Iran is forever in the news, whether for its bold statements on the West or its tête-à-tête with Israel. By courtesy of the Iranian Olympians, Iran is in the news for positive reasons right now. One should put aside the pre-Olympics hype over whether Iranian Olympians will face their arch rivals from Israel or not and focus on the contributions their athletes made to the spirit of the 2012 Olympics.

The country current ranks at 12th place in the Olympic table with a total of eight medals: four golds, three silvers, and one bronze. To celebrate their country’s accolades in Olympics, Iranians took to social networking sites to express their joy. One could argue that this Olympics has indeed exposed a rare side of Iran to the global audience.

Iran has participated in the Olympics since the 1948 London Games. This year, 45 men and eight women are participating from Iran in the London 2012 Olympics. However, this is the first time that Iran has won medals in athletic categories and their first-ever gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. Twenty-five-year-old Neda Shahsavari also made a history by becoming the first Iranian woman to qualify for women’s table tennis. Tuesday, August 7, was especially jubilant for Iranians as their Olympians won two gold and two silver medals.

Twenty-two-year-old Behdad Salimikordasiabi was bestowed with the title of strongest man after winning the gold medal on Tuesday in the 105kg weightlifting competition. Salimi said in a statement, “In Iran I know they’re all partying in the street already.” Salimikordasiabi’s final competitor was Russia’s European champion Ruslan Albegov, who lost by 1kg, allowing Salimikordasiabi’s lift of 455kg to become the champion. On his winning Salimikordasiabi told the media, “I’m very happy, I worked very hard for this and had a very hard schedule.”

Fellow Iranian 28-year-old Sajjad Anoushiravani took the bronze medal, with the silver going to Albegov. Anoushiravani said, “I’d have liked to be first but I’m happy with what I’ve got. God forbid if one day he is not able to compete, I will carry Iran’s flag for him. But the most important thing is that we both competed and both won a medal.”

In men’s athletics, Ehsan Hadadi won Iran’s first ever silver medal with a 68.18m discus throw on Tuesday with Kianoush Rostami winning Iran a bronze medal on August 3 in the men’s 85kg weightlifting.

Hamid Soryan, a 26-year-old wrestler from Tehran, won Iran’s first gold medal in 40 years in  the 55kg Greco-Roman wrestling on August 5 after defeating Azerbaijan’s Rovshan Bayramov 2-0 in the final. Another celebrated winner is defending world champion Omid Noroozi in men’s 60kg Greco-Roman wrestling, who defeated Georgia’s Revaz Lashkhi 1-0, 1-0 to give Iran its second gold medal.

Ghasem Rezai in men’s 96kg Greco-Roman wrestling gave Iran its third gold medal in many days by beating Russia’s Rustam Totrov 2-0, 1-0 on Tuesday. Rezai said in a statement, “I am very happy because I have made my people very proud. To see all the Iranians inside the stadium and back home, to bring smiles to their faces is the happiest moment of my life.”

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad congratulated the Iranian Olympians on Sunday, “I hereby congratulate the Iranian wrestlers, athletes and nation on Iran’s first gold medal at the London Olympics won by young and brave Greco-Roman wrestler Hamid Sourian. I pray to God for more victories by Iranian athletes in the London 2012 Olympic Games.”

Image Courtesy of  Boris Pamikov / Shutterstock.com

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United Nations Peace Envoy, Kofi Annan, has decided to hold an international conference regarding the ever-growing war in Syria, which has left several killed and severely injured. The meeting will take place in Geneva this coming Saturday, but cause for concern is arising, as the United States is having mixed emotions about being a part of the conference.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has confirmed that despite the United State’s lukewarm feelings about the conference, it will be in attendance, in addition to representatives from various countries including Russia, China, Britain, France, Turkey, and others from European Union, as well as the Arab League.

According to Annan, the purpose of the meeting, “is to forge a consensus on the terms for a political solution among international players with stakes and influence in the Syrian conflict over terms for a political solution. The U.N. envoy believes that the best hope of pressing the combatants on the ground to observe his peace plan to which they signed up in April but have not implemented, is for the foreign powers on whose support they variously depend to agree on terms.”

And the main problem that needs to be addressed this coming Saturday, is the conflict in different approaches and decisions that Russia and the United States both want to make. One of the countries that has yet to announce its appearance is Iran, which is a key factor in resolving conflict. “I have made it quite clear that I believe Iran should be part of the solution,” Annan said in Geneva last Friday. “If we continue the way we are going and competing with each other, it could lead to destructive competition and everyone will pay the price.”

The reason for both Iran and Saudia Arabia being excluded from the conference is based on the Obama Administration not wanting them there. According to Tony Karan, reporter for Time World, “The Obama Administration cited Iran’s role in backing up Syria’s bloody crackdown to declare Tehran’s involvement a “red line” for participating in the Geneva talks, and Annan presumably left out Saudi Arabia as a compensatory gesture to Russia which insists that those countries arming and funding Syria’s rebels share major responsibility for escalating the conflict.

