Eye on Iran: Two Public Executions and One Public Amputation in Iran

Join UANI           Top Stories IHR: "Four fingers of a man's right hand were amputated and two men were hanged publicly in Iran. In the last 3 weeks at least 60 people have been executed in Iran. 15 executions have been carried out in public... According to the Iranian state media, four fingers of a man's right hand were amputated in public, in the town of Abarkooh in the Yazd Province (Central Iran). The man who was  identified as 'M. N.'  was charged with robbery, said the state run Iranian news agency ISNA. The public amputation took place in the beginning of the last week. According to the Iranian media two prisoners were hanged in public in two different Iranian cities on Sunday August 24.... Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemned the public amputation and executions by the Iranian authorities. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: 'Public amputation and executions are methods that the Iranian authorities use to spread fear in the society. These are the same methods as the group ISIS is using in Iraq and Syria. The difference is that Iran is a full member of the UN and has ratified many of UN's Conventions. We urge the international community to strongly condemn the Iranian authorities' use of barbaric punishments.'" http://t.uani.com/1BYCAht Al Arabiya: "Iran will not be open for business before a comprehensive agreement with Western powers is reached over its nuclear program, David Cohen, U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in an interview aired by Al Arabiya News on Monday. 'It is certainly premature if anyone is entering in business deals today that are contrary to the sanctions that remain in place,' Cohen told Al Arabiya's senior presenter Nadine Hani. 'We understand that there is, as you say, enthusiasm in the business community about the possibility that the sanctions will be lifted and that there will be new opportunities in Iran. The only way that is going to come about, however, is if there is a comprehensive agreement,' Cohen added." http://t.uani.com/1lbJmLv Trend: "Iran exported around $7 billion of gas condensates from Pars Special Economic and Energy Zone (PSEEZ) in the past 12 months. Khodadad Rahimi, director of PSEEZ, said 8.36 million tons of condensates, valued at $6.96 billion were exported in the past 12 months, ending on August 25, Iran's IRNA news agency reported on August 26... After imposed sanctions in mid-2012, the country's gas condensate exports decreased from 260,000 barrels to below 195,000 barrels per day, but after implementation of interim nuclear accord in January 20, Iran boosted the export of condensates. The Custom's reports indicates that Iran sold 9.741 million tons (equals about 448,000 barrels per day) from January 20 to July 20, when the 6-month interim nuclear accord was extended again. The Custom reports also indicates that during last 12 months, the country's total gas condensate exports amounted at 17.025 million tons, equals to 392,000 barrels per day." http://t.uani.com/VPoei0   Nuclear Program & Negotiations Reuters: "Iran is 'in the process' of completing measures on transparency in its nuclear research that were agreed with the U.N. atomic agency, a senior Iranian official was quoted as saying, suggesting Tehran had at least partly met a Monday deadline for cooperation. Atomic energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi did not give details in remarks reported by the official IRNA news agency. Those remarks came a few days after diplomatic sources in Vienna told Reuters the U.N. watchdog's investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Iran appeared to be making only limited headway... Under an accord reached by the U.N. agency and Iran in November in an attempt to revive the long-stalled investigation, Tehran agreed in May to carry out five specific steps by Aug. 25 to help allay international concerns. They include providing information about two issues - for example, alleged explosives experimentation - that are part of the IAEA's inquiry into what it calls the possible military dimensions of Iran's atomic activities. 'They have five questions and demands ... some are completed and others are in the process of being completed,' IRNA quoted Salehi as saying, without elaborating on what these were." http://t.uani.com/1okZ41V Press TV (Iran): "The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says some Eastern governments have been in league with the West in its acts of sabotage against Iran's nuclear industry. 'Out of necessity, the Islamic Republic of Iran purchases some [nuclear equipment] spare parts from some developing and growing Eastern countries, but unfortunately they [also] seek to sabotage Iran's nuclear industry,' Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters on the sidelines of an AEOI-hosted exhibition dubbed Countering Industrial Sabotage in Tehran on Monday. He expressed surprise over acts of sabotage by some Eastern governments which he said have been 'deceived' by the West. 'Unfortunately, various European and Western states and also different renowned industries, which hold prominent positions in the world, joined the Zionist regime (Israel) and the US in the process of sabotaging Iran's nuclear industry,' Salehi said." http://t.uani.com/1tFtZvk Sanctions Relief Reuters: "Iran has postponed by three months a conference to offer multinationals the rights to develop oil deposits, giving time for sanctions on the country's oil sector to be lifted, a senior official said on Monday. 