Written on 06 September 2024.

Written on 01 September 2024.

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  What was Germany doing under the cover of a language center in Iran?

   

   

  TEHRAN– A putative language school endorsed by the German embassy in Tehran funded underground entertainment, illicitly provided scholarships to students, and helped employ agents for the German government, according to information obtained by the Tehran Times
  
  Earlier this month, two branches of the German Language Institute (DSIT) were closed following orders from the Iranian judiciary. The Tehran Times has gathered information suggesting that the language school functioned as a covert operation for the German government to influence Iranian citizens and advance Germany's political agenda in Iran. 
  The Tehran Times understands that the DSIT spent half a million Euros annually to support music, film, and entertainment groups aiming to bypass the scrutiny of Iran’s Ministry of Culture, which must review and certify all cultural content before it can be distributed. Much of the material funded by this supposed language institute conflicted with Iranian social and cultural values.
  The money came from the Goethe-Institut, an organization officially financed by the German government that has over a hundred branches globally. While it presents itself as an independent entity dedicated to promoting the German language and culture, numerous reports indicate that the Goethe-Institut frequently functions as a political arm of the German government. 
  Although the DSIT asserts that it has no connections to the Goethe-Institut, documents seized during the closure of two of its branches in Tehran reveal that the language school maintained regular communication with the organization and frequently received directives from its officials. The Tehran Times has reviewed multiple of these documents, as well as at least nine financial records indicating payments totaling tens of thousands of Euros to individuals not affiliated with the DSIT. The records were signed by the language school’s CEO and the German ambassador to Tehran.
  Furthermore, the DSIT illegally engaged with Iranian citizens by offering students scholarships for study at German universities, a practice unusual for an institute claiming to be merely teaching language. In numerous instances, the DSIT assisted students interested in relocating to Germany by helping them schedule appointments with the German embassy in Tehran. Evidence indicates that these students were often recognized as elites in their professional or academic domains.
  Certain individuals with whom the DSIT established close connections became involved in networks aimed at executing illegal activities or schemes that benefit German and Western interests. The Tehran Times may disclose more information on some of these networks in the future.
  The Tehran Times has also learned that the DSIT lacked the required operating licenses despite operating in Iran since 1995. This means the school evaded taxes on the income generated from its 10,000 annual students. According to information compiled by the Tehran Times, the DSIT held a financial balance of 400 billion Tomans in 2022.
  ‘Closure of software center and infiltration hub a bitter pill to swallow for Germany’
  Germany, still grappling with its imperialist ambitions, struggles to accept that a dignified nation has shut down its software center and infiltration hub. This is why it views the closure of DSIT as a retaliatory action in response to the shutdown of the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH), a source familiar with the situation told the Tehran Times. 
  Last month, German police conducted an unannounced and unwarranted raid on 53 properties across the country linked to the Islamic Center Hamburg, Germany’s oldest and leading Shia Muslim center. The move is believed to have been made under pressure from the Israeli lobby in the European country. 
  The Tehran Times has learned that German police verbally assaulted numerous employees of the IZH and its affiliated organizations. Reports indicate that officers even confiscated small change from the employees’ pockets, and confronted their family members. German media claims the closure of DSIT was a tit-for-tat move for the ban of the IZH. 
  In the wake of the language school's closure, the German embassy in Tehran breached diplomatic protocols by sharing tweets from purported Iranian users on Instagram, who seemed to ridicule the closure of DSIT.
  “What the German embassy fails to take into account is that at least in Iran, citizens have the freedom to express dissent when they disagree with government actions. That’s while in Germany, individuals face immediate repercussions for speaking out against the government's backing of the Israeli regime, which is committing genocide in Gaza,” the source said. 
  By Soheila Zarfam
  
  Tehran Times

Written on 04 September 2024.

This is the title of a long overdue article by Peter Schroeder in Foreign Affairs. The gist of the argument: only Putin’s death or disappearance could end a war which he considers vital both for himself and Russia.

We explained in

Warum will Putin die Ukraine haben?

Putin’s emotional background and the reasoning behind his determination to destroy Ukraine and to absorb it into Russia.

Schroeder explains how Putin became afraid Ukraine wanted to become a part of the West and how its Orange Revolution could trigger similar events in Russia and, in the end, topple Putin’s regime.

A seemingly far-fetched conclusion but not unrealistic given Putin’s overanxious and apprehensive habit of protecting himself. 

Ukraine’s independence is threatening Putin because it shows a model of Russia without Putin.Ukraine is different enough from Russia to claim its existence as a separate state. Yet it is similar enough to serve as a model of a Russia without Putin

After Ukraine's independence in 1991, Putin had always paid close attention to Ukraine’s political development. As long as there were russophile politicians at the helm, especially Viktor Yanukovych until he fled in 2013, Putin was happy with leaving Ukraine some degree of independence. Since Ukraine was very poor compared to Russia and corruption prevailed, it seemed not threatening at all.

