Iran in the World Press 26 Jan 2010 #Iranelection

Information prism Meanwhile, five journalists will lock themselves away in a French farmhouse with access only to Facebook and Twitter to test the quality of news from the social networking and micro-blogging sites. Twitter and Facebook’s use as news-breaking tools has been highlighted over the past year, particularly during opposition protests in Iran that many media described as a ‘‘twitterised revolution’’. The journalists will consider how the world looks viewed only through the prism of the sites, whose phenomenal growth has been fuelled by smartphones and, for Twitter, online bursts of 140 characters.  Shepparton News | 2010-01-25 | Australia | Page: 2 Plane fire injures 46 people TEHRAN: An Iranian passenger plane has caught fire on landing in the north-eastern city of Mashhad, injuring at least 46 people on board. Iranian officials told local news networks that the rear end of the Russian-built Tupolev 154 plane owned by Taban Airline caught fire as the aircraft was landing at Mashhad airport on Sunday. ‘‘The plane caught fire while landing,’’ Javad Erfanian, head of disaster management of Khorasan Razavi province of which Mashhad is the capital, said. Shepparton News | 2010-01-25 | Australia | Page: 9 Budget less oil- reliant Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday the national budget for 2010/ 11 would lessen reliance on oil revenues, a move aimed at making the Islamic state less vulnerable to any Western sanctions. Ahmadinejad, who faces opposition protests seven months after his re-election, also said Iran “ will have good news over production of 20 percent enriched fuel in February”. China Daily | 2010-01-25 | China | Page: 12 Regional approach sought on Kabul A high-level conference of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries will be held in Istanbul today, aimed at seeking a regional approach toward Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, special representative of President Hu Jintao, Yang’s counterpart from Tajikistan, the vicepresident of Turkmenistan and Iran’s fi rst vice-president are expected to participate in the talks. The conference will focus on determining what can be done to support Afghanistan’s security and stability, and ways to root out terrorism. Istanbul was also host to the fourth trilateral summit in Istanbul with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan yesterday. China Daily | 2010-01-26 | China | Page: 11 Diane Sawyer piles up frequent f lier miles during first month NEW YORK (The Associated Press) — A month into her new job as “World News” anchor, and Diane Sawyer has piled up enough frequent flier miles to impress even George Clooney’s character in “Up in the Air.” Her desire to get out of ABC’s New York studio has already set Sawyer apart from her more homebound predecessor, Charles Gibson, who retired in December. She travelled to Copenhagen to interview Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for her first show, and has been to Afghanistan and Haiti. Monday will be a shuttle flight to Washington to interview President Barack Obama.  Moose Jaw Times Herald | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 14 Spy revelation compromise embassy in Iran? (Canwest News Service) — An international affairs expert is warning that Canada’s embassy in Iran runs the risk of being seen as a “nest of spies,” after it was revealed on the weekend that Canada’s ambassador to Iran in 1979 was spying for American intelligence officials during the Islamic revolution. Wesley Wark, a professor at the Munk Centre of International Studies at the University of Toronto, says the idea that Ken Taylor, Canada’s ambassador to Iran between 1977 and 1980, was gathering intelligence in preparation for a U.S. commando raid to free dozens of American hostages, could put Canada’s current diplomatic ties at risk. “Embassy staff may find themselves in a situation like the Canadian Embassy in Moscow during the Cold War,” said Wark. “Things are going to get a lot more complicated.” Moose Jaw Times Herald | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 5 Newspaper Page The damage is clear to see on the Taban Air passenger plane as it lies on the runway after crash landing at the Mashhad airport in Iran yesterday. The Tupolev plane caught fire as it made an emergency landing. A wing and the undercarriage were torn off when the Russian-made plane made contact with the ground. — Mehdi Ghorbani Shanghai Daily | 2010-01-25 | China | Page: 2 46 hurt after plane crash lands Airliner catches fire as pilot crash lands in Iran A2 Iranian firefighters work to extinguish flames on a Russian-made Iranian passenger plane after its crash landing at the Mashhad airport in northeastern Iran yesterday. At least 46 people were injured when the Tupolev passenger plane carrying 157 passengers and 13 crew hit the ground. No one was killed. — Mehdi Ghorbani A RUSSIAN-MADE Iranian passenger plane carrying 157 passengers and 13 crew crash landed in northeastern Iran yesterday, injuring at least 46 people, state television reported. The broadcast quoted Iran’s civil aviation spokesman, Reza Jafarzadeh, as saying that no one was killed in the accident.  