Diplomats are saying the UAE seized a ship two weeks ago that was transporting explosives, detonators, grenades, and munitions bound for Iran.  The ship, owned by an Australian subsidiary of a French company, was found to have ten containers on board disguised as oil equipment.

Despite this incident being a clear violation of United Nations sanctions, the UN has yet to receive a response from either Iran or North Korea.

Earlier this summer, the Security Council voted to adopt a resolution punishing North Korea for its recent nuclear-bomb test and missile launches. This newest resolution requires the inspection of any material in international
waters that is suspected of carrying arms.

Read More:

Rueters: Australia probes N. Korea weapons for Iran seizure

WSJ: Iran arms remain sealed

Asia Times: Storm over North Korea-Iran arms vessel

In response to the H1N1 swine flu virus, a string of governments have placed restrictions on citizens making the pilgrimage to the holy places in Saudi Arabia, a trek traditionally made by many Muslims during Ramadan.

Meanwhile, financial worries forced many families to cut back on their holiday spending.  In the Saudi cities of Mecca and Medina, which normally do a brisk trade from pilgrims during Ramadan, businesses are bracing for their worst holy month in years.

Trying to tempt travelers, tour companies have slashed the price for package tours from Riyadh to Mecca by 25 percent, the English language Saudi Gazette reported.

In neighbouring Medina, officials said they expected business to be down by 70 percent.

Read More:

Xinhua: “Gazans find joyous Ramadan a luxury during economic downturn”

Rueters: “Somali president calls for Ramadan ceasefire”

AFP: “Swine flu, economic downturn overshadow Ramadan”

This change has not gone unnoticed by Israel’s Arab neighbors.  But the Tehran Times took another look at the issue of Israeli settlements Tuesday, criticizing the role of individual Americans and organizations funding  this activity.

The Times reports:

This support is currently undermining the United States efforts to restart the peace negotiations. In addition to its diplomatic efforts to stop the settlements, the Obama administration must also stop the flow of American financial support for the settlement activities.

The American individuals and organizations that support the settlement activities must ask themselves: is what they are doing good for their fellow Americans? The Obama administration has correctly recognized that continuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict is harmful to the U.S. interests in the Middle East and indirectly contributes to terrorism.

Those Americans who support the settlement activities under current circumstances are indirectly contributing to the promotion of terrorism against the United States and should think about the consequences of their behavior for the safety and security of their country.

In this statement Clinton pointed to five cases: the three American hikers who crossed into Iran from Iraq in late July; a US-Iranian scholar; and a private detective and former FBI agent who went missing in Iran in 2007.

She said, Washington “is deeply concerned about the welfare of our American citizens who have been detained or are missing in Iran.” continuing with, “We once again urge Iran’s leadership to quickly resolve all outstanding American citizen cases.”

The three American hikers — Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd — went missing on July 31 after setting out on a hike from Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, on the poorly marked border with Iran.

In wasn’t until Tuesday that Iran officially notified Washington about the arrest through Swiss channels, which represent US interests in Iran. But US officials say they still do not know where the hikers are being held.

“We once again call on the Iranian government to live up to its obligations under the Vienna Convention by granting consular access and releasing these three young Americans without further delay,” Clinton said.

She also brought up the case of American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh, “who has spent his career working to enhance mutual understanding between Iran and the United States.”

Clinton demanded Iranian authorities “immediately release Mr. Tajbakhsh from detention and allow him to depart Iran to continue his academic pursuits,” she said.

Tajbakhsh was put on trial two weeks ago with the near 100 Iranians on charges of rioting after the disputed re-election in June of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

And Clinton said Washington also continues to be “concerned about the case of Robert Levinson,” a former FBI agent who has been missing in Iran since March 2007.

She called on Iran “to assist in providing any information on his whereabouts and in ensuring his prompt return to the United States.”

The US goal “is to ensure the safe return of all our missing or unjustly detained American citizens to the United States as quickly as possible so that they can be reunited with their families,” Clinton said.

The protesters are facing trail for “conspiring with foreign powers to stage a revolution through terrorism,” The New York Times reports. The former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has voiced his criticism of the trials, calling them “show” trials, and saying he hoped they would not “lead to ignorance of the real crimes.”

The opposition leader, Mir Mousavi, will not be tried in these proceedings and has urged his followers to resume their chants of “God is Great” to protest the trials.

