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THE LEAD

Iranians Stage Mass Protest against 'Great Satan' US

AFP | Nov 4

Thousands of Iranians chanted "Death to America" as they staged a mass protest on Thursday against the "Great Satan" to mark the 31st anniversary of the capture of the US embassy by Islamist students.

Iran annually on November 4 marks the anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy by students in Tehran in 1979, just months after the Islamic revolution toppled the US-backed shah.

The embassy has remained shuttered and the US and Iran have since had no diplomatic ties.

On Thursday, waving Iranian flags and carrying anti-US banners alongside posters of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the largely young crowd also shouted anti-Israel slogans outside the US embassy site.

Banners saying "I will give my life for the leader (Khamenei)" and another quoting Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as saying "If you want to shout, shout at the US" were displayed at the embassy compound.

One demonstrator at Thursday's annual event, which down the years has become a cornerstone of the Islamic regime, said the "criminal Americans had to be thrown out" as he praised the embassy seizure.

"Now we don't need them and we don't want to have anything to do with them," the young man, who gave his name only as Ali, told AFP.

Ezatollah Zaragami, who heads Iran's state media and was the keynote speaker at the rally and one of the 1979 hostage takers, hit out at US President Barack Obama for acting "weakly and badly when it comes to his foreign policy."

The rally organisers said in their final declaration that Iran considers "America as the Great Satan and enemy number one."

Iranian Protesters Mark 1979 U.S. Embassy Takeover

AP (via Tabnak) | Nov 4

[Along with the U.S. Embassy event,] demonstrators [...] pelted the British diplomatic compound with eggs and tomatoes Thursday in separate rallies held under tight security but without challenges from opposition groups.

The protests outside the former American Embassy were well-scripted events to mark the anniversary of the 1979 storming of the site -- which began a 444-day hostage crisis and severed Washington's ties with Iran.

Despite the familiar chants against the United States, protesters did not appear to burn U.S. flags in what could be a rare nod of approval to Washington for adding an Iranian militant group to its terrorist list.

The anti-British demonstration, however, included the Union Jack going up in flames. The protest appeared to be reaction to Iran's announcement that it had arrested four suspected members of a Kurdish rebel group with a top official allegedly living in Britain.

The opposition Jaras website posted a statement applauding the "brave" takeover of the U.S. Embassy to protest American support for the pro-Western shah, who had been toppled by the Islamic Revolution months earlier.

Washington cut diplomatic ties after militant students stormed the embassy and held 52 hostages for 444 days.

But the Jaras statement also warned Iran's leaders to "learn a lesson" from the power of protesters in the Islamic Revolution and "don't go farther down the path of selfishness and despotism."

Outside the former embassy, crowds -- including many schoolchildren bused to the event -- chanted anti-American slogans and taunted effigies of Uncle Sam and President Obama.

Jailed Nasrin Sotoudeh Back on Hunger Strike

Radio Farda (via Persian2English) | Nov 4

Reza Khandan has confirmed that his wife, jailed human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, is back on hunger strike. She began the hunger strike on Sunday to protest the mishandling of her case file.

In an interview with Radio Farda, Khandan said that Sotoudeh is on a dry hunger strike. He stated that during their last meeting his wife was "extremely weak, her face had turned black and the children cried the whole time."

Nasrin Sotoudeh had previously gone on hunger strike on September 25th and stopped around October 26th. According to her husband, the human rights lawyer had threatened that she would go on hunger strike again if her prison conditions did not change. Khandan said, "Mrs. Sotoudeh is protesting her incarceration along with the mishandling of her case file. She had said in the past that she would break her first hunger strike only on the condition that the promises made to her were kept, but it is now clear that nothing has changed."

This is happening even though there was news that on Sunday, Tehran's Attorney General visited the prison and had a meeting with Sotoudeh. Khandan said that Sotoudeh had already begun her hunger strike that day and, since her meeting with Tehran's Attorney General did not change her mind about anything, she has re-commenced her hunger strike.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is charged with acting against national security, congregation and collusion with intent to disrupt national security, and cooperation with the Center for Human Rights Defenders. She is incarcerated since September 3, 2010.

