Iran launches fighter jet squadron

Saeqeh fighter jet

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170717.html

An Iranian commander says the Islamic Republic of Iran's Air Force (IRIAF) has launched a squadron of domestically-built Saeqheh fighter jets.

“The production of this kind of aircraft has been developing at high speed … and a fighter squadron of these fighter jets has been launched at one of the bases and is now flying,” IRNA quoted IRIAF Deputy Commander for Operations General Mohammad Alavi as saying on Saturday.

He said that that the experts have managed to mass-produce the fighter jets, adding that IRIAF, outfitted with revamped equipment, were well prepared to defend the skies of the country.

Alavi said that Iran has also managed to produce strategic weapons, which are smart and capable of pinpointing the location of objects.

He added that the Islamic Republic has also produced ultra-heavy bombs with huge tonnage and high destructive capabilities. These bombs are also capable of pinpointing objects, according to the commander.

He went on to say that the army has successfully ended the first stage of the mass-production of the bombs and it was now working to upgrade their efficiency.

According to the commander, in addition to the production of guided missiles similar to cruise missiles, Iran has also managed to revamp ground-based missiles that can be mounted on bombers.

The shaping of a New World Order

If the revolutions of 2011 succeed, they will force the creation of a very different regional and world system.

Mark LeVine

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/20112611181593381.html

I remember the images well, even though I was too young to understand their political significance. But they were visceral, those photos in the New York Times from Tehran in the midst of its revolutionary moment in late 1978 and early 1979. Not merely exuberance jumped from the page, but also anger; anger fuelled by an intensity of religious fervour that seemed so alien as to emanate from another planet to a "normal" pre-teen American boy being shown the newspaper by his father over breakfast.

Many commentators are comparing Egypt to Iran of 32 years ago, mostly to warn of the risks of the country descending into some sort of Islamist dictatorship that would tear up the peace treaty with Israel, engage in anti-American policies, and deprive women and minorities of their rights (as if they had so many rights under the Mubarak dictatorship).

I write this on February 2, the precise anniversary of Khomeini's return to Tehran from exile. It's clear that, while religion is a crucial foundation of Egyptian identity and Mubarak's level of corruption and brutality could give the Shah a run for his money, the situations are radically different on the ground.

A most modern and insane revolt

The following description, I believe, sums up what Egypt faces today as well as, if not better, than most:

"It is not a revolution, not in the literal sense of the term, not a way of standing up and straightening things out. It is the insurrection of men with bare hands who want to lift the fearful weight, the weight of the entire world order that bears down on each of us - but more specifically on them, these ... workers and peasants at the frontiers of empires. It is perhaps the first great insurrection against global systems, the form of revolt that is the most modern and the most insane.

One can understand the difficulties facing the politicians. They outline solutions, which are easier to find than people say ... All of them are based on the elimination of the [president]. What is it that the people want? Do they really want nothing more? Everybody is quite aware that they want something completely different. This is why the politicians hesitate to offer them simply that, which is why the situation is at an impasse. Indeed, what place can be given, within the calculations of politics, to such a movement, to a movement through which blows the breath of a religion that speaks less of the hereafter than of the transfiguration of this world?"

The thing is, it was offered not by some astute commentator of the current moment, but rather by the legendary French philosopher Michel Foucault, after his return from Iran, where he witnessed firsthand the intensity of the revolution which, in late 1978, before Khomeini's return, really did seem to herald the dawn of a new era.

Foucault was roundly criticised by many people after Khomeini hijacked the revolution for not seeing the writing on the wall. But the reality was that, in those heady days where the shackles of oppression were literally being shattered, the writing was not on the wall. Foucault understood that it was precisely a form of "insanity" that was necessary to risk everything for freedom, not just against one's government, but against the global system that has nuzzled him in its bosom for so long.

What was clear, however, was that the powers that most supported the Shah, including the US, dawdled on throwing their support behind the masses who were toppling him. While this is by no means the principal reason for Khomeini's successful hijacking of the revolution, it certainly played an important role in the rise of a militantly anti-American government social force, with disastrous results.

