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People take part in the funeral of Sanee Zhaleh, a student who was shot dead during an opposition rally on Monday, in Tehran on February 16, 2011
Iranian government supporters clashed with their opponents today during a ceremony to mark the death of a student shot during an opposition rally two days ago, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
Sanee Zhaleh was shot dead on Monday during the first opposition rally for more than a year and immediately became a martyr to both the supporters and opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hardline government.
Each side blamed the other for Zhaleh’s death.
Wednesday’s clash occurred during a funeral procession which started from Tehran University’s arts faculty, in the centre of the capital, where Zhaleh was a student, IRIB reported on its website.
“Students and the people attending the funeral ceremony of the martyred student Sanee Zhaleh have clashed with a limited number of people apparently linked to the sedition movement and forced them out by chanting slogans of death to hypocrites,” the report read.
Monday’s rally was the first to be staged by the Green movement since its huge protests in the weeks and months after Ahmadinejad’s disputed 2009 re-election were stamped out by a government which blamed foreign enemies for stirring “sedition.”
Opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi hailed the rally as a “glorious” event by a “magnificent movement” while Tehran’s deputy police chief Ahmadreza Radan official said only around 150 people turned up.
Radan said a second person had died of gunshot wounds yesterday and a further eight people had been shot and were being treated in hospital. Authorities blamed “terrorist” elements for the violence at the unauthorised rally.
The semi-official Fars news agency said Zhaleh was a member of the Basij militia, Iran’s vast volunteer movement, connected to the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, which played an important role in suppressing protests in 2009.
Opposition websites did not deny that Zhaleh was a member of the Basij, which has millions of members throughout Iran, but said he was an active opposition supporter.
Student Basijis organised today’s funeral procession, Fars reported.
State TV showed hundreds of people surrounding the coffin, draped in the Iranian flag. Opposition website Kaleme quoted a student as saying large numbers of unknown people posing as students had turned up to the university from early morning.
Parliamentarians and some prominent clerics have called for Mousavi and fellow Green leader Mehdi Karroubi to be arrested and tried.
Thousands of Hezbollah supporters jammed a stadium for a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel today.
Both the U.S. and Israel have described the trip as 'intentionally provocative.'
On the road heading south, schoolchildren handed out leaflets on the best route to Bint Jbeil, a border village in south Lebanon's Shiite heartland where the Iranian leader was to speak later in the afternoon.
Ahmadinejad arrived in Lebanon yesterday to a rapturous welcome organized by Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite militant group backed by Iran. The second day of his state visit demonstrates Iran's support for Hezbollah's fight against Israel.
Israel, however, has described the Iranian President's visit as a 'landlord inspecting his domain'.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad flashes a V sign during a rally organized by Hezbollah in the southern border town of Bint Jbeil, Lebanon
Tens of thousands of Lebanese wave national and Iranian flags, as well as the yellow banners of Hezbollah, during a mass rally held in honour of the Iranian President in southern Lebanon
World's biggest motorcade? Thousands of Lebanese took to the streets to greet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as he arrived in Beirut
In the stadium in Bint Jbeil where the Iranian president will speak, thousands waved the flags of Iran and Hezbollah.
The village was among the hardest-hit areas during the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war, and oil-rich Iran invested heavily in helping to rebuild it.
Days after Israel ended its two-decade occupation of south Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah's leader gave a victory speech in Bint Jbeil in which he said Israel is "weaker than a spider's web" - a phrase that adorns a wall of the stadium along with photographs of weeping Israeli soldiers.
Ali Daboush, a 35-year-old Shiite who works in Saudi Arabia, said he traveled home to Lebanon just to see the Iranian leader.
'He liberated this land. It was thanks to him," Daboush said. "No Arab leader has done what he has done.'
Ahmadinejad's visit has underscored the eroding position of pro-Western factions in Lebanon.
More broadly, it has suggested that the competition over influence in Lebanon may be tipping toward Iran and its ally Syria, away from the United States and it Arab allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Bint Jbeil, about two miles (four kilometers) from the border, is dubbed 'the capital of resistance' because it was a center for Hezbollah guerrilla action against Israel during the Jewish state's 18-year occupation of the south, which ended in 2000.
The Iranian leader was also set to visit the village of Qana, where an Israeli airstrike in 2006 killed dozens.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev slammed the trip.
