Rafsanjani Urges Insightful Efforts to Stop Religious Extremism in Region.

Rafsanjani Urges Insightful Efforts to Stop Religious Extremism in Region.(IIT)

Chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in a meeting with Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek in Tehran on Sunday, urged sagacious religious leaders to prevent extremists from fueling tensions and sparking sectarian wars in the region, specially in the Muslim countries.

Rafsanjani pointed to the recent developments in the regional Muslim nations, and said, “Sagacious leaders should not allow extremists, specially the Salafis, to disturb people’s everyday life and living under religious pretexts.”

Rafsanjani also pointed to the political developments in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and other parts of the Muslim World, and said, “It is regrettable that these extremists are publicized as Islam’s voice in the world, while Islam is the religion of brotherhood, equality and respect for others’ beliefs and rights.”

The Turkish parliament speaker, for his part, voiced concern over the actions taken by radical groups to impair the relations between states and people, and said extremists have blocked the path of the regional Arab nations to democracy.

“A political winter has overwhelmed many countries and extremist groups do not let the sun of moderation shine for the Arab Spring in the sky of the governments’ political will.”

Earlier this year, former Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi also issued a stern warning against the spread of a new wave of Islamophobia by the West and through its support for extremist and Takfiri groups, including the al-Qaeda, in Muslim countries.

“The West has created several radical groups under different names such as Takfiri, al-Qaeda, … in Muslim countries to portray Islam as a radical religion to the international community and propagate Islamophobia,” Salehi said, addressing a press conference in Tehran in August.
Salehi underlined that the arrogant powers are trying hard to spread Islamophobia throughout the world.Hmmm......Moderates yeah sure.

Putin Lashes Out, Accuses Kerry Of Lying To Congress.

Putin Lashes Out, Accuses Kerry Of Lying To Congress.HT: Zero Hedge

Ahead of tomorrow's ever-so-friendly G-20 meeting in St. Petersburg - where the US Secretary of State hopes that "the Kremlin has a change of heart," - Russia's President Putin just raised the rhetoric. As Reuters reports:

PUTIN ACCUSES U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY OF LYING TO CONGRESS ABOUT AL QAEDA'S ROLE IN SYRIA CONFLICT

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN SAYS U.S. CONGRESS HAS NO RIGHT TO "LEGITIMISE AGGRESSION" AGAINST SYRIA

With the Moskva sailing into the Med along with many many others, it seems as Obama just admitted during his Sweden press conference, [on Putin:] "We've kinda hit a wall on additional progress"

Related:

Russia releases key findings on chemical attack near Aleppo indicating similarity with rebel-made weapons.

Syria’s Game of Thrones: Obama backs Al Qaida and the Chechen terrorists.

Syria’s Game of Thrones: Obama backs Al Qaida and the Chechen terrorists. HT: Ben Swann

From 1979 to 1989, the Soviet Union was involved in a long, drawn out war in Afghanistan which came to be known as “Russia’s Vietnam.” At the time, the US was backing anti Russian forces in the country. Those forces – collectively known as the Mujahideen – were fighting against the pro-Soviet Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
One of the main leaders of the Mujahideen was Osama Bin Laden – originally from a wealthy Saudi Arabian family – and were ultimately successful in toppling the government. They didn’t, however, form a new government right away, and ultimately the Pakistan and Saudi-backed Taliban were able to seize control. These radical groups backed Bin Laden’s attack on the US in September 11, prompting the US to enter a near-decade-long war in the country.
Unfortunately, it seems that neither Russia nor the US has learned much from history, and the geopolitical conflicts of the Cold War have shifted almost entirely to the Middle East. Russia’s control over Europe’s oil supply gives the country a substantial amount of influence in that region, but the oil comes from the Middle East, making it the strategically relevant region of the 21^st century.
The difference between the Middle East and the former battleground of Eastern Europe, though, is that in the 1940s, Eastern Europe had no strong regional powers. The empires which had previously dominated the region had disintegrated, and no one had replaced them. The Middle East, however, does have its own strong regional players.
The Saudis and Iranians are vying for control over the Middle East, and each support different sets of regional forces. The Saudis are allied with the USA, while Iran is backed by Russia and China; the Saudis support Al Qaida, and Iran supports Hezbollah. The Saudis support the rebel forces – much as they did in Afghanistan – while Iran’s alliance is with Syria’s current leader, Bashar Hafez al-Assad.

