World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (June 22, 2011)

 

World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (June 22, 2011)

The Los Angeles Times published an article headlined ‘Ahmadinejad ally
resigns under pressure from Iran hard-liners’. According to the
author, in another blow to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a
controversial deputy foreign minister allied with Ahmadinejad's

increasingly embattled and isolated clique resigned on Tuesday under

pressure from hard-liners, who threatened to impeach the country's top
diplomat over the appointment. Malekzadeh was the latest victim of the
vicious infighting within Iran's political establishment. In addition
to his departure, Ahmadinejad's nominee for the minister of sports and

youth affairs, Hamid Sajjadi, failed to muster the necessary votes on

Tuesday to be approved for the Cabinet, even after the president spoke
out publicly on his behalf. Lawmaker Omidvar Rezaei said in parliament
early Tuesday that Malekzadeh was "about to be arrested on several

financial as well as non-financial charges." Parliament had begun

impeachment proceedings against Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi for
appointing Malekzadeh.
The same media agency published analytical material concerning the
developments in Syria. Having already killed as many as 1,300 of his
own people, Syrian President Bashar Assad is now promising

constitutional reform and an end to bloodshed. In a speech on Monday,

he called for a "national dialogue," suggested that rival political
parties would be allowed and urged refugees to return from Turkey. His
opponents were unimpressed, and thousands of protesters took to the
streets after the address. The author points out that if US President

Obama is similarly sceptical — as he ought to be — he should do what

he has so far refused to do: call on Assad to step down. In
conclusion, the author says that the United States has been criticized
for reacting with hesitancy and ambivalence to the so-called Arab
Spring, especially in Egypt and Bahrain. But there is no reason to
temporize when it comes to Syria. Obama needs to say the words "He
must go."
Meanwhile, The Jerusalem Post indicates that European Union states
have extended sanctions against Syria to four military-linked firms
and more people connected with the violent suppression of
anti-government protests.
According to the Hürriyet Daily News, Israel’s prime minister has
congratulated his Turkish counterpart, in another sign of Tel Aviv’s
desire to normalize ties with Ankara, following a Turkish relief
group’s cancellation of plans for a Gaza aid flotilla. Meanwhile,
Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal has arrived in Turkey, a day after
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas began a four-day visit. Meshaal was

known to be in Istanbul, it was not immediately clear whether he would
meet with Abbas.
The Iranian Press-TV agency reports that US lawmakers are to discuss

two bills that authorize limited action in Libya, following President

Barack Obama's refusal to ask for Congressional approval for the war

in Libya. The bills introduced by Democratic Senator John Kerry and

Republican lawmaker John McCain authorize US participation in the
Libyan conflict for one year, but prohibit the use of ground forces.