سياوش اردلان
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceWednesday, July 17, 2002 - More reactions to President Bush's Statement - Moderate conservatives break with the hardliners - RSF condemns closing of newspaper - AP reports on young people and music - Dubai to lend money for investment in Iran - Reformists threat to exit the regime Further Reactions to Bush's Iran Statement * Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei today praised what he claimed to be the unity of both of Iran's ruling factions against President Bush's recent statement. Khamenei in particular praised President Khatami for "punching America's President in the mouth". Since Bush's expression of support for Iranians' democratic aspirations, both factions criticized the statement. However, certain pro-reform personalities have tried to highlight what they considered to be "positive" aspects of the statement, such as Bush's not using the "axis of evil" phrase. Nonetheless, conservatives are calling on the people to take part in anti-US demonstrations across the country on Friday, both to show a united front against America as well as against those they consider domestic, pro-US lackeys. (Siavash Ardalan) * Columbia University's Gary Sick agrees with Iranian critics that President's Bush statement constituted interference in Iran's domestic affairs but he says that was the intention. He tells RFE/RL that it seems that White House agrees with the wishful thinking of right wing analysts close to the Department of Defense that the regime is on the verge of an explosion. Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy tells RFE/RL that President Bush criticized the conservatives in power but offered a hand of friendship to Iranian people. Former US diplomat Richard Murphy tells RFE/RL that the conservatives resist change because they know reform threatens their grip on power. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) Deepening Gap between Moderate and Hard-line Conservatives * Taha Hashemi, manager of the"Entekhab" daily that has so far been considered "moderate conservative," said yesterday that authorities higher than he were responsible for yesterday's headline that accused the reformist faction of fomenting unrest. Hashemi said he would resign if he finds it impossible to continue working for the newspaper's license holder, the Qom-based conservative "Islamic Propaganda Organization (Sazeman-e Tablighat-e Eslami). Entekhab's editor Mohammad-Mehdi Faqihi told the reformist website emrooz.org that he and Hashemi have lost the paper's control under pressure from hard-line conservatives such as the Islamic Coalition Association (Heyat-e Motalefeh-ye Eslami), Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi and the Keyhan newspaper. (Mehdi Khalaji) Reporters san Frontiers Condemns the Closing of Azad * In a statement issued in Paris, the press freedom advocacy group Reporters sans Frontiers condemned the closing of the independent reformist newspaper "Azad." (Jean Khakzad, Paris) AP Reports on Young People's Musical Interests * More young people, boys and girls, play music next to each other, and sound of western music can be heard seeping out of private cars, reports the Associate Press from Tehran. (Shahran Tabari) UNESCO Experts Criticize High Rise Building in Esfahan * A group of experts from UNESCO said after visiting Esfahan that since a high-rise building has destroyed the ancient city grid around the historic Naqsh-e Jahan square, they cannot recommend the area's designation as an international historic site, archeologist and tourism expert Jamal Ansari tells RFE/RL. (Mahmonir Rahimi) Reformists and Conservatives Both Fear Reformists' Possible Exit from the Regime * While conservatives would like to see some reformists such as Majles deputy speaker Behzad Nababi resign, they see a mass resignation of reformists as a threat to the regime in general. However, some analysts in Tehran point out that if the reformists see their exit from the regime no longer a useful option, the two factions would join forces against an anti-regime opposition. (Mehdi Khalaji) Dubai Banks Would Lend for Investment in Iran * Abdolrahim Mottawa, head of Dubai chamber of commerce and industries announced in a joint press conference today with Mahmud Amani of Iran's consulate in Dubai, that Dubai banks would provide loans for investment in Iran. Amani said Iran's new law to attract foreign investment will be explained in a conference to be held in September in Dubai. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) Iran's Passenger Airline in Disarray * Iran Air lost one trillion rials (nearly $125 million) last year, and minister of roads and transportation Mohammad Khorram says there is no money to invest in improving its aging fleet. During the past 23 years, Iran Air has invested only $500 million in buying aircraft, including seven second-hand ones purchased from Dubai and Turkey. In 2002 alone, Dubai's Emirates Airline ordered 22 new airbus planes at $15 billion. Over the years, Iran Air has lost its highly skilled pilots to South Korean, Emirate, Australian and US airlines. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris) WORLD * Spanish forces drive out eight Moroccan soldiers from Perejil, a small Mediterranean island claimed by Morocco. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * On the 34th anniversary of his party's rule over Iraq, Saddam Hussein says he is undefeatable. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) * Russian defense minister says his country opposes any foreign intervention in Iraq. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) * Israel and Palestinians find the result of the UN meeting on the Middle East positive (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * Kandahar governor's proposal to create a force in southern Afghanistan to take over some of the military operations from the US was rejected by three other southern Afghanistan governors. (Fariba Mavedat, London) * The executive director of the UN's anti-drug program in Afghanistan explains his program in Berlin. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) * Police transfer Chirac's assailant to a mental hospital. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) * Human smugglers have sold hundreds of young divorced Tajik mothers to prostitution rings in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) * In a castle in Le Loire region, France exhibits a huge collection of royal crowns, including the Pahlavi crown from Iran. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) ARTS AND IDEAS Civil Society and Human Rights * Prominent lawyer and human rights activist Mehrangiz Kar discusses book censorship and women's rights in her weekly commentary for RFE/RL. Weekly Science Show Combing Two of Smallest Structures Made by Man: Nanotube Computers * Dr. Ali Yazdani of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says his research team recently succeeded in manipulating the electronic properties of atomic-scale "peapods", consisting of fullerenes packed inside so-called carbon nano-tubes, creating a combination of two of the smallest structures that have been made by man. He tells RFE/RL that the process can be used in making nanotube-based computer processors which would accommodate hundreds of times more circuits than a silicon chip of similar size, leading to a new generation of computers as small as a calculator but as powerful as today's desktops. (Fatemeh Aman, Washington) Molecular and Genetic Causes of Esophageal Cancer * Dr. Alireza Sepehr, an Iranian investigator at the US National Cancer Institute, tells RFE/RL about his research on the molecular and genetic causes of esophageal cancer. He says this research should ultimately improve the quality of life of those who suffer from esophageal cancer and lead to better methods of early detection and treatment. Youth, Society and Education * Paris-based sociologist and RFE/RL's education commentator Said Peyvandi talks about the problems of young people in Iran. (Nazi Azima)
رهبر جمهوري اسلامي گفت جناح هاي حكومت و شخص رئيس جمهوري اسلامي با موضع گيري بر ضد فراخوان رئيس جمهوري آمريكا، «توي دهن آمريكا زدند.» آيت الله خامنه اي گفت رئيس جمهوري آمريكا مي خواهد بين عناصر اداره كننده كشور تفكيك قائل شود. حسن روحاني دبير شوراي امنيت ملي امروز گفت احتمال حمله آمريكا به ايران منتفي نيست. وي گفت وزارت اطلاعات جمهوري اسلامي پس از انتشار استعفاي آيت الله طاهري نسبت به به هم خوردن آرامش كشور احساس خطر كرده بود. جناح محافظه كار مي كوشد مردم را به تظاهرات رسمي اي كه روز جمعه آينده قرار است در «سراسر ايران» بر ضد بيانيه رئيس جمهوري آمريكا ترتيب يابد، ترغيب كند و آن را به فرصتي براي عقب راندن جناح مخالف تبديل سازد. عليرغم اظهارات رهبر جمهوري اسلامي، لايه هائي از اصلاح طلبان بر نكات مثبت بيانيه رئيس جمهوري آمريكا انگشت گذاشتند. آقايان علوي تبار و عرب سرخي، از چهره هاي دوم خردادي، توجه دادند كه جرج بوش در بيانيه خود حكومت ايران را «محور شرارت» نخواند.
