Turkey Inside Line: New Anti-PKK Equipment; Waiting for an Apology from Israel

According to the Turkish daily Milliyet, Turkish officials want to buy the BiScopic Protection System for use against members of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) crossing the border from Iran, Syria and especially Iraq. This radar system has both visual and thermal cameras selecting small images up to 1 megapixel.

Meanwhile, according to Israel's Yedioth Ahronot, a senior Turkish diplomat has said that an apology letter, covering tensions in Israeli-Turkish relations, was written jointy by Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer  and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at their secret meetings this spring. The official said that the letter was sent to the Israeli government to be approved but barred by a minister.

When the Ben-Eliezer meeting with Davutoglu was revealed, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called it a blow to his trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Turkish diplomat stated that Israel had made an important step by supporting the UN investigation committee into May's raid on the Freedom Flotilla and added that Ankara is still looking forward to an awaiting apology letter and a compensation amount to the families of nine dead activists. The diplomat continued:

People's memories are short. They forget Erdogan's visit to Israel and Israeli President Shimon Peres' talk in the Turkish Parliament (TBMM). If there had been an anti-Israeli policy, would we have done these? We are in a weird situation because of this between two friends. If Israel was an enemy, we would not mind and if our aim was to cut the ties, we would have done it already!

The Latest from Iran (29 August): The "Hidden Imam" Circle

2050 GMT: Larijani v. Ahmadinejad (Foreign Policy Edition). Well, we started the day with a story of Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani against the President, so let's close with one....

On Sunday, Larijani implicitly criticised Ahmadinejad's appointment of four special representatives, including Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, for foreign policy affairs, telling reporters, “I have not had the chance to ask the Foreign Ministry about the rationale behind this decision."

Larijani added to the jibe by saying that under current conditions, foreign policy issues must be dealt with more vigilantly.

Larijani is far from alone in his concern. On Saturday, Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Parliament's National Security Commission, which he chairs, is concerned over the appointment of Mashaei due to his lack of expertise and the number of posts that he holds.

The former Iranian ambassador to China and Pakistan, Javad Mansouri, has also said the appointment of inexperienced people as special envoys is “irrational”. He added that the role of the Foreign Ministry, as Iran’s ambassadors do not know whose orders they should follow.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, appearing on Sunday before Parliament, was caught up in heated exchanges over the issue.

NEW Iran: Ahmadinejad Attacks Rafsanjani & “Corrupt” Foes; “Overthrowers Have Not Been Punished Yet” (Kamdar)
UPDATED Iran: Tehran Declares Readiness for Nuclear Talks?
NEW Iran: An Ayatollah's "Larijani is a Jew" Declaration
Iran: Obama Rejects a Public “Red Line” on Nuclear Capability (Porter)
Iran Music Special: The Kanye West No-War Rap
The Latest from Iran (28 August): Music, Sanctions, and Science

2045 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Women's rights activists Maryam Bidgoli and Fatemeh Masjedi have each been given one-year sentences for “spreading propaganda against the state, through collection of signatures for changing discriminatory laws and publication of materials in support of a feminist group which works in opposition to the Regime.”

Bidgoli and Masjedi are both members of the One Million Signatures Campaign for women's rights.

1850 GMT: No Religion in the Islamic Republic? Kalemeh, the website linked to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reports that Mousavi supporters were prevented by security forces from holding a Ramadan religious ceremony in Mashhad.

1845 GMT: And the Answer Is.... You cannot imagine my excitement just now when I read the Press TV headline, "Ahmadinejad Reveals Source of All Crises".

I'm thinking Britney Spears. Or Justin Bieber. Yes, definitely Justin Bieber.

Alas, not only am I wrong but the President's answer is far more mundane: "Monarchic regimes and hegemonic powers are the source of all global crises."

1835 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Shohreh Taghati, the wife of imprisoned lawyer Mohammad Oliyaifard, has said her husband cannot appeal his one-year sentence --- handed down for speaking to foreign media about Iranian juveniles facing the death penalty --- because the verdict has not been formally given to him.

Oliyaifard was sentenced in February and has been in detention since March.

1830 GMT: The Gasoline Squeeze. Ali-Reza Zeighami, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company, has said Iran is about to increase its gasoline production significantly, reaching a target of 191 million litres of gasoline a day.

