NATO doesn’t rule out co-op with Iran at some point in the future.

NATO doesn’t rule out co-op with Iran at some point in the future.(Taz).

NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai has said the Alliance doesn’t rule out cooperation with Iran.

“We have received no indication from Iran, there are no discussions within NATO about establishing relations,” he told Trend Feb. 16, adding however, “I don’t exclude that it might happen at some point in the future.”

However, Appathurai said NATO doesn’t plan to cooperate with Iran for now.


He added that the arrangement with regard to Iran’s nuclear program is a step in a right direction. Read the full story here.

'Human rights....Never heard of those' - Iran, Belgium sign comprehensive cooperation MoU.

'Human rights....Never heard of those' - Iran, Belgium sign comprehensive cooperation MoU. (Taz).

Iran and Belgium have signed a comprehensive cooperation MoU, according to which the two countries will expand their cooperation on bilateral, regional, and international issues, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.

Zarif made the statement during a joint press conference with his Belgian counterpart, Didier Reynders here, in which they discussed views on various issues, including Iran’s nuclear program and the Syrian crisis, the Trend correspondent reported from Tehran November 9.

Regarding Iran’s attendance at the Syrian talks, he said since President Hassan Rouhani is scheduled to travel to Europe, though it is not clear at what level Iran will participate in the Syrian talks.

He noted that during the upcoming meeting, all sides are going to designate which are the terrorist groups now engaged in the Syrian conflict. “However, we believe it is clear what groups are terrorists,” he said.

Further, Zarif stressed that terrorists should not have access to oil and there needs to be an explanation of how they sell oil and make money.

He further commented on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and said a document has been prepared on redesigning Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor.

Talks are still being held on how to sign the document, since not all P5+1 foreign ministers are in Vienna, the Iranian FM stated.

Reynders, for his part, said there is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen, urging the start of political talks to end the fighting there.

Reynders, who is leading a political and economic delegation to Iran, met President Hassan Rouhani before seeing Zarif.

During their meeting, he said Belgium is waiting for sanctions to be lifted in order to boost ties with the Islamic Republic.

The sanctions are to be lifted according to the JCPOA, which was reached between Iran and the 5+1 group, made up of the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany, on July 14.

In 2005, before sanctions were tightened against Iran, Belgium was Iran’s 28^th largest trade partner. It exported some $733 million in goods to Iran and imported $74 million goods from Iran.


During the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 21 to August 22), however, Iran’s imports from Belgium were registered at $131.6 million, while exports hit $14.6 million. Hmmm......Human rights are for sale....just look at the Saudis in the UN.......Money can buy anything but honor.

Video - Ted Cruz Takes Down Code Pink Hecklers on Iran.

Thank God for Canada ! Canada isolates itself by anti-Iran stance - Iran's foreign ministry.

Thank God for Canada ! Canada isolates itself by anti-Iran stance - Iran's foreign ministry. (Taz).

Iran's foreign ministry has argued that the Canadian administration is isolating itself by following Israel’s anti-Iran stance.

The Canada ’s conservative government, in compliance with the Israel’s positions is rapidly moving towards self-imposed isolation in the international community, even among its traditional allies, Marzieh Afkham , Iran ’s foreign ministry spokeswoman said, the ministry’s website reported.

Following the last week nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1(US, Russia, China, France, UK, and Germany), Canadian Foreign Minister Rob Nicholson said Iran continues to be a significant threat to international peace and security owing to its nuclear ambitions, its continuing support for terrorism, its repeated calls for the destruction of Israel, and its disregard for basic human rights. “We will continue to judge Iran by its actions, not words,” he underlined.

Reacting to the statement, Afkham said that if the Canadian government is concerned about the international peace and security it should respect rationality and logic. “The continuation of the radical stances by the Canadian officials on Iran indicates that the Canadian government's approach towards Iran lacks any logical and rational basis.”

Canada has expressed concerns over “human rights violation” in Iran and the “Islamic Republic’s threat to global peace" in various occasions.


The country cut diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2012. Canadian then foreign minister, John Baird cited Iran's support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, its disputed nuclear program and continued human rights violations as reasons behind his country's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran. Hmmm....I'll take PM Harper a mensch anytime over any spineless Liberal appeaser.

Obama's BFF Iran’s ‘staggering’ execution spree - nearly 700 put to death in just over six months.

Amnesty: Obama's BFF Iran’s ‘staggering’ execution spree - nearly 700 put to death in just over six months. (NCRI).

The Iranian authorities are believed to have executed an astonishing 694 people between 1 January and 15 July 2015, said Amnesty International today, in an unprecedented spike in executions in the country.

"This is equivalent to executing more than three people per day. At this shocking pace, Iran is set to surpass the total number of executions in the country recorded by Amnesty International for the whole of last year," the international human rights group said.

“Iran’s staggering execution toll for the first half of this year paints a sinister picture of the machinery of the state carrying out premeditated, judicially-sanctioned killings on a mass scale,” said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“If Iran’s authorities maintain this horrifying execution rate we are likely to see more than 1,000 state-sanctioned deaths by the year’s end.”

