Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Iran

Ahmadinejad Criticizes U.S. Iraq Policy In Open Letter

President Ahmadinejad (file photo) (Fars)

November 30, 2006 -- Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has sent an unprecedented open letter to the American people, urging them to reverse their government's policies in Iraq.

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November 30, 2006

In a letter addressed to "Noble Americans," Ahmadinejad urged the United States to pull out of Iraq and suggested it spend its Iraq military budget at home instead.

He also accused the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush of governing by what he called "coercion, force, and injustice."

Tom Casey, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department later, dismissed the letter as mere public relations.

"My initial reaction to you is that there's really not a lot new here and certainly it is something of a public-affairs or public-relations effort on the part of the Iranian government," Casey said.

In May, Ahmadinejad sent a surprise 18-page letter to Bush. Like the latest letter, that one also did not directly address Iran's disputed nuclear program.

(AFP, Reuters, AP)

What The Street Thinks

A demonstration in support of Iran's nuclear program outside the Isfahan uranium-conversion facility in Isfahan in January (epa)

IRANIANS SPEAK OUT ON THE DISPUTE: To find out more about what Iranians think about the international controversy over their country's nuclear program, RADIO FARDA asked listeners to express their views....(more)

THE COMPLETE PICTURE: RFE/RL's complete coverage of controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

CHRONOLOGY

An annotated timeline of Iran's nuclear program.

Iran has stepped up its pressure on activists using the Internet

Iranian Activists, Journalists Receive Threatening E-mails

A number of Iranian activists and journalists based inside and outside the country have told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda they have been threatened in anonymous e-mails. More

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

Many Iranians have been claiming that their access to social networks and Internet-based e-mail sites has been blocked in recent days.

Iran Tightens Internet Control

Iranians are reporting that their access to Facebook and Internet-based e-mail sites like Gmail has been blocked, without any explanation from the government. Not even the strongest antifiltering programs have penetrated the firewall, they say. Some speculate the move is related to Iran's plan to launch a national internet, which might sever Iranians' ability to access the World Wide Web. More