Rose water ceremony begins in Kashan
| KASHAN, May 20 (MNA) – Rose water annual celebration has just begun in the town of Qamsar in Kashan city, Isfahan province. The ceremony is held for one month usually from early May to early Jun in Kashan which is considered the rose water capital of Iran. | |
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Defiant Iran Says It Won’t Halt Enrichment or Allow Parchin Access
Defiant Iran Says It Won’t Halt Enrichment or Allow Parchin Access
As Iran and world powers prepare for another round of negotiations next month in Moscow, a senior Iranian official said Tehran would not stop enriching uranium and rejected the UN’s repeated demand to visit a military site suspected of hosting nuclear weapons-related activities.
Iran: No reason to stop 20% enrichment
The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic would not stop the production of higher-grade uranium. “We have no reason to retreat from producing the 20%, because we need 20% uranium just as much to meet our needs,” the senior official said. [1]
The United Nations Security Council has passed several resolutions since 2006, demanding that Iran suspend “all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.” [2]
Iran’s 20% enriched uranium is of particular concern because it can be converted into weapons-grade material relatively easily and in just a matter of months, experts say. [3] Read the rest of this entry
Handelsblatt: GAUCK WARNT VOR IRAN – „Gefahr für Israel und Europa“
Mit deutlichen Worten hat Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck bei seinem Israel-Besuch vor Iran und dessen Atomprogramm gewarnt. Gauck zeigte sich zudem besorgt ob des immer schlechter werdenden Israel-Bildes in Deutschland.
Tel Aviv Bei seinem ersten offiziellen Besuch in Israel hat Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck vor den Gefahren des iranischen Atompotenzials gewarnt. Er sei wegen der Nuklearpläne des Iran „sehr besorgt“. Diese seien nicht nur für Israel und den Nahen Osten eine Bedrohung. Auch für Europa stelle dieses eine potenzielle Gefahr dar, sagte Gauck bei seinem Treffen mit dem israelischen Staatspräsidenten Schimon Peres.
Deutschlands Politiker würden für die Sicherheit und das Existenzrecht Israels eintreten, sagte Gauck in Jerusalem, wo er von Peres mit militärischen Ehren empfangen worden war. Deutschland und Israel seien „enger verbunden als jemals zuvor“, so Gauck. Er wolle in Israel „ein Zeichen der Solidarität in schweren Zeiten“ setzen.
Über die immer kritischere Haltung vieler Deutscher zum jüdischen Staat äußerte sich Gauck besorgt. „Ohne Umfragen überzubewerten: Als Freund Israels besorgen mich die Ergebnisse dennoch“, antwortete er der Zeitung „Haaretz“ auf eine Frage nach dem sinkenden Ansehen Israels in Deutschland. Eine Umfrage hatte kürzlich ergeben, dass 70 Prozent der Deutschen Israel vorwerfen, seine Interessen ohne Rücksicht auf andere Völker zu verfolgen, und 59 Prozent die israelische Politik für aggressiv halten.
IRAN - Wie der Konflikt um das Atomprogramm eskalierte
„Aus den Abgründen seiner Geschichte kommt Deutschland eine einzigartige Verantwortung gegenüber Israel zu“, betonte Gauck. „Wachsende Ressentiments gegenüber Israel sind zwar nicht allein ein deutsches Phänomen, aber wir Deutsche sollten uns besonders kritisch fragen: In welchem Geist urteilen wir über israelische Politik? Doch bitte nur im Geist der Freundschaft. Da ist durchaus auch Platz für Kritik, nicht aber für Vorurteil“, betonte der Bundespräsident.
Zu der Kritik von Nobelpreisträger Günther Grass an der israelischen Iran-Politik sagte Gauck, die Meinung des Schriftstellers entspreche in keiner Weise der offiziellen Haltung Deutschlands. Grass habe seine „persönliche Meinung“ geäußert, sagte Gauck in seinem Interview mit Haaretz.
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Iran Letter: An Imprisoned Blogger Writes the Supreme Leader
Hossein Ronaghi MalekiHossein Ronaghi Maleki, who blogs as Babak Khorramdin, was arrested in December 2009 for his dissemination of anti-blocking software for Iranian Internet users.
Ronaghi Maleki spent ten months in solitary confinement inside the Revolutionary Guards’ Ward 2A at Evin Prison. He was sentenced in October 2010 to 15 years in prison for “membership in the Iran Proxy internet group”, propaganda against the regime, insulting the Supreme Leader, and insulting the President. Read the rest of this entry
Kaspersky Lab and ITU Research Reveals New Advanced Cyber Threat – update
Kaspersky Lab announces the discovery of a highly sophisticated malicious program that is actively being used as a cyber weapon attacking entities in several countries. The complexity and functionality of the newly discovered malicious program exceed those of all other cyber menaces known to date.
The malware was discovered by Kaspersky Lab’s experts during an investigation prompted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The malicious program, detected as Worm.Win32.Flame by Kaspersky Lab’s security products, is designed to carry out cyber espionage. It can steal valuable information, including but not limited to computer display contents, information about targeted systems, stored files, contact data and even audio conversations.
The independent research was initiated by ITU and Kaspersky Lab after a series of incidents with another, still unknown, destructive malware program – codenamed Wiper – which deleted data on a number of computers in the Western Asia region. This particular malware is yet to be discovered, but during the analysis of these incidents, Kaspersky Lab’s experts, in coordination with ITU, came across a new type of malware, now known as Flame. Preliminary findings indicate that this malware has been “in the wild” for more than two years – since March 2010. Due to its extreme complexity, plus the targeted nature of the attacks, no security software detected it.
Although the features of Flame differ compared with those of previous notable cyber weapons such as Duqu and Stuxnet, the geography of attacks, use of specific software vulnerabilities, and the fact that only selected computers are being targeted all indicate that Flame belongs to the same category of super-cyberweapons.
Commenting on uncovering Flame, Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, said: “The risk of cyber warfare has been one of the most serious topics in the field of information security for several years now. Stuxnet and Duqu belonged to a single chain of attacks, which raised cyberwar-related concerns worldwide. The Flame malware looks to be another phase in this war, and it’s important to understand that such cyber weapons can easily be used against any country. Unlike with conventional warfare, the more developed countries are actually the most vulnerable in this case.”
