Iran's Guard warns against post-election turmoil

Senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, secretary of the Guardian Council, Iran's constitutional watchdog, delivers a sermon at Friday prayers, at Tehran University, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, May 17, 2013. Jannati, the head of Iran's constitutional watchdog, says it may disqualify candidates in the June presidential elections who seek full relations with the United States. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard has warned that his forces will be on watch for possible unrest after next month's presidential election, calling the outcome "unpredictable" and sending the strongest message yet against any attempts to revive street protests, media reported Sunday.

The comments by Col. Rasool Sanaeirad point to a wide-ranging effort by Iranian authorities to intimidate opposition groups that could use the June 14 voting for possible political demonstrations.

Pro-reform groups have been under relentless pressure and crackdowns since major protests following the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. Ahmadinejad is not running in this election because Iran's constitution bars him from seeking a third term.

But the entry of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani into the race has re-energized reformists and brought backlash from hard-liners. The Guardian Council, a group controlled by the ruling clerics, vets all candidates and a final ballot list is expected on Tuesday.

Sanaeirad was quoted Sunday as saying the "election is unpredictable," but did not elaborate.

He also warned that a "possible riot in Tehran could spread" to other regions, claiming chances for turmoil are heightened because Iran is for the first time holding both presidential and municipal balloting at the same time.

The remarks further suggest that more security controls could be imposed before the election, such as restrictions on the Internet, which was used as the critical tool by the opposition Green Movement in 2009.

Sanaeirad's comments were published in several papers, including the pro-reform Bahar daily.

Despite frequent denials by officials that Internet service will be reduced during the elections, many Web users have complained that services have become very slow and many websites have been blocked, including the pro-Rafsanjani Aftabnews.ir and Meyarnews.com, a site backing another hopeful contender, Ahmadinejad's close aide, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.

On Friday, a member of the influential parliamentary committee of national security and foreign policy, Mohammad Saleh Jokar, said the government will block "enemies" using the Internet to "instigate people as we witnessed in 2009."

The pro-reform Aftab daily mocked the snail's pace of the Internet, calling it "escargot" and suggesting authorities would be better off to fully halt the net.

Iranians use proxy servers and other methods to bypass censors and access many popular websites, including Facebook and Twitter, and news sites such as BBC and Voice of America.

Presumed candidates on the ballot include Rafsanjani and rivals supported by the ruling clerics, such as top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati.

A major question is whether the Guardian Council will clear Ahmadinejad's choice, Mashaei. His chances are severely hampered by his association with the president, who has fallen out of favor with the ruling theocracy over his challenges to the authority of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Friday, Council chief Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said the body may disqualify candidates who seek full relations with the United States. Jannati mocked nominees who hope the international sanctions over Tehran's disputed nuclear program will end if the country restores relations with the U.S.

No high-profile candidate has proposed full restoration — Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since 1979 — but Rafsanjani has suggested that better relations are possible.

Republicans Informed of IRS Investigation Last Year

Much has been made of the fact that seniorTreasury Department officials were told about the investigation into the treatment of tea party groups in June 2012 - months before last year's the Presidential election. Republicans who requested the investigation were also told about it at approximately the same time.

In a letter dated July 11, 2012, the man who conducted the investigation - IRS inspector general J. Russell George - wrote to Rep. Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, telling him that he was investigating the issue and offering to keep him updated as the investigation progressed.

"The Oversight Committee knew about the audit because it requested it," an Issa aide told ABC News.Issa released the letter, along with his own letter dated June 28, 2012 requesting the investigation, last week.

RELATED: Congress Grills IRS Commissioner

"We would be happy to provide a status update to the Subcommittee staff and provide a copy of our interim and final reports on the matter when they are issued," George wrote in the letter to Issa. An identical letter was also sent the Rep. Jim Jordan, who, like Issa had raised the issue with the IRS.

The letter notes that it was Issa who had written him about "questionnaires that the IRS has issued which may exceed appropriate scrutiny and a potential lack of balance in the use of criteria for reviewing organizations that are applying for tax-exempt status." George offers no confusions but says, "our Office of Audit recently began work on this issue."

According the Issa aide, the committee received an email update from George in December saying, "We are leaving no stone unturned as part of our due diligence. As such, we won't be able to provide a detailed, substantive briefing until late April/early May."

RELATED: Acting IRS Chief Resigns, Obama Condemns 'Inexcusable' Targeting of Tea Party Groups

On Friday, in his testimony before the House Ways & Means Committee, George said he had notified top Treasury officials - including Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin - about his investigation in June 2012, part of a routine briefing on the issues he was looking into.

Republicans pounced on that revelation as evidence top Administration officials knew about the targeting of conservative groups well before the 2012 election. It is now clear that at least some key Republicans knew about the investigation as well.

While George informed Treasury officials about the fact he was conducting the investigation in 2012, the Treasury Department says he did not go into detail about his investigation or tell them about his conclusion that IRS had improperly targeted conservative groups. Similarly, the letter to Issa says the investigation had begun but does not say that it had uncovered any wrongdoing.

