Armenian Groups Slam University For Honoring Ahmadinejad

OCTOBER 29, 2007
JTA Wire Service
Ben Harris
New York

Armenian Americans slammed the decision by a university in the Armenian capital of Yerevan to honor Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ahmadinejad during a state visit to Armenia last week was presented with a gold medal and an honorary doctorate Monday from Yerevan State University.

An editorial in the Armenian weekly, the house organ of the Armenian National Committee of America, condemned the university, noting that Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier who has disregarded historical research.

"The university's decision to bestow an honorary doctorate is simply unacceptable," the editorial said. "We are surprised that as the officials in charge of the alma mater of a nation that rose from the ashes of another genocide, they did not take this fact into consideration before deciding to award the honorary degree."

Ahmadinejad's visit came as Armenian Americans and their supporters continued to press for a resolution in Congress recognizing the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Turkey as genocide.

Part of their campaign has focused on the Anti-Defamation League, which initially refused to use the word genocide to describe the killings but backtracked amid opposition from its leadership in the Boston area -- home to one of the highest concentrations of Armenians in the country. The ADL called the massacre of Armenians "tantamount to genocide."

Despite the shift the ADL, along with other major U.S. Jewish groups, continue to oppose a congressional resolution out of concern for its impact on Turkish ties with Israel and the United States. Consequently, the Armenian activists' campaign against the ADL has not eased.

A Web site, No Place For Denial, continues to accuse the ADL of genocide denial, alleging that its statements on the subject have been ambiguous, a charge the ADL denies. The continuing momentum has led several communities in the Boston area to end their partnerships with a highly regarded anti-bigotry program sponsored by the ADL.

Dikran Kaligian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America's Eastern Region, rejected the suggestion to mount a similar campaign against Yerevan State University, asserting that such a comparison was "apples and oranges."

The proper analogue to the ADL, Kaligian said, is not Yerevan State but ANCA, which is the largest Armenian grass-roots organization in the United States. The organization is an affiliate of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, an international political party founded in 1890.

Kaligian said ANCA has never taken an ambiguous position on the Holocaust. The ADL, by contrast, has endorsed a proposal for Armenia and Turkey to form a joint commission to arrive at a resolution of the issue, a step Armenians adamantly reject.

"The ANCA has never called for further study of the Holocaust," Kaligian said. "That's the analogy you have to make, and I think we've been very clear on it."

Both Kaligian and Sevag Arzoumanian, who runs No Place for Denial, agree that it was appropriate for Ahmadinejad to be invited to Armenia, a landlocked country that depends on good relations with its neighbors for trade and energy. But they said bestowing an academic honor was one step too far.

In an e-mail to JTA, Arzoumanian wrote, "How can Yerevan State University give an academic degree, however symbolic, to someone who takes the intellectually dishonest position that there needs to be further research and academic conferences to determine if the Holocaust occurred? What were they thinking? I think the YSU made a terrible error of judgment, both academically and morally."

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Ahmadinejad Cuts Short Armenia Visit

Tuesday October 23, 2007 11:31 AM
Guardian Unlimited, UK

By AVET DEMOURIAN
Associated Press Writer

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cut short his two-day visit to Armenia on Tuesday and returned to neighboring Iran, an Armenian presidential spokesman said.

The Armenian government had expected Ahmadinejad to address parliament and, in what was likely to cause controversy, plant a sapling at a memorial commemorating the victims of what Armenians consider genocide.

He also had planned to visit the 18th century Blue Mosque in central Yerevan, which was rebuilt with Iranian funding after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

[...]

The visit to the genocide memorial was the most sensitive part of his agenda, and he may have wanted to avoid the ceremony there so as not to risk causing tensions in relations with Turkey.

[...]

Ahmadinejad avoided taking sides on the issue Monday in a speech before Armenian university students, saying only that Iran condemns any crimes against humanity.

He has caused outrage in the past by suggesting that the Holocaust is a ``myth'' invented by Jews. An estimated 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Iran's Ahmadinejad praises growing ties with neighbour Armenia

22 October 2007

This is confusing. Israel sides with Turkey which denies the Armenian genocide and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits the Armenian Genocide Memorial and denies the Jewish Holocaust. Go and figure. Will this world come to its senses?

YEREVAN (AFP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday praised growing economic and political cooperation with Armenia, shoring up closer ties with the ex-Soviet republic on Iran's northern border.

"We consider our neighbourly relations with Armenia to be very important and a means of strengthening security and stability" in the region, Ahmadinejad said after meeting his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharian, on the first day of a two-day visit here.

[...]

Ahmadinejad, who has caused outrage by saying the Holocaust is a "myth," was scheduled on Tuesday to visit a memorial to victims of the Ottoman massacres of Armenians between 1915 and 1917.

[...]