The primary purpose of Flame appears to be cyber espionage, by stealing information from infected machines. Such information is then sent to a network of command-and-control servers located in many different parts of the world. The diverse nature of the stolen information, which can include documents, screenshots, audio recordings and interception of network traffic, makes it one of the most advanced and complete attack-toolkits ever discovered. The exact infection vector has still to be revealed, but it is already clear that Flame has the ability to replicate over a local network using several methods, including the same printer vulnerability and USB infection method exploited by Stuxnet. Read the rest of this entry
Meet ‘Flame’, The Massive Spy Malware Infiltrating Iranian Computers
Map showing the number and geographical location of Flame infections detected by Kaspersky Lab on customer machines. Courtesy of Kaspersky
A massive, highly sophisticated piece of malware has been newly found infecting systems in Iran and elsewhere and is believed to be part of a well-coordinated, ongoing, state-run cyberespionage operation.
The malware, discovered by Russia-based anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab, is an espionage toolkit that has been infecting targeted systems in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, the Israeli Occupied Territories and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa for at least two years.
Dubbed “Flame” by Kaspersky, the malicious code dwarfs Stuxnet in size – the groundbreaking infrastructure-sabotaging malware that is believed to have wreaked havoc on Iran’s nuclear program in 2009 and 2010. Although Flame has both a different purpose and composition than Stuxnet, and appears to have been written by different programmers, its complexity, the geographic scope of its infections and its behavior indicate strongly that a nation-state is behind Flame, rather than common cyber-criminals — marking it as yet another tool in the growing arsenal of cyberweaponry.
The researchers say that Flame may be part of a parallel project created by contractors who were hired by the same nation-state team that was behind Stuxnet and its sister malware, DuQu. Read the rest of this entry
Writer-translator to serve out prison sentence
Manijeh Najm Eraghi, an Iranian writer and translator, was arrested on Sunday to serve out a one-year sentence.
Najm Eraghi first had been arrested in September of 2010 and was released on bail after three days.
Her one-year sentence was issued on the charges of membership in the Iranian Writers’ Association, mailing announcements from the writers’ association and participating in gatherings for the assassinated writers Mohammad Mokhtari and Mohammad Jaffar Pouyandeh.
On May 21, Fariborz Rais Dana, an Iranian economist and another member of the Iranian Writers’ Association was arrested. Rais Dana was also sentenced to one year in jail for membership in the writers’ association and for giving interviews to the foreign media about the impact of government-subsidy restructuring in Iran.
The Iranian Writers’ Association has been working for the rights of writers for over four decades, and its history is one of constant resistance and pressure from the government.
Source: Radio Zamaneh
Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran
New IAEA Report on Iran’s Nuclear Program
Guards Set Back in Majles amid Charges They Intervened in Election
by MUHAMMAD SAHIMI
Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Farsi and Arabic press and excerpts where the source is in English.
7:15 a.m. IRDT, 9 Khordad/May 29 The election Monday of Ali Larijani, speaker of the Eighth Majles, as the interim speaker for the newly installed Ninth Majles has significant implications for the ongoing power struggle within the Islamic Republic’s regime. As described here, the parliamentary elections that were held on March 2 and May 4 largely came down to a contest between two fundamentalist factions, Jebheh Mottahed-e Osoolgarayaan (United Front of Principlists) and Jebheh Paaydaari Enghlelaab-e Eslaami (Stability Front of the Islamic Revolution). The United Front’s spiritual leaders are Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, chairman of the Assembly of Experts, and his deputy, former judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi. The United Front was supported by the traditional conservatives, such as Hezb-e Motalefeh Eslaami (Islamic Coalition Party). The Stability Front, led by the ultra-conservative cleric Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, was backed by groups closely linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as former and current supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Though some candidates appeared on both factions’ lists, the two groups competed fiercely. It was widely reported — see, for example, here and here – that the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij militia that they control distributed leaflets against many of the United Front candidates and urged everyone to vote for the Stability Front.After the elections, Majles deputy and Ahmadinejad critic Ali Motahari accused the Guards, commonly referred to as Sepah in Farsi, of inappropriate involvement in the elections. In a speech to parliament, Motahari said, “One of the weaknesses of the elections was that the intervention of Sepah in the elections in many districts was clear, and many candidates among those who were elected or not elected confirm this. Sepah was seriously supporting its own candidates. The intervention of Sepah in the elections is a danger to both Sepah itself and the Islamic Revolution.” Another Majles deputy, Mostafa Kavakebian, also declared in the Majles that the Guards had intervened in the elections and that he has documents which prove it; he demanded that parliament form a commission to look into the matter. (Kavakebian, who used to present himself as a reformist, ran this year as a principlist and failed to win reelection.) There was also a claim that Larijani — Motahari’s brother-in-law — had submitted a secret report to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about the Guards’ intervention in the elections before Motahari went public with his accusations. Larijani, who in the 1980s was deputy Guard chief for ideological matters, is supported by the United Front. In his speech, Motahari said, “The highest officials of the nezaam [the political system] are aware of the intervention, and are not happy about it,” a possible reference to the claimed Larijani report. Both the Majles speaker and his brother, judiciary chief Sadegh Larijani, have implicitly confirmed Motahari’s allegations.
The Guards and Stability Front supporters and members denied the allegations and accused Motahari of a variety of transgressions. Mojtaba Zolnoor, former deputy to Khamenei’s representative to the Guards, called the allegations “absolute lies” and declared, “Motahari is saying the same things that the enemy’s mass media such as the BBC and CNN are saying.” Asking of Motahari, “How can he allow himself to enter issues that are for the highest officials of the nezaam?” Zolnoor demanded that the Guards take him to court. Lieutenant Brigadier General Ramazan Sharif, head of the Guards’ public relations office, issued a statement that denied the accusations and said that the Guards reserve the right to take Motahari to court. Parviz Soroori, a Majles deputy and former Guard commander said, “If Sepah intervened in the elections, then how come Motahari was reelected?” Hardline cleric Hamid Rasaei, a leading member of the Stability Front, accused Motahari of “insulting the president and Sepah.” In response, Motahari explained in another Majles speech that he did not mean that all the top Guard commanders had intervened in the elections, but “if Sepah continues this” he will reveal the documents that prove his claims.
