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September 2003 Iran stands second in Qatar women's volleyball tournament The technical committee announced Iranian player Zeinab Givei "Player of the Solidarity Cup". - 9/30/03 Mister Khomeini goes to Washington "Welcome Mister Khomeini," read the unlikely sign hanging on the 12th floor of a Washington building, home to a conservative think-tank hosting the Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson. -AFP - 9/30/03 Nuclear checks in Iran will be decisive, says head of UN watchdog "I think this is a decisive moment in our work in verifying Iran's nuclear programme," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told reporters, adding that the inspectors would be leaving Vienna for Iran on Wednesday. -AFP - 9/30/03 Nuclear watchdog 'ignores Israel' Israel, unlike Iran and North Korea, has not signed the NPT. The Jewish state has never confirmed being a nuclear power, but is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons. -BBC - 9/30/03 Iranian twins surgeon has no regrets The surgeon in charge of the unsuccessful attempt to separate Iranian conjoined twins believes others will benefit from the lessons learned. -BBC - 9/30/03 Businessman jailed for Iranian espionage A 65-year-old businessman was jailed for two years and six months by a Berlin court Monday for spying in Germany for the Iranian secret service. -Expatica - 9/30/03 Iran Acknowledges Enriched Uranium Found Iran acknowledged Monday that additional traces of weapons-grade uranium have been found on its soil but argued they came from abroad — a claim U.N. and other experts said cannot be discounted. -AP - 9/30/03 World Bank Official M. Reza Amin Dies Mohammad Reza Amin, 76, an Iranian-born industrialist and educator who settled in the Washington area in 1979 and spent 11 years as a World Bank executive, died Sept. 27 at Woodbine Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Alexandria. -Washington Post - 9/30/03 On Edward Said Loss I cry not only because he was a most wonderful person who believed in dialogue and true efforts in reaching lasting peace through understanding, besides his scholarly work, but also because he was a most gentle, kind man. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 9/30/03 International seminar on Caspian Sea opens in Baku The International Seminar on 'Caspian Sea and Future Cooperation' opened in Baku on Tuesday morning - 9/30/03 Quake jolts city of Damavand in Iran An earthquake, measuring 3.2 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale, shook the city of Damavand in Tehran province Tuesday morning - 9/30/03 IRAN: New Renault-designed car to replace ancient Paykan - report Iran has said it will sign a joint-venture deal with French car maker Renault by the end of October to produce a low-priced passenger car to replace the [1960s English Hillman Hunter-based] Paykan, a top-selling but outdated local favourite, Reuters reported. - 9/30/03 Bush, Putin Urge Iran, North Korea To Give Up Nuclear Ambitions U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared themselves strong allies in the war on terrorism on Saturday (27 September) and warned Iran and North Korea to abandon any ambitions to obtain nuclear weapons. - 9/30/03 Canada sends ambassador back to Iran Canada's ambassador to Iran, Philip MacKinnon, is to return Teheran, after several months of being kept at home in protest over the beating death of photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, Foreign Minister Bill Graham announced. -AFP - 9/30/03 Iran ranks third in Ukraine women's karate meet With 20 WSKS players, Iran took the third title in terms of number of medals while Russia was crowned and Ukraine finished runner-up. - 9/30/03 Iranian Foreign Minister: WMD have no place in Iran's strategy Speaking at the Colombia University, Kharrazi said Iran strongly believes that possessing such weapons even with the purpose of beefing up security necessities will only lead to jeopardizing such necessities. - 9/30/03 NIAC's Fassihian Discusses NBC Sitcom Whoopi with Omid Djalili Djalili is Britain's only Iranian standup comedian and actor. His international appeal extends to having performed in over 12 countries. - 9/30/03 The Iran Conspiracy (Review of "All the Shah's Men" book) An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror -New York Review of Books - 9/29/03 Iranians See Opportunity In Iraq's Need to Rebuild With a nod from the U.S., Iranian businessmen are moving into Iraq, illustrating how the need to boost Iraq's economy is creating mutual interests between two countries whose governments remain antagonistic. -Farnaz Fassihi, WSJ - 9/29/03 IAEA inspectors to arrive in Tehran on Thursday Government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said in Tehran on Monday that negotiations on Iran's nuclear program will get underway on Thursday after the arrival of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors - 9/29/03 Iran stands second at World Taekwondo Championships Iran finished runner-up to the undisputed champion South Korea at the 16th World Taekwondo Championships (WTC) ended in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany on Sunday - 9/29/03 EU to Warn Iran Trade Ties at Stake in Nuclear Row The European Union was set to warn Iran on Monday that lucrative trade ties with the 15-nation bloc could be in jeopardy if it fails to restore international trust in its nuclear program. -Reuters - 9/29/03 Iran launches Paykan missile boat in Caspian waters Iran on Monday announced that it had launched its "Paykan" missile boat in the waters of the Caspian Sea "to protect the interests of the Iranian nation" - 9/29/03 Minister says al-Qaeda was active in Iran Iran disclosed on Sunday that the extremist al-Qaeda network had set up operational cells inside the Islamic republic and that a dozen suspects, caught after a gun battle, would soon go on trial behind closed doors. -Financial Times - 9/29/03 Marchers Worldwide Demand Iraq Pullout Thousands of protesters demanding an end to the occupation of Iraq took to the streets Saturday in London, Athens, Paris and other cities around the world, chanting slogans against the United States and Britain. -Common Dreams - 9/29/03 Beluga sturgeon stock overestimated Beluga sturgeon, the world's most valuable fish, are on the verge of extinction after the international watchdog on endangered species overestimated remaining stocks, scientists have warned. -Guardian - 9/29/03 Iran says enriched uranium found by inspectors was on imported equipment A top Iranian official confirmed that traces of highly enriched uranium were found in the country for the second time by UN inspectors but attributed the find to the contamination of imported equipment. -AFP - 9/29/03 Britain demands Iran come clean on nuclear ambitions Iran must declare "unequivocally" that it harbours no ambitions to develop nuclear arms, Britain's Europe Minister Denis MacShane demanded. -AFP - 9/29/03 Qatar beats Iran at Asian basketball quarterfinal With nine foreign-turned-Qatari players, the Arab side managed to defeat Iran 72-64 in the quarterfinal. - 9/29/03 Nine killed in landmine blast in town of Dehloran in Iran Nine people were killed in landmine explosions in the border region of Dehloran in the western province of Ilam on Saturday - 9/29/03 Kharrazi Says Iran Wants to End Nuclear Dispute Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said in remarks broadcast on Sunday that his country was willing to accept the international nuclear watchdog's Additional Protocol as long as Tehran could continue to produce enriched uranium. -Reuters - 9/29/03 Iran holding tenders for 8 Persian Gulf oil fields The Persian-language newspaper 'Iran' reported that the development of oil fields namely Bushehr, Iran Mehr, Deir, Hamoun, Alvand, Forouz, Tosan and Lark are being put out to tender. - 9/29/03 20 killed, 11 wounded as bus plunges in river in Iran At least 20 passengers were killed and 11 other injured when a bus plunged into a river on Sanandaj-Saqez road in the western Kurdestan province of Iran on Saturday night, IRNA reported from Sanandaj. - 9/28/03 Iranian FM spokesman: Israel had hand in Soleimanpour's case Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi stressed in Tehran on Sunday that the Zionist regime had a hand in the case of Hadi Soleimanpour, Iran's former ambassador to Argentina - 9/28/03 3rd season of archaeological excavation gets underway in Iran's city of Takab A 10-member group of Iranian archaeologists are in charge of the excavation at Takht-e Soleyman Complex, which has recently been listed as a global heritage - 9/28/03 World Bank ready to provide credit for cultural heritage projects in Iran A World Bank official heresaid in Kerman on Sunday that the bank is ready to fund Kerman cultural heritage projects - 9/28/03 Iranian militia seize 14,000 satellite dishes Iran's volunteer Bassij militia have seized 14,000 satellite dishes from four workshops near Tehran. -AFP - 9/28/03 Iran sticks by nuclear programme Iran has ruled out giving up its uranium enrichment programme, ahead of this week's visit by nuclear inspectors. -BBC - 9/28/03 Iran's Rostami wins world taekwondo gold Morteza Rostami won the second gold of Iran and his teammate Mehdi Bibak was eliminated in the 16th World Taekwondo Championships (WTC) in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany - 9/28/03 Iran press court bans Yas-e-Now daily for 10 days It was not clear whether the jury was present in the court or not. - 9/28/03 Russia Won't End Accord With Iran to Build Reactor President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said today that he would send "a clear but respectful signal to Iran" that it must comply with international inspections of its suspected nuclear weapons program. But he told President Bush that Russia would go forward with its plans to help Iran build a nuclear reactor. -New York Times - 9/28/03 Iran to sign deals over Azadegan, South Pars oil projects by March Entekhab further wrote that Oil Ministry officials had refused to answer a question whether there had been any new developments in Iran's talks with Japan over developing Azadegan oil field, adding that the official had stressed that they would not comment on the issue. - 9/28/03 Iranian intelligence says inquiry into Kazemi's death "veered off course" "The intelligence ministry welcomed the inquiry into the death of Ms. Kazemi, but since then, for reasons that are evident, the inquiry has veered off course," a statement was quoted as saying Sunday by the student news agency ISNA. -AFP - 9/28/03 Congressman Introduces Legislation to Expel Iranian Visitors and Students from the U.S. Congressman Gresham Barrett (R-SC) has introduced a bill that would stop individuals from nations determined by the US State Department to be state sponsors of terrorism from entering the United States. Cuba, Libya, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria and Sudan have been designated as terrorist states. -Iranian American Political Action Committee - 9/27/03 Jordan wins pulsating soccer match against Iran 3-2 Jordan won the pulsating second-leg Group D preliminary match of the Asian Nations Cup against Iran 3-2 in Amman on Friday - 9/27/03 Iran wins one gold, two silvers at world taekwondo meet Iran has snatched one gold and two silver medals at the World Taekwondo Championships (WTC) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany - 9/27/03 Iran woman awaits execution An Iranian woman is about to be executed for killing a police chief who allegedly tried to rape her, Amnesty International said yesterday. -Guardian - 9/27/03 EU FMs to postpone decision on ties with Iran till October The European Union council of foreign ministers on Monday is to discuss EU-Iran relations, but a decision to review a future trade and cooperation agreement between the two sides has been postponed until October, said EU sources - 9/27/03 Pirelli