Zitat:Bush nimmt den Iran ins Visier: "Große Sorgen" über zunehmenden Terrorismus
USA will nach Abbruch der Beziehungen 1980 wieder diplomatische Gespräche aufbauen

Eisige Stimmung zwischen den USA und dem Iran. Nach Ansichten des US-Außenamtes bestehen weiter Differenzen zwischen den beiden Nationen. Auch nachdem der CIA festgestellt hat, dass es keine direkte Verbindung zu dem Terroranschlag am 11. September gibt, lässt Bush nicht locker. Es gebe einige "ernste" Probleme, die gelöst werden müssten, um die Beziehungen zwischen beiden Ländern zu verbessern, sagte Außenamtssprecher Richard Boucher am Montag (Ortszeit) in Washington.
...
Washington habe grundsätzlich nichts gegen direkte Gespräche mit Teheran einzuwenden, sagte der Außenamtssprecher. Die diplomatischen Beziehungen zwischen beiden Ländern waren 1980 abgebrochen worden.

Kritische Stimmen aus der USA selbst
Nach Ansicht einer Washingtoner Denkfabrik sollten die USA ihre Iran-Politik revidieren. Anstatt auf einen hypothetischen Zusammenbruch der islamischen Führung in Teheran zu warten, sollte sich die US-Regierung eher zu einer Politik des "aktiven Dialogs" umorientieren, hieß es in einem am Montag in Washington veröffentlichten Bericht des Rats für Auswärtige Beziehungen (CFR). Angesichts der derzeitigen Bedenken sei es ratsam, dass die USA sich mit der aktuellen Teheraner Führung auseinandersetzten. Die Islamische Republik Iran scheine auf festem Boden zu stehen, das Land sei nicht "am Rande eines revolutionären Umsturzes". (apa/red)

Zitat:Iran bastelt an Nuklear-Zentrifugen

Aus gut informierten Diplomaten-Kreisen verlautet, dass Iran den Bau von modernen Gas-Zentrifugen zur Urananreicherung begonnen hat. Damit verstieße das Land gegen internationale Abmachungen.

Zitat:Damit verstieße das Land gegen internationale Abmachungen.

Zitat:Turkeyenjoys special status in Iran`s foreign policy: VP

Tehran, July 28, IRNA -- First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref said
here Wednesday that Iran`s foreign policy attaches importance to
expansion of ties with various countries, stressing that Turkey enjoys
a special status in this regard.
Aref made the remarks as he talked to reporters after attending an
official welcoming ceremony for visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan who arrived here early Wednesday at the head of a
high-level politico-economic delegation.
Aref added that Tehran-Ankara ties have received a boost during
recent years, saying the two sides enjoy a good level of security
cooperation.
He pointed to the two countries` determination to expand economic
relations up to five billion dollars and hoped development in economic
relations and cooperation would lead to expansion of all-out mutual
ties.
...

Zitat:Iran, Turkeyenjoy similar stances on regional developments:
Majlis speaker

Tehran, July 28, IRNA -- Majlis Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel said
here Wednesday that Iran and Turkey enjoy similar stances on various
regional developments including Iraq and Palestine.
In a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Haddad Adel added very similar stances of Tehran and Ankara on the
Iraqi development and the need to safeguard its territorial integrity
would be served as the base for bilateral cooperation.
Pointing to the presence of foreign forces in the region, he said,
"The enemies of Islam are not still convinced of the separations
created among Muslim states after World War I and are active in the
region with their ominous goals."
He cited fight against terrorism as among issues of concern of
Iran and Turkey, saying "dominating international powers do not act
honestly and wisely in fight against terrorism."
The speaker assessed the Palestinian issue as among the most
important issues of the Islamic world and stressed, "problems of the
region will not be fundamentally solved if peace and justice are not
established in Palestine."
...

Zitat:Anadolu Agency: 7/29/2004
TEHRAN - Iranian Communication & Information Technology
Minister Ahmad Motamedi said on Thursday that they have
reached an agreement enabling Turkish GSM firm Turkcell to
serve in Iran market as the second operator.

Motamedi told reporters that, to this end, they would give
necessary license to Irancell, which is comprised of Turkcell,
Ericsson and few small Iranian companies.

