The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards says that Iran is "ready to defend itself."
It won't be long before it will be time to give the opportunity to do so.
Tehran will fall faster than Baghdad and order will be restored in a year. After all, Saudi Arabia has a limited supply of foreign terrorists they can ship in and no one will step into Iran's terrorist leadership role.
I generally have no use for philosophers (those living today, anyway), nor Frenchmen. In fact, if I could go back in time and kill one individual I would have a hard time coming up with a better candidate than Jean-Jacques Rousseau. (Yes, he was Swiss, but he adopted France and they embraced him to the point of having a revolution and there are statues of the crazy old pervert in town squares all over France to this day.)
So you can imagine what my opinion of a living French philosopher would normally be.
But a commentary by André Glucksmann has me reconsidering that position. His work is too good to excerpt, so go read You said 'war', Mr Kouchner, and you were not mistaken...
Brilliant.
The last UN Resolution demanding the Iran stop enriching uranium expired in May, and Iran remains defiant. This is different that Saddam's behavior before the liberation of Iraq, as he at least pretended to cooperate while leading Hans "Inspector Clouseau" Blix on wild goose chases across the countryside.
This time the member of the axis of evil is out-and-out thumbing his nose at the rest of the world, making just enough concession to draw out the "diplomacy" while continuing to add centrifuges for enriching uranium.
Yet many people put their trust in the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and it's chief, Mohamed ElBaradei.
Newsweek interviewed IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei about his efforts, and ElBaradei made two very concrete claims.
Newsweek: When the plan was announced, critics said it could undermine the Security Council's efforts to pressure the Tehran government.
ElBaradei: There was a lot of commotion and misunderstanding about this plan. It's a litmus test for Iran. In two or three months we'll know if Iran is serious about coming clean. If they do, that obviously will create better conditions for negotiations. If they [don't], then of course we will be in a different ball game altogether.Newsweek: What if in three months Iran hasn't delivered? If this diplomacy isn't backed by a credible threat of force, the Iranians can stall and keep enriching and eventually they will have the material that could go into a bomb.
ElBaradei: If Iran were to prove that it was using this period for delaying tactics and it was not really acting in good faith, then, obviously, nobody—nobody—will come to its support when people call for more sanctions or for punitive measures. That is a point that has been made very clear to them by everybody, including myself. If we come [back] with a negative report after three months, I don't see that anybody will come and say, well, give them another chance.
There you have it. If Iran has not revealed all by the first day of the new year, it is time for action.
After watching "diplomacy" and international politics for a few years, however, there is no doubt that by the first of the year Mr. ElBaradei will be singing a very different tune. One that acknowledges a lack of success but praises imaginary progress and calls for more time and further inspections. We've seen this play out before and I have no doubt that ElBaradei and Blix are cut from the same cloth.
Wait. You'll see.
Quote of the Day:
Weakness and renunciation do not lead to peace. They lead to war.
— French President Nicolas Sarkozy to UN General Assembly
The back story:
In mid-September, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was almost Bush-like as he used plain language to warn against a nuclear Tehran, warning the world "to prepare for the worst... and the worst means war". Who would have thought a French diplomat could be so, uh, un-Frenchly plain spoken?
Of course, Kouchner started taking flack immediately. Russian Acting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confronted Kouchner, saying that neither military force nor unilateral sanctions were acceptable in dealing with Iran's nuclear program. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said sanctions must be given time and a war in the region "wouldn't resolve the problem and would only create new tragedies and new dangers." (Coincidently, Italy is Iran's leading trading partner in the EU.)
The head of the French Foreign Affairs Commission declared Kouchner's statement was "inappropriate and untimely" as there are still many economic sanctions that can be imposed before making dire threats (i.e., there's a lot of cajoling and appeasement "diplomacy" that can make it look like they're not total cowards before the stern talk has to start and somebody ends up looking like a "cowboy").
Meanwhile, Middle East pundits are labeling Sarkozy the "new poodle," taking Tony Blair's place (read the article, it's actually quite funny).
