insideIRAN » Media Analysis

Basij Forces Plan 7,000 New Bases

insideiran — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:59:20 +0000

Arash Aramesh

Brig Gen Mohammad-Reza Naghdi, the commander of Basij forces, said July 28 that his organization was going to build 7,000 new Basij bases throughout Iran. Naghdi said this was going to be an “unprecedented” expansion of the Basij and that the Iranian parliament had already appropriated sufficient funds for this massive expansion.

According to Fars news, a semi-official news agency with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Naghdi said that the province of Zanjan, for instance, would receive an additional one hundred new bases. Zanjan is a relatively small province with about one million residents, most of whom live in rural areas.

Naghdi admitted that Basij forces have played an instrumental role in exposing problems and “reducing social cleavages.” He asserted, “With new Basij bases, the activities of Basij forces will also be elevated.”

The massive expansion of Basij now has a number of reasons. Little over a year ago, the Islamic Republic faced mass demonstrations in major cities. The IRGC and the Basij played a crucial role in quenching the demonstrators. Members of the Basij were accused of opening fire at demonstrators, resulting in the death and injury of many protestors.

The central government in Tehran would also like to increase the Basij’s involvement in rural areas, especially those provinces with major security problem such as Sistan and Baluchestan. This southeastern province has been a real security challenge for the Islamic Republic and the government has been unable to stop kidnappings, car and suicide bombings, and drug trafficking.

A few months ago, for instance, the IRGC Commander of all ground forces was killed by a suicide bomber while visiting the province. Less than two weeks ago, two suicide bombers carried out an attack at a mosque in Zahedan, the capital of the province, and killed a number of people. The IRGC increased its formal troops presence in the region in the past two years, but its failure to adequately address security problems have lead to an open invitation to the Basij forces to come and infiltrate the region.

As a militia, the Basij is not a full-time military organization. Most members of the Basij are recruited to serve in their neighborhoods, thus making it a powerful arm of the government which present in every city, neighborhood, and street.

Kadivar Writes Letter to Assembly of Experts: ‘Impeach Khamenei’

insideiran — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:28:00 +0000

Mahour S.

Mohsen Kadivar, the exiled cleric, professor and activist, has written a forty-three page letter to the head of the Assembly of Experts, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, citing the reasons why Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei should be impeached.

By law, the Assembly of Experts can vote to question, impeach and replace the Supreme Leader, although it has never carried out these responsibilities in its 30-year history.

Kadivar begins by writing: “As an Iranian citizen, I accuse the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, of despotism, tyranny, cruelty, breaking the law, attempting to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting Islam.” He writes the letter in six parts, highlighting instances of each of these accusations and citing articles of the constitution, which the leader has undermined in each case.

In the letter, Kadivar also highlights the history of the Assembly of Experts, and the “vicious cycle” which has been in practice since the laws changed regarding the Assembly in 1990. In that year, after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, the Guardian Council – now filled with Khamenei appointees who are loyal to him – was given the authority to disqualify candidates running for the Assembly of Experts. This gives the leader total control of the Assembly, whose primary function is to oversee the conduct and selection of the Leader.

Kadivar once again highlighted the need for a council of leaders to replace the Supreme Leader. Presently, the Supreme Leader remains in power for life. He writes that at present Iran’s leadership is only a “monarchy disguised in Islamic clothing” and calls Ayatollah Khamenei, “the greatest obstacle to the rule of law, democracy, justice and freedom in Iran.”

Kadivar discusses at length the political deaths that have occurred under Khamenei, the partisan tactics of IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting), the treatment of protesters after the June 2009 election, the imprisonment and persecution of journalists and dissidents and Khamenei’s recurring interference in the day to day affairs of the country. He also highlights official statements from the government, which indicate the law can be ignored under instructions by the Supreme Leader. Kadivar also notes the lack of independence of the judiciary.

While many of these claims, arguments and accusations have been directed in the past at the leadership of the Islamic Republic, what makes this letter significant is that it is one of the first fully documented resources, which outlines Ayatollah Khamenei’s conduct in the 20-year span of his leadership. Given that Kadivar himself is also a cleric with vast knowledge of both legal and religious law, the letter is deemed even more credible.

Jannati: The U.S. Paid Opposition Leaders $1 billion

insideiran — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:26:05 +0000

Arash Aramesh

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the secretary of the Council of Guardians, said July 27 that he had evidence the United States offered $50 billion to leaders of the opposition in Iran, if they manage to topple the Islamic Republic. He claimed that the U.S. already paid $1 billion to opposition leaders.

