Iranian Court Sentences Man to Be Blinded by Acid
YNETNEWS: Ruling against man who blinded woman with acid based on law system of eye for eye retribution

Iranian newspapers say a court has sentenced a man who blinded a woman with acid also to be blinded with acid under the country's Islamic law.

Thursday's reports in several newspapers, including the Kargozaran, say 27-year-old Majid confessed to attacking Ameneh Bahrami in 2004 to dissuade anyone from marrying the woman he loved.

Wednesday's ruling was issued based on the Islamic law system of "qisas," or eye for an eye retribution.

The reports say Ameneh asked the court to sentence Majid, who was only identified by his first name, to be blinded by acid to prevent similar attacks on other women.

Majid is allowed to appeal the verdict. [Source: YnetNews] Associated Press | November 27, 2008

THE GUARDIAN: Eye for an Eye: Iranian Man Sentenced to Be Blinded for Acid Attack

Female victim was left sightless and disfigured / She requests punishment, allowable under sharia law

A man who blinded a woman in an acid attack after she spurned his marriage proposals has been sentenced to the same punishment, in a literal application of Iran's sharia eye-for-an-eye laws.

In a highly unusual judgment, Tehran province criminal court ordered Majid Movahedi, 27, to be blinded in both eyes from drops of acid in response to a plea from his victim, Ameneh Bahrami.

The punishment is legal under the sharia code of qisas, which allows retribution for violent crimes. The court also ordered Movahedi to pay compensation to the victim.

Bahrami was left horrifically disfigured after Movahedi threw a jar of acid in her face as she walked home from work in a busy Tehran neighbourhood in October 2004. She had previously complained to police about being threatened and harassed by Movahedi, who she had known while they were both university students, but had been told no action could be taken.

Since the attack, Bahrami has undergone 17 operations, some by surgeons in Spain, in an unsuccessful attempt to reconstruct her face. Her injuries led to the loss of one eye and left her blind in the other. The Iranian government has paid £22,500 towards her treatment. >>> Robert Tait in Istanbul | November 28, 2008

MAIL Online: Jealous Lover Who Blinded Woman with Acid Will Be Blinded with Acid, Iranian Court Rules amid Outcry over Hangings

This horrendous photo is brought to you courtesy of the Mail Online. Is this the sort of barbarism we have to look forward to when Islam gets stronger in the West?
A jealous lover who blinded a woman with acid is also to be blinded with acid under the country's Islamic law.

A 27-year-old named only as Majid confessed to attacking Amenah Bahrami in 2004 to dissuade anyone from marrying the woman he loved.

Wednesday's ruling was issued based on the Islamic law system of 'qisas,' or eye for an eye retribution.

The reports say Ameneh asked the court to sentence Majid, who was only identified by his first name, to be blinded by acid to prevent similar attacks on other women.

Majid is allowed to appeal the verdict.

Elsewhere, Iran hanged 10 people in a Tehran jail, all of them convicted of murder. The executions are the latest in a series that have drawn criticism from rights groups.

It said one of those executed at Tehran's Evin prison was a woman who killed her husband in 2001 and cut him into pieces.

'They were hanged after their sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court,' Fars News Agency said, quoting judiciary sources.

Murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery, apostasy and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Iran's sharia law, practised since the 1979 Islamic revolution. >>> | November 28, 2008

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Iran: Israel Too Vulnerable to Attack Iran
YNET NEWS: Revolutionary Guards commander says Tehran's ballistic capabilities act as deterrent to any Israeli strike, warns Iran's allies will also retaliate in event of attack

Israel would not dare launch an attack on Iran for fear of the Islamic Republic's missile array and the support of its Islamic allies in the region, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said on Wednesday.

"In the event of an attack against Iran, the Israelis know that with the capabilities that the Islamic world and the Shiite world have in the region, they will suffer deadly strikes," the Mehr news agency quoted Jafari as saying, in an apparent reference to Hizbullah.

"Our strategic assessment shows that if the Zionist regime took action, whether alone or with the United States, in minimal time all of its territory would be vulnerable because this country lacks strategic depth and lies within the range of Iranian missiles," Jafari said.

"Iran's ballistic capabilities are such that the Zionist regime, with all the means at its disposal, has no way of countering them," the general added.

