Hillary mit der Weisheit des Tages

Und sie setzt weiterhin auf die Entschlossenheit der Völkergemeinschaft. Beim Dialog soll’s aber weiterhin bleiben. Na toll!

Clinton: Iran moving toward military dictatorship

RIYADH (Reuters) – The United States believes Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are driving the country toward military dictatorship and should be targeted in any new U.N. sanctions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday.

Speaking in Qatar before flying to Riyadh, Clinton denied the United States planned to attack Iran and said Washington wanted dialogue with Tehran but could not „stand idly by“ while Iran pursued a suspected nuclear weapons program.

Asked if Washington planned to attack Iran, she replied: „No, we are planning to try to bring the world community together in applying pressure to Iran through sanctions adopted by the United Nations that will be particularly aimed at those enterprises controlled by the Revolutionary Guard, which we believe is, in effect, supplanting the government of Iran.“

China …

Michael Danby erklaert treffend, warum China in Bezug auf den Iran solche Probleme macht. Es ist das Oel:

China can buy all the oil it wants on the international market, but the communist leaders don’t want China’s prosperity – and their own hold on power – to be dependent on a free market they don’t trust. They want control and certainty. They see the way to get these things is through deals with selected oil-exporting countries, preferably ones which are at political odds with Western powers, so that their need for friends and protectors is greater.China now gets 15% of its oil from Iran, and is Iran’s second-biggest customer after Japan.

China’s greed for secure oil imports and its willingness to deal with outlaw regimes to get these imports is causing a breakdown in the world’s only system for disciplining countries that endanger peace.

MEMRI-Kurzmeldungen

Aha!
Iranian Atomic Chief: We’ve Received New Proposal From West

Bitte bei Fars nachsehen
Iranian Warship Anchors In Qatar During Clinton’s Visit

Was wollen die Russen eigentlich?
Russian Official: We’ll Supply S-300 To Iran

Streit angesagt?
Iraqis Resent Ahmadinejad’s Statement About De-Ba’thification

Schlüssel zur Hölle in Nahost

Cartoon In ‘Al-Sharq Al-Awsat’: Iran’s Threats – The Key To Hell In The Middle East

Cartoonist: Amjad Rasmi

Source (via MEMRI): Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London

Mullen in Israel

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Israel on Sunday that the US administration is very serious regarding its plans to impose harsh sanctions onIran and expressed hope that such a step would ‘not end in violence.“

During a press briefing held at the US embassy in Tel Aviv, Mullen hinted that the US could attack Iran if negotiations failed and that such action could have „unintended consequences“ throughout the volatile Middle East.

More

Sanktionsroulette

Die Spieler versammeln sich am Tisch, große Einsätze will keiner wagen:

News from outer space

Dr. Mahmoud und seine Crew haben für sich persönlich die Grenzen von Raum, Zeit und Rationalität längst gesprengt:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview that the Iranian nation is currently demonstrating the highest level of unity in its history.

„Today, the highest level of unity and social solidarity exists in the country,“ Ahmadinejad told Russia’s VIP-Premier magazine. „Considering Iran’s history, [such unity] is extraordinary.“ via Press TV

Sein Intimus:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s top aide has declared that further good news on Iran’s scientific progress will be soon shared with the nation.

„After [the announcement of] news about the great accomplishments made by the Iranian youth and experts in the fields of modern nuclear technologies, laser sciences and stem cells, we will have more good news for the Iranian nation soon,“ Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, the president’s senior aide and chief of staff, said in Qatar on Sunday. via Press TV

„Die Opposition ist stark“

Shirin Ebadi ueber die Opposition:

Thursday’s crackdown in Tehran “was a demonstration of the weakness of the government,” and not a sign that the opposition was weakening, she said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Ebadi praised the opposition for its resilience, despite the threat of government violence.

“The 11th of February was a great victory for the (opposition) Green Movement in Iran,” she said. Despite the danger, “people took to the streets. That itself is very important.”

Ebadi said the Iranian authorities had shown their own weakness in deploying “all their financial and military resources to take over the streets and stop demonstrations.”

She said this style of full-on repression suggests the Islamic regime is nearing the end of its rope.

“Under the current circumstances, how can you possibly say that the movement is becoming weaker and the government is becoming stronger?” she said through an interpreter.

Human Rights Watch Repoprt ueber Iran

Human Rights Watch hat gerade einen laengeren Bericht The Islamic Republic at 31;Post-election Abuses Show Serious Human Rights Crisis veroeffentlicht.

Wie weiter?

Mr. Verde, Pseudonym fuer einen iranischen Aktivisten, analysiert kritisch und selbstkritisch die Ereignisse des vergangenen Donnerstags und die Schwaechen sowie Staerken des Green Movement. Must Read.

