Selected Headlines

27 Nov 2009 20:49No Comments

Tabnak | Nov. 27, 2009

Of the 35 members of International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors, 25 voted in favor of the suspension of the Fordo nuclear plant's activities, three voted nay and six abstained from vote.

The nay votes belonged to Malaysia, Venezuela and Cuba.

The six countries that abstained were Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey.

Azerbaijan left the hall as voting commenced.

The countries that voted in favor of the suspension of the Fordo plant include: 1. Argentina; 2. Australia; 3. Burkina Faso; 4. Cameron; 5. Canada; 6. China; 7. Denmark; 8. France; 9. Germany; 10. India; 11. Japan; 12. Kenya; 13. South Korea; 14. Mongolia; 15. The Netherlands; 16. New Zealand; 17. Peru; 18. Romania; 19. Russia; 20. Spain; 21. Switzerland; 22. Ukraine; 23. UK; 24. US; 25. Uruguay.

Related: Background Briefing with Senior U.S. Administration Officials on IAEA Board of Governors' Resolution on Iran."

Official calls for trial of opposition leaders

Fars | Nov. 27, 2009

One of the legal experts serving on the Guardian Council called for the immediate trial of the post-election opposition leaders, saying it has been postponed long enough.

"It is already too late for the trial of the post-election heads of sedition, as if they had been tried sooner we would not be in this situation today... this has no legal justification, " Fars News Agency quoted Gholam-Hossein Elham as saying.

"We gave everyone the chance to present themselves [to the public] in the recent election and they [opposition figures] can make no claims because they were given a chance and they used every campaigning opportunity and they were not under financial supervision," he said.

"Any one of the candidates who had won enough votes could have become the president but before the vote was over they [Mir-Hossein Mousavi] proclaimed themselves as the winner of the race... the people participated in the election and there were monitors but even before the votes were counted they announced that if we are not the winner, there has been fraud and this marked the beginning of sedition... They hurled the greatest insult at the nation by questioning [Ahmadinejad's] provincial tours and asking why the debates were held in that manner."

"The efficiency of an establishment is judged by the services it renders to the people and this is why the people, who witnessed the proficiency of the 9th government, voted for it again."

White House Praises IAEA Rebuke Of Iran

ABC News | Nov. 27, 2009

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said today's "overwhelming vote" by the International Atomic Energy Agency condemning Iran for its secret uranium enrichment plant reflects international resolve that Iran be more transparent in its nuclear pursuits.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog voted 25 to 3, with backing from Russia and China, to pass the resolution, which also urged Iran to immediately freeze nuclear enrichment activity at the Fordow enrichment facility.

"The fact that 25 countries from all parts of the world cast their votes in favor shows the urgent need for Iran to address the growing international deficit of confidence in its intentions," Gibbs said in a statement.

The vote also seemed to indicate international frustration with Iran's apparent about-face on a draft agreement with the IAEA in which Iran would have parted with its enriched uranium in exchange for fuel for a medical nuclear reactor.

Diplomats: Iran censured at UN nuclear meeting

AP | Nov. 27, 2009

The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board censured Iran on Friday, with 25 nations backing a resolution demanding that Tehran immediately freeze construction of its newly revealed nuclear facility and heed Security Council resolutions to stop uranium enrichment.

Iran remained defiant, with its chief representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency declaring that his country would resist "pressure, resolutions, sanction(s) and threat of military attack."

Delegate Ali Asghar Soltanieh of Iran shrugged off the vote.

"Neither resolutions of the board of governors nor those of the United Nations Security Council ... neither sanctions nor the threat of military attacks can interrupt peaceful nuclear activities in Iran, even a second," he told the closed-door meeting, in remarks made available to reporters.

Iran defends its freezing of Nobel Laureate's assets

NYT | Nov. 27, 2009

Iran denounced Friday charges by Norwegian government that it had illegally confiscated the a Nobel Peace Prize winner's medal and frozen her bank account, the IRNA news agency reported. Iran called the action an interference into its internal affairs and said the winner, Shirin Ebadi, owed money to the government in taxes.

"We are surprised that Norwegian officials can make such hasty and biased comments and disregard the laws and regulations of other countries," a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, was quoted as saying, adding that Ms. Ebadi, a human rights lawyer, had refused to pay taxes on her prize.

Ebadi: Iran 'lying' over Nobel prize medal

AFP | Nov. 27, 2009

Iranian rights activist Shirin Ebadi on Friday insisted Tehran had confiscated her Nobel Peace Prize medal and rejected accusations about her tax affairs after her assets were frozen.

"They are not telling the truth," Ebadi told BBC World Service radio in an interview in London. "They seized my bank account and stopped my retirement pension and also my husband's bank account and pension.

"My husband also had a deposit box in the bank and in that was my Nobel Prize and the medal of the Legion d'Honneur," she said, referring to France's top honour.

Speaking through a translator, she added: "The Nobel Prize was in the deposit box in Tejarat bank and they seized that deposit box."

"Assuming they are telling the truth and I have to pay tax on this prize, why have they confiscated and seized the box belonging to my husband?

