Réalité-EU Analysis

Round up of Today’s International News
Compiled by Gerlinde Gerber: gerlinde.gerber@realite-eu.org
01/02/10

EUROPE

EU's Ashton says Iran "worrying," U.N. next route
The European Union's new foreign affairs chief said on Sunday she was disappointed with Iran's failure to engage in talks over its nuclear program and the next step should be to refer it to the U.N. Security Council. "We are worried about what's happening in Iran. I'm disappointed at the failure of Iran to accept the dialogue and we now need to look again at what needs to happen there," Catherine Ashton told Sky News in an interview.

The Man Who Launched the Burqa Debate
For months the French have been embroiled in a public debate centered on their national identity and a possible ban on the burqa. Immigration Minister Éric Besson, a former Socialist, is the man behind the aggressive debate, making him one of France's most controversial politicians.Temperatures were below freezing and the winter sky was a frosty gray when French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette military cemetery in northern France last Tuesday. He had come to pay his last respects to another Frenchman, a man named Harouna Diop, a soldier and father of six children. Born in Senegal, Diop was only 40 years old when he died in Afghanistan on Jan. 13, when insurgents blew up his armored military vehicle.

IRAN

US raises stakes on Iran by sending in ships and missiles
Tension between the US and Iran heightened dramatically today with the disclosure that Barack Obama is deploying a missile shield to protect American allies in the Gulf from attack by Tehran. The US is dispatching Patriot defensive missiles to four countries – Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait – and keeping two ships in the Gulf capable of shooting down Iranian missiles. Washington is also helping Saudi Arabia develop a force to protect its oil installations. A merican officials said the move is aimed at deterring an attack by Iran and reassuring Gulf states fearful that Tehran might react to sanctions by striking at US allies in the region. Washington is also seeking to discourage Israel from a strike against Iran by demonstrating that the US is prepared to contain any threat.

Fears that US missiles move may be exploited by Iran's hardliners
Iran greeted news of the US plans to station missile defences in neighbouring Arab states with a stony official silence today. While the development went unreported by the two official news agencies, IRNA and Fars, the closest thing to a government response was a comment from a hardline MP, Hassan Sobhani-niya, that the matter would "probably" be discussed by the parliament's national security and foreign policy committee on Tuesday. Yet behind the exterior of affected insouciance, the move will have injected a new sense of urgency into decision-making in Tehran. "The reaction in Iran will be serious," said one experienced Iranian analyst, who requested anonymity.

Iran, IAEA say nuclear proposal still on table
Iran and the U.N. nuclear agency said on Friday a deal on uranium enrichment was still possible, but Iran said it wanted changes to the draft accord meant to allay Western fears over its nuclear program. Western diplomats have said Iran has effectively turned down the proposal and the United States and major European allies are pursuing broader U.N. sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its disputed nuclear activity.

Iran caught up in China-US spat
Just days after United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used the occasion of a speech in Paris to lecture China on its national security interests and warned Beijing of "economic insecurity and diplomatic isolation" if it did not sign onto new sanctions against Iran, China hit back. On Saturday, Beijing escalated its rhetoric against US arms sales to Taiwan, which it views as part of its territory, by suspending all military exchanges with the US, summoning the American ambassador to Beijing and using Clinton's own language about "long-term implications".

Iran: Five Protesters to Stand Trial
Five protesters who were detained in late December will soon stand trial in Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday. The report said the five will face a revolutionary court, which ordinarily deals with security charges. The report did not elaborate when the trial will begin and what charges the protesters face.

Iran tries 16 people over Ashura Day protests
Iran has put 16 people on trial after anti-government protests in December, when eight people died in some of the most violent clashes seen in months. Five of the defendants are charged with "waging war against God" while the others are accused of public order and national security offences. They were all arrested over protests on 27 December when Shia Muslims gathered for the religious festival of Ashura.