Iran, according to Zeighami, currently produced 45 million litres of gasoline daily, with 64 million litres being consumed. He warned that, if a gasoline rationing plan is not implemented, the consumption will increase to 100 to 120 million litres a day.

Zeighami said most of the increase in gasoline production plan will occur by the end of the Fifth Development Plan (2015).

1820 GMT: The Purge of the Universities. Minister of Science, Research and Technology Kamran Daneshjoo, who is responsible for higher education, says, "The enemies are making efforts to replace the Islamic atmosphere in [Iranian] universities with their liberal democratic environment."

Daneshjoo's remarks follow last Sunday's statement by Ayatollah Khamenei to university students in Tehran that higher education institutions have become the main "target" of plots by foreign powers.

Daneshjoo said Tehran would publish evidence proving the involvement of several foreign intelligence agencies in efforts to "negatively influence" students.

The Press TV article quoting Daneshjoo does not mention that Iranian authorities have replaced about 20 heads of higher education institutions in recent months.

1440 GMT: Parliament v. Government. Sources report to Tabnak that the impeachment effort against Minister of Energy Majid Namjoo has been halted.

1418 GMT: Protesting Executions. Footage has been posted of a protest in Washington DC yesterday, with EA's Josh Shahryar criticising the stoning of prisoners.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzKlAxwQ4I[/youtube]

The International Committee Against Stoning has posted reports of demonstrations in other cities around the world.

1415 GMT: Education Watch. Teachers have protested in front of the Parliament over the dismissal of 120,000 colleagues across Iran.

1410 GMT: Lots happening in Iran on both the domestic and international fronts --- we've got two new features. An update brings the latest on Iran's confused but possibly hopeful position over nuclear talks with the US, while Nazanin Kamdar reports on an apparent Ahmadinejad outburst threatening former President Hashemi Rafsanjani and "corrupt" foes.

0915 GMT: Economy Watch. Iran's Statistics Centre reports that 730,000 land labourers have lost their jobs during the last five years. Causes include no loans, no government support for purchase of harvests, and escalating imports.

0905 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Nokia Siemens Edition). Kaveh Shahrooz provides extensive legal background on the lawsuit filed by detained journalist Isa Saharkhiz and his son Media against Nokia Siemens Networks for selling and providing surveillance technology to Iranian authorities.

0805 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Persian2English reports on detained Kurdish activist Rahim Rashi, who is on Day 38 of a hunger strike.

0800 GMT: We've got a story you don't see everyday: "An Ayatollah's 'Larijani is a Jew' Declcaration".

0720 GMT: Oops! The President's Foreign Policy Guys. Khabar Online reports the first mis-step for the four special representatives appointed by the President's office this week. Hamid Baghaei, Ahmadinejad's deputy for Asia, called he mass murder of Armenians a "genocide". That caused an uproar in the Turkish media, and Foreign Minister Mottaki's explanatory phone call reportedly did not convince his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu.

705 GMT: Too Dangerous to Remember Khomeini? For the second year in a row, Iranian authorities have cancelled all religious ceremonies for "Qadr nights" at the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, scheduled for mid-September. Clerics who normally preside include former President Mohammad Khatami, former Presidential candidate Nategh Nouri, and Hashemi Rafsanjani ally Hassan Rohani.

0635 GMT: Reconciliation? Last Sunday we were watching as President Ahmadinejad and Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, brought together by the Supreme Leader, declared co-operation.

This Sunday we are reading the statement of Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman of the Guardian Council: "We have to pray that the Government implements the Majlis' laws. The Guardian Council cannot do anything else."

Kadkhodaei added that Parliament has abided to the laws and that there has to be a resolution between the Government and Majlis within weeks. If that did not come, then the Supreme Leader had to make decisions.

MP Elyas Naderan, a leading critic of the Government, has protested that the President is trying to establish "unilateral unity". Naderan said that, as the Supreme Leader declared, unity does not mean the constant retreat of one side.

Mehr reports that an arbitration committee is trying to resolve the disputes.

0630 GMT: Khatami Intervention. Former President Mohammad Khatami has declared that a just Government cannot use its monopoly on arms to oppress its citizens and that its most important duty is to defend their rights.

0615 GMT: We start today by noting a most provocative report: Mohammad Javad Haghshenas, the manager of the Etemade Melli newspaper, raided by Iranian authorities and closed last autumn, claims there is an "Urumiyeh Circle", consisting of President Ahmadinejad and close advisors. This group all believe in and pursue policies based on the return of the 12th "hidden" Imam.

