Wall Street Journal: Iran is taking advantage of the confusion surrounding Yemen's transition of government to gain a new foothold in the country, Yemeni and Western officials say, as Tehran seeks military allies operating near one of the world's most strategic waterways for oil shipments.
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Reuters: Years before he became Iran's president-elect, Hassan Rohani spoke approvingly about concealing his nation's nuclear program and said that when Pakistan got atomic bombs and Brazil began enriching uranium, "the world started to work with them."
Bloomberg: Syria’s central bank said a $1 billion credit line from Iran will help to prop up the pound, which weakened after the U.S. decided last week to arm rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
Iran Focus: Tehran, Nov. 30 - The Supreme Court of Iran has upheld a stoning sentence for a woman accused of adultery. Hajieh Esmailvand has been serving prison time in the town of Jolfa (Northwestern Iran) since Jan. 2000 for having an affair
Reuters: Iran is prepared to keep uranium enrichment activities frozen as long as nuclear negotiations continue with the EU, but those talks should not last too long, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani said Tuesday. "The length of the suspension will only be for the length of the negotiations with the Europeans and the length of negotiations must be rational and not too long," Rohani told a news conference.
Washington Times: Three Iraqi activists called on the United States to delay the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq, but not for the reason advocated by some of their colleagues who worry religious minorities will not participate. They fear a religious party will win the election and impose a theocratic government like Iran's.
AP: The United States is taking a time out from browbeating Iran about its nuclear weapons, giving way - for now, at least - while the Europeans try to sweet-talk Iran's uranium enrichment to a halt. America's rhetorical muscling of Iran, and the Iranians' pugnacious reactions, got the world's attention. But the Europeans' offer of nuclear fuel, trade benefits and security guarantees drew a promise from Iran to suspend enrichment of uranium.
Los Angeles Times: Despite a pledge by Tehran on Monday to suspend all uranium enrichment activities, the United States warned that it reserved the right to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council, insisting that the Islamic Republic was trying to build nuclear weapons. A resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency's governing board sealed a mid-November deal brokered by Britain, France and Germany for Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activities and avoid referral to the Security Council, where it could face sanctions.
New York Times: In a defeat for the Bush administration, the 35-country ruling board of the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a mildly worded resolution on Monday welcoming Iran's total freeze on a sensitive part of its nuclear program. The resolution, passed by consensus without a vote, removes the possibility that the group will drag Iran before the United Nations Security Council for possible censure or even sanctions.
Iran Focus: Tehran, Nov. 29 - A 19-year-old man was sentenced to death yesterday, after being convicted of murder. The young man whose identity has not been announced was found guilty of killing his father in the Iranian capital of Tehran. This latest sentence follows a string of public executions carried out by the Iranian regime in recent days.
USA TODAY: A top U.S. commander is warning Iran and others against thinking they can exploit the U.S. military because its ground troops are fighting two major missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would be beyond me," ...
Press Association: Iran will be closely monitored to ensure it sticks to an agreement to halt its uranium enrichment programme, Prime Minister Tony Blair said today. He said he hoped the deal would add to progress already made in reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction around the world. Speaking at his monthly press conference, Mr Blair said of the Iranian agreement: France, Germany and Britain have been working very closely on this.
AFP: A major international crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions may have been averted for the time being, but the fundamental problem remains -- the Islamic regime still wants its very own nuclear fuel cycle. In a deal set to keep its nuclear ambitions away from the United Nations Security Council for the time being, the Islamic republic has yet again agreed to suspend, but not abandon, its uranium enrichment-related work.
AFP: Hundreds of members of Iran's hardline Basij militia Monday rallied outside the British embassy in protest at Britain's military deployment in Iraq, throwing stones at the already damaged compound in Tehran.
AFP: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday his country would press on with its nuclear programme and was not afraid of pressure from the United States. "The people and the officials are not scared of the political threats made by the powers in the service of oppression," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state television during a meeting ...
Reuters: Iran looked set to avoid being reported to the United Nations Security Council on Monday after reaffirming its commitment to a deal meant to reassure the world it is not trying to build a nuclear bomb. But there were signs of mounting exasperation from Western diplomats after five days of chaotic to-and-fro in which Iran first raised fresh demands and then retreated from them.
