Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

RFE/RL Iran Report - 08/02/2005

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • RFE/RL Iran Report - 08/02/2005

    RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
    _________________________________________ ____________________
    RFE/RL Iran Report
    Vol. 8, No. 30, 2 August 2005

    A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
    of RFE/RL's Newsline Team

    ************************************************** **********
    HEADLINES:
    * A CABINET POSITION IS NOT ENOUGH FOR SOME
    * VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN KURDISH REGIONS
    * PORTION OF EASTERN IRAN QUARANTINED
    * TEHRAN DEFENDS ITS HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD
    * SKEPTICISM ABOUT SIGNIFICANCE OF REPORT ON IRANIAN PRISONS
    * CLERICS CALL FOR JOURNALIST'S RELEASE
    * IRANIANS ARRESTED FOR INTERNATIONAL DRUG ACTIVITIES
    * IRAN THREATENED BY DRUGS AND AIDS
    * TEHRAN AND BERLIN BEGIN WAR OF WORDS
    * IRAN ALLEGEDLY PURCHASING NUCLEAR-WEAPON PARTS
    * KHATAMI SAYS URANIUM CONVERSION TO BEGIN
    * IRANIAN NUCLEAR PLANS WORRY FRANCE
    * WASHINGTON SHARES IRANIAN MISSILE DATA WITH IAEA
    * IRANIAN SATELLITE LAUNCH ANNOUNCED
    * IRAN AND UKRAINE SIGN GAS-PIPELINE MEMORANDUM
    * IRAN STRUGGLES TO PUSH AHEAD WITH INDIA PIPELINE
    ************************************************** **********

    A CABINET POSITION IS NOT ENOUGH FOR SOME. Supreme Leader Ayatollah
    Ali Khamenei was expected officially to confirm Mahmud Ahmadinejad as
    president on 3 August, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
    reported on 17 July, and Ahmadinejad will be sworn in on 6 August.
    The new president will have 15 days to introduce his proposed cabinet
    members to the parliament for approval, according to parliamentarian
    Hamid Reza Haji-Babai.
    Ahmadinejad's future cabinet continues to be a topic of
    discussion in the Tehran press (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 13 July
    2005). Now, the discussion is not so much about the actual choices as
    it is about the selection process. One aspect of this process focuses
    on the permissibility of a cabinet member continuing to serve on a
    municipal council. Another aspect of the process focuses on
    intra-factional differences among the hard-liners who backed
    Ahmadinejad's presidential bid.

    Splits Among The Victors

    "Mardom Salari" reported on 21 July that the majority faction
    in the legislature objects to the team selecting the cabinet, and
    although it did not provide any details on this "team," it put this
    argument in the context of disagreements between members of the
    Islamic Iran Developers Coalition in the legislature and in the
    Tehran municipal council. Developers in the legislature mostly backed
    the candidacies of Ali Larijani and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in the
    first round of the presidential election. The Developers in the
    municipal council, however, backed Ahmadinejad consistently.
    A reference to these splits appeared in the 7 July "Farhang-i
    Ashti," which reported that the 15 members of the municipal council
    plan to form an independent group. The same day, "Mardom Salari"
    reported that the Developers do not want to lose control of the
    municipal council. At the same time, they believe they should have a
    role in Ahmadinejad's administration.
    The 15 hard-line Developers also fear that if they leave the
    council, they will be replaced by reformists. This is because,
    according to the regulations, they would be replaced by the
    council-election runners-up. No. 16 in the council race was a leading
    reformist, Mustafa Tajzadeh. Tajzadeh, as well as national-religious
    activist Gholam Abbas Tavasoli, are anticipating the hard-liners'
    resignations, "Farhang-i Ashti" reported on 3 July.
    Council member and Developer Mehdi Chamran, therefore, is
    putting off the possibility of a position as cabinet member or
    government spokesman, while the council is claiming that the law does
    not prevent individuals from serving in the government and the
    council.
    On the possibility of serving in two positions, Chamran said,
    "The only problem is in practice, in terms of time, and members are
    concerned by that," "Etemad" reported on 6 July. "The workload has
    taken up so much time that members have little time left for other
    matters." Another council member, Amir-Reza Vaezi-Ashtiani, said the
    legislature and the Guardians Council are to weigh in on the issue.
    Government officials' comments did not clarify the
    situation. Interior Ministry spokesman Jahanbakhsh Khanjani said
    Article 141 of the constitution and Article 28 of the law on
    municipal councils forbid vice presidents, cabinet ministers, or
    presidential advisers from being members of municipal councils,
    "Etemad" reported on 6 July. Judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimi-Rad
    cited a law ratified in 1994-96, "indicating that city council
    members are not considered government employees, and stating that
    someone in the city council can also be in the cabinet."