Shanghai Daily | 2010-01-25 | China | Page: 1 Israel denies terror in Gaza THE Israeli military is completing a rebuttal to a United Nations report accusing it of serious violations of international and humanitarian law in its invasion of the blockaded Gaza Strip a year ago. The UN report, by a committee led by South African judge Richard Goldstone, was published in late September and called on Israel to carry out an independent investigation of its conduct of the three-week war. The Israeli Government, which refused to co-operate with the investigation and at first dismissed its findings, has now put a priority on fighting the charge that it deliberately sought to terrorise the Palestinian population.  The Age | 2010-01-25 | Australia | Page: 6 ROUGH LANDING: Firemen put out a fire after a Russian-made Tupolev plane caught fire while landing in Mashad, Iran, on Sunday. The fire broke out in the rear of the plane after a rough landing, officials said, injuring 42 of the 157 passengers, but not critically. The Beacon Herald | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 7 Iran plane lands on fire TEHRAN: An Iranian passenger plane has caught fire on landing in the northeastern city of Mashhad, injuring 46 people. The Russian-built Tupolev 154 plane belonging to Taban Airline caught fire as it was landing at Mashhad airport yesterday. ‘‘Forty-six people have been injured, but most of them are not serious,’’ officials said. Northern Territory News | 2010-01-25 | Australia | Page: 9 Ambassador was CIA mole MONTREAL: Canada’s former ambassador to Iran has revealed he worked as a CIA spy during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. Kenneth Taylor has broken his silence as a book detailing his involvement hit bookstores. ‘‘It had been under wraps for 30 years,’’ Taylor said, saying it was his ‘‘assumption . . . that it would be for another 30 years.’’ The arrangement was set up by then-US president Jimmy Carter whereby Taylor would provide information from his position at the Canadian embassy in Tehran. Taylor was already known to have hidden six US embassy staffers at the time, but this is the first time he was revealed to be a covert CIA operative. The Courier Mail | 2010-01-25 | Australia | Page: 21 Newspaper Page Wreckage: Iranian firefighters inspect the wreckage of an Iranian passenger plane, which caught fire while landing at the airport in the city of Mashhad. Shepparton News | 2010-01-26 | Australia | Page: 12 L’Iran annonce une « bonne nouvelle » Interrogé sur les intentions de Téhéran alors que les discussions avec l es grandes puissances sur le dossier nucléaire sont enlisées dans un dialogue de sourds, le président Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a annoncé « une bonne nouvelle » pour le 31e anniversaire de la révolution islamique début février. « L’Iran a donné une chance aux pays occidentaux », a déclaré M. Ahmadinejad cité par plusieurs agences.  Le Journal de Montreal | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 39 UNE CATASTROPHE AÉRIENNE FAIT 46 BLESSÉS EN IRAN Au moins 46 personnes ont été blessées à bord d’un avion iranien qui a pris feu hier à l’atterrissage à l’aéroport de Machhad, a annoncé la télévision d’État. Selon des témoignages publiés par les médias iraniens, la dérive de l’appareil, un Tupolev 154 de la compagnie Taban, se serait détachée au moment de l’atterrissage effectué dans le brouillard, la queue de l’avion trop cabré ayant heurté violemment la piste. Le Journal de Montreal | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 39 A national shame Re Canada’s Man in Iran (Jan. 23): There’s a big difference between trying to free hostages and becoming “de facto station chief ” for the Central Intelligence Agency, as Ken Taylor did. It’s no wonder that such a national shame has been hidden for 30 years. Ian Angus, Vancouver The Globe and Mail (BC Edition) | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 10 CANADA’S MAN IN TEHRAN THE KEN TAYLOR SAGA Spying in Iran spurred by threat to U.S. lives Foreign-affairs officials reflect on how letting a Canadian spy for the CIA during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis was ‘one of our finest hours.’ Watch The Globe’s Michael Valpy in conversation with Ken Taylor. GLOBEANDMAIL.COM American lives were felt to be in such danger after the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Iran that Ottawa judged it inconceivable not to offer every assistance possible, including authorizing Canadian diplomats in Tehran to collect military intelligence for Washington.  The Globe and Mail (BC Edition) | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 1 QUE DES SURVIVANTS DANS UN ACCIDENT EN IRAN Un avion de ligne avec 157 passagers et 13 membres d’équipage a eu un accident lors de l’atterrissage hier, à l’aéroport de Mashhad dans le nord-est de l’Iran, faisant au moins 46 blessés. Aucun décès n’était à déplorer, selon la télévision d’État, qui précise que l’appareil de fabrication soviétique de la compagnie privée Taban Air a pris feu lors de l’atterrissage à l’aéroport de Mashhad, vers 7h20, heure locale. L’avion a été fortement endommagé. Le Soleil | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 22 L’Iran pour de l’uranium hautement enrichi TÉHÉRAN — L’Iran a laissé entendre hier qu’il pourrait mettre prochainement à exécution sa menace de produire de l’uranium hautement enrichi, alors que l’ultimatum fixé à la communauté internationale pour lui livrer du fuel nucléaire à ses conditions expire fin janvier. Interrogé sur les intentions de Téhéran alors que les discussions avec les grandes puissances sur le dossier nucléaire sont enlisées dans un dialogue de sourds, le président Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a annoncé «une bonne nouvelle» pour le 31e anniversaire de la révolution islamique début février. Le Soleil | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 22 Newspaper Page Un avion de ligne iranien Tupolev Tu-154 transportant 157 passagers et 13 membres d’équipage a pris feu lors son atterrissage, hier à l’aéroport de Mashhad, dans le nord-est de l’Iran. Selon la télévision d’État iranienne, l’accident a fait au moins 46 blessés. La Tribune | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 16 Iran : un accident d’avion fait 46 blessés TÉHÉRAN — Un avion de ligne avec 157 passagers et 13 membres d’équipage a eu un accident lors de l’atterrissage hier à l’aéroport de Mashhad dans le nord-est de l’Iran, faisant au moins 46 blessés, rapporte la télévision d’État iranienne. Aucun décès n’était à déplorer, selon la télévision d’État qui précise que l’appareil de fabrication soviétique de la compagnie privée Taban Air a pris feu lors de l’atterrissage à l’aéroport de Mashhad vers 7 h 20 heure locale. L’avion a été fortement endommagé. La Tribune | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 16 Airplane catches fire; at least 45 hospitalized BEIRUT — A Russian-made passenger airplane caught fire as it made an emergency landing in northeastern Iran, injuring dozens of people. All 157 passengers and 13 crew members aboard Taban Air Flight 6437 survived the Tupolev-154 aircraft fire on the runway of Mashhad International Airport, local media reported. At least 45 people were hospitalized. Austin American-Statesman | 2010-01-25 | USA | Page: 3 42 injured in Iran as aircraft catches fire while landing TEHRAN – Some 42 Iranians were injured when a Russian-made Tupolev aircraft caught fire as it landed in northeastern Iran yesterday, state radio said. “About 42 passengers, out of 157 aboard, were injured when the plane was landing at Mashhad city’s airport,” said Gholamreza Massoumi, head of Iran’s emergency medical services. There were no fatalities, said Iran’s civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh. A senior local official said the wounded were not in a critical condition, state television reported.  The Irish Times | 2010-01-25 | Ireland | Page: 10 Shocking spy revelations could compromise Canada’s embassy in Iran: expert An international affairs expert is warning that Canada’s embassy in Iran runs the risk of being seen as a “nest of spies,” after it was revealed on the weekend that Canada’s ambassador to Iran in 1979 was spying for American intelligence officials during the Islamic revolution. Wesley Wark, a professor at the Munk Centre of International Studies at the University of Toronto, says the idea that Ken Taylor, Canada’s ambassador to Iran between 1977 and 1980, was gathering intelligence in preparation for a U.S. commando raid to free dozens of American hostages, could put Canada’s current diplomatic ties at risk.  