Tunisia security blocks salafi conference

KAIROUAN, Tunisia (AP) — Around 11,000 police officers and soldiers blocked an annual conference Sunday at Tunisia's main religious center by a radical Islamist movement that has been implicated in attacks across the country.

Security checkpoints were in place and patrols conducted throughout Kairouan after authorities declared the conference by ultraconservative Muslim group Ansar al-Shariah a threat "to security and public order."

Police briefly scuffled with stone-throwing young men and fired tear gas to disperse them.

The leader of Ansar al-Shariah, Seifallah Ben Hassine is wanted for his involvement in a mob attack on the U.S. Embassy in September and his followers have been accused of attacking art galleries, police stations and cinemas.

The robust response to the conference by security forces is unprecedented since the 2011 overthrow of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who presided over a strong police state.

The government, led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party, has long been accused by the opposition of being lax with attacks by ultraconservative Muslims, called salafis, on what they deem to be impious in the country.

Ansar al-Shariah's combative rhetoric, however, appears to have united the country against it. In a national dialogue conference involving unions, civil society and political parties Thursday, Ansar al-Shariah was widely condemned. The discovery of al-Qaida-linked militants in mountains along the Algerian border also alarmed people.

Alaya Allami, an expert on Islamic movements in Tunisia, said Ansar al-Shariah's more aggressive stance had resulted in a backlash in society and isolated them further.

"The operation against terrorist groups in Jebel Chambi and the approach of elections has threatened these radical currents and caused them to try to impose themselves more on the social scene," he said.

The spokesman of Ansar al-Shariah, Seifeddine Rais, was detained by authorities Sunday morning and an attempt by hundreds of salafis to hold a rally in a lower income Tunisian suburb was also dispersed by tear gas.

Rais on Thursday said authorities would bear responsibility for any blood spilled if they tried to ban the conference.

Security has been high around Kairouan since Saturday, with police checking IDs and searching the cars of anyone entering the city.

Residents appeared to welcome the security and handed out roses to patrolling police, offering their encouragement.

Since the overthrow of Ben Ali in an uprising that heralded the region-wide Arab Spring, Tunisia's salafis have become increasingly aggressive about preaching their conservative version of Islam.

Last year's Ansar al-Shariah conference in Kairouan drew about 4,000 attendees and featured sword-waving horse riders and martial arts displays, along with a great deal of fiery rhetoric.

Video shows kidnapped Egyptian security officers

Egyptian border policemen stage a sit in behind locked gates, in protest of the kidnapping of their colleagues last Thursday in northern Sinai, at the Rafah, Sinai, border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza strip, Sunday, May 19, 2013. Rafah, the main crossing point into the Gaza Strip, was closed by policemen Friday, barring people from going in or out of the Palestinian territory. Scores of protesting Egyptian police have also shut down the Awja commercial border crossing with Israel Sunday. (AP Photo/Roger Anis, El Shorouk Newspaper) EGYPT OUT

Egyptian border policemen shout at the closed Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza strip to protest the abduction of their colleagues last Thursday, in Rafah, Sinai, Egypt, Sunday, May 19, 2013. Rafah, the main crossing point into the Gaza Strip, was closed by policemen Friday, barring people from going in or out of the Palestinian territory. Scores of protesting Egyptian police have also shut down the Awja commercial border crossing with Israel Sunday. Arabic reads, "This is a strike and not a protest. Where is Morsi, Kandil and our brothers?" (AP Photo/Roger Anis, El Shorouk Newspaper) EGYPT OUT

CAIRO (AP) — Seven men purported to be the members of Egypt'ssecurity forces kidnapped by suspected militants last week appeared in a video posted online Sunday and urged the government to secure their release by meeting their captors' demands.

The video, posted on YouTube, is the first sign of the six policemen and one border guard since they were abducted by gunmen on the road from the Sinai Peninsula to Cairo on Thursday. Egyptiansecurity officials said they believed the men in the clip were the missing personnel and that authorities were treating the matter seriously. The father of one of the captives identified his son in the video.

The kidnappings have embarrassed President Mohammed Morsi's government, and are seen as a test of his administration's ability to restore security to the volatile peninsula. They also have renewed a national debate on how best to tackle the troubles in northern Sinai, which borders Gaza and Israel. While many called for a swift security response, some argued that such a move would spark a backlash.

Authorities have been in contact with the kidnappers through mediators. The kidnappers have demanded the release of several militants held in Egyptian jails, including some convicted during Mubarak's rule, officials say.

In a statement Sunday, the president said that there is "no room for dialogue with the criminals" responsible for the kidnappings. The statement followed a meeting Morsi held with politicians from largely Islamist groups to brief them on efforts to secure the captives' release.

The president wrote on the social media website Twitter Sunday evening that "all options are on the table" to free the men and that the government will "not succumb to blackmail."

