Iran offers Argentina help with bombing probe

By MICHAEL WARREN - Associated Press | AP –

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine prosecutor on Saturday criticized a statement from Iran expressing willingness to help solve Argentina's worst terrorist attack.

Prosecutor Alberto Nisman said Iran's offer is just empty words unless it hands over the Iranian suspects sought by Argentina in the bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people on July 18, 1994.

The Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement referring to Monday's anniversary of the attack and saying Iran condemns terrorism, expresses sympathy for the victims' families and wants to help investigate the attack.

But Iran also accused Argentine prosecutors of unfairly accusing Iranian citizens and said it has a duty to defend them. The ministry said it will issue a report soon on what it calls an "unfair process" in Argentina, but that Iran is ready now to begin a constructive dialogue with Argentine officials.

An Argentine foreign ministry spokesman said that he had no immediate comment on the Iranian statement.

But Nisman dismissed the Iranian gesture as meaningless unless the country hands over a group of Iranians, including top government officials, who are suspected of organizing the attack.

"If the Iranians and their government are ready to cooperate, they should do it once and for all and in the only way possible: handing over all those accused by the Argentine justice system of this terrible terrorist act and stop making empty declarations that never go anywhere," the prosecutor said at a news conference.

Nisman said the bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association was organized by a group of Iranian diplomats and government officials including the current Iranian defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi, who recently visited Bolivia despite an Interpol warrant for his arrest and extradition to Argentina.

Bolivia's foreign ministry formally apologized for failing to act on the Interpol warrant.

Argentina's foreign ministry, meanwhile, promised Argentina's Jewish community that it would send a full report on the Jewish center attack as well as a bombing two years earlier that killed 29 people and destroyed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires.

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#WikiLeaks Irán bloquea el acceso a la página web de EL PAÍS

El jefe de la Guardia Revolucionaria abofeteó a Ahmadineyad en un consejo, según un cable de Wikileaks publicado hoy en este periódico

EL PAÍS 30/12/2010

Las páginas del diario EL PAÍS no se pueden ver hoy en Irán. Las autoridades iraníes han bloqueado el acceso a este diario a través de Internet después de que publicara un cable diplomático de EE UU filtrado por Wikileaks en el que se afirma que el jefe de la Guardia Revolucionaria iraní, Alí Safari, abofeteó al presidente Mahmud Ahmadineyad. Irán también ha bloqueado el acceso a otras páginas web que reproducen la noticia publicada por este diario. Además, ninguno de los medios oficiales iraníes se han hecho eco de la noticia, que no ha sido confirmada ni desmentida aún por fuentes oficiales.

En el cable de la embajada estadounidense, fechado en Bakú del 11 de febrero de 2010, el diplomático norteamericano Rob Garverick informa de las comunicaciones con una fuente iraní, cuya identidad no ha sido revelada para proteger su vida. El despacho diplomático procedente de Azerbaiyán señala que Jafari habría golpeado a Ahmadineyad durante una acalorada discusión en el Consejo Supremo de Seguridad Nacional de enero de 2010 por las repercusiones de las controvertidas elecciones de junio de 2009. Al parecer, durante la citada reunión el mandatario iraní sorprendió al resto de los asistentes al defender una postura definida por el cable como "sorprendentemente liberal".

Ahmadineyad sostuvo, de acuerdo con la fuente iraní, que "la gente se siente asfixiada" y apostó, para hacer frente a las protestas y manifestaciones de descontento social, por una mayor permisividad y tolerancia incluida una mayor libertad de prensa". Esta versión sostiene que las consideraciones de Ahmadineyad encolerizaron al jefe de los pasdarán (Guardia Revolucionaria) quien habría exclamado "estás equivocado. Eres tú quien ha creado este caso. ¿Y encima dices que le demos más libertad a la prensa?".

El tumulto motivó la suspensión de la reunión, que nunca volvió a reanudarse, aunque dos semanas después el ayatolá Janati (presidente del Consejo de Guardianes) medió para apaciguar a Jafari y Ahmadineyad, señala el cable. Según la fuente informante, algunos blogs de Irán se habían hecho eco de la suspensión de la reunión del Consejo Supremo, pero no de los extremos del enfrentamiento.

El pasado 29 de noviembre, el presidente iraní restó importancia a los documentos filtrados por Wikileaks y dijo que simplemente se trata de una conspiración. En una rueda de prensa ofrecida en Teherán, Ahmadienyad insistió en que "no es más que un juego" y en que el gobierno iraní es "lo suficientemente inteligente como para prestarle atención". "Wikileaks no es una revelación, sino que se está publicando de modo sistemático y programado y no tiene crédito; se parece más a una guerra psicológica y no tendrá el impacto político que ellos quieren" afirmó.

El jefe de la Guardia Revolucionaria abofeteó a Ahmadineyad, según EE UU

El presidente de Irán sorprendió a los clérigos con una propuesta de apertura.- La diplomacia estadounidense asegura que su fuente es de gran fiabilidad

FRANCISCO PEREGIL - Madrid - 29/12/2010

El telegrama fue enviado hacia Washington desde Bakú el pasado febrero. Meses antes, las calles de Teherán venían llenándose de manifestantes en contra de los resultados de las elecciones de junio de 2009, en las que el presidente de Irán, Mahmud Ahmadineyad, venció al reformista Mir-Hosein Musaví. Aquel junio se saldó con 10 muertos en las calles, 100 heridos y decenas de detenidos. Al cabo de varias protestas, en diciembre ya no se pedía la repetición de las elecciones sino el final del sistema. La tensión llegó a tal extremo que el fiscal general del Estado, Gholamhosein Mohseni-Ejei, declaró el 8 de diciembre de 2009: "Se ha acabado la tolerancia. A partir de ahora, no tendremos piedad con nadie que actúe contra la seguridad nacional". Pero las protestas continuaron. Y la represión, también.

El cable emitido desde el país vecino de Azerbaiyán por la Embajada estadounidense de Bakú informaba del alboroto que se formó en una reunión del Consejo Supremo de Seguridad Nacional cuando Ahmadineyad sorprendió al resto de miembros con una "postura sorprendentemente liberal". "[Nuestra] fuente señala que Ahmadineyad afirmó que 'la gente se siente asfixiada' y concluyó que para desactivar la situación podría ser necesario permitir más libertades personales y sociales, incluida una mayor libertad de prensa".