Last week, Sarkozy went on French television and appeared to back away from the war-drum beating rhetoric of his foreign minister, stating that while a nuclear-armed Iran was "unacceptable", he hoped a mix of negotiations and sanctions would persuade Iran to drop its nuclear ambitions. But he ratcheted up the sanction rhetoric, declaring that if the UN Security Council can't apply sanctions, then the EU should come up with their own.
The US has been pressing for additional sanctions since June, as the previous UN resolution (demanding Iran suspend uranium enrichment) expired in May. So the addition of the French voice to this demand is welcome.
The Economist declares that the French are "palpably impatient" with the Security Council as Russia and China are stalling, supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency's agreement with Iran to complete inspections. This plan, by the way, is really just a series of talks that could stretch into December even as Iran adds centrifuges to its Natanz enrichment plant, nearing the 3,000 needed to start producing usable quantities of nuclear fuel. Nice plan, eh?
Yesterday, Sarkozy gave a long interview to the NYT and IHT, again downplaying the possibility of war. But he again put tough new EU sanctions on the table.
When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the UN General Assembly today, he defiantly declared that Iran would ignore any further UN resolutions. He said that Iran would continue to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency. [Thinking back to the months preceding the liberation of Iraq, I recall my amusement at the IAEA being led around the Iraqi countryside like the Keystone Cops chasing Buster Keaton. No wonder Ahmadinejad wants to work with them.]
When French President Sarkozy addressed the UN General Assembly today, he made a wide-ranging speech, but again stressing the need for action in the form of firm sanctions. While reiterating Iran's right to nuclear energy (he even offered to help Iran achieve that goal), Sarkozy added there would be no world peace if the international community "shows weakness in the face of the proliferation of nuclear weapons."
Newsweek describes recent events as a "revolution in [French] foreign policy that could transform the transatlantic relationship."
What is really playing out is that lines are being drawn in the sand, and they aren't exactly new lines. Gordon Chang at Contentions says it well:
Russia and China this week have made it clear they will side with Iran until the theocrats announce they have the bomb—all the while saying they are defending the concept of joint action. As Thomas Friedman says, we are entering the post-post-cold-war period. And in that period the West has no choice but to realize that the world’s authoritarian nations are banding together, and Russia and China are undermining the concept of collective security. Whether we like it or not, we are now engaged in a series of global struggles, with neither Beijing nor Moscow on our side.
As for me, I'm starting to like France again. I may even start buying French wine again.
The Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom has released the early results of their upcoming Religious Freedom in the World 2007. Some highlights:
Marshall also pointed out that some tyrannies, and their apologists in the West, prioritize "economic rights" and supposed "Asian" and "Islamic" values over religious freedom for individuals. But non-Western and historically poor countries such as Mongolia, Thailand, Mali and Senegal have achieved relative religious freedom, without sacrificing their culture or their religion. "It is a moral travesty of the highest order to maintain that because people are hungry or cold it is legitimate to repress their beliefs as well," Marshall riposted.
So who did the best? The top "free countries" were:
| Country | Religious Freedom | Political Rights (PR) | Civil Liberties (CL) |
| Estonia | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hungary | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ireland | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| United States | 1 | 1 | 1 |
And the most repressive places on Earth:
| Country | Religious Freedom | Political Rights (PR) | Civil Liberties (CL) |
| Belarus | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| China | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Iran | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Iraq | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Libya | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Cuba | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| Eritrea | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Saudi Arabia | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Burma | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| China-Tibet | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| North Korea | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Sudan | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Turkmenistan | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Uzbekistan | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Iraq the Model wonders if Iran’s honeymoon in Iraq over:
But a number of interesting developments in Iraq in the last few weeks may mark the beginning of failure for Iran’s plan. The developments listed here were collected from both large and small stories in local Iraq newspapers. Perhaps none of them are significant alone, but putting the pieces together allows one to sense that a sea change is underway in this country and the tide is moving against Iran.
An interesting read, especially when he theorizes that militias loyal to Iran will soon escalate their activities, especially outside Baghdad, as Iran tries to recover the dream of a satellite Islamic state in Iraq.
