http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=215&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=215&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=215&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:30 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=214&mi=1 Iranian pro-democracy activist Kourosh Zaim has been handed a three-year suspend

4/15/2012

TEHRAN – Iranian pro-democracy activist Kourosh Zaim has been handed a three-year suspended sentence after judges found him guilty of acting against national security and spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic. The 72-year-old member of the opposition National Front has been a vocal critic of the regime in Tehran. Zaim was arrested in February 2011, hours after an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda was broadcast.

In the interview, he said authoritarian regimes in the region would inevitably face "social explosions," especially due to the fact that the majority of the populations there are young people who have access to information through social media.

It's not clear, however, whether Zaim's arrest was connected to the interview.

Source : Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=214&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=214&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=214&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:29 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=213&mi=1 What Would War with Iran Look Like?

3/5/2012

What Would War with Iran Look Like?

BY: JEFFREY WHITE





The debate over what to do about an Iranian Islamist dictatorship regime apparently bent on acquiring nuclear weapons has been on or near our front burner for at least six years, and is now almost a settled feature of the policy landscape. There is general agreement in the United States on two points. First, an Islamist dictatorship nuclear weapons capability is “unacceptable”, as both the Bush and Obama Administrations have put it; and second, we prefer getting to an acceptable outcome without using force. The debate gets testy when we consider that means short of force, such as sanctions and covert technical sabotage, might not work.



It may be too simple to reduce the argument to just two sides—those who fear the regime’s acquisition of nuclear weapons more than the consequences of a war to prevent it, and those who fear the consequences of a war above all else—but in this case simplicity has the virtue of capturing the essence as observers ponder which set of unpalatable risks they would rather run. What is remarkable, though hardly surprising, is that the two sides usually put forth very different assessments of what using force would entail. Those who fear Iranian nukes above all else tend to minimize the risks of using force, while those who fear war tend to exaggerate them. Neither side, however, has persuasively spelled out the reasons for their assessment, leading one to suspect that much of the argument rests on less than rigorous analysis.

What would an honest assessment of the risks of military conflict with Iran look like? How should we think about it? These are difficult questions even for those who are not partisans of one side or the other. Wars are notorious for yielding unintended and unexpected consequences; for reasons explained below, a war against Iran is even harder than usual to bound analytically.

Complexity, Uncertainty and War

Our first consideration in analyzing the likely course of war with Iran is that a U.S.-led attack would be merely the first phase of a war, the opening act of an extended drama whose scenes would unfold, not according to any script, but to an emergent logic of its own. Given the political context in which military engagement would rest, even a minor attack would likely become a major test of strength involving not only the United States and Iran but also a host of allies and associates. It is therefore disingenuous to try to frame military action against Iran as a simple “raid” or even a broader “operation.” We are talking here about war, with attendant potential high costs to all combatants in terms of military casualties, civilian damage and economic disruption.

At least three concepts are key to any coherent discussion of a U.S.-Iranian military engagement: complexity, uncertainty and war itself. By complexity we mean the number of moving parts in a given situation: actors, processes and the connections among them. By uncertainty we mean structural uncertainty—that is, not just ignorance of the magnitudes of agreed casual factors, but the ignorance of the causal factors themselves, and their mutual relations. For example, not only may the U.S. government not know, say, the technical status of the Iranian nuclear program, or the actual state of readiness of Iranian forces. It may not know (or worse, have wrong) the decision-making and implementation protocols of the Iranian government, how the Iranian people and military would react to an attack, what Tehran would ask its allies and proxies to do, and what in fact they will do.

Enemy disinformation, as well as simple error, can also set us on the wrong track. The enemy acts not just on the battlefield but also through an ability to influence our understanding of the situation by means of denial and deception. In this and other ways complexity reinforces uncertainty.1 The large number of actors involved in the Iranian situation would make it very difficult to discern clearly what is happening once the shooting starts, and the scene would remain very fluid as long as the fight persisted, and very likely for a good while afterward.

As to the meaning of war, it may hardly seem worthwhile to probe something so self-evident, except that it is not self-evident anymore, if it ever was. A simple definition of war is the waging of armed conflict against an enemy, but this is too limited a concept in the 21st century. War in our time involves simultaneous conflict in the military, diplomatic, economic and social domains on four levels: political, strategic, operational and tactical.3 While a war with Iran might begin in the military domain, it would likely expand to others, and while it might begin at the operational or tactical level it would soon encompass strategic and political levels as well.

How these twin expansions would take place has everything to do with context. All wars have one. Would a U.S.-Iran’s Despot war break out during a protracted diplomatic process, or in the absence or abeyance of one? Would it happen during a period of increasing tension and military readiness, or out of the blue, after one party thinks that the dangers of war have subsided? Would the U.S. government assemble a broad “coalition of the willing”, just a few close allies-in-arms at the ready, or go it alone, even actively dissuading Israel from joining an attack? What would the domestic political situation be in the United States? Would there be an internal political consensus to act, or would there be an active, acrimonious debate? Would the American people be prepared for the aftermath of an initial attack, including rising oil prices and falling stock values? What would the economic situation be like in the United States and beyond? The answers to these questions would have a substantial impact on the war’s course, conduct and outcome.

Whose War, for What Purpose?

Perhaps the most critical contextual element concerns how senior U.S. decision-makers, the presumed initiators of war in this case, would construe their war aims.5 These aims must somehow affirm that force can be employed to achieve reasonable political and strategic objectives, but those objectives could range from the limited to the expansive. Three sets of objectives come readily to mind.

First, a war could aim to simply delay the Iranian nuclear weapons program through the physical destruction of key facilities and human assets: a Peenemünde option, so to speak.6 Second, war could aim to effectively end the Iranian nuclear program by inflicting broad damage on its components and other key regime assets, military, infrastructure and leadership, combined with the threat to re-strike as necessary: a submission option. Third, war could aim to topple the regime through a concerted campaign against its assets and supporting mechanisms, coupled with support to its presumably less WMD-desirous opponents: a regime change option.

The U.S. government has military options corresponding more or less to these aims. A Peenemünde option would presuppose a narrowly focused, short duration strike largely limited to nuclear facilities. It would aim to inflict serious damage, but also to restrict the scope of conflict. Such an attack would rely on U.S. stealth systems, electronic warfare, cruise missiles and air power. U.S. allies could play a supporting role, especially in dealing with an Iranian response, but American forces would carry the brunt of the action.

A submission option would call for a sustained air and naval campaign against nuclear associated facilities, air defense systems, command centers, offensive missile forces, naval forces and the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Republic (IRGC), the regime’s praetorian guard and shock troops. This campaign would aim to severely damage the nuclear program, limit Iran’s ability to defend against the attack (and subsequent re-strikes, if necessary) and reduce its capabilities for post-attack retaliation.

A regime-change option would require a broad military offensive that could include nuclear facilities, air defenses, Iran’s retaliatory capabilities, leadership targets, regime supporters, and national infrastructure and economic targets. This could include putting some forces on the ground to collect intelligence and neutralize specific targets that are difficult to strike effectively with air power. No large-scale ground operations are likely, but they cannot be ruled out at some levels of conflict and in some scenarios, such as those that posit a need to open and secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.

In general, the more expansive a war’s goals as a plan escalates from strike to campaign to broad offensive, the greater the force needed to achieve those goals, the greater the uncertainty in achieving them, and the greater the consequences of both success and failure. Moreover, a war’s goals at the outset of conflict may not remain stable. Early sudden successes or unanticipated failures can lead to the escalation of initially limited goals, particularly if terminating hostilities proves difficult. Lateral expansion as well as escalation is also possible: Iranian leaders might surrender or agree to a truce but be unable to enforce a similar decision on Hizballah leaders or terror agents around the world. This leads to yet another layer of complexity and uncertainty: Whose war would this be?

A U.S.-Iranian war would probably not be fought by the United States and Iran alone. Each would have partners or allies, both willing and not-so-willing. Pre-conflict commitments, longstanding relationships, the course of operations and other factors would place the United States and Iran at the center of more or less structured coalitions of the marginally willing.

A Western coalition could consist of the United States and most of its traditional allies (but very likely not Turkey, based on the evolution of Turkish politics) in addition to some Persian Gulf states, Jordan and perhaps Egypt, depending on where its revolution takes it. Much would depend on whether U.S. leaders could persuade others to go along, which would mean convincing them that U.S. forces could shield them from Iranian and Iranian-proxy retaliation, or at least substantially weaken its effects.
Coalition warfare would present a number of challenges to the U.S. government. Overall, it would lend legitimacy to the action, but it would also constrict U.S. freedom of action, perhaps by limiting the scope and intensity of military operations. There would thus be tension between the desire for a small coalition of the capable for operational and security purposes and a broader coalition that would include marginally useful allies to maximize legitimacy.

The U.S. administration would probably not welcome Israeli participation. But if Israel were directly attacked by Iran or its allies, Washington would find it difficult to keep Israel out—as it did during the 1991 Gulf War. That would complicate the U.S. ability to manage its coalition, although it would not necessarily break it apart. Iranian diplomacy and information operations would seek to exploit Israeli participation to the fullest.

Iran would have its own coalition. Hizballah in particular could act at Iran’s behest both by attacking Israel directly and by using its asymmetric and irregular warfare capabilities to expand the conflict and complicate the maintenance of the U.S. coalition. The escalation of the Hizballah-Israel conflict could draw in Syria and Hamas; Hamas in particular could feel compelled to respond to an Iranian request for assistance. Some or all of these satellite actors might choose to leave Iran to its fate, especially if initial U.S. strikes seemed devastating to the point of decisive. But their involvement would spread the conflict to the entire eastern Mediterranean and perhaps beyond, complicating both U.S. military operations and coalition diplomacy.

It seems fairly clear then that a conflict with Iran is unlikely to be an isolated event in which the U.S. strikes, Iran retaliates, and it’s over—with Iran either left with a viable nuclear program or not. War is far more likely to be a series of actions played out over time at varying levels of intensity and with a strong potential for escalation. Nor can war with Iran be limited to military action; it will extend to the diplomatic, economic and social domains. U.S. decision-makers might prefer a limited war that would privilege U.S. military and technical advantages, but Iran can force a broader conflict, where it can employ its own political, economic and social means of waging war, including terrorist attacks on U.S. soil and against U.S. interests abroad. The challenge for the United States would be to conduct the conflict so that the longer and broader the war, the more Iran would lose. That objective should affect how the U.S. government would fight in all four domains.

This means that even if the shooting starts at the military tactical or operational levels, the United States or a U.S.-led coalition must plan for all four levels of war and organize itself to ensure unity of command and purpose across those levels. It will, for example, find itself involved in a “secret war” of terrorist attacks and special counter-terror operations outside the main theater of conflict. It will find itself in a “political war” involving Iranian and allied diplomatic and information operations to weaken support from other states and actors for the U.S. coalition and mobilize support for Iran. It will find itself in an “economic war” featuring Iranian efforts to disrupt the oil market.7 A “social war” would involve appeals to Islamic solidarity and attempts to weaken popular support for adversary governments through influence operations and attacks aimed at civilians. In such a broad and protracted contest, the United States might not enjoy a favorable balance of advantages. It is by no means clear, either, that the U.S. government is structured to effectively prosecute such a war, or that its intelligence capabilities are oriented properly toward supporting it.

Given these caveats and complexities, it seems to follow that if the United States chose to attack Iran, it would do so in ways that would prevent Iran from expanding the conflict into areas where it held an advantage. The reasoning might go something like this: Since the Iranian regime has many ways to widen a war into domains that do not favor the United States, the best option is to execute regime-change before the regime can open its bag of tricks. Or it might go like this: Start small, but if the Iranians escalate the war, shift immediately to a regime-change option before they can succeed. Almost needless to say, these are hard-to-control and high-risk approaches. A decapitation strategy, we know, did not fare so well in March 2003 against Iraq, and it would probably be harder to pull off against a more deeply institutionalized polity like Iran.

As for a “start small” approach, let’s suppose that the war begins with a limited air and naval operation. Iran could respond in a limited “tit-for-tat” way. But the regime might conclude that the operation is intended to remove it from power (or succeed in doing so unintentionally); if so, it might respond with a high level of violence along several axes of capability. There is simply no way to predict with confidence how radicals in Iran would respond to an initially limited U.S. attack. We must base our predictions largely on what the leadership says, the Iranian regime’s history and our limited intelligence on the regime’s internal dynamics.8 All this is subject to interpretation by experts employing various explicit or implicit models, the most prominent of which casts the regime as a “rational actor” that calculates risks and rewards like any Western state. In this model the highest goal is regime survival, a notion that doesn’t necessarily apply to the Iranian clerical regime. Clerics, even Christian ones from an earlier age, have been known to take their otherworldly prerogatives seriously.