Ahmadinejad was also scheduled Tuesday to visit Yerevan's Blue Mosque and to meet with members of the Iranian community here.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

There are no reasons for USA to worry about Armenia-Iran deepening cooperation

19.06.2007
PanARMENIAN.Net

There are no reasons for the United States to worry about Armenia-Iran deepening cooperation, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian stated to journalists on Tuesday commenting on U.S. Charge d’Affaires Anthony Godfrey’s statement. “Our relations with all countries, and particularly with our neighbors have always been transparent. There are no reasons for the USA to worry about Armenia-Iran deepening cooperation,” the minister said.

According to the Armenian FM Armenia and the United States have established active dialog in economic, political and security issues. Oskanian assured that Armenia does not have any problems in the relations with the USA, including in the relations with Iran, “Novosti-Armenia” reports.

On June 15 U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Armenia Anthony Godfrey stated in Yerevan that the United States is concerned over the development of cooperation between Armenia and Iran. Godfrey noticed the USA calls on the Armenian government to assist Washington and the international community in the process of convincing Iran of the necessity to fulfill its international commitments.

! Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to «PanARMENIAN.Net».

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Washington concerned over Yerevan-Tehran relationship development

15.06.2007

YEREVAN (YERKIR) - The U.S. is concerned about expansion of relations between Armenia and Iran, said Anthony Godfrey, U.S. Charge d’Affairs in Armenia.

“The U.S. informed the Armenian authorities of the issue. We welcome the fact that Armenia builds its relations by the principle of transparency and announces about further development of relationships with Iran,” he said adding that the U.S. administration seeks to convince Armenian authorities “to urge Iran to stand by commitments to the international community.”

When touching upon Vladimir Putin’s proposal on joint use of the Gabala radar station, Mr Godfrey noted “it’s hard to say whether the program will become a part of the united system or not,” PanARMENIAN.Net reported, citing IA Regnum.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Another theater for US-Iran fallout: the South Caucasus

May 21, 2007
Christian Science monitor
By Nicole Itano Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor


Armenia, an ally of both countries, shows how tensions between the two could upset the region's diplomatic balancing act.


ARMENIA - In late March, as the United Nations Security Council debated whether to increase sanctions against Iran over that country's refusal to halt its nuclear program, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Armenian counterpart met near the border of the two countries to inaugurate a new pipeline bringing Iranian natural gas to fuel Armenian cities.

Lighting a symbolic flame, Armenian President Robert Kocharian called the ceremony "evidence of our friendship." But it's a relationship some of Armenia's other friends – particularly the US – wish weren't quite so cozy.

As tensions between Iran and the West approach a boiling point, Armenia is finding it increasingly difficult to negotiate the often conflicting alliances in its complicated neighborhood. Its precarious position illustrates the potentially destabilizing consequences of a Western standoff with Iran on not only the Middle East, but the South Caucasus as well.

More than 15 years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the fragile region remains politically volatile. A number of unresolved conflicts – over the breakaway regions of Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia – still poison relations between neighbors.

Those local tensions have been amplified by new global focus on the region that has placed the countries at a nexus of competing interests. Russia, the US, the European Union, Turkey, and Iran all claim important economic or political stakes in the region.

Armenia faces a choice: Iran or the US?

Keeping good relations with Iran is vital for Armenia, a small, landlocked country. Its main borders – with Turkey and Azerbaijan – are closed, and the country is still in a state of cold war with neighboring Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, an unrecognized ethnically Armenian state that is still legally part of Muslim Azerbaijan.

But the US is Armenia's main donor and the only one which currently funds humanitarian assistance in Karabakh. Over the next five years, Armenia is also slated to receive $235 million in aid through President Bush's flagship international development program, the new Millennium Challenge Account.

Armenia's outgoing foreign minister, Vartan Oskanian, says Armenia's allies understand its difficult position. But he also acknowledges that, as tensions rise, there is increasing pressure to choose a side.

"In the case of Iran and the United States, I think we're reaching that point," says Mr. Oskanian, who is Syrian-born and earned a masters degree at Tufts University in Medford, Mass.

Analysts say military conflict with Iran would be devastating for the region and many here fear that its effects could spill over into Iran's neighbors in the South Caucasus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

"God forbid, if there is military action against Iran, Armenia may get involved. And Azerbaijan as well," says Stiopa Safarian, director of research at the Armenian Center for National and International Studies, a think tank connected to the opposition Heritage Party.

In the worst-case scenario, Mr. Safarian says, it could reignite conflict between the two countries, which still stare each other down across disputed and heavily militarized cease-fire line near Iran.

Armenia spends $250 to $300 million a year on its military, largely because of the unsolved Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan spends more than three times that.

But politicians also worry that even if the current conflict stops short of military intervention, heightened tension between Iran and the West could shatter the delicate diplomatic balancing act in the region.