to Link Kuwait, Iran Emirates Telecommunications & Marine Services FZE (e-marine) in the United Arab Emirates has awarded Pirelli the contract for supplying submarine and land fiber optic cables, terminal transmission equipment and accessories for a prestigious project which will link Kuwait City with Ganeveh in the Iran. The new cable system will enable the transmission of voice, data and multimedia broadband services. -Light Reading - 9/27/03 Iran President: Universities not venues for violence, imitation The president made the remark in a ceremony held in Tehran University Saturday morning to mark the first day of the new academic year in Iranian higher education center. - 9/27/03 Khomeini Comes to America, Blames Najaf Bombing and Hakim Murder on Iran After recently leaving Iran and spending this past summer in Iraq, where he was forthright with his disapproval of the present Iranian regime, the grandson of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was welcomed to the nation’s capital. -NIAC - 9/27/03 Foreign investment in Iran up by 70 percent over past 5 months The total amount of foreign investment made in Iran`s economy over a period of five months starting March 21 reached as much as 836 million dollars, showing a growth of 70 percent compared to the past 12 months - 9/27/03 Iranian crocodile kills boy A 12-year-old Iranian boy has been killed in a rare attack by a marsh crocodile, reports say. -BBC - 9/27/03 US-Russia summit tackles Iran US President George W Bush and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have begun a two-day summit, with divisions over Iran's nuclear programme looming large. -BBC - 9/27/03 US should curb fantasies against Iran, says UK minister Leader of the House of Commons Peter Hain cautioned Prime Minister Tony Blair Friday not to support American neo-Conservatives in future pre-emptive wars against such countries as Iran - 9/27/03 Weapon of mass democracy Although the anti-war protests did not stop the invasion of Iraq, they shook the British political system to its core, says Carmel Brown. Tomorrow we will be back on the streets -Guardian - 9/27/03 Iran beats Kazakhstan 92-85 in Asian basketball event Iran defeated the basketball team of Kazakhstan in the second round of the 22nd Asian Nations Cup in Harbin, China on Saturday - 9/27/03 Bush-Putin Talks Come As Moscow Appears To Be Drawing Closer To Washington On Key Issues Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to hold a series of meetings with U.S. President George W. Bush at Camp David near Washington starting today. Iraq, Iran, the Mideast, and bilateral cooperation in the energy sector are likely to top the agenda. -RFE - 9/27/03 Iran Postpones Nuclear Regulatory Agency's Visit The International Atomic Energy Agency said its planned visit to Iran next week has been postponed at the request of Tehran. Western diplomats say the delay raises questions about Tehran's credibility. - 9/27/03 RSF: Kazemi murder enquiry farce continues as court says only one person responsible Reporters Without Borders on September 26 deplored the conclusion of a judge investigating the murder of Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi that no state body was behind the killing and that it was simply the work of a single intelligence ministry agent who interrogated her. - 9/27/03 Iran Frees Student Leader After 9 Weeks Iran released a prominent student leader Thursday after detaining him for nine weeks for his alleged role in massive demonstrations in June. -AP - 9/27/03 Grandson of Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Calls for Seperation of Mosque and State The grandson of the architect of Iran's Islamic Revolution was in Washington on Friday to talk about the need for reform in his homeland. His call for separation of mosque and state contradicts the philosophy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini whose revolution toppled Shah Reza Pahlevi in 1979. - 9/27/03 “To Sign or not to Sign”: Scholar discusses the complex nature of the WMD debate in Iran Dr. Farideh Farhi lectured on the domestic and international implications of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear weapons program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on Tuesday. -NIAC - 9/26/03 Iran's Economy minister: Market determines hard currency rate Addressing a gathering of 200 members of Iran`s commercial council in the Iranian club in Dubai, he reiterated that the market supply-and-demand is mainly responsible for the hard currency rate, adding that the government doesn't interfere in it. - 9/26/03 Edward W. Said, Literary Critic and Advocate for Palestinian Independence, Dies at 67 Edward W. Said, a polymath scholar and literary critic at Columbia University who was the most prominent advocate in the United States of the cause of Palestinian independence, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 67. -New York Times - 9/26/03 New Iran uranium find reinforces bomb fears United Nations nuclear inspectors have found further traces of weapons-grade uranium in Iran, reinforcing suspicions that Tehran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, western diplomats disclosed yesterday. -Guardian - 9/26/03 New Survey Numbers Confirm Radio Sawa's Growth and Popularity in the Middle East Radio Sawa, the U.S. Government-funded Arabic language station, is the leading international broadcaster in all Middle Eastern countries surveyed, according to an ACNielsen report released today. - 9/26/03 Experts: Israeli Military Stronger After American Victory In Iraq Israel’s conventional military capability has increased sharply in wake of the U.S. defeat of Iraq. -Jewish Press - 9/26/03 MP: Iran must let pair go free Britain's policy of engagement with Iran 'does not appear to be working', according to the founder of a committee aiming to free Barnet refugees Abrahim Khodabandeh and Jamil Bassam, currently languishing in an Iranian jail. -Hendon Times, UK - 9/26/03 Iraqis given constitution deadline The United States is to set Iraq's Governing Council a six month deadline to come up with a constitution that would lead to elections and a new government next year. -BBC - 9/26/03 Iran casts shadow over Bush-Putin summit US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin begin a two-day summit with the two men still far apart over Russian nuclear ties with Iran even if their Iraq dispute may be in the past. -AFP - 9/26/03 Below the Beltway: Sifting Through the Rubble A few months after George W. Bush declared victory, however, it is clear that the skeptics were right on every important count. Here is a balance sheet: -American Prospect - 9/26/03 The Seventh Annual Iranian Cultural and Arts Festival in Cupertino, California Payvand Cultural and Arts School and the Iranian Federated Women's Club (IFWC) announce that Dr. Badi Badiozamani, an Iranian-American candidate for Governor of California, and Former California Assemblywoman Elaine Kontominas Alquist, a candidate for the California State Senate, will be attending the Seventh Annual Iranian Cultural and Arts Festival at the Cupertino Quinlan Community Center on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2003. - 9/26/03 Israel considers Iran nuke strike Israel's defense forces are raising the prospect of an operation to destroy Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. -WorldNetDaily - 9/26/03 How to counter the Iranian threat The US and Europe are united in their opposition to a nuclear-armed Iran and, unlike with Iraq, their strategies for ensuring Tehran does not succeed are slowly converging. -Financial Times - 9/26/03 Argentine judge faces witness payoff accusations An allegation that Judge Juan Jose Galeano, who's investigating the deadly 1994 bombing of an Argentine Jewish center, arranged for a $400,000 payment to a key witness threatens to derail the country's probe of the gravest anti-Semitic attack since World War II. -Knight Ridder - 9/26/03 IAEA Sending Nuclear Experts to Iran The International Atomic Energy Agency is sending expert teams to Iran for a month to inspect Tehran's nuclear facilities and try to find answers to some unresolved questions. - 9/26/03 Iran's Foreign Minister Says Nuclear Program Strictly for Peaceful Purposes Iran's foreign minister has again rejected accusations that his country is developing nuclear weapons. The denial came during a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Thursday, hours after international inspectors were reported to have found traces of weapons grade uranium in Iran. - 9/26/03 Khomeini Comes to America Mr. Hossein Khomeini, grandson of the Ayatollah Roohollah Khomeini who ushered in Iran's current theocracy, will give a speech at American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC on Friday September 26. - 9/26/03 Iran Has 'Last Chance' to Meet Nuclear Agreements, says White House The White House says Iran has one last chance to meet its obligations under U.N. nuclear agreements, before the Security Council considers possible action. - 9/26/03 Letter From Iran The hard-line Islamic vigilantes circled us. Wearing their trademark beards, untucked long-sleeve shirts and green headbands, they chanted progovernment slogans, occasionally crying out "Allah Akbar" (God is Great) or "Death to the foreign mercenaries," as they circled and scowled. -Afshin Molavi, The Nation - 9/26/03 Cyberdissent: The Internet in Revolutionary Iran This paper argues that the internet, as an advancing new means of communication, has played an important role in the ongoing struggle for democracy in Iran. -Babak Rahimi - 9/26/03 Hostile in public, Iran seeks quiet discourse with US But behind the scenes, analysts say that the US occupation of Iraq - and continued instability there - is prompting both Tehran and Washington to reappraise their archenemy status, and find a number of pragmatic reasons not to antagonize each other. -Christian Science Monitor - 9/26/03 Over 20,000 expected at Persian Harvest Festival in Orange County, California The Persian Community of Orange County will be holding the 8th Annual Persian Harvest Festival of Autumn (Mehregan) on October 4 – 5, 2003 at the Orange County Fair& Exposition Center - 9/25/03 Iran waltzes into Asian basketball quarterfinals Iran advanced to the last eight as it defeated the Syrian side 82-67. - 9/25/03 Iranian Foreign Minister confers with British foreign secretary In a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on the sidelines of the 58th UN General Assembly, Kharrazi urged the British government to secure immediate freedom of Iranian diplomat Hadi Soleimanpour. - 9/25/03 U.N. Nuclear Chief Sees Worrying Signals from Iran The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Wednesday Iran faced serious consequences if it fails to meet an Oct. 31 deadline to prove its nuclear ambitions were peaceful, adding that Tehran was putting out "worrying signals." -Reuters - 9/25/03 Iran: Damned if they do, damned if they don't As Iranian decision-makers appear unable to decide how to respond to their dilemma, (of IAEA deadline) and seriously concerned about their survival, one solution that has emerged is the "North Koreaziation" of Iran, seasoned Iranian observers say. -Safa Haeri, Asia Times - 9/25/03 Israeli military chief warns against Iranian non-conventional weapons Israel's military chief of staff issued a warning over the danger represented by non-conventional weapons of "an irresponsible" state such as Iran. -AFP - 9/25/03 Iranian Charged in F-14 Export Attempt An Iranian man has been charged with attempting to export components for an F-14 fighter jet to his country, immigration officials said Wednesday. -AP - 9/25/03 U.N. Finds More Enriched Uranium in Iran The U.N. nuclear watchdog has found further traces of enriched uranium in Iran, though this discovery could support Tehran's explanation that the traces are due to contamination, diplomats told Reuters. -Reuters - 9/25/03 Israeli pilots