"Según la fuente", continúa el despacho, "las afirmaciones de Ahmadineyad encolerizaron al jefe de la Guardia Revolucionaria, Alí Jafari, quien exclamó: '¡Estás equivocado! (De hecho) ¡Eres tú quien ha creado este caso! ¿Y encima dices que le demos más libertad a la prensa?' La fuente relata que Jafari abofeteó entonces a Ahmadineyad en el rostro, provocando un alboroto y una inmediata llamada para el descanso en un encuentro que nunca llegó a reanudarse. La fuente dice que el Consejo Supremo de Seguridad Nacional no volvió a reunirse durante dos semanas, hasta que el ayatolá Janati [presidente del Consejo de Guardianes] actuó exitosamente como un 'muñidor de paz' entre Jafari y Ahmadineyad. La fuente añadió que en algunos blogs de Irán se había informado sobre el receso en la reunión del Consejo Supremo, pero no de la bofetada que lo había provocado".

Protección para el informante

El consejero Rob Garverick, redactor del informe, pidió protección para la persona que le informó sobre lo acontecido, un personaje que demostró poseer un "amplio espectro de contactos políticos y gubernamentales (con la inclusión de familiares)". "El contacto es conocido por los observadores iraníes durante un año y ha venido informando de forma precisa sobre temas políticos delicados y económicos. Su red de trabajo incluye a individuos que poseen conocimientos sobre las deliberaciones del Consejo Supremo de Seguridad Nacional".

El informante de la embajada estadounidense en Azerbaiyán indicó que tanto el presidente de Irán como el jefe de la Guardia Revolucionaria continuaron alimentando nuevas confrontaciones mediante "maniobras en varios subgrupos".

La Guardia Revolucionaria es un Ejército ideológico paralelo al regular. Alí Jafari, el hombre que supuestamente abofeteó a Ahmadineyad, cuenta con sus propias fuerzas terrestres, aéreas y navales; sus hombres están mejor equipados, reciben mejores salarios que los soldados regulares y él solo está obligado a rendir cuenta ante el líder supremo de la revolución, Alí Jameneí.

Desde que se fundó la República Islámica de Irán en 1979, la figura del líder supremo de la revolución es quien ostenta el poder real. Primero fue el Ayatolá Ruholá Jomeini el verdadero hombre fuerte del país y a su muerte le sucedió Alí Jameneí. A lo largo de 21 años, el sucesor de Jomeini se ha encargado de reforzar el peso de los Guardianes de la Revolución en el país. Fueron los milicianos basiyíes, dependientes de Alí Jafari, quienes sofocaron las revueltas de la oposición a base de golpes y denuncias.

El robo electoral

Otro confidente de la embajada comentó en Bakú a los diplomáticos estadounidenses que las elecciones de junio marcaron un antes y un después en la historia del país. En un despacho remitido a Washington tres meses después de los comicios se señala: "[El informante] explicó que antes de las elecciones muchos iraníes pensaban que, al menos, había algo de democracia en el régimen. (...) Incluso los opositores y los autodeclarados escépticos sentían que un cambio dentro del sistema sería posible. Pero, según la fuente, el descaro del robo en las elecciones y el periodo posterior de cinismo y represión fueron 'una bofetada en el rostro' que destruyeron ese punto de vista".

Otro punto de inflexión en la historia del país, según el citado confidente, fue el momento en el que el líder supremo se pronunció en público a favor de Ahmadineyad el 19 de junio, cuando se cuestionaba el resultado de las elecciones. El ayatolá Jameneí calificó entonces la "victoria" de Ahmadineyad como "divinamente inspirada". Aquel acto hizo saltar por los aires la imagen del líder supremo como "un árbitro independiente y honesto" y pasó a ser considerado "un político intrigante y embustero como tantos", según informó la fuente de los diplomáticos.

El informe sobre la bofetada fue redactado el pasado 11 de febrero. En aquellas fechas, el confidente auguraba que las cosas irían "de mal en peor" en su país. "Opinó que la situación (de protestas e inestabilidad) no podía sostenerse indefinidamente y predijo que los acontecimientos tenderían hacia un mayor desarrollo y una nueva fase".

Cuando le preguntaron que cómo creía él que se encontraría su país el año próximo contestó: "Pregúntenme después del 11 de febrero". El despacho no señala que ese era el día en que se cumplía el 31º aniversario de la revolución islámica y por tanto, el aniversario de las revueltas que provocaron la caída del sah. Pero días antes de la conmemoración el régimen detuvo a decenas de estudiantes y periodistas próximos a la oposición. Y el 11 de febrero las protestas solo se dejaron oír en Internet. El líder supremo declaró: "[Ha sido] una lección para los enemigos internos y una decepción para quienes pretenden representar al pueblo". Vencieron los Guardianes de la Revolución.

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Ahmadinejad shows whose boss by sacking Iran's foreign minister

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fired Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at a key moment in the country's nuclear talks with the West.

It comes just days after Iran held crunch talks in Geneva on December 6 and 7 with world powers over its controversial nuclear dossier. Further talks are scheduled for next month in Turkey.

In a letter issued on Monday, Ahmadinejad expressed gratitude to Mottaki for his years of service as the Foreign Minister.

"Hereby, I thank you for your services as efforts during your tenure in the Foreign Ministry," the New York Times, quoted the letter, as saying.

No reasons were given for the surprise move, which seemed to represent a victory for Ahmadinejad, who has been embroiled in a power struggle with a faction of moderate politicians centered in the Parliament and headed by the speaker, Ari Larijani.

Political insiders said that after the 2005 election, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had forced the newly elected Ahmadinejad to accept Mottaki as foreign minister, even though Mottaki had backed Larijani's presidential campaign.

They said that Khamenei had until now blocked the president's efforts to replace Mottaki.

Ahmadinejad also said that Mottaki would be replaced for the time being by Ali Akbar Salehi, a vice-president and head of Iran's nuclear programme.

Mottaki, who was on an official visit to Senegal, did not immediately react to the news.

Experts believe that Mottaki's firing could be related to the recent release of classified United States diplomatic cables by whistleblower website WikiLeaks, which made clear that many of Iran's Arab neighbors remain deeply hostile to it.

"Clearly, Iranian foreign policy has failed here and someone needed to pay the price for it," said Trita Parsi, an Iran expert and founder of the National Iranian American Council in Washington. (ANI)

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#news Iranian students stage protest against Britain over assassinated nuclear scientist

TEHRAN, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- A group of Iranian university students gathered on Sunday in front of the British Embassy in Tehran to protest against what they called Britain's involvement in assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist.

The angry students set ablaze the flags of Britain and the U.S. in site in protest of the so-called "plot," the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

The students carried placards and chanted slogans, according to the report.

In two separate incidents in northern Tehran late November, Iranian nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari was killed and another scientist Fereidoon Abbasi was wounded, both on their way to work.