While Obama's rhetoric moved more quickly towards the Egyptian people than did President Carter's towards Iranians three decades ago, his refusal to call for Mubarak's immediate resignation raises suspicion that, in the end, the US would be satisfied if Mubarak was able to ride out the protests and engineer a "democratic" transition that left American interests largely intact.

The breath of religion

Foucault was also right to assign such a powerful role to religion in the burgeoning revolutionary moment - and he experienced what he called a "political spirituality", But, of course, religion can be defined in so many ways. The protestant theologian Paul Tillich wonderfully described it as encompassing whatever was of "ultimate concern" to a person or people. And today, clearly, most every Egyptian has gotten religion from this perspective.

So many people, including Egypt's leaders, have used the threat of a Muslim Brotherhood takeover to justify continued dictatorship, with Iran as the historical example to justify such arguments. But the comparison is plagued by historical differences. The Brotherhood has no leader of Khomeini's stature and foreswore violence decades ago. Nor is there a culture of violent martyrdom ready to be actualised by legions of young men, as occurred with the Islamic Revolution. Rather than trying to take over the movement, which clearly would never have been accepted - even if its leaders wanted to seize the moment, the Brotherhood is very much playing catch up with the evolving situation and has so far worked within the rather ad hoc leadership of the protests.

But it is equally clear that religion is a crucial component of the unfolding dynamic. Indeed, perhaps the iconic photo of the revolution is one of throngs of people in Tahrir Square bowed in prayers, literally surrounding a group of tanks sent there to assert the government's authority.

This is a radically different image of Islam than most people - in the Muslim world as much as in the West - are used to seeing: Islam taking on state violence through militant peaceful protest; peaceful jihad (although it is one that has occurred innumerable times around the Muslim world, just at a smaller scale and without the world's press there to capture it).

Such imagery, and its significance, is a natural extension of the symbolism of Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation, an act of jihad that profoundly challenges the extroverted violence of the jihadis and militants who for decades, and especially since 9/11, have dominated the public perception of Islam as a form of political spirituality.

Needless to say, the latest images - of civil war inside Tahrir Square - will immediately displace these other images. Moreover, if the violence continues and some Egyptian protesters lose their discipline and start engaging in their own premeditated violence against the regime and its many tentacles, there is little doubt their doing so will be offered as "proof" that the protests are both violent and organized by the Muslim Brotherhood or other "Islamists".

A greater threat than al-Qa'eda

As this dynamic of nonviolent resistance against entrenched regime violence plays out, it is worth noting that so far, Osama bin Laden and his Egyptian deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, have had little - if anything - of substance to say about the revolution in Egypt. What they've failed to ignite with an ideology of a return to a mythical and pure beginning - and a strategy of human bombs, IEDs, and planes turned into missiles - a disciplined, forward-thinking yet amorphous group of young activists and their more experienced comrades, "secular" and "religious" together (to the extent these terms are even relevant anymore), have succeeded in setting a fire with a universal discourse of freedom, democracy and human values - and a strategy of increasingly calibrated chaos aimed at uprooting one of the world's longest serving dictators.

As one chant in Egypt put it succinctly, playing on the longstanding chants of Islamists that "Islam is the solution", with protesters shouting: "Tunisia is the solution."

For those who don't understand why President Obama and his European allies are having such a hard time siding with Egypt's forces of democracy, the reason is that the amalgam of social and political forces behind the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt today - and who knows where tomorrow - actually constitute a far greater threat to the "global system" al-Qa'eda has pledged to destroy than the jihadis roaming the badlands of Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Yemen.

Mad as hell

Whether Islamist or secularist, any government of "of the people" will turn against the neoliberal economic policies that have enriched regional elites while forcing half or more of the population to live below the $2 per day poverty line. They will refuse to follow the US or Europe's lead in the war on terror if it means the continued large scale presence of foreign troops on the region's soil. They will no longer turn a blind eye, or even support, Israel's occupation and siege across the Occupied Palestinian territories. They will most likely shirk from spending a huge percentage of their national income on bloated militaries and weapons systems that serve to enrich western defence companies and prop up autocratic governments, rather than bringing stability and peace to their countries - and the region as a whole.

