Video - "Global Anti-Semitism: A Threat to International Peace and Security." Brigitte Gabriel speaks on behalf of Israel

Ban Ki-moon: U.N. Will Investigate Israel's Targeting Of Its Schools During Gaza Conflict

Ban Ki-moon: U.N. Will Investigate Israel's Targeting Of Its Schools During Gaza Conflict. (forward).

The United Nations is preparing to investigate the targeting of its schools in Gaza during Israel’s recent operation in Gaza, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an Arabic newspaper.

Several United Nations workers were kicked in airstrikes on the schools, which were housing internally displaced Palestinians. Weapons were found by the U.N. to be stored by Gaza terror groups in at least three U.N. schools.

The investigation is separate from a U.N. Human Rights Council panel investigating possible war crimes committed by Israel during the 50 days of Operation Protective Edge, Ban told the London-base Arabic Al-Hayat newspaper.

Israel has said soldiers were responding to rocket fire emanating from next to or inside the schools’ yards.

The investigation would not begin until the end of the UNHCR investigation led by Canadian judge William Schabas.

Ban told the newspaper that he already told the Israelis about the future probe, which will look into “the killing and wounding of United Nations personnel and the destruction of its facilities and to hold accountable those responsible,” as well as to investigate the storage of weapons in some of these facilities.

NAM Approve Start of Joint Efforts with UN to Resolve Crisis in Syria.

NAM Approve Start of Joint Efforts with UN to Resolve Crisis in Syria.(Fars).

 Assad: "Any step taken by Iran to settle the problems in Syria is trustworthy and acceptable."

Speaking to reporters after a two-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the NAM member states, the Iranian foreign minister reminded the problems in Syria as a member of the bloc, and said, "The NAM troika and a remarkable number of other countries stated in a straightforward manner at the ministerial meeting that when other parties and international bodies have stepped into the Syrian issue, it would be wrong for the Non-Aligned Movement to stay aside."

"Therefore, it was recommended that the NAM troika step into this issue in cooperation with other international bodies, specially the UN which has taken good measures in this ground," he continued.

Salehi said the international grouping is required to deal with the crisis in Syria as a member state to help the country manage the present problems so that "the people of that country sustain the least harms and pressures".
Also, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed the necessity for resolving the Syrian crisis through non-military means, underlining that solution to the Syrian problem should be presented and accepted by the country's people and government.
Ahmadinejad, who made the remarks at a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Tehran on Wednesday, said, "Unfortunately, interferences in Syria are too many and we witness that certain states formally render support for the opposition to spread clashes."
He further blamed the trans-regional actors for aggravating conditions in a number of regional countries, and reminded the dire consequences of the western powers' intervention in a number of regional states, including Afghanistan.
The president further stated that Iran and India share identical stances on the Syrian issues, and said, "We all believe that the solution to the Syrian crisis should be non-military and rise from the will of the Syrian nation and government."
He said the ground should be paved for the Syrian government and the opposition to sit to the negotiating table and work out an "agreement over a mutually acceptable national political plan to end the present crisis".
"Our main concern is over the future of Syria, because this country is comprised of various peoples and all historical rifts and disagreements have now been provoked in this country and we are concerned that Syria might be stuck with domestic conflicts for a long period of time and, as is witnessed in a number of nations, these conflicts spread to Syria's neighbors," the Iranian president continued.
He further voiced Iran's readiness to start joint efforts to restore peace and tranquility in Syria, and mentioned, "I believe that the Non-Aligned Movement's capacity and umbrella provides a good opportunity for cooperation among the member states on Syria and for efforts to restore calm in that country."
Meantime, a senior Iranian legislator said after a meeting with the Syrian president in Damascus that Syrian President Bashar Assad has underlined his acceptance and support for any kind of plan presented by Iran for the settlement of the crisis in Syria,.
"Bashar Assad said that any step taken by Iran to settle the problems in Syria is trustworthy and acceptable," Chairman of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi told FNA on Wednesday.
Many regional states have underscored their support for Iran's plan for the settlement of the crisis in Syria, which calls for resolving the problems in the Arab country through talks between the Syrian government and the opposition and away from foreign interference."We welcome the plan but we should know that we don't have so much time," Tunisian Presidential Spokesman Adnan Mansar told FNA on the sidelines of the NAM ministerial meeting in Tehran on Tuesday. Read the full story here.

Iran's President Ahmadinejad Issues Permission for UN Chief's Visit to N. Facilities.

