Rafsanjani Watch

Iran Moves to Curb Hard-Liners: Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Granted Major New Power

2005-10-10T11:32:00.000-04:00

Iran Moves to Curb Hard-Liners: "Iran Moves to Curb Hard-Liners
Power Given to Relatively Moderate Body Led by Rafsanjani

By Karl Vick
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, October 8, 2005; Page A13

ISTANBUL, Oct. 7 -- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Shiite Muslim cleric who holds ultimate authority in Iran, has altered the country's power structure by granting a relatively moderate panel new authority to supervise an elected government increasingly dominated by religious hard-liners.

Khamenei expanded the authority of the Expediency Council, an appointive body whose longtime chairman, former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is a fixture of Iranian politics and invariably described as wily insider. Rafsanjani lost last June's presidential election, but Khamenei's new decree, made public Oct. 1, gives Rafsanjani at least nominal supervision over the administration put in place by the winner, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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The council also was given supervisory authority over the Iranian parliament, despite the squawks of lawmakers who accused the council of a power grab. Previously, the council was only empowered to settle disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council -- another, more influential appointive body -- and to advise Khamenei.

"The adjudication of the Expediency Council is the final word," council secretary Mohsen Rezai told reporters in Tehran, the capital, this week. "And even if other state sectors do not agree with it, it is the final word and they have to accept it."

The practical effect of the change remains to be seen. The structure of Iran's theocratic government is complex and its operations are opaque.

But analysts found significance in the timing of the change, which had been proposed to Khamenei years earlier. Coming now, the expansion of the Expediency Council's power was widely viewed as, at minimum, a gesture intended to restore some prestige to Rafsanjani. He played a key role in elevating Khamenei to the position of supreme religious leader after the 1989 death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 revolution that installed Iran's religious government.

Others also saw an effort to balance the rise of hard-liners who control Iran's elective branches of government, as well as the judiciary and the Guardian Council. Control of parliament shifted to conservatives last year in an election the Guardian Council closed off to anyone else.

Ahmadinejad took office in August after a more credible victory -- a landslide fueled by a populist economic appeal. But he has had a shaky start. His cabinet selections proved controversial, and his confrontational approach to critics of Iran's nuclear program has been questioned even in Tehran.

"This is more than symbolic. This is the leader saying, 'We're moving too far right,' " said Karim Sadjadpour, who follows Iran for the International Crisis Group, a research group based in Brussels. "I'm loath to call Rafsanjani moderate, but in the current context, he is a voice of moderation."

Iran's government is united in defending its long-secret nuclear program, which it insists is intended only to generate electricity. But foreign diplomats said Iran's cause was hurt by the strident tone of the address that Ahmadinejad, a novice at foreign relations, delivered at the United Nations last month. U.S. diplomats seized on it to successfully lobby the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran to the Security Council.

Rafsanjani, 71, appeared to join in the criticism of Ahmadinejad at Friday prayers a week ago in Tehran.

"You need diplomacy and not slogans," said Rafsanjani, who is both a cleric and a millionaire businessman. "This is the place for wisdom, the place for seeking windows that will take you to the objective."

Ahmadinejad's cabinet nominations also drew criticism, and some ridicule. Parliament rejected four of his choices, including the nominee for Iran's vital oil ministry. The candidate had claimed to have a doctorate from an American college that turned out to be an on-line degree.

"Ahmadinejad has already shown that he needs a lot of supervision," said a professional political analyst in Tehran, who asked not to be named because his employer had not authorized his remarks. "Just last week his government sent two 'double urgent' bills to the parliament. He gets so excited."

Parliament approved his choice for interior minister, Mustafa Pourmohammadi, only after grilling him on his tenure as a top official in the Intelligence Ministry in the mid-1990s, when its agents were executing government critics in their homes. Two other ministries are headed by veterans of Iran's security services, and five more by veterans of the Revolutionary Guards, whose influence in government has steadily grown in recent years.

"The new guys are from a relatively dark place in the Islamic republic," said Ray Takeyh, an analyst for the Council on Foreign Relations based in Washington.

Sadjadpour said generational politics appeared to play a role in expanding the powers of Rafsanjani's council. Along with Khamenei, 66, Rafsanjani lived through the trauma of the Islamic revolution's early years, when the broad-based uprising against the U.S.-backed monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, soon splintered into bloody factional fighting. That was followed by a bloody eight-year war with Iraq.

"They go back three or four decades, and they've been through a lot together," Sadjadpour said. "I think Khamenei is tending domestically to his power base, and he does want to avert an international crisis.""

IRAN: WOMEN'S SPORTS CHIEF SPEAKS OUT AGAINST GOVERNMENT

2005-09-21T11:49:00.001-04:00

"IRAN: WOMEN'S SPORTS CHIEF SPEAKS OUT AGAINST GOVERNMENT

Rome, 21 Sept. (AKI) - Ahead of the Islamic Women's Games tournament scheduled to kick off in Tehran on Thursday, the president of the Iranian women's sports federation, Faezeh Hashemi, has launched a scathing attack against the country's new president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who triumphed over her father Hashemi Rafsanjani in elections in June.

"The games will take place despite radical political change in the country" said Hashemi, warning that "some forces currently in power would like women to abandon sports" - a clear reference to Ahmadinejad and his radical Islamist supporters.

Her remarks come amid a decision by the Iranian volleyball federation to withdraw its women's team from the competition and accusations by many Iranian sports offcials that Hashemi's Muslim Women's Sport Foundation (MWSF) is squandering government funds.

Some 254 teams from 48 countries are expected to participate in the Islamic Women's Games which will feature 18 sports disciplines from football and basketball to golf and athletics. To date 2,000 athletes have arrived in Tehran, including a team from Britain and an American athlete.

Competition will take place under strict dress codes with athletes obliged to wear headscarfs or the hijab in all the events except for the swimming races from which male spectators will be banned.

With photojournalists only allowed to cover the golf, clay pigeon shooting and archery competions most of the media attention will focus on the opening ceremony and the prize-giving ceremonies. Mobile telephones equipped with photo cameras will be banned.

The absence of media coverage has made it difficult for the tournament to attract sponsors througout its 12-year history. The Islamic Women's Games were launched in 1993 to give female athletes from Muslim countries an opportunity to play sport at an international level, while not violating Sharia law by competing in front of men in inappropriate attire.

Ever since its creation the games have been held in Tehran. Other Muslim countries have asked to host them but "only Saudi Arabia could qualify," specified Hashemi, since it is the only other Muslim country which strictly applies the customs such as the wearing of the hijab."

IRAN: WOMEN'S SPORTS CHIEF SPEAKS OUT AGAINST GOVERNMENT

2005-09-21T11:49:00.000-04:00

Ayatollah Sistani's envoy confers with Rafsanjani in Mecca - Irna

2005-09-19T21:17:00.000-04:00

Ayatollah Sistani's envoy confers with Rafsanjani in Mecca - Irna: "Ayatollah Sistani's envoy confers with Rafsanjani in Mecca Mecca, Sept 20, IRNA
Rafsanjani-Sistani-Envoy
Ayatollah Sistani's Envoy Hojatoleslam Shahrestani conferred here Monday with Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Chairman of Iran's influential Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani referring to Iraq's crisis said, "Current problems in Iraq have caused concern in the Islamic world and world Muslims should try to establish stability and security there.

He described the fundamentals of Iraqi constitution as "good" and said, the Iraqis' enemies are using intimidation, dispersion and dispute methods against that dictatorship and war-stricken nation.

Rafsanjani said, Iraqi people's obligation to Islamic principles and their adherence to imitating their sources of jurisprudence would guarantee that country's independence and territorial integrity.

He also expressed hope that the occupation period of Iraq would end soon.

Shahrestani, too, presented an analysis of the current political, and social situation, adding, " Now, the internal conditions in Iraq have direct effects on general status of the Islamic world".

Concerning the western countries trouble making for Iran in its peaceful nuclear energy program, Ayatollah Sistani's envoy said, " the arrogant powers do not want a powerful and free Iran to emerge as a pattern for the whole Islamic world."

EC Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani praises efforts of Khatami administration

2005-07-30T16:29:00.000-04:00

Description of Selected News: "EC praises efforts of Khatami administration

TEHRAN (MNA) -- Members of the Expediency Council (EC) expressed their appreciation for the efforts of outgoing President Mohammad Khatami during their weekly session on Saturday.

At the meeting, EC Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani lauded the measures taken by Khatami for political, economic, and social development and for the expansion of international ties.

Rafsanjani presented a rare copy of the Holy Quran to Khatami during the session, which was also attended by the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

For his part, Khatami praised Rafsanjani and thanked the EC for its close cooperation with the government over the past eight years.

Khatami called Rafsanjani a great asset of the Islamic Revolution whose advice is always required by the ruling system.

The president also said that Rafsanjani is an experienced personality whose advice is always effective, particularly in times of crisis.

"His views helped settle problems in all situations, and he was generous enough to share his expertise with me. The Expediency Council plays a crucial role in resolving difficulties and discrepancies. Given its high status, the council does not allow the administrators of the community to face deadlocks," Khatami added.

He praised Rafsanjani’s leadership during the post-war years, when the national economy had suffered great losses, and said that, owing to his efforts, the cornerstones of national development and reconstruction were laid down.

"The reconstruction plans and the government’s efforts for economic reform minimized Iran's reliance upon foreigners, so that today we are in a position to attract foreign expertise, technology, and investment.

"Iran's current self-reliance has been gained under the light of the efforts made during Rafsanjani's presidential terms," he added.

Khatami noted that Iran is now able to formulate a national 20-Year Outlook Plan (2005-2025) with high objectives.

Saying that Iran is about to make a major economic leap, he noted that if the current trend continues, the goals set by the 20-Year Outlook Plan will be attained.

The president also said that he owes the positive achievements of his government to the sincere efforts of his colleagues and the members of his cabinet.

"I believe that without Rafsanjani, the government would have faced more problems. The Expediency Council provided excellent support for the establishment of understanding and congeniality as well as in helping solve social problems," he observed."

Rafsanjani calls for Ganji's release

2005-07-29T23:29:00.000-04:00

Description of Selected News: "Rafsanjani calls for Ganji's release

Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN – Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Thursday called for the release of jailed journalist Akbar Ganji.

"I regret what is happening. This question can be resolved," Rafsanjani told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting on the First National Assembly of the Youth.

"I have spoken with Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi (Judiciary chief) and made some proposals for rectifying the problem and I hope it will come to be," Rafsanjani said.

Addressing the First National Assembly on the Youth, Rafsanjani also said that the young people should move in line with national and reformist values.

He called on the assembly to find a journal that would raise people’s knowledge by publishing transparent and accurate information.

The EC chairman also proposed that the assembly appoint advisors in governmental centers around the country.

Rafsanjani said that he would certainly assist president-elect Mahmud Ahmadinejad in his new post.

“Everyone with any post has to help the president,” he noted.

Rafsanjani called the 20-Year Outlook Plan, a plan for the youth, adding it should be enhanced and implemented by the country’s young people.

“In fact, the spirit of the 20-Year Outlook Plan is for the youth to get involved in various decision-makings,” he observed."

Pro MKO Iran Focus-News - Tries to Draw Rafsanjani into firestorm over alleged election fraud

2005-07-19T14:42:00.000-04:00

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Iran�s Rafsanjani renews firestorm over election fraud: "Iran’s Rafsanjani renews firestorm over election fraud Tue. 19 Jul 2005

Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Jul. 19 – The losing candidate in Iran’s recent presidential elections, Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, strongly condemned “the way ballots were swapped” and “the gross irregularities in the recent elections” in this week’s meeting of a top arbitration body that he heads, according to Iranian officials.

Rafsanjani’s comments first surfaced in an article by Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, a cleric who was outgoing President Mohammad Khatami’s deputy for legislative affairs before he resigned in October. Another Iranian official, who was active in Rafsanjani’s campaign, provided more information on the meeting to Iran Focus. Abtahi’s article was posted on his weblog on Monday.

Rafsanjani’s remarks came in reaction to comments made by Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Tavassoli, a former chief of staff of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in this week’s session of the State Expediency Council.

Before the council began its formal deliberations on Saturday, the elderly Ayatollah Tavassoli delivered a blistering speech against the ultra-conservative faction. He attacked the “fraudulent and despicable” way the faction’s leaders, who include Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had crowned their own man as Iran’s new president.

Rafsanjani did not interrupt Tavassoli’s seemingly impromptu assault on the ultra-conservative faction, despite objections from several leading allies of the Supreme Leader who sit on the council, including Guardian Council Chairman Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati.

The former president said he agreed with much of Tavassoli’s remarks.

“I have a lot to say about the way this election was conducted and ballots were swapped”, Rafsanjani was reported to have said without further elaboration. “But if I speak out about these issues, some people will make reverse propaganda and things will get worse”.

Much of Tavassoli’s attack was focused on Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, a chief ideologue of the ultra-conservative camp and the mentor of President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“Ayatollah Tavassoli was incensed at the statement by Mr. Mesbah, who said that Iran has not had a truly Islamic government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution”, Abtahi wrote.

“Mr. Tavassoli voiced alarm that the leaders of Hojjatieh group were now practically in control of the executive branch and the Revolutionary Guards, and that the new President-elect was under their domination”, the pro-Rafsanjani official, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, said.

Hojjatieh was a semi-clandestine religious and political group that was set up in the early 1950s in Iran by Sheikh Mahmoud Tavallai, popularly known as Sheikh Halabi, an extremist Shiite cleric who founded the group to eradicate members of the Baha’i faith.

The group became prominent after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, as many of its members rose to influential positions. Halabi nominally dissolved the group in 1983 to conform with Ayatollah Khomeini’s decree against “partisan politics” in the Islamic Republic, but Hojjatieh members retained their network and the group remained a player within the theocratic regime.

The official told Iran Focus that Rafsanjani and his allies were worried by the strong influence that extremist clerics such as Mesbah Yazdi and Rasti Kashani exert on Abadgaran and Issargaran, two ultra-conservative groupings whose members are expected to make up the bulk of the new cabinet. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a leading figure in Abadgaran and a member of the six-man central council of Issargaran.

Some analysts see the speech by Tavassoli and the subsequent remarks by Rafsanjani as a counter-attack on the Supreme Leader, engineered by the former president. In recent days, allies of Ayatollah Khamenei in the Majlis and among senior clerics have been pressing the authorities to investigate corruption charges against Rafsanjani’s sons in a bid to further weaken the man once widely expected to regain the presidency.

“Khamenei has badly wounded Rafsanjani, but this will not end here”, said Ahmad Gorbani, a Dubai-based financial analyst, in a telephone interview. “As we say in Persian, a wounded enemy is a far more dangerous foe. You will see that the power struggle in Tehran will get much more nasty”.

Despite the growing acrimony within Iran’s clerical leadership, Gorbani, like most other observers, believes that Khamenei’s rivals stand little chance of mounting a serious challenge to his authority in the present circumstances.

“As long as Khamenei can count on the Revolutionary Guards’ loyalty and the huge oil revenues, he will be able to deal with dissent within the theocracy”, Gorbani said."

Iran Focus-News/MeK Makes Attack on Rafsanjani

2005-07-10T22:32:00.000-04:00

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Attack on Rafsanjani signals rising strife in Iran theocracy: "Attack on Rafsanjani signals rising strife in Iran theocracy Sun. 10 Jul 2005

Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Jul. 10 – The son of Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was heard as saying back in April that “we are going to be using the funds of Fuel Efficiency Organization and money obtained by the lease of 400 gas stations to finance my father’s election campaign”, a parliamentary deputy closely allied with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the state-run news agency Fars.

The deputy, Elias Naderan, said he had obtained the agreement of the parliament’s leadership committee to have the Minister of Intelligence and Security investigate corruption, bribery and embezzlement by the Rafsanjani family, including accusations that Rafsanjani’s son had accepted bribes from Norway’s state-owned oil company, Statoil.

Naderan had said earlier that Rafsanjani’s campaign had handed out bribes worth five million dollars to most local newspapers for favourable coverage of their candidate, while the money came from state oil funds.

Naderan complained that despite repeated requests, the Minister of Intelligence and Security, Ali Younessi, had refused to show up to answer his questions either in a parliamentary committee or in the full session of the Majlis.

In a separate development, hours after an open letter from Mehdi Karroubi, one of the defeated candidates in the recent presidential elections, complaining of serious vote fraud in favour of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad surfaced in Tehran, a top Majlis deputy lashed out at Karroubi and outgoing President Mohammad Khatami.

“It’ll be very good if Mr. Khatami could respond to Mr. Karroubi’s request and issue a report on how 50,000-toman travellers’ cheques were dished out to buy votes by a certain candidate”, Moussa Ghorbani told the state-run Fars news agency, alluding to Karroubi’s method of getting more votes.

“Mr. Khatami himself said in his statement before the second round of the elections that one of the two candidates was incompetent. This was an affront to the Iranian people and Mr. Khatami must explain whether or not he was himself involved in the defamation campaign against Mr. Ahmadinejad”, Ghorbani said.

Analysts see the rising venom in the tone of attacks in the factional bickering in Iran as a sign of growing internal strife at the top of the Iranian theocracy, as the Supreme Leader and his ultra-conservative allies have effectively shut the other factions out of power."

Iran News - Iran's Khamenei defends 'reputable' Rafsanjani

2005-06-29T08:25:00.000-04:00

Iran News - Iran's Khamenei defends 'reputable' Rafsanjani: "Iran's Khamenei defends 'reputable' Rafsanjani

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com

LONDON, June 29 (IranMania) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defended defeated presidential election candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani following his bitter attack on alleged rigging in the vote.

However Iran's number one also dismissed as "enemy" propaganda allegations that the hardline Basij militia was involved in illegal interference in the election, which saw Tehran mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad storm to a stunning victory, according to AFP.

"There was some unjust and unfair defamation of some candidates such as the reputable and experienced character of Mr Rafsanjani, which did not happen out of negligence," state television quoted Khamenei as telling a public meeting.

"The judiciary must find and prosecute these elements."

Rafsanjani reacted bitterly to his defeat, which leaves him facing an uncertain political future, alleging that tens of millions of dollars was used in an orchestrated smear campaign to defame him and his family.

"All the means of the regime were used in an organised and illegal way to intervene in the election," Rafsanjani fumed in a statement released hours after the results were announced at the weekend.

"I do not intend to file a complaint to jurists who have shown that they cannot or do not want to do anything," Rafsanjani added.

Many observers saw Rafsanjani's election bid as a challenge to the overwhelming power of Khamenei, the regime's undisputed number one, even though the two publicly insist they are close friends.

Rafsanjani has also led accusations from three defeated candidates that the ultra-conservative Ahmadinejad's victory in the election was backed illegally by well-financed regime elements, including the Basij.

But state television quoted Khamenei as saying: "Some have unfortunately questioned the dearest sections of this country, the pious Basij, which is not true... these are attempts by enemies to provoke disturbances."

Khamenei added that none of the seven candidates who lined up for the vote were to blame for a smear campaign or the allegations against the Basij, which he said were down to elements that "had no interest in any of the candidates."

He urged the judiciary to make arrests and "expose the enemies' hand in this to people", according to state television."

Rafsanjani reacts furiously

2005-06-26T23:52:00.000-04:00

Rafsanjani reacts furiously: "Rafsanjani reacts furiously
25/06/2005 18:37 - (SA)

Tehran - Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani reacted furiously on Saturday to his shock election loss, pointing the finger at a hardline institution and a vast "illegal" operation aimed at turning voters against him.

In his first public reaction to his surprise defeat to hardline Tehran mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad, the moderate cleric alleged "all the means of the regime were used in an organised and illegal way to intervene in the election".

"I do not intend to file a complaint to jurists who have shown that they cannot or do not want to do anything. This I will leave to God," he was quoted as saying.

It was a clear reference to the Guardians Council, a hardline-controlled political and electoral watchdog.

"I entered this election uniquely to serve the revolution, Islam, Iran and the people," said the 70-year-old cleric, a regime veteran and former two-term president who is now facing an uncertain political future.

"Those who weakened a competitor chose to weaken the revolution," Rafsanjani said, also condemning "those who spent hundreds of billions of rials of the people's money to defame me and my family".

"I hope the country will be cleared of these enemies and profiteers who are without logic or faith," the statement said.

Rafsanjani nevertheless said that "everyone must help" president-elect Ahmadinejad."

CNN.com - Rafsanjani lashes out at clerics - Jun 26, 2005

2005-06-26T23:48:00.000-04:00

CNN.com - Iran loser lashes out at clerics - Jun 26, 2005: "Iran loser lashes out at clerics

Sunday, June 26, 2005; Posted: 7:27 a.m. EDT (11:27 GMT)

Iran's President Ahmadinejad, right, shares a laugh with speaker of Iran's Parliament Gholamali Haddad Adel.
Image:

Manage Alerts | What Is This? TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Banner headlines in Sunday newspapers hailed Iran's new president as a man of the people while his defeated opponent lashed out at the country's ruling clerics, accusing them of illegally interfering in polling.

"My opponents used all means within the ruling establishment and facilities of the regime in an organized and illegal way to intervene in elections (and) damage my credibility," defeated candidate Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani said in a statement released on his Web site and carried in Sunday's newspapers, including the government-run Iran Daily.

Rafsanjani said he would not file a formal complaint, saying Iran's judges either wouldn't or could not independently investigate his charges.

"I have no intention of complaining to judges, who have shown either they don't want or they cannot do anything," Rafsanjani said in his statement. "I only complain to God."

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry told Europe Sunday not to prejudge its new president and to drop any expectations of a change in Iran's nuclear policy.

"Europeans should avoid making any judgment before the new president begins his job," ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi told a news conference. "In fact the vote on Friday provided the government with a greater ability to face challenges."

He did not elaborate. Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was seen as the favorite of Iran's powerful ruling clerics, who have the final say on most political issues, and certainly on Iran's nuclear policy.

Assefi reiterated that Iran's nuclear policy remains unchanged. Iran has already said it will restart its uranium enrichment program, but maintains its program is for peaceful purposes to provide cheap energy.

The reform-minded Iran News headlined its Sunday edition with a statement from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: 'U.S. Humiliated by Election."

Ahmadinejad's calls for unity and promises to heal divisions caused by the hotly contested elections were featured prominently.

Ahmadinejad, who is expected to hold a news conference Sunday to outline his plan for the nation, issued a brief statement Saturday saying his ambition was to make Iran a "powerful and Islamic" model for the world, borrowing the style of the hard-line ruling clerics who backed him in his landslide victory. He called for unity between opposing camps in the election.

But in his brief radio address he did not mention his views on the future for Iran's growing social freedoms -- leaving liberal critics still fearing the worst.

It was an ironic twist that Iran's first non-cleric to reach the country's highest elected office since the 1979 Islamic Revolution was more religiously hard-line than the cleric he defeated, former President Rafsanjani.

Ahmadinejad's victory gives conservatives control of Iran's two highest elected offices -- the presidency and parliament.

Ahmadinejad won Friday's runoff race by a healthy 61.6 percent of the vote over Rafsanjani's 35.9 percent. The rest of the ballots were deemed invalid.

Nearly 28 million ballots were cast, or more than 59 percent of Iran's approximately 47 million eligible voters. In last week's election, the turnout was close to 63 percent.

Ahmadinejad hasn't revealed the makeup of his Cabinet, but his deputy campaign manager told The Associated Press that a 200-member team cobbled together during the presidential campaign has been pouring over names and resumes.

"The only requirement is a willingness to serve the people," said 32-year-old Abdulhasan Faqih, a soft-spoken doctor who helped to steer Ahmadinejad's spectacularly successful campaign.

There were shortlists for some key positions, Faqih said.

"We are looking at everyone who is now in the government, and any official who changes his tendencies and begins serving the people may stay at his post and continue to work with Ahmadinejad," Faqih said.