On Sunday, Melli-Mazhabi, a nationalist-religious website, reported on the existence of a tape recording of speeches by two Guard officers that clearly indicate the Guards did indeed intervene in the elections. The tapeincludes speeches, given on May 3 — the day before the second round of voting — by the cleric Hojjatinia, Khamenei’s representative to Khatam ol-Anbiya, the Guards’ engineering arm, and a commander Seraj, a Guard political ideologue, or hadian, at the shrine of Shah Abdolazim in Rey on Tehran’s southern edge, in which they spoke about the elections and the Guards’ positions.In his speech, Seraj claimed that there is a triangle of high officials working against Khamenei: Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and a “Mr. X,” widely believed to be Ali Larijani. The goal of the political triangle, according to Seraj, is to force Khamenei to drink the “poison” of negotiating with the United States regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Following are some of Seraj’s most important claims:
(a) Fearing the reaction of the nezaam, former President Mohammad Khatami and some of the reformists had to vote in the Majles elections.
(b) Both the “sedition” — the Green Movement — and the “perverted current” — the circle around Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff and senior confidant — believed that less than 40 percent of the people would vote in the elections and, thus, they did not take part. The perverted current wanted to use the low voter turnout it anticipated to pressure Khamenei to negotiate with the United States.
(c) The perverted current led the November attack on the British Embassy.
(d) The perverted current believes that Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator and secretary-general of the Supreme National Security Council, will run for president next year. Therefore, they are trying to get rid of him.
(e) A group inside Iran that has penetrated the nezaam has told the United States and Europe to impose sanctions against Iran. Seraj did not specify who is in this group.
(f) Both Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani advocate negotiations with the United States. To establish closer relations with Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad has begun participating in the meetings of the Expediency Discernment Council, which Rafsanjani chairs. (Ahmadinejad had not participated in the council’s meetings for many years.)
(g) If the triangle of Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad, and Mr. X takes shape, the pressure on Khamenei to negotiate with the United States will grow. But if Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, father-in-law of Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, becomes the next Majles speaker, the triangle will not form. (Mojtaba is believed to be close to some of the top Guard commanders.)
(h) When Haddad Adel was speaker of the Seventh Majles (2004-08), parliament had good relations with the Guards, whereas the Eighth Majles (2008-12) did not, something that concerns Khamenei. (In essence, Seraj was declaring the Guards’ support for Haddad Adel’s candidacy for Majles speaker.)
(i) If Larijani is again elected speaker, the tension between the Majles and the government will increase, because “Larijani’s tone and language regarding the government are not appropriate.”
In announcing his candidacy for the speakership, Haddad Adel declared, “Even if only I vote for me, I will run out of duty.” He has been praising Khamenei and his son-in-law Mojtaba profusely, declaring that Khamenei is the deputy to Imam Mahdi and that after him Mojtaba will be the deputy. The Stability Front has thrown its support behind him, with Mesbah Yazdi supporting him publicly. It was reported that Khamenei traveled to Qom unofficially and met with Mesbah Yazdi, presumably to discuss the issue.
Interestingly, there appears to be a rift within the Guards regarding the Majles and Haddad Adel. In a blog post titled “With Reluctance I Prefer Larijani to Haddad Adel,” Hamed Talebi, who leads the political division of Fars, the news agency that is controlled by a Guard foundation,wrote, “God forbid that more power, field [of activity], and leadership positions are given to those around Haddad Adel. If Larijani is elected the speaker [again], we know how we should handle it, but what can we say, given the track record of and our experience with the friends of Haddad Adel and the people that are close to him?”
The Ninth Majles finally began its work on Saturday. A large number of high officials took part in the ceremony for the opening session. One significant absentee was Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Guard chief who almost invariably takes part in such ceremonies. His absence was widely interpreted as indicating the Guards’ displeasure with Larijani. After the ceremony ended, parliament’s first order of business Monday was the election of an interim leadership team. Khabar Online, which is close to Larijani, reported that there was a considerable amount of horse trading.Larjani ultimately received 173 votes to Haddad Adel’s 100 for the post of interim speaker. His election and that of two other major United Front figures, Mohammad Reza Bahonar and Mohammad Hassan Abootorabifard, to leadership positions represent major setbacks for the Guards’ top commanders in Iran’s power struggle. The results may even be interpreted as a setback for Khamenei himself.
Kazem Jalali, secretary of the United Front’s parliamentary group, said that the election of the speaker indicated “the weight of each faction within the Majles.” He was referring to the claims by many Stability Front members that their faction has the upper hand in the legislature. Will the election of Larijani as interim speaker result in the Guards — and possibly Khamenei himself — pressuring the Majles deputies to change their votes when the election of a permanent speaker is held? Time will tell.
Source: Tehran Bureau
Bahrain Court Sentences Eight For Ties With Iran
Source: RFE/RL
A Bahrain court has sentenced eight people to prison terms of up to 15 years on charges of plotting with suspected Iranian agents to topple the kingdom’s ruling system.
Persian Gulf countries
Defense lawyer Mohsin al-Alawi says six received 15-year sentences.
He said three were sentenced in absentia, including the son of jailed activist Hassan Mushaima, who is appealing a life sentence imposed in 2011 for links to opposition protests in Manama.
Bahraini prosecutors repeatedly claim that Iran encourages and assists Bahrain’s opposition.
Bahrain and its Gulf allies, led by Saudi Arabia, have issued strongly worded statements demanding Iran stop “meddling” in their affairs.
Bahrain also plans to remove its broadcasts from Arabsat, a regional television service, on June 1 to protest what it calls a “hostile media campaign” by Iranian television.
Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Bahrain News Agency
Source: RFE/RL,
Iran may import 1bn cubic meters of potable water from Tajikistan
Source: Mehr News Agency, Tehran
Iran is in talks with Tajikistan to import as much as one billion cubic meters of potable water, Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou said on Sunday.
