Persian Babes

Army interpreter to be tried over spying for Iran

An Army interpreter accused of spying for Iran was sent for trial at the Old Bailey Wednesday. His solicitor said he was confident he would clear his name. Cpl Daniel James, 44, who is charged under the Official Secrets Act 1911 with passing information which would be "directly or indirectly useful to the enemy", appeared before City of Westminster magistrates.

At the hearing, the Territorial Army soldier repeatedly mouthed the words "I'm innocent" to the public gallery, jabbing a finger to his chest, and, as he was led away, he called out: "Not guilty. This is the way the Army has repaid me."

Judge Timothy Workman, who held much of the hearing in private for fear information could "prejudice the security and safety of the state", said bail had been refused, and set the preliminary hearing for 12 January.

Due to the nature of the alleged offence, the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, must give his consent for the case to be sent to Crown Court before any plea can be entered.

Born in Tehran, Cpl James moved to the UK as a teenager following the overthrow of the Shah, though his mother is said to be still living in Iran. He became a British citizen and joined the Territorial Army Company of the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment 19 years ago, subsequently changing his name from Esmail Gamasai.

Exiled Iranian Jews Visit Tehran Grave Sites Via Internet

As a young woman in Tehran during the 1970s, Susan Manavi never visited a cemetery, even after her grandparents were laid to rest a couple of years before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The 52-year-old Los Angeles woman first laid eyes on her grandparents' headstones two months ago on the Web site Beheshtieh.com. The site has photographs of thousands of graves from Beheshtieh Cemetery.

Iran calls in UK envoy over Blair

Iran's foreign ministry has summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to strongly criticise recent comments made by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Geoffrey Adams was told by a senior Iranian official that Mr Blair's claims that Iran posed a threat to the Middle East were "baseless".

The official was also quoted as saying that Mr Blair was trying "to cover up his failure" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Tony Blair has brought up baseless charges against Iran to cover up his failure in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, but to no avail," Ebrahim Rahimpour told Mr Adams, according to Iran's official Irna news agency.

Mr Rahimpour - the Iranian foreign ministry's director general for Western European affairs - also criticised London for co-sponsoring a UN Security Council resolution that on Saturday imposed sanctions against Iran over its failure to halt uranium enrichment.

"The resolution will not have any impact on the national resolve to produce nuclear energy in line with [the] Non-Proliferation Treaty," the Iranian official said.

Iran protests US arrests in Iraq

Iran has formally protested to the US over the arrest in Iraq of two Iranians that Tehran said were diplomats invited there by the Iraqi government.

American officials said US forces had detained several Iranians suspected of planning attacks in Iraq.

A spokesman for the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, said he is unhappy about the US action.

The White House said the arrests validated US claims of Iranian "meddling" in Iraq.

The Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who looks after US interests in Iran, was called to the foreign office to discuss the arrests, the Iranian news agency, Irna ,said.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hoseyni said the arrests contravened international law and might have "unpleasant repercussions," Irna reported.

In Baghdad, a spokesman for President Talabani said Iranian security personnel had been invited to Iraq by the president to help improve the situation.

"The president is unhappy about it, and has been making contact with the American authorities to arrange their release," Mr Talabani's spokesman, Hiwa Osman, told the BBC.

Iran: Missile industry won’t be hurt by sanctions

Two days after UN Security Council decides to impose sanctions on Islamic Republic, Iranian officials continue to condemn decision, claiming illegality of resolution. During visit to Iranian military industrial factories, defense minister says country’s missile industry based on self-sufficient knowledge, won’t be hurt by sanctions.

Iran continued to condemn the resolution passed by the UN Security Council Saturday to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Iranian Defense Minister Mustafa Mohammed Najjar responded Monday to the UN resolution, saying that the Iranian missile industry is more independent than ever, and is based on self-sufficient knowledge.

“Thanks to the efforts of the scientists and experts of the Defense Ministry, the defense industry, namely, the missile industry, is more independent than ever,” said Najjar.

Saudis dispute strategy on Iran

A power battle within the secretive Saudi royal family over how to contain Iran lay behind the abrupt resignation of its high-profile ambassador to Washington.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, the kingdom's former intelligence chief who was previously ambassador to Britain, stunned diplomats in Washington when he abandoned his prestigious posting after just 18 months.

But according to The Washington Post, Prince Turki was constantly undermined by his predecessor and brother-in-law, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who represented Saudi Arabia for 22 years in the US and was an old friend of President George W Bush.

Quoting sources close to the family, the newspaper said Prince Bandar, now the Saudis' national security adviser, returned secretly to America – sometimes monthly – for unofficial talks with US officials including Vice-President Dick Cheney. Prince Turki was not usually informed, and the Saudi embassy resorted to sending diplomats to the airport to check whether Prince Bandar's jet was in the country.

The focus of the royal rift is apparently a dispute over how Saudi Arabia, the home of the Sunni branch of Islam, should counter the growing regional influence of Iran, the Middle East's major Shia Muslim power.

Prince Turki publicly supported diplomatic negotiations with Iran, which backs armed groups hostile to the West in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority, and is pursuing a nuclear weapons programme. But Prince Bandar was reportedly lobbying to maintain the US policy of isolating Teheran.

Prince Bandar, who has the ear of King Abdullah, was alarmed that the Iraq Study Group recommended direct US talks with Iran about Iraq. As The Sunday Telegraph reported earlier this month, Mr Cheney was summoned to Riyadh to hear Saudi concerns amid reports that the kingdom might intervene to help Iraq's Sunni minority against the Iranian-backed Shias. Prince Bandar flew to Washington, for further talks with US officials, shortly before Prince Turki resigned.

In an apparent side-effect of the royal split, several US lobbying groups and event organisers told The Washington Post that they were owed millions of dollars for work conducted recently for the Saudi embassy.

Iran parliament to vote on NPT membership

Iran's parliament passed an urgent measure Sunday that stipulates its members must decide within the next 24 hours whether to continue its membership in the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The move comes a day after the U.N. Security Council voted to impose sanctions on Iran for failing to suspend its nuclear program.

The U.N. resolution, passed by all 15 council members, orders all countries to ban the supply of materials and technology that could contribute to Iran's nuclear and missile programs. It also freezes assets of companies and individuals in the country's nuclear and missile programs. These are identified on a U.N. list.

The resolution is a reaction to Iran's failure to comply with an August 31 U.N. deadline to suspend uranium enrichment work and resume negotiations.

Iran says its nuclear program is aimed solely at the peaceful production of nuclear energy.

Shortly after the measure passed, Iran said it would continue its nuclear work regardless of the sanctions and continue with its planned production of 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz plant, but under IAEA supervision.

If Iran's parliament votes to withdraw from its voluntary membership they will produce the centrifuges without the IAEA's involvement.

In addition, Tehran will no longer be entitled to receive nuclear technology assistance by the IAEA and its members.

The agency's stated goal is to verify that safeguarded nuclear material and activities are not used for military purpose but instead for peaceable nuclear energy, which is what Iran's president has said is his country's only goal.

Iran defiant in face of UN sanctions

Iran has responded to the UN's decision to impose trade sanctions by declaring it will immediately resume uranium enrichment.

The UN security council unanimously voted to place embargoes on heavy and industrial equipment to the Middle Eastern country yesterday over its refusal to discontinue its enrichment activities.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly claimed that Iran's nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful and has refused to end the enrichment process that can be used to provide nuclear bombs as well as fuel.

And in comments reported in the country's media, Iran's senior negotiator Ali Larijani said: "Our immediate response to the UN security council is that, as of today, we will start the activities at the site of the 3,000 centrifuge machines in Natanz [central Iran] and we will go ahead with full speed.

"Previously we said repeatedly that if the westerners wanted to exploit the UN security council it will not only have no influence but make us more determined to pursue our nuclear goals even faster."

Despite yesterday's unanimous decision, Russia and China, both of whom have vested energy interests of their own in Iran, are urging caution, with Moscow and Beijing emphasising that the UN resolution rules out the use of military force.

But the US is already calling for tougher sanctions to be imposed on Tehran, with senior state department official Nicholas Burns saying that Washington "does not think this resolution is enough in itself".

"We want the international community to take further action and we're certainly not going to put all of our eggs in a UN basket. We're going to try to convince countries, especially the EU countries, Japan, to consider some of the financial measures that we have undertaken."

Hadadi wins Asian Games discus gold medal

Iranian athletic Ehsan Hadadi won the gold medal in discus at the Asian Games 2006 in Qatar on Sunday.

The 21-year-old threw a best of 63.79 meters to beat Qatari Rashid Shafi Al-Dosari.

Hadadi made history by becoming the first Iranian man to win a medal at a global athletics championships when he took gold at the 2004 World Junior Championships.

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