He named only two within the current administration who qualified: Mehdi Chamran, a deeply conservative Tehran Municipal Council chairman who is the brother of one of Iran's cherished war heroes and who has close ties to the Revolutionary Guard; and the 60-year-old parliament speaker, Ghulam Ali Haddad-Adel, described as a moderate conservative with good relations with both the hard-line and the reformist movements.

Ahmadinejad's campaign headquarters, a modest two-story concrete house tucked away in a narrow alleyway in the heart of Tehran's downtown, had the unassuming and humble appearance that reflected the image cultivated by the new president, qualities voters embraced in large numbers.

"God willing things will be better with Ahmadinejad," said Tala Shabani, a woman worker at a welfare organization in the city. "I'm the only one earning for my family. Ahmadinejad is a humble man. Let's see what he can do."

Outgoing President Mohammad Khatami had introduced reforms and social changes but was often stymied by the ruling clerics.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed."

Iran News - Rafsanjani, Servant of the People

2005-06-09T15:18:00.000-04:00

Iran News - Rafsanjani, master of reinvention in Iran: " Rafsanjani, master of reinvention in Iran

Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, June 8 (IranMania) - A devoted pillar of a hardline regime, or a pragmatic deal-maker ready to save Iran from extremism and steer it out of international isolation? A lofty cleric, or a man in touch with the people?

According to AFP, these may be seen as contradictory traits in Iranian politics, but leading presidential election contender Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is managing to come across as a man who is all of the above.

In campaigning to take back the Islamic republic's number-two job, which he held from 1989 to 1997, the 70-year-old ayatollah has proved himself a master of reinvention, rising above Iran's bitter left-right divide and espousing both Islamic revolutionary values and their overhaul.

So far, the strategy appears to be paying off: a string of informal opinion polls carried by the Iranian press all put Rafsanjani at the front of the pack of eight contenders.

The wily politician is seen as one of the few figures strong enough to tackle the rise of the right-wing, push through economic liberalisation and ease relations with the outside world -- even though his detractors accuse him of corruption and of killing dissidents.

He has also been a central pillar of the Islamic regime throughout its 26-year history -- serving two terms as president before moving on to head the Expediency Council, Iran's top political arbitration body.

Widely seen as Iran's de facto number-two behind supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in recent years he nevertheless managed to duck and dive through the damaging tensions between reformists and hardliners.

Analysts say that is a major draw for voters of all stripes, tired of the paralysis of the reformist presidency of Mohammad Khatami.

The son of a pistachio farmer, Rafsanjani went on to become an early follower of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and a leading figure in the 1979 revolution. He studied theology in the Shiite clerical nerve centre of Qom at the age of 14, participated in the anti-monarchy movement during the 1960s and was frequently arrested by the shah's secret police.

His revolutionary credentials -- which include a bullet wound to the stomach -- have therefore provided him with more room for rhetorical manoeuvre, and unlike other candidates he is at ease tackling sensitive issues head on.

In his campaign, he has called on the regime to radically rethink its relationship with a burgeoning youth population, whose support he desperately needs to win.

"The situation is changing rapidly. To respond to the legitimate demands of this new generation, new solutions are necessary," he said.

In an attack on hardline dogma, he even said that "nobody should think that we can act by employing the same literature, the same policies or the same attitudes that we had at the beginning of the revolution."

Although Rafsanjani asserted that "the objectives of the revolution are rooted in our culture and beliefs", he added that Iran needed "new conditions at home" and "a new form of interaction with the world".

In effect, Rafsanjani has seized the vacant political centre ground. He is offering something for everyone -- committed supporters of the regime and those who want its reform -- and with political clout to boot.

He has also driven the debate on the issue of relations with the United States, still something of a taboo, but in a way that still asserts Iran's desire to be a regional superpower -- and be a strong negotiator amid tensions over the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions.

This is something he feels permitted to do, given his background and past dealings with Washington to exchange arms for US hostages in Lebanon -- the so-called "Irangate" scandal.

In his campaign, the charismatic cleric has stated his desire to "solve" a quarter of a century of estrangement from Washington -- even though he once described US President George W. Bush as a "bird-brained dinosaur" and can still rally the hardcore.

On the home front, he may have been hostile to the rapid pace of social reform that Khatami had been pushing for, but he has also promoted the role of women. His daughter, Faizeh Hashemi, is a prominent champion of women's rights.

But all is not rosy in Rafsanjani's past.

His presidency was marked by a string of grisly murders and assassinations of dissidents and regime opponents at home and abroad. On the economic front, he did preside over a post-war boom, but also damaging inflation and mounting foreign debt.

Rafsanjani also remains dogged by gossip over his alleged wealth. He is rumoured to control assets ranging from hotels to automobile factories, grocery stores to pistachio plantations. He has recently been forced to deny being rich.

But these do not appear to be chipping away at his lead in the race.

Ask many Iranians why they want to vote for Rafsanjani, and the most common response is "We need a strong leader"."

Iran News - Iranians increasingly well informed: Rafsanjani

2005-06-08T11:12:00.000-04:00

Iran News - Iranians increasingly well informed: Rafsanjani: "Iranians increasingly well informed: Rafsanjani

Tuesday, June 07, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, June 7 (IranMania) - Iranian Presidential nominee, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Iranians are increasingly becoming averse to blind imitation and hegemonic relationships.

In a meeting with members of the Notary Public Center, Rafsanjani said thanks to their growing awareness and knowledge, today Iranians are capable of determining their fate by making the right decisions.

“With the help of their faith, our people can decide for themselves and refuse to be mistreated,“ IRNA quoted him as saying.

Noting that the country is at a critical and sensitive juncture, the former president noted “the present conditions call for all strata of society to join hands to make Iran proud and successful in all spheres.“

Iran is a resources-rich country, he said, adding that by optimizing its potentials and capabilities, the nation can play a significant role in global interactions.

Appropriate infrastructures exist which if used efficiently can help the country fight for its rights and regain its status both in the region and beyond, the front-runner in the June 17 elections told the meeting."

Economist.com | Paul Klebnikov Journalistic Hatchet Man Murdered at 41

2005-05-28T16:35:00.000-04:00

Economist.com | Obituary: "Paul Klebnikov

Jul 15th 2004
From The Economist print edition
Paul Klebnikov, American journalist, died in Moscow on July 9th, aged 41

PAUL KLEBNIKOV thought that Russia had changed, that grievances there were no longer pursued by recourse to contract killings and that investigative journalists therefore had no cause to fear for their safety. Even as he lay dying last Friday, he could name no one who might have given the order to the gunmen who had just fired a volley of shots at him as he left his Moscow office. Even so, plenty of Russians had reason to dislike, or fear, him.

Mr Klebnikov had always been something of a daredevil. As a small child, he would never refuse a mission, no matter how foolhardy, from an older brother or sister. He enjoyed swimming in hurricanes, and particularly liked to bring in the new year with a dip in the sea off Long Island. Yet the man of action was also reflective. Indeed, he was an idealist, who revelled in political discussion.

If the combination sounds Russian, no wonder: Mr Klebnikov, though born and brought up in America, came from a family of Russian émigrés with a long military tradition on both sides, and a bit of a political one too. His mother's grandfather had been an admiral in the White Russian fleet—he was assassinated by Bolsheviks during the revolution in 1917—and his father's forebears included at least two generals. The main political inheritance came from a great-great-great-grandfather, Ivan Pouschine, who was exiled to Siberia for his role in the Decembrist uprising against Tsar Nicholas I in 1825. All this helps to explain Mr Klebnikov's general interest in Russia, his choice of Pyotr Stolypin, the reformist Russian prime minister murdered in 1911, as the subject of his doctoral thesis at the London School of Economics, and his subsequent decision to go to work as a journalist in the land of his forebears.

Journalism was a natural choice for someone with interests as wide as Mr Klebnikov's: it allowed him to write and talk about everything from philosophy to, recently, architecture and urban design. But most of his work involved politics and business, and he was especially good at probing the murky world of post-Soviet Russia where these two intersected and where, in a few months in 1995, a few men managed to grab privatised assets on a scale hitherto unimaginable anywhere.

One such was Boris Berezovsky, about whom Mr Klebnikov wrote an article for Forbes, the American magazine for which he had reported since 1989, entitled “Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky and the Looting of Russia”. Mr Berezovsky was the richest of the seven “oligarchs” who, according to the (no doubt exaggerated) boast of one of them, controlled about half the Russian economy in the second half of the 1990s. They were known as oligarchs not just because they were few in number but because they were assumed to be, if not actually rulers themselves, at least close to those who were. Mr Berezovsky, for instance, had a senior post in the Security Council. He did not care for Mr Klebnikov's article. Indeed, he took Forbes to court in London in a case that was settled only last year. By that time, though, Mr Klebnikov had published an entire book about the plutocracy and Mr Berezovsky was living in self-imposed exile in Britain.

Capitalist tools
For in 2000 the oligarchs' fortunes had changed: Vladimir Putin had become president with the declared intention of bringing them to heel, an objective that has proved hugely popular among Russian voters in subsequent elections. Yet Mr Putin's hostility to tycoons has not made him a friend to the media, which he seems to see merely as the instrument of his political opponents. NTV, the last national television station to show any independence of spirit, has in effect been taken over by the state. Its programme “Freedom of Speech”, the only balanced political talk-show on Russian television, was given its final airing a few hours before Mr Klebnikov's killing. Neither has Russia become safer for journalists: 15 have now been killed since 2000. No one has been brought to book for any of their murders.

Though several oligarchs have fled Russia or, like Mikhail Khodorkovsky, face trial there, others remain at large and indeed prosper. In May, in the second issue of Forbes's Russian edition, which he edited, Mr Klebnikov published a list of Russia's 100 richest people, adding that Moscow had more billionaires (36) than any other city. Some of them could have done without the publicity. So, too, perhaps, could some of the people that Mr Klebnikov had written about in other contexts: an investigative tale in the April edition may well have caused annoyance in the Kremlin. Some of his sources, perhaps current or past members of the security services, may have thought Mr Klebnikov knew too much. Some of the people he may have planned to write about could also have been worried. And Mr Klebnikov's final book, “A Conversation with the Barbarian”, in which he made a passionate appeal to Europeans to defend Christian civilisation against Islamic extremism, can have earned him no friends in Chechnya.

In short, the array of possible suspects in Mr Klebnikov's murder is long, reflecting not just the range of his inquiring mind but also the extent of greed, theft and violence in a society still groping for an accommodation between capitalism and the rule of law. His death is Russia's loss."

Attack on Rafsanjani - The Forbes Lies Page 1

2005-05-28T16:24:00.000-04:00

Forbes.com: Millionaire Mullahs: "On The Cover/Top Stories
Millionaire Mullahs
Paul Klebnikov, 07.21.03

A nuclear threat to the rest of the world, Iran is robbing its own people of prosperity. But the men at the top are getting extremely rich.
It's rumble time in Tehran. At dozens of intersections in the capital of Iran thousands of students are protesting on a recent Friday around midnight, as they do nearly every night, chanting pro-democracy slogans and lighting bonfires on street corners. Residents of the surrounding middle-class neighborhoods converge in their cars, honking their horns in raucous support.

Suddenly there's thunder in the air. A gang of 30 motorcyclists, brandishing iron bars and clubs as big as baseball bats, roars through the stalled traffic. They glare at the drivers, yell threats, thump cars. Burly and bearded, the bikers yank two men from their auto and pummel them. Most protesters scatter. Uniformed policemen watch impassively as the thugs beat the last stragglers.

These Hell's Angels are part of the Hezbollah militia, recruited mostly from the countryside. Iran's ruling mullahs roll them out whenever they need to intimidate their opponents. The Islamic Republic is a strange dictatorship. As it moves to repress growing opposition to clerical rule, the regime relies not on soldiers or uniformed police (many of whom sympathize with the protesters) but on the bullies of Hezbollah and the equally thuggish Revolutionary Guards. The powers that be claim to derive legitimacy from Allah but remain on top with gangsterlike methods of intimidation, violence and murder.

Who controls today's Iran? Certainly not Mohammad Khatami, the twice-elected moderate president, or the reformist parliament. Not even the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a stridently anti-American but unremarkable cleric plucked from the religious ranks 14 years ago to fill the shoes of his giant predecessor, Ayatollah Khomeini, is fully in control. The real power is a handful of clerics and their associates who call the shots behind the curtain and have gotten very rich in the process.

The economy bears more than a little resemblance to the crony capitalism that sprouted from the wreck of the Soviet Union. The 1979 revolution expropriated the assets of foreign investors and the nation's wealthiest families; oil had long been nationalized, but the mullahs seized virtually everything else of value--banks, hotels, car and chemical companies, makers of drugs and consumer goods. What distinguishes Iran is that many of these assets were given to Islamic charitable foundations, controlled by the clerics. According to businessmen and former foundation executives, the charities now serve as slush funds for the mullahs and their supporters.

Iran has other lethal secrets besides its nuclear program, now the subject of prying international eyes. Dozens of interviews with businessmen, merchants, economists and former ministers and other top government officials reveal a picture of a dictatorship run by a shadow government that--the U.S. State Department suspects--finances terrorist groups abroad through a shadow foreign policy. Its economy is dominated by shadow business empires and its power is protected by a shadow army of enforcers.

Ironically, the man most adept at manipulating this hidden power structure is one of Iran's best-known characters--Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has been named an ayatollah, or religious leader. He was the speaker of parliament and Khomeini's right-hand man in the 1980s, president of Iran from 1989 to 1997 and is now chairman of the powerful Expediency Council, which resolves disputes between the clerical establishment and parliament. Rafsanjani has more or less run the Islamic Republic for the past 24 years.

He played it smart, aligning himself in the 1960s with factions led by Ayatollah Khomeini, then becoming the go-to guy after the revolution. A hard-liner ideologically, Rafsanjani nonetheless has a pragmatic streak. He convinced Khomeini to end the Iran-Iraq war and broke Iran's international isolation by establishing trade relations with the Soviet Union, China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In the 1990s he restarted Iran's nuclear program. He is also the father of Iran's "privatization" program. During his presidency the stock market was revived, some government companies were sold to insiders, foreign trade was liberalized and the oil sector was opened up to private companies. Most of the good properties and contracts, say dissident members of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, ended up in the hands of mullahs, their associates and, not least, Rafsanjani's own family, who rose from modest origins as small-scale pistachio farmers.

"They were not rich people, so they worked hard and always tried to help their relatives get ahead," remembers Reza, a historian who declines to use his last name and who studied with one of Rafsanjani's brothers at Tehran University in the early 1970s. "When they were in university, two brothers earned money on the side tutoring theological students and preparing their exam papers."

Discontent Unveiled
Disaffected, denied opportunity and just plain bored, Iran's youth have taken their frustrations with the clerics' regime to the streets.

Iran U.S.

Population 67 million 283 million
Percent under 25 65% 35%
GDP per capita $1,800 $37,000
Inflation 25% 2%
Unemployment 18% 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department of Labor; Atieh Bahar Consulting; Forbes estimates."

Attack on Rafsanjani - The Forbes Lies Page 2

2005-05-28T16:23:00.000-04:00

Forbes.com: Millionaire Mullahs: "On The Cover/Top Stories
Page 2 of 4 from Millionaire Mullahs
Paul Klebnikov, 07.21.03

The 1979 revolution transformed the Rafsanjani clan into commercial pashas. One brother headed the country's largest copper mine; another took control of the state-owned TV network; a brother-in-law became governor of Kerman province, while a cousin runs an outfit that dominates Iran's $400 million pistachio export business; a nephew and one of Rafsanjani's sons took key positions in the Ministry of Oil; another son heads the Tehran Metro construction project (an estimated $700 million spent so far). Today, operating through various foundations and front companies, the family is also believed to control one of Iran's biggest oil engineering companies, a plant assembling Daewoo automobiles, and Iran's best private airline (though the Rafsanjanis insist they do not own these assets).

None of this sits well with the populace, whose per capita income is $1,800 a year. The gossip on the street, going well beyond the observable facts, has the Rafsanjanis stashing billions of dollars in bank accounts in Switzerland and Luxembourg; controlling huge swaths of waterfront in Iran's free economic zones on the Persian Gulf; and owning whole vacation resorts on the idyllic beaches of Dubai, Goa and Thailand.

But not much of the criticism makes its way into print. One journalist who dared to investigate Rafsanjani's secret dealings and his alleged role in extrajudicial killings of dissidents is now languishing in jail. He's lucky. Iranian politics can be deadly. Five years ago Tehran was rocked by murders of journalists and anticorruption activists; some were beheaded, others mutilated.

Some of the family's wealth is out there for all to see. Rafsanjani's youngest son, Yaser, owns a 30-acre horse farm in the super-fashionable Lavasan neighborhood of north Tehran, where land goes for over $4 million an acre. Just where did Yaser get his money? A Belgian-educated businessman, he runs a large export-import firm that includes baby food, bottled water and industrial machinery.

Until a few years ago the simplest way to get rich quick was through foreign-currency trades. Easy, if you could get greenbacks at the subsidized import rate of 1,750 rials to the dollar and resell them at the market rate of 8,000 to the dollar. You needed only the right connections for an import license. "I estimate that, over a period of ten years, Iran lost $3 billion to $5 billion annually from this kind of exchange-rate fraud," says Saeed Laylaz, an economist, now with Iran's biggest carmaker. "And the lion's share of that went to about 50 families."

One of the families benefiting from the foreign trade system was the Asgaroladis, an old Jewish clan of bazaar traders, who converted to Islam several generations ago. Asadollah Asgaroladi exports pistachios, cumin, dried fruit, shrimp and caviar, and imports sugar and home appliances; his fortune is estimated by Iranian bankers to be some $400 million. Asgaroladi had a little help from his older brother, Habibollah, who, as minister of commerce in the 1980s, was in charge of distributing lucrative foreign-trade licenses. (He was also a counterparty to commodities trader and then-fugitive Marc Rich, who helped Iran bypass U.S.-backed sanctions.)"

Attack on Rafsanjani - The Forbes Lies Page 3

2005-05-28T16:22:00.000-04:00

Forbes.com: Millionaire Mullahs: " On The Cover/Top Stories
Page 3 of 4 from Millionaire Mullahs
Paul Klebnikov, 07.21.03

The other side of Iran's economy belongs to the Islamic foundations, which account for 10% to 20% of the nation's GDP--$115 billion last year. Known as bonyads, the best-known of these outfits were established from seized property and enterprises by order of Ayatollah Khomeini in the first weeks of his regime. Their mission was to redistribute to the impoverished masses the "illegitimate" wealth accumulated before the revolution by "apostates" and "blood-sucking capitalists." And, for a decade or so, the foundations shelled out money to build low-income housing and health clinics. But since Khomeini's death in 1989 they have increasingly forsaken their social welfare functions for straightforward commercial activities.

Until recently they were exempt from taxes, import duties and most government regulation. They had access to subsidized foreign currency and low-interest loans from state-owned banks. And they were not accountable to the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance or any other government institution. Formally, they are under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Leader; effectively, they operate without any oversight at all, answerable only to Allah.

According to Shiite Muslim tradition, devout businessmen are expected to donate 20% of profits to their local mosques, which use the money to help the poor. By contrast, many bonyads seem like straightforward rackets, extorting money from entrepreneurs. Besides the biggest national outfits, almost every Iranian town has its own bonyad, affiliated with local mullahs. "Many small businessmen complain that as soon as you start to make some money, the leading mullah will come to you and ask for a contribution to his local charity," says an opposition economist, who declines to give his name. "If you refuse, you will be accused of not being a good Muslim. Some witnesses will turn up to testify that they heard you insult the Prophet Mohammad, and you will be thrown in jail." The Cosa Nostra meets fundamentalism.

Other charities resemble multinational conglomerates. The Mostazafan & Jambazan Foundation (Foundation for the Oppressed and War Invalids) is the second-largest commercial enterprise in the country, behind the state-owned National Iranian Oil Co. Until recently it was run by a man named Mohsen Rafiqdoost. The son of a vegetable-and-fruit merchant at the Tehran bazaar, Rafiqdoost got his big break in 1979, when he was chosen to drive Ayatollah Khomeini from the airport after his triumphal return from exile in Paris.

Khomeini made him Minister of the Revolutionary Guards to quash internal dissent and smuggle in weapons for the Iran-Iraq war. In 1989, when Rafsanjani became president, Rafiqdoost gained control of the Mostazafan Foundation, which employs up to 400,000 workers and has assets that in all probability exceed $10 billion. Among its holdings: the former Hyatt and Hilton hotels in Tehran; the highly successful Zam-Zam soft drink company (once Pepsi); an international shipping line; companies producing oil products and cement; swaths of farmland and urban real estate.

Theoretically the Mostazafan Foundation is a social welfare organization. By 1996 it began taking government funds to cover welfare disbursements; soon it plans to spin off its social responsibilities altogether, leaving behind a purely commercial conglomerate owned by--whom? That is not clear. Why does this foundation exist? "I don't know--ask Mr. Rafiqdoost," says Abbas Maleki, a foreign policy adviser to Ayatollah Rafsanjani.

A picture emerges from one Iranian businessman who used to handle the foreign trade deals for one of the big foundations. Organizations like the Mostazafan serve as giant cash boxes, he says, to pay off supporters of the mullahs, whether they're thousands of peasants bused in to attend religious demonstrations in Tehran or Hezbollah thugs who beat up students. And, not least, the foundations serve as cash cows for their managers.

"It usually works like this," explains this businessman. "Some foreigner comes in, proposes a deal to the foundation head. The big boss says: ‘Fine. I agree. Work out the details with my administrator.' So the foreigner goes to see the administrator, who tells him: ‘You know that we have two economies here--official and unofficial. You have to be part of the unofficial economy if you want to be successful. So, you have to deposit the following amount into the following bank account abroad and then the deal will go forward.'"

Today Rafiqdoost heads up the Noor Foundation, which owns apartment blocks and makes an estimated $200 million importing pharmaceuticals, sugar and construction materials. He is quick to downplay his personal wealth. "I am just a normal person, with normal wealth," he says. Then, striking a Napoleonic pose, he adds: "But if Islam is threatened, I will become big again.""

Attack on Rafsanjani - The Forbes Lies Page 4

2005-05-28T16:21:00.000-04:00

Forbes.com: Millionaire Mullahs: "On The Cover/Top Stories
Page 4 of 4 from Millionaire Mullahs
Paul Klebnikov, 07.21.03

Implication: that he has access to a secret reservoir of money that can be tapped when the need arises. That may have been what Ayatollah Rafsanjani had in mind when he declared recently that the Islamic Republic needed to keep large funds in reserve. But who is to determine when Islam is in danger?

As minister of the Revolutionary Guards in the 1980s, Rafiqdoost played a key role in sponsoring Hezbollah in Lebanon--which kidnapped foreigners, hijacked airplanes, set off car bombs, trafficked in heroin and pioneered the use of suicide bombers. According to Gregory Sullivan, spokesman for the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau at the U.S. State Department, the foundations are the perfect vehicles to carry out Iran's shadow foreign policy. (One of them offered the $2.8 million bounty to anyone who carried out Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa to kill British author Salman Rushdie.) Whenever suspicion of complicity in a terrorist incident--in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Argentina--turns to Iran, the Tehran government has denied involvement. State Department officials suspect that such operations may be sponsored by one of the foundations and semiautonomous units of the Revolutionary Guards. If anyone in Iran is aiding al Qaeda, that may be the best place to look.

Iran's foundations are a law unto themselves. The largest "charity" (at least in terms of real estate holdings) is the centuries-old Razavi Foundation, charged with caring for Iran's most revered shrine--the tomb of Reza, the Eighth Shiite Imam, in the northern city of Mashhad. It is run by one of Iran's leading hard-line mullahs, Ayatollah Vaez-Tabasi, who prefers to stay out of the public eye but emerges occasionally to urge death to apostates and other opponents of the clerical regime.