According to Haghshenas, the circle began with Ahmadinejad, key advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, and 2005 Presidential campaign manager. Later adherents include Sadegh Masouli, now Minister of Welfare, and the President's controversial Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

Haghshenas adds that Rahim-Mashai was in the Minister of Intelligence but was dismissed because of his messianic views. He says "Ahmadinejad loves [Rahim-Mashai] more than normal and gives him multitude of offices to solidify his position as next President".

Wow, what a claim. Who could dare publish this? Surely some newspaper outside Iran, connected to the Greens, reformists, and/or Ahmadinejad's bitterest foes?

Nope. The report is featured in Khabar Online, connected to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and now --- given the sweeping ban on reformist and Green media --- the effective opposition newspaper inside Iran.

Turkey's Israel "Problem": Analysing the Supposed Threat from Washington (Yenidunya)

On Tuesday, a Ramallah resident, Nadim Injaz, entered the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv and triedto take one of the employees hostage with a knife and what later turned out to be a toy gun. After a standoff of several hours, he was shot in the legs and hospitalised.

Fatah issued an official statement denying that Injaz had been employed by the Palestinian Authority: "He is a drug dealer who lives in Tel Aviv under official Israel protection." Israeli police confirmed that Injaz collaborated with Israel's security services in the past.

Gaza: UN Releases Report on War “No Judgement”

After the incident, a Turkish diplomatic source told Turkish daily Hurriyet: “This incident has proven that there is a security weakness. The results of Tuesday’s attack would have been worse if our security personnel had not been able to act in time."

The Turkish comment comes after a Financial Times report of a warning from President Obama to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the US cut off military supplies unless Ankara eased the friction in its foreign policy towards Israel.

Responses from Washington complicated the situation. White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton denied the news:

The President and Erdogan did speak about 10 days ago and they talked about Iran and the flotilla and other issues related to that. But we obviously have an ongoing dialogue with them. But no such ultimatum was issued.There’s no ultimatum.

Then a senior Obama administration official, quoted by the FT, "clarified":

The president has said to [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan that some of the actions that Turkey has taken have caused questions to be raised on the Hill [Congress] . . . about whether we can have confidence in Turkey as an ally.

On Wednesday, the Turkish side denied the original report. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkey's Zaman: "No country can warn Turkey. No one can display such a stance towards the Turkish Prime Minister."

President Abdullah Gul  said: "There are no problems in ties with the US. The Turkey that some had grown accustomed to no longer exists. Instead, there is a Turkey that plays a central role in many processes. There are those who are confused by this."

However, on the same day, Erdogan said there could be problems with weapon sales because of the US Congress.  He added that "such matters are internal in every country" and that Turkey is capable of manufacturing many of the armaments.

After this confusion, a Turkish committee headed by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu and Deputy Undersecretaries Selim Yenel and Tacan Ildem will be going to Washington, according to diplomatic sources. Iran's nuclear programme, Afghanistan, Iraq, and relations with Israel are expected to be on the agenda.

Ankara's message is clear: "Our goals are same but strategies may be different. Turkey's axis is not shifting; we are just looking for relative autonomy." The request to the Obama Administration will beto help Ankara fix its image in the Congress.

Turkey Inside Line: Ankara's Ramadan Message to Israel, Chemical Weapons against Kurds, Relations with Iran, and Turkey's Gaza Probe

Ankara's Ramadan Message to Israel: On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wished all Muslims an "easy" month of Ramadan. Although this message was meant for the Palestinians, the first response came from Ankara. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, Justice and Development Party (AKP), excluded Israel's envoy Gabi Levi from the guest list for Eid al-Fitr, the annual dinner marking the end of Ramadan.

AK party chairman of foreign relations committee, Omer Çelik, said:

The reason for not inviting the Israeli ambassador is not on a personal level but rather a symbolic act against Israel's policies.

Anyone who is unjust or inequitable can not pass the threshold of the Justice and Development party’s headquarters.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry's response came quickly:

Once again it appears that Erdogan is initiating an escalation and searching for it. We will behave responsibly and not be pulled into the Turkish sword dance.

Ankara "Used Chemical Weapons": A report from Hamburg University Hospital concludes that eight PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) members killed last September were murdered by “the use of chemical substances.”

