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Posts in the 'Iran' Category

Iran: The Truth Hurts (By David Harris)

By Sam Sokolove on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Categories: Iran

by David Harris

It’s as predictable as day follows night.

Raise the issue of Iran’s nuclear program, as I have more than once, and all Tehran’s flacks and flunkies, including Israel-bashers galore, come out of the woodwork.

They rush to Iran’s defense, portraying it as a peace-loving, law-abiding, misunderstood nation.

There is no evidence whatsoever, they allege, that Iran is hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons capability.

Oh, and by the way, on the off chance it is, they add, it’s strictly for defensive purposes. Iran has never hurt a soul in its history, so why the concern?

They accuse all kinds of alleged miscreants - warmongers, neoconservatives, Zionists, you name it - of besmirching Iran’s good name in pursuit of nefarious aims. The label is meant to say it all.

If heaven forbid, you’re a Zionist, as I am, then it’s abundantly clear what you must be up to. Nothing more need be said. Were it not for you, Iran would enjoy the reputation for democracy and decency it so richly deserves.

And they seek to divert the discussion to Israel’s nuclear program and a whole host of other misdeeds, falling just short of holding Jerusalem responsible for the melting of the ice caps.

You see, they contend, the problem in the Middle East is Israel, not Iran. Anything that focuses on Iran is off-limits, as it’s only a ploy to divert the world’s attention from the root cause of all evil and instability, Israel, in an otherwise serene and sedate region.

Gee, if only Israel would go away - hmm, come to think of it, that Iranian nuclear bomb just might help - the region would overnight resemble Europe or North America in its commitment to peace, development, and human rights.

All these spin doctors, whether they comment in the Huffington Post or Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News, offer a variant of these themes.

Frankly, they do themselves a disservice. Strip away the huffing and puffing and their arguments don’t amount to a hill of beans.

Iran’s stock has been dropping like a rock, and the responsibility lies solely and exclusively with Iran. Trying to blame this state of affairs on others may play to the bleachers, but won’t wash on the street.

First, consider what’s been going on.

The UN Security Council has adopted three sanctions resolutions against Iran because of its nuclear program, each with the support of the five permanent members - China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States. And a fourth resolution appears to be just around the corner.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has censured Iran as recently as last month for developing in secret a uranium enrichment site near Qom. The vote was 25 to 3. Those voting against were Cuba, Malaysia, and Venezuela. Right afterwards, Malaysia indicated that its vote was in error, leaving just Cuba and Venezuela, quite a support group for Iran. As the saying goes, “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.”

Interpol has issued “red notices” for five Iranians, including Iran’s current defense minister. These red notices indicate that Argentina seeks the arrest and extradition of the five in connection with a terror attack against the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994 that killed 85 people.

In February, Bahrain suspended talks with Iran on a gas deal after Iranian officials referred to the country as “the 14th province of Iran,” evoking memories of Saddam Hussein’s claim that Kuwait was an integral part of Iraq - and all that followed.

In March, Morocco broke diplomatic ties with Iran. Rabat accused Tehran of “intolerable interference in the internal affairs of the kingdom.”

In April, Egypt lodged an official protest with Iran over Tehran’s “blatant interference in internal Egyptian affairs.”

In June, President Barack Obama visited Saudi Arabia. The Saudi king pressed for tougher U.S. action against Iran, fearing the geostrategic implications for his country and all the Arab Gulf states of a nuclear Iran.

That’s just a small taste of Iran’s dealings with the larger world. What about inside the country?

Each day brings new reports about human rights abuses, as the current regime, besieged since the rigged June elections, tightens the noose - literally and figuratively.

Literally, as public hangings have been among the favored methods of capital punishment practiced by the Iranian government. Figuratively, as nervous leaders attempt to quash the demonstrations that keep popping up, despite efforts to intimidate and cow the protesters.

Will the whitewashers of the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad regime defend the government’s repressive practices against students, reform politicians, independent journalists, women activists, gays, or religious minorities?

And then there’s the Israel argument. But that doesn’t hold any more water than the others.

If Israel has a nuclear arsenal, it is for one purpose - and one purpose only. It serves as the ultimate guarantor of the security of a state that has been the target of its enemies since its very establishment in 1948.

