World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (October 15-18, 2011)

The Washington Post reported that Iran’s nuclear program, which stumbled badly after a reported cyberattack last year, appears beset by poorly performing equipment, shortages of parts and other woes as global sanctions exert a mounting toll, Western diplomats and nuclear experts say. The new setbacks are surfacing at a time when Iran faces growing international pressure, including allegations that Iranian officials backed a clumsy attempt to kill a Saudi diplomat in Washington. Analysts say Iran has become increasingly frustrated and erratic as political change sweeps the region and its nuclear program struggles. The studies of Iran’s struggling uranium program draw on data collected by U.N. officials who conduct regular inspections of Iran’s facilities to ensure that the nation is not diverting the enriched product into a military weapons program.

The same agency published Sunday the article headlined “Iran’s supreme leader warns US over allegations of plot to kill Saudi envoy.” It says that Iran’s supreme leader warned the United States on Sunday that any measures taken against Tehran over an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington would elicit a “resolute” response. “If U.S. officials have some delusions, (they must) know that any unsuitable act, whether political or security, will meet a resolute response from the Iranian nation,” state TV quoted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying. Iran also demanded that a diplomat be allowed to visit one of the men in prison. Khamenei’s comments may reflect Iranian concerns that Washington would use the Al-Jubeir case to ratchet up sanctions and recruit international allies to try to further isolate Tehran.

Following the theme The New York Times published the article “Iran Accuses U.S. of Trying to Sow Regional Discord.” It says that Iran’s top leaders said Monday that the American accusation of an Iranian-hatched plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Washington was partly designed to sow discord between Iran and Saudi Arabia, in what appeared to be a new Iranian counterattack to the charges announced nearly a week ago. But the foreign minister of Iran said his government was at least willing to examine the evidence that the United States claims it has in the case. Both Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, repeated their rejections of the American accusation, describing it as a ridiculous fiction invented by the Obama administration to divert attention from its other problems. But their argument that the United States was trying to drive a wedge between Iran and Saudi Arabia had not been made before.

“CHP holds EU responsible for democracy in Turkey” is an article published by the Turkish information agency Hurriyet Daily News. Turkey’s main opposition leader has told the Swedish foreign minister that the European Union holds responsibility for growing government control of the judiciary and the persecution of journalists because of the support it gave to last year’s constitutional amendments, party sources said. The leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) criticized the latest EU report on Turkey’s accession progress, saying it failed to sufficiently highlight “the anti-democratic actions” of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), sources said. Bildt, however, described the progress report as “balanced” and said Turkey must undertake further reforms. Kılıçdaroğlu also advised the EU against high expectations from the new constitution process, arguing that even the current constitution was frequently violated.

The Iranian information agency Press TV reported that ran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has warned against the enemy's efforts to undermine unity in the Muslim world, urging vigilance against such plots. Salehi made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi on Monday. The two sides exchanged views on the important issues of the Muslim world, and discussed the latest developments in the region, IRNA reported.  Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign minister also held a telephone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu earlier on Monday. The two ministers discussed ways to promote Tehran-Ankara relations and exchanged views on regional and international issues.