New York Times: A senior official at Iran’s space agency confirmed on Saturday that state media reports on the launching of a monkey into the thermosphere had used images of two different monkeys.
Iranian reports confuse images of space monkeys
Defying Iran sanctions propels Tehran mayor before vote
Bloomberg: After blaming trade sanctions for delaying a new Tehran highway last month, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf ordered extra work shifts to meet the deadline.
Rare Iran infighting surfaces over minister impeachment
AFP: Bad blood between Iran’s government and parliament spilled into open on Sunday over the impeachment of a minister, with heads of the two branches accusing each other of corruption and abuse of power.
Ahmadinejad accuses Iran speaker’s family of corruption
Reuters: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the parliament speaker’s family of corruption on Sunday, turning a long-standing rivalry between two of Iran’s most powerful figures into a face-to-face feud, months before an election.
Iran positive but noncommittal about talks with US
AP: Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday welcomed the United States’ willingness to hold direct talks with Tehran in the standoff over its nuclear program but didn’t commit to accepting the offer.
Iran’s parliament dismisses labor minister
AP: Iranian lawmakers have impeached the country’s labor minister over his controversial appointment of an official implicated in the deaths of prisoners.
Israel ‘can’t accept’ Iran’s Natanz nuclear upgrade
AFP: Iran’s installation of new equipment at its Natanz nuclear plant will speed up enrichment efforts and complicate plans to prevent Tehran from building a weapons capability, Israel said on Sunday.
Syrian opposition chief under fire for talks with Assad allies
Reuters: Syria’s opposition leader flew back to his Cairo headquarters from Germany on Sunday to explain to skeptical allies his decision to talk with President Bashar al-Assad’s main backers Russia and Iran, in hope of a breakthrough in the crisis.
Yemen says seized ship carried rockets from Iran
AFP: A ship loaded with rockets and explosives which Yemen said it had intercepted last month came from Iran and the arms were destined for Shiite rebels, a security official said on Sunday.
Iran rial hits ‘all-time dollar low’
AFP: Iran’s currency plummeted to an all-time low on Saturday, registering a more than 21-percent drop in a span of two weeks against the US dollar, currency tracking websites and money changers said.
