Iranian-Armenian relations

[Mos]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Incredible !
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Source: Manouchehr Mottaki visited Nagorno Karabakh in fall of 2010
May 10, 2011 - 16:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Former Iranian Former Foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Nagorno Karabakh and its regions neighboring with Iran in fall of 2010. Mottaki arrived in the Republic of Artsakh on a fact-finding trip, reliable sources told PanARMENIAN.Net

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad abruptly fired his Foreign Minister on December 13, 2010, as he was in the middle of an official visit to Africa.

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/69524/

That is truly good to hear, but what you make of this? (it was on the same news website):

Iranian embassy in Yerevan avoids commenting on weapons supply to Baku
May 10, 2011 - 15:44 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The Iranian embassy in Armenia refused to comment on a statement by Iranian Ayatollah Seyed Hassan Ameli, who said that Iran supplied weapons to Azerbaijan during the Karabakh war.
Embassy officials said they would not like unreliable information affect the friendly Armenian-Iranian relations.
The embassy neither confirmed, nor refuted Ayatollah Ameli’s statement, saying that the official stance of Tehran on the Karabakh conflict settlement is known, since it has been repeatedly voiced by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Seyed Ali Saghaeyan.
“We do not exclude the possibility that there are forces, which aim to create hindrances for our friendly relations,” a representative of the Iranian embassy told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
Recently, Iranian Ayatollah Seyed Hassan Ameli stated that Iran supplied weapons to Azeri troops who experienced armament shortage while fighting in battles for Shushi.

[Federate]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Incredible !
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Manouchehr Mottaki visited Nagorno Karabakh in fall of 2010
May 10, 2011 - 16:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Former Iranian Former Foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Nagorno Karabakh and its regions neighboring with Iran in fall of 2010. Mottaki arrived in the Republic of Artsakh on a fact-finding trip, reliable sources told PanARMENIAN.Net

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad abruptly fired his Foreign Minister on December 13, 2010, as he was in the middle of an official visit to Africa.

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/69524/

[Persopolis]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

NOT THE PLO, but the KLO?

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/35711

[Persopolis]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Like US didn't supply arms to al-Qaeda and Saddam in the past.

Anyone that wants to see how the US conducted its foreign policy behind the scenes should watch this - it's a great video:

[Tigranakert]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

ya i know, but this is what michael rubin was referring to in his recent rant on "what's wrong with Armenia". just a relevat addition to the tread is all.

What’s Wrong with Michael Rubin?

After reading a recent article by Michael Rubin, who’s from the neo-con think tank, American Enterprise Institute, I felt it was only proper to dissect his ill-thought-out analysis on a point by point basis. To begin with, Rubin claims that the Armenian Genocide is still debated by historians. No, it isn’t. The preeminent genocide studying organization, I’m of course referring to the International Association of Genocide Scholars, has described the massacres of over 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as a genocide on two separate occasions, in 1997 and once again in 2007. The only ‘historians’ who deny the genocide are those on a Turkish payroll. Someone should point out to Rubin that the Holocaust is also debated but no one pays attention to the revisionists in this case. Next, Rubin claims that the demands of the American-Armenian community to have the U.S. officially recognize the Armenian Genocide are “doing a disservice to U.S. national security.” Yet, he fails to mention how a non binding Congressional resolution will hurt American national security interests. Turkey has made threats to other nations that have recognized the Genocide, most notably France, yet time and again, the threats proved to be little more than a short term diplomatic spat, with no lasting impact on military or commercial ties. Furthermore, if the U.S. really is the champion of human rights and democracy, then recognizing genocides and calling a spade a spade will go a long way in proving America’s stated commitment to human rights and democracy promotion. This in turn would be another useful tool in American soft-power, and thus a boost to U.S. national security, not a hindrance. Otherwise, the U.S. should drop any pretensions to being a champion of human rights.