The lawyer's immediate release has been requested by many human rights agencies including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders.

Political and human rights activists have also protested against her arrest and demanded her release, including Vaclav Havel (former president of the Czech Republic), Shirin Ebadi (human rights lawyer), and Zahra Rahnavard (wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi).

Life of Jailed Human Rights Lawyer at Great Risk

ICHRI | Nov 4

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, should immediately intervene with Iranian authorities to ensure the physical well being of detained human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

On Sunday, 31 October, Sotoudeh, one of Iran's most prominent human rights lawyers went on a dry hunger strike protesting her detention and ill treatment inside Tehran's Evin prison. Her family reported that her health is quickly deteriorating.

"As High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay has a duty to come to the aid of embattled human rights defenders," said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign. "Her failure to respond to systematic persecution and prosecution of human rights lawyers, including Sotoudeh, would be cause for concern."

"Sotoudeh is putting her life on the line not only for the rights of people in Iran, but for the very principles the UN was founded to uphold," he added.

Sotoudeh, who has defended Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi and numerous other human rights activists [...] has been held in solitary confinement as she awaits trial on charges of "acting against national security," "congregation and collusion with intent to disrupt national security," and "cooperation with the Center for Human Rights Defenders." Her trial is scheduled to start on 15 November. Colleagues have received reports that Sotoudeh has been tortured in order to coerce a confession.

"Previously, she had told the authorities in charge that if things improve and normal legal procedures are followed in her case, she would end her hunger strike. But her situation not only did not improve, it has worsened," Khandan said.

"Her case is not following proper procedures," Khandan added. "She is kept in an irregular situation. She has been in solitary confinement for days. I don't understand why they would treat a lawyer like her this way."

OTHER NEWS

Iran Welcomes US Move on Jundallah

Press TV | Nov 4

Iran has welcomed a decision by the United States to add the anti-Iran Jundallah terrorist group on its list of foreign terrorist organizations.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran considers putting the name of (Abdolmalek) Rigi's terrorist group on the US national list of terror organizations as a move in the right direction," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Thursday.

"Fighting terrorism is a general responsibility of all nations," he went on to say.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will assess the change in US policy in practice regarding its support for (anti-Iran) terrorist groups, including Jundallah, Tondar and PJAK," the spokesman emphasized.

The group's leader Abdolmalek Rigi was captured by Iranian intelligence forces in February 2010 and executed in June on charges of 79 counts of crimes, including armed robbery, bombing operations and armed attacks on police and civilians.

In confessions after his arrest, Rigi offered detailed accounts of his talks with US representatives that offered him financial and military resources in exchange of waging an insurgency war in Iran. Rigi regularly appeared in official media outlets of the US and UK, boosting his criminal activities against Iranians.

Major US-based broadcaster ABC News reported in 2007 that Jundallah "has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials" to destabilize the government in Iran.

Tehrani Students Call for Expulsion of British Ambassador

Tabnak | Nov 4

A group of students, gathering in front of the British embassy in Tehran on Thursday afternoon, called for expulsion of the British ambassador from Iran.

Concurrent with the ceremonies marking the 31st anniversary of the US embassy takeover by students on Nov. 4, the students rallied in front of the British embassy in protest to the recent statements by the British MI6 chief John Sawers against Iran, the Persian service of Fars news agency reported Thursday.

John Sawers, the chairman of Britain's spying apparatus MI6, has conceded a few days ago that his agency was carrying out espionage operations in Iran.

"Diplomacy alone would not be enough to disrupt Iran's nuclear program", the MI6 chief claimed, disclosing the 'espionage-led diplomacy' strategy the West is currently pursuing vis-à-vis Iran and its nuclear issue.

"Stopping nuclear proliferation cannot be addressed purely by conventional diplomacy. We need intelligence-led operations to make it more difficult for countries such as Iran to develop nuclear weapons," he added.

Sawers also said that "the revelations around Iran's secret enrichment site at Qom were an intelligence success. They led to diplomatic pressure on Iran intensifying, with tougher US and EU sanctions."

