Sectarian Unrest in Iran; Obama’s New Overtures to Iran; Mousavi Accused Ahmadinejad for Targeting His Supports
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    • Dozens of people have been arrested over deadly sectarian unrest in the Iranian city of Zahedan which erupted shortly before the country goes to the polls. Ten people died in the violence that flared after the bombing of a Shiite mosque last week that left 25 dead. Iran has been shaken by a spate of violent incidents in the run-up to the June 12 presidential election, in which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces challenges from three rival candidates. However, Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, was calm after appeals by local Sunni and Shiite leaders. The recent mosque bombing in the city was claimed by a shadowy Iranian Sunni insurgent group called Jundallah (Soldiers of God), according to a US group that monitors Islamist websites. SITE Intelligence quoted a Jundallah statement as saying the attack was to avenge the hanging last year of members of the Baluch minority that adheres to Sunni Islam and makes up a significant part of the Sistan-Baluchestan population1.

    In a new overture to Iran, the Obama administration has authorized US embassies around the world to invite Iranian officials to Independence Day parties they host on or around July 4th. A State Department official said that the notice sent on June 5, ‘may invite representatives from the government of Iran’ to the events. However, it was not immediately clear how many embassies and consulates would actually invite Iranian diplomats to the July 4 parties or whether any Iranians would accept the invitations. The move comes amid the administration’s ongoing efforts to engage Iran in variety of venues, including formal diplomatic meetings over its nuclear program, violence in Iraq and the situation in Afghanistan. But Iran has given mixed responses to the overtures, which began early in the administration when President Barack Obama recorded a videotaped greeting to the Iranian people and its leaders for their new year. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, Obama said it is in the world’s interest — and Iran’s interest — ‘to set aside ambitions for a nuclear weapon.’ Obama also said that while he didn’t want to put ‘artificial timetables’ on diplomacy with Tehran, ‘we do want to make sure that by the end of this year we’ve actually seen a serious process move foward. And I think that we can measure whether or not the Iranians are serious2.’

    Meanwhile, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s main reformist challenger said that the Iranian president has made false accusations against his supporters to try to sabotage his campaign with just days to go before presidential election. Former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi wrote a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accusing Ahmadinejad and his supporters of taking unethical steps against his campaign. In an unusual twist for elections in Iran, the presidential campaign has descended into bitter personal attacks between candidates. Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters in Iran, has urged the contenders and their supporters to exercise restraint. Ahmadinejad has previously accused Mousavi of having links with people involved in corruption3.

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