Official: Nuclear Talks a Test for P5+1
Armenian Patriarch Condemns Insulting Cartoon
TEHRAN (Press TV) -- A senior official said here on Sunday Iran
will show a proper reaction to the P5+1 countries in proportion to
their approaches and performance in talks over Tehran’s nuclear program. “The opposite side is to blame for any obstruction in the path
of negotiations and adoption of approaches that have been proved
futile in the past,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security
Council Ali Shamkhani said in a meeting with Georgian Parliament
Speaker David Usupashvili. He said nuclear talks between Iran and
the P5+1 countries are a test of those countries’ commitment to the
negotiations and pledges to remove all “illegal and cruel” sanctions.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The patriarch of the Armenian Catholic
Church on Sunday censured France for the publication of sacrilegious cartoons insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), saying these moves indicate that the European country has strayed far
from the principles of Christianity. “The European countries do not
live according to the principles of Christianity,” Nerses Bedros XIX
Tarmouni said. He went on to say that sometime in the past, France
was one of the countries with deep-rooted Christian faith, but the
desecration of the Prophet Muhammad has showed that today the
country has moved far away from the principles of Christianity.
VOL NO: LV 9678 TEHRAN / Est.1959
2
Viewpoint
By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer
How to Defeat Zionist
Apartheid?
5
Monday, January 26, 2015, Bahman 6, 1393, Rabi as-Sani 5, 1436, Price 10000 Rials
7
Japan Condemns
ISIL Execution
of Hostage
Why Is the U.S. Stuck
With Saudi Arabia?
Kurdish Forces’
Rockets Strike Iraq’s
ISIL-Held Mosul
8
Fatah Calls for
Anti-Zionist Protest
Across Palestine
At Least 15 Killed on Anniversary:
Egypt: Flames of Revolution Flare Up
By: Matt Schiavenza
The death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, who passed away Friday due
to complications from a lung infection, elicited a series of gushing tributes
from American leaders. In his official statement, President Obama praised his
“enduring contribution to the search for peace” in the Middle East. Secretary
of State John Kerry called him a “man of wisdom and vision”. Vice President
Biden, meanwhile, announced he’d lead the American delegation to Saudi Arabia to mourn the king in person.
The warm praise of Abdullah, 90, came as little surprise. Saudi Arabia and
the United States have been close allies for decades. But the effusive reaction to
the king’s death reveals an uncomfortable truth about Washington’s relationship to the kingdom. Despite Riyadh’s repulsive human rights record, unproductive role in regional security, and American advances in shale oil production, the United States needs Saudi Arabia more than ever.
But first, it’s worth detailing why the American relationship with Saudi
Arabia is so problematic. King Abdullah will be replaced by his half-brother,
Salman, who has vowed to continue the “correct” policy of his predecessor.
For the country’s women, religious minorities, and political dissidents, this is
bad news. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy in which no opposition to the
ruling family is tolerated. Those brave enough to call for religious pluralism
are subject to lengthy prison sentences or state-sponsored violence. Two weeks
ago, in a case that aroused international condemnation, the government lashed
a Saudi blogger named Raif Badawi 50 times after he dared to defend atheism.
Badawi is scheduled to be lashed a total of 950 more times and will serve a 10year prison sentence for this offense.
Women, who comprise 42.5% of the kingdom’s population, are essentially
treated like children. Saudi Arabia’s “guardianship” system requires them to
seek male permission to travel, work, or leave the house; they also, famously,
are not allowed to drive. King Abdullah did receive credit from International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde for his “discreet” improvement
of women’s lives in the country—more women than men now attend college
there, and many have received scholarships to study overseas. But the kingdom’s viciousness toward females extends even to the most privileged. Four of
King Abdullah’s 15 daughters have lived under house arrest for 13 years after
publicly opposing the kingdom’s policies toward women. Two have said they’re
running low on food.
Contrary to President Obama’s statement, Saudi Arabia’s role in brokering
Middle Eastern peace has, at best, been unhelpful. King Abdullah bitterly opposed Washington’s support of pro-democracy protesters in Egypt and urged
President Obama to use force to preserve Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship. Since
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi assumed the country’s leadership in 2013, Riyadh has
helped finance his brutal suppression of the country’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Saudi Arabia has also resisted the rise of Shia movements in the region out of
fear that Iran, their main rival, will gain influence. When Shia protesters threatened the Sunni dictatorship in neighboring Bahrain, Saudi Arabia dispatched
its military to suppress the uprising. Riyadh’s support of Syrian rebels, too, has
backfired: ISIL fighters have benefited from Saudi money and weapons.
So why does the U.S. put up with Saudi Arabia? The simplest explanation, of
course, is oil. The kingdom is the largest and most important producer in the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the bloc that controls
around 40% of the world’s oil. Because the United States was until recently the
world’s top oil importer, an alliance with Saudi Arabia made geopolitical sense.
The recent shale oil boom in the U.S. has led Washington to hope that before long, its alliance with Riyadh won’t be necessary. The U.S. now pumps
more than 9 million barrels of oil per day, which almost matches the amount in
Saudi Arabia. Observers project that in five years, the U.S. will get 80% of its
oil from North and South America and will be mostly self-sufficient by 2035.
The OPEC decision to not cut supply in response to falling oil prices signaled
that the North American boom had fundamentally changed the commodity’s
global logic.