The Amherst Daily News | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 9 Newspaper Page Ken Taylor, left, Canada’s ambassador to Iran in 1979 with the Shah of Iran. The Amherst Daily News | 2010-01-25 | Canada | Page: 9 Newspaper Page A Russian-made Tupolev plane carrying 157 passengers and 13 crew crash-landed at Mashhad airport in northeastern Iran, injuring at least 46, state television reported. Iran has about a dozen Tupolevs. The Wall Street Journal Europe | 2010-01-25 | Belgium | Page: 30 157 passengers cheat death as plane bursts into flames THE 157 passengers aboard a Russian-made Tupolev aircraft miraculously escaped death when it crash-landed and burst into flames in north-eastern Iran yesterday. There were no fatalities and just 42 Iranians were injured, none seriously, when the plane crashed at Mashhad city's airport. The country’s official IRNA news agency said the rear end of the plane, which belonged to Iran's domestic airliner, Taban, caught fire while landing. Mashhad is a popular destination for pilgrims among Iran's majority Shi'ite Muslims. Irish Independent | 2010-01-25 | Ireland | Page: 32 Newspaper Page BLAZE: Firefighters work on a burned Russian-made Iranian passenger plane after it crash-landed at Mashhad airport, in north-east Iran. The Herald | 2010-01-25 | UK | Page: 16 A GOOD FIGHT Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton picked the right battle last week, calling for an end to Internet censorship and naming governments that suppress the free flow of information — including China, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Tunisia and Uzbekistan. Her speech, at the Newseum in Washington, had pointed echoes of the Cold War, including a warning that “a new information curtain is descending across much of the world.” Anyone who finds that overheated should remember how hard Iran’s government worked to shut down the Web during last summer’s bloody, pro-democracy protests — and the power of the images and words that managed to get through.  International Herald Tribune | 2010-01-25 | Austria | Page: 6 IRAN PLANS TO ISSUE ENERGY BONDS Iran plans to issue bonds worth up to ¤5 billion, or $7 billion, from March 2010 to help finance development of its energy industry, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Sunday. International Herald Tribune | 2010-01-25 | Austria | Page: 17 Communist Party newspaper accuses U.S. over Iran strife An editorial in People’s Daily, the newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, accused the United States on Sunday of mounting a cyber army and a ‘‘hacker brigade’’ and of exploiting social media to foment unrest in Iran. People’s Daily accused the United States of hypocritically controlling the Internet after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for more Internet freedom in China and elsewhere in a speech Thursday. ‘‘Behind what America calls free speech is naked political scheming,’’ the editorial said. ‘‘How did the unrest after the Iranian elections come about? It was because online warfare launched by America, via YouTube video and Twitter microblogging.’’ China has blocked YouTube since March and Twitter since June. International Herald Tribune | 2010-01-25 | Austria | Page: 8 China claims US used ‘online warfare’ in Iran The United States used “online warfare” to stir up unrest in Iran after last year’s elections, the Chinese Communist party newspaper claimed yesterday, hitting back at Hillary Clinton’s speech last week about internet freedom. An editorial in the People’s Daily accused the US of launching a “hacker brigade” and said it had used social media such as Twitter to spread rumours and create trouble. “Behind what America calls free speech is naked political scheming. The Guardian | 2010-01-25 | UK | Page: 16 AHMADINEJAD PROMISES POSITIVE NUCLEAR NEWS TehranPresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday that Iran will declare “good news” concerning nuclear fuel plans when the nation marks the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution next month, local news agencies reported. When asked by reporters about Iran’s deadline to the West over the nuclear fuel deal and when Tehran will produce 20 per cent enriched uranium, Ahmadinejad said: “During the 10 days of dawn (February 1 to 11), we will announce good news in this regard,” the Mehr news agency quoted him as saying.  Gulf News | 2010-01-25 | UAE | Page: 12 Newspaper Page At least 46 hurt in Iran crash Firefighters with a burned Iranian plane that caught fire upon landing at Mashad, northeastern Iran, yesterday. At least 46 people were injured but there were no fatalities. The Russian-built Tupolev, which carried 157 passengers and 13 crew, suffered serious damage. Gulf News | 2010-01-25 | UAE | Page: 1 Focus on worsening rights situation in Iran, Iraq Dubai This city yesterday played host to personnel of the New York-based Human Rights Watch that released a report on human rights abuses in four nations in the Gulf region in 2009. No presence of police or plainclothes security personnel was noticed at the Sheraton Four Points located on Shaikh Zayed Road, where the press conference was held for the third consecutive year The attendees were either representing local media organisations or belonged to regional and international news institutions in addition to two Emiratis who presented themselves as human rights activists and members on the board of HRW in the Emirates.  