The volume to be imported has not been yet finalized, but it is anticipated that one billion cubic meters of water will be imported, Namjou added.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of the 9th meeting of the Iran-Tajikistan Joint Economic Commission, which opened in Tehran on Sunday.
The Iranian energy minister also stated that Iran, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan have agreed to create a joint water and electricity corridor.
To connect the national electricity grids of the three countries, a 500KV transmission line should be established, he said, adding that the exact amount of investment needed and related technical considerations are being studied.
In April, the Iranian ambassador to Tajikistan, Ali-Asghar Sherdoost, said that during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent trip of to Tajikistan, the presidents of Iran, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan signed a memorandum of understanding authorizing the construction of a highway from Iran to Afghanistan and Tajikistan and from there to China.
“If this highway is built, it will be possible to have a pipeline transporting oil and gas from Iran and transporting water from Tajikistan to Iran, Afghanistan, and some countries in the Persian Gulf. We also discussed the construction of a petroleum refinery, which is in need here in Tajikistan, and for which Iran has the technology”, he added.
Trade between Iran and Tajikistan exceeded $500 million during Iranian calendar year 1390 (March 2011-March 2012).
Ahmadinejad Calls For Support From Conservatives In Parliament
Source: RFE/RL
Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has urged parliament to stand with him against “evil ones” who he says have encircled the country. Ahmadinejad also asked legislators not to intervene in his areas of authority.
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad Speaking in Parliament (file photo)
Ahmadinejad made the plea to the opening session of Iran’s newly elected parliament.
His speech is seen as an appeal to conservative opponents who crushed Ahmadinejad’s allies in an election that ended earlier this month.
Ahmadinejad and Iran’s conservatives share similar views on foreign policy but disagree on economic issues.
The president lost the support of conservatives when he was perceived to challenge the supremacy of top Iranian clerics last year.
Ahmadinejad also is under pressure from Western countries that accuse Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons.
The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization has said Tehran has “no reason” to suspend its enrichment of uranium to the 20 percent level — a key demand of world powers engaging Iran in talks.
Fereydoon Abbasi Davani says Iran is only producing as much 20 percent uranium as it needs for fuel — “no more, no less.”
His remarks follow a UN report saying Iran enriched uranium to a higher-than-expected level — with traces found slightly higher than 20 percent.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, downplayed that finding as a “technical issue.”
Uranium enriched to 90 percent is used for nuclear weapons.
Uranium enriched to 20 percent, used for nuclear fuel, is considered just a few steps short of enrichment for weapons.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and Fars
Source: RFE/RL,
Audio of the Day
The website Melimazhabi posts what it asserts is a leaked audio from speeches on 3 May by a Revolutionary Guards commander and the Supreme Leader’s representative to Khatam al-Anbia, the Guards’ engineering section.
In the claimed audio, Commander Seraj and Hojetoleslam Hojjati-Nia assert that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, President Ahmadinejad, and an unnamed senior politician — thought to be Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani — are urging the Supreme Leader “to drink hemlock” and make concessions in the nuclear talks. Seraj says the President flooded the Bazaar with cheap money ahead of the Baghdad discussions, to sway opinion.
Seraj, the political officer of the Guards, continues with allegations that countries such as Pakistan as well as a domestic “deviant current” and reformists of trying to “topple” the Parliamentary elections, although they failed because of the “brave turnout” of the Iranian people.
The commander adds that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Israel had planned bomb attacks in Tehran, Mashhad, Zahedan, and Khuzestan during the first round of the elections but were unsuccessful.
Ayatollah Alamolhoda: Fatwa not enough; practical measures must be taken to eliminate apostates
Friday prayer leader in Mashhad Ayatollah Alamolhoda claimed that treatment of anyone harming and insulting clerics must be planned, saying that in order to execute a person considered an apostate, a fatwa is not enough; planned, practical measures must be taken. Alamolhoda said that an all-out front has formed against Islam that holds wealth, power and the media, and we must not act in a way that encourages others to join this front against Iran. Alamolhoda further claims that treatment of apostates and anyone harming the sanctity of Islam must be done in a manner that will not encourage expansion of this anti-Islamic front. A fatwa, therefore is not enough. Planned, correct and vehement measures must be adopted.
Source: Iran Daily Brief
Rezension: Asef Bayat, Life as Politics 2010
Asef Bayat, Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East, Stanford University Press: Stanford 2010. 310 Seiten. USD 21,95 (deutsche Ausgabe mit einem neuen Beitrag zu den Frühlingsrevolutionen in Vorbereitung beim Verlag Assoziation A, Berlin, http://www.assoziation-a.de/vor/Leben_als_Politik.htm). In: Sozial.Geschichte Online 7 (2012), 195-302
Asef Bayats Buch enthält einen Schlüssel zu den Frühlingsrevolutionen im Maghreb und im Nahen Osten, vielleicht gerade weil es in den zehn Jahren vor dieser Revolution geschrieben und am Vorabend der Revolution veröffentlicht wurde. Es ist ein soziologisches Buch, aber gut lesbar. Ausgehend von einem im Jahre 2000 veröffentlichten Aufsatz, „From ‘Dangerous Classes’ to ‘Quiet Rebels’“, entfaltet Bayat eine Perspektive, in der nicht die Ereignisgeschichte, nicht die Politik, nicht die Organisationen und nicht die Bewegungen im Vordergrund stehen, sondern eine Präsenz der Unterschichten, die in langen Wellen zu unaufhaltsamen und den repressiven Regimes nicht zugänglichen Veränderungen führt. Die Frühlingsrevolutionen waren ein Ausdruck davon und eine Zwischenstation, aber nicht der Endpunkt dieser Entwicklungen.