During the rally, the university students joined by school students shouted slogans such as: "British embassy must be closed down", "British ambassador must be expelled," "The old fox home must be closed down" and "Den of conspiracy and corruption must be closed down."

The students were also carrying hand-written banners that read "Death to the US", "Death to Britain" and "British embassy must be closed down."

Meanwhile, the US, British and Israeli flags were burnt by the students during the rally.

Britain Blasts Iran Claim of Terror Support

VOA | Nov 4

British authorities are dismissing Iranian state TV claims that four Kurdish men accused of carrying out assassinations are linked to Britain.

Iran's intelligence ministry is claiming to have broken up a cell of Kurdish terrorists with alleged links to the British spy agency. Iranian TV said four Kurds responsible for a number of assassinations inside Iran since 2008 are under arrest.

Tehran's Press TV said the four confessed to be working on orders from Jalil Fattahi, a Kurdish militant believed to be living in the United Kingdom. Iranian officials said Britain not only has funded terrorists groups, but also is spying inside Iran.

The British Foreign Office said the charge of supporting terrorism was part of a "long line of slurs" against Britain.

A British government statement said the charges are just the latest in a long history of baseless Iranian allegations. It added that Britain does not support or encourage terrorist activity in Iran, or anywhere else in the world.

Iran's intelligence ministry said the four under arrest belong to the Kurdish rebel group Komala. One of the men, identified as Bakhtiar Memari, claims to have received weapons from a Komala representative in Iraqi Kurdistan to carry out the assassinations.

Looking haggard and speaking softly, Memari complained that he was being turned into a scapegoat. He insists that he is not the only guilty party, and he is being forced to shoulder the blame for others outside the country who also should be punished.

Iran Says Its Aid to Afghanistan Totals $500 Million

Reuters | Nov 4

Iran, which the United States and its NATO allies accuse of destabilizing Afghanistan, has provided some $500 million in aid for its conflict-torn neighbor, a senior Iranian official said on Thursday.

The statement from Mahmoud Barimani, head of international economic and specialized organizations at Iran's Foreign Ministry, came just over a week after Afghan President Hamid Karzai admitted his office gets "bags of money" from Iran.

"In recent years, we have undertaken some projects ... aimed at rebuilding and reconstructing the country, focusing on infrastructure and capacity building," Barimani told a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on Afghanistan.

"So far, the Islamic Republic of Iran's official assistance to Afghanistan amounts to about $500 million for these projects," he said.

Barimani said that Iran, like other states in the region, "has a vital interest in a secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan at peace with itself and with its neighbors."

Expulsion of Two Student Activists from Mazandaran Universities

ICHRI | Nov 4

An informed student activist told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that two Mazandaran Province political student activists were expelled from university. The students are Kaveh Daneshvar, a student at Babol Noshirvani Industrial University, and Behnam Farazmand, a student at Mazandaran University.

Behnam Farazmand is a student activist and member of the Mazandaran University Islamic Students Association. He was twice arrested by Mazandaran security forces during post-election events and has been suspended for three terms. The source told the Campaign that Farazmand is awaiting a court ruling. Mazandaran University authorities did not allow Farazmand to enroll in classes this fall and he was dismissed on orders from the University Chancellor.

Kaveh Daneshvar is the former secretary of the Student Guild Council of Noshirvani University. Daneshvar previously went on strike to protest the widespread arrests of Noshirvani University student activists. He was interrogated after being summoned to the Intelligence Office of Babol. Daneshvar was suspended for two semesters by the Disciplinary Committee of Noshirvani University and immediately expelled by the university chancellor after his suspension was over. After appealing the decision, Daneshvar was officially expelled from the Ministry of Science in October 2010.

Retired Revolutionary Guard Commander Arrested, Intelligence Officials Disavow Knowledge

ICHRI | Nov 4

A reliable source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the fate of activist and Iran-Iraq war era deputy Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Reza Farzin, remains unknown. Farzin was arrested two weeks ago by IRGC intelligence officers in Khorasan and transferred to an unknown location. The Intelligence Office of the City of Mashad disavowed knowledge regarding his whereabouts. Due to his heart condition, Farzin's arrest has gravely worried his family. Farzin had open heart surgery last year and also suffers from hypertension.

