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Iran Times June 26, 2009
Stoning Movie Gets Mixed Reviews
The first movie reviews are in for ’ÄúThe Stoning of Soraya M.’Äù and the critics have very similar views, both positive and negative. Almost uniformly, the critics rave over Shohreh Aghdashloo’Äôs performance, but they find much of the acting by male Iranian-Americans in the film to be ’Äúcartoonish.’Äù Critics also said they are troubled by the length and realism of the graphic stoning sequence’Äîbut at the same time see a purpose to it.
Popular American Musicians Sing About Iran American folk singer Joan Baez and rock star Jon Bon Jovi can pretty much cancel any thoughts of ever performing in the Islamic Republic, despite the fact that have recently chosen to sing some lines in Farsi. The singers have separately recorded numbers endorsing the opposition green movement.
American Academic Hopes his Work will Help Iranian Protesters
If you want to know where the Iranian protest movement is going to go next, you might check out a book by an 81-yearold American academic named Gene Sharp. It’Äôs not known whether any of the protesters in Tehran know who Sharp is, but Iranian Intelligence Ministry officials known him well and see him as a threat.
Economy
Iran’Äôs Monetary and Credit Council Reinstated The Central Bank of Iran announced Monday that the Monetary and Credit
Council, which was forcibly dissolved two years ago by President Ahmadi-nejad in a very controversial action, has been reconstituted. In a statement, the Central
Bank said the decision to reconstitute the council was made in collaboration with the president. No mention was made of the fact the Council of Guardians ruled
16 months ago that Ahmadi-nejad had no authority to dissolve the council.
Iran Signs Contracts with Asian Companies for Oil and Gas Development
In the absence of interest from many European-based oil firms, the Islamic Republic is moving forward with contracts with Asian companies to develop Iran’Äôs oil and gas resources. In the latest development, Malaysia’Äôs Amona Company, the China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL), and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) will jointly develop the Resalat oilfield, the Iranian Offshore Oil Company’Äôs managing director said Sunday.
Iranians Transferring Money Abroad
Iranians are reportedly transferring large sums of wealth out of the country in the wake of the post-election disorders, the Daily Telegraph of London reported last week. It said the fear of a new round of economic sanctions was thought to be the main motivator. The Telegraph cited ’ÄúWestern intelligence agencies’Äù as saying that wealthy families and private businesses were shifting funds out of the country. It cited the Italian intelligence agencies’Äînot the most respected in the world’Äîas detecting multiple transactions, each of up to $10 million, by four Iranian banks acting on behalf of Iranian clients.
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What's the News
Election Review Said to Confirm Ahmadi-nejad Victory
The Council of Guardians formally declared the election review finished Tuesday and confirmed incumbent President Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad was the re-elected president. ’ÄúThe case of the 10th presidential election is closed,’Äù said Abbas-Ali Kadkhodai, the spokesman for and a member of the 12-man Council of Guardians.
Demonstrations in the Streets of Iran
The demonstrations in Tehran have faded both in frequency and scale, but they still break out periodically and the nightly rooftop chants of ’ÄúAllahu Akbar’Äù continue to haunt the government. President Ahmadi-nejad, who simply disappeared at the height of the protests, has now reappeared and seems to be trying to operate as if it were business as usual.
Iran’Äôs Basiji Carry Out Nighttime Raids
Iran’Äôs paramilitary Basij are carrying out brutal nighttime raids, destroying property in private homes and beating civilians in an attempt to stop nightly protest chants, Human Rights Watch reported this week. HRW also said the Iranian authorities are confiscating satellite dishes from private homes to prevent citizens from seeing foreign news.
Report of U.S. Troops Invading Iran
PressTV has reported that American troops recently invaded Iran’Äîbut were soon repulsed by the Iranian military. The English-language outlet of Iranian state broadcasting quoted an unnamed ’Äúsecurity official’Äù as reporting that American troops, backed by tanks, crossed the border from Iraq into the Dehloran area of Ilam province and tried to seize an oilfield there. He said the Americans laid 100 meters of pipeline, marked with Iraqi flags, on Iranian territory’Äîimplying the Americans were planning to pipe oil from Iran back to Iraq. That also implied Iran was unable to do anything about the invasion for quite some time.
Regime Denies Punishing Soccer Players in Green
Tehran news reports last week reported several players on the national soccer team had been fired for wearing green wristbands in support of the political opposition during their match with South Korea in Seoul.
Eight Soccer Teams Suspended
Eight of the 18 teams in Iran’Äôs top professional league have been suspended for failing to make required payments to players and to other teams. Mojtaba Sharifi, director of the league’Äôs disciplinary committee, said, ’ÄúThese clubs cannot work unless they reach a settlement with their creditors.’Äù
Dutch Court Upholds War Crimes Conviction The Dutch Supreme Court Tuesday upheld the war crimes conviction of a
Dutch businessman for selling chemicals to Saddam Hussein which were used against Kurds and Iranians. The top Dutch court, however, rejected an appeal by 16 Iranian and Kurd victims for compensation, saying their claims were too complicated. The court also shaved six months off the 17-year sentence handed to Frans van Anraat because his case took so long. In May 2007, a Hague appeals court upheld Van Anraat’Äôs 2005 conviction for complicity in war crimes and increased his sentence from 15 to 17 years.