Following the above, Rubin makes the absurd claim that Armenia has been “largely antagonistic” toward the U.S. He cites two points to support this. First, he compares Armenia’s voting record in the U.N. to that of the U.S. and Israel, and then brings in Armenia’s ties with Iran. Let me start off by saying that U.S.-Armenia relations are quite cordial. The Armenian government has been a reliable partner in the U.S. led War on Terror, allowing American military planes to fly over Armenian airspace, as well as sending a small contingent of Armenian soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan. Since Rubin brought up the U.N., he should look at the voting record of Turkey and the U.S., they are not in unison either. In fact, last May, Turkey, along with Brazil, drafted a proposal with Iran concerning its alleged nuclear weapons program, which went against perceived American interests and was thus voted down by the U.S. and its European allies. As for Armenia’s relations with Iran, Rubin fails to cite the main reason behind this, energy, and the ongoing illegal blockade of Armenia by Turkey. Because of the blockade imposed by Ankara, Armenia relies on its sole nuclear power plant in Metsamor for 40% of its energy needs and the rest from imported Russian gas that is piped in through volatile Georgia. Armenia needed to diversify its energy sources and providers, and it found a willing partner in Iran, which has large quantities of oil and gas.

Staying on the topic of Iran, Rubin claims that Armenia has supplied Iran with weapons before, using as his source a leaked diplomatic cable from the early 2000s. While it is difficult to verify the accuracy of this claim, recent reports have alleged that American military trainers have been helping to train the snipers of the Azeri army, who are positioned only a few hundred meters from the Armenian position. The Azeris continue to ignore the 1994 ceasefire that brought an end to the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, and have killed a number of Armenian soldiers and even innocent villagers over the last few years. Should the Armenian government now consider the U.S. as a hostile nation? If we follow Rubin’s logic, yes.

Finally, Rubin suggests that the Armenian lobby and American-Armenians in general, should attempt to convince the Armenian government and natives of Armenia to pursue a military, economic, security, and diplomatic partnership with the U.S. He claims he is using a ‘realists’ approach to the situation but it would seem he skipped the class on realism and particularly the section on geopolitics. Though one can write a great deal on this topic, for my purposes it will suffice it to say that while Armenia should continue to have cordial relations with Washington, and be open to furthering economic and military relations, it should not abandon its strategic ties with Moscow or close economic relations with Tehran. Iran provides Armenia with energy security, while Russia guarantees that Armenian sovereignty will not be violated by Turkey. This is interesting to note because contrary to Rubin’s claim that there is something wrong with Armenia, the truth is that there’s something wrong with Turkey. As long as it denies the genocide of Armenians, as long as it provides direct military assistance to Azerbaijan, and as long as it maintains the illegal blockade of Armenia, it will remain an existential threat to the Armenian state and people. So next time Mr. Rubin decides to write an article on Armenia, he should first research properly, before putting pen to paper. Otherwise, he is just another hack with a two bit agenda to push.

[Persopolis]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Well it was reported on news.am. I hope Iran doesn't go through with it, but I guess we will have to see.

There are more worrisome things out there ....

A few minutes ago on May 5, 2011, Arab TV announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini requested Iran's President Ahmadinejad to step down from his post. This has not been confirmed nor verified by Western media as yet, however, it has been reported that several of his close aides are already under arrest.The UK Guardian reported today that many of Ahmadinejad's aides were accused of using 'supernatural powers', including invoking jinns (spirits) in an attempt to further the president's agenda against Khameini. Continue reading on Examiner.com: Breaking: Ahmadinejad to resign - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-poli...#ixzz1LY8gAdA7

I suggest that you write a detailed analysis of these "jinns" as they will clearly affect the Iran/Armenia relationship.

(My point simply is that a lot of what passes as "news" is based on nothing more than mixing sleeping pills with booze).

[Mos]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

ya i know, but this is what michael rubin was referring to in his recent rant on "what's wrong with Armenia". just a relevat addition to the tread is all.

Like US didn't supply arms to al-Qaeda and Saddam in the past.

[Artsakh]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

This was a long time ago.

ya i know, but this is what michael rubin was referring to in his recent rant on "what's wrong with Armenia". just a relevat addition to the tread is all.