The source who is close to the Farzin family, told the Campaign that nine intelligence officers of the IRGC stormed into Farzin's home without presenting a warrant while his wife and daughters were without their hejab, dressed in comfortable clothing, and eating breakfast. "The intelligence officers inspected family photos and videos of the former IRGC commander, obscenely looked through the wardrobes of his daughters, insulted him and his family, and, in a word, violated the sanctity of this religious family," the source said.

During the reform era, Mohammad Reza Farzin was Mashad Municipality's Cultural Deputy. He is also a film director, and until a month ago, was teaching a film directing course at Mashad's Applied Sciences University. Due to his political activities and by orders from security officials, Farzin was removed from his professorship at the University, and was dismissed last month. All of his professional films and other equipment were confiscated by intelligence officers.

'The Bloggers Must Be Acquitted and Judges Be Put on Trial'

ICHRI | Nov 4

Mohammad Seifzadeh, lawyer in the "Bloggers Case," spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran saying despite a ruling being issued in the case, officials have not served him with the decision. Six years have passed since 21 journalists and technical staff of several websites were arrested. So far, the court has changed the presiding judge twice, just as acquittals seemed likely. There have been calls for former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, who was responsible for the court file, to be held accountable for his illegal actions in arresting the bloggers. This year, Mortazavi was suspended for his role in the transfer of some prisoners to Kahrizak detention center, where at least four died from severe torture. After several years, four of the accused bloggers have been sentenced to prison terms by lower courts.

Bloggers Omid Memarian, Roozbeh Mir Ebrahimi, Shahram Rafizadeh, and Javad Gholam Tamimi were arrested in October 2004 and are being tried on charges of "disturbing national security," "membership in organizations which are active inside and outside the country with the aim of disrupting national security", "propaganda against the state", "publishing lies with the intent to create public anxiety by writing articles in illegal newspapers and websites, such as Emrooz and Gooya", and "interviews with foreign radio stations." The other seventeen people arrested were released after a few months.

"After all that injustice and cruelty to which the bloggers were subjected, and the illegal and immoral actions taken in the case of the four bloggers, there was a deep feeling of regret. The late Mr. Karimi Rad, the Justice Minister at the time, and one of the members of the committee announced that the suspects must all be cleared of all charges, and only four of them should stand trial based on Islamic criteria and the law. In numerous meetings, two of which were also attended by Shirin Ebadi, the Prosecutor representative failed to present any criminal evidence against the bloggers. He kept referencing the news websites for which the accused wrote, none of which were considered criminal activities," Seifzadeh added.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Powers Jostle for Influence

Marwan Al Kabalan (Gulf News) | Nov 4

As a consequence of the disastrous policies of the US in the region, the Middle East has become the arena where the two regional heavyweights -- Iran and Saudi Arabia -- are competing for influence.

The clash of interests manifested itself in the ongoing tension in Lebanon, the contest between Fatah and Hamas for Palestinian leadership, and the conflict in Yemen between Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

It is Iraq however which is increasingly becoming the key point of contention between the two countries. With the imminent departure of all US troops from the country and with the ongoing political stalemate that has created a power vacuum, Saudi Arabia and Iran jostle for influence.

Fearing the possibility of a tacit US-Iran understanding to back a Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz called last week for a meeting for all Iraqi leaders in Makkah following the Haj season. The call implicated that Riyadh cannot stand idle watching Iraqi Sunnis being sidelined and excluded from the power sharing formula negotiated between Washington and Tehran.

Clearly, Riyadh does not prefer the current Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to retain his position for fear that he will allow Iran to dominate Iraq. Meanwhile, Iran works hard to prevent the Saudi-backed former prime minister and leader of the Iraqiya bloc Eyad Allawi from replacing Al Maliki as prime minister.