Hat Tip to non-blogging Advised by Wolves.
So now al-Qaeda is bombing Muslims in Iran, taking out 11 members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.
Al-Sadr has fled to Iran and al-Qaeda has withdrawn from Baghdad. Seems "the surge" is already working. Hmmm, wouldn't it be cool if al-Sadr was assassinated while in Iran? That would shake up the "Arab street"!
France's leading anti-terrorism judge is warning that the risk of terror attacks in Europe is high and is increasing.
That must be why Jacques Chirac is readying the white flag of surrender:
French President Jacque Chirac has announced his support for lessening pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear program, for fear Hezbollah will strike at French troops serving in Lebanon, according to information recently received in Jerusalem. According to reports, Chirac proposed sending a special envoy to Tehran to reach understandings that would protect the French soldiers serving in in the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Chirac, always ready to coddle tyrants and terrorists, especially if it undermines America.
I wonder what he is going to do about the death threats to many of the 15,000 French Muslims per year that are converting to Christianity? Gotta love the "religion of peace".
You know Homeland Security must be doing something right with al-Qaeda starts targeting neighboring countries in order to deal a blow to the Great Satan. The Saudi branch of al-Qaeda is calling for terrorist strikes on Canada's oil and natural gas facilities to "choke the U.S. economy."
Speaking of the War on Islamofacism, the Sydney Morning Herald informs us that a new secret US base will be built on defense land at Geraldton. "Secret new US spy base to get green light" screams the headline. Oh wait, the article says that the negotiations are the "secret" part. Does "secret" mean something else in Australian?
The Iranian oil industry is crumbling under Ahmadinejad's poor leadership, with output declining every year as the infrastructure is neglected. Unemployment runs over 60 percent for those under 24. The people are growing weary of rhetoric with no substance.
Patience has paid off at the UN, with the Security Council voting 15-0 to impose sanctions on Iran for pursuing its nuclear ambitions. Even China and Russia have been persuaded to take a stand against the nuclear program that they are helping to build, further isolating Iran.
Last weeks election was an overwhelming defeat for Ahmadinejad's hard-line stance. Even in a country where the hardliners count the votes, they only seated 2 candidates.
Victor Davis Hanson pens an excellent analysis of Iran and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's shaky position.
Bottom line: President Bush's policy of international pressure is exactly what is needed.
We do not, as the "Iraq Study Group" suggests, need to give Ahmadinejad street cred by engaging him in formal negotiations. We need to further isolate the mullahs and eventually Iran will go the way of Libya. Not as soon as Syria, but within 5 years.
Oil is the mainstay of Iran's economy, accounting for 65% of the government's revenue. A new report from the National Academy of Sciences (not the best source, I'll admit) indicates that Iran's oil exports are declining at 10 to 12 per cent per year.
Poor state planning and a failure to reinvest in the oil infrastructure is to blame. Sounds like a typical fascist mistake.
Today's Quote of the Day comes from former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami as he comments on the "unstoppable" reform movement in Iran:
The cry for freedom and democracy in Iran should be heard even by those who have hearing problems.
Indeed.
Iran's clerical and business establishments, deeply concerned by what they see as reckless spending and needlessly aggressive foreign policies, are increasingly turning against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.What appears to be oil-rich Iran in reality has "dilapidated refineries" and a crushing unemployment and inflation problem. Ahmadinejad ran on a platform that promised to repair the economy and share the wealth. So why the emphasis on a nuclear program and the rhetoric against Israel? Stanley Weiss opines:
The president's nuclear saber-rattling and Holocaust denials are, in fact, deliberate provocations. Lacking a popular mandate, he uses his nuclear posturing to align him with the vast majority of Iranians who insist they will never relinquish their "right' to a nuclear program. In fact, Ahmadinejad might welcome punitive action by the West. Economic sanctions would afford him a scapegoat for failing to make good on his wide-eyed campaign promises to redistribute wealth to the poor.Under Ahmadinejad's leadership the economy has slid downward, upsetting more than just the businessmen and the unemployed:
The clerical establishment has close ties with the capitalist class and is said to be appalled at the rapid slide of the economy since Mr. Ahmadinejad's inauguration. The clerics are also thought to be deeply apprehensive about the president's aggressive foreign policy.A hands-off policy is also being advocated by WaPo, saying that a U.S.-backed push for democracy in Iran could backfire:Mr. Ghaninejad said that by confronting Iran over its nuclear program, the West was in fact throwing a lifeline to Mr. Ahmadinejad.
