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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 28, 1 August 2006
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
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HEADLINES:
* LEBANESE LEGISLATOR REGRETS IRAN AND SYRIA USING HIS COUNTRY
* 'WE LOVE MARTYRDOM'
* FEELING LEFT OUT IN TEHRAN
* AHMADINEJAD WARNS THAT A MIDDLE EAST STORM IS BREWING
* AHMADINEJAD VISITS TURKMENISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN
* STONING SENTENCES RESUME
* STUDENT ACTIVIST BEGINS HUNGER STRIKE
* LAWYER SENTENCED TO PRISON
* EDITOR'S JAIL SENTENCE LIFTED
* ISFAHAN FACTORY WORKERS ON STRIKE
* SOUTHWESTERN BOMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
* SECURITY MEASURES CONTINUE IN EASTERN IRAN
* NEW CLERICS HEADING FOR EASTERN PROVINCES
* AZERI NEWSPAPER SHUT DOWN IN IRAN
* IRANIAN MILITARY ASKED TO STOP ATTACKS ON PKK
* IRAN CALLS FOR NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS CHANNEL
* AGGRESSIVE MEASURES TO PREVENT BIRD FLU
* BOND ISSUE NEEDED FOR COMPLETION OF TEHRAN AIRPORT
* IRANIAN CONTRACTORS BUSY IN VENEZUELA
* TEHRAN INSISTS THAT INDIA, PAKISTAN PAY MORE FOR GAS
********************************************** **************
LEBANESE LEGISLATOR REGRETS IRAN AND SYRIA USING HIS COUNTRY. Saad
Hariri, leader of the Future Trend bloc in the Lebanese parliament
and the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, says
the current conflict in his country is "not Lebanese," the British
"Al-Hayah" newspaper reported on July 26. The battle, he said, "was
brought to the Lebanese arena by Syria and Iran for the sake of their
interests." "Israel is our enemy," Hariri continued, "and we have
fought and resisted before any Arab state and before any Persian
state." If Syria wants to fight Israel it should open a front on the
Golan Heights, Hariri recommended.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said in a July 20 interview with
"Corrierre della Serra, "Hizballah answers to the political agendas
of Tehran and Damascus." On the same day, however, Siniora's
office said he was misquoted and his comments were taken out of
context, AP reported. Druze leader and Lebanese parliamentarian
Walid Jumblatt condemned violations of his country's sovereignty,
France's "Liberation" newspaper reported on July 19. He added
that Hizballah's "entire military infrastructure is the product
of its sponsors, Syria and Iran." Under these circumstances, he
continued, one cannot believe the Hizballah leadership because it is
being "exploited, manipulated."
Chibli Mallat, a law professor at Lebanon's St. Joseph
University and a presidential candidate, commented in "The Daily
Star" on July 14 that "the Syrian and Iranian leaderships have been
stoking the flames in Lebanon to deflect domestic pressures."
President Emil Lahud met with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad
Reza Sheibani on July 19 in Beirut and expressed gratitude for the
Islamic Republic's support, the Islamic Republic News Agency
(IRNA) reported. (Bill Samii)
'WE LOVE MARTYRDOM.' Groups of Iranian volunteers left Tehran
for Lebanon recently, despite government discouragement and denials
of responsibility. The country's top clerics, meanwhile, have
been unanimous in their support for Hizballah and in encouraging
financial contributions and other forms of support for the
organization.
"We love martyrdom and are ready to go to Lebanon and
Palestine with our bare hands to help the resistance, be it in relief
work or even martyrdom," a young man said as he prepared to depart
Tehran for Lebanon on July 26, the official Iranian Al-Alam
television reported.
The man was reportedly part of a group of volunteers
organized by the Pro-Justice Student Movement. The Al-Alam
correspondent noted that the Turkish authorities might not let the
volunteers -- "They call themselves living martyrs," he said -- enter
their country on the way to Syria. There were approximately 60
volunteers of all ages, AP reported on July 27, and they will join
200 who preceded them.
Volunteers Stopped At Border
The Pro-Justice Student Movement and another organization,
the Commemoration Headquarters for the Martyrs of Islam's World
Movement, had announced on July 15 and 16 that they would be sending
volunteers to Lebanon. But General Mohammad Hejazi, commander of the
paramilitary Basij, said dispatching suicide bombers to Lebanon might
be well-intentioned but it does not help Iran or Hizballah. Hejazi
also denied an official connection with the volunteers.
This caravan of volunteers did not get far, as the
authorities stopped them at the Bazargan border crossing near the
eastern Turkish town of Gurbulak on July 28, AP and the Iranian
Students News Agency (ISNA) reported. Spokesman Ali Komeili
explained, "The authorities said we could not pass through the border
as we were wearing a kind of uniform." The students began a sit-in.
Although these volunteer actions do not have an official
imprimatur, Iran is openly dispatching other forms of aid to Lebanon.
Iranian Deputy Health Minister Moayed Alavian led a delegation to
Beirut on July 21, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Alavian said Iran will provide medical care and pharmaceuticals and
added that two planeloads of aid have arrived in Damascus and are
being sent to Lebanon.
The fifth consignment of Iranian aid destined for Lebanon
arrived in Damascus on July 23, IRNA reported. The two aircraft
carrying medicine and medical equipment from the Red Crescent Society
came on the heels of four other aid shipments, Iranian Charge
d'Affaires in Syria Ghazanfar Roknabadi said. "This is apart from
our political support for the Islamic resistance movement against the
assault of the Israeli regime," Roknabadi added. He described the
provision of ambulances and food, and he said more ambulances, food,
and medicine will be sent to Lebanon.
Clerical Encouragement
Iran's leading clerics are encouraging their countrymen
to support Hizballah financially and in other ways. A joint statement
from four of Iran's top clerics -- Grand Ayatollahs Nasser
Makarem-Shirazi, Mohammad Fazel-Lankarani, Lutfollah Safi-Golpaygani,
and Javad Aqa-yi Tabrizi -- said they will allocate a percentage of
the funds they receive to the Lebanese people, Mehr News Agency
reported on July 23. Makarem-Shirazi and Nuri-Hamedani added that
other religious funds could be used to help Palestinians and
Lebanese. Nuri-Hamedani explained: "This would be permitted as a
means of strengthening the oppressed people of Lebanon, the Hizballah
resistance front, as well as the oppressed Palestinians who are
engaged in an Islamic jihad to defend themselves against diabolical
and arrogant powers."
Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ezzedin Zanjani condemned on July 25
the Israeli activities in Lebanon and Palestine, provincial
television reported. He called on Muslims and Islamic governments to
remain united and to assist "the pious and heroic Lebanese
combatants." Also in Mashhad on July 25, the Khorasan-i Razavi branch
of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee said it is ready to collect
people's contributions for the Lebanese and Palestinians.
Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini told officials of the Iranian
national airline in Tehran on July 27 that Israeli actions in Lebanon
and Palestine resemble the crusades, ISNA reported. He said the
United States is allied with European governments in an effort to
destroy Islam. "What they want is not limited to the destruction of
Hizballah," Amini said. "They want to destroy all Islamic nations and
governments." Amini denounced countries that cooperate with Israel.
Islamic Culture and Communications Organization head
Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri told the clerical community on July
27 that the Islamic world is waiting for the clergy to provide
Hizballah with "all-out support," ISNA reported. He said the clerics
must inform people using any means at their disposal, from the
pulpits to the print and broadcast media.
Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nuri-Hamedani complained on July 27
that some Egyptian and Saudi clerics have encouraged "the global
arrogance" with their religious decrees, ISNA reported. Sheikh
Abdullah bin Jabreen, a Saudi Wahhabi, issued a fatwa against
Hizballah and announced it is illegal for Muslims to support or pray
for it, UPI reported on July 21. The governments in Cairo and Riyadh
have called on Syria to limit its support for Hizballah. Now that
Hizballah has stood up to Israel, Nuri-Hamedani said, Muslims must
support the organization.
In The Basement Or In Damascus?
Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham said on
July 24 that the Islamic Republic will not send military personnel to
Lebanon to participate in the current conflict, IRNA reported.
According to U.S. observers, Iranians are already there.
Ambassador Henry Crumpton, the State Department's coordinator for
counterterrorism, said on July 25, "I am confident that Iranian
operatives are inside Lebanon right now with Hizballah," Reuters
reported. Crumpton referred to Iran as "the paymaster" that spent
"hundreds of millions of dollars" on arms and other forms of support
for Hizballah.
Iran has greater influence over Hizballah than Syria does,
Crumpton said, but it does not control the group. Iran is "clearly
directing a lot of Hizballah actions," he said, and "Hizballah asks
their permission to do things, especially if it has broader
international implications."
If this is an accurate assessment, then it may explain
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani's
arrival in Damascus late on July 26. Mehr News Agency and Reuters
reported he is to discuss regional developments with Syrian
officials. Larijani also is expected to meet with Hizballah
Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, "Ha'aretz" and "The
Jerusalem Post" reported on July 27, citing Kuwait's daily
"Al-Seyassah." Nasrallah reportedly made the hazardous overland trip
to Damascus in civilian -- rather than in clerical -- clothing.
There also were Israeli reports that Nasrallah was sheltering
in the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. The Israeli "Ma'ariv" newspaper
reported on July 26 that according to anonymous intelligence
officials, Nasrallah is hiding in the embassy basement, which has
become his "refuge and operations room." Iranian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi told reporters in Tehran on July 26 that
there is no truth to this "Israeli lie," IRNA reported. (Bill Samii)
FEELING LEFT OUT IN TEHRAN. Speaking in Rome on July 26 after a
conference on Lebanon, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, "It is
important that we work with the countries of the region to find a
solution, and that should also include Iran and Syria," RFE/RL
reported. However, neither country was represented at the conference.
Participants were Egypt, France, Italy, Jordan, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
the U.K., the United States, the UN, and the World Bank, Reuters
reported. Also in attendance were Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Greece,
Spain, and Turkey; the EU was represented by Javier Solana and
current EU chair Finland; and the Vatican was there as an observer.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and four cabinet members represented
Lebanon.
Iranian officials predicted that excluding them and the
Syrians would be a mistake. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza
Assefi said, "They should have invited all the countries of the
region, including Syria and Iran, if they want peace," The Guardian"
reported on July 26. (Bill Samii)
AHMADINEJAD WARNS THAT A MIDDLE EAST STORM IS BREWING. During his
July 25 visit to Dushanbe, Mahmud Ahmadinejad said the Israeli attack
on Lebanon will not yield positive results and could cause bigger
problems, Radio Farda reported. "To attack another country in this
way will not solve anything, instead it will make the problems more
complicated," he said. "Those who think that by oppressing a nation
they can create a foothold for themselves are making a big mistake."
He appeared to threaten that the conflict will escalate, saying,
"There is an expression in Persian: 'He who raises the wind will
get a hurricane.' And this hurricane is just round the corner in
the Middle East and it will be harsh and destructive for the enemies
of humanity."
At the Ahvaz city hall on July 25, meanwhile, Ali
Zu'aytir, Hizballah's representative in Iran, gave a speech
in which he said, "In order to implement its satanic design, the
world arrogance has placed the protection of the Zionist regime's
interests atop its Middle East agenda," Khuzestan Provincial
television reported. Zu'aytir said "the Zionists" want to disarm
Hizballah. "In the first place, our [Lebanese] Hizballah intends to
solve the problems which Lebanon is facing and we cannot say if
resistance will end or not," he added. "We shall resist as long as
our problems with that usurper regime exist." (Bill Samii)
AHMADINEJAD VISITS TURKMENISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN. Iranian President
Mahmud Ahmadinejad met with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov in
Ashgabat on July 24 for talks centered on the expansion of mutual
cooperation, IRNA reported. Ahmadinejad called ties between the two
countries "very good." For his part, Niyazov said that the talks were
"successful and fruitful," ITAR-TASS reported. IRNA reported that
bilateral trade volume was $1.2 billion in 2005 and $600 million in
the first half of 2006.
Ahmadinejad held a second round of talks with Turkmen
President Saparmurat Niyazov in Ashgabat on July 25, turkmenistan.ru
reported. The discussion focused on energy issues, with the two sides
agreeing to form a joint task force to work out proposals in a
month's time on hydrocarbon shipments. Iran, which is set to buy
8 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan in 2006,
plans to buy 14 billion cubic meters in 2007. During
Ahmadinejad's visit, the two sides also signed seven cooperation
agreements, MNA reported.
Ahmadinejad met with Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov in
Dushanbe on July 25 for talks on bilateral relations and regional
issues, IRNA and RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported. Ministers from
the two countries signed five memoranda of understanding and
cooperation agreements in the course of the visit.
Ahmadinejad and Rakhmonov attended a ceremony on July 26 to
mark the formal opening of the Anzab tunnel, IRNA reported. The
tunnel, which is located 80 kilometers outside Dushanbe, links the
Tajik capital with roads leading north. Ahmadinejad called the tunnel
project a turning point in Iranian-Tajik relations. "The
implementation of this big dream is evidence of the two nations'
desire to boost their relations and start larger development
projects," Tajik television quoted him as saying. According to IRNA,
Iran provided $21 million in financing for the $40 million project.
