Iran's President goes off the deep end

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Iran threatens to reconsider IAEA cooperation
Monday , Sept.3 , 2007 - Iran said on Sunday that it will reconsider its cooperation with the IAEA if the Security Council issues a new resolution against the country, the IRNA news agency reported.

Tehran would reconsider its cooperation with the IAEA and "study various options" over a possible new UN resolution, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini told his weekly press conference. Commenting on the recent warning of U.S. President George W. Bush against a so-called "nuclear holocaust," Hosseini said, "We will reject any remarks which are far from logic and the existing realities."

"There were various parts in President Bush's speech in which he repeated all his previous unfounded accusations against Iran," Hosseini said. In a speech to the American Legion veterans group in Reno, Nevada, last week, Bush said that Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere and the United States is ready to confront the danger.

"Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust," Bush said. The United States and other Western countries have accused Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under a civilian cover, but Iran denies such accusation, saying it just wants to generate electricity.

On March 24, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a new resolution, the second punitive one, with tougher sanctions to pressure Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities. However, an IAEA report in May said that Iran continued to resist the UN Security Council ban on enrichment and was instead expanding its activities.

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Iran 'running 3000 atomic centrifuges'
September 03, 2007 - IRAN is running more than 3000 centrifuges used to enrich uranium and is installing more every week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said overnight, in comments likely to fuel Western fears Tehran is seeking an atomic bomb.

Western experts said 3000 machines running smoothly for long periods at supersonic speeds could make enough enriched uranium for an atomic bomb in about a year, if Iran wanted, and form the basis for "industrial scale" production of nuclear fuel. But an International Atomic Energy Agency report issued on Saturday said Iran remained well short of 3000 centrifuges and that its rate of enrichment was still far below capacity.

The report also indicated the pace of centrifuge installation had slowed markedly since April, when Mr Ahmadinejad first announced "industrial" capacity. Iran has repeatedly dismissed talk of a slowdown.

"We have more than 3000 centrifuges working and every week a new set is installed," Fars News Agency quoted Mr Ahmadinejad as saying. Other Iranian news agencies also carried his comments. Centrifuges are set up in interlinked networks or "cascades" of 164 machines each.

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Ahmadinejad Blasted By Columbia President
Sept. 24, 2007 - Lee Bollinger Calls Hard-Line Iran Leader A "Petty And Cruel Dictator''

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the stage at Columbia University to a blistering welcome from the president of the school, who said the hard-line leader behaved like "a petty and cruel dictator." Ahmadinejad smiled as Columbia President Lee Bollinger took him to task over Iran's human-rights record and foreign policy, and Ahmadinejad's statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the disappearance of Israel. "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said, to loud applause. He said Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust might fool the illiterate and ignorant.

"When you come to a place like this it makes you simply ridiculous," Bollinger said. "The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history." Ahmadinejad rose, also to applause, and after a religious invocation, said Bollinger's opening was: "an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here." "There were insults and claims that were incorrect, regretfully," Ahmadinejad said, accusing Bollinger of falling under the influence of the hostile U.S. press and politicians. "I should not begin by being affected by this unfriendly treatment," he said.

He did not address Bollinger's accusations directly, instead launching into a long religious discursion laced with quotes with the Quran before turning to criticism of the Bush administration and past American governments, from warrantless wiretapping to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Bollinger was strongly criticized for inviting Ahmadinejad to Columbia, and had promised tough questions in his introduction to Ahmadinejad's talk. But the strident and personal nature of his attack on the president of Iran was startling. "You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated," Bollinger told Ahmadinejad about the leader's Holocaust denial. "Will you cease this outrage?"

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Iran threatens to stage suicide attack in Gulf Region
Oct. 29, 2007 -- A senior Iranian military commander warned on Monday that the forces of the Islamic Republic may launch suicide missions in the Gulf Region if "necessary," the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Brigadier General Ali Fahdavi, deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards' naval forces, was quoted as saying that the Basij militia of the Guards were still powered by Shahid (martyr) Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh and "We can utilize the element of sacrifice-seeking if it's necessary." Fahmideh blew himself under an Iraqi tank when he was 13 during the eight-year bloody war between Iran and Iraq. He became a national hero since then and until now there are statues and frescos hailing his exploits.

"The Revolutionary Guards has taken an example from Fahmideh, such kind of spirit is among them," said the general, adding "even a small operation could have a big impact." "The fruit of the close cooperation between Basij and the Revolutionary Guards will be proved only when enemies make stupid move and poses a practical threat against our country," said Fahdavi. The Basij with an estimated 10 million members became part of Revolutionary Guards last month.

The United States and Israel accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons under a civilian cover and has never ruled out the possibility of military actions against the country's nuclear facilities. The White House has recent strengthened its criticism against Tehran by warning the world of the "third world war" if Iran gets nuclear weapons. Iran has denied all the accusations, and repeatedly vowed to use all its means to fight back any aggression. In September, Iran's deputy air force commander Mohammad Alavi warned that his country would bomb Israel back if Iran is attacked by Tel-Aviv.

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Granny says, "Give `em a dose of shock n' awe - dat'll loosen their tongue"...

Iran Refuses To Hold Talks With EU On Halting Uranium Enrichment
November 27, 2007 The Iranian government has adamantly refused to hold discussions regarding the proposed halting of its uranium enrichment program, during its talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

The EU has attempted to hold talks with Iran in the hopes of easing the building tension regarding the actual and potential purpose of Tehran's nuclear program. Gholam Hossei Elham, the spokesman for the Iranian government, identified the halting of their uranium enrichment to be "a step backward and [it] is not the agenda of the talks."

Elham added that the halting of the uranium enrichment would be to violate the rights that the nation and its people have. "The Islamic republic has clear rights and it is a principle to preserve its rights," Elham said. "It is a principle not to accept unlawful commitments and impositions." Solana is expected to give feedback to the U.N. Secretary Council regarding Iran's response to the uranium halting proposal. The feedback will likely be the determining factor in whether or not Iran would be served with a third set of sanctions.

Iran has been accused by the U.S. of actively enriching uranium to secretly create nuclear weapons. Tehran has continuously denied these allegations, insisting that their nuclear program is merely to obtain nuclear power.

Iran Refuses To Hold Talks With EU On Halting Uranium Enrichment | November 27, 2007 | AHN

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Maybe Ahmadinejad is on heroin...

Drug problem escalating in Iran
Sunday 23rd December, 2007 - Iran is awash with heroin from factories in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Anti-narcotics bureau personnel in Iran say some 2,500 tonnes of drugs are smuggled into the country each year. They believe the figure accounts for more than 30 percent of total annual Afghan drug production.

After reaching Iran, 25 percent is consumed and the rest is smuggled into Turkey and Europe.

Authorities are lucky to sieze 25 percent of the heroin, even though penalties for supplying or consuming the drug can include hanging. Iran has a high number of addicts with official figures putting the number at two million.

Drug problem escalating in Iran

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Granny says, "He better quit with the naval shenanigans if he knows what's good for him"...

Iran Threatens U.S. Warships In International Waters Of Hormuz Strait
January 7, 2008 Washington, DC (AHN) - There was reportedly an incident involving harassment of United States warships by Iran in the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.

U.S. officials say that three U.S. Navy war ships were harassed and provoked by five Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats. The Iranians made threatening moves, advancing their boats toward the U.S. warships while also making threats over radio transmissions.

On one of the radio transmissions the Revolutionary Guard said, "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes," U.S. officials told CNN. At that point the U.S. warships manned their gun stations and almost fired on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats before the Iranians stopped advancing and turned away.

This all happened in outside of Iranian territorial waters in international waters in the Persian Gulf, which all nations are free to use. It is also a strategic water way through which much of the world's oil passes through on its way out of many oil producing states to the rest of the world.

Iran Threatens U.S. Warships In International Waters Of Hormuz Strait | January 7, 2008 | AHN

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Next time Fearless W gonna give the OK to kick their butts...

Bush calls Iran-U.S. sea confrontation "provocative"
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2008 -- U.S. President George W. Bush described on Tuesday Iran's act in the recent confrontation between the ships of the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz as "provocative."

It is the first direct response from Bush himself on the incident. Asked by a reporter at a news conference on whether Iran intended to provoke the United States into a fight in the incident, he said, "I think it was a provocative act." "It is a dangerous situation. They should not have done it, pure and simple," he added.

"Iran was a threat. And Iran will continue to be a threat if they are allowed to learn how to enrich uranium," he said. The Pentagon said Monday that five Iranian boats had harassed and threatened three U.S. Navy warships in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.

Bush administration officials immediately warned Iran to refrain from taking "provocative actions that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future." But Iran responded by calling the incident "something normal" and said the incident has been resolved.

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Sounds like Ahmadinejad writing the textbooks...

Iran Schoolbooks Teach Jihad, Martyrdom, Study Shows
March 12, 2008 Washington - When third grade school children in Iran turn to page 113 of their textbook "Let's Read," they find a passage that says, "At that time, the Israeli officer pounded (three-year-old) Muhammad's head with the rifle's stock and his warm blood sprinkled upon his (six-year-old brother) Khaled's hands."

