Iran-U.S.A

[Rasputin]

Iran's state news agency says an envoy is being given access to five Iranians detained by US forces in Iraq.
The unconfirmed Irna report said Iran's embassy in Baghdad was sending a representative to see the detainees.

Tehran maintains the five, seized from the consulate in Irbil, northern Iraq, are diplomats, but the US accused them of providing support to insurgents.

Some commentators have viewed Iran's arrest of a UK naval crew in the Gulf as a reaction to the Irbil detentions.

Quoting "reliable sources", Irna gave no details of when any meeting was meant to take place.

"With the continuous efforts of Iran's embassy in Iraq, the co-operation of the Iraqi officials and the help of the UN representative, Iran's representative is supposed to meet our country's diplomats," it quotes the source as saying.

The US military in Iraq said it was checking the report.

'No linkage'

Tehran has lodged strong protests against what it said was the illegal action of US armed forces in capturing the men during a major raid in January.

The Iraqi foreign ministry has also been pressing for their release, backing the Iranian view that the men were engaged in consular duties.

Iranian officials have dismissed any link between the British crew and Iranian detainees in Iraq, while Britain and the US have said any exchange deal would be out of the question.

US troops seized computers and other equipment during the raid on a long-established diplomatic liaison office in Irbil, in mainly Kurdish northern Iraq.

Officials said the equipment showed that Iranian Revolutionary Guards were behind networks supplying technology and material to Iraqi insurgents to help them carry out attacks on US forces.

The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says many commentators have seen a link to the UK detention crisis.

They argue that Tehran reacted aggressively because of the increasing pressure over the nuclear issue and the detention of Iranians inside Iraq, she adds.

[Rasputin]

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has still not received a reply to a request to visit five Iranians held by U.S. forces in Iraq, an official at Iran's Baghdad embassy was quoted as saying on Saturday by Iran's ISNA news agency.

Washington accuses Iran of stoking violence in Iraq and in January detained five men it says were linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and backing militants. Iran insists they are diplomats, wants them freed and has requested access.

"There has been no reply to Iran's request, but a U.N representative and the (Iranian) embassy are trying to carry out Iran's legal right for our consulate to meet them and make sure they are alright to ease the concerns of their families," the official at the Iranian embassy in Iraq said.

"In this regard, the Iraqi officials have repeated their previous comments and emphasize they will follow (the issue), but there have not been any results so far."

The U.S. military has said it is considering the Iranian request. An International Committee of the Red Cross team has visited the detained Iranians twice, a U.S. military official said on Friday.

The unnamed Iranian official in Iraq suggested he was aware of only one such meeting. "If there has been another meeting recently, they haven't informed us about it," he said.

The five Iranians were detained in the northern city of Arbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan.

An aide to Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan's president, said the Iranians, who worked in the office of Tehran's representative in Arbil, were "not conducting acts against the United States' presence in Iraq or against the Iraqi government."

"We are keen that no acts of that kind are carried out, from any direction, in Iraqi Kurdistan," Fouad Hussein told Reuters.

Hussein said U.S. forces had been after a senior official in Iran's powerful Supreme National Security Council, which helps formulate policy on key issues, such as the nuclear file.

"The Americans arrested the wrong people," Hussein said.

"Confirmed information available to us shows the raid ... targeted ... the vice president of Iran's Supreme National Security Council," Hussein said.

"(The Iranian official) was on a visit to Kurdistan at the behest of President Jalal Talabani, and he had a meeting with Barzani in Arbil hours before the raid," Hussein said.

[Rasputin]

The US has denied claims made by an Iranian diplomat abducted in Iraq that he was tortured in captivity by people who included CIA agents.
A US spokesman said Jalal Sharafi's allegations of an American role in his detention were "theatrics" from the "Iranian propaganda machine".

Mr Sharafi, second secretary at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, was freed last week. He was abducted in February.

He said CIA agents had interrogated him on his country's role in Iraq.

"The United States had nothing to do with Mr Sharafi's detention and we welcome his return to Iran," said Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman.

When faced with my responses on Iran's official ties with the Iraqi government they increased the torture

Jalal Sharafi

"This is just the latest theatrics of a government trying to deflect attention away from its own unacceptable actions," he said.

A US military spokesman in Baghdad also said that multinational forces had nothing to do with Mr Sharafi's kidnapping.

'Increased the torture'

The Iranian envoy told the Irna state news agency he was subjected to torture "day and night".

"I was kidnapped on a Baghdad street while shopping by officials who had Iraqi defence ministry ID cards and were riding in American forces vehicles," he said.

Mr Sharafi said he was taken from the Karrada district to a base near Baghdad airport and questioned in Arabic and English.

"The CIA officials' questions focused mainly on Iran's presence and influence in Iraq," he said.

"When faced with my responses on Iran's official ties with the Iraqi government they increased the torture."

Iran's Fars news agency said: "He showed reporters the marks left by torture on his body that are now being treated by doctors."

Mr Sharafi was freed on 3 April. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari has said Baghdad does not know who held him.

Diplomatic tension remains high between Washington and Tehran over the detention by US forces of five Iranians in the Iraqi city of Irbil in January.

The US suspects them of aiding the Iraqi insurgency. Tehran says they have diplomatic status.

Iran this week released 15 UK sailors it had held for 13 days.

[Rasputin]

Unfortunately the outcome of most national political elections in the U.S. have an effect on the rest of the world. Consider what would have had happened if Ford had won the election of 1976 against Carter. The Islamic revolution of Iran would either have not had happened or it would have been delayed for a very long time.