Washington Post: Dropping a last-minute demand yesterday, Iran agreed to fully suspend its nuclear programs and won some additional concessions from Europe for a resolution that excludes many of the Bush administration's proposals for increasing pressure on the Islamic republic. The resolution, drafted by Britain, France and Germany, is the mildest of the seven previous resolutions against Iran and does not include the explicit threat the White House had sought for reporting Tehran to the U.N. Security Council if it breaks the latest suspension.
New York Times: Iran on Sunday backed off a demand to operate uranium enrichment equipment that could be used either for energy purposes or in a nuclear bomb-making project, European and Iranian officials said. The Iranian retreat appeared to salvage a nuclear agreement reached Nov. 15 between Iran and France, Britain and Germany to freeze all of Iran's uranium enrichment, conversion and reprocessing activities.
Los Angeles Times: Iran on Sunday agreed to halt its uranium enrichment activities, opening the way for the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency to sign the deal when it reconvenes here today, diplomats said. The deal with three major European nations virtually assured that Iran would not be referred to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions.
AFP: Canada hit straight back on Sunday after Iran warned its new ambassador to Tehran would get into "trouble" if he pursued the case of a murdered Iranian-Canadian photographer, which has already sparked a diplomatic crisis. The killing of Zahra Kazemi last year, after she was arrested in Iran, sent relations between Ottawa and Tehran into turmoil.
Reuters: France, Britain and Germany finalized a draft resolution on Sunday that calls on Iran to freeze sensitive nuclear work, but does not make any threats of punitive
Reuters:Iran has formally withdrawn its demand to exempt sensitive research from a freeze of key parts of its nuclear programme -- a last-minute bid to remove the threat of U.N. economic sanctions, Western diplomats say.
AFP: Iran backed down Sunday on a demand to exempt sensitive equipment from a freeze on uranium enrichment that can make atomic weapons, setting the stage for the UN nuclear watchdog to endorse the freeze as a confidence-building measure.
Press Association: The 300 men filling out forms in the offices of an Iranian aid group were offered three choices: train for suicide attacks against US troops in Iraq, or train for suicide attacks against Israelis. Or train to assassinate British author Salman Rushdie.
AFP: A dissident Iranian journalist has been barred from leaving the Islamic republic after trying to fly to the Netherlands for a conference, the student news agency ISNA reported Sunday.
AFP: Canada's newly-appointed ambassador to Iran will get into "trouble" if he pursues the case of murdered Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi, Iran's foreign ministry warned Sunday. "If anyone enters Iran on this mission they get themselves into trouble. This is a domestic issue of the
Sunday Times: Iran is working on a secret nuclear
If the US and her allies miss the valuable potentials these sensitive moments offer, future developments will not be as generous. READ MORE
The West must drop the dangerous pretence that talking to a regime not interested in listening constitutes the winning strategy. READ MORE
The terrorist attack against Iranian exiles at Camp Liberty, Iraq, is another sign of Iranian regime's weakness. READ MORE
Iran: Bloody crackdown targeting dissidents aims at terrorizing the people into submission. READ MORE
The wheels of Iran's Murder Machine turn in tandem with its nuclear machine. READ MORE
In Istanbul they merely agreed to talk about talking later in May in Baghdad, of all places. READ MORE
The brutal state-imposed bloodbath in Syria deserves uncompromising reproach. READ MORE
The clerical regime in Iran has predictably unleashed another wave of terror against the citizenry since the outburst of the latest string of mass protests beginning on 14 February. READ MORE
The latest round of nuclear talks had an all-too-familiar result: more time for Tehran and less time for the international community to prevent a nuclear-armed theocracy. READ MORE
What would the rest of us do if a mad gunman was in our midst, systematically murdering our fellow human beings in front of our eyes? The responsible amongst us would not look the other way, because that would serve as a source of encouragement for the murderers to carry on with their heinous acts unchecked. READ MORE
The Iranian regime's malicious noose has yet again taken an innocent life. Political prisoner Ali Saremi, 63, was hanged in Tehran's infamous Evin prison after a lifetime of peacefully espousing human rights and democracy. READ MORE
Another round of negotiations with Iran over its precarious nuclear program took place on December 6-7 in Geneva without any results except an agreement on a date for more talks in January. READ MORE
The U.S. State Department issued an advisory earlier this month telling Americans to be vigilant about possible terrorist attacks when travelling to Europe. READ MORE
