Today's #Iran Reading

Saturday, July 07, 2012
Today Readings :

• [Pictures] President Ahmadinejad attending the meeting of The Expediency Discernment Council of the System                                                                                                               

Sitting close to rivals, most notably Ayatollah Rafsanjani, whom Ahmadinejad despises deeply, is what foreign sanctions have forced Ahmadinejad to endure. He needs all the support he can get to muddle through the US-imposed crippling sanction & Europe's Oil Embargo.     

  

• Iran will make judicious decision on Strait of Hormuz  "(Mehr News Agency) The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces has said that the country will make a wise decision as to whether to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz."  (Major General Hassan) Firouzabadi said, “I, as a senior military commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran, say that we have a (contingency) plan to block the Strait of Hormuz because military men should have plans in regard to all issues, and the Strait of Hormuz is the world’s fourth or fifth (most) strategic strait, which affects everything in the world. (But) the (Iranian) Shia nation acts wisely and will not be pleased with the disruption of a waterway which accounts for 40 percent of the world’s (oil) shipments unless our interests are seriously threatened.” 
  
  
  Above statement means Iran is trying to control the  damage done after Majles (Iran's Parliament) made a lot of noise about blocking Strait of Hormuz. As many "experts" have said, Iranian regime is homicidal but not suicidal. They want to survive, and blocking Strait of Hormuz gives the best excuse to all Arab neighbors, USA, and allies to attack Iran with full force, something that must be avoided at all costs according to the survival guide of Islamic Republic.

• Former CIA spy advocates overthrow of Iranian regime  "(LA Times) Reza Kahlili, living in the shadows with a fake name and disguise, worked from inside the Revolutionary Guard. He warns of terrorist sleeper cells in the U.S. and a plot to destroy Israel."                   

As you can see in the picture, he is doing his best to pull the Hannibal Lecter, but then the "free Iran" cap makes him ridiculous a bit, if not more.  I am utterly suspicious of his claims, and agenda--yes,I do believe he has an agenda, maybe he's paid by Mark Dubowitz!

And reading the LA Times, I should say, he sounds more like your average paranoid, but in his case, he is highly regarded by other Washington paranoids as some valuable source for "deciphering" minds of Iranian "fanatics."

• Are Israeli Agents Assassinating Iranian Scientists? A New Book Argues    "(The Daily Beast) In an excerpt from their new book, Spies Against Armageddon, Dan Raviv and Yossi Melman argue that Mossad special agents are behind the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists. But will it be enough to stop Iran from getting nukes?"

• Iran plans to sell oil via private group, evade ban "(Reuters) - Iran has reached agreements with European refiners to sell some of its oil through a private consortium, an official said on Saturday, a move designed to circumvent sanctions intended to put pressure on Tehran to halt its disputed nuclear program." 

In light of European Oil Embargo which began July 1st, it was Iran's turn to do some magic to sell oil! All I can say, let's wait and see what's gonna happen. Wait 3 weeks at least before u reach any conclusion. At any rate, Iran is selling its Oil at bargain prices, with a lot of bonuses.As long as u want to risk bringing the wrath of United States on yourself, buy from Iran.

• Amazing Cartoon by the Amazing Iranian Cartoonist:  Mana Neyestani   

                                                    وقتی آقا و خانم سرکوب‌منش به بچه‌ها آموزش می‌دهند    

• هاشمی‌ رفسنجانی پیشنهاد داد:  تشكيل شوراي فقهي براي مسائل عمده مديريت  

آيت‌الله هاشمي‌رفسنجاني كه علاوه بر رياست مجمع تشخيص مصلحت نظام، عضو مجلس خبرگان رهبري نيز هست، بار ديگر و پس از چهارسال، موضوع تشكيل «شوراي فقهي» را مطرح كرد.  هاشمي‌رفسنجاني، در سال 87 هم موضوع شوراي اجتهاد و شوراي فقهي را مطرح كرده.سال 87 و پس از انتشار سخنان هاشمي، يكي از چهره‌هايي كه به اين اظهارات واكنش نشان داد، قاسم روانبخش بود. مردي كه از او به عنوان سخنگوي طيف آيت الله مصباح‌يزدي نام برده مي‌شد و همچنان يكي از ياران نزديك آيت الله مصباح است. او آن روزها در نقد سخنان هاشمي، يادداشتي روي وبلاگ خود منتشر كرد كه در آن آمده بود: «اين نكته كه يك فقيه نمي‌تواند در همه ابواب فقه متخصص باشد از سوي كساني مطرح مي‌شود كه يا طعم فقاهت را نچشيده يا از نبوغ بالايي برخوردار نباشند وگرنه چه كسي مي‌تواند در تخصص فقيه جامعي در همه ابواب فقه مثل حضرت امام ترديد كند؟»روانبخش در ادامه يادداشت خود، طرح اين موضوع را با هدف قرار گرفتن هاشمي در جايگاه فقيه سياسي دانسته و نوشته بود: «بر مبناي «فقاهت شورايي» هريك از ابواب طهارت، صلو\ ، حج، روزه و... را بايد به يكي از مراجع واگذار كرد ولي سياست را بايد به اين «فقيه سياسي» سپرد تا مسائل كشور و جهان را حل كند. البته توصيه آقاي صانعي به آقاي هاشمي مبني بر ضرورت دادن فتوي را نيز مي‌توان در راستاي همين موضوع تحليل كرد.»

• Social-Media Expert Apparently Rearrested  "(RFERL) Mohammad Soleimani Nia, a social-media expert and Internet pioneer in Iran, has apparently been rearrested several weeks after being released on bail. He is also the translator of "Funny in Farsi" by Iranian-American author Firouzeh Dumas."

• Swiss opt out of Iran oil ban backed by EU, US "(EuroActive) The Swiss government will not match European Union sanctions on Iran, deciding yesterday (5 July) that its own pending set of toughened measures would exclude a ban on trading Iranian oil and defending its traditional neutrality in the face of EU and U.S. pressure."

• Charles Krauthammer:"Israel Will Bomb Iran If They Think Obama Will Win A Second Term."  (mark 01:19 on the video)

I found this video on Weasel Zippers , a blog claiming to be "Scouring the Bowels of the Internet."  All I can say is FOX News really wants a war with Iran.