All we can say, then, is that the regime would not try to martyr itself, nor would it be passive. Most likely, Iran would seek to prolong and expand the war, attrite U.S. forces and morale, and weaken the resolve of coalition members. Iran has the means, methods and allies with which to respond in this fashion, and it has made clear that it would use them.

Important Iranian conventional war assets include short- and medium-range missiles; strike aircraft; missile-equipped naval combatants and small boats; naval mine-laying capabilities; regular army and IRGC special forces; and air defense and coastal defense missiles. These conventional capabilities provide Iran a substantial ability for a local fight in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and along its borders.10 Iran “leans” on the Persian Gulf states from a military and political perspective. Shi‘a populations in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia could be a useful resource and environment for terrorist and irregular operations.

While the Iranian military is at its most dangerous close to its frontiers, we are not “safe” from it anywhere. Missile systems (principally the Shahab 3 variants and Sejjl types) allow Iran to strike targets throughout the Middle East, including population centers, military facilities, infrastructure and U.S. forces based in the region.11 Iranian missile numbers and launchers are limited, but Iran has other means of waging a global conflict, including its allies. For instance, Iran would likely attempt to induce Hizballah to attack Israel. Likewise, Hizballah would expect Iran to assist it and any conflict with Israel. Either case could eventually involve Syria.

Hizballah can now strike targets throughout Israel. Its missiles and rockets are also accurate enough to hit military installations and other important facilities, and it can fire as many as 500–600 per day. Hizballah also has the ability to conduct terrorist or special operations against civilian, military and infrastructure targets outside the immediate theater of war. Sheikh Nasrallah has plausibly threatened to attack shipping in the eastern Mediterranean in the event of a conflict with Israel.12 If Hizballah were to gain access to Syria’s P-800 Yakhont supersonic cruise missile system—a distinct possibility—it could potentially strike targets as distant as 300 kilometers from the Lebanese coast.

Syrian military forces are optimized and deployed for war with Israel, so it would have only a limited ability to directly assist Iran in a conflict with the United States. Syria’s missile systems could target military sites, logistics facilities and airfields in Israel. Syria’s Yakhont coastal defense cruise missile system gives it an enhanced capability to threaten naval and merchant vessels in the eastern Mediterranean.

Hamas is also part of this threat environment, although its offensive and defensive capabilities are much more limited than Hizballah’s. Hamas’s offensive capabilities rest on mortars and rockets of gradually increasing range, bringing more of central and southern Israel under threat with every upgrade. Hamas can now reach central Tel Aviv and beyond Beersheba in southern Israel.

Iran will likely supplement this proxy war by exploiting “images of victory”—such as sinking a U.S. naval unit or displaying U.S. casualties and prisoners to undermine support for the U.S. action and bolster its own supporters.

U.S. conventional military capabilities, especially combined with those of its likely allies, are of course far superior to those of Iran. In many recent years the size of the U.S. defense supplemental alone exceeded the entire Iranian defense budget. But a fight with Iran would not be a fair or clean fight. Winning in any meaningful sense might prove costly.

Escalation

If Iran’s advantage lies in broadening and widening a conflict once begun, how might we expect its leaders to go about it? At least three types of escalation are open to Tehran: horizontal, vertical and domain.

Horizontal escalation involves the spread of hostilities from beyond the immediate area of conflict to additional geographic areas and political actors.13 Iran’s means and methods, as discussed above, give it the ability to escalate horizontally within the Middle East region and beyond to include Europe and the United States.

Vertical escalation involves the employment of new or increasingly potent weapons systems, attacking new types of targets, or introducing additional types of forces into the conflict.14 What begins as essentially a fight between U.S. and allied air and naval strike assets and Iranian air defense assets could be quickly expanded by Iran to the use of offensive missile systems and naval surface and sub-surface forces in retaliation. Iranian escalation to the employment of WMD (if a war occurred after an Iranian breakout) seems unlikely short of an imminent threat to the regime, but that threat would be hanging in the air as fighting escalated.

Domain escalation refers to the expansion of the conflict from the purely military domain to the diplomatic, economic and social domains, in which Iran has some advantages.

In summary, an attack on Iran could produce dynamics that would push either or both sides to escalate the conflict even if neither had an interest or an initial intention to do so. Iranian civilian casualties, for example, could provoke Iran to step up its response. This becomes more likely as the scale of a U.S. attack increases. Downed U.S. aircrews could lead to search and rescue operations that could become significant military actions in their own right. The need to restrike targets that were missed or inadequately damaged could also prolong the conflict and involve additional forces. As the conflict developed, internal and external political pressures could press both antagonists to escalate the fighting.

On the other hand, there may also be countervailing pressures. A very successful operation could cause Iran to seek a rapid exit, at least from the military aspect of the war. So, too, could increased domestic unrest within Iran. International political pressure brought about by economic disruption of the oil market and fears of military escalation could work to restrain the United States. But we cannot rule out the possibility of escalation, and that knowledge should reinforce the need for clarity of purpose and a full understanding of the risks involved before we pull the trigger.

How It Ends

Just as we cannot rule out escalation, we cannot rule out the harmful protraction of a war. Every war has to end, but how it does so is no simple matter. Even if it were soundly defeated, Iran could complicate the endgame. It’s not simply a matter of our declaring “mission accomplished” and bringing the troops home. As retired Brigadier General Huba Wass de Czege writes:

Although Sun Tzu warned statesmen and generals many centuries ago that long wars benefit no one, they continue to occur, and for some very fundamental human reasons. Statesmen and generals who start wars commit themselves to worthy war aims that are expressed far too specifically—and too soon—in order to get the polity on board. Then they conceive of a strategy based on what they think they know about their capabilities and the situation. They begin taking concrete steps along the path that they think will get them to that end. They learn far too slowly that what they initially thought they knew was in fact wrong or no longer relevant. . . . Things can get much more convoluted by adding allies, different influential actors among the polity, and multiple adversaries. This is why wars are easier to get into than out of.

Knowing when to end a war relates to war aims and measures of success. A war’s aims should be definitive enough so that success can be measured in some clear way. This is easiest to do where the aims concern discrete things such as the destruction of material targets. Measuring success becomes harder as aims become more political and psychological, such as weakening or toppling a regime, encouraging opposition or deterring further action. Then, too, war aims can expand as fighting escalates or broadens. In a situation in which Iran has retaliated strongly and managed to inflict losses (especially civilian losses) on the United States or its coalition partners, we should expect to hear calls to inflict more damage, to punish the regime and its forces, to bring a “decisive” end to the conflict.

Short of inflicting a total defeat on Iran, an outcome that seems scarcely conceivable, exiting the war could be challenging if Iran chooses to fight on in some form of asymmetric conflict. We might then have to compel Iran to quit, and that could potentially require the application of force well beyond what was originally agreed upon within the United States or with coalition partners. Even then, if the Iranian regime survives at all, it is likely to declare victory, and many of its supporters would believe it. How or when a war with Iran would actually end is therefore no easy topic to nail down. Any attack on Iran of sufficient scale to significantly damage its nuclear program would have rolling consequences both in the short and long term. After the last bomb falls there will be a new reality in the region and beyond.

In the short term, there would be consequences in the military, diplomatic, economic and social domains. The intensity and locus of these consequences would depend on the outcome of the attack and conflict, but there would be “battle damage” in all domains. Short-term consequences would likely include a tense and unstable military situation (unless the conflict ended cleanly) that would require the commitment of forces for monitoring and reacting to emergent threats; and also a potential political crisis in the region propelled by instability and uncertainty about the future, including residual Iranian capabilities to retaliate directly or indirectly.16 The oil market would remain in shock for some time after an attack. Naval mines, wartime damage to facilities and irregular attacks on facilities or tankers would see to that. Social turmoil would be likely as various population groups react to the attack and subsequent conflict. In short, there would be no bright line ending the war in the economic, diplomatic and social realms.

To turn to the long-term consequences, Iran would almost certainly remain a major player in its region. Its adjustment to the war and its outcome would have a major role in shaping regional realities. A beaten, humiliated but still defiant Iran with essentially the same political system and approach to the region and the world would be a long-term, growing danger similar to Iraq after the First Gulf War (or Germany after World War I). This would extend beyond the military to include dangers in the other domains.

The first conclusion we should draw from this exercise is that the U.S. government should be prepared for a long and difficult conflict if it ultimately decides it must attack Iran. An attack might end quickly with few complications if Iran acts “rationally.” We may not like what that means, however: One “rational” ending for the Iranians would be to accept their losses, declare “victory” because the regime survived, lick their wounds, prepare for indirect retaliation, and resume nuclear activities on a clandestine basis. But a war might not end cleanly, and the U.S. administration could find itself in a messy and protracted conflict. This suggests the need for both an expansive approach to net assessment and deep and broad preparation not just of the military but also of the “home front” and the economy, for Iran may choose to fight on these fronts as well as within its own borders and in the region.

How well prepared is the United States for this kind of fight? This is at least in part a question of national or societal resilience. If all options are on the table, as both Bush and Obama Administration spokesmen have insisted, are preparations for employing all options being made ready? If not, then Iran may decide that some of the options on the table lack credibility.

The second conclusion we should take from this discussion is that, in attacking Iran, we would be trading one set of risks for another. Any option we choose, even choosing not to choose, will have political as well as military-strategic consequences. As hard as it is to know the consequences of war, it is just as hard to know the consequences of a decision to “learn to live” with a nuclear-armed Iran. Both courses are fraught and logically open-ended. Thus the fear of potentially negative consequences from a war should not necessarily rule one out. Winston Churchill, reflecting on British policy before World War II, wrote:

If the circumstances are such as to warrant it, force may be used. And if this be so, it should be used under the conditions which are most favourable. There is no merit in putting off a war for a year if, when it comes, it is a far worse war or one much harder to win.

In any case, if the United States decides to attack Iran it should certainly look before it leaps and prepare itself for a hard landing. Above all, U.S. leaders should not underestimate the scope or misread the broad nature of war and should therefore organize the U.S. government in advance to prosecute it coherently. In light of how we have fared with whole-of-government approaches and unity-of-command issues in Iraq and Afghanistan, this is clearly a requirement we need to take seriously.

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=213&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=213&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=213&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:28 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=212&mi=1 Political Trial of Kourosh Zaim at Revolutionary Court

3/5/2012

Political Trial of Kourosh Zaim at Revolutionary Court
Kourosh Zaim who was summoned to appear in Revolutionary Court on Tuesday March 6, 2012, will appear in court as scheduled along with his defense team consisting of attorneys Dr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Vahid Mojgani and Mrs. Giti Pourfazel.
He is accused of political and human rights activities which are specifically permitted and protected by Articles 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 37, 38 and 39 of the Islamic Republic of Iran Constitution; and for writings and speeches for democracy and human rights in Iran. He has been imprisoned for his political views and human rights activities, writings and speeches in 1980, 2007, 2009, and 2010.
Public Relations Office
Iran National Front
Tehran – March 5, 2012

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=212&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=212&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=212&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:27 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=211&mi=1 Zaim's letter to General Secretary of the OPEC

10/23/2011

October 19, 2011

Your Excellency Abdalla Salem El-Badri

General Secretary of the OPEC

Helferstorferstrasse 17

A-1010 Vienna, Austria

Subject: Gift of Iranian Representative to OPEC

Your Excellency,

On the occasion of the OPEC meeting in Tehran on October 19, 2011, the international representative of the Islamic Republic in Iran, Mr. Soltanieh, presented OPEC three gifts of Iranian modern and ancient art. Two of the gifts, Iranian rugs of high craftsmanship and value, and the third a priceless artifact of Iranian ancient history, the gold winged lion goblet dating back some 500 years BC. We would be very proud to have the rugs displayed in OPEC offices; however, not the goblet which is a part of Iranian national heritage.

The golden lionine belongs to the people of Iran, for which the government is only a custodian. According to the Iranian Constitution and relevant international laws no government has the right to sell, exchange or give as a gift an item of national treasure to any one at any time and under any circumstance.

We protest strongly this act of cultural treason committed by Mr. Soltanieh and the Islamic government and ask you to return this national treasure to our treasury immediately. The current government in Iran, which is in no way Iranian at heart, has no regard or respect for our pre-Islamic and ancient historical and cultural heritage. It has been systematically pilfering, destroying, and allowing theft or desecration of historical sites and symbols of Iranian ancient culture.

Your Excellency, the people of Iran request of you to refrain from accepting this Iranian treasure as a gift, thus showing your regard and respect for the Iranian people and international law.

Although, I personally believe that the treasure is safer in the hands of an internationally respected organization than in the hands of our government, your public announcement that the treasure will only be safeguarded by OPEC organization until Iran demands its return, will go a long way in gaining the love and respect of the Iranian people around the world for your person and for the OPEC organization. A separate letter of complaint will also be submitted to UNESCO.

