Iran Writes Letter To Bush

[waltky]

Gee, and they wonder why we don't believe them...

Iran 'guarantees' to halt flow of bomb materials to Iraq
07 November 2007 - A top US general says Iran has made guarantees to stop the introduction of materials for building explosively formed penetrators

The Iranian government has pledged to halt the flow of bomb-making materials to Iraq, according to a top US general in Iraq.

In a 2 November interview in Baghdad, US Army Major General James Simmons, the deputy commanding general of Multinational Corps - Iraq, said the Iranian government had made 'guarantees' to stop the introduction of materials for building explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) - a particularly deadly type of off-route mine.

"I'm hopeful," he said. "What I see is a diplomatic effort being undertaken by the United States government - and I see a positive response from the Iranian government and that's good."

In recent months, US and UK officials have accused the Iranian government of high-level complicity in arming Shia militia groups in Iraq. In particular, officials have charged the leadership of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps with furnishing EFP bomb-making materials and expertise. EFPs - which often employ sophisticated triggering mechanisms - are seen as one of the most deadly threats faced by US and coalition forces in Iraq. Gen Simmons said US forces had recent evidence of Iranian involvement in furnishing EFPs.

Iran 'guarantees' to halt flow of bomb materials to Iraq - Jane's Tri-Service News

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U.S. military says finding more Iranian arms in Iraq
Sun Nov 11, 2007 - The quantity of Iranian bomb-making components being found in Iraq is increasing despite a fall in attacks and 20 Iranian-trained agents are still operating south of Baghdad, a top U.S. general said on Sunday.

Extensive Iranian influence in Iraq remained evident, said Major-General Rick Lynch, despite signs of a possible easing of tensions between Washington and Tehran over security in Iraq. "Iranian influence is dominant at many levels," said Lynch, whose area of command extends from Baghdad's southern suburbs south through Sunni Arab insurgent strongholds to the major Shi'ite cities of Kerbala and Najaf.

Lynch said his troops were chasing 20 "targets" he identified as Iraqi Shi'ites who were agents for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps's (IRGC) elite Qods Force. "They were trained in Iran and they're conducting operations in our battle space," Lynch told reporters. "They're Iraqis but they're IRGC surrogates and they're still out there."

Lynch said in August that military intelligence suggested there were about 50 IRGC troops in southern Iraq training Shi'ite militias in the use of mortars and rockets. His latest comments came despite an apparent softening of rhetoric by U.S. officials in Baghdad towards Iran.

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Iran losing Chinese support...

China urges Iran to obey UN
20 Nov 2007 : China on Tuesday urged Iran to fulfil the UN resolutions on suspending its uranium enrichment activity and strengthen its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to find a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the nuclear standoff.

China, which is under pressure from the West to act tougher against Iran, also believed that, according to its "preliminary analysis", the international nuclear watchdog's report on Iran's nuclear programme was "relatively objective and professional". The IAEA has pointed out that some progress was made in settlement of some pending issues between the agency and Teheran and that Iran had provided cooperation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters here.

"Meanwhile, Iran did not suspend its uranium enrichment activities according to UN Security Council resolutions. Under the circumstance, China hopes Iran to fulfil the relevant resolutions of the UNSC to solve the pending issues in an all round way," he said. Liu said China also hoped that other relevant parties would continue diplomatic efforts to create conditions for early resumption of talks.

Asked about the differences between the US and China on more sanctions, he said both had a common interest on the Iranian nuclear issue, "that is to safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation regime" and the two sides had made efforts to promote a settlement through dialogue and negotiations.

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Gates again invokes possible military action against Iran
21 Nov 2007, A military attack against Iran remains an option should the Middle East nation continue to pursue its nuclear ambitions, Defence Secretary Robert Gates has suggested.

"This is not about changing the regime in Iran," Gates told a group of community leaders at a Whiteman Air Force Base lunch on Tuesday. "It's about getting the regime in Iran to change its behaviour, and its policies." Talk of a possible US attack on Iran has surfaced frequently this year, prompted in some cases by hard-line statements by White House officials. President George W Bush has said that Iran's continued pursuit of nuclear arms could lead to World War III.

