RFE/RL Iran Report — February 16, 2012

A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Iran.

U.S. Slaps Sanctions On Iranian Ministry  The U.S. Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on Iran’s main intelligence organization, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups, committing human rights abuses, and backing the Syrian government’s lethal crackdown on its citizens. More  Tehran ‘Ready’ For Nuclear Talks  Iran has told world powers it is ready to resume stalled nuclear talks at the “earliest” opportunity. More  Basij Commander Addresses New Poem To ‘Great Satan’  On “Persian Letters,” we’ve previously reported about the artistic skills possessed by the head of Iran’s Basij force, Mohammad Reza Naghdi, who, along with cracking down on opposition activists, appears to be a budding poet. More  ‘No Question That The Iranians Are Trying To Lash Out’  Israel has blamed Iran for two bombings targeting its diplomats in India and Georgia this week. Iran has denied any involvement. RFE/RL spoke to Juan Zarate, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and former deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism about the attacks. More  UN To Iraq: Start Camp Ashraf Move  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Iraqi authorities to begin the relocation process of members of the Iranian opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from Camp Ashraf. More  Iranian Nuke Still One To Three Years Away, Says Expert  Iran announced on February 15 that it has installed its first domestically produced nuclear fuel rods in a reactor in Tehran. Tehran also announced that it activated a new generation of centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility. RFE/RL speaks with nuclear physicist Frank Barnaby about what the advances reveal regarding Iran’s uranium enrichment abilities. More  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  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  Azeris Reject Iran’s Israel Spy Claim  Azerbaijan has denied Iranian claims that Baku has been collaborating with Israel’s spy services and helping assassins who killed Iranian nuclear scientists. More  Israelis Targeted In Georgia, India  Israeli diplomats in Georgia and India have been targeted by bomb strikes that Jerusalem is blaming on archenemy Iran, which has denied any involvement. More  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  Explainer: Iran’s National Internet  Reports that Iran has stepped up its Internet censorship in recent days — as evidenced by a general slowdown of the web, Internet blackouts, and the blocking of sites such as Google — has raised speculation that the country might be testing its controversial “national Internet.” More