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07/09/09
Arrested, Beaten, and Jailed. Photojournalist Iason Athanasiadis Gives ASM First Interview After His Release
Source: ASMALLWORLD (reprinted with permission)
Iason Athanasiadis at Stanford University, June 2008
photo by Mahyar Rahmatian
After three weeks in Iranian prison cells, Iason Athanasiadis, a photojournalist and ASW-er, was released by the country's authorities. Only days after he walked free in Tehran and returned to Greece, Iason spoke first to ASMALLMAGAZINE about his experience of being caught up in the tumult of present-day Iranian politics.
From press reports, we read that you were on your way out of the country when you were arrested. Tell us what happened.
I had passed passport control in the last hours remaining on my seven-day press visa and was walking to the gate of my Emirates flight from Tehran to Dubai when a man (not in uniform) approached me. He asked me if I was Iason Fowden, my passport name. I said yes and he asked me to follow him as "you won't be flying tonight." That sounded ominous.
But this is not the first time you've been arrested on the job? And I am sure as a correspondent in war zone, you've considered something like this happening. But how did it feel when it became a reality?
It's the second. The first (arrest) was by Hezbollah shortly after the 2006 Lebanon War, but they held me for only an hour. They released me after realising that I obviously am a journalist. Detentions in sensitive political environments, such as conflict zones, are absolutely to be expected and the best thing one can do is cooperate with one's captors and get a sense for whether they're pragmatic, practical men or ideological and with an axe to grind. Obviously, I prefer the former.
Media reports indicated that authorities thought you were British and the implication was that you were part of the British plot behind all the post-election protests. What did your interrogators ask you about this?
They tried to use their British spy allegations as a method of discouraging the Greek ambassador from lobbying for my release. To his eternal credit, he stood by me as a Greek citizen and supported my release to the fullest. Also very involved were His Holiness the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Bartholomew, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyianni, who personally handled the case, and a host of other political, business and religious actors who worked behind the scenes to secure my release.
You speak fluent Farsi. Did this make you more suspicious in their eyes?
Apparently, even though I explained that the reason for this was that I had studied in Iran, a fact backed up by three years of student visas in my passport. The guards quite liked being able to chat with a foreigner in Persian and my skills were certainly rejuvenated by several hours of interrogations conducted in Persian.
What were the conditions of your detention? Where were you held? What did it look like?
I was held in solitary confinement throughout with ample food, which I opted to desist from in preparation for a possible hunger strike in the event that the espionage allegations be taken to trial level. I was moved around a succession of four cells, two of which were in Evin prison's Section 209, an Intelligence Ministry-controlled prison, and one was at Imam Khomeini International Airport. In all cells, the lights constantly shone and in one, there were no windows or clocks, creating a confusing and disorienting effect.
How much were you interrogated? Were you mistreated at all?
I was beaten on the evening of my arrest for engaging in passive resistance. The occasional cuff was administered by my first interrogator but the last pair were gentlemen, sophisticated and enough in control of their questioning to not have to strike me to get answers. Not that hitting me worked. It made me more donkey-headed and unlikely to cooperate. Us Greeks must be won over and convinced to cooperate—beatings make us stubborn.
What did you think of when you were alone?
I dived deep into my past and dredged up memories and images that had lain fallow for years. I went back to childhood a lot and favourite places such as Evia and Aegina, islands to which my parents took me as a child. I relived "perfect days" and read the Quran, which was the only reading matter the guards provided me with. I sang old Greek leftist resistance songs, which I had been taught at school, and watched the shifting daylight reflect off the bars of the window. I counted the journo friends I had in every Greek TV and print outlet and wondered what they were doing about my case in their media…
You were the only foreign reporter arrested, but many Iranian bloggers and press people were also rounded up. Where you held together and what are your hopes for their freedom?