While Gates has previously emphasized diplomacy and the use of economic sanctions, he told an audience member at the officers' club lunch, "We have to keep all of our options open." At the same time, Gates added, "My own view is that another war is the last thing the Middle East needs right now." He was responding to a question on whether diplomacy could help Iran move away from the nuclear option or would it ultimately require military force.

The brief appearance marked a homecoming for Gates, a native of Wichita, Kansas, who began his military career as a second lieutenant at the base 75 miles east of Kansas City. Gates later served as director of the CIA under the first President George H W Bush. He was appointed secretary of defence in November 2006, succeeding Donald Rumsfeld.

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El-Baradei gettin' worried...

New Iran sanctions possible
November 23, 2007 - THE US and three key European allies said overnight Iran had not done enough to win trust in its atomic work and the United Nations should now consider tougher sanctions.

"A wait-and-see approach is not an option," Britain, France and Germany told governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after its chief said Iran appeared on course to clearing up questions about its nuclear history by the end of the year. Mohamed ElBaradei had also reiterated that the IAEA's knowledge of current Iranian activity was shrinking due to strict Iranian curbs on UN inspector movements, and Iran was expanding uranium enrichment, despite UN calls for a halt.

The "EU-3" said both matters were "unacceptable ... We are interested at least as much in the present and future (of Iran's program) as the past". The West fears Iran is secretly trying to build atom bombs. Iran says it only wants electricity from uranium enrichment. "We recognise Iran has taken some steps in the right direction, but we are disappointed that cooperation is of a partial and reactive nature," the EU-3 said. "So, all in all, the results are not encouraging."

"Therefore we must draw conclusions at the (UN) Security Council," they said, meaning consideration of tougher sanctions in talks with main ally the United States as well as Russia and China. They gave no time frame. Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said he would meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on November 30. Mr Solana confirmed the talks were "very likely".

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Elbaradei calls on Iran to suspend nuclear activities
Nov. 22, 2007 -- Mohamed Elbaradei, general secretary of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged Iran again here Thursday to suspend its nuclear activities in order to help the Iran's nuclear issues to be solved as soon as possible.

Elbaradei's new report on Iran's nuclear issues was the main topic for discussion of the ongoing IAEA's 35-nation board of governors conference, which is held on Nov. 22 and 23 and focus on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issues and Iran's nuclear issues. Elbaradei said in his opening address at the conference that more earlier the negotiation between Iran and the six-parties of the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany could be resumed, the perspective of the mitigation of Iran's nuclear crisis would be more optimistic.

He praised Tehran highly of its "better cooperation" with the agency to clarify the open issues related to its nuclear program, and called on Iran to provide the cooperation "much active" and "rapid" in the future. Speaking to journalists during the conference, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, ambassador of Iran to the IAEA warned that the western countries proposed sanction imposed on Iran might result in "negative ending."

According to the action plan worked out by Tehran and the agency on Aug. 21, Iran agreed to submit sensible information to the agency and answer the still open questions related to its nuclear issues. Elbaradei submitted the new report on Iran's nuclear issues to the board of governors, which acknowledged Iran's cooperation with the agency of clarification on the open issues was "sufficient," while the United States, Britain and Germany continuously censured that Iran did not suspend its uranium enrichment activities in compliance with the resolution of the United Nations Security Council.

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So much for diplomacy...

Iran nuclear negotiations at a standstill
Friday 30th November, 2007 - The European Union's top nuclear negotiator has failed to produce a breakthrough with Iran.

Javier Solana and Iranian envoy Saeed Jalili were not able to agree on conditions for Iranian nuclear power prior to a deadline for the EU representative to report back on the issue. The talks were seen as a last chance for Tehran before a possible new round of sanctions, though hopes of a breakthrough had been slim.

Mr Solana said he would remain in contact with his Iranian counterpart but said it had become obvious Tehran was not willing to curb its nuclear plans. The Iranian envoy said UN pressure would not stop Iran from mastering uranium enrichment and said it was unacceptable to prevent the country from doing so.

Western nations fear Iran is using its nuclear program to develop a nuclear bomb. The United States and its allies are pressing for stronger UN sanctions against Tehran.

Iran nuclear negotiations at a standstill

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Not just Fearless W sayin' it, Iran's weapons a problem for Canada too...