Fast forward to the year 2001. If Al Gore had won the year 2000 election against Bush and was the U.S. president when 9/11 happened, most of the horrendous events that have happened since, and especially the Iraq war, would not have happened. True, the U.S. would have attacked a country (most likely Afghanistan) as revenge and a lesson for the rest; but that would have been it.

No Iraq, no patriot act, upcoming attack on Iran etc etc.

Now, the Republicans, with help from the Jewish lobby are at it again. What they are doing now will have an effect on majority of the world population.

If you are wondering how Barak Obama, an African Americna first term Senator has raised as much money as Hillary Clinton, you need not look too far or too deep. A major part of the financial support for Obama is coming from the Republicans and organizations related to Republicans, conservatives and the Jewish lobby. In some churches in the mid west and the south U.S., priests and pastors are urging people to send money to the Obama campaign. Why? Read on.

The existing pool of the Republican presidential candidates for the 2008 elections is very weak. It consists of Giuliani, Romney, McCain, Fox, Hunter and a couple more clowns. If any of these guys goes heads up against Hillary Clinton, the outcome of the election will be a crap shoot. Or, there would have to be another Florida or Ohio; that is, tampering with election results and votes. Since the Republicans have done this twice, they know getting away with it a third time is going to be very difficult if not impossible.

But what if Obama is the Democratic nominee instead of Clinton? In all honesty, do you really think America is ready for a Black president? A black president not with a name like George Washington or Leroy Johnson, but with name Barak Obama. Yeah right.

If any of the Republican candidates, all white Christian males, even Romney who is a Mormon, goes head to head with a Black candidate, there will be a landslide which will make the Reagan-Mondale landslide look pale in comparison.

This is why there is so much talk of Obama in the media. The problem is that most white America is busy with American Idol, the color of Paris Hilton's pubic hair and other nonsense to think about politics and their next president.

If one more Republican idiot replaces Bush, the world will have to tolerate another 4 years of misery, injustice and weak economy. If Bush doesn' attack Iran with or without help from Israel, his Republican successor will.

Between now and November 2008, encourage your American friends who vote democrat or independent to support and vote for Hillary Clinton.

Please... NOT ANOTHER BUSH IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

[Rasputin]

The head of the International Red Cross in Tehran says he saw wounds on an Iranian diplomat who has alleged that US forces in Iraq tortured him.
Peter Stoeker said there were marks on Jalal Sharafi's feet, legs, back and nose but he was unable to say if they were the result of torture.

Iranian media quoted Mr Sharafi saying the CIA tortured him "day and night".

Mr Sharafi was abducted in Iraq in February and released last week. The US denies any involvement in the case.

Mr Sharafi, second secretary at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, says he was kidnapped by Iraqi agents operating under the supervision of the CIA.

Iranian state media has quoted Mr Sharafi saying the CIA subjected him to torture as they questioned him about Iranian assistance to groups inside Iraq.

'Evidence of torture'

Iranian television has shown pictures of Mr Sharafi receiving treatment in hospital and quotes a doctor's report saying there are signs someone drilled holes in his feet as well as broke his nose, injured his ear and wounded his neck and back.

The ICRC's Mr Stoeker said he had been happy to meet Mr Sharafi in hospital because his organisation had been unable to find him in Iraq.

He confirmed he saw wounds on Mr Sharafi's feet, legs, back and nose but, not being a doctor, he was unable to say if they were the result of torture and if so, who inflicted them.

"The United States had nothing to do with Mr Sharafi's detention and we welcome his return to Iran," said Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, last week.

He dismissed the claims as "just the latest theatrics of a government trying to deflect attention away from its own unacceptable actions".

An unnamed US intelligence official also denied any claims of abuse, saying: "The CIA does not conduct or condone torture."

Mr Sharafi was freed in Iraq on 3 April, the day before the 15 British sailors were set free in Iran, but no link has been confirmed between the two cases.

[Rasputin]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A senior US lawmaker who joined a controversial trip to Syria last week reportedly said he is willing to visit Iran to open a dialogue with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.


Representative Tom Lantos (news, bio, voting record), who accompanied House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against strong White House objections, told the San Francisco Chronicle he thought Pelosi might also be willing to make a trip to Tehran.

"Speaking just for myself, I would be ready to get on a plane tomorrow morning," Lantos said at a press conference in San Francisco Tuesday, the Chronicle reported on its website.

"Because however objectionable, unfair and inaccurate many of (Ahmadinejad's) statements are, it is important that we have a dialogue with him," Lantos said.

"Speaking for myself, I'm ready to go -- and knowing the speaker, I think that she might be."

Pelosi, also at the press conference, did not dispute Lantos but also did not say she would want to go to Iran, noting that Ahmadinejad has made statements "so repulsive that they are outside the circle of civilized human behavior."

But she also praised Lantos, the chairman of the important House Foreign Affairs Committee, as having brought "great experience, knowledge and judgment" to their trip to Syria, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Saudi Arabia.

The trip stirred controversy, with President George W. Bush and other administration officials lashing out at Pelosi for undermining the government's tough line against Assad's regime, which the United States accuses of supporting terrorism.

A trip to Iran would likely draw similar attacks, as Washington has steadfastly resisted bilateral talks with Tehran, with which it severed official relations in 1980.

Lantos said he has been seeking a visa to Iran for more than a decade.

