U.S. - FREE FIVE IRANIAN DIPLOMATS WITHOUT DELAY

Good news, Haleh Esfandiari has been allowed to leave Iran. The 69-year old Iranian American is now in Austria recuperating from being in prison for more than three months. Iran's leaders did the right thing by letting her go. Esfandiari believes in dialogue between the United States and Iran, not confrontation or war. She was the wrong person for Iran to arrest.

Now the U.S. needs to free the five Iranian diplomats arrested in Erbil last January. In May, it was reported that Dick Cheney prevailed in keeping them under arrest for at least another six months, even though about the only crime I see is that they are Iranians. The U.S. military has presented no evidence why they should be arrested and put in prison. Iran claims they are diplomats. The U.S. government has shown no evidence that they are not, even though Bush's intemperate statements about Iran are in keeping with this reckless arrest and imprisonment of the five Iranians.

The Bush government needs either to show evidence why the five Iranians should be brought up on charges in a court of law or else it needs to free the five Iranians without any more delay.

NOW U.S. SHOULD FREE FIVE IRANIAN DIPLOMATS

Iran has done the right thing and freed Haleh Esfandiari, the 69-year old Iranian-American academic. Now it is past time that the United States frees the five Iranians taken captive in Erbil last January.

The U.S. claims that the five were military operatives, but once again backs this charge up with no evidence. V.P. Cheney back in May insisted that the five not be freed but be held for at least six more months, notwithstanding the lack of credible evidence.

This is just provocation on the part of Bush/Cheney. The Bush administration is looking for a fight, itching to drop bombs and missiles on Iran. Instead of condemning war mongering and military bullying in others, the U.S. needs to back off from its own recklessness.

FIVE IRANIAN DETAINEES HELD BY U.S. ALLOWED VISITORS FOR FIRST TIME

It's about time. The United States has allowed visits in recent days for the first time to the five Iranian diplomats imprisoned since last January when there were picked up in Irbil. The BBC reports that the Iranian Ambassador to Iraq and associates were able for the first time to visit the five detainees.

"The five have been detained by the US military in northern Iraq since they were captured in Irbil in January.

"Three Iranian diplomats including the ambassador in Baghdad visited the five detainees in Iraq," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said."

Perhaps this relaxation of harsh policy by the U.S. will be a first step in Iran releasing its three captive Iranian-Americans, including 67-year old scholar, Haleh Esfandiari. See my post on this Iranian detention of visiting Iranian- Americans here and here.

Writes the BBC today:

"Mr Zebari said he hoped the visit would help pave the way for further talks between the US and Iran, after a landmark meeting in May."

The capture and detention by the U.S. military of the five Iranians in Irbil has exacerbated relations between the United States and Iran. Back in May, V.P. Cheney prevailed on Bush to keep the Iranians captive even though it was then clear there was no evidence that they had been doing anything wrong in Iraq. I believe it was a clear provocation against Iran, as if throwing down the gauntlet, or kicking dust in Iran's face. As if Cheney wanted to provoke Iran to take some action that would allow the U.S. to justify shooting some missiles or dropping some bombs on Teheran.

The BBC comments:

"The detention of the five raised tension between the US and Iran, which has demanded that the men be released.

"It also caused arguments between the White House and the State Department over their continued captivity.

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reportedly argued for the five Iranians to be released because they were "no longer useful". "

TRADE THE FIVE IRANIAN DIPLOMATS FOR THE FOUR IRANIAN AMERICANS

I have blogged many times in the past - here, here and here, - on the underlying reason for the government of Iran seizing the four or five Iranian-Americans while they were visiting Iraq. One, for example, is the noted scholar, Ms. Haleh Esfandiari, who is 67 years old and was visiting her ailing mother.

The United States seized five Iranian diplomats last January in Irbil, Iraq. They have not been allowed use of the telephone or any other way to communicate with their families. Last month, Vice President Cheney prevailed in his argument to keep the five Iranians locked up for another six months, notwithstanding that there is no evidence presented so far that could justify their incarceration. Cheney's decision can be seen only as an act of provocation against Iran.

Today the Washington Post carries an AP story by Ali Akbar Dareini discussing the investigation of the Iranian-Americans. Dareini quotes the Iranian Foreign Minister linking the Iranian Americans to the five Iranian diplomats:

"In a sign of the strain between the two nations over detention of their nationals, Iran also warned the United States today that it would "regret" its detention of five Iranians last January in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil. The five were picked up in a U.S. military raid on Iran's liaison office.

""We will make the Americans regret their ugly and illegal act," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, according to the state-controlled IRNA news agency. He offered no specifics.