Ross Moved to the White House Dennis Ross, who was hired several weeks ago to work on Iran policy for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has been promoted to the White House to work on Iran policy at the top of the political pyramid. It isn’Äôt yet clear whether the promotion will make any difference in reality, but it certainly adds some luster to Ross. Ross, although Jewish, was the chief point man for Israeli-Palestinian matters under both Republican President George H.W. Bush and Democratic President Bill Clinton. But he was shunted aside when George W. Bush entered the White House.
Russia Changes Mind About Iranian Missiles
Russia has changed its mind and now agrees with the United States that Iran is progressing quickly with its missile program, U.S. Defense Secretary Roberts Gates said last week. Gates told the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee last month that when he first met a few years ago with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Iranian missiles, ’Äúhe basically dismissed the idea that the Iranians would have a missile that would have the range to reach much of Western Europe and much of Russia before 2020 or so.’Äù U.S. intelligence has long said it expects Iran will have an even longer range missile, one capable of reaching the United States, after 2015. Gates told the subcommittee that Putin ’Äúshowed me a map that his intelligence guys had prepared’Äîand I told him he needed a new intelligence service.’Äù
House Defeats Iran Sanctions Bill The U.S. House of Representatives last week defeated a Republican effort to increase sanctions on Iran. The vote, however, was largely a GOP political move to paint Democrats as being soft on Iran, and not really a policy vote. The Obama Administration has opposed taking any new initiatives against the Islamic Republic while it is trying to start diplomatic talks with Tehran.
SOUTHCOM Commander Sees Iran as Potential Threat in the Region It appears the Obama Administration is not actually fearful of President Ahmadi-nejad’Äôs new friendships with South Americans. Obama Administration officials have periodically made some comments about being troubled by the Islamic Republic’Äôs actions in Latin America. This has led to a series of news stories about Iran’Äôs political ties to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador and a few other Latin American states’Äîties that many Latin American analysts have trouble taking seriously.
New Majlis Bill Factors Education Level into Conscription Service
The Majlis has enacted a law to make conscription service shorter the more education one has. The new law continues to say the maximum conscription service is 24 months and the military has the option to set a lower figure. The draft service is now18 months. But under the new law, a conscript who is a high school graduate would have two months shaved off that service time, and the service reduction rises with more education: four months off for an associate degree; six months off for a bachelor’Äôs degree; eight months off for a master’Äôs; and 10 months off for a doctorate. That means a Ph.D. holder will only serve eight months of draft duty in 2011 when the new law takes effect.
Hundreds of Protesters and Opposition Leaders Arrested
Hundreds of Tehranis, perhaps more than a thousand, have been arrested since the outbreak of election unrest, ranging from teenagers pulled in for rioting on the streets to well-known political leaders accused of fomenting the protests, including one who was dragged from his hospital bed and another pushed off to prison in his wheelchair.
U.S. Shifts Drug Policy in Afghanistan The United States has announced a major shift in its drug policy in Afghanistan, eliminating a program that has angered many Afghan farmers. Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told the Associated Press in an interview that the U.S. and UN program to eradicate poppies forcibly was only driving farmers into support of the Taliban.
Upcoming G8 Meeting to Discuss Iran Sanctions
In what could be an earthshaking shift by the major powers, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Monday the Group of Eight (G8) wealthy powers will probably impose new sanctions on Iran when they meet in Italy next week.
Iran Jails British Embassy Employees Iran’Äôs Intelligence Ministry Saturday arrested nine Iranian nationals who work for the British embassy; the arrests set off a fury in Europe that threatened to blow up, and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was working furiously to try to end the crisis. The arrests got only minimal attention in the United States, but all across the EU, diplomats and politicians saw the arrests as an attack on all 27 EU members and meetings to plan forceful action were being held in capitals all across the continent. Mottaki swiftly saw that the arrests threatened Iran’Äôs relations with Europe. Mottaki was repeatedly on the phone with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband’Äîtwice on Monday alone’Äîtrying to keep the crisis from boiling over.
Majlis Panel Calls to Ban Stoning
Three days after the release in the United States of a film on stoning, a Majlis committee voted to end the practice in Iran. It wasn’Äôt clear if the Majlis committee action was a direct result of the Hollywood film, but legislation to end stoning has been sitting in the Majlis committee for a year without any previous action.