Jafari's comments come as Tehran grows increasingly concerned of a possible Israeli raid on its nuclear facilities. Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued an overt warning to Iran earlier this week during his meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "Israel will not tolerate a nuclear Iran, and no options are being taken off the table," Barak told the secretary. Iran: Israel Too Vulnerable to Attack >>> By Dudi Cohen | August 27, 2008

YNET NEWS:
Iranian Cleric: Ahmadinejad a Major Threat: Religious leader tells German newspaper Iranian president betraying the people >>> Reuters | August 26, 2008

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Israel ‘Will Attack Iran’
THE TELEGRAPH: John Bolton, the former American ambassador to the United Nations, has predicted that Israel could attack Iran after the November presidential election but before George W Bush's successor is sworn in.

The Arab world would be "pleased" by Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, he said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.

"It [the reaction] will be positive privately. I think there'll be public denunciations but no action," he said.

Mr Bolton, an unflinching hawk who proposes military action to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons, bemoaned what he sees as a lack of will by the Bush administration to itself contemplate military strikes. Israel 'Will Attack Iran' Before New US President Sworn In, John Bolton Predicts >>> By Toby Harnden in Washington | June 23, 2008

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The Ayatollah: Proof of God
TAMMY SWOFFORD: He burst onto the world stage to dominate America's television audience in November of 1979. He was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. We did not know who he was, but for Shi'a he was "the sign of god". "Ayat" means sign, and it is the smaller thought expressed within each Surah of the Qur'an. 



Pegged a revolutionary by Western media this man moved forward from the shadows of history onto the stage of the present in Tehran after our embassy staff were taken as prisoners. This event was not merely a revolt against the Shah of Iran, but it was a resurgence of Shi'a political thought regarding what was considered the natural order of things. As a Shi'a jurist of high standing whose life must be imitated and orders obeyed in the absence of the 12th hidden infallible imam, Ayatollah Khomeini retained a position of guardianship over the Shi'a community (wali) and was indeed considered the proof of God. The heady feelings of putting a thumb in the eye of the "Great Satan" were nothing compared to the national re-identification process underway with Ayatollah Khomeini leading the parade. The Ayatollah: Proof of God >>> By Tammy Swofford | June 18, 2008

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Why the West Moves Closer to Bombing Iran
THE TELEGRAPH: Another week, another British fatality - and yet more evidence of Iran's lethal meddling on the battlefields of the war on terror. Whether Revolutionary Guards were directly responsible for the massive roadside bomb that killed 29-year-old Trooper Ratu Babakobau in Afghanistan's Helmand province last weekend may never be proved.

In their long history of involvement in terrorism, the Revolutionary Guards have become highly adept at covering their tracks. Even though the first Western hostages kidnapped in Lebanon in the 1980s were put in crates and shipped back to Tehran, Iranian officials persisted with the fiction that they were blameless.

Today, the Iranian government continues to maintain its innocence of any involvement in supporting the bloody insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan; this despite the fact that coalition forces regularly discover large arms caches containing powerful weapons clearly marked "made in Tehran". Why the West moves closer to bombing Iran >>> By Con Coughlin | May 9, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
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Hillary Clinton on the Nuclear Deterrence of Iran

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

First target for Iran: Qatar?
Map courtesy of Google Images
MIDDLE EAST TIMES: What would be the most logical target Iran would strike in case of a U.S. or Israeli attack on its nuclear sites?

Qatar.

In fact, Iranian Revolutionary guards have already threatened to attack Qatari oil and gas facilities (hence crippling the world economy by creating an oil and gas shock) by sea and air by using suicide boats and air missiles.

For Iran, it's a no-brainer: Qatar hosts the largest U.S. base in the Middle East (8,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed there) and is also viewed by some as being friendly with Israel.

What is Qatar doing about it?

First and foremost, Qatar has been heavily using the diplomatic weapon. Its strategy is to befriend everyone: from Israel to Hamas, from Syria to France. First target for Iran: Qatar? >>> By Olivier Guitta, Middle East Times

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Iran Gets Into “Nation-Building”
IRNA: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Monday night in a meeting with representatives of Leadership Experts Assembly, "Building a model society and introducing Islamic Revolution are our nation's missions." 


According to IRNA's Presidential Office reporter, Ahmadinejad added in his brief address, "The Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran are both great divine gifts, not only awarded to the Iranian nation, but to the entire mankind." 


