IRAN REGIONAL PRESENCE OFFICE DUBAI: WINDOW ON IRAN - JULY

S E C R E T 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000288 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/15/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON IR SUBJECT: IRAN REGIONAL PRESENCE OFFICE DUBAI: WINDOW ON IRAN - JULY 15, 2009 CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy Richardson, Acting Director, Iran Regional Presence Office, DOS. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (S) Iranian Doctor Alleges Many More Deaths Than Officially Acknowledged: A gynecologist applying for a visa in Dubai described a frenetic scene in the hospitals during the unrest sparked by the disputed election. He was called in to provide support and ended up working three straight shifts - even though he does not typically support emergency room operations. He said the private Tehran hospital where he works took steps to prevent the IRIG from identifying the wounded by both quickly discharging patients following treatment and by deliberately collecting incorrect information from the patients, such as writing down the wrong name or address. Personnel at the government-run hospitals, he understood, were forced to collect accurate information. Government authorities came to the hospital to identify those treated during the unrest but such visits have now stopped. The doctor's wife said she had heard from an eye surgeon that he had operated on 15 patients who had suffered eye wounds after being shot with rubber bullets. The couple alleged that at least 200 people died during the unrest, basing their claim on comments from other doctors, who had all said 15 or had died at their respective hospitals. It is now rumored that the government has paid off the families of those killed to keep them quiet. Comment: The doctor and his wife were open in their criticism of the IRIG and, interestingly, are themselves vivid examples of some Iranians' fixation with Britain's supposedly malign intentions toward Iran. While they did not allege that the UK was responsible for the unrest, as the IRIG asserts, they generally held the UK responsible many of Iran's current problems. The doctor's comment regarding what happened in the hospital where he works seemed to accurately reflect what he saw and heard first-hand, but given the couple's penchant for conspiracy theories, it is impossible to gauge the accuracy of the other rumors they heard. That said, there is strong anecdotal reporting to suggest that the number of those killed and seriously injured is higher than the IRIG's officially reported tallies. ¶2. (S/NF) Revolutionary Guards Take Prominent Role in Recent Political Detentions: The family of detained economic analyst Bijan Khajehpour has been told (unofficially) by a senior judiciary official that he is under the control of the Revolutionary Guards, rather than the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, as the family first suspected. The same source told them that Khajehpour was moved from Evin Prison to an unknown location several days ago. Comment: If confirmed, the IRGC, which was reportedly also responsible for the re-arrest over the weekend of Iranian-American Kian Tajbakhsh, is moving into territory traditionally dominated by the MOIS. A Dubai-based friend of Tajbakhsh, who has had his own problems with Iran's intelligence service, told us that Tajbakhsh was in good standing with his MOIS "parole officer" at the time of his re-arrest and was abiding by the terms of his "probation" (i.e., not engaging with international organizations). ¶3. (S/NF) Austrian Ambassador to Tehran Pays Price for Supporting Saberi: Austria's Ambassador to Tehran will be leaving Iran early after pressure from IRIG officials unhappy with his activism on behalf of the Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, according to a Dubai-based Iranian political consultant. The long-standing IRPO contact said that earlier this week he approached Austrian diplomats to request that they quietly lobby the IRIG on behalf of Bijan Khajehpour, his former business partner and a prominent analyst, who was arrested last month upon his return from a business trip to Europe. The Austrians, who know Khajehpour well, explained that they had spent all their "political capital" on behind-the-scenes advocacy for Saberi's release from prison earlier this year, and that as a consequence Ambassador Postle is being "forced out" of Iran early. Comment: If accurate, the early departure of the Austrian Ambassador suggests that even the influence of Western governments usually viewed with less antagonism by hardliners is diminishing. ¶4. (C) Some Working Class Iranians "Oblivious" to Recent Unrest: An Iranian engineer and factory owner observed that the three dozen workers at his small valve manufacturing plant 30 km outside of Tehran were mostly "oblivious" to the recent unrest over the disputed election. He explained that after the first week of large-scale demonstrations, which were covered (to an extent) by state media, many working class Iranians had little awareness of the continuing turmoil. His employees, who don't