Iran watching U.S. troops, says in missile range

Reuters

Sep 24, 2007

TEHRAN (Reuters) - U.S. troop movements are being monitored by Iran using satellites and other technology and would be in range of Iranian missiles if an attack was launched, a top Iranian military official said.

In remarks published by Iranian newspapers on Monday, Yahya Rahim Safavi, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also said he did not expect any U.S. attack because America was too bogged down in Iraq.

Washington has refused to rule out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to end its atomic work, which the West says is aimed at making bombs despite Tehran's denials.

Speculation about a U.S. attack has been spurred on by comments by French officials who have said an extra diplomatic push was needed to avoid the possibility of a war with Iran.

"Iran has now a strong intelligence system and missiles. We are closely watching the foreigners' moves in neighboring countries by highly advanced satellite technology and advanced radars. If they enter our airspace or our territorial waters, they will get a fair response," Rahim Safavi said. Read More

As Ahmadinejad heads for NYC, protesters head for Columbia

Associated Press

September 23, 2007

NEW YORK (AP) _ Critics of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepared for protests as the hardline leader headed Sunday for New York, where his planned speeches at a high-profile university and the United Nations have aroused a storm of opposition.

Some elected officials and civic leaders planned to demonstrate Sunday outside Columbia University, where Ahmadinejad was scheduled to speak Monday.

Protests were to follow Monday near Columbia and the U.N., where the Iranian president was to address the General Assembly on Tuesday. Some political leaders and religious groups have said Columbia should not give Ahmadinejad a platform.

Among them are the head of the City Council, Christine Quinn, who has said "the idea of Ahmadinejad as an honored guest anywhere in our city is offensive to all New Yorkers." ... Read More

Iranian president set for chilly reception in New York

Agence France Presse
September 23, 2007

NEW YORK (AFP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is set to arrive in New York on Sunday amid a storm of controversy and facing angry protests over his appearances at the United Nations and a top university.

The outspoken Iranian leader, who has openly called for the destruction of Israel and questioned the existence of the Holocaust, is due to speak at Columbia University on Monday, a day before addressing the UN General Assembly.

The visit has sparked bitter controversy in the United States, where the Iranian leader is considered an ally of Islamic militants and Iraqi insurgents blamed for the deaths of thousands of US troops deployed there...

Protesters were expected to rally outside Columbia's main gates on Sunday against the visit, while Iranian opposition exiles were to demonstrate outside the United Nations on Tuesday as Ahmadinejad addresses the world body... Read More

Ahmadinejad In New York

New York Sun

Editorial
September 20, 2007

If the bizarre request of President Ahmadinejad to lay a wreath at ground zero has been put to rest once and for all, New Yorkers can thank three persons — the police commissioner, Raymond Kelly; Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Daniel Gillerman, and Matt Drudge. That, at least, is how we reconstruct the events that yesterday stunned and briefly outraged thousands of New Yorkers, a number of candidates on the hustings, and even the White House, as it looked for a while that consideration might be given to the idea that the Iranian anti-Semite and terror master, due in town for a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, might be allowed downtown to visit the scene of Al Qaeda's crime...

The person who could prevent this entire farce from taking place is the district attorney of Queens County, Richard Brown. When Mr. Ahmadinejad flies into John F. Kennedy International Airport, he'll be in Queens. That is the borough of Specialist Jonathan Rivadeneira of the U.S. Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, who was killed on Friday in Iraq by an improvised explosive device of the sort that American officials say are supplied and crafted by Iran. Rivadeneira's death left his mother, Martha Clark of Jackson Heights, Queens, childless. Let Mr. Brown seek a warrant for Mr. Ahmadinejad's arrest and give him a true civics lesson in an American dock. Let's just say we have no doubt that, were a warrant issued, Mr. Kelly and New York's Finest would be delighted to enforce it. Read More...

NYPD bars Iran's Ahmadinejad from Ground Zero

Newsday
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
September 20, 2007

A firestorm erupted yesterday over a request from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to visit Ground Zero so he could lay a wreath where nearly 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11 terror attack.

The request, made by the Iran leader's representative earlier this month, was rejected by the New York City Police Department because the site is closed while construction continues on the Freedom Tower.

But a misstatement by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who said the request was still being considered, made its way to the Web sites of several newspapers, spread quickly and sparked a torrent of criticism from presidential candidates.

"Ahmadinejad's shockingly audacious request should be met with a vehement no," Republican candidate Mitt Romney said. "It's inconceivable that any consideration would be given to the idea of entertaining the leader of a state sponsor of terror at Ground Zero."

