Category: Iran

Armenia Showcases Iran Ties, as Talks With Azerbaijan and Turkey Falter

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 29

February 11, 2010

By: Emil Danielyan

Armenia is showcasing its close relationship with Iran at a delicate time in its negotiations with two other, less friendly neighbors: Azerbaijan and Turkey. With the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations and the resolution of the Karabakh conflict looking increasingly problematic, authorities in Yerevan seem to be hedging their bets by pursuing more multi-million dollar commercial projects with Tehran.

Armenian leaders have also made a point of underlining Iran’s broader geopolitical significance for their landlocked country and what they have long described as Tehran’s “balanced” position on the Karabakh dispute. Their Iranian counterparts have readily reciprocated that praise in the latest flurry of diplomatic activity between the two governments. “The foundation of the two countries’ relations is being fundamentally strengthened and cooperation in such major fields as energy, transportation, and communications would project a new image of our bilateral ties,” Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said at the end of a two-day visit to Yerevan on January 27 (IRNA, January 28).

“You know well what importance we attach to relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and that we perceive you as a reliable partner and a country with a pivotal significance in the region,” Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told Mottaki during their talks adding, “Therefore, the development and deepening of bilateral relations stems from our interests” (Statement by the Armenian presidential press service, January 27).

The main official purpose of Mottaki’s trip was to co-chair with the Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian a regular session of an Armenian-Iranian inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation. The meeting focused on plans for building a railway connecting the two countries, a pipeline to deliver Iranian oil products to Armenia, and a major hydro-electric station on the Arax River marking the Armenian-Iranian border. Mottaki and Movsisian said they have made further progress on these projects, requiring billions of dollars in funding, but announced no dates for their implementation. The Iranian minister said only that the commission is “aiming to achieve quick results” (Kapital, January 27).

With an estimated cost of $2 billion, the railway project is particularly ambitious. Just how the two sides, and Armenia in particular, plan to finance it remains unclear. The Iranian government reportedly expressed its readiness during Sargsyan’s April 2009 visit to Tehran to provide a $400 million loan to Yerevan for that purpose. The Armenian side, which would foot the bulk of the bill due to the virtual absence of any rail infrastructure in its southeastern Syunik region bordering Iran, is expected to seek the remainder of the funding from multilateral lending institutions. One of them, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank, has already agreed to finance a $1 million feasibility study on the project to be conducted soon.

Armenian-Iranian economic cooperation has, until now, centered on energy, resulting in the construction of a natural gas pipeline inaugurated by the two governments in December 2008. In May 2009, Armenia began importing modest amounts of Iranian gas (approximately 1 million cubic meters per day) and paying for it with electricity supplies to the Islamic Republic. The volume of those deliveries is due to rise sharply after the planned construction of a third high-voltage transmission line linking the Armenian and Iranian power grids. Movsisian said in November 2009 that the work on that line will start in 2010 and take about 18 months (www.armenialiberty.org, November 12). The ongoing reconstruction of Armenia’s two largest thermal-power plants, the main recipients of Iranian gas, should be completed by that time.

Mottaki arrived in Yerevan less than a week after the former Armenian President Robert Kocharian’s surprise visit to Tehran, which sparked intense media speculation in Armenia. Kocharian held talks there with the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mottaki. The official Iranian IRNA news agency cited Ahmadinejad on January 21 as calling the Armenian-Iranian relationship “very friendly” and saying that the two neighboring nations are “determined to implement joint projects and play an active role in regional developments.” Both the Armenian government and Kocharian’s office insisted afterwards that the former president, who has kept a low profile since handing over power to Sargsyan in April 2008, visited Iran in a private capacity, even though he was invited by the Iranian government. Speaking at a news conference in Yerevan, Mottaki described Kocharian’s talks in Tehran as a conversation between old “friends” who share “good memories of the past” and have plans for the future (www.armenialiberty.org, January 27).

