Uskowi on Iran - اسکویی در باره ایران

Arab Foreign Ministers in Turkey

2012-01-28T09:08:00.005-05:00

Top of Agenda: Continued Supply of Oil to Turkey

Foreign ministers of six Arab states of the Persian Gulf are attending the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of Turkey-Gulf Cooperation Council in Istanbul on Saturday. The meeting’s agenda is to explore ways to maintain the supply of oil to Turkey in the event of the disruption of Iran’s oil exports. The situation in Syria is also expected to be discussed during the meeting.

IAEA Inspectors to Arrive in Tehran

2012-01-27T22:01:00.001-05:00

A team of IAEA inspectors will arrive in Tehran on Saturday. The director general of IAEA, Yukiya Amano, speaking on the sidelines of Davos world economic forum, on Friday urged Iran to engage constructively with the team. Amano said his organization’s previous efforts to verify whether Iran’s nuclear activities were entirely for non-military purposes have been hampered by “a lack of cooperation” from Iran.

“The high-level team leaves today and starts work tomorrow. We hope they (Iran) will take a constructive approach. We hope that there will be substantial cooperation,” Amano said. “We have information that indicates that Iran has engaged in activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device,” he added [AFP, 27 January].

“We are requesting that Iran clarifies the situation. We proposed to make a mission and they agreed to accept the mission. The preparations have gone well but we need to see what actually happens when the mission arrives,” Amano said.

Final Agreement on TAPI Pipeline Expected Soon

2012-01-27T12:18:00.006-05:00

Afghan President Hamid Karzai reportedly had a successful meeting with his Turkmen counterpart on Wednesday on the status of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. Separately, the Indian and Pakistani officials met on the same day and are very close to an agreement on a joint strategy on transit fees to be paid to Afghanistan. The Indian oil minister told reporters that there has been “considerable progress” in putting final agreements in place.

The 1,700-kilometer (1,050 mile) TAPI pipeline will transport over 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Dauletabad gas fields in southeast Turkmenistan. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated the cost of TAPI construction to be over $7.5 billion.

The main remaining stumbling bloc before the construction can begin is ADB's insistence that it would finance the project only if the pipeline operation is handed to a consortium led by a credible Western multinational to help guarantee its successful operation. ADB also seeks to have the Western-led consortium to participate in the development of the gas field, an arrangement believed to be opposed by Turkmenistan.

The previously planned Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline will be the obvious victim of TAPI’s construction. The Indians pulled out of the project last year and the Pakistanis are under pressure to do the same. A quick start in TAPI’s construction will also relieve pressure on Pakistan to import gas from Iran.

Map: menasassociates.blogspot.com

Iranian lawmakers to debate preempting EU oil ban with ban of their own

2012-01-27T12:04:00.006-05:00

According to the Associated Press:

A law to be debated in Iran's parliament on Sunday could halt exports of oil to the European Union as early as next week, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted a lawmaker as saying on Friday.

"On Sunday, parliament will have to approve a 'double emergency' bill calling for a halt in the export of Iranian oil to Europe starting next week," Hossein Ibrahimi, vice-chairman of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying.

Parliament is pushing for the export ban to deny the EU a 6-month phase-in of the embargo on Iranian oil that the bloc agreed on Monday as part of a raft of tough new Western sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to curb its nuclear program.

The EU accounted for 18 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the first half of 2011, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), making it Iran's second biggest customer after China.

"If the deputies arrive at the conclusion that the Iranian oil exports to Europe must be halted, the parliament will not delay a moment (in passing the bill)," Fars quoted Moayed Hosseini-Sadr, a member of parliament's energy committee, as saying.

"If Iran's oil exports to Europe, which is about 18 percent (of Iran's oil exports) is halted the Europeans will surely be taken by surprise, and will understand the power of Iran and will realize that the Islamic establishment will not succumb to the Europeans' policies," he said.

The Iranians are demonstrating they have potential cards to play in this environment of escalating hostility. And unlike Syria, they are not nearly as dependent on oil exports to Europe. More and more, the Iranians are pushed East at the expense of the West.

Above: Banned in Europe, this freshly overhauled for 2012 Iran Air Boeing 747-286BM will very soon be servicing routes to Asia.