The Razavi Foundation owns vast tracts of urban real estate all across Iran, as well as hotels, factories, farms and quarries. Its assets are impossible to value with any precision, since the foundation has never released an inventory of its holdings, but Iranian economists speak of a net asset value of $15 billion or more. The foundation also receives generous contributions from the millions of pilgrims who visit the Mashhad shrine each year.

What happens to annual revenues estimated in the hundreds of millions--perhaps billions--of dollars? Not all of it goes to cover the maintenance costs of mosques, cemeteries, religious schools and libraries. Over the past decade the foundation has bought new businesses and properties, established investment banks (together with investors from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), funded real estate projects and financed big foreign trade deals.

The driving force behind the commercialization of the Razavi Foundation is Ayatollah Tabasi's son, Naser, who was put in charge of the Sarakhs Free Trade Zone, on the border with the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan. In the 1990s the foundation poured hundreds of millions of dollars into this project, funding a rail link between Iran and Turkmenistan, new highways, an international airport, a hotel and office buildings. It even paid $2.3 million to a Swiss firm to erect a huge tent for the ceremonies inaugurating the Iran-Turkmenistan rail link.

Then it all went wrong. In July 2001 Naser Tabasi was dismissed as director of the Free Trade Zone. Two months later he was arrested and charged with fraud in connection with a Dubai-based company called Al-Makasib. The details of the case remain murky, but four months ago the General Court of Tehran concluded that Naser Tabasi had not known that he was breaking the law and acquitted him.

Few receive even a slap on the wrist. A rare exception: Hard-line cleric Hadi Ghaffari, who specialized in seizing expropriated properties, like Star Stockings (maker of sexy lingerie), and reselling them at a nice profit. He was convicted of embezzlement in the early 1990s.

Iran's most distinguished senior clerics are disgusted by the mullahcrats. Ayatollah Taheri, Friday prayer leader of the city of Isfahan, resigned in protest earlier this year. "When I hear that some of the privileged progeny and special people, some of whom even don cloaks and turbans, are competing amongst themselves to amass the most wealth," he said, "I am drenched with the sweat of shame."

Meanwhile the clerical elite has mismanaged the nation into senseless poverty. With 9% of the world's oil and 15% of its natural gas, Iran should be a very rich country. It has a young, educated population and a long tradition of craftsmanship and international commerce. But per capita income today is actually 7% below what it was before the revolution. Iranian economists estimate capital flight (to Dubai and other safe havens) at up to $3 billion a year.

No wonder so many students turn to the streets in protest. The dictatorship tells them what to think, what to wear, and what to eat and drink. It has also been robbing them of their future."

Wired News | FACTBOX-Facts about Iran's Rafsanjani

2005-05-19T09:49:00.000-04:00

Wired News | FACTBOX-Facts about Iran's Rafsanjani: "Thursday, May 19, 2005 8:51 a.m. ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a pragmatic conservative who leads opinion polls for Iran's June 17 presidential election, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday he wanted to repair relations with the United States but Washington must make the first moves.

Here are some facts about Rafsanjani:

- A mid-ranking cleric, aged 70, he heads the powerful Expediency Council, which arbitrates on legislative disputes and which has sought constitutional change in favor of private enterprise.

- Rafsanjani was president from 1989 to 1997 and has also served as parliamentary speaker and armed forces commander. He made a failed attempt to become parliament speaker again in 2000.

- A pragmatic dealmaker, Rafsanjani favors economic liberalisation and detente with the West, while keeping Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's system of clerical rule.

- A central figure since the 1979 revolution, he had a key role in decisions during the 1980-88 war with Iraq and in covert arms-for-hostages deals with Washington in the 1980s.

- He is distrusted by hard-liners and liberals alike for his flexible political style and has faced accusations of opportunism, corruption and human rights abuses.

- Before the Islamic revolution he was tortured under the Shah. He left home at 14 to study under Khomeini in Qom.
"

Iran News - Tehran Metro chief unaware of rumors

2005-05-15T22:37:00.000-04:00

Iran News - Tehran Metro chief unaware of rumors: "Tehran Metro chief unaware of rumors

Sunday, May 15, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, May 15 (IranMania) - Managing director of Tehran Subway Company (Metro) said no machination is needed for reforming Tehran Metro’s management.

Mohsen Hashemi told IRNA he has heard nothing about rumors related to management changes in Tehran Metro.

“Managerial changes in Metro take place with a majority vote of Metro’s board members and the company’s assembly, each of which comprises five members,“ he said.

Asked whether he will welcome changes in Tehran Subway Organization, Hashemi responded that it does not make any difference to him and he will accept any changes. Print media reports recently indicated Tehran Municipality intends to replace the incumbent metro chief with another manager.

Meanwhile, Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad said Metro’s board of directors will decide about managerial changes in Tehran Subway Company."

EC chairman Rafsanjani inspects Imam Khomeini International Airport - Irna

2005-04-29T10:55:00.000-04:00

EC chairman inspects Imam Khomeini International Airport - Irna: "EC chairman inspects Imam Khomeini International Airport Tehran, April 28, IRNA

Imam Airport-EC Chairman
The Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani inspected Thursday Imam Khomeini
International Airport (IKIA).

Rafsanjani, accompanied by Minister of Roads and Transportation Mohammad Rahmati, inspected various parts of the airport and was briefed on the construction process of the biggest airport in the country.

Rafsanjani, a possible candidate for the 9th presidential election, took part in a briefing session of the administrative managers of IKIA.

In the meeting, he termed displacement of passengers as one of the most important problems in the airport, saying that construction of a metro line could remove this problem.

He also underlined the need for construction of green areas around the airport which is the most prestigious airport in Iran.

The civil aviation authorities announced Wednesday that Iran is set to finally reopen its biggest airport here Saturday which was closed down by armed forces in last May due to some security concerns.

According to civil aviation authorities on Wednesday, Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) will handle all flights on the route between Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

"All flights of domestic and foreign companies from Tehran to the United Arab Emirates and vice versa will be carried out from the Imam Khomeini International Airport, effective April 30," the statement said.

Iran's armed forces closed down Imam Khomeini International Airport on May 8, 2004, citing security concerns, just after it was officially inaugurated with the landing of a foreign aircraft.

Officials have said that the IKIA will eventually be able to handle 40 million passengers a year, making Tehran a regional transport hub."

Rafsanjani calls strong parties requirement of democracy

2005-04-26T01:21:00.000-04:00

Rafsanjani-Dem ocracy-Univers /POL/ - Irna: "Rafsanjani calls strong parties requirement of democracy
Tehran, April 24 IRNA -- Expediency Council (EC) chairman, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here late Sunday that strong political parties are factors required for democracy. Meeting separately with 30 Islamic-political student groups of Islamic Azad University and a number of university administrators, he added political student groups are of great importance in the absence of strong parties.

"People in any post can express their idea within the frameworks of law and no one can prevent them from doing so," he said, stressing the role of research and study in promoting the quality of universities.

Referring to women participation in political and social arenas especially in scientific and research sectors after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the senior official noted that Iranian women had changed the negative attitude of public opinion regarding women in society.

He added Iranian women had demonstrated their success in real competitions showing they were not inferior to men in terms of science and knowledge.

Rafsanjani pointed to the development of women under the Islamic Revolution and said the future belonged to competent people.

Analyzing current situation of the region and threats against the Islamic Republic and other countries in the Middle East, he said neither America nor any other power can resist the unification of informed nations.

Asked about his candidacy in the 9th presidential election, Rafsanjani answered "we had expected groups, parties and figures to reach consensus taking into consideration national interests and expediencies of the system.

He further thanked those who have nominated themselves for presidential election based on the sense of responsibility, adding If current situation continue, I will become a candidate for president as a national and Islamic duty."

Tavakkoli Slings Mud in the Majlis

2005-04-24T13:07:00.000-04:00

US fighting Islam under cover of globalization, Rafsanjani - Irna

2005-04-24T09:41:00.000-04:00

US fighting Islam under cover of globalization, Rafsanjani - Irna: "US fighting Islam under cover of globalization, Rafsanjani Tehran, April 24, IRNA
Iran-US-Rafsanjani
The Expediency Council Chief Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Sunday the US embarked on campaign against Islam under the cover of its globalization policy.

He made the remarks in the inauguration ceremony of the 18th International Conference on Islamic Unity.

He urged the Islamic states to truly understand their significant position in today world to be able to confront the US policy.

He believed the current situation in the Islamic world was a sensitive and particular one because the Muslim states were subject to a serious menace.

Saying that following the September 11 incident the real attitude of the hegemonic powers manifested itself in the remarks of the American President George W. Bush who termed the Islamic world as the cradle of terrorism and horror, Rafsanjani added the enemies of Islam with the criminal US on top of the list were manipulating the motto of fighting terrorism and establishing democracy as an excuse to intervene in the internal affairs of the regional countries.

However, he went on to comment, the enemies would fail to achieve their desired goals due to the contradictions they face in their decision makings.

Touching upon the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said the enemies were working under the pretext of advocating democracy while once people take the authority through democratic means they will try to push Americans out of their homes as 'occupiers'.

Referring to the attempts to re-structure the United Nations, he said that many proofs indicated that the hegemonic powers, by proposing the plan, were after consolidating their position in the UN rather than stop their discriminatory attitude and mandatory actions.

The EC chairman recommended the Islamic states to use the opportunity to make their 58 votes in the UN as an influential tool in decision makings.

On Lebanese issue, he criticized the indifferent attitude of the Islamic world towards foreign interventions in Lebanon, the Zionist activities in Palestine and attempts to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rafsanjani noted that the US was pressing Iran in a brutal manner as the focal point of the resistance by the Islamic world and regretted that certain foolish people in the region helped the US in this connection ignorant of the fact that they would be most seriously damaged if Iran is harmed.

The 18th International Conference on Islamic Unity opened here on Sunday on the occasion of the auspicious birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the 6th Imam from his infallible household, Imam Ja'far Sadeq (AS).

The conference is sponsored by the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought and is attended by 120 prominent scientific and cultural personalities of the Islamic World from 34 countries.

Denmark, the United States of America, Britain, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Australia, Qatar, Thailand, Oman, Bahrain, China, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Libya, Kenya, Morocco, Gambia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Senegal, Sudan, Palestine, Jordan and Azerbaijan are among the countries participating at the three-day conference.

Meaning of proximity and its objectives, fundamentals of proximity, world forum for proximity of Islamic schools of thought prophecy and future prospective, background of proximity,
fundamentals, values and policies aimed at proximity and approaches to promotion of proximity are among the subjects to be discussed by the researches and thinkers at the conference.

1424/1416"

Iran's Rafsanjani blames Khatami Government for dissident killings

2005-04-15T15:40:00.000-04:00

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Iran's Rafsanjani blames Khatami for dissident killings: "Iran's Rafsanjani blames Khatami for dissident killings Fri. 15 Apr 2005

Iran Focus

Tehran, Apr. 15 – Iran’s former president Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani accused Mohammad Khatami’s government of having a hand in the 1998 dissident serial murders.

Speaking to a gathering of students north of Tehran, Rafsanjani said, “A crime occurred for which the present government is responsible. They should have answered for it”.

Rafsanjani, who also heads Iran’s State Expediency Council, which arbitrates between the watchdog Guardian Council and the Majlis (Parliament), was answering a question about who was responsible for the chain murders.

At least 120 politically-motivated killings were carried out in Iran in the 1990s. Authorities at the time blamed the gruesome murders on "rogue agents" from Iran’s notorious Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).

The agents who were allegedly involved in the killings were tried behind closed doors, in what was widely seen as a whitewash by the theocratic regime. The main suspect, Saeed Emani, who was the Deputy Intelligence Minister at the time, was reported to have “committed suicide” in prison."

Rafsanjani Addresses First Congress on Scientific Production and Software Movement at Azad University

2005-04-14T16:40:00.000-04:00

Description of Selected News: "EC chairman urges promotion of science

TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani here on Wednesday said that under the conditions dominating the world of today, speedy, serious and in-depth measures are required towards nationwide promotion of science.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the First International Congress on Scientific Production and Software Movement, he added that such a movement is one of the requirements pointed out by the Supreme Leader, given his recent call on national scholars to pay special attention to it.

"Special attention has been paid by EC to the Supreme Leader's remarks on the issue and it was underlined in drawing up the 20-year vision plan," he added.

Turning to the scientific backwardness of Islamic countries and the world of Islam, he reiterated the need to admit that Muslims are behind others, particularly the west, in this respect.

"The western science and knowledge is rooted in the orient and Muslim countries, particularly Iran. Despite the publicity on respect for science by the western countries and the verbal focus on its promotion, in practice the less developed countries are denied access to the advanced scientific developments," added the official.

The inaugural ceremony of the First Congress on Scientific Production and Software Movement, which has been organized by Azad University, was attended by the university chancellor, a number of intellectuals, researchers as well as domestic and foreign scientific/cultural figures."

Rafsanjani pays tribute to Pope, condemns US

2005-04-08T23:36:00.000-04:00

The Peninsula On-line: Qatar's leading English Daily: "Rafsanjani pays tribute to pope, condemns US
Web posted at: 4/9/2005 3:14:19
Source ::: Agencies
TEHRAN: Iran’s former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani paid homage to Pope John Paul II during Friday prayers in Tehran and urged the Vatican to recall the pontiff’s ideal of Christianity which, he said, was being betrayed by the United States.

“His actions in favour of peace, his opposition to war-in particularly the war in Iraq-the denunciation of American crimes at Abu Ghraib prison conferred on John Paul II a greater international stature than that of his predecessors,” said Rafsanjani, one of Iran’s most influential personalities.

The former president, widely expected to stand again in Iran’s June presidential election, heads the Expediency Council-Iran’s top political arbitration body.

Rafsanjani also recalled the pontiff’s opposition to “heretical ideologies, communism and Marxism.”

The cleric, in his sermon to thousands of the faithful and broadcast on state radio, offered his condolences to the Christian world on the death of the pope, adding: “Christianity and the Vatican would do well to recall these lessons.”

He said: “The precepts of Christ have disappeared from the Christian world.” Rafsanjani, whose country was described as part of the “axis of evil” and alleged by US President George W Bush to support terrorism, charged: “In the name of the struggle against terrorism, (Americans) commit numerous crimes across the world. They impose (themselves) by force in international institutions and pillage the wealth of other peoples.”

Referring to Iran’s nuclear power programme, which Washington claims is a cover for atomic weapons development, Rafsanjani said Tehran rejected the double standards inherent in US objections.

“I have said several times to the Americans and Europeans that to deprive a people of its internationally recognised rights and practise discrimination and a double-standard policy against it, (are) two measures that would create an unspeakable precedent.”

He added: “Look at China which wants to build 40 new nuclear power plants. Why should other countries not have the right to master this technology?”"

Rafsanjani invited Christians to heed "Jesus Christ's valuable teachings"

2005-04-08T14:06:00.000-04:00

IRAN: FORMER PRESIDENT CONDEMNS "WARMONGERING" SUPERPOWERS: "IRAN: FORMER PRESIDENT CONDEMNS "WARMONGERING" SUPERPOWERS

Tehran, 8 April (AKI) - Leading prayers in the Iranian capital on Friday - the day of John Paul II's funeral in Rome - former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani offered condolences to the world's Christians on the the pontiff's death, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported. "The clear distinction in Pope John Paul II's personality is that he was truly a man of peace and seriously opposed to warmonger tendencies," Rafsanjani said. Iran's current president Mohammad Khatami and his fellow Muslim, Palestinian Authority prime minister Ahmed Querei, attended the pontiff's funeral, along with leaders from all the world's main religions. John Paul II died on Saturday, aged 84, after a long illness.

"The Pope condemned the US crimes in (Iraq's) Abu Ghraib prision and was a staunch campaigner against the Communists' atheist policies," added Rafsanjani, who is currently chairman of Iran's powerful Expediency Council. Rafsanjani, 70, who served as president for two terms in 1989-97, intends to run for president in Iran's July presidential elections.

During his sermon, Rafsanjani invited Christians to heed "Jesus Christ's valuable teachings" more carefully, and said: "both the world's Christians and the Vatican had better take lessons from the late Pope's manners and policies, including heeding their sensitive responsibilities more seriously."

"The followers of Jesus cannot remain Christians and at the same time remain silent and indifferent towards the crimes committed by the US and the other superpowers around the globe... Looting other nations' resources, the exertion of hegemony at international communities and launching misleading campaigns against other countries aimed at distorting their image are definitely against the spirit of authentic Christianity," Ransanjani continued.

During his two terms of office as Iran's president, Rafsanjani tried to encourage closer ties with the the West and re-establish Iran as a regional power. He opposed harsh Islamic penal codes and promoted better job prospects for women. But since the war in Iraq his stance has hardened and he has used Friday prayers to denounce US "plots" in the region.

"The world's Christians should shout in protest against the United States, and tell the White House leaders that their conduct has defamed Christ," he fulminated on Friday.

Iranian radio commented that the attendance of over 200 dignitaries and world leaders at John Paul II' s funeral was an "unprecedented event." "However, we must not forget that the Catholic Church has been losing members at a rapid rate in Europe and other developed countries," it said.

"The massive turnout at the Pope's funeral clearly reflects the world community's strong opposition to America's war-mongering and its unilateralist approach on the international scene. Without a doubt, this message will not be lost on the American president George W. Bush, who is attending the Pope's funeral.""

Rafsanjani - A man of Great Wealth - NOT TRUE

2005-04-08T00:52:00.000-04:00

Notes on Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani: "A man of Great Wealth - NOT TRUE
Former President Rafsanjani is rumored to be a man of great wealth. However these stories are actually lies spread by his political opponents to discredit him. The truth is that as a public servant Rafsanjani is a man of very modest means living on his salary and owning only two small properties. Public service has deprived Rafsanjani of the opportunity to accumulate wealth and actually costs him more than it makes him."

Tafsir-e-Rahnama Makes Best Quran commentary Lexicon

2005-02-28T08:40:00.000-05:00

Tafsir-e-Rahnama Makes Best Quran commentary Lexicon "???????? ????? ?????: "Scholar: Tafsir-e-Rahnama Makes Best Quran commentary Lexicon

2/28/2005
Tehran, IQNA: Feb 28 2005—"the Tafsir-e-Rahnama (Guidance Commentary), which has innovative styles in it, makes the best glossary of Quran for researchers in the Islamic world."
"It is not appropriate to limit the fields of knowledge to the concepts and views of the late scholars, because there is a new idea in each single review of commentary books" said the Quran Researcher and scholar of Qom Seminary, Ayatollah Mohammad Hadi Marefat.

"This volumes of books should be open to all criticism, so that step by step it gets improved and revised more than before" he said.

The book which has been compiled by Expediency Council Chairman, Hujjatul-Islam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has an alphabetical order for the names and subjects mentioned in the glorious Qura'n.

So far, there have been published some first alphabetical letters of the many series of this work.
The Islamic Advertisement Organization has announced, early this week, that it will hold a ceremony on Thursday this week to honor Hashemi Rafsanjani.""

Mohammed Rafsanjani - Iran Looks to China: Does That Spell Trouble for the U.S.? - Intro - FORTUNE

2005-02-09T09:30:00.000-05:00

Magazine - Iran Looks to China: Does That Spell Trouble for the U.S.? - Intro - FORTUNE: "Iran Looks East
A $70 billion gas deal has brought Tehran and Beijing closer together. And that could spell trouble for the U.S.
By Vivienne Walt

It was 1978, and thousands of students were rampaging through the streets of Tehran, burning barricades and chanting their vision of a radical Islamic republic that would transform Iran forever. Halfway across the world, a young Iranian student was sitting in an economics class at the University of California at Berkeley, listening to his professor's predictions about the future. "He told us to watch China," Mohammed Rafsanjani recalls, sitting in an ornate reception room in one of the Shah's old palaces atop a snowy mountainside in north Tehran. "He said, 'If each Chinese person buys one aspirin, we can sell a billion aspirins.'"

Rafsanjani soon abandoned his doctoral studies at Berkeley and flew home to join the revolution, arriving on the same plane as his hero, Ayatollah Khomeini. But the economics lesson stuck in his mind. And these days he has good reason to think about it. Now gray-haired and 59, Rafsanjani sits on Iran's key governing body, the Expediency Council, which settles some of its thorniest political decisions, including policies on trade. And China? During the past few months that country has arrived in force in this oil-rich nation of 70 million, looking to solve a headache that will take a lot more than aspirin to overcome: a critical shortage of energy for its galloping industrial growth and for the millions of new cars on its roads.

After nearly a year of talks with Iranian oil officials, China's Sinopec Group is set to sign the biggest deal Iran has negotiated in a decade. Its ripple effects over the next few years are likely to extend far beyond Iran's balance sheet. The long-term alliance with the world's fastest-growing economy"

Iran News - Rafsanjani: No place for imposed globalization

2005-02-09T07:44:00.000-05:00

Iran News - Rafsanjani: No place for imposed globalization: "Rafsanjani: No place for imposed globalization

Wednesday, February 09, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, Feb 9 (IranMania) - Iran's Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said that the globalization trend should be resisted if it is accompanied by further bullying of major powers.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of an International Seminar on Globalization and Muslim Women, he said globalization founded on coercion and intimidation is tantamount to cruelty against humans.

The chairman of the arbitrating body, the State Expediency Council, said the big powers are abusing the globalization process despite strong opposition from various groups across the globe.

"For instance, the big powers created the United Nations after the Second World War to impose the right of veto and pursue their own agendas."

The former president singled out the US for special condemnation and said the "United States is acting as a janitor at he World Trade Organization, and preventing countries opposed to its policies from entering the WTO."

Rafsanjani said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established to help nations benefit from the peaceful use of nuclear energy, whereas the agency is now bullying selected countries.

"Iran's nuclear dossier has been subject to bullying by the IAEA despite the fact that Tehran opened all doors to the inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog," he complained.

He said nuclear allegations against Iran are being hurled

when Israel has stockpiled banned nuclear weapons without any protest or opposition from the IAEA.

He, however, urged cooperation by all countries with the international bodies and the need to uphold international laws to help promote peace and stability in the world."

Rice Responds to Rafsanjani

2005-02-09T07:38:00.000-05:00

noticias - SECRETARY RICE: Interview With Andrea Mitchell of NBC News: "SECRETARY RICE: Interview With Andrea Mitchell of NBC News

/noticias.info/ Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Rome, Italy
February 8, 2005
QUESTION: Welcome Madam Secretary.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much.

QUESTION: Here you are in Rome. The Middle East Summit is taking place. There have been so many attempts at peace in the Middle East. Why should this, after ten ceasefires, why should this ceasefire be any different?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, certainly the many failed attempts to take advantage of historic opportunities should be a very strong signal that it takes hard work and that there is still a hard road ahead in the Middle East. But there are some fundamental differences this time. You have a new Palestinian leadership that is devoted to a peaceful resolution of the conflict that in fact believes that the violent intifada is not the way forward for peace and has been categorical in saying that. You have the Israeli decision to withdraw from Gaza, which represents an opportunity to seize on the Israelis’ historic decision that they must give up land in order to have peace. So there are some fundamental differences here, but it’s still a long road ahead. I have to say I was impressed with the singleness of purpose of both President Abbas and Prime Minister Sharon who both seem to realize what an historic opportunity is before them.

QUESTION: Palestinians are demanding a much greater prisoner release than Israel has been willing to do. Should Israel release thousands of these prisoners, many of whom have committed terrorist acts?

SECRETARY RICE: It really isn’t the place of the United States to tell a democratically elected Israeli government what prisoners to release. We do know that prisoner release is an important part of a package of getting to an agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. But there are obligations and responsibilities on both sides. The Palestinians really must fight terror and fight it in a way so that there can be permanent peace. The Israelis have obligations to not somehow forestall future decisions through acts that are unilateral and that might prejudge a final status agreement. So there are obligations on both sides. I think the good thing is that when they meet in Sharm-el-Sheik, they will be able to put all of their concerns on the table. They can talk about whatever is on their minds and they can begin the slow process of coming to terms with one another.

