* New Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Iranian TV: “The message of the [Islamic] Revolution is global, and is not restricted to a specific place or time... Have no doubt... Allah willing, Islam will conquer... It will conquer all the mountain tops of the world.”
* White House spokesman Scott McClellan on reports that Ahmadinejad may have been a leader of the group behind the 1979 American hostage crisis in Teheran: “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone, given the nature of the regime in Iran, that he might have been involved in this kind of activity.”
* Ahmadinejad will take office after two ceremonies. The first was held this morning, when he was appointed president by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The second will take place in three days, on August 6, when he will bow before the Iranian parliament (Majlis) and vow to protect the constitution.
This is an update to a number of dispatches this year on Iran, including:
* Iran bans Al-Jazeera (+ note on the new pope’s stint in the Hitler youth) (April 19, 2005)
* Khatami denies, but Assad admits, Katsav handshake at Pope’s funeral (April 10, 2005)
* Iran says Pope was too close to “evil” Jews (April 7, 2005)
* Teheran bemused as France bans anti-Semitic Iranian TV station (February 25, 2005)
* Tehran Times marks Holocaust Day by denying it happened (January 27, 2005)
CONTENTS
1. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “The divine art of martyrdom”
2. Did Ahmadinejad execute Kurdish opposition leader in Vienna?
3. Iran to play Israel in basketball?
4. Donald Rumsfeld: “Ahmadinejad, no friend of freedom”
5. Ahmadinejad to address the UN
6. Ahmadinejad to meet Iranian Jews in Los Angeles?
7. “Iran’s new president glorifies martyrdom” (MEMRI, July 29, 2005)
8. “US still investigates Iran leader” (BBC News, July 28, 2005)
9. “Iranian accused in killing of Kurds” (Associated Press, July 3, 2005)
Comments such as these from the new Iranian President should be of grave concern given Iran’s renewed determination to acquire nuclear weapons within the coming years.
SHROUDED IN ALLEGATIONS ABOUT THE US EMBASSY SIEIGE
Various allegations have been made against Ahmadinejad following his success in the June elections. At least five of the US embassy hostages claim they have identified Ahmadinejad as one of the hostage-takers during the 1979-1980 hostage crisis at the US embassy in Teheran. This allegation has still to be confirmed by the White House.
(To remind subscribers to this list: Following Iran’s revolution, radical Islamic students stormed the American embassy and held 52 staff hostage for 444 days. The crisis led to the breaking of diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran, which have yet to be restored.)
KURDISH EXECUTIONS
Kurdish groups say they are adamant that it was Ahmadinejad who played a key role in the 1989 execution-style slayings of a Kurdish opposition leader and two associates in Vienna. (For more information on both these allegations, please see the two articles attached below.)
In the article below, titled “Iranian accused in killing of Kurds,” the Associated Press did not include the word “President” in their headline. If deliberate, this is a disturbing indication of failure to report properly by the AP, given that most people only read headlines, and a headline like the one they used may not induce them to read the article and learn that the accusation is against the president.
IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM
A great deal of speculation continues as to how close the Iranians are from being able to build a nuclear bomb. Yesterday, The Washington Post, citing a National Intelligence Estimate, reported that Iran is 10 years away.
Israel has also adjusted its estimates, claiming Iran will probably have a nuclear bomb within 6 -7 years, by 2012, but could have the capability by 2008.
Iran defied its European negotiating partners on Monday, saying it was preparing to resume its uranium conversion work. Technicians were due to break the seals placed by the United Nations nuclear agency at the plant in Isfahan. Iran said its decision was irreversible.
SUPPORT FOR IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM FROM RUSSIA & UKRAINE
Israel has requested of the new pro-Western Ukrainian government that they ask Iran to return to Ukraine 12 long-range missiles that the previous Ukrainian government sold to Iran. Ukraine is now a post-revolutionary democratic state that is looking to join the EU, and one would hope they would be open to the request. But the government in Kiev has so far not responded to Israel’s request, and in any case it is unlikely Iran would agree to return the missiles.
Russia has confirmed it will continue to support Iran’s nuclear program. Russia is in the process of building a nuclear power station for Iran at Bushehr on the Gulf. Russia sees Iran as a key market for its atomic technology.