Photo: Iman Asgari at Airliners.net

IRGC soldiers in Syria?

2012-01-27T00:01:00.008-05:00

The above video purports to show IRGC soldiers confessing to their captors they have participated in the shooting of Syrian civilians, in assisting Syrian military/security personnel.

Is the video authentic?

It isn’t easy to field Iranian military/security units in an Arab environment, and vice-versa. There’s the language barrier, unfamiliarity with the urban surroundings, differences in respective training, equipment, etc. That said, it was done in Lebanon in the early/mid 80s. But the Iranians found they were of most use as trainers and advisors. For their part, the Syrians have a lot more experience right now at the application of military force they’ve been exerting continuously for months now, whereas the Iranians recent experiences are applied in law enforcement techniques primarily performed by NAJA and not the IRGC.

There were similar allegations following the 2009 presidential election in Iran: that Hamas and Hezbollah were out on the streets of Tehran attacking protesters. It's been suggested this rumor originated from Israeli intelligence sources.

Difficult to judge with certainty, but this author is skeptical of the video’s authenticity. If indeed IRGC personnel were captured in Syria, they would likely be observers. It makes sense for the Iranians to study both the Syrian military’s experiences in this form of warfare, as well as the tactics of the Free Syrian Army (and armed groups) which is being assisted by Western military Special Forces advisors.

Iran Devalues Currency; Sets Single Rate of Exchange

2012-01-26T20:02:00.003-05:00

Interest Rate Increase

Iran announced an 8 percent devaluation of the rial today. The move followed a decision on Wednesday to raise the interest rate on bank deposits by 6 percent. Combined, the actions were taken to curb a much more rapid depreciation of rial. The country’s central bank also announced that it will enforce a single exchange rate, aiming to stamp out the non-governmental currency markets.

The new official exchange rate is set at 12,260 rials to the dollar. The rate at non-governmental currency markets had soared to 22,500 rials to the dollar on Wednesday morning. It fell to 21,000 after the announcement of the interest rate hike yesterday afternoon and now the central bank wants to get away with the unofficial rate and enforces a single rate of 12,260.

The new interest rate was set at 21 percent on five-year fixed deposit, a six percent jump over the previous rate. It is thought that by offering an interest rate equal to or slightly higher than the rate of inflation, the people would not have much incentive to purchase dollar in the free currency exchange markets, ending the economic panic of the last few weeks and making the goal of a single currency rate a reality.

“I announce it right here at 12,260 rials (to the dollar),” Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani told state television. “This new price will go into effect starting Saturday in all banking outlets and all banking transactions will be calculated on the basis of this new rate,” he added [IRIB, 26 January].

“There will be absolutely no need to go to the open market to procure foreign currency. The banking system will meet all of the people's needs,” Bahmani said.

The government critics claim that although the government may not have created the recent rial plunge it may have participating in it by refusing to raise the interest rate earlier. The government, controlling the hard currency oil revenues, could get much more rials for its dollars in an attempt to cut a massive deficit (estimated at some $30bn-$50bn) that were to be paid in rials.

Rare Criticism of Khamenei on Iranian TV

2012-01-26T20:00:00.002-05:00

Former Iranian MP Emad Afrough gave this criticism of the Iranian regime. He warns of a gap being formed between the regime and its people, stating that he senses danger.

He emphasizes that he isn't criticizing the legitimacy of the regime and states that divine rule and law should be a major governing factor.

He concludes by stating a single person cannot rule a country.

Ahmadinejad offers talks with the west

2012-01-26T14:41:00.003-05:00

"It is the West that needs Iran and the Iranian nation will not lose from the sanctions."

"Why should we shun talks? Why and how should a party that has logic and is right shun talks? It is evident that those who resort to coercion are opposed to talks and always bring pretexts and blame us instead."

-- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Ahmadinejad has offered to reopen talks with the west. In a speech broadcast from Kerman on state television he accused the west of trying to ruin negotiations, instead opting to put increased pressure on Iran.

In the last two rounds of meetings that took place in Turkey and Geneva, Iranian officials were happy to talk about an issue aside from predominant western concerns that Iran is developing nuclear weapons,

Iran Air Force F-14A Crashes – Crew Killed

2012-01-26T11:16:00.011-05:00

An Iranian F-14A fighter jet has crashed near the city of Bushehr, killing both the pilot and radar intercept officer. Fars News Agency reported that the crash happened on Thursday morning and was due to technical failures without providing any further details. The US-made F-14As were purchased before the revolution by the shah.

