US Condemns Iran’s Announcement to begin uranium enrichment near the Shi'ite holy city of Qom

US Condemns Iran’s Announcement on Qom
VOA - January 10th, 2012

The United States has condemned the Iranian government's decision to begin uranium enrichment near the Shi'ite holy city of Qom, a second facility where the material can be upgraded quickly for potential use in a nuclear bomb.

In a statement Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said “the move is contrary to Iran's obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors resolutions.”

The statement said “the circumstances surrounding the action are especially troubling, since Iran only declared the underground Fordo complex to the IAEA after it was discovered following three years of covert construction.”

The statement called upon Iran “to immediately cease uranium enrichment because it brings Tehran significantly closer to having the capability to produce weapons-grade uranium.”

In Moscow Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed “regret and concern,” after Tehran announced that it intends to consolidate and increase its production of uranium enriched to a near 20 percent level at Fordo.

On Monday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland questioned Iran's motives. She said that when uranium enrichment is raised to 20 percent, “it generally tends to indicate that you are enriching to a level that takes you to a different kind of nuclear program.”

France called the move “this new provocation.” A Foreign Ministry statement said the move “leaves us with no other choice but to reinforce international sanctions and to adopt, with our European partners and all willing countries, measures of an unprecedented scale and severity.”

Iran says its nuclear program is designed only to generate electricity and material for medical research.

The United States and its ally Israel have not ruled out military action to stop the program. Israel sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence.

US Presses Iran to Release American Sentenced To Death for Spying

US Presses Iran to Release American Sentenced for Spying
Dan Robinson | White House
VOA - January 09, 2012

The United States is pressing Iran to release an American man who has been sentenced to death by an Iranian court on charges of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. This comes at a time of rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

The White House and State Department say allegations that Amir Mirza Hekmati - an Iranian American dual citizen - worked for or was sent to Iran by the CIA are false, adding that if reports of the death sentence are true, the United States strongly condemns it.

A U.S. statement says Iran's government "has a history of falsely accusing people of being spies, of eliciting forced confessions, and of holding innocent Americans for political reasons."

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency says Hekmati was sentenced for ties to the CIA and for cooperating with a “hostile country." Iran state TV has shown Hekmati making what was called a confession in Farsi and English.

At the White House, Press Secretary Jay Carney declined to say what options the Obama administration considering beyond working through Swiss intermediaries in Tehran.

"I don't want to speculate about that. I think that we take this matter very seriously and are addressing it in the appropriate manner," said Carney.

State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said this kind of behavior is typical for Iran.

"This is not a new tactic on the part of the Iranian government. I would simply say that these particular proceedings were conducted in secret, there was inadequate legal counsel. We obviously dismiss the accusations one way or the other; we believe that any confession he may have made was clearly coerced. So it is just par for the course in terms of the non-justice in the Iranian system," said Nuland.

All of this comes amid rising tensions between Iran, and the U.S. and international partners over Tehran's threats to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to new Western sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports.

Recently, Iran confirmed it has begun enriching uranium at a second underground facility. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and that the new enrichment is taking place under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision.

Amnesty International issued a statement on Monday saying Hekmati, a 28-year-old former U.S. Marine Arabic translator, did not receive a fair trial and questioning what it called "the timing and political circumstances" of Hekmati's sentence.

The human rights monitoring group appealed to Iran not to execute Hekmati, noting that an appeal against his conviction would have to be filed within 20 days of his sentencing.

Iran Denies Role in Syria Crackdown - vicious assaults on peaceful protesters

June 14, 2011

Iran Denies Role in Syria Crackdown

VOA - Elizabeth Arrott | Cairo

Iran has rejected allegations from Britain and the United States that it is helping Syria crack down on domestic opposition with advice, equipment, and training. Iran remains a key Syrian ally, with the two governments finding common ground on such issues as Israel, Lebanon and Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accuses Iran of supporting the Syrian government in what she calls its vicious assaults on peaceful protesters and military actions against its own cities.