'Iran's domination of Lebanon through its proxy Hezbollah has destroyed any chance for peace, has turned Lebanon into an Iranian satellite and made Lebanon a hub for regional terror and instability,' he said.
On an Israeli road leading up to the border area, a few onlookers stopped their cars to snap pictures or peer through binoculars at the other side.
Ahmadinejad has sought to depict his country as an ally of all Lebanese, not just Hezbollah.
Iran, whose ties to the group date back nearly 30 years, funds Hezbollah to the tune of millions of dollars a year and is believed to supply much of its arsenal. Hezbollah boasts widespread support among Shiites and virtually runs a state-within-a-state in Shiite areas.
On Wednesday, crowds lined the streets along Beirut's airport road - controlled by Hezbollah - to welcome the Iranian leader, throwing flower petals and sweets at his motorcade. He moves under tight security, with a convoy of some 40 cars and helicopters buzzing overhead.
But Ahmadinejad's splashy arrival exacerbated fears among many Lebanese - particularly Sunnis and Christians - that Iran and Hezbollah are seeking to impose their will on the country and possibly pull Lebanon into a conflict with Israel.
Many say the trip could aggravate tensions in a country with a long history of sectarian strife. Washington has come out strongly against the visit. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated American concerns about Iran's nuclear program and its 'support of terrorism.'
'So when the Iranian president goes to Lebanon, and we know that they are supporting financially and in every other way Hezbollah, which is on the border of Israel and the border of the Palestinian areas, then that is a volatile situation,' she said in an interview aired Thursday on ABC.
Hero's welcome: The Iranian president waves to the crowd from the top of his car as he passed through the Lebanese capital
Hezbollah supporters wave Lebanese and Iranian flags as they listen to the President's speech
Lebanese villagers stand at their houses which are decorated by Iranian flags, as they listen to the Iranian President's speech
Ahmadinejad told thousands of Hezbollah supporters he was proud of their fight against their mutual enemy in a visit the U.S. and Israel have called a provocation
Tens of thousands of Lebanese wave national and Iranian flags, as well as the yellow banners of Hezbollah, during a mass rally held in honour of the Iranian President in southern Lebanon
Support: The streets were lined with Iranian flags and covered in clusters of green, white and red balloons
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today the September 11, 2001 attacks were exaggerated in a fresh broadside at the United States just days after President Barack Obama voiced willingness to talk to Iran.
Well-known for his anti-American and anti-Israeli rhetoric, the hardline populist Ahmadinejad (picture) also repeated his denial of the Holocaust, on which the consensus of historians is that six million Jews were exterminated by Nazi Germany.
Ahmadinejad said the September 11 attacks with hijacked airliners on New York and Washington DC had been trumped up as an excuse for the United States to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.
Speaking at a Tehran conference, Ahmadinejad said there was no evidence that the death toll at New York’s World Trade Center, destroyed in the attacks, was as high as reported and said “Zionists” had been tipped off in advance.
“What was the story of September 11? During five to six days, and with the aid of the media, they created and prepared public opinion so that everyone considered an attack on Afghanistan and Iraq as (their) right,” he said in a televised speech.
No “Zionists” were killed in the World Trade Center, according to Ahmadinejad, because “one day earlier they were told not go to their workplace”.
“They announced that 3,000 people were killed in this incident, but there were no reports that reveal their names. Maybe you saw that, but I did not,” he told a gathering of the Iranian news media.
There is a published list of September 11 dead from more than 90 countries available online.
A total of 2,995 people were killed in the attacks, including 19 hijackers and all passengers and crew aboard four commandeered airliners, according to official US figures. The United States blamed the assaults on al Qaeda, led by Saudi-born Sunni Muslim fundamentalist Osama Bin Laden.
Ahmadinejad accused the US government of exercising more media censorship than anywhere in the world.
He had previously said the “9-11” attacks were a “big fabrication” and has rejected the historical record of the Holocaust. Today, Ahmadinejad repeated his belief that the Holocaust had been invented to justify the creation of Israel.
“They made up an event, the so-called Holocaust which was later laid as the basis for the innocence of a group,” he said.
Ahmadinejad last week challenged Obama to a televised debate on global issues during his trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
Two years ago he asked to visit the site of the World Trade Center “to pay his respects” but New York police refused.
Washington succeeded in June in getting a fourth round of UN Security Council sanctions imposed on Iran to pressure it to suspend its disputed nuclear programme.