"If they keep piling on the pressure, Ahmadinejad will become a national hero," the newspaper editor said.
"Let the Iranians deal with him. If you leave him alone, he will become a bankrupt politician within a year. With greater pressure, only the extremists will benefit."
Prominent activists inside Iran say President Bush's plan to spend tens of millions of dollars to promote democracy here is the kind of help they don't need, warning that mere announcement of the U.S. program endangers human rights advocates by tainting them as American agentsHowever, for a frightening analysis of the path of doing nothing to try and establish democracy in Arab countries, read Dr. Sanity as she reexamines the question, "Is Islam compatible with a free society?" Read the whole thing, as:
The Golden Hour is down to only a few minutes at most. As the clock ticks down to answering NO to that fundamental strategic question; and as we creep closer and closer to the ultimate confrontation with a medieval, uncompromising and fanatically ruthless religion; there will be no deus ex machina --and no pointless protest march with clever placards--that will be able to save the millions of lives lost in that conflagration.
Technorati Tags: Iran, President Ahmadinejad, Ahmadinejad, Iranian Politics.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R.-Ga.), a prospective 2008 presidential candidate, argues that the United States may need to preemptively invade Iran within the next three years to thwart that country’s development of a nuclear weapon if efforts to inspire a democratic revolution there do not succeed.This is far from praise. For reference, Churchhill once said of Baldwin:In an interview with the editors of Human Events, Gingrich likened the way the Bush Administration is handling Iran today to the way British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin handled Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
He is no better than an epileptic corpse.Newt, however, had best tone back his let's-invade rehortic if he wants to run for president. Citizens want a president that is slow to commit troops, not one that wants us to jump in without slapping the French around first.
Technorati Tags: Iran, War on Islamofacism, War on Terror, Newt Gingrich.
Technorati Tags: Iran.
... the CIA deliberately gave Iranian physicists blueprints for part of a nuclear bomb that likely helped Tehran advance its nuclear weapons development program.This is almost enough to tempt me to buy the book but I know I wouldn't have time to read it.
HT to Say Anything
Technorati Tags: Clinton Legacy, Iran, Iran's Nuclear Program.
Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from an Historic event --- May I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions"? --- With a historic blizzard of up to 24" inches of snow and winds to 50 MPH that broke trees in half, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed all roads, isolated scores of communities, and cut power to tens of thousands.
FYI:
President George Bush did not come, and was not expected to come...
President George Bush did not cause the storm...
Global warming did not cause the storm...
FEMA staged nothing...
No one howled for the government to do something...
No one even uttered an expletive on TV...
Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards...
No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House...
No one looted...
Phil Cantori of the Weather Channel did not come...
And Geraldo Rivera did not move in to be on camera.
Nope, we just melted snow for water, sent out caravans to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars and trucks, checked on our neighbors, fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Aladdin lamps, and put on an extra layer of clothes because up here it is take care of yourself and others and work or die. We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sit at home' checks.
Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early, we know it can happen and and we know how to deal with it ourselves.
"In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 45.25 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world's social problems evaporate."
The above is humor making the rounds via email. I am not the author, just an appreciative recipient.
Actor Sean Penn was there acting as a journalist for his friend who is editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. As police strong-armed civilians, kept women from joining the demonstration and cut off cell phone service to the area, they also briefly confiscated Penn's video camera.
