Ahmadinejad: Iran to Unveil New Nuclear Achievements

Photo: AP

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures as he deliver his speech at a rally to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Tehran, Feb. 11, 2012.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Saturday that Iran will soon unveil new nuclear achievements. 

The Latest from Iran (11 February): Watching the Revolution’s Anniversary

0745 GMT: Anniversary Watch. State news agency IRNA, a pro-Ahmadinejad outlet, is featuring the President in its headline story for the celebrations of the Islamic Revolutionary’s anniversary. It highlightsAhmadinejad joining the march and his subsequent statement to reporters that „the Iranian nation will change the world“:

In contrast, Fars, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, proclaims „the huge flood of people moving…to Azadi Square“ and their belief in leadership to reach their goals, but makes no reference to Ahmadinejad in either text or image.

0723 GMT: Protest Watch. A poster for 25 Bahman (14 February), the anniversary of last year’s public demonstrations challenging the regime — the opposition is hoping for some sign of protest on Tuesday:

0717 GMT: Questioning the Supreme Leader. Has Hojatoleslam Taghavi, the head of the Council of Friday Prayers Leaders, supported the cause — controversially raised on State TV by former MP Emad Afrough last month — that the Supreme Leader can be questioned by the public?

Iran Breaking: Tehran Worried US May Be Building 8500th Nuclear Weapon (The Onion)

The satirical newspaper The Onion features the latest development in US-Iranian tension over nuclear programmes:

Amidst mounting geopolitical tensions, Iranian officials said Wednesday they were increasingly concerned about the United States of America’s uranium-enrichment program, fearing the Western nation may soon be capable of producing its 8,500th nuclear weapon.

„Our intelligence estimates indicate that, if it is allowed to progress with its aggressive nuclear program, the United States may soon possess its 8,500th atomic weapon capable of reaching Iran,“ said Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi, adding that Americans have the fuel, the facilities, and „everything they need“ to manufacture even more weapons-grade fissile material. „Obviously, the prospect of this happening is very distressing to Iran and all countries like Iran. After all, the United States is a volatile nation that’s proven it needs little provocation to attack anyone anywhere in the world whom it perceives to be a threat.“

Iranian intelligence experts also warned of the very real, and very frightening, possibility of the U.S. providing weapons and resources to a rogue third-party state such as Israel.

Wanted/Gesucht: Wegen Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit – Part 1

col. jafar Jafari سرهنگ جعفر جعفری

سرهنگ جعفري مدير عامل باشگاه فجر شهيد سپاسي

col. Mohamad karim chengaei سرهنگ پاسدار محمد کریم چنگایی

سرهنگ پاسدار محمد کریم چنگائی مشاور مدیر عامل و فرمانده مرکز بسیج راه آهن

col. Ebrahim Mohseni سرهنگ ابراهیم محسنی مقدم

سرهنگ پاسدار ابراهیم محسنی مقدم فرماندهی سپاه ناحیه آمل

Iran Shuts Down Major Websites and Https Protocol – Tools here/ Pls share!

Iranian people write:

I’m writing this to report the serious troubles we have regarding accessing Internet in Iran at the moment. Since Thursday Iranian government has shutted down the https protocol which has caused almost all google services (gmail, and google.com itself) to become inaccessible. Almost all websites that reply on Google APIs (like wolfram alpha) won’t work. Accessing to any website that replies on https (just imaging how many websites use this protocol, from Arch Wiki to bank websites). Also accessing many proxies is also impossible. There are almost no official reports on this and with many websites and my email accounts restricted I can just confirm this based on my own and friends experience. I have just found one report here:

http://kabirnews.com/iran-shut-down-gmail-google-yahoo-and-sites-using-https-protocol/202/

The reason for this horrible shutdown is that the Iranian regime celebrates 1979 Islamic revolution tomorrow.

I just wanted to let you guys know about this. If you have any solution regarding bypassing this restriction please help!