'We want to provide for all the companies to participate and we know they will have difficulties before Nov. 24,' Mehdi Hosseini, the head of the Oil Contracts Revision Committee, told Reuters by telephone on Monday. The London conference, previously scheduled for Nov. 3, will take place in late February 2015. He expressed hope that Iran would reach a comprehensive nuclear deal with the world powers by the deadline." http://t.uani.com/1nxILzj Terrorism Today's Zaman: "The investigation into an Iran-backed deadly terrorist organization in Turkey has uncovered the organization's connection to the failed bombing attack against an Israel Embassy staff member in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Feb. 2012. According to information gathered in the comprehensive three-year probe into the Tawhid-Salam cells working for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force in Turkey, Naser Ghafari, one of the commanders assigned to Turkey by the IRGC, instructed a key suspect in the Tawhid-Salam organization to conduct surveillance in Tbilisi. Naser Ghafari operates under the cover of a diplomatic passport attached to the Iranian Consulate in Istanbul." http://t.uani.com/YWdK2s Foreign Affairs Reuters: "Iran has supplied weapons and ammunition to Iraqi Kurdish forces, Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani said Tuesday at a joint press conference with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Arbil, capital of Iraq's Kurdish region. The direct arming of Kurdish forces is a contentious issue because some Iraqi politicians have said they suspect Kurdish leaders have aspirations to break away from the central government completely. The move could also be seen by some as a prelude to Iran taking a more direct role in broader Iraqi conflict. 'We asked for weapons and Iran was the first country to provide us with weapons and ammunition,' Barzani said... The Iranian foreign minister held talks with Barzani on Tuesday, one day after visiting senior Shi'ite clerics in southern Iraq. Zarif acknowledged giving military assistance to Iraqi security forces but said the cooperation did not include deploying ground troops in the country. 'We have no military presence in Iraq,' Zarif said. 'We do have military cooperation with both the central government and the Kurds in different arenas.'" http://t.uani.com/1zybMRb AFP: "A senior Iranian official is in Saudi Arabia to try to repair strained relations between the regional rivals in the Gulf, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian flew to the desert kingdom on Monday to meet Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and discuss 'matters of common interest', the reports said. No further information was immediately available about the trip, the first by a high-level official from Shiite Iran to Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia since Hassan Rouhani became the Islamic republic's president in August last year. 'It is a step towards improving relations between Tehran and Riyadh,' Iran's financial daily Donya-e Eghtessad wrote. Amir Abdollahian had visited Riyadh in June, but that was for a meeting of the Saudi-based Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC)." http://t.uani.com/1pCi2GI Opinion & Analysis Abdullah Bozkurt in Today's Zaman: "Iran's decades-long involvement in Turkey is under threat after a pro-Iranian faction within the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government made a series of mistakes, exposing the extent of Iranian clandestine activities, which, at times, have escalated into open terrorist attacks. Simmering outrage is certain to erupt in a serious backlash against Iran as awareness of Iran's potential danger grows among Turks as well as state institutions. Following the example of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who had outlived his usefulness for Iran, the mullah regime will perhaps be better off dumping the pro-Iranian assets here who have been identified as working for Iran. Cutting its losses may be the only way for Iran to salvage its remaining assets and to keep its interests from being damaged further. The police investigators who engaged in a thorough investigation of the Iran-backed Tawhid-Salam terror organization uncovered the stealthy, deadly network's structure, its agents, contractors and sympathizers who have infiltrated government agencies. The tactical moves, strategy and instruments Iran has used to acquire these assets were all laid bare. Therefore, there is an increasing realization that Iran's activities represent a clear and imminent danger to Turkish national security. No matter how hard the pro-Iranian officials try to derail this investigation and hush-up the police investigators by launching politically-orchestrated revenge operations, their efforts will be in vain. The genie is out of the bottle. Patriotic citizens in the military, the judiciary and the police force have all begun to take up defensive postures against the government witch hunt targeting the Iranian spy hunters who were hailed by many as national heroes... Let's not forget. Turkey, as a NATO member, cannot and will not be left alone to serve the interests of Iran or other foes the alliance regards as the enemy. It is clear that NATO is concerned about the handover of confidential NATO and US documents, as exposed in the espionage trial in İzmir, to third parties working for Iranian intel as well as Iran targeting NATO interests in Turkey using the Iran-backed terror group Tawhid-Salam. The alliance has been pondering for some time the extent of the breach in its security network and trying to identify key culprits who have gained access to Turkish leadership and sensitive government agencies in Turkey... Iran has always managed to maintain its interests by adapting to circumstances. Tehran's policy has never been about specific personalities. As such, pro-Iranian Turkish officials who have been uncovered are now a liability for the Iranian government. In fact, we already witnessed a similar game played during the 1990s when Iran used its connections with a small Islamist party, the now-defunct Welfare Party (RP), which was part of the coalition government in Turkey. Back then, Tehran tried to pull Turkey into its orbit while orchestrating the killings of prominent intellectuals and foreign diplomats to wreak havoc in the country. Turkey's response was swift. Under military pressure, the RP was ousted from power and police rounded up suspects with close ties to Iran. The Turkish state went after the structure of the Turkish Hezbollah, its network and financial assets. The group's leader, Hüseyin Velioğlu, was killed in a clash with police in İstanbul's Beykoz district in 2000 and the police seized a huge archive identifying Iranian assets in government agencies. The organization was dealt a fatal blow when many suspects with ties to Iran were convicted. The group then maintained a low profile and went silent until some operatives were reactivated by Iran in 2008, beginning with the Tawhid-Salam network." http://t.uani.com/1lbIV3R Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.