Meanwhile seven bomb explosions take 10 lives just five days before the presidential election. The official line from the Iranian government is that the bombings are the work of Baathists who still support Saddam. A more reasonable explanation is that it is the work of separatists in Khuzestan, an oil-rich region in southern Iran (see Roger L. Simon for more on the subject).
With the upcoming elections, this week's featured blog is Regime Change Iran. In particular, read this.
13 June Update: Iran has arrested "some of the peretrators", although they are sticking to the "foreign influence" story:
Ahvaz Governor Mohammad Jafar-Sarrahmi pointed the finger at the Iraq-based People's Mujahideen, which is Iran's main armed opposition group, and Baathist supporters of deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.Another official blames "British forces based in southern Iraq.""They want a low turnout [in the election] to show people were not present. They tried satellite television and leaflets, but this did not work. They want to create fear," he said.
Zeayadali Malhamdary, 39, an Iranian with permanent resident status in the United States, is accused of trying to buy phony Mexican visas so that three Iranians could fly into Mexico before being smuggled across the border. He was indicted Tuesday. ...Yeah, I feel safe.Malhamdary, owner of Palez Tailoring on Baseline Road, bragged to an undercover FBI agent that he had smuggled as many as 60 Iranians into the United States using fake Mexican visas, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Arizona.
Around 100 journalists gathered outside the parliament building yesterday to protest and to demand apologies. They said they would continue to demonstrate every day for an indefinite period to demand the release of all imprisoned journalists and the reopening of newspapers that have been closed by the authorities.HT to A Daily Briefing on Iran
Not anymore.
Terrorist-loving Jacque Chirac is pressing the EU to allow Iran to keep processing enough fissionable material to produce one nuclear weapon per year:
Other EU3 diplomats confirmed Chirac had urged his negotiators to consider Iran's proposal it be allowed to have an enrichment plant with 3,000 centrifuges -- which could produce enough highly enriched uranium for one bomb per year.Iran claims that it needs be able to create weapons-grade uranium in order to meet its growing energy needs. Let's take a second and examine that claim. From the CIA World Factbook:
In an effort to bring attention to their plight, the Committee to Protect Bloggers asked all bloggers to declare today "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day". The response was overwhelming, even getting some MSM press coverage
The Iranian leadership thumbed its nose at world opinion today by convicting and sentencing Arash Sigarchi to 14 years in prison:
An Iranian journalist was jailed for 14 years on charges ranging from espionage to insulting the country's leaders in an unusually heavy sentence in Iran, where tens of journalists have been tried in recent years.Rights activists said on Tuesday that Arash Sigarchi, 28, was convicted by the Revolutionary Court in the Caspian province of Gilan in northern Iran.
Sigarchi, a newspaper editor in Gilan who also wrote an Internet journal or "weblog," was arrested last month after responding to a summons from the Intelligence Ministry. ...
Iran's judiciary has closed down more than 100 liberal publications in the past five years and jailed many journalists, earning Iran the reputation as the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East, according to rights groups.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said Sigarchi had been updating a weblog in which he had spoken out about the arrest of more than 20 Internet journalists, technicians and webbloggers late last year.
Most of that group have subsequently been released, although several complained of being tortured and forced to write false confessions while in detention.
Regime Change in Iran for fact-filled posts like this one and Syria Comment for analysis like this.
16 trucks carrying weapons and large sums of money from Iran were discovered over the past few days en route to Iraq, according to an Iraqi Defence Ministry source.Speaking to the Iraqi daily Al-Mashreq, the source said that the weapons included rifles, mortar rounds, and explosives. He said that those arrested admitted to being agents of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), and said that lodging had been provided for them in Samara, Balad, Najaf, and Latifiyeh.
The individuals revealed that they work working on behalf of the MOIS in conjunction with Iran's Fajr Forces. During interrogation the Iranian agents also revealed the names of a number of Fajr commanders and MOIS agents whom they worked for.