QUESTION: A lot of people think that that won’t happen without the United States putting them together in a room and forcing them to make concessions and to do the give and take. Why aren’t you there today?

SECRETARY RICE: It’s a very good thing when the parties can make progress on their own. And they’ve sustained a very good momentum over the last couple of weeks. And it’s a very good thing when the regional actors, Egypt and Jordan, are involved in this way because they are going to have to be party to this - they are going to have to support any agreement.

The United States is very involved. I was just there with the Prime Minister and with the President. I’ve talked to my Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts. We’ve appointed a security coordinator to help the parties move forward on the all important issue of security and so the United States is going to be and is very involved, but I don’t think it’s important for us to be at every meeting. Sometimes it is really crucial that the parties -or the parties and regional actors- move along on their own.

QUESTION: In Paris today, you agreed to talk about democracy and expand on the President’s themes from his inaugural address. What would you like to see the Europeans do? What more do you want from them?

SECRETARY RICE: We all have to first and foremost accept the obligation, that all of us have who were lucky enough or are lucky enough to live on the right side of freedom’s divide to support and to promote the aspirations of those who are not yet free to be free. It’s an attitude, a change of our view of our own obligations.

Secondly, there are a lot of things that we can do to help the Afghans and the Iraqis in terms of training security forces, in terms of reconstruction assistance, capacity building for ministries and institutions that are fledgling institutions that need to get started.

And, of course, we have international fora in which we can support civil society, business groups, women’s groups like the Forum for the Future coming out of the President’s Broader Middle East Initiative, which brings those groups together from countries that are aspiring to freedom with countries that have long lived in freedom.

There’s a great deal that we can do. We’ve already done a lot, but there is much more to do, and I look forward to talking to our European allies about how we put this great alliance, that faced down tyranny before and saw the emergence of a Europe whole and free, how we put this alliance to work on behalf of the great goal of freedom.

QUESTION: Some people might suggest that you’re going into the belly of the beast by going to Paris, meeting with President Chirac, confronting the French who were the most critical of our policy in Iraq. How do you end the disagreements, strong disagreements?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, it’s clearly time to put behind the differences of the past. That’s not what we’re going to be judged by; we’re going to be judged by our achievements. And I intend to go to Paris to talk about what we have done together, that’s a lot: the French have been very active in Afghanistan; we and the French sponsored a resolution on Lebanon against Syrian interference there. We will be involved and have been involved in the Middle East.

I know that there were differences in the past principally over Iraq, but now with the Iraqi people having expressed very strongly that they will take the opportunity of their liberation to try and build a free and democratic Iraq that is at peace with its neighbors, I think we have a lot to do together, and I think we and France and Germany and Britain, the entire trans-Atlantic Alliance, will look to the future, not to the past.

QUESTION: There are still disagreements over China, over whether or not there should be a continued arms embargo over China and over Iran principally. The Europeans believe that the President in his inaugural address was in fact promoting regime change in Iran. What can you say to them about what U.S. policy is? Are we telling the Iranians that they should rise up and rebel against their government?

SECRETARY RICE: We’re telling the Iranian people that they’ve not been forgotten in the efforts to spread freedom and democracy around the world. The Iranian people are a sophisticated people with a great culture and a great heritage and tradition. They are people that have demonstrated time and again that they want to live under democratic principles, and yet they live under an un-elected few who are frustrating those aspirations and this message to them – a message, by the way, that I think is being echoed in other places – is that the behavior of the Iranian regime internally is a concern for those of us in the trans-Atlantic Alliance, that we’re not going to forget that...

QUESTION: …you called them loathsome …

SECRETARY RICE: …well, the human rights abuses in Iran are. You cannot summarily in effect execute young women for certain kinds of behaviors and not consider that to be loathsome. You cannot throw the reformists in jail with really no process and not consider that to be loathsome.

QUESTION: Some of our allies – Egypt, Saudi Arabia – do the same thing without that kind of harsh criticism from you and the President.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, we’ve been very clear that we expect a lot from our friends as well. And we are seeing throughout the Middle East that the conversation is changing about what must be done.That even at the Arab League meetings last year, there was a conversation about reform. That is why when the American President puts something on the agenda of this sort, it begins to change the way that people talk and the way that people behave. But the Iranian regime is special in its internal behavior and in its external behavior, that seeks the nuclear weapon, that is engaged in supporting the very terrorists who are trying to destroy the peace process that we’ve just been talking about.

QUESTION: One of the Iranian leaders was quoted in USA Today as saying that “the U.S. would not dare to attack us. We have got used to this nonsense” – this is quoting Rafsanjani. “Miss Rice is a bit emotional. She talks tough, but she cannot be tough herself.”

SECRETARY RICE: Well, we ought to be emotional about people who live essentially in bondage. We ought to be. Because those of us who are lucky enough to have been born on the right side of freedom’s divide have an obligation to those who are still caught on the other side of that divide to care about their progress. But the United States believes that our concerns about Iran can be resolved diplomatically as long as there is unity of purpose, as long as there is unity of message to the Iranians, we believe that we have diplomatic solutions here.

QUESTION: Do you think that you as a woman Secretary of State are treated differently? There is press coverage here in Europe. One headline called you “coquettish” with Chancellor Schroeder in Germany. Here you’ve got Rafsanjani in Iran saying that you are “emotional.” Is there an extra burden that a woman in your position carries where you are interpreted and viewed within a certain framework?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I don’t know, and I don’t think much about it. I will do what I do, I’m a package, I’m who I am and that includes being female. But I think as Secretary of State I’ve got a job to do. I’m delighted that I have an opportunity at this historic time to try and help the President, to try and help our friends and allies move on this historic agenda. It’s a great time for those of us who believe in these values. It’s a challenging time. There are a lot of difficulties and a lot of hard times ahead, but if we put our best efforts to it, if we put our minds to it, I believe that we have a chance to leave a more permanent peace and, most importantly, a balance of power that favors freedom.

QUESTION: Thank you very much Madam Secretary.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you."

Daily Times - Iran said to be making chemical arms

2005-01-30T20:03:00.000-05:00

Daily Times - Site Edition: "Iran said to be making chemical arms

By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: A leading American nuclear watchdog has claimed that Iran’s chemical and ballistic missile programmes pose a more “imminent threat” than its nascent nuclear effort, revealing as they do Tehran’s determination to develop unconventional weapons.

The Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control’s latest ‘Iran Watch Bulletin’ says that these programmes are being built with the help of Russia and China. A CIA report last year said that Iran’s chemical weapons probably include blister, blood and choking agents like mustard, cyanide and phosgene and Iran may be working with more deadly agents like VX nerve gas. Iran is also now ready to mass produce its Shahab-3 missile which is estimated to travel 800 miles. The missile can also deliver a nuclear or a chemical payload.

A US official told Iran Watch, “Iran is still getting essential help from China and Russia.” For missiles, it is getting “solid propellant and guidance” from Chinese companies, while Russian companies are sending “liquid fuel technology and engineering know-how.”

To make chemical warheads for the missiles to carry, Iran has been able to buy glass-lined equipment from Chinese firms. One of Iran’s most dependable helpers is the China North Industries Corporation, a state-sponsored company that has been sanctioned five times by the State Department since 2003. From Russia’s Baltic State Tactical University, Iran has received missile training, reportedly including a missile education centre set up in Iran to facilitate technology transfers from Russia.

According to Iran Watch, that the activities of Russian and Chinese companies have continued despite repeated censuring by the United States proves that Russia and China are at best indifferent to the key role their companies play in improving weapons programmes in Iran. The watchdog group recommends that in order to convince China and Russia to “change their ways” the US must do more than just revoke the US trade privileges of firms that do little or no business with the United States.

“Failure to do so would not only benefit Iran’s chemical weapons and missile programmes, but could also impair the Bush administration’s quest to haul Iran before the UN Security Council for its nuclear transgressions ... By virtue of their indigenous capabilities and their seats on the Security Council, China and Russia have the power to stop proliferation to Iran or to fuel it. The United States must convince them to switch sides. Pushing Russia and China to start punishing their export control violators would be a good start.”"

Rafsanjani warns Washington may not accept an Iraq that is "free and independent"

2005-01-30T16:37:00.000-05:00

News: "World leaders hail Iraq vote as key to restoring sovereignty
01-30-2005, 19h26

- (AFP/Fox News-HO)
PARIS (AFP) - Messages of support poured in from around the world as Iraqis voted in a landmark election, hailed by both supporters and opponents of the US-led war as a key step towards restoring Iraqi sovereignty.

The United States hailed the elections as a "great day" for Iraq, while the United Nations, Middle Eastern and European leaders voiced the hope the polls would usher in a speedy return to self-rule in the war-torn country.

US President George W. Bush said he was "incredibly encouraged" by the turnout, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Fox News after speaking with him. "He just said that this was a great day for the Iraqi people," she said.

American officials were exultant over initial reports of the turnout in the vote for an Iraqi national assembly.

"I think everybody believes it's better than expected," Rice said in a round of interviews on US television.

Rice acknowledged that the polls were not perfect, and that many voters had been scared off by insurgent violence in largely Sunni areas. But, she said, they represented "a huge step forward" for Iraq's transition to democracy.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan praised the Iraqis who turned out despite the simmering insurgent violence, in which at least 37 people were killed after the voting got under way.

"The Iraqis who turned out today are courageous, they know that they are voting for the future of their country," Annan said during an African Union summit in Nigeria.

"We must encourage them and support them to take control of their destiny," he added, in remarks delivered in French.

In Iraq's Shiite neighbour Iran, a top parliamentary deputy, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, hailed the vote as a "great step for Iraqis towards an independent and popular regime."

But influential former Iranian president Akbar Hasemi Rafsanjani warned that Washington may not accept Iraq becoming a country that is "free and independent and that does not stand next to America and Israel."

Rafsanjani said the United States "could either rig the results of the elections," or stage a coup d'etat -- a warning expressed earlier this month by supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Across the region, Arab nations anxiously awaited the results, to see if the vote would mark a first step towards democracy, or the start of civil war.

"An eye filled with fear, the other with hope" was the headline of a commentary in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, setting the overall mood.

The vote was a rarity in the strictly-controlled politics of the Middle East, where there is often just one candidate or the result is a foregone conclusion.

In Iraq's neighbour Jordan, where King Abdullah II warned last week against the risks of Iraq being partitioned, the government was hopeful the vote would take Iraq a step further towards peace and stability.

"We hope that holding elections in these very difficult conditions will help achieve stability in Iraq, reflect the will of all the Iraqi people and help Iraq recover its sovereignty," said government spokeswoman Asma Khodr.

The president of the OPEC oil cartel, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah, also hailed the vote as an important first step.

"I hope they have a quiet election. I think this is the first step for a stable Iraq," said the head of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Iraq is a member.

The Vatican said the Iraqi polls were a "sign of its people's maturity".

"The Iraqi people has been able to express itself and the international community hopes this day may signify a future of peace," said Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's secretary of state.

In Europe, which was deeply divided by the Iraq war, national leaders have tried to pull together over the vote, pledging their support for the political process and help in rebuilding the country after the polls.

As voting got under way in Iraq, the European Union's presidency warned that the expected low turnout of the Sunni Arab minority made it all the more important that they have a say in drafting Iraq's future constitution.

Speaking on behalf of the EU presidency, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also described the vote as a first step to Iraq retrieving full sovereignty, and US and other foreign troops leaving its territory.

Belgium's Foreign Minister Karel Gucht meanwhile offered to send teams of legal experts to help draft the country's future constitution, also calling for the text to uphold the rights of minority groups.

"Given the circumstances in which this vote is taking place, we should be showing our deep respect towards all the men and women who are risking their lives in order to cast their vote," added Gucht."

Rafsanjani Calls for elimination of Tehran-Amman tensions

2005-01-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

IranMania.com - Call for elimination of Tehran-Amman tensions: "Call for elimination of Tehran-Amman tensions

Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - ©2004 IranMania.com

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LONDON, Jan 18 (IranMania) - Iran's State Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Monday Muslim states need to be more sincere in their positions in light of the current situation.

In a meeting with Jordan's Ambassador in Tehran Ahmad Jalal Al-Meflah, Rafsanjani underlined the need to eliminate all kinds of tension and disputes between Tehran and Amman, Iran Daily reported.

Referring to the regional situation and challenges facing Muslim countries, the SEC chief said countries should take stock of the current conditions and consolidate their ties.

Rafsanjani further said establishment of a nationally elected government in Iraq will help prepare the ground for further Tehran-Amman cooperation.

The Jordanian ambassador also expressed his country's readiness to expand relations with Iran, saying their cooperation should be further enhanced through settlement of recent disputes.

Meflah added that development of joint activities was in the interest of the two sides' nations and governments.

According to a report by SEC's Public Relations Office carried by IRNA on Monday, Rafsanjani was responding to a call by the Party of Determination of Iranian Nation to run for a third term in office.

He said although he would prefer to stay away from the presidential race, he will not hesitate to run if it becomes a matter of duty.

"I am going to wait and stay out of the race as much as possible, but if I feel it my duty, I will not wait any longer," he said.

Rafsanjani has announced in many press interviews that he is still not convinced about participating in the election, hoping that there will be no need for his "presence on the executive scene".

A large number of political groups and parties affiliated to the rightist faction have thrown their full weight behind the veteran politician if he decides to run."

Rafsanjani urges expansion of ties with Bosnia-Herzegovina

2005-01-16T15:30:00.000-05:00

Description of Selected News: "Rafsanjani urges expansion of ties with Bosnia-Herzegovina

TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a meeting with the Ambassador of Bosnia-Herzegovina to Tehran Senahid Bristovich on Sunday called for expansion of mutual relations in various fields.

A report released by EC Public Relations Department said that Rafsanjani assessed the mutual political ties as positive and called for bolstering economic collaboration, given the potentials of both sides.

Turning to the status of the Balkans in Iran's foreign policy, he noted that the Iranian government and nation will never forget the pains and sufferings the people of Bosnian-Herzegovina have been through.

Rafsanjani expressed the national interest in cooperation with Bosnia-Herzegovina and declared Iran's readiness for using its expertise in the reconstruction of the country.

The official hoped to witness the success of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the future.

For his part, Bristovich expounded on the political, economic and social situation of his country and said that his countrymen will never forget the support and assistance of Iranian people under the difficult and sensitive conditions.

"The Muslim people of Bosnia-Herzegovina have proved to the world public opinion that despite being oppressed, they are prepared to forgive and overlook the sufferings they have undergone," he added.

The Bosnian diplomat referred to the post-war damages and said that a great number of migrants have not yet had the chance to repatriate on account of such problems as failure to find jobs and having no residence in their homeland.

He called for broadening ties between the two states, in particular in the economic sector.

Bristovich noted that Iran can invest in various industries in his country including electricity in order to participate in the reconstruction process."

Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani: Tehran-Riyadh ties as a sign of very positive and effective development

2005-01-11T13:26:00.000-05:00

Colonialists attempting to create discord to achieve their goals: Rafsanjani: "Colonialists attempting to create discord to achieve their goals: Rafsanjani

TEHRAN, Jan. 11 (MNA) -- Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani discussed both regional and international issues as well as bilateral ties between Islamic countries with the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Iran and Saudi Arabian media officials on Monday.
Referring to nuclear issues and the U.S. policy of exaggerating about the extent of terrorism in regional states, Rafsanjani said that creating discord and conflict among countries “as a means to achieve their goals” is the strategy of the colonialists.

He pointed to Tehran-Riyadh ties as a sign of very positive and effective development, expressing hope that the two countries would overcome various challenges in the region and the Islamic world through further cooperation.

The EC chairman said that Iran and Saudi Arabia had previously made a great accomplishment in resolving the regional crisis regarding oil prices, adding that Muslim countries in the Middle East should strive to develop their ties in view of the sensitive conditions in both the region and the Islamic world.

He also called for an exchange of information between the two countries’ media as a means to strengthen Iran-Saudi Arabia ties.

Referring to the period of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, during which the former Iraqi Baath regime used various chemical weapons against Iran, Rafsanjani stressed that the Islamic Republic has proven to the world that it will never make use of such weapons.

He noted that the enemies of the Islamic world made various efforts after the Islamic Revolution in Iran to brand the Muslims’ enmity toward the Zionist regime as an enmity between Arab and non-Arab populations.

“But all those efforts, including the Iran-Iraq war itself, were in vain,” he added.

Rafsanjani went on to say that the recent claims made by the enemies, accusing Iran of trying to form a Shia crescent in the region, were designed to create discord in the Middle East.

In conclusion, he observed that while Iran is baselessly accused of interference in Iraq’s internal affairs, the occupiers are meddling in all political, social, and economic aspects of Iraqi society."

Rafsanjani "I belong to the Islamic Revolution until I die"

2005-01-06T12:37:00.000-05:00

Iran Daily: "Rafsanjanis Nomination Hangs in Balance

TEHRAN, Jan. 5--State Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Wednesday said he is still not convinced about participating in the presidential election.
"I hope that there will be no need for my presence on the executive scene. However, if my presence is needed I belong to the Islamic Revolution until I die," he told reporters.
According to ISNA, Rafsanjani went on to add, "Not only should the people and elite want me to nominate myself for presidency, I should also myself be convinced to run. While there are other personalities, there is no need for old personalities to run. At any rate, I am not yet convinced."
Asked when he would announce his final decision regarding running for the presidency, he said, "I will not set this deadline, others have set it."
Rafsanjani also said that it was a sin and an ugly move to defame personalities.
"Nobody should slander other people. Those who are competent should nominate themselves so that the people would choose one person," he said.
Questioned about his evaluation of those who have become candidates so far, he declined to give an explicit response.
"This is a political question," he said."

Rafsanjani still undecided over presidential comeback

2005-01-05T20:07:00.000-05:00

Daily Times - Site Edition: "Rafsanjani still undecided over presidential comeback

TEHRAN: Iran’s powerful former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has yet to make a decision on whether to attempt a comeback for the Islamic republic’s number-two job, the student news agency ISNA said on Wednesday.

“I am still not convinced about being a candidate in the presidential elections,” Rafsanjani was quoted as saying. The top cleric and pragmatic conservative currently heads the Expediency Council — Irann’s top political arbitration body — but has been openly mulling a comeback as president when the nation goes to the polls on June 17.

Reformist President Mohammad Khatami is nearing the end of his second consecutive term and cannot stand again. The constitution only bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms, meaning Rafsanjani — president from 1989 to 1997 — can stand again.n. Although a number of other prominent conservatives have declared their candidacies, the 71-year-old Rafsanjani said he was “still not convinced” of the need for “old figures” to stay out of the race. afp"

Elias Naderan Plays into the Hands of Enemies of the Republic

2005-01-04T09:40:00.000-05:00

Iran Mania News: "Tehran MP criticized Rafsanjani’s candidacy

Thursday, December 30, 2004 - ©2004 IranMania.com
LONDON, Dec 30 (IranMania) – Tehran MP, Elias Naderan on Wednesday lambasted the Iranian governments’ performance in the past 16 years saying: “Some by hiding their true objectives are trying to resume their past activities this time under the guise of support for ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.”

According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, Naderan, a member of the “Builders of an Islamic Iran”, said: “Despite the Iranian statesmen’s apparent concern for the implementation of justice, they have now distanced themselves from the original ideals of the Islamic Revolution, so much so that today the officials are not the least hurt by hearing the everyday news of the death of the homeless in the country under their rule.”

Implicitly referring to Rafsanjani’s economic policies during his tenure, Naderan added: “ Many officials who repeatedly called for social justice in Friday Prayer sermons, cunningly carried out policies that many Third World countries are still resisting, policies that are even criticized by the World Bank today.”

Naderan noted that people voted for Mohammad Khatami in protest to the ruined economy of the country. Naderan’s remarks come at a time when many in Iran consider Rafsanjani ‘Master of Reconstruction’, referring to his administration’s ‘economic amendments’.

Rafsanjani will in all probability run for the next presidential elections in Iran."

Rafsanjani's Delaying Tactic - Will he or won't he?

2005-01-04T09:37:00.000-05:00

The Journal of Turkish Weekly: "Rafsanjani's Delaying Tactic
- Will he or won't he? That is the big question dominating a great deal of the pre-election campaign season debate in Iran.

Even though he has repeatedly said he has no intention of running, analysts believe the chances of former two-term president Hashemi Rafsanjani entering the race for the May 13, 2005 presidential election is high.

In fact, the conservatives have delayed the official launch of their presidential campaign and introduction of candidates by a month, pending Rafsanjani's decision. A group of prominent right-wingers are due to meet with Rafsanjani on this issue within the next few days.

Among those observers who are convinced the former president and current Expediency Council (EC) chief will make a run for it cite the following as reasons for their view.

1) By entering the race, the political forces aligned with him will be organized. The Executives of the Construction Party (ECP) – a movement founded by Rafsanjani – made up mostly of technocrats, need him as a supporter for regaining its lost political footing within the system. Conversely, Rafsanjani could use the help of the ECP as a political advocate organization. Many ECP members were ministers and capable top government executives in previous administrations who could assist Rafsanjani with organization and coordination for his drive for the presidency.

2) The EC has lost the prominent position it enjoyed as the chief arbitration body within the system during the reformist Sixth Majlis era. Back then, the majority of parliament-approved legislations were struck down by the watchdog Guardian Council, requiring the EC to act as arbitrator and issue a final ruling on the matter. With the hardliner-dominated Seventh Majlis and the GC agreeing on most issues, the EC is now out of the loop in the legislative process. Rafsanjani doesn't like to be irrelevant and he is likely to enter the presidential race to reclaim his political position of supremacy within the hierarchy of the system.

3) Some Majlis hardliners are in the process of launching investigations against former top level officials of the system -including Rafsanjani – in order to settle political accounts and long held grudges. By becoming president, Rafsanjani would create a wall of immunity around himself against any potential criminal probes.

4) History attests to the fact that political personalities – no matter how legendary or popular - have expiration dates. Once they are out of the scene, coming back, though not impossible, but certainly excruciatingly difficult. A case in point is former prime minister Mir-Hussein Moussavi. If Rafsanjani doesn't try his luck this time around, his political career is virtually finished, pundits stress.

Nevertheless, not all experts are of the view that Rafsanjani will throw his hat into the ring. Their logic and reasoning for having reached such a conclusion is as follows:

1) The current legislature is filled with ultraconservatives and hardliners who sing their own tunes, and, at times, pass "wild" and "irresponsible" bills. Rafsanjani would not run because it would be too much of a challenge for him to work with such a "radical" and "loose cannon" Majlis.

2) Many in both factions believe that Rafsanjani's "effectiveness" has come and gone and strongly criticize his past policies, especially in the economic arena.

But despite everything, the dominant view is that if Rafsanjani decides to run, nothing and nobody – including the GC - can stop or dissuade him.

By simply getting into the ring, the entire domestic and even international political dynamics will change. One hardline MP said it best: "If Rafsanjani comes in, the presidential race will become very serious."

But what about the electorate? What are the chances that the voters will opt for Rafsanjani again?

Commentators believe the political behavior of Iranian voters is quite unpredictable and complex. However, one factor that does influence how the Iranian electorate usually votes is that the people usually like to vote for the underdog. The more opposition there is within the system toward a candidate the more popular he or she will become in the eyes of the public.

In addition, other crucial factors for Rafsanjani include whether he can convince various tiers within society to support him, including the students. Based on evidence at hand, the student generation is not that keen on Rafsanjani. Students want radical change, which is natural considering their age group and the basic temperament and disposition of student movements.