Iran and Syria Denounced in United Nation's Nuclear Talks Opener

Iran, Syria Denounced in UN Nuclear Talks Opener
VOA - Monday, June 6th, 2011

The head of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog says Iran may have carried out nuclear work with possible military purposes.

Speaking at the start of a week-long board meeting on nuclear developments in Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano criticized Iran Monday for not cooperating with international nuclear experts.

U.S. Senator John McCain Calls for ‘Regime Change’ in Iran

McCain Calls for ‘Regime Change’ in Iran
Thursday, February 17th, 2011 - VOA

U.S. Senator John McCain is calling for regime change in Iran, saying the government there is “oppressive” and “brutal.”

In an interview with Voice of America's Persian News Network Wednesday, Senator McCain said he thinks online social networking tools, like Twitter, will help Iranian protesters organize and ultimately succeed in changing the government.

McCain said the United States should support the protesters, and he criticized U.S. President Barack Obama for trying to negotiate with the Iranian government.

Mr. Obama has so far stressed sanctions and diplomacy as its preferred course in dealing with Iran, though in recent days he and some administration officials have spoken out harshly against Iran's crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Mr. Obama said this week the U.S. “cannot dictate what happens” in Iran and other countries in the region seeing major protests, but he said his administration will lend “moral support” to those seeking better lives.

McCain, the Republican party's nominee for president in 2008, has since had a frosty relationship with Mr. Obama.



McCain Calls for ‘Regime Change’ in Iran
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President Barack Obama Urges Peaceful Response to Protests in Mideast

 

Obama Urges Peaceful Response to Protests in Mideast

Dan Robinson | White House February 15, 2011 - VOA

President Barack Obama has again criticized Iran's government for its crackdown on opposition protesters.  The president used a news conference to address ramifications for the Middle East following what happened in Egypt and Tunisia, and also responded to criticisms of the $3.73 trillion budget he sent to Congress this week.

President Obama said governments must respond peacefully to peaceful protests in the wake of the anti-government rallies in Egypt that brought down former President Hosni Mubarak and a series of protests in other countries in the region in recent days, where authorities have cracked down. Mr. Obama said people must be allowed to voice their grievances.

The president turned to Iran where the government broke up an opposition rally on Monday.

"I find it ironic that you've got the Iranian regime pretending to celebrate what happened in Egypt, when in fact, they have acted in direct contrast to what happened in Egypt by gunning down and beating people who were trying to express themselves peacefully," said Obama.

Obama reiterated that real change in societies "is not going to happen because of terrorism… or killing innocents," but by people coming together and applying moral force.

On Iran, Obama said he was clear after mass demonstrations following Iran's elections in 2009, and is clear now, that people should be able to express grievances and seek a more responsive government.

Saying America cannot "ultimately dictate," but can lend moral support, he said the U.S. is concerned about stability in the region, but sends a consistent message.

"The message that we have sent, even before the demonstrations in Egypt, has been to friend and foe alike,  that the world is changing, that you have a young, vibrant generation within the Middle East, that is looking for greater opportunity and that if you are governing these countries, you have got to get out ahead of change, you can't be behind the curve," added Obama.

Obama rejected suggestions that his administration was too cautious in supporting protesters in Egypt.   "History will end up recording" he said that at "every juncture" the U.S. was on the right side of history.

What will achieve stability in the Middle East, he said, is for governments to provide avenues for mobility and opportunity, adding he believes governments are starting to understand that they cannot maintain power through coercion.

President Obama also addressed the dispute with Pakistan over a jailed U.S. diplomat, Raymond Davis, who has been accused of killing two people.  He said the matter involves the broader principle of diplomatic immunity that must be upheld, saying the U.S. has been "very firm" about the need for Mr. Davis's release.

The president also addressed criticism by opposition Republicans of his $3.73 trillion 2012 fiscal year budget, which proposes what he calls "tough choices," but which he says would result in no additions to the $14 trillion national debt by the middle of the decade.

Saying he is ready to work with Republicans, Mr. Obama rejected "symbolic cuts" he says might endanger economic recovery.  He said there will be tough negotiations on the budget, and on the larger issues of huge government "entitlement" programs, Medicare and Social Security.