IRANIAN SUPPORT FOR PALESTINIAN TERRORISM
The New York Sun reports that Ahmadinejad founded the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Jerusalem Brigade. The Brigade’s main aim is to offer support for Palestinian terror groups. In particular, Iran has backed the Palestinian terror group Islamic Jihad for many years. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the most recent suicide bomb at the Netanya mall in which five people were murdered and 88 were wounded last month, on July 12.
IRAN TO PLAY ISRAEL IN BASKETBALL?
Israel has been drawn to play Iran in the under-21 World Basketball Championships for men this coming Saturday. The tournament is taking place in Argentina and it appears very unlikely that the Iranian team will play the game.
In a dispatch on this list about the Athens Olympics last year, I reported how the Iranian wrestler Arash Miresmaeili deliberately disqualified himself by failing his weigh-in so he did not have to face his Israeli opponent at the Olympics.
The Iranian government then awarded Miresmaeili the same amount of money Iranian gold medallists get. Perhaps its under-21 basketball players are also about to be paid off for refusing to play against the Jewish state.
RUMSFELD: “AHMADINEJAD, NO FRIEND OF FREEDOM”
The election of Ahmadinejad came as a surprise to many. In its wake, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld described him as “no friend of freedom”. During his campaign, Ahmadinejad claimed there was “no need” for relations with the United States, seen by the ruling establishment in Iran as the arch-enemy.
In an article in the Daily Star (Lebanon), the author and Middle East expert Barry Rubin (who is a subscriber to this email list), mentioned that Ahmadinejad stepped on a picture of the American flag on his way to vote.
There is little chance Ahmadinejad will challenge Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over the Islamic republic’s key principles governing domestic policy and foreign relations.
AHMADINEJAD TO ADDRESS THE U.N.
Ahmadinejad will address the United Nations General Assembly on September 15, 2005 on his first official trip abroad. Ahmadinejad will speak about nuclear weapons and foreign policy. Some are concerned this speech may bring the UN almost to the low level it reached when Yasser Arafat, fresh from the murder of several Israeli schoolchildren and the organization of a number of airline hijackings, was asked to deliver a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in November 1974.
AHMADINEJAD TO MEET IRANIAN JEWS IN LOS ANGELES?
The Khaleej Times (a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates) reports that the new Iranian President is also interested in meeting Iranian Jews living in Los Angeles, en route to the UN. If true, this suggests that Ahmadinejad wants to improve his image in the west.
I attach three articles with summaries first.
-- Tom Gross
SUMMARIES
IRAN’S NEW PRESIDENT GLORIFIES MARTYDOM
“Iran’s New President Glorifies Martyrdom” (MEMRI, July 29, 2005)
... The following are excerpts from a speech by Iranian President-Elect Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, which aired July 25, 2005 on Iranian Channel 1. In it, he praises martyrdom operations and states that Islam will conquer the world.
Ahmadi-Nejad: “We want art that is on the offensive. Art on the offensive exalts and defends the noble principles, and attacks principles that are corrupt, vulgar, ungodly, and inhuman.
“Art reaches perfection when it portrays the best life and best death. After all, art tells you how to live. That is the essence of art. Is there art that is more beautiful, more divine, and more eternal than the art of martyrdom? A nation with martyrdom knows no captivity. Those who wish to undermine this principle undermine the foundations of our independence and national security. They undermine the foundation of our eternity.
“The message of the [Islamic] Revolution is global, and is not restricted to a specific place or time. It is a human message, and it will move forward. “Have no doubt... Allah willing, Islam will conquer what? It will conquer all the mountain tops of the world.”
US STILL INVESTIGATES IRAN LEADER
“US still investigates Iran leader” (BBC News, July 28, 2005)
The US says it has concluded that Iran’s president-elect was a leader of the group behind the 1979 hostage crisis at its embassy in Tehran. But it says it is unsure whether Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actively took part and is still looking into the matter...
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters: “In terms of the president, we’ve looked into the allegations that were made about his involvement in the 1979 hostage crisis.
“We know he was a leader of the student movement that organised the attack on the embassy and the taking of American hostages. However, we are still looking into whether or not he was actually one of the hostage-takers. That’s something we continue to look into.”
He added: “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone, given the nature of the regime in Iran, that he might have been involved in this kind of activity.”