Respectfully,

Kourosh Zaim

A cultural and political activist

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=211&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=211&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=211&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:26 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=210&mi=13 Free Korosh Zaim/A letter to UN Secretary General

3/5/2011

The Honorable Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General
‎
The United Nations Human Rights Council
‎350 5th Ave # 34
New York, NY 10118-3499
‎
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
‎
‎
Open Letter, RE: Recent political arrests and suppression of voices for democracy in Iran
‎
‎
Dear Secretary General Ban Ki-moon,
‎
Kourosh Zaim, an Iranian scholar, writer, and leading member of the National Front Party (Iran's ‎foremost secular democratic party) was arrested with no cause on the 10th of February, 2011. He is ‎imprisoned in Evin Prison, where he was kept all summer of 2009, while still awaiting his much ‎delayed trial for “activities against national security."
‎
Mr. Zaim is a prominent activist for democracy and human rights in Iran. His opposition to the ‎mismanagement of affairs by the Islamic regime in Iran, especially with regard to the nuclear ‎technology crisis and the destruction of Iran's rich cultural heritage sites, have consistently led the ‎regime to suppress his voice during democratic uprisings. He was last imprisoned during the June ‎‎2009 protests, shortly after speaking with international media. There was no charge, no formal arrest, ‎yet they put him in solitary confinement.
‎
Kourosh Zaim has voiced the Iranian nation’s opposition to the Islamic regime since the beginning. ‎Censorship of the press, silencing of the opposition, and forced retirement and expulsion of academics ‎from universities are the norm in Iran. Yet Mr. Zaim has always spoken out for democracy and human ‎rights, despite this repression. Now, imprisoning of known voices for human rights (including one of ‎Mr. Zaim's lawyers, Nasrin Sotoudeh) have become commonplace. With the great wave rising against ‎tyranny in the region, the Islamic regime has become terrified, and today more than ever Iran is a ‎huge prison.
‎
‎.
We, the undersigned academic, social, cultural, political, and human rights activists, point out the daily ‎violations against human rights and the free press in Iran. We request your appointment of a UN ‎Special Envoy to investigate abuses in Iran, and your earnest and speedy help in securing the release ‎of prisoners of conscience there. In particular, we request your support in securing the release and ‎freedom of Kourosh Zaim, as he is a much needed voice for stable and inclusive change in this critical ‎time.
‎
‎
Respectfully,
‎
‎
Shirin Ebadi
Nobel Laureate, human rights activist
Defense attorney to Kourosh Zaim
‎
Mehrangiz Kar
Human Rights Lawyer, and Author
‎
Hadi Ghaemi
Human rights activist
Executive Director of International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
‎
Firuzeh Mahmoudi
Founder of United 4 Iran
‎
Abdol-Karim Lahidji
Président de la LDDHI
‎
Ahmad Batebi,Ali Afshari ,Korosh Sehhati,Dr.Farzad Hamidi , Abbas Khorsandi,Reza ‎Mohajerinejad,Kianoosh Sanjari
Former political prisoners in Iran
‎
Hassan Lebaschi
Senior INF member, and former spokesperson
‎
Amir Houshang Arianpour
Admiral (Ret.)
‎
Alireza Nourizadeh
Journalist
‎
Shahram Homayon
CEO Channel One-US
‎
Bijan Mehr
Editor in Chief, Iran National Front News Agency
‎
Dr.Hossein Lajevardi
Chairman, ACI
‎
Dr. Hamid Akbari
Professor, Northeastern University
‎
Dr. Mehrdad Mashayekhi
Professor, Georgetown University
‎
Kamal Aras
Professor, University of Koln
‎
Dr. Bahram Bahramian
Professor, Maryland University
‎
Ghafor Mirzaei
Writer
‎
Nemat Mirzazadeh
Poet
‎
Turaj Zaim
Son, and poet
‎
Dr. Dariush Ahmadi, Dr. Mohammad Borghei, Mohammad Al-Ahmad, Kavos Arjomand,Dr. Faraj ‎Ardalan, Cyrus Stack, R. Ashraf Pur,Majid Enanlo ,Amir Hossein Etemadi, Sarah Akrami, Kian Amani, ‎Mohammad Amini, Daryoush Bagheri, Dr. Mehran Barati, Farzin Bostjany, M. Barzanjeh, Khosro ‎Bandari, Pari Parvhan , Dr. Cyrus Parsa, Sepideh Poraqayy, Ahmad Taghvai, N. Taghizadeh, Saeed ‎Jalali Far, Mahmoud Jafari, Maryam Jafari, Samira Jamshidi, Poya Jahandar, Hormoz Chamanara, Dr. ‎Aram Hesami, Nazi Hosseni, Behnam Hassanpour,Mustafa Khosravi, Parviz Dastmalchi, Farshad ‎Doostipour, Armin Rad, Arman Rad, Iman Rezai, Darwish Ranjbar,Zare Zadeh Ardeshir, Dr. Hadi ‎Zamani, Lohrasib Zeynali, Fariba Davoudi Mohajer, Mehdi Zolfaghari, Behrooz Sotoudeh, Aida ‎Saadat,Dr. Mehdi Saeedpor, Nastaran Samii, Salman Sima, R. Siavoshi , Hasan Shariatmadari, A. ‎Shirazi, Reza Shirzad, Zohreh Sadeghi, Nyamyn Sadr, Sophia Sadiq Pur, Reza Saffari, Ramin ‎Safizadeh, Zia Abedi, Dr. Siavash Abghari, Dr. Shahla Abghari, Dr.Kazem Alamdari, S. Alizadeh, Reza ‎Alavi, Hossein Alavi, Akbar Atri, Dr. Saad Omrani, Mazdak Abdipour, Mashallah Abbas Zadeh, Sanya ‎Avazpour, Ali Ghazanfari, Roozbeh Farahani, Mansour Farhang, Sadegh Ali Farjam,Naseh Faridi, Mohammad Fatemi, ‎Nader Frouzi, M. Fathi, Firozeh Fooladi, Farhang Qasemi, S. Qaseminezhad, Kaveh Qureshi, Manocher ‎Ghanbari, Karbassi Farzin,Nader Kakavand, Milad Kiaei,S. Kalanaki, Camran Kohanlou, Hamid Kosari, Dr. A. H. ‎Ganjbakhsh, Dr. Ardeshir Lotfalyan, Ali Lemonadi, M. Majedi, Dr. H. Matin Daftari, Akbar Mohabat-‎Zadeh, Farzad Mahmoodi, Poyan Mahmoudian, Morteza Moshir, Rezvan Moghadam, Bahram Moshiri, ‎Roya Maleki, Morteza Mohammad Malik, Misbah Ahmed, A. Mazaheri, Ebrahim Moradi, Akbar Moarefi, ‎Maryam M.Sadeghi , Nariman Mostafavi, Behnaz Mehrani, Behzad Mehrani, Mitra Mirzazadh, Hassan ‎Nayb Hashem, Sabah Nasri, Arsene Nazarian, Dr. Ali Reza Nourizadeh, Shahram Homayoun, Parviz ‎Harati Nezhad, Rahim Hemmati, Hooshang Hooshmand, Parvaneh Vahidmanesh, Farhad Yasaee, Minoo ‎Yousefi, Hadi Yousefi

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=210&mi=13]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=210&mi=13 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=210&mi=13 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:25 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=208&mi=1 A Letter to President Obama

12/14/2010

Letter to President Obamaیکشنبه 21 آذر 1389 | نوع مطلب :اروپا و امریکا ،
نویسنده: کورش زعیم | نظرات (5)





نامه کورش زعیم به رییس جمهور امریکا

درباره نام خلیج پارس و مسایل منطقه ای

December 12, 2010

For the attention of President Barack H. Obama
The White House, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
CC: The U.S. Secretary of State
Dear President Obama,
There are two reasons that I, as an Iranian political activist, am writing to you today. One reason is the commemoration of the U.S. rescue of part of Iran from annexation by the Soviet Union in 1946, and the other is the current official action of the United States Navy under your command, in renaming the Persian Gulf for the sake of satisfying the egotistic preference of sheiks hosting the American fleet in the Persian Gulf. The Navy’s behavior goes against what America professes, namely truth and justice, and will not serve long-term American interests in the region. This surprising action has severely hurt the dignity and national pride of the Iranian people all over the world, and shaken their faith in the American values you aim to promote. The official Navy policy of using an artificial name, instead of the historical name Persian Gulf—declared by the United Nations long ago—may be signaling a dramatic shift of U.S. policy away from long-term interests with Iran, for the sake of immediate political or economic expediency.
We understand that the wealth of Arab sheiks is an important injection into the ailing American economy you are trying to cure; but these sheiks traditionally transfer their God-given wealth to the U.S. and other Western countries anyway. It is they who have to court you for giving them protection against accountability to their people, not the other way around. We also understand that the Administration is trying to become darling to the small Arab states of the Persian Gulf, as they are a potential bastion against the Islamic Republic; but this does not have to be at the expense of losing Iran as a future ally, or at the moral cost of participating in the disintegration of Iran. A long-term view of the peninsula tells me that all these states, Saudi Arabia included, will be experiencing extreme social instability and political turmoil within the next two decades. Oppressed people of these states will rise for their human and political rights, and America will be blamed. Do not burn bridges with the future Iran, for if we make it through our own challenging time, we will join you in promoting human rights and true democracy in the region.
While the rhetoric of your administration—after a year of unfruitful appeasement of the Islamic Republic—is now, though timidly, aimed against them, condoning this symbolic and profound name change by the Navy can only be construed as an undeclared war on the people of Iran, on our national sovereignty, and on our hopes for a return to a respectable role in the world community. The people of Iran, who have been frustrated by your courtship of the Islamic Republic during your first year in office, called upon you during demonstrations last year: “Obama, either with them or with us.” We understood your cautious response, but you are now facing a bigger challenge to the opinion of tens of millions of Iranians—the naked truth that is now revealing itself about White House policy on Iran

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=208&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=208&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=208&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:24 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=207&mi=1 A letter to His Excellency Ban Ki-moon/INF-Abroad

9/7/2010

His Excellency Ban Ki-moon


Secretary-General

United Nations

New York, NY 10017

9/ 10 /2010


Dear Secretary-General,

The Islamic Republic has created many concerns regarding its Nuclear program
among the world's nations.This crisis can have many serious consequences in the region and in the world.
Iran National Front had expressed its deepest concerns regarding this crisis and any possible military action against Iran, in a letter written to President Obama last month. A copy of it is attached for your Excellency.

In addition to international crisis, the Islamic Republic has created oppression and injustice for Iranian people.
Killing innocent people like Neda Agha Soltan in the streets of Iran ,murdering of the prisoners of conscience since the fraudulent Presidential election last year and as early as last week two prisoners kaveh kurdi and Mohsen Beakvand were murdered in Islamic prisons .The debilitated health condition of political prisoners such as Arjang Davodi,Esa Sahrkhiz,Ayatolah Brojerdi, the unjust accusations and court rulings for human rights activists like Shiva NazarAhari, the inhuman punishment such as stoning and cutting off body parts on regular prisoners such as Sakeneh Ashtyani and the arrests and abuse of the lawyers for political prisoners such as Nasrin Sotoodeh, have created a notorious prison-like environment for all Iranians.
The people of Iran have nowhere to go to seek justice and voice complaint regarding this brutal regime and need international support, specifically from the United Nations.We implore your Excellency to make the violation of human rights and the injustice for Iranian citizens as important as is the nuclear crisis for the UN and Security Council.
Appointing a special envoy by your Excellency to Iran can help political prisoners and improve human rights in Iran.
Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.

Sincerly

Hassan Lebastchi
Iran National Front-Abroad
www.jebhe.net
www.jebhemelli.info

o
----------------------------------









President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
Aug / 5 /2010


Dear Mr. President,

Iran National Front is an organization founded in our country by Dr.Mohammad Mossadegh sixty-one years ago with the aim of creating a democracy committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which Iran is a signatory. Throughout this period of time, Iran National Front, through its perseverance and unconditional commitment to democracy and human rights has been viewed by the Iranian people as the most honest and most dependable political organization to achieve democracy.

Following the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, and in view of the dismal performance by the ruling government, the National Front of Iran continued its activities and efforts within the framework of the opposition, together with the ideals and criteria that constantly reflect its commitments to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Iranian nation’s long-standing traditions. Ultimately, achieving the rights of the Iranian people, in harmony with the principles governing relations within the international community, is the method in which the Iran National Front is trying to attain democracy and engagement within the framework of the international community efforts. We are trying to get these rights through political honesty and transparency inside and outside Iran. The commitment to these principles will always be staunchly maintained.

Your Excellency, the troubling news and reports being received these days on media around the world have made us exceedingly worried that the bitter experience in Iraq and Afghanistan could be inadvertently repeated in Iran. The increase in American forces in the Persian Gulf, coupled with war cries emitted by Iranian officials on the one hand and certain U.S. quarters on the other, has us growingly concerned.
No doubt, Your Excellency, you are aware of the joint coup of the CIA and British intelligence services against the people’s democratically elected Dr. Mossadegh in Iran back in 1953. In addition to stopping the expansion of democracy in its tracks in Iran and the Middle East, it also presaged the distressing advent of the revolution that took place during 1979 in Iran. This event resulted in the expansion of terrorism throughout the Middle East and other parts of the world.

