Iran eyes change in Egypt and Saudi Arabia very differently

The Daily Star--If a foreign observer had been present in Tehran during the recent parliamentary elections in Egypt, he or she would have been surprised by the lack of enthusiasm displayed by the Iranian media. Given the importance of Egypt both as an Islamic state as well as perhaps the most important Arab state bordering Israel, one would have indeed expected the Iranian media to have been full of news and views about that country’s elections.

The elections, and more fundamentally Egypt as a regional power, are of course of immense importance to the Islamic regime. But the lukewarm coverage of that country’s elections reflected Tehran’s underlying problem with the important issue of a successor to President Hosni Mubarak – a problem broadly shared when it comes to Saudi Arabia, the second power in the region.

In its simplest form, the question is reduced to, “Who do the Iranian leaders wish to see succeed Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah?” Who, and why? None of the candidates or political rivals challenging Mubarak really appeals to the Iranian leaders. For years Mohamed ElBaradei, as director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was portrayed in Iran as “an American lackey and agent.”

The Egyptian secular opposition doesn’t appeal to Tehran either. A hardline Iranian newspaper close to the government cautioned “the Muslim people of Egypt not to be duped by the propaganda of decadent Western powers that are trying to replace the bankrupt Mubarak regime with yet another Western-inclined puppet.”

A newspaper with similar loyalties warned that the “Mubarak regime has expired … The Americans are seriously thinking of installing a new regime in that country. A regime [that], or for that matter a leader who, will have all the hallmarks of change, but will maintain the same old policy of serving the West and Zionism.” Such a description not only includes ElBaradei, but in a broader context involves practically every secular, liberal and Western-inclined potential successor to Mubarak.

This leaves us with the Islamic groups. But here too, the Iranian leaders are not content. The media coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood movement was not at all as positive as might have been expected. The reality is that Islamic Iran does not share a great deal of common ground with the Muslim Brotherhood. From the Shiite Iranian leaders’ perspective, the Muslim Brotherhood, in the final analysis, represents Sunni Islam and its adherence to “Sunnism” is both strong and deep-rooted.

Secondly, the Brotherhood, at least in Egypt, is not sufficiently anti-Western and, more importantly, anti-American. The Islam of the Sudanese leadership, Hamas or Hizbullah in Lebanon is much closer to what Iran favors. In short, none of the present opponents of Hosni Mubarak particularly appeals to Tehran. Continued…

Iranian truck drivers stay off roads as gas prices rise steeply

Washington Post -- Thousands of Iranian truck drivers began a second day of strikes Tuesday after a sharp increase in the price of diesel fuel, transportation company officials said, as the Obama administration announced a further tightening of economic sanctions intended to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.

The apparently spontaneous strikes in several cities were the first sign of public discontent since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government raised fuel prices Sunday as part of an elaborate plan to slash state subsidies in the coming weeks.

"At least half of all truck drivers in the country are on strike or not working," said Mohammad Arjmandi, a manager for a Tehran-based transportation company. Those who were working, he said, had raised their fees for transporting goods by nearly 40 percent.

Under the new plan, truck drivers will have to pay more than 20 times as much for diesel fuel, which has been heavily subsidized in Iran and is still extremely cheap by U.S. standards. Truckers can fill up their tanks once during the next month for the old price of $0.06 a gallon. But after that, they will have to pay $1.32 a gallon.

The price of non-diesel fuel is also going up, but less drastically, with a maximum price rise of 60 percent, to about $2.65 a gallon.

Although the government has stockpiled products such as rice, cooking oil and detergents to limit price increases, the strikes could paralyze Iran’s distribution system, which would spark a jump in demand - and prices. Continued…

Iran, Turkey boost ties despite Western pressure

AFP--Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad heads to Turkey on Thursday for a regional summit, as the two neighbours bolster ties in the face of international pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

Ahmadinejad will be accompanied by his new foreign minister and atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi on the visit, which comes before a second round of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers scheduled for late January in Istanbul.

Turkey has grown closer to the Islamic republic in recent years under the Islamist-rooted administration of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Ankara seeks to play a more influential role in the Middle East region.

Ankara has repeatedly called for sustained diplomacy to resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme, which the West, headed by the United States, suspect is masking a weapons drive.

Iran denies the charge and has pressed on with the atomic work in defiance of several UN Security Council resolutions demanding Tehran halt sensitive uranium enrichment work.

In June, Nato-member Turkey irked the United States by voting against fresh UN Security Council sanctions on Iran, insisting that a nuclear fuel swap deal it hammered out with Tehran, together with Brazil, should be given a chance.

Faced with increasing isolation by the West, Iran has sought to strengthen ties with Muslim countries and Salehi said last weekend that Tehran’s top priority will be to boost ties with regional powers Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

“Turkey is a powerful country with strategic position and shares common cultural and ideological grounds with Iran,” Salehi said as he officially took charge on Saturday.

Iran has also welcomed Turkey’s position on the Middle East conflict and its criticism of the Islamic republic’s arch-foe, Israel.

Turkey’s relations with the Jewish state remain strained over the death of nine Turks in a deadly May 31 Israeli raid on a flotilla of aid ships trying to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip.

In August, amid Western concerns of rapprochement between the two countries, Turkey removed Iran from a watch-list of nations it considers a specific threat to its national security.

In September, Erdogan called for closer economic ties with Iran and the two neighbours aim to boost bilateral trade, currently at about 10 billion dollars, to 30 billion dollars between 2013 and 2015.

Iran is reportedly seeking to expand its trade ties with Turkey in a bid to reduce the role of its major trade partner United Arab Emirates, which
has imposed banking restrictions on Iran following the last round of UN sanctions in June. Continued

UK concerned by Iran revision of ties

Press TV--A senior British Foreign Office official says Britain and Iran need to hammer out a clear diplomacy to resolve bilateral issues only through open and frank dialogue.

The official representative of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office told Trend news agency via e-mail “it is possible to solve the problems between Great Britain and Iran only through open and frank dialogue”.

The remarks are made at a time when Britain’s ambassador to Tehran has unexpectedly left for London for consultation citing the New Year’s holidays as the reason.

Iranian officials have criticized “impudent remarks” by Britain’s Ambassador to Tehran, Simon Gass, in recent weeks.

In his remarks posted on the website of the British Embassy in Tehran to mark the International Human Rights Day, Gass claimed he is critical of Iran’s human rights situation.

"The British government will continue to draw attention to cases in which people are deprived of their fundamental freedom", he claimed.

Gass’ remarks drew widespread condemnation from Iranian officials who dismissed his allegations as a clear example of interference in other countries’ internal affairs.

Members of Iranian Parliament or Majlis’ National Security and Foreign Policy Commission voted to sever all ties with the British government in response to the UK interventionist policies, Gass’ statement in particular.

"We are aware of the statement made by the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and that the Commission approved a bill that requires a complete break of ties, including political, cultural and economic relations with Great Britain”, the Foreign Office official said.

The developments, including summoning Gass for consultation, show British officials are panicked and concerned.

On the other hand, Iranian officials believe if the UK fails to enforce a clear shift in its anti-Iran policies, then bilateral political and economic relations would not serve the Islamic Republic’s national interests but Britain could only misuse the ties to hatch plots against the country.

The lawmakers voted for the motion to revise relations with the UK as a response to Britain’s interfering policies including plots to instigate unrest in Iran after last year’s presidential elections, British spying apparatus MI6’s involvement in recent terror blasts in Tehran as it was stipulated by MI6 chief John Sawers, and the impudent and insolent remarks made by the British envoy.