AP: Oil prices fell slightly to near $87 a barrel Wednesday in Asia, giving back some of the big gain from the previous day amid growing tension between Iran and Western powers.
Oil hovers near $87 as Iran tensions simmer
Turkey asks Iran for discount on natural gas, Hurriyet reports
Bloomberg: Turkey has requested a discount on gas it imports from Iran, Hurriyet newspaper said, citing Energy Minister Taner Yildiz.
Seoul’s awkward dance on Iranian oil
Wall Street Journal: After months of talks with the US and European Union about the impact of sanctions targeted at Tehran on shipments of oil to South Korea from Iran, Seoul halted those imports on July 1.
UN drug agency head slams anti-Jewish Iran remarks
AP: The head of the U.N.’s drug fighting agency and the U.S. State Department have criticized anti-Jewish remarks made by an Iranian vice president last week.
Prominent Iranian literary translator missing, source says
CNN: A prominent Iranian literary translator is missing, just weeks after being released from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, a source close to him said Monday.
UAE pipeline bypassing Hormuz to fully operate in August
AFP: A pipeline the UAE is building to pump oil from east coast terminals and bypass the Iran-threatened Strait of Hormuz will be fully operational in August, an Abu Dhabi oil official said Tuesday.
Obama’s Iran Loopholes
Wall Street Journal: Though economic sanctions still haven’t slowed or stopped Iran’s nuclear drive, the Obama Administration has decided to make them even weaker. The Iran sanctions regime is looking like the U.S. tax code—filled with loopholes.
Iran says EU oil embargo “strongest” sanctions yet
AP: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday the latest EU sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil are “the strongest” measures yet imposed on the country.
Iran arrests 2 Azerbaijan nationals as spies
AP: Relations between Iran and Azerbaijan have soured recently. Iran accuses Azerbaijan of harboring anti-Iranian terrorists linked to Israel’s Mossad. Azerbaijan says Iran supports Islamist dissidents. Each country denies the other’s charges.
Iran says it test-fires missiles in war of nerves
Reuters: Iran said on Tuesday it had successfully tested medium-range missiles capable of hitting Israel as a response to threats of attack, the latest move in a war of nerves with the West.