It’s in this context that recent reports of Saudi-Russian negotiations have emerged. In a recent meeting with Vladimir Putin, Prince Bandar bin Sultan tried to urge the Russian President to withhold support from Assad’s regime. The Saudi Prince and intelligence leader reportedly offered Putin a multi-billion dollar arms deal, as well as guaranteed continued control over Europe’s oil supply.

Russia declined, but Russian and Lebanese reports have detailed other alleged incentives from Saudi Arabia. Russia’s relationship with Syria gives it a warm-water naval base on the Mediterranean, and Bandar promised to safeguard that even if Assad is removed from power. He also issued threats, according to those sources, including threatening the Russian Olympics next year.
“The Chechen groups which threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,” he said, adding that “We use them in the face of the Syrian regime, but they have no role or influence in Syria’s political future.” He said this to assuage any potential Russian concerns over helping the Chechen terrorists who have killed so many Russian civilians.

It’s worth noting that, as America backs the Saudis, and they back Al Qaida and the Chechen terrorists, through its relationship with the House of Saud, America is actually helping to fund terrorism against both Russia and itself. 

The moral implications are far greater than any inaction in Syria. Involvement in Syria will support Saudi Arabia more than it does anyone else in the region, or indeed the world.

The Russians have every right to be skeptical of the Saudis, just as the US has every right to be skeptical of Iran.
Unlike Eastern Europe, the Russian-American geopolitical games in the Middle East will have no positive impact on the region or its people. Both countries are acting as mere pawns for regional empires with no moral conviction in their relations with other nations, or even toward their own citizens. To support either is shortsighted and actively detrimental, and could easily lead to more of the long, drawn out conflicts both Russia and America have experienced in the region.

Russia releases key findings on chemical attack near Aleppo indicating similarity with rebel-made weapons.

Russia releases key findings on chemical attack near Aleppo indicating similarity with rebel-made weapons.HT: RussiaToday. 

 Probes from Khan al-Assal show chemicals used in the March 19 attack did not belong to standard Syrian army ammunition, and that the shell carrying the substance was similar to those made by a rebel fighter group, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

A statement released by the ministry on Wednesday particularly drew attention to the “massive stove-piping of various information aimed at placing the responsibility for the alleged chemical weapons use in Syria on Damascus, even though the results of the UN investigation have not yet been revealed.”


By such means “the way is being paved for military action” against Damascus, the ministry pointed out.

But the samples taken at the site of the March 19 attack and analyzed by Russian experts indicate that a projectile carrying the deadly nerve agent sarin was most likely fired at Khan al-Assal by the rebels, the ministry statement suggests, outlining the 100-page report handed over to the UN by Russia.

Details to follow.

Syrian regime warning Turkey and Jordan it would strike back in retaliation.

Syrian regime warning Turkey and jordan it would strike back in retaliation.(HD).

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad has warned Turkey to “think twice” before participating in a probable U.S.-led operation in Syria, saying the regime would strike back in retaliation.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, al-Mekdad said Damascus would strike back at Turkey along with Israel and Jordan if they took part in an operation against his country.

“We believe that any attack against Syria will definitely result in chaos in the entire region, if not beyond,” he said. He also said the regime was seeking dialogue and reconciliation with the U.S., while calling called on the Congress, which is currently considering a military strike, to “exercise wisdom,” warning that any attack against Syria would have grave consequences in the entire region.

The deputy foreign minister confirmed that the regime had been supplied up to now with Russian arms. “We have been supplied until this minute with Russian arms to defend ourselves,” al-Mekdad said.

In Ankara, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated Sept. 4 that Turkey would take part in any international coalition against Syria, but stopped short of saying whether that would include military action.

“We have said that we are ready to take part in any kind of coalition and we perceive this as a coalition of volunteers,” Erdoğan said without elaborating, shortly before leaving for the G-20 meeting in St. Petersburg.Hmmm.....Perhaps that's the whole idea, so that NATO can be dragged in?Since Turkey is willing to fight till the last American soldier.

Video - Iranian Official: Attacking Syria Will Lead to New Vietnam War against U.S., Israel, and Allies.

Video - Iranian Official: Attacking Syria Will Lead to New Vietnam War against U.S., Israel, and Allies.