Canadian FM says Afghan insurgents are getting weapons from Iran
Tue. 25 Dec 2007 - Defence Minister Peter MacKay says weapons are flowing from Iran into the hands of Afghan insurgents.

He says improvised explosive devices from Iran have been a particular concern for Canadians. Most of Canada's 73 combat deaths have been the result of IEDs.

He says it's been difficult for Canada to address the issue though he has made his concerns known to the Iranian government.

He says it's difficult to cut the lines of supply when you have people in other countries giving weapons to be used against Canadian and coalition forces. MacKay made the comments Tuesday during a stop at Kandahar Airfield where he spent Christmas with the troops.

Source

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Russia arming Iran...

Russia to Sell Advanced Anti-Aircraft Missiles to Iran
26 December 2007 - Iran says Russia is selling Tehran advanced anti-aircraft missiles, but did not say when they will arrive.

The S-300 air defense system has a radar that can track many targets at the same time, and missiles that can hit targets anywhere from just above the treetops to 27 kilometers in the sky. The S-300 compliments a shorter-range Russian system sold to Iran earlier.

Iran's announcement that it is upgrading its air defenses was made during a time of international tensions over Iranian nuclear programs that western nations fear could be used to make nuclear weapons.

The United States has never ruled out military action against the suspected nuclear weapons projects, but a recently published U.S. intelligence report said Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program several years ago.

VOA News - Russia to Sell Advanced Anti-Aircraft Missiles to Iran

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Mr. Big Mouth taken to task...

Iranian Official Slams Ahmadinejad
Feb. 27, 2008 : Ex-Nuclear Negotiator Says President's "Bombastic Slogans" Are Hampering Iran

Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator rebuked President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a sharp attack on Wednesday, saying the hardline president's "bombastic slogans" are hampering Iran's development and harming national interests. Hasan Rowhani's remarks were some of the harshest criticism yet of Ahmadinejad by a prominent member of Iran's ruling Islamic establishment. Rowhani was replaced as top nuclear negotiator when Ahmadinejad came to office in 2005, but remains a member of the Supreme National Security Council, which handles nuclear issues. He also sits on two powerful cleric-run bodies, the Experts Assembly and the Expediency Council.

"Does foreign policy mean bombastic slogans? Harsh speech? Remarks that end in loud slogans? These things won't build foreign policy," Rowhani told the opening session of a conference in Tehran. "Foreign policy doesn't mean fiery slogans. Foreign policy means a way of dealing with the world that reduces threats." Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, praised Ahmadinejad Tuesday for standing up to the West and refusing to halt the country's uranium enrichment. Ahmadinejad said a report released by the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Friday had vindicated Iran's nuclear program and left no justification for any U.N. Security Council sanctions.

The 11-page report by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said all major past issues surrounding Iran's nuclear activities had been resolved or are "no longer outstanding at this stage." The IAEA investigation's findings were consistent with explanations provided by Iran, the report also said. The U.S., however, said the report actually strengthened the case for additional sanctions because it said Iran refused to heed Security Council demands to halt enrichment. The IAEA also said Tehran had dismissed as "baseless" information provided by Western intelligence agencies that Iran's alleged missile and explosives experiments are part of a nuclear weapons program. The U.S. is now pushing for a third round of sanctions against Iran and is hoping for a Security Council vote later this week.

More Iranian Official Slams Ahmadinejad, Ex-Nuclear Negotiator Says President's "Bombastic Slogans" Are Hampering Iran - CBS News

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Iran Pressured To Fight Terror Financing
Feb. 28, 2008 - Watchdog Calls For Greater Pressure On Iran To Fight Terror Financing, Money Laundering

The United States and other members of an international watchdog group called Thursday for new financial pressure on Iran, saying its Islamic regime hasn't done enough to fight money laundering and terrorism financing. The Financial Action Task Force, in a statement from its annual meeting in Paris, pressed its 34 members to advise banks to monitor their dealings in Iran and urged nonmember nations to follow suit.

"It's tightening the screws," said Daniel Glaser, the top U.S. envoy to the Paris meeting, and the Treasury Department deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes. "What it's going to mean is that financial institutions around the world are going to take a closer look at their transactions involving Iran," he said.

