Showing posts with label Tehran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tehran. Show all posts
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Ayatollah Urges Western Youth to Examine Islam
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| Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks at a public gathering at his residence in Tehran, Jan. 7, 2015. |
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has appealed to youth in North America and Europe to seek out their own understanding of Islam and ignore prejudice in the media.
In the letter published on his Twitter account Wednesday night, Khamenei said he was addressing Western youth because “the future of your nations and countries will be in your hands.” » | Naina Bajekal | Thursday, January 22, 2015
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
UK to Re-open Iran Embassy Says Hague
BBC: Foreign Secretary William Hague has said plans to re-open the British Embassy in Tehran are an "important step forward" in relations with Iran.
Mr Hague said the "circumstances were right" following an improvement in bilateral relations in recent months.
Full diplomatic relations with Iran were suspended after attacks on the British embassy in Iran in 2011.
The election of a new Iranian president and a deal on Iran's nuclear programme has led to renewed contacts this year.
The move comes as Iraqi forces are engaged in heavy clashes with Sunni Islamist militants across the country and amid reports that Iran is providing military assistance to its historic rival. » | Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
Obama Administration Weighs ‘My Enemy’s Enemy’ Foreign Policy with Iran
The possibility of partnering with Iran to deal with a common foe -- a radical Sunni militant group bent on regional domination -- has immediately divided some of the Obama administration's toughest critics.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the idea of an alliance of convenience with Iran the "height of folly."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who typically is in lockstep with McCain on national security matters, on Sunday, though, likened it to the U.S. aligning with Stalin during World War II, because he "was not as bad as Hitler."
"The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure Baghdad doesn't fall," Graham said. » | FoxNews.com | Monday, June 16, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Drunk in Tehran: The Islamic State’s Secret Party Scene
“Have a shot of tequila first, cheer up!” Shahriyar tells guests gathered at his luxury apartment in Tehran.
His girlfriend, Shima, said they party every weekend. “Shahriyar has one rule: bring your booze! We drink until morning,” she said on a FaceTime call, as lights flashed to rap music in the background.
Despite the ban on alcohol and frequent police raids, drinking in Iran is widespread, especially among the wealthy. Because the Shia-dominated Muslim state has no nightclubs, it all takes place at home, behind closed doors.
Some of the alcohol is smuggled in, but many resourceful Iranians make their own. » | Parisa Hafezi | Reuters | Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Shoe Thrown at Iran President on Return Home after Obama Call
Some 75 hardline Islamists chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" as Rouhani's motorcade drew out of Tehran's Mehrabad Airport.
Eggs were also hurled at the Iranian president as members of his security team tried to shield him with an umbrella.
The incident comes amid an apparent softening of Iran's stance toward the West including the United States under President Rouhani, which has angered some hardliners in Iran. » | Andrew Marszal, agencies | Saturday, September 28, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran pledged that its "axis" with Syria will "never" be allowed to break when Tehran sought to bolster President Bashar al-Assad by sending a senior envoy to Damascus.
Mr Assad made his first appearance on state television for over a fortnight, promising to continue the struggle against his enemies "without respite".
Iran has been trying to guarantee the survival of Mr Assad, who serves as Tehran's only reliable ally in the Middle East, by supplying Syria's regime with funds, weaponry and expert personnel to aid the campaign against rebels.
Saeed Jalili, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, came to Damascus as a visible symbol of that support.
"Iran will never allow the resistance axis – of which Syria is an essential pillar – to break," he said. The "axis of resistance" refers to the Middle East's anti-Western powers: Iran, Syria and the armed groups, Hizbollah and Hamas, although in reality the latter has already broken away by ending its presence in Damascus.
Iran and Syria both claim that foreign countries have caused the uprising against Mr Assad with the aim of destroying the "axis". During his visit, Mr Jalili echoed that message. "What is happening in Syria is not an internal issue but a conflict between the axis of resistance on one hand, and the regional and global enemies of this axis on the other," he said. » | David Blair, Richard Spencer in Aleppo | Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Thursday, December 01, 2011
For the beleaguered group of diplomats holed up in the British Embassy compound in Tehran and surrounded by a baying mob of Iranian protesters, it was, as one of their colleagues phlegmatically remarked yesterday, “a very hairy few hours”.
The embassy staff had been forewarned that trouble was brewing. All Tuesday morning, pro-government Farsi websites had posted comments calling for protesters to gather in Bobby Sands Street. This is the name that the road leading to the British Embassy was given by the ayatollahs when they last squared up to Britain, over the Salman Rushdie affair in 1989.
The original aim of the protest was to commemorate the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist, one of three killed in the past two years on the streets of Tehran. But with relations between Britain and Iran entering one of their periodic crises, the bloggers argued that there was no better way to mark the scientist’s death than to focus their ire on the embassy compound in central Tehran.
Britain has a long and undistinguished history of intrigue in Iranian affairs, dating from the 19th century when British gunboats regularly shelled Persian ports to persuade the Shah to toe the line. More recently, in 1953, British intelligence masterminded the plot to overthrow Mohammed Mossadegh – arguably Iran’s last democratically elected prime minister – after he sought to nationalise the British-owned Anglo-Iranian oil company.
