FIRE WITH FIRE

In one of the world's most oil-rich countries, gas is being rationed and Iranians are angry. Despite 2005 election promises, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad decreased gas subsidies in May, causing the price of gasoline to increase 25% to 38 cents a gallon. On Tuesday, after weeks of planning, the government implemented a rationing program that limits Iranians to 26 gallons of subsidized gas a month. Additional fuel can be purchased, but at a higher price yet to be announced. In protest, incensed Iranians rioted, smashing shop windows and setting fire to gas stations. Read the full article here.

Iran is the second largest OPEC exporter but lacks the refineries needed to process its lucrative natural resource. Unbelievably, Iran must import 50% of its gasoline to satisfy the growing needs of its citizens. Because Iranians like their gas cheap and plentiful, the government subsidizes gas sales to keep the price low. This has put a significant strain on the nation's economy. Proponents of the new measures hope that price increases and rationing will curb oil use and make funds available for government investment in oil and gas production.

Ahmadinejad could easily find himself in hot water with his fellow citizens. He was elected on the promise that he would share Iran's oil wealth with the nation's poor. Going back on that promise, even to bolster a seriously failing economy, could be political suicide.

"Ahmadinejad promised paradise," a Tehran resident railed, "but his government has made life hell for Iranians."

Labels: economy, fuel prices, gas rationing, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Posted by The Watcher at Saturday, June 30, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

The US Congress is a step closer to passing legislation that would punish foreign energy companies that do business with Iran. The House's foreign affairs panel passed the proposed law 37:1 with representatives on both sides of the aisle accusing Iran of trading energy for terror. Click here to read the full story.

"Foreign investment in Iran equals money for terrorism and attacks on Americans," said Democrat Gary Ackerman. "Investment in Iran's petroleum sector enables that country to pursue nuclear weapons, to arm insurgents fighting American troops, and to underwrite Hezbollah and Hamas."

Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, both the US and UN have imposed economic sanctions against Iran with little effect. The US Congress is changing tactics, threatening to impose penalties against countries that ignore those sanctions and choose to trade with Iran for their own economic benefit.

"Pressuring companies to cut their financial ties with Iran is critical to ensuring that sanctions have their intended result," said Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Many European and Japanese companies have profited from lucrative oil and natural gas contracts with Iran. By bolstering Iran's economy despite international censure, they have negated the sting of levied sanctions. Perhaps if they have to pay a price themselves, they will be more willing to forgo personal profit for the international good.

Labels: foreign policy, Iran, nuclear, sanctions, United Nations

Posted by The Watcher at Thursday, June 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

From AP wire service: "Acting on a request from Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said yesterday that it will send a team to Tehran to work jointly on a plan meant to clear up suspicions about the Islamic republic's nuclear activities."

Iran issued the invitation to the UN agency on Sunday which is seen by many politicians as a positive step. However, a number of politicos felt this was one more in a long list of delaying tactics.

"I don't think Iran's track record is particularly noteworthy or particularly likely to give me or anyone else confidence that anything will come of these discussions," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

For more than two decades Iran has stonewalled the UN agency's attempt to ascertain its nuclear capability. It's hard to believe that Iran is beginning a new era of international cooperation. With no change in regime and new UN sanctions being threatened, it's more likely that Iran is just trying to wriggle out from under yet again.

Labels: Iran, nuclear, United Nations

Posted by The Watcher at Tuesday, June 26, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Despite President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claims that reformists are free to speak their mind in Iran, students who protested against his visit to their university this spring are being quietly arrested.

At least eight of Amir Kabir University's leading reformists have been arrested since May, according to their lawyers and activists inside and outside Iran. Hundred more have been rounded up and questioned. Read the full article here.

Reformists have been increasingly targeted during Ahmadinejad's regime. Within the President's circle, there is growing concern that reformists will exploit US-Iran tensions, using them as a catalyst for revolt.

Teachers, feminists, union leaders, journalists, students and Iranian-Americans are being targeted and increasingly arrested over the past six months. While most have been freed, they have often spent weeks or months behind bars with no outside contact and no recourse to the courts.