Bayat ist Professor für Soziologie und Middle East Studies an der Universität von Illinois; zuvor hielt er eine entsprechende Professur in Leiden inne. Geboren 1954 in einem iranischen Dorf, sechzig Kilometer entfernt von Teheran, verbrachte er seine Schulzeit und die ersten Studienjahre in Teheran, wo er sich in der studentischen Linken engagierte und unter anderem auch Vorlesungen Ali Shariatis besuchte. Der Wechsel nach England, ein Jahr vor der iranischen Revolution, war für ihn ein Schock: Erfüllt mit linken Gewissheiten sah er sich vor die Notwendigkeit gestellt, alles noch einmal neu zu lernen. Und kurz darauf, bei Besuchen im revolutionären Teheran, erlebte er, dass die dortigen Vorgänge in der Terminologie der westlichen Sozialwissenschaften nicht recht zu beschreiben waren. Ab Mitte der 1980er Jahre forschte und lehrte Bayat an verschiedenen US-amerikanischen Universitäten, wobei er sich Read the rest of this entry
Roundup of Today’s International News 28/05/12
IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAMME
After Talks Falter, Iran Says It Won’t Halt Uranium Work
Iran’s nuclear chief, reversing the country’s previous statements, said on state television on Sunday that the country would not halt its production of higher-grade uranium, suggesting that the Iranian government was veering back to a much harder line after talks in Baghdad with the West last week ended badly.
U.N. inspectors find high-grade uranium traces in Iran
The IAEA report said environmental samples taken in February at Iran’s Fordow facility – buried deep beneath rock and soil to protect it from air strikes – showed the presence of particles with enrichment levels of up to 27 percent. That is above the 20 percent enrichment level Iran has declared at the site, and takes it across the line from low-enriched to high-enriched uranium.
Iran has enough uranium for five nuclear weapons, claims US thinktank
Iran had produced almost 6.2 tonnes of uranium enriched to a level of 3.5% since it began the work in 2007 – some of which has subsequently been further processed into higher-grade material. This equates to nearly 750 kg more than in the previous IAEA report issued in February, and the thinktank said Iran’s monthly production had risen by roughly a third. Read the rest of this entry
Spiegel: Computerschädling Flame – Experten enttarnen neue Cyberwaffe
Computer-Tastatur: Flame kann das Mikrofon einschalten und Chats aufzeichnen
Hamburg – Über den möglichen Urheber der Schadsoftware wollten die Experten des russischen Antivirus-Unternehmens Kaspersky Lab keine Angaben machen. Gegenüber der “BBC” teilten die Wissenschaftler mit, Flame sei mindestens seit August 2010 im Einsatz und wahrscheinlich von einem Staat initiiert worden.
Tausende Rechner sollen infiziert sein, vorwiegend im Nahen Osten: Experten für IT-Sicherheit haben einen neuen, hochkomplexen Computer-Virus entdeckt. Die Flame getaufte Schadsoftware sei bereits seit bis zu fünf Jahren aktiv, teilte die auf Anti-Viren-Programme spezialisierte russische Firma Kaspersky Lab am Montag mit.Die Experten von Kaspersky stehen bei der Entschlüsselung des Virus nach eigenen Angaben noch am Anfang, auch die International Telecommunication Union (ITU), eine Unterorganisation der Uno, ist an den Untersuchungen beteiligt. Sollten sich die Angaben bestätigen, wäre Flame nach Stuxnet und Duqu die dritte entdeckte Cyber-Waffe, die im großen Stil verbreitet wurde. Flame habe 20 Mal mehr Code als Stuxnet, mit dem iranische Anlagen zur Urananreicherung angegriffen und Zentrifugen zerstört wurden, hieß es.
Laut Kaspersky kann Flame Daten sammeln, die Einstellungen des befallenen Computers verändern, das Mikrofon einschalten, um Gespräche mitzuschneiden, Screen-Shots machen und Chat-Konversationen aufzeichnen. Betroffen seien bis zu 5000 Computer, vor allem von Unternehmen und Bildungseinrichtungen in Iran,Israel, in Palästina, im Sudan und Syrien. Read the rest of this entry
Dissident publishes forbidden book online
Iranian dissident Ebrahim Yazdi has published another book on the internet, calling it a protest against the Iranian Ministry of Culture’s failure to provide valid reasons for not approving its publication.
The book, titled The Student Movement in the 1940s and 1950s, was published 10 days after Yazdi uploaded his book about Mehdi Bazargan, who was the head of Iran’s interim state after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Bazargan was the head of the Freedom Movement Party of Iran, a position that Yazdi took over after Bazargan’s death.
In a letter to the Minister of Culture and Guidance, Yazdi writes: “The president has said in his interviews that Iran is the freest country in the world, so it is not clear why a book about the late Mr. Bazargan cannot get a publication licence.”
In the letter, Yazdi indicates that this is the last time he will request a licence to publish his books, and that if the ministry refuses to respond, he will publish his books online.
Yazdi was arrested twice during the post-election protests of 2009 and was finally released last March. The octogenarian was the oldest political prisoner in Islamic Republic prisons.
Source: Radio Zamaneh
Ninth Iranian parliament begins its first session
The new Iranian Parliament opened its first session today, Sunday, with a letter from Iran’s Supreme Leader urging the representatives to refrain from “uncalled for challenges” with the other branches of government.
The session was attended by the representatives of all the top government bodies, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani and Ayatollah Amoli Larijani.
Ali Larijani and Gholamali Haddad Adel are vying to head the new Presiding Board of Parliament and become the Speaker of Parliament. The two candidates enjoy the support of different conservative groups and both have served as head of Parliament in the past.
Two-thirds of the Parliament is reportedly comprised of new MPs. There has been a notable reduction in the number of clerics in Parliament. The eighth Parliament included 44 members of the clergy while in the ninth one there are only 27.
The last Parliament was in constant dispute with the Ahmadinejad administration, which explains Ayatollah Khamenei’s warning against “uncalled for challenges” among the branches of government.
Ahmadinejad and his allies reportedly have little support in this Parliament, and analysts report that their attempts to gain a foothold in the legislative branch through the elections were in vain.
Source: Radio Zamaneh
‘The Baghdad Conquest’: Iranian Reaction to Nuclear Talks
by MUHAMMAD SAHIMI
Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Farsi and Arabic press and excerpts where the source is in English. Tehran Bureau has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Any views expressed are the authors’ own. Please refer to the Media Guide to help put the stories in perspective. You can follow breaking news stories on our Twitter feed.
