Tidbits From Iran
Iran has faded from the "headlines" Although the pundits have been at it and the US Congress has been hot and heavy on the case. The US Senate has just passed additional sanctions against the Government which I will be studying and releasing a write-up soon. What is clear is that sanctions so far have not worked. Iran was under sanctions for 8 years and yet it continued on during the war. The story in the New York Times about how the Iranian Shipping company avoids detection is just example of how Iran has evaded sanctions and will continue to do so.
There are two additional interesting developments that warrants close attention. The first one is Ahmadinejad's attempt to take control of Iran's biggest University, Azad. It is one of the most profitable univerisities and the biggest in Iran. Rafsanjani founded it and his eldest son is one of the trustees. Parliament has apparently blocked it. But, the attempt to take over Azad will continue to be a microcosim of the power struggle that will continue. For now, all the internal opposition can do is to relegate itself to meetings and facebook pronoucements.
The second very disturbing development is the allegation that the three hikers in Iran were actually kidnapped by a rogue Revolutionary Guard Unit by crossing into Iraq. The commander is right now supposedly on death row. Apparently they were an extortion and kindnapping racket. Nation Magazine--which investigated this-- is very good at being onpointe on this. If that is in fact the case, Iran should release these three poor souls immediately so that they can return to their lives.
There are two additional interesting developments that warrants close attention. The first one is Ahmadinejad's attempt to take control of Iran's biggest University, Azad. It is one of the most profitable univerisities and the biggest in Iran. Rafsanjani founded it and his eldest son is one of the trustees. Parliament has apparently blocked it. But, the attempt to take over Azad will continue to be a microcosim of the power struggle that will continue. For now, all the internal opposition can do is to relegate itself to meetings and facebook pronoucements.
The second very disturbing development is the allegation that the three hikers in Iran were actually kidnapped by a rogue Revolutionary Guard Unit by crossing into Iraq. The commander is right now supposedly on death row. Apparently they were an extortion and kindnapping racket. Nation Magazine--which investigated this-- is very good at being onpointe on this. If that is in fact the case, Iran should release these three poor souls immediately so that they can return to their lives.
Mike Pouraryan
