World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (May 28-30, 2011)

The Washington Post published an article on the prospects of Turkmen gas delivery to Europe. Turkmenistan, a thinly populated nation of 5 million people, estimates it is sitting on top of 24.6 trillion cubic
meters of gas — enough to supply the European Union for half a century at current consumption levels. Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov says his country can go it alone on the South Yolotan
and other onshore sites, and has instead invited investors to consider exploring for oil and gas in less profitable sites beneath the Caspian Sea. But foreign businessmen say this policy is short-sighted. “The
window of opportunity for Turkmen gas has never been so open as now, but we need commitments and decisions soon,” Michael-Dieter Ulbrich, head of the pipeline projects department at OMV, which also has a stake in the planned Nabucco route, said.

According to the same news agency, Iran is dispatching increasing numbers of trainers and advisers — including members of its elite Quds Force — into Syria to help crush anti-government demonstrations that
are threatening to topple Iran’s most important ally in the region. The influx of Iranian manpower is adding to a steady stream of aid from Tehran that includes not only weapons and riot gear but also sophisticated surveillance equipment that is helping the Syrian authorities track down opponents through their Facebook and Twitter accounts, the sources said. Iranian-assisted computer surveillance is believed to have led to the arrests of hundreds of Syrians seized from their homes in recent weeks. The United States and its allies have long accused Iran of supporting repressive or violent regimes in the region, including Syria’s government, the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Many previous reports, mostly provided by Western officials, have described Iranian technical help in providing Syria with riot helmets, batons and other implements of crowd control during 10 weeks of demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad.

The Guardian reports that Michael McFaul, the architect of the Obama administration's policy of "resetting" US-Russian relations, will be the new American ambassador to Moscow. The Bush administration's plans
to set up a system of radars and missile interceptors in eastern Europe was the main source of tension in US-Russian relations. The US said it was a defence against a future Iranian missile threat, while Moscow saw it as an American bid to undermine the Russian nuclear deterrent. The Obama administration has opted for a more gradual, "phased adaptive" approach, but it has only served to postpone a confrontation with Russia until the system reaches its later phases in the next seven years.

According to The Los Angeles Times, in an apparent bid to defuse a power struggle and months-long rift, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly endorses President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose fiery populism has
angered many in the powerful conservative clergy.

The Hurriyet news agency informs its readers that the main Turkish opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, wants civilian control over the military and the intelligence services through parliamentary supervision, according to CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The call for civilian control came as part of his party’s democracy package unveiled on Sunday. The package also highlighted increasing the judiciary’s independence and solving the Kurdish issue by upholding individual rights.