In an editorial titled “Resolution of the Problem, Stopping the Negotiations,” Kayhan’s hardline managing editor, Hossein Shariatmadari, warned that the P5+1 has pursued negotiations with Iran for political purposes, motivated by the distressed economic conditions in the West. “As far as we can tell, the West pursues the negotiations for the sake of negotiations, not for resolving the problems between the two sides and melting the ‘artificial ice’ that it has created and spread during the past decade over Iran’s nuclear program,” Shariatmadari wrote. “Thus, if this is true — and all evidence indicates that it is — then Iran’s agreeing to continue the negotiations in Moscow or any other place in the world needs serious reconsideration. There is concern that continuing the negotiations, at least without an agreed-upon modality and the commitment of both sides to move along this path, will be tantamount to playing in the enemy’s field.” Read the rest of this entry
The Latest from Iran (28 May): No More Nice Guy — Tehran Shifts Line on Nuke Talks
0630 GMT: Audio of the Day. The website Melimazhabi posts what is a leaked audio from speeches by a Revolutionary Guards commander and the Supreme Leader’s representative to Khatam al-Anbia
0620 GMT: Cartoon of the Day. In his address to the new Parliament yesterday President Ahmadinejaddefiantly told MPs to respect his authority and stand with him against the “evils” which “put the Iranian nation under pressure”. Nikahang Kowsar, however, sees Ahmadinejad as the one under pressure from the legislaors:
0600 GMT: Scare Story of the Day. Joby Warrick of The Washington Post, primed by unnamed American and “Western” sources, declares, “U.S. Officials Among the Targets of Iran-linked Assassination Plots” in Azerbaijan: Read the rest of this entry
US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 – Iran
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Iran
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYShare
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shia Muslim clergy and political leaders vetted by the clergy dominate the key power structures. Government legitimacy is based on the twin pillars of popular sovereignty–albeit restricted–and the rule of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution. The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was chosen by a directly elected body of religious leaders, the Assembly of Experts, in 1989. Khamenei’s writ dominates the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. He directly controls the armed forces and indirectly controls internal security forces, the judiciary, and other key institutions. The legislative branch is the popularly elected 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly, or Majlis. The unelected 12-member Guardian Council reviews all legislation the Majlis passes to ensure adherence to Islamic and constitutional principles; it also screens presidential and Majlis candidates for eligibility. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected president in June 2009 in a multiparty election that was generally considered neither free nor fair. There were numerous instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control.
Demonstrations by opposition groups, university students, and others increased during the first few months of the year, inspired in part by events of the Arab Spring. In February hundreds of protesters throughout the country staged rallies to show solidarity with protesters in Tunisia and Egypt. The government responded harshly to protesters and critics, arresting, torturing, and prosecuting them for their dissent. As part of its crackdown, the government increased its oppression of media and the arts, arresting and imprisoning dozens of journalists, bloggers, poets, actors, filmmakers, and artists throughout the year. The government’s suppression and intimidation of voices of opposition continued at a rapid pace at year’s end.
The most egregious human rights problems were the government’s severe limitations on citizens’ right to peacefully change their government through free and fair elections, restrictions on civil liberties, and disregard for the sanctity of life through the government’s use of arbitrary detention, torture, and deprivation of life without due process. The government severely restricted freedoms of speech and the press (including via the Internet), assembly, association, movement, and religion. The government committed extrajudicial killings and executed persons for criminal convictions as juveniles, on minor offenses, and after unfair trials, sometimes in public or group executions. Security forces under the government’s control committed acts of politically motivated violence and repression, including torture, beatings, and rape. The government administered severe officially sanctioned punishments, including amputation and flogging. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, often holding them incommunicado. Read the rest of this entry
n-tv: Atomgespräche vorerst gescheitert – Der Westen droht Teheran
US-Außenministerin Clinton: “Alle unsere Sanktionen bleiben in Kraft und werden in dieser Zeit weiter vorangetrieben”(Foto: REUTERS)
Die wohlklingenden Worte vor den Atomverhandlungen mit dem Iran haben getäuscht. Teheran lässt den Westen kalt abblitzen. Die zweitägigen Gespräche gehen ohne konkretes Ergebnis zu Ende, denn die Islamische Republik pocht weiterhin darauf, selbst Uran auf mindestens 20 Prozent anzureichern.
Kurz nach dem vorläufigen Scheitern der Atomgespräche mit dem Iran hat der Westen den Druck auf Teheran erhöht. Die USA, Frankreich und Großbritannien drohen mit härteren Sanktionen. Man halte an dem zweigleisigen Modell von Verhandlungen und Strafmaßnahmen fest, sagte US-Außenministerin Hillary Clinton. “Alle unsere Sanktionen bleiben in Kraft und werden in dieser Zeit weiter vorangetrieben”, sagte sie.
Vor den Verhandlungen hatte es noch optimistische Äußerungen zum Verlauf gegeben.(Foto: REUTERS)
Auch der britische Außenminister William Hague und sein französischer Amtskollege Laurent Fabius ermahnten Teheran. Der Iran müsse “konkrete Schritte” unternehmen, damit Fortschritte möglich seien, sagte Hague. Ansonsten werde der “Druck anhand von Sanktionen zweifelsohne erhöht”. Fabius sprach von “neuen Maßnahmen”, sollte es in Moskau keine greifbaren Ergebnisse geben. Read the rest of this entry
Der Freitag: Ein Name, ein Leben
Im Iran gibt es zahlreiche Waisen, um die sich der Staat nicht kümmert. Einrichtungen von Privatpersonen übernehmen häufig diese Aufgabe. Zu Besuch in einem Waisenhaus
Vor dem Autofenster zog die bizarrschöne, karge Bergwüstenlandschaft an uns vorbei. Der Himmel war wolkenverhangen. Wir waren auf dem Weg nach Bam – der alten Stadt im Südosten des Irans, die 2003 von einem Erdbeben zerstört wurde, bei dem über 30.000 Menschen ums Leben kamen. Wir wollten dort ein Waisenhaus besuchen, eines der Häuser, die Homayoun Sanati in der Tradition seines Großvaters gegründet hatte und im Rahmen einer Stiftung führte. In einem Land, das in den Achtzigern eine ganze Generation an den Krieg mit dem Irak verloren hat, sind Waisen ein großes Problem, dem der Staat nicht gewachsen ist. In der Region um Bam taten das Erdbeben und Drogen ihr Übriges.