I was in isolation throughout. But from the educated tenor of the prisoners' voices that I heard from my cell during mealtimes, I could judge that I was probably surrounded by political prisoners and was not in a criminal ward. They lack the support that I had as a foreign citizen and also the good treatment afforded by captors worried about their testimonies when they are returned to society. I pray for their release. No one should have to suffer those conditions merely for a set of political beliefs.
What are your thoughts about the Iranian situation now, especially since it's been knocked off the news (in the US at least) by the death of Michael Jackson?
It's an internal Iranian political affair that will be resolved by the Iranians themselves. The West should not wade into it. I'm a great fan of natural evolution. When a society is ready in its majority, it will shift.
You've got a long and deep connection with the country. Do you think you'll ever go back to Iran? Will you even be allowed back?
I was not told that I won't be allowed back and I certainly have thoroughly been filtered now by the Intelligence Ministry for them to know exactly who I am. I love Iran and have lived, loved and laughed there. It has shaped me as a person in a way that only my home country and my British education have managed. But before going back I'd like to have an assurance that I won't be arrested again.
You're quite the quintessential nomad, how did coming home feel this time?
It wasn't so much the coming home as the walking under clear blue skies without a blindfold on and a guard steering you that was a breath of fresh air. Freedom never felt so good. You don't know how good it is until you've lost it.
Related Articles:
07/09/09
Arrested, Beaten, and Jailed. Photojournalist Iason Athanasiadis Gives ASM First Interview After His Release
Source: ASMALLWORLD (reprinted with permission)
Iason Athanasiadis at Stanford University, June 2008
photo by Mahyar Rahmatian
After three weeks in Iranian prison cells, Iason Athanasiadis, a photojournalist and ASW-er, was released by the country's authorities. Only days after he walked free in Tehran and returned to Greece, Iason spoke first to ASMALLMAGAZINE about his experience of being caught up in the tumult of present-day Iranian politics.
From press reports, we read that you were on your way out of the country when you were arrested. Tell us what happened.
I had passed passport control in the last hours remaining on my seven-day press visa and was walking to the gate of my Emirates flight from Tehran to Dubai when a man (not in uniform) approached me. He asked me if I was Iason Fowden, my passport name. I said yes and he asked me to follow him as "you won't be flying tonight." That sounded ominous.
But this is not the first time you've been arrested on the job? And I am sure as a correspondent in war zone, you've considered something like this happening. But how did it feel when it became a reality?
It's the second. The first (arrest) was by Hezbollah shortly after the 2006 Lebanon War, but they held me for only an hour. They released me after realising that I obviously am a journalist. Detentions in sensitive political environments, such as conflict zones, are absolutely to be expected and the best thing one can do is cooperate with one's captors and get a sense for whether they're pragmatic, practical men or ideological and with an axe to grind. Obviously, I prefer the former.
Media reports indicated that authorities thought you were British and the implication was that you were part of the British plot behind all the post-election protests. What did your interrogators ask you about this?
They tried to use their British spy allegations as a method of discouraging the Greek ambassador from lobbying for my release. To his eternal credit, he stood by me as a Greek citizen and supported my release to the fullest. Also very involved were His Holiness the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Bartholomew, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyianni, who personally handled the case, and a host of other political, business and religious actors who worked behind the scenes to secure my release.
You speak fluent Farsi. Did this make you more suspicious in their eyes?
Apparently, even though I explained that the reason for this was that I had studied in Iran, a fact backed up by three years of student visas in my passport. The guards quite liked being able to chat with a foreigner in Persian and my skills were certainly rejuvenated by several hours of interrogations conducted in Persian.
What were the conditions of your detention? Where were you held? What did it look like?
I was held in solitary confinement throughout with ample food, which I opted to desist from in preparation for a possible hunger strike in the event that the espionage allegations be taken to trial level. I was moved around a succession of four cells, two of which were in Evin prison's Section 209, an Intelligence Ministry-controlled prison, and one was at Imam Khomeini International Airport. In all cells, the lights constantly shone and in one, there were no windows or clocks, creating a confusing and disorienting effect.