refuse to fly assassination missions A group of Israeli airforce pilots declared yesterday that they would refuse to fly missions which could endanger civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. -Guardian - 9/25/03 Iraq has now become the crucible of global politics Six months after the launch of the invasion, it has become ever clearer that the war was not only a crime of aggression, but a gigantic political blunder for those who ordered it and who are only now beginning to grasp the scale of the political price they may have to pay. -Guardian - 9/25/03 Foreign Minister: Iran willing to cooperate if US changes attitude "When it is decided to mend relations, we are serious about that," he said. - 9/25/03 Just remember something: It’s the Iraqi Shiites, stupid As the Shiites gather strength, the Bush administration must respond, and quickly, to the fury blowing in the streets of Najaf and Karbala. -Sanam Vakil, Daily Star - 9/25/03 Recall Candidate Badi Badiozamani Asked to Assist in Afghanistan Badi Badiozamani, an independent candidate and participant in the Candidates Coalition, has been honored by a request to put together a select team of Coalition members to travel to the very heart of Afghanistan and hold seminars on the democratic process. - 9/25/03 Iran Signals Readiness to Cooperate: Change in U.S. Approach Necessary, Official Says Iran is prepared to work with the United States on a range of issues, especially Iraq and Iran's nuclear activities, if Bush administration officials "change their approach and bring in a new environment for cooperation," Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said. -Washington Post - 9/25/03 Panel discussion in New York on Innovative Approaches to AIDS in Iran Despite its strong attachment to religious values, Iran has shown remarkable openness to addressing HIV/AIDS and its relationship with drug use. Dr. Arash Alaei and Dr. Kamiar Alaei can be credited for much of this story. -Asia Society & AIC - 9/25/03 Kharrazi: Iran entitled to peaceful use of nuclear energy Iran's visiting Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said in New York on Tuesday that Iran is entitled to acquiring nuclear technology and peaceful use of nuclear energy based on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) - 9/24/03 Strength in Numbers: The Relative Concentration of Iranian Americans Across the United States NIAC is proud to publish its IranCensus report, a study detailing the relative size of the Iranian-American community in each Congressional district vis-à-vis the size of other communities. This knowledge is pivotal for the community to be represented in political life. -NIAC - 9/24/03 Iran's Rafsanjani says nuclear talks will proceed, but at slower pace Influential former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said that talks with the UN nuclear watchdog over Tehran's atomic program would continue, but more slowly because of a loss of confidence. -AFP - 9/24/03 Upgrade or Downgrade? Iran's Options vis-a-vis the Nuclear Deadline - Part I For now, at least, the seemingly contradictory reaction by Iran is neither irrational nor counter-productive, given the complex requirements of a fluid response to a "quasi crisis," to quote another foreign minister official, generated by the September 12th resolution of the Governing Board of the IAEA. -Kaveh Afrasiabi - 9/24/03 Iran wins Asian basketball clash against Taiwan Iran at last defeated Taiwan in its opening basketball match in the 22nd Asian Nations Cup in Harbin, China on Tuesday - 9/24/03 17 percent rise in number of college students in Iran there are 1,700,000 university students and 16.5 million pupils in Iran, showing a considerable growth compared to past years - 9/24/03 CBI Governor: Persian Gulf states willing to invest in Iran Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Ebrahim Sheibani said in Dubai on Tuesday that growing security has provided necessary incentives for foreign investment, motivating the Persian Gulf littoral states to transfer their capital to Iran - 9/24/03 U.S. forces in Iraq guarding members of Iranian terrorist group Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division are providing security for several members of an Iranian paramilitary group that the U.S. State Department lists as a terrorist organization. -Knoxville News Sentinel - 9/24/03 Bush isolated as speech to UN falls flat George Bush was increasingly isolated on the global stage yesterday as he defied intense criticism from a litany of world leaders at the United Nations over the war on Iraq. =Guardian - 9/24/03 Iranian Oil Co Wants To Build Refinery in Indonesia The National Iranian Oil Co. (C.NIO) wants to build a refinery in Indonesia, which could help the South East Asian country reduce its reliance on imported oil products, a government official said Wednesday. -Dow Jones - 9/24/03 Seventh Annual Iranian Cultural and Arts Festival in Cupertiono, California Payvand Organization (www.payvand.org) 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 - 9/24/03 Iranians Negotiate for 21 Square Miles THE National Enterprise Corporation (NEC), the industrial arm of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF), has offered 21 square miles of land at Kisozi Ranches to Iranian investors. -All Africa - 9/24/03 Afghan official: Iran plays significant role in reconstruction of Afghanistan Visiting Afghan First Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Monetary Mohammad Sharif said in Arak on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic of Iran is playing very significant role in reconstruction of the war-shattered country - 9/24/03 Charges in death of Canadian journalist rekindles Iranian power struggle The power struggle between reformers and hardliners continued to play out Tuesday in the case of an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist who died in custody, with the reformist-controlled Intelligence Ministry criticizing a decision to charge one of its interrogators with murder. -CP - 9/24/03 Iran Assures Canada on Photographer Trial Canada's foreign minister said Tuesday his Iranian counterpart assured him that an open trial will be held for the suspect in the murder of photojournalist Zahra Kazemi. -AP - 9/24/03 Interview with Babak Payami, director of Silence Between Two Thoughts The WSWS spoke to Babak Payami, director of Silence Between Two Thoughts, at the Toronto film festival. -World Socialist - 9/24/03 IEEE Under Fire for Withdrawing Iranian Members' Benefits One of the world's largest scientific societies has barred researchers in certain countries from publishing in its journals and receiving member benefits. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers says it has taken these steps against scientists in Iran and four other so-called rogue nations subject to U.S. trade sanctions to ensure that IEEE staff stay on the right side of U.S. law. -Science Magazine - 9/24/03 Agent charged over journalist death An Iranian judge has charged an intelligence ministry interrogator with the killing of a Canadian-Iranian journalist. -BBC - 9/23/03 Iran 'to cut nuclear co-operation' Iran is to reduce its co-operation with the UN nuclear watchdog following a demand that it proves its nuclear aims are peaceful, according to an Iranian diplomat. -BBC - 9/23/03 Two young Iranian men going to high school soon Parents everywhere are very much concerned about their children's education. I know two very young men who will be going to high school this academic year. They are both most adorable youngsters that one could possibly come to know. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 9/23/03 Vision of the neocons stays fixed on making hard choices In interviews with the Guardian they expressed deep scepticism about President Bush's new overtures to the UN, accusing the White House of a lack of commitment - and, most surprising of all, rounding on their former hero Donald Rumsfeld. The distance between the president and the movement widely credited with persuading him to go to war in the first place has never seemed greater. - 9/23/03 Annan Challenges U.S. Doctrine of Preventive Action Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned President Bush that his doctrine of preemptive military intervention posed a fundamental challenge to the United Nations and could lead to a global free-for-all. -Common Dreams - 9/23/03 Germans rush to donate blood for Iranian girl with leukemia Three year-old Dari whose father is Iranian, is hospitalized in the north German city of Hannover, as doctors are battling time to find a suitable bone marrow donor - 9/23/03 Iran parades new missiles daubed with threats to wipe Israel off map Iran yesterday defiantly showed off six of its new ballistic missiles daubed with anti-US and anti-Israel slogans in a move sure to reinforce international concern over the nature of its nuclear programme. -Guardian - 9/23/03 Iran's annual production of cars to exceed 750,000 by 2010 Iran's annual production of cars is currently at 500,000. - 9/23/03 Iran's Meibod Steel Complex comes on stream in Yazd The giant Meibod Steel Complex with an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons of cast iron came on stream in the central city of Yazd on Tuesday - 9/23/03 IAEA To Send Experts to Iran Ahead Of Deadline The United Nations nuclear watchdog is to send legal experts soon to Iran, which faces a 31 October deadline to prove it is not secretly making nuclear weapons. - 9/23/03 Put your issues on the US Presidential Campaign agenda! The results of the coming 2004 Presidential election will have vast implications on the status of Iranian-Americans’ civic condition. That is why it is imperative that you contact the candidates, and let them know the issues that you, as an Iranian-American, find to be the most important for them to address in the forthcoming campaign. -NIAC - 9/23/03 Embattled Statoil chief steps down The chief executive of Norway's Statoil has resigned over a police probe into possible corruption in the state-owned oil firm's dealings with Iran. -BBC - 9/23/03 Khatami attends first day ceremony of new academic year in Iran Some 16.29 million students are enrolled in schools all over the country in the current academic year. - 9/23/03 Khatami: Iran against WMD proliferation President Mohammad Khatami said in Tehran on Monday that Iran is against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but stressed that the Islamic Republic will persist on its legitimate right to become strong based on science, technology and a capable economy - 9/22/03 Mahdavikia selected for Bundesliga Team of the Week Hamburger SV forward Mehdi Mahdavikia was nominated Monday for the Bundesliga Team of the Week following his superb performance in his squad's narrow 2-1 victory over Hansa Rostock - 9/22/03 Iran's Bomb What is clear is that the world faces its own Iranian deadline. If work at the extensive nuclear facilities uncovered around the country during the past year is not frozen, the fundamentalist Islamic regime will soon have the capacity to manufacture the key elements of nuclear weapons. -Washington Post - 9/22/03 US approval for Bush falling For the first time since the war in Iraq began, less than half of Americans say they approve of the way President George Bush is handling the situation, according to a poll published today. -Guardian - 9/22/03 France lifts veto threat on Iraq France will not veto a US-backed Security Council resolution on the future of Iraq, President Jacques Chirac has said. -BBC - 9/22/03 Bush Plans Unyielding Stance on Iraq War in Address to U.N. President Bush will tell the United Nations on Tuesday that he was right to order the invasion of Iraq even without the organization's explicit approval, and he will urge a new focus on countering nuclear proliferation, arguing that it is the only way to avoid similar confrontations. -New York Times - 9/22/03 Iran exports some $1.4B worth of