Jannati, who was speaking in the holy city of Qom, said, “The Saudis, who were speaking on behalf of Americans, said if you [opposition leaders] manage to topple the government, we will pay you fifty billion dollars.”

Jannati did not explain what sort of evidence he possessed and why has he not provided this evidence to Iran’s judiciary for prosecuting the accused. Nor did he say to whom the money was paid.

Hardliners in Iran have been trying to link the opposition to foreign powers and convince the Iranian people that last year’s unrests were planned by Westerners in Washington and London and implemented by their servants in Tehran.

Members of the opposition reacted to Jannati’s comments and called them “irresponsible.” Ali Shakuri-Rad, a former member of the Iranian parliament, told BBC Persian that, “Either Mr. Jannati does not know how much $50 billion is or he does not know other things,” implying that Jannati made a comment without knowing what he was talking about.

These remarks are troubling because Ahmad Jannati is one of Iran’s most influential hardliners. As Secretary of the Guardian Council, he plays an important role in monitoring elections in Iran and decides who has the right to run for office in the Islamic Republic.

Jannati has very close ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who just appointed him to another five-year term as the Secretary of the Guardian Council. The Council is composed of six jurists and six laymen.

Jannati also has close ties to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Last year, Jannati and the Guardian Council were accused of being biased and helping the Ministry of Interior rig the election results. Jannati denied such allegations, but said he has always loved President Ahmadinejad, only adding to concerns that he and the Guardian Council did not act as honest watchdogs.

Iran Warns of Plans by the United States and Israel to Attack Middle East

insideiran — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:03:59 +0000

Arash Aramesh

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Press TV July 26 that the United States and Israel were planning to start new wars in the region and predicted an attack on “at least two countries in the region within the next three months.”

President Ahmadinejad criticized the new round of sanctions imposed by the European Union and said the United States and the EU were only after saving Israel by levying such sanctions. He added, “First of all, they want to hamper Iran’s progress and development since they are opposed to our growth, and secondly they want to save the Zionist regime because it has reached a dead-end and the Zionists believe they can be saved through a military confrontation.”

Ahmadinejad may have also been reacting to a recent proposal put forth by Republicans in the US House of Representatives, HR 1553, allowing Israel to take any action to protect itself from threats.

Senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders, however, seemed to be less alarmist. Brig Gen Hossein Salami, deputy commander of IRGC forces, told Sepah News, IRGC’s official website, that the Guards were fully aware of the enemy’s strategies. He downplayed the strength of the US military and said, “The US military was created as a response to a single threat, and that was the USSR. That is why in the new era, and due to lack of flexibility, we can see signs of US military defeat.”

Elaborating on the issue of military strikes or crippling sanctions against the IRGC, Gen Salami added, “We always thought [predicted and made plans accordingly] that all doors would one day be closed to us. We planned for the worst case scenario. The IRGC planned on the fact that there may not be a reliable ally for the Islamic Republic in the world. Thanks to the Almighty, our country is not small and we do not need to necessarily rely on others.”

In addition to Brig Gen Salami, another high-ranking IRGC commander discounted the possibility of a US attack. Brig Gen Masoud Jazaeri, deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for culture and propaganda, told Sepah News that “Recent moves made by the US are nothing but political bluffs.”

Gen Jazaeri added, “Recent military moves by the US, Israel, and a number of European countries is (sic) nothing new in the waters of the region and we have seen this many times in the past.” He asserted, “Iran is not worried about declining powers.”

The facts on the ground, however, tell a different story. Iran is preparing for a week-long air defense exercise in the fall. Senior air force commanders have announced that this exercise would take place in Iran’s western provinces, the closest to Israel. In the past two years, Iran has conducted a large number of military exercises, most of which have been air defense or naval combat preparedness in the Persian Gulf.

Iran Shows Signs of Willingness to Negotiate

insideiran — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:08:13 +0000

Arash Aramesh

Ali-Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s representative at the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters July 26 that Iran has informed the Vienna group, which is comprised of the United States, Russia, France, and the IAEA, that it is willing to sit down with the European Union at the “very first opportunity” to discuss fuel for Tehran’s nuclear reactor.