How much were you interrogated? Were you mistreated at all?
I was beaten on the evening of my arrest for engaging in passive resistance. The occasional cuff was administered by my first interrogator but the last pair were gentlemen, sophisticated and enough in control of their questioning to not have to strike me to get answers. Not that hitting me worked. It made me more donkey-headed and unlikely to cooperate. Us Greeks must be won over and convinced to cooperate—beatings make us stubborn.
What did you think of when you were alone?
I dived deep into my past and dredged up memories and images that had lain fallow for years. I went back to childhood a lot and favourite places such as Evia and Aegina, islands to which my parents took me as a child. I relived "perfect days" and read the Quran, which was the only reading matter the guards provided me with. I sang old Greek leftist resistance songs, which I had been taught at school, and watched the shifting daylight reflect off the bars of the window. I counted the journo friends I had in every Greek TV and print outlet and wondered what they were doing about my case in their media…
You were the only foreign reporter arrested, but many Iranian bloggers and press people were also rounded up. Where you held together and what are your hopes for their freedom?
I was in isolation throughout. But from the educated tenor of the prisoners' voices that I heard from my cell during mealtimes, I could judge that I was probably surrounded by political prisoners and was not in a criminal ward. They lack the support that I had as a foreign citizen and also the good treatment afforded by captors worried about their testimonies when they are returned to society. I pray for their release. No one should have to suffer those conditions merely for a set of political beliefs.
What are your thoughts about the Iranian situation now, especially since it's been knocked off the news (in the US at least) by the death of Michael Jackson?
It's an internal Iranian political affair that will be resolved by the Iranians themselves. The West should not wade into it. I'm a great fan of natural evolution. When a society is ready in its majority, it will shift.
You've got a long and deep connection with the country. Do you think you'll ever go back to Iran? Will you even be allowed back?
I was not told that I won't be allowed back and I certainly have thoroughly been filtered now by the Intelligence Ministry for them to know exactly who I am. I love Iran and have lived, loved and laughed there. It has shaped me as a person in a way that only my home country and my British education have managed. But before going back I'd like to have an assurance that I won't be arrested again.
You're quite the quintessential nomad, how did coming home feel this time?
It wasn't so much the coming home as the walking under clear blue skies without a blindfold on and a guard steering you that was a breath of fresh air. Freedom never felt so good. You don't know how good it is until you've lost it.
Related Articles:
له شدن گماشتگان استبداد در زیر اراده استوار آزادیخواهان
جعفر پویه
بر خلاف همه تهدیدات و رجز خوانیهای گماشتگان ولی فقیه و اوباشان سرکوبگر آن، امروز هزاران زن و مرد آزادیخواه با حضور در خیابانهای شهرهای مختلف کشور به ویژه تهران، مخالفت خود با رژیم ستمگر را با صدای بلند ابراز داشتند. حضور دلاورانه زنان و مردان رشید میهن در عرصه مبارزه ای رویارو با نیروهای تا دندان مسلح رژیم ولی فقیه بار دیگر ثابت کرد که سرکوبگران در مقابل اراده تزلزل ناپذیر آنان هیچ اند.
جوانان مبارز و آزادیخواه آنچنان عرصه را بر نیروهای سرکوبگر رژیم ستمگران تنگ کرده اند که هر ترفند آنان به سرعت به ضد خود تبدیل شده و شکست را همچون شرنگ به حلقوم شان فرو می کنند. پای کوبیدن مردمی که از ستمگری و ظلم رژیم دجالان به تنگ آمده اند و خواهان دستیابی به آزادی هستند و همبستگی قهرمانانه آنان، چشم همه جهانیان را به سوی دلاوریهای آنان دوخته است. امروز دیگر تنها این ایرانیان تبعیدی و فعالان و کوشندگان سیاسی و اجتماعی در خارج نیستند که نگران فرزندان مبارز میهن اند و سعی در کمک رسانی به آنان را دارند بلکه، هر آزادیخواهی در هر گوشه جهان که اخبار و کوشش دیگر مردمان را دنبال می کند و یا بدان علاقمند است، چشم و گوش به اخبار رسیده از ایران سپرده است و با توجه ویژه این اتفاقات را دنبال می کند.