industrial and mineral commodities The director general in charge of exports at the Ministry of Industries and Mines said in Tehran on Monday that some 1.414 million dollars worth of industrial and mineral commodities were exported in the first five months of the current Iranian year of 1382 - 9/22/03 Eight people killed in landmine blast in Iran's town of Qasr-e Shirin the victims intended to illegally cross the Iraqi border for a pilgrimage to religious sites in Iraq when the blasts occurred. - 9/22/03 Iran flaunts ballistic missiles, military might on Iraq war anniversary Iran marked the anniversary of the outbreak of its long war with Iraq with a defiant display of military might, showing off its latest ballistic missiles sporting anti-Israeli and anti-US slogans and vowing not to back down to mounting pressure over its nuclear programme. -AFP - 9/22/03 "Rally of a Decade: Paris-Persepolis-Paris" Citroën 2CV Rally in 1971 -Darius Kadivar - 9/22/03 "IEEE Under Fire for Withdrawing Iranian Members' Benefits" We recommend that Iranian members of IEEE vote for Dr. Lightner for IEEE President-Elect and for Dr. Alphonse for IEEE-USA President-Elect. -Sharif University of Technology Association - 9/22/03 Waiting for Spielberg Merhan Karimi (''Sir, Alfred'') Nasseri has lived in a Paris airport for 15 years, and now Hollywood is knocking. -New York Times - 9/21/03 The war game David Hirst's account of the Arab-Israeli conflict, The Gun and the Olive Branch, caused a storm 25 years ago. In this edited extract from his new and updated edition he offers a personal and highly controversial view of the current crisis in the Middle East -Guardian - 9/21/03 Iraq seeks transportation ties with Iran Iraq is ready to cooperate with Iran in establishment of railroad network between the two neighboring countries, Iraqi Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication Bahnam Ziya Bulis said in Baghdad on Sunday - 9/21/03 Iran sets clocks back one hour at midnight Sunday Iranians will set their clocks back one hour from midnight Sunday, the presidential office announced Sunday - 9/21/03 Iranian governor: Pilgrims dying en route to Iraq More than 190 Iranian pilgrims have died while making illegal crossings into Iraq during the past five months, the acting governor of an Iranian border province said Saturday. -CNN - 9/21/03 No U.S.-Europe split over Iran letter - Germany Germany, France and Britain have cleared up ''misunderstandings'' with the United States over a letter they sent to Iran, offering inducements if it stops its disputed nuclear fuel enrichment programme, according to a German government source on Saturday. -Reuters - 9/21/03 Iranian police deny shooting incident at British embassy compound Iran has denied the latest reported shooting incident at a British embassy compound, state radio reported. -AFP - 9/21/03 What happened next? Roger Cooper was taken hostage in Iran and spent more than five years in prison in Tehran. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after his release, but now runs a holiday business in Spain. -Guardian - 9/21/03 Who’ll flinch first: Iran … or the world? A showdown with the UN’s nuclear agency over rapid access to Iran’s atomic sites is set to reveal just who exactly runs the country, and it could result in a tense global stand-off, reports Dan De Luce from Tehran -Sunday Herald - 9/21/03 US using Iran's nuclear program to politicize Moscow conference An Iranian Foreign Ministry official said in Moscow on Saturday that the US tried to politicize the Second International Conference on the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and divert its theme from defense-related issues to one of political adventure - 9/21/03 Inflation in Iran up to 16.7% Inflation in Iran continued its upward trend for the second consecutive year, rising to 16.7 percent in a year to 'Mordad,' the fifth month in Iranian calendar, with manufactured goods and foodstuff becoming costlier - 9/21/03 UK urged to aid Iran dissidents Human rights campaigners and British Labour MPs are calling on the UK to help secure the release of two London-based dissidents handed over to Iran's secret police during a family visit to Syria. -BBC - 9/20/03 Growing recognition of role of Central Asia, Iran in supplying Europe with energy An international seminar in Tashkent next week will focus on the challenges facing the Central Asian region in the energy sector and how inter-governmental cooperation can contribute to meeting those challenges - 9/20/03 IAEA: No Special Deal for Iran Nuclear Inspections The United Nations nuclear agency says Iran should not be offered a special deal in exchange for allowing tougher inspections of its nuclear program. -VOA - 9/20/03 Iran's withdrawal from IAEA board of governors due to expiry of term Spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) Saber Zaimian on Saturday denounced any link between Iran's withdrawal from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors and the recent resolution issued against Iran's nuclear program, as claimed by Western media - 9/20/03 Iran to present again WTO membership request by Nov. 21 "Given the US stance and current situation, it is very likely that Iran's WTO bid will be rejected again," - 9/20/03 Britain, France and Germany have made an unsuccessful attempt to encourage Iran to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency rules and curb its nuclear ambitions by offering to share their nuclear technology. It looked like another of dozens of raids since the war to capture senior Ba'athists. But the men who detained him early this month were not American soldiers or Iraqi police. Witnesses say they were the Badr Brigade, armed wing of Iraq's biggest Shia Muslim party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri). -Guardian - 9/20/03 Azerbaijan: Planned British War Memorial Raises Hackles Overlooking the Caspian Sea from the heights of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, there is a cemetery devoted to the memory of those men and women who died defending the sovereignty of their native land. -RFE - 9/20/03 Argentina submits extradition evidence A court in London has been told that the British Government has received some 2,500 pages of evidence from Argentina to back an extradition request lodged in London against a former Iranian diplomat. -BBC - 9/20/03 Iran's agro exports up 43.5 percent for the year, to hit $1.1B by March Minister of Agriculture Jihad Mahmoud Hojjati has indicated a growth of 43.5 percent in Iran's total exports of agricultural products in the last Iranian calendar year of 1381 (ended March 20) - 9/20/03 US Administrator Says Iranian Agents Are Helping Iraqi Guerrillas The top U.S. administrator in Iraq, in a newspaper interview, has accused Iranian agents of aiding groups carrying out attacks in Iraq and hampering reconstruction efforts. U.S. administrator Paul Bremer told a British newspaper that Iranian agents are aiding guerillas carrying out attacks against Iraqis and coalition military forces. -VOA - 9/20/03 Europeans fail to end Iranian nuclear crisis Britain, France and Germany have made an unsuccessful attempt to encourage Iran to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency rules and curb its nuclear ambitions by offering to share their nuclear technology. -Guardian - 9/20/03 Japanese investors keen to invest in Kurdestan province of Iran "Given the special conditions of Kurdestan province, some Japanese enterprises such as Marubeni are highly interested in gaining access to Iraqi market through the province and they had earlier called for it," - 9/20/03 Iran's carpet, handicrafts exports ahead of set targets Export of carpets and handicrafts in the first five months of the year (started on March 21) was 55 percent ahead of the target set in the Third Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2000-05) - 9/20/03 Japan's government in sticky spot over Iranian oil deal project The government has been placed in a predicament by an Iranian government plan, revealed Thursday, to invite several major international oil companies to bid to develop the country's Azadegan oil field, while excluding a consortium of Japanese companies. -Yomiuri, Japan - 9/20/03 Iran's exports of non-oil goods, services in 1381 at $11.5B Commerce Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari has said that Iran's exports of services and non-oil commodities in the past Iranian calendar year of 1381 (ended March 20) reached as high as 11.5 billion dollars - 9/20/03 Russia-Iran nuclear deal 'far off' Russia has said there is no immediate prospect of a deal to provide Iran with fuel to launch its first nuclear power plant. -BBC - 9/19/03 Iran oil field deal at risk The Iranian government is planning to invite several major international oil companies to bid to develop the Azadegan oil field in Iran, a project a consortium of Japanese companies has been negotiating since 2000, sources said Thursday. -Yomiuri, Japan - 9/19/03 EU Big Three Offered Iran Carrot for Nuclear Deal Britain, Germany and France defied the United States last month by offering Iran the prospect of sharing technology if it stops its disputed nuclear fuel enrichment program and accepts tougher U.N. inspections. -Reuters - 9/19/03 Lawyer of Iran`s former ambassador to Argentina says not provided with details of case Ben Brandon told IRNA that he had contacted the Home Office, the British Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) several times over the past month to obtain further information on the case, but regretted that they had so far rejected his request. - 9/19/03 Loving caviar to death: the view from Dagestan A toxic mixture of dams, pollution, smuggling, greed and post-Soviet collapse is driving the sturgeon to extinction. The fate of caviar, finds Vanora Bennett, is written in the recent history of the Caspian region. -Open Democracy - 9/19/03 Gov't faces October 23 deadline in Iranian's extradition case Britain has until October 23 to decide whether to go ahead with extradition proceedings against a former Iranian ambassador, wanted for trial in Argentina for a deadly 1994 car bomb attack on a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, a lawyer for the Argentine government revealed. -AFP - 9/19/03 Iran-American director's short film, Hossein Khandan's Chrysalis, at Oakland International Film Festival The story of an Iranian American woman in cultural limbo, compelled to disguise her background at work, exiled from her family and unable to connect fully with her American friends. (Sep 22 in Oakland) - 9/19/03 Shell denies planning bid for giant Iran oilfield Oil major Royal Dutch/Shell (RD.AS) on Friday denied reports that it was planning a bid for Iran's giant Azadegan oilfield, saying that it planned to work with a Japanese consortium already in talks to develop the field. -Reuters - 9/19/03 Beckham billboards blacked out in Iran David Beckham's face -- one of the most well-recognised in the world -- has been blacked out on billboards in Iran's capital in an apparent backlash against Western cultural influence. -Reuters - 9/19/03 A push for candor on Iran nukes As the deadline looms for Iran to prove that it has no secret plans to build an atomic bomb, Iranians are being forced to make a choice. -Christian Science Monitor - 9/19/03 Iran visit crisis deepens Ankara and Tehran are involved in a diplomatic spat leading to the cancellation of reciprocal visits to the two country’s capitals by the government leaders of Iran and Turkey. -MSNBC - 9/19/03 The Pakistan Squeeze: Pressure from the US, India and Israel Washington continues to insinuate that Pakistan has been sharing its nuclear secrets with Iran and North Korea. Washington also continues to express its fears about the stability of Pakistan's command and control structure and the possibility of their nukes falling in the hands of militant Muslims.