"The five Iranians are members of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, which has been active in arming and training Iraqi militants. Their status is due for review by the United States later this month, according to U.S. officials. The Iraqi government is pressing for their release."

U.S. CLAIMS NO ATTACK FORTHCOMING ON IRAN

Oh good! Helene Cooper writes for NYTimes.com today that Condi Rice says the United States is not pushing for an attack on Iran. If this is true, then those pushing for a diplomatic solution to U.S. -Iranian relations seem to have won over the forces of darkness led by Dick Cheney who have been looking for ways to provoke Iran and get the U.S. into another catastrophic war in the Middle East

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought today to minimize any sense of division within the Bush administration over Iran after the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency delivered a pointed new warning against what he called the “new crazies” pushing for military action against Tehran.

"“The President of the United States has made it clear that we are on a course that is a diplomatic course,” Ms. Rice said here. “That policy is supported by all of the members of the cabinet, and by the vice president of the United States." . . .

"Ms. Rice’s assurance on U.S. strategy came as senior officials at the State Department are expressing fury over reports that members of Vice President Cheney’s staff have told others that Mr. Cheney believes the diplomatic track with Iran is pointless, and is looking for ways to persuade Mr. Bush to confront Iran militarily.

"In a news conference today, Ms. Rice maintained that Vice President Cheney supports her strategy of trying to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions through diplomacy. A senior Bush administration official separately denied that there is a deep divide between Ms. Rice and Mr. Cheney on Iran.

"But, the official said, “the vice president is not necessarily responsible for every single thing that comes out of the mouth of every single member of his staff.“ The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about any divide within the administration."

Cheney's hawkish attitude towards Iran cannot merely be laid at the voluble mouths of his aides. After all it was Dick Cheney who last month successfully argued that the five Iranian diplomats taken into U.S. detention in Iraq last January be incarcerated for at least another six months. This was done even though everyone knew it was sure to provoke Iran and its leaders. There has been no evidence produced by the U.S. indicating that these five Iranians were anything but diplomats, even though the military and other neo-con hawks like to imply they were on more than diplomatic missions.

Today, George Bush repeated his call that Iran release the four Iranian-Americans taken into custody over the past several months, while they were visiting family and friends in Iran. Helene Cooper reports:

"President Bush said today that American citizens being held in Iran — Haleh Esfandiari, Parnaz Azima, Kian Tajbakhsh, and Ali Shakeri — “have dedicated themselves to building bridges between the American and Iranian people, a goal the Iranian regime claims to support,” Mr. Bush said. “Their presence in Iran — to visit their parents or to conduct humanitarian work — poses no threat. Indeed, their activities are typical of the abiding ties that Iranian-Americans have with their land of origin.”"

Why couldn't the same statement be made by President Ahmadinejad of Iran about the five Iranians held captive by Bush and the U.S.? The five Iranians were in Iraq because there is close ties between the Iranian people and the majority Shias in Iraq. In fact, the government of Iraq is dominated by Shias, both in the executive and legislative branches.

I have a solution. Let the U.S. trade Iran: the five Iranians for the four Iranian-Americans. Certainly there is no evidence that the four Iranian-Americans are guilty of espionage or treason or attempts to overthrow the Iranian government. Iran should release them. And the United States should give back its five Iranian prisoners. This should be done immediately.

THREE IRANIAN AMERICANS IN IRAN VS. FIVE IRANIANS HELD BY U.S.

Today in The New York Times, (sorry for the absence of HTML links, I am still in NYC on a "foreign computer") Helene Cooper reports that Condoleeza Rice has rejected the observation that Iran has taken three American-Iranians into detention, including the 67-year old scholar Haleh Esfandiari, as tit-for-tat for the Americans taking five Iranian "diplomats" into custody in Iraq this past January.

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday rejected linking Iran’s charges against three Iranian-Americans in Tehran to the Bush administration’s capture of members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Iraq."

"Ms. Rice said that the five Iranian Revolutionary Guard members arrested by United States forces in Iraq on Jan. 11 were working to destabilize Iraq and were “endangering” American troops there. “The two are simply not linked,” she said.

"Iran maintains that the men are diplomats and should not have been detained."

I have written more than once about the possible motivation of Iran in seizing the three Americans all of whom were on visits to Iran when they were seized. Recall that within the last month, V.P. Cheney prevailed upon the inner Bush circle to keep the five Iranians detained for at least another six months, notwithstanding that there was no credible evidence against them that has been revealed. Their only crime was to have been found in Iraq. Iran claims they are "diplomats." Perhaps this is true.