According to Fars news, a semi-official news agency with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran wrote a letter to the Vienna group to answer a number of questions posed by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. Fars did not explain what Amano had asked about or what the Iranian response entailed.

In another sign that Iran is softening its position on whether it will resume negotiations over its nuclear program, Iranian officials met in Istanbul July 26 with officials from Brazil and Turkey to seek assurances that they will continue to press the EU to resume talks regarding the Tehran Nuclear Reactor.

Iran is apparently concerned that Western government have dismissed the Tehran Declaration, which was an agreement brokered with Iran by Turkey and Brazil on May 16. Western governments have said the declaration fails to address key concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. Fars news, which has been very supportive of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s nuclear policy, has portrayed the Tehran Declaration as a great victory for Iran’s diplomatic machine. Fars and other state-owned news outlets have made strenuous efforts to show Turkey and Brazil as Iran’s allies and portray the United States as an ever-increasing isolated world power on the global stage.

Fars also announced Iran’s willingness to start negotiations without preconditions about fuel for the Tehran reactor. According to Fars, Soltanieh said Iran was willing to participate in the first meeting in Vienna to resume talks about providing fuel for the Tehran reactor.

Despite Iran’s claims that the Tehran Declaration would have guaranteed enough enriched fuel for the Tehran reactor, it seems that they are going back to the negotiating table to bargain for fuel. The Tehran reactor, built by Americans before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, is used for research and medical purposes.

It seems the Islamic Republic is eager to resume negotiations. Some analysts argue that mounting pressure on Iran, via economic sanctions and threat of military strikes, have forced Iran to submit to the will of the international community. Others, on the other hand, argue that Iran is simply buying more time and has no intention of halting its nuclear program.

New EU Sanctions Receive Frenzied Response From Iranian State News Services

insideiran — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:12:28 +0000

Shayan Ghajar

The European Union implemented new sanctions July 26 against Iran in response to its nuclear program. The sanctions include measures freezing the assets of forty Iranian companies in Europe, as well as halting investments in Iran’s energy sector and banning the sale of certain kinds of scientific equipment relating to nuclear or petrochemical energy to Iran.

Additionally, sanctions will require that any European company engaging in a transaction with Iran of over $52,000 must first get the deal approved by the treasury ministry of their host nation in the EU. The EU will no longer allow new Iranian banks to be formed in Europe, and bans cargo flights from Iran to the EU.

The reaction in Iranian news services has been prodigious. A wide range of state officials, from President Ahmadinejad to various ministers and parliamentarians, have spoken out against the newest sanctions against Iran on every state-owned or affiliated news agency in the country. This reaction from Iranian officials is even stronger than their response to sanctions imposed by the UN and the US Congress over the last several weeks.

Ahmadinejad himself decried the latest sanctions in the strongest terms in a speech published on PressTV: “Should you make any decisions against Iran, including ship inspections, you will see the Iranian nation’s immediate response. Everybody knows that the Iranian nation’s response will cause [the enemy to] rule the day.”

Other statements by Iranian officials took a less confrontational tone and centered on the lack of effect sanctions will have on Iran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the European Union’s sanctions will not have a major effect on Iran’s energy sector, but may affect Iran’s willingness to engage in negotiations over its controversial nuclear program. “Sanctions… will only complicate matters and move away [the parties] from mutual understanding,” Mehmanparast stated on the Islamic Republic News Agency.

Even Iran’s Oil Minister, Massoud Mir-Kazemi, issued a lengthy statement regarding sanctions on PressTV. The Oil Minister said Iran’s oil production will not be impacted at all by the sanctions because “one hundred percent” of Iran’s oil fields are “being exploited by Iranian companies.” The oil minister neglected to mention that significant foreign investments in these Iranian companies may be affected by sanctions, which would impair the companies’ operations.

However, Oil Minister Mir-Kazemi also pointed out that Russian investment and participation in Iran’s energy sector would continue unabated, highlighting the conundrum facing Western nations as more sanctions are levied against Iran: companies in nations such as China and Russia have little incentive to abide by American or European sanctions, and have already begun to fill the void left by the pullout of European corporations.

Meanwhile, the fact that Iran’s official English-language news agency has published well over a dozen stories pertaining to sanctions in the past 24 hours indicates that, despite the tough rhetoric, the Iranian government is apprehensive about yet another set of sanctions hampering their international trade.

