabilities, branded a threat to peace by Washington, were a source of power and pride that the Islamic Republic would not be pressured into giving up. -Reuters - 6/8/03 Iran Denies Cleric's U.S. Bribery Charge-Newspapers Iran's foreign ministry has dismissed a hardline cleric's accusation that U.S. spies had brought half a billion dollars into the country to bribe officials, newspapers said on Saturday. -Reuters - 6/8/03 Intelligence Historian Says CIA 'Buckled' on Iraq The CIA bowed to Bush administration pressure to hype the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs ahead of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, a leading national security historian concluded in a detailed study of the spy agency's public pronouncements. -Common Dreams - 6/8/03 Iraqis' cupboards still bare The resumption of Iraq's food ration programme has been seen as a sign of returning normalcy after the US-led invasion. But for Iraqis, depending on handouts, even after 12 years of sanctions, is anything but normal. -BBC - 6/8/03 ‘Mini-nukes’ and the paradox of US nuclear policy On the agenda of the Bush-Putin meeting in St. Petersburg was, among other issues, a strategic nuclear weapons reduction agreement and an accord on the importance of preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). -Daily Star - 6/8/03 An American Terrorist Salahuddin is clearly looking for a way out of Iran. The events of September 11th and the new paradigm for the revolutionary—suicide—have left him behind. He is restless, and ill at ease in his adopted country. -New Yorker - 6/8/03 Expert warns on immense damages of any quake higher than seven degrees in Tehran Speaking at a seminar on insurance coverage and earthquakes in Tehran, Farid Mehdian added that such tremor will cause close to 500,000 deaths, two million injuries and render six million homeless. - 6/8/03 Use of nukes forbidden by Islam, Iran's FM says in rejecting US charges The use of nuclear, chemical or biological arms is "haram," or strictly forbidden by Islam, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said in Iran's strongest rejection yet of allegations that it is seeking to develop atomic weapons. -AFP - 6/8/03 Iran denies any alleged breach in its nuclear energy program "According to Iran's earlier commitments to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not committed any breach," Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told reporters after attending a parliamentary questioning. - 6/8/03 Powell: U.S. Looks for Change Within Iran The United States sees "a lot of churning" among Iran's youthful population against the policies of the country's hard-line Islamic rulers, but has no plans to intervene as it did in Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday. -AP - 6/8/03 Iran declared champion of Asian wrestling games The Islamic Republic of Iran on Sunday by winning seven gold medals, four silvers and two bronze medals was declared the champion of the 16th Asian Senior Freestyle and Greco Roman Style Wrestling Championship in New Delhi - 6/8/03 UN inspectors arrive in Iran, US says report on nuclear program troubling UN inspectors arrived in Iran, a top official said, a day after the UN's nuclear watchdog charged Tehran had failed to honor its nuclear safeguards agreement, which Washington called "deeply troubling" and a cause for world alarm. -AFP - 6/7/03 Iran: U.S. Rhetoric Against The Regime Could Boost Hard-Liners In Tehran Washington is stepping up its hostile rhetoric against Iran, which it accuses of being one of the world's top state sponsors of terrorism. Critics warn, however, that such an approach could backfire and bolster the hard-liners in Tehran. -RFE - 6/7/03 Iranians shining in Asian wrestling events Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers of Iran are starring in the 16th Asian events which began in New Delhi, India, on Thursday - 6/7/03 Iran Backs Coalition Claims of Hidden Iraqi WMD An Iranian government official with ties to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Tehran had received intelligence indicating that the government of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was indeed hiding weapons of mass destruction (WMD)from UN inspectors. -NewsMax - 6/7/03 Iranian carpet industry losing ground Production of same old patterns, growing international competition cause Iran's share of world carpet trade to fall sharply. -Middle East Online - 6/7/03 U.N. Says Iran Not Complying on Nuke Info The long-awaited report came only 10 days before a critical meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency board, which is expected to discuss Iran's nuclear programs. The United States wants the IAEA to declare Iran in violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty at June 16 session. -AP - 6/7/03 Iran IAEA Nuclear Report Shows Its Transparency Iran said on Saturday the International Atomic Energy Agency's report on the Islamic republic's nuclear program showed Tehran was cooperating with the agency. -Reuters - 6/7/03 Kharrazi, Aqazadeh to appear at Parliament to debate Iran's nuke plans Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh, the president of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), will appear at the Majlis (Parliament) on Sunday to discuss Iran's policies in the area of nuclear energy - 6/7/03 Argentina defeats Iran 2-1 to reach Malaysian futsal final In a cutthraot match in Kuala Lumpur, Iran won the first half 1-0 but it was the South American side that fought back to book a place in the final with a 2-1 victory. - 6/7/03 Rumblings in Azerbaijan -- Bush's Hawks Eye Northern Iran Washington officials continue to look for a way to dislodge the clerical leadership of Iran’s Islamic Republic. The latest ploy may be to inflame passions in the most politically active part of Iran-Azerbaijan. -William Beeman, PNS - 6/7/03 A time for unity among Iranians What unites those of us who are opposed to the theocracy is far greater than what divides us. Yet, we have allowed our differences to dictate our actions, allowing the theocracy to take advantage of our lack of unity. We need to unite behind a set of principles and ideals, not an individual. Time of individual worship has long passed. -Reza Ladjevardian - 6/6/03 4.5 Quake shakes northwestern Iranian city of Khoi An qarthquake measuring 4.5 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale jolted Khoi in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan Thursday evening - 6/6/03 Nuclear inspectors return to Iraq The two-week mission - from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - will be limited because the United States has imposed restrictions on the inspectors. -BBC - 6/6/03 Blix criticises weapons intelligence The United Nations' chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, has hit out at the quality of intelligence given to him by the United States and Britain on Iraq's alleged chemical and biological weapons programmes. -Guardian - 6/6/03 Iran and Qatar vying for the services of former Japan soccer coach Having taken Japan to the second round of the World Cup last year, Troussier was rumoured to be at the top of China's wish list, but he has now been approached by two of the Middle East's most ambitious footballing nations. - 6/6/03 Norway has 'no plans' to act against MKO's European headquarters The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that it has no plans to act against the Mujahedin-e Khaq Organization (MKO) terrorist group, whose European headquarters are in Norway - 6/6/03 Russia Digs in Heels in Row with U.S. Over Iran Russia brushed aside new U.S. charges that Iran could be secretly developing a nuclear weapon and vowed on Friday to press ahead with plans to help Tehran build its first nuclear reactor. -Reuters - 6/6/03 Bay Area Iranian-American Voter Association's first fundraiser a success The Bay Area Iranian-American Voter Association (BAIVOTER), an Iranian-American voter education and advocacy organization in the San Francisco Bay Area, held its first fundraising event on May 18, 2003 in San Francisco to encourage members of the local community to lend their financial support to the eight-month old organization. - 6/6/03 World Bank approves $180M loan to Iran for earthquake recovery plans At least 200 villages were destroyed and 25,000 people displaced when an earthquake measuring six degrees on the Richter scale jolted the northwestern and western provinces of Qazvin, Hamedan and Zanjan on June 22, 2002. - 6/6/03 Iran link to attack against US troops US forces in Iraq said yesterday they had arrested - and continued to hold - 20 members of the Iranian-backed Badr Corps whom they suspect of organising at least one rocket attack on US forces. -Financial Times - 6/6/03 Iran says ready to sign protocol on nuke fuel return with Russia Iran's Ambassador to Russia Gholam-Reza Shafe said in Moscow on Thursday that Tehran is ready to sign an additional protocol with Russia on the return of nuclear fuel from the Bushehr power plant - 6/6/03 Iranians don't need American kingmakers Talk of regime change in Iran has been