What is galling to the Iranians is that the United States has arrested these five and there have been no charges or evidence presented. This is like the Iranian seizure of the U.S. embassy personnel in Tehran some 30 years ago. Recall how incensed Americans were as a result. We can only imagine how irate the man in the street in Tehran is now about the American detention of the five Iranians. This is just not an issue of a rogue Iran regime doing bad things to Americans, as Tom Friedman seems to suggest in his op-ed column today in The New York Times. This issue generates ill will towards the U.S. by the Iranian people.

I want Iran to release Ms. Esfandiari immediatedly together with the two other Iranian Americans. But I also want the United States to release the five Iranians. For Condoleeza Rice to say there is no parity is just propaganda for those who are not watching what is actually happening.

RELEASE MS. ESFANDIARI AND THE FIVE IRANIANS

Robin Wright in today's Washington Post reports on Iran's detention of the Iranian-American scholar 67-year old Haleh Esfandiari. I have previously posted comments about this unfortunate situation. See my post on May 11, 2007, and my post on May 12, 2007.

My point was and is that it should come as no surprise that Iran is retaliating against the United States for holding and detaining five Iranian "diplomats" seized in Iraq this past January. Especially after recent news reports that Vice President Cheney won out in his argument that the U.S. should hold these Iranians for at least another six months and not release them even though there is no real evidence against them for spying or aiding Iraqi insurgents.

But the linkage of the five Iranians with the case of Ms. Esfandiari seems non-existent to supporters of the Bush regime, for example, Condoleeza Rice. Robin Wright reports:

"In Moscow, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for Esfandiari's release. Her arrest and detention revealed "the nature of the Iranian regime," Rice told reporters. "She ought to be released and she ought to be released immediately.""

How must the detention of the five Iranians appear to people in Iran? Does it reveal "the nature of the [Bush] regime?"

Yes, Ms. Esfandiari ought to be released and she ought to be released immediately. But so should the five Iranians locked up by Cheney till at least July.

MARGARET WARNER'S STORY ON IRAN DETAINING MS. ESFANDIARI

I watched Margaret Warner's discussion last night on The NewsHour with her two guests Lee Hamilton and Karim Sadjadpour about Iran's holding 67-year old Ms. Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, after she went back to Iran to visit her ailing 93-year old mother. As I indicated in my post on May 11, 2007, on the same subject, I am against Iran taking Ms. Esfandiari into custody and detention without any evidence she did anything wrong.

I am also against a decision by Bush and Cheney to arrest the five Iranians in Iraq in January 2007, and in deciding to keep them in custody even though there is no evidence they did anything which would justify their imprisonment, other than being Iranians.

I think the way to secure the release of Ms. Esfandiari is for the United States to sit down and negotiate with Iran over these detainees.

I heard nothing from Margaret Warner or her guests remotely suggesting this diplomatic stategy. Nor did anyone mention the obvious connection between the detention by the U.S. of the five Iranians with Iran's detention of Ms. Esfandiari.

IRAN: FREE MS. ESFANDIARI; U.S.: FREE THE FIVE IRANIANS

I agree with Senators Obama, Mikulski and Cardin that Iran should release the 67-year old scholar, Haleh Esfandiari, taken into custody while she was on a trip to Iran visiting her 93-year old mother. I think it is unjust for Iran to be detaining this lady, just as I think it is cruel and unjust for the United States under Bush and Cheney to be arresting and detaining the five Iranian diplomats picked up in Iraq in January. See my post on April 14, 2007 on their arrest and detention.

As to Ms. Esfandiari, Robin Wright in the Washington Post writes today:

"Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and three senior lawmakers today called for the immediate release of Haleh Esfandiari, the American scholar imprisoned in Iran this week after being under virtual house arrest for more than four months.

""The Iranian government's detention of this 67-year-old grandmother and scholar shows its complete disregard for basic human rights," Obama said in a statement. "If the Iranian government has any desire to engage the world in dialogue, it can demonstrate that desire by releasing this champion of dialogue from detention."

"In a joint statement, Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin, both Maryland Democrats, urged Iran to make a "gesture of goodwill" to the American people by immediately releasing Esfandiari, who is director of the Middle East program at the Smithsonian Institution's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a resident of Potomac."

This is not complicated to solve. The United States detains and arrests five Iranians. Iran detains and arrests Ms. Esfandiari. Both countries believe the arrests on the part of the other are unjustified and unwarranted. I call upon Bush and Cheney to work for the release of Ms. Esfandiari by sitting down and negotiating with Iran as to the release of the five Iranians. There is no reason why the U.S. should consider Iran an "enemy" or "adversary." But the arrest of Ms. Esfandiari should not be considered to be out of the blue or unexpected, given the detention of the five Iranians since January 2007.