Rudy Giuliani jumped into the fray, calling Ahmadinejad's request "outrageous" and describing him as "a man who has made threats against America and Israel; is harboring bin Laden's son and other al-Qaida leaders; is shipping arms to Iraqi insurgents; and is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons."

Another presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, said it is "unacceptable" for Ahmadinejad "to visit the site of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in our nation's history." Read More...

NYC to Iran's Ahmadinejad: No WTC Visit

Iran Leader Denied on WTC Wreath Request
The Associated Press
By PAT MILTON

September 20, 2007

NEW YORK - A request by Iran's president to lay a wreath at the World Trade Center site next week has been turned down by police and blasted by U.S. diplomats as an attempt to turn ground zero into a "photo op."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is to arrive Sunday to address the U.N.'s General Assembly, asked the city and the U.S. Secret Service earlier this month for permission to visit the site of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The request to enter the fenced-in site was rejected because of ongoing construction there and due to security concerns, police spokesman Paul Browne said Wednesday.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said a visit to ground zero "is a matter for the city of New York, but it seems more than odd that the president of a country that is a state sponsor of terror would visit ground zero." Read More...

Iran's Ahmadinejad denied Trade Center visit

Reuters
September 19, 2007
By Christine Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been denied a request to visit the World Trade Center site of the September 11 attacks, New York police said on Wednesday. Ahmadinejad, who regularly accuses the United States of arrogance in his speeches, had asked to visit the site while in New York for the United Nations General Assembly this month.

"The site is closed to visitors because of construction there," police spokesman Paul Browne said in a statement. "Requests for the Iranian president to visit the immediate area would also be opposed by the NYPD on security grounds." Police said they were unsure why Ahmadinejad wanted to visit.

The mere notion of Ahmadinejad visiting drew fire from White House hopefuls on both sides of the political divide. Washington has long accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism.

"It is unacceptable for Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who refuses to renounce and end his own country's support of terrorism, to visit the site of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in our nation's history," Democratic U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a statement.

Former Republican New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani also opposed any such visit. "This is a man who has made threats against America and Israel, is harboring Bin Laden's son and other al Qaeda leaders, is shipping arms to Iraqi insurgents and is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons," he said. "Assisting Ahmadinejad in touring Ground Zero -- hallowed ground for all Americans -- is outrageous."

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, agreed with the police decision and accused Iran of supporting violent groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan. "We do not support that the tragedy that happened on a site where so many people lost their lives be used as a photo op," Khalilzad told reporters. Read More...

Iran threatens missile attacks on US targets

The Daily Telegraph
Tue. 18 Sep 2007

Iran threatened to fire long-range missiles at American targets in the Middle East yesterday as the war of words between Teheran and the West continued to escalate.

A senior commander of the Revolutionary Guard, the largest component of the Islamic republic's armed forces, chose this moment to outline the capability of his country's ballistic missiles. The Shahab-3 rocket has a range of 1,250 miles, allowing it to strike an array of Western targets across the Middle East.

"Today the Americans are around our country but this does not mean that they are encircling us. They are encircled themselves and are within our range," said Gen Mohammed Hassan Koussechi.

"If the United States is saying that they have identified 2,000 targets in Iran, then what is certain is that it is the Americans who are all around Iran and are equally our targets," he told the official IRNA news agency. Gen Koussechi added: "We have reached capacities that allow us to hit the enemy at a range of 2,000 kilometres."

A wide array of possible targets faces Iran across the Gulf. Dubai, filled with Western companies, tourists and expatriates, is only 105 miles away. Iran's armed forces already occupy Abu Musa, an island claimed by the United Arab Emirates, 40 miles from Dubai.

Other potential targets include the oilfields in Saudi Arabia's Eastern province, the headquarters of America's Central Command in Qatar and the main harbour of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus is also in range. Read More...

Ban Iran's President from UN: Romney

Agence France Presse

September 17, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Monday called for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be banned from the UN General Assembly next week and indicted for genocide.

The former Massachusetts governor called on United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to revoke Ahmadinejad's invitation to the assembly and warned that absent strong action, Washington should reconsider support for the world body.

"I call on the United Nations to revoke any invitation to President Ahmadinejad to address the General Assembly," Romney wrote in a letter to Ban.

"If President Ahmadinejad sets foot in the United States, he should be handed an indictment under the Genocide Convention," Romney wrote.

"The United States and the world must take a strong stand against the terrorist Iranian regime and the time for action is now." Read More...

U.N. official: Iran should stop executing children

Associated Press
Mon. 17 Sep 2007

GENEVA (AP) — Iran should immediately halt the execution of children, the U.N.'s top human rights official said Monday.

Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said she met with Iranian officials during a visit to Tehran earlier this month and urged them to impose a moratorium on the execution of minors.