Putin warns against military action against Syria, bypassing UNSC, if international law being violated will deliver S-300 systems

Putin warns against military action against Syria, bypassing UNSC, if international law being violated will deliver S-300 systems.HT: RussiaToday.

Speaking to journalists from Russia’s state Channel 1 television and Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a number of decisive statements regarding the supposed use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, which evoked a threat of a US-led strike on Syria.
“We believe that at the very least we should wait for the results of the UN inspection commission in Syria,” Putin said, adding that so far there is no information about what chemical agent exactly was used in the attack in Damascus’ suburbs and who did it.
“I’ve already said I find it absolutely ridiculous that [Syrian] government’s armed forces, which today are actually on an offense mission and in some regions have already encircled the so-called rebels and are finishing them off, that the Syrian army has used prohibited chemical weapons,” Putin said.

“They know all too well that this could become a cause for sanctions and even for a military operation against them. That’s stupid and illogical.”
“We proceed from the assumption that if anyone has information that chemical weapons were used by the Syrian regular army, then such proof must be presented to the UN Security Council and the UN inspectors,” Putin said, stressing that the proof must be “convincing” and not based on “rumors” or any sort of “eavesdropped intelligence data,” conversations etc.

“Even in the US there are experts who question the reliability of the facts presented by the administration. These experts do not exclude the possibility that the Syrian opposition has conducted a pre-planned provocation in order to give their sponsors a reason for military intervention,” he acknowledged.
Putin says he “does not exclude” that Russia may agree with a military operation if it is proved that the Syrian government is behind the attack, however he emphasized that in accordance with international law a decision of the UN Security Council is needed for that.
“All other reasons and means that excuse using military force against an independent sovereign state are unacceptable and cannot be classified otherwise but as an aggression,” Putin noted.
“We would be convinced by a detailed investigation and direct evidence of who exactly used chemical weapons and what substances were used. Then we’ll be ready to take decisive and serious action,” said the president.
Answering a question about video records of dead children that allegedly died in the chemical attack in Damascus, Vladimir Putin called the material with dead children “horrible”.
“The questions are what exactly was done and who is to blame. This video does not answer these questions,” Putin said, sharing an opinion that this video is a compilation made by the militants who – even the US acknowledges – have links with Al-Qaeda and are notorious for extreme atrocities.
Putin recommended to pay attention to the fact that in the video with dead children there are no parents, children’s relatives or even medical personnel, while people who do appear in the video remain unidentified. However terrible the picture could be, it cannot be proof of anybody’s guilt, Putin said, and called for investigation of the incident.
Russia is fulfilling arms contracts with Syria “because we believe that we are working with the legitimate government and we are violating neither international law, nor our obligations,” assured Putin, stressing that the UN had imposed no sanctions on the export of weapons to Syria.
He confirmed that Moscow has a signed contract with Damascus to deliver S-300 air defense missile complexes to Syria. The S-300 system is kind of outdated, said Putin, “though they might be a little better than Patriot missiles.”
Russia already has deployed S-400 and forthcoming S-500 systems, “[and] these are all certainly very efficient weapons,” Putin noted.

“We have a contract to supply S300 missiles, and we’ve already supplied some parts, but not all of it, because we decided to suspend the supplies for a while. But if we see international law being violated, we will reconsider our future actions, including supplies of such sensitive weapons to certain regions of the world,” he promised.

Iran's IRGC general: U.S., western states cause crisis on 4 key issues in region.

Iran's IRGC general: U.S., western states cause crisis on 4 key issues in region.(Taz).

The U.S. and other western states are causing crisis on four key issues in the region, Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said, Fars news agency reported.

Salami outlined the mentioned four key issues as - Islam, energy, geopolitics and security of Israel.

He went on to note that the U.S. is creating a structurized strategy on these four issues in the region.

Speaking about the Syrian crisis, Salami underscored that military solutions are not the way to solve the issue.

Salami noted that the United States, the Israeli regime and their regional allies have failed to reach their long-term objectives in the Middle East despite utilization of all their strategies.

Salami cautioned US and Western policymakers and security advisers that war on Syria will be "a very dangerous game", stressing that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict and that Israel must reconsider its security strategies.

"War is never profitable. The U.S. must realize that if it decides to attack Syria, the spirit of Jihad among Muslims would increase," Salami underscored.

Some Western countries as well as Turkey have already supported intervention in Syria following another escalation of the situation there. On August 21, media outlets reported a large scale deployment of chemical weapons near Damascus by Syrian Government Troops. Over 600 people were the victims of the attack.