They will seek, as China, India and other emerging powers have done, to move the centre of global economic gravity towards their region, whose educated and cheap work forces will further challenge the more expensive but equally stressed workforces of Europe and the United States.

In short, if the revolutions of 2011 succeed, they will force the creation of a very different regional and world system than the one that has dominated the global political economy for decades, especially since the fall of communism.

This system could bring the peace and relative equality that has so long been missing globally - but it will do so in good measure by further eroding the position of the United States and other "developed" or "mature" economies. If Obama, Sarkozy, Merkel and their colleagues don't figure out a way to live with this scenario, while supporting the political and human rights of the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa, they will wind up with an adversary far more cunning and powerful than al-Qa'eda could ever hope to be: more than 300 million newly empowered Arabs who are mad as hell and are not going to take it any more.

Mark LeVine is a professor of history at UC Irvine and senior visiting researcher at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University in Sweden. His most recent books are Heavy Metal Islam (Random House) and Impossible Peace: Israel/Palestine Since 1989 (Zed Books).

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

Russia: Iran N-plant immune to Stuxnet

Bushehr nuclear power plant

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160651.html


Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom has rejected media reports that the computer virus Stuxnet has impacted Iran's nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr.

"There are no viruses in the power plant's computer network, especially in units responsible for security, because this network is totally autonomous and isolated from external sources," Xinhua quoted Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov as saying on Monday.

His remarks came after Western media outlets claimed on January 17 that the computer bug had caused "enormous damage" to the Bushehr reactor.

Novikov stressed that the virus could not break into the automatic control system of the plant and endanger the reactor control.

Stuxnet, first indentified by Iranian officials in June, is a malware designed to infect computers using German industrial Siemens Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) -- a control system favored by industries that manage water supplies, oil rigs, and power plants.

In July, media reports claims that Stuxnet had targeted industrial computers around the globe with Iran being the main target of the attack. They said the country's newly launched Bushehr power plant was at the center of the cyber attack.

The US and Israel have claimed that their efforts to develop the destructive computer virus have dealt a blow to Iran's nuclear program.

Iranian officials, however, have strongly dismissed such claims, saying that Stuxnet was detected early by Iranian experts and thus caused no damage to the country's industrial sites.

Russia urges stronger ties with Iran

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mahdi Akhoundzadeh

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160655.html


Russian special envoy for Caspian Sea affairs, Alexander Golovin, has called for a boost in Iran-Russia ties, stressing Moscow's esteem for its relations with Tehran.

“The expansion of relations between Iran and Russia, as two friendly neighbors, in all areas, especially regarding the Caspian Sea affairs, is of high significance,” IRNA quoted Golovin as saying in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Mahdi Akhoundzadeh in Moscowon Monday.

He also expressed hope for the finalization of the Caspian Sea legal regime through a consensus among the sea's littoral states.

The Iranian official, for his part, lauded the agreements between the Caspian Sea states and said, “The Caspian Sea sets an exemplar for stability and collaboration in our region.”

Akhoundzadeh also called for improved relations and further understanding between the littoral states of the sea.

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on earth and is also classed as a full-fledged sea.

The maritime and seabed boundaries of the Caspian Sea have yet to be demarcated among Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan -- the five countries bordering the sea.

Despite extensive negotiations, the legal status of the Caspian Sea has been unclear since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Caspian Sea legal regime is based on two agreements signed between Iran and the Soviet Union in 1921 and 1940.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan -- the three new littoral states established after the collapse of the Soviet Union -- do not recognize past treaties, which has triggered a debate on the sea's legal status.

Iran should not be threatened: Russia

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160048.html


Russia has denounced threatening Iran with tougher sanctions or use of force as counterproductive, insisting that the deadlock over Iran's nuclear program can be resolved only through diplomatic means.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned against “stirring up frenzy” regarding the Islamic Republic's peaceful nuclear program, adding that the United States' recent call to ramp up pressure against Tehran as well as Israel's scheme to threaten Iran with the use of force will be "counterproductive," a Press TV correspondent reported.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for “a credible military option against Iran” in an attempt to coerce Tehran into moving towards halting its nuclear program activities.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, sought to trump up support among Iran's neighboring states to further enforce the Washington-sponsored sanctions against Tehran as she embarked on a tour of Middle East countries this week.