در روزهای گذشته رژیم سعی کرد با دندان نشان دادن توسط فرماندهان نیروهای سرکوبگر و تهدید به وسیله اوباش سرشناس، امکان برگزاری تجمع اعتراضی و راهپیمایی در روز 18 تیر را نا ممکن جلوه دهد. مرتضی تمدن، استاندار تهران نیز با قمه بستن از رو برای مردم گفت: "هیچ مجوزی برای تجمع در روز ۱۸ تیر درخواست و صادر نشده است. اگر چنانچه افراد معدودی بخواهند با گوش دادن به فراخوان شبكه***های ضد انقلاب تحرك ضد امنیتی داشته باشند زیر گامهای مردم هوشیار ما له خواهند شد."
این گماشته بی مقدار ولایت فقیه نمی فهمد و یا نمی خواهد بفهمد مردمی که از ظلم و ستم رژیم دجالان به تنگ آمده اند برای حق خواهی و عدالت جویی نه تنها درخواست تجمع از سرکوبگران نکرده و نخواهند کرد بلکه، این او و رژیم ددمنش اش هستند که زیر گامهای استوار زنان و مردان دلاور آزادیخواه درحال له شدن هستند. به همین دلیل امروز همه خیابانهایی که به دانشگاه تهران ختم می شود، توسط اوباش سرکوبگر رژیم اشغال شدند تا اجازه هیچ تحرکی را به مردم ندهند. همچنین هلیکوپترهای سپاه بر فراز شهر به چرخ زدن درآمدند تا هر فعل و انفعال مردم را به سرعت گزارش کنند. اما با همه کنترل شدید امنیتی خیابانهای شهر و اخلال در سیستم تلفن همراه و قطع پیامک، مردم زیر گوش نیروهای سرکوبگر، تجمعهای چند هزار نفری برگزار کردند و روسیاهی بزرگی برای گماشتگان سرکوبگر و ولی فقیه آنان به بار آوردند. حال این ولی فقیه ارتجاع و سردمداران اوباش سرکوبگر هستند که زیر گامهای استوار آزادیخواهان همبسته احساس له شدگی می کنند یا برعکس؟
به عزم دلاورانه همه زنان و مردان رشیدی که با حضور در خیابانهای شهر شرنگ شکست را به حلقوم ولایت فقیه ریختند و داغ ننگ سرکوبگری را بر پیشانی عوامل استبداد او کوبیدند درود می فرستیم. اراده پولادین فرزندان رشید میهن برای آزادیخواهی را می ستاییم و همبستگی بی مانندشان برای رسیدن به مقصود را ارج می نهیم.
ننگ ابدی بر ستم پیشه ای چون ولی فقیه و گماشتگان و عمال استبداد او که به سوی جوانان رشید میهن شلیک می کنند و با ریختن خون آنان نفرت ابدی را برای خود و رهبران بی وجدانشان ذخیره می
جعفر پویه
بر خلاف همه تهدیدات و رجز خوانیهای گماشتگان ولی فقیه و اوباشان سرکوبگر آن، امروز هزاران زن و مرد آزادیخواه با حضور در خیابانهای شهرهای مختلف کشور به ویژه تهران، مخالفت خود با رژیم ستمگر را با صدای بلند ابراز داشتند. حضور دلاورانه زنان و مردان رشید میهن در عرصه مبارزه ای رویارو با نیروهای تا دندان مسلح رژیم ولی فقیه بار دیگر ثابت کرد که سرکوبگران در مقابل اراده تزلزل ناپذیر آنان هیچ اند.