AUSTRIANS SEEK ARREST OF NEW IRANIAN PRESIDENT
“Iranian accused in killing of Kurds” (By William J. Kole, The Associated Press, Vienna bureau, July 3, 2005)
Iran’s newly elected president, already accused of taking American diplomats hostage 26 years ago, played a key role in the 1989 execution-style slayings of a Kurdish opposition leader and two associates in Vienna, an exiled Iranian dissident said yesterday.
Austria’s daily Der Standard quoted a prominent Austrian politician as saying authorities have “very convincing” evidence linking Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the attacks in Vienna, in which the Kurds were killed...
Alireza Jafarzadeh, who runs Strategic Policy Consulting, a Washington-based think tank focusing on Iran and Iraq, said Mr. Ahmadinejad was a Revolutionary Guard commander who supplied the weapons used to gun down Iranian Kurdish politician Abdul-Rahman Ghassemlou and two colleagues on July 13, 1989, in Vienna...
Der Standard reported yesterday that Peter Pilz, a top official with Austria’s Green Party, accused Mr. Ahmadinejad of traveling to Vienna a few days before the slayings to deliver the weapons to the Iranian commandos who carried out the killings. He said he wants a warrant issued for Mr. Ahmadinejad’s arrest...
IRAN’S NEW PRESIDENT GLORIFIES MARTYDOM
Iran’s New President Glorifies Martyrdom
MEMRI
July 29, 2005
www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD94505
The act of martyrdom is often celebrated by the Iranian theocracy. Most recently, Iranian President-Elect Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, in his second TV appearance since his election victory, spoke July 25, 2005 on Iranian Channel 1 in praise of “the art of martyrdom.”
The day after Ahmadi-Nejad’s TV appearance, the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published a report about his spiritual advisor, Ayatollah Mohammad Misbach Yazdi. The report advised Iranians on how to volunteer for the Iranian regime-sponsored volunteer martyrdom squad, and mentioned an Iranian women’s volunteer group that is dedicated to carrying out martyrdom operations against U.S., British, and Israeli forces.
The subject of Iranian martyrdom seekers was also the topic of a recent program on Al-Arabiya TV, which is discussed below.
Ahmadi-Nejad on the Art of Martyrdom
The following are excerpts from a speech by Iranian President-Elect Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, which aired July 25, 2005 on Iranian Channel 1. In it, he praises martyrdom operations and states that Islam will conquer the world.
Ahmadi-Nejad: “We want art that is on the offensive. Art on the offensive exalts and defends the noble principles, and attacks principles that are corrupt, vulgar, ungodly, and inhuman.
“Art reaches perfection when it portrays the best life and best death. After all, art tells you how to live. That is the essence of art. Is there art that is more beautiful, more divine, and more eternal than the art of martyrdom? A nation with martyrdom knows no captivity. Those who wish to undermine this principle undermine the foundations of our independence and national security. They undermine the foundation of our eternity.
“The message of the [Islamic] Revolution is global, and is not restricted to a specific place or time. It is a human message, and it will move forward.
“Have no doubt... Allah willing, Islam will conquer what? It will conquer all the mountain tops of the world.”
US STILL INVESTIGATES IRAN LEADER
US still investigates Iran leader
BBC News
July 28, 2005
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4726273.stm
The US says it has concluded that Iran’s president-elect was a leader of the group behind the 1979 hostage crisis at its embassy in Tehran.
But it says it is unsure whether Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actively took part and is still looking into the matter.
Following Iran’s Islamic revolution, radical students stormed the embassy and held 52 staff hostage for 444 days.
Former hostages say they recognise Mr Ahmadinejad, but Iranian veterans of the stand-off deny he was involved.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters: “In terms of the president, we’ve looked into the allegations that were made about his involvement in the 1979 hostage crisis.
“We know he was a leader of the student movement that organised the attack on the embassy and the taking of American hostages.
“However, we are still looking into whether or not he was actually one of the hostage-takers. That’s something we continue to look into.”
He added: “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone, given the nature of the regime in Iran, that he might have been involved in this kind of activity.”
Mr Ahmadinejad beat moderate cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the second round run-off of last month’s presidential vote. Washington said the elections were illegitimate.
The hostage crisis led to the breaking of diplomatic ties between Washington and Tehran, which have not been restored to this day.