The announcement by Amnesty continued: "The surge in executions reveals just how out of step Iran is with the rest of the world when it comes to the use of the death penalty - 140 countries worldwide have now rejected its use in law or practice. Already this year three more countries have repealed the death penalty completely."

"Executions in Iran did not even stop during the holy month of Ramadan. In a departure from established practice, at least four people were executed over the past month."

"While Amnesty International opposes the use of the death penalty unconditionally and in all cases, death sentences in Iran are particularly disturbing because they are invariably imposed by courts that are completely lacking in independence and impartiality. They are imposed either for vaguely worded or overly broad offences, or acts that should not be criminalized at all, let alone attract the death penalty.

Trials in Iran are deeply flawed, detainees are often denied access to lawyers in the investigative stage, and there are inadequate procedures for appeal, pardon and commutation."
Said Boumedouha said: “The Iranian authorities should be ashamed of executing hundreds of people with complete disregard for the basic safeguards of due process,”.

“The use of the death penalty is always abhorrent, but it raises additional concerns in a country like Iran where trials are blatantly unfair.”

“For years, Iranian authorities have used the death penalty to spread a climate of fear in a misguided effort to combat drug trafficking, yet there is not a shred of evidence to show that this is an effective method of tackling crime,” said Said Boumedouha.

Many of those convicted of drug-related offences come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Their cases are rarely publicized. In a letter circulated online in June, 54 prisoners held on death row in Ghezel Hesar prison near Tehran described their plight:

“We are the victims of a state of hunger, poverty and misery, hurled down into the hollows of perdition by force and without our will… If we had jobs, if we did not need help, if we could turn our lives around and stop our children from going hungry, why should we have gone down a path that guaranteed us our death?”

Amnesty International continued: "Among those executed in Iran are also members of ethnic and religious minorities convicted of 'enmity against God' and 'corruption on earth' including Kurdish political prisoners and Sunni Muslims."

"Currently, based on monitoring work done by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations, several thousand people are believed to be on death row in Iran. The Iranian authorities have said that 80% of those awaiting execution are convicted of drug-related offences. They have not, however, provided an exact number."

“It is especially harrowing that there is no end in sight for this theatre of cruelty with Iran’s gallows awaiting thousands more death row prisoners,” said Said Boumedouha.

Prisoners in Iran are often left languishing on death row, wondering each day if it will be their last, the human rights group said. "In many cases they are notified of their execution only a few hours beforehand and in some cases, families learn about the fate of their loved ones days, if not weeks, later."

"Each year the Iranian authorities acknowledge a certain number of judicial executions. However, many more judicial executions are carried out but not acknowledged."


"As of 15 July 2015, the Iranian authorities had officially acknowledged 246 executions this year but Amnesty International has received credible reports of a further 448 executions carried out in this time period. In 2014, 289 people were executed according to official sources but credible reports suggested that the real figure was at least 743."Hmmmm....Just imagine what they will do to the ones they really hate, once they get hold of nuclear weapons.


'He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it'. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

TEHRAN- In Rouhani's first 2 year, 1457 people, mostly from ethnic and religious minorities, have been executed,biggest number since 1988.

— Amir Taheri (@AmirTaheri4) July 23, 2015

Wikileaks: Iran executed between 4,000 and 6,000 gay men and lesbians since 1979. http://t.co/WKjN5lg0kq

— Benjamin Weinthal (@BenWeinthal) July 23, 2015

EU slated to adopt a policy favored by neo-Nazis in Germany: Labelling of Israeli products

'Don't Buy At Jews!'

EU slated to adopt a policy favored by neo-Nazis in Germany: Labelling of Israeli products.(JPost).

The European Union agreed this week to push ahead with labeling Israeli goods made in settlements in the West Bank, a move that has alarmed the Israeli government; but now there are proposals to go much further, including targeting Israeli banks.

In a paper to be published on Wednesday, the European Council on Foreign Relations, whose proposals frequently inform EU policy-making, argues that the EU is in breach of its own laws and must move much more firmly to distinguish its dealings with Israel from Israel's activities in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

European diplomats have long said that labeling is only the first in a series of steps the EU could take against Israel over its settlements policy, one that in financial terms is expected to have a relatively minor impact on the Israeli economy.

But the new proposals would go much deeper and further, reaching into banking, loans and mortgages, qualifications earned in settlement institutions and the tax-exempt status of European charities that deal with Israeli settlements.

"Under its own regulations and principles, Europe cannot legally escape from its duty to differentiate between Israel and its activities in the... Palestinian territories," says the report, titled 'EU Differentiation and Israeli Settlements'.

The authors argue that by pushing much further to separate the EU's dealings with Israel from the settlements, it will force Israel to decide what sort of relationship it wants with Europe and in turn encourage it to return to talks with the Palestinians on a two-state solution to the conflict.

ISRAELI REACTION:

Foreign Ministry spokesman Alov Lavi stressed that the proposals are coming from a European think tank, and not from the European Union.

“We have no intention to respond to a research paper from one research institute or another,” Lavi said.