At a press conference on July 26 in Dushanbe with his Tajik
counterpart President Rakhmonov, President Ahmadinejad proposed the
establishment of a Persian-language television network for Afghan,
Iranian, and Tajik people, IRNA reported on July 26. Ahmadinejad said
that the Tajik side has "welcomed" the television initiative "so it
should be discussed with Afghan authorities." Iran currently
broadcasts programs to Afghanistan in both Dari (Afghan Persian) and
in Pashto. It is not clear if the proposed television network would
be in Iranian Persian or it would also include segments in Dari or
Tajik. While Dari is one of the official languages of Afghanistan,
traditionally Afghan authorities have viewed Iranian cultural
influences, including in the field of language, with suspicion.
(Daniel Kimmage, Amin Tarzi)
STONING SENTENCES RESUME. Iranian courts have resumed handing down
stoning sentences for women after a three-and-a-half year lull, Radio
Farda reported on July 27 (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 23 December
2002). Ashraf Kalhori, 37, who has already served five years in
prison for adultery and her role in the murder of her husband, has
now been sentenced to death by stoning; the sentence is supposed to
be carried out in two weeks. Kalhori's lawyer in Tehran, Ms.
Shadi Sadr, told Radio Farda that she has filed an appeal in an
effort to change the verdict through the judicial system. Kalhori has
also written a letter to the chief justice in Tehran, Sadr said,
asking for clemency. Another Tehran lawyer, Farideh Ghayrat, told
Radio Farda that death by stoning is legal under Iran's penal
code, but that women's rights lawyers in Iran are questioning
whether it is justified under Islamic law. (Bill Samii)
STUDENT ACTIVIST BEGINS HUNGER STRIKE. Khalil Bahramian, the lawyer
for a student activist who has been imprisoned for almost seven
years, said on July 25 that he is no longer allowed to receive
visitors, ILNA reported. The lawyer said he went to visit his client,
Akbar Mohammadi, at Evin prison on July 24, and the authorities said
because Mohammadi is on a hunger strike visitors are barred.
Bahramian added that Akbar and his brother, Manuchehr, are in poor
health. (Bill Samii)
LAWYER SENTENCED TO PRISON. The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced
attorney Abdolfattah Soltani to five years in prison and also barred
him from practicing as a lawyer or holding public office for an
additional five years, ILNA reported. Soltani was the attorney for
several people accused of spying on the Iranian nuclear program, and
he was imprisoned for seven months before being released in March.
Soltani told ILNA he was acquitted of espionage but found guilty of
revealing classified documents and of antigovernment propaganda.
(Bill Samii)
EDITOR'S JAIL SENTENCE LIFTED. The Tehran Penal Court initially
sentenced Abdul Rasul Vesal, the former editor of "Iran" newspaper,
to four months in prison for the publication of an offensive cartoon
and fined him another 2 million rials ($225) for publishing false
information, fardanews.com reported on July 17. However, ILNA
reported on July 17 that payment of the fine was in lieu of the
prison sentence. The cartoon allegedly insulted teachers, "Sharq"
reported on July 5. (Bill Samii)
ISFAHAN FACTORY WORKERS ON STRIKE. Employees of a knitting and
weaving factory in Isfahan continued demonstrating for a third day
outside the legislature in Tehran on July 25, ILNA reported. Workers
at the Simin-i No factory say they are owed five months of wages and,
furthermore, management is ignoring them. They say Isfahan
parliamentary representative Hassan Kamran and Tehran's Alireza
Mahjub are following up on the case. (Bill Samii)
SOUTHWESTERN BOMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH. The Ahvaz Revolutionary
Court on July 25 passed sentences on 19 people for their alleged
involvement in bombings in Khuzestan Province, ILNA reported.
Attorney Javad Tariri, who represented two people, said 10 people
have been sentenced to death for being "at war with God" (mohareb)
and endangering national security. Three others have been sentenced
to internal exile for 10, 15, and 20 years on identical charges.
Another three defendants received five-year sentences for membership
in an illegal group that seeks to undermine national security; one
received five years for carrying explosives; and one received a
one-year sentence for propagating against the system. The 19th
defendant was acquitted, Tariri said.
Many ethnic Arabs live in the southwestern province, which
borders Iraq. In the past, demonstrators in the southwest have
objected to the quantity of Arabic-language broadcasts by state
media, and they have also objected to the overall quality of the
broadcasts. A ceremony marking the increase in Arabic programs on
Khuzestan Province television took place on July 15, the station
reported. Mr. Assefi, the Khuzestan Province TV station's
manager, said difficulties with the signal in the northern part of
the province have been resolved. He added that station personnel are
serious about improving program quality and are conducting related
audience research. (Bill Samii)
SECURITY MEASURES CONTINUE IN EASTERN IRAN. Colonel Mohammad Javad
Ithna-Ashari said on July 18 that security personnel operating out of
the Fath military base in Sistan va Baluchistan Province have freed
35 hostages and arrested five of their captors, IRNA reported. This
operation broke up a gang responsible for narcotics smuggling and
people-trafficking, in addition to kidnappings, IRNA reported.
The commander of Iran's national police force, Brigadier
General Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, said in the Luristan Province city
of Khoramabad on July 26 that 40 kilometers of Iran's eastern
border has been sealed and a total of 400 kilometers will have been
sealed by December, Fars News Agency. He explained that this is being
done through physical impediments as well as through the use of human
resources and electronic and aerial surveillance. Successful border
control will contribute to interdicting narcotics traffickers and
fuel smugglers, he said. Ahmadi-Moghaddam was speaking at the
introduction of the province's new police chief, who was
identified only as Qassem-Nasri. Outgoing police chief Hojatoleslam
Qassemi was thanked for his 34 years of service. (Bill Samii)
NEW CLERICS HEADING FOR EASTERN PROVINCES. Khorasan Razavi Provincial
Governor-General Mohammad Javad Mohammadzadeh introduced his new
adviser on clerical affairs, Hojatoleslam Seyyed Marvian-Husseini, on
July 17, provincial television reported. Mohammadzadeh said the
clergy's role in managing the country is "substantial,
fundamental, and irreplaceable."
The same day, Hojatoleslam Maadi, head of the Friday
Imams' Policymaking Council for Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan,
and South Khorasan provinces, said the provinces would be getting
more clerics soon, provincial television reported. Maadi said there
would be changes in the Friday Prayers staffs and related offices by
September 23. He added that the three provinces do not have enough
prayer leaders. By March 20, 2008, he continued, North Khorasan will
have 12 instead of six Friday Prayer leaders, South Khorasan will
have 10 instead of six, and Khorasan Razavi will have 50 instead of
the current 38.
Late last year it was reported that the administration of
President Ahmadinejad was spending a great deal of money on religious
institutions, but Friday Prayer leaders answer to the Supreme
Leader's office and, presumably, that is the entity that pays
their salaries. (Bill Samii)
AZERI NEWSPAPER SHUT DOWN IN IRAN. Tabriz-based "Nada-yi
Azarabadegan" Editor Abolfazl Vesali was sentenced by the East
Azerbaijan Province press court on July 24 to six months in jail and
the newspaper's license revoked for six months, ILNA reported.
