BAGHDAD — An Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at former President George W. Bush was convicted of attempting to assault a foreign leader on Thursday and jailed for three years, dismaying many Iraqis who regard him as a hero.

Muntazer al-Zaidi: “What I did was a natural reaction for the crimes committed against the Iraqi people.”

Muntazer al-Zaidi, 30, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, told the Baghdad court: “What I did was a natural reaction for the crimes committed against the Iraqi people.”
Outside the courtroom, Zaidi’s sister Ruqaiya burst into tears when she heard the verdict, shouting: “Down with Maliki, the agent of the Americans.”

Zaidi earned instant worldwide fame in December when he threw his shoes at the visiting U.S. leader, who spearheaded the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, and called him a dog at a news conference.

Dhiaa al-Saadi, the head of Zaidi’s defense team, condemned the sentence as harsh and said it would be contested in the appeals court.

The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who was standing next to Bush at the news conference and tried to block the shoe, described the incident as a “barbaric act.”

At the start of his trial in February, Zaidi said Bush’s smile as he talked about achievements in Iraq had made him think of “the killing of more than a million Iraqis, the disrespect for the sanctity of mosques and houses, the rapes of women.”

Enraged, he removed his shoes and hurled them one by one at Bush, shouting “This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog.” Bush ducked, and was not hit by the flying footwear.

Zaidi’s lawyers failed to convince the court to reduce the charge to insulting, rather than attempting to assault, a visiting head of state which would have incurred a more lenient sentence. The journalist, who has been detained since December, could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, an Iraqi group that advocates for reporters, said the verdict came as a shock.

“It is now left to wait for a presidential or prime ministerial pardon, because we cannot accept an Iraqi journalist behind bars,” said Hadi Jalu, the group’s deputy director.

Opinion about Zaidi, a reporter with al-Baghdadiya television, has been divided in Iraq, where the U.S.-led invasion unleashed years of sectarian bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis and displaced many more.

Some said a guest of Iraq should not be insulted, and that the incident embarrassed the country and its journalists.

But Zaidi has also been hailed in Iraq and across the Middle East as a hero. His action against Bush has been adopted by many as an act of protest, and shoe-throwing has caught on at demonstrations around the world.

“The case is politicized and is an attempt to take revenge on Zaidi. I believe the judges were under political pressure from known factions … the verdict is unfair,” said Ahmed al-Masoudi, a spokesman for parliamentarians loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

However, Ali al-Adeeb, a senior member of Maliki’s Dawa party, dismissed the charge.

“If this case was politicized, the punishment would have been harsher, but it was dealt with legally.”

Morocco severs relations with Iran

Morocco has severed diplomatic relations with Iran, accusing the Iranian diplomatic mission in Rabat of seeking to spread Shi’a Islam in the predominantly Sunni Muslim kingdom.

A statement from Morocco’s foreign ministry Friday accused the Iranian embassy of “intolerable interference in the internal affairs of the kingdom,” and of engaging in activities which threatened the religious unity of the country.

“The Kingdom of Morocco has decided to break its diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran beginning this Friday,” the ministry said.

Moroccan local media has repeatedly accused Iran of proselytising in recent years, claims rejected by the Iranian ambassador. The controversy was fueled recently by comments attributed to an adviser of Iran’s supreme leader, which questioned the sovereignty of Bahrain, a Gulf Arab state ruled by Sunnis, but with a majority Shi’a population.

Morocco, however, has no official Shi’a population, with 99 per cent of the country Sunni, and the rest either Jews or Christians.

Sunni scholars in Morocco have denounced what they say is an effort to convert people to Shi’ism, arguing that such a practice could ultimately lead to sectarian strife similar to that witnessed in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Furthermore, as Mohamed VI, Morocco’s king, is the country’s official religious leader, any attempt to convert Sunni Muslims has been equated to an attack on the monarchy, the foreign ministry said.

Morocco and Iran have had rocky ties since the Iranian revolution in 1979. The two only normalized relations in the late 1990s.

— al Jazeera

Al-Manar slams Germany over ban

Germany’s Interior Ministry said that the country has banned the Hizbullah-affiliated al-Manar satellite television network on grounds that it violates the country’s constitution.

Interior Ministry spokesman Markus Beyer said al-Manar television programming was forbidden under Article 9 of Germany’s constitution, which says that organizations cannot operate with the purpose of violating “international understanding.”

In a statement on Saturday, al-Manar administration condemned the “strange” German move and said that the decision was the result of an organized campaign launched against the resistance and liberation channel by the Zionist lobby.

The statement described the “ban” as a “flagrant assault” on freedom of expression, stressing that the decision was merely political with no legal evidence.

“Al-Manar channel has always abided by all the observed laws, it assumed its role with responsibility and professionalism,” the statement noted, adding that the channel has always been a target for the American and Zionist unfair policies only because it played an efficient and operative role.

Arabic-language al-Manar is based in Beirut and broadcasts locally and by satellite which has no physical presence in Germany.

— WVNS

Report: Iraqi Kurds armed in secret

Iraqi Kurdistan has received arm supplies from Bulgaria without informing the central government in Baghdad, U.S. officials say.

Three U.S. officials said that the local government of northern Iraq had received three planeloads of small arms and ammunition from Bulgaria, The Washington Post reported.

According to the report, the deal was in breach of the legal framework set up by the central government for such purchases.

The newspaper claimed that “the large quantity of the weapons and the timing of the shipment” had alarmed U.S. officials.

