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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran Urges Iraq to Extradite Exiled Dissidents

2014-05-19

[AnNahar] Iran's judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani has called on his Iraqi counterpart to extradite exiled Iranian opposition members so that they could stand a "fair trial" in Tehran, media reported Sunday. Iraq hosts an estimated 3,000 members of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI) who are living in exile in Iraq and based in a former military camp near Storied Baghdad airport. "Considering that PMOI members are criminals who have assassinated more than 17,000 Iranians, one of our requests to Iraq's justice chief is to extradite them to Iran, so that they could be held accountable for their crimes," Larijani said, according to Fars news agency. "Most of these people have confessed to their crimes and we expect our friend and brother country to extradite them within the legal framework, so that they would be tried fairly," Larijani added. He was speaking at the end of a meeting with the visiting Iraqi chief justice, Medhat al-Mahmud, media said. In March, Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Danaeifar, was quoted as told the Mehr news agency that Tehran was ready to pardon 423 PMOI members, after investigation showed they are not guilty of any crimes. The leftwing PMOI was founded in the 1960s to oppose the shah of Iran. After the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the shah it took up arms against Iran's holy manal rulers and Tehran holds it responsible for murdering thousands of Iranian civilians and officials. The group set up camp in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's war with Iran in the 1980s, but was disarmed after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 toppled Saddam. Today's Shiite-majority and Iran-friendly government in Storied Baghdad is eager to see it move elsewhere. In April Iranian Justice Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi traveled to Iraq to sign several memoranda of understanding, including the extradition of criminals. In 2012, the United State removed the PMOI group from its terror blacklist, in a move strongly condemned by Iran. Scores of PMOI members have been killed in attacks since U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq at the end of 2011.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran Arrests Anti-Corruption Officials for Fraud

2014-02-03

[An Nahar] Iran has incarcerated Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! several anti-corruption officials on fraud charges, the justice minister announced on Sunday. "In the Government Discretionary Punishments Organization (GDPO), some of our colleagues have been corrupted," Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said, quoted by Fars news agency. "In line with the fight against corruption, more than 10 colleagues in GDPO, most of them managers and consultants, were arrested and interrogated," he said, without giving further details. On its website, the GDPO says it was set up to fight economic and financial corruption. President Hassan Rouhani ordered his administration in late December to take measures to fight "financial corruption ... particularly those who have taken advantage of economic sanctions." Babak Zanjani, an Iranian tycoon who reputedly played a major role in busting sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program, was arrested a day later. Iran's ailing economy has been struggling under an array of international sanctions designed to coerce it to rein in its controversial nuclear ambitions.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran spares life of hanging survivor: reports

2013-10-24

[Pak Daily Times] Iran has decided to spare the life of a convicted narco who survived a hanging, media reports on Wednesday quoted Justice Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi as saying. Maybe I'm just superstitious, but I'd have a strong suspicion Allan doesn't want that sucker dead yet. The reports follow calls from within Iran and a appeals from international rights groups against the man found alive in a morgue facing execution for a second time. "The convict who survived (the death penalty) will not be executed again," Pour-Mohammadi said late Tuesday in remarks reported by the official IRNA news agency. "After putting much effort to prevent the second execution of this convict, we have received a positive response," he said without elaborating. All judicial affairs and decisions in the Islamic republic rest with the judiciary, which constitutionally operates independently from the government. The convict, identified only as Alireza M., 37, was pronounced dead earlier this month by the attending doctor after hanging for 12 minutes from a noose suspended from a crane at a jail in northeast Iran. But the next day, staff at the mortuary in the city of Bojnourd where his shrouded body was taken discovered he was still breathing. Media later reported that he had fallen into a coma. Pour-Mohammadi implied that a second execution would be damaging for Iran's image. "If he survives, it is not expedient to hang him again," said the minister. The incident led to a heated debate between jurists, with some arguing against a repeat hanging and others for. According to the media, a petition signed by jurists and attorneys was sent to judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, appealing for a stay in the exceptional case.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran Hit by Massive $2.6 Billion Banking Scam