[Rasputin]

در پى درخواست رسانه*ها براى گفت*وگوى سيدجلال شرفى ديپلمات ربوده شده ايرانى و دبير دوم سفارت ايران در بغداد با رسانه*ها، وى عصر امروز چهارشنبه به همراه 2 تن از پزشكان معالج با صندلي* چرخ*دار در محل تالار آئينه وزارت امور خارجه جزئيات ربوده شدن و شكنجه*هاى 57 روزه خود در بغداد و در طول اسارت را تشريح كرد.
جلال شرفى در حالى در مقابل خبرنگاران حاضر شد كه آثار سوراخ*هاى وارده از طريق مته*هاى شكنجه*گران در پايش مشهود بود؛ همچنين آثار شكستگى بيني،گردن،آسيب*هاى عميق بر پشت، خونريزى دستگاه گوارش و پارگى گوش وى بوضوح قابل رويت بود.
وى در تشريح چگونگى ربوده شدنش در بغداد گفت:*15 بهمن ماه،در يكى از خيابانهاى بغداد و در حالى توسط افراد ملبس به يونيفرم نظامى ربوده شدم كه اين افراد در ابتداى برخورد كارت*هاى شناسايى خود را نشان دادند كه نشانگر اين بود كه آنان كاركنان وزارت دفاع عراق هستد،آنان اظهار داشتند كه براى پاره*اى سؤالات من سوار اتومبيل آنان شوم اما من به آنان گفتم كه ديپلمات بوده و داراى مصونيت هستم كه بدون توجه به صحبتهاى من، مرا با ضرب و شتم به داخل خودرو منتقل و به مكان نامعلومى بردند.
شرفى گفت:*ربايندگان به زبان انگليسى و عربى صحبت مي*كردند و از طريق بي*سيم با مسئولان خود در ارتباط بودند؛ مكانى كه ابتدا منتقل شدم چهار تا پنج روز در آنجا انواع شكنجه*ها بر من تحميل شد و تعداد هشت نفر در شيفت شبانه*روز با انواع ضربات مشت و لگد بر سر و صورتم از من بازجويى مي*كردند كه بدنبال ضربات، پرده گوشم پاره شد و خونريزى كرد و آنجا بود كه شكنجه را قطع كردند.
وى در توصيف مراحل ديگر شكنجه*اش گفت:در چنين وضعيتى بود كه مهره*هاى كمر، گردن و مفاصلم بر اثر ضربات شديد و هولناك دچار آسيب جدى شد.
دبير دوم سفارت ايران در بغداد در توصيف چگونگى شكنجه*هاى وارده بيان داشت:در حين بازجويى پاهايم را مي*بستند و با صدها ضربه كابل به زير كف پايم، سؤالات واهى مطرح مي*كردند و اتهامات واهى وارد مي*ساختند؛آنان اين سؤالات را با هدف تخريب رابطه ايران با دولت عراق مطرح مي*كردند اما به محض اينكه پاسخ مورد نظر را از من دريافت نمي*كردند شكنجه*ها را شدت مي*بخشيدند.
به گفته شرفى تعدادى از اين ربايندگان اول تلاش مي*كردند خود را گروهى تروريستى معرفى كنند كه نهايتاً مشخص شد آنان تروريست نيستند.
وى متذكر شد:در آنجا بود كه دست*وپا بسته صحنه*سازى اعدام مرا اجرا كردند و مجدداً با همان وضعيت من را به مكان ديگرى منتقل نمودند.
شرفى با اشاره به اينكه در مكان جديد علاوه بر اينكه دست*وپايم بسته بود داخل دهان نيز پنبه گذاشتند و با نوارچسب دور سرم را پوشاندند گفت: در اين مرحله بود كه به خاطر تنگى نفس و فشار بيش از حد شكنجه،مورد آزار و اذيت بيشتر قرار گرفتم و شكنجه*گران با قنداق سلاح و با مشت در مسير انتقال مرا بي*هوش كردند كه صبح روز بعد به هوش آمدم و متوجه شدم كه دست*وپايم باز شده اما بلافاصله دست*وپايم را بستند.
ديپلمات ربوده شده ايرانى با اظهار اين مطلب كه در همان روز آمپولى تزريق كردند كه تعادل جسمى و روحي*ام به هم ريخت و بعد از به*هوش آمدن متوجه شدم كه به زيرزمينى تاريك و نمناك منتقل شده*ام تصريح كرد:پس از 2 روز ماندن در اين مكان بود كه يك نفر خود را آمريكايى معرفى كرد و با مراجعه به من و به زبان انگليسى و با استفاده از مترجم عربى از من بازجويى كرد.
وى افزود:* اين بازجو اول تلاش كرد با استفاده از روش مسالمت*آميز مرا وادار به پاسخگويى موردنظرش كند اما وقتى به نتيجه*اى نرسيد شديدترين شكنجه*ها را با ضربات كابل بر اندامم وارد ساخت.
به گفته شرفى در اين حين فرد عراقى نيز با مشت ضرباتى را بر سر وى وارد مي*ساخته است.
وى ادامه داد:بازجوى آمريكايى وقتى پاسخ موردنظر را از من دريافت نكرد مرا تهديد نمود كه چنانچه با وى همكارى نكنم از چندين قلاده سگ براى دريدن من استفاده مي*كند و در اين هنگام كه درخواست*هاى او را تمكين نمي*كردم تحت شكنجه*هاى مرگبار قرار مي*گرفتم.
جلالى شرفى با بيان اينكه براى بازجويى و اخذ پاسخ*هاى موردنظر، متن عربى شامل سؤال و جواب در اختيارم گذاشته بودند افزود: در اين مرحله بود كه پاهاى مرا بستند و با دستگاهى شبيه دريل پاهايم را سوراخ كردند و گفتند آنچه كه نوشته شده را بر زبان بياورم.
بنا به* گفته دبير دوم سفارت ايران در بغداد، محور سؤالات مطرح شده در خصوص چرايى كمك ايران به گروه*هاى اسلامي،چگونگى كمك جمهورى اسلامى ايران به دولت نورى مالكى و نيز روابط پنهانى با اين دولت، نحوه ارتباط ايران با علما و احزاب سنى عراقي، ارتباط مسئولان كشورمان با طالبانى و بارزانى و نام كشورهايى كه جمهورى اسلامى ايران از آنان اورانيوم خريدارى مي*كند بود.
