US sanctions against Islamic Revolution Guards Corp (IRGC) and its Quds Force and the possibility of a US military attack on Iran dominated the coverage in the local media. Iranian military reports indicated a large number of US Air Force sorties over the Iranian borders and IRGC commanders warned of a decisive strike against US if Iran is attacked. The Iranian political leadership also began warning of a possible US attack on Iran and vowing to fight the invaders. On nuclear issue, Iran said it will answer all IAEA questions to send its nuclear file from UN Security Council back to its nuclear watchdog agency, thus avoiding further UN sanctions. In regional issues, Iran announced its readiness to cooperate with Turkey against PKK, but at the same time expressed hope for a political settlement of the conflict.
Iran-US Relations
· White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said “there is no reason for people to think that the president is about to attack Iran”; Perini said US is pursuing a diplomatic track to resolve the standoff with Iran.
· US Air Force is conducting an increasing number of sorties over Iranian borders; Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said US sorties run counter to international rules and regulations; Hosseini warned that Iran would give a crushing response if its territorial integrity is violated; Hossieni warned of a possible military attack on Iran; Hosseini said Iranian military will give firm response to invaders.
· IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Ali Jafari said IRGC would response with decisiveness if attacked; Gen. Jafari said IRGC will reply to any strike with an even more decisive strike.
· Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said US is trying to create new problems for Iran; he warned US against any military attack on Iran.
· US Vice President Dick Cheney warned foreign companies that continued business with Iran would disrupt their ties to US; Vice President Cheney said “if you do business with Iran, you will have problems doing business in the US.”
· Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said US decision to cut off financial relations with Iranian banks is meaningless; he said Iran demands 100 percent of its nuclear rights and US is obliged to accept this right.
The Nuclear Issue
· US government designated Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corp (IRGC) as a proliferator of WMD; US named IRGC’s Quds Force as a supporter of terrorism; US sanctioned three major Iranian banks for their involvement in WMD proliferation and support for terrorism; eight individuals were also sanctioned for proliferation activities.
· Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called US imposition of new sanctions against “international principles”; Mottaki said the sanctions are “worthless and defeated”; former IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Yahya Safavi said US unilateral policies against Iran are spearheaded by global oil cartels.
· Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would not succumb to pressure from Washington; Ahmadinejad dismissed new US sanctions as “hollow”; he added the sanctions show the “Americans are not able to harm us.”
· IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Iran was years away from having the ability to produce a nuclear weapon; ElBaradei said the IAEA had no evidence Iran was actively trying to build a nuclear bomb.
· French Defense Minister Herve Morin said he did not agree with ElBaradei’s characterization of Iran's nuclear program; Morin said “our information is contrary to ElBaradei’s comments”; Morin expressed hope the pressure from international community will persuade Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program.
· Russian President Vladimir Putin warned against US sanctions on Iran; Putin said US President is “running around like a madman with a razor blade, waving it around”; Putin said diplomacy is best way to resolve nuclear standoff with Iran.
· China rejected Israeli calls for sanctions against Iran; Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told visiting Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni that China does not support new sanctions against Iran.
· Iran and IAEA began a final round of talks in Teheran to resolve remaining questions on Iran’s P-1 and P-2 centrifuges; Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Deputy Director Mohammad Saeedi said Iran was prepared to answer remaining questions to close the file on its centrifuge technology.
· Iran’s nuclear negotiating team returned home after meeting with EU officials in Italy; Saeed Jalili and Ali Larijani met EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Rome; Larijani called the meeting “fruitful”; Larijani said “new and constructive” ideas emerged in talks.
· Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said his country will follow US sanctions against Iran; Downer said if Iran’s enrichment program isn't suspended some time fairly soon, a lot of countries will introduce different types of measures and sanctions against Iran.
Leading Domestic Storylines
· Brig. Gen. Ali Fahdavi, Deputy Commander of IRGC Naval Force, said Iran will utilize elements of sacrifice and martyrdom if necessary against invaders; he said IRGC has taken an example from Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh; Fahmideh blew himself under an Iraqi tank when he was 13 during the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq.
· Iran’s reformist party Moshrekat challenged President ahmadinejad’s nuclear policies; the Islamic Iran Participation Front (Mosharekat) warned of escalating crisis with international community if nuclear standoff is not resolved; the government should refrain from its adventurous policies, said Mohsen Mirdamadi, party’s secretary general; Mirdamadi said Tehran has increasingly become isolated since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005; Ahmadinejad has adopted wrong tactics, which is pushing Iran towards serious confrontation with the world, Mirdamadi added.
