WIKI-Leaks: Eine erste unfaßbare Offenbarung

König Abdullah von Saudi-Arabien sagte demnach, Irans Ziel sei es „Probleme zu verursachen“ und „der Welt Angst einzuflößen“.

Da wäre man von selbst aber auch nicht draufgekommen.

Nur ein halber Sieg statt einer vollen Selbstverständlichkeit

Aber immerhin. Die „Islamische Republik Iran“ ist nicht in die neue „UN super agency for women“ gewählt worden. Man hat Ost Timor letzte Woche ermutigt zu kandidieren, um den sicheren Listenplatz des Iran (10 Sitze bei zehn asiatischen Bewerbern) zu gefährden – was funktioniert hat. Aber Saudi Arabien ist drinnen. Es hat sich eingekauft als künftiger „Donor“ der Superbehörde. So gesehen, schade eigentlich, daß die „Islamische Republik“ nicht mit dabei ist; die einen sind Spezialisten im Steinigen, die andren Köpfen recht gut, der Kongo ist übrigens auch mit von der Partie, da ist man mehr aufs Vergewaltigen spezialisiert. Das hätten interessante Diskussionen über „women’s empowerment“ werden können. Bzw. werden sie bestimmt auch ohne die „Islamische Republik“.

Man könnte den Kopf schütteln – wenn denn die UN in irgendeiner Beziehung außer Spesenverbraten und Diktatoren ein Forum bieten noch von irgendeiner Relevanz wäre.

Iran was beaten to an Asian seat on the executive board by East Timor, a late entrant to the contest, in a vote at the UN General Assembly. Iran had originally been guaranteed a place as the Asia region had put forward 10 candidates for 10 seats. But East Timor put itself forward as a spoiler late last week as controversy mounted over Iran’s rights record, diplomats said. It won 36 votes to secure the last Asian seat, against 19 votes for Iran. […] A resolution on Iran’s human rights is to be voted at the UN General Assembly next week and is already the subject of intense new lobbying, diplomats said.via AFP

Saudi Arabia gives Israel clear skies to attack Iranian nuclear sites

Dies berichtet die Times aus London:

Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to enable Israeli jets to make a bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities, The Times can reveal.

In the week that the UN Security Council imposed a new round of sanctions on Tehran, defence sources in the Gulf say that Riyadh has agreed to allow Israel to use a narrow corridor of its airspace in the north of the country to shorten the distance for a bombing run on Iran. To ensure the Israeli bombers pass unmolested, Riyadh has carried out tests to make certain its own jets are not scrambled and missile defence systems not activated. Once the Israelis are through, the kingdom’s air defences will return to full alert.

“The Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way,” said a US defence source in the area. “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.” [Weiterlesen…]

Hat tip: Sendungsbewusstsein.

Handshake: Robert Gates ist wieder einmal furchtbar optimistisch, was Sanktionen betrifft….

Meine unmaßgebliche Meinung:

Man sollte den Saudis nur dann trauen, wenn man gemeinsame Interessen hat, was die Beseitigung des iranischen Terrorregimes betrifft. Danach muss allerdings endlich mit Saudi Arabien Klartext in Sachen Demokratie geredet werden. Alles andere ist unglaubwürdig. Wenn man Demokratie im Iran unterstützen und herbeiführen will, darf man die sunnitischen „Verbündeten“ nicht aus der Verantwortung entlassen.

Aber ein Schritt nach dem anderen…

Gates ‚hopeful‘ of Saudi support for Iran sanctions

RIYADH (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates appealed to Saudi leaders on Wednesday to back a US-led drive for tough sanctions against Iran in a visit to Riyadh and came away „hopeful,“ his press secretary said.

met King Abdullah and the crown prince as part of the Obama administration’s diplomatic push for fresh UN sanctions on Iran, seeking help from an oil-rich ally amid continued opposition from China.

„We are certainly hopeful that the Saudis will use whatever influence they have which is considerable in this region and throughout the world to try and help us in our efforts at the UN so we can get meaningful sanctions enacted against Iran,“ press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.

Iran-Saudi Arabien: “Lediglich religiöse Differenzen”

Iran suspends pilgrimages to Saudi

TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran has suspended pilgrimages to the Muslim holy places until Saudi religious police end their „appalling behaviour“ towards Iranian Shiite pilgrims, an official told AFP on Sunday.

„The reason for the suspension is because the way the agents of the Saudi Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have been dealing with our pilgrims,“ the head of public relations of the Iranian hajj and pilgrimage organisation Abdollah Nassiri said.

„The umra has been suspended and not halted,“ Nassiri added, referring to the so-called less pilgrimage that is carried out throughout the year unlike the annual hajj which was held most recently late last year.