The statement signals increased concern about legal loopholes that make the Islamic republic a risk. But the task force also welcomed efforts by Iran, acknowledging it has sought the agency's advice on improving its laws. The stepped-up call for vigilance comes against the backdrop of intense pressure from some Western nations on Iran over its nuclear program amid fears that it could be masking plans to build bombs. Tehran insists that its ambitions are peaceful and that it is developing its nuclear capabilities to generate electricity.

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Way clear for Fearless W to give Iran a thumpin'...

Commander Quits Over Magazine Article
March 11, 2008 - Esquire magazine portrays Adm. William Fallon as only man between Bush and war with Iran.

Adm. William Fallon, the top U.S. military commander for the Middle East, has resigned, citing a magazine article which suggested he was at odds with President Bush's policy toward Iran. In a statement released by U.S. Central Command, Fallon disputed a recent Esquire magazine article that suggested differences between his views and administration policies concerning Iran. "Recent press reports suggesting a disconnect between my views and the president's policy objectives have become a distraction at a critical time, and hamper efforts in the Centcom region," Fallon said in a written statement released from his Tampa, Fla., office.

"And although I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility, the simple perception that there is makes it difficult for me to effectively serve America's interests there," Fallon's statement read. "I have, therefore, concluded that it would be best to step aside and allow the secretary and our military leaders to move beyond this distraction ... and focus on the achievement of our strategic objectives in the region. I have submitted my request to retire to the secretary of defense."

Magazine: Fallon Standing Between Bush and Iran

In the Esquire interview , Fallon is described as the only man standing between the Bush administration and war with Iran. "If, in the dying light of the Bush administration, we go to war with Iran, it'll all come down to one man. If we do not go to war with Iran, it'll come down to the same man. He is that rarest of creatures in the Bush universe: the good cop on Iran, and a man of strategic brilliance. His name is William Fallon," reads the magazine article.

More ABC News: Top U.S. Commander in Middle East Resigns

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Sanctions must be having an effect...

Iran leader criticised on economy
Wednesday, 23 April 2008 - Iran's outgoing finance minister adds his voice to growing criticism of President Ahmadinejad's economic policies.

Iran's outgoing finance minister has added his voice to mounting criticism of his president's economic policies amid a period of economic difficulty. Davoud Danesh-Jafari said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government lacked experience and had no solid plans.

He accused Mr Ahmadinejad of giving priority to "peripheral issues" while allowing inflation to reach 18%. Mr Danesh-Jafari was ousted in a government reshuffle on Tuesday, apparently due to policy differences.

"During my time, there was no positive attitude towards previous experiences or experienced people and there was no plan for the future," Mr Danesh-Jafari was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency. "Peripheral issues which were not of dire importance to the nation were given priority."

Rocketing prices

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Fearless W encouragin' Arabs to stand up to Iran...

Bush: Mideast Must Push Back Against Iran, Syria
May 18, 2008 - Bush: Mideast nations must reject 'spoilers' such as Iran, Syria

Israel got glowing praise from President Bush. The Arab world is getting renewed promises, but also a bit of a lecture. Bush is presenting Middle Eastern leaders with a long to-do list on Sunday: bring about freer economic markets, enact political reforms that move toward democratic governments, allow greater participation in society for women and young people, and "reject spoilers such as the regimes in Iran and Syria."

"I will make clear that the only way to ensure true prosperity is to expand political and economic freedom," Bush said, previewing a Sunday speech to the World Economic Forum in the Middle East, a meeting of hundreds of global policymakers and business leaders being held at this Red Sea beach town. Bush said that in the speech, which will cap his five-day Mideast trip, he will urge the region's leaders to "embrace the changes necessary for a day when societies across the Middle East are based on justice, tolerance, and freedom."

His message is aimed at countries in the region where the political and civil systems are far from free, including Egypt, the host of the gathering. But the president's point that Arab leaders also must "move past old grievances" could be read as a push to get on with making peace with Israel and supporting U.S.-backed efforts to forge a deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel itself got no such public criticism when Bush spent two days there earlier this week to participate in its 60th anniversary celebrations. The contrast was likely to reinforce the notion among Arabs that Bush leans too far Israel's way in the long-running dispute, and that Washington doesn't push Israel hard enough to give way on issues that anger Palestinians — like settlement activity or movement limitations — and stymie a deal.

More ABC News: Bush: Mideast Must Push Back Against Iran, Syria