شرفى با اظهار اين مطلب كه بيش از 40 روز در زيرزمين ساختمانى در نزديكى فرودگاه بغداد كه 24 ساعته برق آن روشن و زير شكنجه*هاى مرگبار بودم بيان داشت:روشنايى 24 ساعته در زيرزمين و در حالى كه خيلى از وزارتخانه*ها و ساختمان*هاى دولتى عراق شبانه*روز كمتر از سه ساعت از روشنايى برق بهره*مند بودند نشانگر اين بود كه اين گروه تروريستى نبودند.
دبير دوم سفارت ايران در بغداد با بيان اين كه سيزدهم فروردين*ماه 86 و پس از فشارهاى سنگين وى را در نزديكى بغداد و در يكى از جاده*هاى عبورى رها كردند خاطرنشان كرد:همان ساعت بود كه خودم را به نمايندگى جمهورى اسلامى ايران در بغداد رساندم و با كمك دولت عراق و شخص نورى مالكى نخست*وزير عراق به داخل ايران منتقل شدم.
شرفى افزود: بعد از انتقالم به ايران متوجه شدم كه شخص آقاى طالباني، مالكى و هوشيار زيبارى بنا به درخواست مسئولان ايرانى تلاش*هاى زيادى براى آزادى من داشته*اند.
وى تصريح كرد:* بعد از انتقال به ايران متوجه شدم چهار نفر از عوامل ربايش توسط پليس عراق دستگير و هم*اكنون در اختيار مقامات قضايى عراق هستند.
به گفته شرفى مسئولان عراقى در ديدارهايى با مسئولان ايران به صراحت گفته*اند كه ربايندگان،عناصر وزارت مخابرات عراق بوده*اند.
دبير دوم سفارت ايران در بغداد از مقامات عراقى خواست با محاكمه عاملان ربايش و شكنجه*گران اجازه ندهند چنين حوادث هولناكى براى ديگر ديپلماتهاى مقيم عراق تكرار شود.
بر پايه گزارش خبرنگار فارس در ادامه اين گفت*وگو شرفى در پاسخ به اين سؤال كه انگيزه افراد سؤال*كننده از طرح سؤالات از شما چه بوده است گفت: آنان بيشتر به دنبال تخريب روابط ايران با عراق بودند و در بازجويي*ها از من مي*خواستند اعتراف كنم كه ايران در امور داخلى عراق دخالت مي*كند و تهديدى براى كشورهاى عربى است.
خبرنگار بي*بي*سى هم در سؤالى از شرفى پرسيد شما در چه مرحله*اى متوجه شديد كه مأمور بازجو كننده آمريكايى است كه دبير دوم سفارت ايران در بغداد در پاسخ بيان داشت:در آخرين مكانى كه هوش آمدم به صراحت شنيدم كه آن فرد به انگليسى تكلم مي*كند و خود را آمريكايى معرفى مى كند،او در مراحل مختلف بازجويى اظهار مى داشت كه با سفارت آمريكا در ارتباط بوده و مسئول مستقيم پرونده من مي*باشد.
خبرنگارى از شرفى پرسيد آيا اميدواريد كه وزارت دفاع عراق ربايندگان و شكنجه*گران شما را محاكمه كند، كه وى در پاسخ ابراز اميدوارى كرد كه مسئولان عراقى عاملان ربايش و شكنجه را مجازات كنند.
دبير دوم سفارت ايران در بغداد در پاسخ به سؤال خبرنگارى درباره دليل اين كه شما ابتداى آزادى و ورود به ايران زواياى شكنجه را بازگو نكرديد اما چند روز اخير چنين مسائلى را مطرح مي*كنيد گفت:از زمان ورود به ايران تاكنون به دنبال معاينات پزشكى بودم.
بر پايه گزارش خبرنگار فارس پيش از گفت*وگوى شرفى با خبرنگاران، حسينى و شريفى پزشكان متخصص پوست و روانپزشك معالج دبير دوم سفارت ايران در بغداد به تشريح وضعيت جسمى و روحى بيمار پرداختند.
حسيني،پزشك معالج و متخصص پوست تصريح كرد:معاينات پزشكى نشانگر آثار ضربه*هايى نافذ و غير نافذ در همه اعضاى بدن وى است كه در برخى نواحى فشار و ضربات بيشتر واضح تر مي*باشد.
وى با اشاره به شكستگى سر، گردن، بيني، پارگى پرده گوش و كبوديهاى به*جاى مانده از ضربات هولناك بر كمر شرفى گفت:زخم*هاى برجاى مانده، نشانگر فشارهاى ممتد است كه در برخى موارد به خاطر شرايط بد منجر به عفونت شده است.
شريفى روان*پزشك معالج شرفى نيز وضعيت روحى دبير دوم سفارت ايران در بغداد را مطلوب ندانست و گفت:با توجه به اين كه آقاى شرفى هنگام ربوده شدن نمي*دانست كه به چه سرنوشتى دچار مي*شود شديداً با تألمات روحى مواجه بوده و حبس*هاى انفرادى و محروميت* از نور و صدا تبعات بدى را بر روى مغز وى به جاى گذاشته است.
به گفته اين روانپزشك، بازسازى كردن اعدام، تهديد به مرگ فجيع، محروم كردن از خواب و شكنجه*هاى پي*درپى ديگر باعث شده است كه شرفى همچنان نسبت به هر نوع صدايى حساس باشد.
شريفى تصريح كرد: آقاى شرفى هم*اكنون هم در حال بيدارى و نه در رؤيا احساس مي*كند كه همچنان همان شكنجه*ها بر وى تكرار مي*شود.
روانپزشك معالج خاطرنشان كرد: شرفى هم*اكنون با اينكه دچار استرس*هاى حاد است تحت درمان روانپزشكى قرار گرفته اما به نظر مي*رسد براى بهبودى ايشان ماهها يا شايد سال*ها وقت نياز باشد كه تحت مراقبت*هاى ويژه قرار گيرد.
در پايان اين گفتگو،تصويربرداران خارجى و داخلى از نزديك آثار شكنجه هاى برجاى مانده بر بدن شرفى را به تصوير كشيدند.