-Counterpunch - 9/19/03 Debating Iran’s Response to the Nuclear Deadline As the clock ticks away the 45 days deadline set by the UN nuclear watchdog organization for Iran to come clean on its suspicious nuclear activities, the alarm bells have gone off over a potential UN Security Council show down with Iran should Tehran refuse to heed the ultimatum which it has decried as “premature,” “politically-motivated” and “unfair” as a tissue of a global double standards that keeps a blind eye to Israel’s nuclear blackmail of the Middle East. -Kaveh Afrasiabi - 9/19/03 Jordan's King Sees Hope for US-Iran Talks Jordan's King Abdullah, who visited Iran earlier this month and is scheduled to meet with President Bush at Camp David today, said yesterday that "there is common grounds for dialogue" between the United States and Iran on the situation in Iraq and that Iranian leaders are eager to settle a fierce dispute over its nuclear program. -Washington Post - 9/18/03 Iran rejects EU stance on linking cooperation to nuclear pact Iran and EU have started their diplomatic and economic dialogue based on mutual respect, Asefi said adding "but, as Iran did not accept any precondition for these talks, it will not accept any preconditions for their continuation." - 9/18/03 Dissident Iran Cleric Ayatollah Montazeri Publicly Criticizes Government Montazeri also criticized the government's crackdown on writers and intellectuals. He also called for the independence of religious schools from government control. - 9/18/03 Saudis consider nuclear bomb Saudi Arabia, in response to the current upheaval in the Middle East, has embarked on a strategic review that includes acquiring nuclear weapons, the Guardian has learned. - 9/18/03 UK denies divided policy on Iran Foreign Office Minister Chris Mullin denied Wednesday that the Prime Minister`s office and Foreign Office were divided over the UK's foreign policy towards Iran - 9/18/03 Iran: An Islamic experiment Iran's Islamic Republic is unique not only in the world - where there are few enough other Islamic republics, and none at all where the Shia branch of Islam prevails - but also in Iran itself. -BBC - 9/18/03 UNHCR helps 376,000 Afghans return from Iran, 300,000 from Pakistan Since the start of the repatriation program, which followed the return of peace after the removal of the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, 376,178 Afghan refugees have returned from Iran. - 9/18/03 New historical sites unearthed in Iran's Kerman province Several historical sites dating back to 1,000 years ago have been identified and unearthed in Raviz village in the vicinity of Rafsanjan in Kerman province - 9/18/03 Azerbaijan succession is focus of oil conflict Ongoing attempts to create a dynastic succession from President Heidar Aliyev to his son, Prime Minister Ilham Aliyev, threaten to destabilise the country and the surrounding region. -World Socialist - 9/18/03 Britain, Iran and archaic fears British visitors to Iran are amazed at the longevity of Iranian delusions about the so-called “perennial” nature of British power. Iranians of the older generation still cling to the idea that Britain virtually controls the world. These victims of a post-colonial inferiority complex put an interesting spin on the reality of contemporary American power. The US, they argue, is a smokescreen for British domination. -Mahan Abedin, Daily Star - 9/18/03 Iranian power project generates tension For the past decade, after western suppliers withdrew from the construction of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station, MinAtom has taken up the slack. The deal, worth about $1bn, should lead to Bushehr's launch in 2005, but has triggered fears of its misuse. -Financial Times - 9/18/03 Blix Attacks 'Spin and Hype' of Iraq Weapon Claims Former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix on Thursday attacked the "spin and hype" behind U.S. and British allegations of banned Iraqi weapons used to justify war against Saddam Hussein. -Common Dreams - 9/18/03 Israel condemned for nukes at UN ARAB states turned the spotlight on Israel at a meeting yesterday of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, saying it posed the biggest atomic weapons threat in the Middle East and attacking the Jewish state for not signing the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). -Australian - 9/18/03 Is Iran Next? History Says it Shouldn't Be It is fair to say that the general Iranian population harbors no illusions when it comes to the current government, but the greater movement is toward reform within the existing theocratic structure, not democratic revolution. We have to realize that student protests are not a reliable indicator of the social unrest, because students in all societies tend to be more radical and socially active than the general population. -Common Dreams - 9/18/03 State Dept. Official Warns of Iran Threat Iran's nuclear program is a threat to the Middle East as well as the United States, a State Department official told U.S. and Israeli lawmakers Wednesday. -AP - 9/18/03 Leaders, hopefuls, stragglers and also-rans in the nuclear arms race Israel, India and Pakistan have the bomb. But many more are feared to be trying to join the club -Guardian - 9/18/03 Dissident Iran cleric's warning In his first public speech for six years, Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri said most people were dissatisfied and that the issue should be put to a vote. -BBC - 9/18/03 U.S. Still Hopes to Talk Russia Round on Iran Nukes The United States is confident proof will soon emerge of a clandestine Iranian nuclear arms program that will force Russia to drop plans to help Tehran build a nuclear reactor, a top U.S. official said on Thursday. -Reuters - 9/18/03 US Policy Toward Iran Should Promote Civil Society US policy towards Iran must tread a fine line. The Bush administration is in danger of succumbing to wishful thinking by holding out hope that Iran’s conservative leaders can be toppled by popular protests. Instead, Washington should engage Tehran, offering support that encourages the democratization of Iranian society. -Mehdi Semati and Nasser Hadian - 9/18/03 An interview with Jafar Panahi, director of Crimson Gold Jafar Panahi, Iranian director of Crimson Gold, was interviewed at the Toronto film festival by David Walsh. -World Socialist - 9/17/03 Liquorice risk to men's sex life Researchers from Iran have found that liquorice - used in sweets, chewing gum, toothpastes and herbal remedies - can lower testosterone. -BBC - 9/17/03 Tehran: Up the mountains in Darakeh Last Wednesday was a happy public holiday and since it was near school opening, Mehr 1 ( September 23rd), most people had taken Thursday off and gone mainly to Shomal to the Caspian. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 9/17/03 Iranian VP says Iran firm in continuing talks with IAEA Vice-President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad-Ali Abtahi said in Tehran on Wednesday that Iran is serious in continuing talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - 9/17/03 Russia stresses continuation of nuclear cooperation with Iran Russian Atomic Energy Ministry said in Moscow on Wednesday it would continue nuclear cooperation with Iran despite the negative propaganda of the West - 9/17/03 Iranian naturalists welcome lower caviar quotas Lower caviar export quotas for most of Iran's sturgeon have come as a relief to naturalists who say overfishing and pollution are ravaging stocks in the Caspian Sea, source of 90 percent of world supply of the salty delicacy. -Reuters - 9/17/03 Civil Liberties in Post 9/11 America: An Iranian Community Forum with NIAC in NY NYU School of Law will host a forum on how Iranians in the United States have been affected by policies predating and enacted since 9/11 on September 20, 2003. - 9/17/03 Iranian cyclist pedals for peace, goodwill Poupeh Mahdavinader proudly shows off her "flag," a white silk banner, longer than she is tall, filled with messages of peace and goodwill. -Atlanta Journal-Constitution - 9/17/03 Iran debates nuclear co-operation The debate continues in Iran over how to react to last week's resolution from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) giving Tehran until the end of October to demonstrate that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons. -BBC - 9/17/03 Japan cool as Iran widens oil talks to counter US pressure Japan reacted coolly yesterday to news that Iran had widened its negotiations over the giant Azadegan oil field to international energy companies based in other countries. -Financial Times - 9/17/03 Cheney Link of Iraq, 9/11 Challenged Vice President Dick Cheney, anxious to defend the White House foreign policy amid ongoing violence in Iraq, stunned intelligence analysts and even members of his own administration this week by failing to dismiss a widely discredited claim: that Saddam Hussein might have played a role in the Sept. 11 attacks. -Common Dreams - 9/17/03 Arab world condemns US Arafat veto Arab diplomats have condemned Washington's decision to veto a UN Security Council draft resolution denouncing Israel's policy of "removing" Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. -BBC - 9/17/03 Cheney Claims No Knowledge That White House Helped Evacuate 24 Members of the Bin Laden Family Days After 9/11 Retired chief White House aide Richard Clarke revealed that top White House officials approved the evacuation of 140 influential Saudis, including relatives of Osama Bin Laden, days after the Sept. 11 attacks at a time when all commercial and private flights were grounded. -Democracy Now - 9/17/03 Soccer: Iran's struggling national side mull foreign coach Iran's struggling national squad is on the hunt for a foreign coach but the question is the subject of heated debate between sports authorities, press reports in the football-mad Islamic republic said. -AFP - 9/17/03 Chief of Norway Oil Company Holds Job but Faces Inquiry Norway's leading business daily newspaper, Dagens Naeringsliv, quoted Mr. Fjell last week as saying he knew some of the money might go to Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, the influential son of the former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and an executive in a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company. -New York Times - 9/17/03 Tracked like an enemy of the state, police chief who challenged Met's racist attitudes Superintendent Ali Dizaei was once groomed to be a role model, a leading ethnic minority officer in a force struggling to recover from being branded institutionally racist. Instead he was investigated and prosecuted "like an enemy of the state", according to one senior police officer. -Guardian - 9/17/03 Iranian judge blames dissident opposition group for June riots Tehran's deputy prosecutor, Mohammad Saberi-Zafarqandi, said six members of Iran's nationalist-religious movement who were detained during the June student-led unrest would be charged with "acting against national security" and "seeking to disturb the public peace". -AFP - 9/17/03 Fears for Iran's political prisoners Reformist leaders in Iran have been expressing renewed concern for the conditions of political prisoners in the country and especially for Abbas Abdi. -BBC - 9/17/03 The Legal Regime of the Caspian Sea: Beyond the Conflicting Treaties This article explores the issue of the Caspian Sea’s legal status or regime focusing (a) on the nature of relationship between the recent bilateral and trilateral agreements and the pre-existing accords signed by Iran and the Soviet Union in 1921 and 1940, and (b) the legal ramification of the proposed environmental convention for the Caspian Sea on the on-going quest among the littoral states for a new legal regime. -Kaveh Afrasiabi - 9/17/03 Iran's fears are real In the rush to condemn Iran for secretly seeking to acquire a nuclear weapons capability, few have paused to wonder why, if that is indeed what they are doing, Tehran's rulers should feel it necessary