Armenia and Azerbaijan both have close ties to the United States and Iran, although Christian Armenia's ties have been steadier with Iran.

Despite Iran's sometimes tense relations with Azerbaijan, many analysts say the country plays a key balancing role in the region. Iran steadies relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and counterbalances the influence of Russia, a key regional power.

So far, a balance

So far, Armenia has been able to steer a middle course between the US and Iran. It has stayed largely silent on Iran's nuclear policy, but kept its economic ties with the country transparent and – along with Azerbaijan – quietly enforced international nonproliferation agreements.

But the US is concerned about the growing economic ties between Armenia and its neighbor, particularly the new pipeline, which Armenians see as strategically vital.

Armenia has no energy resources of its own and suffered severe energy shortages in the early 1990s as a result of the civil war in neighboring Georgia.

"Armenia was dependent on pipelines that passed through several countries," says Serzh Sarkisian, who recently became Armenia's prime minister. "We remember what the situation was in Armenia when that pipe was out of order. Imagine sitting in Yerevan in January and you have no heat, no water, and it was minus 30 degrees Celsius."

Given Iran's economic importance to Armenia, though, few here believe that Armenia can do anything other than continue to claim neutrality for as long as possible. But beneath Armenia's steady relationship with Iran, there is also wariness in the country about its neighbor's behavior.

"It's very simple. I don't think that anyone in Armenia would be happy if next to their borders they would have weapons of mass destruction," says Mr. Sarkisian.

Tomorrow: A look at US efforts to leverage Iran's disgruntled ethnic Azeri population to foster change from within the country.


Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Armenia to celebrate Iranian poet

Wed, 09 May, 2007
PRESS TV, Iran

A conference on the poetry and views of the great Iranian epic poet Ferdowsi is set to be held in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, May 16th.

A number of Armenian writers, literary critics and scholars will attend the event, giving speeches on the literary aspects of the Iranian poet's work.

The event was planned during the recent meeting of Iran's cultural attaché to Armenia Reza Otoufi with the director of the Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia Azat Yeghiazaryan.

Referring to the success of a similar conference held last year in Armenia, Otoufi said one of the main outcomes was the proximity of Iranian and Armenian scholars' views.

Yeghiazaryan, for his part, emphasized the proper function of Iran in the international arena and said his country plans to bolster cultural ties with Iran.

Iran's cultural office in Armenia and the Armenian National Academy of Sciences have planned the seminar.

Hakim Abol Qasim Ferdowsi, 935-1020 CE, was born in the Iranian province of Khorasan, in a village near Tus.

His masterpiece, the Shahnameh (The Epic of the Kings), to which he devoted more than thirty five years, is one of the most revered of all Persian poems.

The Shahnameh recounts the tales of the old Persian kings, long before the Muslim conquest of the region.

ST/KB

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Armenians Adore Iran

2007-05-06
Fars News Agency

"Holding of the ceremony to commemorate Armenian martyrs in the city of Isfahan has received a wide coverage in the Armenian press and among people, and the very same supports and relations have increased Iran's popularity among Armenian nation." Armenia's Ambassador to Iran
[...]
Seyed Morteza Sagha'eyan }Mayor of Isafahan}further described age-old settlement of Armenians in Isfahan as an indication of the affinity of the city's Muslim population for the followers of other religions, and said that Isfahan's municipality has repaired and reconstructed one of the well-known districts in the city, where Muslims and Armenians conduct a peaceful life alongside each other, to preserve the area as a precious gem displaying coexistence among divine religions.

Is Turkey taking note of the above? May be one day.

TEHRAN - Armenia's ambassador to Tehran said that Iran's popularity has been on the increase among his fellow citizens due to Islamic Republic's policy and specially after a ceremony held by Iran in the city of Isfahan to honor the memory of Armenian martyrs.

Speaking during a meeting with Isfahan's mayor, the envoy pointed to the two countries' positive relations, and praised the Iranian people and government's support for Armenians and settlement of Armenian families in the city of Isfahan.

He further said that mutual ties between Isfahan and Yerevan as sister cities would result in all-out and sustainable development of both cities, and reminded that the positive ties between the two nations in the past centuries have caused proximity of the two countries' cultures and arts.

"Existence of monuments with Islamic and Iranian architecture in Armenia substantiates the same fact," Nazarian continued.

He further proposed arrangement of Armenia's cultural week in Isfahan, and pointed out that his country's art, painting, music and handicrafts have always received a wide welcome among Iranians, saying that arrangement of cultural weeks by the two countries would serve as a significant step in the expansion of cultural ties between the two nations.

The ambassador also appreciated Isfahan's municipality for rendering support and paying attention to the Armenian population residing in the city, and said, "Holding of the ceremony to commemorate Armenian martyrs in the city of Isfahan has received a wide coverage in the Armenian press and among people, and the very same supports and relations have increased Iran's popularity among Armenian nation."