Iran's President Ahmadinejad Issues Permission for UN Chief's Visit to N. Facilities.(Fars). Salehi made the remarks on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) underway in Tehran on Wednesday. "UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's tour of Iran's nuclear sites has been planned, and the visit will be done in case of his personal willingness," Salehi told reporters here in Tehran on Wednesday.
He added that Iran has made the necessary arrangements for the NAM leaders' visit to different Iranian cities, including a tour of Natanz nuclear facilities, as well.
Ban Ki-moon arrived in Tehran minutes ago to attend the 16th heads-of-state summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and confer with Iranian officials on different regional and international developments. Earlier, Iranian officials had said that Ban Ki-moon will visit Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility on the sidelines of his presence at the Tehran summit. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for International Affairs Mehdi Akhoundzadeh told FNA that "the UN secretary-general will visit Isfahan province during his stay in Iran", while other sources said his presence in Isfahan will be aimed at a visit to the Natanz facility.
Meantime, participants in the NAM meeting in Tehran are due to go on a tour of Iranian nuclear sites and facilities on the sidelines of the gathering. Uranium enrichment has been a bone of contention in the nuclear raw between Iran and the US-led West in recent years. NAM, as the largest grouping of countries outside the United Nations which includes two-third of the world nations, has always stressed its support for Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, including enrichment.Read the full story here.

NAM - Iran’s democratic hypocrisy, putting the UN on trial?

NAM - Iran’s democratic hypocrisy, putting the UN on trial?(I24/7).The opening address of the 16th NAM conference taking place in Tehran confirmed suspicions that Iran intended to hijack the conference in order to promote her own agendas.
During his address, the Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi had called for “fundamental” changes in the UN structure and for the uplifting of the UN sanctions imposed upon Iran. These calls were clearly directed as an attempt to form a voting coalition composed of NAM member states in order to provide support for Iran in the upcoming UN general assembly in September.
Iran clearly has many issues with the UN:

• Economic: the current economic sanctions against Iran are based on UN resolutions and Iran is doing her best to rally it’s NAM allies to free itself from these sanctions by either selling its oil directly to other countries or by creating a voting coalition to drop the sanctions.
• Nuclear: after three rounds of talks between Iran and the IAEA, a UN organization, access for IAEA inspectors is still denied to certain sites and numerous key questions remain unanswered leading to growing suspicions that Iran’s nuclear program is meant for military and political purposes.
• Political: Iran makes it no secret that it believes that the UN is less than fair in its dealings with Iran through pressure by “colonialist-imperialist” countries such as the UN and EU countries.

It is therefore obvious that Iran wants to position NAM members with her against the UN. Ironically, Mr. Salehi stated that Iran’s support for restructuring the UN comes from concern for the democratic process within the UN.
Iranian parliamentarians said on Saturday that they want to meet Ban Ki-moon to ask him about his biased attitude towards certain global issues and developments, including human rights issues.
Speaking to FNA, member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Esmayeel Kosari expressed the hope that Ban Ki-moon would accept the invitation of the parliament's Human Rights Committee and join the committee members in a meeting on the sidelines of the upcoming conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran, adding that the meeting would be in the interest of both sides.

As regards the topic of the discussions, Kosari said, "We believe that Mr. Ban Ki-moon does not have a fair attitude towards international developments and his decisions are essentially biased. Therefore, we are willing to hear Mr. Secretary-General's explanations in this regard."
Chairman of the parliament's Human Rights Committee Hadi Shoushtari had also told FNA on Saturday that the Iranian legislature planned to invite Ban Ki-moon to take part in the meeting.

"We ask Ban Ki-moon to respond to a number of questions of the Iranian parliamentarians at a meeting with the Islamic Consultative Assembly's (parliament's) Human Rights Committee," Shoushtari told FNA.
Shoshtari said that the members of the Human Rights Commission are serious about the meeting with the UN chief as they have many shortcomings with regard to his behavior.
However, it seems that Iran’s concern for democratic processes is in stark contrast with her actions over the past decades and within the conference itself including a much publicized meeting with North Korean foreign minister Pak Ui-Chun.
Not only did Mr.Salehi not protest against North Korea’s undemocratic nature, but he actually declared Iran’s readiness for expanding bilateral relations between Iran and North Korea.
Iran’s dubious actions in supporting democracy do not end with the expressed intention of expanding bilateral relationships with North Korea, but also extend to the fact that during the conference Iran intends to host representatives from a further brutal dictatorship- Syria. Hosting representatives from the Syrian dictatorship is a direct continuation of Iran’s military and diplomatic efforts to help Assad regain control in Syria.
Indeed, it is interesting to note that the three countries (Iran, North Korea and Syria) are among the greatest oppressors of what Salehi himself had noted during his opening address as being one of the NAM’s “traditionally” important issues- human rights. While the Syrian regime continues the massacre of her own civilians and the North Korean regime bluntly ignores the hunger of hers, the Iranian regime not only suppresses the fundamental right of freedom of speech, holds political prisoners, derogates females, denies the right for a fair trial, but even, takes part in illegal excecutions.
It is at this point that one must ask- how can the UN general secretary Ban Ki-Moon and other leaders from democracy supporting countries allow themselves to attend a conference led, and attended by, the world’s greatest human rights oppressing countries?
How can these leaders, by their presence at the conference, support Iran’s agenda which tends to be wholly undemocratic, dismissive of human rights, war-mongering and definitely at odds with the UN.