Iran Considers Replacing Dollar and Euro with Chinese Yuan

insideiran — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:10:24 +0000

Arash Aramesh

Mohammad-Reza Rahimi, Iran’s first vice president, said July 23 that his country was considering replacing the Euro and the US dollar with the Chinese Yuan for future oil transactions. Rahimi did not specify when such a transition would take place, nor did he say whether the Iranian parliament has approved the measure.

According to Fars news, a pro-government news agency with intimate ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Rahimi told reporters: “Iran has the right to use any currency and we will do what serves our country’s interests. We have different agreements with different countries. What is important to us is getting rid of the Euro and the dollar.”

Recently, there were rumors that Iran was going to use the Dirham, the currency of the United Arab Emirates, instead of the Euro. After weeks of deliberations, Iranian officials decided not to use the Dirham given, according to their calculations, the limited size of the UAE’s economy and its lack of financial stability relative to the European Union and the United States.

Three years earlier, Iran converted its dollars to Euros when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the death of the US economy. At the time, the American dollar was at one of its weakest points. Since then, the US dollar has gradually gained strength while the Euro has come under tremendous pressure by the global financial crisis. President Ahmadinejad has been criticized by a number of conservatives in the Iranian parliament for converting most of Iran’s reserves in dollars to Euros so quickly.

Following the global financial crisis, there are doubts whether the Euro is as stable a currency as it was once believed. The Iranian government’s decision to move away from the Euro is probably a bid to safeguard itself against another financial plunge which could be devastating to its holdings.

Iran’s move to abandon the Euro and the US dollar is not entirely motivated by economic calculations. According to BBC Persian service, Iran is seeking revenge for recent UN, US, and now EU sanctions. By converting billions of dollars worth of Euros and dollars to Yuan, the Islamic Republic aims to cause some damage to the two largest economies in the world, especially at a time when the US and the EU are struggling to recover from the greatest recession in recent history.

Kayhan Tries to Threaten Bazaar as Government’s Next Target

insideiran — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:55:19 +0000

Shayan Ghajar

Hossein Shariatmadari, the chief editor of Kayhan News and a close personal confidant of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, lashed out at merchants in Tehran’s bazaar who supported strikes in the wake of proposed tax hikes. In a lengthy editorial July 19, Shariatmadari, who often acts as the unofficial mouthpiece of Ayatollah Khamenei, unleashed a myriad of moral and economic accusations against the bazaari merchants as well as an unlikely threat to replace the traditional bazaar with government-run stores.

Shariatmadari’s editorial is largely a dialogue (perhaps contrived) between the author and an unnamed “young man with a radiant countenance.” The young man asks Shariatmadari a series of leading questions that gradually portray the author’s, and therefore also the Supreme Leader’s, view of the bazaari merchants.

Shariatmadari starts with a conciliatory tone, saying that only some merchants are on strike, but soon veers into leftist sentiments decrying the avarice and decadence of the wealthy bazaar merchants repeatedly. The young man he spoke to exclaims, “Our money paid for these streets, while the wealthy merchants drive down them in their expensive cars without having to pay for them. Our money pays for the police services that guard the homes of the rich against thieves, even though our own homes are so destitute no thief would bother with them!” the youth complains. Shariatmadari largely sympathizes with this (probably fictitious) youth, though he also briefly says most bazaari merchants are pious and well-intentioned men who are unsure of what to believe during the tax hike crisis.

The conclusion is the most telling portion, as it denigrates the importance of the bazaari merchants in an attempt to shame them into compliance, as well as remind them that the government could make life for them difficult if it so decided. The youth points out that the merchants are not producers, just middle-men, and asks what would happen if they simply disappeared. Shariatmadari, after a brief moment to contemplate his answer, replies that probably nothing would happen. Shariatmadari’s choice of title for the piece also indicates this is the pinnacle of his argument: “What would happen? Nothing!”

The youth suggests that the government should establish marketplaces to sell the goods traditionally sold in the bazaar, thereby eliminating the middleman and keeping prices low. This suggestion is highly impractical, though it serves as a warning from the government to the bazaar that they are not immune to the the state’s interference, and could be marginalized if they are not tactful with their resistance to the tax hikes.

Shariatmadari’s indirect threat to replace the bazaar with state-run shops is implausible, yet simply weakening the bazaar rather than replacing it is both possible and, some analysts argue, a process already in motion since the 1980s, when massive state involvement in the economy began.