Vesali said he was accused of inciting the public with the materials
he published, and he spent 45 days in jail despite reportedly having
posted bail. The court has already sealed the newspaper's offices
and taken the furniture, Vesali said, adding that he will appeal the
sentence. Vesali criticized the provincial press union for its
failure to speak out on his behalf. The daily was shut down on June 1
over its reporting in connection with ethnically based riots that
took place in May, ILNA reported on June 2.
Azerbaijan National Independence Party leader Etibar Mammadov
appealed on July 24 to Azeris throughout the world and to the various
political forces within Azerbaijan to join forces in a movement to
support the embattled Azeri minority in Iran, day.az reported. He
argued that an upsurge of protests among Iran's Azeris, which
began two months ago in response to the publication of cartoons
depicting Azeris as cockroaches creates new and favorable conditions
for the unification of Azerbaijan and "southern Azerbaijan," as he
described the predominantly Azeri-populated regions of northwestern
Iran. But the online daily zerkalo.az observed on July 25 that
pro-Iranian Islamists in Azerbaijan are likely to seek to undermine
any such broad-based movement, which would in addition enrage Tehran.
(Bill Samii, Liz Fuller)
IRANIAN MILITARY ASKED TO STOP ATTACKS ON PKK. Murat Karayilan, a top
official of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), suffered a leg wound
in an Iranian artillery barrage in northern Iraq in late June, NTV
reported from Istanbul on July 15. Karayilan and other wounded PKK
members were treated at a hospital near Baghdad. The Iranian and
Turkish armed forces have been cooperating on operations against the
PKK and affiliated organizations for several months.
Iranian military attacks against PKK positions in northern
Iraq are displacing noncombatants, Iraqi Kurdistan's Interior
Minister Uthman al-Haj Mahmud said on 22 July, Al-Sharqiyah
television reported the next day. The official said an Iranian
artillery and rocket barrage forced residents of eight villages to
flee. He called for a resumption of dialogue to resolve problems with
the PKK.
Iran's ambassador to Ankara, Firuz Dolatabadi, said on
July 24 that the United States and Israel are supporting the PKK,
Istanbul's NTV reported. Dolatabadi added that Iran and Turkey
are cooperating in the fight against the PKK. The U.S. State
Department lists the PKK (also known as Kongra-Gel) as a "foreign
terrorist organization," as does Iran. (Bill Samii)
IRAN CALLS FOR NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS CHANNEL. Ali Darabi, the
deputy director for parliamentary and provincial affairs at Iranian
state radio and television, announced in Arak on July 20 that the
Islamic Republic is going to start an English-language television
news channel, Mehr News Agency reported. He explained that Western
media is boycotting the real news on events in Lebanon and Palestine.
He said state radio and television broadcasts on 96 channels in 30
languages. Darabi said the U.S., which he referred to as "the
arrogance," has hegemonic objectives: "By bringing to power and
toppling its lackeys, the arrogance attempts to hatch utmost plots
against Islam and the revolution, the example of which is the coming
to power of Taliban, Al-Zarqawi and now Al-Muhajir in Iraq which has
doubled the number of Shi'a martyrs in Iraq." (Bill Samii)
AGGRESSIVE MEASURES TO PREVENT BIRD FLU. Homayun Hamidi, head of the
Veterinary Department in the West Azerbaijan Province city of Maku,
said on July 16 that avian flu has not been detected in the area,
provincial television reported from Urumiyeh, and that preventative
measures are in place. In the first three months of the Iranian year
-- which began on March 21 -- 70,000 trucks entering the country at
the Bazargan border crossing have been disinfected. Red meat,
chicken, and fishmeal entering Iran from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan,
Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have been checked at Bazargan as well.
One day earlier, Anushiravan Mohseni-Bandpey, deputy chairman
of the legislature's Health Committee, said reports of humans
infected with bird flu in Mazandaran and Gulistan provinces have not
been confirmed, Fars News Agency reported. Veterinary officials are
destroying infected birds, he added, and the Health Ministry is
trying to find the source of the infection. Hussein Hassani,
director of Iran's Veterinary Organization, said on July 15 that
almost 380 birds were tested and none were infected, Fars reported.
He said a three-month operation to destroy migratory birds in the
provinces bordering the Caspian Sea began in June, but added that
there have been no cases of bird flu. (Bill Samii)
BOND ISSUE NEEDED FOR COMPLETION OF TEHRAN AIRPORT. Minister of Roads
and Transport Mohammad Rahmati announced on July 9 that a 500 billion
rial (approximately $57 million) bond issue will be made public to
help fund completion of the Imam Khomeini International Airport, Mehr
News Agency reported. Rahmati added that an investment of 1 trillion
to 11 trillion rials is needed to complete the airport's first
phase. All international flights can be transferred to the new
airport if the first phase is completed, Rahmati continued.
Construction of the airport began in 1994 and it was to be
completed by 2000, but its inauguration did not take place until
February 2004. Operations were supposed to get under way in May 2004,
but a dispute involving the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps caused
further delays. A limited number of airlines began using the airport
in April 2005; Tehran's Mehrabad Airport remains in use. (Bill
Samii)
IRANIAN CONTRACTORS BUSY IN VENEZUELA. Deputy Minister of Housing and
Urban Development Manuchehr Khajeh Dalui said on July 12 that Iranian
contractors are building 10,000 residential units in Venezuela and
could build another 30,000, the Mehr News Agency reported. The two
countries are discussing a joint 150,000 unit construction project,
he added. Khajeh Dalui said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has
welcomed Iranian involvement in his country's construction
sector. (Bill Samii)
TEHRAN INSISTS THAT INDIA, PAKISTAN PAY MORE FOR GAS. Iranian Foreign
Minister Manuchehr Mottaki announced on July 23 in Tehran that there
are "difficulties" in the fulfillment of a contract to supply India
with natural gas, India's PTI news agency reported. The original
contract -- to supply 5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG)
over 25 years -- set a maximum price of $3.25 per million British
thermal units (MBTU). Now, Iran reportedly wants $5.1 per mBTU. India
is insisting that Iran meet its commitment, and it is adamant that
the deal will not be renegotiated.
Also on July 23, Iranian Petroleum Minister Kazem
Vaziri-Hamaneh warned that Tehran will not sell gas to India and
Pakistan at the price they are proposing, Fars News Agency reported.
He reportedly added that the agreement has not yet been finalized.
"If the Indian side is not ready to buy our gas at its real price, we
have no obligation to sell it at the price lower than the real one,"
Vaziri-Hamaneh said, adding that India and Pakistan should forget
about the lower price.
Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham said on
July 24 that talks on the sale of Iranian natural gas to India are
continuing, IRNA reported. (Bill Samii)
****************************************** ***************
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.
Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
For information on reprints, see:
http://www.rferl.org/about/content/request.as p
Back issues are online at http://www.rferl.org/reports/iran-report/
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 28, 1 August 2006
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
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HEADLINES:
* LEBANESE LEGISLATOR REGRETS IRAN AND SYRIA USING HIS COUNTRY
* 'WE LOVE MARTYRDOM'
* FEELING LEFT OUT IN TEHRAN
* AHMADINEJAD WARNS THAT A MIDDLE EAST STORM IS BREWING
* AHMADINEJAD VISITS TURKMENISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN
* STONING SENTENCES RESUME
* STUDENT ACTIVIST BEGINS HUNGER STRIKE
* LAWYER SENTENCED TO PRISON
* EDITOR'S JAIL SENTENCE LIFTED
* ISFAHAN FACTORY WORKERS ON STRIKE
* SOUTHWESTERN BOMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
* SECURITY MEASURES CONTINUE IN EASTERN IRAN
* NEW CLERICS HEADING FOR EASTERN PROVINCES
* AZERI NEWSPAPER SHUT DOWN IN IRAN
* IRANIAN MILITARY ASKED TO STOP ATTACKS ON PKK
* IRAN CALLS FOR NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS CHANNEL
* AGGRESSIVE MEASURES TO PREVENT BIRD FLU
* BOND ISSUE NEEDED FOR COMPLETION OF TEHRAN AIRPORT
* IRANIAN CONTRACTORS BUSY IN VENEZUELA
* TEHRAN INSISTS THAT INDIA, PAKISTAN PAY MORE FOR GAS
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LEBANESE LEGISLATOR REGRETS IRAN AND SYRIA USING HIS COUNTRY. Saad
Hariri, leader of the Future Trend bloc in the Lebanese parliament
and the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, says
the current conflict in his country is "not Lebanese," the British
"Al-Hayah" newspaper reported on July 26. The battle, he said, "was
brought to the Lebanese arena by Syria and Iran for the sake of their
interests." "Israel is our enemy," Hariri continued, "and we have
fought and resisted before any Arab state and before any Persian
state." If Syria wants to fight Israel it should open a front on the
Golan Heights, Hariri recommended.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said in a July 20 interview with
"Corrierre della Serra, "Hizballah answers to the political agendas
of Tehran and Damascus." On the same day, however, Siniora's
office said he was misquoted and his comments were taken out of
context, AP reported. Druze leader and Lebanese parliamentarian
Walid Jumblatt condemned violations of his country's sovereignty,
France's "Liberation" newspaper reported on July 19. He added
that Hizballah's "entire military infrastructure is the product
of its sponsors, Syria and Iran." Under these circumstances, he
continued, one cannot believe the Hizballah leadership because it is
being "exploited, manipulated."
Chibli Mallat, a law professor at Lebanon's St. Joseph
University and a presidential candidate, commented in "The Daily
Star" on July 14 that "the Syrian and Iranian leaderships have been
stoking the flames in Lebanon to deflect domestic pressures."
President Emil Lahud met with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad
Reza Sheibani on July 19 in Beirut and expressed gratitude for the
Islamic Republic's support, the Islamic Republic News Agency
(IRNA) reported. (Bill Samii)
'WE LOVE MARTYRDOM.' Groups of Iranian volunteers left Tehran
for Lebanon recently, despite government discouragement and denials
of responsibility. The country's top clerics, meanwhile, have
been unanimous in their support for Hizballah and in encouraging
financial contributions and other forms of support for the
organization.
"We love martyrdom and are ready to go to Lebanon and
Palestine with our bare hands to help the resistance, be it in relief
work or even martyrdom," a young man said as he prepared to depart
Tehran for Lebanon on July 26, the official Iranian Al-Alam
television reported.
The man was reportedly part of a group of volunteers
organized by the Pro-Justice Student Movement. The Al-Alam
correspondent noted that the Turkish authorities might not let the
volunteers -- "They call themselves living martyrs," he said -- enter
their country on the way to Syria. There were approximately 60
volunteers of all ages, AP reported on July 27, and they will join
200 who preceded them.
Volunteers Stopped At Border
The Pro-Justice Student Movement and another organization,
the Commemoration Headquarters for the Martyrs of Islam's World
Movement, had announced on July 15 and 16 that they would be sending
volunteers to Lebanon. But General Mohammad Hejazi, commander of the
paramilitary Basij, said dispatching suicide bombers to Lebanon might
be well-intentioned but it does not help Iran or Hizballah. Hejazi
also denied an official connection with the volunteers.
This caravan of volunteers did not get far, as the
authorities stopped them at the Bazargan border crossing near the
eastern Turkish town of Gurbulak on July 28, AP and the Iranian
Students News Agency (ISNA) reported. Spokesman Ali Komeili
explained, "The authorities said we could not pass through the border
as we were wearing a kind of uniform." The students began a sit-in.
Although these volunteer actions do not have an official
imprimatur, Iran is openly dispatching other forms of aid to Lebanon.
Iranian Deputy Health Minister Moayed Alavian led a delegation to
Beirut on July 21, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Alavian said Iran will provide medical care and pharmaceuticals and
added that two planeloads of aid have arrived in Damascus and are
being sent to Lebanon.
The fifth consignment of Iranian aid destined for Lebanon
arrived in Damascus on July 23, IRNA reported. The two aircraft
carrying medicine and medical equipment from the Red Crescent Society
came on the heels of four other aid shipments, Iranian Charge
d'Affaires in Syria Ghazanfar Roknabadi said. "This is apart from
our political support for the Islamic resistance movement against the
assault of the Israeli regime," Roknabadi added. He described the
provision of ambulances and food, and he said more ambulances, food,
and medicine will be sent to Lebanon.
Clerical Encouragement
Iran's leading clerics are encouraging their countrymen
to support Hizballah financially and in other ways. A joint statement
from four of Iran's top clerics -- Grand Ayatollahs Nasser
Makarem-Shirazi, Mohammad Fazel-Lankarani, Lutfollah Safi-Golpaygani,
and Javad Aqa-yi Tabrizi -- said they will allocate a percentage of
the funds they receive to the Lebanese people, Mehr News Agency
reported on July 23. Makarem-Shirazi and Nuri-Hamedani added that
other religious funds could be used to help Palestinians and
Lebanese. Nuri-Hamedani explained: "This would be permitted as a
means of strengthening the oppressed people of Lebanon, the Hizballah
resistance front, as well as the oppressed Palestinians who are
engaged in an Islamic jihad to defend themselves against diabolical
and arrogant powers."
Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ezzedin Zanjani condemned on July 25
the Israeli activities in Lebanon and Palestine, provincial
television reported. He called on Muslims and Islamic governments to
remain united and to assist "the pious and heroic Lebanese
combatants." Also in Mashhad on July 25, the Khorasan-i Razavi branch
of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee said it is ready to collect
people's contributions for the Lebanese and Palestinians.
Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini told officials of the Iranian
national airline in Tehran on July 27 that Israeli actions in Lebanon
and Palestine resemble the crusades, ISNA reported. He said the
United States is allied with European governments in an effort to
destroy Islam. "What they want is not limited to the destruction of
Hizballah," Amini said. "They want to destroy all Islamic nations and
governments." Amini denounced countries that cooperate with Israel.
Islamic Culture and Communications Organization head
Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri told the clerical community on July
27 that the Islamic world is waiting for the clergy to provide
Hizballah with "all-out support," ISNA reported. He said the clerics
must inform people using any means at their disposal, from the
pulpits to the print and broadcast media.
Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nuri-Hamedani complained on July 27
that some Egyptian and Saudi clerics have encouraged "the global
arrogance" with their religious decrees, ISNA reported. Sheikh
Abdullah bin Jabreen, a Saudi Wahhabi, issued a fatwa against
Hizballah and announced it is illegal for Muslims to support or pray
for it, UPI reported on July 21. The governments in Cairo and Riyadh
have called on Syria to limit its support for Hizballah. Now that
Hizballah has stood up to Israel, Nuri-Hamedani said, Muslims must
support the organization.
In The Basement Or In Damascus?
Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham said on
July 24 that the Islamic Republic will not send military personnel to
Lebanon to participate in the current conflict, IRNA reported.
According to U.S. observers, Iranians are already there.
Ambassador Henry Crumpton, the State Department's coordinator for
counterterrorism, said on July 25, "I am confident that Iranian
operatives are inside Lebanon right now with Hizballah," Reuters
reported. Crumpton referred to Iran as "the paymaster" that spent
"hundreds of millions of dollars" on arms and other forms of support
for Hizballah.
Iran has greater influence over Hizballah than Syria does,
Crumpton said, but it does not control the group. Iran is "clearly
directing a lot of Hizballah actions," he said, and "Hizballah asks
their permission to do things, especially if it has broader
international implications."
If this is an accurate assessment, then it may explain
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani's
arrival in Damascus late on July 26. Mehr News Agency and Reuters
reported he is to discuss regional developments with Syrian
officials. Larijani also is expected to meet with Hizballah
Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, "Ha'aretz" and "The
Jerusalem Post" reported on July 27, citing Kuwait's daily
"Al-Seyassah." Nasrallah reportedly made the hazardous overland trip
to Damascus in civilian -- rather than in clerical -- clothing.
There also were Israeli reports that Nasrallah was sheltering
in the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. The Israeli "Ma'ariv" newspaper
reported on July 26 that according to anonymous intelligence
officials, Nasrallah is hiding in the embassy basement, which has
become his "refuge and operations room." Iranian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi told reporters in Tehran on July 26 that
there is no truth to this "Israeli lie," IRNA reported. (Bill Samii)
FEELING LEFT OUT IN TEHRAN. Speaking in Rome on July 26 after a
conference on Lebanon, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, "It is
important that we work with the countries of the region to find a
solution, and that should also include Iran and Syria," RFE/RL
reported. However, neither country was represented at the conference.
Participants were Egypt, France, Italy, Jordan, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
the U.K., the United States, the UN, and the World Bank, Reuters
reported. Also in attendance were Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Greece,
Spain, and Turkey; the EU was represented by Javier Solana and
current EU chair Finland; and the Vatican was there as an observer.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and four cabinet members represented
Lebanon.
Iranian officials predicted that excluding them and the
Syrians would be a mistake. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza
Assefi said, "They should have invited all the countries of the
region, including Syria and Iran, if they want peace," The Guardian"
reported on July 26. (Bill Samii)
AHMADINEJAD WARNS THAT A MIDDLE EAST STORM IS BREWING. During his
July 25 visit to Dushanbe, Mahmud Ahmadinejad said the Israeli attack
on Lebanon will not yield positive results and could cause bigger
problems, Radio Farda reported. "To attack another country in this
way will not solve anything, instead it will make the problems more
complicated," he said. "Those who think that by oppressing a nation
they can create a foothold for themselves are making a big mistake."
He appeared to threaten that the conflict will escalate, saying,
"There is an expression in Persian: 'He who raises the wind will
get a hurricane.' And this hurricane is just round the corner in
the Middle East and it will be harsh and destructive for the enemies
of humanity."
At the Ahvaz city hall on July 25, meanwhile, Ali
Zu'aytir, Hizballah's representative in Iran, gave a speech
in which he said, "In order to implement its satanic design, the
world arrogance has placed the protection of the Zionist regime's
interests atop its Middle East agenda," Khuzestan Provincial
television reported. Zu'aytir said "the Zionists" want to disarm
Hizballah. "In the first place, our [Lebanese] Hizballah intends to
solve the problems which Lebanon is facing and we cannot say if
resistance will end or not," he added. "We shall resist as long as
our problems with that usurper regime exist." (Bill Samii)
AHMADINEJAD VISITS TURKMENISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN. Iranian President
Mahmud Ahmadinejad met with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov in
Ashgabat on July 24 for talks centered on the expansion of mutual
cooperation, IRNA reported. Ahmadinejad called ties between the two
countries "very good." For his part, Niyazov said that the talks were
"successful and fruitful," ITAR-TASS reported. IRNA reported that
bilateral trade volume was $1.2 billion in 2005 and $600 million in
the first half of 2006.
Ahmadinejad held a second round of talks with Turkmen
President Saparmurat Niyazov in Ashgabat on July 25, turkmenistan.ru
reported. The discussion focused on energy issues, with the two sides
agreeing to form a joint task force to work out proposals in a
month's time on hydrocarbon shipments. Iran, which is set to buy
8 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan in 2006,
plans to buy 14 billion cubic meters in 2007. During
Ahmadinejad's visit, the two sides also signed seven cooperation
agreements, MNA reported.
Ahmadinejad met with Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov in
Dushanbe on July 25 for talks on bilateral relations and regional
issues, IRNA and RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported. Ministers from
the two countries signed five memoranda of understanding and
cooperation agreements in the course of the visit.
Ahmadinejad and Rakhmonov attended a ceremony on July 26 to
mark the formal opening of the Anzab tunnel, IRNA reported. The
tunnel, which is located 80 kilometers outside Dushanbe, links the
Tajik capital with roads leading north. Ahmadinejad called the tunnel
project a turning point in Iranian-Tajik relations. "The
implementation of this big dream is evidence of the two nations'
desire to boost their relations and start larger development
projects," Tajik television quoted him as saying. According to IRNA,
Iran provided $21 million in financing for the $40 million project.