We have no doubt that Iran 's Islamic government's unfriendly, unreasonable and irrational policies (supported by the most extremist forces in the Middle East), have created the majority of this perilous chaos. By representing part of the Iran opposition, we forcefully condemn Iran 's policies, which only help increase tensions and strengthen international terrorism. We strongly denounce Iran's clerical government, and we believe that the continuation of this policy can result in dire consequences for Iran as well as the Middle East and the entire world.
During the past 30 years, Iranians have been forced to endure a regime that procures nothing but repression, conflicts, inefficiency and poverty. The Islamic Republic considers war as a divine blessing, especially in the current situation where the people of Iran are engaged in a major struggle against the clerical system. In order to liberate themselves from the clutches of the clerical regime, the Iranian people are in dire need of civil support in order to attain (through sacrifices and efforts) their lofty goals of democracy, not the devastation of their country.

We strongly believe that the prolongation of the Islamic Republic's authoritarian rule (with its military adventurism regime) will lead Iran to its destruction. An attack against Iran will open a third front next to the Iraqi and Afghanistan ones, expanding terrorist influence in the region. At the same time, new bases and additional safe havens will be created for them.
Moreover, because of the ensuing turmoil caused by war and destruction, the people of Iran will be faced with food shortages, water and electricity scarcity, job losses, high prices, and total lack of security. Millions of innocent people will be faced with illnesses and annihilation. Our compatriots, starving for democracy and fed up with the present ruling tyrannical regime, will be forced to defend their homeland. That is the wish of the present militant and dictatorial regime.


Iran is a great country, with 75 million people, 60 percent of them young and possessing a higher education degree. It is also rich in natural resources. Instead of destroying the country through an endless war with uncertain and regretful consequences not only for Iran, but for the entire Middle East (and the world at large), Iran will need the support of the International Community at every turn to achieve democracy. With democracy, there will be no need for war, and Iran can become a force for stability and progress in the Middle East.

Mr. President, the experiences of the United States in Iraq, coupled with your own, have clearly demonstrated that war and violence are not suitable means to achieve democracy. Instead, the net results are the escalation of extremist forces and terrorism. Mr. President, we believe that your mission, as the leader of the greatest democracy of the world, is to prevent such a war with no outcome. Also, we certainly believe that you should not fall into the trap of a military confrontation wished by the abhorrent clerical regime in Iran.
Mr. President, at this historically sensitive and crucial juncture, we urge Your Excellency to abide, as you always have, to your high moral and human standards and help Iran attain democracy and certainly not allow Iran to become another Iraq or Afghanistan. That would unquestionably not be to the benefit of Iran ,the United States of America nor the world.

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.
Sincerely,
Hassan Lebastchi
Iran National Front-Abroad( Europe & U.S.A )

www.Jebhe.net
www.jebhemelli.info

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=207&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=207&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=207&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:23 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=206&mi=13 Attak on Iran will benefit nobody/INF letter to President Obama

8/5/2010

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
Aug / 5 /2010

Dear Mr. President

Iran National Front is an organization founded in our country by Dr.Mohammad Mossadegh sixty-one years ago with the aim of creating a democracy committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which Iran is a signatory. Throughout this period of time, Iran National Front, through its perseverance and unconditional commitment to democracy and human rights has been viewed by the Iranian people as the most honest and most dependable political organization to achieve democracy.

Following the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, and in view of the dismal performance by the ruling government, the National Front of Iran continued its activities and efforts within the framework of the opposition, together with the ideals and criteria that constantly reflect its commitments to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Iranian nation’s long-standing traditions. Ultimately, achieving the rights of the Iranian people, in harmony with the principles governing relations within the international community, is the method in which the Iran National Front is trying to attain democracy and engagement within the framework of the international community efforts. We are trying to get these rights through political honesty and transparency inside and outside Iran. The commitment to these principles will always be staunchly maintained.

Your Excellency, the troubling news and reports being received these days on media around the world have made us exceedingly worried that the bitter experience in Iraq and Afghanistan could be inadvertently repeated in Iran. The increase in American forces in the Persian Gulf, coupled with war cries emitted by Iranian officials on the one hand and certain U.S. quarters on the other, has us growingly concerned.
No doubt, Your Excellency, you are aware of the joint coup of the CIA and British intelligence services against the people’s democratically elected Dr. Mossadegh in Iran back in 1953. In addition to stopping the expansion of democracy in its tracks in Iran and the Middle East, it also presaged the distressing advent of the revolution that took place during 1979 in Iran. This event resulted in the expansion of terrorism throughout the Middle East and other parts of the world.

We have no doubt that Iran 's Islamic government's unfriendly, unreasonable and irrational policies (supported by the most extremist forces in the Middle East), have created the majority of this perilous chaos. By representing part of the Iran opposition, we forcefully condemn Iran 's policies, which only help increase tensions and strengthen international terrorism. We strongly denounce Iran's clerical government, and we believe that the continuation of this policy can result in dire consequences for Iran as well as the Middle East and the entire world.
During the past 30 years, Iranians have been forced to endure a regime that procures nothing but repression, conflicts, inefficiency and poverty. The Islamic Republic considers war as a divine blessing, especially in the current situation where the people of Iran are engaged in a major struggle against the clerical system. In order to liberate themselves from the clutches of the clerical regime, the Iranian people are in dire need of civil support in order to attain (through sacrifices and efforts) their lofty goals of democracy, not the devastation of their country.

We strongly believe that the prolongation of the Islamic Republic's authoritarian rule (with its military adventurism regime) will lead Iran to its destruction. An attack against Iran will open a third front next to the Iraqi and Afghanistan ones, expanding terrorist influence in the region. At the same time, new bases and additional safe havens will be created for them.
Moreover, because of the ensuing turmoil caused by war and destruction, the people of Iran will be faced with food shortages, water and electricity scarcity, job losses, high prices, and total lack of security. Millions of innocent people will be faced with illnesses and annihilation. Our compatriots, starving for democracy and fed up with the present ruling tyrannical regime, will be forced to defend their homeland. That is the wish of the present militant and dictatorial regime.

Iran is a great country, with 75 million people, 60 percent of them young and possessing a higher education degree. It is also rich in natural resources. Instead of destroying the country through an endless war with uncertain and regretful consequences not only for Iran, but for the entire Middle East (and the world at large), Iran will need the support of the International Community at every turn to achieve democracy. With democracy, there will be no need for war, and Iran can become a force for stability and progress in the Middle East.

Mr. President, the experiences of the United States in Iraq, coupled with your own, have clearly demonstrated that war and violence are not suitable means to achieve democracy. Instead, the net results are the escalation of extremist forces and terrorism. Mr. President, we believe that your mission, as the leader of the greatest democracy of the world, is to prevent such a war with no outcome. Also, we certainly believe that you should not fall into the trap of a military confrontation wished by the abhorrent clerical regime in Iran.
Mr. President, at this historically sensitive and crucial juncture, we urge Your Excellency to abide, as you always have, to your high moral and human standards and help Iran attain democracy and certainly not allow Iran to become another Iraq or Afghanistan. That would unquestionably not be to the benefit of Iran ,the United States of America nor the world.

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.
Sincerely,
Hassan Lebastchi
Iran National Front-Abroad ( Europe & U.S.A )

www.Jebhe.net
www.jebhemelli.info

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=206&mi=13]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=206&mi=13 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=206&mi=13 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:22 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=205&mi=5 A member of INF jailed in Cypress for a year

6/7/2010

Ghorban Moradi a member of Iran National Front (INF) had been detained in Cypress nearly a year for immigration issues.Moradi who is a political refugee ,if sent back to Iran will face jail and brutal treatment by Islamic republic.INF officals in US have contacted the Interior Ministry of Cypress inquiring about this long , illegal and unjust detention.Next step for the release of Ghorban Moradi would be contacting the Human Rights commissioner and the Human Rights Watch by INF.

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=205&mi=5]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=205&mi=5 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=205&mi=5 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:21 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=204&mi=1 Iran National Front Offers Condolences to the People of Poland

4/14/2010

Iran National Front
Offers Condolences to the People of Poland
We recognize and respect Late Mr. Lech Aleksander Kaczinski, President of Republic of Poland, who was killed in a heart-breaking air disaster yesterday, as one of the most distinguished of Polish political activists and statesmen. Mr. Kaczinski who had dedicated his life to fighting for freedom and democracy and acted as advisor to the Solidarity freedom movement of Polish people in 1980s, remain an idol for us who are in a similar fight for freedom.
Iran National Front, a sixty-year-old political party founded in 1950, on principles of democracy, human rights and free elections by Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq, the only democratically elected head of state in Iran, expresses special respect for Late Mr. Kaczinski for his life-long struggle, his popularity with the people of Poland and for the respect he commanded internationally. In sadness, we offer people of Poland our deep condolences for loss of Mr. Kaczinski, his wife and his associates in government.
Iran National Front
Tehran – April 11, 2010

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=204&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=204&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=204&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:20 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=203&mi=1 Was Green Movement Demonstrations Successful?/An interview with Mr.Zaim

2/19/2010

English translation of Radio Zamaneh (Holland) interview with Kourosh Zaim:
By Reza Jamali on February 12, 2010 (23 Bahman 1388)
Was Green Movement Demonstrations Successful?
Reza Jamali: On February 12, many important world media presented quite variable analyses of the event that took place on 22nd Bahman [Feb. 11] in Iran. In most media it was accepted that the protestors in Iran, contrary to programming and calls for participation, could not overshadow government staged demonstrations commemorating the Revolution's anniversary. And this lack of success was due to the strict security measures for control of the event.
However, many of Green Movement supporters in the virtual media, internet and weblogs considered different causes for this lack of success. One of these causes was the "Trojan Horse" project. According to this project, supporters of Green Movement would enter the area reserved by the government for their own people without displaying their green identity and in opportune time would show their greens and voice their protest. According to many of Movement supporters, this project had its shortcomings and could not reflect the presence of the protestors as was expected.
In a discussion with Kourosh Zaim, a member of the Iran National Front central council in Tehran, we asked for his analysis of the 22nd Bahman demonstrations and the Green Movement presence in this event:
Kourosh Zaim: What happened yesterday was just another step on road of people's movement toward democracy. Civil movements are not to be judged by each event or each day of demonstration, but one must pay attention to its trend. In this case, at every opportunity for protest demonstration; that is, from the first demonstration after the rigged presidential elections until today, the establishment has acted more and more monopolistically and increasingly more violently. On the other hand, the Movement also has become more and more anti establishment in their demands and their slogans has become more radical and wants more structural.
If you set the slogans of the protesters in a chronological order, you will see that as the official violence against protesters has increased, the slogans by the protesters have become more demanding and the wants more anti government and anti regime. "Where is my vote?" has gradually transformed into "Death to…" and "Iranian republic not Islamic" and eventually now demanding "Referendum" for regime change. So it seems certain that the trend is heading toward a final confrontation. We must also pay attention to this fact that as official violence against demonstrators increase at each event, the families, the peaceful and the middle-of-the-roaders drop out of the demonstrating public and the more enduring, the more hardliner and the more adventurous remain. The slogans also change to suit the mood and wants of the remaining diehards. Now, the slogans are chosen by those who are in it to the end and willing to risk the dangers. Those who are willing to risk more would demand more and would not settle for less.
Another outcome of the gradual increase of violence, in addition to the damage inflicted on the protestors by beatings, killings, incarceration and torture, is the backlash on security forces and enforcement agents. The casualty on the government side, aside from the probable eventuality of a tendency toward an-eye-for-an-eye defensive logic by the protesters, is the inescapable conflict within the government and the enforcement apparatus. This conflict will show itself in form of resignations, arrests of the most violent enforcers, disappearances, assassinations and, in general, finger pointing. The more adamant the protesters become, the more regime will try to buy legitimacy by shedding off the most damning. This eventuality will hasten loss of control and the inevitable collapse of the regime.
Concerning the crowd size in the last demonstration, that is on February 11 revolution anniversary, I fail to comprehend why these people in power don't understand that the more pressure they exert to frighten the ordinary people, the crowd size will reduce, but those who remain will be the more hardliners and the defiant hard core. Eventually, the dangers of the street protest will drag them to defensive preparedness, and that may means weapons. If regime tries to stage an offensive on the streets, there are organized armed groups who would love to join the mêlée helping the protestors and also fight for their own causes.
I become fearful of future when I see this tendency toward tenacity and increased violence. The eventual confrontation, which may also involve some lurking foreign meddling, will be against the interests of the Iranian people and the sovereignty of our country. If this happens, I think the regime thinkers should be able to figure what the end will be.
Question: Mr. Zaim, you live in Iran. Did you attend the demonstrations?
Kourosh Zaim: No. I did not. I was at home, but I was being continually informed of the events.
Question: But, the Green Movement was not able to take charge of 22nd Bahman demonstrations. In your opinion what was the reasons for this?
Kourosh Zaim: We don't know. They dispersed the crowds and prevented their joining together, especially in Azadi square where they prevented all forms of contact, picture taking or filming. We still don't know of the size of the crowds, but we heard that a good crowd was on the street, especially in the originating square, AriaShahr. But, in my opinion, it is not at all important whether the crowd was big or not big enough. What is important is that they showed their presence.
Question: In your opinion, can the tactics Green Movement and the major opposition forces are using, be suitable and effective methods for expressing their demand?
Kourosh Zaim: The regime should not be happy to see the crowd diminish due to the application of extreme pressure and violence on people. In my view, they must fear reduction of the protesting crowds. You figure if the protesting crows reduce from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands, what type of people these will be? They would be more hardliner that you and me. The fact that crowd reduces is a dangerous sign.
Question: One of the subjects talked about in the websites and weblogs was a project called "Trojan Horse" which was Mr. Ebrahim Nabavi's idea, with whom I was speaking before talking with you. Many people criticized this idea and said that the reason Green Movement couldn't have an effective presence during this demonstrations was this project. What do you think?
Kourosh Zaim: Yes, I heard about this idea. I believe that the regime had also heard about it and designed a counter-project by ordering and distribution hundred thousand flags and flag banners in and around the square. If you were standing near or under a flag, you could neither pull it down to up your green nor your protest signs would show or be heard lost in the shouting crowd. While this project may have been clever, one must first know his opposition and his mentality, before recommending a design. Regime counter acted and their counter action was effective.
Question: Mr. Zaim, as a final note, if you were to select a word to describe the current political situation in Iran, would you consider it a revolutionary movement, a civil movement or a movement toward reform?
Kourosh Zaim: This is a civil movement. I'd like to remind this that in 2006, when Mr. Ahmadinejad was first declared president, in an analysis I said that the trend I see in the Islamic Republic politics is that we are moving toward official violence, militarization, widespread protestation and a silken revolution (meaning soft and strong). This is what the regime had been calling since a velvet revolution and fearful of it. Silken, velvet or colored, this is a civil movement.
The current movement simply means that people have civil demands and want to reach their wants lawfully. They also wish to change parts of the constitution that denies people's civil rights; therefore, they want to reform the laws. But, as pressure and violence is applied by the establishment, meaning as the movement is inflicted by violence, those stepping forward within the movement are those who are ready to take a punch and throw one too. So, the situation can become dangerous for the establishment, it will be dangerous for the future of the movement too. Continued violent reaction by the regime can transform this civil movement into a revolution.
But, we are not there yet. There still is a speck of hope. The rulers must realize that they should not brag about their clubs and Colts. They must fear decrease of protesting crowds on the street, never feel happy for this and avoid violence against people. They should allow people make their movement, speak their minds and raise their voices.
Few months before the recent presidential elections, I had predicted deception in an analysis and that popular protests will follow the upcoming elections. It was not hard to see, from the six-year political trend in the country, what could happen. I must now say that the quality of confrontation of the people with the establishment is in the hands of establishment. They either have to hear the voice of the people soon and agree on a peaceful way of submitting to people's demands, or god have mercy on us all!

