In this issue:

LaRouche on Iran Policy: 'Why Should We Allow Britain To Have Nuclear Weapons?'

Rafsanjani Invokes Natural Law

LaRouche on Iran Policy: 'Why Should We Allow Britain To Have Nuclear Weapons?'

July 15 (EIRNS)—In a policy speech at the New York Council on Foreign Relations today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated the Obama Administration's intent to pursue dialogue with Iran on the nuclear issue. The relevant section of her speech, in reference to the United States' offer to engage with Iran, if it chose to improve relations:

"Direct talks provide the best vehicle for presenting and explaining that choice. That is why we offered Iran's leaders an unmistakable opportunity: Iran does not have a right to nuclear military capacity, and we're determined to prevent that. But it does have a right to civil nuclear power if it reestablishes the confidence of the international community that it will use its programs exclusively for peaceful purposes."

"That's fine as far as it goes," commented Lyndon LaRouche. "I'm not going to criticize Secretary of State Clinton's view, especially since I realize that she had to deal with the President, who should be recognized as a nut, with fascist proclivities.

"But the real danger in the Middle East region is not Iran. It's not even Israel, which everyone knows has nuclear weapons. In fact, there's no reason to be afraid of Israel, because it is not an independent state. It is simply a pawn of the British Empire.

"The relevant power, and threat, to deal with in the region is Great Britain, joined by its Saudi ally. Why should we allow Britain to have nuclear weapons, when they are the main threat in the area? No other nuclear power has the motive today to use nuclear weapons, except the British, who are hellbent on trying to save their financial empire.

"Maybe it's a legitimate strategic objective, to give Iran the right to bomb Buckingham Palace," LaRouche concluded. "That would deal with the core of the problem that is destabilizing Southwest Asia, and beyond."

Rafsanjani Invokes Natural Law

July 17 (EIRNS)—For the first time since the Iranian Presidential elections, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former President of Iran and the current head of the Assembly of Experts, delivered the Friday Prayers at Tehran University, before tens of thousands of people. His sermon, which was frequently interrupted by applause, was significant for a number of reasons. First, he made a forceful statement against the suppression and arrest of demonstrators, and the failure of the Guardians Council to satisfy the population that the elections had been conducted fairly. His sharp criticisms were couched in a call for unity, particularly in the face of foreign efforts to exploit the differences that were provoked by the failures of the Guardians Council.

What was even more significant in his sermon was his invoking of universal principles of natural law. (These were first fully presented in the 15th Century by Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa.) Rafsanjani reviewed the history of how the Prophet Mohammed established rule over the city of Medina, by drawing upon the support of the people, including Muslims, Jews, and Christians. He relied on the will of the people, by providing for their needs.

Rafsanjani also reviewed the history of the Iranian Revolution, and the emphasis that Ayatollah Khomeini had placed on the same principles. "Imam Khomeini always said that you should always listen to the people. See what the people want. If the people are with us, then we have everything."

Rafsanjani emphasized that the Iranian Revolution embodied Islam and the principles of the republic. "When we were writing the new constitution [in 1989]," Rafsanjani continued, "we asked the Imam for advice. He put a lot of emphasis on the role of the people. He also knew that the people's vote was the most important thing inside our country. Everything depended upon the people's vote. People should directly elect the President, the parliament, the local council. It was all about the vote of the people. This is a theocracy, a theocratic republic. If the government is not Islamic, then we are heading nowhere. If it is not a republic, then it doesn't amount to anything."

Lyndon LaRouche noted that Rafsanjani's invocation of such universal principles is significant, because it situates the current dynamic in Iran in a larger ecumenical framework. LaRouche emphasized that his observations are not intended, in any way, to be taken as interference in the internal situation in Iran. Rather, they underscore that the fight in Iran involves universal principles of natural law, that should shed further light on the unfolding events there.