For his part, Isfahan's mayor viewed the two countries' relations as positive and constructive, and said that the inauguration ceremony for the start of operation of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline which was attended by the two countries' presidents illustrated the depth of the two countries' relations.

He expressed the hope that the two countries' ties would expand to such other areas as education, trade and tourism.

Seyed Morteza Sagha'eyan further described age-old settlement of Armenians in Isfahan as an indication of the affinity of the city's Muslim population for the followers of other religions, and said that Isfahan's municipality has repaired and reconstructed one of the well-known districts in the city, where Muslims and Armenians conduct a peaceful life alongside each other, to preserve the area as a precious gem displaying coexistence among divine religions.

He also reminded that Isfahan was selected as the cultural capital city of the world of Islam in 2006, and said, "In addition to its cultural and historical potentials, Isfahan is an influential and active city in grounds of education, commerce and industry, and thus, we are prepared to exchange information and experiences with sister cities, particularly with Yerevan.

The mayor further stressed the need for the enhancement of relations between Isfahan and Yerevan, and underlined that all city officials insist on the implementation of the contents of Isfahan-Yerevan sister city contract and utilization of all other potentials in order to enhance ties between the two cities, saying that the move would yield benefits to both sides.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

'Shiite Crescent' might not be what it seems

April 25, 2007
Baltimore Sun
By Brenda Shaffer

Despite all its rhetoric on Islamic solidarity, Iran has rarely promoted cultural or ideological goals at the expense of its material interests. A number of conflicts erupted among Iran's neighbors to the north in which Muslims were pitted against non-Muslims, and Tehran aligned with the non-Muslim side each time.

"Shiite Crescent" is Washington's new buzzword. Coined by Jordan's King Abdullah, the Shiite Crescent extends from Iran through Iraq to Syria and Lebanon and threatens the Middle East's status quo. With the Shiite community's rise to political prominence in Iraq, instability in Shiite-majority Bahrain, and Iran's invigorated confrontation with the West, the spotlight is shining on the rising power of this religious minority.

The premise of the Shiite Crescent assumes that states sharing common sectarian ties tend to form alliances and choose cooperation partners. But do they?

Several new Muslim-majority states emerged in the Caspian basin and Central Asia from the dissolution of the Soviet Union, neighboring the self-declared "Islamic Republics" of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. If Islam and cultural affinity were a basis for alliance formation and cooperation, surely it would be seen in the relations among these states.

But an examination of the foreign policy decisions of these new states and their neighbor Iran during their first 10 post-Soviet years reveals that neither Islamic identity nor common culture reliably served as a predictor for either alliance formation or cooperation - but the material interests of the state did.

The multiethnic Islamic Republic of Iran clearly illustrates this point.

Despite all its rhetoric on Islamic solidarity, Iran has rarely promoted cultural or ideological goals at the expense of its material interests. A number of conflicts erupted among Iran's neighbors to the north in which Muslims were pitted against non-Muslims, and Tehran aligned with the non-Muslim side each time (Moscow vs. Chechnya, Russia vs. Islamic forces in Tajikistan's civil war, and Christian-majority Armenia vs. Shiite-majority Azerbaijan).

In the first two examples, Iran's siding with Russia at the expense of Muslims and Islamists is explained by the nuclear assistance and other aid that Russia has been providing to Iran. The third and most blatant example is the Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan lost close to a fifth of its territory, more than 800,000 Azerbaijani Shiites became refugees, and yet Iran deepened its cooperation with Armenia. Most recently, Tehran opened a gas pipeline to Armenia, serving as an important energy supplier to the state at war with Shiite Azerbaijan. Why? Tehran fears domestic repercussions from a strong neighboring Azerbaijan because Azerbaijanis, although Shiites, are Iran's largest ethnic minority.

Consider Tehran's relations with Arab Shiites in neighboring Iraq. Iran has ties with some of these groups, but rivalries do exist, and many Iraqi Shiites fear Iran's meddling and attempts to lead them. In Afghanistan as well, Tehran arms and supports non-Shiite groups.

The United States should not be deterred by other states' rhetoric. As with Iran, other states can make policy choices that contradict their official, culturally based rhetoric without serious repercussions. This can help analysts to identify a number of conflict lines and rivalries among groups sharing common culture and religion - and help policymakers to act upon them.

Culture has its limits: It is only one of the many forces that shape foreign policy outcomes and is not the defining element. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the rest of the Shiite Crescent states can be deterred and enticed just like other states. We are not in the era of a "clash of civilizations" but only of a clash of rhetoric.