Homayoun Sanati war ein charismatischer und warmherziger, aber vor allem auch ein pragmatischer Mann. Weil der ehemalige Händler auf dem Basar in der Provinzhauptstadt Kerman europäische und amerikanische Bücher übersetzt und auch selbst verlegt hatte, musste er nach der Revolution für fünf Jahre ins Gefängnis – wegen „Korruption der Jugend und Verbreitung amerikanischer Kultur“. Read the rest of this entry
Iranian Ex-Diplomat: P5+1 ‘Wants Iran to Give Diamonds for Peanuts’
by NOAH ARJOMAND
Former nuclear negotiation spokesman foresees little progress until West offers “proportionate reciprocation.”Mousavian responded by email to questions from Tehran Bureau about the results of the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear activities held in Baghdad this week and the prospects for a deal that will resolve the standoff between the Islamic Republic and the West. Read the rest of this entry
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Journalism scrapped from top Iranian university
Source: Radio Zamaneh
Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran will not accept any journalism students for the coming year. Enrollment into journalism in the current year was also closed.
Related Article: Iranian University Drops 13 Humanities Majors
The deputy head of press at the Ministry of Culture, Mohammad Jafar Mohammadzadeh, previously had warned against this approach, saying: “Denying media is like denying the global movement. We cannot ignore the importance of the media and its human force that is journalists.”
Mohammadzadeh added: “We request our colleagues at Allameh Tabatabai University and the Ministry of Science to take journalism seriously. Of course, the Press University and Imam Sadegh University as well as Tehran University currently have good journalism programs.”
He added that he hoped the journalism program would expand in the coming year at Allameh Tabatabi University. With 15,000 students, Allameh Tabatabai is the largest school of humanities in Iran, offering 140 programs in the humanities.
The government’s move toward putting universities more in line with Islamic principles has apparently resulted in the suspension of the journalism program. Most recently, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution also announced that Women’s Studies programs will be changed to “Women’s Rights in Islam”.
The 20-member council is comprised of 12 clergy members and seminary teachers.
Ashton’s Wardrobe Diplomacy With Iran Gets Noticed
By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL
While the eyes of many pundits, policymakers, journalists, and Iranian citizens were glued to reports emerging from this week’s nuclear talks in Baghdad, some Iranians were focusing their attention on what European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who led the meetings on behalf of the 5+1 group, was wearing.
 The genuine article, of European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton after the meeting in Baghdad on May 24 |
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Their jest that Ashton might turn up in a black chador on the second day of talks didn’t materialize. Instead, the EU leader wore a demure brown top that showed little of her neckline. Read the rest of this entry
Dust Clouds Tehran, Iran’s Western Provinces
The Tehran Provincial Directorate of Environment Protection has issued a warning about an increase of dust originating from Iraq’s dried ponds that has descended on the metropolis. Heavy dust storms also shrouded certain western and southwestern provinces of Iran, making breathing difficult for people.
Photo: Women wearing masks during a recent dust storm in Ahvaz, southwestern Iran Read the rest of this entry
The Latest from Iran (27 May): A New Parliament Opens
0645 GMT: All-Is-Well Alert. The head of the Central Bank, Mahmoud Bahmani, has declared that Iran has implemented a new systemfor international financial transactions.
Bahmani said the system would replace the SWIFT network used for most transactions around the world.
In March, SWIFT cut off services to Iranian banks subject to sanctions by the European Union that were adopted in January. The step has reportedly had a significant effect on Iran’s international trade and movement of assets.
0635 GMT: Nuclear Tough Talk. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Fereyoun Abbasi,has issued a defiant No to the International Atomic Energy Agency over its insistance on inspecting the Parchin military site: “The agency is interested in visiting Parchin due to pressure from countries that want the agency to investigate the issue.”
The IAEA has requested the inspection because of claims that the Islamic Republic has a high-explosives containment vessel, which could be used in development of a nuclear weapon, on the base. However, Abbasi maintained, “No documents or reason has been presented to us” for a visit.
Does this mean that Iran is turning its back on IAEA Director Yukiya Amano, six days after he had discussions in Tehran and announced that a deal on Parchin would be reached “very soon”?
0625 GMT: The Islamic Republic’s 9th Majlis has been opened with a message from the Supremer Leader, read by his representative, “[This] is a powerful message by which the Iranian nation addresses the contemporary world.”
Perhaps more interesting is the manoeuvring for the Speaker’s chair. For weeks, it has appeared that Ali Larijani, the Speaker in the 8th Parliament, might lose his position to former Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, former Speaker and relative of the Supreme Leader by marriage. However, as the two candidatesaddressed the factions organising themselves for the new Parliament this weekend, the feedback was that groups such as the Velayat Followers — who claim to have more than half the members of the new Parliament — would overwhelmingly back Larijani.
Source: EA World
شهر ممنوع | هدی رستمی
هدا رستمی عکاس ۲۶ ساله ساکن سوئد، به تازگی عکسهایی ساختار شکنانه از ایران منتشر کرده که مورد استقبال زیادی قرار گرفته است. وی در مورد خود و عکسهایی که در اختیار تهرانریویو قرار داده میگوید:
«من در رشته طراحی صنعتی دانشگاه Mälardalen سوئد تحصیل کردم. عکاسی برای من از علاقه به دیدن عکسها آغاز شد، حتی در فیلم. سینما میرفتم و به جای موضوع فیلم، عکسهای جالب صجنهها در خاطرم میماند. همین موضوع باعث شد تا سرانجام در سال 2009 دوربینی خریدم و شروع به عکاسی کردم. فیس بوک تنها مکان انتشار عکسهایم بود تا اینکه تصمیم گرفتم قدم بزرگتری بردارم. من از نوجوانی در سوئد بزرگ شدم و با سبک زندگی در این کشور خو کردهام. تصمیم گرفتم برای الهامگیری، جای دیگری رفته و جور دیگری ببینم: تهران.
ایدهها از شهرگردی و عکاسی خیابانی کم کم به دغدغه خودم و انسانهای اطرافم در شهر و کشوری رسید که دوست داشتم به تصویرش کشیده و جور دیگری آن را نشان دهم. این مجموعه عکس، بیشتر ایدهپردازی و گفتن حرفهایی است که گویی سالهاست در این شهر ممنوع است».
