Dear Friend,
We are delighted to present you with the current issue of Iran Update, a publication of International Solidarity for Democratic Change in Iran (ISDCI). |
Iran steps up campaign against activists and lawyers
Guardian
Saeed Kamali Dehghan
6 September 2010
Iran has launched a fresh crackdown on human rights activists by arresting an outspoken Iranian lawyer and charging a young activist with "waging war against God", a crime punishable by death in Iranian law.
On Saturday Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has represented several political activists and protesters arrested in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election last summer, was arrested and charged with "propaganda against the regime" and "acting against national security".
...
Read More | |
Iran remains defiant, nuclear agency says
The New York Times
DAVID E. SANGER and WILLIAM J. BROAD
6 September 2010
WASHINGTON - Three months after the United Nations Security Council enacted its harshest sanctions yet against Iran, global nuclear inspectors reported Monday that the country has dug in its heels, refusing to provide inspectors with information and access they need to determine whether the real purpose of Tehran's program is to produce weapons.
The agency protested that Iran had banned two of its most experienced inspectors from the country. The report indicated that for two years, since August 2008, Iran has refused to answer questions "about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed nuclear related activities involving military-related organizations, including activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile." The report said it was "essential that Iran engage with the agency on these issues" because evidence can degrade with "the passage of time."
...
Read More | |
Report: Iran paying Taliban to kill U.S. troops
Fox News
ADAM ENTOUS
6 September 2010
KABUL -- At least five Iranian companies in Afghanistan's capital are using their offices covertly to finance Taliban militants in provinces near Kabul, according to an investigation by London's Sunday Times.
Afghan intelligence and Taliban sources have told the newspaper that the firms, set up in the past six months, provide cash for a network of district Taliban treasurers to pay battlefield expenses and bonuses for killing the enemy and destroying their vehicles.
The Iranian companies win contracts to supply materials and logistics to Afghans involved in reconstruction. The money often comes in the form of aid from foreign donors.
Profits are transferred through poorly regulated Afghan banks - including Kabul Bank, which is partly owned by President Hamid Karzai's brother Mahmood - to Tehran and Dubai.
From these countries, the money returns to Afghanistan through the informal Islamic banking system known as hawala to be dispersed to the Taliban.
...
Read More | |
Bahrain hints at Iranian involvement in plot to overthrow government
The Daily Telegraph
Adrian Blomfield
6 September 2010
Bahrain has hinted that Iran was implicated in an alleged plot to overthrow its government after 23 prominent opposition leaders were charged with terrorism offences in the US-backed Gulf kingdom.
Authorities in the island state, which serves as a US naval base, made the arrests during weeks of unrest in the run-up to a parliamentary election next month.
Officials said activists were members of "a terrorist network with international support" and were planning a campaign of "violence, intimidation and subversion". ... Read More | |
Blair warns on Iran's nuclear program
The Wall Street Journal
ADAM ENTOUS
6 September 2010
WASHINGTON-Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday said the international community should be prepared to confront Iran with tougher sanctions, and possibly military action, in an effort to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, U.S. officials have recently argued that newly imposed international sanctions are having a larger-than-expected impact on Iran's economy and appeared to be slowing the pace of its nuclear development. Tehran says its program is intended for peaceful power generation. Mr. Blair, speaking on ABC News's "This Week," appeared not to rule out the possibility that a nuclear-armed Iran could be contained, but said it wasn't worth the risk. "I had someone say to me....'Come on, look, supposing Iran gets the nuclear weapon, it's not the end of the world. I mean, why should they want to use it? Why would they want to cause all that destruction?' " Mr. Blair said. "It's a perfectly sensible argument you hear. And who knows, they may be right. All I know is, if I was a decision maker, I wouldn't take the risk." ... Read More | |
Vatican: stoning in Iran adultery case 'brutal'
Associated Press
FRANCES D'EMILIO
5 September 2010
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican raised the possibility Sunday of using behind-the-scenes diplomacy to try to save the life of an Iranian widow sentenced to be stoned for adultery. In its first public statement on the case, which has attracted worldwide attention, the Vatican decried stoning as a particularly brutal form of capital punishment. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the Catholic church opposes the death penalty in general. It is unclear what chances any Vatican bid would have to persuade the Muslim nation to spare the woman's life. Brazil, which has friendly relations with Iran, was rebuffed when it offered her asylum. ... Read More | |
|
|
Thank you for your reading Iran Update. We welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
ISDCI News Group |
|
|
|