In conclusion, Rafsanjani knows his early announcement would have significant repercussions. Therefore, he is doing his best to delay his candidacy until the 11th hour in order to minimize the negatives as well as to assess the reaction within the media, political and public circles for his eventual run.

29 December 2004 "

Iran Mania News

2005-01-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

Iran Mania News: "Rafsanjani underlines prudence in foreign policy

Monday, January 03, 2005 - ©2004 IranMania.com
LONDON, Jan 3 (IranMania) - Expediency Council (EC) Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said that more prudence should be exercised in foreign policy in view of the current situation in the neighboring countries.

Addressing members of a group dubbed `Society for the Youth of the Islamic Revolution`, he said, "I respect the requests, anyway. But, I insist that it should not be assumed as if only few persons are the key for resolving the problems".

He was referring to the requests to announce his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election which is slated for June 17, 2005. The EC chairman criticized the radical behavior the political parties taking shape in their reactions to each other, saying that such behavior may have negative impacts on the country`s situation and would also influence the international relations.

"If we want to achieve results in favor of national interests, we have to come to terms, and move forward to national unity and sympathy." The former president for two consecutive terms from 1989 to 1997, Rafsanjani is likely to run for presidency for a third term."

Rafsanjani and the Lebanon Hostages

2005-01-02T22:28:00.000-05:00

: "AMERICANS HELD HOSTAGE IN LEBANON MUST BE FREED -- HON. LAWRENCE COUGHLIN (Extension of Remarks - March 08, 1990)

[Page: E602]

---

HON. LAWRENCE COUGHLIN

in the House of Representatives

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 1990

Mr. COUGHLIN. Mr. Speaker, in recent days we have read numerous press reports indicating that an end to the captivity of Americans held hostage in Lebanon may be near. Earlier this week, an Associated Press report quoted an editorial in the Tehran Times, a paper said to be close to the thinking of Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as saying `Our own assessment indicates that this thorny issue can be sorted out in the near future in a sincere spirit by sincere people.' Other reports note that President Rafsanjani's brother, Mahmoud Hashemi, recently met with the Syrian Foreign Minister in order to coordinate efforts on the release of the hostages.

Of course, we have heard such optimistic reports before, and it behooves us to react with some caution. I am hopeful, however, that the Government of Iran, which has been a key sponsor of the Hezbollah, the parent organization of most if not all of the various groups that have claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Americans in Lebanon, is now ready to move forward on this issue. I am equally hopeful that the Syrian Government, which has been heavily involved in the affairs of Lebanon, will lend its active support to efforts to resolve this situation.

Mr. Speaker, we can only guess at the amount of suffering inflicted on the 10 Americans still unaccounted for in Lebanon--my constituent Joseph Cicippio, William Buckley, Terry Anderson, Thomas Sutherland, Frank Reed, Edward Tracy, Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill, and Col. Rich Higgins. In fact, all indications are that William Buckley and Colonel Higgins were treated so inhumanely that they have died as a consequence.

We do know, however, just how much the families of these Americans have suffered. They too have been victimized by the cruelty and the deprivations inflicted upon the hostages, to almost the same degree. I know firsthand of the great distress imposed upon members of Joseph Cicippio's family, many of whom reside in the congressional district I represent.

And indeed, the greatest outrage of this wholly appalling episode is that the holding of hostages, for whatever reason, is not a sanction meted out against a government. Rather, it is a most extreme, inappropriate, and ruthless violation of the basic rights of individual human beings and their families.

Mr. Speaker, at this point it appears President Rafsanjani holds the key to the lock that keeps these innocent Americans in captivity. I believe the Congress identifies with the view espoused by President Bush that `good will begets good will'--that progress on this crucial matter will result in progress in United States-Iranian relations. It is certain, however, that in the absence of progress on the hostage issue, positive United States-Iranian relations cannot develop.

I know all of my colleagues in the House, and all Americans, hope that all those with influence over the kidnapers will use it to effect the immediate freedom of these individuals.

[Page: E603]"

Rafsanjani's political moderation praised by Moderation and Development Party

2005-01-02T08:41:00.000-05:00

IranMania News: "Rafsanjani's political moderation praised

Sunday, January 02, 2005 - ©2004 IranMania.com
LONDON, Jan 2 (IranMania) - Radicalism has ended and the radical current should learn from its past, the spokesman for Moderation and Development Party said on Saturday.

Gholamali Dehqan also told ISNA that the time is now ripe for a moderate political dialogue and State Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani symbolizes the moderate political current.

"Radical political currents confronted Rafsanjani throughout the past 25 years. This was due to the fact that radical currents are idealistic and ignore social realities.

They were looking for utopia that could only be materialized in their minds. Hence, they were always critical towards the status quo," he said.

Dehqan noted that radical forces created problems for the country after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"Some radical forces act as if they are the only ones devoted to the system and others are traitors," he said."

Rafsanjani's central role in the upcoming elections February 2000

2004-12-28T09:27:00.000-05:00

: "Rafsanjani's central role in the upcoming elections

IranMania - 01 February 2000

Which path will Rafsanjani choose? Dilip Hiro
Journalist and author of books on Iran writes for IranMania:

Dilip Hiro looks at the most influential candidate in the elections and the effect of his possible participation in the next Parliament.

With the electoral battle between Iran's conservatives and reformists for the control of the Sixth Majlis (Parliament) escalating during the run-up to the poll on 18 February, attention is turning increasingly to the role of Hojatalislam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The attention is well-deserved. Besides being one of the two seniormost politicians - the other being Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, the Supreme Leader - in the country, Rafsanjani has a reputation for mediating successfully between competing factions.

The latest example is his successful intercession on behalf of the former mayor of Tehran, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, who began his a two-year jail sentence for embezzling public funds in May.

On 25 January Ayatollah Khamanei gave an amnesty to Karbaschi at the recommendation of the head of the judiciary.

Those who like Rafsanjani call him pragmatic and 'a politicians' politician'; those who do not, describe him as an opportunist, 'a man for all seasons'. Consider his decision to enter the parliamentary fray, the latter say.

Having served as Majlis Speaker for nine years and then as President for eight, and having declared that he wanted younger Iranians in seats of power, sixty-six-year-old Rafsanjani registered as a candidate for Parliament on 15 December.

Since then the Iranian media have written or said almost as much about his political motives and tactics as they have about the contest between the conservative- fundamentalist bloc (with some 120 members in the current 270-member Majlis) and the reformist-leftist alliance (with about 70 deputies).

MOST analysts agree that Rafsanjani was not satisfied with his current chairmanship of the Expediency Council, which conciliates differences between the Majlis and the President.

Even though, following Ayatollah Muhammad Khatami's landslide victory in May 1997 presidential poll, relations between the President and the conservative-inclined Majlis needed more mediation than before, the Expediency Council chairman lacks real power. His is not therefore a high profile job.

As it is, Rafsanjani has been in the public eye since the Islamic Revolution in early 1979. He was a member of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Council, appointed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni, and a co-founder of the ruling Islamic Republican Party.

He was an active member of the 1979 Assembly of Experts which drafted the constitution. Elected a Majlis member in 1980, he was voted Speaker of the house - a post to which he was re-elected every year until 1989 when Khomeini died.

Following Khomeini's death, the then President Khamanei was elected the Supreme Leader. And Rafsanjani won the presidency with 94% of the vote.

Rafsanjani became the chief executive after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, which severely damaged the national economy. So he focused on post-war reconstruction. But eleven years on, the economy is still ailing - a fact aptly reflected in the current open market rate of 8,400 Iranian Rials to one US Dollar.

Explaining his reason for running for the Majlis, Rafsanjani told the IRAN newspaper last week that economic development would suffer if factional disputes continued and that would harm the country. 'If I were in the Majlis, I would be able to help reform,' he said. 'I do not enjoy power, but I have not achieved my objectives yet.'

Despite the faltering economy, the public and the media are more interested in political development - liberalisation and reform - than in economic affairs.

The case in point is the Special Court for Clergy's trial of Ayatollah Abdullah Nouri - a close ally of Khatami, and the managing director of the pro-reform KHORDAD daily - in October. Charged with publishing sacrilegious articles, he adroitly used his trial to publicise his reformist views.

His subsequent five-year prison sentence and a ban on running for office until 2004 eliminated him as a Majlis candidate. Had he run for the Majlis from Tehran he would have most probably repeated his earlier performance in the local elections of securing the highest vote. That in turn would have led to his becoming the Majlis Speaker.

In a mid-January interview with the mass-circulation HAMSHAHRI, found by Karbaschi, Rafsanjani revealed that after Nouri's imprisonment President Khatami urged him to run for the Majlis.

Yet Rafsanjani's action is open to different interpretations.

The reformist-leftist camp says that, anticipating a massive electoral setback, he conservative-fundamentalist bloc inducted Rafsanjani in order to lessen the extent of its rout.

Most local and foreign observers estimate that in the new 290-member Majlis the reformist-leftists will displace the conservative-fundamentalist bloc as the largest parliamentary group, but short of a majority.

The fact that the conservative-fundamentalist alliance has put Rafsanjani at the top of its list lends credence to the argument of its opponents.

On the other side, the leftist leaders have combined their opposition to endorsing Rafsanjani with calls for him to state his position clearly on such issues as political reform and the running of the economy, whether he favours the public sector or private.

Rafsanjani has refused to do so, maintaining as always that he is above party politics. His brother, Mahmoud, recently said that political groups had to come to him for endorsement rather than the other way around.

Most commentators remember that as President Rafsanjani did not push through privatization, nor did he leave intact the predominance that the public sector had come to acquire against the backdrop of the Islamic revolution and the war with Iraq.

'What Rafsanjani created was a half way house with the negative features of both types of economy,' said a senior Iranian journalist in Tehran. 'Also the entourage around him is corrupt, and they have made lot of money.' In informal conversations traders in the Tehran bazaar often allude to the corrupt ways of the men surrounding Rafsanjani.

On the other hand Rafsanjani's political skills are widely acknowledged. 'In the past at the time of heightened tensions between the two hotly contending factions, he managed to defuse the situation,' said Shirzad Bozorgmehr, chief deputy editor of the IRAN NEWS.

NOW Rafsanjani is keen to prove his continuing popularity by securing the highest number of votes in Tehran as he did in the three Majlis elections he contested in the 1980s.

Securing Karbaschi's release is seen by most analysts as an important tactic that Rafsanjani has deployed to bolster his vote. Karbaschi is the leader of the Servants of Reconstruction (Kargozaran-e Sazandegi), a political group associated with Rafsanjani. He was President Rafsanjani's choice for mayor of Tehran, the appointment he got in 1989.

As the capital's mayor, Karbaschi was very popular. His release from jail will do a lot of electoral good to Rafsanjani, who is widely seen to be responsible for his remission. With Karbaschi all set to launch a new newspaper shortly his influence over the parliamentary poll will rise. His daily is expected to back Rafsanjani strongly.

SUMMING up the electoral situation, Masoud Pourfaraj, 28, an intelligent-looking, bespectacled shopkeeper selling kitchenware in the south Tehran bazaar, said, 'Conservatives need Rafsanjani in order to be successful. And leftists have to listen to him because he is powerful. There is no doubt that he will keep balance between the factions in the Majlis.'

At the other end of the social spectrum, a senior Asian diplomat said, 'Rafsanjani has the stature and skills to get the different factions to work together. He has done this before. Because he will win, and become the Speaker, the new Majlis will be moderate and well-behaved, and will cooperate with President Khatami, which is not the case with the present House.'"

'Neo-Conservatives Abusing Spirit of Christ,' Iranian Leader Says -- 12/28/2004

2004-12-28T08:48:00.000-05:00

'Neo-Conservatives Abusing Spirit of Christ,' Iranian Leader Says -- 12/28/2004: "Neo-Conservatives Abusing Spirit of Christ,' Iranian Leader Says
By Julie Stahl
CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief
December 28, 2004

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - American neo-conservatives are in control of the world and are 'abusing the spirit of Christ,' the head of the Iranian Expediency Council, Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, said.

Speaking in a sermon last Friday (Christmas Eve) at Tehran University, Rafsanjani said there was a difference in the "Christian world" between the oppressed and the Americans.

"Regarding what is going on in the Christian world, one must distinguish between most of the people, who are deprived of rights, oppressed, the people of the Third World and another part of the people -- such as the Americans," Rafsanjani said according to a translation provided on Tuesday by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

"The American neo-conservatives, who are, in fact, the Zionists of our time, are now in control, and they are abusing the spirit of Christ," said Rafsanjani, who is a powerful figure in Iranian politics.

"Zionists" is a term that refers to those who support a national movement for a homeland for the Jewish people in the historical land of Israel. Iranian leaders use it to refer to anyone they want to accuse of colonizing someone else's land.

"We expect that the scholars and leading men of the Christian world will not allow the exalted spirit [of Christ] to be contaminated by the sinister goals of these greedy, colonialist people. They must act in order to appease the spirit of Christ," he said.

"We, too, are willing to cooperate for the sake of the justice of Christ, whose pure essence is in Islam."

The crowd responded with shouts of "Death to America! Death to America!" MEMRI reported."

Rafsanjani strongly rejects Iran's meddling in Iraq affairs

2004-12-25T12:47:00.000-05:00

Rafsanjani strongly rejects Iran's meddling in Iraq affairs: "Rafsanjani strongly rejects Iran's meddling in Iraq affairs
Tehran, Dec 24, IRNA -- Chairman of the Expediency Council (EC) Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Friday strongly rejected charges that Iran is meddling in Iraq's internal affairs, and termed remarks to that effect as "the most absurd".
Rafsanjani, in a sermon at Tehran Friday prayers, said the remarks that Iran is seeking intervention in Iraq are propagated by the "mercenaries and affiliates" of the US, adding that this is a "historic atrocity" against Iran.

He said those who raise such comments are themselves 'US appointees,' but accuse Iranian pilgrims who have risked their life to visit Iraq's holy sites of false charges.

Rafsanjani recalled the issue of elections in Iraq and the occupied territories of Palestine, and regretted that there are evil elements that are trying to prevent people in those countries achieve their rights.

"Secret hands are trying to stop Iraqi elections. And because they know holding elections is the demand of the people, particularly the Shiites, they do evil things in Karbala and Najaf; the things that saddens every oppressed," he told worshipers at Tehran University campus.

"Of course, doing these evil things shows that they have been disappointed."

Rafsanjani said nobody inside Iran tells the Iraqi people to vote for any specific group, stressing that Iran always advises all nations to participate in the elections to promote their self-determination.

"That they accuse Iran of interfering in Iraq for this encouragement is merely the propaganda of the US," he said.

Rafsanjani's remarks that Iran is not interfering in Iraq's internal affairs closely follow those by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi that such charges suit the US that has invaded the country.

Kharrazi told reporters upon arrival in Beirut airport that there is a certain level of affinity between the Iranian and the Iraqi people which stems in their mutual bonds.

However, he stressed, this should never be translated as Iran's interference in Iraq.

Kharrazi reiterated Iran's urge on all ethnic groups and religions to strongly participate in the next month elections in Iraq, stressing that the Iraqis should indicate that they are a strong and mature nation and can control the affairs of their country.

Kharrazi says Iran not interfering in Iraq's internal affairs

Beirut, Dec 24, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here on Thursday rejected that Iran is seeking interference in Iraq's internal affairs, stressing that such charges suit the US which has invaded the country.

Kharrazi told reporters upon arrival in Beirut airport that there is a certain level of affinity between the Iranian and the Iraqi people which stems in their mutual bonds. However, he stressed, this should never be translated as Iran's interference in Iraq.

Kharrazi expressed hope that people from all ethnicities and religions strongly participate in the next month elections in Iraq.

He added that the Iraqis should indicate that they are a strong and mature nation and can control the affairs of their country.

On the reason of his visit to Damascus and Beirut, Kharrazi said that foreign ministers should always be prepared to consult with each other, adding that he was visiting Syria and Lebanon to consult with the officials of those countries.

"Regional developments are so much and happen so fast that we will have to get into regular contacts with each other," he said adding that all countries should consult with each other for discussing the issues of the Middle East and Iraq.

In a response to a question about US threats against Iran, Kharrazi said such threats are nothing new adding that nobody will take these threats seriously.

The Iranian foreign minister, heading a delegation, arrived in Beirut on Thursday night."

Rafsanjani is "IN"

2004-12-20T16:11:00.000-05:00

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: "Rafsanjani to run in 9th presidential elections

TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Expediency Council Chairman and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will run in the 9th presidential elections in May 2005, said member of the Central Council of the Executives of Construction Party of Iran (ECPI) Esmaeil Jabbarzadeh here on Monday.

Talking to reporters, Jabbarzadeh said Rafsanjani would be the most qualified candidate in the elections.

Jabbarzadeh said it would not be something unlikely to see the right wing supporting Rafsanjani in the upcoming elections.

Thus far, Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaie and lawmaker from Tehran and head of the Majlis Research Center Ahmad Tavakkoli have voiced their readiness to become a candidate in the elections.

The 9th presidential elections are slated for May 2005 and the next president would be sworn in and assume office in August.""

World Tribune.com: Iran considers diplomatic ties with U.S.

2004-12-20T11:44:00.000-05:00

World Tribune.com: Iran considers diplomatic ties with U.S.: "Iran considers diplomatic ties with U.S.

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, April 14, 2003
For the first time, Iran's ruling clergy is said to be considering establishing diplomatic relations with the United States.

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who heads a panel established by the clergy, outlined ways that Teheran could restore ties with the United States. Rafsanjani said this could include either a national referendum or a decision by his Expediency Council, Middle East Newsline reported.

"One solution is to hold a referendum to see what the society says provided the parliament approves it and then it is accepted by the supreme leader," Rafsanjani said in an interview with the Rahbord periodical and quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency. "The other solution is that the problem is referred to us [at the council] and we discuss it and announce what is expedient. Of course, the leader should approve this too."

Rafsanjani's reference was to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, regarded as the supreme leader of Iran. The Rahbord — "strategy" in Farsi — periodical is published by the Center for Strategic Studies.

Western diplomatic sources said Rafsanjani's remarks could imply a significant departure from the ruling clergy's opposition to relations with Washington. For several years, Rafsanjani's successor, Mohammed Khatami, examined the prospect of restoring ties with Washington, but his policy was overruled by the clergy.

The Expediency Council is meant to facilitate relations between Iran's parliament and the Guardian Council, directly operated by the clerics. Rafsanjani's panel, however, is said to be an extension of the ruling clerics and has often stymied parliamentary powers.

Over the weekend, Iranian television and Western diplomatic sources reported several attacks on the Iranian opposition Mujahadeen Khalq. In one attack in the northern town of Al Saadiyah, 160 kilometers north of Baghdad, five Mujahadeen combatants were said to have been killed. The group said 18 of its fighters were killed last week in an attack on a Mujahadeen base by special forces sent by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry.

"To carry out these terrorist attacks and schemes, the Ministry of Intelligence sent a large number of its henchmen and agents as well as a number of its Kurdish and Arabic-speaking operatives to Iraq," the Mujahadeen said in a statement. "At the same time, the clerical regime shell ed a number of other Mujahadeen bases along the Iran-Iraq border with heavy artillery.""

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: Rafsanjani has firmly said 'I am not in'

2004-12-19T14:30:00.000-05:00

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: Bahonar says former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani "OUT": "deputy speaker of parliament Mohammad Reza Bahonar was quoted by the press Saturday as saying that former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had demanded to be counted out.

"Whenever I and my friends have asked him about his decision he has firmly said 'I am not in' and instead announced his favorable candidate," the daily Mardomsalari quoted Bahonar as saying.

Rafsanjani, now the head of the arbitrative Expediency Council, had been cited as one of likely candidates in the race, but he has yet to declare his intentions."

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: Rafsanjani considers running for president to thwart hardliners

2004-12-15T22:39:00.000-05:00

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: FT.com / World / Middle East & Africa - Rafsanjani considers running for president to thwart hardliners: "FT.com / World / Middle East & Africa - Rafsanjani considers running for president to thwart hardliners
FT.com / World / Middle East & Africa - Rafsanjani considers running for president to thwart hardliners: "Rafsanjani considers running for president to thwart hardliners
By Gareth Smyth
Published: December 16 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 16 2004 02:00

A datein May or June has yet to be set for Iran's presidential election, as the interior ministry has failed to agree on a suitable Friday with the GuardianCouncil, the Islamic watchdog that supervises political affairs.

But this is just one of many uncertainties clouding an election that may be the most unpredictable in the Islamic Republic's 25-year history.

"We've never had less of an idea of who will win," says Mostafa Tajzadeh, a leading official in Jebhey-e Mosharekat, the reformist party. "We don't know who will stand, it is hard to predict turnout and there are serious differences in the conservative camp."

The election will be closely watched in Europe and the US. Iran is opening a dialogue with the European Union on its controversial nuclear programme, and the election comes at a crucial time. The reformists led by Mohammad Khatami, president since 1997, have suffered numerous setbacks over the past two years, and conservatives have retaken parliament and are baying for a return to confrontation.

"In Iran the government affects all spheres of life; it's not 10-15 per cent as in western countries," says Mr Tajzadeh. The president is responsible for appointing the government but he is subject to checks from the Guardian Council and from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader.

The Guardian Council blocked many reforms wanted by Mr Khatami, who is constitutionally barred from a third term and has no obvious successor to take up the reformist torch.

Officials within Mosharekat and Sazeman-e Mojahedin, an allied reformist party, are trying to persuade Mostafa Moein, a former minister of higher education, to stand - even though many expect the Guardian Council to exclude him, just as it barred more than 2,000 reformists from February's parliamentary election, claiming they did not truly support Iran's Islamic system.

"If Mr Moein agrees to stand, we should build a campaign as soon as possible that would make it hard for the council to reject him," says Mr Tajzadeh. "The council will not ignore public opinion. And if it did, and the election were not free, we would expose this."

But with Iranian public opinion largely alienated from politics after years of conflict between reformists and conservatives, influential figures are looking for technocratic solutions that would expand business and trade.

"Many heavyweights welcomed the conservatives' victory in February after their promises to concentrate on the economy, but they were then appalled by the new deputies' anti-business rhetoric," says a management consultant.

Concern with the possibility of a rightwing president allied to a rightwing parliament is prompting the 70-year-old Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to consider running again for the office, which he held between 1989 and 1997.

"The recent ruling from the Expediency Council [which Mr Rafsanjani chairs] in favour of privatisation was a clear sign to the parliament," says the consultant. "Rafsanjani is business-minded."

Business interests also welcomed the agreement reached in November with Britain, France and Germany on a temporary suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment programme. Negotiators close to Mr Rafsanjani, in-cluding Hassan Rowhani, played a central role.

An official close to the former president says he is weighing up the situation. "He feels a hard-line faction is gaining too much power," he says. "He's worried about the socialism in their economics and their desire for confrontation internationally. They could do just as much damage to Iran as our enemies."

Rightwingers have not disguised their bitter dislike of Mr Rafsanjani, whom they accuse of opportunism. At least one prominent deputy, Ahmad Tavakoli, insists he will stand against him.

There are also strong rumours that rightwingers will blacken Mr Rafsanjani's name - attacking his family's extensive business dealings, his liberalism on social issues, or his alleged 1980s role in secret deals to take arms from the US in return for help in releasing hostages in Lebanon.

The Iranian media have reported that Mr Rafsanjani's fears of "character assassination" are delaying his decision to stand.""

SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: IRNA- Rafsanjani terms US', big powers' accusations as baseless

2004-12-14T14:19:00.000-05:00

SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: IRNA- Rafsanjani terms US', big powers' accusations as baseless: "IRNA- Rafsanjani terms US', big powers' accusations as baseless
IRNA-Islamic Republic News Agency: "Iran-US-Rafsanjani / POL /
Iran-US-Rafsanjani / POL /
Rafsanjani terms US', big powers' accusations as baseless
Tehran, June 30, IRNA -- Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani here Wednesday said the accusations made by the United States and big powers against Iran's peaceful nuclear activities has no basis in fact.
Addressing an ongoing seminar to assess the destructive consequences of the use of chemicals and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), Rafsanjani said the issues raised by the big powers against Iran's nuclear programs are stifling the country's efforts to acquire needed scientific and technical knowhow.
"Iran is itself a victim of chemical weapons. Those who accuse us of trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction are themselves guilty of the offense and are just looking for a scapegoat.""