Tougher US and European measures have further tightened restrictions on doing business with the major Opec country.
Obama signalled on Thursday he was open to talks with the Islamic Republic and was seeking “a clear set of steps that we would consider sufficient to show that they are not pursuing nuclear weapons”.
Ahmadinejad has said he is prepared to return to international talks, which were last held in October, but insists that Iran has the sovereign right to enrich uranium.
Western powers fear the Islamic Republic aims to stockpile the material for possible use, when more highly enriched, in nuclear weapons, and UN nuclear inspectors cite indications that Iran is researching how to build a nuclear-tipped missile.
Tehran says it is refining uranium only for electricity and medical treatments.
Israel considers the combination of Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denial and his pursuit of nuclear technology a potential threat to its existence and has said it does not rule out military action to prevent Iran developing atomic bombs.
A Washington-based think-tank with access to intelligence said yesterday Iran had begun using recently installed equipment to enrich uranium more efficiently, a step it said could be justified nominally on civilian grounds but in fact made more sense in the context of learning how to make bomb-grade uranium.
A man is seen covered in blood and clutching his groin after gunshots are heard
The prisoners are shown being cut down from the gallows in the grainy video
A disturbing video showing the violent protests following an attempt to hang two convicted bank robbers in Iran has made its way on to the internet.
Five people were killed and around 25 injured after protesters tried to rescue Esmail Fathi-Zadeh and Mohammad Esfandiarpoor in Sirjan last Tuesday.
What started as a seemingly innocent protest against the public execution quickly turned into a violent bloodbath, culminating in a shoot-out between the protesters and the officials attempting to carry out the hanging. A video of the dramatic scenes show Fathi-Zadeh and Esfandiarpoor being hanged from the gallows as protesters rush forward and hold their legs to stop them from choking, before someone else cuts the men down.
During the chaos gunshots can be heard and footage is shown of a man who has been shot in the groin in the gunfire exchange and is bleeding profusely.
A man who was reportedly shot by police during the protests is also shown in the video laying lifeless on the ground, apparently dead. Those wounded in the protests were taken to local hospitals in Kerman, the provincial capital of Sirjan, for treatment, but some are still said to be in a critical state.
A group of local residents and relatives of the prisoners due to be hanged are reported to have been arrested.
A local news agency confirmed both Fathi-Zadeh and Esfandiarpoor have since been executed.
Crimes including murder, adultery, armed robbery, rape and drug trafficking have all been punishable by death since the 1979 Islamic revolution, when Iran's sharia law was introduced.
Iran is said to be second only to China in terms of the amount of people it has sentenced to execution - putting to death at least 346 people last year, according to figures released by Amnesty International.
While hangings are usually carried out inside prisons in Iran, they are sometimes held in public.
The White House said on Wednesday that Iran's test of an upgraded missile undermines its insistence of peaceful intentions and will be looked upon seriously by the world.
Iranian armed forces launched the high-speed surface-to-surface Sajjil-2 missile today
a high-speed, surface-to-surface missile with a range of about 1,200 miles. That range places Israel well within reach and increases the threat against south-eastern Europe.
The launch will increase tensions between Gordon Brown, pictured here being interviewed today, and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over his country's military and nuclear intentions
The White House said on Wednesday that Iran's test of an upgraded missile undermines its insistence of peaceful intentions and will be looked upon seriously by the world.
"At a time when the international community has offered Iran opportunities to begin to build trust and confidence, Iran's missile tests only undermine Iran's claims of peaceful intentions," White House spokesman Mike Hammer said.
"Such actions will increase the seriousness and resolve of the international community to hold Iran accountable for its continued defiance of its international obligations on its nuclear program," he said.
Gordon Brown today called for fresh sanctions against Iran after it successfully tested a missile capable of striking Israel.
The Prime Minister described the testing of the Sajjil-2 missile as a 'provocative act' which raised fresh concerns about Tehran's intentions.
A senior British official said the missile test suggested progress on persuading Iran to pursue peace was 'going backwards'.
t will also fuel fears about Iran's nuclear programme, with the new missile suggesting any nuclear warhead could potentially be launched against Israel.
Mr Brown discussed the development when he met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at climate change talks in Copenhagen.
He said afterwards: 'I have expressed to him and he has also expressed concern about the test of a long-range missile by Iran.
