UANI

AFP reported that "Finnish-German telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) said Monday technology it sold to Iran in 2008 could be used to monitor calls, but denied claims it can be used for web censorship...'There is a lot of misinformation out there,' NSN spokesman Ben Roome said, pointing out that NSN is a separate organisation from Nokia. He explained that NSN had delivered a network expansion with voice call monitoring centre to Iranian telecommunication operator TCI in the second half of 2008." (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jRvzh7rXdmxKcyubHtQOM...)

The Washington Post reported that "A top supervisory body reviewing Iran's disputed June 12 election formally dismissed all opposition complaints of fraud Monday and affirmed a landslide victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, setting off shouts of protest from Tehran's rooftops but leaving opponents with few options amid an intensifying government crackdown. The decision by the Guardian Council...was announced about 10 p.m. Tehran time...Before the announcement, security forces, including members of the pro-government Basij militia, deployed in large numbers to prevent street protests, witnesses said. But that did not stop people from taking to their rooftops to chant 'Allahu akbar' (God is great) and 'Death to the dictator' in a form of protest used by the popular movement that ultimately deposed the shah of Iran three decades ago. Witnesses said the chanting Monday night was louder than usual, as Tehran residents vented their anger at a government that has largely crushed street demonstrations after declaring them illegal and threatening their organizers with execution." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/29/AR200906...)

Reuters reported that "Senior hardline Iranian cleric on Tuesday demanded an end to protests over the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president after Iran's top legislative body slammed shut the last door for a legal challenge." (http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLU57505120090630)

The Wall Street Journal reported that "It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the flames of protest are being slowly smothered in the streets of Iran. Still, even that will leave behind embers of opposition, and the key question in weeks ahead is whether there are any forces within Iran able to keep those embers smoldering. Anyone who has followed recent Iranian history knows there are two places to look for the answer to that question: the military and the clerical establishment. If cracks in the support for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad start appearing in those institutions, the Tehran Spring set off by protests over Iran's presidential election could evolve into a movement with reach and consequence, and not just a short-lived outburst of frustration." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124629706016868931.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)

The New York Times reported that "Sanctions: a word that rises to the surface and shimmers for a deceptive moment before it bursts. It’s having its hour again, bubbling up confusingly from Iran’s witches brew... On the one hand, you have an arm’s-length pledge of solidarity from Germany on possible sanctions if direct U.S. talks with Iran ever happen and if (and by whose definition?) they eventually fail. On the other, you get a pretty clear no from France to sanctions now against Iranian government violence and manipulation of an election so blatant that Mrs. Merkel herself — so much for the real world — has called for a recount. The situation illustrates a couple of new realities about Iran. It pricks a big hole in reports, coming from the American media and quoting 'European officials, that the major European allies were somehow going to turn their diplomatic and trade connections with Iran into a fist that would shield President Barack Obama from language and circumstances that could jeopardize the possibility of negotiations on the nuclear issue. Rather, the elastic, 360-degree language on sanctions illustrates how tortured the West is about finding a response to the Iranian situation." (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/world/europe/30iht-politicus.html?page...)

AP reported that "The Internet window on Iran's upheaval is being increasingly blacked out by the information crackdown by authorities, who have restricted foreign media from the streets and blacked out many Web sites considered sympathetic to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and his claim that the election was stolen by fraud vote rigging. On Monday, only a few new videos that appeared to be days-old protests trickled onto the Web, along with clips of Sunday's protest outside a mosque in north Tehran. Other postings — including many set to music on sites such as YouTube — showed older photos of violence in Iran's streets. It's an apparent sign that Iranian authorities are increasingly choking off the ability of protesters to post messages and images." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090630/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_downloading_d...)

AP reported that "The cleric-led government has said Ahmadinejad will be sworn in for a second term as early as July 26. Asked if the United States would recognize Ahmadinejad as Iran's legitimate president, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said 'We're going to take this a day at a time'. 'They have a huge credibility gap with their own people as to the election process. And I don't think that's going to disappear by any finding of a limited review of a relatively small number of ballots,' Clinton told reporters in Washington." (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jGSJEAPs_r2T2wxsL5G3t4...)

AFP reported that "British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Monday demanded the release of four locally-engaged British embassy staff in Tehran, saying Iran's behaviour was 'unacceptable, unjustified and without foundation'. 'We are deeply disappointed that Iran has detained some of Britain's staff in Iran,' Brown said at a press conference. 'Some of them have now been released, but we must now see that the others are set free to resume their work'." (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hgph0oToIa7Y8zyQiWmIW...)

The Guardian reported that "European Union members are threatening the collective withdrawal of their ambassadors from Iran to secure the release of the British embassy employees being held by the authorities. EU diplomats said tonight all the envoys could be recalled 'temporarily' in solidarity with staff from the British mission in Tehran who have been accused – entirely falsely, UK officials insist – of involvement in protests over the 'stolen' presidential election." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/29/iran-diplomats-british-embas...)

UANI Co-Chair Ambassador James Woolsey participated in an audio interview with Iranian American Jews.  To listen to the podcast please click here.

Bret Stephens wrote in today's Wall Street Jouranal that "Mr. Obama seems to have thought that a considerable part of America's Iran problem was simply an America problem, to be addressed by various forms of conciliation: Mr. Obama's New Year's greetings to 'the Islamic Republic of Iran'; the disavowal of regime change as a U.S. objective; the offer of direct talks without preconditions; withdrawal from Iraq; the insistence, following the election, that the U.S. would neither presume to judge the outcome nor otherwise 'meddle' in an internal Iranian affair. What did all this achieve? Iran's nuclear programs are accelerating. It is testing ballistic missiles of increasing range and sophistication. Its support for terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah is unabated. Ahmadinejad stole an election in broad daylight. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei blessed the result. British Embassy staff are under siege. A campaign of mass arrests and intimidation is underway and a young woman named Neda Soltan was shot in the heart simply for choosing none of the above." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124631691259270727.html)

Fawaz Gerges wrote today on CNN.com that "As the dust settles on battered Iranian streets, the ultra-conservative ruling mullahs appear to have won the first round against reformist rivals. But far from vanquished, the reformist movement has gained momentum, confidence, assertiveness and many new followers... For the first time since the outbreak of the revolution in 1979, a vast, broadly based segment of Iranian society now challenges the radical conservatism of the Islamic Republic and demands direct control over their personal lives. Iran is witnessing the rise, not the end, of a viable social movement with a more democratic agenda encompassing millions of people with varied socioeconomic backgrounds. Regardless of the outcome of the electoral dispute, the reformist movement has already shaken the Islamic-based regime to its foundation. The ruling revolutionary narrative is no longer dominant and deeply contested by a broad spectrum of public opinion." (http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/29/gerges.iran.sons/index.html)