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Israel vs. Iran: The Truth Slips Out
For decades, American voters have been inundated with news stories reporting supposed threats to Israel's security as if they were objective fact. Rarely do our mass media allow any questions about, much less objections to, the myth of Israel's insecurity. At least two questions are urgent now... -Ira Chernus, Common Dreams - 2/10/12
Iran to Send Heavy Satellites into Orbit
Iran plans to send heavy satellites into orbit and is setting up a new launch base for this purpose, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said. - 2/10/12
Iran Expands Naval Fleet with New Submarines
The Iranian Navy expanded its naval fleet after two new home-made submarines joined the force on the occasion of the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. - 2/10/12
Harsher IAEA Report on Iranian Nuclear Program Expected Next Month
Leaked statements claim the report will allege an Iranian effort to develop a nuclear warhead for a ground-to-ground missile -Antiwar.com - 2/10/12
Iranian engineers kidnapped in Syria released
Seven Iranian engineers who had been kidnapped in Syria in December last year have been released, an informed source at the Iranian Energy Ministry announced on Friday. - 2/10/12
Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News
Deadly attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists are being carried out by an Iranian dissident group (the People's Mujahedin of Iran) that is financed, trained and armed by Israel's secret service, U.S. officials tell NBC News, confirming charges leveled by Iran's leaders. - 2/9/12
Turkey Wants International Conference on Syria
The Turkish government has close ties with many North African and Middle Eastern countries, and Davutoglu, who said he already laid the groundwork for a broad meeting, speaking in recent days with his Italian, Qatari and Iranian counterparts, is flying to Washington Wednesday to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other officials. - 2/9/12
Turkey Debates Role in Possible Syria Intervention
Turkey is hardening its stance against the Syrian leadership and its Western allies are increasingly looking to Ankara for efforts to help unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. There is debate in Turkey over whether international sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Syria could lead to military intervention and what role Ankara should play. -Dorian Jones, VOA - 2/8/12
Former Clinton adviser calls "Nazi" comparisons unproductive
Comparing Iran to Nazi Germany is excessive and unconstructive, says Robert Malley, a former U.S. national security adviser to the Bill Clinton administration. - 2/8/12
Islamic Unity International Conference kicks off in Tehran
The 25th Islamic Unity International Conference kicked off in Tehran Wednesday as attended by 271 members of World Assembly of the Islamic Faiths Approximation and Islamic scholars. - 2/8/12
US Urges Iranian Dissidents in Iraq to Move to Transit Center
The Obama administration is urging a group of Iranian dissidents living in northeastern Iraq to make a decision about moving to a new transit center near Baghdad as part of a U.N.-backed process of resettling them in third countries. - 2/8/12
Abducted Iranian pilgrims released in Syria
The 11 Iranian pilgrims recently kidnapped by Syrian opposition forces have been released. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says the pilgrims were released "with the aid of friendly countries." - 2/8/12
Photos: Iran launches biggest Mid East water channel lab
Defense Minister Vahidi stressed the laboratory dubbed "Kowsar" has been designed and manufactured by scientists of Malik Ashtar University of Technology affiliated with Defense Ministry and is among the 5th top laboratories in the world. - 2/7/12
Iran starts oil production at Yadavaran field
The field is projected to produce 30,000 barrels of crude per day. The oilfield is estimated to hold around 12 billion barrels of in-situ crude oil, some 12.5 trillion cubic feet of associated gases, as well as nearly 1.9 billion barrels of condensates. - 2/7/12
Iran ready to complete gas pipeline to Pakistan ahead of schedule
Iran is ready to complete and inaugurate the proposed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project ahead of the due date, the vice president for international affairs said in Islamabad today. - 2/7/12
Am I Being Naive?
