Iran: Shiraz bombing suspects arrested
Minister of Information, Gholam- Hossein Mohseni Ejeie, said here Wednesday evening that the suspects of Shiraz bomb blast believed to have links with certain Western countries, including Britain and the US. -IRNA - 5/8/08
Iranian's sentence extended in military goggles case
The defendant had received a sentence of time served for her role in an illegal trade plot. But the judge extends her prison term to more than two years, citing a miscalculation. - 5/8/08
Iran clerics rebuke Ahmadinejad over 'hidden imam'
Clerics have told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stick to more worldly issues after he was quoted as saying the "hidden imam" of Shiite Islam was directing Iran -AFP - 5/7/08
Russia: Putin Hands Reins To Medvedev, But Remains In Control
Dmitry Medvedev has been sworn in as Russia's third president since the collapse of the Soviet Union 17 years ago in an elaborate ceremony at the Kremlin that was broadcast live across the country and around the world. -RFE - 5/7/08
Iran hardliners condemn Khatami
Members of Iran's parliament have made a formal complaint to the intelligence minister over remarks made by former President Mohammad Khatami. -BBC - 5/7/08
Reza Pahlavi and the Question of Religion
Reza Pahlavi has by and large been reticent on the issue of religion. He mainly mentions it in order to reiterate his belief in an Iran where the separation of Mosque and state are absolute. -Reza Bayegan, Paris - 5/7/08
US Accuses Iran of Interfering in Afghanistan
A senior U.S. official says Iran is interfering in Afghanistan's politics and lending support to the Taliban insurgency. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher spoke to reporters in Paris before a donors conference on Afghanistan. Lisa Bryant has more from the French capital. -VOA - 5/7/08
"OBLITERATE" IRAN? A REAL THREAT OR SIMPLY MEANINGLESS JARGON?
Not only does showing animosity and anger against Iran not carry any adverse consequences, it actually helps show the so-called national security concerns and qualifications of the candidate among the bovine public. -Kam Zarrabi - 5/6/08
Iran advises G 5+1 to give up precondition for nuclear talks
Iran on Tuesday advised the Group 5+1 to give up precondition for talks about dispute over Iranian nuclear program. Head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Borujerdi said that members of the Group 5+1 should withdraw their demand on suspension of nuclear enrichment, if they wanted to make a breakthrough in nuclear talks. -IRNA - 5/6/08
Russia, China dispute Britain's remarks on Iran
On Monday, Russia and China strongly criticized UK Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva John Duncan for distorting reports about the decisions of the permanent members of the UN Security Council on Iran's nuclear program. -IRNA - 5/6/08
Iran rejects nuclear inspections unless Israel allows them
An Iranian envoy said Monday his government will not submit to extensive nuclear inspections while Israel stays outside the global treaty to curb the spread of atomic weapons. -AP - 5/6/08
Iran: Elections Under Threat
Iranians went to the polls April 25th to vote in the second round of parliamentary elections. The results were a victory for conservative candidates allied with President Ahmadinejad. They called for unity between the President and the Parliament at a time of threats from the United States. -Democracy Now - 5/6/08
Iran not considering report about Bush directive to Widen War on Iran: FM spokesman
Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Monday that reports about a secret order by the US president to kill Iranian officials were not confirmed and that Iran would not pay any attention to suspicious reports - 5/5/08
Imported anarchy in Iraq
Recently, officials in Washington D.C., London, and Paris have claimed that, for ordinary Iraqis, the security situation has been improved by the surge in U.S. troops. However, the Iraqi people continue to suffer, with thousands dead, millions injured, and millions more displaced. What led to this anarchic situation and how can it be contained? -Arshin Adib-Moghaddam - 5/5/08
Iran Set To Reject Nuclear Incentives Offer By World Powers
Iran looks set to reject a new offer by the international community to give up some nuclear activities in exchange for unspecified incentives. Iranian officials made the announcement over the weekend after the foreign ministers of the UN Security Council's five permanent members, plus Germany, agreed on May 2 in London to make a new offer to Tehran. -RFE - 5/5/08
Iran ex-president rebuked over insurgent remarks
Former Iranian president Mohamad Khatami was under fire from hardliners on Monday after comments interpreted as accusing the country's clerical leaders of supporting insurgents in the Middle East. -AFP - 5/5/08
Russia halts N-shipments via Azerbaijan
The Russian contractor for Iran's nuclear power plant project suspends sending cargoes destined for Iran via the Republic of Azerbaijan. -Press TV - 5/5/08
The dangers of the Iranian 'if'
When asked on ABC News about what she would do if Iran were to launch a nuclear attack on Israel, Hillary Clinton was explicit, “…we would be able to totally obliterate them and those people who run Iran need to know that.” -Independent - 5/5/08
Russia: 6 Powers Want Iran to Halt Nuclear Work 'Only' During Talks