Der Kampf für die Rechte der iranischen Arbeiter

Drei iranische Gewerkschaften haben einen Brief an den UN-Menschenrechtsrat geschrieben, um gegen das gewaltsame Vorgehen des Regimes gegen die organisierte Arbeiterschaft zu protestieren:

These three independent worker organizations wrote the following in reference to the arrest of activists and workers:  “The Islamic Republic’s security officials have announced their adherence to international protocols. Despite this fact, they have banned unions from forming in the country. Anyone active in a union will be labeled an enemy of the Islamic Republic and prosecuted.”

Über die Lebensrealität von Arbeitern in Iran schreiben sie:

The letter stated that minimum wage is four times less than the poverty line and added, “Millions of families are desperately trying to survive in the most inhumane conditions because their wages are not being paid on time.”

Der Fall von Mansour Osanlou macht exemplarisch deutlich, wie radikal die islamische Republik gegen Gewerkschaftskaktivisten vorgeht. Umso unverständlicher ist die Sympathie für diesen Unrechtsstaat bei großen Teilen der europäischen und amerikanischen Linken.

Einblicke in das iranische „Justiz“-System

Auch nach den Protesten am 22. Bahman werden freiheitsliebende Iranerinnen und Iraner wieder teuer für ihren Mut bezahlen müssen. Auf den Websiten exilirainischer Organisationen werden immer wieder Fälle von schweren Menschenrechtsverletzungen dokumentiert. Sie ermöglichen erschütternde Einlicke in die Brutalität der Machthaber und ihrer Schergen.

Gary Sick bei CNN zur gegenwärtigen Lage

Christiane Amanpour, mittlerweile bei CNN so etwas wie eine Säulenheilige, dabei aber nur grenzenlos scheinheilig mit ihren Suggestivfragen und „Dokumentationen“, hier im Gespräch mit Gary Sick, Professor für Internationale Beziehungen und Public Affairs mit dem Schwerpunkt Naher Osten am SIPA Middle East Institute der Columbia University. Unter Carters Präsidentschaft war Sick als Sicherheitsberater tätig, was er mittlerweile schwer bereut haben dürfte.

Bitte hier oder auf die Abbildung klicken.

Reza Pahlavi: „Mehr Unterstützung für die Opposition!“

Ich warte schon auf den ersten Einwand, man dürfe den Schah-Sohn nicht zu Wort kommen lassen. Und ich kann mir gut vorstellen, aus welcher Ecke dieser Schrei dann kommen wird. Zur Wortwahl: zwar ist hier allgemein von Opposition die Rede, aber wer Pahlavis Statements in der Vergangenheit einigermaßen aufmerksam verfolgt hat, weiß, dass er die Demokratiebewegung unterstützt.

Shah’s son wants help for Iran’s opposition

PARIS — Reza Pahlavi, whose father, the shah of Iran, was toppled from power 31 years ago, said Thursday the international community must step up its support for Iran’s opposition movement and stop focusing on the country’s nuclear program.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Pahlavi said nations such as the United States should not „even bother“ with a new round of sanctions regarding Iran’s nuclear program, if punitive measures merely maintain the status quo.

Gedanken ueber den 11.2

Zwei interessante Beitraege auf EA, einer von Scott Lucas ueber die Reaktionen Washingtoner Kommentatoren, der mit einem einfach zu befolgenden und doch sinnvollen Ratschlag endet:

Instead of declaring the opposition dead or peripheral, perhaps one should do it the justice of considering that the best alternative to negotiations with Tehran is simply no grand declarations and “no negotiations”. The battle over political authority is one which should be left to Iranians. Conferring legitimacy on a Government that many of them see as illegitimate is an unnecessary intervention; it is adding insult to injury to distort and minimise the “Green movement” in support of that strategy.

Und hier die Einschaetzung einer Aktivistin des Green Movement ueber die Demonstrationen:

Our response was better than getting angry and violent and paying a lot of costs and not gaining anything. I think it was a wise choice to just show the government that we disagree, and not to pay too much of a cost, and not hurry to overthrow the system, and to just consider [the day] as a step in the path that we are on and will continue.

If the government believes that the green movement is finished, they are mistaken. Actually, I don’t think that they are that stupid.

Koalitionen schmieden

U.S. Envoys Head Out on a Mission to Rally Iran’s Neighbors

WASHINGTON — With tensions over Iran’s nuclear ambitions hitting new levels, the United States is mounting a diplomatic full-court press in the Middle East, sending four top diplomats, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, to confer with Arab and Israeli leaders.

The envoys’ visits to Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were planned separately in recent weeks, but they now have a common purpose, administration officials said: to reassure Iran’s neighbors that the United States will stand firm against Tehran, and to enlist other countries in a global effort to put pressure on the Iranian authorities.

„Ein Regimewechsel wird nichts ändern“

Jihad el-Khazen geht in der Londoner Zeitung Al-Hayat davon aus, dass ein Regimewechsel das iranische Atomprogramm nicht aufhalten wird.

Ayoon Wa Azan (No Military Nuclear Program Is Currently Underway)

But why would the West benefit if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime collapsed? I insist here that his successor will not be a friend of the West or of Israel specifically, nor do I believe that the nuclear program will be halted. Instead, any new government will adopt the stance of every previous Iranian government in insisting that the program is for peaceful purposes.

