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AT FIRST, Clay Jones was flattered. Then he learned more, and was repulsed.

Now, Jones, a self-syndicated political cartoonist based in Fredericksburg, Va., is declining the honor.

Jones discovered this week that a cartoon of his lampooning the president had been awarded a citation in the Trumpism Cartoon and Caricature Contest, as announced Monday by Irans House of Cartoon in Tehran. His cartoon spoofed Time magazines 2016 selection of Trump as person of the year by drawing a comparison to Hitler, whom Time named its man of the year in1938.

Joness issue with the competition is that he now believes it is anti-American and anti-free speech.

[House of Cartoon] may have good intentions, but I dont want to be associated with them, Jones tells The Posts Comic Riffs. It can be perceived as not just an anti-Trump contest, but anti-American. Im fine with criticizing America, or even our democratic allies criticizing America. But I dont want to join our enemies in doing so.

When he entered the contest several months ago via email, Jones says, he was unaware exactly who was organizing it, or that the group had held a Holocaust cartoon contest. He says he had received an invitation to enter via Facebook.

I have an issue with a contest sponsored by the government of Iran thats critical of free speech in the United States when they dont allow freedom of speech, or freedom for the press in their nation, Jones writes on his blog. I have an issue with a contest that was a wolf whistle for anti-Semitism.

Though the Trumpism contest wasnt about any of that, its not a party I would accept an invitation to. If the Ku Klux Klan held a cartoon contest on economics, I wouldnt want to enter, and I dont want to be involved with a group that engages in anti-Semitism, no matter how their denial may be worded.

Contest organizer Masuod Shojai Tabatabaei told the AP that the goal of the contest, as well as the exhibition of some of the entries, was to show wrong behaviors by Trump in the framework of satirical portraits. The contest chose honorees in the cartoon and caricature categories from among 1,600 artworks, organizers claimed. The winner in the cartoon category was Hadi Asadi of Iran, who received a $1,500 award. He told the Associated Press that he wanted his cartoon to point out President Trumps money-mindedness and war monger nature.

The honored contest entry by Ed Wexler, via Cagle Cartoons.

The other American honoree in the cartoon contest was Ed Wexler, who is syndicated by Cagle Cartoons, and who entered a cartoon of Trump running from Russia, in a visual reference to Indiana Jones. Syndicate head Daryl Cagle is critical of Irans House of Cartoon, as well as the Federation of Cartoonists Organizations (FECO) and its ties to the Holocaust-themed cartoon contest.

Those groups offer great prizes and five-star hotel trips to international cartoonists to build an image of legitimacy for their messages of hate, Cagle says, and they have been successful in dividing the international cartooning community, which led to France Cartoons and Britains PCO [Professional Cartoonists Organization] leaving FECO in protest of FECOs continuing embrace of FECO-Iran.

When Irans House of Cartoon was officially launched two decades ago, I was one of the organizers, says Washington-based cartoonist Nikahang Kowsar, and the first exhibition was for charity to support children with cancer.

Now, Kowsar who fled Iran after being jailed for his cartoons is critical of the House of Cartoon.

Its great to make fun of world leaders and collect masterpieces, but the question is: Why doesnt the Islamic regime let Iranian cartoonists draw caricatures and cartoons of ayatollahs, the Revolutionary Guards General [Qasem] Soleimani and all those leaders in charge of massacres and mass executions in the 1980s? Kowsar says.

It saddens me when artists participate in contests held by the ruthless regime just for prize money, Kowsar continues. Im angry seeing good Iranian artists turning into bait for the regimes propaganda. The organizers are calling the whole show The Art of Resistance. Resistance to what? To freedom of speech? To democratic values?

Imagine if a cartoonist inside Iran draws something about freedom of religion and criticizes the regime for murdering converts or Bahais, adds Kowsar, who is a board member of Cartoonist Rights Network International. The cartoonist will have no choice but to leave the country before facing the interrogator and tons of charges such as corruptor on earth. Ive received death threats for less than this.

The Trumpism contest has not responded to requests for comment.

As for Joness own participation, he writes: I do not want to be with any group that engages in hatred, no matter how much fun it is to mock Donald Trump. But its not about Donald Trump for me.

Read more:

The winning entry in Trump contest shows a drooling president wearing a jacket made of dollars

See more here:
Virginia cartoonist declines award from Iran's Trump cartoon contest - Washington Post

Thousands of Iranians gathered in the giant auditorium in Villepente Exhibition Center, just outside in a massive expression of support urging the world to adopt a firm approach toward the Iranian government. The gathering featured an array of speakers from all over the world and across the political spectrum, including Saudi Prince Turki bin Faisal and a large delegation from the Syrian democratic opposition. Irans media outlets, such as Royesh Melat, reacted by criticizing the gathering.

The rally focused on the prospects for democratic change in Iran and condemned repression of human rights and record for regional intervention. Speakers also expressed their support for change and solidarity with the Iranian opposition with the rallying cry of free Iran.