spreading within the Bush administration, particularly after the recent bombings in Saudi Arabia, which may have been directed by an Iran-based Al Qaeda cell. But the administration would simply repeat past U.S. mistakes in dealing with Iran if it followed the advice of those calling loudest for American intervention, whose ties with the family of the deposed shah represent despotism rather than democracy for Iranians. -IHT - 6/6/03 Experts Warn Congress About Iranian Exile Groups Iranian opposition groups seeking Washington's help to oust the country's Islamic theocracy could be as dangerous as the regime they want overturned, say Middle East experts who urge lawmakers to think twice before funding exiles in the United States. -Fox News - 6/6/03 Heir to Iran's Peacock Throne hopes to draw veil over era of the ayatollahs Ask Iranians in the US for their opinion of Iran's exiled opposition groups and the reply is often a laugh of despair, and frustration at the deep-seated rivalries that deprive the diaspora of an effective voice. -Financial Times - 6/6/03 Russian Ministries: No Need for New Iran Deal The Nuclear Power and Foreign ministries teamed up Thursday to declare that Russia will supply nuclear fuel to Iran even if it refuses to agree to international inspections at short notice. -Moscow Times - 6/6/03 Pentagon Team on Iran Comes Under Fire A small Pentagon planning office under fire for its alleged manipulation of intelligence on Iraq is also dealing with other countries in the Persian Gulf, including Iran, raising concerns among critics about the shaping of Bush administration policy in this sensitive region. -Forward - 6/5/03 Fustal: English given Iranian lesson Asian champions Iran stormed into the semi-finals of the KL World Futsal (five-a-side) tournament in style when they made short work of England 14-1 in a Group D match at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil here yesterday. -Star, Malaysia - 6/5/03 Cruelty And perhaps this is the very existential state that the people of Iran are now facing, due to the threat of the possibility of having to experience a fate similar to that the people of Afghanistan and Iraq experienced recently. Or at least this is my state of "social" being. Yes, I am very scared to be a witness of my country's demolition, and of the death of my countrymen and women. -Roya Monajem, Tehran - 6/5/03 Behrouz Vossoughi and Vanessa Redgrave to Star in upcoming film "The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam" The Legendary Iranian Star of "Caravans" 1978 with Anthony Quinn will be making a screen comeback in an upcoming film directed by Iranian Kayvan Mashayekh and Co-Starring with another Screen Icon the Great British actress Vanessa Redgrave. -Darius Kadivar - 6/5/03 U.S. Talking to Wrong Guy If the U.S. wants to stop the nuclear cooperation promptly, it should talk compensation with the real people in charge, not irrelevant government officials, including President Vladimir Putin. -Moscow Times - 6/5/03 Iran in contact with Kurdish parties in eastern Kurdistan, says Kurdish official According to the news agency AFP, indirect contacts are under way between the Iranian government and Kurdish parties in eastern Kurdistan in a bid to organize talks to resolve the Kurdish problem in Iran. - 6/5/03 The truth about lies and deceptions (Reza Pahlavi) I think that mainstream politicians, even high-ranking Republican Senators in US Senate, do not take Pahlavi seriously. Interest in Pahlavi is limited to AEI (American Enterprise Institute), AIPAC (American Israeli Political Affairs Committee), Pentagon hawks and a few obsolete characters ... -Kave Pourmand - 6/5/03 Rumsfeld's deputy denies Pentagon split with Bush on Iran policy US Assistant Secretary of Defense for public affairs Victoria Clarke took the unusual step Thursday of writing to the Financial Times of London to deny that her boss Donald Rumsefeld was seeking to make 'regime change' in Iran - 6/5/03 47 die in Afghan border battle Forty Taliban fighters and seven Afghan soldiers were killed during nine hours of fighting near the Afghan border with Pakistan yesterday. -Guardian - 6/5/03 Confusion on Russian nuclear deal with Iran Conflicting statements on Wednesday over Russia's intentions to sell nuclear fuel to Iran cast doubt on the efficacy of US efforts to block the Islamic republic's suspected nuclear weapons programme. -Financial Times - 6/5/03 UK's Blair says Iran's alleged nuclear programme a world issue "It is very, very important that Iran realises the seriousness of the international