    Old School v. New School

    "Farhang-i Ashti" on 21 July put the dispute in terms of the
    rivalry between the young right wing and the traditionalist right
    wing. An editorial in the 19 July issue of the same newspaper said
    the traditional right, which has its roots in the Qom seminary and in
    the country's "economic centers" (presumably, the bazaar), fears
    that it is being slowly eliminated.
    Reflecting the old right is Islamic Coalition Party central
    council member Habibullah Asgaroladi-Mosalman, who is deputy leader
    of the Coordination Council of Islamic Revolution Forces that backed
    Ali Larijani's presidential bid. He advised the president-elect
    to "draw a line of moderation between opting for the youth and
    valuing those with experience," "Shoma" reported on 16 July. "The
    next government's ministers, while they should be young,
    specialists, and competent, they must at the same time have had some
    on the job experience, even if it is brief."

    Everybody Has An Opinion

    These are not the only aspects of the cabinet-selection
    process that interest Iranian commentators.
    Mohammad Reza Khatami, secretary-general of the reformist
    Islamic Iran Participation Party, called for a politically united
    cabinet that would take full responsibility for its actions, "Aftab-i
    Yazd" reported on 23 July.
    Legislator Fatemeh Ajarlu said the president-elect wants to
    use new faces, "Farhang-i Ashti" reported on 21 July. "Aftab-i Yazd"
    advised Ahmadinejad on 21 July to ignore calls for a bipartisan
    cabinet and to instead choose officials who can work together. This
    would eliminate ministers attributing their shortcomings to politics
    or rivalries.
    "Kayhan" on 19 July cited interviews with various legislators
    and commentators who in the midst of advising Ahmadinejad on
    selecting his cabinet, called for reforms in the Foreign Ministry,
    Interior Ministry, Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance, and
    Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
    Perhaps the final word should go to Basij commander Mohammad
    Hejazi, whose institution allegedly played such an important role in
    Ahmadinejad's victory. Hejazi said at a conference of the Basij
    units at state organizations and trade guilds, "The person who has
    been elected by the people as the next president is a Basiji
    personality, and it is expected that he is going to appoint aides and
    managers who espouse the Basiji mode of thought as well," "Iran"
    reported on 7 July. Hejazi predicted that Basij members in government
    organizations will have an important role in the future. (Bill Samii)

    VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN KURDISH REGIONS. Five Iranian security officers
    were killed and four were wounded in a clash with PKK affiliates
    (PJAK, Kurdistan Independent Life Party) from midnight to early
    morning on 27 July in Siahkuh, a mountainous area between Oshnovieh
    and Piranshahr, Baztab reported. The Kurds were armed with mortars,
    heavy machine guns, and light machine guns.
    The "Milliyet" newspaper from Turkey reported one day earlier
    that Iran has launched a major operation along its border with Iraq
    and Turkey. According to the Turkish daily, 16 Iranian soldiers and
    four Kurds were killed in battles "in the Kelaresh and Milgever areas
    along the Turkish border and in the Gaddare areas near the town of
    Shino, near the border with Iraq." Iranian personnel reportedly are
    operating in the areas near Marivan and Baneh, Piranshahr and
    Mahabad, and Sardasht.
    The Sanandaj Revolutionary Court has summoned two Kurdistan
    University student activists, Asu Saleh and Chia Hejazi, the
    university's Students Islamic Association head, Nusratullah
    Shariati, said on 25 July, according to the Iranian Students News
    Agency (ISNA). Shariati said the two are charged with disturbing
    public opinion through their election-related activities. These
    activities included inviting reformist speakers.
    In another predominantly Kurdish town, Mahabad, West
    Azerbaijan Province, Governor Said Maruf-Samadi said on 24 July that
    shops have reopened after officials met with the local shopkeepers
    guild, the municipal council, and community leaders, ISNA reported.
    The closures took place amid disturbances that followed
    authorities' shooting and killing a local activist known as
    Shavaneh (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 19 July 2005). Maruf-Samadi said
    most of the 64 people who were arrested have been released, but 11
    remain in detention. (Bill Samii)