Shaping the Foreign Policy of the United States

2012-01-25T06:00:00.004-05:00

By Paul Iddon

A hawkish foreign policy towards Iran may not be a very smart option for the next US administration.

“We're not going to let a bunch of insidious terrorists. Cowards! Shape the foreign policy of the United States,” George Herbert Walker Bush loudly proclaimed as he stood by the rubble of the former US Marines barracks in Beirut which had been leveled - the prime suspects being Iranian surrogate forces who were at that time establishing themselves in Lebanon - leaving in its destructive wake the single greatest loss of US Marines in a single incident since Iwo Jima. Bush's firm pronouncements would ring hollow during his second term as Vice President of the United States when he oversaw the illegal and unconstitutional sale of weapons to the Iranian regime. The Iran-Contra Affair which undermined Congress and almost saw Reagan impeached certainly shaped “the foreign policy of the United States” contrary to Bush's prior assertion.

When Bush the son became president in 2000 after a campaign opposed to nation building and in favour of a more humble foreign policy he inherited a questionable foreign policy that saw the United States recent endeavors in the past administration engage in questionable policies. The most salient being the concept of dual containment, hence containing two respective countries – Baathist Iraq and the Islamic Republic – that under their then present leaderships loathed each other. Following the 9/11 attacks a much less humble foreign policy (to say the least) was subsequently adapted and the United States intervened in both Afghanistan and Iraq and subsequently ousted two of Iran's enemies, the Taliban (which had murdered what it saw as Shia “heretics” in Afghanistan as well as Iranian diplomats who opted to negotiate a settlement with them in Mazari Sharif back in 1998) and the Iraqi Baath party (which under the leadership of Saddam Hussein attempted to plunder and annex the oil fields of southern Iran).

The latter country was technically at war with the United States since it invaded and attempted to permanently abolish Kuwait. George HW. Bush led a successful military coalition to evict Saddam's army from Kuwait, but following the ceasefire which was supposed to officially end hostilities the United States ended up launching further military operations as it later in 1991 established no fly zones in both the north and south of Iraq to protect the respective Kurdish and Shia populations of whom Saddam had murdered in their hundreds of thousands. Bush is often said to have incited the Shia's giving them the false impression that the US would back them in a revolutionary struggle to overthrow the Hussein dictatorship. In his book Republic of Fear author Kanan Makiya illustrates how the Baath Party from its rise to become all powerful in 1979 was established to be in a literal sense 'coup proof'. Makiya references a statement from an interview with then National Security Advisor Brent Scowcoft in which Scowcoft makes it clear the US was favouring a coup to what was then a mounting revolution in the Shia south. Makiya then points out that this is a very salient example of how little the US knew about a country and a dictatorial apparatus that it had mobilized 500,000 soldiers in which to combat.

To backtrack a bit and also to make clear, Iran is not Iraq, however I make these various comparisons and points simply because of the importance Iran is commanding in the present Presidential elections in relation to US foreign policy. With the exception of Ron Paul the other prominent contenders for the Republican nomination Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich (Rick “I hope Iranian nuclear scientists continue to be murdered” Santorum can be pretty much discounted at this late stage) have made statements in recent weeks that amount to adopting a hawkish foreign policy towards Iran if they are elected to office.

Whilst previously Iraq weighed in as a heavy factor in US foreign policy debates in the 2004 and 2008 campaigns Iran seems to have taken its place following the final withdrawal of US troops from Iraq late last year. Whilst the likes of Gingrich assert that the US could break Iran in a year one needs a little more reassurance as to how a Gingrich or a Romney administration would handle the aftermath of a military engagement with Iran. And how exactly would they bring about regime change? Are they simply calculating that a so called “shock and awe” military bombardment of Iran's forces would cause the regime to 'lose face' in front of its own people at a pivotal moment and therefore bring about its demise. To the contrary, any pre-emptive attack will surely empower the regime and also make them more brazen in crushing internal dissent. A regime that foments hate for Israel and the west on a weekly basis to take attention off the domestic woes and ever growing discontentment within its own borders will surely be empowered by such an attack, and anger resulting from the dire circumstances that come from war will be directed outward making a genuinely more hostile Iran and the overall situation in the region much worse.