Earlier the US president declared that the use of chemical weapon is a 'red line' for the Assad regime. Media outlets also reported preparations of the Navy and Air Force of these countries to begin intervention.

Clashes between the government forces and armed opposition have been continuing in Syria for over two years.

According to UN statistics, the total number of victims of the conflict in Syria is more than 100,000 people. The Syrian authorities say they are opposed by well-armed militants.

Video - OBAMA'S WAR GAMES.

Video - OBAMA'S WAR GAMES.Ezra Levant breaks down US President Barack Obama's dangerous fumbling of the march to war with Syria. HT: SunNewsNetwork.

Intercepted Hezbollah phone conversation: "Assad lost his nerves and ordered the chemical weapons attack."

Intercepted Hezbollah phone conversation: "Assad lost his nerves and ordered the chemical weapons attack."HT: Spiegel.

Germany Offers Clue in Search for Truth in Syria. By Matthias Gebauer

Germany has said in no uncertain terms that it will not participate in a strike on Syria without the backing of the United Nations Security Council. But the country's foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), agrees with the US position which holds Syrian President Bashar Assad responsible for the poison gas attacks near Damascus on Aug. 21. In a secret briefing to select lawmakers on Monday, BND head Gerhard Schindler said that while there is still no incontestable proof, analysis of the evidence at hand has led his intelligence service to believe that Assad's regime is to blame.

During his 30-minute presentation, Schindler offered up scenarios to explain why the Assad regime resorted to chemical weapons use, including, he said, the possibility that Assad sees himself involved in a crucial battle for Damascus. The city is besieged by rebel groups, with particular pressure coming from the east. Schindler believes it is possible that the regime ordered the use of poison gas as a way of intimidating the rebels. It could also be the case that errors were made in mixing the gas and it was much more potent than anticipated, he said.
The analysis presented by the BND is similar to that produced by the US. The American report holds that the poisonous gas was delivered via several small missiles that can be fired from mobile launch units. Casings found at the scenes of the gas attacks indicate that they were 107 mm rockets, which the regime possesses in large numbers. Schindler emphasized that the rebels are unable to carry out such a concerted attack.

Schindler also presented an additional clue, one that has not thus far been made public.

He said that the BND listened in on a conversation between a high-ranking member of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which supports Assad and provides his regime with military assistance, and the Iranian Embassy. The Hezbollah functionary, Schindler reported, seems to have admitted that poison gas was used. He said that Assad lost his nerves and made a big mistake by ordering the chemical weapons attack.Read the full story here.

Related:

Video - Iranian Expediency Council Chairman Rafsanjani: Syrians Were Bombed with Chemicals by Their Own Government.

Video - Iranian Expediency Council Chairman Rafsanjani: Syrians Were Bombed with Chemicals by Their Own Government.

Iranian Expediency Council Chairman Rafsanjani: Syrians Were Bombed with Chemicals by Their Own Government.

Following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of the Iranian Expediency Council, on August 29, 2013, and posted on the Internet on September 2.

Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani: Our current problems are real problems. We are besieged, under sanctions and boycott. We cannot use our resources, we cannot sell our oil, and if we do sell it, we cannot get the money transferred to us. If we buy anything, we must pay extra. We must pay extra in order to have the money transferred to us.

We have many problems, and recently, we are witnessing even greater danger. You watch the news, so you see that the U.S., the West in general, and some Arab countries have just about declared war on Syria. Any moment now, we will hear the sound of rockets and bombs. May God have mercy on the Syrian people.

Over the past two years, the Syrian people have suffered greatly. Over 100,000 people have been killed, and there are eight million refugees, within and outside Syria. The prisons are crammed full and there is no more room, so they have seized a few stadiums to fill them up too.

The Syrian people are experiencing harsh conditions. On the one hand, they are bombed with chemicals by their own government, and on the other hand, they can expect American bombs.Source: Memri. More here.

Disqualified ex-president Rafsanjani slams Iranian authorities, calls them "narrow minded".

Disqualified ex-president Rafsanjani slams Iranian authorities, calls them "narrow minded".(TI).

Iran's former president Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has recently slammed the Iranian authorities, after he was not permitted to participate in the upcoming presidential elections in the country, opposition website Kalemeh reported.

