By Kaveh L Afrasiabi Mohsen Rezaee, a former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and a candidate in last year’s presidential race, who is currently secretary of the powerful Expediency Council, has written to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging him to issue a conciliatory statement that would set into motion “a new movement for unity and brotherhood of all”. He wrote, “[Opposition leader] Mr Mir Hossein Mousavi’s retreat from denying the government of Mr [Mahmud] Ahmadinejad and his constructive suggestion that parliament and the judiciary should act according to their legal functions with respect to the government’s responsiveness, … Continue reading Iran, from confrontation to reconciliation?

By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – As is customary on New Year’s Eve, a colorful assortment of astrologers, oracles and soothsayers appeared on Arabic satellite TV predicting what 2010 has in store for the Arab world. Some went full-board with what many people wanted to hear – predicting annihilation of the State of Israel; others stated the obvious, claiming that the Arab-Israeli conflict will not be solved and that Lebanon will remain divided among its different sects in 2010. One oracle stood out with relatively wise predictions: Lebanese Magi Farah. She predicted Arab reconciliation in February, medical breakthrough discoveries in April, … Continue reading Heavyweights to rise and fall

by Thalif Deen NEW YORK – When Yemen refused to vote in support of a United States-sponsored Security Council resolution against Iraq during the 1990-1991 Gulf War, a visibly angry US delegate turned to the Yemeni diplomat and said: “That will be the last time you will ever vote against a US resolution.” Washington’s subsequent retaliation, in the aftermath of that negative vote, was predictable. The US not only downgraded its relationship with Yemen but also cut off all military aid to a country once heavily armed with Soviet weapons. Since that much-talked-about confrontation in the SecurityCouncil chamber, there has … Continue reading US push feeds Yemen’s gun culture

By Omid Memarian BERKELEY, California – A move by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to withdraw US$1 billion from the country’s Foreign Reserve Fund to complete Phases 15 and 16 of the gigantic South Pars gas project could provoke a serious crisis in view of looming sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, according to analysts. The IRGC cash grab reveals the military organization’s power over Iran’s economy and control over the country’s sensitive oil, gas and nuclear industries. Last month, Rostam Ghassemi, the commander of Khatam-ol-Anbia Construction Complex, the contractor for the two South Pars fields, told Mehr News Agency that … Continue reading Iran’s Guards tighten economic grip

By Peter Lee Unsound strategy, mutual mistrust and opportunism are combining to frustrate the efforts of Moscow and India to blunt China’s soft-power push into Russia’s “near beyond” – the oil and gas-rich former Soviet republics that line the path of the ancient Silk Road from the Caspian Sea to China’s doorstep at Xinjiang province. Russia’s unwelcome efforts to cobble together a Central Asian security bloc and claim a central role in a new, multi-polar Euroasian security structure have been the main stumbling block to advancement of its interests in the region. It has not received a lot of help … Continue reading Russia-India ties sour in Central Asia

With the click of a mouse, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last week announced Russia’s readiness to feed Asia’s economic tigers. Putin’s action started loading oil onto a 100,000-ton tanker at the far east port of Kozmino, east of Vladivostok, launching a much-anticipated new export route to Hong Kong that will help satisfy Asia’s growing need for energy. The oil had already traveled far just to reach Kozmino, located near Russia’s borders with China and North Korea. Russia’s new East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline originates in Tayshet, to the northwest of Lake Baikal in Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast. From there, … Continue reading Putin opens oil-export route

By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON – Despite being a self-declared atheist, German human-rights activist Dr Norbert Vollertsen applauds the daring of a Korean-American missionary who on Christmas eve walked into North Korea bearing a message of peace and goodwill for Dear Leader Kim Jong-il. “I have to pay my respect to the Christian radicalism of Robert Park,” said Vollertsen, who was kicked out of North Korea a decade ago for attempting to expose cruelty he had witnessed when working as a doctor with a non-governmental organization. // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[ //<![CDATA[ var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https://asianmedia.com/GAAN/www/delivery/ajs.php&#039;:'http://asianmedia.com/GAAN/www/delivery/ajs.php&#039;); var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999); if (!document.MAX_used) document.MAX_used … Continue reading Christian tests Pyongyang’s resolutions