If the regime is pursuing nuclear weapons it is most likely doing so for leverage purposes. We're not looking at a suicidal regime here, this is a status quo regime that wants to maintain its elite position of power and wealth in a manner similar to the North Korean elite. They will get occasional concessions on sanctions by aggressively testing long range missiles or making malevolent manoeuvrings over the Strait of Hormuz by threatening the steady flow of oil that many countries are heavily dependent on. This is clearly the kind of game they are aiming to play.

For a future US administration to make any headway besides waging a horrific war with regards to Iran would be to engage its people in international solidarity. Addressing and magnifying their qualms and extending a hand of friendship and conciliation with them whilst exploiting the true divided nature of the present political system in Iran would have more strategic imperatives for Washington than any amount of aircraft carriers or missile destroyers. Therefore it is my strong contention that more bolder, confrontational and hawkish rhetoric from the next administration is not the solution to this wider issue. The regime in Tehran is looking for such a diversion for itself. Rest assured that a few dramatic displays of powerful air dropped munitions at the countries various nuclear sites is exactly what this regime needs at this time, to divert away from it the growing anger emanating from a progressively more discontented and disgruntled public.

Editor’s Note: Paul Iddon is one of the authors of Uskowi on Iran. His weekly column 'Broadened Vistas' appears here on Wednesdays.

British defense minister points to Europe's military power projection into the Persian Gulf

2012-01-25T01:19:00.009-05:00

According to the Associated Press:

In London, Britain's Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said his country was ready to strengthen its military presence in the Gulf if needed.

The U.S.-led convoy of warships now in the Gulf — which included Britain's HMS Argyll frigate and France's frigate La Motte Picquet [sic] — sent "a clear signal about the resolve of the international community to defend the right of free passage through international waters," Hammond told reporters.

"We also maintain mine-counter measures vessels in the Gulf, which are an important part of the overall allied presence there, and of course the U.K. has a contingent capability to reinforce that presence should at any time it be considered necessary to do so," he added...

Hammond declined to offer specific details on what forces are currently in the Gulf, but said it had about 1,500 Navy personnel in the region east of Suez, which includes the Middle East and Indian Ocean, and a Royal Air Force base in Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.

Four anti-mine vessels are based out of Bahrain, which is also the base for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Britain also has two frigates — including HMS Argyll — three support ships, a survey vessel and one hunter-killer nuclear submarine in the region, the ministry said.

Last year, the U.K. created a Response Force Task Group — drawn from a pool of warships and marines — that can be deployed at short notice.

In Paris, French military spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard said the French warship, which specializes in countering submarine attacks, has since separated from the British and American vessels, but remains on a "presence mission" in the Gulf.

France doesn't have plans to deploy more forces to the zone, said Burkhard, noting that France has a small base in the United Arab Emirates, which currently houses six Rafale warplanes and about 650 troops, including an infantry battalion.

HMS Argyll (F 231) Duke class (Type 23) frigate (FFGHM)

La Motte-Picquet (D 645) Georges Leygues class destroyer

(Type F 70 (ASW)) (DDGHM)

Photos: Wikipedia

PBS Frontline: Nuclear Power after the Fukushima accident (and Iran)

2012-01-24T03:28:00.005-05:00

By Mark Pyruz

Watch Nuclear Aftershocks on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

After watching the Program, I came away believing Iran's decision (and other's) to pursue nuclear power makes perfect sense for the 21st century. You be the judge.

US Expands Sanctions against Iran Banks

2012-01-23T17:36:00.000-05:00

The US today imposed sanctions against Bank Tejarat of Iran (“Commerce Bank of Iran”) and its affiliate, Belarus-based Trade Capital Bank. The US sanctions against financial institutions choke off their access to global banking system. Iran needs the access to get paid for its oil exports.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama today praised the EU’s move to impose embargo on Iranian oil and sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran.

Iran Calls EU Oil Embargo “Unfair” and “Ineffective”

2012-01-23T14:36:00.008-05:00

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called today’s decision by the EU to embargo Iranian oil “unfair,” and “ineffective.”