community's intent on this issue. The IAEA has got to be able without any conditions at all to carry out its work," he told MPs. - 6/5/03 US may support controversial Iranian group An armed Iranian exile group listed as a terrorist organization by the USA and European Union may now get US support to help topple Iran's ruling regime. The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) has its European headquarters in Norway. -Aftenposten, Norway - 6/5/03 So many governments to overthrow, so little time The Bush administration is reported to be considering "destabilizing" - in other words, covertly overthrowing - the Iranian government because of its suspected ties to Al Qaeda terrorist groups. This would be precisely the wrong thing for the United States to do in Iran. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/5/03 Britain Must Not Let Iran Become The Next Iraq When Labour took office in Britain in 1997 I initiated a policy of constructive engagement with the reformist government, which has been skillfully continued by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. It bore fruit in its renunciation of the fatwa on Salman Rushdie, and it has been helpful in providing credibility as people who could build a positive relationship with the outside world. -Robin Cook, IHT - 6/5/03 ANALYSIS-Blair unlikely to push for Iran showdown Tony Blair risked his political future when he joined George W. Bush's war on Iraq, but as U.S. hawks turn on neighbouring Iran the British premier may have less appetite to participate in another Gulf showdown. -Reuters - 6/5/03 Ex-president asks "arrogant" US to act wisely over Iran "Our problems with America, if Washington does not treat Iran with arrogance and pride and gives back the country's rights, are solvable," the former president said at the late Imam Khomeini's mausoleum to commemorate his 14th demise anniversary. - 6/5/03 Confounding US and Britain, Russia says nuclear link with Iran still on Russia said it would supply nuclear fuel to Iran even if it failed to allow stricter UN inspections in a move defying international concerns. -AFP - 6/5/03 An unlikely US ally? The Mojahedin Khalq Organization does not at first sight appear likely to gain US support. But with the hawks looking to raise the stakes against Tehran, Roger Howard argues that it might prove useful to them. -MEI - 6/5/03 Diplomacy is best option with Iran America's three reasonable requirements from Iran are that it not support terror, not build threatening weapons, and not subvert Iraq's teetering movement toward democracy. Vigorous diplomacy should put these requirements front and center with the Iranian regime. -Christian Science Monitor - 6/4/03 Iranian Hard-Liners Block Reform Bill Measure's Defeat Could Be Turning Point in President's Struggle Against Clerics -Washington Post - 6/4/03 Iran's Natanz facility designed to produce fuel for power plants: Aqazadeh Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Gholamreza Aqazadeh said on Tuesday that uranium enrichment facility in Natanz merely designed to produce fuel for nuclear power plants - 6/4/03 Iran warns US against attack Iran's supreme leader has warned the United States that any attack against his country would be "suicide for the aggressor". -BBC - 6/4/03 Pentagon officials meet with regime foe Defense officials acknowledged yesterday they have spoken to Mahmud Ali Chehregani, who heads the Southern Azerbaijan National Awakeness Movement (SANAM) operating inside Iran, but emphasized their meetings were not aimed at supporting or encouraging a change in Iran's government. -Washington Times - 6/4/03 UN ranks Iran 90th in educational facilities: official An official of Iran's Education Ministry said on Tuesday that the UN has ranked Iran 90th in terms of educational facilities and manpower - 6/4/03 What's inside Iran? What did trigger Uncle Sam's wrath and words on "destabilizing" the government in Iran a few days ago? Some believe it was a red line crossed by the mullahs. -Washington Times - 6/4/03 Chirac tries to make best of a bad job Against a backdrop of violent protests and amid air thick with condemnation from outraged aid agencies, chairman Jacques Chirac was battling yesterday to hold together the uneasy truce among the G8 industrial nations following the bitter dispute over Iraq. -Guardian - 6/4/03 Iranian National Museum library holds 23,000 archaeological books Head of the Iranian National Museum library, Mohammad Reza Riazi, declared in Tehran on Tuesday that the library, holding 23,000 volumes of archaeological