Iran accused Israel and Western countries' intelligent services of being behind the terrorist attacks.

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#Iran Makes Woman Recreate Her Husband's Death for TV

Iran's state-run PressTV yesterday aired a "reconstruction" of the murder allegedly committed by Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani — the woman sentenced to death by stoning earlier this year. In it, she reenacts the moment she injected her husband. It's creepy.

International outcry over the stoning sentence moved Iran to change that to 99 lashes, then to hanging, then to a "good chance" she won't be executed. So, in an effort to prove that Ashtiani deserves whatever she's got coming, Iranian authorities had her recreate the moments where she sedated her husband and then helped her lover electrocute him. Watch:

Al Jazeera

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News: Iran airs new confession by woman in stoning case

TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery confessed to helping a man kill her husband and re-enacted the alleged crime in an interview broadcast Friday by Iranian state television — an apparent effort by the government to deflect international criticism over the case.

It was the fourth time Sakineh Mohammedi Ashtiani has been shown on TV as Tehran has faced an international outcry over the announcement that she would be stoned to death, the latest source of friction between Iran and the West.

Authorities announced her conviction in the murder case only after the uproar over the stoning sentence erupted last summer, and her lawyer — who has since been arrested — said she was never formally put on trial for the killing and was tortured into confessing. Iranian authorities could use the murder charge to justify executing Ashtiani by hanging instead of stoning.

In the new footage broadcast on English-language Press TV, the 43-year-old mother of two was brought from the prison to her home outside the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran where she was shown acting out the alleged December 2005 killing, complete with an actor portraying her husband.

Ashtiani, dressed in black with a beige scarf covering her hair, described how she began an affair with another man identified as Isa Taheri. She said she gave her husband an injection that rendered him unconscious, then Taheri came to her house and electrocuted him.

Amnesty International criticized the broadcast, which was announced by Press TV earlier Friday, saying it violated international standards for a fair trial by having Ashtiani implicate herself in a crime.

"If the authorities are seeking to use this 'confession' to try to construct a new case against her, for a crime that she's already been tried and sentenced for, we would condemn this in the strongest terms," Philip Luther, deputy director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Program, said in a statement.

Ashtiani was convicted in 2006 of having an "illicit relationship" with two men after the murder of her husband the year before and was sentenced at that time to 99 lashes. Later that year, she was also convicted of adultery and sentenced to be stoned, even though she retracted a confession that she says was made under duress.

After coming under intense demands from Western politicians and rights groups to free Ashtiani, Iran put her stoning sentence for adultery on hold in July for review by the supreme court. It wasn't until more than a month later that her purported confession to involvement in the murder was aired and Iranian officials announced she had been convicted.

In the footage, Ashtiani said Taheri tied a wire to her husband's foot and another to his waist — events that were simulated for the broadcast — but it took seven tries for him to die. "The seventh time my husband didn't move. He died," she said.

The program, which was accompanied by a warning to viewers, showed close-up stll photographs of the husband's corpse, which appeared burnt.

The re-enactment was part of a half-hour news program about the case, which included interviews with her son, Sajjad Qaderzadeh, and her lawyer Houtan Kian, who also have been arrested. Press TV said two German journalists who were detained after trying to interview Ashtiani's family had declined to answer questions for the program.

The program's narrator said a police report showed Ashtiani had confessed to being involved in the murder of her husband and named Taheri as her accomplice. Police arrested Taheri in connection with the murder, and he also admitted the charge, according to the show.

A German-based Iranian anti-stoning activist named Mina Ahadi claimed Ashtiani had been forced to make the confession, calling it propaganda. "It was all a total lie," she said, speaking from London in a telephone interview.

Ashtiani gave similar details in her previous confession on Aug. 12. She also was shown in two other appearances on state TV saying on Sept. 15 that she hadn't been tortured and on Nov. 15 that she was a sinner. But this was the first time she was shown in the house where the killing occurred.

It also was the first time Ashtiani's face was shown. In previous video of her aired on state TV, her face was blurred. The only previous image of her face was an undated picture released by Western human rights groups that seems to be an ID photo, showing a younger-looking Ashtiani with a black headscarf.

Iran has waged a heavy public campaign aimed at countering international criticism, accusing the West of stirring up controversy to damage the country's Islamic clerical leadership at a time of tension over the country's disputed nuclear program.

Amnesty International researcher Drewery Dyke said the program left him with "the fear the authorities are in the process of constructing the climate in which a new charge can be brought," and he criticized the decision to have Ashtiani re-enact the crime on camera.

Stoning was widely imposed in the years following the 1979 Islamic revolution, and even though Iran's judiciary still regularly hands down such sentences, they are often converted to other punishments. The last known stoning was carried out in 2007.

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Gamel contributed to this report from Cairo. AP writers Ryan Lucas in Cairo, David Rising in Berlin and Jill Lawless in London also contributed to this report.

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#news: Iran condemns attacks against nuclear scientists

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran strongly condemns the attacks killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the past weeks as "terrorist attacks," the Iranian permanent representative to the UN, Mohammed Khazaee, said in an open letter to UN leaders issued here Friday.

Khazaee said Iran is deeply concerned over "such cruel, inhuman and criminal acts of terrorism against the Iranian scientists."

The Iranian ambassador made the statement in his letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, General Assembly President Joseph Deiss, and Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the UN who holds the rotating Council presidency for December.

The letter came after major powers -- five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany -- and Iran agreed on Tuesday to meet again next month on the dispute of the Iranian nuclear program.

Tehran denied the Western allegations that it is developing nuclear weapons, insisting its nuclear program is only for peaceful purpose.

"While reiterating the peaceful nature of Iranian nuclear activities, I would like to emphasize that Iran would not compromise over its inalienable right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and any kind of political and economic pressures or terrorist attacks targeting the Iranian nuclear scientists, could not prevent our nation in exercising this right," Khazaee said.

The Iranian ambassador also noted that UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council are "expected to uphold responsibilities in condemning these inhumane terrorist acts and to take effective steps towards elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations."

On Nov. 29, two Iranian prominent physicists, Majid Shahriari and Fereydoun Abbasi Davani, were targeted in two separate terrorist attacks in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Shahriari was martyred as a result and Abbasi Davani and his wife were seriously injured.

In January this year, Professor Massoud Ali Mohammedi, who is also an Iranian scientist, was assassinated in front of his house.

"Based on the available evidence collected by the relevant Iranian security authorities, certain quarters which have spared no efforts in depriving the Islamic Republic of Iran from its inalienable right to peaceful nuclear energy, are behind the attacks," the Iranian ambassador said.