Last time I checked, Israel, unlike Iran, had never called for the destruction of any country in the region. Israel has never questioned Iran’s right to exist. It is Iran that questions Israel’s right to exist.

And last time I checked, Israel had never resorted to the use of nuclear weapons, though faced with devastating wars since the 1950s, when reports suggest it first developed those weapons. If that doesn’t indicate rational, responsible behavior, what does?

I understand that being Iran’s lawyers in the court of public opinion these days can be rather tough. It’s not easy to find salient arguments to make. Iran has become its own worst enemy - practicing deceit and deception abroad, repression and brute force at home.

Sorry, but no smokescreens, straw men, name-calling, or truth-twisting can deny the stark, unassailable facts about Iran today.

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NATIONAL JEWISH LEADERSHIP ADVOCACY DAY ON IRAN

By Sam Sokolove on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Categories: Iran, News

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS AND KEY CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS TO ADDRESS NATIONAL JEWISH LEADERSHIP ADVOCACY DAY ON IRAN
WHEN: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Washington, DC

Senior Administration officials and Congressional leaders will address hundreds of leaders of national Jewish organizations and Jewish communities from across the nation at the National Jewish Leadership Advocacy Day on Iran on Thursday, September 10th. Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-CA), Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. John A. Boehner (R-OH), House Republican Leader, and Rep. Eric I. Cantor (R-VA), House Republican Whip, have already confirmed their participation.

Reflecting support for President Obama’s position that Iran’s acquisition of nuclear arms capacity is “unacceptable,” this Advocacy Day is intended to urge implementation of strong economic and diplomatic measures directed at the Iranian regime and the expeditious adoption of key legislative initiatives now before Congress, including the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act.

National and community leaders are meeting with members of Congress because of the grave threat that a nuclear armed Iran would pose to fundamental U.S. national security interests and to world peace. They will encourage the Administration to take full advantage of the tools provided by the proposed legislation in order to advance the international effort to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear arms capability.

According to the organizers of the Advocacy Day, a government that has so little regard for human life, truth, and human rights – as does the current Iranian regime – must not be entrusted to possess the most powerful weapons known to humankind.

Participating delegations represent most major metropolitan areas from across the country, including Los Angeles and San Diego, Calif., Miami, Fla., Atlanta, Ga., Chicago, Ill., Boston, Mass., Baltimore, Md., the Greater New York City area, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pa., and Dallas, Tx., and the Greater Washington D.C. area.

Following morning briefing sessions, community delegations will meet with members of Congress to discuss the urgency of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, while national-agency led delegations will visit select embassies to discuss the importance of achieving international cooperation and consensus on this issue.

The National Jewish Leadership Advocacy Day is organized by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Iran, which includes the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, UJC/Federations of North America, and NCSJ: Advocates on behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States and Eurasia, as well as numerous national Jewish organizations and friends of the community.

Media coverage of the opening session at 10:00 a.m. is invited.

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Developing a Comprehensive Community-Based Iran Advocacy Strategy

By Sam Sokolove on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Categories: Iran, Uncategorized

By Martin J. Raffel
Can anyone doubt that Iran is getting very close to nuclear arms capability? This from an article inside The New York Times on June 6: “A week before Iran’s presidential election, atomic inspectors reported Friday that the country has sped up its production of nuclear fuel and increased its number of installed centrifuges to 7,200 – more than enough, weapon experts said, to make fuel for up to two nuclear weapons a year, if the country decided to use its facilities for that purpose.”

Given the existential threat that this situation poses to Israel as well as its enormous detrimental impact on fundamental American national interests, I have been perplexed by absence of a powerful grassroots response in recent years, at the least from the American Jewish community. Perhaps one of the reasons is that we have been talking about the danger of a nuclear armed Iran for many years – indeed, I recall in 1993 Israel explained its decision to seek peace with the PLO in terms of more serious dangers on the outer geographic rim, especially Iran and Iraq armed with weapons of mass distraction. Crises normally arise, we respond to them, and then they recede within a relatively short period of time. This is a “crisis” that has lasted 16 years!