“United Against Nuclear Iran … Led a Spirited Campaign Calling for Fiat to Exit the Iranian Market”
UANI Fiat Campaign Success Featured in the Associated Press, Dow Jones, FoxNews.com, The Wall Street Journal, MLive.com, CarScoop
Italian automaker Fiat halts sales to Iran
By Colleen Barry
May 25, 2012
MILAN – Italian automaker Fiat SpA, which controls Chrysler, said Friday that it and subsidiaries will immediately halt sales to Iran, following similar moves by other carmakers under pressure to cut ties to Tehran over its disputed nuclear program.
The international community has been toughening sanctions on the Islamic Republic – including on its main cash cow, oil – because of fears that it plans to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
The auto industry has been under pressure from the anti-nuclear lobby group United Against Nuclear Iran to cut off business dealings with Iran. UANI says that the global auto industry is the second-largest source of foreign currency for the Iranian government, after oil, and also a source of foreign technology.
The decision by Fiat to halt sales “is a step in the right direction, and it shows the effectiveness of public pressure against these companies,” UANI spokesman Nathan Carleton said from New York. …
The announcement follows similar ones in recent months by French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, which has entered an alliance with General Motors Co., South Korean automaker Hyundai and German sports carmaker Porsche.
More than a dozen foreign automakers continue to do business with Iran, said UANI, which noted that Iran’s auto industry is the 13th largest in the world, producing 1.6 million vehicles in 2011.
“No car company should be doing business in Iran,” Carleton said. “The international community is trying to isolate the Iranian regime from the rest of the world, and any company doing business with Iran is providing a lifeline.”
Click here to read the full article. Read the rest of this entry
Clinton emphasizes “differences” with Iran
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says “significant differences” with Iran still remain after two days of negotiations in Baghdad.
The G5+1 met with Iran on May 23 for two days of intense negotiations that ended yesterday, with plans to meet again next month in Moscow.
Both sides reportedly presented their proposals to resolve the nuclear disputes. The West suspects Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons, but Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.
The world powers called on Iran to stop enriching uranium to the 20-percent level and to shut down its underground nuclear plant at Fordo. They also called for unrestricted access to Iran’s nuclear sites for inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Clinton said Iran also put forth its own ideas, and “significant differences” still remain.
Some Western diplomats in Baghdad had said that some of Iran’s points of concern are unrelated to nuclear issues.
Saeed Jalili, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, confirmed that one of Iran’s points deals with Bahrain and the state of its democracy.
In the past year, Bahrain has faced widespread popular protests that threaten the legitimacy of its ruling monarchy, and Saudi Arabian and UAE troops have entered the Gulf Island country to put down the protests.
Iran has been strongly critical of what it has called foreign intervention in Bahrain.
The Mehr News Agency reports that Iran has also called for cooperation in the fight against piracy and drug trafficking.
In terms of nuclear issues, Iran reportedly insists on its right to uranium enrichment under NPT provisions. However, Jalili has announced that uranium enrichment at the 20 percent level is open to negotiation.
The world powers are set to meet again with the Iranian delegation in Moscow on June 18 and 19.
Clinton has said: “”As we lay the groundwork for these talks, we will keep up the pressure as part of our dual-track approach. All of our sanctions will remain in place and will continue to move forward during this period.”
Source: Radio Zamaneh
Oil Minister warns West against sanctions
Iran’s Minister of Oil warned today that sanctions on Iranian oil will lead to a leap in the price of oil on the global market and he called on the West to move wisely in this regard.
Rostam Ghassemi spoke at the opening of Tehran’s Friday Mass Prayers, saying that EU sanctions on Iranian oil have already driven up oil prices.
U.S. sanctions against Iran will take effect on June 28, and the EU oil embargo begins on July 1.
Iranian officials insist they are in no way concerned about the sanctions or the market for their petroleum exports.
Ghassemi, who was head of the Khatam-ol-Anbia financial group linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, says Iran “with the support of the Supreme Leader will triumph in the economic war waged against it by the West.”
The United States has managed to make a significant dent in Iran’s oil market, convincing many countries to completely boycott Iranian oil and others to sharply reduce their imports.
Ghassemi added that Iran’s enemies have long been intent on stopping Iran’s oil and gas developments and now they are also trying to restrict its oil market.
Ghassemi said the vacuum created by Shell and Total’s withdrawal from contracts to develop Southern Pars has been filled by domestic contractors, and Iran’s oil industry will soon become self sufficient.
The IRGC-based company Khatam-ol-Anbia has taken over many oil-sector contracts in recent years.
While the Iranian economy is heavily dependent on its oil exports, recent sanctions have caused a sharp rise in the price of oil, which has created an unprecedented rise in Iran’s oil revenues, according to reports from the Central Bank of Iran.
Despite a fall in Iran’s oil production, its oil revenues are reportedly on a sharp rise.
Source: Radio Zamaneh
Ashton, Jalili Describe ‘Intense’ Talks; Next Round: Moscow in June
by MUHAMMAD SAHIMI
Press Roundup provides a selected summary of news from the Farsi and Arabic press and excerpts where the source is in English. Tehran Bureau has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Any views expressed are the authors’ own.
3 a.m. IRDT, 5 Khordad/May 25 After the conclusion of two days of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) concerning the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, the chief negotiators for each side — European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Saeed Jalili, secretary-general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council — spoke to a group of reporters in Baghdad. Ashton addressed the journalists first, then Jalili. Read the rest of this entry
Iran Standard Time | ‘Hitting the Turn’
by CORRESPONDENT
Welcome to dore zadan (hitting the turn), the way many young Iranians find a date. Though its utility has diminished over the last decade with the loosening enforcement of Iran’s morality laws that officially bar unrelated people of the opposite sex from holding hands in public, and everyone from playing Western pop music at parties, wearing clothes that are too tight, and so forth, the dore zadanis a mainstay of modern life for many young Tehranis. Predominantly practiced in the capital by the middle classes, it is an antidote to another boring weekend. Read the rest of this entry
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