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: No age limit for presidential candidates

2004-12-14T13:39:00.000-05:00

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: No age limit for presidential candidates: "No age limit for presidential candidates

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran's conservatives have scrapped plans to introduce an age limit of 70 years for presidential candidates, a move that would have blocked a possible comeback by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the student news agency ISNA said Tuesday.

"To avoid any partisan exploitation and prejudice against potential candidates, we have decided to suppress the age condition for candidates to the presidential election," it quoted MP Reza Talai-Nik as saying.

According to the MP, a draft law had envisaged limiting candidates to those aged between 35 and 75, which he said would have "aimed at no potential candidate".

Iranian newspapers had said the draft, prepared by MPs belonging to two conservative groups, proposed a ceiling of 70 years, which would have eliminated Rafsanjani who celebrates his 71st birthday next year when the election is to be held. Last October, Talai-Nik was quoted as saying: "The current law only states that Iranians over the age of 30 can be a candidate, but does not provide an upper age limit. We would like to correct that."

Rafsanjani, seen as a pragmatic conservative, has been openly mulling standing in next June's polls.

He served two terms as president from 1989 to 1997, and is allowed to stand for a third because the law only bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms.

The charismatic cleric at present heads Iran's top political arbitration body, the Expediency Council.

"I would rather someone else enter the presidential race, but if society as well as prominent pundits conclude that I can fulfill this task better, I will announce my readiness," Rafsanjani said last month.""

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: Rafsanjani almost certain for candidacy: Informed source

2004-12-14T08:42:00.000-05:00

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: Rafsanjani almost certain for candidacy: Informed source: "Rafsanjani almost certain for candidacy: Informed source
Rafsanjani almost certain for candidacy: Informed source: "Rafsanjani almost certain for candidacy: Informed source
TEHRAN, Dec. 13 (MNA) – An informed source close to Conservatives said here on Sunday that Hashemi Rafsanjani is 70% certain to run for president at the upcoming presidential elections.
The source, talking on the condition of anonymity, said that Hashemi’s main concern is his poll not the Right or Left parties.

He stated that Mahdi Karrubi, the former Majlis speaker, and Ali Akbar Velayati, the former foreign minister were definitely the strong rivals of Rafsanjani, adding that Rafsanjani has almost made up his mind to run for presidency in the ninth round of presidential election.

According to the source, a secret agreement would be achieved on Hashemi Rafsanjani’s candidacy, because from among other conservative candidates, the Reformists favor Rafsanjani, and also in comparison with other reformist candidates, the Conservatives would prefer Hashemi."
"

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: RFE: Analysis: Iran's Reformers Lack Viable Candidate

2004-12-14T08:41:00.000-05:00

Iran Presidential Campaign 2005: RFE: Analysis: Iran's Reformers Lack Viable Candidate: "Indeed, some reformist leaders reportedly are backing the candidacy of Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who is usually seen as a favorite of the center-right or the "pragmatic conservatives." A 4 December editorial in "Farhang-i Ashti" said that reformists such Mashallah Shamsolvaezin and Sadeq Zibakalam openly support Hashemi-Rafsanjani, and the Mujahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization and the Islamic Iran Participation Party support him implicitly. The editorial ascribed the support for the ex-president to age-cohort divisions within the reformist front, and added that the younger reformists favor Hashemi-Rafsanjani. The "middle-aged reformists" oppose a Hashemi-Rafsanjani candidacy. "

Iraq's future, important for the region: Rafsanjani

2004-12-13T18:53:00.000-05:00

Description of Selected News: "Iraq's future, important for the region: Rafsanjani

TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Monday Iraq and its future is of high importance for the region, the world of Islam and the Iraqi nation.

In his meeting with Syrian Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party Assistant Secretary General Abdullah Al-Ahmar, he underlined the need for regional cooperation to help Iraqi people hold a democratic election scheduled for January 30.

He said that if the Iraqi crisis remained unresolved and the occupiers and foreigners decided the future of the country for the Iraqi people, then the region would face a situation worse than Palestine.

The Syrian official, described the stance his country has adopted towards the major issues in the region namely in Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine, saying the U.S. and the Zionist regime are the source of tension in the region.

As we have witnessed in Iraq and Palestine, the arrogant powers are to damage the cultural identity and plunder the resources of the region, he said.

He noted that the U.S. and Israel are to deprive nations of getting access to technology and development, saying that they impose pressure on Iran and Syria to prevent the two countries from development.

The U.S. is seeking to hold an election to keep its presence in that country, said Al-Ahmar, adding that Israel is also to take the opportunity in Iraq to impose further pressure on the Palestinians.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Al-Ahmar arrived in Tehran last Thursday on his first visit to Iran after the Islamic Revolution."

Russia’s role in global affairs less than expected: Rafsanjani

2004-12-13T13:46:00.000-05:00

"Russia’s role in global affairs less than expected: Rafsanjani
TEHRAN, Dec. 12 (MNA) -- Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here Sunday that the role Russia was playing in global affairs was far less than what was expected of the country in view of its position in the world.
In a meeting with Russian Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov, Rafsanjani touched on bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues.

It seems that the implementation of several Iran-Russia agreements such as the Bushehr nuclear power plant faces further delays, he said, adding that Iran expects the agreements to be implemented more rapidly.

Referring to the two countries' political, economic and commercial potentials including oil and gas resources, Rafsanjani said that the region holds the biggest and most important natural resources.

Unfortunately these vast potentials are not used efficiently while Western countries use any means within their disposal to achieve their desired goals, the EC chairman stated.

Pointing to Russia's performance in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Caucasus, Rafsanjani said that the current situation in Ukraine is alarming.

The U.S., despite its friendly gestures, continues to pursue the objectives of the Cold War and is trying to enter strategic regions under the pretext of fighting terrorism in order to gain access to oil, the Iranian former president commented.

Rafsanjani also noted that Russia has lost many opportunities in Balkans, adding “The U.S. intends to infiltrate the Caspian Sea to gain oil.”

He stressed that Iran-Russia cooperation could prevent many such events and urged the two sides to strengthen their regional cooperation to defend peace, stability and justice in the region.

Tehran expected Moscow to adopt a firmer stance in regard to Iran’s legal right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, Rafsanjani stressed.

He suggested that a proper framework to be established to facilitate a closer relationship between the two countries, noting that this cooperation would have a significant effect in global affairs.

Sergei Mironov, for his part, praised Iran's stances on international issues, saying the two sides have mutual concerns on many issues.

He added that a new timeframe has been set for completion of the Bushehr power plant.

Urging joint use of natural resources, he expressed his country's readiness to bolster regional, oil and gas cooperation with Iran."

Khatami blowup at Rafsanjani in 2003 - Amir Taheri - Benador Associates

2004-12-10T00:17:00.000-05:00

I am cautious of this article because of Amir Taheri's close ties to Likud. But if you keep in mind for whom he writes then it is worth reading. JBOC

"MEANWHILE, IN TEHERAN" BY AMIR TAHERI - Amir Taheri - Benador Associates: ""MEANWHILE, IN TEHERAN" BY AMIR TAHERI
by Amir Taheri
JERUSALEM POST
March 21, 2003
The most dramatic way a mullah can show anger is by throwing his turban on the floor. This is what Iran's President Muhammad Khatami, a junior mullah, did the other day as he stormed out of a meeting of the Expediency Council, the Islamic Republic's highest decision- making organ.

The council, headed by the wily former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, continued the session, signaling the fact that Khatami may have become irrelevant.

According to the official media the cause of the turban-throwing shenanigan was a decision by the Expediency Council to double the budget of the Council of Guardians, a constitutional body through which hard-line mullahs have vetoed Khatami's timid attempts at reform for the past five years.

Our sources, however, insist that the turban-throwing scene was prompted by a heated exchange between Khatami and Rafsajani with regard to Iran's position toward a US-led change of regime in Iraq. The two men had clashed on the subject last month at a session of the High Council of National Defense that failed to produce a common strategy.

Iran's decision-making elite, consisting of some 100 mullahs and their non-clerical proteges, is divided into two camps with regard to Iraq.

One camp, led by former prime minister Mir-Hussein Mussavi, with Khatami as figurehead, could be labelled "accommodationist." Its main argument is that Iran's best interest lies in a partnership with the United States in toppling the Iraqi regime.

Saeed Hajjarian, Khatami's chief strategist, recently explained the accommodationist position in a long article.

"Change in Iraq has become inevitable," he wrote. "And it is clear that we can neither stop nor go against it. We must thus go along with it and seek two things: a guarantee that the next regime in Baghdad will not be hostile to Iran, and a guarantee that we are not [Washington's] next target."

Hajjarian asserts that the time to make a deal with the Americans is now because Washington cannot be sure of how things will turn out in Iraq.

"Once the Americans have won the war and have their man ruling Baghdad, they would have no need of anyone, least of all we in Iran," Hajjarian wrote.

The accommodationist analysis is shared by a majority of the members of the Islamic Majlis, the pseudo-parliament whose members are elected by the people from an official pre-selected list.

Facing the accommodationists is the faction one could call "the confrontationists," led by Rafsanjani. The "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenei, who lashed out against the US in an address to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards on March 11, represents the public face of the faction.

Khamenei's chief foreign policy adviser, former foreign minister Ali-Akbar Velayati, recently spelled out the confrontationist position in a series of speeches, interviews and articles in Iran.

"The American Great Satan will never accept an Islamic system. It is coming to Iraq to complete its encirclement of our Islamic Republic before it moves against us. To help the Americans conquer Iraq easily would be suicidal for our revolution."

Velayati claims that the US has two aims in the Middle East: preventing the destruction of the "Zionist entity" and control of Arab oil.

UNLIKE THE accommodationists who foresee an easy American victory, the confrontationists believe that US involvement in Iraq could become "the beginning of its end."

"Iraq is a swamp," Khamenei said in his address to the guards. "The Great Satan will get caught in that swamp; and that will speed up its inevitable collapse." In a recent article Velayati spelled out a strategy aimed at "confronting the Great Satan in a number of fronts."

Iraq will be one front. Iran has concentrated the so- called Badr Brigade, named after the Prophet Muhammad's first major military victory, along the border with Iraq. The brigade is a 10,000-man force of Iraqi Shi'ite guerrillas. On March 14 some of the men organized a highly publicized parade inside Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iran also has a 6,000-man Kurdish force, known as the Hizbullah of Kurdistan, and positioned astride the border close to Sardasht.

The accommodationist faction supports the so-called Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI) led by Ayatollah Muhammad-Baqer Hakim Tabatabi, who lives in Teheran.

The confrontationists for their part have close ties with two other Shi'ite groups: the Hizb al-Daawah (Party of the Call) and the Islamic Labor Party, both of which have headquarters in Damascus.

Another front, according to Velayati, will be Afghanistan, where Iran has forged close ties with Ismail Khan, the "Emir" of Herat, and is arming the Hazara Shi'ites in Bamiyan and Maydan-Shahr. Still another front could be Azerbaijan, where Iran has won influence in the Talesh region on the Caspian Sea.

Ironically, Iran's allies in Azerbaijan are Sunni Muslims opposed to the Shi'ite majority whose leaders have opted for a pro-American foreign policy complimented by close ties with Turkey. Iran also has considerable influence in Armenia, where, in tandem with Russia, it helped Armenian forces capture the Azerbaijani enclave of High Karabagh a decade ago.

Velayati insists that Iran should avoid direct confrontation with the US. He recommends "the lighting of countless small fires here and there" designed to stretch US forces and, in time, persuade American public opinion that Pax Americana in the Middle East is not worth the price.

The major front Velayati envisages will be opened against Israel. Iran is speeding up military supplies to the Lebanese branch of Hizbullah.

According to Teheran sources the Lebanese Hizbullah is already in possession of over 10,000 rockets of various descriptions. These include Fajr III and Fajr IV, upgrades of the Soviet-designed Katyusha, with improved ranges of between 50 and 70 km. Although fairly unsophisticated weapons - the rockets lack a proper guiding system - they could, nevertheless, wreak havoc if used in large numbers in a compact and densely populated area.

To prepare for the reactivation of the anti-Zionist front Teheran played host last month to a large delegation of Palestinians from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Rafsanjani told his guests of "new opportunities for the destruction of the Zionist entity." He claimed that a combination of "massive and repeated martyrdom operations" could create "a new situation" if combined with the opening of a "second front" in Lebanon.

THE ACCOMMODATIONISTS reject such strategies as dangerous. "The overthrow of Saddam Hussein would be good news for everyone, the Iraqis, the Iranians and the entire Muslim world," says Ali- Muhammad Abtahi, an assistant to Khatami for parliamentary affairs.

"The end of Saddam must be the start of a period of peace and understanding in the region, not of new adventures."

The fight between the accommodationists and the confrontationists has split Shi'ite religious opinion with regard to Iraq.

Most senior Iraqi and Iranian ayatollahs have issued fatwas approving an alliance with "the Americans infidel" to get rid of Saddam. These include Grand Ayatollah Ali- Muhammad Sistani (in Najaf, Iraq) and Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammad Shirazi (in Qom, Iran).

Mullahs linked with the confrontationist faction, however, have issued fatwas urging alliance with "the infidel Saddam and his Ba'athists" against the US. Among these mullahs are Muhammad- Hussein Fadhlallah, spiritual leader of the Lebanese branch of the Hizbullah, and Taqi Muddaressi, a Syrian-backed Iraqi mullah.

Hassan Rouhani, a junior mullah who is secretary- general of the High Council of National Defense, says that Iran should be prepared for "preemptive action" to forestall US attempts at using force against the Islamic Republic.

"The Americans will not dare think of a full-scale military invasion of Iran," he says. "But they will certainly use soft war and low intensity tactics to topple our regime. We must, therefore, be ready to take preemptive action. The most effective way is to open new political and military fronts against Israel."

For the time being then, the confrontation camp seems to be in the ascendant. It is not only gathering wood for the "many fires" envisaged by Velayati, it is also speeding up Iran's nuclear program in the hope of having an "effective deterrent" within two years, the period needed before things become clear in Iraq.

Copyright 2003 Amir Taheri"

Nuclear Iran Watch: Rafsanjani, warned the Europeans

2004-12-08T14:08:00.000-05:00

Nuclear Iran Watch: "Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, however, warned the Europeans to honor their commitments towards Iran or see the agreement go down the gutter.

"We hope the Europeans will deliver on their commitments; otherwise it is likely that the results (of the agreement) will be spoilt," the official, who has not ruled out standing in the next presidential race, told Spain's new ambassador to Tehran in a meeting.

Rafsanjani, the chairman of the arbitrative Expediency Council, described Iran's agreement to suspend uranium enrichment as a 'very hard' decision for the establishment.

"Despite this, the establishment accepted this in order to give confidence-building a chance.

"Given Iran's very serious and appropriate cooperation, the (International Atomic Energy) Agency and the European Union, must now have become convinced that Iran has no nuclear military intentions," he added.

On Friday, Rafsanjani said that Iran would resume enriching uranium after a maximum of six months, reaffirming Tehran's position that Tehran's freeze on nuclear fuel cycle work is only temporary.

"The Islamic Republic has agreed to suspend enrichment activities for a maximum six-month period to assure the IAEA that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful," he said.

Asked to comment on the remarks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Asefi said that Mr. Rafsanjani mentioned the six months only as an 'example'"
"

Suspense, intrigue as Iran's Rafsanjani mulls presidential comeback

2004-12-07T08:59:00.000-05:00

News: "Suspense, intrigue as Iran's Rafsanjani mulls presidential comeback
12-07-2004, 12h37

Behrouz Mehri - (AFP/File)
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's reformists look to be out of the running for next year's presidential election, but an element of suspense and political intrigue is still there thanks to the possibility of a comeback by former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Seen as a pragmatic conservative, the charismatic top cleric has managed to inject some excitement into a race that would otherwise be written off as a shoo-in for hardliners in the process of tightening their grip on power.

Rafsanjani has yet to formally declare his candidacy in the polls -- expected to be held in May 2005 -- but he has been firing off clear signals that he wants his old job as regime number-two back.

"I would rather someone else enter the presidential race, but if society as well as prominent pundits conclude that I can fulfill this task better, I will announce my readiness," Rafsanjani said in September in what has been taken as a clear declaration of intent.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is now seen as a lame-duck leader -- his reformist allies having been weeded out by more powerful hardliners and his own powers increasingly limited.

Khatami is nearing the end of his second consecutive and therefore final term. The Iranian constitution only bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms, meaning that Rafsanjani -- president for two terms from 1989-97 -- can in theory stand again.

The reformist camp's hoped-for candidate, former prime minister Mir Hossein Moussavi, has shunned calls to stand.

Another possible reformist candidate who has yet to declare, former parliament speaker Mehdi Karoubi, may also have a hard time convincing disappointed Khatami supporters that he can wield more clout.

This, analysts say, has created an ironic situation where Rafsanjani could become the focus of reformist efforts to stem a total hardline takeover, while at the same time holding the support of centrists and traditional conservatives.

A little over four years ago, the reformists -- then on an upward swing and oozing confidence -- launched their own bitter campaign against Rafsanjani that pushed him towards the conservative camp.

But Rafsanjani, 70, is seen as representing a power centre apart from the reformers and their hardline opponents. Recent informal opinion polls have shown him to be a leading contender should he chose to stand.

He is conservative yet progressive on some issues -- hostile to the rapid pace of social reform that Khatami had been pushing for, but a leading force behind economic liberalisation.

At the same time he can still assert his revolutionary credentials and rally the faithful with colourful tirades against arch-enemy the United States. Describing US President George W. Bush as a "bird-brained dinosaur" was particularly memorable.

But even his firebrand statements bely a record as a politician who has favoured rapprochement with the West on Iran's own terms. Such an image has seen him emerge as a favorite among many reformists and conservatives alike.

Presidential candidates are subject to appoval by the Guardians Council, an unelected body controlled by hardliners that vets all legislation and those seeking to be parliament deputies and president.

It was the council which blacklisted nearly all of the reformist's candidates ahead of the February parliamentary elections, leaving a coalition of conservatives and hardliners cruising to an easy win.

It is seen as impossible for the body to reject Rafsanjani -- given his heavyweight credentials and position as head of the Expediency Council, Iran's top political arbitration body -- although other tactics aimed at nudging him out cannot be ruled out.

Rafsanjani is the subject of plenty of gossip over his alleged wealth. He is rumoured to control assets ranging from hotels to automobile factories, grocery stores to pistachio plantations.

He recently denied this, but observers say this image could work for and against him -- being a successful businessman is a vote winner among voters eager to see a president with a bread-and-butter focus, but it could also draw a smear campaign centered on corruption allegations.

The suspense over Rafsanjani's intentions is likely to be maintained up until the very last minute, political analysts say, given that he may not wish to plunge himself into a lengthy campaign prematurely.

And much depends on who else is standing: someone of Rafsanjani's stature will certainly not wish to risk a defeat at the polls, and even if he chooses not to stand he will still be safe in the Expediency Council.

Possible contenders include the former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and already widely seen by the local press as the regime's choice.

Another possible regime choice is the former longtime boss of Iran's state broadcast media, Ali Larijani, who now represents Khamenei on Iran's top security body."

The Globe and Mail: Iran may not allow IAEA to inspect military sites

2004-12-06T08:39:00.000-05:00

The Globe and Mail: Iran may not allow IAEA to inspect military sites: "Iran may not allow IAEA to inspect military sites

By HIEDEH FARMANI
Agence France-Presse
Monday, December 6, 2004 - Page A10
TEHRAN -- Iran said yesterday it is not obliged to allow United Nations atomic-energy agency inspectors to visit military sites alleged to be involved in secret nuclear-weapons work, but that it is willing to discuss the issue.

"It is not a matter of unlimited commitments and unlimited inspections," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said when asked whether International Atomic Energy Agency teams will be able to probe two suspect military facilities.

"We will act in accordance with the NPT [nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty], our duties and responsibilities," Mr. Asefi added.

The IAEA has a mandate under the NPT to verify that all nuclear material in a country is declared and is not being diverted for nuclear-weapons purposes, as the United States says is the case in Iran.

But under the NPT and even its additional protocol, also signed by Iran, the agency has limited inspection powers.

The Vienna-based watchdog has asked Iran whether it can visit the Parchin military base east of Tehran, where U.S. officials have said the Iranians may be testing "high-explosive shaped charges with an inert core of depleted uranium" as a dry test for how a bomb with fissile material would work.

IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei said in an interview that he has "every reason to expect that Iran will allow" inspectors at the site.

But Mr. Asefi said Iran has not been officially asked by the agency whether it can inspect Parchin, although he did add that "we are ready to co-operate within the framework of our commitments with the IAEA."

The agency is also researching another site in Tehran, Lavizan II, which the exiled Iranian opposition has alleged is a site involved in the secret enriching of uranium.

Iran insists its nuclear program is solely directed at generating electricity, and fiercely denies allegations it is seeking weapons.

The country escaped possible UN sanctions last week after agreeing to a deal with Britain, France and Germany to suspend its controversial fuel-cycle work in exchange for a package of incentives.

"A temporary suspension means a short while, not a long time," Mr. Asefi said of the suspension.

However, he said comments Friday by powerful former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani that the freeze will not last more than six months should not be seen as a firm time frame. Mr. Asefi said Mr. Rafsanjani only mentioned six months as an "example."

An IAEA board of governors resolution on Iran last week failed to give the agency the "unrestricted access" in the Islamic republic that nations like the United States say is needed if the agency is to resolve the Iranian nuclear question.

The IAEA goes beyond NPT accords in what it calls "transparency visits," when it asks Iran as a confidence-building measure to allow it to inspect sites, even if the agency does not have a suspicion of nuclear material at these places, Mr. ElBaradei said."

Iran's Powerful Mullah Lectures Venezuela President - Persian Journal Latest Iran news & Iranian Article News paper

2004-11-29T16:29:00.000-05:00

Iran's Powerful Mullah Lectures Venezuela President - Persian Journal Latest Iran news & Iranian Article News paper: "Iran's Powerful Mullah Lectures Venezuela President
Nov 29, 2004, 14:15

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez conferred here Monday with mullah Rafsanjani on expansion of mutual ties as well as regional developments.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Expediency Council, at the meeting mullah referred to the recent success of the Venezuelan people vis-a-vis the U.S. interventionist policy and said any successful and durable political and social move requires public support.

In case governments pursue the public interests, the arrogant powers will not be able to threat them, mullah said.

Venezuela should pay due attention to social, economic and political issues to resolve its domestic problems, mullah Rafsanjani said adding that meeting social needs, proper distribution of facilities, wealth and construction could bring hope for any nation."

Mahan Abedin launches attach on Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

2004-11-23T08:26:00.000-05:00

Likudnik Fantasies: Vile and Shameful Slander by Mahan Abedin:

Mahan Abedin has launched an attempt to thwart the will of the people by spreading vile and shameful charges. Abedin is so proficient at mud-slinging that if he was here in the United States he would be welcome in President Bush's campaign.

"The Rafsanjani years could not be more different from the Moussavi era. Given the ludicrously pompous title of "commander of construction" by his supporters, Rafsanjani presided over the deconstruction of all the economic and social gains of the previous decade. Within a few years his government had incurred foreign debts exceeding US$30 billion. The efficiency of the Iranian civil service - ranking as the most noteworthy achievement of Moussavi - was relentlessly rolled back as cronyism, incompetence and rampant corruption gradually displaced meritocracy, efficiency and transparency.