to pursue such a course. -Guardian - 9/16/03 Scandal puts top Statoil jobs on the line Board members of Norwegian oil company Statoil were still pondering the fate of their top management Monday afternoon, as they met in emergency session to deal with a corruption scandal involving Statoil's activities in Iran. Now it's reported that Statoil CEO Olav Fjell allegedly agreed to withhold information that the deal involved Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, son of the former Iranian prsident Ali Akbar Rafsanjani. -Aftenposten, Norway - 9/16/03 No reasons for stopping nuclear cooperation with Iran: Russian Atomic Minister He told Itar-Tass on Monday, "The construction of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr will be continued." Rumyantsev is taking part in the IAEA General Conference currently under way in Vienna. - 9/16/03 Iran's nuclear bind When Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, visited Iran in February he was said to have been dismayed by the scale and sophistication of its nuclear facilities, which Tehran insists are not designed for a weapons programme. -Financial Times - 9/16/03 For Iraqi Family, A Torturous Search For Detained Kin Overwhelmed U.S. Military Can't Track Everyone Arrested in Security Raids, Inciting Iraqis' Rage -Farnaz Fassihi, WSJ - 9/16/03 Total says Iran's Balal output reaches 40,000 bpd French oil major Total SA (TOTF.PA) said on Tuesday the Balal oilfield in offshore Iran had reached an output of 40,000 barrels per day (bpd), some nine months after production started. -Reuters - 9/16/03 Canadian FM says he's taking strong line in disputes with Iran, Saudi Arabia Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham insisted that Ottawa was "taking strong steps" with the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia over the alleged mistreatment of Canadian citizens in those two countries. -AFP - 9/16/03 US court: Iran to pay 420 million to US victims of Hamas bombing A US court has ruled that Iran must pay more than 420 million dollars to 12 US victims of a 1997 suicide bombing in Jerusalem carried out by the Iran-supported Palestinian militant group Hamas. -AFP - 9/16/03 Britain urges Iran to protect embassy Britain urged Iran on Monday to fulfill its "obligations" to protect London's embassy buildings in Tehran after the third shooting incident there in the space of a month, a government spokeswoman said. -AFP - 9/16/03 US says Russia sold arms to Iran, slaps sanctions on company The United States accused the Russian government of selling weapons to Iran, a nation Washington considers a "state sponsor of terrorism," but waived sanctions against Moscow in the US national interest. -AFP - 9/16/03 Hit Records The 30th anniversary of the Chilean coup, now-declassified documents and the specter of U.S. culpability that won't go away -The American Prospect - 9/16/03 IAEA Meeting Begins In Vienna Amid Disagreement On Iran The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) opened its annual general conference in Vienna today, following last week's meeting of its board of governors. While Iran dominated last week's discussions, key agenda items at the 135-nation meeting this week are also Iraq and North Korea. - 9/16/03 Iran President says supervising elections never means restricting people's choice President Mohammad Khatami, speaking in Sepidan, Fars province on Tuesday, stressed the need for supervising elections but said such a supervision never implied robbing people from their freedom of choice - 9/16/03 Iran, Russia tie at third place in international judo tourney Iran and Russia jointly took the third title at 2003 International Judo Tournament by Team of Nations ended in Osaka, Japan - 9/16/03 Iranian Hercules Rezazadeh says it's officials' turn to fulfill promise Iran was crowned and Rezazadeh set a new world +105 kg snatch record at the 35th Asian Weightlifting Championships which ended in China Sunday. - 9/16/03 Nostalgia Nostalgia, the universal feeling found among all races; the longing for a return to the past, the immemorial past. Return and Eternal return, with every word about the past, with every history book, with every old building with straw-clay covered walls, with every narrow tree-lined alley, with the terms Great, Empire... the heart is overwhelmed with the suffocating feeling of nostalgia. -Roya Monajem, Tehran - 9/16/03 Iran MPs stage hunger strike A large group of senior Iranian MPs and liberal activists have begun a hunger strike in Tehran in protest at what they describe as the harsh treatment of political prisoners in Iran. -BBC - 9/16/03 Kinzer: "The CIA coup in Iran has shaped the modern Middle East" On Saturday, Georgetown University hosted a lecture and book-signing event with Steven Kinzer, author of the recently released novel All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror -NIAC - 9/16/03 "Dismounting the Tiger": The Future of the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo, scholar of political philosophy and head of the Department of Contemporary Studies Culture Research Bureau in Tehran discussed the prospects for political liberalization within the Islamic Republic at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Monday. - 9/16/03 A Conversation with Vartan Gregorian Life on the front line of learning was the topic when NEH Chairman Bruce Cole spoke recently with Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York and former president of Brown University. - 9/15/03 Countdown to catastrophe in the Middle East Will hard-liners in Iran and the U.S. prevail, bringing Tehran into collision with a united front of the Western powers (including Russia), or will Powell head them off at the pass? -Antiwar.com - 9/15/03 Iran, Sept. 11 and the repercussions of ‘regime change’ In the case of Iran, I would argue that the US is neither willing nor able to bring about prompt regime change, for several reasons. First, the US is preoccupied with Afghanistan, Iraq and Wahhabism in the Arab world. Its commitments, human costs and military expenditures could drain US desire for a major military operation in Iran. -Abumohammad Asgarkhani, Tehran - 9/15/03 Khatami urges youth to resolve identity crisis Khatami, in a meeting with representatives of Iran`s Student Parliament, said the youth are currently facing the problem of identity, stressing that the parliament must adopt the required considerations to resolve this dilemma. - 9/15/03 Iran Transport Minister says Iran to buy 25 planes by March 2004 Transport Minister Ahmad Khorram said in Tehran on Monday that his ministry is planning to add 25 planes to Iran's domestic aviation fleet by March 2004 - 9/15/03 Price of Iran's caviar up 40 dollars per kilogram: report The Persian-language newspaper `Abrar-e Eqtesadi` quoted the administration report as saying that the value of each kilogram of Iran's caviar stood at 536.5 dollars over a period of three months starting March 21. - 9/15/03 Powell flies in to Iraqi anger at deaths Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, flew into Baghdad yesterday to meet Iraqi politicians as another American soldier was killed and three others wounded in a roadside attack near Falluja, the town where 10 Iraqi police officers died in a "friendly fire" incident on Friday. -Guardian - 9/15/03 Future Uncertain After Collapse of Talks The WTO ministerial conference in the Mexican resort of Cancun came to an abrupt end Sunday without an agreement, leaving a big question mark hanging over the future of the international trade talks. -Common Dreams - 9/15/03 Fresh shooting at UK Iran compound Shots have been fired outside a British embassy compound in the Iranian capital, Tehran, the third such incident this month. -BBC - 9/15/03 Officer Ali Dizaei cleared of dishonesty A jury cleared the Iranian-born officer, from Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, in April of perverting the course of justice and misconduct concerning a report of vandalism to his car. -BBC - 9/15/03 Iran finishes fourth at World Men's Judo Championships Iran won one gold and a seventh title in the world event. Nippon stole the show with three golds and one bronze and South Korea finished runner-up, winning three gold medals. - 9/15/03 Nuclear Iran urged to co-operate The United Nations nuclear watchdog has again urged Iran to open its facilities for rigorous inspection, and prove that it is not seeking nuclear weapons. -BBC - 9/15/03 Iran fully committed to its NPT responsibility - Official Iran is fully committed to its NPT responsibilities, not because of its contractual obligation, but also because of its religious and ethical considerations, and it is to officially respond to the resolution in a matter of few days after its studying, said a senior Iranian official in Vienna on Monday - 9/15/03 Iran stands third at world freestyle wrestling event Iran finished third at the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships ended in Madison Square Garden, New York, Sunday - 9/15/03 Iran reviews nuclear relations Iran has said it is reviewing its relationship with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog after it set a deadline for Iran to prove it is not seeking nuclear weapons. -BBC - 9/14/03 Iran wins Asian Weightlifting title, Rezazadeh breaks world snatch record Iran was crowned and Hossein Rezazadeh set a new world +105 kg snatch record at the 35th Asian Weightlifting Championships which ended in China Sunday - 9/14/03 Splintered mujahedeen ready to harass US troops, Kurds and Tehran Splinter elements within the People’s Mujahedeen have taken to the rugged mountains separating Iran and Iraq, and were preparing to wage attacks against US troops, ethnic Kurds and Tehran, local officials and military sources said. -AFP - 9/14/03 435-meter high Milad Communications Tower under construction in Tehran The Communications Tower called `Milad Tower` named after birthday of the Lord of the Time Imam Mehdi will cover over 95 percent of Tehran for communications services. - 9/14/03 Iran's Non-oil exports rise by 22 percent in March-August Non-oil exports increased by 22 percent and 2.6 percent in terms of value and weight, respectively, in the first five months of the current Iranian year (started March 21) compared to the figures for the same period last year - 9/14/03 UN stops repatriation of Iraqi refugees from Iran Based on decisions adopted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, repatriation of Iraqi nationals living in Iran will not be pursued, an Iranian official said Sunday - 9/14/03 Iran’s Flexible Deterrence Policy in Iraq Produces Benefits for Tehran The realities of Iraq, including Iran’s growing influence in the country, are exerting pressure on the Bush administration to soften its confrontational rhetoric towards Tehran. The subtle shift in Washington’s diplomatic language marks a significant success for Iran’s policy of "flexible deterrence." -Eurasianet - 9/14/03 Iran's Commerce Ministry plans to import 400,000 tons of rice Iran's Commerce Ministry plans to purchase 400,000 tons of rice from other countries, 90,000 tons of which has already been imported, said Deputy Commerce Minister Mojtaba Ansari - 9/14/03 Nuclear ultimatum angers Iran media Iranian observers are unanimous in arguing that the UN watchdog is not acting in good faith, but responding to pressure from the West - in particular, the US. -BBC - 9/14/03 US renews French feud over Iraq Row over ceding control to Iraqis threatens UN agreement to share military burden -Guardian - 9/14/03 European think-tank : Iran a very important economic and political partner of EU ``Iran is a very important country for the EU. As the EU develops its own independent foreign and security policy, its relations with Iran will become more important,`` said John Palmer, political director of the Brussels-based European Policy Center, in an interview with IRNA. - 9/14/03 Results of World Wrestling Championships in New