Press review on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (January 13, 2012)

The Washington Post reported that Iran has buried a slain nuclear expert, whom Tehran officials claim was killed by the U.S. and Israel as part of a covert operation aimed at stopping the country’s nuclear program. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, said those behind the Wednesday assassination would be punished.While the U.S. has denied any involvement, Israeli officials have hinted at covert campaigns against Iran without making any direct admissions. A hard-line Iranian newspaper Thursday called for retaliation against Israel.

The same agency reported that Britain’s High Court said Friday a retired businessman who allegedly plotted to sell missile components to Iran should be extradited to the United States. U.S. authorities say Christopher Tappin offered in 2006 to sell specialized batteries for Hawk missiles for $25,000, not knowing that his contacts were undercover U.S. agents, not Iranians. Two other men have been jailed in Texas over the plot. A judge ruled last year that 64-year-old Tappin should be extradited. He claims he was entrapped by FBI agents and challenged the decision. But on Friday two judges upheld the earlier ruling. Tappin said he is disappointed and will “consider all my options and do what I can to bring an end to this nightmare.” He faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted in the U.S.

The New York Times reported that the Turkish military has long regarded it as part of its job description to guard against the governments it serves. There have been three coups in Turkey since the end of World War II. And though the last one occurred more than 30 years ago, the armed forces have not surrendered their prerogative to call politicians to heel. So it really was a case of man-bites-dog to watch Ilker Basbug, a former chief of the army’s general staff, be hauled before a court and bundled off to jail last week on charges that he belongs to Ergenekon, an ultranationalist, terrorist organization bent on overthrowing the government. Almost as topsy-turvy is the news that the 94-year-old former president Kenan Evrenwas indicted on Tuesday for seizing power from a civilian government in 1980. He faces life imprisonment. Yet with the generals gradually being tamed, the politicians must learn to accept responsibility when things go wrong. Faulty intelligence was responsible for the sickening air assault that claimed the lives of 35 smugglers near the Iraqi border last month: they had been mistaken for Kurdish militants. But the government has yet to offer an apology.

“Japan 'circumspect' on Iran oil embargo: minister” is an article published by the Turkish information agency Hurriyet. It says that the Japanese government on Friday appeared to be backtracking on the US drive to strangle Iranian oil exports with the foreign minister contradicting an earlier pledge to join Washington's campaign. Just 24 hours after Japan's finance minister indicated Tokyo was falling in line with US demands, a senior colleague insisted no decision had been made. The US is trying to raise pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme, threatening to cut off financial institutions that deal with the country's central bank, so squeezing Tehran's vital oil export business.