جوانان مبارز و آزادیخواه آنچنان عرصه را بر نیروهای سرکوبگر رژیم ستمگران تنگ کرده اند که هر ترفند آنان به سرعت به ضد خود تبدیل شده و شکست را همچون شرنگ به حلقوم شان فرو می کنند. پای کوبیدن مردمی که از ستمگری و ظلم رژیم دجالان به تنگ آمده اند و خواهان دستیابی به آزادی هستند و همبستگی قهرمانانه آنان، چشم همه جهانیان را به سوی دلاوریهای آنان دوخته است. امروز دیگر تنها این ایرانیان تبعیدی و فعالان و کوشندگان سیاسی و اجتماعی در خارج نیستند که نگران فرزندان مبارز میهن اند و سعی در کمک رسانی به آنان را دارند بلکه، هر آزادیخواهی در هر گوشه جهان که اخبار و کوشش دیگر مردمان را دنبال می کند و یا بدان علاقمند است، چشم و گوش به اخبار رسیده از ایران سپرده است و با توجه ویژه این اتفاقات را دنبال می کند.
در روزهای گذشته رژیم سعی کرد با دندان نشان دادن توسط فرماندهان نیروهای سرکوبگر و تهدید به وسیله اوباش سرشناس، امکان برگزاری تجمع اعتراضی و راهپیمایی در روز 18 تیر را نا ممکن جلوه دهد. مرتضی تمدن، استاندار تهران نیز با قمه بستن از رو برای مردم گفت: "هیچ مجوزی برای تجمع در روز ۱۸ تیر درخواست و صادر نشده است. اگر چنانچه افراد معدودی بخواهند با گوش دادن به فراخوان شبكه***های ضد انقلاب تحرك ضد امنیتی داشته باشند زیر گامهای مردم هوشیار ما له خواهند شد."
این گماشته بی مقدار ولایت فقیه نمی فهمد و یا نمی خواهد بفهمد مردمی که از ظلم و ستم رژیم دجالان به تنگ آمده اند برای حق خواهی و عدالت جویی نه تنها درخواست تجمع از سرکوبگران نکرده و نخواهند کرد بلکه، این او و رژیم ددمنش اش هستند که زیر گامهای استوار زنان و مردان دلاور آزادیخواه درحال له شدن هستند. به همین دلیل امروز همه خیابانهایی که به دانشگاه تهران ختم می شود، توسط اوباش سرکوبگر رژیم اشغال شدند تا اجازه هیچ تحرکی را به مردم ندهند. همچنین هلیکوپترهای سپاه بر فراز شهر به چرخ زدن درآمدند تا هر فعل و انفعال مردم را به سرعت گزارش کنند. اما با همه کنترل شدید امنیتی خیابانهای شهر و اخلال در سیستم تلفن همراه و قطع پیامک، مردم زیر گوش نیروهای سرکوبگر، تجمعهای چند هزار نفری برگزار کردند و روسیاهی بزرگی برای گماشتگان سرکوبگر و ولی فقیه آنان به بار آوردند. حال این ولی فقیه ارتجاع و سردمداران اوباش سرکوبگر هستند که زیر گامهای استوار آزادیخواهان همبسته احساس له شدگی می کنند یا برعکس؟
به عزم دلاورانه همه زنان و مردان رشیدی که با حضور در خیابانهای شهر شرنگ شکست را به حلقوم ولایت فقیه ریختند و داغ ننگ سرکوبگری را بر پیشانی عوامل استبداد او کوبیدند درود می فرستیم. اراده پولادین فرزندان رشید میهن برای آزادیخواهی را می ستاییم و همبستگی بی مانندشان برای رسیدن به مقصود را ارج می نهیم.