Some Armenian media commentators construed Kocharian’s first major political engagement since his resignation as a sign of his impending bid to return to power. Others said, however, that Sargsyan himself sent his predecessor and longtime ally to the Iranian capital to warn the West against pressuring Armenia to make additional concessions to Azerbaijan and Turkey. The main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK), Kocharian’s most bitter detractor, subscribed to the latter theory. In a January 26 interview with Radio Free Europe’s Armenian service, one of the HAK leaders, Levon Zurabian, speculated that a high-profile visit to Tehran by Sargsyan or another serving Armenian leader would have made Yerevan’s diplomatic gambit too galling for the United States and other foreign powers involved in the Karabakh peace process.

According to the pro-government newspaper Hayots Ashkhar, Kocharian’s trip was meant to send a different message to the West. The paper said on January 26 that it reflected Yerevan’s frustration with the Western powers’ failure to convince Ankara to stop linking the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations with a Karabakh settlement acceptable to Azerbaijan. The Armenian leadership, it said, “cannot sit and wait for the West to exert serious pressure on Turkey.”

In what might be a related development, Iran’s Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has invited his Armenian counterpart, Seyran Ohanian, to visit the Islamic Republic in the coming months. Ohanian received the invitation at a February 3 meeting with the Iranian Ambassador to Armenia, Seyed Ali Saghaeyan. A statement by the Armenian defense ministry said they had discussed “regional problems of mutual interest and issues related to the resolution of conflicts.”

https://jamestown.org/program/armenia-showcases-iran-ties-as-talks-with-azerbaijan-and-turkey-falter/

February 12, 2010
US insistent on missile system in Turkey, not more Afghan troops

Nato Meeting

Gates said, we have discussed the possibility of erecting two radars in Turkey.

United States (U.S.) Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Saturday his meeting with the Chief of Turkish General Staff, General Ilker Basbug, was almost completely devoted to the issues of Afghanistan and PKK.

Speaking to a group of Turkish and U.S. journalists in Ankara, Secretary Gates said that they had “not requested any new troops from Turkey.”

We are pleased with the partnership between Turkey and the U.S. in Afghanistan, Gates said.

We “discussed, with General Basbug, Turkey’s role in the missile defense system and relations between our armies”, Gates noted.

“PKK issue”

We carry a will to further develop cooperation with Turkey against the terrorist organization PKK as was set forth by former U.S. President George W. Bush back in 2007, Gates stressed.

We are searching for new opportunities that Turkey could utilize against the threat emanating from terrorist organization PKK, Gates said.

The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, had arrived in Ankara to hold talks on this (PKK) issue, Gates emphasized.

Cooperation between Turkey and the U.S., against PKK, is getting more intense, Gates said.

In regard to his talks at the Turkish General Staff, Secretary Gates said that “as the General noted, the final solution does not involve killing all”.

While speaking with the leader of the regional administration in north of Iraq, Massoud Barzani, I have stressed the importance of placing pressure on PKK to end violence, Gates said.

“Missile defense system”

The dialogue on what Turkey could do within NATO to counter the proliferation of ballistic missiles via a missile defense system continues. We have discussed the possibility of erecting two radars in Turkey, Gates said.

Reminded by a journalist about comments made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that there were actually countries in the region that possessed nuclear weapons, aside from Iran, like Israel, Secretary Gates argued, that Iran was “a country that openly announced a will to destroy another country” and violated the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

We are “not against” Iran’s peaceful nuclear works. However, Iran continues efforts for uranium enrichment, Gates noted.

I have not seen a progress with Iran on this matter. In order to be a progress, the Iranians must give up their enriched uranium to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Secretary Gates said.

Asked if Turkey is making sufficient efforts in regard to the issue of Iran, Gates said that Turkey was valuable as they could talk to the Iranians, a mission highly difficult for the U.S.

There could be opportunities (from Turkey’s dialogue with Iran). We need to have a common understanding on concerns expressed, under the roof of the United Nations, pertaining to programs inititated by Iran, Gates stressed.

I have observed such an understanding in Turkey. We will continue on this path, Gates underlined.