Welchen Regimewechsel El-Khazen allerdings favorisiert und welches Atomprogramm, lässt sich bei der Lektüre seiner Zeilen unschwer erraten.

‘Opposition will persist’

Eine Erklaerung des Green Movement:

Green Voice of Freedom (GVF) – Green demonstrators have issued a resolution, in a move initiated by a number of green protesters that took part in the nationwide rallies marking the anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

The resolution states that the Green Movement is a continuation of the freedom seeking aspirations of the Iranian people which have been going on for the past 150 years. “This is a national, reformist, and peaceful movement which began in opposition to falsified election results with the slogan ‘where is my vote’.”

Vetrauensbildende Maßnahmen

MoPo – Die iranische Telekommunikationsbehörde hat bekannt gegeben, dass Googles E-Mail-Dienst „Gmail“ ab sofort gesperrt sei. Stattdessen wolle man den Bürgern des Landes einen „nationalen“ E-Mail-Dienst anbieten, den es aber noch nicht gibt.

Das Wall Street Journal, das die Geschichte bereits vor drei Tagen brachte, erwähnt die kuriose Begründung der Mullahs für diesen weiteren Akt der Zensur:

An Iranian official said the move was meant to boost local development of Internet technology and to build trust between people and the government.

Augenzeugenberichte

Planet Iran mit verschiedenen Augenzeugenberichten vom vergangenen Donnerstag.

Hier ein Beispiel:

A large number of protesters (including me) had no green symbols with them in the demonstrations. The environment was such that we could not show ourselves. If you are watching the videos, you will not be able to recognize this, but correct your analysis of the numbers: those you see on State TV in Iran are not all government supporters. A large group of these folks (I don’t know how much, but in Ariya Shahr where I was, about half) were opposition forces.

Deutsche Jubelperser stechen in See

Benjamin Dierks in der Financial Times Deutschland über die skurrile „Iran-Konferenz“ auf einem Hamburger Schiff:

Zum Jahrestag der Islamischen Revolution lädt ein ehemaliger ARD-Journalist in Hamburg zu einem schaurigen Jubiläumsfest. Mit ihm feiern der iranische Botschafter und eine ausgewählte Riege deutscher Regimefreunde. Was sie wirklich antreibt, offenbart sich schnell.

» WEITERLESEN

War oder Regime Change?

William Kristol in der Washpost von heute:

But maybe sanctions are simply designed to buy time. Or, as one senior Obama administration official told the New York Times this week, „It is about driving them back to negotiations, because the real goal here is to avoid war.“

One supposes the official is referring to the possibility of an Israeli strike against the Iranian nuclear program. Or is he referring to an American strike? In either case, he’s right that war is a real possibility. In fact, I’d say military action is likely at some point over the next couple of years if there’s not regime change in Iran.

But thanks to the people of Iran, regime change is now a real possibility. Surely the administration could have more of a sense of urgency in helping increase the odds of that devoutly to-be-wished goal.

Auf Khomenei sitzen

Mr. Verde analysiert fuer EA ein offizielles Video vom gestrigen Auftritt Ahmedinejads n und kommt zu interessanten Schlussfolgerungen: Die „begeisterte“ Menge schert sich herzlich wenig um den Grossten islamischen Praesidenten aller Zeiten und seine Erguesse:

The only sign of interest of the crowd or any energetic activity is close to the buses(7:47), where either street sellers are offering something or something is being given out for free.

I would take this footage seriously. It goes to show the extent to which “supporters” care about the Government and the regime.

Das EU Parlament wird aktiv

Hier eine Resolution des europaeischen Parlaments zum Iran, die fuer sich selbst spricht.

Besonders gefaellt mir dieser Passus:

Underlines the importance of the continuation of dialogue with Iran at all levels, in particular with civil society; deplores the fact that the Iranian side cancelled the scheduled visit by the European Parliament delegation and expresses the hope that the Iranian Government and Parliament will review their position on direct contacts;

Zehn Millionen Mal Kuchen

Wenn man dem obersten Führer Glauben schenken darf, dann kam es gestern zu einer massiven Mobilmachung der „Kuchen und Saft“-Armee.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei thanked the „tens of millions“ who showed up on Thursday’s anniversary, saying the gathering in downtown Teheran reflected the nation’s strength and that it was time for „foreign enemies to wake up and abandon futile efforts to subjugate“ Iran.

Das iranische Staatsfernsehen hat es nicht versäumt, einen Tag vor den Revolutionsfeiern auf die kulinarischen Anreize für eine Teilnahme an den staatlich organisierten Massendemonstrationen hinzuweisen. In Tabris scheint der Kuchen allerdings nicht so gut gewesen zu sein und der Zitronensaft in Zahedan war vermutlich sauer.

UPDATE: Die Rechnung  für das Kuchenbuffet am Freiheitsturm ist wohl nicht allzu hoch.