U.S. State Dept interpreter's perspective on Iran

Says Islamic Republic is stable and in ways not much different than U.S. 

The Wall Street Journal currently features an article on Californian Amir Mohammad Estakhri, who serves as a contractor to the U.S. State Department, interpreting Persian and Dari for among others U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano, and retired Gen. David Petraeus, both when he was Central Intelligence Agency director and head of the U.S. Central Command.

Estakhri also serves as contracted interpreter for President Ahmadineajad, interpreting the leader's comments in TV interviews with Charlie Rose and Piers Morgan and in meetings with global diplomats at the UN.

"My background allows me to easily switch between two worlds," said Mr. Estakhri, in an interview at a suburban mall near his home in San Diego. "Iran and the U.S. are much less different than people realize."

Notes the WSJ article's author, Jay Solomon: "Mr. Estakhri said he plans a documentary set in Iran to give voice to its leaders and people. He hopes it will run on American network television. 'Despite what many in Washington believe,' he said, 'the Islamic Republic isn't going anywhere and can't be changed from outside."

Drop in Rial Result of International Sanctions – U.S.

The U.S. State Department said on Monday that the precipitous drop in Iran's currency, the rial, reflects “relentless international pressure” on the country over its nuclear program.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington that the sanctions are cutting “deeper and deeper” into the Iranian economy, and Tehran needs to change its calculus on its nuclear program. (Reuters, 1 October)

U.S. Drops Mujahedeen from Terrorism List

But Underscores Concerns About MKO

The U.S. State Department today formally removed the Iranian dissident group Mujahedeen-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from its official list of terrorist organizations.

State Department announced today that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took the decision in view of the MKO's public renunciation of violence, the absence of confirmed acts of terrorism by the MKO for more than a decade, and their cooperation in the peaceful closure of their paramilitary base in Iraq.

But the State Department also underscored concerns about the group.

“With today's actions, the Department does not overlook or forget the MEK's (MKO’s) past acts of terrorism, including its involvement in the killing of U.S. citizens in Iran in the 1970s and an attack on U.S. soil in 1992,” the State Department statement said.

“The Department also has serious concerns about the MEK (MKO) as an organization, particularly with regard to allegations of abuse committed against its own members.”

Iran Police (NAJA) sanctioned by the U.S. departments of State and Treasury

Per Reuters:

The United States said on Thursday it had sanctioned Iran's national police force and police chief and two other security forces for serious rights violations since Iran's disputed 2009 presidential election.

The sanctions, announced by the U.S. departments of State and Treasury, apply to Iran's Law Enforcement Forces and its commander Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, and to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij Resistance Force.

The sanctions would freeze any of the targets' assets under U.S. jurisdiction and bar U.S. persons and institutions from dealing with them. They also make Moghadam and potentially all members of the groups ineligible for U.S. visas.

Many in the Western media and apparently in the USG were under the mistaken impression that the IRGC were the primary force conducting crowd dispersal operations following the 2009 presidential election in Iran. In fact, a number of counterfeit IRGC and Artesh documents arose, betraying this misconception. Perhaps now the USG and media will be better informed of the fact that it is Iran's law enforcement agency that is the primary force responsible for dispersing unlawful assemblies on the streets of Tehran and other Iranian municipalities.

Also, it should be pointed out that Iran's police force is actually being penalized for effecting the Iranian government's policy of less-lethal force, even during periods of rioting and where law enforcement officers' lives are in danger, which stands in contrast to situations where U.S. law enforcement policies specify lethal force be employed.

That said, it's unclear to what extent these sanctions affect NAJA, if at all beyond that of mere posturing.