However, in February 2014 the Orange Revolution of Dignity took place and moved Ukraine a big step toward Western Europe, in form of the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement which was in vain heavily opposed by Yanukowytch and Russia.  

In 2019 Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected president.

Putin’s policy of benign neglect toward Ukraine now became lethal animosity. First, Russians occupied Crimea, then the Donbas and finally, in February 2022, the full scale invasion of Ukraine started.

The war has since developed its own dynamics, No more  skulduggery like the one of the "little green men" in Crimea; now it’s a full scale war spiced with nuclear threats. No more possibility for Putin to opt out because he is now suffering from lockjaw as indicated by Schroeder.

How to find a solution? Either Ukraine surrenders or Putin dies or is removed. Since both options don’t appear on the horizon, the war will continue to grind on, as Schroeder predicted.

The modern Ukraine was created by Stepan Bandera and (unintentionally) by Joseph Stalin. Its final shape and role as a proud nation-state has Ukraine been given by Vladimir Putin. Don't be mistaken: the new Ukraine will not surrender. Instead it will fight to the last man standing.

Written on 16 August 2024.

Der ukrainische Präsident Wolodymyr Zelenskyj beteuert, dass sein Land nicht die Absicht habe, sich dauerhaft in der russischen Oblast Kursk zu engagieren. Vielmehr sieht er die ukrainischen Landgewinne als Verhandlungsmasse für künftige Friedensgespräche. Für den russischen Präsidenten Wladimir Putin sind solche Gespräche jedoch in weite Ferne gerückt. Er ist entschlossen, die Ukrainer aus der Oblast Kursk zu vertreiben.

Abgesehen von Putins Wut ist meiner Meinung nach nichts davon wahr. Vielmehr habe ich den Eindruck, dass Oleksandr Syrskyj, der Oberbefehlshaber der ukrainischen Streitkräfte, den Russen eine Falle gestellt hat, die an die Offensive Erich v. Mansteins erinnert, mit der die deutschen Truppen 1940 mit Hilfe kräftigen Genusses von Pervitin Belgien und Frankreich überrumpeln konnten.

Wie Manstein damals empfohlen hatte, umgingen die Deutschen die Maginot-Linie und andere Befestigungen und Truppenkonzentrationen, indem sie die vermeintlich unpassierbaren, aber wenig geschützten Ardennen durchquerten.

Die Ukrainer unter Oleksandr Syrskyj befinden sich in einer ähnlichen Lage wie die Deutschen im Jahr 1940. Der Gegner hat sich entlang der Frontlinie hinter kilometertiefen Minenfeldern und massiven Bunkern verbarrikadiert; jeder Versuch, diese zu überwinden, würde massive Opfer an Menschen und Material erfordern, die sich die Ukrainer nicht leisten können.

Stattdessen suchte Syrskyj nach einem weichen Punkt an der russischen Grenze, wo Putin nicht mit einem Angriff rechnete, da es sich unbestreitbar um russisches Gebiet handelte, auf das die Ukraine keinen Anspruch erhoben hatte. Putin war naiv genug zu glauben, dass die Ukrainer es nicht wagen würden, den Krieg nach Russland zu tragen. Das war seine erste grobe Selbsttäuschung.

According to Ukrainian soldiers and people close to Syrskyi interviewed by The Economist, the commander-in-chief shared his plans only with a select few military and security officials and discussed them with President Volodymyr Zelensky in one-on-one meetings to maintain maximum operational secrecy. Syrskyi was reportedly considering several scenarios for hitting Russia's weak spots.

Eine zweite Selbsttäuschung stellt seine wütende Forderung dar, Russland solle die Ukrainer aus Kursk „hinauswerfen“. Mit seiner Rauswurfstrategie tappt Putin in die Falle, die ihm Syrskyj gestellt hat: Putin verlegt Truppen ins offene Feld, wo es keine Minengürtel, keine Bunker, nicht einmal Schützengräben gibt (die nun eilig ausgehoben werden sollen - von wem?).

Das ist die Chance für die Ukrainer, eine Entscheidungsschlacht in Russland zu erzwingen. Mit der bewährten russischen Taktik der totalen Zerstörung aller strittigen Wohngebiete vernichten Putins Kämpfer in den Oblasten Kursk und Belgorod nicht wie üblich ukrainisches Land, sondern ihre eigenen Dörfer und Städte und zwingen ihre eigenen Bürger zur Flucht.

Die Ukraine braucht nicht viel russisches Land, um die Entscheidungsschlacht zu erzwingen. Ein Streifen entlang der Grenze, praktisch für Nachschub und Artillerie, reicht aus.

Man darf gespannt sein, wie es weitergeht.