York Saturday's results from the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden - 9/14/03 Iranians get Garden welcome mat "If Iranians leave, nobody is here," said Hassan Khoshroo, a rug dealer from Texas who had come to New York to watch these World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling. "We taught the world how to wrestle, 2,500 years ago. Iranians are most technical wrestlers in the world. We know 290 moves, the others only know 180." -New York Daily News - 9/14/03 Another Iranian journalist arrested Reporters Without Borders denounced today (September 12) what it called the illegal arrest of Behzad Zarinpour, assistant editor of the Iranian newspaper Asia and former editor of Abrar Eqtesadi (Economic News), at his home on 7 September by armed civilians who searched it. His family has not heard from him since. - 9/13/03 US gives Iran nuclear caution The US has warned Iran that failure to co-operate with the UN's nuclear watchdog would constitute further proof of a secret nuclear weapons programme. -BBC - 9/13/03 IAEA anti-Iran resolution violates international regulations: Salehi Iran on Friday said the resolution passed against Iran by the Governing Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was in violation of international regulations and against the nature of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), - 9/13/03 Arash Miresmaili wins gold medal for Iran in world judo championships Iranian judoist Arash Miresmaili defeated Olympic silver medalist Larbi Benboudaoud of France to win the men`s under 66kg first title at the world judo championships in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday - 9/13/03 Iranian draft dodgers with 10-year absence enjoy amnesty Iranians living abroad whose stay there is less than six years can pay rls 50 million to obtain exemption card from military service. But, those staying abroad for more than six years, will not be given exemption card, but, they are granted the right to visit Iran every year for three months. - 9/13/03 Reporters Without Borders and other groups call for immediate action in the Kazemi case Amnesty International Canada (Francophone Section), the Federation Professionnelle des Journalistes du Québec, the International Legal Resources Centre and Reporters Without Borders Canada are asking the Canadian government to undertake several legal actions at both national and international levels in the Zahra Kazemi case. - 9/13/03 Caspian: States Sign Declaration At Inaugural Ecology Conference A two-day conference -- Caspian Ecology 2003 -- was organized by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and was attended by officials from the Caspian's five littoral states (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan) and representatives of international organizations and companies working in the region. - 9/13/03 Iran ex-diplomat freed on bail A High Court judge said there was no clear evidence Mr Soleimanpour was involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires. -BBC - 9/13/03 Deported Iranian admits he lied Since returning to Iran, activists assert, Ahani has disappeared. They are wrong. Ahani has not disappeared, nor has he been killed, nor is he imprisoned. He lives with his parents and siblings in a two-storey house in the Naziabad neighbourhood of southern Tehran, where he grew up. -National Post - 9/13/03 Iran widens talks on development of Azedegan oilfield The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has reportedly asked more international oil companies to consider bidding for the development of the Azadegan oilfield, in addition to a Japanese consortium which is already negotiating a sector - 9/13/03 Seventh Iranian Parliament elections due on February 20 At the proposal of the Interior Ministry and approval of the Guardians Council, nationwide elections to the seventh Majlis has been scheduled for February 20, 2004, it was announced in Tehran on Saturday - 9/13/03 U.S. Warns Iran About Its Nuclear Activities The United States said today that failure by Iran to comply with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) demands to fully account for its activities would constitute further evidence of Tehran's efforts to conceal its clandestine nuclear weapons program. - 9/13/03 Iranian MPs and Expert advocate signing additional nuclear protocol Member of Parliamentary Commission on National Security and Foreign Affairs Mrs Elaheh Koulaei said on Saturday that signing the additional protocol ahead of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting would have deprived the nuclear states of an opportunity to orchestrate anti-Iran propaganda. - 9/13/03 Iran's nuclear deadline The worsening international crisis over Iran's suspected nuclear bomb programme escalated last night when the UN set Tehran a deadline of 45 days to come clean on its nuclear activities. -Guardian - 9/13/03 Iran's medal hopefuls stunned in first bouts of World Wrestling in New York Mohammad Talaei and Alireza Dabir, the two medal hopefuls of Iran, lost their first bouts in the 2003 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Madison Square Garden, New York, on Friday - 9/13/03 Iran: Our time will come, but we must be patient At a meeting this week, I heard that at the First National Youth Organizations Congress, which was attended by several important dignitaries including the president, the participants managed to get into fistfights and breaking of windows on the second day. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 9/12/03 The 8th annual Mehregan event at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California Mehregan attracts tens of thousands of people to Orange County, CA. It is the largest Iranian-American gathering in the United States with over 20,000 visitors. - 9/12/03 Anonymizer Makes the Internet a Safer Place for Iranian Citizens Anonymizer, Inc., a leading provider of anonymous Web surfing and online privacy protection, today announced new anti-censorship Web proxy services in Iran, enabling people to bypass government filtering and access information sources, including political and religious content. - 9/12/03 US denies allowing Iran rebels to continue operations from Iraq The US military roundly denied reports that it was allowing the Iranian armed opposition People's Mujahedeen to mount attacks from Iraq four months after Washington gave orders for its fighters to be disarmed and confined to camp. -AFP - 9/12/03 Quake jolts Iran's Fars province A mild earthquake, measuring 4.4 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale, jolted the city of Jahrom in south of the southern Fars province on Friday - 9/12/03 Israel wants India to rein in Iran nuclear plans Israel wants India to play a key role in ensuring that Iran does not weaponise its nuclear programme and that it allows greater international scrutiny of its nuclear facilities. -Economic Times, India - 9/12/03 China balks at US Iraq plan China has said it will support proposals put forward by France, Germany and Russia to reduce the political role of the United States and Britain in Iraq. -BBC - 9/12/03 Britain: Iranian asylum seeker driven to suicide The desperate plight facing asylum seekers in Britain under the Labour government was tragically underlined by the self-immolation of 30-year-old Iranian Israfil Shiri on September 3. -World Socialist - 9/12/03 Michael Ledeen, 'Man Of Peace' ...Ledeen is back to pimping Iranian regime change, seemingly oblivious to the disastrous consequences of the Iraqi adventure. -Antiwar.com - 9/12/03 Iran and Russia in dispute over N-waste Iran has told Russia it will have to pay to retrieve the plutonium-laden spent fuel rods from the nuclear power plant being built in Bushehr. -Financial Times - 9/12/03 ''Can Israel Maintain its Nuclear Superiority in the Middle East?'' In the Middle East, Israel is the only state that has developed and acquired nuclear weapons. Israel's nuclear program dates back to 1952 with the creation of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC). -PINR - 9/12/03 Iranian circles the globe touting cause of peace Iranian globetrotter Reza Baluchi completed his world peace tour Thursday in New York City, weeping as he carried an American flag to ground zero on the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. -Arizona Republic - 9/12/03 Iranian Envoy Blames U.S. for Nation's Reticence on Nuclear Plans Iran's ranking diplomat in the United States, in an interview today, blamed the Americans for his country's reluctance to reveal details of its nuclear program. -New York Times - 9/12/03 Atomic Board Favors Giving Iran Deadline After days of intense lobbying by the United States, diplomats appeared likely to set an October deadline for Iran to prove it is not trying to make nuclear weapons. -AP - 9/12/03 UK releases Former Iranian Ambassador on bail after Argentina produces no evidence Former Iranian Ambassador to Argentina Hade Soleimanpour was released on bail in the UK Friday after Argentina failed to produce any clear evidence of his alleged involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires - 9/12/03 State Questions Military Tolerance of Iranian Dissidents The State Department has expressed concern to the Pentagon that the U.S. military appears to have allowed an Iraq-based Iranian opposition group to continue its activities against the Iranian government, including crossing into Iran to conduct attacks, despite an order from President Bush that the group be disarmed, administration officials said yesterday. -Washington Post - 9/11/03 US fingerprint security measure angers Iran wrestlers Seven Iranian wrestlers are heading to New York for a three-day international competition. It was a trip that almost got cancelled after the United States wanted to fingerprint competitors from certain countries, including Iran, upon arrival. -Channel News Asia - 9/11/03 UN Agency praises Iran`s effort to combat drug trafficking A top UN official has paid tribute to Iran`s efforts to combat drug trafficking from Afghanistan and appealed for help to the Afghan government to fight the scourge - 9/11/03 Two Years After 9/11 Attacks, A Report Card On the eve of the second anniversary of Sept. 11, a few things are clear. Terrorism is not only not licked, as the blasts in Bali, Casablanca and Jeddah show. It is thriving where it didn't before, namely in Iraq, as the assassinations of a top United Nations' diplomat, the top Shiite political leader and others testify. -Common Dreams - 9/11/03 Argentina Ripped For Coddling Iran In Bombing Case After promising to throw its full weight behind the investigation of the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center, Argentina's new government is now under fire from Jewish groups that say it appears unwilling to confront Iran, the country suspected of responsibility for the attack. -Forward - 9/11/03 MEGL: Worldwide gas, LNG projects set stage to surpass oil in energy-equivalent consumption Iran plans to export LNG but so far lacks commitments from buyers. Mohammad Souri, chairman and managing director of National Iranian Tanker Co., said his country could be exporting 8 million tonnes/year of LNG by 2007 and 32 million tonnes/year by 2018 if sales agreements are secured. -Oil & Gas Journal - 9/11/03 Bush's Conceptual Blunders: At the Gates of Hell The American-British invasion and occupation of Iraq has put the clock back eighty years and inaugurated a hellish prospect for both baffled occupiers and benighted inhabitants. -CounterPunch - 9/11/03 30 killed in road accident on Miyaneh-Zanjan road in Iran At least 30 people lost their lives and one seriously injured in a fatal road accident in northwestern Iran on Thursday when a passenger bus collided with a truck on the Miyaneh-Zanjan road - 9/11/03 Iran's nuclear history After years of searching for a supplier to complete its first nuclear power plant, Iran secured a contract with the Russian Ministry