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Eye on Iran: Mideast Talks Will Fail: Iran

Eye on Iran: Mideast Talks Will Fail: Iran

Tue, 08/24/2010 - 09:00 | by uaniadmin

Top Stories

AFP: "Direct peace talks between Israel and Palestinians will fail as long as the 'root' of the problem remained, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday. 'We don't think (peace) talks are going to yield any results,' Mehmanparast told reporters at his weekly press conference. 'The root of the Palestinian problem should be cured. We cannot see a solution to the Palestinian issue when the Palestinians have been driven out to other countries, while occupiers and invaders have come from other countries (to Palestinian territories),' Mehmanparast said." http://bit.ly/cYj3Dm

AFP: "The United States voiced concern Monday over Iran's unveiling of new assault boats and an aerial drone, but said Iran's arms buildup will backfire as its neighbors gang up against it. Iran began mass-producing two high-speed variants of missile-launching assault boats on Monday, a day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed a home-built bomber drone. 'This is... something that is of concern to us and... concern to Iran's neighbors,' State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters." http://bit.ly/a4lSdL

WashPost: "A former Iranian prosecutor who for years was responsible for jailing dissidents and opposition members in the Islamic republic could now be taken to court over the 2009 killings of three opposition activists in a substandard prison, an attorney for one of the victims' families said Monday." http://bit.ly/a7A0Nv
 

Iran Disclosure Project

Nuclear Program
 
AFP: "Kuwait has expressed safety concerns over Iran's new nuclear reactor on the opposite side of the Gulf, fearing fallout from possible leaks, the official news agency KUNA reported. 'Kuwait's concern is based on fears of any leaks due to natural causes that may have future consequences,' foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah said, quoted by KUNA late on Monday." http://bit.ly/cjRJ7R

LAT: "Tightened international sanctions meant to punish Iran for its nuclear program may be strengthening the country's hard-line elite, as blacklisted firms linked to the powerful Revolutionary Guard manage to circumvent and even profit from the embargo. Businesspeople, officials and analysts inside and outside the Islamic Republic describe the sanctions as taking a toll on the economy and ordinary citizens, increasing the cost of everything from the production of medicine to the manufacture of baguettes." http://bit.ly/9nKiPu

Commerce

AP: "An Iranian state-owned newspaper quotes the country's Central Bank governor as saying imports should be decreased in response to the sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program. Mahmoud Bahmani was quoted by the Iran daily on Tuesday as saying the focus should be on importing 'necessary goods,' and that the sanctions would help boost domestic production." http://bit.ly/cCBm4X

Human Rights

Radio Farda: "A female commander of the pro-government Basij militia, Zohreh Abbasi, has said that her unit has introduced a special program that allows baby girls to be registered as members of the force and receive training. Abbasi, who heads the Hossein Haj Mousaee unit, said that in the past six years 23 baby girls had been trained as Basij members through 'Koranic, cultural, educational, and military' classes." http://bit.ly/dfkOTi

Domestic Politics

Reuters: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has defied calls to fire one of his closest aides and appointed him envoy to the Middle East instead, suggesting that for now he may have the upper hand over his critics." http://bit.ly/boUdF8

FT: "Opium smoking in Iran dates back to at least the 17th century and today the country has one of the highest rates of opiates addiction in the world. According to this year's World Drug Report, some 2.8 per cent of the population display signs of addiction. Unofficial reports in Iran's domestic media put the number of addicts and recreational users as high as 4m, while government officials have warned that 10m to 15m people may be using drugs. Moreover, patterns of use are changing, and synthetic substances are becoming more prevalent, experts say." http://bit.ly/dCmIwu

Opinion

NY Daily News Editorial Board: "Attempting to head off an Israeli preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, United States intelligence has presented evidence that Iran doesn't have its atomic act together. There's no need for haste, they say, because Tehran won't have a nuke anytime soon. Speaking of the Iranians, Gary Samore, President Obama's top nuclear adviser, said: 'We think that they have roughly a year dash time' - dash time being the period needed to convert nuclear material into a weapon. 'A year is a very long period of time.' No, it's not." http://bit.ly/cmYpO7

Gerald Seib in WSJ: "Think of Iran's nuclear program as a car chugging down a highway, moving relentlessly ahead but with miles to go before reaching its destination. Now think of U.S. policy as an effort to slow that car down and make it increasingly expensive to drive-while also building an exit ramp off the highway. The great question to be answered in the next few months is whether Iran has any interest at all in taking that exit ramp. Right now, the effort to increase the cost of Iran's nuclear journey is going reasonably well." http://bit.ly/cFmCKE

Michael Ledeen in WSJ: "The Iranian regime loves to boast of its military strength, international clout and hold on domestic power. Much of this is accepted by outside experts, but in fact the regime is in trouble. Iran's leaders have lost legitimacy in the eyes of the people, are unable to manage the country's many problems, face a growing opposition, and are openly fighting with one another." http://bit.ly/9nTinm