http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/ Here you will recieve the latest News we gathered concerning the world and iran, and concerning jonbeshenejateiran en http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/fileadmin/images/banner600x200.jpg http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/ Here you will recieve the latest News we gathered concerning the world and iran, and concerning jonbeshenejateiran TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:11:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=b80683a2cb&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=11&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=148&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 February 8, 2008; Page A16 excluded its uranium enrichment. And he agreed with Mr. Bayh's statement that it would be "very difficult" for the U.S. to know if Iran had recommenced weaponization work, and that "given their industrial and technological capabilities, they are likely to be successful" in building a bomb. The Admiral went even further in his written statement. Gone is the NIE's palaver about the cost-benefit approach or the sticks-and-carrots by which the mullahs may be induced to behave. Instead, the new assessment stresses that Iran continues to press ahead on enrichment, "the most difficult challenge in nuclear production." It notes that "Iran's efforts to perfect ballistic missiles that can reach North Africa and Europe also continue" -- a key component of a nuclear weapons capability. Then there is the other side of WMD: "We assess that Tehran maintains dual-use facilities intended to produce CW [Chemical Warfare] agent in times of need and conducts research that may have offensive applications." Ditto for biological weapons, where "Iran has previously conducted offensive BW agent research and development," and "continues to seek dual-use technologies that could be used for biological warfare." All this merely confirms what has long been obvious about Iran's intentions. No less importantly, his testimony underscores the extent to which the first NIE was at best a PR fiasco, at worst a revolt by intelligence analysts seeking to undermine current U.S. policy. As we reported at the time, the NIE was largely the work of State Department alumni with track records as "hyperpartisan anti-Bush officials," according to an intelligence source. They did their job too well. As Senator Bayh pointed out at the hearing, the NIE "had unintended consequences that, in my own view, are damaging to the national security interests of our country." Mr. Bayh is not a neocon. Admiral McConnell's belated damage repair ought to refocus world attention on Iran's very real nuclear threat. Too bad his NIE rewrite won't get anywhere near the media attention that the first draft did.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:11:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=907afea2b3&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=11&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=147&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:23:34 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Iran to prove the peaceful...
"So far there has not been a positive commitment from Iran," Merkel claimed after a meeting with the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in Berlin on Thursday.

The German Chancellor said that Iran has to prove that it would adhere to the principles of the International Atomic Energy Agency, DPA reported.

"We don't want to see Iran attacked, but at the same time we don't want to see Iran in possession of a nuclear bomb," Sheikh Mohammed said through an interpreter.

Sheikh Mohammed, who arrived in Germany on Wednesday, attended a meeting of the German-Emirates economic forum on Wednesday evening.

The UAE has recently taken steps to get closer to the West, allowing France to station its military forces in the Persian Gulf state.

The West is pressuring Iran into abandoning its uranium enrichment work. Tehran maintains as a signatory of the non-Proliferation Treaty, it is entitled to run a peaceful nuclear program and that its nuclear activities are solely aimed at civilian purposes. ]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:10:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=d7b29f38ec&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=11&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=146&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 New information was brought to light Thursday revealing "an overwhelming amount of... Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:09:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=f4c35c4264&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=11&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=145&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 22 hours ago Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:08:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=27080171c5&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=07&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=144&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 February 06, 2008 Adnkronos International ­ AKI
"Probably my reformist ideas were not liked by members of the Council of Guardians," said Eshraghi.

The Council of Guardians is a conservative-controlled body which vets candidates for parliamentary and presidential elections, and will issue its final verdict on 5 March, only nine days before election day.

Parliamentary elections are slated to take place on 14 March and candidates are overwhelmingly drawn from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's supporters.

Eshraghi is not the first of Khomeini's grandsons to be barred from running for office. In 2004, during the last parliamentary elections, Zahra, Ali Eshraghi's youngest sister was declared unfit to stand as a candidate on the list of the Mosharekat Eslami, or Islamic Cooperation.

Zahra is married to one of the brothers of Iran's former reformist president Mohammed Khatami. Islamic Cooperation was founded by her husband.]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:41:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=da31c7bb1a&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=07&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=142&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 February 05, 2008 Ha'aretz
A National Intelligence Estimate report released in December said that Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in the fall of 2003.

"We remain concerned about Iran's intentions and assess with moderate-to-high confidence that Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons," the report said.

"We assess with high confidence that Iran has the scientific, technical and industrial capacity eventually to produce nuclear weapons," it said, adding that the only realistic way to prevent Iran from producing such weapons was "an Iranian political decision to abandon a nuclear weapons objective."

