Thursday, November 20, 2003
<b>IAEA Board Discusses Iran Resolution</b>
• The 35-member board of governors of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency will discuss Iran's nuclear program in its meeting in Vienna later today. In preparation for today's meeting, the European nations discussed increasing censure of Iran over its past covert nuclear activities, but the US had hoped that the IAEA board would find Iran in violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The US rejected the proposed draft resolution by the three European countries that would urge Iran to continue cooperation, but avoids condemning Iran for hiding parts of its program. The text by Britain, France and Germany does not address Tehran's non-compliance with its treaty obligations, US Secretary of State Collin Powell said in Brussels, after meeting with EU foreign ministers. (Jamshid Zand)
• IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei criticized the draft for lack of strong language on Iran's violations. (Amir Armin)
• It appears unlikely that the IAEA board would condemn Iran for its violations of NPT, Carnegie Foundation for Peace's non-proliferation expert <b>Miriam Rajkumar</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. However, so long as Iran continues cooperating with IAEA, the US would prefer to stay behind the scene, and allow a multi-national approach take shape, she adds. With it maneuvering, Iran has managed to wiggle itself out of the danger of its nuclear case being referred to the UN Security Council, she adds. If Iran continues with the suspension of its uranium enrichment program, the US will not apply any more pressure; deeply involved in Iraq, the US does not want to open another front. (Maryam Ahmadi)
• It appears unlikely that the IAEA board of governors agree to refer Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security council, Iran's representative to the UN Mohammad Javad Zarif said. We should always be ready for unexpected moves by the IAEA, head of Kayhan newspaper Hossein Shariatmadari said. Today we witnessed a u-turn by the US, Majles MP Ali-Akbar Mohtashami said. The consensus that the US intended to create against Iran has been broken, head of the society of militant clerics, MP Rasoul Montajebnia said, according to state-owned “students” news agency ISNA. (Ali Sajjadi)
• The IAEA has found a diplomatic solution, because it cites Iran's NPT violations, but does nothing about them, adjunct scholar at the Washington Near East Policy Institute and Michigan University professor <b>Raymond Tanter</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. The IAEA loses an opportunity to stop Iran's nuclear program, as Iran tries to exploit differences of opinion between the three major European powers, Britain, Germany and France, and the between Europe and the US, he adds. The IAEA should refer Iran's case to the Security Council, and give it a chance to set the stage to impose more sanctions on Iran, but I am afraid that the IAEA will not do that, which may cause Israel to act unilaterally in order to take out Iran's nuclear facilities, as it did in 1981 in Iraq, he says. (Fariba Mavedat)
<b>Government Changes in Time and Date of Serial Murders Victims' Anniversary</b>
• The fifth anniversary of the murders of nationalist opposition leaders Dariush and Parvaneh Forouhar, victims of the 1998 serial murders of dissidents by intelligence ministry agents, changed from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon. Ali Ta'ali, political and security director of the Tehran provincial government said the reason for the change was its coincidence with the official marches scheduled for Friday to commemorate the so-called “Jerusalem Day,” state-owned “student” news agency ISNA reported. (Keyvan Hosseini)
• Provincial government officials said because of the large official march for the Jerusalem Day, they would not have enough police personnel on Friday to provide security for the participants, daughter of the serial murders' victims <b>Parastu Forouhar</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. We had to agree with the authorities' one-side decision on the date change out of our concern for the security of the participants, she adds. Last year, plainclothes security forces attacked the participants of the Forouhars' anniversary, and the event turned into a flash anti-regime rally. (Baktash Khamsehpour)
<b>Legal Discrimination in Criminal Cases against Women</b>
• Women in Iran suffer double discrimination in murder cases. Female defendants in murder cases receive harsher punishments, and death sentences against them are likely to be carried out, since the victims' families are required to pay only half of a man's blood money to the family of the convicted. Afsaneh Nowrouzi, who had been acquitted six years of murder in her preliminary trial on the basis of self defense, faced death penalty as a result of a supreme court review. Her death sentence was suspended only after judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi intervened, in response to mounting domestic and international pressure from human rights groups. Another woman on the death row is Kobra Rahmanpour, 20, who was married to a 65-year-old man, and is accused of killing her husband's 90-year old mother, Tehran reformist daily <i>Etemad</i> reports. (Mahmonir Rahimi)
