Iran behind alleged terrorist plot, U.S. says 11OCT11

TERRORIST pariah Iran is showing it's desperation with factions of the Iranian government being involved in this plot. It reminds me of the deadly plot carried out by Cuban dissidents contracted by the government of Chilean dictator Pinochet who killed the former Chilean ambassador to the U.S. with a car bomb in D.C. There are a lot of conspiracy theorist out there who are doubting the American government's claims, and honestly, who can blame them? Look at how we were lied to about the reasons "justifying" the Iraq war, "justifying" the excesses of the Patriot Act, and how we have been lied to about the Afghanistan war, and we are getting into the 2012 campaign season so the Obama administration is going to want to look tough on national security. But I do believe our government about this because of the evidence presented and because the Iranian government is an embodiment of evil, much on the same level as hitler's Third Reich. My fear is this will be used as justification for more war, and if it happens it will be another war we can not win, and will probably involve nuclear weapons. From the Washington Post

By Jason Ukman

U.S. officials on Tuesday said that they had foiled an elaborate terrorist plot backed by factions of the Iranian government aimed at assassinating the Saudi ambassador to Washington.
At a news conference, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said two Iranians have been charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official and conspiracy to commit an act of international terrorism, among other charges. One of the suspects, an Iranian with U.S. citizenship, was arrested in New York last month; the other, an Iranian, remains at large.
“The United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions,” Holder said.
The suspects were identified as Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old from Texas, and Gholam Shakuri, an Iran-based member of Iran’s Quds Force, an elite division of that country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for foreign operations.
In addition to killing the Saudi ambassador, Adel al-Jubeir, officials said, the plot envisioned later striking other targets. The officials said that the plan to kill the ambassador was directed by Tehran, and that Arbabsiar has acknowledged that he was recruited and funded by men he understood to be senior officers in the Quds Force.
Shortly after the announcement, the Obama administration said it was imposing financial sanctions on five Iranians, including the two suspects, connected to the plot. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the administration would consider more actions to further isolate the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian government immediately denied the accusations, calling them a new round of “American propaganda,” according to state news agency IRNA.
“The U.S. government and the CIA have very good experience in making up film scripts,” Ali Akbar Javanfekr, a spokesman for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said in Tehran. “It appears that this new scenario is for diverting the U.S. public opinion from internal crises.
Officials described the details of the plot as chilling, saying that the conspirators considered blowing up a restaurant frequented by the ambassador.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday, Arbabsiar met with a DEA informant — who was posing as a representative of a Mexican drug cartel — to arrange the killing. At one point, the complaint says, Arbabsiar told the informant that he would need four men to carry out the ambassador’s murder and that he would pay $1.5 million for the operation.
As a down payment, Arbabsiar allegedly later arranged for $100,000 to be wired to an account that was secretly overseen by the FBI.
“Though it reads like the pages of a Hollywood script, the impact would have been very real and many lives would have been lost,” said FBI Director Robert Mueller.
According to the Justice Department, Arbabsiar was arrested by federal agents Sept. 29 after he had been under surveillance or investigation for more than four months. His arrest came eight days after two U.S. hikers who had spent more than two years in Iranian custody on suspicion of spying were released from prison and allowed to leave the country.
A spokesman for the National Security Council said President Obama had been briefed on the case in June.
The United States has listed Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984. The government in Tehran has long denied accusations that it backs terrorism.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are bitter political enemies in a long-running Middle Eastern conflict fueled largely by sectarian rivalries. Saudi Arabia, a monarchy with a predominantly Sunni Muslim population, has felt threatened by the Shiite leadership of Iran ever since the 1979 revolution toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and replaced him with a theocratic government.
Jubeir, 49, is one of the best-known Saudi figures in the West and among the most powerful foreign policymakers outside the royal family. The son of a Saudi diplomat, he speaks fluent German and virtually unaccented American English. A political science and economic graduate from the University of North Texas, he also holds a master’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University.
He first appeared as a spokesman for the Saudi government during the 1991 Persian Gulf war, and quickly became known as a foreign policy adviser to then-Crown Prince Abdullah, with particular influence on policy toward the United States. When it became known that the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks were carried out by Saudi citizens, Jubeir was dispatched to Washington to represent the kingdom’s interests before the American public and policymakers. He became ambassador the the United States in 2007.
His extensive contacts within the administration and among lawmakers, policy experts and journalists — and his closeness to the most senior figures of the Saudi government — have helped Jubeir work to strengthen U.S.-Saudi ties.
Staff writers Jerry Markon, William Branigin, Craig Whitlock, Karen DeYoung and Scott Wilson, correspondent Thomas Erdbrink in Tehran and staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