Brenda Shaffer, research director of the Caspian Studies Project at Harvard University, is editor of the book "Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy." Her e-mail is brenda_shaffer@harvard.edu.Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Armenian minister: Iran entitled to produce nuclear energy

April 18,2007
IRNA

Armenian Minister of Energy Armen Movssisyan in a meeting with the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Ezatollah Zarghami in Yerevan on Wednesday, said that access to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is the inalienable right of Iran.

According to a report released by IRIB Public Relations Department, Zarghami is currently visiting Yerevan.

At the meeting, the Armenian minister said that expansion of multifaceted relations with Iran is of high importance to his country.

For his part, Zarghami pointed to Iran's numerous capacities to bolster its cooperation with Armenia, adding that introduction of the products of private sector through documentary television programs will greatly contribute to development of mutual ties.

Turning to cultural and historical commonalties of the two countries as a proper ground for broadening of cooperation, he said that media play a decisive role in strengthening friendly relations among nations.

In another meeting with Armenian Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosian, the IRIB chief said that based on their history, the two nations are interested in bolstering bilateral ties.

Zarghami pointed to Iran's potential in cultural and art fields and declared Iran's readiness for cooperation with Armenia in the domain of culture, adding that the Armenian citizens of Iran have an effective role in this regard.

Poghosian said that the Armenian nation highly respects Iranian culture, urging the need for further attempts for production of cultural products.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Fahmy Howeidy

April 2007
Egypt Today
By Manal el-Jesri

“You may have a number of observations against Iran, but you have to admit it is an independent country that can afford to make its own decisions. They have a high degree of democracy, much more than other countries. Iran the state is not antagonistic toward the Sunnis. They support the Palestinians, who are Sunnis. They supported Bosnia, which is Sunni, and when Shi’a Azerbaijan clashed with Orthodox Armenia, they supported Armenia. There is a degree of pragmatism in Iranian politics that we cannot overlook. Yes, there are some extremists, like there are Egyptian extremists who fight here and there. Nobody accuses the Egyptian government of supporting them,” Howeidy maintains.

Just back from a tour of Iran, where he met with high-profile Shi’a politicians, prolific writer and Islamist thinker Fahmy Howeidy turns his attention to the Sunni-Shi’a divide and how outside powers might exploit it

Fahmy Howeidy is one of Egypt’s most controversial writers. Or: Fahmy Howeidy is one of the nation’s least controversial writers. Your view on that particular question depends entirely on the side of the political aisle on which you sit. But one thing is inarguable: He enjoys the distinction of being the columnist most-censored by his own employer. Every few months, and sometimes every few weeks, we hear that his Al-Ahram editorial has been cut.

“I thank them for doing this,” Howeidy says. “I have already published my censored articles in a book, and I am putting together a new one.” The censoring, for those not aware, is completely pointless and unnecessary for the busy journalist, whose pieces run simultaneously in eight different newspapers. Any persistent reader can access the ‘missing’ by simply pushing a button.

Flitting between his commitments as an Islamic thinker and writer, Howeidy has no time for the attitude Egypt’s premier government-owned newspaper takes toward his work.

“I have no explanation for the censorship; those who censor are to be asked. When I write, I do not think about who will agree and who will oppose. The reader is the one on my mind. Sometimes, I write things I feel will not be published, but I still have to say them. We are not employees; we are writers. I am not concerned about President Hosni Mubarak. My concern is the man on the street. my pen is not connected to the state. I serve the reader, but the government wants people to serve it,” he complains.

Unwilling to mince his words, Howeidy’s opinions are strong and unadulterated. Case in point is his view of the increasing tensions between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims.

As a member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS), he recently visited Iran and engaged in debate with the political and religious leaders of that predominantly Shi’a country. His visit preceded Seymour Hersh’s already infamous March 2007 New Yorker story “The Redirection,” in which the veteran investigative journalist exposed Washington’s involvement in widening the gap between Muslim sects to serve US goals in the region.

“One of the most important things Hersh said was how the Americans are playing on this issue and are [bent] on fanning the flames when it comes to the relationship between Shi’a and Sunnis,” Howeidy says. “This is one point. What I want to say is that the Americans want to infiltrate the region through the sectarian cracks. Many of the American studies do not talk about Iraq as a country, but as a group of sects. As if there is no Iraqi citizen, just sects,” he says.

To Howeidy that’s not new direction in American foreign policy, but something that the current US administration has been pursuing from the word “Go.”

“When [Paul] Bremmer first came to Iraq, he divided the council to represent the different sects. This was back in 2003. This makeup then transferred to the ministries. They gave some ministries to the Shi’a, some to the Sunnis, while the Kurds got the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And then the ministers tried to color their ministries with their own sectarian colors. Things started to develop from there, until the sectarian differences spread to [geographical] regions. Then we started talking about Shi’a in the South, a Sunni triangle in the middle, Kurds in the North. For you to make an area Shi’a, you have to move the Sunnis out. The American role has been very, very [negative],” Howeidy says.