DOCUMENTS & DECLARATIONS

A Letter by Majid Dori from Exile: 'The Behbahani People Have Broken My Solitude'

Letter by Imprisoned Student Activist Majid Dori (Kaleme via BanooyeSabz) | Nov 3

Majid Dori, the imprisoned, starred student banned from continuing his education, was recently exiled from Evin to Behbahan prison [...] one thousand kilometers away from the residence of his parents. (The system of issuing stars against students was developed by Iran's Ministry of Advanced Education so students with disciplinary issues would get penalized. After a student collects a certain number of stars, he or she is banned from education. The system is primarily used against student activists.) Majid will now have to complete the remaining five years of his prison sentence in Behbahan. In his latest letter, however, Majid does not speak of the thousand kilometers distance between him and his parents. Instead, he informed them that he is not alone.

Majid told his family that he no longer feels alone; that he is amongst the warm and kindhearted Behbahanis who are happy to meet a freedom-fighting student activist and have accepted him with open arms.

May he who stands in the way of you and I becoming us, see his home destroyed;

In the name of freedom; the freedom which I roared and for which I was deprived of a right to eduction;

In the name of freedom; the freedom which I screamed and for which I was imprisoned;

In the name of freedom; the freedom which I uttered and for which I was sent to exile...

In the name of freedom; the freedom that once tasted, [now] makes you immune to chains, imprisonment, exile and execution;

I salute freedom! I salute the innocent blood that was shed in its pursuit;

I salute the lives we lost for the cause of freedom.

On Saturday morning, they transferred me from Evin to Behbahan prison. I have been charged with Moharebeh "enemy of God" and sentenced in Judge PirAbasi's courtroom; a courtroom where my lawyers and I were deprived of the opportunity to present a defense.

Receiving the Moharebeh sentence evokes fear in any human being. I became a Mohareb because I refused to live like an animal. If defending the right to education, the undeniable and inalienable right of every individual is waging war against God, then I am a Mohareb. If helping political prisoners, if showing compassion and sympathy toward their families is waging war against God, then I am a Mohareb. If publishing the names of those who have been killed and arrested and obtaining legal representation for those who have been arrested without cause and taken to undisclosed locations by unknown individuals is waging war against God, then I am a Mohareb. Yes, I am a Mohareb. No matter when or where, I am proud to be a Mohareb; this war is worth fighting as it is in the pursuit of freedom.

Do you believe that if people hear that I have provided comfort to families of political prisoners, supported a lonely prisoner, and published the names of those who have been killed and arrested, then they will belittle and humiliate me? Do you truly believe that incarceration and exile can stand in the way of humanity?

Those who came to power as a result of fraud, lies and denial and have entrenched themselves through suppression and intimidation will resort to anything in order to remain in power. Those who view every humane act as evil, every critical thought as an act by a Mohareb, and every innovative idea as destructive have no choice but to use endless suppression as a tool to silence the masses.

Here is to a new dawn that will bury the darkness in the dungeons of history, ensuring that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice. May God help those who must stand before the people tomorrow and be accountable for their inhumane acts. If only they would at minimum adhere to the slogans they chant to others and the laws they so often make references to; if only they would practice what they preach and what they claim to be legal.

I have now been transferred to Behbahan prison in southern Iran, a prison that lacks medical and cultural facilities. When I first arrived I never believed that I would be able to continue, to endure the conditions in a prison where prisoners co-exist regardless of their crimes. I didn't think I could survive in a prison where there are no political prisoners, where most prisoners have committed crimes such as murder, drug trafficking and theft. I thought I would be alone and out of place...

But the warm and familiar voices of the Behbahani's warmed the frozen blood in my veins. When the Behbahanis came to the prison gate on visitation day and asked to see me, the thousand kilometer distance between me and my family was no longer unbearable.

I was no longer alone. I no longer feel as though I am in exile. Today from behind the thick walls of this prison I pay my respect to every single one of them and say to my parents, "Father, mother, I am not alone here. My Behbahani fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters shattered my feeling of loneliness and exile. I can now proudly cry out, I too am a Behbahani! The citizens of Behbahan have accepted me with open arms. I salute their honor and dignity!"

I look forward to the day that as a result of our efforts and suffering, you and I become us...

Majid Dori
November 2010 Behbahan Prison