I was led to a cell, and a heavy, solid metal door was closed and locked. The cell was about 12 feet by 12 feet, with a small sink. The walls were blank, a recently painted cream color. Two gray blankets were folded on the floor. The ceiling was barred. Guards peeped in through a hole in the door every 20 minutes or so. I curled myself in a blanket. I had been expected home at noon. What do they want from me?Just as Orwell's protagonist Winston Smith betrayed his lover Julia, so does this woman betray her boyfriend and fellow blogger:On my second day in confinement, I asked a guard, "Do you know why I am here?"
"I don't know," she replied. "Your interrogator will tell you."
The next day, I was taken to a room down a long corridor and told to sit down. A fat hand with an agate stone ring set an interrogation form in front of me. Then he began asking about my Web log, which has hyperlinks on it to Western feminist groups.
"Do you accept the charges?" the interrogator asked.
"What charges?"
"That you have written things in your Web log that go against the Islamic system and that encourage people to topple the system," he said. "You are inviting corrupt American liberalism to rule Iran."
"I've tried to write my ideas and opinions in my Web log and to communicate with others in Farsi all over the world," I said.
He was displeased.
In the next session, four days later, I confessed to many of the accusations against me. As a reward, I was allowed to talk to my mother in the presence of my interrogator.Hat tip to The Big Picture, who notes:Over the days that followed, I confessed to many things, including having had sex with my boyfriend, who has his own Web log. The admission filled me with guilt, both for having to discuss such intimate details and for having betrayed him. He is now complicit in the crime of extramarital sex.
I remained in prison for 36 days. Now I am awaiting trial. On my release I was reminded, "Be thankful to God that we arrested you. If you had been detained by the intelligence department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, they would surely have beaten you. Here you were our guest."
Before I departed I was politely asked to fill out a form seeking suggestions for improving conditions in the jail.
The Islamo-fascists want all of us to live like that.The Saudis are running mosques on U.S. soil teaching people to hate. That needs to stop. See this post for info on how you can help.
"Her (death) sentence is approved by the Supreme Court, but there are no orders to carry out the sentence. We do not yet know if it is by stoning or hanging," he told Reuters.Anybody know what happened to the guy involved? Funny how you don't hear much about him.
Students are disappointed and let the president know it:
Iranian students have interrupted a speech by President Mohammad Khatami to mark Student Day at Tehran university.Good for them.Students chanted "Shame on you" and "Where are your promised freedoms?" to express their frustration with the failure of Iran's reform movement....
"Students are very disappointed because they paid a heavy price for supporting Khatami, but in return they got nothing," [student leader Abdollah Momeni] is quoted as saying by Reuters.
A statement distributed by one pro-reform student group at the meeting said: "Unfortunately what Khatami sees as his tolerance was his extreme weakness towards the opponents of democracy".
A tentative deal committing Iran to suspend activities that Washington says are part of a nuclear arms program was in jeopardy Friday, with diplomats suggesting Tehran had reneged on an agreement reached just days ago with European negotiators.Perhaps we should send over Corbin Dallas.
The judiciary is drafting a law that will define cybercrimes. The chief of the judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, has said the law will prescribe the punishment for "anyone who disseminates information aimed at disturbing the public mind through computer systems."Pretty open-ended definition, standard operating procedure for tyrants, religious or otherwise.
One of Iran’s most outspoken reformists, Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, announced yesterday he had submitted his resignation from the increasingly isolated pro-reform government....Abtahi, a jovial and rotund mid-ranking cleric who is vice president for judicial and parliamentary affairs, has been one of the most outspoken members of Khatami’s government. But he said that working with hard-liners, who took control of Parliament in May after most reformists were barred from contesting February elections, had become impossible.
An Iranian woman, beaten every day by her husband, asked a court to tell him only to beat her once a week, a newspaper said on Wednesday. Maryam, the middle-age woman, said she did not want to divorce her husband because she loved him, the Aftab-e yazd daily said.Where are the feminists now? Oh yeah, protesting Bush."Just tell him to beat me once a week ... Beating is part of his nature and he cannot stop it," Maryam told the court.
The Tehran court found the man guilty and banned him from beating the wife, the paper said.
"If I do not beat her, she will not be scared enough to obey me," the husband said.