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Camp Liberty: Neglect of US Principle and Commitments – Amb. Ken Blackwell

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Ken Blackwell

Iran Focus

London, 7 Oct – “If there is one principle that the United States values it is liberty. So when thinking of the US’s relationship with worldwide movements for freedom and democracy, one would expect it to support them as a matter of course,” said Ambassador Ken Blackwell, a former Cincinnati mayor and US ambassador to the UN human rights commission in an article in the Town Hall.

The following is the text of an Op-Ed by Ambassador Blackwell on Neglect of US Principle and Commitments Abroad, published in townhall.com.

Bill Clinton White House suppressed evidence of Iran’s terrorism

Khobar Bombing

By The Washington Post

Washington, 6 Oct – Bill Clinton’s administration gathered enough evidence to send a top-secret communique accusing Iran of facilitating the deadly 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist bombing, but suppressed that information from the American public and some elements of U.S. intelligence for fear it would lead to an outcry for reprisal, according to documents and interviews.

Before Mr. Clinton left office, the intelligence pointing toward Iran’s involvement in the terror attack in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 U.S. servicemen and wounded hundreds was deemed both extensive and “credible,” memos show.

Yemen severs diplomatic ties with Iran

Yemen

Iran Focus

Sana’a, 3 Oct – Yemen’s government has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Iran, Yemeni state media reported.

State news agency Saba, citing an unidentified person at the Yemeni presidency, said President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government “has taken the decision to expel the Iranian ambassador to Yemen, withdraw the Yemeni envoy to Tehran and close down its diplomatic mission in Iran”.

Amnesty condemns absurd charges against Iranian jailed cartoonist

Atena Faraghdani

Iran Focus

London, 3 Oct – The international human rights group Amnesty International on Friday condemned “absurd” new charges against Atena Farghadani, a satirical cartoonist, who is currently serving a prison sentence in Iran.

“The trial of satirical cartoonist Atena Farghadani and her lawyer on a charge of ‘illegitimate sexual relations falling short of adultery’ after they shook hands is not only absurd and extreme but clearly politically motivated”, said Amnesty International ahead of her court session starting on Saturday in Tehran.

A History of the Iran-Iraq War: Part 2 Khomeini’s Alibi

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Ehsan Qaraee

By Ehsan Qaraee

In my previous article, I discussed how Khomeini was looking for a solid alibi to justify his actions in order to pursue conflict, along with his use of psychological warfare. At last Saddam gave Khomeini that alibi by executing

Ayatollah Mohammad Bagher Sadr. Sadr was a Shia cleric and founder of the Islamic Dawa Party (the party that would later be led by Nouri al-Maliki), who fought against the Iraqi regime in order to establish an Islamic state similar to Iran in Iraq. Saddam arrested Sadr and his sister on 5th of April 1980 in the Iraqi city of Najaf and three days later executed them. It was the best opportunity that Khomeini could get. Immediately, he and his propaganda system began to make the most out of this incident.

Iran’s Youth Confront Rouhani at the UN in New York

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Hamid Yazdan Panah

By Hamid Yazdan Panah

This past week I attended a large protest outside the United Nations General assembly in New York City. The event was notable for many reasons. It was by far the largest and most organized protest outside of the UN. It included thousands of Iranian-Americans voicing their opposition to the Iranian regime and to Hassan Rouhani. It also included a number of Arab-Americans from Syria and Yemen who were there to call for an end to Iranian intervention in their countries. But this is not what impressed me. What impressed me was the leadership of Iranian youth in this protest, I know this because I was there and worked alongside other young people to make this protest a success.

Ken Blackwell: Iran’s Rouhani falsely depicted as a moderate

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Iran Focus

Washington, 24 Sep – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani tries to falsely depict himself as a “moderate” or a “reformer” worthy of the trust and engagement of the international community, first and foremost the US, and this charade has only been emboldened by the nuclear deal with which the Obama administration handed a range of unwarranted concessions to Tehran and failed to accomplish its goal of cutting off Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon”, wrote Ken Blackwell, former US ambassador to the UN human rights commission, in an op-ed in Town Hall.

Iran’s economic crisis hard to mend – expert

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Iran Focus

London, 24 Sep – Iran needs massive investments to rebound from its economic chaos. In the absence of a robust domestic economy, that investment can only be obtained from external sources, a prominent expert on Iranian affairs wrote in TownHall.com.

Mohammad Amin, a senior research fellow for the Paris-based Fondation d’Etudes pour le Moyen-Orient, FEMO, (Foundation for the Study of the Middle East), wrote in an op-ed in Town Hall

Iran, Russia cooperate to keep Assad in power in Syria

Iran Focus

London, 24 Sep – Russia and Iran have stepped up coordination inside Syria as they move to protect Bashar al-Assad’s control over his coastal stronghold, according to officials in the US and Middle East, creating a new and complicating issue for Washington’s diplomatic goals.

Senior Russian and Iranian diplomats, generals and strategists have held a string of high-level talks in Moscow in recent months to discuss Assad’s defense and the Kremlin’s military buildup in Syria, The Wall Street Journal quoted these officials as saying.

Iran champions living on the streets

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Iran Focus

Tehran, 22 Sep – Shahin Jafari, a 19-year old shot-put silver medalist from Iran in the Asia Games held in China, has been seen in Tehran as a street vendor trying to make a living.

Jafari, who also set a new record in Iran in 2012, says he lives in poverty and has received no reward or support for his achievements. In fact, after the Asia Games when he hurt his ankle the track and field federation wasn’t even willing to send a letter so he would be able to receive free medical care.