2011-09-12

Several Iranian banks have been targeted in one of the biggest frauds in the Islamic republic's history, losing nearly $2.6 billion in more than two years, media reports said Sunday. Another Stuxnet? The fraud was reportedly orchestrated by a single man, referred to as "Mr X" in Iranian media, who developed a network and used forged letters of credit to purchase assets, including one of Iran's largest steel production companies, Khuzestan Steel Company. Don't they usually name people in news reports over there? Why "Mr. X" this time? "Mr X" ran his master plan from June 2009 to last August, pocketing around 28 trillion rials (nearly $2.6 bn) and also unsuccessfully attempting to form a new bank," said central bank chief Mahmoud Bahmani in remarks published Sunday. Bank of Saderat CEO Mohammad Jahromi, whose organization was one of the victims of the fraud, said seven other banks were also hit. Head of general inspection organization, Mostafa Pour Mohammadi, labeled the fraud "the most unprecedented financial corruption case" in the Islamic republic's history. He did not elaborate. Influential conservative politician Ahmad Tavakoli said the case represented "a terrible corruption disease (lurking) in (Iran's) banking system and administrative apparatus." On Wednesday, judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani said "the people involved in this case have been placed in long-term storage" before the media got wind of the story. He did not elaborate. The Germany-based corruption watchdog Transparency International last year ranked Iran 146th out of 178 countries on its annual list.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Subsidized economy 'root of Iran problems'

2009-02-20

A senior Iranian official has criticized Iran's "subsidized economy", saying the system is the root of the corruption in the country. Head of Iran's General Investigation Organization Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi called on the government to loosen its grip on the economy and implement Article 44 of the Constitution to ensure economic development. According to Article 44 of the Iranian Constitution, the economic system shall be based on public, cooperative and private sectors, with proper and sound planning. All large-scale industries, mother industries, foreign trade, large mines, banking, insurance, power supply, dams and large irrigation channels, radio and television, post, telegraph and telephone, aviation, shipping, roads, rails and the like are public property and at the disposal of the government. "What the country is witnessing in the field of the economy is the fruit of inexpert analysis ... that created many problems for the country," Fars news agency quoted the former interior minister as saying. Iran's Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani on Feb. 14 urged the Ahmadinejad administration to loosen its hold on economic affairs and let the country move toward privatization. "For the sake of the country's economic development, the government should allow the people to take control of economic affairs," said Larijani. Iran's economy, which is controlled by the government, is vastly dependent on oil as it accounts for 80 percent of the country's foreign exchange revenues.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Campaign starts for Iran parliament vote

2008-03-07

Iranian political factions started campaigning on Thursday for next week's legislative election, which is expected to see conservatives cement their grip on parliament and reformists sidelined. Campaigning was officially allowed to start at midnight (2030 GMT Wednesday) ahead of the March 14 vote, official media reported. Reformists have complained that hundreds of their candidates have been disqualified in the pre-vote vetting process, effectively wrecking their chances of wresting back control of the 290 seat chamber from conservatives. According to interior ministry figures, 4,476 candidates have been cleared to stand. Iran's Islamic leaders have urged a clean campaign and a high turnout to show Western enemies the country is unified at a time of mounting tensions over its controversial nuclear programme. State television has in the last days been carrying interviews with prominent personalities -- such as Olympic weightlifting champion Hossein Rezazadeh -- urging voters to cast their ballots. The authorities will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2004 election, where only just over half the electorate voted nationwide and a mere 37 percent in Tehran. "The behaviour of the Iranian people in the elections will be against the expectations of American officials," predicted Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi. He also appeared to deny reports that the authorities were considering blocking the Internet on election day, describing such suggestions as "rumours". "We are seeking to develop communication and we are not supposed to be turning back the clock by cutting the Internet." But he also said that large posters showing pictures of candidates would not be allowed, in a change from previous election campaigns. "The candidates can use their traditional methods for campaigning, except for putting up posters and tracts in public. They can use text messages, Internet and email." The campaign appeared to be slow gaining momentum in central Tehran, with only a smattering of election billboard advertisements containing only text popping up on the capital's streets. "Have a Good Election, Have a Good Life," read the slogan of a conservative faction on display in Tehran.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iranians Commemorate US Embassy Seizure