· Iranian labor leader Mansour Ossanlou was sentenced to five years in prison; Ossanlou was arrested in August and charged with endangering national security.
Leading Regional Storylines
· Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Tehran for a meeting with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki; the two sides discussed Iran’s nuclear program.
· Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said was ready to cooperate with Turkey against PKK; Ahmadinejad told visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan Iran understands Turkey’s struggle against terrorism; Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki accused US of backing Kurdish separatists waging war against Turkey and Iran; Ahmadinejad said PKK crisis can be ended peacefully.
· Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz said three Iranian islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tumbs are Arab; Sultan said it is not in Iran’s interest to provoke anyone in the region.
Showing posts with label labor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label labor. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Labor Unions Under Fire
Mahmoud Osanloo, head of the Workers’ Syndicate of Tehran Bus Company, was abducted near his house on 10 July by plainclothesmen, presumably from the Ministry of Intelligence, and has not been heard from since.
Since Ahmadinejad’s election in 2005, his government has begun to directly control union activities in Iran. Although Iran is a member of ILO, the Geneva-based International Labor Organization, but the government has consistently violated ILO rules.
Ahmadinejad’s Ministry of Labor routinely opposes and suppresses strikes by trade unions, the pillar of ILO regulations. The Ministry even sends its own official as labor representatives to ILO meetings.
The country is facing high unemployment and low wages but the labor unions are not allowed to openly oppose the government’s policies or take direct action to safeguard their members’ interests.
ILNA, the news agency closely associated with the labor movement in Iran, was also banned by the government. The ninth government is proving to be one of the staunchest opponents of the labor movement in Iran.
Since Ahmadinejad’s election in 2005, his government has begun to directly control union activities in Iran. Although Iran is a member of ILO, the Geneva-based International Labor Organization, but the government has consistently violated ILO rules.
Ahmadinejad’s Ministry of Labor routinely opposes and suppresses strikes by trade unions, the pillar of ILO regulations. The Ministry even sends its own official as labor representatives to ILO meetings.
The country is facing high unemployment and low wages but the labor unions are not allowed to openly oppose the government’s policies or take direct action to safeguard their members’ interests.
ILNA, the news agency closely associated with the labor movement in Iran, was also banned by the government. The ninth government is proving to be one of the staunchest opponents of the labor movement in Iran.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
News from Iran
The government clampdown on dissent and its decision to ration gasoline dominated the coverage in the Iranian media. In the past few weeks the Iranian government has started a massive crack down on pro-reform press, student organizations, labor unions, former high-level government officials, Iranian-American personalities visiting the country, and the restive public. On the economy front, President Ahmadinejad rejected a proposal to allow drivers who reached their limit to purchase more fuel at a higher price. The authorities also arrested over 80 people for damaging gas stations during protests against fuel rationing. A former oil minister confirmed published reports that Iran’s oil production is rapidly depleting due to lack of foreign investment. Iran can loose all its oil export revenues by 2014 if no new investment were available to expand the oil production.
Crackdown on Dissent
· On 2 July, the government closed down the pro-reform daily Ham-Mihan and suspended the activities of the independent news agency ILNA.
· On 10 July, the government ordered the final closure of ILNA.
· On 5 July, the police special forces stormed the top-ranked Polytechnic University and arrested 11 student leaders. The student leaders have been transferred to the notorious Evin Prison.
· On 10 July, Masour Osanloo, a labor union leader, was kidnapped near his house. It is widely believed that the plain-cloth men who picked him up were the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence.
· In the past month, four Iranian-Americans personalities visiting the country have been charged with promoting velvet revolution in Iran and three of them are kept at Evin Prison.
· In May, the government arrested Hossein Mossavian, the country’s former nuclear negotiator and a close ally of former president Hashemi Rafsanjani. Mossavian has since been accused of espionage.
· On 9 July, the Intelligence Ministry announced the arrest of 20 people who allegedly were part of a spy network.
· On 27 June, authorities arrested 80 people on the charge of damaging gas stations during protests against fuel rationing.
In December, the people will elect the 8th Majlis (Iranian parliament). In June 2009, the people will elect the 10th president of the Islamic Republic. Ahmadinejad and fundamentalist groups want to hold on power in Majlis and Ahmadinejad himself wants to be reelected as president. The pro-reform press, the student leaders and union activist, the former high-level officials in Rafsanjani and Khatami administrations, including the Three Ayatollahs (Rafsanjani, Khatami and Karubi), the Iranian-American pro-reform personalities and anyone protesting against the government is now viewed as enemy. To get reelected and to keep Majlis in his camp, Ahmadinejad needs to defeat the alliance formed by the pro-reform movement. The five months left to the parliamentary elections may well prove the most challenging period for proponents of reform and democracy in Iran.