“The method of threat, pressure and unfair sanctions against a nation that has a strong reason for its approach (is ineffective) and doomed to fail," said Mehmanparast. “The (new EU sanctions) will not prevent Iran from achieving its inalienable right,” he added. [Fars News Agency, 23 January].

Mehmanparast’s comments are so far the first official reaction to EU’s move, and were noticeably subdued. On 27 December, and in response to the impending US sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran, the country’s first vice president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, had said that if new sanctions caused disruption in the country’s oil exports, Iran would not let a drop of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Mehmanparast did not use such language in response to the direct oil embargo against Iran.

However, a senior member of the Iranian parliament, Majlis, today called for the closure of the Strait if the sale of Iranian oil is disrupted.

“If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed,” said Mohammad Kossari, deputy chairman of Majlis's foreign affairs and national security committee [Fars News Agency, 23 January].

EU Bans Iran Oil

2012-01-23T10:43:00.007-05:00

The European Union’s 27 foreign ministers agreed today to impose an embargo on Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. The embargo on new oil contracts goes into effect immediately, but the member states are given a grace period until July 1st to honor the existing oil contracts with Iran.

The EU countries collectively are the second biggest consumers of Iranian crude and news of the embargo pushed the price of Brent crude futures to over $110 dollars a barrel.

The new sanctions ban the transfer of technology for the energy sector and new investment in and joint ventures with Iranian petrochemical entities.

EU officials also agreed to freeze the assets of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in EU countries and ban trade in gold and precious metals with Iran.

In addition, the sanctions bar the sale to Iran of “sensitive dual use” goods - those that can have a military or security use.

US Aircraft Carrier Passes Through Strait of Hormuz

2012-01-22T18:28:00.003-05:00

The US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf without incident on Sunday, a day after Iran backed away from an earlier threat to take action if an American carrier returned to the strategic waterway.

File Photo: USS Abraham Lincoln / US Navy

Iran to Seek Yen Oil Payment from India

2012-01-22T15:00:00.000-05:00

Bloomberg reported today that Iran has asked India to pay for its oil partly in yen as the two countries seek a solution on how to maintain their commercial relations amid the upcoming sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). The CBI handles all oil transactions for Iran [Bloomberg, 22 January].

During a visit to Tehran by a high-level Indian delegation, India reportedly proposed to pay for Iran oil in rupees. Under that proposal, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) would open rupee accounts in Indian banks and would use the oil revenues to purchase “non-strategic” goods and services from India. The Bloomberg report indicates that such arrangement, basically a variation of barter trade, was not entirely acceptable for the Iranian side.

India’s purchase of Iran crude approximates $10 billion annually. Iran’s imports from India are worth about $2.5 billion a year.

Iranian Boat Capsized – 17 Confirmed Dead

2012-01-22T09:53:00.001-05:00

Seventeen people have died after a storm capsized a passenger boat off of Iran's southern coast at the Strait of Hormuz. The boat was sailing between Hormuz Island and the port city of Bandar Abbas [IRNA, 22 January].

This month the US Navy has already rescued Iranian mariners in distress at sea on three separate occasions.

Khamenei proven right about the Islamic nature of the Arab Spring

2012-01-21T13:20:00.008-05:00

Egypt's Islamic parties secure 75 percent of parliament

by Mark Pyruz

The face of Egypt's Islamic electoral majority

According to the Associated Press:

Egypt's election commission and political groups say final results from the country's first elections since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak show Islamist parties winning nearly three-quarters of the seats in parliament.

An alliance led by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood won 47 percent of the spots in the 498-seat parliament, while the ultraconservative Al-Nour Party clinched 25 percent.

Since his speech on February 4, 2011, numerous Western commenters disdainfully rejected Khamenei's remarks referring to the Arab Spring as an "Islamic awakening." Here we have the results of the election in Egypt and they are unmistakeable: Khamenei has been proven correct.

With full control of their country in the hands of the electorate, it can be reliably assumed that Egyptians would seek similar social and political arrangements as those accepted by Iranians in their 1979 referendum, which popularly mandated an Islamic Republic. However the Egyptians have a roadblock in the form of a military junta that retains power. In Iranian terms, it is as if the Nojeh coup had successfully taken place while the Shah fled Iran, forestalling for a time the referendum.