Asked about what he thinks on comments made that Turkey has shifted its axis, Secretary Gates said that Turkey was in a unique position geographically and that their efforts in all fields must be received positively.

We are extremely pleased with Turkey’s contributions in Afghanistan. We have received a promise from “allies and partners” for the deployment of 10,000 additional personnel. We pay high importance to personnel that can train individuals (Afghans) in the areas of military and security, Gates said.

Iran says it enriches uranium for civilian applications and that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has a right to the technology already in the hands of many others.

Israel, most experts estimate that it has at least between 100 and 200 nuclear warheads, often threatens Iran with an attack.

World Bulletin

February 7, 2010
‘Iranian Cyber Army’ hacks Twitter

18 December 2009

A hacker group called ‘Iranian Cyber Army’ hacked Twitter for an hour early on 18 December, redirecting users to a website containing a green flag and Arabic writing.

Graham Cluley at Sophos, said in his blog: “Fortunately there isno indication at this point that the page was carrying malicious code, and this attack appears to have had political motivations rather than designed to steal confidential information from users.”

Cluley pointed out that although the hacker group calls itself the Iranian Cyber Army, this does not necessarily mean they are from Iran. However, he pointed out that Twitter was widely used by anti-government protesters in Iran earlier this year, and that Twitter delayed planned maintenance to allow Iranians to continue to share information over the service.

Part of the hacker message from the Iranian Cyber Army read: “The USA thinks they control and manage internet access, but they don’t. We control and manage the internet with our power, so do not try to the [sic] incite Iranian people.”

Cluley expressed relief, however, that ‘all’ that happened was that Twitter users were taken to a site displaying a political message: “Just imagine what could have occurred if they had pointed people to a phishing site posing as Twitter (designed to steal login names and passwords) rather than a political message?”

In a brief blog entry, Twitter’s Biz Stone said that the Twitter DNS records were compromised by an unauthorised party.

Cluley explained that this does not necessarily mean that the Twitter servers were breached by the ‘Iranian Cyber Army’, but that someone managed to somehow change the DNS look-up for twitter.com.

Although this of course raises the question of how the hackers managed to change the Twitter DNS records…

Infosecurity (UK)

December 18, 2009
Azerbaijan and Iran to sign gas agreement next week

Date: Sunday, December 13, 2009
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is due to sign an agreement with the National Iranian Gas Company to sell natural gas to Iran, said SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev.

According to him, the agreement will be signed in Tehran next week during the visit of Azerbaijani delegation led by foreign minister to Tehran.

According to the memorandum signed between the two countries on November 14, SOCAR will deliver at least 500 million cubic meters of gas to Iran a year from 2010 at the initial stage, and the volume will be gradually increased later.

Azerbaijan will charge Iran a price “close to the world market prices” calculated on the basis of an agreed formula, said officials.

Azerbaijan has natural gas agreements with Georgia, Turkey and Russia at present.

—
Yusif Babanly
Board of Directors
Azerbaijani American Council (AAC)

December 14, 2009
Ahmadinejad says US planning to prevent coming of Mahdi

US wants to stop mankind’s savior: Iran leader

DUBAI (Al Arabiya)

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he has documented evidence that the United States is doing what it can to prevent the coming of the Mahdi, the Imam that Muslims believe will be ultimate savior of mankind, press reports said Monday.

“We have documented proof that they [U.S.] believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will raise in these parts [Middle East] and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world,” the hard-line president said, addressing an audience of families of those killed during the 1980’s war against Iraq.

“They have devised all these plans to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam because they know that the Iranian nation is the one that will prepare the grounds for his coming and will be the supporters of his rule.”

Iranian news website Tabnak said Ahmadinejad further revealed plots by both the East and the West to wipe out the Islamic Republic.

“They have planned to annihilate Iran. This is why all policymakers and analysts believe Iran is the true winner in the Middle East,” he went on to proclaim, adding that they were after Iranian oil and other natural resources.