Sinai has been wracked by lawlessness since the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. Criminal gangs, militants and local tribesmen disgruntled with what they say is state-sponsored discrimination have exploited the security vacuum to smuggle weapons, attack security forces and kidnap tourists to trade for relatives held in Egyptian jails.

In the video released Sunday, the men, blindfolded and holding their hands on their heads, introduce themselves one by one.

One of the men identified himself as Cpl. Ibrahim Sobhi Ibrahim and asked Egypt's leaders to free jailed Sinai militants.

"The demands of the brothers, Mr. President, is the release of political prisoners from Sinai," he says. "Please, Mr. President, release them quickly. We can no longer tolerate torture."

The video closes with the men pleading to the camera: "Rescue us, Mr. President. We can't take it. Rescue us, people." At one point, the tip of a rifle appears over the head of some of the captives, before it is swiftly pulled back off the screen. There were no visible signs of torture on the young men.

It was not immediately clear who posted the video, which was uploaded to a YouTube account created Sunday. Later YouTube took it down, saying it violated its policy on violence.

An Egyptian security official identified the captives in the video as the missing personnel. He said a copy of the video was sent to security agencies, but it was not immediately clear by whom. Another security official in Cairo said families and friends of the captives were called in to identify their relatives.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

The names of five of the missing also correspond with names previously obtained by The Associated Press.

Security officials say they believe the assailants carried out the kidnapping after being angered over reports that a prisoner, Ahmed Abu Sheta, had been tortured while in jail. Abu Shehata was convicted of attacking a police station in 2011 that killed police officers.

After meeting Morsi on Sunday, Younes Makhyoun, a leading member of the ultraconservative Islamist Salafi al-Nour party, said the president is eager to avoid a security response.

"Even though there are voices who are demanding security interference and decisiveness, (Morsi) said he wants to rescue the soldiers peacefully, and is keeping the engagement with local tribesmen," Makhyoun told The Associated Press. "The security solution would be easiest, but he wants to save lives."

Makhyoun said his party is also against a security solution because it would lead to bloodshed and won't resolve the problem — a lingering feeling of injustice by many of those who were convicted and arrested during the Mubarak era. He said the kidnappers' demands include the release of as many as 600 prisoners, some of whom were convicted before 2011. A way out, he said, would be to offer retrials for those convicted in the past or in haste.

Mohammed Abdel-Hamid, the father of one of the policemen, told the private Al-Youm TV station that his son was in the video. He said he would rather see his son dead than have his release negotiated.

Expressing their anger at the recent kidnapping, scores of policemen blocked a commercial border crossing with Israel Sunday to protest the abduction of their colleagues. The policemen closed the main gates of the Awja crossing with chains, leaving around 40 trucks stranded, according to local official Ahmed Osman.

On Friday, policemen blocked a border crossing into Gaza. There was no indication that either Israel or the Palestinians were involved in the kidnapping.

___

Associated Press writer Ashraf Sweilam contributed to this report from south Sinai.

SKorea analyzing NKorea's 4 projectile launches

South Korean army soldiers look through telescopes at a military check point in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Sunday, May 19, 2013. The South Korean military on Sunday have beefed up monitoring on North Korea and are maintaining a high-level of readiness to deal with any risky developments to guard against possibilities of additional missile launches and other types of provocations. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean students riding bicycles pass by army soldiers on Unification Bridge in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, Sunday, May 19, 2013. The South Korean military on Sunday have beefed up monitoring on North Korea and are maintaining a high-level of readiness to deal with any risky developments to guard against possibilities of additional missile launches and other types of provocations. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea is analyzing whether projectiles North Korea fired into its eastern waters over the weekend are short-range missiles or a new type of artillery the country may be developing, officials said Monday.

North Korea fired what Seoul officials called a short-range projectile Sunday, a day after conducting three similar launches.South Korean officials earlier said the weapons fired on Saturday were guided missiles but later clarified that they may not be missiles, referring to the objects as "projectiles."

"There is a possibility that they are short-range missiles or large-caliber rockets with a similar ballistic trajectory," Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters.

Kim said North Korea may be developing such a large-caliber gun and South Korea is taking seriously whatever weapons the country develops because it could attack the South. He said an artillery gun with a bigger caliber will likely have more destructive power.

Officials were trying to find out what exactly the North fired Saturday and Sunday, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity citing department rules.

North Korea routinely test-launches short-range missiles. But the latest launches came amid some tentative signs of easing tension on the Korean Peninsula. Earlier this year, North Korea issued near-daily threats to attack South Korea and the U.S. to protest their annual joint military drills and U.N. sanctions imposed over its February nuclear test.

South Korea called the latest launches a provocation and urged the North to take responsible actions while the U.S. said threats or provocations would only further deepen North Korea's international isolation, while

The North has a variety of missiles but Seoul and Washington don't believe the country has mastered the technology needed to manufacture nuclear warheads that are small and light enough to be placed on a missile capable of reaching the U.S.

The Korean Peninsula officially remains in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.