of Atomic energy (Minatom) to complete reactors at Bushehr under IAEA safeguards. -Telegraph, UK - 9/11/03 UN Nuclear Agency Putting Pressure On Iran The 35 members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may vote today on a draft resolution that would give Iran until 31 October to fully comply with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. - 9/11/03 In meeting Iranian president's wife, Mandela lauds democratic movement in Iran Former South African President Nelson Mandela said on Thursday that the Islamic Revolution and the reform program of President Mohammad Khatami played very significant role in neutralizing the anti-Iran propaganda campaign - 9/11/03 Co. Working on Iran Web Censor System A San Diego company that runs a system for evading Internet censors is working with the U.S. government to create a special service for people in Iran. -AP - 9/11/03 Kurds Under Scrutiny As Turkey, U.S. Negotiate Possible Troop Deployment in Iraq Turkey is coming under increasing pressure to contribute troops in Iraq as the United States seeks international help to stabilize the country. Ankara, in return, is demanding that American forces take action against Kurdish separatist rebels based in northern Iraq. - 9/11/03 UK "regrets" US disengagement with Iran The UK government has expressed regret at the isolationist policy of the US towards Iran and says that it is trying to persuade Washington to adopt a dialogue with Tehran - 9/11/03 243 dams under construction or study in Iran, says deputy minister Deputy Energy Minister Reza Amrollahi said at the ground breaking ceremony of Roudbar Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant on Wednesday that currently 243 dams are either being constructed in Iran or are undergoing feasibility studies - 9/11/03 There's Good Reason to Fear US Amid the aftershocks of recent suicide bombings in Baghdad and Najaf, and countless other horrors since Sept. 11, 2001, it is easy to understand why many believe that the world has entered a new and frightening "age of terror," the title of a recent collection of essays by Yale University scholars and others. -Noam Chomsky - 9/11/03 Iran Resists Nuclear Statement Deadline Iran vowed Thursday to resist any deadline to prove its nuclear programs are peaceful, even as support for such a measure grew among leading members of the U.N. atomic agency. -AP - 9/11/03 Iran and Nuclear Energy: Adhesion to the Quick Inspections Protocol is not enough The opponents of Iran’s nuclear programs keep emphasizing on the point that Iran as a major oil producing and exporting country, does not need such a program for its energy needs, and therefore this program is probably targeted at the military uses of the nuclear power. -Bahman Aghai Diba - 9/10/03 NIAC Interviews Iranian American Writer-Director Ramin Serry on His Debut Film Maryam Maryam, a film about an Iranian-American family living in New Jersey during the 1979 Iranian revolution, has recently been released on DVD following the film’s initial appearance in theaters in 2002. - 9/10/03 Iranian woman cycling alone around globe Head scarf wrapped firmly around her raven hair, a young Iranian woman climbed onto her Peugeot bicycle in Tehran shortly before the U.S. invasion of Iraq and set off on a trek around the world - alone. -Knight Ridder Newspapers - 9/10/03 Shah's son uses Stamford visit to push democracy for Iran Last night, at the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus, Pahlavi spoke of his ultimate goal -- creation of a democracy in Iran. "Democracy has a universal message . . . can various people be subjected to it? The answer is yes," he said. -Stamford Advocate - 9/10/03 France and Germany Seek Full UN Control Over Iraq France and Germany will back the new UN resolution on Iraq sought by President George Bush only if the proposal gives the UN full political rule over the country. The countries have also demanded a clear program for returning power to Iraqis. -Common Dreams - 9/10/03 Cars Seized After Iran's Revolt Find Home and Showroom About 40 classic cars seized after the Islamic revolution 25 years ago that are now on permanent display at a modest museum on the outskirts of Tehran. -New York Times - 9/10/03 Germany, France, Britain give Iran nuclear program deadline France, Germany and Britain jointly called on Iran to fully disclose its contested nuclear program by the end of October, according to a draft resolution submitted to the UN's nuclear watchdog. -AFP - 9/10/03 Quake jolts Nehbandan township in Iran's Khorassan province A mild earthquake measuring 4.5 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale jolted the Nehbandan Township in south of Iran's northeaster Khorassan province on Wednesday morning - 9/10/03 Iran angry over nuclear pressure Iran has warned it may review co-operation with the UN's nuclear watchdog if "extremists" prevail in current deliberations and eliminate Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy. -BBC - 9/10/03 Draft Resolutions Call on Iran to Comply With IAEA Demands A resolution is circulating at the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna calling for Iran to comply with all the agency's demands by the end of October. - 9/10/03 Iran ordered 1983 Beirut car bombing: court US District Judge John Bates of the District of Columbia ruled Monday that Iran was responsible for Hezbollah detonating an explosives-packed car inside the embassy entrance on April 18, 1983. The judge ordered Iran to pay 123 million dollars in damages to 29 US victims and family members. -AFP - 9/10/03 Let's Not Forget About Iran's Students Iranian students have essentially narrowed the focus of their cause into two requests: the need for government accountability and promotion of citizens' rights. -Digital Freedom Network - 9/10/03 A killing Iran might not be able to shake The murder of Kazemi at the hands of the right-wing judiciary however, may very well turn into a “Kazemigate.” To begin with, the victim’s Canadian nationality ensures the investigation will not be compromised as a result of insider deals. -Ahmad Sadri, Daily Star - 9/10/03 Iran: No to Torture, No to Execution, Yes to Human Rights Event on Sep. 13 in Toronto, Canada organized by Centre for Though, Dialogue and Human Rights in Iran. Speakers: Dr. Maurice Copithorne and Stephan Hachemi. - 9/10/03 Iranian Dissident Cleric to Teach Again Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, 81, will begin teaching advanced religious studies Sept. 17 at a mosque close to his hometown of Qom, Ahmad Montazeri told The Associated Press. - 9/10/03 Volleyball: Iran dash India's medal hopes Hosts China, South Korea, Iran and Australia entered the semi-finals and will vie for the title in matches to be played from Thursday. -Times of India - 9/10/03 Iranian official criticizes states pressurizing Iran for nuke program Iranian representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Akbar Salehi on Wednesday criticized those states which put pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities - 9/10/03 IAEA mulls deadline for Iran to fully reveal nuclear program The UN nuclear watchdog looked set to impose a deadline on Iran to prove it is not running a covert atomic weapons program as Tehran warned it could end cooperation with the body. -AFP - 9/10/03 Iran President addresses Experts Assembly, invites factions to unity President Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday stressed the need for officials to consider the lofty Islamic principles and called on them to use rational measures and practices to contribute to the progress and prosperity of the nation - 9/10/03 Secretary General of IIPF Mohammad Reza Khatami says there is no way but to continue Iran's reform drive Speaking in the first session of the IIPF youth branch, he said the reformation drive has reached to the point of no-return and added that the process would continue for sure. - 9/10/03 US gives Iran 'last chance' But Mr Brill, who serves as ambassador to the UN in Vienna, said Washington had consented to other board member states' desire "to give Iran a last chance to stop its evasions". -BBC - 9/9/03 Kurdish Parties, Rights Groups Concerned Over Fate Of Detained Asylum Seekers in Turkey Reports say Turkey recently arrested a number of Iranian Kurdish asylum seekers who had fled to Eastern Anatolia from Iran or northern Iraq and that some may have been handed over to Tehran. - 9/9/03 MPGC: Changing relationships, oversupply threat rock oil market's foundations Changing relationships and the threat of oversupply are rocking the oil market's foundations. While the market's supply manager edges toward cooperation with the consuming world, its largest consumer has put the Muslim world on edge with its deepening military quagmire in Iraq. -Oil & Gas Journal - 9/9/03 Iran Foreign Minister Says Tehran, Damascus Coordinating On Iraq Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi says that Iran and Syria have entered what he called "a permanent coordination" to deal with the crisis in Iraq and to strengthen regional security. - 9/9/03 Iran agriculture sector reserves over 17% share in GDP Torbati told IRNA that in the past two years, agriculture sector reserved more than 20 percent share of non-oil exports and 25 percent of employment. - 9/9/03 U.N. conservation body increases Caspian Sea caviar quota Rising sturgeon stocks in the Caspian Sea has lead to the decision. -FoodIngredientsFirst - 9/9/03 Iran is in non-compliance on nuclear program: US The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors was debating in Vienna the adoption of a resolution which would call on Iran to prove that its nuclear activities are strictly peaceful, amid claims by Washington that Tehran is trying to develop atomic weapons. -AFP - 9/9/03 Gang leader hanged in Iran THE head of a convicted gang of armed robbers has been hanged in the Iranian capital, the official Iran paper reported today, adding that 11 other members of the group would also soon be executed. -Herald Sun - 9/9/03 Weapons of Mass Destruction in Our Midst America Can Be Its Own Worst Enemy -Common Dreams - 9/9/03 Iran Unveils Bill Blocking Terror Funds Iran unveiled a draft bill Monday that proposes to dry up the financing of terrorist groups, with al-Qaida topping the list, a government spokesman said. -AP - 9/9/03 Quake jolts Khorassan province of Iran A mild earthquake measuring 3.9 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale jolted the city of Esfarayen in north of the northeastern Khorassan province on Monday - 9/9/03 Iranian-American Candidate for California Governor Badi Badiozamani to campaign in Berkeley and San Francisco September 9 Iranian-American Candidate for California Governor Dr. Badi Badiozamani has accepted the invitation by the Iranian Chamber of Commerce and will be in the Bay Area on Tuesday, September 9th. - 9/9/03 Straw reiterates UK disagreement with US policy towards Iran Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has reiterated that the UK government still disagrees with the US hostile policy towards Iran despite its closeness with the Bush Administration - 9/9/03 Argentina given ultimatum by British High Court to produce evidence against former Iranian ambassador Argentina was given an ultimatum by London`s High Court on Tuesday to produce evidence against Hadi Soleimanpour within the next two days or otherwise the former Iranian ambassador to Buenos Aires would be released on bail - 9/9/03 Israel Keeping Eyes on Iran's Nuke Program Israel has hinted at possible military action to stop what it calls a nightmare scenario — nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran — but for now is waiting for U.S. diplomatic pressure and closer international scrutiny to do the job. -AP - 9/9/03 Iranian Wrestlers Heading to New York Iranian freestyle national team Tuesday afternoon depart the Turkish capital for New York where the 2003 World Freestyle Wrestling Champio