World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (November 23, 2011)

The Washington Post reported that the result of launching new sanctions against Iran is that President Obama is not even leading from behind on Iran; he is simply behind. At the forefront of the Western effort to pressure Tehran is French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who issued a statement Monday calling on the European Union, the United States, Japan, Canada and “other willing countries” to “immediately freeze the assets of Iran’s central bank” and suspend purchases of Iranian oil. France rejects the Obama administration’s view that these steps would cause a counterproductive spike in oil prices. In any case, higher oil prices are preferable to allowing an Iranian bomb — or having to take military action to stop it. Congress is ahead of Mr. Obama, too. It’s likely that large bipartisan majorities will support legislation mandating sanctions against the central bank; in the Senate’s case it could be attached to the defense authorization bill. Another comprehensive sanctions bill, targeting both Iran and its ally Syria, could be brought to the Senate floor within a couple of weeks.

The same agency reported that China said Wednesday it opposed unilateral and expanded sanctions against Iran, such as those announced by several Western countries aimed at pressuring Tehran to halt its suspected nuclear weapons program. “China is always against unilateral sanctions against Iran, let alone the expansion of such sanctions,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a regular briefing. “We believe pressuring and sanctions cannot fundamentally solve the Iranian issue, but will complicate the issue. Ratched-up confrontation is not conducive to the region’s peace and stability,” Liu said, adding that the parties involved “should strengthen dialogue and cooperation.”

“Iranian Paper Protests Raid by Judiciary” is an article published by The New York Times. It says that Iran’s main government-run newspaper was published Tuesday without a front-page headline, replaced by photographs of its headquarters during an assault a day earlier by forces working for the judiciary who briefly arrested the newspaper’s top official — the media adviser to the president — and more than 30 others. The presentation of the front page appeared to be an act of protest by the newspaper over the unusual episode on Monday, which judiciary officials described as a riot carried out by newspaper employees. The arrests underscored the bitter rifts between the president and adversaries in the Iranian government who have accused him of overstepping his authority and trying to subvert the role of the Islamic clergy in Iran.

The Turkish information agency reported that Turkish President Abdullah Gül and British Prime Minister David Cameron held a joint press conference recently following their meeting as part of Gül's state visit to the United Kingdom.  "On terrorism, we stand shoulder to shoulder," Cameron said. "We condemn the PKK attacks [the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party] in Turkey. We've taken action against PKK right here. And in return we look to Turkey as a key partner over the international terrorism that threatens us." Gül defined the current times as a "Golden Age" for Turkey and Britain, saying the two countries shared common values of peace and a valuable strategic partnership.