In the face of this well-orchestrated, nonstop, media frenzy, is it any surprise that over 50% of Americans, as the surveys show, would support a preemptive attack on Iran. -Kam Zarrabi - 2/6/12
Israeli Cabinet Mulls Response to Iran Threat
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the Cabinet meeting by referring to a statement last week by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who described Israel as "a cancerous tumor that must be cut off." -Robert Berger, VOA - 2/6/12
Obama: Israel Has Not Made Decision on Possible Iran Attack
U.S. President Barack Obama says he believes Israel has not made a decision about whether to take military action against Iran's nuclear program. - 2/6/12
Turkish FM : Iran nuclear issue could be resolved 'in a few days'
"If there is strong political will and mutual confidence being established, this issue could be resolved in a few days," Davutoglu said at the Munich Security Conference. "The technical disputes are not so big. The problem is mutual confidence and strong political will." - 2/6/12
It's time for a regional security framework for the Middle East
"Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding," Einstein once said. A sober assessment reveals that the policies adopted to date towards the Middle East, by and large, are not conducive to regional stability, or capable of resolving some of the region's most thorny issues, from the Syrian crisis and the Arab-Israeli conflict to Iran's nuclear program. -Sam Sasan Shoamanesh - 2/5/12
Saudi Arabia Blocks Website Of Iran's Supreme Leader
Iranian news websites report that Saudi Arabia has blocked the official website of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which is available in a dozen languages, including Arabic. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 2/5/12
Iran: What's Next?
Unilateral preemptive war of aggression has and continues to be futile not only for the American's long term strategic interest, but also because it devastates the people inflicted with such catastrophe. -Freeman Ure - 2/5/12
Russia, China Veto UN Resolution on Syria
Russia and China have once again blocked an effort by the U.N. Security Council to condemn the on-going violence in Syria. The two powers used their vetoes to defeat a resolution on Saturday that would have also endorsed an Arab League plan to help end the bloodshed. - 2/5/12
Persepolis Tablets Threatened By Senate Sanctions Bill
New Iran sanctions are targeting Persian artifacts in U.S. museums and universities, making it easier for lawyers to seize and auction off priceless Persian antiquities. Send a letter below to tell your Senators to protect our cultural heritage! - 2/4/12
Iran's Navid (Promise) Satellite Orbiting the Earth
Director of Iran Space Agency Hamid Fazeli told IRNA on Saturday that using the upgraded Safir satellite carrier rocket to launch the Navid (Promise) research satellite into orbit was a great scientific achievement for the Islamic Republic. - 2/4/12
Photos: Iran's Zafar Naval Cruise Missiles
In a ceremony on Saturday, the production line of a new domestically manufactured naval missile system, named the Zafar (Victory), was officially launched and the first batch of the missile system was delivered to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Naval Force. - 2/4/12
NYPD Muslim Spy Scandal Grows With Newly Revealed Plan to Target Shiite Mosques
They make note of the number of Iranians who live in the northeast and then they talk a little bit about the makeup of Iran and the political nature of Iran, and then they list a bunch of recommendations. And the recommendations go from the obvious -- we should try to recruit more sources who speak Farsi, to things like we need to be increasing our intelligence gathering at Shiite mosques. -Democracy Now - 2/4/12
Obama's Drift Toward War With Iran
In the last two years, the U.S. Congress has passed resolution after resolution condemning Iran, urging the president to do something hostile, and warning him against negotiations... Only great ingenuity and political talent could extricate an American president today. And while this was passing, how has Barack Obama been spending his time? -David Bromwich, Huffington Post - 2/4/12
More than 200 Dead After Shelling in Syrian City
Human rights activists say Syrian armed forces have killed at least 217 people in the city of Homs in a surge of violence that began Friday, as the United Nations gets ready to vote on a resolution intended to stop the bloodshed. - 2/4/12
Iran launches newest satellite into space
