Summary of Iran Stories in Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiWednesday, April 21, 2004
<b>US President Warns Iran on Nuclear Program</b>
• “The Iranians need to feel the pressure from the world that any nuclear weapons program will be uniformly condemned,” US President George Bush said today in remarks at the Newspaper Association of America annual convention. “It's essential that they hear that message,” he added, in response to a question about cooperation of other countries in combating terrorism. “The development of a nuclear weapon in Iran is intolerable, otherwise they will be dealt with, starting through the United Nations,” he said. Describing the Islamic Republic authorities as “a tough crowd to negotiate with,” he added: “They've got the classic principle-to-non-principle negotiating strategy available for them. They've got a fellow sitting up on top, probably the decision-maker on most matters, and yet the world goes to Khatami, so you're not really sure if the message is getting totally delivered or not.” The US President said one of his jobs is to make sure that in their talks with Iran, Britain, Germany and France “speak as plainly as possible” to the Iranian authorities “and make it absolutely clear that… it would be intolerable to peace and stability in the Middle East if they get a nuclear weapon, particularly since their stated objective is the destruction of Israel.”
• French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday urged Iran to cooperate “in a constructive way” with European countries and the UN International Atomic Energy Agency in a meeting in Paris with foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi. Chirac “expressed France's wish that the dialogue begun between the three European countries (Germany, France and Britain) and Iran continues in a constructive way,” the president's spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said. Chirac also stressed the importance "of continuing the implementation of commitments taken at the IAEA.”
<b>Khatami Warns Coalition Forces against Attacking Shiite Cities</b>
• An attack against Najaf and Karbala would be an act of suicide by the occupation forces, and it would provoke the resentment of the entire Muslim world, especially the Shiites,” President Mohammad Khatami said to reporters after a cabinet meeting. “I do not think they will make such an error, because if they did they would be caught up in a storm,” he added. “The continuation of the occupation is an insult to Iraqis and a source of the trouble there,” he said. “All Iraqi forces and groups should cooperate to get out of this crisis, and I hope the just decision by Spain (to pull out its troops) will be followed by the others,” Khatami said.
<b>Guards Chain Veteran Journalist Pourzand to Hospital Bed</b>
• Prison guards chained jailed journalist Siamak Pourzand, 74, to a bed in Tehran's Modares hospital, where he had been taken after collapsing in jail from a heart attack and spending 34 hours in coma. Last year a “special” court sentenced Pourzand, charged with anti-regime activities, to 11 years in jail. Pourzand's wife, lawyer and human rights activist <b>Mehrangiz Kar</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b> that false promises of release from jail or threats that he will spend the rest of his life there have dealt heavy blows to Pourzand's mental and physical health. He is in urgent need of bone surgery, and suffers from heart and kidney diseases. “But where an old prisoner is being chained to hospital bed, it is natural for us not to make any demands,” she adds. Only Pourzand's 85-year-old sister is allowed to visit him, but she is in a worse physical shape that her brother, Ms. Kar adds. (Maryam Ahmadi)
• Pourzand is being kept in the CCU ward of the Modares hospital, accompanied by two prison guards, Pourzand's Toronto-based daughter <b>Leyli Pourzand</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Today they called Pourzand's sister from hospital to tell her that no more visits would be allowed by order of the judge in charge of his case, Leyli says. “My aunt had been visiting him in the hospital, had seen his condition and the chain, and had told us about it,” she adds. Pourzand and other political prisoners had been promised an early release, she says, but their release was postponed until the judiciary chief's visit to prison. But in his visit to jail last February, the judiciary chief did not stop by the political prisoners' cellblock, she adds. (Maryam Ghavami, Toronto)
• Last night hospital workers said Pourzand was getting better and will soon be transferred out of the CCU, Pourzand's Paris-based brother <b>Lohrasb Pourzand</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>, adding that he is not optimistic about his brother's chance of survival. (Siavash Ardalan)
<b>Finance Minister's Ouster: Mysteries</b>
• As unanswered questions about the sudden ouster of finance and economic affairs minister Tahmasb Mazaheri, one mysterious outcome has been the mounting praise for Mazaheri in the conservative press and by conservative politicians, negating earlier suggestions that linked Mazaheri's ouster to possible pressure from conservatives, who will takeover the Majles majority next month. No answers has yet been given to the questions about Mazaheri's ouster, which also brought under question the destiny of his close colleagues deputy finance minister and head of the privatization organization Ahmad Mir-Motahari and Tehran stock exchange chief Hossein Abdoh Tabrizi. (Fereydoun Khavand, Paris)
<b>US Extends Suspension of Money Transfer Sanctions on Iran</b>
• The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday extended by 90 days a temporary suspension of some sanctions on Iran that were eased last year to speed relief supplies after the devastating earthquake in Bam. The US eased some sanctions on Iran on December 31 last year so that US citizens and nonprofit groups could donate money directly to nongovernmental organizations working in Iran.