A state department official told reporters last week that “If Kofi Annan can get the proposed participants to agree on such a plan for political transition then there will be a meeting, but that’s what we need to find out before we go to any meeting. There’s no point in going just for the sake of it.”

Image Courtesy of  United Nations

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Two months ago, journalists Adem Ozkose and Hamit Coskun were flown to Tehran to do some filming for a documentary. What they did not plan on documenting however, was the captivity they have endured for the past two months.

Ozkose, a reporter and Coskun, a cameraman, both with the magazine Gerçek Hayat and the daily Milat, were waiting for a plane to go home when they were captured on March 10.

“The journalists, as well as some Syrians who were accompanying them, were abducted by militia members known as shabiha at a checkpoint outside a Shiite town in the predominantly Sunni province,” Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organization which defends the rights of journalists by advocating freedom of the press and the freedom of information, said.

According to the shabiha, they were abducted for illegally entering the country.

In the northwestern city of Idleb, a small Shiite town where the Turks were taken, rebel leaders attempted to negotiate with Syrian authorities for the journalists to be released, but were unsuccessful.

According to the IHH, a Turkish Islamist humanitarian non-governmental organization, it was announced on May 5 “that it had managed to visit the two detained journalists in Damascus. Turgut Alp Boyraz, the head of foreign news at Milat, said they were able to telephone their families on May 5 for the first time since their capture.”

Since the uprising of the Syrian people against President Bashar Assad started 14 months ago, relations between Turkey and Syria have worsened. According to Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Iran is said to have played a crucial role in the release of the prisoners, acting somewhat as a “mediator” between the two countries.

Additionally according to the LA Times, “since the Syrian uprising began last year in March, the country has been a dangerous place for foreign journalists to work. Most are not allowed to enter the nation and those who have received permission are often monitored. As a result, some journalists have sneaked into the country.”

And indeed it has become increasingly dangerous for journalists to report in foreign countries. Since the beginning of this year, six journalists have died as a result of working in a foreign country, including Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin, who were killed while reporting on a monthlong bombardment of the Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs, according to Reporters Without Borders.

“Their release is a big relief,” the group said regarding the Turkish journalists. “But more than 37 journalists and citizen journalists are still detained in Syria. We must not forget them.”

Both Ozkose and Coskun were reported to be in good health and after being released on Saturday, will soon be reunited with their families.

Image Courtesy of   Kodak Agfa

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At an international conference by the French Committee for a Democratic Iran (CFID) held in Paris on March 24, 2012 speakers from the United States and Europe stressed the need for a firm policy towards the Iranian regime.

Attracting thousands of Iranian dignitaries, the meeting also called for the protection of the rights of Ashraf and Liberty residents and the removal of the terrorism label on the main Iranian opposition movement, the People’s Mujahidin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) by the U.S. State Department.

Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian resistance, offered her condolences to the French people, the Jewish society and the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks in Toulouse. She blamed this tragedy on fundamentalism under the guise of Islam, whose roots are found in Tehran and Qom. “Warnings had been issued about this phenomenon as far back as 25 years ago and these crimes had nothing to do with Islam,” Rajavi stressed.

She said the only means of defeating the fundamentalism and terrorism that hides behind Islam is an alternative based on a democratic and tolerant Islam, and that the PMOI represents this democratic alternative which is the anti-thesis to extremism – an Islam with the message of mercy, freedom, equality, brotherhood, love and co-existence between all religions and all of humanity.

Rajavi declared that with global solidarity, it would be possible to make this the year that sees the defeat of the religious fascism ruling Iran. She added that the only solution to prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb or unprecedented conflict and crisis triggered by the mullahs is regime change by the Iranian people and the Iranian resistance.

“In order to escape their demise, the mullahs have reverted to war with the Iranian people, the people of the region and the international community. At the centre of these measures is their effort to annihilate the organized resistance which holds the key for change in Iran. Attacking Ashraf is done within this context,” Rajavi commented.

“The policy of the United States and the European Union, bowing to the demands of the regime over Ashraf and the continuation of unjustified designation of the Mujahidin (MEK) has worked in favour of the Tehran’s mullahs,” she emphasized.

Referring to the transfer of 1200 Ashraf residents to Camp Liberty, Rajavi said: “This transfer unfortunately has turned to a forcible displacement combined with a lot of harassments and pressures. Despite the repeated calls of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the residents do not have freedom of movement. They are also deprived of meeting their family members and lawyers. Most importantly, the unjustified presence of armed forces within the Camp’s private limits has created constant insecurity for the residents.”

She also warned that the presence of armed forces inside the camp strongly adds to the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe. In these circumstances, the UN is expected to return to its real responsibility of defending the victim and the oppressed, or at least to stay neutral between the Iraqi government and Ashraf residents.

In his remarks, Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York and US Presidential Candidate (2008): “Let me go there (Camp Liberty). Let me see it with my own eyes. In other words, let’s see if my country that I love, the United States of America, is living up to the promise that it made to the people of Ashraf to protect them and to treat them decently or it’s breaking that promise.