American meddling, believes Howeidy, has given a voice to extremists in each of the religious and ethnic sects, but Iran, he maintains, must share some of the blame.

“When Iran found the atmosphere was suitable, it decided to spread out. They have started to expand into Iraq. Some of the groups in Iran, not necessarily endorsed by the government, and encouraged by the Ayatollahs, started to spread Shi’ist centers. Iran’s responsibility lies in not standing firmly against this. Iran has not acted like an Islamic country, but like a sectarian one. They were happy to see Shi’a Islam spreading, but did not notice that by gaining Shi’ism, they were losing their friends. We are amongst those friends, and we criticized them and spoke to them about our concerns when we were there last month,” Howeidy says.

“I spoke to the foreign minister, and to Ali Wilayati, Ali Larijani, also to [Hashemi] Rafsanjani. We spoke to seven or eight high-level officials. They are all moderate and were able to understand our point of view that you can gain 100 new Shi’a in Egypt, but lose important support. In a country with a population of 72 million, 100 Shi’a will not make a difference. But in small countries like Tunisia, or in remote areas in Sudan, things are different. When clashes started happening, the Sunnis had to speak out.”

The IUMS, a Sunni organization, is trying to open channels to the Shi’a world, which could prove priceless in preventing anyone from exploiting the Shi’a-Sunni divide, Howeidy says. “We must agree that the US does not care about Shi’a or Sunnis. All they want is to protect their own affairs. They just want to use both as pawns. They occupied Iraq with help from the Shi’a. Now they aim to attack Iran, so they need to court the Sunnis. They want to create a Sunni axis to confront Iran. But these are all plans that could change later on,” Howeidy says.

The aims Howeidy speaks of are, as he puts it: oil first, and providing protection for Israel second. “The most important thing is to protect these two goals. Anything else can go to hell,” he says. While the US administration constantly warns of the formation of a Shi’a crescent in the region, which if united may pose a threat to Sunni states, Howeidy believes a united Shi’a front is out of the question.

“Let me tell you why the idea of a Shi’a crescent is difficult. Iraq will not stabilize, bombings will continue. The Sunnis are still quite strong there. What is the next part of the crescent? Syria? The Alawite regime is not everlasting. In Lebanon, yes, the Shi’a are strong, but what can the Shi’a of Lebanon do on their own? I believe the idea of a Shi’a crescent is an American creation. The US is just trying to build up support in the Sunni world for a strike against Iran,” he claims.

In “The Redirection,” Hersh writes of Sunni militias in various areas of the Arab world, supported by the US and Saudi Arabia.

“There is a lot of talk about such things,” Howeidy agrees. “We heard talk about the Future militias of [Saad] Hariri, and we also heard about Palestinian training in camps in Lebanon. Rumors about such things fill the country, but I have no facts that I can give you. I can tell you, though, that there are efforts to heat things up. Rumors, inaccurate and accurate information are used to tarnish the situation in Lebanon, and to abort Hassan Nasrallah or silence his March 11 supporters, and thereby prop up the Hariri and Siniora group. They also want to decrease Sunnis’ admiration for Iran, so that when Iran is bombed, the Arab world will just sit and watch,” Howeidy surmises.

But does he think the US really will strike Iran? “When we talk to Americans, they say that by any sane calculations, such an act will not take place. Some Americans say, ‘But who said [the Bush administration] is sane?’ There are arguments on both sides. Nobody knows who will win in the end.”

Back in the 1980s, the prolific writer penned a book investigating the Iranian experiment and what would happen in the event it would emerge as an independent Islamic country. He points out that the book was written when the Iranian revolution was 10 years old — 17 years ago — and things have changed.

“You may have a number of observations against Iran, but you have to admit it is an independent country that can afford to make its own decisions. They have a high degree of democracy, much more than other countries. Iran the state is not antagonistic toward the Sunnis. They support the Palestinians, who are Sunnis. They supported Bosnia, which is Sunni, and when Shi’a Azerbaijan clashed with Orthodox Armenia, they supported Armenia. There is a degree of pragmatism in Iranian politics that we cannot overlook. Yes, there are some extremists, like there are Egyptian extremists who fight here and there. Nobody accuses the Egyptian government of supporting them,” Howeidy maintains.

What angers the writer is the absence of an official Egyptian role in this whole discourse.

“The Egyptian role has either diminished or disappeared completely. This contrasts with how the Egyptian people feel. The people stand strongly by Palestine and Lebanon. Part of the country’s crisis is the inability of the government to mirror society correctly. When America boycotts Palestine, why must Egypt close its Rafah borders?” asks Howeidy, who complains that Egyptian politicians would rather focus on domestic issues than on the country’s role in regional affairs.

