Roundup of Today’s International News 01/03/12
IRAN
No clear world voice on Iran nuke work
The U.S. and its European allies share fears that Iran might be seeking the capacity to make atomic arms as it forges ahead with its nuclear program. But they differ on whether it is actively working on such weapons, reflecting the difficulties of penetrating Tehran’s wall of secrecy.
Iran talks may be in April-Turkey foreign minister
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday that talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme may resume in April.
Iran gives media tour of key space program facility in bid to show openness
Iran opened a key space facility to visiting journalists for the first time Wednesday in an apparent effort to show its willingness to allow glimpses at sensitive technology even as Tehran and U.N. inspectors trade accusations about access to nuclear sites and experts.
Iran: military decides if IAEA can visit Parchin
It is up to Iran’s military to decide whether U.N. nuclear inspectors can visit a site they want to see as part of their investigation of Iranian nuclear activities, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday.
Iran ‘to accept payment in gold for oil’
Iran is to accept gold instead of dollars as payment for its oil, the country’s state news agency has said.
Iran election highlights deepening power struggle
Iran’s parliamentary election this Friday is a potentially decisive battle in the struggle between political and religious hardliners, but it is unlikely to alter Tehran’s stand on its deadlock with the West over its nuclear program.
Iran’s opposition: Gagged by years of intimidation
In Iran, the what-you’re-not-allowed-to-do list keeps expanding. Supporters of the opposition Green Movement are no longer allowed to demonstrate. What’s more, they’re not allowed even to talk about thinking of demonstrating.
Iran’s guardians invoke siege mentality as pressures mount
As international pressure mounts on Iran over its disputed nuclear program, the leadership is seeking to bolster support with rousing revolutionary rhetoric.
Amnesty International report on Iran: ‘We are ordered to crush you’: Expanding repression of dissent in Iran
This Amnesty International report dated of February 28, 2012, shows the lengths to which the Iranian authorities are prepared to go to isolate people in Iran from the rest of the world, and to try to hide information on human rights violations.
Earthquake in Central Iran – Magnitude 5.1
2012 February 27 – 18:48:58 UTC
U.S. Says UN Data Show Iran Is Working Toward Building Bomb
Iran missed an opportunity last week to begin clearing up what can “only plausibly” be called a nuclear-bomb program, said Laura Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament.
AP Exclusive: Arrest of Iranian scientist, like covert struggle with Iran, shrouded in secrecy
The arrest in Los Angeles in December of Seyed Mojtaba Atarodi, a U.S.-educated electrical engineer who teaches at a leading Iranian university, comes as the U.S. uses export controls to try to restrict Iran’s acquisition of U.S. technology, including for its military and nuclear programs.
Clinton: Japan, EU working to comply with Iran sanctions
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday pledged to aggressively implement new U.S. sanctions on Iran but noted that some allies such as Japan face “unique situations” as they seek to reduce Iranian oil imports.
US having blunt conversation with India, China, Turkey on Iranian oil
The United States is having “very intense and very blunt” conversations with India, China and Turkey on reducing their dependence on Iranian oil, secretary of state Hillary Clinton has told lawmakers.
U.S. Cuts Iran Cash Pipeline
The U.S. Treasury Department disrupted a Dubai-based banking operation that Washington believes had become Tehran’s primary conduit for evading international sanctions and processing its oil sales, according to people briefed on the operation.
Iran angry at Hamas abandoning Al-Assad
Abu Marzook, in an interview with the Associated Press [AP], revealed that Hamas political bureau chief Khalid Mishal and his closest aides have moved to Doha. He said “the Iranians are not happy with our position on Syria, and when they are not happy they don’t deal with you in the same old way”, in a reference to a decline of Iranian financial aid to Hamas.
Iran’s strange blessing of the Arab uprisings
The Iranian minister’s blessing of the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings is strange in a country that makes every effort to assist tyranny, dictatorship, killing and torture, not just at home, but also in Syria, where warships laden with weapons and money are sent to help a regime that has oppressed its people for decades.
UAE FM makes surprise visit to Iran
The UAE’s foreign minister made an unannounced visit to Iran on Wednesday for talks with his counterpart, state news agency IRNA reported.
Turkish, Azerbaijani, Iranian FMs to gather for tripartite meeting
The Turkish, Azerbaijani and Iranian foreign ministers are planning to meet on March 7 in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic in Azerbaijan as part of a series of meetings regularly held between the three states.
EU Sanctions Impede Iran Oil Shipments to Asia
European Union sanctions are impeding the shipment of oil to Asia from Iran, in a threat to Tehran’s hopes to find new buyers for its top export.
IEA, EU see no need for oil stockpiles release
Oil consuming nations have no need to release stockpiles as they do not face a supply crunch, EU officials and the agency for consumers said on Wednesday after Washington announced it may use stocks to stem soaring gasoline prices in an election year.
Putin: Iran nuclear issue must be settled peacefully
The consequences of a military strike against Iran would be disastrous, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wrote in a wide-ranging editorial Monday.
Iran seeks to sell crude in Asia as sanctions bite-traders
Iran is trying to sell about 200,000 tonnes of crude oil from a supertanker floating off Singapore, traders said on Wednesday, a rare move that highlights how U.S. and European sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports are hindering sales.
India taking steps in right direction on Iran sanction: Clinton
“With respect to India, they are making steps that are heading in the right direction. In fact, I think in a number of instances, the actions of countries and their banks are better than the public statements that we sometimes hear them making,” Clinton told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
Japan nears deal to cut Iran oil imports
Japan is nearing agreement with the US on a deal to make deeper cuts to its Iranian oil imports, a move designed to head off sanctions against Japanese banks operating in the US.
Realite-EU’s latest backgrounder – What does Iran want? A short analysis of the February 2012 IAEA report by Bruno Tertrais
Iran may be deliberately trying to divide and confuse the international community by making an apparent diplomatic concession while it simultaneously escalates the violence abroad and accelerates its production of enriched uranium.
Following the IAEA Report: A Perspective on International Assessments of Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program
Statements from the recent and past IAEA reports as well as quotes from IAEA officials, and world leaders attesting to Iran’s quest to build a nuclear weapons program.
China’s stance on Iran is crucial: John Kemp
China is destined to play a decisive role in the effectiveness of sanctions against Iran, and the possibility of eventual military confrontation.
Iran’s Africa problem
In spite of its diplomatic and ideological outreach, Iran may find itself with fewer African friends and more African competitors the longer American-led sanctions remain in place.
Réalité-EU
Veröffentlicht am 2. März 2012 in Gesetze, Medien, Meinungen, Politik und mit Ahmadinejad, Aktionen, Atombombe, Gesetze, Human Rights, Iran, Medien, Menschenrechte, Politik getaggt. Setze ein Lesezeichen auf den Permalink. Kommentare deaktiviert.
