Iran and Pakistan mark construction of controversial pipeline

During a ceremony on Monday, the presidents of Iran and Pakistan marked the start of construction on a natural gas pipeline, despite warnings by the U.S. that the project could incur sanctions. Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad said that the West has no right to block the project. Pakistan has recently faced increased blackouts and energy shortages. In efforts to further pressure the Iranian regime over its nuclear development program, the United States has opposed the project, instead proposing an alternate pipeline. This pipeline would run from gas fields in Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and then to India. The United States has also promoted several electricity-generation projects inside Pakistan including assisting in renovating hydropower dams. On March 7, U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, "If this deal is finalized, it would raise serious concerns under our Iran Sanctions Act." Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan stated, "all our friends including the U.S." should show understanding of the country’s energy needs.

Syria

After days of intense negotiations, 21 Filipino U.N. peacekeepers held by the opposition "Martyrs of Yarmouk" brigade were released Saturday and arrived in Jordan unharmed. According to opposition fighters, negotiations took place between rebel fighters and the United Nations, but did not involve the Syrian regime or military. Syria’s U.N. envoy, Bashar al-Jaafari, denied the government was shelling the town of Jamlah, were the peacekeepers were being held. Shelling prevented the U.N. team from picking up the hostages, and fighting erupted as the rebel brigade moved to bring them to the Jordanian border. Meanwhile, government warplanes reportedly bombed the Baba Amr district of Homs on Monday a day after a surprise opposition advance on the central city. Meanwhile, at least 20 bodies of young men believed to have been shot by Syrian forces were found on Sunday in the River Queiq in the opposition held Bustan al-Qasr district of Aleppo.

Headlines

• A Saudi Arabian court sentenced human rights and political activists al-Qahtani and al-Hamid to lengthy prison terms for sedition and spreading "false information."
• Deadly violence erupted in the Egyptian city of Port Said Saturday after a court confirmed death sentences for 21 people and acquitted seven police officers in a trial over the 2012 football riots that killed 74 people.
• Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh announced a new coalition government Friday, handing over key ministries to independents.
• Saudi Arabia is considering firing squads rather than public beheadings for executions "because of the scarcity of swordsmen and their unavailability in a number of regions." 

Arguments and Analysis

Saudi activists silenced and the U.S. is silent (Ahmed Al Omran, Foreign Policy Magazine, Mideast Channel)

"When Saudi activists Abdullah al-Hamed and Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani headed to the Criminal Court in Riyadh on Saturday morning, they knew what was waiting for them. The two founding members of the banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) have been on trial since June 2012, and the judge was expected to hand down his ruling at the session scheduled on Saturday. As the defendants arrived to the court, they were received by more than 100 activists who came to show their support and attend the hearing which was also marked by a heavy presence of security officers with truncheons hanging from their belts.

The government has been accusing al-Hamed and al-Qahtani with a series of changes that include founding an unlicensed human rights organization, seeking to disrupt security and inciting disorder, undermining national unity, breaking allegiance to the ruler, disobeying the ruler, and questioning the integrity of officials. These are considered serious charges in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy where political dissent in not usually tolerated. It does not allow protests, political parties, or unions. Saudi Arabia is also a main ally of the United States in the Middle East. "

Iran crisis is more stable than it seems (Nader Mousavizadeh, Financial Times)

"The long-running crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme has met its moment of truth. This is the year when war or peace will break out – or so at least a remarkable global consensus seems to suggest.

Far more likely, however, is a 2013 defined by another period of sustained stalemate, one driven by an unspoken preference on the part of all the key participants for a pragmatic equilibrium that excludes both war and peace. The see-saw of threats and talks, escalation and negotiation continues, inevitably leading to warnings of showdowns.

This is mostly all theatre. The reality is that for each of the principal parties, the status quo – Iran isolated diplomatically, crippled economically, boxed in militarily – is preferable to the available alternatives."

–By Jennifer Parker and Mary Casey