The Islamic regime officially fired and issued the termination of services to 46 of the employees of the greater Tehran bus drivers company who had taken part in the recent protests and demonstrations. Among the 46 several were also members of the board of directors of the bus drivers union who had been involved in organizing the demonstrations.

The New York Times
Michael Slackman

TEHRAN -- Just weeks ago, the Iranian government's combative approach toward building a nuclear program produced rare public displays of unity here. Now, while the top leaders remain resolute in their course, cracks are opening both inside and outside the circles of power over the issue.

Some people in powerful positions have begun to insist that the confrontational tactics of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been backfiring, making it harder instead of easier for Iran to develop a nuclear program.

This week, the United Nations Security Council is meeting to take up the Iranian nuclear program. That referral and, perhaps more important, Iran's inability so far to win Russia's unequivocal support for its plans have empowered critics of Mr. Ahmadinejad, according to political analysts with close ties to the government.

One senior Iranian official, who asked to remain anonymous because of the delicate nature of the issue, said: "I tell you, if what they were doing was working, we would say, 'Good.' " But, he added: "For 27 years after the revolution, America wanted to get Iran to the Security Council and America failed. In less than six months, Ahmadinejad did that."

One month ago, the same official had said with a laugh that those who thought the hard-line approach was a bad choice were staying silent because it appeared to be succeeding.

As usual in Iran, there are mixed signals, and the government does not always speak with the same voice.

On Tuesday, both Mr. Ahmadinejad and the nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, insisted in public speeches that their country would never back down. At the same time, Iranian negotiators arrived in Moscow to resume talks — at Iran's request — just days after Iran had rejected a Russian proposal to resolve the standoff.

Average Iranians do not seem uniformly confident at the prospect of being hit with United Nations sanctions.

From the streets of Tehran to the ski slopes outside the city, some people have begun to joke about the catch phrase of the government — flippantly saying, "Nuclear energy is our irrefutable right."

Reformers, whose political clout as a movement vanished after the last election, have also begun to speak out. And people with close ties to the government said high-ranking clerics had begun to give criticism of Iran's position to Ayatollah Khamenei, which the political elite sees as a seismic jolt.

"There has been no sign that they will back down," said Ahmad Zeidabady, a political analyst and journalist. "At least Mr. Khamenei has said nothing that we can interpret that there will be change in the policies."

But, he said, "There is more criticism as it is becoming more clear that this policy is not working, especially by those who were in the previous negotiating team."

There are also signs that negotiators are starting to back away, however slightly, from a bare-knuckle strategy and that those who had initially opposed the president's style — but remained silent — are beginning to feel vindicated and are starting to speak up.

A former president, Mohammad Khatami, recently publicly criticized the aggressive approach and called a return to his government's strategy of confidence-building with the west.

"The previous team now feels they were vindicated," said Nasser Hadian, a political science professor at Tehran University who is close to many members of the government. "The new team feels they have to justify their actions."

Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final say, issued a strong defense of Iran's position on Tuesday.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran considers retreat over the nuclear issue, which is the demand of the Iranian people, as breaking the country's independence that will impose huge costs on the Iranian nation," he said.

"Peaceful use of nuclear technology is a must and is necessary for scientific growth in all fields," Ayatollah Khamenei said. "Any kind of retreat will bring a series of pressures and retreats. So, this is an irreversible path and our foreign diplomacy should defend this right courageously."

In a speech in northern Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad called on the people to "be angry" at the pressure being put on Iran.

"Listen well," the president said to a crowd chanting "die" as they punched the air with their fists. "A nuclear program is our irrefutable right."

When Mr. Ahmadinejad took office, he embraced a decision already made by the top leadership to move toward confrontation with the West about the nuclear program. From the sidelines, Mr. Ahmadinejad's opponents remained largely silent as his political capital grew.

Iran's ability to begin uranium enrichment, and to remove the seals in January at least three nuclear facilities without any immediate consequences, was initially seen as a validation of the get-tough approach.

But one political scientist who speaks regularly with members of the Foreign Ministry said that Iran had hinged much of its strategy on winning Russia's support. The political scientist asked not to be identified so as not to compromise his relationship with people in the government.

The political scientist said some negotiators believed that by being hostile to the West they would be able to entice Moscow into making Tehran its stronghold in the Middle East. "They thought the turn east was the way forward," the person said. "That was a belief and a vision."

The person added, "They thought, 99 percent, Russia would seize the opportunity and back the Iranian leaders."

The route forward remains unclear as Iran tries to regain a sense of momentum.

There is a consensus here that Iran has many cards to play — from its influence with the Shiites in Iraq to its closer ties to Hezbollah in Lebanon, to the prospect of using oil as a weapon. But the uncertainty of appearing before the Security Council, and the prospect of sanctions, has led some here to begin to rethink the wisdom of fighting the West head-on, analysts said.

Professor Hadian said he believed that for Iran to fundamentally change course the situation for Iran would have to first grow much worse.

"There are concerns to keep the situation calm," said Mr. Zeidabady, the journalist. "We have received orders not even to have headlines saying the case has been sent to the Security Council. Although the situation is very critical, they want to pretend that everything is normal. They do not want to show the country is coming under pressure and lose their supporters."