Iran successfully launched a new domestically manufactured satellite into orbit on Friday morning. The research satellite, called Navid-e Elm and San'at (Promise of Science and Technology), has been manufactured by Iran University of Science and Technology. It was sent into space aboard the Safir rocket. - 2/3/12
Iran, IAEA to meet again in Tehran Februaray 21-22
Meetings between the IAEA and Iran were held in Tehran from 29 to 31 January 2012, aimed at resolving all outstanding substantive issues. Another meeting will take place in Tehran from 21 to 22 February 2012. - 2/3/12
Petition: "No To Military Strikes Against Iran"
The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) invites citizens of the world to join a global campaign aimed at averting a colossal catastrophe in West Asia. - 2/3/12
An SOS from the people of Iran to the people of Israel: Two former top diplomats take a stand against war
In an interview earlier this month, former Iranian Ambassador to the U.S. and former Iranian Foreign Minister, Ardeshir Zahedi, vehemently opposed any military strikes against Iran -Sheda Vasseghi, WorldTribune - 2/3/12
How Obama became vulnerable on Iran
By downplaying his diplomacy, he undermines a peaceful solution and encourages the false charge of weakness -Trita Parsi, Salon - 2/3/12
Security Council Members Consider New Syria Resolution
Members of the United Nations Security Council are considering Friday a new draft resolution to end the bloodshed in Syria, with an amendment designed to overcome Russian objections. - 2/3/12
UN Nuclear Experts Plan Another Visit to Tehran
The United Nation's nuclear agency's chief inspector says he had a "good" visit to Iran and plans to make another trip in the "very near future" to discuss Iran's controversial nuclear program. - 2/2/12
Divining the Truth About Iran
Watching top U.S. intelligence officials present the annual "Worldwide Threat Assessment" before the Senate Intelligence Committee, I found myself wondering if they would depart from the key (if politically delicate) consensus judgment that Iran is NOT working on a nuclear weapon. -Ray McGovern, Antiwar - 2/2/12
Iran and the US: from words to war
Judging by recent rhetoric, and implied threats, from Washington, predictably echoed in London, anyone would think they wanted any excuse for a military conflict with Iran. -Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian - 2/2/12
Hawkish Group Report Pushes for Military Action Against Iran
A report released today from the neoconservative Bipartisan Policy Center's National Security Project calls for stepped-up rhetoric and military actions against Iran. -Common Dreams - 2/2/12
Chief UN Nuclear Inspector Says More Work Needed With Iran
The United Nations nuclear agency's chief inspector says there is "still a lot of work to be done" with Iran after three days of "intensive" talks about its atomic energy program. - 2/1/12
US Intel Chiefs Assess Iranian Threat
America's top intelligence official says Iran is increasingly willing to conduct attacks in the United States or against U.S. interests overseas, but does not appear to have decided to build a nuclear weapon. -Michael Bowman, VOA - 2/1/12
US Navy Rescues Iranian Dhow In Persian Gulf
The U.S. Navy says the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group responded at mid-day Tuesday to a distress call from a fishing boat carrying nine Iranian mariners. - 2/1/12
UN certifies that new camp for Iranian exiles meets international standards
United Nations refugee and human rights officials said today that they have confirmed that the infrastructure and facilities at a new camp in Iraq for residents of the settlement formerly known as Camp Ashraf meet international standards, as stipulated in last month's agreement on voluntary relocation between the UN and the Iraqi Government. - 2/1/12
As Syria Wobbles Under Pressure, Iran Feels the Weight of an Alliance
As antigovernment forces in Syria's violent uprising have increased the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to step down, Iran, his main Middle East supporter, also finds itself under siege, undermining a once-powerful partnership and longtime American foe. -NY Times - 2/1/12
Avoiding a 'Dumb War' With Iran
The media and the punditry have been deliberately misrepresenting facts to persuade the people of the United States to start another war, not unlike in the lead-up to the Iraq fiasco. -Philip Giraldi, Antiwar - 1/31/12
Bahrain Opposition Fears Effects of Iran-West Tensions
Opposition supporters in Bahrain have expressed concern that escalating tensions between Iran and the West may further stifle their calls for democratic reform in the Persian Gulf kingdom. -Phillip Walter Wellman, VOA - 1/31/12