books on Iran and neighboring areas, is among the world's unique libraries - 6/4/03 Mid-East foes back peace plan A landmark Middle East summit has ended with statements from Israel and the Palestinians backing the roadmap peace plan. -BBC - 6/4/03 Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to visit Iran Head of Afghan Interim Administration (AIA) Hamid Karzai is due to visit Tehran later in June said his Spokesman Tayeb Javad in Kabul on Tuesday - 6/4/03 Poll Shows U.S. Isolation: In War's Wake, Hostility and Mistrust The poll of more than 15,000 people in 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority, conducted in May by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, also showed a significant loss of faith in two major international institutions created out of the ashes of World War II - the United Nations and NATO. -Common Dreams - 6/4/03 Putin's vow would tie Iran's nuclear fuel to inspections Russia has promised the Bush administration that it will not provide the nuclear fuel Iran needs to activate a new power plant unless Iran allows inspections to assure that the fuel is not used for weapons, a senior State Department official said Tuesday. -USA Today - 6/4/03 Police raids linked to Iranian group Australian Federal Police officers are investigating an Iranian organisation with alleged links to terrorism. Police conducted raids on 10 houses in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane yesterday after concerns the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) may be active in Australia. -ABC News, Australia - 6/4/03 Iran presents a delicate issue for the U.S. It may prove more harmful to push a hard line on Iran now than later with the current situation in the Middle East. If the Iranians feel threatened, they may try to increase efforts in Iraq, Israel and Afghanistan to obstruct U.S. goals to gain leverage against the Bush administration. -The Battalion - 6/4/03 The Day of the Jackals: On War and Occupation Mesopotamia. Babylon. The Tigris and Euphrates. How many children, in how many classrooms, over how many centuries, have hang-glided through the past, transported on the wings of these words? And now the bombs have fallen, incinerating and humiliating that ancient civilization. -Arundhati Roy, CounterPunch - 6/4/03 Iran helping religious militias in Iraq, British envoy warns Britain's most senior official in Baghdad warned yesterday that Iran was still giving "unwelcome" support to fundamentalist Shia groups in Iraq. -Guardian - 6/4/03 U.S. grappler's trip to Iran is eye-opening -- for both sides The United States' newest ambassador returned from the Middle East last week, happy to have won his battles, happier to have made new friends. To be fair, Mike Ellsworth wasn't so much worried about his opponents at the Takhti Cup wrestling tournament in Sanandaj, Iran... -CNN/SI - 6/4/03 Iran will be the test for European foreign policy But the real test case for the EU's foreign policy credibility will be Iran. Is Europe prepared to attach tough conditions to its policy of engagement, designed to encourage the "reformers" in Tehran? How the EU handles Iran will also determine whether it is willing and able to respond adequately to new security threats such as that of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. -Financial Times - 6/3/03 Chirac Raps Iraq War, Sees No Iran Attack French President Jacques Chirac repeated his condemnation of the Iraq war Tuesday and said a Group of Eight summit statement about weapons of mass destruction was not a green light for a similar attack on Iran. -Reuters - 6/3/03 Nuclear warning for 'rogue states' The leading industrial states last night sharply stepped up the pressure on North Korea and Iran to abandon covert nuclear weapons programmes when they instructed the two alleged "rogue states" to comply with the global drive against terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. -Guardian - 6/3/03 Canada to pursue its independent investment policy in Iran Canadian Ambassador to Iran Philip McKinon in a meeting with Saveh governor said "Canada's economic policy towards Iran is similar to that of European states including Italy, Britain and Germany." - 6/3/03 US soldiers 'held by Iran' Four United States soldiers and five civilians on boats were detained and interrogated by Iranians for several hours on Sunday, according to US Central Command. -BBC - 6/3/03 JICS, The Journal of Iranian Chemical Society, is accepting contributing papers and compatriot cooperation As the North American Regional