Main Opposition Leaders in Iran Call for Rally
The two main opposition leaders in Iran called on their supporters on Saturday to take part in a demonstration on Feb. 11, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the opposition leaders, urged supporters to participate in the rally next month, the opposition Jaras Web site reported. Protesters have hijacked public events to stage antigovernment rallies since the disputed June 12 election.

Iran top judge rejects "political" hanging pressure
Iran's top judge said on Monday he would not succumb to political pressure from hardliners to carry out more executions against anti-government protesters, saying any such decision would be based on the law.

Iran remembers Khomeini's return
Iran has marked the anniversary of the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to the country 31 years ago - a homecoming which triggered the 1979 Islamic revolution. Bells rang out from schools, trains and boats at 9.33am, the moment Khomeini's aircraft touched down on February 1, 1979, on his return from exile in Paris, France.

MIDDLE EAST

Egypt arrests 26 suspected of plotting terrorism
Egypt has arrested 26 suspects who the prosecutor said belonged to a cell of militant group Islamic Jihad and were plotting "terrorist acts" against tourists and state installations, the official news agency MENA reported on Sunday. The suspects, arrested in the provinces of Mansoura and Dakahiliya on the Nile Delta, had firearms, ammunition and explosives, the agency said.

ISRAEL - PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Merkel meets Palestinian leader in bid to broker peace talks
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is in Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany wants to help Palestinian and Israeli leaders to take a step forward to ending decades of bitter conflict. German chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday in a bid to help find a peaceful solution to conflict with Israel. The current situation in Palestinian Authority territories and plans for a lasting Middle East peace process are on the agenda. Abbas is also set to meet German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in the afternoon.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

U.S. to beef-up Gulf air defense force to keep Iran, Israel in check - Guardian
Washington will deploy Patriot missiles in the Gulf region as a balancing force in the troubled region, the Guardian daily said on Monday. The United States raised arms sales to some Gulf states, such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait, and deployed warships capable of shooting down missiles. U.S. officials say the decision was intended to deter both possible attacks by Iran and to discourage Israel from striking Iran.

Obama losing control of Iran policy
In a surprisingly swift move last Thursday night that could have wide-ranging implications, the United States Senate passed a bill containing broad unilateral sanctions to punish foreign companies that export gasoline to Iran or help expand its domestic refinery capabilities. The voice vote came at the eleventh hour before the chamber recessed so legislators could go home to campaign. The bill cannot come before the president to be signed into law until a conference procedure combines it with a similar house bill, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, passed in October.

Senate OKs sanctions on Iran
The Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would allow President Obama to expand sanctions against Iran to pressure the Islamic republic to drop its nuclear weapons ambitions. The House passed its own expanded sanctions bill last year. To become law, the two versions would have to be merged and the final version approved by both chambers before going to Obama for his signature.

Clinton: Iran Forcing Tougher Sanctions
Iran leaves the world no recourse but to apply penalties aimed at curbing a fast-track nuclear program, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday. In London ostensibly for conferences on Afghanistan and Yemen, Clinton has devoted significant time to Iran ahead of a U.S.-led sanctions push at the United Nations expected by the end of the week.

Israel "responsible" on Iran, Obama adviser says
Israel and the United States are closely conferring about the Iranian nuclear program, U.S. National Security Adviser Jim Jones said in an interview published Sunday, calling Israel's conduct "responsible." Western governments fear that Iran wants to produce nuclear weapons but Tehran says the program is for peaceful purposes. Iran has vowed to respond to any unilateral Israeli strike over the nuclear program.

WORLD

Nuclear nonproliferation on hold as US and Russia debate
The US and Russia failed to replace the arms reduction treaty that expired last year. Negotiations should wrap up by the beginning of February, but some nations have used this to stall their nonproliferation activities. It has been almost 20 years since a collapsing Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with the United States. The expiration date for that treaty came and went last December with no extension and no successor put into place.

REPORTS, STATISTICS, ANALYSIS

Seized North Korea arms were bound for Iran – Thailand
A shipment of weapons from North Korea seized by Thai authorities last month were headed for Iran, according to a confidential report the Thai government sent to a U.N. Security Council committee.

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