    PORTION OF EASTERN IRAN QUARANTINED. The authorities have closed the
    Nishabur-Mashhad highway until further notice, Iranian state radio
    reported on 28 July. "Police forces closed the main road between
    Mashhad and Nishabur in order to maintain calm, following the protest
    by a number of citizens in Kharveyn, Razavi Khorasan Province." State
    radio reported that the unrest follows the arrest of two people
    involved with an earlier protest against the failure to make Kharveyn
    a "local administrative center." (Bill Samii)

    TEHRAN DEFENDS ITS HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD. Reacting to a recent British
    report on human rights in Iran, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said
    in Tehran on 24 July that such reports are "irrelevant," IRNA
    reported. "Islam-bashing is on the rise in European states and
    attacks on mosques are a token of human right violations in Europe
    which should be paid attention to." Kharrazi said Iran plans to
    report on human rights in other countries. He did not speculate on
    the reaction such a report would receive.
    The "Annual Report on Human Rights 2005" from the Foreign and
    Commonwealth Office
    (http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/Sh
    owPage&c=Page&cid=1119526503628) was released on 21 July. "There has
    been no significant progress in Iran since our last Annual Report;
    human rights have deteriorated further in many areas." The report
    notes increased censorship, particularly of the Internet. It also
    refers to arrests of human rights defenders, restrictions on workers,
    abuses in prisons, and discrimination against women. The report notes
    the lack of progress in the EU-Iran human rights dialogue. (Bill
    Samii)

    SKEPTICISM ABOUT SIGNIFICANCE OF REPORT ON IRANIAN PRISONS. Iranian
    prisons hold 132,564 inmates, Iranian Judiciary spokesman Jamal
    Karimirad said on 26 July, IRNA reported. Saying that this is the
    figure for the period ending 21 June, Karimirad said this shows a
    2.64 percent decrease compared to one year earlier. Six years ago,
    Iranian prisons held 185,000 people, Karimirad said. Most of the
    incoming convicts are imprisoned for drug offenses. There are 4,707
    females inmates, he added, and 5,330 foreign ones.
    In an unprecedented development, the Iranian judiciary
    released a report on 24 July that details abusive human rights
    practices in the country's prisons. Tehran Justice Department
    chief Abbas Alizadeh noted that Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmud
    Hashemi-Shahrudi has issued a directive on civil rights, but that
    many of the practices run counter to this directive, "Aftab-i Yazd"
    and other news sources reported. In one case, for example, a
    13-year-old was jailed for stealing a chicken, and in another case a
    women in her 80s was jailed for financial difficulties.
    The report also notes the detention facilities where the most
    serious problems occur. These include the Tehran criminal department
    detention center (Agahi-yi Tehran); the army intelligence
    organization detention center; the Public Establishments Office
    (Edareh-yi Amaken-i Omumi) detention center; and the defense ministry
    intelligence department center known as "64." It also lists the
    police intelligence department center; the jail in Rajaishahr; the
    facility belonging to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps security
    and intelligence department; the IRGC intelligence department
    facility; and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security's Section
    209 at Evin prison. Still more are the criminal investigations
    detention center in Shahr-i Rey; the Rey drug control headquarters;
    police station 160 in Khazaneh; Unit 3 of the Qezel-Hesar prison in
    Karaj, the Kharvin correctional facility at Veramin; the Veramin and
    Shahriar criminal department detention centers; the Shahriar drug
    control headquarters detention center; the Tehran revolutionary
    court; and the District 7 revolutionary prosecutor's office.
    Some 1,400 people are held in Rajaishahr although they have
    not been convicted. The Ministry of Intelligence and Security
    facilities are supposed to be overseen by the Prisons Organization,
    but in fact they operate according to the regulations of their home
    organization. Torture and solitary confinement are rampant.
    Some observers remain skeptical. Hassan Zarezadeh is in
    charge of the Student Committee In Defense of Political Prisoners In
    Iran. He says the hard-line judiciary is trying to portray itself in
    a better light. "[The report] shows that the regime wants to
    demonstrate that there have been real reforms in the judiciary and
    that they are committed to human rights. But their comments about
    torture being eradicated can be challenged because why are
    [prisoners] still being held in solitary confinement for long periods
    while facing complicated interrogations? Isn't it torture? Last
    week, Behruz Javid Tehrani, a member of the Democratic Party of Iran
    who has been held in solitary confinement for the last three months,
    managed to tell his relatives during a visit that he was severely
    beaten in prison."
    Zarezadeh, who has been arrested several times in recent
    years, says he has witnessed the ill treatment of prisoners. "It
    includes long solitary confinements, hanging suspects [from the
    ceiling], handcuffing behind the back, beating, hitting the head of
    suspects to the wall and also psychological torture."
    Mohammad Ali Dadkhah is the spokesman of the Center of Human
    Rights Defendants, founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi. He
    says he, too, believes prisoners' rights are still being
    violated. "The bitter reality is that these incidents have existed in
    our prisons. For example, when I was detained in Evin prison, I was
    once stripped naked in the snow. I think illegal actions are still
    widespread in the prisons. As I speak to you, Akbar Ganji [Iran's
    most prominent political prisoner] has not the right to meet his
    lawyer."
    Iranian authorities have in the past denied the mistreatment
    of prisoners and the use of torture. But human rights organizations
    have repeatedly said that torture is prevalent in prisons.
    Several political prisoners including student activists and
    journalists have said that they were forced into false confessions
    under duress. Many say they have been denied access to relatives and
    lawyers.
    The Iranian government has welcomed the judiciary report, but
    Zarezadeh expresses doubt the report will have real consequences.
    "If the Islamic republic has been forced into a retreat under
    protests from inside the country and international pressure, it does
    not mean that torture does not exist, that solitary confinement
    [will] be eradicated, that all the political prisoners [will] be
    freed and that other prisoners [will] be treated humanely." (Bill
    Samii, Golnaz Esfandiari)

