Moderate Iranians & Hamas-What do they have in common?

In order to understand the Iranian political climate and overall prejudicial convictions against Israel better, I would like to showcase a recent article published by E`temad. E`temad is one of the most popular papers today in Iran. Its popularity is a direct consequence of its critical view of the conservative Ahmadinejad government. The paper`s political affiliation is with the E`temad party aka "National Trust Party", which represents the reformist agenda, and whose political aims are to replace Ahmadinejad with their own candidate in the upcoming election. What is interesting to note here is the fact that a reformist anti-Ahmadinejad paper and political party is calling for the destruction of the state of Israel. The end of the article which promotes this act of genocide is highlighted for the readers aid.

I am pasting the article in its entirety:

Israel & Us
By, Ruhollah Owhadi ( member of the reformist party E`temad

The issue of Palestine and the occupation of this land by the racist Zionists has always been a salient problem for the Middle East and the Islamic world, such that the destiny of the region has been tied to Palestine. It has been the source of numerous changes and crises, the effects of which have not left the Iranian government and nation untouched. In confronting this illegitimate and occupying regime the following can be said:
1 - From a religious point of view: The first aspect when dealing with the Palestine issue is an Islamic aspect. Qods or Beit ul Moqaddas (Jerusalem) is a holy site for the Muslims. It is the site of the Isra and Mi'raj of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Sakreh mosque with its golden dome, which is the symbol of Qods, and is the spot from where the honourable prophet of Islam ascended to heaven and descended to earth again. It was the first qibla of Muslims which was in the vicinity of the Al Aqsa Mosque and in the noble sanctuary. The land of Qods is a sacred land which belongs equally to all Muslims, it is an inalienable Islamic endowment and no government or nation has the right to negotiate or compromise over the future of Qods. It is a holy site for Christians and enjoys a special deference because of the church of ?Mahd' or ?Qiyamah' which is connected to the Christian belief in the holy road of suffering which in turn is based on the belief of the crucifixion of Jesus (upon whom be peace) by Jews. In addition to this, there are many other historical convents and churches in this city which makes the importance of Beit ul Moqaddas two-fold for Christians. Unfortunately, on the basis of an unfounded historical claim that the Prophet Sulayman (upon whom be peace) built the building of ?Heykal' or ?House of God' over the Beit ul Moqaddas mount and this building is buried under the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Sakreh dome, the Zionists have many times carried out excavations and in some cases have tried to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque. Making Qods Jewish has always been on the agenda of the Zionist regime.
2) From a national aspect: Iran has always been and continues to be a powerful country in the Middle East. Based on its geopolitical and geo-strategic interests and in line with the 20-Year Outlook Plan, it intends to become the number one country in southwest Asia. It is clear that such a goal creates a contradiction with Israel. This is because Israel was created to become the most influential country in the Middle East and use its military and economic superiority in the region to secure the interests of its powerful world allies. Based on this, I believe that regardless of which regime or government rules Iran, innate and strategic hostility will exist between Iran and Israel. Consequently, confrontation between Iran and Israel is not merely ideological, it can also be analyzed from other angles such as strategic interests.
3) From a humane aspect: The Palestinian nation deserves praise for a number of reasons. For one it has been struggling with homelessness, violence and apartheid for more than half a century now, yet it hasn't abandoned its resistance or fortitude. Out of a population of nine million, around four million Palestinians are living outside Palestine, mostly in camps under very difficult circumstances. There are around 1,200,000 Palestinians living in Israel in the so-called green line, which is the name given to the regions occupied in 1948, and most of them have preserved their Arab and Palestinian identity. Even though they face much discrimination, attempts by the Zionists, who are suspicious of these Palestinians and believe they should be gradually expelled from Palestine because they are a time bomb in Israeli society, have been fruitless. The best evidence of this is the martyrdom of dozens of Palestinians in the recent Intifadah at Al-Qods.
The Palestinians in the lands occupied in 1967 (the western banks of the Jordan River, the Gaza Strip and eastern Al-Qods) are living in the region under the occupation and control of the Israeli army. Although in accordance with the Oslo Accords a small section of these regions were handed over to the Palestinian self-rule government, the erection of a dividing wall and the military presence of the occupiers in the region, especially in Ramallah, Al-Khalil, Al-Qods, Jenin, Nablus and Bethlehem, has created a huge prison for the Palestinians. Further problems have been created by military, political and economic pressures and the obstacles set up to restrict passage between cities and villages.
It's noteworthy that in addition to the above-mentioned approaches, the Palestinian issue can also be analyzed from legal, historical and international aspects. However, what is clear is that over the past 50 years, the racist Zionist regime has, through its terrorist acts and death squads, destroyed a civilized and cultured nation in Palestine and replaced it with an illegitimate, implanted regime, one which secures the interest of the colonialist powers and continuously creates military crises and occupation for the Middle East and Islamic World.
Based on this, whilst paying tribute to the resistance and endurance of the oppressed Palestinian nation in securing their rights, we support the formation of a Palestinian government in the whole of the occupied lands with Qods as its capital. We believe the pursuit of the ideals of Qods, which as the dear Imam (Khomeyni) said is the most important issue of the Islamic world, is our national and religious duty.