At a press conference on July 26 in Dushanbe with his Tajik
counterpart President Rakhmonov, President Ahmadinejad proposed the
establishment of a Persian-language television network for Afghan,
Iranian, and Tajik people, IRNA reported on July 26. Ahmadinejad said
that the Tajik side has "welcomed" the television initiative "so it
should be discussed with Afghan authorities." Iran currently
broadcasts programs to Afghanistan in both Dari (Afghan Persian) and
in Pashto. It is not clear if the proposed television network would
be in Iranian Persian or it would also include segments in Dari or
Tajik. While Dari is one of the official languages of Afghanistan,
traditionally Afghan authorities have viewed Iranian cultural
influences, including in the field of language, with suspicion.
(Daniel Kimmage, Amin Tarzi)
STONING SENTENCES RESUME. Iranian courts have resumed handing down
stoning sentences for women after a three-and-a-half year lull, Radio
Farda reported on July 27 (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 23 December
2002). Ashraf Kalhori, 37, who has already served five years in
prison for adultery and her role in the murder of her husband, has
now been sentenced to death by stoning; the sentence is supposed to
be carried out in two weeks. Kalhori's lawyer in Tehran, Ms.
Shadi Sadr, told Radio Farda that she has filed an appeal in an
effort to change the verdict through the judicial system. Kalhori has
also written a letter to the chief justice in Tehran, Sadr said,
asking for clemency. Another Tehran lawyer, Farideh Ghayrat, told
Radio Farda that death by stoning is legal under Iran's penal
code, but that women's rights lawyers in Iran are questioning
whether it is justified under Islamic law. (Bill Samii)
STUDENT ACTIVIST BEGINS HUNGER STRIKE. Khalil Bahramian, the lawyer
for a student activist who has been imprisoned for almost seven
years, said on July 25 that he is no longer allowed to receive
visitors, ILNA reported. The lawyer said he went to visit his client,
Akbar Mohammadi, at Evin prison on July 24, and the authorities said
because Mohammadi is on a hunger strike visitors are barred.
Bahramian added that Akbar and his brother, Manuchehr, are in poor
health. (Bill Samii)
LAWYER SENTENCED TO PRISON. The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced
attorney Abdolfattah Soltani to five years in prison and also barred
him from practicing as a lawyer or holding public office for an
additional five years, ILNA reported. Soltani was the attorney for
several people accused of spying on the Iranian nuclear program, and
he was imprisoned for seven months before being released in March.
Soltani told ILNA he was acquitted of espionage but found guilty of
revealing classified documents and of antigovernment propaganda.
(Bill Samii)
EDITOR'S JAIL SENTENCE LIFTED. The Tehran Penal Court initially
sentenced Abdul Rasul Vesal, the former editor of "Iran" newspaper,
to four months in prison for the publication of an offensive cartoon
and fined him another 2 million rials ($225) for publishing false
information, fardanews.com reported on July 17. However, ILNA
reported on July 17 that payment of the fine was in lieu of the
prison sentence. The cartoon allegedly insulted teachers, "Sharq"
reported on July 5. (Bill Samii)
ISFAHAN FACTORY WORKERS ON STRIKE. Employees of a knitting and
weaving factory in Isfahan continued demonstrating for a third day
outside the legislature in Tehran on July 25, ILNA reported. Workers
at the Simin-i No factory say they are owed five months of wages and,
furthermore, management is ignoring them. They say Isfahan
parliamentary representative Hassan Kamran and Tehran's Alireza
Mahjub are following up on the case. (Bill Samii)
SOUTHWESTERN BOMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH. The Ahvaz Revolutionary
Court on July 25 passed sentences on 19 people for their alleged
involvement in bombings in Khuzestan Province, ILNA reported.
Attorney Javad Tariri, who represented two people, said 10 people
have been sentenced to death for being "at war with God" (mohareb)
and endangering national security. Three others have been sentenced
to internal exile for 10, 15, and 20 years on identical charges.
Another three defendants received five-year sentences for membership
in an illegal group that seeks to undermine national security; one
received five years for carrying explosives; and one received a
one-year sentence for propagating against the system. The 19th
defendant was acquitted, Tariri said.
Many ethnic Arabs live in the southwestern province, which
borders Iraq. In the past, demonstrators in the southwest have
objected to the quantity of Arabic-language broadcasts by state
media, and they have also objected to the overall quality of the
broadcasts. A ceremony marking the increase in Arabic programs on
Khuzestan Province television took place on July 15, the station
reported. Mr. Assefi, the Khuzestan Province TV station's
manager, said difficulties with the signal in the northern part of
the province have been resolved. He added that station personnel are
serious about improving program quality and are conducting related
audience research. (Bill Samii)
SECURITY MEASURES CONTINUE IN EASTERN IRAN. Colonel Mohammad Javad
Ithna-Ashari said on July 18 that security personnel operating out of
the Fath military base in Sistan va Baluchistan Province have freed
35 hostages and arrested five of their captors, IRNA reported. This
operation broke up a gang responsible for narcotics smuggling and
people-trafficking, in addition to kidnappings, IRNA reported.
The commander of Iran's national police force, Brigadier
General Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, said in the Luristan Province city
of Khoramabad on July 26 that 40 kilometers of Iran's eastern
border has been sealed and a total of 400 kilometers will have been
sealed by December, Fars News Agency. He explained that this is being
done through physical impediments as well as through the use of human
resources and electronic and aerial surveillance. Successful border
control will contribute to interdicting narcotics traffickers and
fuel smugglers, he said. Ahmadi-Moghaddam was speaking at the
introduction of the province's new police chief, who was
identified only as Qassem-Nasri. Outgoing police chief Hojatoleslam
Qassemi was thanked for his 34 years of service. (Bill Samii)
NEW CLERICS HEADING FOR EASTERN PROVINCES. Khorasan Razavi Provincial
Governor-General Mohammad Javad Mohammadzadeh introduced his new
adviser on clerical affairs, Hojatoleslam Seyyed Marvian-Husseini, on
July 17, provincial television reported. Mohammadzadeh said the
clergy's role in managing the country is "substantial,
fundamental, and irreplaceable."
The same day, Hojatoleslam Maadi, head of the Friday
Imams' Policymaking Council for Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan,
and South Khorasan provinces, said the provinces would be getting
more clerics soon, provincial television reported. Maadi said there
would be changes in the Friday Prayers staffs and related offices by
September 23. He added that the three provinces do not have enough
prayer leaders. By March 20, 2008, he continued, North Khorasan will
have 12 instead of six Friday Prayer leaders, South Khorasan will
have 10 instead of six, and Khorasan Razavi will have 50 instead of
the current 38.
Late last year it was reported that the administration of
President Ahmadinejad was spending a great deal of money on religious
institutions, but Friday Prayer leaders answer to the Supreme
Leader's office and, presumably, that is the entity that pays
their salaries. (Bill Samii)
AZERI NEWSPAPER SHUT DOWN IN IRAN. Tabriz-based "Nada-yi
Azarabadegan" Editor Abolfazl Vesali was sentenced by the East
Azerbaijan Province press court on July 24 to six months in jail and
the newspaper's license revoked for six months, ILNA reported.