Whether they realize it or not, it is finally time to choose sides for or against Iran simply because Iran leaves little leeway for other options. If Iran’s agenda materializes, history books in the future will be filled by the names of the leaders who passively or actively supported Iran by their presence, their votes or their military/financial support.Read the full story here.

Iran may grant access to suspected Parchin military base nuclear site.

Iran may grant access to suspected Parchin military base nuclear site.(JPost).DUBAI, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Iran indicated on Monday it might allow diplomats visiting Tehran for this week's Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit to inspect the Parchin military base, which UN nuclear experts say may have been used for nuclear-related explosives tests. When asked about the possibility, Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh said: "Such a visit is not customary in such meetings.... However at the discretion of authorities, Iran would be ready for such a visit," the Iranian government-linked news agency Young Journalists Club reported.
The tentative offer was made just three days after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) again requested access to Parchin for its inspectors at a meeting in Vienna. Iran is hosting the NAM summit, which ends on Friday, at a time when the West is trying to isolate the Islamic Republic over suspicions it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Tehran says its atomic program has only peaceful aims. Any visit to Parchin by NAM representatives would do little to calm Western concerns or those of the IAEA whose talks with the Iranians ended on Friday without agreement. 
The UN body suspects that Iran has conducted explosives tests in a steel chamber at Parchin relevant for the development of nuclear weapons, possibly a decade ago Iran says Parchin, a vast, sprawling complex southeast of Tehran, is a conventional military facility and has dismissed allegations about it as "ridiculous". Monday's Iranian media report did not make clear whether the NAM diplomats would be able to visit the location in Parchin which the IAEA wants to see or only other areas of the complex. Akhoundzadeh said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is due to attend the NAM summit later in the week, might be able to visit Iran's nuclear sites. "At the discretion of officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, there is also the possibility of a visit by the UN Secretary General to our country's nuclear centers," YJC quoted Akhoundzadeh as saying. He said Ban would visit Isfahan, but did not say whether he would go to a uranium-processing site near the Iranian city. UN officials were not immediately available for comment .Read the full story here.

Iranian MPs Invite UN Chief to Human Rights Debate, want to ask him about his biased attitude.

Iranian MPs Invite UN Chief to Human Rights Debate, want to ask him about his biased attitude.(Fars).TEHRAN - Iranian parliamentarians said they want to meet UN Chief Ban Ki-moon to ask him about his biased attitude towards certain global issues and developments, including human rights issues.Speaking to FNA, member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Esmayeel Kosari expressed the hope that Ban Ki-moon would accept the invitation of the parliament's Human Rights Committee and join the committee members in a meeting on the sidelines of the upcoming conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran, adding that the meeting would be in the interest of both sides. As regards the topic of the discussions, Kosari said,

"We believe that Mr. Ban Ki-moon does not have a fair attitude towards international developments and his decisions are essentially biased. Therefore, we are willing to hear Mr. Secretary-General's explanations in this regard." 

Chairman of the parliament's Human Rights Committee Hadi Shoushtari had informed FNA earlier today that the Iranian legislature plans to invite Ban Ki-moon to take part in the meeting. "We ask Ban Ki-moon to respond to a number of questions of the Iranian parliamentarians at a meeting with the Islamic Consultative Assembly's (parliament's) Human Rights Committee," Shoushtari told FNA. Shoshtari said that the members of the Human Rights Commission are serious about the meeting with the UN chief as they have many shortcomings with regard to his behavior. The UN secretary-general will attend the 16th heads-of-state conference of the NAM in Tehran next week despite the attempts made by the US and Israel to prevent his presence in the international event.Hmmmm............"Biased Attitude"?Read the full story here.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon to attend Nonaligned Movement summit in Iran despite Israel's opposition.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon to attend Nonaligned Movement summit in Iran despite Israel's opposition.(MG).Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will attend the summit of the Nonaligned Movement of mainly developing countries in Tehran next week despite strong opposition from Israel and Jewish groups outraged at Iran's calls for the destruction of Israel, the U.N. announced Wednesday. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Ban will participate in the Aug. 29-31 summit because he is determined to carry out his responsibilities to the 120-member organization and to raise directly with Iran's leaders the threat to Israel's existence, which violates the U.N. Charter's requirement that member states refrain from threatening other states. Ban also plans to convey the international community's expectations that Iran make urgent progress on issues including the country's controversial nuclear program, terrorism, human rights and the crisis in Syria, Nesirky said. He said Ban is "fully aware of the sensitivities" of the visit, but not going "would be a missed opportunity." 