2007-11-05

Thousands of young Iranians proclaimed "Death to America" on Sunday as they celebrated the 28th anniversary of the storming of the US embassy in Tehran by student radicals. A massive crowd, composed mainly of schoolchildren bussed in to central Tehran, gathered outside the site of the former US embassy, known locally as the "Den of Spies." "Death to America! Death to Israel!" the young people shouted, wearing bibs that depicted the burning of the US and Israeli flags. Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi, in a keynote address, hailed the embassy seizure as "a great and glorious event" from which Iranians were still drawing inspiration. But he also cautioned Iranians to cut down on consumption to deflect what he called the latest plot of Iran's arch enemy the United States — namely sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme. "We have to devise very clear plans so the pace of our progress is not stopped. All of us in our households can bring down our consumption expenditure by 10 percent. Our culture of consumption needs to be changed. We need to send a call to the young people," he said. Pour Mohammadi described warnings of US military action against Iran as a "joke," but also called on Iranians to show "national solidarity" in order to defeat the plots. The interior minister gave the address after unexpectedly replacing former top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani who had been announced as the main speaker by official notices last week.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iranian general replaces Ahmadinejad aide in key post

2007-08-27

No, it's not good news. TEHERAN - An Iranian army general with a background in the Revolutionary Guards on Sunday replaced a top aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a key interior ministry post in charge of organising elections. Armed forces spokesman General Alireza Afshar took over the job of deputy interior minister for political affairs from Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, one of the president’s closest advisers. “The reason I am leaving this job is that I was too busy,” Samareh Hashemi said according to Iranian state television. Samareh Hashemi, who has known Ahmadinejad since university, served as his top adviser while he was Teheran mayor and is still rarely seen far from his side on domestic and foreign trips. He will remain in his other post as top adviser to the president. The office of deputy interior minister is important because it is charged with organising elections in Iran, a position that gives a say in how the process is run. By sheer coincidence a top figure in the Revolutionary Guards will now be in charge of the next election. Sheer coincidence, mind you ... The country’s next national election will be on March 14, 2008, for the current conservative-dominated parliament, followed by a presidential poll in summer 2009 when Ahmadinejad’s term ends. Iran’s deputy interior minister for political affairs also has some control over all 30 provincial governors-general, and chairs a supervisory board which issues licences for political parties and NGOs. “The most important task is to strengthen political dynamism in society so people vote as instructed by us participate in the election,” Afshar said on taking office, according to the ISNA news agency. While praising Afshar, Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi a drink commented that “had it not been for Sarameh Hashemi’s pressure of work we would have preferred this switch did not take place on the threshold of elections.” Like Ahmadinejad, Afshar has a background in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards and served as spokesman for the force during the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, state media said. Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr is the other deputy interior minister, in charge of security affairs. Previously he was a deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards. Pour Mohammadi, a mid-ranking cleric, is a former deputy minister of intelligence.

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Afghanistan

Afghanistan grappling with Iran's mass deportations

2007-06-08

NEARLY 100,000 Afghan migrants have been expelled from Iran over the past month and the total could reach 1 million by next spring, according to Tehran officials who say they are trying to protect the jobs of Iranians. The mass repatriation is straining the resources of the Afghan government and international aid agencies operating in the region. There are reports that some of those deported have suffered inhumane treatment, including physical abuse, loss of belongings and separation from their families. In the western Afghan provinces of Farah and Nimroz, aid agencies have set up tent communities and food-distribution points to accommodate the returnees. Afghan and foreign aid officials have called on Tehran to carry out the deportations in a “humane and orderly” manner to allow them to better handle the more than 90,000 undocumented Afghans who have returned since April 21. “UNHCR recognises the Iranian government’s right to tackle illegal migration on its soil, but we have strongly appealed to the authorities to do so in a humane manner, treating deportees with dignity and giving them time to pack and make arrangements for their families,” said Salvatore Lombardo, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Afghanistan. Since the 1979 Soviet invasion, more than 5 million Afghans have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. There are 920,000 registered Afghan refugees in Iran, according to UNHCR, which estimates there are up to 1 million more living there illegally. Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said Tehran wants 1 million Afghans to be repatriated by March.