Given this history of skulduggery, it is hardly surprising that most Iranians believe Britain is involved in the carefully coordinated campaign of assassinations, bombings and acts of computer sabotage that are clearly designed to disrupt Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons. In the most recent incident, a mysterious explosion appears to have caused significant damage to the uranium enrichment complex at Isfahan, a vital feature of Iran’s nuclear programme. Read on and comment » | Con Coughlin | Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Foreign secretary says Tehran breached Vienna convention in failing to protect diplomatic mission
William Hague has warned Iran it faces "serious consequences" over the attack on the British embassy in Tehran.
Hundreds of protesters surged onto two compounds this afternoon, putting the safety of staff at risk and causing "extensive damage" to property, the foreign secretary said.
"Clearly there will be other, further, and serious consequences. I will make a statement updating parliament on this tomorrow [Wednesday]."
Iranian police protected Britain's ambassador and some staff earlier from a large crowd outside, Hague said.
He added: "There has been a confusing situation at times as to the whereabouts of certain staff. I wouldn't use the term hostage. Clearly there have been situations where the Iranian police have intervened to try to ensure the safety of our staff.
"We are grateful for that but this situation should never have been allowed to arise in the first place." » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan and agencies | Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Related »
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: British relations with Iran sink to lowest in decades as Tehran embassies are stormed: Britain’s relations with Iran were plunged into their worst crisis in decades after protesters [stormed] two British embassy compounds in Tehran, ransacked offices and forced diplomatic staff to seek refuge in secure rooms. ¶ The most extraordinary scenes came at Britain’s embassy near Tehran’s central bazaar, where riot police simply stood by as demonstrators broke into the main building and tore down pictures of The Queen, looted sensitive documents, smashed windows and even threw petrol bombs. ¶ Chanting “death to England”, the protesters - many of them organised by a student branch of the pro-regime Basiji militia - burned the British flag and set a car on fire in protest at sanctions imposed last week on the Iranian banking system. ¶ Diplomats were forced to seek refuge in a secure room behind reinforced doors and windows, from where they managed to use secure communications to alert London. According to one report, six embassy staff had to be rescued by police after being held hostage by the protesters for several hours. » | Damien McElroy, Amad Vahdat | Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Related »
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Security police block access to houses rented by Sunni minority for worship
Sunni Muslims in Tehran have been banned from congregating at prayers marking the end of Ramadan.
Iran, a Shia country, ordered its Sunni minority not to hold separate prayers in Tehran for Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival that brings the month of fasting to an end. They were instead asked to have a Shia imam leading their prayers – something that is against their religious beliefs.
Hundreds of security police were deployed in the capital to prevent Sunni worshippers from entering houses they rent for religious ceremonies. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY: The 2,400 kilometers or so separating Cairo from Tehran might have been enough to keep relations at arm's length. But for the past three decades, the realities of geography dividing Egypt and Iran have been stretched into a yawning chasm by the shadow of one Khalid Islambouli.The Islamist army officer who assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981 in revenge for signing the Camp David Accords with Israel has long stood as a symbol of the political and ideological divide between the two countries. Executed along with three co-conspirators for the crime the following year, Islambouli acquired pariah status in Egypt -- an embodiment of the perils lurking behind Islamic radicalism.
In Iran, by contrast, he is renowned as a hero and a martyr, a privilege reflected in a massive mural painting in central Tehran. One of the capital's most prestigious streets also bears his name, in what Egyptian officials have regarded as a provocation and a block to restoring long-severed diplomatic ties.
Now, however, the ghost of Islambouli is close to being laid to rest.
'Expansion Of Ties'
In what may be a blow to the interests of Israel and the United States, Egypt has declared itself ready to re-establish links with Tehran in the wake of February's overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak, who saw Iran's Islamic regime as a bitter foe.
The new Egyptian foreign minister, Nabil Al-Arabi, signaled a thaw on March 30 when he voiced hopes for an "expansion of ties" with Iran. His comments came a month after Egypt -- in the wake of Mubarak's departure -- set Western alarm bells ringing by allowing Iranian naval ships to sail through the Suez Canal for the first time in 30 years.
Reasons to be wary were compounded this month by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Mehna Bakhoum, who declared: "We are prepared to take a different view of Iran. The former regime used to see Iran as an enemy, but we don't."
The warm words have been reciprocated by Tehran, where the Foreign Ministry has confirmed it is preparing to appoint its first ambassador to Cairo since links were cut in 1979.
The contrast could hardly be greater with the tone set by Mubarak who, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, told Senator John Kerry that the Iranians "are big fat liars and justify their lies because they believe it is for a higher purpose." » | Robert Tait | Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
SIFY NEWS: A senior Iranian cleric on Friday urged Bahrain's majority Shiites to keep up their protests — until death or victory — against the Sunni monarchy in the tiny island kingdom.