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=203&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=203&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=203&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:19 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=202&mi=1 Israel warships move within cruise-missile range of Iran

2/10/2010

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=100847§ionid=351020202
گزارش فارسی در پائین این صفحه
Israel warships move within cruise-missile range of Iran


An Israeli warship arrives at an Israeli navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat on July 15.
Tel Aviv takes a step closer to war with Tehran as two Israeli warships sail through the Suez Canal within cruise-missile range of Iran.

Earlier this week, two Israel Navy warships, the Hanit and the Eliat, passed through the Suez Canal and across the Red Sea.

In a Thursday interview with the Times, a senior Israeli defense official said the move should be seen as serious preparations for a long-expected attack on Iranian nuclear sites.

"This is preparation that should be taken seriously. Israel is investing time in preparing itself for the complexity of an attack on Iran," said the Israeli defense official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.

"These maneuvers are a message to Iran that Israel will follow up on its threats," he added.

The move comes ten days after a submarine -- believed to be nuclear-armed -- made a similar crossing and headed from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

The move, apparently coordinated with Egypt, is seen as a warning message to Iran that the Netanyahu government is not having second thoughts about its military plans against Iran.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit confirmed the crossings, but refused to comment on whether the deployment should be seen as a warning to Iran.

Tel Aviv, the alleged possessor of the sole nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, accuses Iran of secretly enriching weapons-grade uranium to attack Israel.

Iran says it has no such intentions and has asserted that its uranium enrichment is a peaceful drive to produce electricity.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has conducted the greatest number of inspections in the history of the organization on Iran's nuclear activities, has not found any evidence to show Tehran has been pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

Incoming IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano also said recently that there is no conclusive evidence to prove that Tehran is enriching weapons-grade uranium.
HRF/JG/SBB/AA

سایت پرس تی وی تلوزیون انگلیسی زبان رژیم ایران در گزارشی نگرانی خود را از حمله نیروی دریای اسرائیل به ایران ابراز کرد.۲ ناو چنگی اسرائیل با عبور از کانال سوئز در خلیج فارس مستقر و یک زیردریایی اتمی در راه خلیج فارس است.تهران میگوید این نقل و انتقالات نظامی با هماهنگی دولت مصر انجام گرفته است.

ورود دو ناو رژیم اسرائیل به خلیج فارس
مدیریت کانال سوئز هنگام عبور شناورهای نظامی اسرائیل، اقدامات گسترده ای را به اجرا گذاشت که می توان به منع حرکت شناورهای مختلف و ماهیگیری اشاره کرد.شناورهای نظامی مصر نیز کشتی های اسرائیل را در هنگام عبور از کانال همراهی می کردند.
دو فروند ناو اسرائیلی برای اجرای رزمایش نظامی دیروز دوشنبه وارد خلیج فارس شده اند.

به گزارش عصر ایران به نقل از "القدس العربی" و سایت مصری"پورتسعید انلاین" ، این ناوهای اسرائیلی از بندر حیفا اسرائیل به طرف خلیح فارس حرکت کرده و روز پنجشنبه گذشته نیز از کانال سوئز عبور کرده بودند.

این منابع به به نقل از منابع آگاه نوشتند: مدیریت کانال سوئز برنامه عبور سه کاروان از کشتی ها را تغییر داد تا دو ناو جنگی اسرائیل بتوانند به طور مستقیم و بدون انتظار از دریای مدیترانه وارد دریای سرخ شوند.

منابع آگاه اضافه کردند: ناو جنگی حرواه (HRVAH) با داشتن باری به وزن 700 تن و ناو موشک انداز حانیت (INS HANIT) با داشتن باری به وزن یک هزار و 75 تن وارد خلیج فارس شده اند.

ناو موشک انداز حانیت دارای طول 85 متر و 600 سانتی متر، عرض 11 متر و 80 سانتی متر ، 74 ملوان و خدمه، 16 موشک ضد ناو هاربون و جابرییل، 64 موشک ضد هواپیمای باراک، یک فروند بالگرد و یک فروند شناور نظامی همراه است.

ناو موشک انداز حانیت برای چهارمین بار است که از کانال سوئز عبور می کند.

مدیریت کانال سوئز در هنگام عبور شناورهای نظامی اسرائیل از این گذرگاه ، اقدامات امنیتی گسترده ای را به اجرا گذاشت که می توان به منع حرکت شناورهای مختلف و فعالیت های ماهیگیری اشاره کرد.

همچنین شناورهای نظامی مصر نیز شناورهای نظامی اسرائیل را در هنگام عبور از کانال سوئز همراهی می کردند.

پیش از این روزنامه صهیونیستی "یدیعوت احارونت" به نقل از منابع آگاه در نیروی دریایی مصر نوشته بود : مقصد دو فروند کشتی نظامی اسرائیلی، خلیج فارس است. قرار است این کشتی ها در مدت چهار روز به مقصد خود برسند.

این روزنامه اضافه می کند: آمریکا اخیرا رزمایش نظامی را در نزدیکی سواحل ایران اجرا کرده است. همچنین شناورهای نظامی اسرائیل با همکاری ناوگان پنجم دریایی آمریکا مستقر در بحرین، آزادانه در خلیج فارس حرکت می کنند.

همچنین قرار است آمریکا و اسرائیل رزمایش نظامی مشترکی را در خلیج فارس اجرا کنند. به همین منظور برنامه ریزی شده تا زیردریایی های اسرائیل از کانال سوئز عبور کرده و به طرف خلیج فارس حرکت کنند.

Press TV

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=202&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=202&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=202&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:18 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=201&mi=1 Why we should still talk with Iran/Maziar Bahari

11/26/2009

Why we should still talk with Iran

By Maziar Bahari
Thursday, November 26, 2009

Since I was released from Tehran's notorious Evin Prison last month, the questions have come again and again: Can we still talk to these people? Should the Obama administration engage in dialogue with Iran? What should the West do in nuclear negotiations? After being jailed, interrogated and beaten by the Revolutionary Guards for 118 days for reporting honestly on the disputed June 12 presidential elections, I am often expected to oppose any dialogue. But the West still needs Iran and should continue talking to it -- no matter what it has done to people like me.

Inside Evin, I was forced to confess that I was part of an insidious Western media conspiracy to overthrow the regime. I was forced to apologize to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. I was released as suddenly as I was arrested, without explanation. But my interrogator told me to send a message to the world: "We are a superpower. America's power is waning, and we will soon overtake them. Now that Americans have started this war against us, we will not let them rest in peace." He paused, perhaps realizing that he sounded defensive. I was a jailed journalist wearing a blindfold, not some sort of spy. (I'm not even American.) He changed the subject to "soft" war, a term Tehran uses to refer to an imaginary war that it says is promoted by the media against the "holy government of the Islamic Republic." "We will answer their attacks with all our might," he said.

The Revolutionary Guards are a schizophrenic bunch, plagued by both deep insecurities and a superiority complex. They have ambitions to take over the government and expand their business empire in Iran. At the same time, they are terrified of individuals and groups that question their grip on power. The Guards are the real power base of Khamenei. They are the main supporters of his claim to be Allah's representative on Earth. One of the most serious charges against me was insulting Khamenei. In a private e-mail I had wondered whether Khamenei has been blinded by power and had lost touch with his people, and if that was why he was answering people's peaceful demands with brute force. That was enough for my interrogator to kick and punch me for days and to threaten me with execution.

In Iran's triangle of power -- the Guards, Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- the Guards are becoming stronger than the president and the supreme leader. Some Guards are devoted to Khamenei for religious reasons, but many of them use his status as a religious leader to legitimize their own actions. They also use Ahmadinejad, a former Guard, to increase their political power. The Guards have arms and money. They are the biggest industrial contractors in Iran. They have front companies all over the region and in the West and are involved in smuggling goods into and out of Iran. They answer only to Khamenei.

So can the West, especially the United States, have a dialogue with these people? Yes. Because there is no other choice. The West has to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear program and the stability of Iraq and Afghanistan. Not talking to Tehran doesn't work: The hostile rhetoric and actions of the Bush administration against even the reformist government of Mohammad Khatami helped the hard-liners to consolidate power. Only by engaging, even with a more radical regime, can the West force Tehran to measure the costs and benefits of dealing with the outside world.

I don't know exactly why I was released, but I can guess. Over four months, my friends and colleagues at Newsweek and elsewhere waged a massive public and private campaign for my release. Around the time that Iran was sitting down in Geneva to discuss the nuclear program, my conditions inside Evin started to improve. One Iranian official told me later that I had "become more of a liability than an asset in jail." At least some elements of the regime still make such rational calculations.

So what should the United States do? First, a nuclear Iran should not be tolerated. Although I believe that Iran will not start attacking other countries the day after it builds the bomb, having the bomb will embolden the Guards to intensify their repression inside the country and regional expansion. The American government should use all of its resources, including President Obama's charm, to persuade allies, especially China and Russia, to work with it to put in place smart sanctions that solely target Iran's nuclear program and do not affect ordinary Iranians.

At the same time the West has to separate the nuclear negotiations from talks about Iraq and Afghanistan. Tehran understands that insecurity in those countries is damaging to itself as well as to the United States. Iran would love to make its help conditional on a grand bargain with the West that would guarantee the security and survival of the regime and preserve its nuclear program. But the better course would be to use cooperation on those two countries as a confidence-building measure in negotiations.