“In Afghanistan, they are caught like an animal in a quagmire. But instead of pulling their troops out to save themselves, they are deploying more soldiers. Even if they stay in Afghanistan for another 50 years they will be forced to leave with disgrace — because this is a historical experience.”

The president said on his last visit to New York he asked officials “Is there not one sane person in your country to tell you these things?”

“They know themselves that they need Iran in the Middle East, but because of their arrogance they do not want to accept this reality. They are nothing without the Iranian nation and all their rhetoric is because they don’t want to appear weak,” he added.

Enemy hype

Referring to his disputed June reelection, Ahmadinejad said, “The enemy… was hyping the issue as if the Iranian nation has been weakened and as if this was the best opportunity to get concessions from them. But your humble son stood in front of the oppressive powers and shouted: You are dead wrong! The Iranian nation will put you in your place.”

“In the recent [post-election] incident, they claimed that they had devised a plan that could bring hundreds of governments to their knees,” he continued. “But he who is on the righteous path will always be victorious and will never see defeat.”

The June 12 presidential election sparked Iran’s worst unrest since the Islamic revolution three decades ago and exposed deep divisions in the establishment. Authorities have denied all allegations of vote-rigging.

On Monday Iran commemorates the killing of three students in 1953 under the former Shah. The opposition is expected to try to use the state-organized rallies to revive opposition protests.

ALARABIYA

December 8, 2009
Rapprochement between Ankara, Teheran worries Brussels

Published: Tuesday 17 November 2009

Policymakers and influential media warned that Turkey’s developing ties with Iran could be counterproductive to the EU’s efforts to convince Teheran that it should abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

“Policymakers in the West are getting worried that Turkey’s growing ties with Iran – by lessening that country’s sense of isolation – may frustrate diplomatic efforts to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear bomb,” writes Katinka Barysch of the Centre of European Reform (CER) in a paper published on 4 November.

Relationships between Turkey and Iran are on the upturn. On 27-28 October, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan embarked on a two-day visit to Iran. There he met President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The visit was also an occasion to discuss gas transit, trade and energy agreements.

“The Erdogan government values its relationship with Iran as part of its ‘zero problem’ neighbourhood policy. Having been more or less isolated in the region only 20 years ago, Turkey now has flourishing political and trade links with most of its immediate neighbours,” Barysch writes.

This trip was anticipated in an interview with the Guardian newspaper, which saw the Turkish prime minister state that Iran was Turkey’s friend. “As a friend so far we have had very good relations and have no difficulty at all.” During his stay, Erdogan also stressed that the Iranian nuclear project is “an energy project that is peaceful and humanitarian”. This assertion contradicts the Commission’s 2009 progress report, which states that “Turkey supports the EU position on Iran’s nuclear programme”.

The Iran-Turkey relationship is also motivated by economic interests. “Trade between Turkey and Iran has been growing fast in recent years, to reach an estimated $6 billion in 2008. Politicians from both sides say they want to see that figure double or even triple over the next 5-10 years,” Barysch notes.

European opinion is divided. “Some European countries say Turkey’s improved ties with Iran could help EU policy in the Middle East and boost world powers’ efforts to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb. Others fear Ankara could be turning its back on Europe and its policy could hinder talks on Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme by reducing Tehran’s isolation,” writes Timothy Heritage of Reuters.

Stronger scepticism towards Ankara’s position can be found in Germany, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel is said to have raised concerns about the rapprochement between Turkey and Iran. Officials have also pointed to the increasing difficulties emerging within NATO over friction between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey’s foreign policy ambitions are facing a dilemma. “As a long-standing NATO member and a country negotiating for EU membership, Turkey is expected to align itself with the US and Europe. As a regional power, Turkey will want to act independently and avoid antagonising its neighbours. It is not clear how long Ankara will be able to avoid tough choices,” Barysch concludes.

Recently, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told journalists in Brussels that his country was in fact helping the West during ongoing tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme. He said his country was pursuing a policy of “zero problems” with its neighbours, with all of which he said relations were “very good” (EurActiv 05/10/09).

November 18, 2009