Mousavi FB:

Former president, Mohammad Khatami who was talking in an award ceremony said that the word peace is one of the most emotional and soothing words there are which unfortunately only a small trace of it has been seen throughout the real history. Khatami emphasized that instead of giving out theories and fantasies one should note that the first and most important need of humanity is peace which unfortunately at the moment we are too far from it. He added that this peace is needed both in national scenes and in international ones. He continued that those who think of the humanity should try to expand peace and control violence seekers both in the national and international scenes as human can only in peace understand the meaning of life.

Azam Taleghani (the daughter of late Grand Ayatollah Taleghani): We cannot be silent in front of those who insult to people’s intelligence. Azam Taleghani, the daughter of late Grand Ayatollah Taleghani one of the founders of the Islamic Revolution, who spoke briefly during the commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the birthday of her father, late Grand Ayatollah Taleghani, said: “There should always be dialog going on in the society so that at the end the best idea for the benefit of the society gets selected.” She added: “We should be vigilant that this [Green] movement doesn’t turn to radicalism and if someone wants to pursue us toward violence and radicalism, we should leave their tricks fruitless.”

177 Nuclear Scientists for Human Rights in Iran

Reuters: Iran bars Karoubi son from traveling to UK: website

Iranian authorities prevented a son of prominent opposition figure Mehdi Karoubi from leaving the country for London and confiscated his passport, Karoubi’s website reported on Saturday.  The Sahamnews website said the passport of Mohammad Taghi Karoubi, a university professor, was seized at Tehran’s international Imam Khomeini airport on Friday without explanation. RFE: Mohammad Taghi Karrubi becomes the third of the reformist cleric’s sons to have been targeted by authorities since his unsuccessful bid to unseat hard-line President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in the June election.  Another Karrubi son, Hossein, has had his passport seized by Iranian authorities, and officials have revoked the license of a weekly magazine where he serves as managing editor, “Irandokht.”  Still another son, Ali Karrubi, was detained during rallies in February and was beaten and threatened with rape while in custody, according to his mother.

RFE:  Science Minister Says Antiestablishment Professors Will Be Fired

Iran’s Science Minister Kamran Daneshjou has said that academics who are not on the same side as the Iranian establishment will be dismissed from universities. Danesjou added that Iran’s universities need professors who are practically bound to the principle of “velayat faghih” (the rule of the supreme jurist) and to Islam. He said universities have no right to hire professors who don’t believe in velayat faghih.

RSF:  Press freedom violations recounted in real time (from 1st January 2010)

Atlantic:  The Iran Debate, Ctd

BW:  China Open to Backing Tougher UN Sanctions on Iran, Envoy Says

FP:  Congress hot to trot on Iran sanctions

GVF:  Travel ban on Karroubi son

The passport of Mahdi Karroubi’s second son Mohammad Taghi was confiscated at Imam Khomeini airport as he was about to board a plane to London. According to Saham news the nature of his visit was “academic.”Mohammad Taghi Karroubi who is a university professor, was planning to visit the UK to republish his book “Just or Unjust War: International Law and Unilateral Use of Armed Force by States at the Turn of 20th Century” and to finalise another book on international law which was due to be published in the future.Authorities have not provided a reason for the travel ban.Hossein Karroubi, Karroubi’s oldest son had already been banned from leaving the country.

GVF:  ‘Regime will pay a heavy price if Valian is executed’

The Office for Fostering Unity (Daftare Tahkime Vahdat) has issued a strong warning to the authorities of the Islamic Republic regarding the death sentence of a twenty-year-old student who was also a member of the organisation.

AFP:  US urges Iran to free death-row protester

Opposition websites said Wednesday that an appeals court confirmed a death sentence on 20-year-old Mohammad Amin Valian for “waging war against God” by throwing stones at security forces during December protests.”We find this disproportionate punishment deplorable and urge his immediate release,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a statement.

ICHR Iran:  Pressure on Mohammad Valian’s Family for Denying News of his Execution Sentence

While over the past few days several sources have published news of Mohammad Valian’s death sentence as the first case of its kind upheld by an appeals court, Valian family refrain from confirming the news. One of his Mohammad Valian’s classmates told International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that his family is under immense pressure to withhold interviews with the media and human rights organizations.

ILR:  Union Leaders Under Attack

Reports from Tehran indicate that union leaders from the bus drivers union are currently being targeted. The group Human Rights and Democracy Activists has reported on the court sessions for two of the Syndicate unionists on charges related to last year’s Mayday gathering. In addition, the syndicate has issued a statement on threats on Osanloo’s life in Karaj prison. On March 2, Homayoun Jaberi, a 33 years old member of the bus drivers labor syndicate, was called into the revolutionary court on charges stemming from his participation in the 2009 Mayday rally. He was charged with “plots against the security of the system” which he and his lawyer, Khorshidi, rejected.  Judge Mohammadi, speaking with a threatening tone, expressed remorse for not having given Mansour Osanloo a heavier sentence.

AFP:  New Iran rocket launch site shows N. Korea links: Jane’s

Iran is building a new rocket launch site a short distance from an existing complex and seems to be working with North Korea, information group IHS Jane’s said Friday.Construction visible from satellite imagery of the new site, near the city of Semnan east of Tehran, suggests that Iran has been collaborating with Pyongyang, said the London-based defence intelligence group.Iran unveiled the Simorgh (Phoenix) space-launch vehicle (SLV) on February 3 but has not publicly revealed the location of the rocket’s launch complex, it reported.

ILR:  Workers’ Protest in Isfahan

HRANA:  Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi Denied Issuing a Fatwa for Execution of Protesters

United4Iran:  What are the refugees’ expectations in Turkey? Eyewitness report

Gozaar: Women, the Victims of the Iranian Revolution

FP:  The Long Death of the Powell Doctrine

So what is the new Mullen Doctrine? For the chairman, the issue of whether the United States will employ military force has long been settled. The issue now is how the United States should apply its national power. Mullen summed up his views this way:

We must not look upon the use of military forces only as a last resort, but as potentially the best, first option when combined with other instruments of national and international power.

We must not try to use force only in an overwhelming capacity, but in the proper capacity, and in a precise and principled manner. And we must not shrink from the tug of war — no pun intended — that inevitably plays out between policymaking and strategy execution. Such interplay is healthy for the republic and essential for ultimate success.

The Mullen Doctrine accepts that every day for the foreseeable future, U.S. military forces will shoot at, or will be shot at, by somebody somewhere in the world. Given this seemingly permanent state of war, Mullen says that politicians, soldiers, and the public will need to engage in an open-ended discussion that will constantly adjust how the country employs its military forces.Mullen assumes that the public now accepts that low-level warfare is an enduring fact of life. If he is wrong about this, the Powell Doctrine could rise from the grave.

CFR:  Admiral Mullen’s Speech on Military Strategy, March 2010

AFP:  US sees ‘critical role’ for Japan on Iran

“Japan plays a very critical role on this question,” said Steinberg. “It’s a leader and a very strong voice in supporting a non-proliferation regime with a very strong commitment to dealing with the challenge of nuclear weapons.”

The Nation:  Obama, Iran and Iraq

CS Monitor:  Ahmed Chalabi emerges as key player in Iraq election after falling-out with US