„Our move is not political, it is religious,“ he said.

Rummel während der Hadsch?

MEMRI – Against Backdrop of Clashes with the West Over Its Nuclear Program and the War in Yemen, Iran Tries to Instigate Rioting in Saudi Arabia During Hajj

By: A. Savyon and Y. Mansharof *

Introduction

A few days before the Hajj (November 25-30, 2009), Iranian officials deliberately intensified statements calling on Shi’ites, and all Hajj pilgrims to Mecca, to conduct baraa – a kind of political protest against the infidels and apostates instituted by the founder of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini – against the U.S. and the Saudi Wahhabis, whom Iran currently claims are slaughtering Shi’ites in Yemen. [1] During the baraa ceremony, pilgrims demonstrate in denunciation of apostates and the enemies of Islam, chanting political slogans such as „Death to America“ and „Death to Israel.“

In addition, Iranian senior officials, as well as the country’s leading newspapers, hinted and warned that the unrest in Yemen would not be bound by that country’s borders, and could spill over into Saudi Arabia, threatening the stability of the regime there.

Den kompletten Beitrag bitte hier aufrufen.

„Is Saudi Arabia ready to play hardball with Iran?“

Johna Hannah beschreibt für Foreign Policy, wie Saudi-Arabien die Islamische Republik Iran durch ein Drücken des Ölpreises unter Druck setzen könnte:

With daily exports in the range of 2.5 million barrels per day, Iran stands to lose about $900 million annually from every one dollar drop in the price of oil. With excess capacity of 4 million barrels per day, the Saudis are clearly in position to go much farther than they have to date in squeezing Iran if they so choose. An aggressive Saudi effort to depress oil prices well below the current $75 target could prove extremely harmful to Iran’s already reeling economy and tumultuous political situation. Almost certainly, such an effort could inflict as much pain on the Iranian regime as many of the sanctions currently being discussed by the United States and its international partners — and, given Russian and Chinese reluctance to get tough with Iran, would almost certainly be quicker and easier to implement.

Doch warum sollte gerade Saudi-Arabien dem Westen dabei helfen, den selbst in den Dreck gesetzten Karren aus selbigem zu ziehen? Die Antwort lautet – wie so oft – Eigeninteresse:

There’s no doubt that Saudi King Abdullah views Iran — and the near-term prospect of its acquiring nuclear weapons — as nothing short of an existential threat to the House of Saud and its preeminent position in the Islamic world. There’s at least some chance that he may be prepared to consider doing things now that in the past would have been unthinkable in order to prevent his worst nightmare from coming to pass — especially if he’s provided sufficient support, encouragement and guarantees from the United States and our major European allies.

In this regard, the current crisis in Yemen, in which Saudi forces have been drawn into combat on their southern border against Iranian-backed Shiite rebels, has only upped the ante. As with almost everything Iran does, Abdullah no doubt perceives the Islamic Republic’s involvement in Yemen as the latest maneuver in a grand strategy whose ultimate target is the Kingdom itself and control of the Islamic holy sites of Mecca and Medina.

Gleichwohl diese Option gewisse Risiken birgt, rät Hannah der US-Regierung, mit Riad über entsprechende Maßnahmen zu verhandeln:

The big question is how far the Saudis are willing to go in drawing on their oil power to really do something about it — something, that is, that actually stands a chance of either 1) compelling the Iranian regime to fundamentally re-calculate its nuclear ambitions, or 2) speeding the regime’s unraveling at the hands of its already seething population. Of course, encouraging the Saudis to use oil as a political weapon is not without its downside risks; after all, the United States was on the receiving end of just such a Saudi gambit during the oil embargo that followed the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. But given the enormity of the stakes now at play vis a vis Iran — both for the Kingdom and for the United States — it’s clearly an option that at least deserves serious consideration. One hopes that it’s already the subject of intense consultations between Washington and Riyadh, preferably at the highest levels. Should the United States conclude that the potential benefits outweigh the risks, it will need to muster every instrument at its disposal to steel the Saudi king to take unprecedented measures to face down Iran’s unprecedented challenge.

Stichwort Einmischung: Iran und der Jemen

Amir Taheri erläutert in der New York Post, wie die Islamische Republik Iran ihren Einfluss im Jemen ausbaut, um Saudi-Arabien in einen asyemmetrischen Krieg zu verwickeln:

On the Yemeni side of the border, Iran has been trying to create a branch of the pan-Shiite Hezbollah movement. The aim is to control a chunk of territory along the Saudi border and use it to destabilize the kingdom while exerting pressure on the Yemeni government.