Celebrated in the West as a modernist and a pragmatist, Rafsanjani in fact orchestrated the rise to power of the conservative coalition. Misrepresented in the West as defenders of Iranian and Islamic tradition, the conservatives are in fact distinguished by the colossal commercial interests of their influential constituents. The conservative coalition that is relentlessly trying to secure all bastions of power in the country today is chiefly made up of shadowy organizations such as Habibollah Asgar-Owladi's "Islamic Coalition Party", secretive clerics who pull strings from the shadows and ambitious offspring of leading clerics who have forged strong commercial links with rich and influential Iranian exiles in the cosmopolitan cities of Paris, London, Washington and Los Angeles.

Rafsanjani's single-minded pursuit of consolidating his own power led him to strike Faustian deals with widely different constituencies. His courting of shadowy politicized clerics enabled these wily old men to not only broaden their political influence but also gain a foothold in the impenetrable sanctums of the Islamic Republic's powerful intelligence community. This had disastrous consequences, as evidenced by the serial murders of leading dissidents, journalists and artists. Rather bizarrely, Rafsanjani courted elements of the previous regime at the same time. Functionaries in the civil service back in the 1970s were invited back to the country as "consultants" to ministers. One such candidate - known for his strong links to the deposed Shah's family - was made a senior manager in the country's main tourist organization before he was literally forced out of his office by families who had lost relatives during the Iranian revolution.
"

Description of Selected News

2004-11-16T19:47:00.000-05:00

Description of Selected News: "Healthy general elections essential to maintain security in Iraq: Rafsanjani

Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN (MNA) –- Expediency Council chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani met with Iraq’s new ambassador to Iran Mohammad Majid Al Sheikh here Tuesday.

Expressing concern over the continued violence, brutality and intimidation against the innocent and Muslim people of Iraq since the former Baath regime until the present, Rafsanjani stressed that the Iraqi officials should get help from the people to establish security in Iraq.

He added that the increasing bloodshed and massacre of civilians in Iraq by occupying forces harms the Iraqi public opinion, an issue which will be irreparable for the country’s government in the long run.

The EC chairman further expressed Iran’s readiness for an overall participation in the reconstruction of Iraq and stressed the serious will and determination of Iranian officials to expand bilateral ties with Iraq based on neighborliness and mutual respect.

The Islamic Republic believes that holding a healthy, transparent and general election in Iraq is the most important and essential step required for maintaining stability and security in Iraq, Rafsanjani said.

He added that elections in Iraq would give legitimacy to the Iraqi government and official institutions, which will consequently lessen the range of violence and oppositions in the country.

There’s a difficult path ahead from despotism to freedom and if all of Iraq’s groups and forces fail to unite and remain content with their rights, the way could be paved for another dictatorship, the EC chairman mentioned.

Emphasizing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq, Rafsanjani stressed that occupying forces should withdraw from the country for this purpose.

Majid Al Sheikh on his part described the latest developments in Iraq saying the most important concern of the Iraqi people is the efforts made by former Baathist members and extremist groups in disrupting the country’s situation and infiltrating internal organizations.

The Iraqi ambassador lauded Iran’s principled stances and called on all Islamic states particularly neighboring countries to help the Iraqis pass through this difficult stage.

Stressing the necessity for unity among various ethnical, religious and political groups in Iraq, Majid Al Sheikh said that the religious leadership has an important role in resolving the country’s problems."

Rafsanjani seeks to lead Iran again - (United Press International)

2004-11-16T12:26:00.000-05:00

Rafsanjani seeks to lead Iran again - (United Press International): "Rafsanjani seeks to lead Iran again

Tehran, Iran, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is positioning himself to run again in May's elections, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Rafsanjani would not speak with the newspaper, but his brother said initial polls strongly favored the former president.

"In the last poll, he had about 60 percent -- with a big gap between him and the next, who had 10 or 11 percent," he said.

An ayatollah who advocates free markets, Rafsanjani was the face of moderation in Iran. He persuaded the leader of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to end the war with Iraq in 1988. In the 1990s, he oversaw the period after the war and Khomeini's death, when he opened up the rigid country.

Rafsanjani was succeeded by a new bloc of reformers led by President Mohammad Khatami, whose landslide victory in 1997 transformed Iranian politics. If Rafsanjani decides to run, he would be considered a conservative candidate, the newspaper said."

Lion of Iranian Politics May Return for Run at Presidency (washingtonpost.com) Pg. 2

2004-11-16T08:11:00.000-05:00

Lion of Iranian Politics May Return for Run at Presidency (washingtonpost.com): "Lion of Iranian Politics May Return for Run at Presidency

Reza Khatami, the president's younger brother and a former member of parliament, is widely viewed as the strongest reformist candidate. But the public is deeply disillusioned with the reformers' failure to enact democratic changes, analysts say.

Plus, the Guardian Council disqualified Reza Khatami -- as well as more than 80 other reformist incumbents -- from running for parliament again in February elections, a move that diminishes the odds of winning approval to run for the presidency, analysts say.

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani served as parliament speaker in the 1980s and as president from 1989 to 1997.

"The conservatives can win, but only by disqualifying all rivals. If they can, they will try to accept only people nobody knows," said Mohsen Mirdamadi, a former member of parliament and one of those disqualified from running.

A former parliamentary speaker, Mehdi Karrubi, and a former education minister, Mustafa Moin, are considered likely reformist candidates, politicians say.

Among conservatives, the other contenders so far are: Ali Akbar Velayati, a former foreign minister; Ali Larijani, a former state broadcasting chief; Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the mayor of Tehran; Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, the speaker of parliament; Ahmad Tavakoli, a parliamentarian; and Mohsen Rezaie, a former Revolutionary Guards commander.

The most strident conservatives, who this year won the most seats in parliament, appear to prefer candidates other than Rafsanjani. "We believe the Expediency Council is a very suitable place for him," said Hossein Shariatmadari, a leading conservative thinker and editor of the Kayhan newspaper.

Rafsanjani's biggest obstacle may be his record. "I haven't met anyone who says anything good about him," a Western diplomat who monitors Iranian politics said on condition of anonymity.

Rafsanjani's brother, Hashemi, said initial polls strongly favored the former president. "In the last poll, he had about 60 percent -- with a big gap between him and the next, who had 10 or 11 percent," he said.

Iran, however, is traditionally fickle about its politicians. On the eve of the reformers' victory eight years ago, the conservative candidate was expected sweep to victory.

"Sometimes the polls are wrong," Hashemi conceded. "It's doesn't happen only in the U.S.""

Lion of Iranian Politics May Return for Run at Presidency (washingtonpost.com)

2004-11-16T07:34:00.000-05:00

Lion of Iranian Politics May Return for Run at Presidency (washingtonpost.com): "Lion of Iranian Politics May Return for Run at Presidency

By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Page A19

TEHRAN -- Famed for his political cunning and Cheshire cat grin, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is on the verge of a political comeback.

Rafsanjani, who dominated Iranian politics for 16 years and tried to improve relations with the United States through a secret arms deal and a lucrative oil development offer, is now the leading candidate to become Iran's next president, according to Iranian politicians and analysts.

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani served as parliament speaker in the 1980s and as president from 1989 to 1997.

The election is not until May 13, but the backroom intrigue at the core of Iranian politics has already begun to shape the race as the two main political blocs struggle to settle on candidates. Odds that Rafsanjani, who served two terms as president, will run again are now at "more than 50 percent," Mohammed Hashemi, his brother, said in an interview.

The main question is, can Rafsanjani win? Iran's political environment has changed dramatically since he served as speaker of parliament in the 1980s and as president from 1989 to 1997.

An ayatollah who advocates free markets, Rafsanjani was once the face of moderation in Iran. He persuaded the leader of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to end the war with Iraq in 1988. In the 1990s, he oversaw the period after the war and Khomeini's abrupt death, when he opened up the rigid country. Along with privatization, his government revived the shah's stock market. Beethoven and Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" were performed in Tehran theaters. And women began to wear nail polish in public and even show a bit of hair from under their scarves.

Rafsanjani tempered the policy to avoid "Westoxication" -- or poisoning from the West -- by improving ties with Europe and making overtures to the United States. As speaker, he orchestrated the secret arms-for-hostages deal with the Reagan administration. During the Clinton years, he offered Conoco the biggest joint oil development venture in Iranian history; the deal was aborted when the United States slapped new sanctions on Iranian oil dealings with U.S. companies.

But Rafsanjani was succeeded by a new bloc of reformers led by President Mohammad Khatami, a dark horse whose landslide victory in 1997 transformed Iranian politics. If Rafsanjani decides to run, he would be considered a conservative candidate.

"Politics in Iran are always evolving," said Hadi Semati, a Tehran University political scientist now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

Another run for the presidency by Rafsanjani would be a monumental resurrection, one that Iranian analysts compare to Richard Nixon's comeback after he lost bids for the presidency and the California governorship. His supporters floated the idea in 1997 of amending the constitutional limit of two terms so he could run again, but the idea was shot down by a public that felt betrayed by his failure to rebuild Iran's economy and by corruption linked to his government and family, analysts say. Backers say he could run again because the constitution limits three consecutive terms -- not a third term.

Rafsanjani tried a comeback in 2000 parliamentary elections but failed to win enough votes for any of the 30 seats from Tehran. Only when Iran's supreme leader ordered a recount did he place 29th, but the manipulation was so transparent that he declined the seat.

Rafsanjani, who declined an interview request, has not been totally sidelined. After the presidency, he headed the Expediency Council, a body that weighs in during deadlocks between parliament and the Guardian Council, the clerical panel that can veto legislation as well as disqualify candidates for public office. Despite the lofty title, the job is not on the political frontline.

Iranian politicians and analysts say Rafsanjani, 70, is fixated on rebuilding his legacy.

"He has an historic paradigm in mind: Prime Minister Amir Kabir from the Qajar dynasty, who modernized Iran and has a very positive place in Iranian history," said Amir Mohebian, political editor of the conservative Resalat newspaper, referring to a 19th-century figure. "That's why he came to politics. As president, he declared a program promising his reconstruction program would provide progress. But after he left the presidency, both left and right saw that little happened. So he needs to come back to politics to save this program, to restore his place in history."

Rafsanjani faces little competition, so far, from reformers. A dramatic shift in the balance of power over the past 18 months has brought conservatives to power in parliament and on Tehran's influential city council."

Iranians Mourn Arafat on Al-Quds Day

2004-11-14T16:56:00.000-05:00

Iranians Mourn Arafat on Al-Quds Day: "Iranians Mourn Arafat on Al-Quds Day

Amir Paivar

Reuters, Arab News

TEHRAN, 13 November 2004 — Tens of thousands of Iranians, some dressed as suicide-bombers, flooded the streets of Tehran yesterday, burning US and Israeli flags to mark annual anti-Israel day and mourn Yasser Arafat.

Demonstrators shouted “Death to America, Death to Israel” at the state-sponsored rally attended by most of Iran’s senior officials, including President Mohammad Khatami.

“Because they couldn’t control Arafat, they (Israel) poisoned him to death,” Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the crowd.

In Bahrain, tens of thousands marched in the capital Manama in a similar demonstration called by Shi'i clerics.

Arafat died in a French hospital on Thursday after falling into a coma. Officials from the Islamic group Hamas say he was poisoned by Israel — a theory which his private doctor did not rule out despite being discounted by the Palestinian foreign minister.

The Palestinian leader was the first major figure to visit and recognize the Islamic Republic of Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini.

Khomeini rewarded Arafat by handing over the Israeli Embassy in Tehran to the Palestinians and designating the last Friday of Ramadan “Jerusalem Day” when anti-Israeli rallies are held throughout the country.

A picture of Arafat’s meeting with Khomeini hung below a Palestinian flag at half-mast at the embassy building yesterday.

Many demonstrators carried banners accusing Israel of being behind a number of grand conspiracies.

“Do you know man’s trip to moon by Americans is a sheer lie fabricated by Zionists to humiliate other nations?” read one banner.

Support for the Palestinian cause is a central pillar of Iran which officially refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Tehran denies accusations it trains and arms Palestinian resistance groups and has softened its stance in recent years, saying it would not prevent a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict if that is what Palestinian people want.

Influential former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani denied that Iran was anti-Semitic.

“Israel is a fake state ... we don’t support anti-Semitism, we support the fight against Zionism,” Rafsanjani told worshippers at Friday Prayers in Tehran.

Iran’s top dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri said the solution to the Middle East conflict lay in negotiations.

“The great Palestinian nation should resolve the conflict through dialogue and negotiation, while preserving its unity,” Montazeri said in a statement."

Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World

2004-11-13T19:31:00.000-05:00

Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World: "Iranian official proposes one-state solution
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Advertisement

A former Iranian president put forward his own solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute on Friday: Israel and the Palestinian territories should unite under one government, which would be elected by all Jewish and Arab residents, as well as the Palestinian refugees in neighboring states.

The proposal by Hashemi Rafsanjani marked an evolution as Iranian policy-makers have long insisted that Jewish immigrants to Israel had no right to live there.

The Iranian government has never recognized Israel nor approved of its interim peace accords with the Palestinians. It has called for the destruction of Israel, saying that is the only way to resolve the Middle East conflict.

"Let's organize free elections in Palestine under the auspices of Islamic countries and the United Nations," Rafsanjani told tens of thousands of worshippers at his Friday prayers sermon in Tehran. "Let the Jews brought (to Palestine) be there, and also Palestinian refugees ... all Palestinians."

"Let them all participate in elections, and choose their government democratically, which would be acceptable to the whole world.

"Let Jews, Christians and Muslims live together. The United Nations, world powers and Muslims would guarantee the security of this government," he said.

Rafsanjani said Israel's supporters, including the United States, fear that Jews would lose such an election because Palestinians would be in the majority, but his proposal would allow recent Jewish immigrants to Israel to vote.

"This will be a retreat (from our past policy), but a retreat to avoid so many crimes," he said, referring to the current violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Rafsanjani, who was president in 1989-97, chairs the Expediency Council, a powerful body that arbitrates between the parliament and another council that vets legislation.

Before the sermon, Rafsanjani took part in a rally to mark Jerusalem Day, where he said Thursday's death of Palestinian leader Yasser Aright was a loss to the Palestinian nation, but also an opportunity.

"Definitely, the death of Arafat will create new conditions in Palestine, and Palestinian leaders should not allow discord among themselves," Rafsanjani told the rally.

Iranians commemorate Jerusalem Day on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as a protest against Israel's occupation of east Jerusalem. The Al-Aksa mosque in east Jerusalem is the third holiest shrine in Islam, after those in the Saudi cities of Mecca and Medina."

Description of Selected News

2004-11-13T13:53:00.000-05:00

Description of Selected News: "Nuclear talks will succeed if Europeans act wisely: Rafsanjani

TEHRAN (MNA) -- Iran and the European Union trio will reach an agreement on nuclear talks if the Europeans behave wisely and don’t make extreme demands, Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Friday.

“If the Europeans show wisdom and don’t make extreme demands, we can reach an agreement because the solution is open to us,” Rafsanjani told thousands of worshippers at Friday prayers.

Iran’s legitimate right to use nuclear energy meant for civilian purposes cannot be ignored, he added.

Nuclear talks are currently underway between Iranian negotiators and the ambassadors of Germany, France, and Britain in Tehran.

The global arrogance will finally give in to the Iranian nation’s determination to use nuclear energy for civilian purposes, the former president asserted.

Rafsanjani said most of the countries in the world are seriously concerned about the attempt by the big powers to deprive other nations of their accepted and legitimate right to civilian nuclear technology."

Rafsanjani says way open for Europeans to come to an agreement with Iran on nuke issue

2004-11-12T20:59:00.000-05:00

Rafsanjani says way open for Europeans to come to an agreement with Iran on nuke issue: "Rafsanjani says way open for Europeans to come to an agreement with Iran on nuke issue
Tehran, Nov 12, IRNA -- Tehran's substitute Friday Prayer leader Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stressed that the way is open for the European Union to reach an agreement with Iran on the nuclear issue if its representatives act more rationally and stop being too demanding.

He made the remark during his second sermon in today's Friday Prayers which was attended by tens of thousands of people who had earlier participated in rallies marking International Qods Day.

He expressed delight over the fact that talks on the Iran nuclear issue were proceeding forward step by step, making Iran only one or two steps away from its desired result.

Criticizing the big powers for trying to deny smaller states the right to exploit scientific findings and results of research work to advance their interests, he said these powers will ultimately bow down to the demands of these smaller states.

Rafsanjani advised big powers to be realistic about the issue and make sensible decisions before it is too late to prevent other nations, who are determined to pay whatever its costs, from achieving scientific progress.

Criticizing the highly polarized political situation inside the country, the substitute Firday Prayer leader said the clash in ideas and attitudes was a growing concern of the country. He exprssed the hope such incidents as that which occurred in Elm-o San'at University would never be repeated.

Turning to the Iraqi issue, he said that the actions of US forces in Fallujah and Mosul prove the depth of their hatred and the extent to which they are willing to go to achieve their objectives in Iraq.

The crimes America is committing in Iraq are the necessary outcome of their objectives in coming to Iraq, he added.

Rafsanjani took the opportunity to congratulate the Muslim ummah on the auspicious Eid ul-Fitr, which marks end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan."

Reuters AlertNet - Iran close to nuclear agreement with EU-Rafsanjani

2004-11-12T09:19:00.000-05:00

Reuters AlertNet - Iran close to nuclear agreement with EU-Rafsanjani: "Iran close to nuclear agreement with EU-Rafsanjani
12 Nov 2004 09:49:37 GMT

Source: Reuters

TEHRAN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Iran is close to sealing a deal with the EU under which Tehran would freeze sensitive nuclear work in return for avoiding referral to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, a top Iranian official said on Friday.

"Fortunately the negotiations are going forward step by step, yet they are still a couple of steps away from what we want," former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who remains an influential official in the Islamic state, told Friday Prayer worshippers in Tehran.

"If the Europeans are fair, I think the door is open for a solution and we can reach an agreement," he added in comments broadcast live on state radio."

EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Iran Prepares For What Could Be Bruising Presidential Election

2004-11-11T16:20:00.000-05:00

EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Iran Prepares For What Could Be Bruising Presidential Election: "IRAN PREPARES FOR WHAT COULD BE BRUISING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Kamal Nazer Yasin 11/11/04

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Iran is gearing up for what could be, given the existing tension in the Persian Gulf region, the most important presidential election in the Islamic republic’s history. Ascendant conservative forces will be looking to cement their stranglehold on the country’s political institutions. However, the conservatives are far from united, raising the odds that the election campaign will be bruising.

At present, Mohammad Khatami, a reformist, is concluding his second, four-year presidential term. Political analysts in Tehran give reformists, who have been routed by a determined conservative political offensive, virtually no chance of holding on to the presidency. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Thus, the early phase of the presidential campaign, a period when conservative hopefuls are battling to raise their profiles, is attracting considerable domestic attention.

The conservative movement in Iran is not monolithic, as it encompasses an assortment of interest groups. Conservatives can be broken down into two broad categories – traditionalists, including a significant portion of the clerical establishment, and neo-conservatives, who tend to be younger and newer participants in the political process. In addition, the neo-cons appear willing to embrace radical methods in pursuit of their conservative vision.

Traditionalists have wielded their influence through three organizations – the Association of Combatant Clergy, the Association of Theological Teachers and the Islamic Coalition Society. Up until very recently, they have enjoyed the support of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

The neo-cons shot to the forefront of the conservative movement following the February parliamentary elections. The neo-con parliamentary faction has acted aggressively in trying to seize control of the country’s legislative agenda. Neo-cons tend to have strong ties with Iran’s security establishment, in particular the Revolutionary Guards, which has seen a marked rise in its power and status lately.

In recent months, the names of four potential conservative candidates have circulated in Tehran: the capital’s mayor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; former Foreign Minister Aliakbar Velayati; the former state television and radio chief Ali Larijani; and Ahmad Tavakoli, an influential member of parliament.

Velayati and Larijani, both old-guard conservatives, are supported by the traditionalist faction. Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad and Tavakoli have broad neo-conservative backing. Analysts expect intense infighting to occur in the coming weeks, as the four hopefuls seek to become the conservative movement’s standard bearer. Technically, more than one conservative candidate could stand in the presidential election, but observers say that such a development would dilute their electoral chances.

Conservatives already control Iran’s judiciary and parliament, as well as the country’s un-elected religious institutions, such as the Guardian Council. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Capturing the presidency would thus leave conservatives without any checks on their authority. The campaign and election, scheduled for May 2005, comes at a time when Tehran is contending with geopolitical issues – namely the Iraq insurgency and Iran’s nuclear program – that have vital national security implications. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The Islamic republic’s survival could be determined by how the next president handles the international challenges.

While the reformists may be in disarray, a conservative triumph in the presidential election is not a foregone conclusion. That is because former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a wily and unaligned political operator, has yet to formally announce whether or not he will be a presidential candidate. If Rafsanjani runs, many analysts believe he would be a strong presidential contender. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Rafsanjani is viewed by both conservatives and reformists as the consummate political pragmatist, willing to abandon policy for the sake of expediency. Accordingly, conservatives, regardless of factional affiliation, now consider Rafsanjani as a major political threat, and are making a concerted effort to discourage him from running.

Observers believe that a Rafsanjani candidacy might attract the support of a significant segment of reformists, who would be willing to set-aside lingering animosity for the former president in order to blunt the conservatives drive for total authority. Conservative-dominated media outlets have published commentaries aimed at reminding reformists that Rafsanjani, during his tenure as president, pursued policies that were antagonistic to reformist causes.

Conservatives have also sought to sully Rafsanjani’s reputation with a media campaign examining allegations of financial irregularities involving his family. Some Tehran analysts believe the personal attacks on Rafsanjani may succeed in crushing his potential candidacy.

At the same time, observers believe that chances are high for an unexpected turn of events. According to some reports, traditionalists may have a hard time reaching agreement with the neo-cons on a unified candidate. Many traditionalists are said to resent neo-cons for trying to elbow members of the old guard aside in the months since the parliamentary vote. Some traditionalist leaders are said to have issued private warnings that if their preferred choice, Velayati, does not receive broad conservative backing, then they may throw their support behind Rafsanjani, instead of endorsing a neo-con-selected candidate.

According to some whispers coming out of the neo-conservative camp, Rafsanjani’s potential candidacy is prompting a reevaluation of the campaign strategy. There is now talk of neo-cons shifting their allegiances away from Ahmadinejad and Tavakoli, and coalescing around Gholem-Ali Hadad-Adel, the parliament speaker and a relative of Ayatollah Khamenei.

Traditionalists and neo-cons are clearly preparing for a vigorous battle to determine the conservative candidate. Traditionalists, for example, are revitalizing an element of their electoral machine, known as the Coordinating Forces of the Followers of the Imam and the Leadership. Proponents of the neo-con agenda, meanwhile, are stoking a media campaign to push the old guard aside. A recent declaration, issued by seven student groups associated with the neo-con-oriented Basij militia, said "the first generation [of Islamic revolutionaries] should leave the way open for second- and third-generation leaders and militants to blaze the trail."

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, may end up determining the outcome of the traditionalist-neo-con political struggle. Ayatollah Khamenei is believed to oppose a Rafsanjani candidacy, although he has made no statement on the subject. The Supreme Leader has likewise not expressed a preference for any particular conservative candidate. His chief of staff has merely indicated recently that the conservatives would be best served by settling on a single candidate.

Editor’s Note: Kamal Nazer Yasin is a pseudonym for a freelance journalist specializing in Iranian affairs."

:: Xinhuanet - English ::Rafsanjani voices sorrow and regret over Arafat's death

2004-11-11T14:23:00.000-05:00

:: Xinhuanet - English ::: "Iran extends condolences over demise of Arafat

www.chinaview.cn 2004-11-12 00:25:04

TEHRAN, Nov. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran on Thursday paid a rare tributeto Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on his death, hailing hisprominent role in defending Palestinians' legitimate rights andcalling on successive Palestinian leaders to continue the struggle.