The gathering, held annually near Paris, typically draws hundreds of prominent figures from all over the world, and was a display of the political power of Irans opposition.

The rally captured the growing momentum for change with respect to Iran including changes in policies and attitudes in the Middle East and Washington, and the prospects for a new approach towards the clerical establishment in Iran.

The array of speakers, which included several prominent Americans, including former Democratic party's nominee for Vice President and former US senator, Joe Lieberman, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former attorney General Michael Mukasey, former Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge, former FBI director Louis Freeh, former US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, Rudy Giuliani and Congressmen Ted Poe, Robert Pittenger and Tom Garretall, expressed hope that the changes taking place in the international community would culminate in a new approach towards Iran and a strategic partnership with the Iranian opposition.

Giuliani in particular expressed hope that the new administration in the United States would take steps to not only implement a new approach towards the political establishment in Iran, but to embrace the Iranian opposition in tackling a common problem. The ruling regime is in disarray and paralyzed as never before. Iranian society is simmering with discontent and the international community is finally getting closer to the reality that appeasing the ruling theocracy is misguided. said Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), who struck a hopeful note for democratic change.

Rajavi highlighted the plight of Irans population, and commended Irans political prisoners for supporting the gathering from the depths of the regimes torture chambers. The sun of change is shining on Iran, she added, to an enthusiastic crowd of thousands cheering We are ready.

Rajavi added that the international community must Recognize the resistance of the Iranian people to overthrow the mullahs religious dictatorship and designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and evict it from the entire region. Our people want a constitution based on freedom, democracy, and equality, Rajavi said.

Gingrich praised the Iranian opposition as not only a just and pure movement, praising the leadership of Maryam Rajavi by stating She is persistent in difficult times. She is a great leader. I thank each of you on her behalf to help her make her a truly historic figure.

The rally attempted to offer a clear vision of what change in Iran could look like, and the broad based from all over the world to make this vision come true. The movement believes that given the current political climate and the potential for change within the region, the prospect for a new Iran, and free Iran may be closer than ever.

It appears that Iranian leaders are more concerned about the soft power of Western powers and the opposition than their hard power. Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has frequently warned about the dangers of political and cultural infiltration.

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Thousands of Iranians and International Figures at Free Iran Gathering - HuffPost

Jim Lobe comments on the bad arguments from Mark Dubowitz and Ray Takeyh Ive addressed in recent posts. He notes that their assumption that the Iranian government is on the verge of collapse doesnt seem to have anything backing it up:

Its not clear why this comparison has surfaced so abruptly. Its proponents dont cite any tangible or concrete evidence that the regime in Tehran is somehow on its last legs. But Im guessing that months of internal policy debate on Iran has finally reached the top echelons in the policy-making chaos that is the White House these days. And the hawks, encouraged by Secretary of State Rex Tillersons rather offhand statement late last month that Washington favors peaceful regime change in Iran, appear to be trying to influence the internal debate by arguing that this is Trumps opportunity to be Ronald Reagan. Indeed, this comparison is so ahistorical, so ungrounded in anything observable [bold mine-DL], that it can only be aimed at one person, someone notorious for a lack of curiosity and historical perspective, and a strong attraction to fake news that magnifies his ego and sense of destiny.

It isnt unusual for Iran hawks to make arguments without any evidence. Almost all of the arguments against the nuclear deal were riddled with bogus claims and distortions. They insisted that Iran couldnt be trusted to keep its end of the bargain, and yet Iran has been in compliance with its obligations all along. They warned that the deal would be a massive windfall for Iran, but the predicted flood of cash never materialized. Hallucinatory warnings about the expanding Iranian empire that doesnt exist have become commonplace over the last few years, and they have also been shown to be false. In the wake of the Green movement protests, Iran hawks repeatedly asserted that the U.S. had missed an opportunity for regime change, but that just showed that they badly misunderstood the political realities inside Iran. There was never any chance for regime change then, and there is unlikely to be much chance for it now. If you embrace the opposite of the conclusion that Iran hawks reach, you will be much closer to the truth all the time. The fact that they think Irans government is teetering and under great stress suggests that the opposite is the case.

The funny thing about this is that hard-liners and neoconservatives back in the 1980s were among the most vocal defenders of the view that the USSR was much stronger and more threatening than anyone else believed. They were the least likely to imagine that the Soviet system would collapse on its own, and they were constantly urging more aggressive measures because they assumed that the Soviets were in much better shape than they really were. It is rather comical that their ideological successors are now so convinced of the fragility of Irans regime, and they seem to be accepting it in the hopes that they can dupe the current administration into pursuing a policy of regime change by making it appear relatively easy.

See original here:
Iran Hawks Are Consistently Wrong About Iran - The American Conservative

Iran is targeting German companies in its bid to advance its missile program, in possible violation of an international agreement, and at least on occasion with the aid of a Chinese company, according to a damning recent report from a German intelligence agency.