The Iranian textbook was published in 2004, before the controversial Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president of Iran in 2005. In another third-grade text, "Gifts of Heavan," an illustration of a monster wearing the Star of David is seen going through a tidy Muslim town leaving garbage everywhere. While those examples could seem shocking to some, it gets worse, said Arnon Groiss, director of research at the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, who recently completed a study of 115 Iranian school textbooks. (Most of the books reviewed in the study had been published in 2004.)

"Indoctrination is less felt in the lower grades and increases in the higher grades," Groiss said, speaking at a forum Monday on the topic at the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. The books are part of an overall indoctrination effort aimed at school children. This effort includes rewritten Iranian history and the inclusion of Jihadist political views in science and geography texts, he said. The seventh grade text "Islamic Culture and Religious Instruction," which refers to the West and Israel as the "Arrogant Ones," tells students that war is unavoidable and victory is guaranteed "in order to continue with all our power our revolution against the Arrogant Ones and the oppressors."

An eighth grade text says the "army of Islam would make the Arrogant Ones fall in holy Jihad and heavy attack." "This is a form of child abuse rejected by all civilized countries," said Groiss, who for 30 years was an Arab-language journalist and is currently deputy director at Israel Broadcasting Authorities Arabic Radio. "This pictures a regime bent on global war to the point of self-destruction."

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Now he tryin' to get OPEC to quit acceptin' our money...

Iranian president wants OPEC off dollars
Calls for cartel to price deals with a common currency, use joint bank
Sun., April. 6, 2008

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is urging OPEC members to form a joint bank and stop pricing oil trades in U.S. dollars. According to the Iranian government's Web site, Ahmadinejad told OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem el-Badri the cartel "should establish a joint bank as well as having joint currency."

Oil is priced in U.S. dollars on the world market, and the currency's depreciation has concerned producers because it has contributed to rising crude prices and eroded the value of their dollar reserves.

Iran has repeatedly urged OPEC members to shift sales away from dollar. But Iran's proposal to trade oil in a basket of currencies is not supported by enough OPEC members, which include staunch U.S. allies such as leading producer Saudi Arabia.

Iranian president wants OPEC off dollars - Oil & energy - MSNBC.com

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As I understand it, the Baha'i are pacificists, kinda like a mid-east version of our Amish or Quakers...

Iran's arrest of Baha'is condemned
May 16, 2008 -- Six Baha'i leaders arrested in raids on their homes, Baha'i news service says; "Their only crime is practice of their faith," says Baha'i representative to U.N.; No comment from Iranian government; arrests not reported in Iran's state-run media; U.S. government panel calls arrests a sign of vanishing religious freedom in Iran

Six Baha'i leaders in Iran were seized and imprisoned this week, the religious group said. The act prompted condemnation and concern from the movement and a top American religious freedom panel. Iranian intelligence agents searched the homes of the six on Wednesday and then whisked them away, according to the Baha'i's World News Service. The report said the six are in Evin prison and that the arrests follow the detention in March of another Baha'i leader. The Iranian Foreign Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment, and the incident has not been mentioned in Iran's state-run media.

"Their only crime is their practice of the Baha'i faith," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i international community to the United Nations. The U.S. State Department issued a statement Friday "strongly" condeming the arrests, which it said were "a clear violation of the Iranian regime's international commitments and obligations to respect international religious freedom norms. "We urge the authorities to release all Baha'is currently in detention and cease their ongoing harassment of the Iranian Baha'i community," the U.S. statement said.

The group -- regarded as the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran -- says the arrests are reminiscent of roundups and killings of Baha'is that took place in Iran two decades ago. "Especially disturbing is how this latest sweep recalls the wholesale arrest or abduction of the members of two national Iranian Baha'i governing councils in the early 1980s -- which led to the disappearance or execution of 17 individuals," Dugal said. "The early morning raids on the homes of these prominent Baha'is were well-coordinated, and it is clear they represent a high-level effort to strike again at the Baha'is and to intimidate the Iranian Baha'i community at large," she added.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom -- a government panel that advises the president and Congress -- condemned the Wednesday arrests, as well as another in March. The commission chairman called the acts the "latest sign of the rapidly deteriorating status of religious freedom and other human rights in Iran." The commission said the seven were members of an informal Baha'i group that tended to the needs of the community after the Iranian government banned all formal Baha'i activity in 1983. The commission chairman, Michael Cromartie, echoed the fears that the "development signals a return to the darkest days of repression in Iran in the 1980s when Baha'is were routinely arrested, imprisoned, and executed."

More Iran's arrest of Baha'is condemned - CNN.com