'This is a matter of serious concern to the international community and it does make the case for us moving further on sanctions.
'We will treat this with the seriousness it deserves.'
The warning followed an announcement from Iran that it had successfully tested its Sajjil-2 missile, a high-speed, surface-to-surface missile with a range of about 1,200 miles.
That range places Israel well within reach and increases the threat against south-eastern Europe.
Iran has intensified its missile development program in recent years to the anger of Israel and the West. Tehran is also suspected of trying to build a nuclear weapon.
EU leaders agreed last week to pursue a 'dual track' approach towards Iran, offering negotiations that would allow it to pursue a civilian nuclear programme while also beginning work on possible
Mr Brown's words suggest he will push for a tough new sanctions package against Iran when the UK, France, Germany, the US, China and Russia meet in the new year to discuss Iran.
A British official said: 'It is extremely concerning that we have had no positive response from Iran to the offer of negotiations. It is not a question of a lack of pregress, we are going backwards.'
The EU already has a package of sanctions covering arms sales to Iran and certain industrial sector.
But British officials suggested this could be increased dramatically to include oil, gas and financial services.
Iran has repeatedly shrugged off the impact of such punitive measures, that include three rounds of limited U.N. sanctions since 2006.
In September, Iran test-fired missiles which a commander said could reach any regional target. The White House branded those tests 'provocative'.
Washington suspects Iran is trying to develop nuclear bomb capability and has previously expressed concern about Tehran's missile programme. Iran says its nuclear work is solely for generating peaceful electricity.
Earlier this week, diplomats said intelligence suggested that Iran worked on testing a key atomic bomb component as recently as 2007, a finding which if proven would clash with Iran's assertion its nuclear work is for civilian use.
Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected the claim as 'baseless'.
On Tuesday, Israeli military intelligence chief Major-General Amos Yadlin said: 'Iran is striving to improve it surface-to-surface missile capability. It is developing missiles propelled by solid fuel and is expanding their range to other continents.'
The United States and five other major powers said on Tuesday that a planned meeting on Iran's nuclear programme will not take place this year because of scheduling conflicts, although consultations will continue by telephone.
In October, negotiators offered a deal under which Iran would send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment. However, Tehran has backed away from it, raising the prospect of additional sanctions.
In this undated photo released by the Friendshiparabia.com website via AP Television Network, "Kingdom of Bahrain" crew member David Bloomer is seen at an unknown location in Jordan. Iran is holding five British sailors, including David Bloomer, after stopping their racing yacht in the Persian Gulf, the British government said Monday, Nov. 30, 2009.
Iranian cleric lawmakers talk prior to start of their joint meeting with the country's top officials, to commemorate Parliament Day at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. Iran would neither confirm nor deny Tuesday it is holding five British sailors even though the British government said they were detained by the Iranian navy after their racing yacht was stopped last week in the Persian Gulf.
Iran freed five British sailors detained last week when their racing yacht drifted accidentally into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf. Britain said it was delighted with Wednesday's release and praised Tehran's handling of the incident.
The 60-foot yacht was in the Persian Gulf on its way from Bahrain to Dubai last Wednesday for the start of its first offshore race when it ran into a problem with its propeller, said Andrew Pindar, whose Team Pindar owns the yacht. It drifted into Iranian waters and was seized by the elite Revolutionary Guard's navy
"After carrying out an investigation and interrogation of the five British sailors, it became clear that their illegal entry was a mistake," the Revolutionary Guard said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency. "After obtaining necessary guarantees, it was decided to release them."
The British government had tried to keep the case from being politicized at a time when Tehran is under heavy pressure from the West over its nuclear program. Iran has accused Britain and other foreign governments of stoking the country's postelection street protests.
The tensions with the West have also been heightened by Iran's detention of three Americans arrested this summer after they strayed across the border from northern Iraq. Washington and their families say the three unintentionally crossed into Iran while hiking, but Tehran recently accused them of espionage.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband confirmed the release of the five Britons and said they were being towed in their boat to international waters. From there, they would be towed to Dubai.
"I welcome the fact this has been dealt with in a straightforward, professional way by the Iranian authorities," Miliband said. "Obviously this has been a real ordeal for the young men and their families and I'm really delighted that it's over for them and that we can call the matter closed."
near the Iranian island of Sirri, which lies near the mouth of the narrow Hormuz Strait off Dubai. It was not clear where the Britons were held during their week in custody.