ننگ ابدی بر ستم پیشه ای چون ولی فقیه و گماشتگان و عمال استبداد او که به سوی جوانان رشید میهن شلیک می کنند و با ریختن خون آنان نفرت ابدی را برای خود و رهبران بی وجدانشان ذخیره می
These guys already know this but there is no way they are going to admit it that its IRI fault. As I said before, they fully support the government that is responsible for lack of reliable news and then, shamelessly, make fun of lack of reliable news.
Please deny them the privilege of your response.
Please deny them the privilege of your response.
So who here thinks the next phase for regime is going to be playing their Larijani card which is/was the option they have been keeping open since the day after the election? This means they are going to blame certain "rogue" elements within the hard-line establishments for the attacks on dormitories and possibly the deaths of few protesters. Khamenei could condemn these actions himself. Still doesn't resolve the question about the election though.
The shamelessness of akhonds is a well known phenomena, they shoot Neda (and many others) in broad daylight and for the whole world to see, and they say CIA did it!
Their excuses will get more and more ridiculous (even by their standard) until they go to hell!
Islamic Republic of Iran's only policy at the moment is to attack, arrest, torture and kill people; as a regime they don't have (they never had) any other agenda.
Their excuses will get more and more ridiculous (even by their standard) until they go to hell!
Islamic Republic of Iran's only policy at the moment is to attack, arrest, torture and kill people; as a regime they don't have (they never had) any other agenda.
کانادا به اتباع خود درباره سفر به ایران هشدار داد
به گزارش خبرگزاری فرانسه از اوتاوا، وزارت خارجه کانادا در بیانیه ای که روز پنج شنبه منتشر کرد از اتباع این کشور خواست قبل از تصمیم گیری در باره سفر به ایران به دقت همه جوانب آن را بررسی کنند.
وزارت اخارجه کانادا با اشاره به رویدادهای ایران و تظاهرات معترضان از اتباع خود خواست از سفر غير ضروری به ايران خودداری كنند.
وزارت امورخارجه کانادا همچنین با احضار کاردار جمهوری اسلامی خواهان آزادی مازیار بهاری، خبرنگار ایرانی کانادايی هفته نامه آمریکايی نیوزویک شد. این خبرنگار به اتهام اقدام علیه امنیت ملی در تهران بازداشت شده و هم اکنون در زندان بسر می برد.
به گزارش خبرگزاری فرانسه از اوتاوا، وزارت خارجه کانادا در بیانیه ای که روز پنج شنبه منتشر کرد از اتباع این کشور خواست قبل از تصمیم گیری در باره سفر به ایران به دقت همه جوانب آن را بررسی کنند.
وزارت اخارجه کانادا با اشاره به رویدادهای ایران و تظاهرات معترضان از اتباع خود خواست از سفر غير ضروری به ايران خودداری كنند.
وزارت امورخارجه کانادا همچنین با احضار کاردار جمهوری اسلامی خواهان آزادی مازیار بهاری، خبرنگار ایرانی کانادايی هفته نامه آمریکايی نیوزویک شد. این خبرنگار به اتهام اقدام علیه امنیت ملی در تهران بازداشت شده و هم اکنون در زندان بسر می برد.
It is a lose-lose dilema for them. If they give away an inch, they know the people would take a mile from them and continue to the end. That's why still for 10 years they have refused to ever condemn the 18 Tir attack or to arrest anyone involved. Show no weakness, has been their moto. On the other hand they can't continue standing against the whole people's will, because then eventually they would collapse and a fate worse than Shah would expect them and they know it.
G-8 Condemns Iran’s Crackdown, Shies Away From Sanctions Threat
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By Steve Scherer and James G. Neuger
July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Group of Eight leaders condemned Iran’s violent crackdown on protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection, while avoiding the threat of sanctions.
The G-8 statement, following President Barack Obama’s trip to Moscow to “reset” ties with Russia, illustrated the difficulty of winning Kremlin backing for new steps to isolate Iran.
“We call upon Iran to solve the situation through democratic dialogue,” said the statement released late yesterday at the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy. “We remain committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.”
