1998 report: Clinton administration had no problem with Iran intervening in Iraq

Al-Kadhimiya Mosque in 1998 (AP Photo/Murad Sezer)

Noteworthy in light of the speculation and analysis's regarding Iranian intervention in Iraq today is this November 20 1998 newspaper report which reminds us that back in 1998 the United States openly declared that it had no problem if Iran would intervene to assist the then oppressed Shiite majority there.

Of course today a considerable amount of the controversy in Iraq stems from the fact that many Sunnis feel marginalized in the political process under the present Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Nevertheless one mustn't readily forget those days when the Shia were marginalized by the Tikriti mafia clan which ruled Iraq for decades.

The 1998 Associated Press report quotes then State Department spokesman James P. Rubin outlining how, "We are not going to complain about any effort Iran makes to assist Shiites or others suffering under Saddam's rule. But we are not working with them [the Iranians] in any shape or form or soliciting their support."

Those comments were also made when there was a considerable thaw in post-1979 Iran-U.S. relations. While the report stresses the fact that the U.S. maintained Iran and Saddam's Iraq were sponsors of terrorism the Clinton administration was nevertheless interested in the potential prospects for change the considerably more moderate tone coming from Tehran under then President Khatami could present.

Similarly today we have a president in Tehran who promulgates a more moderate policy and says he seeks a more productive relationship between Tehran and Washington. Indeed it was this president who only yesterday suggested that Iran may intervene in Iraq in order to protect Shiite shrines there. A statement that can be interpreted as a possible plan for direct military intervention into Iraq against ISIS.

Contrary to the inaccurate statement frequently repeated by numerous media outlets reporting on the possibility of American/Iranian cooperation in Iraq today such cooperation in the post-1979 era would certainly not be "unprecedented", as the Herat campaign of November 2001 clearly proves.

Student Protests in Iran - Marking 16 Azar - Student Day

Iran's Student Day - 16 Azar - was marked by student protests and chants in support of the release of political prisoners. Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that students at Shahid Beheshti University carried banners, “Political prisoners must be released!” and “Long live Rouhani! Long live Khatami!” (ISNA/Payvand, 7 December)

Photo credit: Student protests mark 16 Azar, the country’s Student Day. (ISNA)

IRIB Poll: Rafsanjani in the Lead

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), state radio and TV organization, said today its latest and most extensive national public opinion poll shows former president Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani is most popular among all actual and presumptive candidates for president in the upcoming June election.  Another former president, Ayatollah Khatami, finishes a close second in the poll, and Tehran’s mayor, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, finishes a distant third, followed by former foreign minister Ali Akbar Valayati. (IRIB, 22 April)

Rafsanjani represents the moderates within the current political system, the proponents of ‘reform from above,’ preferring a council of supreme leadership instead of a supreme leader, and massive economic reforms to limit the role of government in favor of private enterprise.

Khatami represents the reformists calling for a more open society and serious political, judicial reforms and press freedom. Qalibaf and Velayati represent traditional conservatives close to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

Rafsanjani and Khatami have yet declared their candidacies.

Aside from the three factions mentioned, there are also supporters of president Ahmadinejad as well as the extreme right grouping lead by Ayatollahs Mesbah Yazdi and Sadeq Larijani.  The president and neither of the two ayatollahs will be on the ballot, however. Ahmadinejad supporters prefer Mashaie to be their candidate, but are fearful that the Guardian Council might block his candidacy.  The extreme right will also choose a candidate among a short list of politicians to run for president.

File photo: Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, right, with Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei (Leader.ir/ISNA).

Iran Ex-President Accuses the Government of Pushing Country Towards Violence

Former Iranian President Ayatollah Mohammad Khatami today criticized the Iranian government for staging “blind violence” against the opposition.

'This kind of blind violence will have unclear consequences,” Khatami warned.

Khatame criticized the government for executing two young protesters last week. Nine others have also been sentenced to death for their involvement in the protests.

'The correct reply to protests should not be suppression, jail and executions but allowing the people the legal right to say what they want.

“There are some officials who I believe are pushing the country towards violence by spreading lies and accusations,” Khatami said.

Khatami: Green Movement Will Not Die

Iran’s former president Mohammad Khatami has said the protests which followed Iran's disputed presidential election will carry on.