The remarks came forth days after Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Asghar Soltanieh said on Tuesday that a host of envoys representing "geographical and political groups in Vienna of the countries represented in the IAEA have been invited to visit Natanz enrichment facilities and Arak heavy water reactor.

Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister hailed Iran's invitation of a group of foreign diplomats to tour its nuclear facilities, saying Tehran's decision “deserves attention.”

“We believe that any gesture that indicates greater openness from Tehran should be welcomed,” Lavrov said during the press conference on Thursday.

Iran and the P5+1 representatives held their previous round of multifaceted talks in the Swiss city of Geneva on December 6-7, during which both sides agreed to hold the next round of negotiations in the Turkish city of Istanbul in late January.

Israel calls for attack on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159762.html


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for “a credible military option against Iran” to force Tehran to end its nuclear energy program.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu said that military action should be taken by the international community and headed by the United States.

"You have to ratchet up the pressure and… I don't think that this pressure will be sufficient to have this regime change course without a credible military option that is put before them by the international community led by the United States," he stated.

He went on to say that sanctions are not enough to stop Iran's nuclear energy program, and they should be backed by some military action.

He has made similar bellicose remarks in the past, but they were always rejected by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Netanyahu made the comments a week after Tehran announced Iran's nuclear sites were being opened to envoys representing "geographical and political groups" in the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The invitation came ahead of the multifaceted talks between Iran and the P5+1 group — Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany — that are scheduled to be held in Turkey from January 21 to 22.

Iran and the P5+1 group wrapped up two days of comprehensive talks in Geneva on December 7, during which the two sides agreed to hold the next round of negotiations in Turkey.

Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili represented Iran at the talks and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton represented the P5+1 group.

The UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran last year.

But Tehran says sanctions have failed to hamper its efforts to master peaceful nuclear technology.

And the IAEA continues to conduct regular inspections and camera surveillance of Iran's nuclear facilities.

Iranian officials say the talks provide an opportunity to display Iran's policy of nuclear transparency to the international community.

Russia deploys S-300 in Abkhazia

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138310§ionid=351020606


Russia says it has stationed the advanced S-300 air defense missile system in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, amid concerns expressed by Tbilisi over the move.

"We have deployed the S-300 system on the territory of Abkhazia," Russia's Air Force Commander-In-Chief General Alexander Zelin said in a statement carried by Russian media on Wednesday.

"Its role will be anti-aircraft defense of the territory of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in cooperation with the air defense systems of the army," he said.

Meanwhile, Russia's Air Force Commander Gen. Aleksandr Zelin also asserted that the air defense system was deployed to protect Russia's military facilities in Abkhazia and to prevent "violations of government borders," local media reported.

Political observers in Russia say the deployment of the S-300 air defense system in the Abkhazia enclave is not irrelevant to newest US efforts to deploy part of its anti-air missile batteries in some countries in the region.

Georgia, which insists Abkhazia and South Ossetia are an integral part of its territory, was quick to react, describing Moscow's move as a source of concern both for Tbilisi and NATO.

Georgia says it wants to join NATO, an ambition that has irked Russia.

"This should be of concern not only for Georgia but also for other regional actors, including NATO," Deputy Prime Minister and Reintegration Minister Temur Yakobashvili was quoted by AFP as saying.

The Russia and Georgia fought a brief war in 2008 after Tbilisi launched a major offensive against the independence-seeking republic of South Ossetia in a bid to retake control of the region.

Russia, South Ossetia's main ally, responded to the attack by moving in its military forces and driving out Georgian troops from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The two regions declared independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, but were not internationally recognized.

Russia has recognized the two regions.

