The judicial reversal that led to the release of an Iranian-American from prison in Tehran on Monday could now offer hints of moderation by Iran’s ruling Islamic clerics — making room for possible overtures by the US administration.
The release of Roxana Saberi may also seek to boost hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s goodwill credentials before next month’s re-election challenge from reformers.
“It was certainly in the interest of Iran to close this case,” said Nadim Shehadi, a Middle East analyst at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. “No one wanted this to linger on.”
SHOWDOWN
Shortly after the journalist was detained in Iran in late January, US President Barack Obama was busy sharpening his appeals for Tehran’s leaders to “unclench their fist” and move toward greater dialogue with Washington.
Saberi’s release — after an appeals court suspended her eight-year prison sentence on charges of being a US spy — ended a showdown that threatened to bring an abrupt halt to the overtures at thawing a nearly 30-year diplomatic freeze.
But it’s far from the only detention drama that had complicated possible wider Iran-US engagement.
Ahmadinejad made less-than-subtle comparisons between Saberi’s appeals fight in Iran’s courts and Tehran’s demands for the freedom of three Iranians who have been detained in Iraq since a 2007 raid by US forces.
Tehran claims the three are diplomats, but the US military has raised possible links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard — the powerful military force under direct control of Iran’s Islamic rulers.
Saberi’s release could increase pressure by Iran for Washington to free the detained Iranians or publicly substantiate the allegations.
EX-FBI AGENT
US lawmakers, meanwhile, have pressed the Obama administration to demand answers from Iran about an ex-FBI agent who was last seen on Iran’s Kish Island in 2007 as he investigated cigarette smuggling for a client of his private security firm.
But the timing of Saberi’s release a month before the June 12 national elections in Iran suggests pragmatic objectives by Iran’s rulers, some analysts say.
It appears to signal to Washington a sense of stability and willingness to move forward on possible exchanges after the elections — and perhaps seek ways to ease Iran’s standoff with the West over its nuclear program.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that the Obama administration insists that Saberi was wrongly accused, “but we welcome this humanitarian gesture.”
The decision also gives Ahmadinejad a chance to soften his image before facing reformist challengers at the polls.
Ahmadinejad’s direct sway of judicial affairs is extremely limited, but his supporters in the ruling establishment hold that power. Saberi’s release handed Ahmadinejad a key opportunity to appear merciful and in tune with the ruling elite.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS