| |||
A statement released by the public relations office of
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) said the two IAEA experts were on a
mission "in the vicinity of Khandab Complex in the Markazi province when the
accident happened".
The statement said "the car carrying the two skidded and overturned at around 12p.m. (0730GMT) Tuesday". "One of the two IAEA experts was injured, while the second one, namely Ok Seok Seo from South Korea, died of severe injuries," it added. The IAEO extended its condolences to the families and colleagues of the two experts. | |||
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
IAEA expert killed in Iran
Monday, May 7, 2012
Iran's Drug War Execution Frenzy
Could Iran be using War-on-drugs funds to finance
political execution?
drug burn marking International Anti-Drugs Day, Tehran
In a December report, Amnesty International condemned Iran's drug executions, saying the Islamic Republic has embarked on "a killing spree of staggering proportions." The London-based human rights group said "at least 488 people have been executed for alleged drug offenses so far in 2011, a nearly threefold increase on the 2009 figures, when Amnesty International recorded at least 166 executions for similar offenses."
"To try to contain their immense drug problem, the Iranian authorities have carried out a killing spree of staggering proportions, when there is no evidence that execution prevents drug smuggling any more effectively than imprisonment," said Amnesty's Interim Middle East and North Africa deputy director, Ann Harrison. "Drug offenses go much of the way to accounting for the steep rise in executions we have seen in the last 18 months," Harrison said.
Amnesty said it began to receive credible reports of a new wave of drug executions in the middle of 2010, including reports of mass executions at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, with one, on August 4, 2010, involving at least 89 people. While Iran officially acknowledged 253 executions in 2010, of which 172 were for drug offenses, Amnesty said it has credible reports of another 300 executions, "the vast majority believed to be for drug-related offenses."
"Ultimately, Iran must abolish the death penalty for all crimes, but stopping the practice of executing drug offenders, which violates international law, would as a first step cut the overall number significantly," said Harrison.
Amnesty noted tartly that Iran receives significant international support in its war on drugs. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has provided $22 million since 2005 to support training for Iranian anti-drug forces, while the European Union is providing $12.3 million for an Iran-based project to strengthen regional anti-drug cooperation. Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, and Japan have all provided anti-drug assistance to Iran via UNODC programs.
"All countries and international organizations helping the Iranian authorities arrest more people for alleged drugs offenses need to take a long hard look at the potential impact of that assistance and what they could do to stop this surge of executions," said Harrison. "They cannot simply look the other way while hundreds of impoverished people are killed each year without fair trials, many only learning their fates a few hours before their deaths."
Iran may be the most egregious offender when it comes to killing drug offenders, but it is by no means the only one. Other countries that not only have the death penalty for drug offenses but actually apply it include China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Vietnam. Human rights activists argue that the death penalty for drug offenses violates the UN Charter. For information on ongoing efforts to curtail the use of the death penalty for drug offenses, visit the International Harm Reduction Association's Death Penalty Project.
In a bit of good news on the death penalty front, in June, India's Bombay High Court struck down a mandatory death penalty for some drug offenses.The regional high court is the equivalent of a US district court of appeals.
"This is a positive development, which signals that courts have also started to recognize principles of harm reduction and human rights in relation to drugs. It is not utopia, but it is a giant step," said Indian Harm Reduction Network head Luke Samson.
"The Court has upheld at the domestic level what has been emphasized for years by international human rights bodies -- capital drug laws that take away judicial discretion are a violation of the rule of law," said Rick Lines, executive director of Harm Reduction International(formerly the International Harm Reduction Association) and author of The Death Penalty for Drug Offenses: A Violation of International Human Rights Law. "India's justice system has affirmed that it is entirely unacceptable for such a penalty to be mandatory. This will set a positive precedent for judicial authorities in the region, which is rife with draconian drug laws."
Weekly updates on executions worldwide including for drug offenses are available from the Rome-based group Hands Off Cain.