In an effort to stir things up, I resorted to “scare tactics” in the form of an op-ed piece I’ve published a number of weeks ago called “Thinking the Unthinkable.” The piece drew upon a fictitious description of the impact of atomic bombs in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. “In Haifa, entire freighters were swallowed up in the fire in the water, incinerating and drowning at the same time. The light was so strong, so blinding, that millions of people died without knowing what it was…. They disappeared, leaving thin, accurately drawn traces of their silhouettes on cement walls, floors, things that remained standing. Every single leaf on every single carefully tended and manicured branch on every single tree in the Bahai garden burned off in an instant…. Buildings near the port slid down the molten hills and into the seething sea.”

Iran cannot be business as usual, starting with the structures we have in place to deal with this issue. At the national level, we have created an interagency task force, involving the Conference of Presidents, UJC, the JCPA, AIPAC, national community relations and membership agencies, the religious movements and others. And the Israel Advocacy Initiative, a joint project of UJC and JCPA, has formed a working group to promote stronger community-based Iran advocacy. This framework assures our ability at the national level to maximize coordination and outreach, plan major initiatives, like a mass gathering in New York this fall in conjunction with the UN General Assembly that is directed to the international community, and a one-day leadership fly-in to Washington, DC directed to our government

Our hope is that local communities, with JCRCs serving as the central addresses, will also establish special Iran working groups modeled on national, and will include not just the “usual suspects,” but a broad representative group that includes local constituents of national agencies, religious leaders, social action chairs from synagogues, and select others with outreach potential in the community. Such coordinating bodies allow for greater coordination of information flow, development of agreed-upon messages and mechanisms for impact.

What is our role? To create a public opinion environment, to fill the public square with voices, that will convey to decision-makers in Washington, DC and in our communities that there is broad American support for an URGENT and SUSTAINED effort to divert Iran from its nuclear program. The word President Obama used during the campaign about the nuclear armed Iran was “unacceptable.” We agree, and now we have to make sure our leadership understands the importance of translating that “pledge” into reality.

Components of an effective community-based Iran advocacy program: We need to educate and mobilize Jews and non-Jews; use the media to get our messages out; communicate with national, state and local public officials on range of issues including federal legislation as described previously by the AIPAC representative and divestment; and communicate with representatives of foreign governments, including consuls general.

For community leadership: organize educational programs in the Jewish and general communities, meet with members of Congress, editors, key religious, civic and business leaders, foreign diplomats; place op-ed pieces and participate in radio/TV programs. For the grassroots: attend educational forums; supply volumes of letters and calls to the White House and members of Congress, possibly rotating responsibility among the synagogues; monitor and call-in radio programs; participate in Congressional town hall meetings; talk to friends and colleagues.

While the Jewish community inevitably will be the primary engine for this advocacy, don’t give up on recruiting non-Jewish allies to this cause. A nuclear armed Iran is not only a threat to Israel. It is a threat to moderate Arabs, Europe, the United States, the entire global community. UANI, whose representative you heard from before, was formed to provide a framework for American involvement across political, religious and ethnic lines. Also, remember, stopping Iran through diplomatic and economic measures, averting any possible need for forceful intervention, is not a right wing position — essentially, it is an antiwar position. My advice is not to look too hard for organizations to join a formal Iran coalition. Instead, we should strive to fill the public square with diverse voices by identifying and recruiting select prominent non-Jewish leaders who will associate themselves with public statements, op-ed pieces, letters-to-the-editor, ads, etc., and who will speak at public forums.

Finally, many communities have found it useful to broaden the agenda beyond the nuclear issue to include human rights, religious freedom, status of women, etc. There are potential allies out there who will be responsive to those issues.

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Twelve Ways to Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons without War

By Sam Sokolove on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Categories: Iran, News

The following is from The Israel Project
www.theisraelproject.org

Iran is moving steadfastly toward acquiring the capability to make nuclear weapons. Last month it successfully test-fired a solid-fuel missile with a range of 1,200 miles – a weapons delivery system able to reach most countries in the Middle East and some in Europe. The world does not have a lot of time to prevent Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, from getting these weapons. It will take the will of key countries to stop Iran. Following are twelve ideas – carrots and sticks – that can be used to persuade Iran’s leaders that it is in their interest to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program and support of terror – without military action or regime change. All peaceful means must be used; at the same time, all options should be left on the table. Nothing would be more dangerous than Iran with nuclear weapons.

