US Sanctions 'Iran Missile' Firms; Trading Blame over Fall of Lebanon Govt

Treasury Sanctions 26 New Iran-Controlled Firms

Reuters | Jan 13

The United States on Thursday extended sanctions to more than two dozen firms it said were acting as fronts for Iran's missile program.

The Treasury Department said 24 firms have ties with state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and two were affiliated with Aerospace Industries Organization, a subsidiary of Iran's Ministry of Defense.

The latest actions prohibit U.S. entities from any transactions with the designated firms and individuals, and seek to freeze assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

The Treasury Department said four of the firms tied to IRISL were located in the Isle of Man, a self-governed British territory. Another 20 were located in Hong Kong, while two Tehran-based firms were affiliates of AIO, Treasury said.

US Sanctions Hong Kong Shippers over Iran Trade

AFP | Jan 13

"IRISL is under tremendous financial pressure from international sanctions, and it is going to extreme lengths to obscure its network and the ownership of vessels," the Treasury's sanctions czar Stuart Levey said in a statement.

"Today's designations expose the latest in a string of deceptive measures Iran is taking to continue its illicit conduct."

Iran Says US, Israel 'Sabotaged' Lebanon Govt

AFP | Jan 13

Lebanon was without a government on Thursday after the powerful Shiite militant party Hezbollah and its allies resigned from cabinet over a UN probe into the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.

"Lebanon is in a sensitive and unstable situation," a foreign ministry statement sent to AFP quoted Raouf Sheibani, Iran's deputy minister for the Middle East, as saying.

"Sabotage and obstruction by America and the Zionist regime are the main cause of the failure of Syrian and Saudi efforts to find a solution for the current situation in Lebanon," Sheibani said.

Diplomats said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and Syria have ended attempts to mediate between the Hezbollah group and Saad Hariri, head of the collapsed Lebanese government.

Sheibani called for a solution to be found in Lebanon through "mutual effort of all political parties" to overcome the current situation and confront the "conspiracies of the ill-wishers."

OTHER NEWS

China and Russia Reject Iran's Invitation to Visit Nuclear Sites

insideIRAN | Jan 13

Hong Lei, the spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, said January 13 that his country's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency was in China and it would be "too difficult" for him to go to Iran and visit Iran's nuclear sites. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also rejected Iran's invitation for the visit, saying such trips should not replace IAEA inspections.

According to the BBC Persian, Lavrov said Iran's invitation "deserved attention," but he clearly emphasized that such visits cannot replace mandatory IAEA inspections. Earlier this week, Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, had said that representatives from a number of countries including, Syria and Venezuela accepted Iran's invitation. Observers were awaiting China and Russia's responses to Iran's invitation. The two powers were considered among Iran's allies and were perceived to be supporters of its nuclear program. But last May, China and Russia voted for UN Security Council Resolution 1929, imposing tough economic and trade sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Foreign Envoys Due in Iran to Tour Natanz, Arak Nuclear Installations

Tabnak | Jan 13

Iran's Permanent Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Asghar Soltanieh said on Thursday that inspection of Iran's nuclear installations will be carried out on schedule.

Interviewed by IRNA correspondent in Vienna, he noted that the ambassadors of Non-Aligned Movement, chairman of Group 77 and permanent representative of Arab League toured Isfshan's installations in 2007.

The same group has been invited to inspect enrichment installatiosn in Natanz and heavy water facilities in Arak, he said, noting that all of them are scheduled to arrive in Iran on Friday.

"Such an invitation reveals Iran's transparent nuclear policies," he said.

The group of dignitaries includes the "head of NAM troika (Egypt, Cuba and Iran), who is also the Egyptian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, head of the Group of 77 (Algerian ambassador to the IAEA), the Arab League ambassador to the Vienna-based international organizations and Venezuelan and Syrian ambassadors to the IAEA," Ali Asghar Soltanieh told ISNA.

Weather Not to Blame for Iran Crash

Press TV | Jan 13

An Iranian lawmaker has cast doubt on reports blaming Sunday's deadly plane crash in the northwest of the country on poor weather conditions.

"Poor weather conditions should not be announced as the cause of the Tehran-Orumiyeh plane crash," Mehr news agency quoted Mohsen Nariman as saying on Thursday.

"Iran Air is one of the country's major airliners and therefore the occurrence of such an incident to this airline calls for reflection," Nariman noted.

The lawmaker dismissed reports that rushed to blame the deadly accident on poor eyesight caused by bad weather conditions as "a little unbelievable."

Pilots in each flight get informed on the weather conditions of their destinations before the takeoff and the flight was actually allowed after it was assured the weather conditions were favorable for the flight, he argued.

Nariman said Iranian transport minister and Iran Air's directing manager would be summoned by the parliament to answer questions about the professional background of the flight's pilot and give technical information about the Boeing 727.