Women in Egypt Heed Warning From Iranian Women on Rights
With Islamists winning nearly half of the seats in Parliament recently, some Iranian women caution their Egyptian counterparts to learn from their revolution, after which they say they lost rights with the formation of an extreme Islamic state. -Dina Sadek, GPI - 1/31/12
U.S. Defense Secretary Says Iran Could Develop Nuclear Weapon Within A Year
Panetta reiterated that the United States does not want Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. He called this a "red line" for both the U.S. and its ally Israel. "If they proceed and we get intelligence that they are proceeding with developing a nuclear weapon, then we will take whatever steps are necessary to stop them," he said. - 1/30/12
February 4, 2012: Day of Mass Action to Stop War on Iran
The U.S. government is shaping public opinion to accept military intervention in Iran in the name of "national security." Fabricated stories that claim evidence of Iran pursuing nuclear weapons is being blasted through mainstream media and repeated by almost every mainstream politician. - 1/29/12
IAEA Inspectors Arrive In Iran
The UN has adopted four rounds of sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's sensitive nuclear activities, in addition to unilateral sanctions by the United States and Europe. - 1/29/12
Iranian FM says Iran optimistic about IAEA visit to Tehran
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi announced on Sunday that Tehran is optimistic about the result of negotiations with the IAEA delegation who arrived in Tehran late on Saturday. - 1/29/12
Do Israeli Leaders Really Think Iran Is an Existential Threat?
In sum, whatever you think about President Ahmadinejad (and I think he's pretty horrible), or about what he said or about the sincerity of his subsequent qualifications of what he said, for Barak to say Iran's "strategic goal" is Israel's annihilation is a bit misleading. -Robert Wright, Atlantic - 1/29/12
Arab Gulf States Urged to Increase Pipelines After Iran's Oil Threats
As Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz intensify, some energy experts are calling on Arab Gulf states to find alternative ways to export their petroleum. Experts differ, however, on whether proposed pipelines are economically feasible or whether Iran will follow through with its threats. - 1/28/12
Report: US to Send "Mothership" to Middle East
A media report says the U.S. military plans to send a floating base for commando teams to the Middle East, where relations with Iran are tense and other nations are in the midst of political upheaval. - 1/28/12
Growing Elite Opposition to Military Option Against Iran
Like the imminent prospect of one's hanging, to paraphrase the 18th century British essayist Dr. (Samuel) Johnson, the suddenly looming possibility of war can concentrate the mind wonderfully. -Jim Lobe, Antiwar - 1/28/12
Syrian Insurgents Claim Iranian Hostages
A Syrian insurgent group has released a video claiming they are holding seven Iranian citizens hostage and calling for the government to release a rebel army officer and cease military operations in Homs. - 1/28/12
Pentagon Seeks Mightier Bomb vs. Iran
Pentagon war planners have concluded that their largest conventional bomb isn't yet capable of destroying Iran's most heavily fortified underground facilities, and are stepping up efforts to make it more powerful, according to U.S. officials briefed on the plan. -WSJ - 1/28/12
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly Urged to Resign After Police Conceal Role in Anti-Muslim Documentary
A coalition of New York Muslim and interfaith groups gathered at City Hall Thursday calling for the resignation of New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and police spokesperson Paul Browne. The protest was held after it was revealed the police department had shown an anti-Muslim film titled The Third Jihad to nearly 1,500 officers during training. -Democracy Now - 1/28/12
Iran Says 11 Of Its Citizens Kidnapped In Syria
Iran's foreign ministry says 11 Iranian pilgrims have been kidnapped by an unknown group in Syria, which has been swept by civil unrest. - 1/27/12
Iranian Guards Reportedly Kill Six Pakistanis
Iranian border guards have reportedly shot dead six Pakistanis and wounded two others after they strayed across Iran's border. - 1/27/12
Reflections on Obama's State Of The Union Address
Am I an incorrigible optimist? Perhaps I am. But, at least based on my track record, you'd better pray I am right this time, too! -Kam Zarrabi - 1/26/12
Will Israel Attack Iran?