"The new government has increased pressures on the nation -- students, laborers, intellectuals," said Ebrahim Yazdi, foreign minister after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's 1979 revolution and now leader of the banned but tolerated Freedom Movement of Iran. "When laborers stage protest rallies, the government, instead of talking to them, takes them to jail. Women are jailed just for collecting signatures in support of women's rights."

Iran's ruling party is slowly but steadily eating away at the rights of its citizens. Books are being censored, newspaper editors told what to write, university activities abolished. Seems like the "new" regime has turned into the "old," and that Ahmadinejad's promises of freedom are as hollow as those of his predecessors.

Labels: dissidents, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, students

Posted by The Watcher at Saturday, June 23, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Press TV, Iran's English-language satellite news network, will start broadcasting globally on July 2. The "Voice of Iran" promises "to present a new perspective to its viewers around the world," said Mohammad Sarafraz, Iran Broadcasting Deputy Director for International Affairs. Read the full article here.

Planning to provide news reports every half hour around the clock, Press TV will focus on developments in the Middle East and US and provide analysis of current events throughout the world. Rejecting criticism that Press TV will be an Iranian Aljazeera, Sarafraz said that a more balanced view of world events is needed than the biased view provided by Western news organizations.

It will be interesting to see what Press TV considers to be a balanced view of the news. While it may not turn out to be as blatantly biased as Aljazeera, given the self-serving statements of Iranian officials, I doubt that the world can expect Press TV to be a fair, dispassionate news source.

Labels: Iran, Iran TV, Press TV

Posted by The Watcher at Thursday, June 21, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

In the most direct statement to date, a senior US diplomat accused Iran of arming Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told reporters in Paris, "Iran is now even transferring arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan." Read the full article here.

Iran has long been accused of funding insurgents throughout the Middle East, but this is the boldest accusation to date by a US official. As one of the few relatively stable countries in the Middle East, Iran stands to gain both power and real estate by fomenting rebellion among its neighbors. Iran's fiery president has repeatedly claimed Iran's divine right to rule the Middle East, envisioning the past when Persia ruled a vast empire.

In the May 31 edition of the Economist, British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote,
"In Afghanistan it is clear that the Taliban is receiving support, including arms from ... elements of the Iranian regime."

Isn't it time the world community -- and particularly Iran's neighbors -- put a stop to this? How long will Iran be allowed to continue its disruptive policies? Don't Iran's neighbors recognize the wolf at their door?

Labels: Afghanistan, arms traffic, Iran, Taliban

Posted by The Watcher at Tuesday, June 19, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

The current American strategy in Iran is not working. "We need to develop a better strategy to protect our national interests and the security of our friends and allies in the region," argue Representatives Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) and Bob Filner (D-California) writing in The Washington Times. Read the full article here.

Tancredo and Filner express the growing sentiment on Capitol Hill that a major change in US-Iran foreign policy is needed. They argue that the only viable course of action is active support of the Mujahedin e-Khalq (MEK), Iran's best organized opposition movement.

"The MEK is a moderate, democratic, secular organization that has consistently opposed the regime's extremist policies with a message of democratic reform and individual freedom — a message that Iran's ruling mullahs don't want their people to hear," the Congressmen say.

The problem is that the US has classified the MEK as a terrorist agency, despite repeated efforts to have it removed from the list. A well-organized, effective, anti-government Iranian organization already operating within Iran would seem to be the perfect tool for forwarding US interests in Iran and the Middle East. A few years ago, a European diplomat commenting on Iranian unrest made this astute observation:

"The pent-up anger is still there, beneath the surface. But for it to seriously take off you need a catalyst, you need a cause, you need organization and leadership. It's a big task."

The MEK can be that catalyst. With active US support, the MEK could lead the Iranian people to the democracy they desire. How much better to let Iranians change Iran than to try to force US policy down their throats. It's time to stop making mistakes in the Middle East and support the MEK.

Labels: foreign policy, invade Iran, MEK

Posted by The Watcher at Saturday, June 16, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Iran is about to make a critical decision. This week Iran will complete its investigation of Americans imprisoned or detained in Tehran and decide whether to try them for "crimes against national security" or free them. You can read the full article here.