"Doubtlessly, his eminent role over near half a century is notconcealed to any fair-minded and honest person. His name is nowtied to Palestine," the Iranian government said in a statement.

Expressing "great sadness" over Arafat's death, the statementsaid Arafat's demise ushered in "a new chapter in the legitimatestruggle of the oppressed Palestinian people."

The statement also urged the "young Palestinian leaders touphold this grave responsibility."

"The lofty aspirations of a nation as well as its identity donot die with the demise of its leaders. Rather, their deaths ormartyrdom enormously help consolidate those ideals," it added.

The statement also called for "a total end of the occupation ofthe Palestinian territories, the return of refugees and thecreation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."

"The experience has shown that Israel, which only understandsthe language of force and violence, is incapable of confronting theintifada (uprising) and the anger of Palestinians," it added.

Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi termed thedemise of Arafat as a "sad and moving event".

"The Islamic Republic of Iran offers condolences to theoppressed Palestinian people over the loss of Yasser Arafat andshares this tragedy with them," Asefi said.

"Yasser Arafat spent many years, especially his youth, in theway of defending the ideals of the Palestinian nation and fightingthe occupying Zionist regime," Asefi added.

Asefi said what was important for the Palestinians was to stayunited and understand the sensitivity of the situation to "confrontthe plots of the Zionist regime, which wants to take as muchadvantage as it can from Arafat's death."

Iran's former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani also voiced sorrow and regret over Arafat's death, offering his condolences tothe Palestinian people.

"Although Abu Ammar (nom de guerre of Arafat) did not achievehis life-long aspirations, it is hoped that the Palestinian partieswould put aside their differences and create a united front to leadthe resistant Palestinian people on the difficult road to savingtheir holy land," Rafsanjani said.

"I hope that the Palestinian groups would not let the Zionist occupiers manipulate the vacuum left by the loss of Yasser Arafatto create instability and mayhem in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,"he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi will attend the officialfuneral ceremony, which is to be held at Friday noon in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Arafat was declared dead in a Paris military hospital Thursdaymorning aged 75. Enditem"

Iran at critical juncture in nuke talks

2004-11-11T07:07:00.000-05:00

Iran at critical juncture in nuke talks: "

Iran at critical juncture in nuke talks

TEHRAN (dpa) - Iran has reached a critical juncture in the talks with the European Union over the nuclear dispute, former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani was quoted Wednesday by the students' news agency ISNA as saying.
"After three rounds of talks with the Europeans, we have reached now a critical juncture in which we have to show both patience and wisdom to get the suitable results," Rafsanjani said. Rafsanjani, still influential as head of an arbitration council and potential candidate for next May's presidential elections, charged the Europeans of trying to impose their demands on Iran.

"Iran's demands for having peaceful nuclear technology are both legal and legitimate and the Europeans should get rational and stop imposing their demands," Rafsanjani said without further elaborating.

According to Tehran, Iran and the European Union trio of Britain, France and Germany have reached an initial agreement on the dispute over suspension of uranium enrichment, though no details have yet been officially disclosed."

Rafsanjani is considering standing for the presidency

2004-11-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: "Iranian political heavyweight and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has said he is considering standing for the presidency in polls next year, according to a newspaper.

Rafsanjani, a business-minded, mid-ranking cleric would be a strong candidate for president with the likely support of Iran's resurgent conservatives. He is also a top advisor to Iran's most powerful figure Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

'If there is no other suitable candidate, I will run in the next presidential elections for the sake of Islam and the revolution,' the Hambastegi daily on Saturday quoted the 70-year old as saying in a speech to students in the holy city of Qom."

SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: Friday Sermon - Rafsanjani - Iran celebrates US 'defeat' in Najaf

2004-11-10T22:50:00.000-05:00

SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: Friday Sermon - Rafsanjani - Iran celebrates US 'defeat' in Najaf: "influential former Iranian President, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, said events in Najaf - which he compared to Stalingrad - should alert the West to the power of the Islamic clergy.

The Iranians have played a waiting game over Najaf, with senior officials from the president downwards fiercely denouncing the use of military force there by the Americans while never officially committing themselves to full-blown support for Moqtada Sadr and his followers. "

SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: Rafsanjani denies wealth rumours

2004-11-10T22:48:00.000-05:00

SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: Rafsanjani denies wealth rumours: "A former Iranian president has publicly denied amassing great wealth after stubborn rumours of a business ranging from pistachio nuts to airlines.
Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who now leads Iran's powerful Expediency Council, said he was no richer than before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

'The total value of all my belongings today is not even close to the value of the house I owned [then],' he said. "

SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: Mullah Rafsanjani: Iran insists on fuel production

2004-11-10T22:46:00.000-05:00

SOUTHWEST ASIA Iranian News: Mullah Rafsanjani: Iran insists on fuel production: "Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani here Sunday stressed the need for production of nuclear fuel by Iran. In a meeting with South African Ambassador to Tehran Yusuf Saloojee, Mullah said preventing Iran from producing its needed nuclear fuel can serve as a black point in modern history."

Rafsanjani says regional process of events going against U.S.

2004-11-10T13:57:00.000-05:00

Description of Selected News: "

Rafsanjani says regional process of events going against U.S. interests Khatami, Syrian FM call for regional convergence

Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN (MNA) -- Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa met with Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani here on Wednesday.

In the meeting, Rafsanjani offered a detailed analysis of the critical situation in Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine, saying that on the whole, the current process of events in the region is going against U.S. interests and is moving toward the ideals and causes of regional nations.

He stated that resistance and patience are some of the most principled and determining strategies which have been adopted by regional countries and said that U.S. troops are suffering under difficult conditions in Iraq.

Rafsanjani praised Syria’s positions on regional issues and said that if regional countries establish close relations the evil conspiracies of the arrogant powers will fall flat.

For his part, al-Sharaa elaborated on developments in Syria and said that Iraq is in a complicated situation, adding that the senseless massacre of Iraqi citizens by U.S. forces is one of the main concerns of regional countries.

He said that Syria believes a free election should be held in Iraq and expressed hope that a consensus could be reached at the upcoming conference in Sharm al-Sheikh which would give a clear message to Iraqis.

On the current situation in Lebanon and the U.S. interference and pressure on Syria, he stated that the U.S. and Israel have been unable to realize their regional objectives.

The Syrian foreign minister also met with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami here on Tuesday night to discuss the latest regional issues, particularly Iraq.

During the visit, President Khatami referred to the current situation in the region and the threats to regional countries and underlined the necessity of staying alert in order to defend the interests of regional nations and to solve the problems.

He said that Iranian officials believe that peace and security in Iraq is equal to peace and security in the Islamic Republic of Iran and added that regional countries are calling for the withdrawal of foreign powers from Iraqi territory, the establishment of peace and security in the country, and the formation of a democratic government which would maintain its territorial integrity.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khatami condemned the Zionist crimes against the Palestinians and said that more consultations between regional countries are essential for the establishment of peace in Palestine.

Al-Sharaa expressed satisfaction about the close and developed relations between the two countries and praised the Islamic Republic of Iran for its principled and wise stances on regional and international issues."

Maariv International

2004-11-10T11:23:00.000-05:00

Maariv International: "Iran has supplied Hezbollah with eight drones

According to a senior Iranian official. One of them was the UAV that managed to penetrate Israeli air space on Sunday.
Jacky Hougi

Iran has supplied Hezbollah with eight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and has trained 30 of the group’s operatives to operate them, a senior Iranian official told the London-based Arab daily “al-Sharq al-Awsat”.

According to the official, a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, one of those drones was the UAV that managed to penetrate Israeli air space on Sunday.

He added that the drones, which arrived in Lebanon about three months ago, were used in surveillance missions over Iraq in an attempt to monitor the movements of US forces.

The official noted that the UAV carries three cameras, digital radar and electronic broadcasting devices. It is able to reach an altitude of 6,000 feet and reach a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

Iran is in the midst of developing an improved model, which would be able to fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet and cruise at 160 km/h.

According to the paper, Iranian Revolutionary Guards are currently training another group of Hezbollah members to operate UAVs. The training is taking place near the city of Esfahan."

Iran's Rafsanjani cautions EUs over nuke deal

2004-11-10T11:19:00.000-05:00

IranMania News: "Iran's Rafsanjani cautions EUs over nuke deal

Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - ©2004 IranMania.com
LONDON, Nov 10 (IranMania) - A top Iranian regime official has warned Britain, France and Germany that the Islamic republic could harden its stance if they failed to show flexibility in a crucial stage of talks over a nuclear stand-off, press reports said Tuesday.

"If the Europeans are rational, we can make some assurances... but if they put their foot down, then our attitude will change," powerful former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was quoted as saying by the Hamshahri newspaper.

An Iranian negotiator, Hossein Moussavian, announced Sunday that Iran and the European Union have reached a "preliminary agreement" on easing concerns over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme following two days of crucial negotiations in Paris.

The accord is centered on demands that Iran maintain and widen a suspension of its sensitive uranium enrichment activities or else risk being referred by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

According to European diplomats, the tentative deal still contains several sticking points -- including the length and extent of any halt on fuel cycle work.

"This technology has been achieved by our people by our own means, and others cannot put an end to it," said Rafsanjani, who now heads Iran's top political arbitration body the Expediency Council.

The United States accuses Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and wants the IAEA's board, which meets in Vienna on November 25, to send the matter to New York. Iran says it only wants to generate electricity.

The 25-nation EU, led by Britain, France and Germany, has so far, in talks that started in October, said Iran must indefinitely and fully suspend uranium enrichment activities, but Iran insists its right to enrichment cannot be called into question.

Enriched uranium, depending on its purity, can be used as fuel for a civilian power reactor or as the core of a nuclear weapon. Enrichment for peaceful purposes is allowed under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which Iran is a signatory.

The IAEA is apparently holding up publication of a report on Iran until next week in order to have an eventual EU-Iranian agreement included in the text, a key document for the November 25 meeting, diplomats said."

albawaba.com: Former Iranian president: Current regional conditions are against US interests

2004-11-10T10:22:00.000-05:00

albawaba.com: Former Iranian president: Current regional conditions are against US interests: "Former Iranian president: Current regional conditions are against US interests
10-11-2004, 13:27

Former Iranian president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Wednesday said that the regional conditions are currently against the US interests and in favor of the ideals and goals of the regional nations. Speaking in a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara, he referred to the present complicated situation in Iraq and said that the US is experiencing many dilemmas.

According to a report released by IRNA, Rafsanjani noted that the regional nations have displayed resistance and forbearance in tackling dilemmas.

For his part, al-Shara briefed Rafsanjani on the latest developments in his country and the region and said, "Today, Iraq's position is quite complicated and the irrational killing of Iraqi citizens by the US troops are one of the concerns of regional states."

"Syria believes in broad-based elections in Iraq and safeguarding the country's independence, which will require the withdrawal of the foreign occupation troops," he added. (Albawaba.com)"

Khaleej Times Online

2004-11-10T06:47:00.000-05:00

Khaleej Times Online: "Iran at “crucial point” in nuclear stand-off: Rafsanjani
(AFP)

10 November 2004
TEHERAN - Iran is at a “crucial point” in its stand-off with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, one of the country’s most senior figures was quoted Wednesday as saying.

“We have arrived at a crucial point, and I hope we will reach a result,” former president and top regime cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was quoted by the student news agency ISNA as saying.

“We should have patience and fortitude to pass through these tough times,” he was also quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

On Sunday, Iran and the European Union’s “big three” -- Britain, France and Germany -- managed to strike a tentative agreement to avert a major confrontation after two days of tough talks in Paris.

The accord is centered on demands that Iran maintain and widen a suspension of its sensitive uranium enrichment activities, but subject to approval at the very top of the Iranian regime.

According to European diplomats, the tentative deal still contains several sticking points, including the length and extent of any halt on fuel cycle work. Both the United States on one side and Iranian hardliners on the other have been critical of the diplomacy.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is apparently holding up publication of its latest report on Iran until next week in order to have an eventual EU-Iranian agreement included in the text, a key document for the November 25 meeting, diplomats said.

The United States accuses Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and wants the IAEA’s board, which meets in Vienna on November 25, to refer the matter to New York. Iran says it only wants to generate electricity.

But Rafsanjani said “those who are spreading false rumors are wrong, and hopefully Americans and Europeans will wise up.”"

Islamic Iran's Youth Coordinating Council backing Rafsanjani for Presidency

2004-11-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

IranMania News: " Council backing Rafsanjani for presidency

Monday, November 08, 2004 - ©2004 IranMania.com
LONDON, Nov 8 (IranMania) - Islamic Iran's Youth Coordinating Council said Saturday it favors the candidacy of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani for the upcoming presidential election.

The fledgling party is a branch of the Islamic Labor Party's Youth Wing, Executives of Construction, the Association of Experts, Development and Moderation Party and Labor House.

"We, the signatories, invite Hashemi Rafsanjani to take this step in the election to again build Iran," the council said in its statement, a copy of which was made available to IRNA.

Iran's presidential election will be held in May 2005.

Though Rafsanjani has been reportedly requested to run in the upcoming presidential election, he is yet to give a decisive response.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi has turned down any suggestion to become a candidacy in the next presidential election.
The two consecutive tenures of President Mohammad Khatami end next year with the upcoming presidential election."

Description of Selected News

2004-11-09T22:18:00.000-05:00

Description of Selected News: "MP calls for pragmatic president

Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN (MNA) -- Bestowing the steering wheel of the presidency to a cultural figure is acceptable once, said MP Musa Ghorbani of the Majlis Presiding Board on Monday.

Ghorbani told the Mehr News Agency that the dailies and news agencies have fabricated reports claiming that Majlis Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel would become a candidate in the presidential election, adding that Haddad Adel currently has an appropriate position and does not need to run for president. He said, “We gave the presidency to a cultural figure for a period and that was enough.”

On the recent rise in support for an Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani candidacy among former reformist groups, he said that everybody is seeking his own interests, adding that since Rafsanjani holds non-factional views, some people think that his participation in the election would allow some officials to remain in governmental departments and organizations.

Ghorbani added that, Rafsanjani adopted a non-factional attitude during his presidency, therefore some of his governors appeared in the Khatami cabinet.

He underlined that Rafsanjani has a glowing political record, adding that he acted as a father figure to the different parties and factions in the government, so it is quite obvious that Rafsanjani would hire people from all factions."

EUbusiness - Iran mulls critical nuclear decision

2004-11-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

EUbusiness - Iran mulls critical nuclear decision: "Iran mulls critical nuclear decision 09/11/2004

Iran was Tuesday considering whether to approve a tentative agreement with Britain, France and Germany aimed at limiting its nuclear activities and easing international suspicions.
In the latest critical phase in the Islamic republic's stand-off with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Aomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the clerical leadership has just days to avoid being referred to the Security Council for posssible sanctions.
An Iranian negotiator announced Sunday that Iran and the European Union's "big three" -- Britain, France and Germany -- managed to strike a "preliminary agreement" to avert a confrontation after two days of tough talks in Paris.
The accord is centered on demands that Iran maintain and widen a suspension of its sensitive uranium enrichment activities.
According to European diplomats, the tentative deal still contains several sticking points -- including the length and extent of any halt on fuel cycle work.
The Europeans had been hoping that Iran abandon its fuel cycle work altogether, but Iran appears only willing to implement a temporary halt pending completion of a nearly two-year-old IAEA probe of its atomic drive.
"If the Europeans are rational, we can make some assurances ... but if they put their foot down, then our attitude will change," powerful former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was quoted Tuesday as saying by Hamshahri newspaper.
"This technology has been achieved by our people by our own means, and others cannot put an end to it," said Rafsanjani.
The United States accuses Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and wants the IAEA's board, which meets in Vienna on November 25, to refer the matter to New York. Iran says it only wants to generate electricity.
The IAEA is apparently holding up publication of a report on Iran until next week in order to have an eventual EU-Iranian agreement included in the text, a key document for the November 25 meeting, diplomats said.
The 25-nation EU, in talks led by Britain, France and Germany that started in October, has so far said that Iran must indefinitely and fully suspend uranium enrichment activities.
But Iran insists its right to enrichment can not be called into question.
Enriched uranium, depending on its purity, can be used as fuel for a civilian power reactor or as the core of a nuclear weapon. Enrichment for peaceful purposes is allowed under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which Iran is a signatory.
"Iran is pushing for a time-specific duration, namely six months," a foreign diplomat said, but the European trio "refused and said the suspension must be maintained until a long-term agreement is reached" between Iran and the EU.
A second diplomat close to the talks said the European formula "is a clear-cut suspension, no doubt about it. It is tied to the (ongoing) talks and the talks are indefinite."
That question is now being discussed at the top of the Iranian regime.
"Nothing will be done without the approval of the supreme leader," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the spokesman for the Iranian parliament's foreign affairs and national security commission, Kazem Jalali, told AFP.
But both the so-called EU-3 and the Iranian side are under pressure from critics of the diplomacy.
US Assistant Secretary of State for arms control Stephen Rademaker said in Vienna on Tuesday that Washington was "very sceptical of Iran's good faith in these negotiations", even if it would "not stand in the way of their effort".
In Iran, the hardline Jomhuri Islami paper criticised the Paris talks as a "climbdown" by Iranian negotiators.
"We have to give up this doomed game right now. It is a big mistake for Iran to again accept a suspension even if it can decide the length," the paper wrote, calling IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and the Europeans "charlatans"."

Iran mulls critical nuclear decision - Sify.com

2004-11-09T21:05:00.000-05:00

Iran mulls critical nuclear decision - Sify.com: "Iran mulls critical nuclear decision

Tuesday, 09 November , 2004, 20:30

Tehran: Iran was on Tuesday considering whether to approve a tentative agreement with Britain, France and Germany aimed at limiting its nuclear activities and easing international suspicions.
In the latest critical phase in the Islamic republic's stand-off with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the clerical leadership has just days to avoid being referred to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

An Iranian negotiator announced Sunday that Iran and the European Union's "big three" -- Britain, France and Germany -- managed to strike a "preliminary agreement" to avert a confrontation after two days of tough talks in Paris.

The accord is centered on demands that Iran maintain and widen a suspension of its sensitive uranium enrichment activities.

According to European diplomats, the tentative deal still contains several sticking points -- including the length and extent of any halt on fuel cycle work.

The Europeans had been hoping that Iran abandon its fuel cycle work altogether, but Iran appears only willing to implement a temporary halt pending completion of a nearly two-year-old IAEA probe of its atomic drive.

"If the Europeans are rational, we can make some assurances ... but if they put their foot down, then our attitude will change," powerful former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was quoted Tuesday as saying by Hamshahri newspaper.

"This technology has been achieved by our people by our own means, and others cannot put an end to it," said Rafsanjani.

The United States accuses Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and wants the IAEA's board, which meets in Vienna on November 25, to refer the matter to New York. Iran says it only wants to generate electricity.

The IAEA is apparently holding up publication of a report on Iran until next week in order to have an eventual EU-Iranian agreement included in the text, a key document for the November 25 meeting, diplomats said.

The 25-nation European Union, in talks led by Britain, France and Germany that started in October, has so far said that Iran must indefinitely and fully suspend uranium enrichment activities.

But Iran insists its right to enrichment can not be called into question.

Enriched uranium, depending on its purity, can be used as fuel for a civilian power reactor or as the core of a nuclear weapon. Enrichment for peaceful purposes is allowed under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which Iran is a signatory.

"Iran is pushing for a time-specific duration, namely six months," a foreign diplomat said, but the European trio "refused and said the suspension must be maintained until a long-term agreement is reached" between Iran and the EU.

A second diplomat close to the talks said the European formula "is a clear-cut suspension, no doubt about it. It is tied to the (ongoing) talks and the talks are indefinite."

That question is now being discussed at the top of the Iranian regime.

"Nothing will be done without the approval of the supreme leader," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the spokesman for the Iranian parliament's foreign affairs and national security commission, Kazem Jalali, told AFP.

But both the so-called EU-3 and the Iranian side are under pressure from critics of the diplomacy.

US Assistant Secretary of State for arms control Stephen Rademaker said in Vienna on Tuesday that Washington was "very sceptical of Iran's good faith in these negotiations", even if it would "not stand in the way of their effort."

In Iran, the hardline Jomhuri Islami paper criticised the Paris talks as a "climbdown" by Iranian negotiators.

"We have to give up this doomed game right now. It is a big mistake for Iran to again accept a suspension even if it can decide the length," the paper wrote, calling IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and the Europeans "charlatans.""

Iran mullah Rafsanjani warns EU, calls for more flexibility

2004-11-09T21:01:00.000-05:00

Iran mullah Rafsanjani warns EU, calls for more flexibility - Persian Journal Latest Iran news & Iranian Article News paper: "Iran mullah Rafsanjani warns EU, calls for more flexibility
Nov 9, 2004, 10:44

Mullah Rafsanjani has warned Europe that the mullahs' regime could harden its stance if the EU failed to show flexibility in the stalled nuclear negotiations.

"If the Europeans are rational, we can make some assurances... but if they put their foot down, then our attitude will change," former mullah president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was quoted as saying by the Hamshahri newspaper.

Mullah has criticized the "preliminary agreement" reached Sunday between Iran and the European Union over Tehran's nuclear program as being unfair to the Islamic Republic.

The deal, which diplomats from Britain, France and Germany hammered out during two days of negotiations, calls for the suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment program for an unspecified period in exchange for peaceful atomic technology and economic incentives.

But many in mullahs' regime regard the deal as detrimental to mullahs of Iran. "This technology has been achieved by our people by our own means, and others cannot put an end to it," said mullah, who now heads Iran's top mullah political arbitration body known as "Expediency Council"."

Tehran will revise its approach if Europeans show intransigence: Rafsanjani

2004-11-09T20:20:00.000-05:00

Description of Selected News: "Tehran will revise its approach if Europeans show intransigence: Rafsanjani

Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN (MNA) –- Expediency Council (EC) chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Monday night that intransigence from the Europeans would persuade Iran to change its approach in nuclear talks, the daily Hamshahri reported on Tuesday.

In a meeting with officials from the Moderation and Development Party (MDP), Rafsanjani stressed that Iran can give certain guarantees to the Europeans and instead get some concessions from them provided that they take a logical approach.

He added that the nuclear talks have created an opportunity for Iran to launch technological, trade and security talks with Europeans provided that Tehran acts very prudently.

Referring to Western countries’ pressure on Iran for its nuclear activities, Rafsanjani stressed that no power can “extinguish the light” of Iran’s completely indigenous nuclear technology.

The EC chairman pointed to Iran’s nuclear technology as an asset for the country through which it could resolve many of its problems including its effort to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Administering the country at this sensitive time requires national strength otherwise the enemy will take advantage of disparities, he added.

After 22 hours of intense negotiations in Paris on Friday and Saturday, Iranian and European representatives announced an initial agreement on the complete framework for further nuclear talks.

Both sides have stressed the necessity for flexibility in negotiations and it has been reported that European Union trio (Britain, Germany, and France) have accepted eight clauses of total of ten mentioned in Iran’s new proposals.

This agreement, if approved by Tehran, Paris, London, and Berlin, can be considered a breakthrough in efforts to peacefully resolve the international dispute over Iran’s nuclear program and to expand Iran-EU ties. - Demand to run for presidential election In response to the MDP members’ request to run in the country’s next presidential elections, Rafsanjani said “I will not take a hasty approach for elections but wait until the society and scholars become convinced that others are also capable of running for the post.”

He noted that Iran is currently in a sensitive but not critical situation, saying that important decisions should be made in the country.

Rafsanjani further called on the attendants to help hold good and healthy elections while expressing gratitude over the party’s good-will."