The IRI President added, "Yet, we had better say that the Islamic Revolution of Iran and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran were the greatest events of the contemporary history, since they marked the continuation of the path laid before the mankind by divine Prophets (P), next to the appointment of Prophet Muhammad (P) as messenger of Allah (SWT), and the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandson Imam Hussain (P)." 


He said, "Like those great events, the Islamic Revolution, too, was a long leap towards mankind's reaching the peak of perfection." The President added, "The Iranian nation, the practicing Alims, and the followers of the idea of leadership of the blessed (Wilayah) are shouldering the responsibility of keeping on hoisting the flag of a movement whose nature is the same as the revolutions of divine Prophets (P).

President Ahmadinejad reiterated, "The Iranian nation also has two heavy responsibilities, one of which is constructing Iran, since the message of a revolution would be heard and welcomed when it would be accompanied by practical models.
He added, "Such model making would lead to leading the mankind towards the peak of perfection, and assist the world nations in embracing eternal salvation in the Hereafter, by convincing them that Islam is capable of presenting an ideal model for social life."

The head of our country's Supreme Cultural Revolution Council said, "Our culture and our administrative structure must be reshaped rapidly so that their basis would be the divine laws of Islam so that we would be able to claim that we have reached the status of a model society that can be the witness for the entire mankind." 
He added, "By grace of God such a movement began as of the victory of the Islamic Revolution despite the entire heavy obstacles and hindrances on its way, which have been removed one after the other, and the movement of the Islamic Revolution aimed at constructing a model society has kept on accelerating ever since then." 


Ahmadinejad reiterated, "Our nation's second important mission is introducing the Islamic Revolution to the entire mankind. Today the mankind has reached a point of dissatisfaction with the status quo of the social life and is so desperately in pursuit of better lives that the nations' minds are quite ripe for grasping such truths." The President said, "Based on such presuppositions, the only perfect school of thought that can lead the human society towards blessed life in this world and salvation in the other world is Mohamedan Islam." 


He noted, "We need to elaborate the divine rules of this school of thought and present to the world nations a model of social life based on it, while atop those who shoulder this responsibility there are the Alims who gain the divine thoughts from the origin of divine revelations, or from the Prophet (P) and the Infallible Imams (P)." After the President's address a number of Leadership Experts Assembly presented their viewpoints on various issues.

The prominent officials present at the meeting included the Speaker of the IRI Parliament, the Government spokesman, and a senior advisor of the President. [Source: Nation's missions, building model society, introducing Revolution – Ahmadinejad]

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Bush Tries to Rally Gulf ‘Allies’ Against Iran
THE SUNDAY TIMES: President Bush urged America's Gulf allies to back his campaign against Iran today, saying that the safety of the world was at stake.

Speaking in a lavish, gold-encrusted hotel in Abu Dhabi, Mr Bush used the signature speech of his tour of the Middle East to denounce Tehran as the "world's leading sponsor of state terror".

His stern message came amid simmering tensions over last week's face-off between Iranian and US naval vessels in the nearby Strait of Hormuz, the most strategic oil-trading route in the region.

"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere," Mr Bush said. "So the United States is strengthening our long-standing security commitments with our friends in the Gulf, and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it's too late," he said.

But it was unclear how the United Arab Emirates – a staunch ally of the United States – would react to Mr. Bush's request that it play a bigger role in regional security.

Leaders of this oil-rich Gulf State are increasingly wary of Iran's growing influence and see their stability as intimately linked to the US.

However, the UAE's booming economy is closely tied to Iran, its biggest trading partner. Nearly half a million Iranians live in the Emirates, with about 10,000 Iranian firms operating in its commercial capital of Dubai.

When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, visited last year, he was greeted with warm embraces from local rulers. George Bush tries to rally Gulf allies against Iran >>> By Sonia Verma in Abu Dhabi

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Bush Urges Tehran to Come Clean
BBC: US President George W Bush has said that Iran should reveal the full extent of its nuclear programme, or risk further international isolation.

A US intelligence assessment released on Monday said that Iran had halted a nuclear weapons programme in 2003.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the US report a "great victory" for Iran.

But Mr Bush said Iran still had "more to explain" about its past actions, and that it must cease uranium enrichment.