    CLERICS CALL FOR JOURNALIST'S RELEASE. A number of Iran's
    leading clerics are calling for the release of hunger-striking and
    hospitalized journalist Akbar Ganji, or at least some sort of
    solution to the case. Ganji, meanwhile, is continuing his criticism
    of the ruling system from his hospital bed.
    Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Ali-Akbar
    Hashemi-Rafsanjani on 28 July expressed concern about Ganji, Radio
    Farda, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA), and IRNA reported.
    Hashemi-Rafsanjani said he is sorry about the situation and has
    discussed it with Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi.
    Hashemi-Rafsanjani said he made several proposals on resolving the
    issue.
    Farhang Naderi, a political associate of Hashemi-Rafsanjani,
    told Radio Farda that the Expediency Council chairman has the ability
    to secure Ganji's freedom, and he claimed Hashemi-Rafsanjani was
    behind Ganji's prison leave in June. Prague-based Radio Farda
    correspondent Siavash Ardalan questioned these claims, noting that
    even the judiciary chief has said he cannot reverse Tehran prosecutor
    Said Mortazavi's actions. Ganji was, Ardalan added, very critical
    of Hashemi-Rafsanjani in a book he wrote about the serial murders of
    dissident intellectuals.
    Ayatollah Hashem Hashemzadeh-Harisi, a member of the
    committee supervising implementation of the constitution, has
    demanded some sort of solution to the problems presented by the Ganji
    situation, "Etemad" reported on 26 July. The Qom Seminary Lecturers
    Association has requested the release of Ganji, ISNA reported on 25
    July. The association's letter to Judiciary chief
    Hashemi-Shahrudi noted the adverse impact this issue is having at
    home and abroad, and it called for better treatment of people with
    divergent political views.
    Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri-Najafabadi spoke out against
    Ganji's imprisonment and called for an end to his hunger strike,
    "Aftab-i Yazd" reported on 18 July.
    Ganji's wife, Masumeh Shafii, said in a 25 July interview
    with Radio Farda that she has sent a letter to the head of the
    judiciary asking that her husband's case be transferred away from
    prosecutor Said Mortazavi. Shafii said she asked Hashemi-Shahrudi to
    handle the case himself. She claimed that Mortazavi told her husband
    his death would benefit the system 100 percent, and he added that
    death in the hospital is a normal thing. The official reason for
    Ganji's hospitalization is not his hunger strike, but because he
    allegedly needs knee surgery. Given Mortazavi's alleged
    statements, Shafii said, Ganji does not want to have the knee
    operation.
    Having seen her husband on 24 July, Shafii says Ganji's
    physical condition is worsening, Radio Farda reported. After Tehran
    Justice Department deputy chief Mohammad Salarkia's denial that
    Ganji is on hunger strike, Shafii challenged him to give access to
    independent journalists who can photograph Ganji. She also expressed
    amazement that Salarkia and Mortazavi, who are not physicians,
    determined that Ganji's knee needs surgery. (Bill Samii)