Iran's leader could order arrest of opposition leaders 15FEB11

THE HYPOCRISY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN IS NOT SURPRISING, nor is the violence they used yet again against non-violent protesters calling for freedom and democracy. Surly the hypocrisy is not lost on the people of Iran who heard their own government encourage the people of Egypt in their revolution and then resorted to violence and mass arrest and now issue the threat of death of opposition leaders for demanding the same as the people of Egypt. I hope the people of Iran don't loose their courage and resolve to bring freedom and democracy to Iran....the time has come for change for their nation and they have the moral authority to make it happen.


By Thomas Erdbrink
Tuesday, February 15, 2011; 5:44 PM


TEHRAN - Iranian lawmakers and clerics on Tuesday called on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to order the arrest and swift trial of the country's two most prominent opposition leaders, a day after the biggest protests here in more than a year.
Dozens of lawmakers led a spontaneous demonstration in parliament, pumping their fists in the air while demanding the execution of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been under house arrest since last week.
"We believe the people have lost their patience and demand capital punishment," more than 200 lawmakers said in a statement.
Last year, Iran's leaders tolerated a flurry of statements by the two former presidential challengers turned opposition leaders, and in turn, neither called for any demonstrations. But the anti-government protest that rocked the center of Tehran on Monday signaled an end of that unspoken arrangement, analysts say.
"The efforts of the Supreme Leader were focused on trying to bring Mousavi and Karroubi back into the folds of the revolution," Kazem Jalali, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the parliament, told the semiofficial Fars News agency. "But these persons have purged themselves from the system. The parliament demands the strongest punishment for Mousavi and Karroubi."
Although government supporters have often called for both men to be arrested, it is rare for higher officials to demand their execution.
Ahmad Khatami, an influential Friday prayer leader appointed by Khamenei, joined in by saying the opposition leaders were guilty of "moharebeh," a Shiite legal term that means "waging war against god" and carries the death sentence in Iran.
The paramilitary Basij organization, which has been instrumental in cracking down on the protests, also issued a a statement asking authorities to "swiftly change their decision."
The demands pose a dilemma for Supreme leader Khamenei, who has final say in all important state matters. During the past year, he effectively prevented Karroubi and Mousavi from being arrested by suggesting on several occasions that the two men must admit their mistakes and return to the embrace of Iran's Islamic system.
Following his guidance, members of Iran's National Security Council, which runs many day to day affairs and is headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, concluded that their arrest or punishment would turn them into living martyrs for the opposition movement and could incite new protests, many here say.
But the mood has dramatically changed since Monday's demonstration, in which two people were killed, according to Fars. Although opposition Web sites have said the men were protesters, state organizations reported that they were members of the Basij and were killed by the opposition.
A state-backed funeral procession is planned on Wednesday for one of the men, named Sal-e Jhale, a 26-year-old ethnic Kurd, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
"The use of firearms in these riots is a declaration of armed war against the Iranian nation ... this should be seen by the officials," the Basij organization said in a statement posted online by Fars.
Although there were no protests on Tuesday, the Internet remains restricted.
Monday's events have increased demands for legal action against Karroubi and Mousavi, said Amir Mohebbian, an analyst close to Iran's ruling class. "The leader might now change his view on their arrest, although nothing is certain just yet," he said.
Ahmadinejad, speaking on state television during a scheduled live broadcast, said the demonstrators and leaders had planned to tarnish the "brilliance" of the Iranian nation.
"The Iranian nation is a shining sun. They [the demonstrators] threw some dust towards the sun," he said. "I want to address those who planned and masterminded this protest. They should know that the dust will certainly return into their own eyes."
erdbrinkt@washpost.com
Special correspondent Kay Armin Serjoie contributed to this report.