The common perception among my American friends used to be: "If Americans support a certain faction in Iran, it would be easier for the regime to persecute them." That might have been true once. But Iran has entered a new phase. Opposition activists from all walks of life have been accused of being agents of the West. I was accused of working for the CIA simply because I wrote for an American magazine. The rumor du jour in Iran is that Obama and the Guards are reaching a deal to normalize relations, in exchange for which America will ignore human rights abuses in Iran. Hence, the opposition movement's slogan "Obama, either with them or with us." The United States has acted against the interests of the Iranian people in the past. Repeating that mistake for tactical gains would be the biggest mistake of the Obama administration.

As for the Iranian people, the more immediate victims of the brutal regime, we have to think long-term. Our anger should be sublimated into something more positive. We have been brutalized to think of the world in black and white. Seeing the shades of gray can be our strongest weapon against those who would jail, beat and torture us.

Maziar Bahari, a Canadian filmmaker and reporter for Newsweek, was released from Evin Prison on Oct. 17.

washington post

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=201&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=201&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=201&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:17 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=200&mi=1 Touraj Zaim's Hunger strike in S.F.

9/17/2009

Toraj is the son od Korosh Zaim a senior member of Iran national front leadership who has been arrested since June 21 2009.He is in Evin prison but His charges are unknown.Touraj started his hunger strike on Sep 8 and he will end it on Sep 22/2009.Touraj will participate and he is one of the speakers in the demonstrations in N.Y in protest to Ahmadinejad's policies against iranian people on Sep 23 &24.

A short clip of the hunger strike /click here



Toraj Zaim activities/


Toraj Zaim activities /

ABc report fron San Fransisco rally click here


فیلم تورج زعیم در رابطه با این اعتصاب غذا در آمریکا /click here

لینکهای فعالیت ها برای آزادی زندانیان سیاسی1/


لینکهای فعالیت ها برای آزادی زندانیان سیاسی2/

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=200&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=200&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=200&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:16 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=199&mi=1 Iranian National Front letter to His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon

9/15/2009

Iranian National Front in the United State
Sep/15/2009
His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary General of the United Nations
First Avenue at 46th Street
New York, NY 10017


Your Excellency,

We are addressing this letter to you, because as the Secretary General of the United Nations, you have become the ultimate resort for those people around the world who are suffering under tyrannical regimes that violate their human rights and subject them to cruel and degrading punishments.

You are certainly well aware of the recent events in Iran in the wake of the presidential elections of the June 12th of this year. The Iranian people showed up massively at the polls in the hope of bringing about democratic and peaceful change in the way their country is governed. Alas, the anti-democratic elements that have increasingly monopolized the power in Iran since the 1979 revolutions and have deprived the people of their most basic rights under the guise of religion were determined to prevent this change at any price. They grossly rigged the election and when the deeply shocked and disappointed people peacefully protested, they savagely attacked them. A large number among them were killed or injured, several thousands were arrested, imprisoned and subjected to most inhumane treatments, including torture and rape.

In addition to the mass detention of peaceful protesters, the regime seized the opportunity to round up prominent figures of all pro-democracy groups, placing most of them in solitary confinement, without access to legal counsel or contact with their families. The detainees were then forced under torture and harsh interrogatory methods to come up with self-incriminatory confessions destined to be used against them in dreadful Stalinist show trials that the regime has staged during the recent weeks One of those prominent political detainees is Mr. Kourosh Zaim, a senior member of Iranian national Front, Iran’s oldest secular political formation that has been at the forefront of the struggle for democracy in our country since its creation in the 1940s.

It is now more than two months since Mr. Zaim was imprisoned without any formal charges. More than half of this time he has been held in solitary confinement and subjected to various forms of maltreatment. Mr. Zaim‘s only sin like many other Iran’s prisoners of conscience is his firm belief in democracy, freedom and human rights and his courage to loudly express his attachment to these universally recognized values. In particular, Mr. Zaim had called on the Islamic Republic on several occasions to respect its international human rights obligations.

It is worth remembering that Iran was among the first signatories of both the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and therefore is duty-bound to honor its obligations under those international compacts. But the acts of the Islamic Republic from its very first day of establishment have been in outright violation of those obligations. The theocratic government of Tehran has brazenly trampled the most basic rights of Iranian citizens during the whole three decade of its existence. But the violation of human rights, freedom of expression and freedom of press has dramatically and increasingly worsened since the advent of Mr. Ahmadi Nejad’s government four years ago, reaching its climax in the weeks following the presidential elections.

Under the present leadership in Iran thousands of peaceful, freedom loving propels, like Mr. Zaim are unlawfully held in the regime’s dungeons, without due process and any semblance of. This is why the intervention of the Secretary General of the United Nations on behalf of the prisoners of conscience in the countries like Iran has become so vital and critical. This intervention on the eve of the annual session of the UN General assembly, to which a delegation led by Mr. Ahmadi Nejad from Islamic Republic will attend, becomes more timely and significant than ever.

We are presenting your Excellency our deep appreciation in advance for a vigorous call to the Islamic Republic to immediately release Mr.Zaim and all other prisoners of conscience and observe the human rights of Iranian citizens in compliance with Iran’s obligations according to the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Right.

Iran National Front-US Section

256 Washington St.Suit One
Pembroke.Massachusetts.0235,USA,
Tel:001 -781-826-0075
www.jebhe.net

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=199&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=199&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=199&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:15 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=198&mi=1 Hunger strike in SanFransisco for democratic reform and human rights in Iran.Sep 8 to Sep 22

9/5/2009

اعتصاب تورج زعيم در سانفرانسيسکو

I am holding a 14-day hunger strike for democratic reform and human rights in Iran.

The hunger strike begins with a press conference spearheaded by District Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, on the Polk Street steps of City Hall at noon on Tuesday, September 8th. Other speakers T.B.A. My fast begins immediately following the press conference on the SW corner of Civic Center Park (Grove & Polk). It will end fourteen days later on Tuesday, Sept. 22nd, when I go to New York to speak for the rally at the United Nations building. People will be invited to come meditate or pray and to hold candlelights vigils during the fast. A blog will keep track of activities at CaspianVoice.org.

We still need to raise $6,500 for this action and for activities that will occur during the fast and the trip to New York.

Please visit Turaj.com and click on Donate to contribute. Or send any questions or an amount you'd like to donate to Donations@Turaj.com. A link to a secure server will be emailed back.
Thank you to those who have so generously contributed!

The fast is an act of solidarity with those fighting for free elections and basic human rights in Iran, including the right not to be imprisoned arbitrarily or with baseless charges.


NEWS COVERAGE OF TURAJ AT IRAN MEGA-RALLY, JULY 25TH

CBS 5: http://cbs5.com/video/?id=53252@kpix.dayport.com

NBC/KNTV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-TN-uWPYfo

ABC/KGO TV: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=6933163

FOX/KTVU: http://www.ktvu.com/news/20179453/detail.html
































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برای اعلام همبستگی با زندانيان سياسی در ايران

در تظاهرات ايرانيان سانفرانسيسکو، که جريان آن بوسيله رسانه های ملی و سراسری گزارش می شد، تقريباً در همهء گزارش ها يک چهره حضوری شاخص داشت، به نام تورج زعيم، پسر کورش زعيم، مهمترين زندانی سکولار ايران.

تورج، 22 سال پيش، هنگامی که پدرش در زندان بود، بهمراه مادر آمريکائی و بردارش از راه کردستان و ترکيه از ايران گريخته و به آمريکا آمدند. کورش زعيم، پس از آزادی از زندان متوجه رفتن اعضاء خانواده اش شد اما تصميم گرفت که در ايران بماند و به فعاليت های علنی خود بعنوان يک عضو جبههء ملی ايران و يک ناراضی سياسی سکولار ادامه دهد. (شرح ماجرا را از زبان کورش زعيم در اينجا مطالعه کنيد>>>>)

1357 ـ کورش زعيم، با فرزندانش تورج و بيژن

يک هفته پس از انتخابان 22 خرداد ماه اخير، با اينکه کورش زعيم از قبل اعلام کرده بود که در آن شرکت نمی کند، مأموران در ساعت چهار صبح به خانه اش ريخته و او را با خود به زندان مخوف اوين برده و در سلول انفرادی حبس کردند.

اين حادثهء تورج زعيم را که در سانفرانسيسکو زندگی کرده و در زمينهء موسيقی «هيپ هاپ» فعاليت دارد، مصمم ساخت تا در حد توان خود در مطرح ساختن مشکل زندانيان سياسی در ايران اقدام کند، و اين تصميم، او را به جمع معترضين ايرانی مقيم سانفرانسيسکو کشاند که در جلوی ساختمان فرمانداری اين شهر اجتماع کرده بودند. در آن روز تقريباً همهء رسانه ها با او گفتگو داشتند که برخی از اين گفتگوها را می توانيد در پيوندها زير مشاهده کنيد.

CBS 5: http://cbs5.com/video/?id=53252@kpix.dayport.com
NBC/KNTV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-TN-uWPYfo
ABC/KGO TV: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=6933163
FOX/KTVU: http://www.ktvu.com/news/20179453/detail.html



اکنون تورج زعيم اعلام داشته که قصد دارد برای متوجه کردن افکار عمومی به وضعيت بد زندانيان سياسی در ايران دست به يک اعتصاب غذای 14 روزه بزند و در پايان آن برای ايراد سخنرانی در جمع ايرانيانی که برای اعتراض به ورود احمدی نژاد در نيويورک جمع می شوند به اين شهر برود. او در اين مورد به دوستان خود ای-ميلی زده که ترجمهء آن در اينجا می آيد:

«من قصد دارم برای خواستاری انجام اصلاحات دموکراتيک و برقراری حقوق بشر در ايران دست به يک اعتصاب غذای 14 روزه بزنم. آغاز اين اعتصاب را آقای راس ميرکريمی، ناظر منطقه ای فرمانداری سانفرانسيسکو، بر روی پله های ساختمان فرمانداری در خيابان «پولک» در ظهر سه شنبه هشتم سپتامبر، طی برگزاری يک جلسهء مطبوعاتی اعلام خواهد کرد. در اين مراسم سخنرانان ديگری هم شرکت خواهند داشت که نامشان متعاقباً اعلام می شود.

بلافاصله پس از اين جلسه، اعتصاب غذای من در کنج جنوب غربی ساختمان فرمانداری (در تقاطع خيابان های پولک و گرو) آغاز می شود. اين اعتصاب چهارده روز بعد، در آخر روز سه شنبه 22 سپتامبر، به پايان می رسد و من از آنجا عازم نيويورک خواهم شد تا در گردهمائی مقابل ساختمان سازمان ملل سخنرانی کنم. از همگان دعوت می کنم که در جريان اعتصاب غذا به من سر زده و در مراقبه و دعا و شمع افروزی ها شرکت کنند. جريانات مربوط به اين اعتصاب غذا در يک وبلاگ به آدرس زير مرتباً منعکس خواهد شد:

www.CaspianVoice.org

اين برنامه ها با کمک مالی سخاوتمندانهء برخی از دوستان آغاز شده است که همينجا از آنها تشکر می کنم، اما هنوز برای ساير فعاليت ها و سفر به نيويورک به 6500 دلار بيشتر نياز دارم. اگر می خواهيد در اين زمينه کمکم کنيد لطفاً با ای ميل زير تماس بگيريد:

Donations@Turaj.com

بلافاصله آدرس پيوندی که با آن می توانيد با امنيت کامل کمک خود را به دست من برسانيد برايتان ای ميل خواهد شد.

اين اعتصاب غذا بمنظور نشان دادن همبستگی با کسانی انجام می شود که خواستار برگزاری انتخابات آزاد و برقراری حقوق بشر در ايران اند؛ حقوقی که شامل ممنوعيت زندانی کردن بدون دليل و يا بر اساس دلايل ساختگی نيز می شود.

turajz@gmail.com

https://newsecul.ipower.com/

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=198&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=198&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=198&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:14 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=197&mi=1 San Fransisco rally in support of Iranian people/Free all political prisoners

8/6/2009

ABc report fron San Fransisco rally click here

CBS:Interview with Toraj Zaim/ click here

ktvu:Interview with Touraj Zaim /click here








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Related news:
7/22/09
Zaim's son will be a speaker in support rally in San Fran on July 25
6 مرداد 1388
تورج زعیم فرزند کوروش زعیم یکی از سخنرانان مراسم همبستگی با ملت ایران ذر سان فرانسیسکو در روز ۲۵ جولای خواهد بود


تورج زعیم فرزند کوروش زعیم یکی از سخنرانان مراسم همبستگی با ملت ایران ذر سان فرانسیسکو در روز ۲۵ جولای خواهد بود .دکتر عباس میلانی٬مهندس بهرام مشیری٬ٔدکتر مهرانگیز کار از جمله سخنرانان این مراسم میباشند.مهندس کوروش زعیم از رهبران جبهه ملی ایران در روز ۳۱ خرداد توسط نیروهای امنیتی جمهوری اسلامی دستگیر شد و بر اساس آخرین اطلاعات در سلول انفرادی در بند ۲۰۹ زندان اوین بسر میبرد.








