Back to Brief on Iran
As the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly is about to begin its examination of grave violations of human rights in Iran, the state-run daily, Tehran Times, reported today that Professor Maurice Danby Copithorne, Special Representative of the UN Human Rights Commission, will travel to Iran.
Commenting on this report, NCR’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Mr. Mohammad Mohaddessin, said: This announcement is nothing but a hollow promise by the clerical regime to prevent the adoption of a strongly-worded resolution condemning the violations of human rights in Iran.
Mr. Mohaddessin emphasized: In an obvious blackmail, the regime’s officials would agree to the Special Representative’s visit only if the Commission and the Special Representative would make guarantees in advance to remove the Iranian regime from the list of countries under consideration for human rights violations.
The fact is that Professor Copithorne has not been allowed to travel to Iran for the past three years.
Parallel to these lies, the mullahs’ regime has struck deals with some European countries offering them economic concessions in an effort to undermine the resolution being considered by the current session of the UN General Assembly.
NCR’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman condemned any deals on human rights and stressed that the undue optimism expressed in the UNHRC resolution last April about the regime’s "positive positions" is one of the main causes of the deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran in recent months.
Home Agenda Usurps "Great Satan" in Iran, Reuter, November 5
TEHRAN - Iranians reveled in anti-U.S. rhetoric this week but the ritual chants of "Death to America" can no longer drown out the swelling drumbeat of political warfare closer to home.
The annual day of Struggle Against World Arrogance, marking the seizure of the U.S. embassy by militant students on November 4, 1979, went off as planned: schoolchildren cheered lustily on cue as the Stars and Stripes went up in flames.
"The Iranian nation still considers the arrogant government of America its number one enemy," declared an official rally proclamation.
But take a closer look, say analysts, and what was once an article of faith of the Islamic revolution has given way to a struggle for the future of the revolution itself.
"Anti-Americanism no longer provides the glue that binds the political classes," said one political analyst. "It is now just a pawn in the larger, domestic battle. There are far bigger issues now."
Iran to Sell Draft Exemptions For $1,700 And Up, Reuter, November 5
TEHRAN - Iran has put a price tag on mandatory military service, allowing young men to buy their way out of a 21-month hitch in the army for $1,700 and up.
Under rules approved by the government, exemption fees ranged from 11.5 million rials ($3,800 at the official exchange rate) for those without high school degrees to about three times that for doctorate holders, the daily Resalat said on Wednesday.
The 11.5 million rial fee is worth about $1,700 on Iran's foreign exchange black market.
The amount represents three years earnings of a worker receiving the minimum wage.
The plan is part of government efforts to boost income after a sharp fall in oil revenue due to a slump in petroleum prices.
Iranians living abroad have been able to buy draft exemptions for about $5,000 each.
Iran Condemns US-Israeli Security Memorandum, Agence France Presse, November 5
TEHRAN - Iran on Thursday condemned a US-Israeli security memorandum pledging Washington's help in defending Israel against regional attacks, saying the pact was intended to provoke confrontation with the Moslem world.
Israel and the United States signed the security memorandum Saturday, under which Washington will view "with the utmost seriousness any threat to the security of the state of Israel from long- or medium-range missiles."
The memorandum comes just four months after Iran claimed to have successfully tested its medium-range Shahab-3 missile, which is said to have a 1,300 kilometer (800 mile) range that puts Israel within reach.