Anti-government protests spread to Iran 14FEB11

PROTEST for freedom and democracy are spreading across the Maghreb, the Middle East and the Gulf. The protesters have been peaceful and non-violent, the governments they seek to replace respond with violence. This from the Washington Post on today's protest in Tehran, Iran...where the repressive theocracy encouraged protest in Egypt and Tunisia but attacked non-violent marchers in Iran with tear gas, beatings and arrest. The rest of the Islamic world is witness to the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime and their "religious" leadership.....
By Thomas Erdbrink
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, February 14, 2011; 12:22 PM


TEHRAN - Crowds of demonstrators battled security forces armed with tear gas and batons during a surprisingly large anti-government protest in the Iranian capital Monday that drew inspiration from the recent popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Dodging clouds of tear gas fired by police and pro-government militiamen, the protesters marched down a central boulevard and shouted slogans such as "Death to the dictator," "We are all together" and "Down with Taliban, in Cairo and Tehran."
Witnesses at several positions along the route said vast throngs of people could be seen marching from Enghelab (Revolution) Square toward Azadi (Freedom) Square, overwhelming police efforts to stop them.
Dozens of protesters were arrested for participating in the banned rally, an opposition Web site reported. A similar demonstration, clashes and arrests were reported in the central Iranian city of Isfahan.
The gathering in Tehran appeared to be the most significant anti-government protest here since security forces cracked down on a series of massive demonstrations in 2009. The size of the crowd was difficult to estimate. Some witnesses said they believed it exceeded 200,000. The Associated Press said tens of thousands of people demonstrated.
In any case, the government seemed to have been taken by surprise by the large numbers of protesters. Security forces shot dozens of tear gas grenades at demonstrators who at times attacked members of the pro-government paramilitary Basij forces.
Police, who seemed to be mobilized in smaller numbers than usual, tried to disperse the protesters using batons and tear gas. A man was seen coming to the rescue of his wife after a helmeted officer hit her on the legs.
In the afternoon, as the crowds grew, the police were seen retreating in some areas. By evening, the protesters seemed ready to disperse. Internet service had been disrupted in Tehran, so it was difficult to ascertain the next steps for organizers, who had relied on Web sites and social media to launch Monday's rally.
The roads near Tohid Square in western Tehran were lined with rocks, and steel street barriers were erected blockades against groups of Basij members.
After sunset, trash cans were set on fire as members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps drove past on their signature motorcycles and shot some bystanders with tear gas and paint guns. Some people in the crowd handed out masks that offered some protection from the stinging fumes. Others lit small fires that also provided relief.
Some demonstrators held green ribbons, the color of the opposition movement that sprang to life after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed election victory in 2009.
After the election, the movement staged widespread protests. Those protests were eventually stifled by security forces, including the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij militia, which are fiercely loyal to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Two people were hanged and scores of opposition supporters jailed. The last mass demonstration was in December 2009.
The 2009 protests were led in part by presidential challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi, whose defeat by Ahmadinejad at the polls was widely questioned.
Mousavi also called for Monday's demonstration, saying people should rally in support of the protesters in Egypt and Tunisia who had succeeded in toppling their governments.
Although Iran's government has praised the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings, officials refused to grant a permit for a gathering in Iran.
A statement on a Mousavi-affiliated Web site in advance of the rally warned that any violence directed at the protesters by security forces would be an international "disgrace" and would undermine the government's public support for the Egyptian and Tunisian protesters.
"Do not allow the infiltrating agents of those seeking violence to derail the demonstrations with their aggressive behavior under any circumstances," the statement posted on Kalameh.com said. "The noble people of Iran should participate in the peaceful demonstration, with calm and resolve."
On Saturday, the White House called on the Iranian government to allow its people to assemble.
"The Iranian government has declared illegal for Iranians what it claimed was noble for Egyptians," national security adviser Thomas E. Donilon said in a statement.

Sanctions slow development of huge natural gas field in Iran (AND EXPOSES THE HYPOCRISY OF THE gop AND THE tea-baggers) 23JUL10

FOR all the whining and fear-mongering about Iran from the gop and the tea-baggers, here is an interesting article from the Washington Post showing the sanctions by the Obama administration are having an effect on Iran and the revolutionary guards. AND note who was working on this gas project...HALLIBURTON, DARLING OF THE GOP AND THE TEA-BAGGERS AND RECIPIENT OF HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS AND ALSO OF GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL FAME. GREAT AMERICAN COMPANY, EH? NOTE THEY DIDN'T PULL OUT OF THE PROJECT OUT OF PATRIOTISM, THEY LEFT OUT OF FEAR OF THE SANCTIONS. WHERE IS THE RIGHT WING OUTRAGE OVER HALLIBURTON BEING INVOLVED WITH ANYTHING IN IRAN? JUST MORE GOP, TEA-BAGGER HYPOCRISY!!!! (Note, Shell is a Dutch company, Total is a French company)