Reminding that Turkcell is ready to provide a guarantee in the
amount of 300 million Euros to Iran, Motamedi added that the
necessary permit is not issued yet by Tehran authorities

Zitat:Dariush hotel of Iran's Kish island becomes international
Kish, May 7, IRNA -- Dariush hotel in this southern island became an international hotel after the hand over of its management to a Swiss company, it was said here Thursday.

Dariush is the first Iranian hotel that has been put under foreign management since the victory of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, said owner of the four-story five-star hotel, Hossein Sabet.

Sabet told IRNA that the SAS company of switzerland which currently rents, owns or operates some 480 large hotels around the world, would run Dariush hotel for ten years as of Friday (May 7).
...

Zitat:Iraq demands return of airplanes from Iran: minister

BAGHDAD, July 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi Defense Minister Hazim AlShaalan has announced that his country intends to start negotiations with the Iranian government to restore the airplanes smuggled to Iran by the former Iraqi regime, reported Al Sharq AlAwsat newspaper Saturday.

The former Iraqi regime transferred a number of military and civil airplanes to Iran during the first Gulf war in 1991 to preserve them from the danger of the air raids of the coalition forces, but Iran refused to return them after the end of the military operations.

The Iraqi defense minister said that the airplanes are Iraqi properties and should be returned to their original owner. "This issue would be discussed through forming an ad hoc committee from the two sides to solve this and other issues," said the minister.

The former Iraqi regime insisted that the number of airplanes smuggled to Iran in 1991 were more than 120, but the Iranian side said repeatedly the number does not exceed 30.

Zitat:Iran: Konservative schalten Reformer aus

Liberaler Präsidentschaftskandidat Mohajerani sieht Verfahren wegen angeblicher Zweitfrau entgegen

Mit der kurzzeitigen Verhaftung von Ataollah Mohajerani, dem früheren Kulturminister im Kabinett von Präsident Mohamed Khatami, hat der Machtkampf um das Präsidentenamt bei den Wahlen im Juni 2005 im Iran begonnen. Mohajerani, der neben dem früheren iranischen Premierminister Hossein Mossawi als Favorit der Liberalen gilt, war Mittwoch vergangene Woche unter dem Vorwurf festgenommen worden, er habe seine angebliche Zweitfrau nicht amtlich registrieren lassen. Vergangenen Samstag kam der Reformer nach Zahlung einer Kaution vorerst wieder frei.

Mohajeranis Ehefrau, die frühere Parlamentsabgeordnete Jamileh Kadivar, sprach von einer Verleumdungsaffäre. Ihr Mann habe keine weitere Ehe geschlossen, dessen Gegner wollten lediglich Pläne für eine mögliche Kandidatur durchkreuzen.
...

Zitat:Iran: Dissident freigelassen

TEHERAN dpa Der iranische Dissident Haschem Aghadschari ist am Samstag in Teheran aus dem Gefängnis entlassen worden. Wie die Studenten-Nachrichtenagentur ISNA meldete, kam Aghadschari nach fast zwei Jahren Haft gegen eine Kaution von umgerechnet 95.000 Euro frei. Aghadschari war im November 2002 wegen Gotteslästerung zum Tode verurteilt worden. Das Urteil hatte im In- und Ausland zu Protesten geführt. Nach mehreren Berufungsverfahren war die Strafe zu drei Jahren Haft abgemildert worden.

Zitat:Iran's president Khatami due in neighbouring Azerbaijan

BAKU, Aug 4 (AFP) - Iran's President Mohammad Khatami was due Thursday to make his first official visit to neighbouring Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic caught in the middle of a tussle between Tehran and Washington for influence in the oil-rich Caspian Sea.
...
Officials have said Khatami and Azerbaijan's pro-western President Ilham Aliyev will sign a raft of bilateral agreements to bolster economic and cultural cooperation, as well as discuss security issues.
....
Azerbaijan and Iran, along with the other states with Caspian shorelines Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, have for years been at loggerheads over how to divide up the landlocked sea between them.
...
The sea is estimated to hold energy reserves bigger than those in the United States and the North Sea and is seen as a useful alternative to Middle East oil.