Other Domestic Storylines
· President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad decided against a proposal to allow motorists to purchase more gasoline than their rations at free market price; Ahmadinejad said doing so would push up the country’s inflation rate to unaccepted levels; he said setting a free market price for gas under the present circumstances is a “killer poison” for the country's economy; the gasoline ration of about one gallon per day per car went into effect earlier in the month; a number of officials, including the Minister of Energy, had previously said that the drivers who reached their limit would be able to purchase more fuel at a higher price.
· Iranian authorities announced the arrest of 80 persons on the charge of damaging gas stations and looting shops during protests against fuel rationing.
· Four trucks smuggling gasoline our of Iran crashed into each other and caught fire in southeastern country, killing 13 people; the trucks crashed near the Pakistan border; fuel smuggling from Iran to neighboring countries is common because the country has one of the lowest fuel prices in the region.
· Iran’s former oil minister Akbar Torkan said Iran produces four million bpd of crude oil, but without new investment, five percent of this production capacity will be gone every year; Torkan was confirming published reports that Iran was in danger of loosing its oil exports by 2014 if no new foreign investment were attracted to work in the country’s oil fields; US sanctions prohibit American and foreign companies to invest in Iranian oil and gas industry.
· A man convicted of adultery was stoned to death in Aghchekand, 124 miles west of Tehran; the spokesman for the judiciary did not elaborate on how the stoning was carried out; The execution came two weeks after the Iranian officials had delayed carrying out the sentence against Jafar Kiani and after the head of the Judiciary had said that the sentence will not be carried out; Kiani’s female companion, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, who also was sentenced to death by stoning is still in prison.
The Nuclear Program
· IAEA Chief Mohammad ElBaradei said Iran has slowed down the expansion of its nuclear enrichment capabilities at Natanz ; Hamid Reza Haji Babaei, a member of the National Security Committee of Majlis (Iranian parliament), denied reports that Iran had slowed down the pace of its nuclear activities at Natanz facility; Haji Babaei said Iran had not agreed with anyone to reduce its uranium enrichment activities; he added that uranium enrichment was regarded as the red line for Iran and that all previous nuclear activities are still continuing and at the same pace.
· Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to IAEA, said that Iran expects that the new round of talks between EU foreign policy chief and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator will lead to conclusive results; Soltanieh welcomed EU “new trend” in favoring negotiations on Iran’s nuclear standoff.
· President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected any talks of uranium enrichment suspension as part of an agreement with EU to head off a showdown with the West over the country’s nuclear program.
· An IAEA delegation, headed by the agency’s deputy chief, arrived in Tehran.
Regional Storylines
· The leader of an Al Qaida in Iraq warned Iran in a new audiotape to stop supporting the Shia in Iraq; Al Qaida warned Iran would face a ''severe war'' if it continued its support of the Shia.
· Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said that the five Iranians diplomats detained by US forces in Iraq complained about poor conditions during their meeting with Iranian ambassador to Iraq; Hosseini said the detainees have access to minimum facilities and were under psychological pressure by their US captors; Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qumi and three other Iranian diplomats had a five-hour meeting with the detainees for the first time since their arrest.
· Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini denied published reports that Iran had played a big role in Hamas's seizure of Gaza from Palestinian security forces.
· Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the three islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu-Musa are an inseparable and eternal part of the soil of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Hosseini criticized the statement issued at the conclusion of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh backing UAE’s claims on the three islands.
Crackdown on Dissent
· On 2 July, the government closed down the pro-reform daily Ham-Mihan and suspended the activities of the independent news agency ILNA.
· On 10 July, the government ordered the final closure of ILNA.
· On 5 July, the police special forces stormed the top-ranked Polytechnic University and arrested 11 student leaders. The student leaders have been transferred to the notorious Evin Prison.
· On 10 July, Masour Osanloo, a labor union leader, was kidnapped near his house. It is widely believed that the plain-cloth men who picked him up were the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence.
· In the past month, four Iranian-Americans personalities visiting the country have been charged with promoting velvet revolution in Iran and three of them are kept at Evin Prison.
