UPI: Tehran is a rational actor in the international community and welcomes open dialogue, a cleric leading Friday prayers in Tehran said.
Tehran a rational actor, cleric says
Iran denies China cut imports of its oil – agency
Reuters: An Iranian oil official denied major buyer China had cut imports of crude from the country in 2012, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Friday, after Chinese data showed they were a third lower in the first quarter than a year earlier.
Sri Lanka to upgrade refinery to use non-Iran oil
Reuters: Sri Lanka will refurbish its only refinery, now designed to refine mainly Iranian light crude, to process many other grades to enable the island nation to face a decline in Iranian crude imports after U.S. sanctions get effective by end June, Petroleum Industries minister said on Friday.
Iran’s Oil Ministry under cyberattack
UPI: Iran’s Oil Ministry, already battling stringent economic sanctions aimed at throttling the country’s oil exports, is now having to fight on another front: cyber attacks.
US may have to strike Iran: Republican VP prospect
AFP: Potential Republican vice presidential candidate Marco Rubio said Wednesday that a unilateral “military solution” from the United States may be needed to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb.
Iran ‘mobilizing’ for cyberwar with West: experts
AFP: Iran is busy acquiring the technical know-how to launch a potentially crippling cyber-attack on the United States and its allies, experts told a congressional hearing on Thursday, urging the US to step up its defensive measures.
Lloyd’s Register withdraws from Iran due to sanctions
Reuters: Lloyd’s Register, a leading maritime risk management firm, has shut its operations in Iran and can no longer vouch for the safety of the OPEC member’s fleet due to Western sanctions, the head of the company told Reuters.
Exclusive – South Korea’s Iran crude imports to plunge from June – sources
Reuters: South Korea will make sharp cuts in imports of Iranian crude from June as tightening Western sanctions make it impossible to secure insurance cover for tankers to ship the crude, industry and company sources said.
Japan’s crude imports from Iran drop as sanctions bite
Reuters: Japan’s customs-cleared crude imports from Iran fell 6.3 percent in March from a year ago, ahead of a sharp drop expected in April and May due to difficulty in doing business with the Islamic Republic amid tighter Western sanctions.
4 Iran Guards killed in clashes with Kurd rebels
AP: Four troops from Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards have been killed in clashes with Kurdish rebels in western Iran, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Wednesday. Eight others were wounded.
