Breaking News: Iran's Supreme Leader Disappeared

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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/134869



(IsraelNN.com) An underground Iranian activist has told Israel National News that the country's highest official -- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei -- was spirited to a "secret place" for his own safety and that the nation's religious leaders are "scared." The source - an activist in the global Iranian pro-democracy movement who is involved in assisting a group of some 30,000 students located in Tehran and several other major cities - said Khamenei has disappeared. It is the Supreme Leader who controls Iran's foreign policy, and specifically its decisions regarding its nuclear development activities.

"I am told that Khamenei was taken to a secret place to monitor the situation and perhaps for his safety, and a helicopter was ready with a pilot in it to perhaps fly him out to Russia if the situation got out of hand," the source told Israel National News on Tuesday. "I am also told that prominent clergy went to meet with him hoping to force him to show leniency.... [Our consensus] is that [the] mullahs are scared."

Foreign journalists were once again banned, phone networks cut and Internet connections spotty at best as government forces tried to put the lid back on the growing unrest that again broke out during special observances on Monday.

The demonstrations, planned months in advance, were held on the nation's annual observance of the deaths of three students during anti-American riots in 1953, a day known in Iran as "16 Azar" -- December 7 on the secular calendar. It is a day that has "bitter memories for Iranians," according to the activist, who explained that the Shah's army had opened fire and killed students on that day.

Basij militia and police officers wielded batons and fired tear gas at demonstrators in Tehran who continue to protest what they contend was the rigged re-election in June of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They also accuse the government of silencing academic freedom.

"16 Azar" ceremonies were held in all universities across Kurdestan and the suburbs, according to an Iranian blogger who reported that some 700 protesters gathered at Kurdestan University alone, singing anti-government songs, waving signs ("Death to dictator") and chanting slogans. At least 400 demonstrators did the same at Payam eh Noor University, as did a similar number at Sanandaj Azad University.

"Demonstrators' spirits were high," said the activist. "Frankly, I was nervous, since all communications systems were down, and [I was] afraid of a bloody massacre. But the turnout was great when [the] cities of Kerman, Shahr Kord and especially Esfahan came out en masse and confronted the Basij," he related.

Basij 'Very Very Sorry' -- or Not?
"Students and most people participating were emboldened since there was confusion among the military, secret service and Basij," said the source. "Many Basij called [Persian-language] radio stations [outside Iran] over the phone and apologized to the people of Iran, crying for having beaten demonstrators under Khamenei's orders," he said. "They said that they were told demonstrators were anti-Islam and Western-paid troublemakers, but now they -- the Basij -- are finding out that they have been told a lie by the mullahs and were very, very sorry for beating their own countrymen.

"The two that I witnessed and listened to their call broke down in tears. I personally listened to such calls from callers who identified themselves as Basij," he added.

Demonstrators reported they witnessed many police officers refusing to engage and attack protesters, according to the source, who said the government forces were seen arguing among themselves. "Good news for us!" he wrote, adding that another countrywide mass demonstration is being planned for Saturday.

The situation may not be as simple as it appeared to this group of activists, however; the Iran Khabar Agency reported late Monday that Basij forces attacked students at the Science Faculty Building of Rasht University, beating them violently with batons.

"As soon as the students gathered and started to chant slogans, the Basij forces attacked... Three students were tied up by their hands and feet and were thrown on vans... the Basij forces today had gone wild," according to the report.

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Internet rumour: Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, 'is dead'

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damia ... i-is-dead/
Is Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran dead? This is the story being put out this morning by Realite EU, a news service “supported by individuals concerned with the growing threat of Iran and extremism in Europe and the Middle East”. It is unconfirmed and turns out to be based on questionable sources:

According to numerous rumors, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly died on October 14, 2009, of natural causes. The formal announcement is expected by some to be made tomorrow morning, October 15, 2009. Three years ago there were similar rumors which turned out to be false. He is currently 70 years old.


According to some Iran analysts, Khamenei has maneuvered to position his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his successor. Khamenei has increasingly been described as the “Ali of our times” in the official media – a reference to Ali, the Shia imam who passed on the position to his son Hassan.

The source cited is the highly partial website AntiMullah, which is now hedging its bets:


Some reports coming out of Iran deny the Supreme Leader has died or IS EVEN ILL!