Editor of JICS, the Journal of Iranian Chemical Society, I am writing to introduce this periodical with the hope of stimulating your consideration to become intellectually engaged in one or more of its following activities so as to facilitate the chemical science in our homeland that should only benefit our peers and the young student populations. - 6/3/03 Environmental official voices concern over destruction of vital environments around Tehran Director General of Tehran province Environmental Department Mohammad-Hassan Pirasteh said in Tehran on Monday expressed concern over destruction of the vital environmental around Tehran which will leave its unfavorable effect on the capital city - 6/3/03 Iran Air to overhaul jumbo jets Iran's aviation fleet is mostly comprised of American-made Boeings, purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. However, the US unilateral sanctions have prevented the Islamic Republic from properly maintaining the planes, thus forcing Iran to turn to Russian and Ukrainian planes. - 6/3/03 The Kamkars In the west they are still largely unknown. But out in the spectacular area of mountains and wilderness that stretches from the north-west corner of their native Iran across to the Kurdish areas of Iraq and Turkey, the Kamkar family are superstars. -Guardian - 6/3/03 Billiards deemed too wicked for Iran's holy city Residents of Iran's holy city of Qom, the nerve centre of the Shiite clerical regime, learned that they will not be able to follow the rest of the country in enjoying a game of billiards. -AFP - 6/3/03 Iran fustal team thrashes Uzbekistan 7-1 in Kuala Lumpur cup Four-time Asian futsal champion Iran handed the Uzbek side a humiliating 7-1 defeat in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday - 6/3/03 Police raids on Iranian 'rebels' IN a series of dramatic simultaneous raids in three capital cities, Australian Federal Police agents swooped yesterday on alleged members of an Iranian resistance organisation linked to terrorism, seizing mobile phones and computers. -NEWS.com.au, Australia - 6/3/03 Iran's Naft wins Italy karate title Iran's karate representative in the `Golden Cup' of Italy, San'at Naft of Ahvaz, lifted the title on Monday - 6/3/03 Russia 'halting Iran nuclear help' Russia is to stop exporting nuclear material to Iran following its refusal to sign up to an international protocol, a senior British official has said. -BBC - 6/3/03 Transcripts Raise Alarm Across NATO Transcripts of a private conversation between Jack Straw and Colin Powell expressing serious doubts about the reliability of intelligence on Iraq's banned weapons program are being circulated in western government circles where there is a growing feeling that officials were deceived into supporting the Iraq war. -Common Dreams - 6/3/03 Putin Wants IAEA Checks on Iran Nuclear Program President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday Russia would continue building a nuclear power station for Iran, but insisted Tehran's nuclear program had to come under stricter international control. -Reuters - 6/3/03 The Strategist and the Philosopher: Leo Strauss and Albert Wohlstetter Who are the neoconservatives playing a vital role in the US president's choices by the side of Christian fundamentalists? And who were their master thinkers, Albert Wohlstetter and Leo Strauss? -CounterPunch - 6/3/03 Blix report fuels doubts on weapons of mass destruction US and British leaders were on Monday scrambling to explain why they had so far failed to find evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction as United Nations weapons inspectors reported that Baghdad was handing over fresh information just hours before the US-led air strikes that began the war. -Financial Times - 6/3/03 Schroeder vows "Iran will not be second Iraq" German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and leaders of the G8 industrial nations on Tuesday pledged that Iran will not be attacked over its alleged weapons of mass destruction - 6/3/03 Iran President suggests democratic capacity of Constitution should be used Reformers believe that the matter of the constitutional rights of the people should not be mixed up with the US threats against Iran. "The constitutional rights of the people is something and the US threat against Iran is something else. We can not ask the people to overlook their constitutional rights because of the US threats to attack Iran." - 6/3/03 Who Is Next? - Return to the Peacock Throne If the neo-cons and their cohorts are successful, then history would indeed repeat itself, as