[Rasputin]

After intense internal debate, the Bush administration has decided to hold on to five Iranian Revolutionary Guard intelligence agents captured in Iraq, overruling a State Department recommendation to release them, according to U.S. officials.

At a meeting of the president's foreign policy team Tuesday, the administration decided the five Iranians will remain in custody and go through a periodic six-month review used for the 250 other foreign detainees held in Iraq, U.S. officials said. The next review is not expected until July, officials say.

The five, seized in a Jan. 11 raid by U.S. forces in the Kurdish city of Irbil, are at the center of increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran. The decision is certain to further irritate Tehran, which has ratcheted up pressure on the United States and on its allies and even its friends in the Iraqi government to win freedom for the Irbil five.

The decision came as Iraq's government spokesman, on a White House visit Friday, urged better ties. "We feel that the improvement and the better relations between the United States and Iran could minimize -- could make the [Iranian] interference less," Ali Dabbagh said in a news briefing with White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Differences over the five Iranians reflect an emerging divide on how to deal with Iran. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice went into the meeting Tuesday advising that the men be freed because they are no longer useful, but after a review of options she went along with the consensus, U.S. officials say. Vice President Cheney's office made the firmest case for keeping them. Their capture signals that Iran's actions are monitored and that Iranian operatives face seizure.

The administration has expressed concern about Tehran's role in Iraq. Iran has long aided Shiite militias but more recently has also armed some Sunni militias, officials say. Officials also allege that Iran has provided roadside explosives that have killed U.S. troops. But Washington needs Iran's cooperation to stabilize Iraq.

Since the capture, Iran has threatened not to attend a key meeting in Egypt next month of Iraq's neighbors -- as well as the United States and international groups involved in Iraq -- that Washington hopes will foster cooperation on Iraq. Without Iran, which exerts great influence in Iraq, the meeting could have only a marginal impact, according to Iraqi officials and Middle East experts.

When the Iraqi government did not obtain release of the five detainees, Iran refused to allow a plane carrying Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to fly over Iran en route to Japan last week. Iran has also been pressing the detainees' case at the United Nations.

Some U.S. officials now say the seizure of 15 British sailors last month by the Revolutionary Guard may have been part of an effort to pressure Washington through Britain, its close ally and the second-largest troop contributor in Iraq. One reason Washington does not want to free the Iranians is to avoid the appearance of a deal to win the 15 Britons freedom last week, U.S. officials acknowledged.

The January raid on Iran's liaison office in Irbil was the second by U.S. troops. In December, U.S. troops in Baghdad nabbed Brig. Gen. Mohsen Chirazi, the No. 3 official in the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force, and Col. Abu Amad Davari. They were soon released under Iraqi government pressure.

In January, the United States again targeted two high-ranking Iranians, including Gen. Minojahar Frouzanda, the Revolutionary Guard intelligence chief, and Mohammed Jafari, deputy head of Iran's National Security Council, U.S. officials say. They eluded capture.

The United States is invoking Iraqi law as well as U.N. Security Council resolutions 1546, 1637 and 1723 authorizing the U.S.-led coalition operating in Iraq as grounds to detain the Iranians. The U.N. resolutions allow the multinational force to take steps to protect itself.

The Irbil five are members of the elite Quds Force, an arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps charged with Iran's clandestine foreign operations. The Quds Force has ties to the Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant groups as well as to Iraqi political movements that the United States has supported.

The administration's decision comes at an awkward time. Washington is about to send a fourth message to Iran asking for information on the whereabouts of former FBI agent Robert A. Levinson, who has been missing since he flew to Iran's Kish Island five weeks ago. The Financial Times and Reuters reported Friday that Levinson may have met on Kish Island with Daoud Salahuddin, a convert to Islam once known as David Belfield who is still wanted by the FBI for the 1980 murder in Bethesda of Iranian dissident Ali Tabatabai.

[Rasputin]

جمهوری اسلامی خواهان آن شد که آمریکا دست از 'لجاجت' خود بردارد و 5 ایرانی بازداشت شده در اربیل عراق را آزاد کند.
محمد علی حسینی، سخنگوی وزارت خارجه ایران در نشست هفتگی خود بر آزادی 5 ایرانی بازداشت شده در اربیل در شمال عراق تاکید کرد و گفت که جمهوری اسلامی برای آزادی این افراد از تمام ظرفیت های خود استفاده می کند.

ایران برای آزادی این 5 نفر که روز ۱۱ ژانویه توسط سربازان آمریکایی در شهر اربیل دستگیر شدند بر دولت عراق فشار وارد کرده و از طریق نماینده خود در سازمان ملل، موضوع را در شورای امنیت سازمان ملل متحد مطرح کرده است.

روزنامه واشنگتن پست، روز شنبه 14 آوریل به نقل از منابعی در دولت آمریکا نوشته بود که مشاوران سیاست خارجی جورج بوش، تصمیم به ادامه بازداشت ۵ ایرانی گرفته اند.