Economic Woes & Hopes For Change

This past week, numerous members of parliament objected to the administration`s refusal to adopt a concrete position in regards to combating inflation.

The problem has arrived in Iran, where the current rate of oil consumption coupled with heavily subsidized prices, is forcing Iran to import oil.

Today the cost to purchase oil within Iran is around 40 cents per liter. This heavy subsidy is forcing the Iranian nation not only to lose revenue from its most prized natural resource, but is also contributing to their lack of economic growth. When a country spends close to eighty percent of its annual revenues on subsidies, it places itself in a very vulnerable position should oil prices fall.

Many Iranian politicians including the speaker of parliament, Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, have warned Ahmadinejad to raise oil prices and cut subsidies in order to prevent an economic disaster.

Such calls made against the administration are a good sign. Critics of Ahmadinejad are reported as saying that the administration`s unwillingness to cut subsidies are a political scheme in which Ahmadinejad is using in order to gain more votes in the upcoming election.

As Tom Friedman pointed out, the downfall of the Soviet Union was not Ronald Reagen`s tough demands, but rather a period of high oil prices followed by a steep drop in oil prices. This event caused the Soviet Union to become a more open and free society, through its policies of Perestroika and Glasnost in an attempt to appease internal dissent. The link between petro-dollars and free societies is an inverse relationship. The more wealthy states become as a result of their oil revenues, ultimately lead to the contribution of fewer liberties and freedoms for their people.

Should Ahmadinejad fail to restructure his country`s economy, and abandon his reliance on government subsidies to win over support, we might have the opportunity to witness a regime change without the use of foreign force.

Ahmadinejad's Threatning Remarks

Posted below are remarks make by Ahmadinejad in a speech to the people of Gavbandi:

"I wish to send a message to these oppressive powers on behalf of you, and the entire Iranian nation, asking them to get back to the path put before them by the prophets, that is the path of divine guidance, justice, friendship, and being faithful to the covenants they have vowed with their nations."...
"Beware! If you do not get back to this path; if you do not end your oppressive methods; if you do not keep on looting the other nations and try to keep on imposing your illegitimate hegemony over other nations, you will face the destiny of the past tyrants in history, that is none but death, and downfall for yourselves, and wretched lives for your nations." Further addressing the oppressive powers, Ahmadinejad said, "Today you selfishly and arrogantly insist on halting the path of nations' progress, including Iran, resorting to telling lies to the world public opinion and even cheating your own nations."
He added, "Our nation tells you that you are repeating your old mistakes. You have so far kept trying for 28 years to halt the path of our nation's progress, all in vain. You can see today that our nation's youth, believing in their might and relying on their strong will, have mastered all modern sciences and technologies, and presented them humbly to the noble Iranian nation."