"This is not about some abstract concept," Barak said as he gazed out at the lights of Tel Aviv, "but a genuine concern. The Iranians are, after all, a nation whose leaders have set themselves a strategic goal of wiping Israel off the map." -Ronen Bergman, NY Times - 1/26/12
UAE Tries to Muffle Critical Human Rights Report
Officials in the United Arab Emirates have attempted to prevent a leading rights group from publicizing a report that criticizes the UAE's record on free speech. - 1/26/12
Photos: Clearing the Mine Fields in Dehloran, Iran
Iraq and Iran fought a war from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the longest conventional war of the 20th century. While the war ended in 1988 after much death and devastation, the cleaning of mine fields in Iran is still an ongoing operation. - 1/25/12
Key Reasons against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran
The current US stand-off against Iran, like the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, was instigated by the neoconservatives of the Bush Administration based on their doctrine of "maintaining US pre-eminence, thwarting rival powers and shaping the global security system according to US interests" -CASMII - 1/25/12
Obama: Iran 'More Isolated Than Ever'
The president said in an address to the nation Tuesday that he will not rule out any option for preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but that the issue can be resolved peacefully. "But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations." - 1/25/12
Preventing a Nuclear Iran, Peacefully
THE debate over how to handle Iran's nuclear program is notable for its gloom and doom. Many people assume that Israel must choose between letting Iran develop nuclear weapons or attacking before it gets the bomb. -NY Times - 1/25/12
Continuation of US Presence in the Persian Gulf: Islamic Republic Retreats from Strategy of Threats
Soon after the threatening remarks by senior commanders of Iran's armed forces about shutting the Strait of Hormuz, and attacking the US Navy ships should they return to the Persian Gulf, the strong US warning that was communicated to Tehran has forced Iranian military officials to retreat from pursuing their threats -Bahram Rafiei, Rooz - 1/24/12
Iran Threat to Close Strait Could Hurt Economic Recovery
The international community is bracing for the possibility that Iran might attempt to close an important oil shipping lane in response to the European Union's new ban on the purchase of Iranian oil. The oil embargo is part of a wider range of economic sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to be more open about its nuclear program. -Mil Arcega, VOA - 1/24/12
Strange Bedfellows in the Conflict with Iran
As the European Union prepared to consider tough new sanctions against Iran on Monday, a group of eminent Americans was cozying up here to an exiled Iranian opposition group that the United States classifies as terrorists. -Harvey Morris, NY Times - 1/24/12
US Aircraft Carrier Enters Persian Gulf Without Incident
A U.S. aircraft carrier has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf, a month after Iran warned the United States not to send carriers to that strategic waterway. - 1/23/12
Experts discuss hazards of military confrontation with Iran
"We [United States and Israel] are strong powers and we need to think carefully about whether we want to engage in military operations which could have very unpredictable results," said Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center, speaking before the Atlantic Council. "We are indeed in a fraught and dangerous situation." -Ardavon Naimi, NIAC - 1/23/12
Iran is not Iraq
The response of the Islamic republic of Iran to the latest Western sanctions against it has shown how critical oil revenues are to the survival of the regime in Tehran. Contrary to Saddam Hussein and Moammar Qaddafi, events have shown that Iranian leaders realize danger at the right time and retreat, unless an unpredicted event takes place or the country's war-mongering forces see their interests otherwise. -Kazem Alamdari - 1/22/12
Sarkozy Warns Attack On Iran Could Unleash 'Chaos'
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned that a military strike on Iran would "trigger war and chaos in the Middle East." - 1/21/12
US Military Chief in Israel to Discuss Iran Nuclear Program
The top U.S. military official held closed talks Friday with Israeli leaders over how to respond to Iran's controversial nuclear program, which both countries fear is being used to develop nuclear weapons. - 1/21/12
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