The 181-page report, published last month and released Tuesday by officials from the heavily industrialized southern German state of Baden-Wrttemberg, warned that Iran is actively seeking products and scientific know-how for the field of developing weapons of mass destruction as well missile technology. The Islamic Republic is targeting German companies through various fronts, according to the report.

[Iran is seeking] products and scientific know-how for the field of developing weapons of mass destruction as well missile technology.

In one case, Iran allegedly worked through a Chinese front company to seek complex metal-producing machines from a German engineering firm. German intelligence officials blocked the sale when they told the engineering firm the merchandise was slated to be unlawfully routed to Iran.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not stopped trying to pair missile and nuclear weapons technology, according to the report (Associated Press)

This case shows that so-called indirect deliveries across third countries is still Irans procurement strategy, wrote the intelligence officials.

Another report, released this week by Germanys Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), found the deal brokered by the Obama administration to limit Irans pursuit of nuclear weapons resulted in little or no decrease in the Islamic Republics efforts to gain technology for missiles capable of carrying warheads. But it noted that the agreement was aimed at restricting nuclear technology, not missile technology.

"The amount of evidence found for attempts to acquire proliferation-sensitive material for missile technology/the missile program, which is not covered by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, remained about the same," the report said.

The U.S. and other world powers -- including France, China, Russia and the United Kingdom -- reached an agreement with Iran in July 2015, the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to restrict Tehrans nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on human rights in the Middle East and is a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @BenWeinthal

Originally posted here:
Iran illegally seeking weapons tech from German firms, according to report - Fox News

The intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 is seen during its test in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang, July 5 2017.. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Was North Koreas missile test on Monday a game-changer for Iranian nuclear weapons capabilities?

The word is already out on the test: North Koreas missile test on Monday was an ICBM, an intercontinental ballistic missile.

That means, according to most estimates, North Koreas missile could hit Alaska and a much wider swath of the world than it could have hit before.

What if North Korea transfers this technology to Iran?

In June, ex-US ambassador to the UN John Bolton told The Jerusalem Post that it is only a matter of time before North Korea successfully places miniaturized nuclear warheads on missiles. Plenty of people have already done it and the day North Korea gets nuclear weapons, Iran could have it the next day by wire transfer.

In February, two ex-Israeli intelligence officers wrote an analysis for the Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies arguing that there are massive transfers of nuclear-related technology and know-how between North Korea and Iran.

In late June, top analyst and frequent US government adviser Anthony Cordesman summarized decades of analysis on the North Korea-Iran nuclear connection, concluding that even if evidence of the connection should be scrutinized and there were other proliferators in play, it seems highly likely that Iranian and North Korean cooperation continues at some level.

And Irans state-run news agency issued a statement about expediting Iran-North Korea cooperation and a joint visit of high-level officials the day after the North Korea missile test even if the word nuclear was not explicitly in the press release.

So most of the debate is not about whether nuclear advances for one rogue state assist the other, but in which nuclear areas, since there are many obstacles to overcome, and about how direct is the assistance.

While this is debatable, assume for one moment that North Korea transfers its ICBM technology to Iran tomorrow. There is still another obstacle to a full-blown North Korean or Iranian nuclear ICBM threat.

North Korea has not yet perfected miniaturizing a nuclear warhead to be placed on one of its ICBMs. But some had thought it might take North Korea years to move from launching short-range missiles to ICBMs, which at a certain stage can hit anywhere on the planet.

The US defense establishment has appeared genuinely surprised that Pyongyang pulled off a successful ICBM launch, only admitting that it was an ICBM after initial skepticism.

If top analysts are saying North Korea is still likely a few years away from miniaturizing a nuclear device, what if North Korea surprises them again by outperforming scientific expectations?

Or maybe North Korea takes a few years, but on-schedule around 2020 pulls off miniaturizing a nuclear bomb to be placed on an ICBM that can hit anywhere.

What will stop North Korea from transferring the technology to Iran? In some ways this is more a special US-European issue than an Israeli issue.

Iran has had missiles that could hit Israel for years. So North Korea developing an ICBM does not necessarily up the threat level to any worse than it already is.

Yet, North Korea achieving miniaturization and passing that on to Iran would get Iran over the greatest major obstacle it has not solved for firing a nuclear missile, as opposed to a conventional missile.

All Iran might need to do at that point would be to start enriching uranium again. Presuming it has improved its centrifuges, which it is allowed to do under the 2015 nuclear deal with the West, some say it might be able to break out in a few months or even a few weeks.

All of this is speculative. North Korea and Iran have both gotten stuck before. Without advances in its centrifuges, Iran may need up to a year to produce enough uranium for a nuclear weapon and it may avoid the risk of breaking the nuclear deal. North Korea may transfer some things to Iran, but choose not to transfer technology to place a nuclear weapon on an ICBM.

But what if it does?

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Will North Korea's long-range missile success help Iran? - The Jerusalem Post