Nazila Fathi contributed reporting for this article.

The Times
James Bone

Britain unveiled a proposal at the United Nations last night to give Iran 14 days to suspend all work linked to uranium enrichment, but stopped short of specifying any punishment.

The joint British-French text was circulated to the full 15-nation Security Council, despite continuing resistance from two veto-bearing powers, Russia and China. The draft, obtained by The Times, expresses “serious concern” about Iran’s nuclear programme and asks Tehran to comply with requirements set out by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Specifically, it calls on Iran “to re-establish full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development”. It also asks it to “reconsider” the construction of its heavy-water nuclear reactor at Arak.

The most controversial paragraph requests the IAEA director-general to report back to the Security Council in 14 days on Iranian compliance — a provision some delegations view as an artificial deadline.

But Jean-Marc de La Sablière, the French Ambassador, said that the 14 days could be extended. If Iran does not comply within the deadline, British diplomats plan a mandatory resolution that could open the way for targeted sanctions.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The five veto-holding U.N. Security Council powers faced another struggle on Wednesday to come up with a text aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions without threatening sanctions or other punitive measures.

Russia and China are resisting a proposal from the United States, Britain and France for a council statement that would express "serious concern" about Iran's nuclear program and urge it to abide by resolutions from the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

France and Britain, in an informal meeting of all 15 council members on Tuesday, distributed "elements" for a statement that would call on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment efforts, which the West believes are a cover for bomb making.

The decision to involve the full council followed several days of inconclusive talks among the permanent five members. The permanent members meet for the fifth time on Wednesday.

The full council resumes discussions on Thursday and on Friday, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said.

One point of contention is a provision requesting Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA director general, to report back to the Security Council in a short period of time on Iranian compliance.

Britain had proposed a report in 14 days but that time frame was seen as a negotiating point and would probably be lengthened.

Russia and China, wary of involvement by the Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions, wants ElBaradei's report to go to the 35-nation IAEA board.

China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, told reporters he preferred a simple statement that would leave sufficient room for diplomatic efforts. "We have some difficulty with the elements," Wang said.

FULL AND SUSTAINED SUSPENSION

The draft also calls on Iran "to re-establish full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development" that the IAEA would verify.

It asks Iran to reconsider building a heavy-water nuclear reactor in Arak, which is more prone to producing fuel for nuclear weapons than its light-water reactor equivalent.

Greece's U.N. ambassador, Adamantios Vassilakis, said he saw no problem with the proposals as they were similar to those adopted by the IAEA governing board.

"Most of the elements are from the text of the resolution adopted by the governing board, which we already voted for," Vassilakis said after Tuesday's discussions.

A council statement needs to be approved by all 15 members, while a resolution requires nine votes in favor and no veto from any of the permanent members. The West could try to force Russia and China into a veto if the impasse continue.

"Whether it is a statement or a resolution we haven't decided," Bolton said earlier.

"We're trying to hold the permanent five together first but reality is reality and time is an important factor, given that the Iranians continue to progress toward overcoming their technological difficulties in enriching uranium," he said.

In addition to the five permanent council members, the other 10 nations, which rotate for two-year terms, are: Argentina, Denmark, Greece, Japan, Tanzania, Congo Republic, Ghana, Peru, Qatar and the Slovak Republic.

Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Mar. 14 – Young people set fire to pictures of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran, according to dissidents in the Iranian capital who sent a photo of their activities to Iran Focus.

Protestors gathered and burned down posters of Iranian leaders hung on lampposts in Mirdamad Street in Tehran.

Despite a massive crackdown to prevent this year’s “fire festival” from turning into scenes of anti-governments protests, young people have taken to the streets across Iran to defy the government ban and celebrate the last Tuesday of the Persian year with a big bang.

During the festival, known as ‘chaharshanbeh souri’ – literally, Feast of Wednesday – people jump over bonfires to “drive away evil”. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, however, Iran’s theocratic leaders have made strenuous efforts to stamp out the festivities, but to no avail. In recent years, there have been extensive clashes between festive crowds and the security forces deployed to prevent street celebrations. This year the event falls on March 14.

Iran’s main opposition group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), has issued an appeal to people across the country to take part in the celebrations on the night and turn it into an anti-government protest.

Already steps have been taken to prevent widespread protests from flaring during the traditional Persian festival celebrated by Iranians for over 2,500 years.

Iran Focus
Tehran, Iran, Mar. 14 – Furious people set on fire posters of hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during extensive demonstrations in the western city of Khorramabad as “fire” festivals across the country continued well into the night.

The following is a photo obtained by Iran Focus from activists inside Khorramabad.

During the traditional Persian fire festival, known as ‘chaharshanbeh souri’ – literally, Feast of Wednesday – people jump over bonfires to “drive away evil”. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, however, Iran’s theocratic leaders have made strenuous efforts to stamp out the festivities, but to no avail. In recent years, there have been extensive clashes between festive crowds and the security forces deployed to prevent street celebrations.