This would echo Iran’s 1982 creation of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which controls an enclave on the Israeli border, using it as a base for periodical attacks on Israel and continued political pressure on the Lebanese government in Beirut.

The Iran-inspired rebellion in Yemen started in 2007 under a tribal leader named Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

Al-Houthi, from a small tribe in Yemen’s northern highlands, spent eight years learning „Islamic jurisprudence“ in the Iranian „holy“ city of Qom. His critics claim that he really studied asymmetric warfare, not theology. He denies any ties with Iran but says that he admires the Iranian leadership’s „brave stance against Crusaders and Zionists.“

Over the last decade, scores of Yemenis have received military training in Iran or Hezbollah-controlled parts of Lebanon. The Houthis have also gotten weapons, either directly from Iran or via Lebanon. Last month, Yemen captured an Iranian ship near the port of Haja carrying weapons for the Houthis. [Weiterlesen…]

Irans Exportoffensive zur See

Ein Schiff wird kommen, und es bringt Tonnen an Waffen. Spannungen allerorten im Nahen Osten – und der Iran mittendrinnen.

Press tv: Saudi-run satellite operator Arabsat continues to ban Iran’s al-Alam from broadcasting on the air despite the news channel’s request for an explanation. […] According to al-Alam authorities, the Iran-based television network was taken off the air by both Arabsat and Egyptian-run Nilesat on Tuesday without prior notice.

Das könnte doch hiermit zusammenhängen:

Houthi rebels claimed late Tuesday they have completely controlled the Jabal al-Dokhan area on border with the Saudi Arabia that officially announced on Wednesday that a Saudi security officer was killed Tuesday in Jazan, nearby al-Dokhan, by gunmen infiltrated from Yemen.

Eine Nachricht für den Friedensnobelpreisträger Barack Hussein Obama!

Foto Focus,„Im Iran werden Todesurteile meist durch Erhängen vollstreckt“

Focus, Todesstrafe — Amnesty befürchtet Hinrichtungswelle im Iran

Die Zahl der Hinrichtungen ist weltweit gestiegen. China liegt weiter an der Spitze. Alarmierende Zahlen meldet Amnesty International allerdings auch aus dem Iran.

Reuters Im Iran werden Todesurteile meist durch Erhängen vollstreckt Die Menschenrechtsorganisation befürchtet nach Protesten gegen Irans umstrittene Präsidentenwahl im Juni eine Welle von Todesurteilen. Amnesty International verwies am Samstag in London darauf, dass Teherans Revolutionsgericht in dieser Woche einen ersten von mehr als 100 angeklagten Regimegegnern zum Tode verurteilt habe. Der 37-jährige Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani habe laut Urteil in „Feindschaft gegen Gott“ die Ziele terroristischer Vereinigungen unterstützt. Dabei habe er „Propaganda gegen das System“ betrieben, „Heiligkeiten beleidigt“ und das Land illegal verlassen, um sich im Irak mit US-Militärs zu treffen.

MEMRI-Kurzmeldungen

Iraqi Parliament to Discuss Wide-Ranging Protocol with Iran

Claims In Iran: Saudi Arabia Is Waging Anti-Iran Campaign

‚Kayhan‘ Editor: 5+1 Backs Down* From Freeze Demand

Iranian MP: Jamming Of Foreign TV Broadcasts Poses Health Danger

——————
*to back down = klein beigeben, nachgeben

Ich habe wirklich keine hellseherischen Fähigkeiten, aber es ist doch frappierend, wie sich meine Folgerung innerhalb von 24 Stunden bewahrheitet hat: Es spielt für eventuelle  weitere Verhandlungenüberhaupt keine Rolle, ob sich der Iran gerne noch in Drittländern mit angereichertem Uran eindeckt oder nicht.

Iranische Webseite: Saudische Schiiten sollen „Allah u Akbar“ von ihren Dächern rufen

Die iranische Webseite Shia Online berichtet, dass eine Gruppe Schiiten in Saudi Arabien heute ihre Glaubensbrüder dort dazu aufgerufen hat, ab morgen (2. Juli) damit zu beginnen, von ihren Dächern täglich eine halbe Stunde lang „Allah u Akbar“ zu rufen, um gegen die Inhaftierung vieler Schiiten in Saudi Arabien zu protestieren und nicht davon abzulassen, bis die Gefangenen wieder frei sind.

Abbildung: Zum Vergrößern bitte anklicken.

Glaubt man dem Manifest, das online gepostet worden war, „werden die Rufe das tyrannische Königshaus erschüttern“.

Quelle (via MEMRI): Shia Online, 1. Juli 2009