Guardian: Obama administration writing letter to Iran

The Obama administration is preparing to send a letter to the Iranian people as part of an effort to thaw U.S.-Iran relations and to open the door to further talks, the Guardian is reporting. The letter comes in response to a letter sent by Ahmadinejad after President Obama won the November election, but the response will bypass the Iranian President. According to the Guardian report, the letter will be addressed to the Iranian people and will be sent directly to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or will be released as an open letter.

The letter is now being reviewed by Secretary of State Clinton, and is part of a wider policy shift being considered by the Obama administration. The letter reportedly will state that the United States will not try to overthrow the Iranian regime but wants a change in the behavior of the Iranian government.

The President has been striking the right tone while talking about Iran recently, especially during his interview on al Arabiya. He respectfully said “the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization,” before describing the Iranian policies that stand in the way of improved relations. It’s a welcome change from the tone-deaf approach of the previous administration, which strengthened Iranian hardliners with  infamous statements, such as calling Iran part of an “Axis of Evil” while Iran was assisting the United States in Afghanistan.

Further details on the letter can be found here.

Jihadi chic couture

What common thread ties together celebrities such as Rachel Ray, the Jonas Brothers and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

In May of last year, a Dunkin Donuts coffee ad, featuring “EVOO” and “yummo” originator Rachel Ray, was pulled from circulation after Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin wrote in her blog that the keffiyeh (pronounced chafiyeh in Farsi) scarf Rachel was wearing “has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad. ”

Just a few weeks after Rachel Ray’s donning of “jihad” gear, Kevin Jonas aka “The Romantic One” of The Jonas Brothers heart-throb boy band was spotted wearing a keffiyeh in a Disney photo shoot. In a blog post, former McCain campaign advisor and present-day blogger Martin Eisenstadt protested the fashion faux pas. Though he gives himself a buffer, just by mentioning the idea that “The Romantic One” attempted to “seduce America’s young girls into being the next generation of Hamas sympathizers,” Eisenstadt attempts to promote an association between deplorable acts of violence and a scarf.

Tehran’s hypocrisy on women’s rights; soccer edition

On Monday January 20^th for the first time since the 1979 revolution, a soccer match involving men vs. women took place in Iran. Unfortunately, government officials were none too pleased at the watershed match.

President Obama on al Arabiya

Read the whole transcript here: (h/t Laura Rozen at The Cable)

Q: President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very broad, “war on terror,” and used sometimes certain terminology that the many people — Islamic fascism. You’ve always framed it in a different way, specifically against one group called al Qaeda and their collaborators. And is this one way of –

THE PRESIDENT: I think that you’re making a very important point. And that is that the language we use matters. And what we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations — whether Muslim or any other faith in the past — that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith’s name.

And so you will I think see our administration be very clear in distinguishing between organizations like al Qaeda — that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it — and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop. We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful. I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians and we will hunt them down.

But to the broader Muslim world what we are going to be offering is a hand of friendship.

Q: Can I end with a question on Iran and Iraq then quickly? …

Q: Will the United States ever live with a nuclear Iran? And if not, how far are you going in the direction of preventing it?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I said during the campaign that it is very important for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of U.S. power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran.

Now, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization. Iran has acted in ways that’s not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past — none of these things have been helpful.

But I do think that it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress. And we will over the next several months be laying out our general framework and approach. And as I said during my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.

NIAC round-up

1. Obama plan to negotiate buys Iran time to complete nuclear program, Haaretz
2. Obama Signals New Tone in Relations With Islamic World, New York Times
3. US to have ‘vigorous’ Iran talks, BBC
4. Iran expecting ‘concrete’ changes under Obama, AFP
5. NATO leader urges engagement with Iran, AP
6. Gerecht: The CIA Vs. the Mullahs
7. Kinzer: Iran is the key, The Guardian
8. Iran condemns EU for delisting terror group, CNN
9. Iran Group to Stay on U.S. Terror List, Wall Street Journal
10. Iran Nukes: Nuclear Weapons Material This Year, US News & World Report
11. Guilty Plea in Iran Exporting Case, New York Times

Bizarre fearmongering on Iran

This video comes from a site called ShieldAmerica.org, which is a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (better known as Frank Gaffney’s partners in the dilapidated push for Iran divestment).

The leaders of the project and other fringe activists are on a campaign to raise public concerns about the threat of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) after a nuclear detonation, and they point to Iran as the most likely culprit to use this dastardly tactic on the United States.

Hillary Mann Leverett on Iran’s offer: bin Ladin son for MEK

Check out Hillary Mann Leverett’s extremely inciteful post over at the Washington Note about the Iran-Saad bin Ladin connection.