“If we [as a nation] go along with people's demand, we will reach our goals quicker and in a less costly manner,” Khatami said on Sunday. “If not, this movement will still continue but at a higher cost. In any case, this movement will not die.” [Baran Website, 11 October].

Khatami added the situation in Iran was not a struggle between conservatives and reformists, but that “a narrow-minded, violent and mistrusting current wants to get rid of those whom it dislikes.”

“This current must know that it can't forcibly rule people with military and police methods,” Khatami said.

The “current” is believed to be a thinly veiled reference to the alliance between the Ahmadinejad’s government and the senior leadership of the IRGC.

Brigadier General Naqdi: New Basij Commandant

Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi was born in Najaf, Iraq in 1953. He and his family were expelled from Iraq during Saddam's mass purge of Iranians in 1980. Later, he enlisted in the Basij Expeditionary Force, saw action in Lebanon and was closely linked to Hezbollah. Upon returning to Iran, he became a member of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Revolution Council. (The term "Revolution" was later omitted in 2007.)

Around 1993, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei employed Naqdi as a rising intelligence officer for the IRGC Quds Force. Shortly thereafter, Naqdi was posted at the Intelligence office of Iran's security, to be subsequently assigned into a high ranking staff position as a Brigadier General at General Command Headquarters.

In 1999, during Khatami's presidency, Naqdi participated in a semi-coup against the freely elected reformist government. He was instrumental in arresting the mayor of Tehran, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, together with 164 top municipal employees. He was also involved in plotting assassination attempts against Abdullah Nouri (Interior Minister) and Mohajerani (Minister of Islamic Culture and Guidance), and played a key role in coordinating a crackdown against a student uprising at Tehran University by members of Ansar Hezbollah, a plain-clothed militia that along with others, Naqdi played a key role in organizing and financing.

In 2000, Naqdi formed a political group called called the Band-e Kabir (Great Gang) to "prevent social corruption". Breaking Iranian law in the process, he faced charges of criminal activity in judicial proceedings and was sentenced to a 3 month prison term, which he never served. Naqdi is rumored to have been involved (together with Mohseni Ejei- Ahmadinejad's minister of Intelligence) with the suspicious death of the judge that handled the Tehran mayor's criminal case (the judge suffered cardiac arrest apparently due to air-injection).

It's interesting to note that the members of Band-e Kabir were charged with several felonies (including kidnapping, extortion, use of dangerous weapons and firearms, as well as abuse of governmental power) and were publicly prosecuted. However Naqdi, who is closely connected within the Supreme Leader's inner circle, was spared. In fact, instead of being prosecuted, he was promoted by President Ahmadinejad in 2005 and put in charge of a federal corruption probe, the "Committee to Combat Drug and Currency Smuggling". Responding to Naqdi's exposure of smuggling practices by one of President Ahmadinejad's major financial supporters, Naqdi was removed from his anti-corruption post, to be returned to a staff position in the Iranian armed forces by the Supreme Leader.

On Sunday, October 4th, Ayatollah Khamenei appointed Naqdi as Basij Commandant, replacing cleric Hojjatoleslam Hossein Taeb. Naqdi's selection by the Supreme Leader indicates the need for a hard hitting, security minded authority, who is not afraid to take decisive action against internal elements perceived as a soft or hard threat to the Islamic Republic establishment. It's also possible that his appointment, to a degree, represents an attempt by Khamenei to promote a balance of power within Iran's multiple layers of state security apparatuses, with Naqdi very much being a supreme leader man. It has also been reported that the Basij are to be incorporated into IRGC ground forces and if true, Naqdi will no doubt supervise this formal crossover.

*Biography provided courtesy of Naj at Neo-Resistance, with supplemental details provided by Roozonline.com

--MARK PYRUZ

Iran Trials Denounced – Confessions under Torture

Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami denounced today the trial of approximately 100 people charged with taking part in post-election demonstrations. The trials took place on Saturday.

“What was done yesterday is against the constitution, laws and right of the citizens,” Khatami told a group of lawmakers and political activist. “The court relied on confessions taken under certain circumstances which are not valid.”

“The most important problem with the trials is that it was not held in an open session. The lawyers and the defendants were not informed of the contents of the cases ahead of the trial,” Khatami said.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi said in Tehran today that confessions at trial were extracted under “torture.”

Iran put 10 more protesters on trial in the revolutionary court in Tehran today [ISNA].