ایران می گوید که این افراد از اعضای نمایندگی ایران در شهر کردنشین اربیل به شمار می روند اما آمریکا مدعی است که افراد بازداشت شده با سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی در ارتباط هستند و در فعالیت های تخریبی علیه نیروهای آمریکایی در عراق دخالت دارند اتهام هایی که ایران آنها را رد می کند.

فروش سفارت آمریکا در تهران

سخنگوی وزارت خارجه ایران در مورد فروش سفارت آمریکا در تهران به خبرنگاران گفت که قوه قضائیه ایران موضوع فروش سفارت سابق آمریکا در تهران را بررسی کرده است.

وی افزود که وزارت خارجه ایران تا کنون هیچ گزارش رسمی در مورد واگذاری امتیاز فروش این سفارتخانه به یک بازرگان ایرانی دریافت نکرده است.

پیش از این حسين عليخانی، بازرگان ايرانی ساکن قبرس به بخش فارسی بی بی سی گفته بود که دادگاهی در ايران رأی داده که محل سابق سفارت آمريکا در تهران به فروش برسد و از محل پول حاصل از آن، غرامتی که وی از دولت آمريکا طلب کرده است پرداخت شود.

سفر نانسی پلوسی به تهران

آقای حسینی در مورد سفر احتمالی رییس مجلس نمایندگان آمریکا به ایران گفت که هیچ خبر موثقی در مورد سفر خانم پلوسی به ایران وجود ندارد.

به دنبال سفر نانسی پلوسی به سوریه، برخی رسانه های آمریکایی از احتمال سفر رییس مجلس نمایندگان آمریکا به ایران خبر داده بودند.

برخی از نمایندگان مجلس ایران نیز از سفر احتمالی خانم پلوسی به ایران استقبال کرده اند اما سخنگوی وزارت خارجه ایران گفته است که اگر درخواست سفری از سوی آمریکایی ها ارائه شود، ایران آن را بررسی خواهد کرد.

اقدام نظامی آمریکا علیه ایران

سخنگوی وزارت خارجه ایران در مورد انتشار اخباری مبنی بر حمله نظامی آمریکا به ایران گفت که شرایط منطقه به آمریکا اجازه اقدام نظامی را نمی دهد.

آقای حسینی افزود که آمریکایی ها خود گفته اند که گزینه نظامی در دستور کار آنها قرار ندارد و ایران نیز بر این باور است که آمریکا شرایط چنین حمله نظامی را ندارد.

مقام های آمریکایی گزینه اقدام نظامی علیه ایران را رد می کنند و می گویند که خواهان حل مناقشه هسته ای ایران از طریق دیپلماسی هستند.

خبرنگار رادیو فردا

محمد علی حسینی در مورد جلوگیری از خروج پرناز عظيما، یکی از خبرنگاران رادیو فردا از ایران گفت که وزارت امور خارجه ایران در حال بررسی این موضوع است.

راديو فردا اعلام کرده که يکی از خبرنگاران اين راديو به نام پرناز عظيما که با نام نازی عظيما فعاليت می کند، 25 ژانويه (پنجم بهمن) گذشته برای عيادت از يکی از خويشاوندان بيمارش به ايران سفر کرده اما در بدو ورود او به ايران در فرودگاه مهرآباد تهران، ماموران امنيتی گذرنامه ايرانی اش را از او گرفته اند تا نتواند از کشور خارج شود و او تا کنون موفق به خروج از ايران نشده است.

[Rasputin]

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that diplomatic efforts to resolve the standoff with Iran over its disputed nuclear program are "working" and should be given a chance to succeed.



Both the U.S. and Israel accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons — a charge Iran denies. Gates said the international community "is united in telling Iran what it needs to do with respect to its nuclear program."

The United States and its allies have led efforts to pass two U.N. Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to develop nuclear weapons.

"We agreed it was important to deal with the Iranian nuclear problem through diplomacy, which appears to be working," Gates said at a news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Amir Peretz.

"These things don't work overnight, but it seems to me clearly the preferable course to keep our focus on the diplomatic initiatives, and particularly because of the united front of the international community at this point," he added.

On Iraq, Gates decried Wednesday's new wave of violence in Baghdad, in which more than 170 people were killed, calling it "horrifying" and accusing al-Qaida of being behind the attack.

He said the attackers were trying to show that the U.S. security plan for Baghdad was failing. "These terrorists are killing innocent men, women and children who are Iraqis. They're killing their countrymen," he said.

Appearing in Cairo, Egypt earlier, the defense secretary reiterated the Bush administration's oft-stated assertion that any U.S. military failure in Iraq would unleash sectarian strife and extremism that would be felt first in the Middle East.

Speaking to an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon on the third day of his Middle East travels, Gates exhorted Arab countries in the region to use their influence to dampen the insurgency and encourage political reconciliation in Iraq.

"Whatever disagreements we might have had over how we got to this point in Iraq, the consequences of a failed state in Iraq — of chaos there — will adversely impact the security and prosperity of every nation in the Middle East and the Gulf region," Gates said.

He warned that while some who disagree with the war may be cheering for failure in Iraq, "these sentiments are dangerously shortsighted and self-destructive."

Gates' Cairo speech came in the midst of visits to military and political leaders in the region, where he urged them to do what they can to spur reconciliation efforts in Iraq and involve the Iraqi government more actively in the political discourse in the Middle East.

Gates is making his third trip to the region as defense secretary. He reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Iraq and to protecting allies in the area — while also alluding to the raging debate between the Democratically controlled Congress and the administration over bringing an end to the war.

The arguments, he said, probably reflect those going on across the Middle East but do not suggest the U.S. is not determined to keep working with its allies in the region.