Over the past month, rumors circulated that he was in a coma and his ruthless son Mojtaba was ruling (with Ahmadi-Nejad’s help) in his father’s name … Denial of Khamenei Senior’s death has to overcome some visible changes:

1. Government buildings are being draped in black cloth. (Reports on this come from multiple Twitters).

2. All Islamic Iranian TV announcers have suddenly turned to wearind all black clothing.

3. Bassiji Suppression forces have poured into the streets to enforce crowd control and prevent gatherings, which have not yet taken place.

4. The constant grumbling of clerics about the Supreme Ruler and efforts to replace him with a Ruling Committee have abruptly ceased.

Having him dead instead of the disruptive campaign to unseat him has solved their complaints and now they can go ahead with the “succession” process.

It took nearly two months from the time Ayatollah Khomeini went to hospital and fell into a coma till he was OFFICIALLY pronounced dead.

We shall see. Certainly this rumour is gathering pace as I write, but that doesn’t make it true.

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UPDATE 12/10/09
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iran/story/80348.html
Iranian nuclear scientist goes missing in Saudi Arabia


CAIRO, Egypt — An award-winning Iranian nuclear scientist traveled to Saudi Arabia earlier this year to perform a religious pilgrimage. He never returned.

Shahram Amiri's mysterious disappearance is turning into a Middle Eastern whodunit involving nuclear secrets and political intrigue, with a new round of accusations emerging this week and the U.S. government still refusing to comment.

There are two big questions: Was Amiri spirited away by Saudi-backed American covert agents? Or did the scientist seize the chance to defect to the West, offering sensitive information in exchange for asylum?

Finger-pointing in Amiri's case has heightened tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which are bitter rivals for regional dominance and self-proclaimed guardians of Islam's two main sects. Iran claimed earlier this week that Saudi Arabia conspired with U.S. agents to abduct Amiri in June and transfer him to the U.S., presumably for interrogations about Iran's controversial nuclear program.

"Based on existing pieces of evidence that we have at our disposal, the Americans had a role in Mr. Amiri's abduction," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a news conference Tuesday, according to a translation by the state-backed PressTV agency. "The Americans did abduct him. Therefore, we expect the American government to return him."

Mottaki added that because the disappearance occurred in Saudi Arabia, the authorities there "must be held accountable in this regard."

On Wednesday, Ali Larijani, the Iranian speaker of Parliament, went a step further by publicly accusing Washington of "terrorist behavior" and claiming that it was clear that that Amiri's disappearance was "organized by Saudi conspirators."

The Obama administration has kept mum on the case, with State Department spokesman Philip Crowley telling reporters this week that the U.S. is "aware of the Iranian claims" and saying he had no further information.

Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the region, lashed out at Tehran Wednesday. A popular Arabic-language newspaper reported that officials "deplored" the accusations and insisted that Saudi forces already had scoured Islamic holy cities in search of the missing scientist.

"After having been informed of his disappearance by the Iranian delegation, Saudi authorities undertook an intensive search in Medina as well as in all the hospitals in the region of Mecca," Saudi foreign ministry spokesman Osama Nugali told the Saudi-backed regional newspaper al Sharq al Awsat in Wednesday's edition.

Amiri traveled to Saudi Arabia on a religious pilgrimage in late May or early June. He vanished in June, and there's been no reliable word on his whereabouts since. Amiri is said to be in his 30s, with a wife and other relatives still in Iran, though McClatchy couldn't independently verify that information.

Iranian news agencies have described Amiri as a physicist who conducts research for the country's Atomic Energy Organization and the Malek e Ashtar University of Technology, which is affiliated with the Iranian defense ministry. Reports say Amiri won a national award for his service to Tehran's nuclear program. It's unclear what level of security clearance Amiri held or how important he is to the Iranian program. Iran waited months before even acknowledging that Amiri was a nuclear scientist.

With so little solid information available in Amiri's case, speculation is rampant in intelligence and diplomatic circles, with rumors ranging from the abduction or defection scenarios to the possibility of Israeli agents assassinating Amiri as part of what's been called a shadowy "decapitation program" allegedly targeting Iran's top nuclear scientists.

Mohamed al Saied Idriss, an Iran specialist at the Cairo-based al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said all the rumors and accusations could've been cleared up months ago if Saudi Arabia and Iran had even nominally decent relations. Instead, the matter has festered and could complicate future nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

"It's Iran's mistake that he left the country — they should've known he could be subject to kidnapping or he could be compromised," Idriss said. "And there's been talk that the Americans interrogated him and managed to get information that helped them in discovering the nuclear facility at Qom."