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7/21/09
Rally in support of freedom movement in Iran in San Fran on July 25

4 مرداد 1388
۲۵ جولای روز همبستگی با ملت ایران/بوستون

بوستون -بیش از ۵۰۰ نفر از ایرانیان نیو اینگلند در خمایت از مردم تحت ستم ایران وبرای آزادی زندانیان سیاسی گرد هم آمدند و همراه و همزمان با ایرانیان در دیگر نقاط جهان صدای حق طلبانه مردم ایران را به گوش مردم جهان رساندند.دکتر نورالدین پیر موزن در این مراسم سخنرانی کرد . گروهای سیاسی و اجتماعی در بوستون در برنامه مشارکت داشتند.گروه حقوق بشری اتحاد برای ایران (united 4iran.com) سازماندهی و برگزاری این تظاهرات جهانی برای همبستگی با ملت ایران را به عهده داشت و با زحمات داوطلبان و برنامه ریزی دقیق به خوبی این کار مهم را انجام داد.









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Related news
July/24/09
Last Day of Hunger strike in N.Y.
آخرین روز اعتصاب غذای فعالین سیاسی در نیویورک

3مرداد 1388
سومین و آخرین روز اعتصاب غذای فعالین سیاسی در نیویورک روز جمعه ۲۴ جولای 2009 با حضور پر شور بیش از ۵۰۰ نفر از ایرانیان برگزار شد.جبهه ملی ایران در آمریکا نیز در این مراسم حضور گسترده ای داشت و نزدیک به ۳۰ نفر از فعالین جبهه ملی ایران از شهر های مختلف آمریکا با عکسهای دکتر محمد مصدق که مورد استقبال شدید حاضرین قرار گرفت و عکسهای زندانیان سیاسی همچون کورش زعیم ٬پیمان عارف٬عیسی سحرخیز٬عبدالله رمضان زاده٬شیوا نظر آهاری٬مخمد علی دادخواه ٬عبدالله مومنی٬بهزاد نبوی ٬سعید حجاریان...... و همچنین عکسهای قربانیان فجایع اخیر جمهوری اسلامی چون ندا٬سهراب اعرابی و ترانه موسوی , در این مراسم شرکت داشتند .در این اعتصاب غذا که ۱۶۲ نفر به مدت سه روز در حمایت از زندانیان سیاسی برگزار کردند ٬ بسیاری از چهره های شاخص فرهنگی و سیاسی ایرانی و خارجی حمایت کردند و شرکت داشتند.اکبر گنجی و یارانش فریاد حق طلبانه زندانیان عقیدتی در ایران را به زیبایی به گوش مردم جهان رساندند و کار سه روزه خود را با ٬ سرود ای ایران ٬ پایان دادند. درود بر آنان.
آخرین روز اعتصاب غذای فعالین سیاسی در



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Related news
7/19/09
INF -US will participate in San Ran Rally and Hunger strike demonstrations in N.Y.

1 مرداد 1388



اعضا و هواداران جبهه ملی ایران در آمریکا در اعتصاب غذای سه روزه فعالین سیاسی در نیویورک در روز آخر ۲۴ جولای 2009 و همچنین تظاهرات همبستگی با ملت ایران در سراسر جهان در روز ۲۵ جولای برای حمایت از خواسته های بر حق ملت ایران , شرکت فعال خواهند داشت .آزادی تمام زندانیان سیاسی ٬ابطال انتخابات نمایشی و برگزاری انتخابات آزاد حق مسلم ملت ایران است .

دفاتر جبهه ملی ایران - آمریکا در بوستون ٬جنوب کالیفرنیا ٬ شمال کالیفرنیا ٬ نوادا ٬ واشنگتن
15 جولای 2009
WWW.jebhe.net

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=197&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=197&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=197&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:13 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=196&mi=1 Free all political prisoners

6/29/2009

please note that the list is inaccurate since some have been released (for example reza attaran was never arrested or ahmad ahmadiyan was released). There is a list at http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2009/06/list/ which is more up to date.


زندانیان سیاسی سرمایه های دمکراسی

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- 23rd June 2009 - 45 Comments »
Killed and Detained Since 12 June
Last Updated: 26 June 2009

Here is the list of those killed and detained in Iran, updated as information becomes available. The list is by no means comprehensive and does not include people arrested at protests on the streets.

Government officials have announced a total of 627 arrests in Tehran since 13 June 2009, 170 people detained prior to 15 June, 457 detained persons on 20 June, and 27 dead. Other sources claim these numbers are much higher. The Campaign believes, based on reports received from within Iran, as many as 2,000 people could be under arrest throughout the country. The following is a list of prominent political personalities, journalists, and students that the Campaign has received.

Click here for alphabetized list

——————–

Killed by Government Forces:

The government has admitted to at least 27 fatalities in Tehran but the true numbers are most probably much higher. The Campaign has been able to identify only the names of a few persons killed in Tehran during recent protests because of the extreme restrictions imposed by the government. There are also reports of fatalities in other cities but the Campaign has not been able to collect any reliable information.

1) Neda Aghasoltan, student, was murdered at the demonstration in Tehran on 20 June 2009

2) Naser Amirnejad, Aerospace PhD student, was murdered during the attack on the Tehran University dormitories on the night of Wednesday, 14 June 2009. His body was buried in his home town, one of the villages in the city of Yasouj on 19 June 2009.

3) Mostafa Ghanian, graduate student at Tehran University, was murdered during the attack on the Tehran University Dormitories on the night of Monday , 14 June 2009. His body was buried in his home town in Mashad on 21 June 2009.

4) Mehdi Karami, killed in Jonat Abad Street, Tehran, 15 June 2009

5) Kianoosh Assa, chemistry student at Elm va Sanaat University, killed in Tehran

6) Farzad Hashti, killed in Tehran

7) Shalar Khazri, killed in Tehran

8) Yagoub Barvayeh, master’s degree student in Theatre at Tehran University, killed in Tehran

9) Kaveh Alipour, killed in Tehran

– Eight people were killed during the attack to the peaceful demonstration in Tehran on 15 June 2009, according to the government report

– At least nineteen people were killed during the attack on the peaceful demonstration in Tehran on 20 June 2009, according to the government’s report

There are also several hundred injuries about which there is no available information. Some of the injuries could be life threatening. The Campaign has been informed that Ashkan Zahabian, a member of the Modern Faction of the Islamic Students Association of Ferdowsi University has been severely injured after attacks by members of Basiji Militia and is currently in a coma.

——————–

Arrested and in Detention:

Click here to view alphabetized list


I. Political personalities and members of the reformist presidential candidates’ campaigns:


1) Dr. Qorban Behzadinejad, director of Mir-Houssein Moussavi’s campaign, arrested on 24 June

2) Mostafa Tajzadeh, a member of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolutionary Political Organization and deputy of the Interior Ministry during Khatami’s presidency, was arrested on 13 June

3) Behzad Nabavi, a founding member of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolutionary Political Organization and former minister and parliamentarian, was arrested on 13 June and released the day after. He was arrested on 16 June for the second time

4) Mohsen Mirdamadi, General Secretary of the Iranian Participation Front and former parliamentarian, was first arrested on 13 June and released the day after, but was disappeared on 17 June

5) Saeed Hajarian, a senior adviser to reformists, a journalist, member of the Central Council of the Iran Front Participation, member of the first City Council in Tehran, the victim of an assassination attempt in 2000, was arrested on 15 June, is paralyzed and suffers serious brain and spinal cord injuries

6) Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, Vice president of the Iran Front Participation, coordinator of the reformist campaign in Kurdistan and former government spokes person during Khatami’s presidency, was arrested on 16 June

7) Ali Abtahi, a senior adviser to Karroubi’s Campaign, former Deputy of Parliament Office of President Khatami, and a vice president under Khatami, was arrested on 16 June

8) Abdolfatah Soltani, a human rights lawyer and one of the founding members of the Human Rights Defenders Center as well as a member of Executive Board of the Bar Association, was arrested on 16 June

9) Javad Emam, a member of Tehran branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Political Organization

9) Hojat Esmaieli, a member of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolutionary Political Organization

11) Mohsen Safaiee Farahani, member of the Iran Front Participation and the head of its Implementation Board, and former president of the Football Federation,

12) Ali Tajernia, a member of the Central Committee of the Iran Participation Front and former parliamentarian

13) Baghier Oskouiee, leading official in Karroubi’s campaign, was arrested on 16 June

14) Saeed Laylaz, prominent economist and Journalist, was arrested on June 17

15) Kuroush Zaieem, a member of the Central Council of the Iran National Front, was arrested on 21 June

16) Davoud Solaymani, a member of the Central Committee of the Iran Participation Front and former parliamentarian

17) Mohammad Tavasoli, director of the political office of the Freedom Movement in Iran and first Mayor of Tehran after the 1979 Revolution, was arrested on 16 June

18) Hossein Zaman, a well-known pop singer whose works have been banned from State controlled Radio and Television because of his support for the reformist movement

19) Mohsen Aminzadeh, a founding member of the Iran Participation Front and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in Khatami’s cabinet, on June 16

20) Saeed Shirkvand, member of Central Council of Iran Participation Front and former Deputy of Treasury in Khatami’s cabinet

21) Ahmad Zaydabadi, general secretary of the Advar organization and journalist, was arrested on June 13

22) Abdolah Momeni, member of the central council of the Advar organization and its spokesperson, was arrested on 21 June

23) Hamed Iranshahi, member of the Central Council of Advar organization, was arrested on June 16

24) Musa Saket, a member of the Advar Tahkim Vahdat and in charge of the campaign seeking supporters of Karroubi, was arrested on 18 June

25) Mohammad Atrianfar, a leading member of the Kargozaran Sazandegi Party and journalist, was arrested on 16 June

26) Jahanbakhsh Khanjani, a member of the Kargozaran Sazandegi Party and former spokesperson for the Internal Affairs Ministry in Khatami’s presidency

27) Ebrahim Khoshchehreh, a political activist in Lahijan and member of National Religious Activits, was arrested on 21 June

28) Khoshchehreh, son of Ebrahim Khoshchehreh, was arrested in Lahijan on 21 June

29) Mohsen Bastani, member of the Islamic Revolutionary Political Organization in Isfahan

30) Mehrdad Balafkan, member of the Islamic Revolutionary Political Organization in Isfahan

31) Ahmad Afjeiee, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran

32) Emad Bahavand, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran

33) Mojtaba Khandan, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran

34) Saeed Zeraatkar, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran

35) Rouholah Sahraee, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran

36) Ali Mehrdad, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran

37) Mohammad Reza Ahmadinia, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran

38) Reza Arjaini, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran in Zanjan

39) Jalal Bahrami, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran in Zanjan

40) Sadegh Rasouli, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran in Zanjan

41) Ahad Rezaiee, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran in Zanjan

42) Bagher Fathali Baygi, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran in Zanjan

43) Mansour Vafa, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran in Zanjan

44) Ali Pourkhayri, member of the Iran Participation Front

45) Shahin Nourbakhsh, member of the Iran Participation Front

46) Ali Taghipour, member of the Iran Participation Front

47) Mohammad Shokuhi, member of the Iran Participation Front

48) Ashkan Mojaleli, member of the Iran Participation Front

49) Maysam Varahchehre, member of the Iran Participation Front

50) Mahdian Minavi, member of the Iran Participation Front

51) Farhad Nasrollahpour, member of the Iran Participation Front

52) Amir Ariazand, member of the Iran Participation Front

53) Adel Dehdashti, member of the Iran Participation Front

54) Mahmoud Ebrahimi, member of the Iran Participation Front

55) Bahram Kardan, member of the Iran Participation Front

56) Shahabobdin Tabatabaiee, the head of the Youth Supporters of the Moussavi Campaign

57) Mohammadreza Jalaieepour, a student in Oxford University and website manager of the youth branch of the Iran Participation Front, arrested on June 17 in Tehran Airport