Iran kappt sichere Internet-Verbindungen

Seit Donnerstag werden im Iran verschlüsselte Internetverbindungen systematisch gestört. Damit funktionieren zahlreiche Dienste von E-Mail bis zum Online-Banking nicht mehr, zumindest wenn die Server außerhalb der islamischen Republik stehen. Die vorliegenden Berichte sind sich im Detail uneins. Dies könnte auf uneinheitliche staatliche Störmaßnahmen zurückzuführen sein, die koordinierte Gegenmaßnahmen erschweren. Das Anonymisierungsnetz Tor will nicht klein beigeben und sucht Freiwillige, die neuartige „verschleierte Tor-Brücken“ (obfsproxy) installieren. Das neue System ist aber noch nicht ausgereift und bringt im Wettrüsten mit den Zensoren vielleicht nur einige Tage Vorsprung.

Eine wichtige Rolle spielt offenbar der zentrale staatliche Proxy AS12880. Er unterbricht bestimmte Datenverbindungen. Zwar gibt es schon seit einem Jahr immer wieder technische Zensurmaßnahmen. So heftig wie jetzt sollen sie aber noch nie gewesen sein. Tor verzeichnete bisher die meisten Zugriffe aus den USA, gefolgt vom Iran und Deutschland. 

Iran Feature: The Regime Locks Down the Internet (Erdbrink/Flock)

Throughout today, Thomas Erdbrink, the Tehran-based correspondent of The Washington Post, has been noting the gradual lockdown of the Internet in Iran. His rolling comments are noted in a blog by Elizabeth Flock, while Erdbrink’s article follows:

Iran begins blocking access to Gmail, other sites
Elizabeth Flock 

When Thomas Erdbrink, The Washington Post’s correspondent in Tehran, logs on to the Internet in Iran, he never knows whether Gmail and Google Reader, The Post or Facebook will open for him. Increasingly, this is the error message he sees instead of the page he was trying to reach:

Translation: “According to computer crime regulations, access to this Web site is denied.

The Latest from Iran (10 February): A Radio Debate Brings Back the 2009 Election

A poster calls for „Allahu Akbar (God is Great) on the night of 13 February for political prisoners such as Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard

Iran 1st-Hand: Filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof „Iran is Like an Alcoholic Father“

The trailer of Mohammad Rasoulof’s Goodbye

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In December 2010, Iranian directors Mohammad Rasoulof and Jafar Panahi were each sentenced to six years in prison and 20-year bans on filmmaking for „propaganda against the Islamic Republic“. 

Minderheiten im Iran: Von der Uni ins Gefängnis

Wie Anhänger religiöser Minderheiten im Iran an Bildung und beruflichem Fortkommen behindert werden, beschreibt Adib Reyhani aus der Wiener Bahai-Gemeinde, am Beispiel eines jungen Iraners.

An einem Sonntag im vergangenen Mai wird Naim, ein junger iranischer Student, plötzlich und ohne Vorwarnung von zu Hause verschleppt und gemeinsam mit 15 weiteren Studenten und Professoren in ein Gefängnis nahe Teheran gebracht. Das berüchtigte Evin-Gefängnis ist jenen vorbehalten, die das iranische Mullah-Regime am meisten fürchtet. Üblicherweise sind es politische Gegner und kritische Journalisten, die hier eingesperrt werden. Familienmitgliedern oder Anwälten wird selten der Zugang zu den Gefangenen gewährt. Folterungen sind an der Tagesordnung. Um herauszufinden, was Naim und seine Kollegen falsch gemacht haben, um hierher gebracht zu werden, muss man einige Jahre zurückblicken. Nach der islamischen Revolution 1979 machte sich der totalitäre Gottesstaat, unter der Führung der Ayatollahs, umgehend daran, die persönlichen Freiheiten der Bevölkerung stark einzuschränken. Allen voran litt die freie Religionsausübung unter dem Joch der Machthaber.