Summary of Iran Stories in Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiWednesday, November 26, 2003
<b>IAEA Censures Iran for Covert Nuclear Program</b>
• In a resolution approved today at the meeting of its board of governors in Vienna, the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA) censured Iran for conducting a covert nuclear program for 18 years in violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty's safeguards. The final resolution was a compromise, because it stopped short of confronting Iran with a direct threat of UN sanctions, as the US had wanted. US Secretary of State Collin Powell said he was “very happy” with the resolution. Foreign ministry spokesman Hanmid-Reza Asefi said the resolution proves that Iran is not after nuclear weapons capability. This resolution gives one more chance to Iran, <b>Shahram Chubin</b> a research director at the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Europe rightfully believes that Iran's recent willingness to cooperate with the IAEA needs to be encouraged, and the US agrees, but says nothing prevents Iran from continuing its program under another lie, since it has not ended it uranium enrichment program, but has only suspended it, he says. So, we can say that the US is suspicious and the Europe is hopeful. The resolution represents the world opinion that wants to give Iran one more chance. In the case of a negative approach from Iran, then there will be no room for any international action in its favor. For now, the world hopes that by using such tools as economic and trade incentives, Iranian authorities would reconsider their position on nuclear development. (Fariba Mavedat)
• The IAEA adopted a resolution Wednesday on Iran's nuclear issue, restraining it from reporting Iran to the UN Security Council for a decision on imposing sanctions on the country. The resolution, sponsored by France, Germany and Britain, applauded “Iran's offer of active cooperation and openness” with the IAEA which demanded intrusive snap inspections of Iran's atomic sites. However, it “strongly deplores” Iran's cover-up over the past 18 years of a program involving uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing. “It is pretty clear that the board is sending a very serious and ominous message that failures in the future will not be tolerated and that the board will use all options available to it to deal with these failures,” IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei said. (Mahmonir Rahimi)
• Iran welcomed the IAEA resolution as a victory over the US, ignoring warnings that international pressure on Tehran may have only just begun. “The US did not achieve a single one of its objectives concerning Iran's nuclear activities,” secretary of the supreme national security council Hassan Rowhani said. (Jamshid Zand)
• US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was ``very happy'' with the IAEA resolution, which ``notes that Iran has been in breach of obligations.'' ``And there is one particular paragraph in the resolution which makes it very, very clear that if Iran does not now comply with obligations and the other agreements it's entered into, then this will be a matter that will be immediately referred to the IAEA board of governors for action, as appropriate under the various statutes,'' Powell said in Washington. (Maryam Ahmadi)
• <b>Radio Farda</b> airs the Persian translation of the state-owned Mehr news agency of the IAEA resolution about Iran. (Ardavan Niknam)
• Israel vowed to monitor Iran's nuclear program. (Amir Armin)
• Israel's worry about Iran's nuclear program is “unrealistic,” foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said. With its political maneuvers and false statements, Israel attempts to influence the IAEA's board of governors, he added. (Ardavan Niknam)
• Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov called for a “balanced” resolution on Iran's nuclear program. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow)
<b>Guardians Council Warns Interior Ministry on Vote Counting Machines</b>
• The Guardians Council gave 30 days to interior ministry to submit documents on the ministry's plan to use computerized vote counting machines in the upcoming Majles elections. In a letter to the interior minister, secretary of the Guardians Council Ayatollah Ahmad Janati said the ministry has failed to submit the plans by the deadline three months prior to the elections. Hand counting of the Tehran district votes, as previous years, would not be acceptable to the Council, he added. If the interior ministry does not submit acceptable plans for computerized vote counting, then the central election supervision council, a unit of the Guardians Council, will set up its own computerized vote counting system for checking the work of interior ministry's election officials. (Baktash Khamsehpour)