Team Pindar is an independent British-based yachting team. It runs the yacht called Kingdom of Bahrain under the Sail Bahrain initiative in partnership with the tiny Gulf island kingdom of Bahrain.
"We are all absolutely thrilled with the news," said Andrew Pindar. "It has been an extremely worrying time for all of us and particularly for the families and loved ones of those on board."
He said the team has sent out a boat to meet the crew and accompany them safely to shore and thanked Iranian authorities. The yacht was expected to be out of Iranian waters Wednesday afternoon.
David Young, whose son Oliver is among the five yachtsmen seized, said he was "very relieved" by the news. "We thought it would be over quickly. This is what we were hoping for," Young said.
Iran warned Tuesday the sailors would be prosecuted if it was proven they had "bad intentions" when they entered Iranian waters.
IRNA said Miliband and Iranian Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki discussed the matter late Tuesday and Miliband said there was "certainly no question of any malicious intent on the part of these five young people."
"This is a human story ... It's got nothing to do with politics. It's got nothing to do with the nuclear enrichment program," Miliband said.
Bahrain, which has long had a tense relationship with its larger neighbor across the Gulf, also contacted the Iranians to say the boat entered Iranian waters by mistake and to push for the crew's release.
The yacht had been heading to join the 360-mile (580-kilometer) Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race, which was to begin Nov. 26. The race went ahead without the yacht.
British media had identified the five Britons as Oliver Smith, of Southampton; Sam Usher, of Scarborough; Luke Porter, of Weston-super-Mare; Oliver Young, of Saltash; and David Bloomer, who is from Malahide, Ireland but holds a British passport.
In an interview with Iranian TV Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made no mention of the yachtsmen. However, he singled out Britain for criticism, saying it and Israel were behind a tough resolution by the U.N. nuclear watchdog rebuking Iran over its nuclear program.
In 2007, Iran seized 15 British military personnel in the Gulf, claiming they had entered Iranian waters, though Britain insisted they were in Iraqi waters. Eventually all were freed without an apology from Britain.
President Barack Obama exits Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009.
In this Nov. 17, 2009 file photo, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki addresses the media in Tehran, Iran.
Representatives of six world powers urged Iran on Friday to accept a U.N. plan aimed at delaying its ability to build a nuclear weapon, as the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency warned Tehran not to miss the opportunity to resolve the dispute.
An EU official said there was no mention of imposing sanctions against Iran for its refusal to halt nuclear enrichment activities at the meeting of senior diplomats from the U.N. Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany.
"These things are a matter of timing, and this was not the right time for it," said the official who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The talks in Brussels involved political directors — foreign ministry officials below ministerial level. The United States was represented by Undersecretary of State William Burns, and Russia by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
The talks came just a day after a day after President Barack Obama said the six nations will develop a package of serious new punitive measures in coming weeks. He did not give details.
On Wednesday, Tehran indicated it would not export its enriched uranium for further processing, effectively rejecting the latest plan brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency and aimed at delaying Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon.
Under the IAEA plan, Iran would export its uranium for enrichment in Russia and France where it would be converted into fuel rods, which would be returned to Iran about a year later. The rods can power reactors but cannot be readily turned into weapons-grade material.
A statement issued by the political directors expressed disappointment over Iran's failure to engage in intensified dialogue since a promising meeting on Oct. 1 in Geneva. The West says Tehran agreed in principle to export that amount in one shipment during the Geneva talks — something Iranian officials have denied.
The statement also noted that Tehran had not responded positively to the IAEA proposal.
"We urge Iran to reconsider the opportunity offered by this agreement ... and to engage seriously with us in dialogue and negotiations," the statement said.
The officials said they would hold a follow-up meeting around Christmas.
In Berlin, Mohamed ElBaradei, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency chief, pressed Iran to work with the international community.
"I would hate to see that we are moving back to sanctions," ElBaradei said. "Because sanctions, at the end of the day ... really don't resolve issues."
He said the IAEA had not yet received a formal reply from Tehran to its proposals, although Iranian officials had told him they would not send uranium for reprocessing abroad unless they first received promised fuel rods.
"Well, that to me is an extreme case of distrust," ElBaradei said. "And what we are really trying to do is replace distrust by a degree of trust."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the U.S. has not given up hope that Iran will accept and implement the uranium exchange.