According to Howeidy, this weakness can clearly be seen in the increasing outward manifestations of the Islamic identity. “It is good that people are expressing their identity, but this expression must be active. When people cannot find a strong government to protect them, they resort to their sects for protection,” Howeidy says.

“The country does not share a common project; common grounds do not exist. There are no great national battles for us to fight as one, so instead of identifying ourselves as Egyptian citizens, we talk about being individuals with individual goals.

“When the national identity wanes, it is each unto himself.” et

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Kocharyan: Iran's help to Armenian nation not to be forgotten

March 19, 2007
IRNA

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan on Monday referred to the commissioning of Iran-Armenia gasline as a historical event opening a new page in bilateral relations.

The remark was made at a press conference after Iran-Armenia gas pipeline was officially commissioned at the common borders of the two countries and his talks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Kocharyan said that ever since its independence, his country has been facing various problems such as siege, war and energy crisis, adding that such a bitter memory is now on the verge of oblivion.

Turning to the regularly coordinated growing trend of bilateral ties, he said that Iran's assistance to Armenia in the early years after his country's independence will never be forgotten and thanked Iranians for their kind attention.

He said that there was nothing on Iran-Armenia common border 15 years ago, except a few rows of barbed wire symbolizing the ex-Soviet Union's rule.

"Neither did the border on which I welcomed President Ahmadinejad exist at that time. This is while today 600,000 tons of goods are annually exchanged between the two states," he added.

Kocharyan underlined that no energy was exchanged between Iran and Armenia 10 years ago, but that today it can be said that their third power transmission line will soon be commissioned.

Pointing to the growing trend of Iran-Armenia cooperation as a model, he thanked his Iranian counterpart for efforts towards such a close cooperation.

In response to a question about expansion of cooperation between the two states, he said that bilateral ties can be divided into political and trade sections.

He referred to the level of political relations as excellent, adding, "This helps us regulate our ties with other countries in such a way as to avoid causing any sensitivity."

The Armenian president pointed to the bright prospect of Iran-Armenia economic development, saying that the economic projects due to be drawn up aim to strengthen relations between the two nations and lead to more tangible outcomes.


Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Iranian, Armenian presidents hold talks

March 19, 2007
IRNA

Following the official inauguration of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline at the Armenian town of Meghri, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharyan, started talks on Monday.

The Iranian president was accompanied by his country's ministers of oil and energy as well as a number of officials of its oil and gas sectors.

The two presidents, after the inaugural ceremony, proceeded to the Armenian Customs Office building, where they are to sign cooperation agreements in the fields of electricity, water and energy.

The two presidents, in their talks, will also discuss bilateral relations in addition to the new gas pipeline.

Their talks will be followed by a press conference, where they will meet representatives of the mass media of both countries and answer questions.

The pipeline has a total length of 140 kilometers, 100 kilometers of which is in Iranian territory and 40 kilometers in Armenian territory. It will transfer 10 million cubic meters of Iranian natural gas to Armenia per day in its initial phase.

Test operations on the project have been conducted. The project will be ready for delivery to Armenia within the next few months.

The pipeline has an approximate cost of USD 120 million, 85 percent of which was financed by the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) and the remaining 15 percent put up by Yerevan.

Inauguration of the pipeline will allow transfer of 400 million cubic meters of Iranian gas to Armenia per year during the first phase of the project, this figure later to be increased to 2.5 billion cubic meters per year.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Iran and Armenia inaugurated the natural gas pipeline

19 March 2007
HULIQ

Officials of Iran Gas Company, Iranian and Armenian contractors and representatives of the two countries' media were among those who attended the ceremony.

Ahmadinejad and Kocharyan are to proceed to the Armenian Customs Office building to sign agreements relative to the supply of Iranian natural gas.

The natural gas pipeline has a total length of 140 kilometers, 100 kilometers of which is in Iranian territory and 40 kilometers in Armenian territory. It will transfer 10 million cubic meters of Iranian natural gas to Armenia per day in its initial phase.

Test operations on the project have been conducted. The project will be ready for delivery to Armenia within the next few months.

The pipeline has an approximate cost of USD 120 million, 85 percent of which was financed by the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) and the remaining 15 percent put up by Yerevan.

The natural gas pipeline was due to be completed in 930 days but construction was fast-tracked due to its importance and the pipeline completed in 650 days.

Inauguration of the gas pipeline will allow transfer of 400 million cubic meters of Iranian gas to Armenia per year during the first phase of the project, this figure later to be increased to 2.5 billion cubic meters per year.

The Armenian president had high praises for Iranian engineers and workers who made this natural gas pipeline a reality. - Islamic Republic News Agency


Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Iran-Armenian Gas Pipeline To Be Opened Late In March

Armeniadiaspora

Yerevan, March 12. /Arka/. The Iran-Armenia gas main is to be opened late in March, RA Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanyan told ARKA.