That "is a responsibility we will not abandon, a trust we will not break," he said.

Gates also said that Iran and Syria need to become part of the solution by reducing the violence and helping promote reconciliation in Iraq — a key goal of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.

U.S. military officials, meantime, have stepped up their criticism of Iran, saying for the first time this week that Iranians are involved in providing weapons to Afghanistan.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that U.S. forces recently intercepted Iranian-made weapons intended for Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, suggesting wider Iranian involvement in the region. Military officials have said for months that Iranians are supplying weapons and training to insurgents in Iraq.

Asked about the latest development Wednesday, Gates said the U.S. does not yet know the magnitude of the problem or to what level in the Iranian government it rises. He said it is "troublesome and worrisome that the Iranians may be deciding to counter the efforts of some 42 nations in Afghanistan trying to help the government establish a strong democratic state. So we'll watch it very closely."

Iran has been a key topic in meetings Gates had with leaders in Jordan, and on Tuesday he told reporters that he would bring up the issue with Egypt President Hosni Mubarak during a meeting Wednesday. He said he wanted to get Mubarak's views on Iran's role in Iraq.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

گزارشها حاکی از اين است که کميته المپيک آمريکا مذاکراتی برای تبادل مربی، امکانات آموزشی و فناوری ورزشی با کميته المپيک ايران انجام داده است.
ناظران اين اقدام را يادآور سياست معروف به "ديپلماسی پينگ پنگ" می دانند که ريچارد نيکسون، رئيس جمهور آمريکا در سال 1971 برای تعامل با چين در پيش گرفت، اين ديپلماسی با دعوت تيم پينگ پنگ آمريکا به چين آغاز شد.

آن گونه که در گزارشها آمده، طی مذاکرات کميته های المپيک ايران و آمريکا قرار شده است ماه اوت آينده تيم وزنه برداری ايران از مقر کميته المپيک آمريکا در کلرادو اسپرينگز ديدار کند و تيم واترپولوی ايران در مسابقات قهرمانی جوانان جهان در کاليفرنيا شرکت کند.

اين مذاکرات ميان رابرت فاسولو، رئيس روابط بين الملل کميته المپيک ايالات متحده و رضا قهرمانخواه، رئيس و علی کفاشيان دبيرکل کميته ملی المپيک ايران طی مجمع عمومی شورای المپيک آسيا در کويت انجام گرفته است.

اقدام کميته المپيک آمريکا در زمينه همکاری با ايران با تأييد کارن هيوز، رئيس امور ديپلماسی امور فرهنگی در وزارت خارجه آمريکا صورت گرفته و مقامات کميته المپيک آمريکا می گويند که انتظار می رود جيمز شير، دبيرکل اين کميته برای عقد قرارداد با ايران به تهران سفر کند.

اما در ايران، علی کفاشيان، دبیرکل کمیته المپیک به خبرگزاری مهر گفته که هنوز پاسخی به درخواست آمریکایيها در مورد همکاری ورزشی داده نشده و کميته المپيک در این زمینه تابع سیاست های دولت است.

آقای کفاشيان گفته: "آمریکایيها تاکنون دو بار به ما نامه نوشته اند و آخرین بار در بازیهای آسیایی قطر خواستار امضای تفاهمنامه ورزشی بین دو کشور شدند که ما هنوز پاسخی به درخواستشان نداده و هرگونه تصمیمگیری را بر عهده سازمان تربیت بدنی و مسئولان سیاسی کشور گذاشته ایم".

وی افزوده که آمریکایيها "برای نشان دادن حسن نیت" خود تیمهای وزنه برداری و کشتی شان را به ایران اعزام کردند و خواستار سفر دبیرکل کمیته المپیک خود به ایران شدند اما موافقت با سفر دبيرکل کميته المپيک ايالات متحده به ايران با وزارت امورخارجه و سازمان تربیت بدنی است.

آقای کفاشیان در عين حال در اين مصاحبه تصريح کرده که به نظر او و با توجه به امکانات و سطح بالای ورزش آمريکا، ارتباط ورزشی با آن کشور می تواند از نگاه ورزشی به سود ورزش ايران باشد.

ابتکار همکاری ورزشی ميان ايران و آمريکا در شرايطی صورت می گيرد که روابط سياسی دو کشور در يکی از تيره ترين دوره های خود طی بيست و هفت سال گذشته قرار دارد، تا آنجا که حتی گاه احتمال رويارويی نظامی ميان دو کشور مطرح می شود.

اگرچه با وجود تيرگی و قطع کامل روابط دو کشور طی بيست و هفت سال گذشته، برخی تيمهای ورزشی ايرانی و آمريکايی سفرهايی به کشورهای يکديگر کرده و در رقابتهای ورزشی شرکت کرده اند، همچنين چند بسکتباليست آمريکايی در باشگاههای بسکتبال ايران بازی کرده اند.

مهمترين ديدار ورزشی ايران و آمريکا به رقابت تيمهای فوتبال دو کشور در جام جهانی فوتبال 1998 در آلمان باز می گردد که با نتيجه دو بر يک به سود ايران پايان يافت.

کميته المپيک ايالات متحده علاوه بر اقدام به همکاری ورزشی با ايران، ابتکار مشابهی نيز با کشورهای افغانستان، سوريه و لبنان انجام داده است.

[Rasputin]

دستور نامزد رياست جمهوري آمريكا: مردم ايران انقلاب كنند!

يكي از نامزدهاي انتخابات آتي رياست جمهوري آمريكا از مردم ايران خواست كه به دنبال براندازي دولت باشند.

به نقل از آسوشيتدپرس، "فرد تامسون" گفت: اين احتمال وجود دارد كه مردم ايران عليه حكومت بسيج شوند و در اين صورت ما بايد به آنها كمك كنيم تا دولت محمود احمدي نژاد را سرنگون كنند!