    IRANIANS ARRESTED FOR INTERNATIONAL DRUG ACTIVITIES. Prosecutors in
    South Korea have detained a 28-year-old Iranian male and his
    40-year-old Korean girlfriend for smuggling 2.5 kilograms of opium
    from Southwest Asia's Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran, and
    Pakistan), "Chosun Ilbo" reported on 22 July. In connection with this
    case, a 22-year-old Iranian male was booked but not detained and five
    other Iranians are wanted.
    In what appears to be a separate case, police in the German
    city of Cologne have broken up a gang of international traffickers
    responsible for smuggling 225 kilograms of opium worth 900,000 euros
    ($1.1 million), ddp news agency reported on 20 July. The Iranian head
    of the gang imported the narcotics from Iran via Istanbul, Italy, and
    Austria. The profits were transferred back to Iran. (Bill Samii)

    IRAN THREATENED BY DRUGS AND AIDS. An international expert
    participating in the 3rd International AIDS Society Conference on HIV
    Pathogenesis and Treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has warned that
    the AIDS epidemic is worsening due to the trafficking of opium and
    heroin from Afghanistan, Radio Farda reported on 26 July. The rise is
    particularly noticeable in countries along traditional smuggling
    routes, such as Iran. Dr. Christopher Beyrer, an associate professor
    of epidemiology and international health at the Johns Hopkins
    Bloomberg School of Public Health, said approximately 10 percent of
    addicts in these countries have access to clean needles or drug
    substitution programs. The four-day conference is scheduled to end on
    27 July. Participants have called for a dynamic response to the AIDS
    epidemic, and participants in the recent G8 summit in Scotland called
    for universal access to anti-viral treatments by the end of the
    decade. (Bill Samii)

    TEHRAN AND BERLIN BEGIN WAR OF WORDS. Iranian Foreign Ministry
    spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi said on 23 July in Tehran, "I need to
    repeat my previous comments once again and suggest that the German
    Foreign Ministry and the German Foreign Ministry spokesman respect
    the democratic rules," state television reported.
    This was the latest in an exchange of accusations that began
    when German Interior Minister Otto Schilly referred to Iran's
    involvement with international terrorism in an interview with "Der
    Spiegel" magazine.
    Assefi initially reacted on 19 July, saying, "I advise this
    German official not to be influenced by Zionist circles" and "The
    German Interior Minister should respect the principles of democracy
    and think more before expressing his views," ISNA reported.
    Schilly's unnamed spokesman described Assefi's
    admonishment as "incredible impudence," "Frankfurter Allgemeine"
    reported on 21 July. "The impudence of such a voice from a country
    that continually violates human rights, where women are whipped on
    the basis of dubious verdicts, where dissidents are kept in solitary
    confinement for months without any possibility for legal support and
    an objective review by the court, can hardly be surpassed."
    Iranian parliamentary representative Hamid Reza Haji-Babai
    said on 25 July that Schilly should apologize publicly for insulting
    Iran and its president-elect, Mehr News Agency reported. Haji-Babai
    accused Schilly of interfering with Iranian internal affairs. (Bill
    Samii)

