Rooyesh

DAWN had always arrived in Berlin’s Turm Strasse with the bustling of shopkeepers and the drowsy hiss of buses pulling into their stops. Always, except on the morning of April 10, 1997. On that day, the street had been cleared of traffic and blocked to anyone but pedestrians. On the rooftop of every building leading to Nos. 91-92, snipers had been stationed. Turm Strasse 91-92 is the address of Berlin’s highest criminal court. It is also the site of one of the least known, yet most momentous events in the contemporary history of Germany and Iran.

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In Iran, the reformists have learnt three lessons from their defeat in the last presidential and parliamentary elections; firstly, not to boycott an election again; secondly, to be stronger in their confrontations and to avoid taking the middle ground when it comes to public demands; and thirdly, to unite and limit the number of their intellectual and organizational differences. This is what the reformists tell themselves in preparation for a return to the political arena. Everyday there are debates between reformist politicians in Iran for the sake of forming a major coalition that unifies their various branches.

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President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad said on Monday that Iran had reached what he called “industrial scale” in its production of nuclear fuel. But a lack of detail in his announcement left analysts trying to disentangle atomic substance from political rhetoric. With the latest UN Security Council resolution giving Iran until late May to suspend almost all its nuclear programme, on Monday’s announcement appeared to be a clear snub and a restatement of Tehran’s determination to continue with its nuclear programme. Mr Ahmadi-Nejad was speaking at a ceremony at the Natanz plant in central Iran, which has been producing enriched uranium in a pilot scheme of about 300 centrifuges, the devices for enriching uranium.

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The Haliburton Company said yesterday that its subsidiary that does business in Iran had completed all its commitments and was no longer working in the country. In January 2005, the company, which was once led by Vice President Dick Cheney, said that it would not accept new work in Iran but that it would complete existing contracts there. The Department of Justice subpoenaed documents from Halliburton in July 2004 for an investigation into the legality of contracts its Halliburton Products & Services Ltd. unit, which is registered in the Cayman Islands, held for work with the state-run National Iranian Oil Company. American companies are forbidden under United States law from doing business in Iran, dating to sanctions imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution when student fundamentalists held 52 American hostages for 444 days.

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