As many historians have pointed out, the clerics and bazaari merchants have been the major vehicles for change in all previous Iranian reform movements or revolutions, and if the bazaar is sidelined or occupied with ameliorating state pressures, it will reduce the likelihood of a any Green movement -bazaar alliance in the near future.

US Congress Requests Talks with Tehran, says Iranian official

insideiran — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:09:53 +0000

Arash Aramesh

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of Committee of National Security and Foreign Affairs in the Iranian parliament, said July 18 that the US Congress has requested to talk to Iran via the Swiss ambassador in Tehran.

According to Mehr news and the Persian Service of the BBC, a semi-official news agency, Boroujerdi said the Swiss ambassador met with him on July 18 and expressed the intent of US Foreign Relations Committee to speak directly with Iran. Boroujerdi did not specify whether the committee in question was in the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Boroujerdi criticized the United States for its interest in engaging Iran, when according to him and other Iranian government officials, the United States was behind the suicide bombings last week. Since the twin suicide bombings in Zahedan in southeastern Iran last Thursday, Iran has accused the United States of supporting Jundollah, the group that claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The highest ranking foreign policy official in the Iranian parliament said that nothing has changed between Iran and the United States and emphasized that change will only occur when Washington revises its behavior towards Tehran.

This high-ranking Iranian official added, “Why do they expect to talk [to us]” when the US imposes unilateral sanctions against Iran and pushes the UN Security Council to do the same?

Since becoming Iran’s president in June of 2005, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed his desire to talk directly with the United States without preconditions. US president Barack Obama campaigned on speaking directly to enemies, such as Iran and North Korea, but his efforts to engage Iran during his first year in office were not successful. According to senior Iranian officials such as Mohammad-Reza Bahonar, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has made it clear that Iran’s “strategy is to avoid direct talks with the US, “ thus undermining others’ efforts to open a new front for direct negotiations.

However, Esmail Kowsari, the vice chairman of Committee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, informed Fars news, a pro-government news agency with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, that his committee will discuss the US Congress’s proposal on July 20. Kowsari said, “The US is confused about how to deal with Iran. One day they impose sanctions and then later they want to talk and negotiate.”

During the same interview with Mehr news, Boroujerdi also announced that the government of Japan has expressed its willingness to assist Iran in building earthquake proof nuclear plants. According to Boroujerdi, Japan’s ambassador to Tehran expressed his country’s desire to help build nuclear plants that can withstand earthquakes, despite recent UN and US sanctions against the Islamic Republic and its nuclear program.

Iran Blames United States for Suicide Bombings

insideiran — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:55:12 +0000

Arash Aramesh

Twin suicide attacks rocked the southeastern city of Zahedan and killed almost 30 individuals. Members of the terrorist organization called Jundollah, soldiers of God, claimed responsibility for the bombings at the Zahedan Grand Mosque. At the time of the attack, crowds were celebrating the birthday of Imam Hossein, the third Shiite Imam, and Pasdar Day, honoring members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

The Iranian government went on the offensive July 16 by accusing the United States and Israel of having been involved in the bombings. The IRIB, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Broadcasting or better known as radio and television, aired numerous clips from the dead and the wounded at the scene and interviewed a number of locals who blamed the US for this atrocity.

According to Fars news, a semi-official news agency with close ties to the IRGC, Hossein-Ali Shahriari, deputy parliamentarian from Zahedan, accused the US of trying to divert attention from the Shahram Amiri case and inflict some pain on Iran.

According to BBC Persian Service, Shahriari resigned his seat in the parliament as protest to the government’s weak handling of the security situation in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

While Tehran is trying to spin the bombings as American retaliation for the Amiri case, Brig Gen Ali Fazli, deputy commander of Basij forces, said that Basij needs to get much more involved in the Sistan and Baluchestan province to bring about security. In the last two years, the IRGC increased its troop presence in the region by a significant margin but was unable to stop such attacks. Fazli, an IRGC general and second in command of the Basij, wants more forces in the form of Basij militia fighters. These Basij forces are likely to come from the Persian-speaking Sistanis and not the ethnic Baluch.

Fearing intra-sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunnis, the IRIB has aired numerous speeches and interviews by leading Sunni and Shiite clerics condemning the attacks and calling on everyone to come together and to show restraint.

Abdolmakel Rigi, the leader of Jundollah, was arrested and executed in Iran for terrorist activities, kidnapping, and murder. The attack could have been Jundollah’s first retaliatory act for the execution of their former leader.