By Thomas Erdbrink
Friday, July 23, 2010; A08


ASALOUYEH, IRAN -- Increasingly tough international sanctions over Iran's nuclear program have significantly slowed the county's most prestigious economic project, scheduled to rake in more than $130 billion in annual sales of natural gas after its completion.
Threatened by tougher international and U.S. penalties that target the financing of oil projects and technical support for Iran's energy sector, Western firms such as Shell, Total and Halliburton have pulled out of the development of the South Pars gas field. South Pars is the Iranian portion of a natural gas reservoir about two miles below the Persian Gulf between Iran and Qatar. The reservoir is the world's largest gas field, covering 3,745 square miles and containing an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet of gas. About 38 percent of it lies below Iran's territorial waters.
On Saturday, the engineering and construction arm of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, Khatam ol-Anbia, which is also under new U.N. and U.S. sanctions, unexpectedly withdrew from two key gas refinery projects. It also refrained from bidding on the three final parts of the South Pars gas field, said Mohammad Hassan Mousavizadeh, a technical adviser to the state-owned Pars Oil and Gas Co.
"In the present circumstances, it is possible that continued activity . . . will endanger national resources," Khatam ol-Anbia said in a statement after the pullout.
Industry sources said the projects were lagging behind schedule because foreign banks were not providing financing. By pulling out, the Revolutionary Guard hoped to head off further delays, the sources said.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, and Malaysia's SKS Ventures have taken over some parts of the projects, but the bulk of the work is now done by little-known local consortiums, some of them affiliates of the Guard's construction arm. Others belong to banks and the state.
In addition to problems obtaining financing, the companies face difficulties in procuring key instruments and hiring drilling rigs, industry insiders said. In part as a result, Iran's objective of becoming a major producer of liquefied natural gas has been scaled down. Officially, Iran has blamed "a worldwide drop in demand for the product."
Qatar, the Arab emirate that shares the gas field with Iran, exported $62 billion of mainly gas products in 2008, while Iran's gas exports brought in about $6 billion. But Iran's potential profits are huge, project managers said. They estimate that Iran could earn up to $130 billion a year from natural gas, eclipsing crude oil sales, which the U.S. Energy Information Administration pegged at $53 billion in 2009.
At the South Pars site, the number of workers has dropped to 20,000, down from a peak of nearly 100,000 when several projects were underway.
"Roads, bridges and airports have all been finished," Mousavizadeh said. "The best thing is that we are all doing this by ourselves."
A similar drive for self-sufficiency in developing Iran's nuclear sector -- and the resulting sanctions aimed at curtailing its uranium-enrichment program -- have changed the face of the South Pars project.
Road signs leading to Asalouyeh, the Persian Gulf town that hosts the project, used to say "Welcome to the economic capital of Iran." Now visitors are greeted with slogans such as "South Pars is the manifestation of national resolve."
During a rare visit to the site by reporters this week, small groups of workers in blue shirts could be seen welding pipes and pouring concrete. Looming over them were large posters of Iranian clerical leaders with the slogan "We are able." Only one ship was docked at Asalouyeh's port.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, which has adopted a confrontational approach toward the West, has designated the South Pars project as a symbol of national will that exemplifies the capabilities of a resilient nation under siege. Ahmadinejad, who visited Asalouyeh in June, has demanded that all projects be finished within 35 months, a goal that could be difficult to achieve, because many of the project sites currently show no signs of activity.
"Of course we will work faster with Western companies involved," head engineer Sohrab Ghashqai said in English. "But at least now we are educating our young engineers."
But some of those young engineers say that jobs in South Pars are no longer the career stepping stones they once were.
"Working in South Pars meant good pay and interesting work," said one engineer who worked at the site for two years. But jobs dried up with the departure of foreign companies, salaries quickly dropped, and housing conditions in the Persian Gulf heat became intolerable, he explained.
"I left disillusioned," he said. "There is so much potential, but we are not exploiting it."