"As has been claimed by the same circles, these terrorist acts have been carried out as part of the efforts to disrupt Iran's peaceful nuclear program, since they assume that diplomacy alone would not be enough for that purpose," he added.

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#news : #Iran condemns attacks against nuclear scientists

2010-12-11 08:00:44

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran strongly condemns the attacks killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the past weeks as "terrorist attacks," the Iranian permanent representative to the UN, Mohammed Khazaee, said in an open letter to UN leaders issued here Friday.

Khazaee said Iran is deeply concerned over "such cruel, inhuman and criminal acts of terrorism against the Iranian scientists."

The Iranian ambassador made the statement in his letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, General Assembly President Joseph Deiss, and Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the UN who holds the rotating Council presidency for December.

The letter came after major powers -- five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany -- and Iran agreed on Tuesday to meet again next month on the dispute of the Iranian nuclear program.

Tehran denied the Western allegations that it is developing nuclear weapons, insisting its nuclear program is only for peaceful purpose.

"While reiterating the peaceful nature of Iranian nuclear activities, I would like to emphasize that Iran would not compromise over its inalienable right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and any kind of political and economic pressures or terrorist attacks targeting the Iranian nuclear scientists, could not prevent our nation in exercising this right," Khazaee said.

The Iranian ambassador also noted that UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council are "expected to uphold responsibilities in condemning these inhumane terrorist acts and to take effective steps towards elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations."

On Nov. 29, two Iranian prominent physicists, Majid Shahriari and Fereydoun Abbasi Davani, were targeted in two separate terrorist attacks in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Shahriari was martyred as a result and Abbasi Davani and his wife were seriously injured.

In January this year, Professor Massoud Ali Mohammedi, who is also an Iranian scientist, was assassinated in front of his house.

"Based on the available evidence collected by the relevant Iranian security authorities, certain quarters which have spared no efforts in depriving the Islamic Republic of Iran from its inalienable right to peaceful nuclear energy, are behind the attacks," the Iranian ambassador said.

"As has been claimed by the same circles, these terrorist acts have been carried out as part of the efforts to disrupt Iran's peaceful nuclear program, since they assume that diplomacy alone would not be enough for that purpose," he added.

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#news: Iran raps GCC's claim over disputed islands

TEHRAN, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast rejected on Wednesday a Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) communique which supports claims by the United Arab Emirates to three disputed islands, the English language satellite Press TV reported.

"Such statements and declarations would not affect Iran's sovereignty and authority over the islands whatsoever and repetition of such phony claims would not contribute to the restoration of peace and stability in the region," Mehmanparast was quoted as saying.

Refuting the move as unfounded, the spokesman emphasized Iran's permanent sovereignty over the three islands, Greater and Lesser Tonbs and Abu Moussa.

Mehmanparast, however, declared the Islamic Republic's readiness to hold positive and constructive talks with the UAE with the aim of fostering and broadening bilateral relations, according to the report.

Leaders of the six-member GCC on Tuesday wrapped up their two- day summit in the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi with a support to the UAE's claims to three disputed islands that have been under Iran's control since early 1970.

The dispute over the islands should be solved via direct negotiations or international arbitration, the leaders said in the communique.

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#NEWS : Ahmadinejad sets nuclear red lines for January talks

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad listens to a question during a news conference in Tehran November 29, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Caren Firouz

By Ramin Mostafavi

TEHRAN | Wed Dec 8, 2010 10:43am EST

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran is prepared to discuss a possible nuclear fuel swap at talks that resume next month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday, but he ruled out any slowdown of its atomic program.

A day after the conclusion of a two-day meeting with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany (P5+1), Ahmadinejad told those countries to drop any idea of curbing Iran's quest for nuclear technology and instead invited them to help build the 20 nuclear power stations it plans.

"We are in favor of cooperation and they should come and cooperate with us and build us 20 nuclear plants," he said in a speech to students quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

The West is concerned Iran is seeking nuclear weapons capability under cover of a declared civilian atomic energy program and wants it to curb uranium enrichment.

Iranian chief negotiator Saeed Jalili told reporters after Tuesday's meeting in Geneva that: "Iran will not discuss a uranium enrichment halt in the next meeting in Istanbul.

Ahmadinejad reiterated that point and specified three red lines that Iran would not cross. "Our nuclear rights, including the continuation of enrichment, making 20 percent uranium and building nuclear plants are not negotiable," he said.

Ahmadinejad indicated Iran might be interested in reviving a fuel swap deal, agreed in principle in the 2009 talks, which would have seen Iran export some of its stocks of low-enriched uranium in return for higher enriched material for a medical research reactor for which it cannot yet manufacture fuel.

That pact soon unraveled in disputes over conditions and Iran embarked on refining uranium up to 20 percent fissile purity itself, which it says will eventually be converted into special fuel plates for the medical reactor.

"Cooperating in different fields like a fuel swap, and political, economic and security issues of the world are topics for negotiations," he said.

The Geneva meeting -- the first of its kind in over a year -- ended with the head of the P5+1 delegation, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, saying the January talks would focus on "our core concerns about the nuclear issue."

Iran says it is not involved in "nuclear talks" and insists the negotiations are aimed more generally at discussing global problems. A French diplomatic source told Reuters the Geneva meeting was an "exchange of monologues."

Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, said Ashton's summary of the talks, focused on the nuclear issue, was "immoral ... As we said many times Iran will not accept negotiations under pressure, threats and sanctions," he said.

(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; editing by Mark Heinrich)

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#Wikileaks 'The United States Is Behind This Deliberate Leak'

Iranian Official Responds to Wikileaks

REUTERS

A young Iranian boy stood behind his flag while awaiting the arrival of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Tehran's airport earlier this year.

Iran has its own special take on the diplomatic cables recently published by WikiLeaks. Presidential Advisor Esfandiar Rahim Mashai assumes that the United States government leaked the documents itself. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, he says that Washington's goal is to play off the governments in the Middle East against one other.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Have you read what Washington's ambassadors in your neighboring Arab countries write about Iran?

Esfandiar Rahim Mashai: I've been traveling a lot recently, so I haven't had a chance yet. But our experts are examining the disclosures very intensively and have reported everything to me.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Are you surprised by the clarity with which some Gulf States, as well as Egypt, call upon the United States to stop Tehran's nuclear ambitions?

Mashai: These documents are not authentic. The national interests of the United States and its allies are behind this. They see the world through their eyes, pursue their own goals, and draw the conclusions that suit their purposes.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What are the intentions of the United States, in your view?

Mashai: America wants to portray itself as the leader of the world, as master of the destinies of nations. It wants to play off the regimes in the region against one another. It wants the world to believe that we are divided. It wants to legitimize its presence and influence in the region.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: But the diplomatic reports were published against Washington's will and are damaging to the United States. The WikiLeaks disclosures are not a State Department PR campaign.

Mashai: Are you sure about that? How, then, did WikiLeaks gain access to the documents?

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Presumably through a US Army private who had access to a central government database and has since been arrested.

Mashai: Do you believe that? Then you must be very naïve indeed. No, the United States is behind this deliberate leak. The Americans are trying to paint the world in black and white. They underscore the differences among nations and want to show everyone that peace is only possible in cooperation with them.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Do you question the authenticity of the more than 250,000 documents?

Mashai: I don't want to get into individual documents and their authenticity. But I have no doubt that a US government plan is behind this disclosure. When someone wants to suggest something, they include fake information with real information so as to create a certain impression. That's why each country has to analyze the documents that relate to it, which is what our experts in Tehran are doing now.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In other words, you do take the embassy reports very seriously.

Mashai: We are only examining them to figure out the Americans' tricks.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: You refuse to believe that your neighbors fear Iran?

Mashai: That's what we read in the reports. But it's the United States that is trying to instill fear of Iran in these countries. No one is afraid of us, nor should they be. But one can also see these reports as evidence of how much pressure the United States exerts on some governments. When that happens, things are said that the other party wants to hear.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is that how you explain the statement by the Saudi Arabian king, who demands that the United States "cut off the head of the (Iranian) snake?"

Mashai: That isn't the language of the Saudi Arabian king. In their reports, the US ambassadors can claim that anyone said anything. Our friends in the region are denying everything.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: … because they don't want to upset Tehran any further.

Mashai: They don't deny the mistakes they've made in the past, such as when they supported Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his war against us. And we generously forgave them. Even if one of our friends had said something unfortunate, the Iranian nation would forgive them.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: So, in your view, the fear of your nuclear program is pure fantasy on the part of the US ambassadors in the region?

Mashai: We want to use nuclear energy in a peaceful way. Our neighbors know that. If they fear anything, it's a military strike against Iran by the United States and its allies. If they are afraid, then it's the result of American and Zionist propaganda.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Are your fellow Iranians able to view the WikiLeaks disclosures on the Internet, or is the site blocked, like so many others in Iran?

Mashai: Anyone can access the site. Why should be block it? We are a great nation that doesn't have a problem with such disclosures. Our nation is smart enough to see through this campaign.

The interview was conducted by Dieter Bednarz

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#LULA #DILMA : Apoio a Irã na ONU foi erro, diz Dilma

Declaração ao 'Washington Post' foi divulgada pouco depois da notícia de que Celso Amorim deve mesmo deixar comando do Itamaraty

06 de dezembro de 2010 | 0h 00

Luciana Xavier CORRESPONDENTE NOVA YORK, Lucas de Abreu Maia - O Estado de S.Paulo

A presidente eleita Dilma Rousseff criticou, em entrevista publicada ontem no jornal The Washington Post, o comportamento do Brasil na Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), em 18 de novembro, ao se abster de votar uma condenação às violações de direitos humanos no Irã. "Não concordo com o modo como o Brasil votou. Não é a minha posição", afirmou Dilma, que vinha evitando fazer comentários sobre a decisão do Itamaraty.

Celso Junior/AE

Diplomacia. Dilma defendeu negociações de paz no Oriente Médio e sugeriu que manterá estratégia de intermediar conflitos

Na votação, a ONU aprovou uma censura ao regime iraniano por violações de direitos humanos e pediu o fim dos apedrejamentos, da perseguição a minorias e de ataques a jornalistas.

O Brasil foi um dos 57 países que se abstiveram na votação - outros 80 votaram a favor da condenação e 44 foram contrários. A aproximação do Brasil com o Irã tem sido vista com preocupação por Estados Unidos e Europa.

A censura da ONU a Teerã foi motivada pela condenação à morte por apedrejamento de Sakineh Achtiani, acusada de adultério e de envolvimento no assassinato do marido. Em sua primeira entrevista como presidente eleita, Dilma havia criticado a sentença.

Na entrevista ao Post, ela voltou a condenar o apedrejamento de mulheres no Irã. "Não concordo com as práticas medievais características que são aplicadas quando se trata de mulheres. Não há nuances e eu não farei nenhuma concessão em relação a isso", garantiu. "Não sou a presidente do Brasil (hoje), mas ficaria desconfortável, como uma mulher eleita presidente, em não me manifestar contra o apedrejamento. Minha posição não vai mudar quando assumir."

As declarações de Dilma foram antecipadas no site do jornal americano na sexta-feira, pouco depois da notícia de que o atual chanceler, Celso Amorim, deve mesmo deixar o comando do Itamaraty. O ministério das Relações Exteriores provavelmente será comandado por Antônio Patriota - que já foi embaixador do Brasil em Washington.

A despeito da inflexão do discurso em relação ao Irã, a presidente eleita defendeu o diálogo com o governo dos aiatolás e criticou a política externa americana para a região. "O que vemos no Oriente Médio é a falência de uma política de guerra: estamos falando do Afeganistão e o desastre que foi a invasão do Iraque", criticou. A presidente eleita defendeu as negociações de paz na região, sugerindo que seu governo manterá a estratégia atual de intermediar conflitos.

Economia. Dilma reconheceu que o momento internacional é de grande instabilidade global por causa da crise econômica e é fundamental estimular a retomada das economias desenvolvidas a fim de garantir o equilíbrio do mundo. "Ninguém no Brasil se sentirá confortável se os EUA continuarem com altas taxas de desemprego. A recuperação dos Estados Unidos é importante para o Brasil porque são um extraordinário mercado consumidor."

A presidente eleita fez questão de reiterar seu compromisso com a estabilidade econômica. "Essa foi a maior conquista do nosso país", comentou.

"Acredito que o meu governo será diferente do governo do presidente Lula. Não poderei repetir sua gestão, porque a situação atual é muito melhor que em 2002. Meus desafios são outros. Tenho de encontrar soluções para problemas como a qualidade da saúde pública no Brasil, a questão da segurança e o déficit de infraestrutura", destacou.

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#news : Iran says "self-sufficient" in producing nuclear yellowcake

Chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi makes a speech during a ceremony to take delivery of locally produced yellowcake, a uranium concentrate powder, at the UCF plant in Isfahan 414 kilometres south of Tehran December 5, 2010. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

TEHRAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali-Akbar Salehi said Sunday that Iran has become self-sufficient in producing nuclear yellowcake, state TV reported.

In a live broadcast from Iran's IRINN state TV channel, Salehi said that the country's first domestically produced nuclear yellowcake was shipped to central city of Isfahan for processing.