The parliamentarian also pointed out that the testimonies by survivors from the deadly crash indicated that the pilot was not able to land the plane and had to take off again, which was perhaps due to a faulty engine.

Netanyahu: Sanctions without 'Military Option' Won't Stop Iran

World Tribune | Jan 13

Israel has demanded that international sanctions against Iran be accompanied by plans for a military strike on Teheran's nuclear weapons program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Western and United Nations sanctions have not stopped Iran's drive for nuclear weapons. Netanyahu said sanctions must be bolstered and include preparations for a military strike.

"So, I think this is a prerequisite to make it clear, and the paradox is that if there is a credible military option, you won't have to use it," Netanyahu said.

"They're determined to move ahead despite every difficulty, every obstacle, every setback to create nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said. "And since the purpose of the sanctions is to change that determination, those sanctions have not yet achieved their objective. So I think they should be strictly enforced and I think they should be materially strengthened."

Italy's Oil Import from Iran up 92% Despite Sanctions

Press TV | Jan 13

Despite recent sanctions against Tehran, Italian industry group Unione Petrolifera (UP) says the country's crude oil imports from Iran has increased by 92 percentage points.

In the first 10 months of 2010, Italy's imports of crude oil from Iran, which is its second-biggest supplier, reached 9.07 million tons, Press TV quoted a statement by UP published on its website on Thursday.

Iran's oil accounted for 15.3 percent of total crude imports of Italy, which came in at 63.99 million tons in the January-October period, down 0.2 point from the same period last year, UP statement added.

Imprisoned Female Student Activists Denied Visitation Rights Again

ICHRI | Jan 13

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Mehdi Lalipour, husband of imprisoned student activist and member of the Right to Education Council, Mahdieh Golroo, said that starting this week, both Golroo and Bahareh Hedayat have been barred from having visitors in Evin Prison. After a whole month of being deprived the right to have visitors Golroo and Hedayat were allowed to visit with their families through booths last week, but were once again barred from visits through a new order from the Prosecutor.

Lalipour told the Campaign that he is not aware of the reasons for the visitation ban. "To tell you the truth, we don't know the reason ourselves, either. Up until last week, we thought the reason for the visitation ban was because they were informing Mahdieh of new charges. We thought the issue has been solved when we were given visitation last week. But this week we went to Evin on visiting day. They even read our names and like the other prisoner families, we went up and waited for Mahdieh to be brought in, but she didn't come. All the other prisoners came, but Mahdieh didn't come. We asked and they said that maybe she was left behind. But five minutes later, they came and said that she has a visitation ban," Lalipour said.

Berlin Festival Slams Iran Director Jail Sentence

Al Arabiya | Jan 13

Germany's Berlin film festival condemned what it called the "shocking" sentencing of Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, as the movies that will take part in this year's main competition were announced, including a number of Arabic short movies.

Berlinale chief Dieter Kosslick said the festival, which had recently invited Iranian director Panahi to be part of its jury, is "concerned and filled with indignation."

Panahi, who has won awards at the Chicago, Cannes and Berlin film festivals, has been sentenced to six years in jail on charges of working against the ruling system.

Panahi was also banned from filmmaking or writing dramatic scripts for a period of 20 years, in addition to being banned from travelling abroad or holding any contacts with foreign media.

Hollywood Shines Light on Director Jafar Panahi's Sentencing in Iran

Los Angeles Times | Jan 14

White may be making a comeback on the red carpet this award season, if Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis has anything to say about it.

Haggis, the director of "Crash," and others are urging Hollywood stars to pin on white lapel ribbons to register their opposition to the Iranian government's treatment of acclaimed director Jafar Panahi ("Offside") and fellow filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who were sentenced last month to six years in prison and banned from making movies for 20 years.

Panahi was a supporter of the protest movement that sprang to life after the disputed 2009 reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was arrested in March on charges of conspiring to make an unauthorized movie that chronicled the movement; Rasoulof was accused of collaborating with him.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Lebanon's Government Crisis and the Regional Tides

Helena Cobban (Just World News) | Jan 12

Lots of people have been scrambling to ask what lies behind the decision of Lebanon's Hizbullah-led opposition bloc to pull their 10-plus-1 ministers out of the Doha-launched unity government... And there are no clear answers from anywhere yet.

My sense from afar is that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his friends and backers in Tehran are sending a fairly blunt message to the west (whose leaders often like to describe themselves as the "international community") that regime change is indeed a game that more than one side can play.

If Nasrallah and his friends in Tehran (especially Supreme Leader Khamenei) indeed think the time has come to give the western house of cards in the Middle East a little nudge in Beirut to see what happens, the fallout from this could well end up extending far beyond Lebanon's tiny confines.