    IRAN ALLEGEDLY PURCHASING NUCLEAR-WEAPON PARTS. According to "secret
    documents" -- the source of which is not disclosed -- Iran continues
    to purchase nuclear weapons parts, "Der Spiegel" magazine alleged on
    25 July. One such deal is between Iran's Partoris company and
    South Korea's Kung-Do Enterprises and was concluded on 24
    December 2004. $98,720 was paid for 300 units of nickel-63 (Ni-63),
    which is reportedly used in the ignition of nuclear bombs and which
    also can be used in smoke detectors. Partoris reportedly used the
    cover name Parto Namje Tolua. In the second deal, the South Korean
    firm ordered tritium targets from France's EADS Sodern firm.
    Tritium targets reportedly are used in neutron emitters, which can
    trigger the chain reaction in a nuclear bomb, and $33,000 was paid
    for them.
    An unnamed spokesman from the South Korean Ministry of
    Science and Technology said on 27 July that provision of radioactive
    isotopes -- nickel-63 and tritium -- to Iran in 2004 was legal,
    Yonhap news agency reported. "The company, engaging in intermediary
    trade, adhered to the law and rules when it sold 300 Ni-63 isotopes,"
    the spokesman said. "The company conducted the transfer after
    receiving a pledge from the Iranian buyer that the substance would
    only be used for nondestructive testing, such as checking pipes at
    refineries for oil leaks." The company in question also served as the
    middleman in a deal between Iranian and Russian firms.
    An unnamed official from Kung-Do Enterprises said, according
    to "JoongAng Ilbo" (http://www.joins.com) on 27 July, "We sold Ni-63
    to an Iranian firm after it said it would use it in detecting gas. We
    obtained a memorandum from the firm to this effect." He denied the
    sale of tritium and doing any deals with the French firm. Ministry of
    Science and Technology official Yi Sun-chong said there could be a
    problem if the Korean company has sold Ni-63 without a permit.
    Another Ministry of Science and Technology official, An Sung-chun,
    said a January investigation of the Korean firm found that tritium
    exports did not occur.
    An Iranian nuclear official said in Tehran on 26 July that
    the original "Der Spiegel" report is the result of a "fantasy
    fabricated by the Zionist circles," Mehr News Agency reported. (Bill
    Samii)

    KHATAMI SAYS URANIUM CONVERSION TO BEGIN. President Hojatoleslam
    Mohammad Khatami said during a 27 July news conference in Tehran that
    activities at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility could resume in
    days, state television and state radio reported. He said this depends
    on the European proposal at an upcoming Iran-EU meeting. If the
    Europeans do not agree on when Iranian nuclear activities resume, he
    said, "the system has already made its decision to resume
    Isfahan's activities." Khatami continued, "The deadline will
    depend on the Europeans and their proposal. That is the deadline."
    Raw uranium is processed into uranium hexafluoride at the Isfahan
    facility. (Bill Samii)

    IRANIAN NUCLEAR PLANS WORRY FRANCE. France's President Jacques
    Chirac told visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Iran
    should be referred to the UN Security Council if it does not provide
    "objective guarantees" that it has stopped sensitive nuclear
    activities, AFP reported. Chirac's spokesman, Jerome Bonnafont,
    added that France seeks "objective guarantees on Iran renouncing all
    activities in the area of fissile matter production, under the
    control of the IAEA." French Foreign Ministry deputy spokeswoman
    Cecile Pozzo di Borgo said in Paris earlier in the day, "Iran knows
    the consequences of any resumption of activities currently suspended,
    which can only be negative for Iran," AFP reported. (Bill Samii)

    WASHINGTON SHARES IRANIAN MISSILE DATA WITH IAEA. Iranian Minister of
    Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Ali Shamkhani said on 28 July that
    Iran has achieved self-sufficiency in producing solid fuel for
    missiles, Radio Farda reported. This enables ballistic missiles, such
    as the Shihab-3, to operate with greater accuracy. The missile can go
    as far as 1,930 kilometers and it can be fitted with a nuclear
    warhead, according to Radio Farda, and this brings Israel and
    American military bases in the Middle East within range. Such
    technological accomplishments, Shamkhani said, contribute to
    Iran's power of deterrence.
    U.S. officials have shared intelligence with the
    International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's effort to develop a
    missile that can deliver a nuclear warhead, "The Wall Street Journal"
    reported on 27 June. The briefing took place in Vienna in mid-July.
    The intelligence was secured the previous year, and it appears to
    reveal Iranian efforts from 2001 to 2003 to adapt the Shihab-3
    missile to deliver a "black box." U.S. experts are fairly certain
    that this box is a nuclear warhead. "The Wall Street Journal" first
    described this "compelling" but "circumstantial" data in March (see
    "RFE/RL Iran Report, 30 March 2005). At that time, Washington had
    shared the information with Berlin, London, and Paris, but it did not
    know how to make it public and had rejected an IAEA request for a
    briefing. (Bill Samii)

    IRANIAN SATELLITE LAUNCH ANNOUNCED. Iran's Mesbah and Sina-1
    satellites will be launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Russia in
    October, an unnamed Russian defense industry spokesman announced on
    25 July, Interfax-AVN reported. The launch of the Molniya-M rocket
    was scheduled for August but all launches were postponed after a June
    launch ended in failure. Accompanying the Iranian satellite will be
    the China-DMC, TopSat from the United Kingdom., Norway's Ncube-2,
    Germany's UWE-1, Japan's XI-V, and the European Space
    Agency's SSET Express. The Mesbah satellite will carry out
    meteorological and geological tasks. (Bill Samii)