He said Iran had yet to acknowledge that it had a covert nuclear weapons programme which ran until 2003 - as stated by Monday's National Intelligence Estimate (NIE).

The report said Iran was keeping its options open, continuing to enrich uranium, which could be used for nuclear weapons in the future. Bush urges Tehran to come clean >>>

Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)

”Great Victory”
BBC: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that a US report on Tehran's nuclear programme is a "great victory".

He said in a televised speech that Iran would not retreat from its path towards a peaceful atomic programme.

The US intelligence report released on Monday said that Iran had halted a nuclear weapons programme in 2003.

The US and its European allies are pushing for UN sanctions but China has said the report raises questions about the need for new measures.

US President George W Bush said on Tuesday that Iran remained a threat and his view that a nuclear Iran would be a danger "hasn't changed".

'Final blow'

Mr Ahmadinejad made his televised speech in front of thousands of people during a visit to Ilam province in western Iran.

"This report... is announcing a victory for the Iranian nation in the nuclear issue against all international powers," he said. Nuclear report a victory – Iran >>>

Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)

Saeed Jalili Pushes Nuclear Talks Back to Square 1
Photo of Saeed Jalili courtesy of the New York Times
NEW YORK TIMES: PARIS, Dec. 1 — In a sign that Iran has hardened its position on its nuclear program, its new nuclear negotiator said in talks in London on Friday that all proposals made in past negotiations were irrelevant and that further discussion of a curb on Iran’s uranium enrichment was unnecessary, senior officials briefed on the meeting said.

The Iranian official, Saeed Jalili, also told Javier Solana, who represented the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany in the five-hour talks, that United Nations Security Council resolutions punishing Iran for not suspending its enriched uranium activities were illegal, the officials said.

Representatives of the six countries met in Paris on Saturday afternoon to discuss further punitive Security Council measures against Iran after the final talks in London failed to produce a breakthrough. Iranian Pushes Nuclear Talks Back to Square 1 >>> By Elaine Sciolino

Mark Alexander

Split Widens Over Iran’s Nuclear Plans
THE TELEGRAPH: International divisions over Iran's nuclear ambitions deepened yesterday after the world's nuclear watchdog pleaded for more time for its inspections regime despite admitting international knowledge of Teheran's nuclear programme had diminished.

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), endorsed Iranian pledges to provide better access to its clandestine atomic programme within "several weeks" even though Iran had failed to bridge a "confidence deficit" with inspectors.

But America, which is leading a campaign for a new round of sanctions on Iran, warned that Iran had shown no signs of compliance. "We have seen this before: promises of full co-operation under pressure, selective co-operation and backsliding when the pressure comes off," said Greg Schulte, the US ambassador at the IAEA.

"Despite four years of intensive investigation and the launch of this work plan four months ago, the IAEA remains unable to confirm the absence of undeclared nuclear activities in Iran." Split widens over Iran’s nuclear plans (more) By Damien McElroy

Mark Alexander

Iran Warns of Domino Effect
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran warned today that an attack on its nuclear facilities would trigger a "domino" effect across the Middle East as deeply divided world powers met to review Teheran's co-operation with United Nations resolutions.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has endorsed Iranian promises that access to suspected nuclear facilities will increase in the months ahead.

At a meeting of the body's 35-country board of governors in Vienna today, battle lines were drawn both over Mr ElBaradei's faith in an Iranian blueprint and the text of the IAEA's latest report which said Iran had cleared up several key questions about its past research.

America and Britain are pushing for the UN to quickly impose a third round of sanctions on Iran to reinforce the drive to close the Islamic Republic's secret programme of atomic research, which appears to be slowly yielding the capability to make a nuclear weapon. Iran warns of domino effect of nuclear attack (more) By Damien McElroy

Mark Alexander

"We Must Bomb Iran," Says Podhoretz
A senior foreign policy adviser to the Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani has urged that Iran be bombed using cruise missiles and "bunker busters" to set back Teheran’s nuclear programme by at least five years.

The tough message at a time of crisis between the United States and Iraq was delivered by Norman Podhoretz, one of the founders of neoconservatism, who has also imparted his stark advice personally to a receptive President George W. Bush.

"None of the alternatives to military action - negotiations, sanctions, provoking an internal insurrection - can possibly work," said Mr Podhoretz. We must bomb Iran, says US Republican guru (more) By Toby Harnden