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he called Ban and warned him that travelling to Iran "would be a horrible mistake." "To grant legitimacy, however unintentional, to a regime that openly calls for the elimination of another U.N. member state will stain you and the organization you lead," 

Netanyahu said. Jewish organizations, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center, B'Nai B'rith International, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, also urged Ban not to go. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said last week that Ban's participation in the Tehran summit would "not send a good signal." 
After the announcement Wednesday that Ban would go, she called on the secretary-general to put his visit to good use and "say directly to Iran's leaders what the international community's concerns are." The U.S. remains concerned that Iran "is going to manipulate this opportunity and the attendees to try to deflect attention from its own failings," Nuland said. "This is a country that is in violation of all kinds of U.N. obligations and has been destabilizing force." Iran's charge d'affaires at the U.N., Ambassador Eshagh Al Habib, sent a letter to the secretary-general Wednesday strongly condemning Israel's threats to attack Iran's nuclear facilities as a "flagrant violation" of the U.N. Charter and efforts to strengthen global peace. Al Habib said it is ironic that Western leaders and the U.N. Security Council have not reacted to "the inflammatory remarks and baseless allegations levelled against Iran's peaceful nuclear program." He reiterated that the Iranian government "has no intention to attack any other nations" but will not hesitate to act in self-defence if attacked.Read the full story here.

Arab League to hold emergency session on Syria massacre: Kuwait.

Warning Video Contains extremely graphic and violent images + 18.




Arab League to hold emergency session on Syria massacre: Kuwait.(AA)Arab League foreign ministers are to hold an emergency meeting on a massacre in Syria in which U.N. observers say government forces killed 92 people, the bloc’s current president Kuwait said on Sunday. “Kuwait will contact members of the Arab League to hold an emergency ministerial meeting to study the situation and take measures to put an end to the oppressive practices against the Syrian people,” said a foreign ministry statement cited by the official KUNA news agency. Kuwait has also made contacts at regional and international levels “to urge the international community to assume its responsibility to stop the bloodshed,” the ministry said. It strongly condemned the “brutal crime carried out by the Syrian regime forces in the town of Houla which resulted in the killing of dozens, most of them children and women.” UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan called Saturday for an urgent Arab League meeting, saying the “massacre shows the failure of Arab and international efforts to stop the violence against civilians in Syria.” The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, grouping Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, also urged the international community to “assume its responsibilities.” Hundreds of Kuwaitis including several MPs rallied outside the Syrian embassy on Saturday to condemn the massacre. The protesters demanded that the Kuwait government send arms to the rebel Free Syrian Army. The bloodied bodies of children, some with their skulls split open, were shown in footage posted to YouTube purporting to show the victims of the shelling in the central town of Houla on Friday. The carnage underlined just how far Syria is from any negotiated path out of the 14-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. “This morning U.N. military and civilian observers went to Houla and counted more than 32 children under the age of 10 and over 60 adults killed,” the head of U.N. team monitoring the ceasefire negotiated by former U.N. Secretary general Kofi Annan - which has yet to take hold - said. “The observers confirmed from examination of ordinances the use of artillery tank shells,” Major General Robert Mood said in a statement, without elaborating. “Whoever started, whoever responded and whoever carried out this deplorable act of violence should be held responsible.” Mood described the violence as “indiscriminate and disproportionate.”U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the deaths an “atrocity” and said Washington would work with the international community to heap pressure on “Assad and his cronies, whose rule by murder and fear must come to an end.” “Those who perpetrated this atrocity must be identified and held to account,” she said in a statement. Britain said it was in urgent talks with allied countries on “a strong international response” while France said it was making plans to host a “Friends of Syria” meeting in the wake of the latest deadly violence. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was “appalled by the reports of the brutal massacre” and called on the Syrian regime to immediately cease all forms of violence and to abide by Annan’s peace plan. She said she would talk with the former U.N. chief on Sunday to affirm Europe’s support and would urge the U.N. Security Council members “to remain seized of the matter.” “The international community must continue to speak with one voice, demanding an end to the bloodshed and urging Assad to step aside and allow a democratic transition,” Ashton said. In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded “the government of Syria immediately cease the use of heavy weapons in population centers.” Activists said Assad’s forces shelled the town of Houla evening after security forces killed a protester and following skirmishes between troops and rebels fighters. A British-based opposition group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Houla residents fled, fearing more shelling. It said one person was killed in the northern town of Saraqeb when troops fired on a protest against the killing. Syrian state television aired some of the footage disseminated by activists after the killing in Houla, calling the bodies victims of a massacre committed by “terrorist” gangs. It also showed video of bodies with what looked like gunshot wounds to the head, sprawled on bloodstained mattresses.Read the full story here.