The country has no problem for producing yellowcake anymore, he told reporters in Isfahan.

Yellowcake is a kind of uranium concentrate powder obtained from leach solutions, in an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. Typically yellowcakes are obtained through the milling and chemical processing of uranium ore is insoluble in water and contains about 80 percent uranium oxide.

Iran blames UN for disclosing Iranian nuclear scientists

names

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TEHRAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki blamed United Nations Security Council for disclosing the names of Iranian nuclear scientists in their resolutions, the local satellite Press TV reported on Sunday.

Mottaki held countries behind UN Security Council Resolution 1747 responsible for the recent terror attacks on two Iranian scientists, urging the UN to pursue the case, said the report.

"We are going to send a letter to the UN Secretary General (Ban Ki-moon) about the issue," Manouchehr Mottaki said in an interview with Press TV on Saturday.

"We will strongly protest the disapproved act (of listing Iranian nuclear scientists in the text of the UNSC Resolution 1747) ," he said, adding that "The UN chief should put the matter on his agenda."

The top Iranian diplomat reiterated that countries which issued the anti-Iran Resolution 1747 were accomplices in the terror attacks on two Iranian scientists, according to Press TV.

In two separate terrorist acts in northern Tehran last Monday, Iranian nuclear scientist Dr. Majid Shahriari was killed and Dr. Fereidoon Abbasi was wounded when they were driving to work.

Reportedly, Resolution 1747 adopted by the United Nations Security Council in March 2007 against the Islamic Republic over its controversial nuclear program cited the name of Abbasi as a " nuclear scientist."

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#news Iran says assassination of nuclear scientist aims at spreading fear: DM

TEHRAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said Sunday that the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist aims at spreading fear among the Iranian scientists, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Behind such assassinations are the Zionist regime and Western countries which want to stop Iran from achieving scientific and technological abilities and think that by doing such acts they can create fear among Iranian scientists, Vahidi was quoted as saying.

Those who did not condemn assassination of nuclear scientists in Iran are partners to those criminals, Vahidi told reporters implying the Western countries.

In two separate terrorist acts in northern Tehran last Monday, Iranian nuclear scientist Dr. Majid Shahriari was killed and Dr. Fereidoon Abbasi was wounded when they were driving to work.

Iranian officials accused the West and Israel for assassination on the two Iranian nuclear scientists

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#news : U.S. vice president to chair high-level UN Security Council meeting on Iraq

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will chair a high-level UN Security Council meeting on Iraq later this month to "recognize the very real progress" that country has made so far, Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the UN who also holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for December, told reporters here on Thursday.

Rice made the statement as she was briefing reporters here at a press conference on the Security Council's program of work for the month of December. She took over the rotating Council presidency from British UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, who held the rotating presidency for November.

"It's an important opportunity for the international community to recognize the very real progress that Iraq has made both in terms of government formation as well as the significant steps that have been taken to terminate its chapter 7 obligations," Rice told reporters.

The high-level event on Iraq is scheduled for Dec. 15.

On Nov. 25, Iraq's re-elected President Jalal Talabani officially named Maliki as prime minister-designate, who since then will have 30 days to form his cabinet.

As stipulated by the Iraqi constitution, if Maliki fails to pick a cabinet within the required time of 30 days, the president will have 15 days to nominate someone else to form a government.

The prime minister-designate's government and its programs will also have to win the approval of an absolute majority in the Council of Representatives.

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#news : #Iran points finger at West again as murdered scientist is laid to rest

By Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran

Thursday, 2 December 2010

EPA

Ali Akbar Salehi: Assassination a 'warning' to Iran before nuclear talks

• enlarge

Iran has said that it will increase security for its nuclear experts after the funeral yesterday of a scientist killed in an assassination that the government blamed on the Mossad and the CIA.

Iranian state media said the killing of the scientist and the wounding of another on Monday was part of a Western campaign to sabotage its nuclear programme, which the US and its allies suspect is aimed at producing weapons. Iran denies the allegation.

According to Iran, the campaign included the abduction of Iranian scientists, the sale of faulty equipment and the planting of a destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet, which briefly brought Iran's uranium enrichment activity to a halt last month.

Iran's chief suspect is Israel, whose Mossad spy agency has a long history of assassinating foes beyond its borders. In this case, Iran accuses Israel of enlisting agents of an Iranian opposition group, the People's Mujahedeen, to carry out the hit, the defence minister said. There was also coordination with the CIA and MI6, he claimed.

Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, said yesterday that the assassination was a warning to Iran before the nuclear talks with world powers on 6-7 December. "The wicked people wanted to demonstrate their ugly side, which is the policy of carrot and stick, prior to the upcoming nuclear talks," he was quoted by state TV as saying.

The two scientists were targeted by bombs that hit their cars in separate parts of the capital. Tehran's police chief has said assailants on motorcycles stuck magnetised bombs to their cars while they were in traffic and detonated them seconds later.

Time magazine carried a different account on Tuesday, saying an explosive charge was placed inside the scientist's car and detonated by remote control after he got into the vehicle. It quoted a Western intelligence expert with knowledge of the operation, and said the other attack was similar.

Several Iranian news websites said that the man who survived, Fereidoun Abbasi, realized he was under attack and was able to stop the car and jump out along with his wife.

Mr Abbasi appears to be the more senior of the two. He is on a sanctions list that the UN Security Council passed in 2007, where he was described as a defence ministry scientist with links to the Institute of Applied Physics. He was also said to be working with a scientist believed to be heading nuclear projects with possible military dimensions.

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#NEWS Is the Mossad Targeting Iran's Nuclear Scientists?

By TIME Staff Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010

ENLARGE PHOTO+

Iranian police officers stand next to the vehicle reportedly belonging to nuclear scientist Fereydoun Abbasi, who was injured along with his wife in a bomb attack in Tehran on Nov. 29, 2010

AFP / Getty Images

The Iranian nuclear expert assassinated in Tehran on Monday was the top scientist and senior manager of Iran's nuclear effort. Majid Shahriari was killed when an explosive charge placed in his car was detonated by remote control after he climbed into the vehicle, according to a Western intelligence expert with knowledge of the operation.

The assassination carried the signature of Israel's Mossad, which has carried out similar operations on foreign soil over the decades. Typically, a team of agents reconnoiters the target and his routines over a period of months, assessing vulnerabilities and opportunities to escape afterward. Most of the operatives are usually on their way out of the country by the time the charge is detonated by a member who sees the target enter the booby-trapped car. "It's like a suit," says the intelligence expert. "An assassination must be custom-made." (See how Israel is pressing for a tougher U.S. line against Iran.)

