Source: NEWSMAX
BY: James Morrison
The leader of the Iranian democratic resistance sent Christmas greetings to Christian supporters, calling the birth of Jesus a time of hope for “emancipation and liberty.”
The danger of trusting Tehran
Source: THE HILL
BY: Alejo Vidal-Quadras
Twelve years since the revelation of secret sites in Natanz and Arak, the international community still pursues an answer to the persistent question about the nature and objective of the Iranian nuclear program.
A Jailed Iranian Pastor’s Christmas Prayer
Source: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
This will be Pastor Farshid Fathi’s fourth Christmas in an Iranian prison, yet his fortitude, faith and indomitable spirit continues to impress and encourage.
Iran’s Repressive Apparatus Gets a Raise
Source: THE WALL STREET JORNAL
By: EMANUELE OTTOLENGHI andSAEED GHASSEMINEJAD
To pay for it, Rouhani will have to tax a disgruntled middle class. Luckily he’ll have well-paid Guards to quash any potential unrest.Hasan Rouhani submitted his 2015 budget proposal earlier this month to the Majlis, Iran’s parliament. The proposal suggests that, contrary to the Iranian president’s reputation for moderation in the West, “Rouhanomics” is really about bolstering the regime’s repressive apparatus while at the same time modifying some of the more reckless policies of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad .
Iran wary of regional oil conspiracies
DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 22 (UPI) — The Iraqi speaker of parliament said Monday from Syria his government was mindful of regional players working against Tehran in the global oil marketplace.
Defected Syrian Gen. Tlass says Assad ‘sold Syria to Iran’
Source: AL ARABIYA
A senior Syrian army general who defected in 2012 said in a recent interview that President Bashar al-Assad had sold out Syria to Iran and opted to use repression and violence as a means of snuffing out dissent right from the start of the uprising against his rule in 2011.
Leader of Iranian-backed militia killed in eastern Iraq
Source: THE LONGWAR JORNAL
By: BILL ROGGIO AND CALEB WEISS
Wathiq al Battat, the leader of the Mukhtar Army and secretary-general of Hezbollah in Iraq, was killed yesterday in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala. Battat had formed the Mukhtar Army in early 2013 and has received support from Iran’s Qods Force.
Iran at its worst under the ‘moderate’ Rouhani
Source: EurActive
by: Alejo Vidal-Quadras
Today the Iranian people are facing one of the worst violations of human rights in contemporary times. Over 1200 executions in the past 15 months of Rouhani’s presidency, Government organized acid attacks against women for “mal-veiling” and the brutal hanging of 26-year-old girl Reyhaneh Jabbari, are terrible events that have shocked the world.
The right prism on Iran
By Amir Emadi
Source: The Hill
Talk about the “wrong prism” to view Iran. An Iranian regime consulate employee in New York has recently taken to the American press to spew Tehran’s propaganda against the main Iranian opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). He is on a mission.
In principle, the emissaries of the “world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism” should not have the audacity to regulate how others should see Iran. They have no legitimacy at home, and they should not assert legitimacy abroad. Imagine how ridiculous it would be for the diplomats of Kim Jong-un or Bashar al-Assad or Adolph Hitler to extol the virtues of their murderous wrath and pretend to act on their citizenry’s behalf. Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s emissaries are no different.
Doing Stupid Things with Iran
Source: American Thinker
By Ken Blackwell and Bob Morrison
The Obama administration has obviously decided to go silent on human rights abuses in Iran in hopes of concentrating like a laser on arms control. It is true that it is urgently necessary to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. The last three administrations — Clinton, Bush, and Obama — have agreed on that if on little else.
The operating assumption for the U.S. negotiators with Iran is that if we make a big fuss about human rights abuses — intensifying under President Hassan Rouhani — it will impede our ability to strike a deal on nuclear weapons.