Photo: Associated Press

Iran Currency Hits Historic Low

2012-01-21T12:36:00.006-05:00

Dollar at 19,000 Rials

The Iranian currency rial hit a historic low in Tehran’s foreign currency markets on Saturday, trading at 19,000 rials per US dollar. Rial has lost 7% of its value in January, and is down 75% against dollar compared to January 2011 when it was traded at 10,850.

UPDATE: Iran's semi-official Fars New Agency reports that rial is continuing to lose value against dollar, and on Saturday afternoon was being traded at a new low of 20,000 per dollar.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Backs Away from Threat Against US Warships Passing Through Strait of Hormuz

2012-01-21T11:08:00.003-05:00

IRGC Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami said today in Tehran that the return of U.S. aircraft carriers to the Persian Gulf was part of “routine activity.”

“U.S. warships and military forces have been in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East region for many years and their decision in relation to the dispatch of a new warship is not a new issue and it should be interpreted as part of their permanent presence,” Gen. Salami said [IRNA, 21 January].

On 3 January, the commander of Iran’s Army, Maj. Gen. Ataollah Salehi, had warned the US against sending a carrier through the Strait of Hormuz. Gen. Salehi had added that he was not in the habit of repeating his warning.

Today’s statement by IRGC deputy commander is backing away from the military commander’s unambiguous warning. Salami's statement came on the eve of traveling of a U.S. carrier back into the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Arabian Sea joining the USS Carl Vinson and returning the U.S. Naval standard two-carrier presence in the region. One of the two carriers is now posed to enter into the Persian Gulf.

Major Powers to Reopen Talks with Iran

2012-01-21T09:57:00.003-05:00

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton issued a statement on Friday making clear that a diplomatic path remained open to Iran.

“The EU3+3 (UK, France, Germany plus US, China and Russia) has always been clear about the validity of the dual track approach,” said Ashton. “We are waiting for the Iranian reaction.” [Reuters, 21 January].

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stuck a conciliatory tone at a news conference with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in Washington.

“We do not seek conflict. We strongly believe the people of Iran deserve a better future,” Clinton said. “They can have that future, the country can be reintegrated into the global community when their government definitively turns away from pursuing nuclear weapons… We have to see a seriousness and sincerity of purpose coming from them.” [Reuters, 21 January].

Westerwelle said, “One thing is clear: the door for serious dialogue remains open but the option of nuclear weapons in Iran is not acceptable.”

China’s news agency Xinhua today quoted China’s Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Hailong as saying that Iran is “willing to resume talks and to strengthen cooperation with IAEA.” He had made the comments after his meeting with a visiting Iranian delegation headed by Supreme National Security Council Deputy Secretary Ali Baqeri.

Are there too many people in the world? - Roya Kashefi

2012-01-20T14:58:00.004-05:00

This week on 4thought TV the theme and question posed was whether or not there are too many people in the world.

One of the contributors was Iranian human rights activist Roya Kashefi whom gave a short insightful talk in which she states that the Islamic regime in Iran has purposely doubled the countries population whilst simultaneously ignoring the relevant social consequences.

She subsequently goes on to state that it is wrong to use people as merely a tool of politics and goes on to say she would like to see countries plan and ensure they possess the means to adequately provide for their populations.

To watch this short talk click here.

US Military Chief in Israel for Talks on Iran

2012-01-20T09:56:00.001-05:00

The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey held talks today with the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz. Israeli media have described Gen. Dempsey’s visit as part of Washington’s effort to press Israelis to allow time for international sanctions on Iran to take effect before planning a military strike on the country’s nuclear facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that he noticed that “Iran was wobbling under the current sanctions,” raising speculations that no Israeli military strike is planned for near future.

US Navy Rescues Iranians in Distress at Sea

2012-01-19T17:54:00.004-05:00

Rescue Is the Third This Month

Sailors from guided-missile destroyer Dewey providing food, water and medical

supplies to distressed Iranian mariners. 18 January 2012

NBC News reported that an American guided missile-destroyer, the Dewey, rescued a sinking Iranian fishing boat Wednesday morning after it were spotted by a Navy helicopter [NBC/New York Daily News, 19 JNUARY].

Photos: NBC News/New York Daily News