Moscow has built permanent military bases in the breakaway regions and stationed hundreds of soldiers and border guards in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Iran bars 2 IAEA inspectors from entry

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=131349§ionid=351020104


Iran says it has barred two UN nuclear inspectors from entering the country after they disclosed "false" information about the country's nuclear energy program.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said on Monday that the two inspectors had leaked information about Iran's nuclear activities before the official issuance of a International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, ISNA reported.

"Last week, Iranian officials informed the agency that two of its inspectors will no longer be allowed to enter Iran… Not only had they disclosed information before the official issuance of the report but also their report was false and unreal," he said.

Iran's point man on the nuclear issue added that the Islamic Republic has asked the IAEA to assign two new officials for further inspections at the country's nuclear facilities.

"In the last session of the IAEA Board of Governors, we voiced our objection to the incorrect report of the two inspectors. The report was unreal in its entirety," he said.

Salehi once again stressed Iran's commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, stating that "Tehran will not demand anything beyond its legal rights but will not give up its rights (either)."

"Inspections will be conducted based exactly on the nuclear safeguard agreement signed between Iran and the IAEA," he stressed.

Iran calls for disarmament timetable

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=130839§ionid=351020104



Weeks after 189 members of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty called for the elimination of nuclear weapons on the global stage, Iran calls for a specific timeframe for the implementation of the ban.

Iran's envoy at the UN headquarters in Geneva Seyyed Mohammad Reza Sajjadi said the greatest threat facing the world is the nuclear arsenals in possession of certain countries.

He voiced strong criticism against nuclear powers threatening non-nuclear states with their weapons.

"The world cannot wait forever to see if nuclear countries wish to dispose of their nuclear weapons or not. Therefore, it is essential that the international community takes immediate and serious measures with respect to the issue," Sajjadi said.

The Iranian envoy went on to call on all representatives attending the upcoming Nuclear Disarmament Conference in Geneva to set a timetable for global nuclear disarmament.

Sajjadi said the Disarmament Conference should task a special committee to start negotiations for the removal of all nuclear weapons adding that this forum "must not remain indifferent toward this matter."

The remarks come as earlier in May, 189 NPT member states reaffirmed their commitment to eliminating all nuclear weapons and called on Israel to denuclearize as part of efforts for a nuclear weapons-free Middle East

Israel -- believed to be the possessor of the sole nuclear arsenal in the Middle East - has brushed aside international calls to sign the NPT, stubbornly refusing to commit to the international treaty.

IRGC mobilizes forces along borders

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=130682§ionid=351020101



A senior Iranian commander says the presence of American and Israeli forces along the western borders of Iran has prompted the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps (IRGC) to mobilize its troops in the area.

Brigadier-General Mehdi Moini, who is the commander of IRGC in West Azarbaijan Province, told reporters on Tuesday that certain Western countries sought to overstate the issue of ethnic conflict in the region.

"Through magnifying the ethnic, religious strife in the region and inciting terrorist groups, they seek to destabilize our province," Brig. Gen. Moini said.

The official, however, explained that the strong presence of IRGC forces in the region has thwarted all enemy attempts to destabilize the western Iranian province.

"The presence of US and Israeli forces along Iranian borders is the reason behind Iran's military movements in the region," he said.

The IRGC commander went on to explain that while the enemy has suffered much damage in the course of such movements, no Iranian base has suffered damages.

West Azarbaijan Province is located in northwest Iran. It shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Saudis say they won't help Iran's enemy

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=130164§ionid=351020205


Saudi Arabia has denied a British report claiming Riyadh had agreed to allow Israel to use its airspace to attack Iran.

Saudi Arabia "rejects violating its sovereignty or the use of its airspace or territories by anyone to attack any country," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying on Saturday. But it declined to name the official.

The source called the allegations "false" and "slanderous" and stated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reiterates its position of firm opposition to and rejection of the violation of its sovereignty and the use of its airspace or territory by anyone to attack any country.

It is more appropriate that Saudi Arabia should apply this policy to the authority of the Israeli occupation regime, with which it has no relationship in any way, SPA quoted him as saying.

'Saudis to allow airspace for Iran war'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=130086§ionid=351020205



Saudi Arabia has reportedly launched a series of military maneuvers aimed at allowing Israeli jets to use the kingdom's airspace for an aerial attack on Iranian nuclear sites.