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Afghanistan

Iran to expel 1 million Afghan refugees by spring

2007-06-07

Nearly 100,000 undocumented Afghan migrants/refugees have been expelled from Iran over the past month and the total could reach one million by next spring, according to Tehran officials who say they are trying to protect the jobs of Iranians. There are 920,000 registered Afghan refugees in Iran, according to UNHCR, which estimates there are up to one million more living there illegally. Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said Tehran wants one million Afghans to be repatriated by March. The mass repatriation is straining the resources of the Afghan government and international aid agencies operating in the region. There are reports that some of those deported have suffered inhumane treatment, including physical abuse, loss of belongings and separation from their families. In the western Afghan provinces of Farah and Nimroz, aid agencies have set up tent communities and food-distribution points to accommodate the returnees. Iran's eastern border city of Zabul has been almost emptied of its once-large Afghan population, while a senior security official in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province was quoted by the IRNA news agency as saying the area is now off-limits to foreigners, including both legal and illegal Afghan refugees. The director-general for the employment of foreign nationals also told IRNA that Iranians who employ undocumented Afghans will face court cases. The Karzai government has drawn public anger over its handling of the problem. Earlier this month, the Afghan parliament passed a vote of no confidence in Foreign Minister Rangin Spanta for not doing enough to persuade Tehran to modify its forced-deportation policy. Lawmakers here insist the vote must be respected, but Mr. Karzai said Mr. Spanta will remain in office pending a "clarification" from the Supreme Court on whether he can be dismissed by a vote on a matter not directly related to his post. The government of Pakistan, meanwhile, approved a plan to repatriate an estimated 3 million Afghan refugees and close all refugee camps by 2009, unidentified officials told the Pakistani daily Dawn. Pakistan, which contends that refugee camps are fertile recruiting grounds for Taliban insurgents, plans this year to close four camps that hold hundreds of thousands of refugees. Since the 1979 Soviet invasion, more than 5 million Afghans have sought refuge in neighboring countries.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran minister backs brief marriages to stem illicit sex

2007-06-03

An Iranian cabinet minister said young people should be encouraged to get temporarily married to avoid illicit extramarital sex, newspapers reported on Saturday. “We should expect violations and repercussions if we do not practically respond to young people’s sexual needs,” the Kargozaran daily quoted Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi as saying. “Islam has solutions for all human problems and temporary marriage is a solution to this kind of problem,” the minister was quoted as telling a conference in Iran’s clerical capital of Qom. He said Iran should seek to promote the practice with “boldness” and urged seminary scholars to study the matter and come up with ways to “execute God’s command in society.”

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Afghanistan

Iran expels 85,000 Afghans in three weeks

2007-05-14

TEHERAN - Iran has expelled 85,000 illegal Afghan refugees in the past three weeks in a repatriation plan whose speed triggered the sacking of two Afghan cabinet ministers, officials said. ‘Around 85,000 illegal Afghan citizens have been expelled from Iran’ since Teheran started the plan on April 21, Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr said, according to the IRNA agency. Afghans without proper working papers are estimated to form half of the two million Afghans, mostly Shia Hazara or Sunni Persian-speaking Tajiks, who fled conflict at home and still live in the Islamic republic. Iran wants all its Afghan refugees to return home in the coming years and Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi has said Teheran wants one million Afghans to be repatriated by next March. Times must be getting tougher in Iran. Zolghadr said the ‘foreign citizens plan’ was not targeting those Afghans who were legally registered and even those expelled had the right to return if they picked up the right papers at Iranian consulates in Afghanistan. ‘Iran is ready to furnish employment for those who have been expelled if they enter the country legally,’ he said. But Iran’s swiftness in executing the plan has sparked anger in Kabul, prompting parliament to sack both Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta and Refugees Affairs Minister Akbar Akbar. Spanta was accused of not doing enough to persuade Iran to ease its policy of forced repatriation, while Akbar allegedly failed to help accommodate thousands of refugees forced out by Iran. Somebody had to be the fall guys. Afghanistan publicly asked Iran not to expel the refugees, saying that its own capacity to house them is very limited and this would ‘create problems.’ But Iran has frequently expressed exasperation that it must shoulder the burden of housing those displaced and wants all Afghans in Iran without an Iranian passport to return home by 2010.

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