Vesali said he was accused of inciting the public with the materials
he published, and he spent 45 days in jail despite reportedly having
posted bail. The court has already sealed the newspaper's offices
and taken the furniture, Vesali said, adding that he will appeal the
sentence. Vesali criticized the provincial press union for its
failure to speak out on his behalf. The daily was shut down on June 1
over its reporting in connection with ethnically based riots that
took place in May, ILNA reported on June 2.
Azerbaijan National Independence Party leader Etibar Mammadov
appealed on July 24 to Azeris throughout the world and to the various
political forces within Azerbaijan to join forces in a movement to
support the embattled Azeri minority in Iran, day.az reported. He
argued that an upsurge of protests among Iran's Azeris, which
began two months ago in response to the publication of cartoons
depicting Azeris as cockroaches creates new and favorable conditions
for the unification of Azerbaijan and "southern Azerbaijan," as he
described the predominantly Azeri-populated regions of northwestern
Iran. But the online daily zerkalo.az observed on July 25 that
pro-Iranian Islamists in Azerbaijan are likely to seek to undermine
any such broad-based movement, which would in addition enrage Tehran.
(Bill Samii, Liz Fuller)
IRANIAN MILITARY ASKED TO STOP ATTACKS ON PKK. Murat Karayilan, a top
official of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), suffered a leg wound
in an Iranian artillery barrage in northern Iraq in late June, NTV
reported from Istanbul on July 15. Karayilan and other wounded PKK
members were treated at a hospital near Baghdad. The Iranian and
Turkish armed forces have been cooperating on operations against the
PKK and affiliated organizations for several months.
Iranian military attacks against PKK positions in northern
Iraq are displacing noncombatants, Iraqi Kurdistan's Interior
Minister Uthman al-Haj Mahmud said on 22 July, Al-Sharqiyah
television reported the next day. The official said an Iranian
artillery and rocket barrage forced residents of eight villages to
flee. He called for a resumption of dialogue to resolve problems with
the PKK.
Iran's ambassador to Ankara, Firuz Dolatabadi, said on
July 24 that the United States and Israel are supporting the PKK,
Istanbul's NTV reported. Dolatabadi added that Iran and Turkey
are cooperating in the fight against the PKK. The U.S. State
Department lists the PKK (also known as Kongra-Gel) as a "foreign
terrorist organization," as does Iran. (Bill Samii)
IRAN CALLS FOR NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS CHANNEL. Ali Darabi, the
deputy director for parliamentary and provincial affairs at Iranian
state radio and television, announced in Arak on July 20 that the
Islamic Republic is going to start an English-language television
news channel, Mehr News Agency reported. He explained that Western
media is boycotting the real news on events in Lebanon and Palestine.
He said state radio and television broadcasts on 96 channels in 30
languages. Darabi said the U.S., which he referred to as "the
arrogance," has hegemonic objectives: "By bringing to power and
toppling its lackeys, the arrogance attempts to hatch utmost plots
against Islam and the revolution, the example of which is the coming
to power of Taliban, Al-Zarqawi and now Al-Muhajir in Iraq which has
doubled the number of Shi'a martyrs in Iraq." (Bill Samii)
AGGRESSIVE MEASURES TO PREVENT BIRD FLU. Homayun Hamidi, head of the
Veterinary Department in the West Azerbaijan Province city of Maku,
said on July 16 that avian flu has not been detected in the area,
provincial television reported from Urumiyeh, and that preventative
measures are in place. In the first three months of the Iranian year
-- which began on March 21 -- 70,000 trucks entering the country at
the Bazargan border crossing have been disinfected. Red meat,
chicken, and fishmeal entering Iran from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan,
Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have been checked at Bazargan as well.
One day earlier, Anushiravan Mohseni-Bandpey, deputy chairman
of the legislature's Health Committee, said reports of humans
infected with bird flu in Mazandaran and Gulistan provinces have not
been confirmed, Fars News Agency reported. Veterinary officials are
destroying infected birds, he added, and the Health Ministry is
trying to find the source of the infection. Hussein Hassani,
director of Iran's Veterinary Organization, said on July 15 that
almost 380 birds were tested and none were infected, Fars reported.
He said a three-month operation to destroy migratory birds in the
provinces bordering the Caspian Sea began in June, but added that
there have been no cases of bird flu. (Bill Samii)
BOND ISSUE NEEDED FOR COMPLETION OF TEHRAN AIRPORT. Minister of Roads
and Transport Mohammad Rahmati announced on July 9 that a 500 billion
rial (approximately $57 million) bond issue will be made public to
help fund completion of the Imam Khomeini International Airport, Mehr
News Agency reported. Rahmati added that an investment of 1 trillion
to 11 trillion rials is needed to complete the airport's first
phase. All international flights can be transferred to the new
airport if the first phase is completed, Rahmati continued.
Construction of the airport began in 1994 and it was to be
completed by 2000, but its inauguration did not take place until
February 2004. Operations were supposed to get under way in May 2004,
but a dispute involving the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps caused
further delays. A limited number of airlines began using the airport
in April 2005; Tehran's Mehrabad Airport remains in use. (Bill
Samii)
IRANIAN CONTRACTORS BUSY IN VENEZUELA. Deputy Minister of Housing and
Urban Development Manuchehr Khajeh Dalui said on July 12 that Iranian
contractors are building 10,000 residential units in Venezuela and
could build another 30,000, the Mehr News Agency reported. The two
countries are discussing a joint 150,000 unit construction project,
he added. Khajeh Dalui said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has
welcomed Iranian involvement in his country's construction
sector. (Bill Samii)
TEHRAN INSISTS THAT INDIA, PAKISTAN PAY MORE FOR GAS. Iranian Foreign
Minister Manuchehr Mottaki announced on July 23 in Tehran that there
are "difficulties" in the fulfillment of a contract to supply India
with natural gas, India's PTI news agency reported. The original
contract -- to supply 5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG)
over 25 years -- set a maximum price of $3.25 per million British
thermal units (MBTU). Now, Iran reportedly wants $5.1 per mBTU. India
is insisting that Iran meet its commitment, and it is adamant that
the deal will not be renegotiated.
Also on July 23, Iranian Petroleum Minister Kazem
Vaziri-Hamaneh warned that Tehran will not sell gas to India and
Pakistan at the price they are proposing, Fars News Agency reported.
He reportedly added that the agreement has not yet been finalized.
"If the Indian side is not ready to buy our gas at its real price, we
have no obligation to sell it at the price lower than the real one,"
Vaziri-Hamaneh said, adding that India and Pakistan should forget
about the lower price.
Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham said on
July 24 that talks on the sale of Iranian natural gas to India are
continuing, IRNA reported. (Bill Samii)
****************************************** ***************
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
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