Russia says six world powers concerned about Iran's nuclear program want Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment while negotiations are under way. -VOA - 5/4/08
Ex-Iranian president: Fomenting violence abroad 'treason'
Mohammad Khatami, a reformist and popular intellectual, made no mention of U.S. and Iraqi accusations that Iran is arming and training Shiite extremists in neighboring Iraq. But he said Iran should avoid actions that give it a bad image. -AP - 5/4/08
Obama slams Clinton's "cowboy" talk on Iran
"I think it's language that's reflective of George Bush. We have had a foreign policy of bluster and saber rattling," Obama said of Clinton's threat to "totally obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel. -Reuters - 5/4/08
Major Powers Make New Incentives Offer to Iran
Foreign ministers of major world powers, meeting in London, have decided to make a new offer of incentives for Iran to scrap its uranium enrichment program. The offer is part of a two-track strategy that also includes U.N. sanctions against Tehran. VOA's David Gollust reports from London. - 5/3/08
Iran-IAEA talks to resume
Iran and the UN nuclear agency will resume talks on enhanced cooperation between the two parties, Iranian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency has said. -IRNA - 5/3/08
Russia says Iranian enrichment freeze is sole demand
Russia on Saturday said that world powers concerned about Iran's nuclear programme were asking Tehran only to suspend uranium enrichment during a period of talks. -AFP - 5/3/08
Iran moving into the big league
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's three-nation tour of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India and the welter of agreements and understandings reached between Tehran and these governments serve notice beyond the mere issue of energy security and Iran's expanding role in the sub-continent's energy market; -Asia Times - 5/3/08
U.S. State Department 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism
Released by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. State Department - 5/2/08
Iran complains to UN about Clinton's Obliteration threat
Iran has complained to the United Nations over a threatening statement by US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that was flagrant violations of UN charter. - 5/2/08
Azerbaijan Releases Russian Nuclear Shipment to Iran
Azerbaijan has released a shipment of Russian nuclear equipment destined for Iran after holding it for about a month. -VOA - 5/2/08
Blogging in Iran
The Internet is wildly popular in Iran, and blogging has become a vital source of information and analysis due to the systematic rollbacks of press freedoms (such as they were) during the last few years. Censorship and self-censorship takes its toll, as does intimidation and imprisonment of bloggers. -TIME - 5/2/08
British peer calls for widening dialogue with Iran
There will never be a constructive dialogue with Iran unless the framework is widened to more than the current approach to the country's nuclear programme, according to the deputy Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords. - 5/2/08
Rice Doubts Iran Incentives Will Work
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she doubts that new international incentives can persuade Iran to halt what she believes is a drive by Tehran for nuclear weapons. Rice is in London for a ministerial-level meeting Friday of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany, called the P 5 plus one, on the Iranian nuclear issue. -VOA - 5/2/08
Azerbaijan: Nuclear Cargo For Iran Remains Stuck At Border
Authorities in Azerbaijan are demanding more complete documentation before they will release a consignment of Russian equipment destined for an Iranian nuclear power plant under construction at Bushehr. -RFE - 5/1/08
Iran blasts London for releasing agent responsible for attack on Iranian Embassy
Iran on Wednesday strongly criticized London for freeing the terrorist who attacked the Iranian Embassy in London on April 30, 1980, martyring two diplomats and injuring the-then charge d'affaires as well as a number of other embassy staff. - 5/1/08
The Candidates on Iran
If Iran is a Rorschach test, there are few issues with such stark differences among the three major party candidates. -Washington Post - 5/1/08
Iranian general outmaneuvers U.S. officials in Iraq
One of the most powerful men in Iraq isn't an Iraqi government official, a militia leader, a senior cleric or a top U.S. military commander or diplomat, He's an Iranian general, and at times he's more influential than all of them. - McClatchy Newspapers - 4/30/08
The Caspian energy hotspot
The culminations regarding Caspian, are witnessing a gradual convergence between Iran and Russia in order to agree on a modus vivendi in the planned energy projects. In sort, reliable information relay that both countries will exercise pressure to Azerbaijan in order not to proceed in any pipeline agreements in the future, and in parallel divide their energy ambitions. -International Analyst Network - 4/30/08
Iran, Syria blast West at NPT talks
Iranian and Syrian delegates have protested to western claims during global talks aimed at salvaging the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. -Press TV - 4/30/08
Azerbaijan: Did Washington Have a Hand in Stopping Nuclear Shipment Headed for Iran?