McConnell expressed skepticism at the ability of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement to deliver security for Israel and to overcome Hamas' efforts to stymie the political process.

He said that despite pressures on Hamas, "the group remains fairly unified, especially its military wing, and in charge in the Gaza Strip where itcontrols all PA facilities. Hamas continues to curtail freedoms and to harass Fatah members."

McConnell said however, that the U.S. recognizes signs of Fatah's progress in the West Bank, praising "renewed security and law enforcement cooperation with Israeli forces in taking more effective action against Hamas."

There was no mention in the report of the Israel Air Force attack on Syria in September 2007, which foreign news sources have speculated was a strike on a nuclear facility built with North Korean assistance. He said, however, that North Korea, which has sold ballistic missiles to Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, could "proliferate nuclear weapons abroad."

The intelligence chief also estimated that Iran and Syria will boost their support for Hezbollah, Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations. He accused Syria and Hezbollah of interfering with the Lebanese presidential elections.

He warned that rising tensions in Lebanon could result in a fresh civil war, and the return to armed "militias" within the country.

"Many former militias in Lebanon are reconstituting, rearming, and retraining their fighters," he said. "The increased political and sectarian tension also raises the potential for civil war within the country."

In addition, McConnell raised the threat of Al-Qaida in Lebanon, maintaining it continues to threaten the country's internal security.]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:40:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=8fd28b86a1&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=07&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=143&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 February 06, 2008 Reuters
Tehran's quest to produce usable amounts of nuclear fuel has been hampered by problems getting a 1970s vintage of centrifuge, the "P-1", to run nonstop at maximum speed. Iran had 3,000 P-1s working by November, a basis for launching industrial-scale enrichment, but only at an estimated 10 percent of capacity.

But diplomats tracking Iran's dossier said it had started mechanical tests, without nuclear material inside, of a more durable, efficient model in the pilot wing of the Natanz plant.

"The Iranians have begun to run in the advanced model. It's not yet known what stage the testing has reached or exactly how many there are, although it appears to be several dozen," said a Western diplomat with access to intelligence.

A senior diplomat familiar with the International Atomic Energy Agency's file on Iran confirmed it recently began testing centrifuges based on a "P-2" design, used more recently in the West and able to enrich uranium 2-3 times as fast as the P-1.

He declined to elaborate, saying details would come in a report IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei will deliver to the Vienna-based agency's 35-nation Board of Governors and the U.N. Security Council later this month.

It was not known how successful the "dry runs" with the new machines had been or when they might be test-fed with uranium gas for enrichment. Iran had no immediate comment.

But diplomats and analysts said Iran had decided to install no more of the antiquated P-1s in Natanz's main, underground production hall and expand capacity instead only with their more efficient successor.

"On the positive side, (shifting advanced centrifuge activity) to the pilot plant at Natanz would bring the program under more international scrutiny (through IAEA inspections)," said David Albright, a physicist and non-proliferation expert.

ACCELERATING CAPABILITY?

"On balance, though, I believe this is a disturbing development. Iran appears to have made progress in secret on the P-2 and may now be close to enriching uranium with it," said Albright, head of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security and an ex-U.N. weapons inspector.

Iran first revealed in 2006 that it was developing supposedly state-of-the-art centrifuges at workshops put off-limits to IAEA inspectors in retaliation for steps by Western powers to impose initial sanctions on Tehran.

The IAEA got a first, one-off look at the advanced centrifuge effort when Iran allowed ElBaradei to visit a workshop in Tehran last month in a gesture of transparency, diplomats versed in the Iran file said.

This was no breakthrough in Western eyes. Diplomats said Iran could not defuse mistrust in its nuclear agenda unless it accepted a binding regime of broader, snap inspections by agency professionals, and suspended enrichment-related activity.

ElBaradei has urged Iran to adopt the IAEA's Additional Protocol, which would allow far-ranging inspections to assess how close Iran may be to mastering enrichment technology and verify that it is not being turned to illicit military ends.

But Tehran has linked fuller cooperation with an end to sanctions, extending a frozen war of nerves with Western powers over which side should make what gesture first.

A U.S. intelligence report in December said Iran stopped actively trying to "weaponize" nuclear materials in 2003.

But it also said Iran has made technical progress towards refining uranium in amounts sufficient for a bomb in 2-7 years, if it decided to do so at sites not declared to inspectors.

ElBaradei's report is expected to say the IAEA is closer to wrapping up an inquiry into Iran's past nuclear activities.

