Conservatives back Ahmadinejad in June 2009 presidential election; Majlis representatives congratulate Ahmadinejad on his letter to Obama; Iran test-fires a new generation long range missile; ElBaradei welcomes direct talks between Iran and the US
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  • President Ahmadinejad received praise from Iran’s reformist politicians after he sent US President-elect Barack Obama a congratulatory message in the previous week. The conservatives had criticised him for the move. Ahmad Tavakoli, a Member of Parliament, in a letter, noted that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s unilateral efforts had been met with “arrogant responses.” However, anticipating that such a criticism might inadvertently strengthen a possible reformist candidate in Iran’s presidential elections in June 2009, reports noted that they have quickly shifted to supporting Mr. Ahmadinejad’s re-election bid. For instance, Kayhan, a leading conservative daily, called Mr. Ahmadinejad the “most qualified candidate” and argued that his achievements were more significant than his failures. Reports however noted that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s domestic political standing was suffering due to the damage to Iran’s economy caused by high inflation and a sharp drop in oil prices1.

    Other Majlis representatives like member of the Majlis Presiding Board, Hamid-Reza Haji-Babayi, termed the letter to Obama as a “sign of Iran’s active diplomacy” and as a “positive move.” Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee deputy chairman Esmaeil Kosari also stated that Ahmadinejad’s letter showed “Iran’s good will” in its foreign policy2.

    Iran successfully test-fired a new generation of long-range surface-to-surface solid fuel missile, the Sejil, with a range of 1,200 miles during the week. Analysts noted that the missile seemed to resemble an earlier weapon in Tehran’s armoury, the Ashoura. Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar stated that the missile was “very fast” and could be produced and stored “in mass” and can be easily prepared for launching. The missile launch was revealed a day after Iranian media reported that the Revolutionary Guards had test-fired another new missile, the Samen, near the border with Iraq. They also followed on the heels of reports that American helicopters were flying close to Iran’s airspace3.

    IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei noted that Mr. Obama's stated readiness for dialogue with Iran without preconditions could make Tehran more forthcoming with the IAEA4. Reports also talked about the Obama administration engaging Tehran and ‘reconcilable’ elements within the Taliban to seek a peaceful end to the war in Afghanistan5.

    Meanwhile, a panel of 20 experts including academics and former ambassadors in a joint statement to be presented at a conference on the future of US-Iran relations urged the US Administration to give Iran a “place at the table” in shaping the future of Iraq and Afghanistan. The panel, which includes former US special envoy to Afghanistan James Dobbins, former US ambassador to the UN Thomas Pickering, and a host of Middle East scholars from US universities, among other measures has called for security assurances to be given to Iran in the nuclear talks6.

    In other developments, gunmen kidnapped an Iranian diplomat and killed his guard in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar. The incident occurred a day after an American aid worker and his driver were shot dead as they travelled to work in a suburb of the city. In a similar incident two months ago, unknown gunmen kidnapped Afghan consul-general, Abdul Khaliq Farahi, from the same locality after killing his driver. Mr Farahi is still missing. Areas close to Peshawar, the biggest city in north-west Pakistan, are known to be Taliban and al-Qaeda strongholds7.

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