It appears that Ahmadinejad is pursuing a policy of disengagment from the Western states. The same policy which he criticizes the Bush administration for adopting, is exactly the path Ahmadinejad is going down. Such threats made against America, regarding its impending destruction will never lead to communication or diplomatic negotiations. The question we must ask ourselves, is whether the Iranian people can see through Ahmadinejad`s hypocrisy, when he discusses issues of liberty, freedom and peace. The most important policy and course of action we must pursue, is to create a stable and peaceful Middle East. This can only come about when we are able to implement free societies. As Natan Sharansky discusses throughout his book (Case for Democracy- a must read), A true free society is when one can stand in the middle of the town square and speak anything he wishes, without the fear of being attacked. How do we go about implementing free societies? That is the trillion dollar question!

Ahmadinejad Hypocrisy-Part 2

Celebrating this year`s annual Islamic Republic Military Day, President Ahmadinejad addressed large crowds of Iranians to mark the national holiday. In classical Ahmadinejad fashion, the president initially attempts to have himself perceived as a righteous humanitarian.
The president said:

"the Iranian nation is the flag-bearer of monotheism, justice and human dignity in the world. Our nation is against injustice in the world of today, wherever it may be. It doesn't make a difference if it is in Asia, Africa, Europe or America. Our nation is against tyranny and aggression, regardless of what government or person commits them. Therefore, neither does our nation bully anyone, nor does it allow anyone to bully it."

However, the true intentions of Ahmadinejad protrude to the forefront further on in the speech whereby he states:

"Our dear nation wants peace, stability and security to be established everywhere in the world. Our people want fair and friendly ties with all governments and nations, except for the fake Zionist regime."

Perhaps even more freightning then his anti-semetic rant is his belief that the Iranian military is, "an army that belongs to Imam Mahdi (the 12th Shiite Imam-aka the Islamic Messiah)."

This mixture of virulent hate accompanied with religious indoctrination combine to create a concrete set of motives, which should be raising red flags within Israel and the rest of the free world.

Ahmadinejad Hypocrisy

In a speech today in the southern Iranian province of Fars, President Ahmadinejad as expected admonished many of the policies being conducted by Western powers. The president choosing to ignore his country`s own human rights and economic records said this of the Western countries,

"Wherever there is poverty, discrimination, hostility, malevolence, war, and violation of human rights, the footprint of the satanic powers is evident,"


However, the most interesting part of the speech related to Ahmadinejad`s characterization of the recently freed British sailors.

The president said,

"the big powers recruit ignorant youth for military services and send them to other states just for pillage and colonialist ambitions.
You saw the British servicemen. They were some young people who had not the slightest information on global affairs. They had no information even on their own case and did not know for whom they serve and work. They recruit the youth just for a loaf of bread and dispatch them to other lands just for the sake of plundering, domination and expansion of the zone of their influence."

Parliamentary Criticism Against Ahmadinejad

After numerous warnings from economic experts concerned with rising inflation rates, some members of Iran`s parliament are finally speaking up.

In an article written by a member of parliament from Behbahan, Shoja'pourian said, the government needs to seriously review its policies which have been in place since president Ahmadinejad came into power. Shoja'pourian criticized the way the president is handling the economic situation and requested that the administration fix its "blame and drain policy", whereby Ahmadinejad deflects attention from his actions of draining Iranian savings and blames so called "hidden" forces for the multitude of crises.

April 5, 2007

Iran is increasing its strategic importance within the region. On March 19th the Iranian-Armenian gas pipeline was inaugurated, adding to the pool of countries who must rely on the Persian giant for energy resources. The presidents of both countries were present at the ceremony honoring the opening of the 141 kilometer long pipeline, and welcomed further bilateral relations between their respective states.