    IRAN AND UKRAINE SIGN GAS-PIPELINE MEMORANDUM. Iran and Ukraine have
    signed a memorandum of understanding to study the possibility of
    transporting Iranian natural gas via a pipeline to Europe, "The
    Moscow Times" reported on 26 July. According to a statement from the
    Ukrainian state-owned natural gas company, Naftogaz Ukrainy, the
    agreement followed a 24 July meeting between Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy
    Ivchenko and Iranian Deputy Petroleum Minister Hadi Nejad-Husseinian.
    Naftogaz is reportedly seeking the participation of Gaz de France,
    and the project would require a minimum $8 billion investment.
    Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on 25 July that Ivchenko
    proposed two possible pipeline routes:
    Iran-Armenia-Georgia-Ukraine-Europe or Iran-Armenia-Georgia-Black
    Sea-Ukraine-Europe. Specific details of the project will be
    considered at a meeting scheduled to take place by the end of
    September. Ivchenko met with Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar-Zanganeh
    as well, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. (Bill Samii)

    IRAN STRUGGLES TO PUSH AHEAD WITH INDIA PIPELINE. Initial discussions
    among the participating countries concerning a proposed 2,600
    kilometer overland natural-gas pipeline from Iran through Pakistan to
    India began in the early 1990s, and Iran, which sits on the
    world's second-largest natural-gas reserves (an estimated 26.6
    trillion cubic meters, according to the U.S. Energy Information
    Administration), is eager for the project to get under way. Work on
    the project has yet to commence, however, and mid-July statements
    from Indian officials cast doubt on the deal, particularly after
    Washington agreed to cooperate with the Indian nuclear program.

    New Delhi Expresses Doubts

    India is a huge and growing natural-gas market. Natural-gas
    consumption in India was nearly 25 billion cubic meters in 2002 and
    is projected to reach 34 billion cubic meters in 2010 and 45.3
    billion cubic meters in 2015. With these increasing energy
    requirements, India has entered discussions about pipeline
    construction with Bangladesh, Iran, Myanmar (Burma), and Qatar.
    Recent meetings of officials from India, Iran, and Pakistan suggested
    that the pipeline connecting the three countries would get under way
    in the near future despite pricing disagreements (see "RFE/RL Iran
    Report," 7 March and 23 March 2005).
    Indian officials stressed their eagerness to go ahead with
    the Iranian pipeline project earlier in the summer. Indian Petroleum
    Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said in Lahore on 4 June that India would
    not give in to U.S. pressure to abandon the project because of
    concerns Iran might use the revenues to develop weapons of mass
    destruction, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. The next day, Aiyar
    was in Pakistan for talks with his counterpart, Amanullah Khan
    Jadoon.
    The two sides created a Joint Working Group to accelerate
    work on the pipeline. Diplomats in the Indian capital noted that Iran
    is absent from the Joint Working Group, the Hindi "Navbharat Times"
    (http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/) reported on 8 June, and they
    suggested that this was a conscious decision in order to allay U.S.
    concerns.
    In mid-June, India agreed to purchase $22 billion worth of
    natural gas from Iran. Starting in 2009-10, an Indian consortium will
    purchase 5 million tons of LNG annually over a 25-year period. This
    was less than the initial agreement, reached in January, for the
    purchase of 7.5 million tons.
    The next month, Pakistani officials were in New Delhi to
    discuss the pipeline. Indian Petroleum Minister Aiyar told reporters
    that the discussions would address commercial, financial, legal, and
    technical issues. According to AFP on 12 July, when asked about
    Washington's opposition to the project, Pakistani Oil Secretary
    Ahmad Waqar said, "Our president and prime minister have stated on a
    number of occasions that we will proceed with this project based on
    our national interests."
    Given these developments, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
    Singh's announcement on 21 July in Washington that he is not sure
    the pipeline will get funding may have come as an unpleasant surprise
    to observers in Tehran and Islamabad. "I am realistic enough to
    realize that there are many risks, because considering all the
    uncertainties of the situation there in Iran, I don't know if any
    international consortium of bankers would underwrite this," he said
    according to the PTI news agency.