Iran's Struggle: The Regime Tightens Its Belt and Its Fist

The Economist | Jan 13

Isolation, international sanctions and the removal of subsidies all herald rocky times ahead for Iran's redoubtable and durable president.

Chronic maladies call for strong medicine, but Mr Ahmadinejad makes an unlikely healer. He is Iran's most polarising president in decades, and has spent much of his five years in office at loggerheads with his rivals at home. For all that, the subsidy reforms enjoy broad support, even from his stiffest critics. Anything less would be considered treasonous, for the Islamic Republic now exists in a carefully managed state of national emergency.

Many in Iran's higher echelons are caught between loyalty to the regime and a desire to see Mr Ahmadinejad fall flat on his face. His chutzpah undimmed, he drives many of his ideological bedfellows to distraction. One upshot of the Islamic Republic's intolerance is that power tussles now centre on personalities, not ideas. Indeed, when the president abruptly fired his foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, in December, it was interpreted as a rebuff to the supreme leader, who had proposed Mr Mottaki in the first place, and a boost for the president's unofficial ambassador-at-large, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai.

Making Dialogue in a Politicized Silence

Farangis Siahpour (Marze Por Gohar via PR Newswire) | Jan 13

Underground Cinema and literature is mostly about humanity and its struggle in society. This human being is trying to open up the circle that he encounters; he tries to escape boundaries, to break through a "closed circle." Even when it seems the social restrictions never end. In "The Circle" (2000) by Jafar Panahi which is banned in Iran (along with "Offside" and "Crimson Gold"), the metaphor became explicit when the movie ends on the rebirth of the other individual, as we ask ourselves: is it possible to open up this circle someday?

In one of the final sequences in "Offside", the inquisitive girl asks to speak with the soldier: "I want to speak just 2 words," she said, but the soldier just shouted louder as if there is no dialogue. This is how the evolution of the Islamic regime develops as the gap between authority and democracy widens. The soldiers have fallen victim to authoritarianism: they are forced to carry out the unjust laws created by the authoritarian regime.

I would have to say the entire Iranian population is imprisoned on their own land and is strictly of an Islamic political doctrine. But as the final sequence in "Offside" becomes futuristic when the specter of the morality police and their scary van doesn't dampen people's spirit and they can't hear what's happening in the game. No matter how hard a "Regime" tries to isolate and alienate a population, people will continue to connect.

Panahi has been sentenced to six years in prison and is banned from film making for twenty years. He is not the first one, nor the last.

Panahi hopes for the reform.

I don't.

I believe reform would not be the final solution as long as religion has its grip on politics, culture, and society. Previous regime presidents have similar records while in power.

State Dept. Hypocrisy on Iran's Fuel Row with Afghanistan

Ali Gharib (Lobelog.com) | Jan 13

This is pretty rich. Iran, a country under economic sanctions by international bodies, the West, and, particularly, the U.S., has reportedly been stymying gas trucks crossing its border into war-ravaged Afghanistan. That country, of course, is consumed at the moment by a war between insurgents and an army from the West (NATO) and, pointedly, the U.S.

Just a week after an Iranian plan crashed, killing scores, which was quite possibly caused by the deterioration of Iranian commercial planes due to sanctions restricting spare parts, the U.S. is speaking about the right of every country to have access to energy. This comes while Congress and the Obama administration have put into place sanctions that specifically target Iranian access to refined gas. Do you see the irony?

Here's State Department spokesperson P.J. Crowley -- who has more or less said in the past that the sanctions packages are a means to put pressure on Iranians as a collective, not just the leadership -- responding to a question at a daily briefing in Washington:

QUESTION: Some kind of economic tension is brewing up between Afghanistan and Iran. Iran has blocked the supply of gas to Afghanistan, which has led to increasing gas prices and shortages of gas in Afghanistan. What do you have to say about that -- on that?

MR. CROWLEY: I mean, we are watching closely that development. Energy is a critical resource to any country and any economy, and it should be available at whatever the appropriate market price is.

Want to qualify that statement now to say that gas should only be available to those countries that the U.S. believes deserve it?

The WikiLeaks-Iran Connection

Yossi Melman (Haaretz) | Jan 12

On November 4, Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, arrived in Geneva. He held a press conference in which he hinted that he was considering requesting political asylum in Switzerland. Assange spent two days there as the guest of an Iranian non-governmental organization, which also sponsored the press conference.

The NGO is called the International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights, but the impressive title conceals the Iranian government, which finances the organization. Assange's press conference took place in a building of one of the UN institutions in the city. Iranian diplomats were in the audience, and Iranian photo crews made sure to document who was there, until one of the UN security people told them to stop. It's unclear what Assange, the founder of a website that discloses secrets, and Iran, have to do with each other. WikiLeaks did not respond when asked to comment.