Gulf News | 2010-01-25 | UAE | Page: 3 46 hurt as plane crash-lands Tehran (AP) A Russian-made Iranian passenger aircraft carrying 157 passengers and 13 crew crash-landed in northeastern Iran yesterday injuring at least 46 people, state television reported. The broadcast quoted Iran’s civil aviation spokesman, Reza Jafarzadeh, as saying that no one was killed in the accident. He gave no indication of what might have caused the accident. The Taban Air aeroplane caught fire upon landing at Mashhad airport at 7:20am local time.  Gulf News | 2010-01-25 | UAE | Page: 12 «Hacker americani dietro la rivolta dell’Iran» PECHINO Il caso Google, con il più grande motore di ricerca del pianeta sul punto di rinunciare al mercato cinese troppo stretto dal pugno del regime, ha dato la stura alle tensioni durissime fra Usa e Cina. Ed anche ieri non è mancato il nuovo capitolo di uno scontro diplomatico che ne sottintende altri fra il grande creditore, la Cina, ed il suo maggior debitore, gli Stati Uniti. Pechino, duramente attaccata dal segretario di Stato Hillary Clinton su Internet frontiera della libertà nel ventunesimo secolo, ha rilanciato ieri accusando gli americani di aver messo in piedi una cricca di hacker (che è poi esattamente l’accusa che Google muove ai cinesi). Il Mattino | 2010-01-25 | Italy | Page: 7 Kina: USA udløste Iranuroligheder CYBERKRIG. USA har oprettet en ’hackerbrigade’ og udnytter sociale medier som Twitter og Youtube til at starte uroligheder i Iran. Sådan lyder det i en ledende artikel den kinesiske regerings talerør, avisen The Peoples Daily. Avisen beskylder USA for hyklerisk styring af internettet i ytringsfrihedens navn. »Bag det, USA kalder ytringsfrihed, er der rå politisk rænkesmederi. Hvordan mon urolighederne efter det iranske valg startede«, spørger Peoples Daily. »Det var på grund af internetkrigsførsel udgået fra USA, via Youtube, video, Twitter, hvormed de spredte rygter, skabte skel, rodede op i ting og såede splid mellem tilhængere af konservative reformister«, skriver avisen ifølge Reuters.  Politiken | 2010-01-25 | Denmark | Page: 6 Iran satser på høj oliepris STATSBUDGET. Den iranske regering vil i år bruge flere penge på udvikling af landbrug, uddannelser og forskning. Finansloven er baseret på en forventning om, at Iran kan tjene 60 dollar per tønde råolie. Det er næsten dobbelt så meget som de 37,5 dollar, sidste års budget var baseret på. Politiken | 2010-01-25 | Denmark | Page: 9 Verletzte nach Bruchlandung in Iran Bei der Bruchlandung eines Passagierflugzeugs im Nordosten von Iran sind am Sonntag mindestens 46 Menschen verletzt worden. An Bord der Tupolew waren 157 Passagiere und 13 Besatzungsmitglieder. Das Flugzeug der iranischen Gesellschaft Taban Air war am Samstagabend in Abadan gestartet und hat laut einem Bericht des staatlichen Fernsehens während der Landung Feuer gefangen. Die Sichtverhältnisse am Zielflughafen Maschhad waren wegen des schlechten Wetters mangelhaft. Neue Zurcher Zeitung | 2010-01-25 | Switzerland | Page: 16 China claims US used ‘online warfare’ in Iran The United States used “online warfare” to stir up unrest in Iran after last year’s elections, the Chinese Communist party newspaper claimed yesterday, hitting back at Hillary Clinton’s speech last week about internet freedom. An editorial in the People’s Daily accused the US of launching a “hacker brigade” and said it had used social media such as Twitter to spread rumours and create trouble. “Behind what America calls free speech is naked political scheming.  The Guardian International Edition | 2010-01-25 | UK | Page: 8 Was macht die Welt? Obama und Massachusetts: eine Schlappe, eine Panne oder ein Desaster für den US-Präsidenten? Es gibt keine Desaster für US-Präsidenten, weil die Opposition sie in ihrer Amtszeit (vier Jahre) nicht stürzen kann. Panne? Ja – für die Demokraten des Staates, die sich so sicher waren, dass sie eine müde Figur für den Senatssitz von Ted Kennedy aufgestellt haben. (Seit 1972 hatte Mass. keinen republikanischen Senator mehr.) Eine Schlappe? Für Obama ist es mehr.  