Bahrain has been rocked by a month long uprising of the Shiite-led opposition against its Sunni rulers. And though there are no apparent links between Bahrain's Shiite opposition and Iran's predominantly Shiite nation, the Persian Gulf leaders are concerned that political gains by Bahrain's Shiites could give Iran a stepping stone to its archrival Saudi Arabia.
Iran has denounced the deployment of a Saudi-led force from Sunni Arab allies this week to prop up the Sunni monarchy in Bahrain.
In Tehran, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati spoke to worshippers after Friday prayers and called on "brothers and sisters" in Bahrain to "resist against the enemy until you die or win."
Jannati, a supporter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asked all Muslims to help the Bahraini Shiites "restore rights" and also accused the United States of being an "accomplice in all crimes." » | AP | Monday, March 21, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
THE OBSERVER: Armed children as young as 14 are said to have been deployed alongside riot police
Iran's Islamic regime is using "child soldiers" to suppress anti-government demonstrations, a tactic that could breach international law forbidding the use of underage combatants, human rights activists have told the Observer.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says troops aged between 14 and 16 have been armed with batons, clubs and air guns and ordered to attack demonstrators who have tried to gather in Tehran. The youths – apparently recruited from rural areas – are being deployed in regular riot police roles and comprise up to one-third of the total force, according to witnesses.
One middle-aged woman, who said she was attacked by the youths, reported that some were as young as 12 and were possibly prepubescent. They had rural accents, which indicated they had been brought in from villages far from Tehran, she said.
Some told her they had been attracted by the promise of chelo kebab dinners, one of Iran's national dishes.
"It's really a violation of international law. It's no different than child soldiers, which is the custom in many zones of conflict," said Hadi Ghaemi, the campaign's executive director. "They are being recruited into being part of the conflict and armed for it."
The UN convention on the rights of the child requires states to take "all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 15 years do not take a direct part in hostilities". >>> Robert Tait | Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Thousands of people marching illegally through Iran were targeted by police firing tear gas on Monday as the wave of Middle East revolution continued to spread beyond Egypt and Tunisia.
Eye witnesses spoke of shots being fired and scores of arrests as demonstrators in Tehran shouting "Death to the Dictator" approached Imam Hossein Square. One protester was shot dead and several were wounded by gunshots, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Across the region, opposition groups seized on the success of 18 days of protest in the Egyptian capital Cairo and across the country to make demands for more political rights.
In Sana'a, Yemen, several thousand people calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down before the end of his current term in 2013 hurled stones at police who were attacking them with batons. Bahrain police fired buckshot at demonstrators, and there were also protests in Iraq.
In Egypt, military police moved in to clear the last remaining protesters in Tahrir Square, who had pledged to remain to ensure the army kept its promise to hand over power to a democratic civilian regime. Those who resisted were carried away by force to waiting unmarked trucks.
But in place of pro-democracy protests, many government buildings were surrounded by striking workers demanding higher wages and the sacking of bosses perceived as corrupt or as cronies of the collapsed regime of Hosni Mubarak. Read on and comment >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, February 14, 2011
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Shahram Amiri, who claimed he was abducted by CIA, has not been seen since return from US last year
An Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed to have been abducted by the CIA and who returned to a hero's welcome in Tehran last July, has since been imprisoned and tortured on suspicion of giving away state secrets, according to an opposition website.
Iranbriefing.net - run by a US-based group which normally reports on political prisoners and the activities of Iran's revolutionary guard - said the scientist, Shahram Amiri, had been interrogated intensively for three months in Tehran and then spent two months in solitary confinement, where his treatment had left him hospitalised for a week.
The Tehran authorities would not confirm or deny the account.
Amiri has not been seen in public in the six months since his much-publicised homecoming from America, where he claimed to have been held against his will. State media portrayed him at the time as a daring patriot who had escaped from his alleged CIA captors with critical information about US covert operations against Iran.
US officials, surprised by Amiri's unexpected return to Iran, insisted he had gone to the US willingly. There was concern in US intelligence circles however that his original "defection" in Saudi Arabia in 2009 could have been a trap to embarrass the CIA and trick its officials into revealing how much the US knows about the Iranian nuclear programme. >>> Julian Borger and Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Related >>>
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Der iranische Physiker Shahram Amiri, behauptet, dass die USA wollten, dass er aussagt ein iranischer Spion zu sein. So sollte Amiri Teil eines Austauschs von Spionen mit Teheran werden. Amiri bekräftigte in einem Interview zudem seine Aussagen, dass er im Juni 2009 in Saudi-Arabien von US-Geheimdienstmitarbeitern entführt wurde.
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Der iranische Atomforscher Schahram Amiri ist auf dem Weg nach Hause in den Iran, wohl via ein Drittland. Der Forscher war vor einem Jahr verschwunden und am Dienstag überraschend in der pakistanischen Botschaft in Washington wieder aufgetaucht. Nun will Amiri im iranischen Fernsehen bekannt geben, wie es zu seiner Befreiung kam. Teheran wirft den USA die Entführung des Atomphysikers vor.
Verbunden >>>
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