"Even if the legislation in the books appears to permit the imposition of the death penalty on minors ... it would be imperative that they not be executed," she told journalists in Geneva.

Iran is one of the few countries in the world that executes minors, in violation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

On Sunday Iranian media reported that a 16 year old was among two teenagers sentenced to death for raping and killing two young boys earlier this year. Read More...

Iran's Ahmadinejad to Receive Visa for U.N. Visit

The Washington Post
September 16, 2007

Despite brewing tensions between the United States and Iran, the United States will grant a visa to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to take part in the opening of the U.N. General Assembly next week, according to the State Department.

Iran has submitted visa applications for more than 130 officials in the delegation.

The State Department had to seek a special waiver for Ahmadinejad from the Department of Homeland Security because of unresolved allegations that he was involved in the 1979-81 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, in which 52 hostages were held for 444 days.

Some former hostages say he was among the captors, although other former hostages as well as a probe by U.S. intelligence concluded that he was not the man pictured with some of the captives during the takeover.

Iran hangs three in south-west

Iran Focus
Fri. 14 Sep 2007

Tehran, Iran, Sep. 14 – Iranian authorities hanged three individuals in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, south-west Iran, state media reported earlier this week.

The unnamed individuals were hanged after the State Supreme Court upheld their sentences earlier this week, said Mousa Piriai, the prosecutor in the provincial capital Ahwaz. He comments were reported by the official news agency IRNA on Thursday.

The three people were accused of involvement in deadly bombings in the restive province more than a year ago. Khuzestan, which borders Iraq, has a large Arab population. Read More...

Iran rocket used in attack on key U.S. base in Iraq

Reuters

Sep 13, 2007

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Thursday an Iranian-made rocket was believed to have been used in an attack that killed one person on the headquarters of the American military in Iraq this week.

Military spokesman Major-General Kevin Bergner said it appeared followers of the anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were responsible for the attack on Tuesday.

"The attack used a 240 mm rocket, which is a weapon that these groups have received from Iranian sources in the past and recently used in other attacks against coalition forces," Bergner said at a news conference.

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with U.S. officials stepping up accusations that Iran is supplying weapons to Iraqi Shi'ite militias to kill U.S. soldiers, a charge Iran denies. U.S. commanders say that apart from rockets and mortars, sophisticated roadside bombs made from Iranian components have killed scores of U.S. troops... Read More

West puts Iran in dock at U.N. rights forum

Reuters
September 13, 2007

GENEVA (Reuters) - Western countries on Thursday voiced concern at the rising number of executions in Iran as well as the "treatment of women as second class citizens" there.

Envoys from Canada and Portugal, the latter speaking on behalf of the European Union, criticized the Islamic Republic at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Canada's John Von Kaufmann said Iran's "deteriorating human rights situation" contravened its obligations under both international and domestic laws.

"Canada is concerned by the treatment of women as second class citizens under Iranian law and the suppression of peaceful demonstration in support of women's rights," he added.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said she had urged Iranian officials in talks in Tehran last week to ensure the right to peaceful public expression, and had raised the subject of the execution of juveniles.

The number of executions in the country, many in public, has risen since July with the launch of a summer crackdown on what Iran calls "immoral behavior." ... Read More

Iran hangs seven in public

Iran Focus
Wed. 12 Sep 2007

Tehran, Iran Sep. 12 – Iranian authorities hanged seven individuals in public on Wednesday in the south-eastern town of Mahan, state media reported.

The seven men were identified as Ali Orang, Davoud Talebi, Majid Barzekar, Majid Man’ami, Mohammad Bameri, Amr Bameri, and Mehdi Pour-Sheikh-Ali

“These seven individuals were hanged for trouble-making and armed drug trafficking”, the head of Mahan’s Revolutionary Court, Ali Salari, told the government-owned news agency Fars.

On Friday, the chief of state security forces in Mahan was killed by “trouble-makers”, the report added.

Iranian authorities routinely execute dissidents on bogus charges such as armed robbery and drug smuggling.

Iran chops off hands of four men

Iran Focus
Wed. 12 Sep 2007

Tehran, Iran, Sep. 12 – The hands of four men were chopped off as punishment for robbery in north-west Iran, state media reported on Wednesday.

The prosecutor’s office in the city of Mashad identified the four men only by their initials E. K., H. F., M. D., and Q. R., according to the state-run news agency ISNA.

The sentence was carried out on Tuesday, the report added.

The men had been charged with repeated robbery. Each had one hand amputated.

Petraeus says Iran involvement in attacks 'clear'

Agence France Presse
Wed. 12 Sep 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The top US commander in Iraq said Wednesday there was hard evidence of Iranian involvement in attacks on US soldiers but demurred on whether US forces should respond with operations inside Iran.