The Pentagon, saying it wants to help protect Azerbaijan's oil infrastructure, has provided Azerbaijan with coast guard cutters and run joint training operations with the Azeri navy in the Caspian Sea.

This year, top brass in the US military have also said they hoped to start a large-scale training programme for the Azeri military and have floated the idea of using military facilities in Azerbaijan as temporary bases for US forces deploying in the region.

However, Iran, designated by US President George W. Bush as part of an "axis of evil," fears the US military presence on its northern border is part of a US plot against it, say analysts.

"(Tehran) wants to limit the foreign military presence in certain areas and I think the discussions between President Khatami and Ilham Aliyev will be along those lines," said Rassim Musabekov, an independent foreign affairs analyst in Baku.
...

Zitat:Tehran, Baku Can Play Effective Role In Maintaining Regional Security: Khatami

TEHRAN (IRNA) -- President Mohammad Khatami said here Saturday that Baku and Tehran could play effective role in restoring security and stability to the region given the historical and cultural bonds between the two countries.

In a meeting with visiting Azeri Foreign Minister Elmara Mammadyarov, Khatami added the region belongs to all its countries and therefore, the regional countries should cooperate to restore stability and develop it.

Pointing to the determination of the two countries' officials to expand mutual relations in recent years, he said the agreements signed by Tehran and Baku will ensure mutual interests and deepen bilateral cooperation.

Touching upon crises in the region, Khatami expressed hope that the existing problems would be resolved through wisdom and adoption of proper policies.
...

Zitat:Iran's president says democracy only way to secure Islamic republic

TEHRAN, Aug 4 (AFP) - Iran's reformist President Mohammad Khatami, increasingly isolated following the ouster of his allies from parliament, launched a fresh attack on his hardline rivals Wednesday by urging them to respect democratic values.

"The more laws and regulations are overlooked, the more the country will be prone to aggression by the enemy," the president was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

The prevention of an "enemy" attack "can only be materialised through free elections, freedom of expression, being open to criticism, law abidance by the authorities and respecting the citizen's and human rights," he said.

"Power cannot be achieved without reliance upon public opinion," added the embattled president, speaking during a constitution conference in the northwestern city of Tabriz.

Khatami, whose second and final term in office ends in June 2005, has become increasingly frustrated in his bid to deliver "Islamic democracy" to Iran due to opposition from his more powerful hardline rivals.
...

Zitat:8/6/04
Iran's government cracking down on Internet freedom, RSF says
ANKARA, 5 Aug 2004 (IRIN) - The media watchdog body Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has voiced concern at the growing efforts of the Iranian authorities to censor online freedom of expression, including the preparation of a draft law that would create a legal framework to crack down on Internet usage. RSF has also called for the release of Mojtaba Lotfi, a cyber-dissident theology student.
...

Zitat:Iran: Human rights commitments not matched by reality
The recent hunger strike in Tehran's Evin prison and the unabated wave of arrests and temporary detention of students, journalists and workers are some of the signs of a worsening human rights situation in Iran. These have renewed international concern over the situation in the Islamic Republic.

The international community accepted at face value statements made by judicial officials throughout 2003 that the penalty of stoning had been suspended as a result of a "moratorium". Yet, to widespread dismay, the judiciary initiated an amendment to existing laws detailing how to carry out a stoning and crucifixion in November 2003.
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Zitat:Presidentress freedom depends on national power structure

Tehran, Aug 7, IRNA -- President Mohammad Khatami said on Saturday
that freedom of expression and journalists depends on the national
power structure.
He said in his message to a ceremony held at Vahdat Hall to mark
`Journalists Day` that modern life needs healthy media system and
press freedom.
"Press freedom will be available if the press community enjoys
political immunity and the journalists are provided with job
security," President Khatami said.
...

Zitat:`Fahrenheit 9/11` to premiere in Iranian cinemas

Tehran, Aug 7, IRNA -- American filmmaker Michael Moore`s widely
popular documentary `Fahrenheit 9/11` will soon be screened on Iranian
movie theaters, a head of the institute which runs the country`s
cinemas said here Saturday.
According to the broadcasting manager of the Farabi Cinematheque
Foundation, Manuchehr Shahsavari, `the (screen) rights of the movie
has been bought` and work has started to prepare it for release.
..