Source: http://stopthedrugwar.org/
Recently we have stumbled reporting on massive executions of alleged drug dealers in Iran. The issue was already addressed in Amnesty
Reports and in the "No drugs, No hangings" campaign, and is now gaining more and more public interest.
Iran2407 site brings you more
information on the subject, from StoptheDrugWar.com.
Iran has garnered itself a
well-deserved reputation as one of the world's leading practitioners of the death
penalty, but 2011 saw an absolute explosion of death sentences and executions
-- the vast majority of them for drug offenses. At the end of January, we
reported that Iran had already executed 56 drug
offenders for
offenses involving more 30 grams of
heroin. As if that weren't enough, in February, the Islamic Republic made trafficking in synthetic drugs,
including meth, a capital offense. More than 50 grams (less than two ounces) of meth could
bring the death penalty, but only on a second offense.
At the end of May, by which time the execution toll for alleged drug offenses had risen to 126, Iran announced it had 300 drug offenders on death row and lashed out at Western critics, saying if the West was unhappy with the killings, Iran could simply quit enforcing its drug laws.
"The number of executions in Iran is high because 74% of those executed are traffickers in large quantities of opium from Afghanistan bound for European markets," said Mohammad JavadLarijani, head of Iran's Supreme Council for Human Rights, during a press conference that month. "There is an easy way for Iran and that is to close our eyes so drug traffickers can just pass through Iran to anywhere they want to go," he said."The number of executions in Iran would drop 74%. That would be very good for our reputation."
At the end of May, by which time the execution toll for alleged drug offenses had risen to 126, Iran announced it had 300 drug offenders on death row and lashed out at Western critics, saying if the West was unhappy with the killings, Iran could simply quit enforcing its drug laws.
"The number of executions in Iran is high because 74% of those executed are traffickers in large quantities of opium from Afghanistan bound for European markets," said Mohammad JavadLarijani, head of Iran's Supreme Council for Human Rights, during a press conference that month. "There is an easy way for Iran and that is to close our eyes so drug traffickers can just pass through Iran to anywhere they want to go," he said."The number of executions in Iran would drop 74%. That would be very good for our reputation."
In a December report, Amnesty International condemned Iran's drug executions, saying the Islamic Republic has embarked on "a killing spree of staggering proportions." The London-based human rights group said "at least 488 people have been executed for alleged drug offenses so far in 2011, a nearly threefold increase on the 2009 figures, when Amnesty International recorded at least 166 executions for similar offenses."
"To try to contain their immense drug problem, the Iranian authorities have carried out a killing spree of staggering proportions, when there is no evidence that execution prevents drug smuggling any more effectively than imprisonment," said Amnesty's Interim Middle East and North Africa deputy director, Ann Harrison. "Drug offenses go much of the way to accounting for the steep rise in executions we have seen in the last 18 months," Harrison said.
Amnesty said it began to receive credible reports of a new wave of drug executions in the middle of 2010, including reports of mass executions at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, with one, on August 4, 2010, involving at least 89 people. While Iran officially acknowledged 253 executions in 2010, of which 172 were for drug offenses, Amnesty said it has credible reports of another 300 executions, "the vast majority believed to be for drug-related offenses."
"Ultimately, Iran must abolish the death penalty for all crimes, but stopping the practice of executing drug offenders, which violates international law, would as a first step cut the overall number significantly," said Harrison.
Amnesty noted tartly that Iran receives significant international support in its war on drugs. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has provided $22 million since 2005 to support training for Iranian anti-drug forces, while the European Union is providing $12.3 million for an Iran-based project to strengthen regional anti-drug cooperation. Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, and Japan have all provided anti-drug assistance to Iran via UNODC programs.
"All countries and international organizations helping the Iranian authorities arrest more people for alleged drugs offenses need to take a long hard look at the potential impact of that assistance and what they could do to stop this surge of executions," said Harrison. "They cannot simply look the other way while hundreds of impoverished people are killed each year without fair trials, many only learning their fates a few hours before their deaths."