[Tigranakert]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

When the rest of the world talks about improving international communications, they are usually talking about the internet. Meanwhile, in the Caucasus, is seems that they are still obsessed with the mid-19th century information super highways: train lines.

Where the f*ck did you read something about international "communication"? This is a huge and important infrastructure project, it doesn't mean they will transport "information". In the Dutch news there are a lot of articles about a new train line they are (want) to build between the Netherlands and Germany, this makes them mid-19th century xxxxs? Your ability to make something "negative" or to criticize something is amazing.

Some of your interesting other "criticising" posts about Armenians. What is your goal? By now we understand you hate Armenians. Do you get pleasure, as a Scott, to feel so "superior"?

-Don't let Armenians close enough to sting you - no matter how friendly they at first appear, they will, in the end, try to sting you - even if it means harming themselves more than it harms you.

-My advice to anyone (including Armenians!) wanting to associate with Armenians is to always remember the words of a French Armenian who (based on his 30 years experience of trying to work with Armenian organisations to promote Armenian issues) warned me saying "watch out, 90% of Armenians are absolute bastards". Even though that 90% figure is an exaggeration, it is still good advice, since few will disagree that the absolute bastards make the most noise in every field of Armenian life, including online.

-ArmeniaNow is the ONLY credible independant news source left in Armenia.

-Armenian history when written by Armenians is often not credible, every claim should be regarded with suspicion.

-Armenians shoot themselves in their feet so often I'm surprised they haven't evolved to walk on their hands instead.

-My advice to everyone: never trust anything an Armenian says about the Armenian Genocide, and only a fool stakes their reputation on evidence provided by Armenians.

-Though, if I were to extrapolate from my experience of dealing with Armenians, I'd say that if you are not getting death threats from idiots or extremists then you are doing it wrong.

[Mos]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-to-kill-us-t/

WikiLeaks: Armenia sent Iran arms used to kill U.S. troops
State expressed ‘deep concerns’

U.S. diplomats concluded in late 2008 that the government of Armenia had supplied Iran with rockets and machine guns later used to kill American troops in Iraq, according to State Department cables disclosed by WikiLeaks.

John D. Negroponte, deputy secretary of state at the time, wrote a December 2008 letter to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan expressing “deep concerns about Armenia’s transfer of arms to Iran which resulted in the death and injury of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.”

The cable, based on U.S. intelligence, includes the text of a classified letter labeled “secret” from Mr. Negroponte. It says “in 2007 some of these weapons were recovered from two Shia militant attacks in which a U.S. soldier was killed and six others were injured in Iraq.”

The disclosure of the re-export of arms by Armenia is one example of how the leaked archive of U.S. diplomatic traffic totaling more than 250,000 reports reveals an extensive U.S. government effort to stop allies and adversaries alike from arming Iran with even conventional weapons.

In Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that the documents made public by WikiLeaks is part of a campaign by the CIA and the Israeli Mossad. While many cables showed heads of Arab states urging the United States to take military action against Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad dismissed them as propaganda. “The countries in the region are like friends and brothers,” he said. “These acts of mischief will not affect their relations.”

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. answers questions about WikiLeaks at the Justice Department on Monday. He said the government had launched a criminal probe. (AP Photo)Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in Washington that the leaks will not affect U.S. relationships with allies. Yet she also said that the disclosures would endanger people in closed societies who had spoken with U.S. diplomats.

“There is nothing laudable about endangering innocent people, and there is nothing brave about sabotaging peaceful relations between nations on which our common security depends,” Mrs. Clinton said.

Mrs. Clinton said WikiLeaks acted illegally in posting the classified document and that the Obama administration is taking “aggressive steps to hold responsible those who stole this information.”

At the Justice Department, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the government had launched a criminal probe, while Pentagon officials said security is being tightened to better control digital storage devices such as CDs and flash drives.

The Armenian incident was part of a wider U.S. effort to block Iran’s access to the global arms and weapons technology market. For example, a 2010 cable revealed covert U.S. efforts to persuade China's government to block a sale from a Malaysian firm, Electronics Component Ltd., to sell gyroscopes to an Iranian front company.

This was a long time ago.