"The official ceremony is scheduled for the end of March," Gharibjanyan said.
The gas main was to be commissioned last December, but the process was later postponed until this spring.

The construction project is estimated at $120mln. The construction of the first 40km-long section, Meghri-Kajaran, got under way on November 30, 2004. The section section, Kajaran-Sisian-Jermuk-Ararat, is being constructed by the Iranian "Sanir" company.
At the initial stage Armenia will receive 300-400mln cubic meters of gas from Iran annually, with the volume to be increased to 2.3bln cubic meters. Under an Armenian-Iranian agreement, Armenia is to receive a total of 36bln cubic meters of natural gas during 20 years. The agreement may be prolonged, with the gas supply volume to be increased to 47bln cubic meters.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Armenian translation of Holy Koran

ISNA - Tehran
Service: Literary

TEHRAN, Feb.3 (ISNA)-An Armenian translation of the Holy Koran was represented in a joint ceremony with Iran-Armenia cultural officials in Central Asia.

This is the first complete edition of the Holy Koran in Armenian, exhibited through the ceremony by a group of scholars, authors, cultural, political and religious representatives of both countries.

The Iranian ambassador to Armenia, Ali Reza Haghighian stated while delivering a speech that the cultural, political and financial mutual ties with Armenia were on an excellent level. He also pointed that there were no dark points in the history of the friendly relationships with both countries.

"The common historical destiny and similar cultural features is the secret of this surviving friendly bond," he added.

Also Iran's cultural counselor, Reza Otoufi who was present in the ceremony remarked that the complete translation of the Holy Koran into Armenian for the first time was a great initiative and a leap in widening the horizon of Iran-Armenia religious and cultural ties.

Also the Armenian translator, Edward Haghverdian commented that the Holy Koran was unlike the translation of any other piece of art, like poetry or fiction.

"Koran is the Holy book of all Muslims and undertaking the task of translation was a great responsibility," stated Haghverdian while speaking to ISNA.

He also further pointed that he had very much enjoyed the task of this immortal translation, incomparable to the translation of any other book.

The Armenian translation of the Holy Koran is released by the Hayastan Publications in 223 pages.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Tjeknavorian to perform piece of music dedicated to Holy Prophet

Jan. 1,2006
IRNA

The prominent Iranian-born composer and conductor, Loris Tjeknavorian, will lead the Armenian Orchestra to perform a piece of music dedicated to the Holy Prophet of Islam during the ongoing 22nd Fajr International Music Festival in Tehran.

The 10-day festival started on Saturday simultaneously in the capital city of Tehran and the southern city of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman coasts with the participation of over 1,200 domestic and foreign artists.

The melody, called "The Prophet of Love and Hope," is to be performed by the Armenia Philharmonic Orchestra led by Tjeknavorian.

It is a combination of music, musical play and words, composed by an Iranian musician, Mehdi Shojaei, and prepared for the orchestra by Tjeknavorian.

The melody is to mark the Year of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as the current Iranian calendar year (to end March 20, 2007) is designated to the Holy Prophet.

Tjeknavorian is also to perform works by world famous composers during the 22nd Fajr International Music Festival.

"The Prophet of Love and Hope" represents different eras of the Prophet Mohammad's (PBUH) life including his birth, his appointment as the Messenger of God, capture of the holy city of Mecca, his last Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca and his demise.

The 22nd International Fajr Music Festival will continue until January 7, 2007.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Iran Calls for Promotion of Cooperation with Armenia

2006-12-18

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed that Tehran and Yerevan should utilize their abundant potentials to increase mutual cooperation in all areas.

According to a statement released by the Presidential Press Office, Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian here on Sunday.

During the meeting, Ahmadinejad noted the two countries' ties that are developing and deepening, and called for the utilization of all the potentials existing on both sides to further increase Tehran-Yerevan cooperation.

He further viewed consolidated ties among neighboring states as an influential factor in the exaltation of regional nations, reiterating that the expansion of cooperation and communications among neighboring and regional countries, including Iran and Armenia, serves regional peace and security and progress of the two nations.

Pointing to Iran-Armenia cooperation in various spheres, including transfer of energy and transportation, the Iranian president stressed the need for the speeding up of implementation of the two countries' mutual agreements, including those pertaining to the transfer of Iran's natural gas to Armenia via pipeline, which he said serves regional peace, friendship and development.

For his part, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian assessed mutual exchange of visits by the two countries' officials as effective in the expansion of Tehran-Yerevan relations, and said that his country attaches special significance to the development of all-out ties with Iran.

The top diplomat also stressed that construction and completion of the natural gas pipeline plays a vitally important role in securing Armenia's energy needs.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.