Iran may be the most egregious offender when it comes to killing drug offenders, but it is by no means the only one. Other countries that not only have the death penalty for drug offenses but actually apply it include China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Vietnam. Human rights activists argue that the death penalty for drug offenses violates the UN Charter. For information on ongoing efforts to curtail the use of the death penalty for drug offenses, visit the International Harm Reduction Association's Death Penalty Project.
In a bit of good news on the death penalty front, in June, India's Bombay High Court struck down a mandatory death penalty for some drug offenses.The regional high court is the equivalent of a US district court of appeals.
"This is a positive development, which signals that courts have also started to recognize principles of harm reduction and human rights in relation to drugs. It is not utopia, but it is a giant step," said Indian Harm Reduction Network head Luke Samson.
"The Court has upheld at the domestic level what has been emphasized for years by international human rights bodies -- capital drug laws that take away judicial discretion are a violation of the rule of law," said Rick Lines, executive director of Harm Reduction International(formerly the International Harm Reduction Association) and author of The Death Penalty for Drug Offenses: A Violation of International Human Rights Law. "India's justice system has affirmed that it is entirely unacceptable for such a penalty to be mandatory. This will set a positive precedent for judicial authorities in the region, which is rife with draconian drug laws."
Weekly updates on executions worldwide including for drug offenses are available from the Rome-based group Hands Off Cain.
Source: http://stopthedrugwar.org/
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Message from Iran on World Press Freedom Day
May 3, 2012 is World Press Freedom Day.
To mark the occasion Iran180 spoke with a range of thinkers about the importance of a free press, and the realities of practicing journalism in Iran.
Roya Hakakian, Gissou Nia, Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi speak about freedom of Press in Iran
Thursday, May 3, 2012
5.5 magnitude quake hits town in Western Iran
A 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit a small town in western Iran near the Iraqi border, State TV reports on Thursday.
Mehr news agency says the quake hit the "sparsely populated area" near the town of Mourmouri at 2:39 p.m, 300 miles (480 kilometers) southwest of the capital Tehran.
According to the agency, people rushed out of their homes. Mehr news agency reports no casualties, however according to different reports at least 12 people have been injured.
According to the agency, people rushed out of their homes. Mehr news agency reports no casualties, however according to different reports at least 12 people have been injured.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Iran nuclear sites: an animated guide for making a bomb
This clip turns to be really relevant to to the another upcoming Summit of 5+! in 13th of May
Global powers are urging Iran to open a sensitive nuclear site to international inspectors as fears grow over Tehran's race to obtain nuclear weapons.
This animation highlights several key installations that comprise Iran's nuclear program.
Source: http://iranandiaea.wordpress.com/?p=369&preview=true
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Iran threatens US East Coast
Iranian Navy capable of deploying vessels near US shores, senior commander says; another official says Tehran has ability to disable American aircraft carries
Iran's Navy has the ability to deploy its vessels three miles off the US east coast, a high-ranking Iranian Navy commander was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
24 Acts of Non Compliance by Iran – A new Info graphic
Relevant more than ever in light of the upcoming P5 + 1 and Iran Summit in Vienna, attached is a new infographic based on recent IAEA reports which includes 24 specific acts of non-compliance. This info is free to use, quote and repost in any manner you see fit and is meant to shed light on Iran’s track record to date vis-Ã -vis the possibility that Iran’s nuclear program includes nuclear armament.
Click thumbnail for a full-size PDF file.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
When It Comes to Iran... Laugh While You Still Can
The Iran--Laugh While You Still Can comedy troupe has dedicated its talents to the cause of the hope that we will never have to fight a World War IV...with stone cudgels.
Laugh while you can at Iran, world, because once Iran does get the bomb, a few million less people and a few less countries will be laughing.