Saudi Arabia is well-positioned to survive a sustained drop in the price of oil,
currently at $48.71 a barrel. Riyadh generally needs oil to trade at $80 a barrel
in order to balance its budget. But with $750 billion stashed away in reserve, the
kingdom faces little pressure to reduce supply and raise the price. In addition,
Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC members Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates
have proved reserves of 460 billion barrels. The United States, by contrast, has
proved reserves of just 10 billion—and the U.S. Energy Information Agency
forecasts that American shale oil production will plateau in 2020.
Given the precarious health of King Salman, who is 79 and alleged to be suffering from dementia, the United States government may well find itself offering condolences to Saudi Arabia on the death of its ruler before much longer.
When the time comes, don’t expect the reaction to be any less effusive.
--Courtesy: The Atlantic
Anti-government protesters run as police arrive during their attempt to walk into Tahrir square in Cairo.
CAIRO (Dispatches) -- At least 15
people were killed at pro-democracy
protests in Egypt on Sunday, the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that
toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak, security sources said.
In the bloodiest day of protests
since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was elected president in June, security forces
and plain-clothed police fired at
protestors, witnesses said.
The anniversary is a test of whether Islamic groups and liberal activists have the resolve to challenge a
government that has stamped out
dissent since then-army chief Sisi
ousted elected president Muhammad Mursi in July 2013.
Dozens of protesters were killed
during last year’s anniversary.
Again this year, security forces
fanned out across the capital and
other cities.
The heaviest death tool was in the
Cairo suburb of Matariya, a Muslim Brotherhood stronghold. Special forces fired pistols and rifles at
protesters, a Reuters witness said.
Eight people, including one policeman, were killed, according to the
health ministry.
People in Matariya chanted “down
with military rule” and “a revolution all over again”. Demonstrators
threw Molotov cocktails at security
forces and fires raged
Riot police backed by soldiers in
armored vehicles sealed off roads,
including those leading to Cairo’s
Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of
the 2011 revolt.
In downtown Cairo, riot police with rifles and plain clothed
men with pistols chased protesters
through the streets.
Six people were killed in separate
protests in Alexandria, Egypt’s second biggest city, Giza governorate
outside of Cairo and the Nile Delta
province of Baheira, security sources said.
A bomb wounded two policemen
stationed outside a Cairo sports
club, the sources said.
Signs of discontent built up as the
anniversary of the revolt against
Mubarak approached, and a liberal
(Continued on Page 7)
FM: Better Saudi-Iran Ties ‘Necessary’
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran’s
Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad
Zarif said on Sunday his outreach to
Saudi Arabia after the death of the
kingdom’s ruler is “necessary”.
Zarif was among the first foreign
dignitaries to visit Saudi Arabia
following the death Friday of King
Abdullah.
Zarif said he hopes his outreach to
the Saudi government “prepares the
ground for more cooperation in all
areas in this very sensitive region
based on good neighborliness and
rationalism”.
Zarif made the comments at a
news conference here with Croatian
Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic.
He said Iran and Saudi Arabia need
to find a joint solution to help tackle
problems in the Middle East region.
“There is no obstacle to cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The two countries need to come
up with a joint solution to regional
problems,” he added.
The Iranian foreign minister said
Tehran and Riyadh have no problem
in mutual relations.
Zarif also expressed his country’s
preparedness to cooperate with Saudi Arabia to find a joint solution to
regional problems.
“We hope that we will be able to
establish stability and security in the
region by the people in cooperation
with neighboring states and without
any foreign interference,” he added.
The foreign minister travelled to
Riyadh on Saturday for a rare visit
to convoy Iran’s condolences.
Zarif noted that during his threehour stay, he had held no political
talks with Saudi officials, saying
that Tehran has always expressed
its readiness for enhanced bilateral
dialog.
The visit coincided with a state-
ment from Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani expressing hope for improved relations with the kingdom.
Saudi officials greeted Zarif after
he landed at a military airport in the
capital Riyadh.
In August last year Iran’s Deputy
Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal
in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
That was the first high-level Iranian visit to the kingdom since Rouhani became the Islamic Republic’s
president a year earlier.
(Continued on Page 7)
nuclear dispute between Iran and
the West.
Media images of the top diplomats from old adversaries strolling
together in a foreign land provoked
an outcry among many Iranians.
On Friday, prayer leaders heaped
scorn on Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani for the “diplomatic
slip-up” and newspapers said 21
members of parliament had signed
a petition to call in the minister to
provide an explanation.
“Given the Great Satan’s endless
demands and sabotage during the
course of the nuclear negotiations,
there is no conceivable ground for
intimacy between the foreign ministers of Iran and America,” said the
petition published in Fars News.
“Your exhibitionist walk together
with (Kerry) along Geneva sidewalks was certainly outside the
norms of diplomacy, so why don’t
you put a stop to such behavior?”
The row over the diplomatic stroll
is the latest in a series of summons
since Zarif took charge of the nuclear file in late 2013.
In February 2014 he caused an
uproar with public comments about
the Holocaust and was subsequently
summoned to parliament.
Tehran and Washington broke
diplomatic ties after Iran’s 1979 Islamist Revolution, establishing tentative direct contact on specific cases such as the wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq, and more recently as part
of the nuclear talks between Iran
and “P5+1” under way since after
President Rouhani’s 2013 election.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran
last week, Zarif sought to justify the
(Continued on Page 7)
Majlis Summons Zarif Over Kerry Walk
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Foreign
Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif is
to appear before parliament following controversy over a promenade
with his American counterpart during intense nuclear negotiations in
Geneva.
Zarif, who leads Tehran’s talks
with “P5+1” - the United States,
Britain, France, Germany, Russia
and China - had a 15-minute walk
down Geneva sidewalks with U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry during discussions on Jan. 14 aimed at
reaching a settlement of the 12-year