Only political appointees ranked higher than Shahriari in Iran's nuclear effort. His death dealt a double blow to the Iranian nuclear program. The most immediate cost was the loss of operational expertise and detailed knowledge of an effort that has gone on for decades. But his death also brought home to every other scientist the risk of remaining in their line of work.

Like other senior nuclear scientists, Shahriari had been assigned bodyguards, according to Parviz Davoodi, head of Shahid Beheshti University, where Shahriari lectured on physics and held a position on the faculty of the department of nuclear engineering. Speaking to the Iranian press, the university president, who earlier served as Vice President under Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, noted that security must be improved. (See the top 10 Ahmadinejad-isms.)

A second nuclear scientist escaped alive from a similar attack the same day. Fereydoun Abbasi was being driven to work, according to Iranian media reports, and may have escaped death because a bodyguard was at the wheel. Abbasi is an adviser to the Defense Ministry and a professor at Imam Hossein University, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Contrary to the account given to TIME, Iranian officials insisted that motorcycles figured in both incidents, with riders attaching explosives to the exteriors of the cars. "In the second incident, the driver noticed the motorbike approaching and he distanced from it — that is why the explosion did not damage his car so badly," said Tehran police chief Hossein Sajedinia, according to the Fars news agency. (See pictures of terror in Tehran.)

Ahmadinejad blamed the attacks on the U.S. and Israel, referring to the latter as "the Zionist entity." In Israel, which regards Iran's nuclear ambitions as an existential threat, the news media made the same assumption, offering asides about the attacks in news stories announcing the appointment of a new head of Mossad. The daily Israel Hayom observed that Mossad's director, Meir Dagan, "will be leaving an organization that is far sharper and more operational than the organization he received, and all of the accusations from Tehran yesterday are a good indication of that. Iran will be the focal point for the next Mossad director too."

Among Dagan's known triumphs is the 2008 assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, the senior Hizballah official responsible for a series of terrorism attacks, including the 1983 attacks on the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed more than 350 people. Mughniyeh perished in Damascus from the detonation of explosives hidden in the driver's headrest of his car. In response to the terrorism attacks on Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Olympics, Israel killed a series of Palestinian militants in the succeeding years. Among the victims was Muhammad Boudia, who died after an explosive placed under the driver's seat of his Renault was detonated by remote control on a Paris street in 1973.

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#LULA #PT :Ahmadinejad citou Brasil para justificar programa nuclear, revela #WikiLeaks

Em encontro com Putin em Teerã, líder iraniano diz que o Irã não estava fazendo nada diferente do que o País na esfera atômica; diplomatas ocidentais manifestam preocupação com a atuação do governo brasileiro e criticam interferência nos planos de sanções

30 de novembro de 2010 | 0h 00

Andrei Netto CORRESPONDENTE / PARIS - O Estado de S.Paulo

Os documentos secretos revelados pelo site WikiLeaks comprovam como era tratada nos bastidores a preocupação crescente da comunidade internacional com as relações entre Brasil e Irã entre 2009 e 2010. Em um diálogo com o primeiro-ministro russo, Vladimir Putin, em Teerã, o presidente iraniano, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, argumentou que seu país "não estava fazendo nada diferente do Brasil na esfera nuclear".

Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP

Encontro. Ahmadinejad (D) recebe Putin em Teerã: líder russo rejeita argumento do Irã e diz que 'Brasil não fica no Oriente Médio'

Putin teria retrucado afirmando que o Brasil "não se localiza no Oriente Médio".

Em Washington, Paris, Berlim e Moscou, diplomatas defenderam o aumento da pressão contra Ahmadinejad e manifestaram preocupação com a atuação do governo brasileiro. Em diferentes mensagens, a política externa brasileira foi criticada por atrapalhar os planos de sanções. O Brasil é tido como líder emergente que precisa ser atraído.

Segundo pesquisas nos documentos confidenciais ou secretos revelados até aqui, o Brasil entra na lista de preocupações das potências internacionais a partir do início 2009. Segundo relato do ministro das Relações Exteriores da Rússia, Sergei Lavrov, ao embaixador americano em Moscou em abril do ano passado, o Brasil era usado como álibi por Ahmadinejad quando o assunto era o programa nuclear.

Veja também:
WikiLeaks revela segredos da diplomacia americana
Os líderes mundiais sob o olhar dos diplomatas americanos

A posição de Brasília volta a ser comentada, desta vez em conversa telefônica entre o líder francês, Nicolas Sarkozy, e o presidente dos EUA, Barack Obama, em novembro de 2009.

Na ocasião, o embaixador americano relata que as altas esferas diplomáticas francesas estão preocupadas com a perda de apoio da opinião pública contra o Irã, porque países como China, Turquia e Brasil continuavam a manter relações diplomáticas ou comerciais com o Irã. O texto cita a visita de Ahmadinejad ao Brasil, em novembro de 2009.

"Países continuam a engajar relações diplomáticas e comerciais com o Irã (a exemplo dos interesses comerciais chineses, da recente visita do primeiro-ministro turco ao Irã e da visita do presidente iraniano Ahmadinejad ao Brasil)", diz o documento, classificado como secreto.

Em 2010, a preocupação com a posição brasileira aumenta e autoridades francesas advertem que o Brasil pode não conhecer o limite da negociação com o Irã. Em maio, o Brasil e a Turquia tentariam intermediar um acordo com o Irã que permitisse a troca de urânio por combustível nuclear para um reator de pesquisas médicas. O acordo seria muito criticado pela comunidade internacional. Em fevereiro, o governo da Alemanha ressaltaria aos americanos a necessidade de seduzir o Brasil, considerado "líder de opinião no Terceiro Mundo".

Em reuniões diplomáticas realizadas em 2010 e 2009, diplomatas dos EUA, França, Alemanha e Rússia tratam da influência brasileira na questão nuclear; Ahmadinejad diz a Putin que "não faz nada diferente do Brasil"

Em agosto de 2009, em uma reunião com a ministra-conselheira americana Kathleen H. Allegrone, em Paris, dois assessores diretos de Sarkozy ressaltaram a necessidade de aumentar a pressão sobre o Irã, para que o país abandonasse seu programa nuclear. François Richier e Patrice Paoli, conselheiros de Assuntos Estratégicos e de Oriente Médio, respectivamente, exortam ainda os EUA a se aproximar de países como o Brasil.

OUTROS SEGREDOS

Zelaya sofreu "golpe de Estado"

A embaixada americana em Tegucigalpa esclareceu, em junho de 2009, que o então presidente hondurenho, Manuel Zelaya, havia sido deposto por "um golpe inconstitucional e ilegal". Esse era o teor da mensagem enviada ao Departamento de Estado.