It has been announced the comedy troupe Iran- Laugh While You Can has developed a humorous Facebook page entitled strangely enough “Iran--Laugh While You Still Can.” The intent of this Facebook page is to use such media as political cartoons, news video snippets, and often satirical commentary to get people to laugh at what has developed over the last decade into one of the most disturbing and dangerous issues facing the nation and the planet: the possession of nuclear weapons by Iran. The Founder of the comedy troupe says, "Humor unites people...it has a way of bringing people together. It is amazing to see how people interact on our site and maybe through spreading laughter we can resolve this very serious situation."
The profile of the “Iran--Laugh While You Still Can” page is dark in tone, howeverhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Iran-Laugh-while-you-still-can/272233746183470:
“Due to a series of circumstances that are too long to recount here, Iran has become a focal point of the lives of people all over the world. Whether it is Iran's flagrant abuses of civil rights, its nuclear program, its use and abuse of oil prices or simply its hate-filled rhetoric, Iran is constantly in the news...Einstein’s quote comes to mind here: ‘I don't know what kind of weapons will be used in the third world war, assuming there will be a third world war. But I can tell you what the fourth world war will be fought with -- stone cudgels.’ So laugh while you can at Iran, world, because once Iran does get the bomb, a few million less people and a few less countries will be laughing.” explains a senior member of Iran Laugh While You Can who wishes to remain anonymous.
But for now, the world can all live in hope that the comedy troop that has designed this page is right, that through laughter more people will become aware of the very real threat facing our world, and in that awareness influence leaders of Western nations such as Israel, the United States, and their allies to intervene against the entity which is a very real, serious threat to life on planet Earth. How can people laugh at such a dark matter? Actually, the posts on the page uncover some absurd facts about Iran’s behavior, that we almost must laugh so as not to go insane!
The great writer Mark Twain said, “The difference between writing fiction and writing non-fiction is that fiction has to make sense.”
These are dark matters. Sometimes, a laugh is the best answer for something that’s lurking in the darkness. Sometimes, laughter is the best medicine. Hopefully, the medicine offered for free at “Iran--Laugh While You Still Can” will be enough to sober us up, for if ever there was a time when an ounce of prevention was worth more than a pound of cure, that time is now--whether we need to prepare to stop World War III, or whether we need to learn that we’ve foolishly been overreacting to over-acting after all.
ABOUT “IRAN--LAUGH WHILE YOU STILL CAN”
This Facebook page has been designed and is run by Iran- Laugh While You Can, a comedy group dedicated to satire and humor concerning Iran as it is seen by the West in these times. A very large amount of content and engagement by people who find interest, comfort, and laughter in satire on Iran. All quotes are kept Anonymous to keep people safe from being targeted.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Iran? Yes you can
Ahead of this weekends crucial talks between Iran and the P5 + 1 countries, Stefan Simanowitz intercepts a letter from George W Bush to President Obama
Howdy Barack,
Now I’ve no great interest in politics but it dawned on me that I have a duty to write to you, Commander-in-Chief 43 to Commander-in-Chief 44.
I was flipping burgers at the annual Republican fundraising barbeque I throw in Crawford, listening in to a conversation Dick, Donald and Wolfy were having about attacking Iran. They were all agreed the time is right and everything’s in place. A few diplomatic skirmishes are still in the pipeline and the media have yet to be fully embedded but Thunderbirds are almost go. The only question remaining is the big one. Does Obama have what it takes?
Apparently the view on Captiol Hill is that you’re in the midst of a major moral dimella about going to war, and I realised that as one of a few men alive who has stood in the Oval Office and had to make that most momentous of decisions, I’m one of the few men that truly understands that dimella.
Of course everyone wants to be a war President. Who wouldn’t! But so far you’ve been dropping the ball. When you came to office you tried out a new type of foreign policy and even offered the Tehranians the “hand of friendship.” But you quickly learned that the president of America has gotta be awful careful about the friends he chooses.