Summary of Today's BroadcastRFE/RL Persian ServiceWednesday, July 17, 2002 - More reactions to President Bush's Statement - Moderate conservatives break with the hardliners - RSF condemns closing of newspaper - AP reports on young people and music - Dubai to lend money for investment in Iran - Reformists threat to exit the regime Further Reactions to Bush's Iran Statement * Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei today praised what he claimed to be the unity of both of Iran's ruling factions against President Bush's recent statement. Khamenei in particular praised President Khatami for "punching America's President in the mouth". Since Bush's expression of support for Iranians' democratic aspirations, both factions criticized the statement. However, certain pro-reform personalities have tried to highlight what they considered to be "positive" aspects of the statement, such as Bush's not using the "axis of evil" phrase. Nonetheless, conservatives are calling on the people to take part in anti-US demonstrations across the country on Friday, both to show a united front against America as well as against those they consider domestic, pro-US lackeys. (Siavash Ardalan) * Columbia University's Gary Sick agrees with Iranian critics that President's Bush statement constituted interference in Iran's domestic affairs but he says that was the intention. He tells RFE/RL that it seems that White House agrees with the wishful thinking of right wing analysts close to the Department of Defense that the regime is on the verge of an explosion. Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy tells RFE/RL that President Bush criticized the conservatives in power but offered a hand of friendship to Iranian people. Former US diplomat Richard Murphy tells RFE/RL that the conservatives resist change because they know reform threatens their grip on power. (Homayoun Majd, Washington) Deepening Gap between Moderate and Hard-line Conservatives * Taha Hashemi, manager of the"Entekhab" daily that has so far been considered "moderate conservative," said yesterday that authorities higher than he were responsible for yesterday's headline that accused the reformist faction of fomenting unrest. Hashemi said he would resign if he finds it impossible to continue working for the newspaper's license holder, the Qom-based conservative "Islamic Propaganda Organization (Sazeman-e Tablighat-e Eslami). Entekhab's editor Mohammad-Mehdi Faqihi told the reformist website emrooz.org that he and Hashemi have lost the paper's control under pressure from hard-line conservatives such as the Islamic Coalition Association (Heyat-e Motalefeh-ye Eslami), Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi and the Keyhan newspaper. (Mehdi Khalaji) Reporters san Frontiers Condemns the Closing of Azad * In a statement issued in Paris, the press freedom advocacy group Reporters sans Frontiers condemned the closing of the independent reformist newspaper "Azad." (Jean Khakzad, Paris) AP Reports on Young People's Musical Interests * More young people, boys and girls, play music next to each other, and sound of western music can be heard seeping out of private cars, reports the Associate Press from Tehran. (Shahran Tabari) UNESCO Experts Criticize High Rise Building in Esfahan * A group of experts from UNESCO said after visiting Esfahan that since a high-rise building has destroyed the ancient city grid around the historic Naqsh-e Jahan square, they cannot recommend the area's designation as an international historic site, archeologist and tourism expert Jamal Ansari tells RFE/RL. (Mahmonir Rahimi) Reformists and Conservatives Both Fear Reformists' Possible Exit from the Regime * While conservatives would like to see some reformists such as Majles deputy speaker Behzad Nababi resign, they see a mass resignation of reformists as a threat to the regime in general. However, some analysts in Tehran point out that if the reformists see their exit from the regime no longer a useful option, the two factions would join forces against an anti-regime opposition. (Mehdi Khalaji) Dubai Banks Would Lend for Investment in Iran * Abdolrahim Mottawa, head of Dubai chamber of commerce and industries announced in a joint press conference today with Mahmud Amani of Iran's consulate in Dubai, that Dubai banks would provide loans for investment in Iran. Amani said Iran's new law to attract