سناتور سابق ايالت تنسي مدعي شد كه اكثر ايراني ها دولت خود را دوست ندارند و آمريكا بايد از اين مساله بهره برداري كند.

وي افزود: در صورتي كه اين شانس ايجاد شود كه مردم ايران عليه حكومت به حركت درآيند، ما به آنها كمك خواهيم كرد تا به هدف خود دست يابند.

اين اظهارات در حالي بيان مي شود كه كاندوليزا رايس، وزير امور خارجه آمريكا پيشتر گفته بود: دولت بوش به دنبال تغيير رژيم ايران نيست و تنها خواهان تغيير رفتار آن است.

"تامسون" همچنين تهران را متهم كرد كه نقش مهمي در كشتن سربازان آمريكايي در عراق ايفا مي كند.

گفتني است "تامسون" در برخي نظرسنجي هاي عمومي براي رياست جمهوري آتي آمريكا در رتبه هاي بالايي قرار دارد و اين در حالي است كه وي هنوز طرح هاي سياسي خود را اعلام نكرده است.

وي يكي از سناتورهايي بود كه در تحقيقات مربوط به رسوايي "واترگيت" شركت داشت و در سال 1994 به سناتوري برگزيده شد تا جاي ال *گور را كه معاون رئيس جمهوري آمريكا شده بود، بگيرد.

[Rasputin]

يك روزنامه آمريكايي گزارش داد: يك ايراني هنوز در زندان آمريكايي گوانتانامو در كوبا به سر مي*برد.


اين ايراني «عبدالمجيد محمد» نام دارد و عليرغم اينكه دو ايراني ديگر كه در گوانتانامو حضور داشتند، آزاد شده*اند، وي هنوز در اين زندان به سر مي*برد.


اين ايراني 28 ساله و اهل زاهدان است.


دو ايراني آزاد شده «محمد انوركرد» و «بختيار بامري» نام داشتند.


دادگاه عالي آمريكا پيش از اين اعلام كرده بود ده*ها زنداني حاضر در زندان گوانتانامو هيچ حقي براي به چالش كشاندن بازداشت خود در دادگاه فدرال ندارند ولي در عين حال همه گزينه*هاي قانوني در مورد آنها مورد بررسي قرار نگرفته است.


برخي زندانيان حاضر در اين زندان اعلام كرده*اند آنها از زمان كافي براي پيگيري ديگر راهكارهاي قانوني برخوردار نبوده*اند تا طي آن بررسي كنند برابر با قانون اساسي آمريكا مورد حمايت قرار مي*گيرند يا خير چرا كه روند قضايي در دادگاه نظامي بسيار سريع طي مي*شود.


شاكيان تاكيد كردند: «زمان آن فرا رسيده درباره اين پرونده خاص استماع لازم صورت گيرد.»


بنا بر اين گزارش، شاكيان بطور جبران ناپذيري از اين مسئله آسيب*ديده*اند كه مجبور بوده*اند از خود در شرايطي دفاع كنند كه به آنها اين حق اعطاء نشده تا بررسي كنند آيا قانون اساسي آمريكا از آنها دفاع مي*كند يا خير و يا اصلاً پيگرد و نگهداري آنها قانوني بوده است يا خير.

[Rasputin]

Rice 'not ruling out Iran talks'

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she does not rule out a meeting with her Iranian counterpart at a conference on Iraq's security in Egypt.
The summit next week will bring together Iraq's neighbours and other regional and international powers.

But Ms Rice said Iraq would be the only topic of any talks with her Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki.

The US has accused Iran of helping insurgents in Iraq, a charge Iran has strongly denied.

Ms Rice's comments exclude the possibility of talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.

Washington does not have diplomatic ties with Tehran, but envoys did meet at a conference on Iraq in March.

Ms Rice said any "encounter" with Iran would be a chance to discuss Iraq's security situation, and not specific US-Iranian relations.

This is not a meeting about the United States and Iran," she told ABC's This Week programme.

"This is a meeting about Iraq and about what Iraq's neighbours and interested parties can do to help stabilise the situation in Iraq."

Nevertheless, if this US-Iranian encounter were to happen it would mark a significant breakthrough, the BBC's Iranian affairs analyst Pam O'Toole says.

And if such talks went well, she says, they could pave the way for discussions on wider issues in the future.

The US has not had diplomatic relations with Tehran since the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Detainees

On Sunday, Tehran finally confirmed that would attend the Sharm el-Sheikh conference on 3-4 May.

Iran had been reluctant to go because it would mean engaging with the US, the BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says.

It was also unhappy by the decision to expand the summit to include not just Iraq's neighbours but also the five permanent UN Security Council members and other Arab nations.

In addition, there were also some in Iran who tried to link attendance to the fate of five Iranian detainees in US custody in Baghdad, our correspondent says.

But Tehran later said the two issues were not connected.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari welcomed the prospect of talks between Iran and the US.

"I think it's important, it would be a major breakthrough and any reduction in tensions will positively impact the situation in Iraq," he said.

"We don't want Iraq to be a battleground for settling scores on other agendas at our cost. Really, this has been harming us, damaging us a lot."

Militants held

Iran has close ties with Shias in Iraq, and has been accused by the Washington of arming and training Shia militants for sectarian conflict with Sunnis.

The diplomatic moves come as US-led forces continue a security crackdown in Iraq.

On Sunday night, the US carried out what it called a massive effort to disrupt the networks of al-Qaeda in the country.

The US said 72 suspected militants had been detained in raids west and north of Baghdad, in the provinces of Anbar and Salahuddin.