I was real lucky with the friends I had around. The guy I relied on most was Dick. He had an ability to explain the most complicated things in a way that normal folk could comprehend. He could even do it over a round of golf. I remember one time he summed up the entire US plan for the Middle East while teeing off. “Look George” he says “It’s kinda like how you’d play this hole. No matter how good you are, you’re not going to sink a hole-in-one on the 17th. A hole like this will need a couple of big thwacks at least before you even get up on the green.” He hits the ball down the fairway. “First thwack, Afghanistan.” He tees up again and takes another drive. “Second thwack, Iraq.” He tees up once more. “Then we thwack the real bad guy. Iran.”
As you know it wasn’t as easy as Dick made it sound. In Afghanistan the evil-doers are still up to mischief and the fighting in Iraq dragged so long that some people started comparing it with Vietnam. I couldn’t comment on that ‘cos I only went to Iraq at Thanksgiving and never went to ‘Nam in the Seventies. It was way too dangerous back then.
We almost went into Iran back in 2007 and again in 2008. Even just before I stepped down I was up for it but Condee reckoned it might make me look like the guy who starts a brawl then jumps into the nearest cab. So we left Iran to you.
The truth is sometimes hard, so I won’t try to sugar-coat it. Going to war was the toughest decision I ever had to make. Even though I was surrounded by my team and my family, it was the loneliest time of my life. Even though I knew it was the right thing to do and God was on our side, I was still shitting grits for days.
What made it easier was the support I got. Republicans and Democrats backed me a 100% on Iraq just as they’ll back you 100% on Iran. Don’t lose sleep over UN resolutions or international law. Remember you’re the sheriff in this town and as long as you’ve got a good posse to back you up, your word is law. Blair may not be in charge of England anymore but Prime Minster Dave seems like a real push-over. The best thing he has going for him is that tight-lipped Brit accent. He could call for of the invasion of Disney Land and Americans would be punching the air.
We have a saying here in Texas about leading a horse to water but not being able to make him drink and you Mister President are now in the position of that horse. So far it seems you’ve taken the right steps - UN resolutions, sanctions, covert operations yada yada. You’ve said the right things - all options on the table, windows of opportunity closing yada yada. The next thing you need to do is set a deadline.
Deadlines are great ‘cos they take things out of your hands. Once a deadline expires then you have a simple choice: take action or look like a wuss. I gave Saddam a deadline to hand over his WMD. He missed the deadline. I gave the order. You give Amadinnerjacket a deadline to hand over his nucular weapons and let the countdown begin.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Oil falls to near $102 after Iran nuclear talks
SINGAPORE -- Oil fell to near $102 a barrel Monday in Asia after negotiators said meetings over Iran's nuclear program last weekend began on a positive note, easing tensions that had sent crude higher.
Benchmark oil for May delivery was down 82 cents to $102.01 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 81 cents to settle at $102.83 in New York on Friday.
Brent crude for May delivery was down $1.25 at $119.96 per barrel in London.
Iran met Saturday in Istanbul with representatives from the U.S., China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany in a bid to ease fears that Tehran may seek to build nuclear weapons. Officials said the talks began with a positive tone, in contrast to the previous round 14 months ago, which ended without progress.
The sides agreed to meet again on May 23 in Baghdad for further talks.
Concern that a military strike by Israel and the U.S. against Iran's nuclear facilities would disrupt global crude supplies has helped push crude up from $75 in October. Iranian crude output has fallen in recent months as the U.S. and Europe begin to impose economic sanctions on OPEC's second-biggest producer.
Crude has dropped from $110 last month amid signs global crude supplies are outstripping demand. Rising crude output by Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer, slowing Chinese economic growth and weak demand in developing countries "all continue to lean in favor of lower prices," energy trader and analyst Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report.
In other energy trading, heating oil was down 3.3 cents to $3.15 per gallon and gasoline futures slid 3.4 cents to $3.31 per gallon. Natural gas fell 0.1 cent to $1.98 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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