It's Almost Supernatural

Kuwaiti Daily: Iran Delivered Missiles to Hizbullah

The Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa recently reported that Iran has delivered missiles to Hizbullah in Lebanon via Syria, and that Iran and Syria are cooperating closely in missile development and deployment. MEMRI has translated excerpts from the article.

Oh Dear

South Africa has been discussing a defense cooperation pact with Iran. (Nice story to link up my two olympic   posts.)

At the conclusion of the meeting the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation, which included an arrangement for South Africa to sell uranium to Iran, Channel 1 TV reported.

SA Defense Minister Lekota stressed that making peaceful use of nuclear energy "is the legitimate right of the Islamic Republic," the IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Hmmm...

In June the International Atomic Energy Agency reiterated its concerns about Iran's nuclear programs.

Tehran Times reports

He (Iranian Rear-Admiral Ali Shamkhani) expressed the hope that defense cooperation between the two countries would further expand in the future. The South African minister, for his part, said "We have been inspired by the leadership of late Imam Khomeini in our anti-apartheid movement." He called the visit of a South African defense and economic delegation to Iran as very significant and said "We are ready to broaden our international cooperation with Iran to help materialize the UN peace initiative in South Africa."

Expansion of cooperation between Iran and South Africa would help restore regional and international peace, he said.

We don't seem to care too much about the Human Rights abuses that take place in Iran. Just take a look at these recent headlines on Iran at Human Rights Watch. Torture, vigilante attacks, physically punishing student activists...it's all there.

Amazingly, Iran claims cultural exception to the universality of human rights. For over two decades, Iran has systematically jailed, tortured, and executed dissidents without due process of law and has assassinated political opponents outside state borders.

Consider this. We are about to supply uranium to a state that attempts to hide human rights abuses by labeling oppression as an authentic cultural practice. (Human Rights in Iran: The Abuse of Cultural Relativism, Reza Afshari, ISBN 0-8122-3605-X)

UPDATE 18/08
Way South points out that the Uranium we will be selling is unenriched uranium.

UPDATE19/08
S. Africa says it won't sell uranium to Iran

South Africa will not assist Iran's nuclear development and will not sell any uranium to the Islamic Republic, the South African Ministry of Defense told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday.

Iran: We Can't Beat Israel in a Fair Fight

Ahhh...the Olympic spirit. Shayne notes it isn't quite what it is cracked up to be. Thursday, when the draw for the judo competition was announced, Iranian competitor Miresmaeili told Iran's government-run press agency, "Although I have trained for months and was in good shape I refused to fight my Israeli opponent to sympathize with the suffering of the people of Palestine and I do not feel upset at all."

No place for hatred

ATHENS, Greece – Arash Miresmaeili of Iran made his statement Sunday when he refused to compete in an opening-round Judo match here against Ehud Vaks of Israel due to what can only be called religious bigotry cloaked by international politics. Iran's Olympic delegation made its statement when it supported this hatred. And now the International Olympic Committee, backed by the civilized world, should make its statement loud and clear: Toss Iran out of the Athens Games.

Immediately.

Disqualify the entire Iranian delegation, send them home and hold them up to international scrutiny and ridicule. Anything less is to look away, to tacitly approve, to take the conciliatory path, to allow xenophobia, racism and religious persecution to thrive.

Anything less is to allow the Games to become a global stage for radical political statements.

Anything less is to spit in the eye of the Olympic ideal that the spirit of competition can bridge differences and bring people of all backgrounds together.

It is one thing if this were one man acting on his own. If Iran came out and condemned the closed-mindedness of its own athlete the issue would be over before it started. But Iran, which does not recognize Israel's existence and bans contact with the nation, is complicit.

The article ends with a compelling suggestion.

If Iran is so bothered by the presence of Israel, or Jewish athletes from other countries, in these Games then it should have boycotted the entire thing.

Read the whole thing.

Iran: Shihab-3 Can Hit Anywhere in Israel

Iranian officials continue threatening Israel and the US that they can now strike anywhere in Israel with their latest missile - the Shihab-3.

Read about it here.

The Iranian Threat

Iran tests missile capable of reaching Israel

Iran Threatens Israel

Iran has threatened to wipe Israel "off the map." Hmm...I seem to recall a similar threat (okay maybe not by Iran) being made in 1967.

Iran on Monday repeated its threat to "wipe Israel off the map" if Israel attacked the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites.

"The United States is showing off by threatening to use its wild dog, Israel," Revolutionary Guards Commander Seyed Masood Jazayeri was quoted as saying by the Iranian student news agency ISNA.