The three officials, who were not named by the Post, said that the shipments had arrived in the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah in September.

Although Kurdish officials declined to comment on the report, they released a statement defending such moves by the Kurdistan region.

“The Kurdistan Regional Government continues to be on the forefront of the war on terrorism in Iraq. With that continued threat, nothing in the constitution prevents the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) from obtaining defense materials for its regional defense,” the statement read.

The Kurdish local government has been at odds with Baghdad over several issues, including alleged attempts by Kurdish leaders to extend their territory by deploying militias outside Kurdistan.

The Kurdish government has also been seeking to control the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, an ethnically mixed region.

Officials: Iran does not have key nuclear material

WASHINGTON — Iran does not yet have any highly enriched uranium, the fuel needed to make a nuclear warhead, two top U.S. intelligence officials told Congress Tuesday, disputing a claim by an Israeli official.

U.S. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Maples said Tuesday that Iran has only low-enriched uranium — which would need to be refined into highly enriched uranium before it can fuel a warhead. Neither officials said there were indications that refining has occurred.

Their comments disputed a claim made last weekend by Israel’s top intelligence military official, who said Iran has crossed a technical threshold and is now capable of producing atomic weapons.

The claim made by Israeli Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin runs counter to estimates by U.S. intelligence that the earliest Iran could produce a weapon is 2010, with some analysts saying it is more likely 2015.

Maples said the United States and Israel are interpreting the same facts, but arriving at different conclusions.

“The Israelis are far more concerned about it,” Maples told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The status of Iran’s nuclear program has been the subject of conflicting public statements by top military and intelligence officials recently in the wake of U.N. revelations that Iran has more low-enriched uranium than previously thought.

Earlier this month, Defense Sec. Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm.. Mike Mullen differed over Iran’s capability. While Mullen said Iran has sufficient fission material for a bomb, Gates insisted “they’re not close to a weapon at this point.”

U.S. sanctions 11 firms tied to Iran bank

The Obama administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on 11 companies tied to an Iranian bank that the United States and others say is helping to fund Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The penalties announced by the Treasury bar any transactions between the firms, which are either owned by or linked to Iran’s Bank Melli or its subsidiaries, and U.S. citizens and freeze any assets the firms may have in U.S. jurisdictions.

“The international community has recognized the proliferation risks posed by Iran’s Bank Melli,” said Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey. “We will continue to take steps to protect the integrity of the international financial system by exposing the banks, companies, and individuals supporting Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.”

The companies designated by Treasury include the Bank Melli Iran Investment Company and Bank Melli Printing and Publishing Co., which are both directly owned by the bank and based in Iran.

The bank’s investment company, with a current market capitalization of more than $1 billion, is one of the largest publicly listed companies on Iran’s Stock Exchange and owns stakes in more than 100 companies, according to Treasury.

It owns or controls five of the other affected firms: Dubai-based BMIIC International General Trading Ltd. and Melli Investment Holding International and Cement Investment and Development Company, Mazandaran Textile Company and Melli Agrochemical Company, which are all headquartered in Iran.

The new sanctions also apply to MEHR Cayman Ltd. and First Persian Equity Fund, which are either based or have offices on Grand Cayman

Island and are linked to Bank Melli or a subsidiary, as are the Iran-based Mazandaran Cement Company and Shomal Cement Company.

Kuwait plunges further in political turmoil

KUWAIT CITY — The Gulf state of Kuwait plunged further into political turmoil on Monday after a hardline Islamist lawmaker submitted a request to quiz the prime minister, the third such move in a week.

Islamist lawmaker Mohammad Hayef accuses Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah of being responsible for allowing the demolition of two mosques built illegally on state land.

Hayef had called on Sheikh Nasser to refer the head of the government agency responsible for demolitions to the public prosecution but he refused, even though he had ordered the agency to halt mosque demolitions.

Last week, Islamist MPs filed two requests to question Sheikh Nasser in parliament over allegations of mismanagement, breach of the constitution and failure to adopt a prudent economic policy, besides misuse of public funds.

The grillings fueled speculations of an imminent decision by the ruler of OPEC’s fourth largest producer to dissolve parliament, elected only last year, and call for fresh polls within two months.

Several MPs said last week that a decision to dissolve the 50-member house had been taken and it is now expected to be announced this week.

It is the first time any prime minister of the oil-rich emirate has faced three grillings at the same time.

Sheikh Nasser, a nephew of the emir, has been under constant political pressure ever since he became premier in February 2006.

The most recent of his five cabinets was appointed in January.

His four previous cabinets resigned after disputes with parliament, the latest in November when three Islamist MPs applied to question Sheikh Nasser over allegations of mismanagement and allowing a banned Iranian Shi’a cleric to enter Kuwait.

Arab American appointed to DHS

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced on March 5 the appointment of Massachusetts Arab American Juliette Kayyem to serve as Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Programs.

Kayyem became the first Arab American to serve as a homeland security advisor at the state level when she was appointed Massachusetts undersecretary for homeland security in January 2007.

Napolitano, appointed by President Barack Obama in January, has stressed pursuing an integrated national approach to homeland security, through federal interaction with state and local, tribal, and territorial governments, to “reduce duplicative activities and contradictory approaches.”

“Juliette brings a tremendous amount of expertise to the table,” Napolitano said in a release, “having coordinated efforts amongst varying entities during her tenure in state government. Juliette will play a critical role in helping to improve and strengthen communications between all levels of government and in helping in the mission to create one Department of Homeland Security.”