Islamic Fashion Exhibit in Tehran

A permanent exhibit opened for Islamic fashion in Tehran on Monday.

Photo: Mannequins wearing headscarves on display at the Permanent Exhibition for Islamic-Iranian Fashion and Costume Design. Tehran, February 13, 2012. Photo by Vahid Sohrabi / ISNA

Source: Tehran Times/Payvand.com

Trial Starts in Iran’s Biggest Banking Scandal

Thirty-two people suspected of involvement in a 3 billion dollar banking fraud went on trial in Tehran on Saturday.

The record embezzlement case revolves around forged documents allegedly used by the directors of the Amir Mansour Arya Investment Company to secure loans to purchase state-owned companies under the government's privatization program. Seven state-owned banks have also been implicated in the scandal that reportedly began in 2007 but only came to light last September.

The defendants included Amir Mansour Aria, the managing partner of the investment company. The former CEO of Bank Melli, Iran's largest government-owned bank, fled to Canada after the embezzlement scandal was exposed last year.

The Central Bank of Iran's Deputy Director Hamid Pourmohammadi is the highest government official that has been arrested so far reportedly on charges of lax supervision of the state-owned banks implicated in the embezzlement scandal.

Source: IRNA

US, EU Welcome Iran Readiness to Start Nuclear Talks

US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton and European Union foreign affairs commissioner Catherine Ashton in a joint news conference at the State Department on Friday welcomed a letter from the Iranian government proposing new round of talks with the world powers about its nuclear program.

The letter, which had arrived at EU headquarters on Wednesday, was a long-awaited response to a proposal by Ashton in October on behalf of six powers, the so-called P5+1. The last round of talks between the Iran and P5+1 ended in failure in Istanbul in January 2011.

Clinton said in her remarks that the letter from Iran “appeared to acknowledge and accept” the P5+1 group’s framework for new talks.”

“We think this is an important step, and we welcome the letter,” said Clinton. “(Any resumption of talks) will have to be a sustained effort that can produce results,” she added.

“We must be assured that, if we make a decision to go forward, we see a sustained effort by Iran to come to the table, to work until we have reached an outcome that has Iran coming back into compliance with their international obligations,” Clinton said.

Ashton said the letter pointed to a “potential possibility that Iran may be ready to start talks.”

Source: The Washington Post, 18 February 2012

Iran Navy '18th Task Force' transits Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea - Updated

According to Reuters:

Two Iranian naval ships have sailed through Egypt's Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, in a move likely to be keenly watched by Israel. 

"Two Iranian ships crossed through the Suez Canal (on Thursday) following permission from the Egyptian armed forces," a source in the canal authority said Friday. 

The destroyer and a supply ship could be on their way to the Syrian coast, the source added.

This looks to be Iran Navy 18th Task Force which is on a 70-80 day mission "aimed at demonstrating Iran's power in the high seas" according to Islamic Republic of Iran media. The task force comprises IRINS Shahid Naqdi and IRINS Kharg. See file photos below:

IRINS Kharg (431) Kharg class replenishment ship (AORH)

IRINS Shahid Naqdi (82) Bayandar (PF 103) class corvette (FS)

Update:  Rescinded.

  Photo: Hossein Zohrevand and Majid Jamshidi at Fars News Agency

Thai Police Searching for More Suspects in Bangkok Blasts

The Thai police announced today they are searching for more suspects in connection with the Tuesday’s explosions in Bangkok. Three Iranian nationals have been arrested in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur already and the arrest warrant for a fourth Iranian has been issued. The Thai police have accused the four for conspiracy to assassinate Israeli diplomats in the country.

Police say one of the two additional suspects being sought was seen on closed circuit camera footage leaving the same house where the first of Tuesday's blasts occurred. The three men in detention have also been filmed leaving the house after the explosion.

One of the suspects, Saeid Moradi, was seriously injured and lost his legs when a device he was carrying exploded on a busy street while being chased by the police. A second suspect, Mohammad Khazaei, pictured above, was arrested at Bangkok’s airport. A third suspect, Masoud Sedahgatzadeh, was arrested by police in Malaysia while trying to fly out of Kuala Lumpur airport. The fourth suspect, a female named Leila Rohani, who had rented the house that was damaged by the first accidental blast, had already left Thailand.

Thai police chief Prewpan Dhamapon has said the explosives in the Bangkok blasts were similar to those used in recent car bombing attacks targeting Israeli diplomats in India and Georgia. Four people were injured in the New Delhi attack, while the car bomb in Tbilisi was defused.

Sources: VOA/AP/AFP, 17 February.

Photo: Mohammad Khazaei, center, in police custody. Bangkok. 16 February 2012. Reuters

Ahmadinejad in Islamabad

Ahmadinejad and Zardari Discuss Gas Pipeline, Oil Agreement

Iranian President Mahmoud Admadinejad met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday in Islamabad ahead of a tri-lateral summit of the leaders of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistani press reported that during the meeting Zardari reiterated Pakistani commitment to complete the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline [The Express Tribune, 17 February].

The proposed IP pipeline originally included India, but the Indians withdrew their participation and opted instead for the US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. Iran has completed the construction of IP pipeline on its side, but the Pakistanis, despite their repeated expression of interest and commitment to the project, are yet to start any work on their side.

Iran has also offered Pakistan deferred oil payments, but that offer was quickly and unexpectedly met with a similar offer from Iraq. The Pakistanis are reportedly negotiating with the Iraqis to finalize a long-term oil contract.

Photo: iranian President Ahmadinejad (l.) with Pakistani President Zardari. Islamabad, 16 February. Photo: Press TV

Thai Police Accuse Four Iranians for Planning to Attack Israeli Diplomats

The Bangkok Police said today the three Iranians detained after accidentally setting off explosives in the Thai capital were planning to attack Israeli diplomats.

The allegation came after days of strong accusations by Israel that Iran was behind the botched plot as well as two others in India and the former Soviet republic of Georgia this week. Iran has denied the charges.

Citing the similarity of bombs used in New Delhi and Tbilisi, Thai police Chief Gen. Prewpan Dhamapong said that Thai authorities now “know for certain that (the target) was Israeli diplomats” [AP, 16 February].

On Monday, a bomb tore through an Israeli diplomatic vehicle in New Delhi, wounding the driver and a diplomat's wife, and an attempt the same day in Tbilisi was also foiled. The alleged plot in Bangkok was discovered Tuesday only by accident, when explosives stored in a house occupied by several Iranian men blew up accidentally.

One of the Iranians, Mohammad Kharzei, was paraded before journalists in Bangkok today. Another suspect, Saeid Moradi, lost his legs when an explosive he was carrying blew up as he fled police in the Bangkok’s busy Sukhumvit Road area. Surveillance video released by police apparently links the suspects, showing them leaving their destroyed house just after the first blast.

The third Iranian, Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, was detained in Malaysia and the Malaysian federal police said today he was being investigated for terrorism-related activities linked to the Bangkok blasts.

A Bangkok court has approved arrest warrants for all three suspects, as well as an Iranian woman named Leila Rohani who rented the destroyed house. However, authorities believe Rohani has already left Thailand.

All four now face criminal charges including possession of explosives, attempted murder, attempted murder of a policeman and causing explosions that damaged property.

Source: AP, 16 February 2012

UPDATE (Thu 16 February): Thailand said today that Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, the Iranian national suspected to be involved in the botched bomb plot in Bangkok, will be extradited from Malaysia. Sedaghatzadeh was arrested yesterday by Malaysian police in Kuala Lumpur.