"We continue to call on Iran to accept this proposal with regard to the Tehran research reactor. We think it's a good one," Wood said. "We think it's a great way for Iran to show, if, indeed, its intentions are peaceful, that they want to cooperate with the international community with regard to its nuclear program."
Iranian Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki on Thursday played down the threat of sanctions saying embargoes had proved ineffective in the past and that he didn't believe they would be tried again.
International Iran sanction looked dim.
The Obama administration is shifting the focus of its Iran policy from talk to sanctions, but the prospect of winning early international support for toughened new penalties appears dim.
Equally problematic is finding a set of sanctions that would have a significant impact on the prime target of American and international worry: Iran's suspected pursuit of an atom bomb. Three rounds of U.N. sanctions, dating to December 2006 and aimed mainly at squeezing Iran's nuclear work, have had little apparent effect.
The administration may get an early indication of its prospects at a huddle Friday in Brussels with senior diplomats from the four other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Russia, China, Britain and France — plus Germany. Any decisions on new Iran sanctions, though, are likely weeks away.
The administration has tried for months to draw Iran into talks to resolve international worries that its declared intent to develop a civilian nuclear power network is cover for a secret nuclear weapons program. But the Iranians have shown little interest, while denying any clandestine nuclear ambition.
The diplomacy, while unsuccessful so far, may improve the administration's chances on sanctions by demonstrating to the Europeans, Chinese and others that Washington has at least tried to find an accommodation with Iran.
"Many of them are still instinctively against sanctions, but Iranian intransigence has put them in a bind," said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank.
President Barack Obama said Thursday in South Korea that because the Iranians rejected a U.N. proposal to ship the majority of Iran's low-enriched uranium out of the country, "we have begun discussions with our international partners" about new pressure tactics. He said "a package of potential steps" against the Iranians would be developed over the next several weeks. He was not more specific.
The uranium gambit was seen as a way of getting Iran to open up, but on Wednesday Iranian Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki appeared to close that door by saying Iran would not send its uranium abroad. The uranium, if enriched sufficiently, could be used to produce a nuclear weapon, although Iran insists it is intended as fuel to power a planned network of civilian nuclear power reactors.
If, as some suspect, China and perhaps Russia balk at imposing new sanctions on Iran, the U.S. could enact its own penalties and coordinate them with the European Union, as it has done in the past. The administration's first choice, however, is to get the U.N. Security Council to ratchet up the pressure.
One possibility is to strengthen existing U.N. sanctions such as a March 2008 provision for financial monitoring of certain banks with suspected connections to the illicit spread of nuclear technologies.
Both houses of Congress are considering legislation that would give Obama a broad new array of authority to target Iran's energy sector by penalizing foreign companies that sell and ship refined oil products to Iran. Despite Iran's large oil holdings, it has limited capacity to make refined products like gasoline.
Obama has expressed confidence that he can persuade allies to join him in getting tougher on Iran, given widespread opposition to a nuclear-armed Iran. But it's far from clear that China, which has strong and growing commercial and investment ties to Iran, would go along. Russia's intentions also are unclear, although Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in September that sanctions may be inevitable.
Stephen P. Cohen, president of the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development, said it's no surprise that China has not publicly expressed a willingness to consider new sanctions, even if it might eventually go along. More significant, Cohen said, are recent Russian statements suggesting possible support.
"This is probably why the president thinks that he can discuss sanctions now without it being blown out of the water within five minutes by the Chinese and the Russians," Cohen said in a telephone interview.
Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, is doubtful of a positive turn of events, in part because he sees the Iranian leadership in turmoil following a disputed presidential election in June.
That might be why, he suggested, Iran has shown little interest in a separate International Atomic Energy Agency offer to provide nuclear fuel for an Iranian research reactor in exchange for Iran's shipping the majority of its low-enriched uranium to Russia or another third country.
"You may have a political system (in Tehran) that is so fractured, that is so at each other's throat, that they are incapable of making a decision of this magnitude," Parsi said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to the media as he arrives for a press conference at the presidency in Tehran on Sept. 7. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran is ready for talks with world powers over its nuclear program.
Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in Tehran last weekend. Iran, the U.S. and other nations will talk on Oct. 1.
The Obama administration, hoping to persuade Tehran to curtail its nuclear program and initiate a dialogue that focuses on other issues, will have its first formal meeting since it took office with Iran on Oct. 1.