foreign investment will be explained in a conference to be held in September in Dubai. (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) Iran's Passenger Airline in Disarray * Iran Air lost one trillion rials (nearly $125 million) last year, and minister of roads and transportation Mohammad Khorram says there is no money to invest in improving its aging fleet. During the past 23 years, Iran Air has invested only $500 million in buying aircraft, including seven second-hand ones purchased from Dubai and Turkey. In 2002 alone, Dubai's Emirates Airline ordered 22 new airbus planes at $15 billion. Over the years, Iran Air has lost its highly skilled pilots to South Korean, Emirate, Australian and US airlines. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris) WORLD * Spanish forces drive out eight Moroccan soldiers from Perejil, a small Mediterranean island claimed by Morocco. (Ahmad Ra'fat, Rome) * On the 34th anniversary of his party's rule over Iraq, Saddam Hussein says he is undefeatable. (Farideh Rahbar, Cairo) * Russian defense minister says his country opposes any foreign intervention in Iraq. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow) * Israel and Palestinians find the result of the UN meeting on the Middle East positive (Jamshid Chalangi, Cairo) * Kandahar governor's proposal to create a force in southern Afghanistan to take over some of the military operations from the US was rejected by three other southern Afghanistan governors. (Fariba Mavedat, London) * The executive director of the UN's anti-drug program in Afghanistan explains his program in Berlin. (Shahram Mirian, Cologne) * Police transfer Chirac's assailant to a mental hospital. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) * Human smugglers have sold hundreds of young divorced Tajik mothers to prostitution rings in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) * In a castle in Le Loire region, France exhibits a huge collection of royal crowns, including the Pahlavi crown from Iran. (Jean Khakzad, Paris) ARTS AND IDEAS Civil Society and Human Rights * Prominent lawyer and human rights activist Mehrangiz Kar discusses book censorship and women's rights in her weekly commentary for RFE/RL. Weekly Science Show Combing Two of Smallest Structures Made by Man: Nanotube Computers * Dr. Ali Yazdani of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says his research team recently succeeded in manipulating the electronic properties of atomic-scale "peapods", consisting of fullerenes packed inside so-called carbon nano-tubes, creating a combination of two of the smallest structures that have been made by man. He tells RFE/RL that the process can be used in making nanotube-based computer processors which would accommodate hundreds of times more circuits than a silicon chip of similar size, leading to a new generation of computers as small as a calculator but as powerful as today's desktops. (Fatemeh Aman, Washington) Molecular and Genetic Causes of Esophageal Cancer * Dr. Alireza Sepehr, an Iranian investigator at the US National Cancer Institute, tells RFE/RL about his research on the molecular and genetic causes of esophageal cancer. He says this research should ultimately improve the quality of life of those who suffer from esophageal cancer and lead to better methods of early detection and treatment. Youth, Society and Education * Paris-based sociologist and RFE/RL's education commentator Said Peyvandi talks about the problems of young people in Iran. (Nazi Azima)
رهبر جمهوري اسلامي گفت جناح هاي حكومت و شخص رئيس جمهوري اسلامي با موضع گيري بر ضد فراخوان رئيس جمهوري آمريكا، «توي دهن آمريكا زدند.» آيت الله خامنه اي گفت رئيس جمهوري آمريكا مي خواهد بين عناصر اداره كننده كشور تفكيك قائل شود. حسن روحاني دبير شوراي امنيت ملي امروز گفت احتمال حمله آمريكا به ايران منتفي نيست. وي گفت وزارت اطلاعات جمهوري اسلامي پس از انتشار استعفاي آيت الله طاهري نسبت به به هم خوردن آرامش كشور احساس خطر كرده بود. جناح محافظه كار مي كوشد مردم را به تظاهرات رسمي اي كه روز جمعه آينده قرار است در «سراسر ايران» بر ضد بيانيه رئيس جمهوري آمريكا ترتيب يابد، ترغيب كند و آن را به فرصتي براي عقب راندن جناح مخالف تبديل سازد. عليرغم اظهارات رهبر جمهوري اسلامي، لايه هائي از اصلاح طلبان بر نكات مثبت بيانيه رئيس جمهوري آمريكا انگشت گذاشتند. آقايان علوي تبار و عرب سرخي، از چهره هاي دوم خردادي، توجه دادند كه جرج بوش در بيانيه خود حكومت ايران را «محور شرارت» نخواند.