Azerbaijan’s refusal to release Russian nuclear power plant equipment headed to Iran has put the country at the center of a diplomatic firestorm. Analysts are divided over the source of the trouble. -Eurasianet - 4/30/08
Gates says 2nd carrier in Gulf is 'reminder' to Iran
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that sending a second U.S. aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf could serve as a "reminder" to Iran, but he said it's not an escalation of force -AP - 4/30/08
Iranian President arrives in India
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after ending his visit to Colombo, Sri Lanka, arrived in New Delhi, as the head of a political, economic and cultural delegation, for talks with his Indian counterpart and other officials of India. -IRNA - 4/29/08
Iran steps into enemy's territory
This week, with his three-nation tour of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India, Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad will fortify Iran's regional ties and thus achieve a milestone in his administration's "Look East" foreign policy orientation. -Asia Times - 4/29/08
Russia welcomes Iran's proposal package
Iran's Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and Russian Acting Secretary of the National Security Council held their first round of talks in Tehran Monday morning. -IRNA - 4/29/08
Iran President wraps up Sri Lanka visit
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran wound up his visit to Sri Lanka on Tuesday heading for New Delhi, India at the third and last leg of this three-nation regional tour. -IRNA - 4/29/08
Helping the Mullahs, Hurting the Poor
While the U.S. and many European countries believe that Iran's nuclear ambitions can be restrained by increasing sanctions aimed at the regime's decision-makers, Tehran continues to outwit them without changing its policies.-Babak Rahimi, Antiwar - 4/29/08
HYPOCRISY PAR EXCELLENCE
Israeli threats to "destroy the Iranian nation" in a retaliatory strike should Iran attack Israel seems perfectly acceptable to the US State Department. However, its spokesman, Sean McCormack, is voicing his strong condemnations against the Iranian officials when they respond in kind. How hypocritical is that? -Kam Zarrabi - 4/28/08
Iranian president arrives in Sri Lanka
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Monday evening arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka on a two-day official visit. -IRNA - 4/28/08
Iran, Russia, two major global powers: SNSC Secretary
Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Saeed Jalili, on Monday referred to Iran and Russia as two major global powers. Jalili made the remark in a joint press conference with Acting Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Valentin Sobolev, who arrived in Tehran Sunday evening heading a high-ranking delegation for a two-day visit. -IRNA - 4/28/08
Iran Discusses 'Serious' Nuclear Proposals With Russia
Iran's top national security official held talks Monday with the acting secretary of Russia's National Security Council aimed to defuse international concerns about Tehran's nuclear program. -VOA - 4/28/08
Iran: Conservatives Extend Control After Parliamentary Runoffs
Iranian conservatives have consolidated their control of the country's legislature in runoff elections. Eighty-two seats in the 290-seat parliament were at stake in voting on April 25 after the first round last month assured conservatives of a crushing victory over reformists. -RFE - 4/27/08
Iran President to visit Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India
The president will start traveling to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India on Monday. Heading a high-ranking board, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will first travel to Islamabad to hold talks with Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. -ISNA - 4/27/08
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