• The Guardians Council opposed computerized vote counting in the last elections, but now has changed its mind, editor of the Tehran reformist daily <i>Mardomsalari</i> <b>Hassan Fathi</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. The issue is being raised only to divert attention from the Guardians Council's intelligence gathering offices in provinces, that the interior ministry had opposed, he adds. (Fereydoun Zarnegar)
<b>Human Rights Activist Welcomes Shirin Ebadi's Nobel Prize</b>
• The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to lawyer and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi sends two messages, one to the Islamic regime and another to the Iranian people, Virginia-based human rights activist and lawyer <b>Mehrahgiz Kar</b> said in a speech at UCLA this morning. The message to the regime was that it should stop violating Iranians' human rights in the name of Islam, she said. And the message to the Iranian people was that the world is concerned about their efforts to gain freedom and lead a better life. The experience of the past 20 years of violent suppression of dissidents has shown the elite that anti-regime struggle will only end in their own physical elimination, Ms. Kar tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. That is why the militants have turned into activists, she adds. The human rights activist, the women's rights activist and the political activist is a person who tries to find legal means for democratic dissent. (Firouzeh Khatibi, Los Angeles)
<b>Extramarital Sexual Relations Rise among Women</b>
• More married women engage in extramarital sex, writes women's website <i>zanan-e Iran</i>, quoting journalist Parvin Bakhtiarnezhad. More than 50 percent of women who called an NGO's hotline looking for information about AIDS prevention reported having unsafe sexual relations. More than 60 percent of the hotline callers were married women, she said, quoting a report discussed at a propaganda meeting of the pro-reform party the Participation Front. Head of the same NGO said more than 50 percent of the clients of street women are married men. Temporary Islamic marriages rose by 13 percent this year, as compared to the year before, according to the pro-reform Tehran daily <i>Etemad</i>. (Keyvan Hosseini)
<b>UN: Elimination of Violence against Women</b>
• Marking the fourth international day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for “a bold transformation in men's attitudes and behavior” so that women become their equal partners and gender-based violence, which has become more complex in the 21st century, can be eliminated. “I call on all sectors of society to redouble their efforts to achieve the objective of ending all forms of violence against women,” he said. Iran has signed the international convention, but the Guardians Council rejected the Majles bill to ratify it, on the grounds that it violated Islamic laws. Violence against women is rooted in patriarchal culture, former minister of women's affairs, and president of the Bethesda, MD, based Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace <b>Mahnaz Afkhami</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Iranian laws allow violence against women to go unpunished, Virginia-based human rights advocate <b>Mehrangiz Kar</b>, who practiced law in Iran, tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. Violence against women also includes psychological violence in the form of legal restrictions imposed on women in Iran and other Islamic countries. (Ali Sajjadi)
<b>Iran Proposes to Pay 60 Percent of the Cost of Gas Pipeline to India</b>
• In what can come as a major respite for India and would also give a push to the much-awaited Indo-Iran gas pipeline project, Iran on Monday offered to foot as much as 60 per cent of the $3 billion cost of the project. Talking at the India Economic Summit, Iranian deputy minister of foreign affairs Mohammad Hossein Adeli said that “gas transported through a overland pipeline passing through Pakistan would be much cheaper than alternate source such as importing gas by ships in form of liquefied natural gas, reports New Delhi daily the <i>Indian Express</i>. (Farin Asemi)
<b>Reformists Deny Receiving Foreign Aid for Elections</b>
• The reformist faction denied the rumor that it has received 47 billion rials from foreign sources for its elections campaigns. The rumor appeared yesterday in the conservative daily <i>Siasat</i>.