A number of the charges are the result of a confession by reformist cleric and blogger Muhammad Ali Abtahi.  In an emotional videotaped confession Abtahi said the elections weren’t fraudulent and that the three opposition leaders “promised to always back each other up.” Some are now touting this statement as proof of the opposition’s malign intent.  But human-rights leaders say this confession was most likely forced out of Abtahi.

According to Iranian law, any president who fires 11 members of his cabinet must face a vote of confidence before the Iranian parliament. The two firings, according to CNN.com, would put Ahmadinejad past this threshold.

However, it is unclear whether both men will remain dismissed, or if one will return to avoid the vote of
confidence. The Iranian state media is claiming that only one person was really let go.

Back in the U.S., Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held firmly to the White House’s position on Iran’s protests saying that the country’s future “is really for the people to decide.”

Read CNN.com’s: Ahmadinejad may face vote of confidence in parliament

Nassim Nazemi

The news from Iran has died down, but some Americans, like Chicago’s Nassim Nazemi, have not stopped their fight. Click the play button to hear what she has to say.

Highlights:

• “We expected that no matter who won the election, it would be business as usual”
• “Suddenly we’re using social media, things like Twitter and Facebook to actively resist oppression and to help people actively resist government oppression.”
• “It got harder and harder to get the world’s attention as the protests waned, as time went by, as Michael Jackson died and took over the news cycle.”
• “I know one thing with certainty and that is, Iran will never be the same.”

Don’t want to listen? Here’s the transcript:

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to speak with Nassim Nazemi, an Iranian-American, to talk about what she has been doing to help foster democracy in Iran and help her friends and family that are still there.

First Question Nassim… have you always followed Iranian politics so closely?
I would say myself and most of my friends and family who’ve become involved in one way or another never really viewed themselves as politically active in any way.  Most of us, at least speaking for myself, didn’t expect much to come out of the election.  We viewed it with the same skepticism that we’ve developed over the last 30 years in regards to this Islamic republic.  We expected that no matter who won the election, it would be business as usual.

And what role has social media played in your efforts?

Folks like myself and other people who are kind of observing this from the comfort of our home computers have been using Facebook to spread the news, to get the news.  Really without the social web, the world would not know what was happening in Iran.  Iranians would not be assembling the way that they are, and Iranians like myself, expatriate Iranians, would not be able to spread this information nearly as efficiently.  And I think it goes beyond just sort of a news function.  You know when you have people, disinterested individuals across the world, across the United States, setting up proxies and bridges and using all of their sort of technical expertise to assist the Iranian people in accessing a free internet, suddenly the game has changed.  Suddenly we’re using social media, things like Twitter and Facebook to actively resist oppression and to help people actively resist government oppression.

The news about this situation in Iran has died down a lot, does that mean it’s over?

It got harder and harder to get the world’s attention as the protests waned, as time went by, as Michael Jackson died and took over the news cycle.  You know it’s unfortunate but things like that are more interesting than a possible revolution in Iran.

So what do you think will be the final outcome of this election?

Wow, I really wish I had my crystal ball handy.  What will be the final outcome of the election?  All I can say is I’ve known Iran as long as I have been alive, I was born the year of the revolution and I’ve seen the fallout of that Islamic revolution every day ever since.  I know one thing with certainty and that is, Iran will never be the same.  This is not just an election.  I think it’s important for people to understand that this was a turning point in Iran’s evolution as a society.

A big thank you to Nassim for giving us her time.  If you want to get involved with the democracy movement in Iran, you can join Nassim and many others July 24 at the Federal Plaza in Downtown Chicago.  I’m Jessica Harbin and that’s your Mid-East Meets Midwest report.

When asked whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right in indicating that Israel would take matters into its own hands if Iran did not show willingness to finally negotiate over its controversial nuclear program by the end of the year, Biden replied, “We cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do when they make a determination, if they make a determination, that they’re existentially threatened.”

On the surface Biden’s remarks suggest a toughening US stance against Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but White House officials denied that, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.  According to the Times, White House officials are saying “his televised remarks Sunday simply reflected the US view that Israel had a right to defend itself and make its own decisions on national security.

And in Jerusalem, the Israeli government had no comment on Biden’s remarks.

However, in Tehran, the chatter was not recieved in silence.  Al Jazeera reports Alaeddin Broujerdi, the head of Iran’s parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said Tehran was ready to take “real and decisive” action if Israel attacked its nuclear facilities.