Russia, builder of Iran’s first nuclear reactor, has resisted calls for a new set of United Nations sanctions against the country’s uranium enrichment efforts, seen by the West as cover for nuclear weapons program.
Obama’s bid to renew U.S. ties with Iran after a 30-year freeze in the wake of the Islamic revolution has been blunted by the disputed reelection of Ahmadinejad, a key driver of the nuclear program.
Street protests against the June 12 ballot have died down in the face of a government show of force that led to hundreds of arrests and left as many as 20 people dead, according to state-run media.
Foreigners Arrested
Iran’s arrest of nine local employees of the U.K. embassy and of a French teacher who snapped cell-phone photos of a demonstration, continued to elicit European protests.
The teacher, Clotilde Reiss, 23, must be released “right now,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters late yesterday after a working dinner to discuss Iran. She was jailed July 1 on charges of spying. Sarkozy said France’s ambassador to Iran will be allowed to visit Reiss for the first time today.
The G-8 statement made no reference to further sanctions over the nuclear program, as threatened yesterday by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
A failure of the engagement policy would lead the U.S. to “ask the world to join us in imposing even stricter sanctions on Iran to try to change the behavior of the regime,” Clinton told Venezuela’s Globovision network.
Sarkozy said penalties are being discussed “in secret” because of their “sensitive” nature. The statement said the G- 8 will consider its next steps in September.
Iran is the Middle East’s second-biggest oil producer. Crude oil rose for the first time in seven days after the International Monetary Fund said a rebound in the global economy next year will be stronger than it forecast in April. A barrel fetched $60.56 at 6:39 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Scherer in L’Aquila, Italy at scherer@bloomberg.net; James G. Neuger in Rome at jneuger@bloomberg.net
Share | Email | Print | A A A
By Steve Scherer and James G. Neuger
July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Group of Eight leaders condemned Iran’s violent crackdown on protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection, while avoiding the threat of sanctions.
The G-8 statement, following President Barack Obama’s trip to Moscow to “reset” ties with Russia, illustrated the difficulty of winning Kremlin backing for new steps to isolate Iran.
“We call upon Iran to solve the situation through democratic dialogue,” said the statement released late yesterday at the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy. “We remain committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.”
Russia, builder of Iran’s first nuclear reactor, has resisted calls for a new set of United Nations sanctions against the country’s uranium enrichment efforts, seen by the West as cover for nuclear weapons program.
Obama’s bid to renew U.S. ties with Iran after a 30-year freeze in the wake of the Islamic revolution has been blunted by the disputed reelection of Ahmadinejad, a key driver of the nuclear program.
Street protests against the June 12 ballot have died down in the face of a government show of force that led to hundreds of arrests and left as many as 20 people dead, according to state-run media.
Foreigners Arrested
Iran’s arrest of nine local employees of the U.K. embassy and of a French teacher who snapped cell-phone photos of a demonstration, continued to elicit European protests.
The teacher, Clotilde Reiss, 23, must be released “right now,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters late yesterday after a working dinner to discuss Iran. She was jailed July 1 on charges of spying. Sarkozy said France’s ambassador to Iran will be allowed to visit Reiss for the first time today.
The G-8 statement made no reference to further sanctions over the nuclear program, as threatened yesterday by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
A failure of the engagement policy would lead the U.S. to “ask the world to join us in imposing even stricter sanctions on Iran to try to change the behavior of the regime,” Clinton told Venezuela’s Globovision network.
Sarkozy said penalties are being discussed “in secret” because of their “sensitive” nature. The statement said the G- 8 will consider its next steps in September.
Iran is the Middle East’s second-biggest oil producer. Crude oil rose for the first time in seven days after the International Monetary Fund said a rebound in the global economy next year will be stronger than it forecast in April. A barrel fetched $60.56 at 6:39 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Scherer in L’Aquila, Italy at scherer@bloomberg.net; James G. Neuger in Rome at jneuger@bloomberg.net