And if you don’t want to send me, you can send Judge Mukasey or Tom Ridge or Patrick Kennedy or four or five of us and then you can put us before Congress and put us under oath and I assure you, we’ll tell the truth about it and we’ll get this resolved. Are we being misled or is the State Department breaking its promise to the people of Ashraf? Let’s get an answer to it once and for all.”

The former Mayor of New York added: “And right now, the enemy of stopping a nuclear Iran is appeasement. That’s the false notion that made Iran more determined to become nuclear. Let’s stop the appeasement. Let’s stop trying to negotiate. Let’s stop writing letters to the ayatollah. And let’s stand up, united as Americans in saying we are for regime change in Iran and we will take any step necessary to stop Iran from becoming nuclear.”

Tom Ridge began by stating his readiness to join Mayor Giuliani on his trip to Camp Liberty. He went on: “We will continue to stand with the MEK, with the freedom-loving people of Ashraf and Liberty. I want to stand on the right side of history and I do not worry about anything else.”

Ridge described the scenes of attacks on Ashraf, and strongly criticized the US government for trampling on the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions. He said: “How can my country ignore those vicious attacks? One wonders when last time those responsible for Ashraf looked at those documents.”

He told the UN: “You have not done your job United Nations, and it is about time you did it.”

And he urged the US government: “If you want to send a message to Iran and Maliki about how serious we are, I’ll give you one simple idea: delist the MEK.” Michael Mukasey said: “This conference should be broadcast to the State Department. Then they would see that Rajavi opened this conference by extending her condolences to the Jewish community in Toulouse.”

The former U.S. Attorney General ridiculed the ‘unnamed sources’ at the State Department, saying: “Why anonymous? What are they afraid of? They fear, but we have no fear. We do not hide our names.”

And he told Iranians in audience: “Right prevails in my country and I hope it will not be long before right will prevail in your country.”
Patrick Kennedy strongly criticized the UN and said: “We want action, no more words.” He expressed solidarity with the residents of Camp Liberty, adding: “All of our thoughts are with people in Camp Liberty who are being treated as prisoners and not refugees.”

Philippe Douste-Blazy, Special Adviser and Deputy to the UN Secretary General and French Foreign Minister from 2005 to 2007, also voiced his support for the goals of the conference via a video message.

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Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi are the opposition leaders in Iran.

Some sources say they were detained,along with their wives Zahra Rahnavard and Fatemeh Karroubi, under house arrest in their respective homes in Tehran with the charge to have called for demonstrations in the Iranian capital after the recent uprising in Tunisia and Egypt.

Their houses were under surveillance and they were kept in complete isolation, completely cut off from the outside world. Now their disappearance is a mystery. The sources give different versions of the story.

According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHR), Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi were moved from their homes and taken to an unknown location. Iranian government officials deny that the men had been taken. “The two are currently in their homes and there have only been restrictions on their contacts”, an unnamed government official said.

Debkafile‘s Iranian sources reveal that both have been secretly jailed at the ill-famed Parchin prison.

The night on February 24th, they were taken from their Tehran homes, beaten, hidden in large sacks and carried in armoured police vehicles to one of the most Iran’s infernal prisons. Also their wives have disappeared,no one knows where they have been moved.

They were seized so suddenly that their fellow activists couldn’t even think about it,they thought they were still at home under protracted house arrest. But then they discovered that the Moussavi and Karroubi residences were empty and dark, and their families nowhere around. Also the guards were gone.

The Parchin top security prison is reserved for either the most audacious regime’s political and ideological dissidents, the spies accused of threatening Iranian state security and foreign prisoners of the regime. Situated really close to Iran’s most secret nuclear laboratories, the prison’s vicinity is one of the most heavily guarded sections of Tehran. The prisoners of Parchin are rarely seen again.

Some sources report Moussavi and Karroubi must have been seriously weakened by enforced hunger while still under house arrest. They and their wives were obliged to eat only the food supplied by their guards, but it seems that they refused for fear of been poisoned. Their relatives sent various letters to the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to express concern about their state of health, they also complaint because they weren’t allowed to visit them and nobody could see them. They never got an answer.

The reformist Sayed Mohammad Khatami is asking for their release since they were held in their residences and he is also posting on his website calls for protests in the key squares and streets of Tehran and provincial cities against the violation of the human rights of the two opposition’s leaders.

The authorities oppose the protests. Officials have branded anyone who supports Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi as “anti-revolutionary”. During the demonstrations of February 14th there were thousands of supporters of the two opposition leaders to fill the streets of Tehran. At least two persons died in the clashes with security forces and around 1,500 people were detained according to what the opposition groups said. Official figures say that the right number is 150. The Iranian MPs calls for the execution of the opposition leaders.

The Iranian state ignores voluntarily the duty of informing the country and also the world. The destiny of the two opposition figures and of their wives remains obscure.

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