MPs from Germany's Christian Democratic Union party and the Green party have been pressuring the government to take an action against Turkey.

MP Andrej Hunko urged the German Foreign Ministry to file a complaint with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.

Turkish-Iranian Relations: After Brasil signed a decree that the country will abide by United Nations sanctions against Iran, Ankara has decided to continue its close relationship with Tehran.

On Wednesday, Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said that the country will support gasoline sales by Turkish companies to Iran, despite U.S. sanctions.

Tupras, Turkey's sole refiner and gasoline exporter, which buys 33 percent of its crude from Iran, declined to say whether the company had traded with Tehran. However, a Tupras official said, "For us, Iran is more important than America, because we get crude oil from them. We don't get anything from America."

Meanwhile, Ankara denied a report in Italian daily Corriere Della Sera that it will "send sophisticated weapons, rockets and guns to Syria that will end up in Lebanon", with the Iranian army delivering weapons to Hezbollah. Ankara denied these rumours.

"The claims mentioned are without basis," said a senior foreign ministry official.

Turkey's Own Probe: On Thursday, the AFP news agency reported that Turkey had set up its own inquiry into Israel's raid on the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May.

AFP says PM's Office will "investigate the attack and the treatment the activists faced" and present its findings to the United Nations committee of enquiry. committee.

On the same day, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu again blamed Israel:

No one else can take the blame for killing civilians in international waters. Israel has killed civilians, and should take the responsibility for having done so.

Gaza Latest (11 August): Barak v. the PM, Turkey's Response to Netanyahu, Israel's "No" to the UN and More

Barak v. Netanyahu: On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the Turkel Committee, investigating the bloodshed following the incident on 31 May. However, Netanyahu refused to give answers and suggested talking behind closed doors on several occasions. When he was asked who conducted talks with Turkish officials, whether there were alternatives to the military option or the situation could have been resolved with Cairo's assistance, and about the claims that Israel had broken international law, Netanyahu showed the committee the door.

The next day, Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared in front of the committee. Barak's testimony not only contradicted Netanyahu but said he was taking full responsibility for Israel's deadly raid, pointing out "operational mistakes" if not "failures": "The decision making process at the political level was not the reason for the reality that emerged at the end of the operation."

Barak said that an intelligence assessment and a range of potential outcomes, including the possibility of 'extreme scenarios' were discussed in the inner Cabinet, known as the 'Forum of Seven'. In contrast, Netanyahu had said discussions before the raid focused largely on the likely impact on public relations and the chance of violent confrontation had been mentioned only in passing.

Haaretz reports that Barak --- unlike Netanyahu --- answered all the committee's questions, albeit with some political tactics of his own:

Barak bombarded the panel with names, dates and facts before launching an evasive maneuver in the form of a pompous oration on the dangers of global terror and a nuclear Iran, helpfully informing the committee that Israel was not North America, or indeed Western Europe.

Turkey's Response to Netanyahu: After Netanyahu said Turkey had ignored repeated warnings and appeals "at the highest level" to halt the flotilla, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu responded on Tuesday:

No one else can take the blame for killing civilians in international waters. Israel has killed civilians, and should take the responsibility for having done so.Turkey has no responsibility in the attack on the flotilla.

Israel's "No" to the UN: The international probe led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer might have caused a problem for Israel even if this “complementary” commission has no scope beyond "investigating" internal reports on the deadly incident on 31 May.

The problem lies in UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's answer when he had agreed to keep Israel's military forces off limits in the inquiry. He said that "there was no such agreement behind the scenes."

In response, Haaretz reports, from a government source, that Israel will not allow the UN to question Israeli soldiers. Though the commission has no right to issue sanctions but just can give suggestions, Israel's position is firm.

One can only speculate that an investigation finding an Israeli soldier's conduct "inaccurate" could lead to further political consequences in the international arena, especially when arrest warrants for former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and some senior military officials have been discussed in Europe?

Pressure to Dismantle the UNHRC's Probe?: Since the UN Human Rights Committee started its work on Tuesday, it has been reported that "key international players" are trying to persuade the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to dismantle the flotilla probe. The justification is simple: If the Council does not stop as another UN-sponsored probe is in progress, it reinforces the HRC's image as one-sided and arbitrary.

Any guess whom these "key international players" might be?