It seems that Iran is about to play its biggest bargaining chip in what has become an escalating war of words and tension with Washington. Iran is obliquely bargaining imprisoned Americans against the release of Iranian operatives captured in Iraq. A hardline decision by Iran could engender the full wrath of America and initiate a military clash between the two powers.

In the next few days Iran's prosecutor for security affairs is expected to render his verdict in the cases of four Americans, three of whom have been held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison since early May. The fourth American is out on bond and a fifth unidentified American is also being held. All are dual US-Iran citizens who were in the country visiting family or on business. The US has vociferously denounced Iran for targeting American-Iran dual citizens. Shortly after the arrests, the US State Department issued a travel advisory warning Americans not to travel in Iran.

Iran has been equally strong in its indictment of the US for the detention of five Iranians captured last January in a military raid in Iraq. The Iranians are part of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force which is active in arming and training Iraqi militants. The US is due to review their case later this month.

The arrest of US-Iran citizens appears to be a power play by Iran, a useful bargaining chip in securing the release of its own citizens. Dialogue between the two countries has become increasingly incendiary.

"We will make the Americans regret their ugly and illegal act," said Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

Such inflammatory statements and Iran's continued meddling in the affairs of Iraq have increased America's ire. This week Senator Joe Lieberman denounced Iran's actions and threatened US military action (see our June 11 blog post). Iran should take care not to prick the sleeping American bull too much least he be roused to charge.

Labels: arrests, hostages, US-Iran citizens

Posted by The Watcher at Thursday, June 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Just what we need, another war front. Senator Joe Lieberman said the US should consider a military strike against Iran to punish Tehran for its involvement in Iraq.

Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, Lieberman said, "I think we've got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq."

What a great idea. Then they can kill Americans in Iraq AND Iran.

The independent senator from Connecticut continued, "And to me, that would include a strike over the border into Iran, where we have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people coming back into Iraq to kill our soldiers."

Of course, Lieberman, who's a smart man and shrewd politician, has a valid point. That Iran is training and arming Iraqis is a recognized fact. It's more than likely that Iranian undercover agents have been in Iraq for years fomenting rebellion and terrorist activities.

So why the talk of invasion now? The fear of nuclear weapons development has Washington in a tizzy. "If they don't play by the rules," Lieberman warned, "we've got to use our force, and to me, that would include taking military action to stop them from doing what they're doing."

Lieberman clarified that he prefers the bulk of military action be by air strike as opposed to a massive ground assault, but isn't that where we started in Iraq? Iran should be warned, though.

Despite lack of popular support, Congress is taking a harder line against Iran. Lieberman's words mirror growing sentiment on Capitol Hill: "They can't believe that they have immunity for training and equipping people to come in and kill Americans. We cannot let them get away with it. If we do, they'll take that as a sign of weakness on our part and we will pay for it in Iraq and throughout the region, and ultimately right here at home."

If Tehran continues to wave the red flag in the face of the American bull, they shouldn't be surprised when he starts to charge.

Labels: invade Iran, Iran, Lieberman, nuclear

Posted by The Watcher at Monday, June 11, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

The reverence in which Muslims hold martyrs is so foreign to Western thinking that it is incomprehensible to Americans. In our Christian culture, the act of martyrdom is more usually an individual choice in which a single person dies for his beliefs, harming only himself. In Islam, martyrdom appears to be a goal in itself, the supreme statement of belief and the heroic path to paradise. The deaths of others are immaterial. If they are practicing Muslims, they too will joyously enter paradise. If they are not Muslims, they are less than human, a blight upon the world and deserving of death.

In Tehran there is a museum to martyrs. Solemn music swirls around displays of war artifacts, mementos from the families of suicide bombers, and tales of heroism meant to inspire the next generation of Iranians. You can read the full article here.

"In our beliefs and ideology, the shahid [martyr] has the highest value, the highest position in society," said Morteza Alizadeh, museum director.

Iranians consider martyrs to be those killed in war or during a violent struggle. Martyrs and their families are held in the highest esteem and "most receive financial benefits from the government for their sacrifice, including housing allowances for parents and widows, free health care and educational stipends for surviving children," writes Kevin Sites who spent a year traveling in Iran. You can read the full article here.

