News from Memri org

[Shammu]

Abbas Spokesman Denies Abbas Said Syria, Iran, Qatar Had Advance Knowledge Of Gaza Coup

A report that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had said, during a meeting with members of Jordan's National Action Party, that Iran and Qatar had advance knowledge about the military coup in Gaza and that Syria also knew about Hamas's plan to assassinate him, sparked an uproar in the Palestinian Authority.

Abbas spokesman Nabul Abu Rudeina issued an announcement denying the statements.

Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London; Al-Ayyam, Palestinian Authority, July 16, 2007

[Shammu]

Iranian Website: Don't Air Confessions Of Detained American Academics

The Iranian website Baztab, which is identified with Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezai, criticized the intent to air, on television, confessions to espionage by detained American academics of Iranian origin Drs. Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh, who were arrested several months ago in Iran.

Baztab expressed amazement over the television airing of their confessions at the initial stages of the trial, and stated that Iranian law permits publication of information about the accused and about the crimes with which they are charged only after the final verdict has been handed down.

Source: Baztab, Iran, July 16, 2007

[Shammu]

Khaled Mash'al: Hamas Made Mistakes In Gaza Takeover

Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mash'al said at a conference in Qatar honoring Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi that Hamas had made several mistakes during its takeover of Gaza.

He added that these were human mistakes, and secondary; that they were not connected to the movement's policy or strategy; and that Hamas would apologize for them.

Source: Al-Raya, Qatar, July 17, 2007

[Shammu]

More Electricity Outages In Iran

The Iranian website Baztab, which is identified with Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezai, has reported that, despite repeated denials by government representatives, there has been in recent weeks a sharp rise in electricity outages in Tehran and many other locations in Iran.

According to Baztab, the reason for the outages is the inability to meet the power needs in peak summer hours – a problem that the government is not dealing with.

The reformist daily Rooz was informed that recently, residents of the Khozestan province have been asked to cut back on electricity use during heavy usage hours.

Source: Baztab, Iran, July 17, 2007; Rooz, Iran, July 11, 2007

[Shammu]

MOU Between Iran and Turkey on Energy

07/17/2007

Iran and Turkey have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the domain of oil and gas.

The MOU addresses the cooperation between the two countries regarding the export of gas from Iran to Europe across the Turkish territory, the export of Turkmenistan gas to Europe across Iranian and Turkish territories, and the energy trade between the two countries. A senior Turkish official said that Iran and Turkmenistan will pump 30 billion cubic meters [1.059 trillion cubic feet] of gas to Europe annually. The two countries have also agreed that Turkey will produce 20 billion cubic meters [706 billion cubic feet] of natural gas in three stages in a field south of Fars in Iran.

The project is supported by the European Union which seeks to reduce its dependency on Russia for natural gas.