58) Saeed Nourmohammadi, member of the Iran Participation Front

59) Ali Mohaghar, a member of the Kargozaran Sazandegi party

60) Hedayatollah Aghaiee, a member of the Kargozaran Sazandegi party

61) Ali Waghfi, member of Moussavi’s Campaign in Tehran

62) Hamzeh Ghalebi, member of Moussavi’s Campaign in Tehran

63) Saeed (Hassan) Nikkhah, member of Moussavi’s Campaign in Tehran

64) Hesam Nasiri, member of Moussavi’s Campaign in Tehran

65) Ehsan Bagheri, member of Moussavi’s Campaign in Tehran

66) Homaiee, member of Moussavi’s Campaign in Tehran

67) Fatahi, member of Moussavi’s Campaign in Tehran

68) Zakeri, member of Moussavi’s Campaign in Tehran

69) Rouholah Shahsavar, member of Moussavi Campaign in Khorasan

70) Mohsen Rouzbehan, member of Moussavi Campaign in Khorasan

71) Kaveh Servati, member of Moussavi Campaign, was arrested on 20 June

72) Maryam Ameri, member of Karroubi’s Campaign

73) Naseh Faridi, member of Karroubi’s Campaign

74) Morteza Khani, member of Karroubi’s Campaign

75) Bagher Oskouiee, member of Karroubi’s Campaign

76) Siamand Ghiyasi, member of Karroubi’s Campaign in Kermanshah

77) Mohammad Jafari, member of Karroubi’s Campaign in Kermanshah

78) Dr. Jalil Sharabianlu, a prominent MD and surgeon in Tabriz

79) Dr Ghafar Farzadi, in Tabriz

80) Majid Jabari, in Tabriz

81) Rahim Yawari, In Tabriz

82) Abbas Pourazhari, in Tabriz

83) Dr. Laya Farzadi, in Tabriz

84) Shabeti, in Tabriz

85) Shamlu, in Tabriz

86) Dr. Ghafarzadeh, in Tabriz

87) Dr. Soltaniazad, in Tabriz

88) Dr. Panahi, in Tabriz

89) Dr. Seyflou, in Tabriz

90) Dr. Dadizadeh, in Tabriz

91) Mehdi Yarbahrami, in Tabriz

92) Mansour Ghafari, in Tabriz

93) Hojatollah Amiri, in Tabriz

94) Amir Hossein Jahani, in Tabriz

95) Rhdah Rahimipour, in Tabriz

96) Mehdi Khodadadi, in Tabriz

97) Payam Haydar Ghazvini, student in Gazvin

98) Nasim Riahi, student in Gazvin

99) Mojtaba Rajabi, student in Gazvin

100) Atar Rashidi, student in Gazvin

101) Hanieh Yousefian

——————–

II) Journalists:

Some of the journalists who were also political personalities are listed above under the political personalities. The list of detained journalists has also been independently verified by Reporters without Borders.


1) Mohammad Ghouchani, journalist and editor in charge of daily Etemad e Meli, was arrested on 18 June

2) Rajabali Mazrouiee, head of the Journalists Association, was arrested on 20 June

3) Karim Arghandehpour, a blogger (http://www.futurama.ir/) and reporter for pro-reform newspapers Salam, Vaghieh and Afaghieh, was arrested on 14 June

4) Maziyar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian dual national, journalist and the representative of Newsweek in Iran, was arrested on 22 June

5) Kayvan Samimi Behbahani, editor in chief of the closed monthly Nameh and human rights activist, was arrested on 14 June

6) Zhila Baniyaghoub, journalist and editor in charge of the Iranian Women’s Center website, was arrested on 20 June

7) Bahman Ahmadi Amoui, journalist, was arrested on 21 June

8) Mojtaba Pourmohsen, journalist and Radio Zamaneh’s representative in Rasht, was arrested on 15 June

9) Mahsa Amraiee, journalist , was arrested on 14 June

10) Behzad Bashou, cartoonist, was arrested on 14 June

11) Sayed Khalil Mirashrafi, TV producer was arrested on 14 June

12) Abdolreza Tajik, journalist was arrested on 14 June

13) Rohollah Shahsavar, journalist was arrested in Mashhad, was arrested on 17 June

14) Mashallah Haydarzadeh, journalist in Boushehr, was arrested on 14 June

15) Iason Athanasiadis, national Greek/British journalist, freelancing for the Washington Times, detained on 17 June

16) Amanolah Shojaiee, journalist in Bushehr, was arrested on 14 June

17) Somayeh Touhidlou, sociologist and blogger in the Road of Health

18) Shiva Nazarahari, journalist and member of the Reporters of Human Rights Committee, arrested on 13 June

19) Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, editor in charge of banned daily Kalameh and the website Kalameh Sabz, former director of the Iran Participation Front, was arrested on 23 June during the attack on newspaper property. Beheshti’s son, Sadra, was arrested while he was visiting his father.

20) Hassan Maadikhah, director of the Zareh Publication and son of Abdolmajid Maadikhah the former Cultural and Guardiance Minister

21) Mostafa Ghavanloo Ghajar, was arrested on 22 June

22) Fariborz Soroush, arrested in Karaj

——————–

III) University professors:

Click here to view alphabetized list

1) Dr. Ardeshir Amirarjomand, chair of UNESCO’s Democracy and Human Rights Program at Shahid Beheshti University

2) Hossein Reisian, university professor at International Emamkhomaini University in Ghazvin, was arrested on June 21

3) Fazli, university professor at International Emamkhomaini University in Ghazvin

4) Imani, university professor at International Emamkhomaini University in Ghazvin

5) Alborzi, university professor at International Emamkhomaini University in Ghazvin

6) Darvish, university professor at International Emamkhomaini University in Ghazvin

7) Izadi, professor of Bualisina University in hamedan, was arrested on June 16

8.) Majzoubi, professor at Bualisina University in Hamedan, was arrested June 13

——————–

IV) University students:

Click here to view alphabetized list

[The names of students who were arrested during the attack on the Tehran University Dormitories are based on information released by the Reports of Human Rights Committee]

1) Marjan Fayazi, student at Mazandaran University, was arrested on June 22
2) Sogan Alikhah, student at Mazandaran university, was arrested on June 22

3) Alireza Kiani, student at Mazandaran university

4) Milad Hosseini Koshtan, student at Mazandaran university

5) Ali Nazari, student at Mazandaran university

6) Siavoush Safavi, student at Mazandaran university

7) Ashkan Zahabian, student at Mazandaran university

8) Ali Dinavari, student at Mazandaran university

9) Rahman Yaghoubi, student at Mazandaran university

10) Maziar Yazdani, student at Mazandaran university

11) Ali Abbasi, student at Mazandaran university

12) Shouaneh Merikhi, student at Mazandaran university

13) Majid Dari, an expelled student at Alameh Tabatabaiee University in Tehran, was violently arrested on 21 June in his home

14) Esmaiel Jalilvand, a student activist in Shiraz University, was arrested on 21 June

15) Hamdollah Namjou, a student activist in Shiraz University, was arrested on 21 June

16) Mohsen Barzegar, student at Babol Engineering Univeristy, was arrested on June 18

17) Iman Sedighi, student at Babol Engineering Univeristy, was arrested on June 18

18) Hesam oldin Bagheri, student at Babol Engineering Univeristy, was arrested on June 18

19) Siavash Saliminejad, student at Babol Engineering Univeristy, was arrested on June 20

20) Alireza Khoshbakht, an expelled graduate student, was arrested on June 17

21) Zahra Tohidi, an expelled graduate student, was arrested on June 17

22) Ziaoldin Nabavi, secretary of the Education Rights Council, was arrested on 16 June

23) Sohrab Ahadian, student at Tehran University, was arrested on 17 June when the Tehran University dormitories were violently attacked

24) Reza Arkouzi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

25) Karim Emami, student, was arrested during the attack on the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

26) Mohammad Hossein Emami, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

27) Elaheh Imanian, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

28) Rouholah Bagheri, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on June 14

29) Farhad Binazadeh, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

30) Iman Pourtahmasb, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

31) Ezat Torbati, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

32) Milad Chegini, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

33) Mohammadreza Hohabadi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

34) Seyed Javad hosseini, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

35) Farshid Heydari Zamin, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

36) Behnam Khodabandeh lou, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

37) Mohammad Khansari, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

38) Mohammad Davoudian, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

39) Mahmoud Delbari, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

40) Ali Raiee, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

41) Omid Rezaiee, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

42) Ali Refahi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

43) Seifolah Rmezani, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

44) Ebrahim Raidian, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

45) Naser Zamani, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

46) Majid Selahvand, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

47) Hanif Salimi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

48) Mohammad Bagher Shabanpour, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

49) Hamed Shaykh alishahi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

50) Iman Shaydaieezaban, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

51) Farhad Shirahmad, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

52) Saman Sahebjalali, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

53) Farhan Sadeghpour, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

54) Farshad Taheri, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

55) Ghamdideh Olum, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

56) Esmaieel Ghorbani, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

57) Mohammad Karimi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

58) Erfan Mohammadi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University dormitories at midnight on 14 June

59) Naseh Faridi, student at Teacher Training University, was arrested on June 17

60) Amin Nazari, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

61) Siavash Hatam, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

62) Pouria Sharifian, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

63) Mehdi Mosafer, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

64) Reza Jafarian, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

65) Hojat Bakhtiari, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

66) Mostafa Mehdizadeh, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

67) Omid Sohravi, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

68) Vahid Amirian, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

69) Fazolah Joukar, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

70) Mehdi Torkaman, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

71) Nastaran Khodarahimi, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

72) Ali Ahmadi, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

73) Mosaab Ebrahimi, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

74) Saeed Parvizi, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

75) Bahareh Hosseini, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

76) Hadis Zamani, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

77) Nahid Siahvand, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

78) Imani, student at Bualisina University in Hamedan

79) Ali Shojai, student at Hormozgan University, director of Mehdi Karoubi’s student campaign in Hormozgan, detained on 18 June

80) Amir Kolhar, student at Azad University in Karaj, detained on 21 June

81) Ehsan Ehsani, student in Mazindaran, detained on 24 June

82) Hamidreza Jahantigh, student at Noushirvan University in Babol, arrested on 24 June

83) Hesam Nasiri, student at Azad University in Tehran

84) Mohammad Sayadi, student at Buali University in Hamadan, arrested on 25 June plainclothes agents on the street

85) Pedram Rafati, Amir Kabir University student who was arrested on 15 June by plain clothes security officers near his dormitory

86) Payman Aref

——————–

Arrested and Released:

Click here to view alphabetized list


1) Mohammad Reza Khatami, member of the Central Committee of Iran Participation Front, brother of former president Khatami, was arrested on 13 June and released on 14 June

2) Zahra Mojaradi, a member of the Iran Participation Front, was arrested on 13 June and released on 14 June

3) Saeed Shariati, a member of the Iranian Participation Front, was arrested on 13 June and released on 14 June

4) Taghi Rahmani, political figure and journalist, was arrested on 14 June and released the day after

5) Reza Alijani, political figure, was arrested on 14 June and released the day after

6) Hoda Saberi, journalist, was arrested on 14 June and released the day after

7) Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, and her daughter and two other members of Rafsanjani’s Family were arrested on 20 June and released after 30 hours

8) Ebrahim Yazdi, General Secretary of the Iran Liberation Movement, was arrested on 14 June from the Pars Hospital in Tehran and was taken back to the hospital on June 15 for further surgery

9) Ahmad Ahmadian, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories mid night on 14 June and released later

10) Eskandari, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

11) Amin Afzali, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories midnight on 14 June and released later

12) Vahid Anari, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories mid night on 14 June and released later

13) Mohammad Bolourdi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

14) Hossein Hamedi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

15) Mohsen Habibi, Mazaheri, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

16) Navid Haghdadi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran university Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

17) Mohammad Reza Hokmi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

18) Kazem Rahimi Olume, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

19) Morteza Rezakhani, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

20) Maysam Zareiee, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

21) Amin Samiee, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

22) Bahram Shaabani, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories at midnight on 14 June and released later

23) Alireza Shaykhi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories mid night on 14 June and released later

24) Ebrahim Azizi, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories mid night on 14 June and released later

25) Siavash Fiaz, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories mid night on 14 June and released later

26) Sayed Hossein Mirzadeh, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran University Dormitories mid night on 14 June and released later

27) Hossein Noubakht, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran university Dormitories mid night on 14 June and released later

28) Javad Yazdanfar, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran university Dormitories mid night on 14 June and released later

29) Habib Khadangi, student, student, was arrested during the attack to the Tehran university Dormitories mid night on 14 June and released later

30) Hamideh Mahouri, journalist in Bushehr, was arrested on 14 June and released on 19 June

31) Hossein Shokouhi,a journalist in Bushehr, was arrested on 14 June and released on 19 June

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=196&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=196&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=196&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:12 CST http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=195&mi=1 March for Neda, and Iran

6/23/2009

A Candlelight Vigil in Washington, D.C. at Iranian interest section Friday , June 26, 2009 starting at 5:00pm



Neda was a young Iranian woman who was killed by a member of the Basij militia while watching a protest in Tehran. The pro-government Basij militia terrorizes Iranians daily, beating and killing innocent people with guns, knives, axes, motorbike chains, clubs and electric prods. The Basiji killers aimed for Neda’s heart, shot her in cold blood, and left her dying on the street.
The name Neda means "the call" or "the voice" in Farsi.
Please join us in the call to march for Neda and for Iran. Support Iranians fighting for freedom.

http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=195&mi=1]]> JMINews.com http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=195&mi=1 http://www.jminews.com/news/en/?ni=195&mi=1 Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:11 CST