US defense sources speaking on condition of anonymity told The Times on Sunday that Israel has been given overflight clearance by Saudi Arabia and is permitted to use northern Saudi airspace in the event of military confrontation with Iran.

To clear the way for Israeli bombers en route to Iran, Riyadh has reportedly been conducting tests to practice keeping its own jets out of harms way while ensuring that missile systems in the kingdom remain completely deactivated.

"The Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way," one US defense source said on Saturday.

"They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren't scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the [US] State Department," he added.

Meanwhile, Arab sources reported that Saudi defense officials had made arrangements with Israel in case it decided to carry out its long-stalled military plans against Iran, stating that they both share a mutual hatred for the Iranian government and its nuclear activities.

For years, Israel has threatened to bomb Iran's nuclear installations. However, the likelihood of any such attack has significantly increased due to Tel Aviv's growing impatience with international sanctions, which have failed to change Tehran's stance on its peaceful nuclear issue.

Dodging scrutiny over its own arsenal of up to 200 nuclear weapons, Israel accuses Iran of refining uranium for military purposes.

Iran, however, dismisses the allegation, saying its nuclear activities are solely aimed at peaceful energy production and under close supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Israeli Gen. threatens to drown Erdogan

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129514§ionid=351020204



A retired senior commander in the Israeli army says that any move by Turkey and its premier to protect aid convoys to Gaza would be considered an act of war and Israel should sink such ships.

"If the Turkish prime minister joins such a flotilla," Dayan said "we should make clear beforehand this would be an act of war, and we would not try to take over the ship he was on, but would sink it," former deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan told Israel's army radio on Monday.

"We need to draw a clear line and say that whoever crosses it will not be boarded but sunk," al-Jazeerah news website quoted Dayan as saying.

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal reported on Saturday that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan had told close associates about a plan to visit Gaza to "break the Israeli blockade."

The paper said Erdogan was considering traveling aboard a Turkish Navy vessel in support of aid convoys to Gaza.

The Turkish government had strongly condemned a May 31 attack by Israeli naval commandos on a Turkish-sponsored aid convoy heading for Gaza.

The onslaught on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters killed 20 activists accompanying the six-ship fleet and injured more than 50 others wounded, sparking shock and outrage around the globe.

In protest to the attack, Ankara recalled its ambassador to Israel and called for an international probe into the actions of the Israeli navy in the offensive. Turkey also demanded an apology by Tel Aviv, a measure Israel said it would not take.

The Turkish Prosecutor's Office in Istanbul has already launched an investigation in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considered the main suspect and General Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are also suspects.

'Israel won't allow Iran ships to Gaza'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129515§ionid=351020101



After Iran announced it would send ships loaded with humanitarian aid to Gaza, Israel said it would not allow any Iranian ships to enter the coastal sliver.

Iran's Red Crescent Director Abdolraoof Adibzadeh said Monday that two Iranian aid ships carrying "food and medical supplies" for the people of Gaza will set sail for the coastal sliver in the coming week.

"Iran is also preparing to dispatch a navy hospital ship for the people of Gaza, which will have onboard doctors, nurses and all the medical equipment required for emergency surgeries and procedures," Adibzadeh added.

Israel was quick to react to Iran's announcement with an Israeli diplomatic official saying that no Iranian ship will be allowed to Gaza, the Jerusalem Post reported.

"If we didn't let an Irish ship reach Gaza, we are certainly not going to let Iranian ships pass," the official said on Monday.

The official further pointed out that "any shipment from Iran to Gaza would be a major concern," claiming that Iran had a record of supplying Hamas and Hezbollah with weapons.

Iran's decision to dispatch relief supplies comes after Israel's military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early on May 31.

The vessel was carrying thousands of tons of aid supplies and hundreds of humanitarian activists to the coastal strip.

The attack resulted in the death of 20 and the injury of more then 50 others.

A three-year Israeli blockade of Gaza has deprived the territories' 1.5 million residents of food, fuel, and other necessities.