KURDS SEEK ARREST OF NEW IRANIAN PRESIDENT
Iranian accused in killing of Kurds
By William J. Kole
The Associated Press
July 3, 2005
www.washingtontimes.com/world/20050703-122550-4084r.htm
Iran’s newly elected president, already accused of taking American diplomats hostage 26 years ago, played a key role in the 1989 execution-style slayings of a Kurdish opposition leader and two associates in Vienna, an exiled Iranian dissident said yesterday.
Austria’s daily Der Standard quoted a prominent Austrian politician as saying authorities have “very convincing” evidence linking Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the attacks in Vienna, in which the Kurds were killed.
The reports follow recent accusations from some of the 52 Americans who were held hostage for 444 days in Iran beginning in 1979 that Mr. Ahmadinejad, a hard-line Islamist, was among the hostage-takers.
Neither Mr. Ahmadinejad nor his aides could be reached yesterday for comment on the claims about the Vienna killings, but the president-elect on Friday denied a role in the hostage-taking.
“It is not true,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said. “It is only rumors.”
Alireza Jafarzadeh, who runs Strategic Policy Consulting, a Washington-based think tank focusing on Iran and Iraq, said Mr. Ahmadinejad was a Revolutionary Guard commander who supplied the weapons used to gun down Iranian Kurdish politician Abdul-Rahman Ghassemlou and two colleagues on July 13, 1989, in Vienna.
Mr. Jafarzadeh is a former U.S. representative for the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The council is the political arm of the Mojahedin Khalq, a group that Washington and the European Union list as a terrorist organization.
Mr. Ghassemlou, the principal target, was secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan. His delegation had been in Vienna for secret talks with envoys from the Tehran regime.
Mr. Jafarzadeh said his assessment was based on Iranian government sources “who have provided accurate information in the past.” He said Mr. Ahmadinejad helped organize the Vienna attack while serving in the Revolutionary Guard’s Ramazan garrison near the western Iranian city of Kermanshah.
“While he was there, he became involved in terrorist operations abroad, and he led many, many operations,” Mr. Jafarzadeh said.
In 2002, Mr. Jafarzadeh disclosed information about two hidden nuclear sites in Iran that helped uncover nearly two decades of secret atomic activity and stoked fears that Tehran was trying to build a nuclear bomb.
Der Standard reported yesterday that Peter Pilz, a top official with Austria’s Green Party, accused Mr. Ahmadinejad of traveling to Vienna a few days before the slayings to deliver the weapons to the Iranian commandos who carried out the killings. He said he wants a warrant issued for Mr. Ahmadinejad’s arrest.
Mr. Pilz could not be reached for comment yesterday, and calls to Austria’s Interior Ministry and the nation’s federal counterterrorism agency went unanswered.
Mr. Pilz said an unidentified Iranian journalist living in France was contacted in 2001 by one of the reputed gunmen, described as a former revolutionary guard who has since died. The gunman’s account -- which Mr. Pilz said strongly implicated Mr. Ahmadinejad -- was turned over to Austria’s federal Office for Counterterrorism and Constitutional Protection.
In another development, a top Iranian former secret agent told the Associated Press in Tehran yesterday that the hostage-taker in a 1979 photograph that has come under intense scrutiny is not of Mr. Ahmadinejad, but a former militant who committed suicide in jail.
Saeed Hajjarian, a top adviser to departing President Mohammad Khatami, identified the man in the photo dating to the 1979 U.S. Embassy siege as Taqi Mohammadi.
Iran’s newly elected president has been accused of being a major participant in the taking of American hostages at the embassy.
Six former U.S. hostages who saw the president-elect in photos or on television said they believe Mr. Ahmadinejad was among the hostage-takers. One said he was interrogated by Mr. Ahmadinejad.
The White House said it was taking their statements seriously. President Bush said “many questions” were raised by the accusations.
International media have compared photos of Mr. Ahmadinejad, who won a presidential runoff election the week before last, with a black-and-white picture of one of the hostage-takers, a young man with a thin, bearded face and dark hair that sweeps down across his forehead.
But Mr. Hajjarian said they were not the same person.
“This man is Taqi Mohammadi, a militant who later turned into a dissident and committed suicide in jail,” he said, pointing to the 1979 photo.
Mr. Hajjarian’s comment follows statements by a number of the former Iranian students who carried out the U.S. Embassy seizure and held Americans hostage that Mr. Ahmadinejad had no role in the operation.