But six world powers have drafted wider Security Council sanctions against Iran, saying clarifying old issues counts for less than Tehran's failure to open the books on its present program or shelve enrichment in return for trade benefits.

(Editing by Keith Weir) ]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:40:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=1993849395&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=07&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=141&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 February 05, 2008 Reuters Expressindia
Under Iran's Islamic sharia law, a person who is caught drinking for a fourth time and confesses faces possible capital punishment, even though legal experts say executions for this offence are very rare.

"My client had been drinking at home for a fourth time and he made some disturbance in the street and police arrested him," his lawyer, Aziz Nokandei, told the ISNA news agency.

Nokandei said his client, identified only with his first name Mohsen, had confessed and expressed remorse. He can appeal against the verdict within 20 days under Iranian law and the head of the judiciary can also intervene.

First-time violators of Iran's strict alcohol laws face possible lashes, fines or jail.

Iran has stepped up the number of executions in the country since the authorities launched a clampdown on 'immoral behaviour' in July, arresting scores of accused drug smugglers, murderers, rapists and other criminals.

European governments and Western rights groups have criticised Iran for the executions, usually carried out by hanging. Iran has dismissed the criticism and accused the West of double standards.

Last week, Iran's judiciary chief ordered a halt to public executions in Iran unless they have his approval.

While those sentenced to death would still be hanged behind prison walls, the move by Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi appeared designed to lower the public profile of Iran's increasing number of executions.

Murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery, apostasy and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Iran's sharia law, practised since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

Rights group Amnesty International says Iran has one of the highest rates of executions in the world.]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:39:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=35490dd353&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=07&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=140&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 February 06, 2008 Reuters
Rice summoned Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to the State Department on Monday for him to explain his attendance at the meeting, which irked the White House and was not cleared beforehand. The United States does not have diplomatic ties with Tehran.

"I think everyone agrees that these things should be coordinated and it should have been coordinated," Rice told reporters traveling with her to London where she will have talks on Afghanistan.

However, she said Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, had not diverted from U.S. policy during the discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, at which Rice had earlier given the keynote address.

"The fact is Zal's comments, if you read them, could not have been clearer, not just in support but in communicating U.S. policy very clearly. That is the important point. I know Zal very well and I know that he is right there on U.S. policy," she said.

"I don't have any doubts about Zal's loyalty to the policy," she added, dismissing suggestions that her U.N. ambassador was straying from U.S. policy.

Rice herself has exchanged pleasantries with Iran's foreign minister at international meetings. Last year, at a conference on Iraq in Egypt, Rice made small talk with Mottaki over ice cream.

However, there has been no significant dialogue between the two nations since the United States introduced sanctions after the storming and occupation of its embassy in Tehran by revolutionary students in November 1979.

(Editing by Richard Balmforth) ]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:38:00 +0100 http://jonbeshenejateiran.org/Singleview.51.0.html?&cHash=1df1af1d5d&tx_ttnews%5Bday%5D=07&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=138&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2008 February 06, 2008 DEBKAfile DEBKAfile Reports
Moscow too has evidently abandoned its persistent denial of evidence that Tehran is developing a nuclear bomb.

The two comments from the White House and the Kremlin also point to Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin having settled their dispute over harsh sanctions against Iran.

The two leaders began pulling their acts on Iran together in December 2007, as DEBKAfile first revealed, when Bush suddenly withdrew his objections to Russian fuel shipments for Iran's Bushehr reactor. Tuesday, Feb. 5, in answer to a question, the White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Iran's "space" missile was cause for worry. Such technology, she said, is the same as that needed to deliver a nuclear bomb.

Wednesday, Feb. 6, Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Losyukov followed suit. He commented that Monday's test launch of Iran's "Safir-1 (Explorer-1) raises suspicions over Tehran's claims of peaceful nuclear intentions and suggested its possible desire to create a nuclear weapon.

It was "of course a cause for concern." Long-range missiles are components of a nuclear weapons system, the Russian official said - the first time any senior Russian official had admitted to suspecting Iran of underhand nuclear weapons activity.

DEBKAfile's Washington and Moscow sources report: The statements from the two capitals indicate that Bush and Putin continue to cooperate on Iran and have decided to leave the controversial NIE behind them. The question is: Where does their collaboration go from here? Or, specifically, how does the White House propose to reward the Kremlin for adopting its hard line on Iran?

The place to watch may be Poland and the Czech Republic, where the US president might be flexible in his push for missile interceptor bases in consideration of Moscow's adamant resistance.]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:37:00 +0100