Hegel contended. But as Marx added, the first time is a tragedy and the second time is a farce. -Sasan Fayazmanesh, CounterPunch - 6/2/03 Iran challenges US, invites it to participate in Iranian nuke plans Iran on Monday put up a serious challenge to the US, inviting American firms to participate in the Islamic Republic's nuclear programs if Washington had serious qualms about Tehran's nuclear ambitions - 6/2/03 Washington’s likely plans to restore the Iranian monarchy are foolhardy The Bush administration apparently has a handpicked American “plumber” ready to go in Iran, much like Ahmed Chalabi in Iraq. This is Sohrab “Rob” Sobhani, an Iranian-American associated with the neoconservatives in Washington. With Reza Pahlavi as Shah, the 40-ish Sobhani would presumably be prime minister or president. -William O. Beeman, Daily Star - 6/2/03 Ayatollah Rumsfeld's Busy Week Defense Chief Seizes Baghdad Diplomatic Mission and Plots Overthrow Iranian Government -CounterPunch - 6/2/03 Iran stands firm on nuclear plans Despite mounting pressure over its nuclear programme, Iran has again refused to sign an international agreement that would allow tougher inspections. -BBC - 6/2/03 All Iranian women taekwondo players win medal in Austria tourney All women taekwondo players of Iran stood on podiums in an international tournament in Austria - 6/2/03 Iran aims for world top three futsal next year Iran, the undisputed Futsal kings of Asia after four consecutive Asian titles remain technically one of the gifted team in the world of futsal - 6/2/03 US and UK drop Iraq national conference plan The occupying powers in Iraq on Sunday ditched a plan to create a 300-plus member national conference, which would have elected an administration in mid-July. -Financial Times - 6/2/03 Iran condemns US court ruling on involvement in Lebanon bombing "It seems that certain circles in the US are beginning to resort to whatever means they can to increase pressure against Iran and to further push forward their hostile policies against Iran, even if this cost the credibility of the US judicial apparatus" - 6/2/03 Powell's doubts over CIA intelligence on Iraq prompted him to set up secret review Mr Powell's team removed dozens of pages of alleged evidence about Iraq's banned weapons and ties to terrorists from a draft of his speech, US News and World Report says today. At one point, he became so angry at the lack of adequate sourcing to intelligence claims that he declared: "I'm not reading this. This is bullshit," according to the magazine. -Guardian - 6/2/03 Singapore to Separate Iranian Twins in July Doctors in Singapore will try to make medical history next month by separating adult twins who are joined at the head. -Reuters - 6/2/03 Iran stands second in Armenia Greco-Roman wrestling meet Iran's Wrestling Federation (IWF) on Monday announced that the youth Greco-Roman wrestling team of the country finished runner-up in an international event in Armenia - 6/2/03 French minister calls for more democracy in Iran France wants to see Iran open up to democracy and give women a greater role, Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said during a visit to Bahrain, just across the Gulf from the Islamic Republic. -AFP - 6/2/03 G8 Urges N.Korea, Iran to Curb Nuclear Programs The Group of Eight leading industrial democracies urged North Korea and Iran Monday to curtail their nuclear programs in a statement branding weapons of mass destruction as a leading threat to world security. -Reuters - 6/2/03 Australia's hardline asylum policies Australia is the only developed country that forces indefinite mandatory detention on asylum seekers. Earlier this month a television programme exposed the realities of life inside a now defunct detention centre, sparking renewed debate over Australia's asylum system -Guardian - 6/2/03 Internal Tussle Plays out amid U.S. Threats The suspension of contacts between the United States and Iran, in the wake of Washington's charges that Tehran is harbouring al-Qaeda members, is the latest prism through which to view the differences between the government and the public on what political road the country should be taking. -IPS - 6/2/03 Bush and Putin pal up after Iraq spat, but Iran row looms US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) and Russian President Vladimir Putin said their friendship was as strong as ever, laying aside a dispute over the Iraq war, but barely concealing a simmering row over Iran's nuclear program. -AFP - 6/2/03 Iran shuns pressure over nukes, refuses to allow tougher inspections