<b>Supreme Leaders Calls for Large Turnout in the Majles Elections</b>
• A large turnout in the upcoming Majles elections would foil the plots of “enemies,” the Supreme Leader said. (Fereydoun Zarnegar)
<b>Kuwait Threatens Iran with International Lawsuit Over Disputed Oilfields</b>
• Kuwait warned Iran that if negotiations fail, it would take the two country's dispute over the Arash off-shore oilfields in the Persian Gulf to international bodies. Arash's estimated reserves at 670 million barrels are too small for Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait not to be able to resolve the issue through negotiations, Tehran-based journalist <b>Hossein Nazarian</b> tells <b>Radio Farda</b>. (Fereydoun Zarnegar)
<b>Workers Strike against Factory Closings, Privatization</b>
• The economic problems that led to the closing of many state-owned or privatized factories and the government's effort to unload its failed factories in the stock market, have joined hands to create a crisis that has raked havoc in the country's industrial sector. Many factories have stopped production, after failing to sell their flawed goods, and many workers' wages have remained unpaid. The workers of Gilan province's Pars Iran company have gone on strike demanding five-months of back pay, even though the workers say, unlike other textile factories, this company's products sell well. Iran's Transfor's nearly 1000 workers have been on strike for the past10 days, protesting the management's violations of the labor contract. Arak's petrochemical company's 600 workers announced that they would go on a hunger strike next week to protest the management's inattention to the workers' demands. Behshahr Chit textile factory, Shahid Rajai's lumber factory in Sari, Tabarestan textiles of Qaemshahr, Chokhali textiles of Sari, Jean Mode of Amol, Khezear Garments in Amol, Harir textiles in Qaemshahr have all closed down for one reason or another, according to the executive secretary of the workers association of the Mazandaran province. Billions of rials are being wasted on the laid off workers' unemployment benefits, while the country's industries, production and employment are dying, he said. (Fereydoun Zarnegar)
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جمشيد زند(راديو فردا): سرانجام پس از ماهها بحث و مذاكره و سفر هيات بازرسان سازمان انرژي اتمي به ايران و انتشار بيانيه سعد آباد، كه طي آن دولت ايران موافقت خود با شرايط مشخص آژانس در مورد شفافيت برنامه هاي هسته اي و امضاي پروتكل الحاقي را اعلام كرد، امروز شوراي حكام آژانس بين المللي انرژي اتمي، قطعنامه مورد توافق اتحاديه اروپا و آمريكا در مورد فعاليتهاي هسته ايران را تصويب كرد. هيات ايران در آژانس پس از اعلام تصويب قطعنامه با انتشار بيانيه اي نظرات خود را در اين باره اعلام كرد. در اين بيانيه گفته مي شود قطعنامه كه به نحوي تدوين شده است كه حاوي نقطه نظرات تمامي اعضاي شورا است. در پايان اين بيانيه آمده است اكنون بيش از هر زمان ديگر محتمل به نظر مي رسد كه اين بحران به نقطه عطفي در روابط ايران با اروپا و با غرب به طور كلي منجر شود.
فريبا مودت (راديو فردا): امروز قطعنامه آژانس بين المللي كه پيش نويس آن روز گذشته در اختيار رسانه ها قرار گرفت، رسما به تصويب هيات مديره سازمان رسيد. محتواي قطعنامه نهايي، تفاوت چنداني با آنچه در پيش نويس آن ديده شد، ندارد و تحليلگران معتقدند كه آژانس بين المللي با تقبيح پنهانكاريهاي ايران از يكسو و استقبال از همكاريهاي جمهوري اسلامي با اين نهاد از سوي ديگر، كليه طرفين درگير يعني آمريكا، اروپا و ايران را به اصطلاح راضي نگاه داشته است. به اين صورت كه بر موضع اروپا داير بر تعامل و گفتگو با ايران صحه گذاشته، از ايران به خاطر همكاريهاي اخيرش با آژانس تمجيد كرده و در عين حال با سرزنش جمهوري اسلامي مبني بر تخطي از معاهده منع گسترش سلاحهاي اتمي در گذشته، احتمالا تا حدي رضايت ايالات متحده را نيز جلب كرده است.
روز گذشته كولين پاول، وزير خارجه آمريكا، از مصالحه اي كه در مورد برنامه هاي اتمي ايران شده، ابراز رضايت كرد. وي گفت يك بخش از متن قطعنامه كاملا روشن مي سازد كه اگر ايران به تعهداتش عمل نكند، مساله به هيات مديره آژانس ارجاع خواهد شد تا در مورد آن اقدام كند. آقاي پاول در خاتمه از آلمان، بريتانيا و فرانسه به خاطر تلاشهايشان در اين زمينه سپاسگزاري کرد. درعين حال، امروز آقاي البرادعي نيز پس از صدور متن اصلي قطعنامه گفت كه تصميم هيات مديره براي حصول اطمينان از اينكه ايران برنامه هاي اتميش را در چهارچوبي مسالمت آميز حفظ خواهد كرد، تقويت مي كند. آقاي البرادعي افزود: هنوز آژانس بايد اقدامات بسياري در مورد ايران به مرحله عمل بگذارد تا بتواند اطمينانهاي لازم را به جامعه بين الملل در مورد فعاليتهاي هسته اي ايران بدهد. وي گفت كه هيات مديره آژانس پيام شديداللحني به ايران فرستاده كه هيچگونه تخطي اين كشور از پيمان منع گسترش سلاحهاي اتمي را تحمل نخواهد كرد و از كليه اختياراتش براي رسيدگي به اين گونه موارد استفاده خواهد نمود.