<b>Iran Surprised by Japan's Withdrawal from Azadegan Oil Field</b>
• Japan's decision to withdraw from negotiations about developing Iran's largest oil field Azadegan surprised the Islamic officials, according to a report in the official newspaper of Iran's state-run news agency IRNA. (Fereydoun Khavand)
<b>US Acknowledges Close Ties between Iran and Iraqi Governing Council</b>
• An unnamed senior administration official confirmed on Wednesday that the Iraqi governing council has made overtures to Iran and said it was up to Baghdad to work out its relations with its neighbors. A high-level delegation headed by head of the Iraqi governing council Jalal Talabani signed several trade and security agreements in Tehran. President Mohammad Khatami was quoted on Tuesday as saying his country recognizes Iraq's governing council, which the Islamic Republic had previously portrayed as a U.S.-installed puppet, news agencies reported. (Mahmonir Rahimi)
<b>2300 Died in Car Crashes, Says Highway Police Chief</b>
• In more 24,000 car crashes, 2300 lost their lives, commander of highway police lieutenant-general Bahram Norouzi announced, according to IRNA. (Jamshid Zand)
<b>More than 10 Million Suffer from Drug Addiction</b>
• Considering that the number of drug addicts has reached 2.5 million, it is safe to say that 10 million family members suffer from problems associated with drug addiction, secretary-general of the drug enforcement headquarters Ali Hashemi said, according to IRNA. (Jamshid Zand)
<b>Government Propaganda for the Jerusalem Day March</b>
• State propaganda organs, all controlled by the conservative faction, have begun a widespread campaign to get people to march on Friday for the official Jerusalem Day. The state radio-TV monopoly has increased its anti-Israel propaganda and shows ads for the Jerusalem Day march. Captions encouraging people's participation in the march appeared superimposed on the popular live broadcast of the soccer match in Beirut between Iran's and Lebanon's national teams. (Ardavan Niknam)
<b>No Tabriz Mayor for Seven Months</b>
• Iran's second largest city Tabriz has been without a mayor for the past seven months, due to irresponsible differences between members of the city council, Tabriz-based independent journalist <b>Ensafali Hedayat</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Farin Asemi)
<b>AI Condemns Mashhad's Stoning of Four Men to Death</b>
• In a statement issued today, the Amnesty International condemned the stoning to death of four men in Mashhad. Amnesty International shares the concerns of many lawyers and human rights defenders in Iran following the reported sentencing to death by stoning of four men by a court in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, the statement said. “Amnesty International recognizes the rights and responsibilities of states to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences. However, such sentences consist of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment that fly in the face of Iran's unreserved commitment to uphold the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Iran is a state party,” said Amnesty International. Amnesty International recommended that judicial authorities commute the death sentences with the aim of identifying an alternative punishment as requested by the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi. (Behruz Nikzat)
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فريبا مودت (راديو فردا): امروز هيات مديره آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي در وين تشكيل جلسه داده است در مورد برنامه هاي هسته اي ايران گفتگو كند. صبح امروز آقاي البرادعي، مديركل آژانس گفت: من فكر مي كنم ما در راه درست گام برمي داريم، شرايط مناسب است و از فعاليتهاي اتمي ايران، ماهيت و مقصود آن مطلع هستيم. ايران به گونه اي عمل مي كند كه گويي پروتكل الحاقي معاهده خلع سلاح اتمي را امضا كرده است. آقاي البرادعي همچنين پيش از اجلاس هيات مديره افزود: انتظار داريم هيات مديره به روشني و قاطعيت در مقابل مواردتخطي ايران از پيمان منع گسترش سلاحهاي اتمي واكنش نشان دهد و به همان ميزان فصل نوين همكاريهاي آژانس با ايران را نيز مد نظر قرار دهد. آقاي البرادعي همچنين گفت كه ايران از هم اكنون به بازرسان آژانس اجازه داده است كه تاسيسات هسته ايش را مورد بازبيني هاي دقيق قرار دهند، گويي كه پروتكل الحاقي را امضا كرده است. در گفتگويي كه ساعتي پيش با پرفسور ريموند تنتر، استاد دانشگاه ميشيگان آمريكا و از اعضاي انستيتوي مطالعات شرق نزديك واشنگتن داشتم، وي ضمن اظهار نظر در مورد اجلاس هيات مديره آژانس گفت:
پرفسور ريموند تنتر: از يك سو آژانس ايران را به تخطي از پيمان منع گسترش تسليحات هسته اي متهم كرده است و از سوي ديگر آژانس هيچگونه اقدامي براي مقابله با اين موارد، منجمله ارجاع آنها به شوراي امنيت نكرده است و آژانس به نوعي راه حل ديپلماتيك در پيش انداخته است و نه راه حلي كه ايران را براي ناديده گرفتن معاهده يادشده در مقام پاسخگويي قرار دهد.