"Besides, the order to seize our bank accounts should have come from the tax authorities and the order to seize the box came from the Revolutionary Court."

It is the first time in Nobel history that a medal has been confiscated.

"If the Islamic republic is angry about the publication of human rights reports, they would do better by improving the human rights situation," she told the US-funded radio station.

Clip of the Day

Even though this is Ahmadinejad's fourth visit to Venezuela, authorities welcome him with Shah's Imperial National Anthem

Shah-era anthem broadcast on state TV

Norooz | Nov. 26, 2009

Three decades after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Pahlavi-era national anthem played in Venezuela to greet the Iranian president.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad displayed no reaction to the diplomatic blunder and instead marched in tune with the anthem.

The ceremony was broadcast live on IRIB. In the video footage of the incident, the presenter's voice is heard saying, "This is the fourth visit by our president to Venezuela; the Venezuelan president visited Iran on August..."

After the incident, the pro-government Khabar Online website ran a story which said, "Following the live broadcast of Ahmadinejad's welcoming ceremony in Venezuela from INN [Iranian News Network] rumors began to circulate that the Pahlavi-era anthem was played at the ceremony. While it is obvious that the national anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran was not played at the ceremony, it has not been confirmed that the anthem played was the Pahlavi-era one."

Hugo Chavez did not receive Ahmadinejad and the official welcoming ceremony originally scheduled for Wednesday afternoon was postponed until Thursday.

While Ahmadinejad's wife had accompanied him on the trip, she was not warmly received and was only on camera only for a few minutes.

A few stories from the last week...

Mortazavi responds to Zakani's Kahrizak allegations

Tabnak | Nov. 24, 2009

Former Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi said Ali-Reza Zakani has been inflicted with the disease to altercate with others and create tension.

"Mr. Zakani has the sickness that makes him want to create tension and pick fights with others," Fars News Agency quoted Mortazavi as saying.

Mortazavi, who is currently the deputy prosecutor general, was accused by Zakani of ordering the transfer of post-election detainees to the notorious Kahrizak Detention Center.

"I don't intend to respond to Mr. Zakani's accusations," he said. "I think the best response to him is silence and my response to him is what I have said before and of course everything that he has said [about me] is false and meaningless."

Mortazavi added that while he was serving in the capacity of deputy prosecutor general, there was a possibility of him joining the cabinet.

Mohsen Hashemi responds to Zakani allegations

Tabnak | Nov. 24, 2009

The son of influential cleric Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani responded to accusations made against the Rafsanjani family by Tehran MP Ali Reza Zakani.

According to the Islamic Student News Agency, Mohsen Hashemi wrote in the letter, "I read your recent remarks made at the "Sedition and Outcome" summit for the student Basij of Imam Sadeq University and I was surprised that a person, such as yourself, who upholds religious piety, made such statements that are against ethical and religious principals and in violation of the Leadership's order to not make allegations about the
Hashemi family until they are proven in a court of law and before the charges have been heard in court."

Mohsen Hashemi rejected having ever been subjected to legal prosecution or having been tried for corruption. He rejected having been summoned by the judiciary and denied that lawsuits had been filed against his brother in more than ten years.

"Unfortunately, our complaints have not been dealt with so far and we have not been provided with airtime to respond to the allegations raised against us on state television. Even the letter sent to the judiciary chief to request a probe into the allegations made against rumors circulating about us remains unanswered," the letter stated.

Elham: Hamshahri ban pleased all Iranians

Parlemann | Nov. 24, 2009

Gholam-Hossein Elham, one of the legal experts on the Guardian Council, said that Iranians were pleased with the ban on the popular Hamshahri daily.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Ali Kordan's funeral, Elham said, "This was not the first time that Hamshahri violated the law. It had committed such follies in the past."

"People are happy with the ban on this daily," he opined.

Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief of the popular daily told reporters, "in one of the ads published in Hamshahri there was a picture of a building that according to the Media Supervisory Committee belongs to the Baha'i sect."

"This picture had been used by other newspapers such as Khorshid (Sun) and Iran but they were never reprimanded for it," he said.

Rahimi says ruthless behavior let Kordan to death

Tabnak | Nov. 24, 2009

First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said the treatment Ali Kordan received was the reason for his untimely demise.

When asked if Kordan was a chemically-wounded veteran of war [in the 1980s] and had achieved martyrdom through his death, Rahimi said, "This is up to the Foundation of the Martyrs [of the Islamic Revolution] to decide, and they must look into the matter and pass a verdict."

"Apparently when Mr. Kordan visited Piranshahr after the chemical bombardment of the city by Iraq, he came into contact with chemical compounds. I should note that even we, who were his friends, were not aware of this, and he only pointed to the issue in his impeachment hearing."

Rahimi went on to say that he had realized that a number of media outlets had claimed that Kordan had been suffering from an incurable disease that led to his death.

"This is while, according to what his physician said, no traces of his previous illness were left in him and in my opinion the treatment handed to Kordan was one of the main reasons that he was forced to meet his maker in such an untimely manner," he said.

He concluded by advising all to draw upon the exemplary 'life and death of Kordan,' adding that Kordan had fallen victim to countless baseless allegations.