وزارت خارجه ايران نيز در واكنش به قطعنامه آژانس گفت كه متن قطعنامه يك پيروزي براي تهران است كه ثابت كرده در جريان توليد سلاحهاي اتمي نيست. آقاي آصفي، سخنگوي وزارت خارجه نيز در بيانيه اي كه به دفتر خبرگزاري رويتر فرستاد، گفت: تحولات روزهاي اخير در واقع شكست سياستهاي يك جانبه و پيروزي همكاري و سياستهاي مبتني بر گفتگو و تعامل بوده است. وي اظهار اميدواري كرد كه همكاريهاي ميان ايران و آژانس بر اساس توافق با بريتانيا، آلمان و فرانسه ادامه يابد. بنابراين اين مساله مطرح است كه آيا عليرغم صدور اين قطعنامه اوضاع همچنان به قوت خود مانند گذشته باقي است يا مفاد قطعنامه تغييري در برنامه هاي اتمي ايران و موضع جامعه بين الملل ايجاد خواهد كرد. اين سئوال را با دكتر شهرام چوبين از انستيتوي مطالعات استراتژيك ژنو مطرح كردم. وي پاسخ داد:
شهرام چوبين (انستيتوي مطالعات استراتژيك ژنو): شرايط، شرايط برزخ است، يعني هيچگونه نتيجه قطعي از اين قطعنامه حاصل نشده. به عبارت ديگر ليواني داريد كه نيمه پر است. نيمه پر به معناي اينكه ايران با جامعه بين الملل همكاري مي كند و نيمه خالي به مفهوم آنكه اين كشور در گذشته با آژانس به صداقت رفتار نكرده است. به نظر من اروپا به درستي معتقد است كه تمايل اخير ايران به همكاري بايد تشويق شود. آمريكا هم با اين نظريه موافق است، اما در عين حال مي گويد: هيچ چيز ايران را براي توسل به دروغي ديگر منصرف نمي كند، زيرا اين كشور توليد اورانيوم غني شده را متوقف نكرده و تنها به حال تعليق درآورده است و تنها وعده داده است كه پروتكل الحاقي را خواهد پذيرفت و آنچه در عمل در جريان است با آنچه در كلام گفته مي شود، متفاوت است. بنابراين مي توان گفت كه آمريكا ظنين است و اروپا اميدوار. و با توجه به خطرات بسيار گسترده اي كه در اين زمينه در ارتباط با موضع كره و رفتار پيشين عراق مشاهده شده، رفتار ايران به مساله، نسبتا و در مقايسه قابل قبول است. بنابراين قطعنامه در واقع نمايانگر تفكر جامعه بين الملل به اين گونه است كه بسياري مايلند به ايران فرصت ديگري داده شود، زيرا در غير اين صورت در مقابل برخورد كاملا منفي ايران به مساله، جاي چنداني براي اقدامات بين المللي باقي نمي ماند. حال جهان اميدوار است كه با حربه وعده هاي بازرگاني، مذاكره و از سوي ديگر فشارهاي ديپلماتيك، بتواند مواضع ايران را برآن دارد كه موضعشان را در ميان خود به بحث بگذارند و ببينند در آينده چه مي خواهند بكنند. امروز هيات مديره سازمان بين المللي انرژي اتمي قطعنامه در باره برنامه اتمي ايران را به تصويب رسانيد. در اين قطعنامه از ايران به خاطر همكاري اخير آن با آژانس تمجيد كرد و در عين حال با سرزنش جمهوري اسلامي در باره تخطي از معاهده منع گسترش سلاحهاي اتمي نظر آمريكا را تاحدي تامين كرد. دکتر شهرام چوبين، از انستيتوي مطالعات استراتژيك ژنو، در مصاحبه با راديوفردا مي گويد که قطعنامه در واقع نمايانگر داده شدن يک فرصت ديگر به جمهوري اسلامي است، زيرا در غير اين صورت در مقابل برخورد كاملا منفي حکومت ايران با مسئله، جاي چنداني براي اقدامات بين المللي باقي نمي ماند.