· In May, the government arrested Hossein Mossavian, the country’s former nuclear negotiator and a close ally of former president Hashemi Rafsanjani. Mossavian has since been accused of espionage.
· On 9 July, the Intelligence Ministry announced the arrest of 20 people who allegedly were part of a spy network.
· On 27 June, authorities arrested 80 people on the charge of damaging gas stations during protests against fuel rationing.
In December, the people will elect the 8th Majlis (Iranian parliament). In June 2009, the people will elect the 10th president of the Islamic Republic. Ahmadinejad and fundamentalist groups want to hold on power in Majlis and Ahmadinejad himself wants to be reelected as president. The pro-reform press, the student leaders and union activist, the former high-level officials in Rafsanjani and Khatami administrations, including the Three Ayatollahs (Rafsanjani, Khatami and Karubi), the Iranian-American pro-reform personalities and anyone protesting against the government is now viewed as enemy. To get reelected and to keep Majlis in his camp, Ahmadinejad needs to defeat the alliance formed by the pro-reform movement. The five months left to the parliamentary elections may well prove the most challenging period for proponents of reform and democracy in Iran.
Other Domestic Storylines
· President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad decided against a proposal to allow motorists to purchase more gasoline than their rations at free market price; Ahmadinejad said doing so would push up the country’s inflation rate to unaccepted levels; he said setting a free market price for gas under the present circumstances is a “killer poison” for the country's economy; the gasoline ration of about one gallon per day per car went into effect earlier in the month; a number of officials, including the Minister of Energy, had previously said that the drivers who reached their limit would be able to purchase more fuel at a higher price.
· Iranian authorities announced the arrest of 80 persons on the charge of damaging gas stations and looting shops during protests against fuel rationing.
· Four trucks smuggling gasoline our of Iran crashed into each other and caught fire in southeastern country, killing 13 people; the trucks crashed near the Pakistan border; fuel smuggling from Iran to neighboring countries is common because the country has one of the lowest fuel prices in the region.
· Iran’s former oil minister Akbar Torkan said Iran produces four million bpd of crude oil, but without new investment, five percent of this production capacity will be gone every year; Torkan was confirming published reports that Iran was in danger of loosing its oil exports by 2014 if no new foreign investment were attracted to work in the country’s oil fields; US sanctions prohibit American and foreign companies to invest in Iranian oil and gas industry.
· A man convicted of adultery was stoned to death in Aghchekand, 124 miles west of Tehran; the spokesman for the judiciary did not elaborate on how the stoning was carried out; The execution came two weeks after the Iranian officials had delayed carrying out the sentence against Jafar Kiani and after the head of the Judiciary had said that the sentence will not be carried out; Kiani’s female companion, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, who also was sentenced to death by stoning is still in prison.
The Nuclear Program
· IAEA Chief Mohammad ElBaradei said Iran has slowed down the expansion of its nuclear enrichment capabilities at Natanz ; Hamid Reza Haji Babaei, a member of the National Security Committee of Majlis (Iranian parliament), denied reports that Iran had slowed down the pace of its nuclear activities at Natanz facility; Haji Babaei said Iran had not agreed with anyone to reduce its uranium enrichment activities; he added that uranium enrichment was regarded as the red line for Iran and that all previous nuclear activities are still continuing and at the same pace.
· Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to IAEA, said that Iran expects that the new round of talks between EU foreign policy chief and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator will lead to conclusive results; Soltanieh welcomed EU “new trend” in favoring negotiations on Iran’s nuclear standoff.
· President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected any talks of uranium enrichment suspension as part of an agreement with EU to head off a showdown with the West over the country’s nuclear program.
· An IAEA delegation, headed by the agency’s deputy chief, arrived in Tehran.
Regional Storylines
· The leader of an Al Qaida in Iraq warned Iran in a new audiotape to stop supporting the Shia in Iraq; Al Qaida warned Iran would face a ''severe war'' if it continued its support of the Shia.
· Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said that the five Iranians diplomats detained by US forces in Iraq complained about poor conditions during their meeting with Iranian ambassador to Iraq; Hosseini said the detainees have access to minimum facilities and were under psychological pressure by their US captors; Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qumi and three other Iranian diplomats had a five-hour meeting with the detainees for the first time since their arrest.
· Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini denied published reports that Iran had played a big role in Hamas's seizure of Gaza from Palestinian security forces.
· Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the three islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu-Musa are an inseparable and eternal part of the soil of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Hosseini criticized the statement issued at the conclusion of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh backing UAE’s claims on the three islands.
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