UNESCO Adds Shushtar Site to World Heritage List UNESCO this week added the hydraulic water system at Shushtar to its World Heritage List of almost 900 sites of ’Äúoutstanding universal value.’Äù UNESCO called the Shushtar water system, which can be traced back to Darius the Great in the Fifth Century BCE, ’Äúa masterpiece of creative genius.’Äù
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Tidbits and Morsels
Iran Times July 3, 2009
Off to see Muslims:Israeli President Shimon Peres made a state visit to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan this week, a rare visit indeed by an Israeli official to majority-Muslim countries.
California probe: The state of California has ordered all the insurance companies in the state to report within 90 days on all investments related to Iran. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner (photo) pointed to a law enacted in January aimed at limiting investments in Iran. He said a loophole may allow California firms to continue investing money in Iran indirectly. For that reason, he has ordered up the 90-day reports to see if insurance firms are taking advantage of the loophole. Poizner's initiative is part of the continuing interest of many state officials in showing that they can be tough on the Islamic Republic. Elected public officials tend to see attacks on Iran as a win-win situation and thus positive publicity.Ôø‡ Poizner, it should be noted, has declared his candidacy for governor in the 2010 elections.
Confused hacker:A hacker last Wednesday broke into the computers of the Oregon University System and posted a message telling President Obama to pay attention to the economic crisis and cease talking about the disputed election in Iran. The message was more than odd considering that Obama has repeatedly said he would not comment on the election! The posted message also asserted there had been no fraud in the election, and made derogatory remarks about Mir-Hossain Musavi. The hacker did not explain why he or she chose the Oregon University System to make a statement.
Tallulah Bankhead redux:Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo says it's her husky voice more than her face that gives her away to Americans. In an interview with The Washington Post, she said it was her role in the TV series "24" that made her broadly known to the public. "And it's usually my voice that gives me away-the moment I open my mouth. Usually my friends tell me, 'Just shut up. Let's go have lunch and don't say anything. We'll order food for you.' We were sitting at this restaurant and they ordered for me, the waiter came back and looked at me and said, 'How would you like your food, hot or mild?' And I said, 'Hot,' and he said, 'Are you the woman on '24?'"
He's back!Readers may recall 12 years ago when Iran's national soccer team was playing in Australia and losing. All of a sudden, an Aussie, Peter Hore (photo) ran onto the field and tore down the goal net, stopping the game for several minutes. When play resumed, Iran went on to win and that gave the team a slot in the 1996 World Cup. Ever since, many Aussie soccer fans have blamed Hore. But Hore can't be stopped from his antics. In fact, he does these things so often, he is known in Australia simply as "The Pest." Last week, he jumped from the gallery onto the floor of the provincial parliament in New South Wales state and ran around shouting he was a member of the "Free Australia Party."
Fat country: According to Rasul Heydari, a nutritionist, Iran is "the fifth fattest nation in the world" as 20 percent of all Iranians under the age of 25 are overweight with 4 percent to 8 percent outright obese. The Mehr news agency story on Heydari's report to a nutrition conference failed to say if he identified the four countries that outrank Iran in the fat business.
What am I bid? In February, Kyrgyzstan announced it had gotten $2 billion in aid and credit from Russia and was kicking the Americans out of their air base in Kyrgyzstan when the lease expires in August. Last week, Kyrgyzstan announced that the Americans had agreed to pay three times as much rent and would be allowed to stay. Sounds like the good old days of the Coid War when countries tried to play the superpowers off against each other for fun and profit.
Stooped pilots: Air Force Commander Brig. Gen. Hassan Shah-Safi says a just-completed exercise was carried out by pilots all of whom were trained after the 1979 revolution.Ôø‡ Does he mean to say the Air Force has at least until recently been using combat pilots who were well into their 50s or even 60s?
Oldest and youngest: The annual university entrance exams were given all over Iran this week.Ôø‡ According to the testing service, the oldest person to sign up was a 74-year-old woman, while 22 13-year-olds were also due to take the test.
Visa denied: The United States has denied a visa to Vice President Parviz Davudi (photo) and some of the men who planned to accompany him to a UN economic conference in New York. Iran's UN Ambassador, Mohammad Khazaee, announced the rejection but gave no reason. Usually, the United States denies visas to Iranian officials for one of the two reasons: they have been identified as having a role in terrorist actions, or they were linked to the detention of the American hostages in 1979-81.
Suicide bombing: During the height of the election protests, a suicide bomber tried to entered the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini. Officials said that when guards at the entrance questioned him, the man set off his bomb, killing himself and injuring three others.Ôø‡ The bomber has still not been identified by the authorities. Suicide bombing is rare in Iran.
Yucks galore:There is no peace on the late night joke front when it comes to Iran. David Letterman is having a field day: "Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad had a victory party and he came out at the party and thanked the 148 percent of the people who voted for him.Ôø‡ This Ahmadi-nejad guy, during all those protests, is keeping a very low profile. His staff said he was hiking. "
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