The four other United Nations Security Council permanent members -- China, Russia, France, and the U.K. -- along with Germany will participate in the meeting, which was brokered Monday in a call between Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign-policy chief, and Saeed Jalili, Iran's main nuclear negotiator.
While the Obama administration has reversed U.S. policy by agreeing to meet on the nuclear issue without preconditions, Iran has all but ruled out talks over halting its production of reactor-grade nuclear fuel, the West's central worry.
Iran response to the talks of nuclear "We believe that nuclear technology, the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear energy, is our sovereign right," Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told reporters in Vienna on Monday.
"So we have no bargaining on this," he added. "But this does not mean that within a larger framework [of] discussing nuclear issues, disarmament, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, nonproliferation . . . in this regard, yes, we are open to discussion."
In Tehran, a Foreign Ministry spokesman appeared to dampen expectations. "Talks will focus on disarmament and international concerns, not the Iranian rights enshrined by the Non-Proliferation Treaty",We have repeatedly announced that the Iranian nation is for dialogue and is ready to have it within framework of the package of proposals," said spokesman Hassan Qashqavi, referring to Iran's claim of a legitimate right to seek peaceful nuclear power, include a package of proposals intended to reduce tensions
US response to Nuclear talk with Iran
The United States will join other world powers in talks with Iran on Oct. 1, putting President Obama's "engagement" policy to a major test.
U.S. officials voiced frustration that the Iranian document ignored Washington's demand that Tehran cease enriching uranium and allow inspectors from the IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, greater access to its nuclear installations.The U.S. estimates Iran has produced enough nuclear fuel for one atomic weapon, should it be enriched further into weapons-grade material -- though it could take years for Iran to make a nuclear warhead and develop the ability to use it on a missile.
"We plan to address this issue of their not living up to their obligations head on," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. "We are not planning on starting a whole new process here."
Once Iran made its offer for talks last week, the US could hardly refuse to explore what Iran has in mind – especially given Mr. Obama's policy of giving diplomacy a chance. But with US officials holding out little hope for concessions from Iran on its nuclear program, the meeting may simply be setting the stage for the US to seek broader international cooperation on tougher sanctions against Tehran.
US officials insisted Monday that the door to engagement with Iran will not remain open long if Tehran sticks to its position that the talks take up everything but its nuclear program.
"It's incumbent upon us to do this, to take this opportunity," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly Monday. [But] we are under no illusions."
William Burns, undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, will represent the US at the meeting, which will probably take place somewhere in Europe. Mr. Burns has already represented the US at meetings on Iran that included the United Nations Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany. Burns, Mr. Kelly suggested, has already been very clear with US partners that unfruitful talks – negotiations that don't quickly focus on Iran's nuclear program – can't go on long.
"Our patience isn't infinite. We're not willing to let this go on forever," said Kelly, noting that Obama has spoken of a "time period that ends this fall." Iran's contested presidential elections in June and their violent aftermath also prompted Obama to toughen his Iran policy. The US signed on to international demands that Iran either respond positively to talks on its nuclear program by the time of the UN General Assembly and the Group of 20 meeting – both next week – or face a new round of sanctions.
What results to hope for? U.S. officials have said that they hope Iran might initially agree to a "freeze for freeze" arrangement. This would entail Tehran freezing its production of nuclear fuel at current levels in exchange for the U.S. and the U.N. holding back in pursuing new economic sanctions against Iran.
"Our main concern is that any dealings with Tehran must have human-rights issues as the top, formal concern of the international community," said Hadi Ghaemi, director of the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.Iranian officials have confirmed dozens of deaths during battles between protesters and security services after the polls.
-Iran has arrested three Americans who strayed across the border from Iraq on allegations they illegally entered the country, and a lawmaker said Tuesday that authorities are deciding whether they will be accused of spying.
Officials in northern Iraq's Kurdish region said Sunday that the three — Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal — were tourists who inadvertently crossed into Iran on July 31 while hiking in the region. Friends and family say the three were adventurous travelers who accidentally stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time.
Lawmaker Mohammad Karim Abedi, who heads the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee, said "Surely we can say that they came as spies," he said. "The concerned authorities will decide whether they were spies or not," he added. "If it is proven that they were spies, the necessary legal procedures will be sought against them."He said the Americans had Iraqi and Syria visas.