Iranian aid ships to set sail for Gaza

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129349§ionid=351020101



Two Iranian aid ships carrying humanitarian relief and medical supplies for the people of Gaza will set sail for the coastal sliver in the upcoming days.

Iran's Red Crescent announced Monday that the cargo will include food, medicine and appliances and it will be accompanied by a group of Iranian doctors and relief workers.

"The aid consists of food and medical supplies, which will be transported into Gaza via the Rafah border in Egypt before the week is through," the country's Red Crescent Director Abdolraoof Adibzadeh said.

The Rafah border crossing is the only escape route from Gaza that does not lead to Israel.

"Iran is also preparing to dispatch a navy hospital ship for the people of Gaza, which will have onboard doctors, nurses and all the medical equipment required for emergency surgeries and procedures," Adibzadeh further explained.

The decision comes in the wake of a deadly Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla carrying thousands of tons of aid supplies and hundreds of humanitarian activists to the coastal strip.

Israel's military attack into the Turkish aid vessel M.V. Mavi Marmara resulted in the death of nine activists -- including a Turkish teenager -- and the injury of more then 40 others.

The tragicomedy of Iran sanctions

By: Massoud Parsi
Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/05/201052271814825709.html


In recent days, the debate surrounding Iran's nuclear programme has taken a number of unexpected and dramatic turns.

On Monday, a joint declaration by Iran, Turkey and Brazil stated that Iran will ship 1,200kg of low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for higher-enriched nuclear fuel for a medical research reactor.


The declaration was the first concrete step toward implementing a proposal presented by Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the IAEA, approximately a year before and supported by the UN security council just six months ago.


Grabbing defeat

But what seemed like a major breakthrough brokered by two emerging powers after a long period of failed US-led negotiations quickly turned sour.


Just a day after the declaration, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, announced that the US would submit a resolution at the UN security council for a fourth round of sanctions against Iran, saying the draft was backed by China and Russia, who have previously resisted calls for new sanctions.


The resolution, if passed, would expand an arms embargo and restrictions against Iran's banking sector, as well as banning certain overseas activities, such as uranium mining.


Clinton's evident penchant for more sanctions speaks for itself. What is more, it has emerged in response to a gesture of goodwill from Iran coming bang in the middle of a month-long UN nuclear summit designed to salvage the failing Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).


It is this kind of international 'leadership' that grabs defeat from the jaws of victory for the non-proliferation agenda.

It has also reaffirmed the fears of many regarding US intentions: the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, remains every bit as unilateralist as that of George Bush, his predecessor, and it displays equal disdain for multilateral negotiations despite the new rhetoric.

Peace appears to be a non-option for the Nobel Peace Prize winner. And with such 'leadership', the UN security council sinks further towards irrelevance or perhaps even self-destruction.

An economic 'siege'


The timing is apt. Iran marks May 22 as the anniversary of its economic 'siege' by the US.


Following the takeover of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979, Jimmy Carter, the then US president, imposed sanctions on Iran, freezing around $12bn worth of Iranian assets abroad.


But coming as it did during a period of internal upheaval for Iran and shortly before the Iran-Iraq war, the sanctions were initially little more than an irritant for a country facing much greater issues.

In most cases, US-produced goods could be purchased through third parties, adding relatively small transaction costs. And Iranian exports - which tended to be essential items such as oil or high quality goods such as carpets, caviar and pistachios - did not depend on any single market.


In 1995, then US president Bill Clinton expanded the scope of sanctions significantly to include oil, gas and trade, effectively banishing US firms from the Iranian market.

The same year, the US congress also introduced punitive measures against foreign firms investing more than $20mn a year in Iran's energy sector.


Although these sanctions were softened somewhat in 2000, in 2007, Washington imposed sanctions against several major Iranian banks and focused its attention on the Iranian military. This was accompanied by a greater reliance on multilateral sanctions through the UN route to target Iran's nuclear technology.


Insulated

However, Iran's nuclear technology has advanced faster than expected and a 2007 report by the US government accountability office (GAO) found that "since 2003, the Iranian government has signed contracts reported at about $20bn with foreign firms to develop its energy resources. Further, sanctioned Iranian banks may fund their activities in currencies other than the dollar".

