AP: Iran’s state radio says candidates can begin to register for municipal council elections scheduled for June. The councils have little power. But unlike in parliamentary and presidential contests, the candidates are not vetted by a clerically dominated constitutional watchdog.
Iran begins registration for municipal elections
South Korea’s imports of Iranian crude oil fall 17% in March
Bloomberg: South Korea, the world’s fifth- largest oil importer, reduced crude shipments from Iran by about 17 percent in March from a year earlier, customs data show.
Iranian military official warns against unrest in upcoming presidential election
Xinhua: A senior Iranian military official warned Sunday against any attempts to create unrest during the country’s upcoming presidential election, Iran’s Press TV reported.
Hezbollah-backed Lebanese Shiites fight in Syria
AP: Masked men in camouflage toting Kalashnikov rifles fan out through a dusty olive grove, part of a group of Hezbollah-backed fighters from Lebanon who are patrolling both sides of a porous border stretch with Syria.
Ahmadinejad in Benin for first stop on West Africa tour
AFP: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Benin on Sunday on the first stop of a west African tour that will also take him to Niger — the world’s fourth-largest uranium producer — and to Ghana.
Iran’s earthquakes and nuclear power: Too close for comfort
Arab News: Last Tuesday, April 9, a massive earthquake hit southern Iran, next to the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The earthquake has heightened concerns about possible damage to this nuclear reactor, with possible devastation throughout Iran and the Gulf.
Gulf countries meet over Iran nuclear radiation fears
Reuters: National emergency officials in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries met on Sunday in Saudi Arabia to discuss the risk of radiation spreading over the Gulf if Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is damaged by another earthquake.
Iraqis prepare for first vote since US withdrawal
AP: Even the dead are not spared the campaigning for Iraq’s upcoming local elections. The April 20 vote for provincial governing councils will be the first election since the U.S. military withdrawal in December 2011.
Ahmadinejad to visit uranium-rich Niger
AFP: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will leave on Sunday for a visit to Benin, Ghana and Niger, the world’s fourth-largest uranium producer, the Fars news agency reported.
US ends Iran-related sanctions on 3 maritime firms
AP: The Obama administration is lifting sanctions it imposed on three companies two years ago for helping to ship Iranian oil in violation of U.S. law.