Iran rejected mounting international calls for it to sign an additional protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that would allow tougher inspections of its suspect nuclear programme. -AFP - 6/2/03 Iran celebrates Austrian taekwondo title Iran won the crown of an international taekwondo tournament in Austria ended in the Austrian city Lizen on Sunday - 6/2/03 Iran: Evolution or Occupation Soon after the occupation of Iraq by American forces, there has been a surge in the activities of the US neo-conservative groups including Jewish lobbyists and monarchists represented by the Reza Pahlavi, to give the impression that the Iranians are anxiously waiting for liberation by foreign forces. -Akbar Nouruzi, Australia - 6/2/03 Iran, EU to sign agreement for improved economic, political ties Iran and the European Union in the fourth round of their talks on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) along with political negotiations, scheduled for June 1-3, reiterated their commitment to continue the process of dialogue and engagement for the purpose. - 6/1/03 Iranian men and women swoop seven golds, one silver, 2 bronze in Austrian taekwondo tourney Iran won six gold and one bronze medals in an international taekwondo event in Austria on Saturday. Women martial art players of Iran also took three medals. - 6/1/03 Bush and Putin make limited headway over Iran's nuclear program Russia and the United States made only limited headway over Iran as President Vladimir Putin firmly defended his nuclear cooperation with the country during talks with US counterpart George W. Bush. -AFP - 6/1/03 Iraq weapons row intensifies Ex-cabinet Minister Clare Short has accused Tony Blair of duping the public over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. -BBC - 6/1/03 Locked Up in Land of the Free Inmates: The United States has surpassed Russia as the nation with the highest percentage of citizens behind bars. -Common Dreams - 6/1/03 Bush, Putin Urge N. Korea, Iran on Nukes President Bush (news - web sites) and Russian President Vladimir Putin urged North Korea and Iran on Sunday to halt development of nuclear weapons -AP - 6/1/03 Revealed: the cluster bombs that litter Iraq The shocking extent of unexploded cluster bombs dropped by American and British planes, which litter Iraq eight weeks after the conflict, is revealed in detail for the first time today. -Guardian - 6/1/03 Iran reaction to Iraq concerns Washington After the fall of Iraq, Washington multiplied its warnings to the Islamic regime in neighboring Iran, another country on President George W. Bush's "axis of evil." -AFP - 6/1/03 Iran's share of world carpet trade down to 28 percent Iran's share of world carpet trade has sharply decreased from 55 percent to 28 percent with international producers taking the lead from Iranians by producing cheaper carpets with higher quality - 6/1/03 5.2 Quake shakes northwestern Iranian province of Ardebil An earthquake jolted the town of Bilesavar, in the northwestern province of Ardebil, Sunday morning - 6/1/03 A Tangled Web of Neocon Lies: The Frauds of War You attribute Shiite hostility to the foreign troops to Iranian interference. (Shiite Iran has limited influence among the Shiite community of course; but it doesn't shape their feelings towards occupation. But this is a good argument for regime change in Iran, which you consider, and want the American people to consider, evil.) -CounterPunch - 6/1/03 Iran ''neo-conservatives'' seek to defuse US tension Moderate conservatives in Iran have made tentative approaches to Washington in recent weeks aimed at defusing mounting Iran-U.S. tensions and preserving the future of clerical rule, sources and analysts said on Sunday. -Reuters - 6/1/03 Iran President hints at compromise, rejects arbitration over twin bills President Mohammad Khatami on Sunday stuck to his guns over two bills, including one to prop up presidential power, rejecting arbitration of the Expediency Council, while he welcomed compromise with the supervisory Guardians Council - 6/1/03 No Weapons in Iraq? We'll Find Them in Iran They told us Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but they've found none. Were they lying -Sunday Herlad, Scotland - 6/1/03 Iranian hawks feed on US anger Contrary to the assumptions of hawks in Washington, even the most radical Iranian dissidents do not believe their country is on the verge of revolution, though they point to rising dissatisfaction and building social pressures. -Guardian - 6/1/03 © Copyright 2009 NetNative (All Rights Reserved)