The honor accorded martyrs, the generous benefits to their families, and the high esteem in which martyrs are held has become a siren song to Iran's poor and its conservative Muslims. Exhorted to seek martyrdom by Islamic clerics, young men and women are choosing martyrdom to honor and provide for their families.

"Martyrdom, for us, is our school, our ideology, our heart and our prayer," said Mullah Hassan Ali Ahangaran, a religious consultant to the Martyr's Museum. "It allows the continuation of Islam. The blood of the martyr revitalizes our religion."

Labels: martyrs, suicide bombers

Posted by The Watcher at Saturday, June 09, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

The fiery president of Iran can hardly wait to build his first atomic bomb. He's going to drop it on Israel and wipe it right off the map! Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shocked the world with his statement that the world would soon witness the annihilation of Israel. You can read the full article here.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was 'shocked and dismayed' at the report by the official Islamic Republic News Agency. President Ahmadinejad has made repeated anti-Israeli comments and this is the second time he has referred to Israel's impending doom.

In a statement, the secretary-general reminded Iran and the international community that "the state of Israel is a full and long-standing member of the United Nations" and that "all members have undertaken to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

The last time Iran's hard-line president threatened Israel, he said, the "Zionist regime should be wiped off the map." Iran did a little backpedalling, claiming Ahmadinejad meant that Israel would disappear in time, a victim of its own policies and culture, rather than be destroyed. This time Ahmadinejad's statement was quite clear. No amount of spin can hide his intent to annihilate the Jewish state.

Labels: Israel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, United Nations

Posted by The Watcher at Thursday, June 07, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Iran is prepared to "pay a price" for continuing its nuclear program, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, avowed today in Tehran. Speaking at a rally in commemoration of Imam Khomeini's death 18 years ago, the Ayatollah, current leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution, called America and its allies bullies who are trying to prevent Iran from attaining its rightful place in the world. You can read the full article here.

"You should not beg others for your right. Once you retreat and show leniency, the hegemonic nature of the bullying powers will increase their intimidations. Right must be achieved through resistance," the spiritual leader told throngs of cheering supporters. "The free and independent nation of Iran will not beg their rights from the domineering powers, because their experiences of the past 28 years have taught them that they can get their rights through prudent resistance."

No matter what Iranian politicians claim about democratic decision-making by the people and legislature, these are the statements of the man who decides Iran's policy -- foreign and domestic. You don't even have to listen closely to hear his very words parroted back by President Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials.

So then, the question is: Given the mindset and beliefs of the man who holds sway over Iran, why do its diplomats even bother to participate in peace talks and negotiations? The only answer that makes sense is that they're stalling for time. The longer they can keep the US and UN from acting, the closer Iran gets to having a working nuclear weapon. The more they can stir up world resentment against the US, the longer they have to build alliances, fund terrorists and undermine the stability of its neighbors.

Iran does not want peace. Iran does not want to cooperate with the international community. Iran wants to rule the Middle East. They consider it their birthright. It's past time the Arab community woke up and recognized the wolf in their flock.

Posted by The Watcher at Tuesday, June 05, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

Stronger penalties against Iran are needed "right now," US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Singapore today. Next year or the year after will be too late, Gates said. Iran's looming nuclear capabilities and uncertainty over the country's time frame for developing a nuclear bomb appeared to be at the root of the Secretary's strong statements. Gates indicated military action might even be considered to stop Iran's nuclear program, though as a last resort. You can read the full article here.

"Uncertainty about Tehran's nuclear work does put a premium on unanimity in the international community -- especially in the UN Security Council -- in terms of ratcheting up the pressure on the Iranians, not next year or the year after but right now," Gates said.

Gates comments came in response to Iran's offer to answer UN questions about past atomic activities. Tehran's offer falls short of the international community's demands that Iran freeze its uranium enrichment activities and cease its efforts to build a nuclear weapon. There is suspicion that this is just one more delaying tactic in Tehran's arsenal of tricks to avoid further UN sanctions. Gates comments served as a warning to Iran and the international community: Iran must be brought to heel now!

Posted by The Watcher at Saturday, June 02, 2007 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post