"The key thing that I think the American people want to see is that all sides are serious about it, and all sides are willing to give a little bit, and that there is a genuine spirit of compromise as opposed to people being interested in scoring political points," Obama said.

On proposed cuts to some government programs that help lower income citizens, the president said he feels people's pain, adding he is both inspired by people's strength, but also frustrated by the number of people struggling in the current economy.

Mr. Obama said his budget reflects growth in the economy and more business confidence now that the U.S. economy has moved away from crisis.  However, he says the job ahead is to look at medium and long term problems in a much more urgent and serious way.

The president said recommendations of a bipartisan fiscal commission, which proposed drastic cuts to deal with deficit spending and the debt, provided a "framework" for tough conversations.

Obama Urges Peaceful Response to Protests in Mideast

Article from VOA

Protests in Iran - Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters, Arrest Dozens

Iranian Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters, Arrest Dozens

VOA News February 14, 2011

 

Thousands of defiant Iranian opposition supporters have staged what they said was a rally supporting Arab revolts as riot police armed with batons moved in to disperse them, February 14, 2011

Thousands of Iranian opposition activists rallied in support of popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt Monday, while a semi-official Iranian news agency said one person was killed and several wounded by protesters in the capital, Tehran.

Witnesses say security forces, many of them on motorbikes, fanned out across central Tehran Monday as opposition groups demonstrated despite a protest ban. Hundreds of black-clad Iranian riot police fired tear gas and paintball guns to disperse the crowds.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said what it called "seditionists" had shot a bystander dead at the Tehran rally.

Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's Kaleme  website reported that "Tehran security forces arrested dozens of protesters." There was no official confirmation of the detentions. Mousavi's website and that of fellow reformist leader Mehdi Karroubi said security forces surrounded their homes, preventing the two men from joining the march. Authorities also cut telephone lines at Mousavi's house.

Some demonstrators chanted "death to the dictator" - a slogan used by protesters against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after the disputed 2009 presidential election. By late evening Monday, chants echoed from Tehran rooftops, as they did during the unrest two years ago.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States "very clearly and directly" supports "the aspirations of the people who are in the streets of Iran today."

Clinton pressed the Iranian government to follow Egypt's example and "open up" its political system, reaffirming U.S. calls for non-violence, human rights and democratic political change. She called the protests a testament to the "courage" of the Iranian people and "an indictment of the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime."

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has praised this year's revolts in Egypt and Tunisia as an Islamic awakening, akin to the 1979 revolution that ousted Iran's U.S.-backed shah. But the regime has tried to suppress opposition at home. It warned the reformists against proceeding with Monday's rallies, calling them a ploy to mobilize anti-government protests and revive the Green movement.

Demonstrations were also reportedly held in other cities across Iran, including Isfahan, Shiraz and Kermanshah.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called on Iranian authorities to exercise restraint and allow people to express their views freely.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul, on a visit to Tehran, urged Middle Eastern governments to listen to the demands of their people, although he did not mention Iran directly.

Mousavi and Karroubi headed the 2009 protests. The two reformists ran against Mr. Ahmadinejad and accused him of rigging the vote, a charge the government denies.

The 2009 protests ended in a violent crackdown by Iranian militiamen loyal to the clerical establishment. Scores of people were killed and wounded during demonstrations that lasted several months.

Iranian Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters, Arrest Dozens

Article from VOA

Twitter News - U.S. State Department Tweets Iranians

U.S. State Department Tweets Iranians
Monday, February 14th, 2011 - VOA

The U.S. State Department has begun sending Twitter messages to Iran in the local language, Farsi, in hopes of reaching Iranians who use social media.

On the Twitter account USA darFarsi, the State Department tells Iranians, “We want to join in your conversation.”

In later tweets, it accuses the Iranian government of quashing opposition while praising Egyptians for doing the same thing.

The State Department also calls on Tehran to allow Iranians to “enjoy the same universal rights” of assembly and protest as the people in Egypt.

Last week, the State Department launched Twitter feeds in Arabic.

The account had more than 135 followers within hours of its launch.



U.S. State Department Tweets Iranians
Article from VOA