Der Tagesspiegel | 2010-01-25 | Germany | Page: 1 46 injured in Iranian plane fire hell A RUSSIAN-MADE jet carrying 157 passengers and 13 crew crash-landed in north-eastern Iran yesterday, injuring at least 46 people. Iranian state television said the privatelychartered Taban Air jet caught fire after coming down at Mashhad airport but no one was killed in the accident. The injured were taken to hospitals in Mashhad, according to reports, and the Soviet-built Tu-154 airliner was seriously damaged. Daily Sport | 2010-01-25 | UK | Page: 4 Iran train wreck kills 8, hurts dozens BEIRUT — A train accident in northeastern Iran killed at least eight people Saturday and injured dozens of others, underscoring problems in Iran’s transportation sector. Four wagons of a five-car passenger train traveling between Tehran, Iran’s capital, and the eastern city of Mashhad derailed about 400 miles from the capital, Iranian news outlets reported. Gholam-Reza Masoumi, head of the State Emergency Center, told the semiofficial Iranian Labor News Agency that the death toll was likely to rise “in view of the critical conditions of some casualties and the type of incident.”  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sunday | 2010-01-24 | USA | Page: 10 President vows ‘sweet’ news on enrichment if West spurns o er TEHRAN / Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hinted yesterday that Tehran would pursue uranium enrichment to higher levels if the West spurned its offer of a phased fuel swap, promising Iranians “sweet” news in the days ahead. The president said Iran would make an announcement regarding the enrichment of uranium to 20per-cent purity when the nation marked next month the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that toppled the US-backed Shah. “Iran has given a chance to western countries,” Mr Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by Fars news agency when asked by reporters about Iran’s deadline to world powers over the controversial nuclear fuel deal. “Therefore, during the 10 days of dawn [February 1 to 11], we will announce good news regarding the production of 20-per-cent enriched fuel in our country,” he said. “This news is so sweet that it will make any Iranian and any freedom-loving person in the world happy.” The National - News | 2010-01-25 | UAE | Page: 12 At least 46 injured as passenger plane crash-lands in dense fog TEHRAN An Iranian passenger plane crash-landed yesterday in thick fog in the north-eastern city of Mashhad and caught fire, injuring at least 46 people, state television and other news networks said. Iranian officials told local news networks that the rear end of the Russian-built Tupolev 154 plane, owned by Taban Airline and piloted by a Russian, caught fire as the aircraft landed in the fog. Javad Erfanian, the head of disaster management of Khorasan Razavi province of which Mashhad is the capital, said emergency services evacuated the plane after which the rear end of the aircraft broke up. Pictures released by Iranian news networks showed both wings of the plane torn off and the rear end burning.  The National - News | 2010-01-25 | UAE | Page: 12 UK ministers warn Tehran of ‘embarrassing’ retaliation British ministers were playing a wait-and-see game yesterday as Iran pondered downgrading diplomatic relations between the two countries. The worsening of the already sour bilateral ties could owe as much to a row over ancient artefacts as it has to do with sanctions and the UK’s alleged role in fomenting civil unrest. Officials at the foreign office in London have been monitoring the threat since Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian foreign minister, said last week that relations between the two countries were being “reconsidered”.  The National - News | 2010-01-25 | UAE | Page: 12 ‘Full-blown’ rights crisis in Iran The 2010 World Report is the 20th annual report compiled by Human Rights Watch and covers 90 countries, including 15 in the Middle East. HRW said yesterday that the situation in Iran had developed into a “fullblown human-rights crisis” since the disputed presidential election in June. The report details allegations of torture and abuse of opposition activists, and also pointed to the fact that Iran had the second-highest execution rate in 2009, behind China. The report also detailed HRW’s concern over “arbitrary restrictions” on freedom of expression in Bahrain, as well as alleged use of torture.  The National - News | 2010-01-25 | UAE | Page: 7 Ties with UK may sour further The Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee conferred with a number of other state bodies yesterday and members agreed in principle on downgrading diplomatic relations with Britain “in some fields”. The committee met representatives of the foreign and intelligence ministries, the chamber of commerce and Mehdi Safari who has been designated as Iran’s new ambassador to be dispatched to London. He was previously deputy foreign minister for European affairs. “The members of the committee were in agreement about reducing relations in some fields,” Mohammad Karami-rad, a member of the national security and foreign policy committee, told Fars News yesterday.  The National - News | 2010-01-25 | UAE | Page: 12

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