On Saturday, the New York Times and other media outlets reported on a statement from Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell that Saad bin Ladin, one of Osama bin Laden’s sons, had left “house arrest” in Iran and is now in Pakistan.

McConnell’s statement underscores the message of my last post — that there have been real strategic costs imposed on U.S. interests by the Bush Administration’s brain dead approach to dealing with Iran. Moreover, the poor quality of the mainstream media’s reporting on McConnell’s statement reflects a distorted and by-now deeply ingrained view of what happened in our interactions with Iran about Al Qaida. If incoming President Obama and his administration are really serious about putting U.S.-Iranian relations on a more positive trajectory, they must be prepared to challenge the misleading assumptions and assertions that warp public discussion of our Iran policy.

Obama’s Treasury pick vows financial action against Iran

AFP reports that Obama’s pick for Treasury Secretary Timoty Geithner will continue to put financial pressure on the Iranian banking system.

Obama’s Treasury pick vows financial action against Iran

January 22, 2009

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Treasury secretary-designate Timothy Geithner vowed to pursue the US government’s financial offensive on Iran to stamp out its alleged weapons proliferation and support for terrorism.

In written answers to members of the Senate finance committee, released Thursday as part of his confirmation process, Geithner noted that Treasury has blacklisted a number of Iranian banks and companies over those concerns.

“If confirmed as secretary of the Treasury, I would consider the full range of tools available to the US Department of the Treasury, including unilateral measures, to prevent Iran from misusing the financial system to engage in proliferation and terrorism,” he wrote in response to senators’ questions.

“I agree wholeheartedly that the Department of the Treasury has done outstanding work in ratcheting up the pressure on Iran, both by vigorously enforcing our sanctions against Iran and by sharing information with key financial actors around the world about how Iran’s deceptive conduct poses a threat to the integrity of the financial system,” Geithner said.

A Critical Decision in the Midst of the New Administration

Obama has taken office. His first day was filled with phone calls to the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the president of the Palestinian Authority. It is evident that Obama is making an early effort to deal with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, an effort that was lacking in the administration of George. W. Bush.

Yet, we have seen little confirmation as to who will take on the difficult role of dealing with Iran. The three rumored front-men for the job are Dennis Ross, George Mitchell, and Richard Haas. Though these three men come from politically impressive backgrounds, their areas of expertise are distinctively different.

NIAC round-up

1. Obama and the Middle East, The Nation
2. Does Barack Obama have Iran’s number?, Telegraph
3. Iran’s Ahmadinejad sceptical about Barack Obama’s ability to change America, Telegraph
4. Barack Obama greeted with hatred and quiet hope in Iran, Telegraph
5. Iran: Obama must seek ‘new’ Mideast foreign policy, AP
6. World powers to meet to discuss Iran next month, Reuters
7. Clinton confirmed as new US chief diplomat, AFP
8. In the Wake of Gaza, Arab Hard-Liners Gain Upper Hand, Time
9. Questions on Iran president’s health, International Herald Tribune
10. Iran warns BBC Tehran staff not to help Farsi service, AFP
11. Iran calls for more OPEC meetings, UPI

Israel, Gaza and Iran: Trapping Obama in Imagined Fault Lines

NIAC President Dr. Trita Parsi wrote this article for the “Huffington Post” on January 13, 2009.

In talking about the assault on Gaza, neo-conservative pundits and Israeli hardliners have relied on a familiar frame. The fighting in Gaza, they say, is a struggle between Israel and so-called “moderate” Arab states (namely, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia) on the one hand, and Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas on the other. In reality, Israel is fighting Iran in Gaza, the argument reads.

These imagined Manichean fault lines defy logic and reality. This conflict is the last thing Tehran would have wished for in the last few weeks of the Bush administration. It increases the risk of a US-Iran confrontation now, and reduces the prospects for US-Iran diplomacy once President elect Obama takes over – neither of which is in Iran’s national interest. Rather than benefiting from the instability following the slaughter in Gaza, Iran stands to lose much from the rise in tensions. And so does Obama.

Aids doctors suspected of plot to overthrow Iranian government

Brothers Arash and Kamyar Alaie were imprisoned by the Iranian government in June of 2008 and faced trial on December 31^st 2008 in a private hearing in Tehran. The two Iranian doctors were doing AIDS/HIV research in Iran.

The Iranian government claimed that the two doctors and two other unnamed individuals were working with the CIA, in a $32 million plan to overthrow the Iranian government. The government claimed that the doctors were working to stir up a social revolution.

Arash was given six years and his brother three. There is no evidence to explain the difference in their sentencing. Their charges are based on Article 508 of Iran’s Penal Code which allows up to ten years’ imprisonment for “cooperation with an enemy government,” though the Penal Code is silent as to what constitutes “cooperation” or what is meant by an “enemy government.”