<b>UC Davis Team to Visit Iran</b>
• A team of top officials from UC Davis will travel to Iran next week to begin building relationships they hope will lead to academic partnerships and exchange programs with universities there. In addition to meeting university administrators, the group will talk with scholars about agriculture and engineering, visit with UCD alumni and learn about the culture of this Middle Eastern country during the trip from April 25 to May 1. Campus delegations have gone on similar trips to Japan, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, China, the United Kingdom and Germany. Bill Lacy, vice provost of university outreach and international programs, said one of the objectives of the trip would be to reconnect with UCD alumni holding faculty positions at Iranian universities, including Sharif University of Technology and the University of Tehran in the nation's capital. Lacy said UCD has 10 to 12 alumni holding faculty positions at Sharif University.
<b>Argentinean Judge Issues Arrest Warrant for Ex-President Menem</b>
• A federal judge in Argentina issued an international arrest warrant for former President Carlos Menem, who lives in Brazil. Menem, who has been accused of taking a bribe from Iran to hush inquiry into Iran's role in the 1994 bomb attack on a Buenos Aires Jewish cultural center, is also wanted in connection with alleged financial irregularities from federal prison privatizations.
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فاطمه امان (راديوفردا): جرج بوش، رئيس جمهوري آمريكا و محمد خاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي، روز چهارشنبه با خبرنگاران گفتگو كردند. محمدخاتمي در گفتگو با خبرنگاران در تهران از آمريكا خواست نيروهاي خود را از عراق بيرون ببرد و به نيروهاي ائتلاف هشدار داد كه به شهرهاي مذهبي عراق حمله نكنند.
رئيس جمهوري آمريكا در واشنگتن به خبرنگاران گفت برنامه تسليحات هسته اي ايران به كلي غيرقابل قبول است.
امير آرمين (راديوفردا): رئيس جمهوري آمريكا در پاسخ به پرسش خبرنگاري كه پرسيد آيا از ميزان همكاريهاي دولتها در امر مبارزه با تروريسم راضي هستيد، گفت: بله. آنها تشخيص مي دهند كه خطر واقعي است. تا مدتي طبعا آمريكا بيش از ديگران در مبارزه ضدتروريستي درگير بود، زيرا خاطره 11 سپتامبر در ذهن ما زنده بود. اما از 11 سپتامبر به بعد تعداد زيادي حمله هاي تروريستي در گوشه و كنار جهان روي داده و مردم جهان را متقاعد كرده است كه ممكن است حمله عليه آنها هم روي دهد و بايد با هم همكاري كنند.
عربستان سعودي يك نمونه خوب است. حوادث باعث شد نظر آنها نسبت به تروريست هاي نوع القاعده تغيير كند و حمله امروز در رياض هم يادآور ديگري بود از اين مسئله.
آقاي بوش در ادامه سخنان خود افزود: همكاري خوب است ولي بايد دائم كار كرد و خطرات را به همه يادآوري نمود. رئيس جمهوري آمريكا از همكاري خوب پاكستان در اين زمينه ستايش كرد و گفت به خاطر داريد كه پاكستان قبل از 11 سپتامبر دوست و متحد طالبان بود، اما كولين پاول آقاي مشرف را متقاعد كرد كه اين به نفع پاكستان نيست و او را متقاعد كرد كه منافع او ايجاب مي كند در كنار ما در مبارزه ضدتروريستي كار كند.
