Iran Warships To Sail Through Suez, Israel Warns

Two Iranian warships planned to sail through the Suez canal en route to Syria on Wednesday, Israel's foreign minister said, calling the move the latest "provocation" by Tehran and hinting at an Israeli response.

Israel sees a major threat in Iran's nuclear programme and calls for its elimination, but the countries' geographical distance has kept them from open confrontation. Syria is one of Israel's neighbouring foes and an ally of Tehran.

"Tonight, two Iranian warships are meant to pass through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea and reach Syria, something that has not happened in many years," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a Jerusalem speech distributed by his office.

"To my regret, the international community is not showing readiness to deal with the recurring Iranian provocations. The international community must understand that Israel cannot forever ignore these provocations."
(Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/16/suez-canal-iran-israel-syria_n_824037.html

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Tehran: Student Protester Was Killed By Direct Shot

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While Iranian government media claimed that Sane Jaleh, one of those killed during protests on 14 February in Tehran, was a member of the Basij paramilitary forces, a member of the Tahkim-e Vahdat student organization told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that Jaleh was not a Basiji. In fact, he told the Campaign, Jaleh was a member of the Tehran Arts University’s Islamic Association, and that he had attended previous demonstrations as well. He told the Campaign that Jaleh was directly shot at while trying to run away from armed plainclothes forces.

“Sane Jaleh, 26, was a member of the Tehran Arts University’s Islamic Association and a member of the General Council of Tahkim-e Vahdat Organization. He supported reformist candidates in the days leading up to the election, and after the election coup, he attended student gatherings inside the Arts University to protest the big fraud and participated in the 14 February demonstration for the same reason. He was a Kurdish, Sunni drama student at the Tehran Arts University,” the Tahkim-e Vahdat member told the Campaign.

Government media published a Basij forces membership card allegedly belonging to Sane Jaleh. “That Basij membership card is not related to the University. Many students become members of the Basij in high school and through mosques. But at the Tehran Arts University, he was a member of the Islamic Students Association. He was present during the Association members’ meeting with Ayatollah Montazeri, and his photographs are available,” the Tahkim-e Vahdat member told the Campaign.

The Campaign asked the member of Tahkim-e Vahdat about the reasons government media would want to represent Jaleh as a member of the Basij. “Because they want to make a fake announcement through which to hijack this to their advantage. They did the same thing with Mostafa Ghanian before. It turned out later that he was not a Basiji and that he objected to the election [results],” he replied.

“Sane Jaleh was a resident of the Arts University’s Shahid Rahsaz Dormitories. He was last seen leaving the dormitory at 6:00 p.m., heading for the demonstrations. An unidentified caller contacted his friends at 9:00 p.m. and told them that he has found his cell phone and clothes, asking them to go and pick up the articles. Because the caller was unidentified and the phone call appeared suspicious, Jaleh’s friends did not do anything. But an hour later, a member of the Supreme Leader’s Offices at the university called his friends and informed them that he was killed by a direct bullet. Shortly thereafter, the false statement was made by government media about his membership in the Basij,” the source said about Jaleh’s last hours.

“There are no records available about the murderer, but according to those present at the scene, when it grew dark, plainclothes forces directly shot at people at this location and Sane Jaleh was running away along with other people when he was shot,” he told the Campaign when asked about the murderer’s identity.

“Tomorrow morning, there will be a funeral procession for him at the Arts University. Arts University students and Tahkim-e Vahdat Organization invite the public, and especially the students, to attend this ceremony,” said the student organization source.
Source:  http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2011/02/sane-jaleh-truth/

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Iran Produces Own Raw Uranium

Iran says it has delivered its first domestically produced raw uranium, or yellowcake, to a plant that can make it ready for enrichment.

The statement, from Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi, comes the day before talks between Iran and world powers over its nuclear programme.

Enriched uranium can be used for fuel in reactors or made into nuclear bombs.

The US and its allies believe Iran may be trying to produce nuclear weapons, a claim denied by Iran.

Tehran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful, civilian purposes.

"The West had counted on the possibility of us being in trouble over raw material but today we had the first batch of yellowcake from Gachin mine sent to Isfahan (conversion) facility," Mr Salehi said on state television.

Iran was believed to be running low on its stock of yellowcake, originally imported from South Africa in the 1970s.

The claim comes ahead of talks in Geneva on Monday between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, Russia, China, France and Britain - and Germany.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Iran to enter the talks in good faith and with "a much more sober assessment of what isolation means", given successive rounds of UN sanctions.

The sanctions have been levelled at Iran's failure to comply with UN Security Council resolutions ordering it to stop uranium enrichment.

The Security Council has said that until Iran's peaceful intentions can be fully established, it should stop enrichment and other nuclear activities.

Iran says that as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to enrich uranium for fuel for civil nuclear power.

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