Elo Chávez-Lugo foi investigado

Diplomatas da Embaixada dos EUA em Assunção tentaram investigar ao longo de 2008 se o presidente venezuelano, Hugo Chávez, estava financiando a campanha do então candidato paraguaio Fernando Lugo, que acabou eleito presidente.

Saúde mental de Cristina preocupa

A diplomacia americana mostrou preocupação com a "saúde mental" da presidente da Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Hillary Clinton chegou a pedir um relatório sobre o estado de saúde mental da mandatária argentina.

Ambulâncias com arma do Hezbollah

Ambulâncias iranianas do Crescente Vermelho, a versão da Cruz Vermelha para países islâmicos, foram usadas para contrabandear armas do Irã para o grupo xiita libanês Hezbollah durante a guerra com Israel em 2006, segundo a diplomacia israelense.

Khamenei teria câncer terminal

Um empresário da Ásia Central, que viaja com frequência a Teerã, soube por um dos seus contatos que (o ex-presidente iraniano Ali Akbar) Rafsanjani lhe contou que o aiatolá Ali Khamenei tem leucemia em estágio terminal e pode morrer em meses.

Retirada de urânio do Paquistão

EUA temiam que material radioativo fosse usado em ataques terroristas. Desde 2007, Washington tenta remover urânio altamente enriquecido de um reator do Paquistão. Islamabad ainda se recusa a aceitar uma visita de especialistas dos EUA.

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#news Iran admits cyber attack on nuclear plants

(Reuters) - Iran admitted Monday that its controversial uranium enrichment centrifuges had been affected by a malicious computer virus, as reported by Western diplomats last week.

Hours earlier, car bombs killed a top Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran and wounded another.

Both events may color a resumption of talks on nuclear issues next week with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference Iran would attend the talks on December 5, but restated its position that its uranium enrichment program, which it says is purely for power generation, was not negotiable.

Major Western powers as well as Israel and Russia have become increasingly concerned that Iran's program may soon give it the capacity to build and launch a nuclear bomb, despite four rounds of U.N. sanctions.

Israel and the United States have not ruled out pre-emptive military strikes. But the emergence of Stuxnet, which some experts believe was aimed specifically at Iran's nuclear installations, shows Tehran's foes may no longer be restricted to conventional diplomatic and military options.

CENTRIFUGE PROBLEMS

Ahmadinejad did not specify whether he was referring to the Stuxnet virus identified by Western security experts, but said:

"They succeeded in creating problems for a limited number of our centrifuges with the software they had installed in electronic parts. But the problem has been resolved."

International talks on Iran's nuclear program have made little or no progress and been stalled for more than a year.

Russia's RIA news agency quoted Iran's ambassador to Moscow as saying the latest round would be held in Geneva.

Ahmadinejad said Iran was ready to discuss nuclear cooperation and international problems, but not enrichment.

"The complete enrichment cycle and the production of fuel are basic rights of (IAEA) member states and are non-negotiable," Ahmadinejad said.

A senior Western diplomat in Tehran whose country is involved in the talks said no major breakthrough was expected.

"Iran has always tried to evade pressure by expressing its readiness for talks. But we want to discuss sensitive issues like enrichment," the diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Pressure has been increasing on Iran since the discovery last year of a hitherto undeclared underground enrichment site under construction near Qom.

SPY ARRESTS

In the past few months it has arrested a number of alleged nuclear spies, warning citizens against leaking information to foreign secret services.

Iran's top nuclear official, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the scientist killed in Tehran Monday, Majid Shahriyari, had had a role in Iran's biggest nuclear projects, but gave no further details.

The scientist injured by a separate bomb in Tehran, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, is personally subject to U.N. sanctions because of alleged involvement in nuclear weapons research.

The state news agency IRNA said motorcyclists had approached both scientists as they drove to work and attached bombs to the outside of their cars before riding off. Both men's wives were injured.

Another nuclear scientist, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, was killed in Tehran by a remote-controlled bomb in January. Western security sources said at the time that he had worked closely with Abbasi-Davani.

Ahmadinejad blamed the attacks on Iran's enemy Israel and its Western allies.

He also dismissed as "mischief" news reports based on secret U.S. diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks indicating that many of Iran's Arab neighbors had pressed for a U.S. strike against its nuclear program.

"Regional countries are all friends with each other. Such mischief will have no impact on the relations of countries," he said.

"Some part of the American government produced these documents. We don't think this information was leaked. We think it was organized to be released on a regular basis, and they are pursuing political goals."

(Additional reporting by Ramin Mostafavi and Mitra Amiri in Tehran and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Robin Pomeroy and Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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#news Iran says high-grade nuclear fuel to be produced in 2011

TEHRAN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Tuesday rejected the reports that it has halted uranium enrichment activities and said that it will produce high-grade nuclear fuel for the Tehran reactor in September 2011.

In an interview with the official IRNA news agency on Tuesday, Ali-Akbar Salehi, head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) , said the reports are "unfounded news fabricated by western media and press."

Such false news ahead of the talks with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany (G5+1) are for propagandistic purposes, he said.

In its future nuclear movement, Iran will never listen to any unfounded news fabricated by western media, he was quoted as saying.

According to some recent media reports, Iran has faced technical problems in running its centrifuges used for nuclear enrichment.

Earlier on Tuesday, Salehi said that Iran has frustrated the enemies over viral Stuxnet attack on its nuclear plant system aimed to break down its nuclear program.

"The Stuxnet virus penetrated the (nuclear) plant one and a half years ago ... (but) the nuclear researchers of the country have blocked the virus," he was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying.

Earlier in October, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi announced that Iran has detected and thwarted the virus aimed at infecting Iran's nuclear plant system.

The Islamic Republic said earlier that the computer worm, Stuxnet, has infected 30,000 IP addresses in Iran, including the personal computers of the staff at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Stuxnet is the first discovered worm that spies on and reprograms industrial systems. It is specifically written to attack SCADA systems which are used to control and monitor industrial processes.

Also on Tuesday, Salehi said that the actual process of producing high-grade nuclear fuel for Tehran's research reactor would start in September 2011, IRNA reported.

Addressing a local gathering in Tehran, Salehi said that 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel sample had previously been produced by Iranian scientists, the report said.

"Production of the 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel in Iran is a firm response to the West," Salehi said, adding that Iran currently possesses a large site to produce 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel, according to IRNA.

In February, Iran announced that it would start enriching high- grade uranium to a purity of 20 percent since the West failed to provide Tehran with the fuel.

Western countries have accused Iran of covertly building nuclear weapons, but Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful and aims to generate electricity for civilian use.

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