آقاي بوش در همين راستا بر ضرورت كارآمدي نهادهاي بين المللي تاكيد كرد و گفت ما در رابطه با ايران با سازمان بين المللي انرژي اتمي همكاري مي كنيم و ايراني ها بايد اين فشار جهاني را احساس كنند كه هرگونه برنامه هسته اي تسليحاتي به طور همگاني محكوم خواهد شد. مهم است كه آنها اين پيام را بشنوند. نهاد بين المللي مناسب براي برخورد با آنها سازمان بين المللي انرژي اتمي است. آنها سند الحاقي به پيمان منع گسترش سلاح هاي هسته اي را امضا كرده اند كه يك تحول مثبت است. وزيران امور خارجه فرانسه، آلمان و بريتانيا نيز از سوي جهان متمدن با صراحت با ايراني ها گفتگو كردند و وظيفه من اين است كه مطمئن شوم آنها با سادگي و صراحت با ايراني ها صحبت كردند و كاملا براي آنها روشن ساختند كه توليد جنگ افزارهاي هسته اي در ايران غيرقابل قبول است. چنين برنامه اي غيرقابل است و در غير اينصورت برخورد با آنها از طريق سازمان ملل شروع خواهد شد.
آقاي بوش به طور ضمني به نهادهاي موازي در تصميمگيري در جمهوري اسلامي اشاره كرد و گفت: آنها فردي را دارند كه در بالا نشسته و احتمالا در باره بيشتر مسائل تصميم گيرنده است ولي جهان بايد با خاتمي گفتگو كند و معلوم نيست كه آيا پيام به طور كامل مي رسد، يا نه. آقاي بوش افزود كه به هرحال فكر مي كنم اين پيام به آنها رسيده كه توليد جنگ افزارهاي هسته اي غيرقابل قبول است. اگر آنها جنگ افزارهاي هسته اي داشته باشند، براي صلح و ثبات در خاورميانه قابل مدارا نيست به خصوص از اين جهت كه هدف اعلام شده آنها نابودي اسرائيل است.
و در تهران، محمد خاتمي گفت آمريكائيها فهميده اند كه عمليات نظامي درعراق به سودشان نيست. اما به خاطر نخوتي كه دارند به عمليات اشغال عراق ادامه مي دهند. آقاي خاتمي در پايان نشست هفته اي كابينه با خبرنگاران صحبت مي كرد.
مقامهاي آمريكائي بعضا ايران را به تحريك احساسات ضد آمريكائي در عراق متهم مي كنند و مي گويند ايران در ميان شيعيان كشور همسايه به خصوص دست به تحريك مي زند اما محمد خاتمي كه به عنوان چهره ميانه رو جمهوري اسلامي شناخته شده است گناه سطح بالاي خشونت هاي جاري در عراق را به گردن آمريكا انداخت كه به كشور همسايه ايران حمله كرده است.
رئيس جمهوري اسلامي گفت ما خواهان آرامش در عراق هستيم. و هر نوع فعاليتي كه موجب بي نظمي در عراق شود را محكوم مي كنيم اما مي دانيم كه ادامه اشغال سرچشمه ناآرامي هاست.
محمد خاتمي ضمن ابراز حمايت از آيت الله علي سيستاني، مرجع شيعه در نجف، به نيروهاي ائتلاف در عراق هشدار داد مبادا به منطور دستگيري مقتدي صدر و هوادارانش به نجف و كربلا حمله كنند. وي افزود اگر نيروهاي ائتلاف به كربلا و نجف حمله كنند، دست به خودكشي زده اند، چون احساسات جهان اسلام، خاصه شيعيان را عليه خود بر مي انگيزانند. جرج بوش، رئيس جمهوري آمريكا، روز چهارشنبه در واشنگتن گفت مقامات ايران بايد اين فشار جهاني را احساس كنند كه هرگونه برنامه هسته اي تسليحاتي به طور همگاني محكوم خواهد شد. وي افزود: اگر آنها جنگ افزارهاي هسته اي داشته باشند، براي صلح و ثبات در خاورميانه قابل مدارا نيست به خصوص از اين جهت كه هدف اعلام شده آنها نابودي اسرائيل است. از سوي ديگر، محمدخاتمي، رئيس جمهوري اسلامي، در گفتگو با خبرنگاران بعد از اجلاس كابينه در تهران، به نيروهاي ائتلاف هشدار داد مبادا براي دستگيري مقتدي صدر و هوادارانش به نجف و كربلا حمله كنند. وي افزود آمريكائيها فهميده اند كه عمليات نظامي درعراق به سودشان نيست. اما به خاطر نخوتي كه دارند به عمليات اشغال عراق ادامه مي دهند.
