A BRITISH NGO PACKS ITS BAGS
The British Council, a prestigious non-governmental organization with long-running cultural and educational programs in Iran, has announced that it is ceasing its activities in the Islamic Republic. The cause for the Council's pull-out? Widespread and pervasive harassment by the Iranian regime, including a December incident in which 16 members of the organization's local staff were encouraged to resign from their posts by members of the administration of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In response, the Council has decided that it has "no choice but to suspend all cultural relations activities until such a time that operations can be resumed with employees able to conduct their work without fear of intimidation or harassment," according to an official statement from the group. (Radio Free Europe, February 11, 2009)
A WATCHFUL EYE OVER HEZBOLLAH
Since its establishment by Iran in the early 1980s, Hezbollah has become a global terrorist powerhouse, as well as a major player in Lebanon’s internal politics. Over the years, its successes have garnered the group a considerable degree of political autonomy from its ideological mentor and political patron – until now. In recent weeks, Iran appears to be moving to reassert control over its creation. According to Israeli defense officials, the assassination of Hezbollah terrorist czar Imad Mughniyeh last year created a major vacuum in the organization – a gap that Hezbollah has so far not been able to fill. In response, the group is said to be relying more and more on direction and operational guidance from Tehran, as well as on deployments of Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen and intelligence officers that the Islamic Republic has dispatched to Lebanon to assist in the organization’s functioning. (Tel Aviv Ha’aretz, February 28, 2009)
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, IRANIAN STYLE
In early March, as international donors descended upon Egypt to discuss ways to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and help the Palestinian Authority rebuild in the aftermath of the Gaza War, the Islamic Republic convened a major conference of its own in Tehran. The stated goal of the event, which brought together Iranian officials, representatives of Hamas, and sympathizers from some thirty countries, was to help organize a coalition to promote “resistance against Israel.” "The conference in Egypt sought to weaken Hamas, promote compromise and treason against the cause of the Palestinian people," one of the organizers of the event, an Iranian lawmaker, told reporters. "But the Tehran conference speaks of resistance against the Zionist entity, which understands only the language of force." (Associated Press, March 5, 2009)
A RIFT WITH RABAT
On March 6th, the government of Morocco moved to formally freeze diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic, citing pervasive Iranian interference in domestic Moroccan affairs. "Morocco's decision to cut off diplomatic relations with Iran is a normal reaction to the unacceptable activities of this country vis-à-vis the Kingdom," the country’s Communications Minister and official spokesman, Khalid Naciri, has explained.
The reason for the move, observers say, is clear. “The crisis between Morocco and Iran is not new,” writes Arab columnist Khairallah Khairallah. Rather, it is the product of Iran’s increasingly prevalent clandestine activities in Morocco, “which are focused on inciting sectarian and religious strife and which have been continuing for more than 13 months.” These activities, Khairallah writes, have led authorities there to conclude “that there is an actual threat to national unity in Morocco and to the fabric of Moroccan society” from the Islamic Republic. (Maghreb Arab Presse, March 7, 2009; Kuwait Al-Rai al-Aam, March 10, 2008)
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