    Islamabad Is Eager

    Talks between Pakistan and Iran in early July also suggested
    that all was well.
    Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar-Zanganeh visited
    Islamabad and met with Pakistani Petroleum Minister Jadoon in the
    first week of July. The two sides signed a memorandum of
    understanding that called for continued discussions, and
    Namdar-Zanganeh hoped that a final agreement would be signed by April
    2006. He noted that after 10 years of talks, this is the first
    "written document." Namdar-Zanganeh also met with Prime Minister
    Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, according to media
    reports.
    Jadoon emphasized that his country will need natural gas for
    consumer and industrial consumption by 2010. The country's demand
    for natural gas is expected to rise approximately 50 percent by 2006,
    according to the EIA. Moreover, gas is expected to become the "fuel
    of choice" for electricity-generation projects in the future.
    In light of this requirement, and possibly because of the
    approximately $600 million in transit fees Pakistan stands to earn,
    Islamabad tried to allay concerns prompted by Singh's late July
    comments. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Muhammad Naim Khan
    announced on 25 July that even if India gives in to U.S. pressure,
    Islamabad will build a natural gas pipeline from Iran, AFP reported.
    "We would welcome Indian association with this project but if it is
    not feasible with India, we are going to go ahead with the project in
    any case," Khan said in the Pakistani capital. He said Pakistan needs
    the gas.
    Pakistani Petroleum Minister Jadoon said in Islamabad on 23
    July that his country can handle all the pipeline security
    requirements, IRNA reported. "We, like India, are in need of gas and
    we know how to take care of the interstate projects and we are
    committed to its security," he said.
    "Business Recorder" (http://www.brecorder.com/), a Pakistani
    financial daily, reported on 28 July that Islamabad has begun a
    search for investment banks that could serve as "financial
    adviser/consultant" for the pipeline. Pakistan wants to hasten
    completion of the paperwork for the project, and it is aiming for a
    December 2005 deadline. Despite recent cautionary statements from
    Indian officials, the Pakistanis believe India's energy
    requirements will force the issue. Pakistan is also willing to pursue
    the issue bilaterally.

    The Nuclear Alternative

    The pipeline project directly involves Iran, Pakistan, and
    India, and it has the potential to improve troubled Islamabad-New
    Delhi relations. Washington would welcome such a development, but it
    is reluctant to see the project go ahead. U.S. State Department
    official Stephen Rademaker warned that Iran could fund terrorism and
    weapons of mass destruction with the money it makes from natural-gas
    sales, the international edition of "The Wall Street Journal"
    reported on 24 June. U.S. officials have warned the Indians and
    Pakistanis that their companies could be sanctioned if they go ahead
    with the project.
    If India forsakes natural gas from Iran, then it may have to
    turn to nuclear power as an alternative. U.S. President George W.
    Bush announced on 18 July that India is "a responsible state" that
    "should acquire the same benefits and advantages as other such
    states," ft.com reported. Bush went on to say that he would encourage
    Congress to make the legal adjustments necessary for such cooperation
    with the Indian nuclear program to take place. In exchange for such
    cooperation, India agreed to allow international agencies to oversee
    its nuclear program.
    The collapse of the Indian natural-gas deal would be a sharp
    blow to Iran. Such a development could have an impact in three areas.
    One possibility is that Iran will try to salvage the deal by offering
    India a lower price for its gas. Pricing disagreements were one of
    the main hang-ups in March.
    Another possibility is that Iran's efforts to diversify
    beyond oil will collapse. That being said, Armenia and Turkey are
    already customers for Iranian gas; Tehran has signed agreements with
    Oman and Kuwait; and it has signed gas-related memorandums -- or at
    least discussed the topic -- with Austria, Bulgaria, China, Greece,
    Italy, South Korea, and Taiwan.
    The third possibility, which is probably much more remote, is
    that Iran will renounce activities that concern the international
    community, including support for terrorism, interference in
    neighboring states' affairs, and the pursuit of weapons of mass
    destruction.
    Failing that, Iran will find it very difficult to compete
    with the United States in terms of bargaining power. If the Indian
    model -- even without nuclear concessions -- is applied successfully
    in more cases where Iran is trying to do business with other
    countries, then Iran will find its isolation is increasing. (Bill
    Samii)

    ************************************************** *******
    Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.

    The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
    the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
    Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.

    Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
    For information on reprints, see:
    http://www.rferl.org/about/content/request.asp
    Back issues are online at http://www.rferl.org/reports/iran-report/
Working...
X