ف.م: احتمالا اظهارات آقاي تنتر در مورد راه حل ديپلماتيك آقاي البرادعي به نوعي از آن شكافي سرچشمه مي گيرد كه عليرغم تلاشهاي آمريكا و اتحاديه اروپا ميان اين دو قطب قدرت بوجود آورده است. خبرگزاري رويتر به نقل از منابع ديپلماتيك در وين گزارش داده است كه هرچند آقاي البرادعي در انظار از روند مثبت گفتگوها در مورد ايران مي گويد، اما نگران آن است كه قطعنامه اي با لحن ملايم و آشتي جويانه دست آژانس را براي اعمال اقدامات قاطعانه در مورد ايران بسته بگذارد. ديدگاهي كه پرفسور تنتر نيز با آن اشتراك نظر دارد. وي مي گويد:
پرفسور ريموند تنتر: هيچگونه ترديدي وجود ندارد كه ايران هرگونه امتيازي كه بتواند از آن خود مي كند و از شكاف ميان سه قدرت اروپايي، يعني بريتانيا، فرانسه و آلمان از يكسو و آمريكا به عنوان وسيله اي براي ادامه آنچه مي خواهد استفاده خواهد كرد. بنابراين به نظر من آژانس بين المللي وظيفه دارد كه دولت ايران را تحت فشار بگذارد، و به نظر مي رسد كه آژانس بين المللي اين فرصت را از دست مي دهد، فرصتي كه به سرعت از دست مي رود و ايران از اين فرصت براي توليد تسليحات اتمي خود استفاده خواهد كرد.
ف.م: در اينجا از پرفسور تنتر پرسيدم كه اما اگر جامعه بين الملل حمايت كامل خود را از آژانس دريغ كند، در آن صورت آژانس به تنهايي چه مي تواند بكند؟
پرفسور ريموند تنتر: تا زماني كه سازمان ملل بازوي قدرتش را پشت سر آژانس بين المللي نگذاشته، اقدامات آژانس هم براي متوقف كردن برنامه هاي اتمي ايران تاثيري نخواهد داشت. نظر من اين است كه آژانس بين المللي بايد به قطعنامه خود شدت لحن بيشتري بخشد، مورد را به شوراي امنيت ارجاع كند و اين فرصت را به سازمان ملل بدهد كه مقدمات تحريم اقتصادي عليه ايران را فراهم بياورد. اما فکر نميکنم آژانس دست به چنين اقدامي بزند. من نگران اين هستم كه در اين ميان اسرائيل خودسرانه تصميم بگيرد كه نمي تواند اجازه دهد كه ايران دست به توليد سلاحهاي اتمي بزند و تاسيسات اتمي ايران را آنچنان كه در سال 81 عليه عراق كرد، هدف حملات مسلحانه قرار دهد، حتي اگر به خاطر مخفي بودن تاسيسات مذكور، نتواند آنها را دقيقا هدف قرار دهد.
ف.م: از پرفسور تنتر پرسيدم فكر نمي كنيد چنين اقدامي موجب بروز جنجال بزرگ بين المللي شود؟
پرفسور ريموند تنتر: بدون شك اين امر موجب هياهوي بسيار خواهد شد، اما نه بيشتر از آنچه در سال 81 بعد از حمله اسرائيل عليه عراق برپا شد. بنابراين فكر مي كنم لفاظيهاي بسيار خواهد شد، اما خيابانهاي كشورهاي خاورميانه به همان ميزان آرام خواهد ماند كه بعد از حمله اسرائيل و حمله مسلحانه آمريكا عليه طالبان در افغانستان و رژيم صدام حسين ماند. امروز هيات مديره آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي در وين تشكيل جلسه داد در مورد برنامه هاي هسته اي ايران گفتگو كند. پرفسور ريموند تنتر، استاد دانشگاه ميشيگان آمريكا و از اعضاي انستيتوي مطالعات شرق نزديك واشنگتن، در مصاحبه با راديو فردا مي گويد: نظر من اين است كه آژانس بين المللي بايد به قطعنامه خود شدت لحن بيشتري بخشد، مورد را به شوراي امنيت ارجاع كند و اين فرصت را به سازمان ملل بدهد كه مقدمات تحريم اقتصادي عليه ايران را فراهم بياورد. اما فکر نميکنم آژانس دست به چنين اقدامي بزند. من نگران اين هستم كه در اين ميان اسرائيل خودسرانه تصميم بگيرد كه نمي تواند اجازه دهد كه ايران دست به توليد سلاحهاي اتمي بزند و تاسيسات اتمي ايران را آنچنان كه در سال 81 عليه عراق كرد، هدف حملات مسلحانه قرار دهد، حتي اگر به خاطر مخفي بودن تاسيسات مذكور، نتواند آنها را دقيقا هدف قرار دهد.
