Iran Focus: Tehran, Jun. 15 For the second consecutive day, Irans paramilitary police attacked protesters holding a vigil outside a notorious prison, arresting at least two dozen men and women. Two women were so badly beaten up by the baton-wielding policemen that they had to be taken to hospital. They were identified as Shiva Nazar-Ahari and Akram Eqbali.
Iran security forces round up prison protesters for second day
Top Ten Facts about Iran’s June 17 Presidential Election
U.S. Alliance for Democratic Iran: Iran will hold a presidential election on Friday, June 17.
There are some fundamental facts about the nature and purpose of elections held under theocratic regime in Iran. They help to better understand the current political scene there.
These are the top ten facts about the June 17 election, compiled by the US Alliance for Democratic Iran, for your information.
IAEA report backs Iran exile group’s revelations
Iran Focus: Vienna, June 15 A briefing by the United Nations nuclear watchdog on the progress of its work in Iran lent
credence to revelations by an Iranian opposition group back in November that Iran continues to hide critical information on its controversial nuclear program. Officials at the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency have informed diplomats that Iran had not given access requested by the IAEA to the Lavizan and Parchin military sites, where weaponization work is suspected.
IAEA report backs Iran exile group’s revelations
Iran Focus: Vienna, June 15 A briefing by the United Nations nuclear watchdog on the progress of its work in Iran lent
credence to revelations by an Iranian opposition group back in November that Iran continues to hide critical information on its controversial nuclear program. Officials at the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency have informed diplomats that Iran had not given access requested by the IAEA to the Lavizan and Parchin military sites, where weaponization work is suspected.
Mullah Marketing 101
Front-Page Magazine: Amid intense calls by Irans democratic opposition for the boycott of the upcoming June 17 presidential elections and Tehrans worried rush to showcase the sham as a sign of its popular legitimacy, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is reported to be the front-runner.
Rioting erupts in Iranian hotbed of Kurdish nationalism
AFP: Hundreds of Iranian Kurds have clashed violently with police in the northwestern Iranian town of Mahabad, an historical centre of Kurdish nationalism, the official news agency IRNA said Wednesday. The rioting, which came just days before Iran is due to elect a new president, was sparked by news from across the border in Iraq that former rebel leader Massoud Barzani was sworn in as the first president of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Rafsanjani ahead in poll that holds the key to Iran’s nuclear ambitions
Daily Telegraph: This week’s Iranian presidential election might have new features such as internet campaigning and focus groups, but there is little new about the most likely winner, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. In an eight-strong field that includes hard-liners and reformers, civilians and former officers, Mr Rafsanjani, a two-term president whose career stretches back three decades, is expected to prevail.
Struggling Iranian cleric offers cash handouts
AFP: One of Iran’s struggling presidential candidates has come up with a novel way to get votes: buy them — openly. Mehdi Karoubi, a mid-ranking cleric and political moderate, has promised that if elected he will start paying everyone over the age of 18 the sum of 500,000 rials (55 dollars) every month — no questions asked.
West backs old rival to end nuclear stand-off
The Times: A machiavellian figure with little concept of human rights, civil liberties or demo-cracy is the default darling among Western diplomats to win the Iranian presidential election on Friday. They see Hojatoleslam Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 70, a former President and the front-runner this time, as the only chance to halt Irans nuclear programme.
UN’s ElBaradei demands access to Iran military site
Reuters: The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog urged Iran on Tuesday to allow a team of experts to return to a military site called Parchin, which they inspected once but have since been barred from visiting. “I would … ask Iran to support the agency’s efforts to pursue further its investigation of the Lavizan-Shian and Parchin sites,” Mohamed ElBaradei said, adding that his inspectors wanted to visit “areas of interest” at Parchin.