A general view of Dukan Resort, where three American hikers were last seen, near Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Iranian authorities have given no word on three Americans detained after reportedly wandering across the border with Iraq last week during a hike in the Iraqi Kurdish region.
Unidentified foreign and local tourists are seen at Dukan Resort, where three American hikers were last seen, near Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Iranian authorities have given no word on three Americans detained after reportedly wandering across the border with Iraq last week during a hike in the Iraqi Kurdish region
A general view of Dukan Resort, where three American hikers were last seen, near Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Iranian authorities have given no word on three Americans detained after reportedly wandering across the border with Iraq last week during a hike in the Iraqi Kurdish region.
A general view of Dukan Resort, where three American hikers were last seen, near Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Iranian authorities have given no word on three Americans detained after reportedly wandering across the border with Iraq last week during a hike in the Iraqi Kurdish region.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed the second term presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday after a disputed election that plunged Iran into its worst crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
- Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waits for Oman's Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah before an official meeting in Tehran July 11, 2009. -
The results, which leading reformists and moderate defeated candidates Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi said were rigged to ensure victory for the hardline Ahmadinejad, led to violent protests and deep schisms within Iran's clerical and political elite.
Leading opposition figures and two former presidents, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, who backed Mousavi in the vote, were not at the ceremony although they had attended such events in the past, Iranian media reported.
Iranian officials deny any fraud in the election, in which Ahmadinejad was declared to have won 63 percent of 40 million votes cast, against 34 percent for Mousavi.
Part of Iran's influential Shi'ite clerical establishment has also signaled misgivings over the aftermath of the poll, which has touched off the country's worst internal upheaval since the 1979 revolution.
The power struggle can only hamper the leadership's ability to tackle the Islamic Republic's economic problems, as well as the struggle over its nuclear program, which Iran says is only peaceful, but which the West suspects is aimed at bomb-making.
In an apparent effort to deter street protests, Iran on Saturday put 100 protesters, including several senior moderate figures, on trial. They face a range of charges, including acting against national security, which is punishable by death.
Rights groups say hundreds of people, including senior pro-reform politicians, journalists and lawyers, have been detained since the election.
Iran Ayatollah urges Ahmadinejad to sack 'friend of Israel' VP
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, who led Friday prayers in Tehran, once again called on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to sack his acting president, Esfandir Rahim-Mashaie.
"I hope that the president will pay attention to critics and especially the demand by the supreme leader ¬Ayatollah Ali Khamenei¬ and revise the appointment of his first vice-president," the ayatollah said.
Rahim-Mashaie's appointment led to widespread criticism even within pro-Ahmadinejad circles, owing to an earlier remark by the vice-president that Iran's political differences with Israel had nothing to do with Israelis and Jews.
His remark that Iran was also a friend of the Israeli people sparked particularly harsh protests and calls for his resignation. Rahim-Mashaie at that time served as vice-president and head of the tourism organization.
Parliament also demanded the vice-president be sacked, or they were to take the issue to Supreme Leader Khamenei who, according to constitution, has the final say on all state affairs.
Khamenei has reportedly informed the president already about his wish that Rahim-Mashaie should be replaced.
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- In July 2009 after the disputed results were announced , Demonstrators in Tehran burn trash, apparently to mitigate the effects of tear gas used by Iranian security forces. Witnesses said the unrest was brought under control within three hours. -
Violent clashes erupted Thursday in downtown Tehran between thousands of defiant protesters chanting "Death to the dictator" and security forces wielding truncheons, as the political crisis over Iran's disputed presidential election stretched into its fourth week.
Contingents of uniformed and plainclothes security forces flooded the city's central squares and managed with batons and tear gas to eventually disperse the demonstrators, many of whom wore black and held up their fingers in V-for-victory salutes.
Demonstrators said they were determined to defy the authorities, led by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who have demanded an end to rallies and acts of civil disobedience. Tracts distributed online and as leaflets called on protesters to borrow the nonviolent tactics of the U.S. civil rights movement, avoid rifts within their ranks and do nothing that would hamper morale.
Protesters chanted in support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who authorities say was defeated by incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the presidential vote, and they urged security forces to join them.
Mousavi and Karoubi say the next government will be illegitimate.
Former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi announced presidential bid on March 10(Left).Reformist Mehdi Karroubi(Right)
Both candidate above are favored among the moderate reformist supporters.However loss to incumbent hardliner Ahmadinejad .