General David Petraeus said the evidence included captured hard drives that contained digitized items taken from the wallet of a US soldier killed in an assault in January in Karbala along with four other US soldiers.

"The evidence is very, very clear," Petraeus told a news conference here. "We captured it when we captured Qais Khazali, the Lebanese Hezbollah deputy commander and others. And it's in black and white."

Khazali is alleged to be an Iraqi member of the Iranian backed cell that stormed a security station in Karbala January 20, killing a visiting US soldier and kidnapping four others, who were later found dead... Read More

Two hanged in Iran cities

Iran Focus
Tue. 11 Sep 2007

Tehran, Iran, Sep. 11 – Two men were hanged in central and north-eastern Iran on Tuesday, state media reported.

One of the men, identified as Mohammad Hossein-Zadeh, 49, was hanged in public in the holy city of Qom, central Iran, the government-owned news agency Fars said.

The second man, identified only as Javad Z., was hanged in a prison in the city of Mashad, a separate report said.

Iran hangs 17 in one day

Iran Focus
Wed. 05 Sep 2007

Tehran, Iran, Sep. 05 – Iranian authorities hanged 17 men on Wednesday, the latest in a spate of group executions.

State media said that the 17 were hanged in the north-eastern province of Khorassan Razavi.

“Following legal procedures, 17 individuals were hanged for drug smuggling in Khorassan Razavi province this morning”, state television reported.

Iranian authorities routinely execute dissidents on bogus charges such as armed robbery and drug smuggling.

U.S. arrests operatives smuggling Iranian EFPs into Iraq

Iran Focus
Mon. 03 Sep 2007

London, Sep. 03 – U.S.-led forces arrested seven suspected weapons facilitators during a pre-dawn raid on Sunday in the town of Qasarin, north of Baghdad.

“Coalition forces conducted the raid to capture seven suspected weapons distributors that may be connected to various Special Groups operating in and around Baghdad. Those detained are suspected of being responsible for distributing deadly explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) and other weapons flowing from Iran into Iraq”, the Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) said in a statement.

“Coalition forces believe information provided by these detainees may lead to more detentions of persons affiliated with weapons smuggling networks”, it said.

“Several structures searched during the raid revealed numerous weapons and associated ammunition, rocket propelled grenade components, and electronic devices suspected to be EFP components. Various documents and photographs were also found and confiscated for further analysis”, it added.

Ahmadinejad’s Master: Iran Will Outsmart West on Nuclear Issue

Agence France Presse
September 03, 2007

TEHRAN -- Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pledged on Monday that Iran would never yield to Western pressure over its nuclear programme, and it would outsmart "drunken and arrogant" Western opponents in the standoff.

The renewed expression of defiance from Iran's undisputed number one came after US President George W. Bush said last week that allowing Tehran's nuclear drive to continue unabated could spark a "nuclear holocaust."

"The Iranian nation has withstood and it will withstand intimidation. It will never bow to any intimidation in the nuclear issue and in other matters," state broadcasting quoted Khamenei as telling a group of elite students.

"Iran will defeat these drunken and arrogant powers using its artful and wise ways," he added.

Ahmadinejad Says 3,000 Centrifuges are Running

September 02, 2007
Reuters

TEHRAN -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday Iran had met a planned target of installing and running 3,000 atomic centrifuges used in enriching uranium, Iranian news agencies reported.

Iran had said it aimed to have that many centrifuges, which are set up in interlinked networks or "cascades" of 164 machines each, by the end of July. Diplomats in Vienna have said Iran appeared to have fewer than the target of 3,000 operating.

The diplomats have also said Iran's nuclear work appeared to have slowed down during the summer, possibly due to technical glitches or for fear of spurring world powers to pass a third U.N. sanctions resolution. Iran has denied any slowdown.

"We have more than 3,000 centrifuges working and every week a new set is installed," the president was quoted as saying.

Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to build atomic weapons and are particularly concerned about progress in the country's enrichment program because the process can be use to make fuel for power plants or, if desired, bomb material.

Western experts say 3,000 centrifuges operating non-stop and without glitches for long periods could make enough material for one bomb in about a year, if that was Iran's goal.

Iran hangs man in public

Iran Focus
Sun. 02 Sep 2007

Tehran, Iran, Sep. 02 – Iranian authorities hanged a man in public south of the capital Tehran on Sunday, state media reported.

The man, identified as Amir-Hossein Rouhafza, was hanged from a crane in the early hours of the day in the town of Gharchak.

Rouhafza, 28, had been convicted of killing a judge called Javad Jafarpour in Gharchak.

The state-run news agency ISNA said that local officials were present at the site of the execution.