Four months after Amiri's disappearance, Western intelligence agencies disclosed the existence of a previously unannounced Iranian nuclear facility outside the city of Qom, fueling speculation that Amiri was in the U.S. sharing nuclear secrets. There's been no confirmation, however, that Amiri had anything to do with the discovery of the underground facility at Qom, and U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly had suspected such a site near Qom for two or three years.

The U.S. and its allies fear Iran is striving to attain a nuclear weapons capability, though the Iranian leadership maintains it seeks nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes such as generating electricity.

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UPDATE 12 /14/ 09

Iranian scientist who vanished 'gave nuclear secrets' to UN inspectors sent to Qom site

An Iranian scientist who vanished six months ago has revealed secrets of his country's nuclear programme with international weapons inspectors, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.


Shahram Amiri briefed United Nations nuclear monitors in a clandestine meeting at Frankfurt airport just hours before they flew to Iran to inspect a hidden uranium enrichment plant, according to French intelligence sources.

An award-winning atomic physicist, Mr Amiri had worked at the heavily-guarded underground site at Qom. He was attached to a Tehran university named by the EU last year as part of the regime's nuclear-proliferation operations.


Israel launches covert war against IranThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was told of the existence of the Qom facility by the US and its European allies in September. But the meeting with Mr Amiri in October would have provided inspectors with key insider knowledge before they made the sensitive trip.

The scientist is the focus of an extraordinary international row stretching from the Gulf to Washington after Iran last week accused Saudi Arabia and the US of "terrorist behaviour" for allegedly colluding in his abduction.

The nuclear scientist, who is in his 30s, disappeared after arriving in in Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage in late May, leaving behind his wife and extended family. The Saudi authorities say they do not know where he is.

But contrary to Iranian claims, Mr Amiri actually defected after an elaborate international cloak-and-dagger co-ordinated by the CIA, according to a well-connected French intelligence analysis website.

"The agency made contact with the scientist last year when Amiri visited Frankfurt in connection with his research work," Intelligence Online reported. "A German businessman acted as go-between. A final contact was made in Vienna when Amiri travelled to Austria to assist the Iranian representative at the IAEA. Shortly afterwards, the scientist went on pilgrimage to Mecca and hasn't been seen since."

The vanishing act was reminiscent of Cold War days between the Soviet Union and the West when spies - often scientists and diplomats - were spirited away in plots just as outlandish as any John le Carré thriller.

Heads have rolled at Iran's nuclear counter-espionage agency since his loss, and the foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, raised his case in a private meeting with the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon.

The Islamic republic has now linked the fate of three American hikers detained in Iran since July with a list of Iranian citizens, including Mr Amiri, who Tehran alleges are being held by the US. It appears to be proposing some form of trade in talks with Swiss intermediaries.

Officially, the US says it has no information on Mr Amiri's whereabouts, but the scientist is now believed to be in Europe, protected by a Western intelligence agency, in a CIA-led operation. He will be debriefed intensively by experts - who will also want to ensure that he is not an Iranian plant.

Four months after Mr Amiri disappeared, President Barack Obama, flanked by Gordon Brown and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, disclosed that Iran had built the buried uranium enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom.

Western intelligence had developed information about the site over threee years.

But Mr Amiri's intelligence about its inner workings - and especially security procedures - proved "extremely useful", a source close to France's overseas secret service, the DGSE (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure), told The Sunday Telegraph.

"Amiri has first hand knowledge of the site and this would have been the main subject of discussion," the source said. "The meeting was so secret that the inspectors who met Amiri were unlikely to have even known his name, let alone his background. He was just presented as a bona fide contact in the know about how Qom works."

French agents party to details of the Frankfurt meeting paint a picture of Amiri as one of the brightest young nuclear physicists of his generation, westernised and a good English-speaker.

"He would be an obvious conduit of information," said a source. "Why would the Iranians show four UN inspectors everything unless they knew what to ask for?"

The CIA launched a secret programme, dubbed "the Brain Drain", in 2005 designed to undermine Iran's nuclear programme by persuading key officials to defect. In the biggest previous coup, Revolutionary Guards general Ali Reza Asgari, the deputy defence mnister, vanished on a trip to Turkey in 2007.