Iran Focus

Reuters: Indian tea exports to Iran are facing payment hurdles, the trade secretary said on Thursday, the latest sign that Western sanctions are biting the Islamic Republic which is struggling to pay to keep its trade flowing.

Bloomberg: India’s external affairs ministry has proposed paying for Iranian crude imports with wheat exports to the Persian Gulf nation, the Economic Times reported, citing an unidentified person with knowledge of the development.

AP: Newt Gingrich kept a stiff upper lip Wednesday after his poor showing in GOP presidential caucuses the night before, but issued dire warnings about Iran's potential nuclear capabilities.

The Guardian: The prospect of direct western military or "humanitarian" intervention, overt and covert, to speed regime change in Syria appears to be strengthening after last week's UN debacle and the regime's ensuing violent efforts to finish off its opponents. But appearances are deceptive.

AP: The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI receives many invitations and that a trip to Lebanon is under consideration but that there are no plans for a visit to Iran.

AP: The West's increasing pressure on Iran has meant scrutiny for South African businesses that operate in the Middle Eastern nation accused of having nuclear ambitions.

Reuters: Malaysian palm oil exporters have stopped supplying most of the 30,000 tonnes of the food staple that Iran buys monthly from the Southeast Asian producer as Western financial sanctions against Tehran stymie payments, said two trading sources.

Bloomberg: Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Syria’s bloody crackdown and Greece’s potential default are leaving markets unfazed as central bankers take unprecedented steps to prevent the global economy from crumbling.

WSJ: In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama declared, "Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon." Yet Iran is fast approaching the nuclear threshold, despite new, tough international sanctions.

UPI: Iran, facing tough U.S. and European sanctions, reached a deal with India to accept 45 percent of payment for its oil in Indian currency, its ambassador said.

AP: Oil prices climbed above $98 per barrel Tuesday after Iran again threatened to cut off supplies to Europe.

AFP: The EU and United States must take in ailing and wounded residents from a camp in Iraq housing thousands of Iranian dissidents, the leader of an Iranian opposition group said Tuesday.

AFP: A US judge Tuesday set an October 22 trial date for an Iranian-American accused of plotting with senior Tehran officials to hire Mexican gangsters to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

Reuters: Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged Tuesday for the first time that his militant movement received financial and material support from Iran, but denied it took instructions from the Islamic Republic.

Bloomberg: Iran’s parliament may summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to answer questions about his alleged economic and political mismanagement, the state-run Fars news agency reported.

AP: Iran's foreign ministry has dismissed the new U.S. sanctions on Tehran, saying they are part of a "psychological war" meant to sow discontent among Iranians.

Reuters: Iran's parliament said on Tuesday it was ready to impose a ban on oil exports to some European states, the country's English-language Press TV reported.

BBC: Reports from Iran say several people have been detained for alleged links to the BBC's Persian Service, which is banned in the country.

Bloomberg: Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has ordered five European companies, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, to be put on a blacklist for failing to meet their commitments in the nation’s refinery projects, Mehr reported.

AP: Targeting Iran's economy, the U.S. ordered tough new penalties Monday to further pinch the country's financial system and encourage Israel to give sanctions more time before any military action against Iran's nuclear program.

Reuters: Iran is believed to be expanding uranium enrichment activity deep inside a mountain, diplomatic sources said on Monday, a move likely to add to tension with Western powers that suspect Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons capability.

AFP: President Barack Obama on Monday ordered new sanctions into force on Iran, including its central bank, seeking to tighten a choke hold on Tehran's economy as a nuclear showdown deepens.

UPI: An Iranian military official said his forces wrapped up a war games exercise in southern Iran meant to deter a hypothetical ground invasion.

Reuters: President Barack Obama tightened sanctions on Iran another notch, the White House said on Monday, targeting its central bank and giving U.S. banks new powers to freeze assets linked to the government.