What the GAO report could not foresee - because it had forgotten about its domestic accountability issues - was that the 2007 US sanctions against Iranian banks ironically ensured Iran's immunity from the global financial crisis that was about to explode.


Iran was among the few major economies in the world not to be severely affected by the crisis.

Smaller banks from emerging economies, Islamic banking and less formal means of cross-border payments, including cash and 'hawala', provided the best protection for those who were kept out of the ailing Western banking system as a form of 'punishment'.

The same report also shows that Iran's exports grew from $8.5bn in 1987 to $70bn in 2006, representing an 824 per cent increase.

Iran's exports have continued to grow since. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), they are expected to reach $82bn this year.


Iran's largest export market is Iraq, followed by China.

As irony would have it, Iran's trade with both countries has grown exponentially since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Moreover, and despite the sanctions, the net flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Iran has grown steadily too, save for the 2008-2009 blip. The EIU estimates that Iran's net FDI will rise by 100 per cent within the next four years.

This is partly due to Iran's successful and increasing reliance on 'South-South' trade, which effectively translates into her own sanctions against the West.


As an example, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is due to start drilling in the South Pars field shortly as part of a $5bn project signed last year. The CNPC was chosen as a new partner to replace France's dithering Total.

Lost opportunities

But the greatest costs of international sanctions have been shouldered by Iranian civilian airline passengers - hundreds of whom have died over the past few decades in accidents that are thought to be directly or indirectly related to sanctions against Iran's aging civilian fleet of Boeing jets.


Iranian aviation safety has been hard hit by US sanctions, which, according to the International Civil Aviation Authority, are in contravention of article 44 of the Chicago Convention, the document that established the rules of airspace and aircraft safety.

There have also been opportunity costs associated with the sanctions.


While Iran's real growth rate of around five per cent a year for close to a decade has far outpaced that of Western economies, it has been slower than that of the fastest emerging economies like China, Brazil, India and Vietnam, to name a few.

Furthermore, and in anticipation of extended sanctions, a number of multinational oil companies have recently ceased supplies of refined petroleum to Iran.


Access to foreign technology has been hampered and scientific cooperation with some Western countries has been affected.

Iranian businesses have had to rely on their Persian Gulf contacts and others in the diaspora for trade transactions, incurring additional financial and time costs.


The United Arab Emirates and Singapore have emerged as two of Iran's largest trading and foreign investment partners, although European countries as a group also form a substantial trade partner.

The Iranian government has responded to the increased costs by reducing other transaction costs for Iranian exporters. These include reduced freight costs and taxes for certain types of goods and greater use of expanded and improved free trade zones and special economic zones.

Iran has also set some ambitious targets for elevating her 'ease of doing business' ranking in the region. The index is a World Bank tool for comparing business environments across various countries, and Iran currently ranks in the mid-range compared to other countries in the region.

Growing with the flow

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) figures, Iran is the sixteenth largest economy in the world, consistently enjoys healthy growth rates and trade balances, and has a low national debt burden.


Despite having had one of the youngest populations in the world for the past two decades, the Iranian unemployment rate has stabilised at around 12 per cent since approximately a decade ago.

The country's economy is also one of the most diversified in the region, second only to that of Turkey.


Iran's petrochemical exports have grown 15-fold since 2000 and her steel and car manufacturing industries are the largest in the region with outward investments in several countries.

More importantly, Iran is among only a few countries learning to master high tech areas such nanotechnology, nuclear technology and space exploration.


In addition, it has one of the most sophisticated military industries in the region, despite having one of the lowest military budgets.

New world order

The public relations coup scored by Brazil and Turkey was far greater than a search for solutions to the West's attempted siege of Iran's economy.


In a single move, they not only exposed the intransigence of Obama, they showed themselves to be in tune with world opinion.

In throwing a direct challenge to the US, they provided a concrete demonstration of a new world order.


It was a call for a better way of doing business with each other in a new age of connectivity and, in the process, gave their shared aim of reforming the UN security council a major boost.