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Argos Media

Obama offers Iran 'a new beginning' - Middle East, World - The Independent - 0 views

www.independent.co.uk/...n-a-new-beginning-1649988.html

Iran Obama Ali Akbar Javanfekr

shared by Argos Media on 20 Mar 09 - Cached
  • "The Iranian nation has shown that it can forget hasty behaviour but we are awaiting practical steps by the United States," Aliakbar Javanfekr, an aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told Reuters.
  • "The Iranian nation has shown that it can forget hasty behaviour but we are awaiting practical steps by the United States," Aliakbar Javanfekr, an aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told Reuters. "The Obama administation so far has just talked," he added, calling for Obama to make "fundamental changes in his policy towards Iran".
  • In an unusually swift reaction to Obama's overture, presidential aide Javanfekr said Iran welcomed "the interest of the American government to settle differences". But he said the Obama administration "should realise its previous mistakes and make an effort to amend them." "By fundamentally changing its behaviour America can offer us a friendly hand," he told Reuters."Unlimited sanctions which still continue and have been renewed by the United States are wrong and need to be reviewed." Javanfekr singled out US backing for Israel, Iran's main enemy in the region, saying that: "Supporting Israel is not a friendly gesture."
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  • Obama has already expressed a readiness to have face-to-face diplomatic contacts with Tehran, a major shift from former President George W. Bush's policy of trying to isolate a country he once branded part of an "axis of evil".
  • Mohammad Hassan Khani, assistant professor of international relations at Tehran's Imam Sadiq University, described Obama's appeal as a positive gesture but noted it came only a week after the extension of US economic sanctions. "This is somehow conflicting and making people here confused," he said. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has demanded Washington say sorry for decades of "crimes" against the Islamic Republic. Tehran also says it cannot let down its guard as long as US troops are posted on its borders in Iraq and Afghanistan. Analysts have said that Iran is setting tough conditions for dialogue with the United States to buy time for its ponderous and opaque decision-making process, which is facing a dilemma on whether or not to open up.
  • European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he hoped Iran would pay close attention to Obama's appeal. "I hope that that will open a new chapter in relations with Iran," he told reporters before going into an EU summit. To stress the seriousness of Obama's overture, the White House distributed the videotape with Farsi subtitles and posted it on its website to coincide with Iranian observance of the ancient festival of Nowruz, celebrating the arrival of spring. But his appeal was not shown nor mentioned on Iran's main 2pm state television news, although it was reported by Iranian news agencies including the official agency IRNA.
Pedro Gonçalves

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Iran's currency crisis due to psychological war | World news | The... - 0 views

www.guardian.co.uk/...ran-currency-psychological-war

Iran

shared by Pedro Gonçalves on 03 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • The Iranian president accused his conservative rivals of complicity in exacerbating the crisis over the rial, saying they had contributed to the situation by launching a propaganda campaign against him. The president pointed the finger at Ali Larijani, the parliament speaker, and criticised him for giving an interview in which Larijani said mismanagement accounted for 80% of the problems and the sanctions 20%, comparing government policy to "Robin Hoodian economics"."The respected head of parliament should come forward and help instead of giving interviews," Ahmedinejad said.The deputy speaker, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, echoed Larijani, saying on Tuesday that the government's only enemy was "illusion". At least one Iranian MP accused the government of manipulating the country's foreign currency reserves amid speculation that Ahmadinejad might be summoned for questioning.
  • "The president has deliberately kept the market agitated," said Elias Naderan, of the parliamentary economics committee, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency. "I really don't know what Mr Ahmadinejad is thinking. What plan does he have, what is his expectation of the system, and how does he plan to manage this disorder?" Despite several attempts to calm the markets, the government has failed to bring the rial under control. It has lost at least 57% of its value in the past three months after US and EU sanctions targeting the regime's nuclear programme came into effect in July.On Monday the rial experienced its biggest devaluation in a single day, dropping more than 15%.
  • On Tuesday, a senior official indicated that the government was relying on its security services to curb speculators, who are blamed for the rial's drop.
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  • Many Iranians have lost faith in the rial and are now rushing to convert their assets and properties to foreign currency and gold.
  • Ahmadinejad expressed regret over the arrest last week of his media adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, and criticised his culture minister for speaking against a reformist newspaper, Shargh, which was closed down at the same time over a cartoon deemed insulting.
Argos Media

BBC NEWS | Americas | US offers Iran a 'new beginning' - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...7954211.stm

US Iran Obama

shared by Argos Media on 20 Mar 09 - Cached
  • US President Barack Obama has offered "a new beginning" of engagement with Tehran in an unprecedented direct video message to the Iranian people. "My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us," Mr Obama said.
  • A senior advisor to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcomed Mr Obama's message, but said the US president had "to go further than words and take action", AFP reported. Ali Akbar Javanfekr said differences between the two countries were the result of the "hostile, aggressive and colonialist attitude of the American government" and that the US had to recognise its past mistakes if it wanted to engage Iran.
  • He said his administration was committed "to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community".
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  • But Mr Obama warned: "This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect." "The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right - but it comes with real responsibilities."
  • Mr Obama's message was distributed to news outlets in Iran with subtitles in Farsi, and posted on the White House's official website.
  • Shortly after coming to office in January, he said "if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fists, they will find an extended hand from us". But earlier this month he extended sanctions against Iran for a year, saying it continues to pose a threat to US national security. In another possible move towards engagement, the state department is said to be considering an overture in the form of a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei before the Iranian elections this summer.
Argos Media

Iran says to review powers' nuclear talks offer | U.S. | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...idUSTRE5380VF20090409

Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Nuclear Proliferation US EU

shared by Argos Media on 09 Apr 09 - Cached
  • Iran said it would review an offer of talks on its nuclear program with the United States and five other world powers, even as it prepared to declare new progress in its disputed atom activity on Thursday.
  • The United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain said on Wednesday they would ask European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana to invite Tehran to a meeting to find "a diplomatic solution to this critical issue." "We will review it and then decide about it," Ali Akbar Javanfekr, a senior adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told Reuters.
  • Underlining Tehran's determination to press ahead with its nuclear program, Ahmadinejad was expected to announce later on Thursday in the central city of Isfahan that Iran has mastered the final stage of atom fuel production.
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  • Iran has so far reacted cautiously to U.S. overtures since Obama took office in January, saying it wants to see a real shift in Washington's policies rather than a change in words. Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday Iran sought "interaction and negotiation based on honor, justice and respect."
  • Analysts say Iran may be setting tough conditions for dialogue in a bid to buy time. Adding to uncertainty, it holds a presidential vote in June in which Ahmadinejad faces a challenge from a moderate politician seeking detente with the West.
  • One Iranian analyst said he expected Ahmadinejad to say in Isfahan, where Iran has a uranium conversion facility, that it has perfected the last of several phases of fuel output, with the production of uranium pellets and fuel rods for reactors.
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