If labeling Jewish goods sounds darkly reminiscent, it does as well to Germany’s neo-Nazi groups, who have recently co-opted the country’s BDS movement.

But the neo-Nazis shouldn’t get all the attention — labeling goods from East Jerusalem is a brazen act of economic warfare from Europe, and one that violates the principles of the very peace process Europe claims to promote.

The 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians said merely that Jerusalem is a subject for final-status negotiations, not a “settlement.”

The European Union itself defines Jerusalem as a corpus separatum — a “separate body” whose status is subject to negotiation — rather than occupied territory.

More broadly, the drive to label Israeli merchandise has allowed Germany’s resurgent far-right to push its way to the front of the anti-Israel movement. Hmmmm.....It was never about Land, this is pure antisimitism. Read the full story here.

Henry Kissinger’s recent statement, that in 10 years Israel will cease to exist, borders on senile. Although one of his staff members denied it, Cindy Adams from New York Post insisted: “Reported to me, Henry Kissinger has stated — and I quote the statement word for word: ‘In 10 years, there will be no more Israel.’ ”....Hmmm....We're working on it.

EU delegation in 'moderate' Iran barred from speaking to foreign media.

EU delegation in 'moderate' Iran barred from speaking to foreign media. (ZN).

Tehran: An EU delegation was stopped Sunday from speaking to foreign media in Tehran, with an Iranian security official threatening action against reporters and photographers if they tried to film the incident.

Having called a press conference at their hotel in the capital, the plans of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament were disrupted, prompting an angry exchange on the street.

After being ushered off hotel premises, Elmar Brok, chairman of the committee, angrily told the security official: "You cannot stop me from talking to reporters."

But Brok, a German MEP, was pointedly warned he had no right to speak to media near the end of a two-day trip, which comes as world powers near a June 30 deadline for a deal on Iran`s disputed nuclear programme.

A crew from Press TV, Iran`s English language channel which is broadcast worldwide, was invited to interview Brok but he cancelled the engagement.

Foreign journalists were earlier told by a hotel manager that there was no permission for a press conference.

Photographers and video reporters were also warned by the security official that they would face repercussions if they used their equipment in any way.

The activities of foreign media in Iran, particularly Western outlets, are strictly controlled and subject to multiple regulations and restrictions by authorities.

Sunday`s incident occurred despite the group of seven EU lawmakers being invited to Tehran by their Iranian counterparts.

"This is an old behaviour which has nothing to do with the new politics of Iran," Brok later told AFP by telephone, alluding to hopes of better political relations if there is a nuclear deal. Hmmmm......'Old behavior, New Politics' sure just ask all those hanged lately by the new politics.......'genius'. Read the full story here.

Small act of resistance by female MEP @MarietjeSchaake visiting Tehran towards forced hijab angers Iranian hardliners pic.twitter.com/MbsK4IXPYh

— Saeed Kamali Dehghan (@SaeedKD) June 7, 2015

Iran parliament Speaker: Iran, EU[Rabia] to Benefit from Economic Cooperation.

Iran parliament Speaker: Iran, EU[Rabia] to Benefit from Economic Cooperation. (Fars).

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in a meeting with Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok in Tehran on Saturday called for further cooperation between Iran and the European countries.

"Iran-Europe economic cooperation serves the interests of both sides and consultations and talks between the Iranian and European parliamentarians can facilitate trade and economic exchanges… ," Larijani said.

He, meantime, pointed to the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers, and said, "We can strike a final agreement by adopting a logical outlook, avoiding excessive demands and new issues when drafting the text."

Brok, for his part, underlined the willingness of the European countries and businessmen to broaden their cooperation with Iran, and said, "Given the economic power and vast capacities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, there are many suitable grounds for strengthening mutual trade cooperation and European countries need trade with Iran in a bid to increase their trade corridors."

He also pointed to Iran-G5+1 nuclear talks, and said, "I hope that the two sides strike a final deal before the (July 1) deadline in order to see a boost in the level of friendly relations through the removal of the sanctions (imposed against Iran)."

A European Parliament delegation is in Iran on an official two-day visit to hold talks with the country’s authorities.

The eight-strong delegation, headed by Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, arrived in Tehran early Saturday.

In March, the European Commission's statistical office, Eurostat, reported that Iran's exports to the EU member states grew by 48% in 2014 compared to a year earlier.

Iran's exports to the EU member states rose from about €780 million ($842 million) in 2013, to over €1.16 billion ($1.25 billion) in 2014, showing a 48 percent growth.

Meanwhile, Iranian imports from the EU countries in 2014 rose only by 18% compared to 2013, and reached over €6.40 billion ($6.91 billion).

Iran and the EU states recorded over €7.56 billion (US$8.16 billion) in trade turnover in 2014, showing an increase by 21% compared to 2013.

The report also cited Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Lithuania, Sweden, Austria and England as Iran’s major trade partners in 2014, in descending order.

Germany, Italy, France and Belgium were the biggest exporters respectively, while Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Netherlands were the main importers of Iranian goods and services.Hmmm....Sorry Iranian 'resistance' but cheap Gas and Oil is more important than human rights in Eurabia.