"The Iranian authorities are narrow minded. Those who voted for my disqualification lack knowledge of the current situation in the country, and I don't know where they're going with this kind of approach," the former president said during the meeting with his supporters.

He went on to say that there are plans under discussion in the U.S. aimed at separating Azarbaijan and Sistan & Baluchestan provinces from Iran, and mentioned that the U.S. wants to support Israel in case of strikes on Iran, because of the nuclear dispute.

The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.

"The authorities of Iran don't know about these processes, they are unaware of the situation that is going to get worse," Rafsanjani said, adding that the UK and the U.S. are waiting for the results on the elections in Iran.

Rafsanjani noted that Iran is experiencing economic crisis under the paralysing sanctions, which damage industries and agriculture. He noted that Iran currently has a 30 percent inflation level and the 50 percent-drop in national currency value.

Rafsanjani was a speaker of the Iranian parliament for 10 years, then served 8 years as country's president, and is currently the head of the Expediency Council of Iran.

He was not qualified by the Guardian Council of Iran to participate at the upcoming presidential elections in the country.

After the news became public, the immediate negative reaction followed, mostly by the family members of the family of Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with whom Rafsanjani was close.

"I didn't have any desire to participate in the elections, and I told that to Supreme Leader Khamenei clearly, before the registration," Rafsanjani underscored. "However the demands from both clerics and ordinary people made me submit my candidacy."

Iran will hold the 11th presidential election on June 14, 2013.

The voters will select the successor of the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is not able to participate in the elections for the third term according to the country's constitutional laws.

The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election and the Guardian Council vets the candidates for qualifications.Read the full story here.

Video - Supporters of Rafsanjani and Khatami in a rally minutes after Rafsanjani declared his candidacy to run for president.

Reformists Line Up Behind Rafsanjani.HT: (UOI).The move is expected to have a ripple effect on a large field of candidates who have registered to run:

• The moderate and reformists candidates will be expected to withdraw in favor of Rafsanjani. They include Hassan Rouhani, Mostafa Kavakebian, Mohammad Reza Aref, Mohammad Shariatmadari and Masoud Pezeshkan.
• The fragmented field of the ‘principlists’ (conservatives) is also expected to shrink significantly in search of a unity candidate able to challenge Rafsanjani. The Coalitions of Three and Five, representing traditional conservatives, are expected to untie behind a single candidate. Most likely Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf or Ali Akbar Velayati. The more fundamentalist groups, considered close to ultraconservative Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, are likely to unite behind Saeed Jalili. It is, however, not likely nor expected that the two principlist camps could field one single candidate, raising the prospect of a split in conservative votes in the first round of the election. 


• The pro-Ahmadinejad forces will support Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie if he is candidacy is cleared by the Guardian Council. The principlists, who control the Guardian Council, will have a difficult choice to make in the five-day vetting period: If they disqualify Mashaie, his supporters, especially the young, will likely rally behind Rafsanjani, weakening the prospects of the principlist candidate(s). If they don’t disqualify Mashaie, against all their ideological and political instincts, they would assure the split of anti-principlist votes between Rafsanjani and Mashaie, strengthening their own prospects. The unspoken factor in the election will be the role of the imprisoned leaders of the Green Movement: Rafsanjani would need the votes of the youths to seal his victory over principlists, and Mousavi and Karroubi’s support will be key here. However it’s not clear how openly he would seek their endorsements, considering the complications it could create for him with Khamenei and the establishment.

Read the full story here.

Kerry: I Will Implement 'President Obama's Vision For The World'. 

Rafsanjani to Run for President

Rafsanjani to Run for President.HT: UskowiOnIran.By Nader Uskowi.

Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani today registered to run for another term as president in the 14 June election. The long-anticipated decision came only minutes before the deadline.

Rafsanjani will now be the frontrunner in the race and his entry would change the composition of the race significantly. The ‘principlist’ (conservative) groups who have fielded a number of candidates are now expected to attempt uniting behind a single candidate capable to challenge Rafsanjani. The name most discussed is Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 78 years old, has served as president of Iran for eight years (1989-1997); as speaker of Majlis for nine years (1980-1989) and was the de facto commander-in-chief of the Iranian armed forces during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). He is currently the chairman of the Expediency Council. A new Rafsanjani presidency would be seen as the complete repudiation of eight years of hardline policies championed by Ahmadinejad and a new beginning to bring normalcy to the country’s economy and its foreign relations.