1. Cut off the sale of gasoline to Iran: The biggest stick the international community can wield remains Iran’s dependence on imported gasoline. Iran has not developed enough capacity to refine its crude oil into gasoline. It therefore imports 40 percent of the gasoline it needs – almost all of it from Swiss, Dutch, French, British and Indian companies. When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rationed gasoline during the summer of 2007, violent protests broke out, forcing him to end the rationing. These European and Indian governments should stop companies based in their countries from selling gasoline to Iran.

2. Ban investments in Iran’s energy sector: In addition to cutting off gasoline sales, the international community, led by the United Sates, should provide incentives to foreign banks and companies to eliminate investments in Iran’s energy sector. This would prevent foreign oil companies from investing in Iran’s oil industry.

3. Eliminate the purchase of oil from Iran: Iran derives an estimated 85 percent of its revenue from its oil sales. Iran’s leaders use oil revenues to subsidize heavily the prices of gasoline, food, housing and other necessities. Clearly, a severe reduction in these revenues would have a strong impact on Iran’s people and leaders.

4. Sustain international pressure on foreign banks and oil companies to halt their dealings with Iran’s energy sector: International pressure on foreign banks and oil companies already has led major firms worldwide, such as Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, England’s HSBC, Credit Suisse and Royal Dutch Shell, to halt or limit their business with Iran.

5. Freeze Iranian bank assets and impose sanctions on Iranian entities linked to its nuclear program: In June 2008, all of the EU’s 27 member states agreed to freeze any assets held in their jurisdictions by Bank Melli, Iran’s largest state-owned bank which has been labeled a nuclear proliferator by the EU, US and Australia for its role in Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program. In March 2009, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 11 companies linked to Bank Melli. In February 2009, officials from France, Britain and Germany issued a list of 34 Iranian entities allegedly linked to Iran’s nuclear or biological weapons programs. Measures such as these must be broadened.

6. End World Bank contributions to Iran: In 2008 millions of dollars in financial guarantees were provided to Iran’s industrial and natural gas sectors through the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The international community should demand that future MIGA outlays not end up in Iranian hands.

7. Stop pipeline deals with Iran: There are a number of major pipeline deals with Iran that will enable Tehran to transfer and sell natural gas to Europe. The Nabucco pipeline and others, worth billions of dollars, would seriously erode the impact of economic sanctions that could halt Iran’s nuclear program.

8. Halt arms sales to Iran: Because Iran’s missile defense system is antiquated, Tehran seeks to purchase advanced weapons systems. Media reports at the end of 2008 indicate that Russia signed an agreement to sell its S-300 air-defense missiles, among the most sophisticated in the world, to Iran. Later reports state that Russia has decided not to sell this system to Iran. One speculated reason is that Iran could not make payments. Iran’s acquiring this system would significantly change the military balance in the Middle East.

9. Deny shipping insurance to companies helping Iran: UN Security Council Resolution 1803 calls on all states to “exercise vigilance” with regard to companies that do business with Iran in order to avoid financing Iran’s proliferation activities. The resolution specifically cautions states to be wary of granting insurance to businesses trading with Iran. It also focuses on export credits and loan guarantees. Insurance companies could increase the cost of doing business in or with Iran by reassessing their rates in view of Iran’s questionable stability. Transit insurance could also be raised for ships and merchandise passing through Iran.

10. Intelligence: Gathering accurate and actionable intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program is key to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The international community, led by the United States, should intensify its efforts at gathering such intelligence, upgrade the tools and facilitate greater cooperation among the world’s intelligence organizations.

11. Divestment: American states and investors are taking the lead in incorporating “terror-free” investing principles to remove a source of income from Tehran’s leaders. Governments and investors around the world should pursue similar principles in their investment strategies.

12. Impose inspections and restrictions on Iranian goods and officials: Stringent inspections of items entering or leaving Iran should be carried out, and strict international travel prohibitions should be imposed on Iranian officials, except for nuclear negotiators.

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