We believe the trials, reminiscent of Stalin-era trials of top Soviet leadership, are indeed invalid and will further inflame the anti-government sentiments among the youths and other segments of the population. Governments apparently have tough time to learn from history.

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Iran's former vice president, shown before his arrest (l.) and at his trial on Saturday

Letter by Mousavi, Other Opposition Leaders on Imprisonment and Torture

Mir Hossein Mousavi and other opposition leaders have urged the grand ayatollahs in the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad to pressure the government to release protesters and activists imprisoned and being tortured following last month’s disputed presidential election.

Mousavi, the presumed winner of the election, Mehdi Karrubi, former President Mohammad Khatami and 66 other prominent reformists sent a letter to the senior ayatollahs saying authorities have held protesters and activists without charges and have used torture to extract confessions.

"We call on you, the marja' taqlid to remind the relevant authorities of the damaging consequences of employing unlawful methods and warn them about the spread of tyranny in the Islamic republic system," said the letter.
"What legal, Islamic or human rights code can justify the repeated torture of those who live under the banner of Islam?" it said.

The letter said the repressive methods used to obtain confessions were reminiscent of the methods employed by Iran's former shah, who was toppled by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"The only way out of this situation is to release all detainees and put an end to the security state imposed after the election," it said [AP English translation, 25 July].

Khamenei Warns Country’s “Elite” – aka the Opposition

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the opposition leaders today not to “disturb” the country’s security. Khamenei addressed them as Iran’s “elite,” warning that they should be cautious in their positions on the post-election turmoil that has gripped the nation since 12 June disputed presidential election.

“Anyone who drives the society toward insecurity and disorder is a hated person in the view of the Iranian nation, whoever he is’” said Khamenei. "Any words they utter, any action they take, any analysis they express [could help the nation's international rivals].

"It is examination day," Khamenei added. "But anyone who flunks the exam cannot retake it the next year. Failing in this exam is not flunking, it is a collapse” [English translation by LA Times, 20 July].

Iran analysts speculate that Khamenei was upset with calls for national referendum on the legitimacy of the election made by Ayatollah Mohammad Khatami. The former president had argued that the referendum would help achieve the goal of restoring trust in the country, a requirement outlined by Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani during his Friday Prayer’s sermon.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader and former premier Mir Hossein Mousavi demanded the release of all protestors detained following the election. Detaining people, Mousavi argued, would not resolve the dispute over the election outcome. His remarks were published shortly after Khamenei’s warning to the country’s “elite.”

Khamenei has the authority under the constitution to order a referendum on any questions deemed important to the stability of the system, including a referendum to settle the current dispute over the presidential election.

Khatami Calls for National Referendum

In a bold challenge to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, former president Mohammad Khatami today called for a national referendum on last month’s disputed presidential election. Khamenie has dismissed claims that the election was rigged.

The Islamic Republic constitution does allow national referendums on vital political issues.

“If the majority of people accept the situation, we also will accept it,” said Khatami, referring to a decision made through the national referendum.

Khatami also praised Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s Friday Prayer’s Sermon and said a referendum would help achieve Rafsanjani’s goal of restoring trust in the country.

Khatami Backs Mousavi

Khatami Addressing Mousavi Supporters at Azadi Campaign Rally
Tehran. Azadi Stadium. 23 May 2009
ILNA and IRNA Photos

Iran’s former reformist president Mohammad Khatami today openly threw his support behind former premier Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has emerged as the main rival to President Ahmadinejad in the 12 June presidential elections.

Speaking to thousands of young supporters at a rally in Tehran’s indoor Azadi (Freedom) sports stadium, Khatami urged the cheering crowd to “stand up and do not miss this rare opportunity.”

“All of you, come to the ballot boxes and by writing down the name of Mir Hossein Mousavi, fulfill your duty to the revolution and to Islam and also define your own fate,” Khatami said [IRNA, 23 May].

Many in the crowd dressed in Mousavi’s trademark green color or wearing green scarves or wristbands.

“I know that filtering of thoughts and restriction of freedom has increased ... Interference in electoral matters ahead of the election and at the time of the election has also increased in order to prevent the will of the people from being heard,” Khatami said.

Even as he spoke, ILNA News Agency reported that Iran had blocked access to Facebook ahead of the polls, allegedly to prevent supporters of Mousavi from using the site for his campaign.

“According to certain Internet surfers, the site was banned because supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi were using Facebook to better disseminate the candidate’s positions,” ILNA reported.