Reuters: Diplomats from a so-called “group of like-minded nations” met in Rome on Tuesday to discuss further sanctions against Iran, diplomatic sources said.
Rome meeting analyses Iran oil embargo
Pentagon plays down remarks by Panetta on Iran
AFP: The Pentagon on Tuesday sought to play down remarks by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta who has suggested Iran’s nuclear program could be on a faster track than previously suspected.
Spain’s Repsol says Iranian crude easy to replace
Reuters: Spanish refiner Repsol sees no problem finding alternative crude oil supplies for its Spanish plants if Europe follows through on a threat to ban imports of Iranian crude, its chairman said on Tuesday.
Iranian exiles ready to leave Iraq camp
AP: The head of an Iranian exile group says more than 3,000 of its members holed up in a camp in eastern Iraq are ready to leave if they get U.S. and U.N. security guarantees.
US urges Iran to free arrested citizen
AFP: The United States on Monday urged Iran to free “without delay” a US citizen of Iranian descent after state television showed him confessing to what he said was an intelligence mission.
U.S. adds 10 companies in Malta to Iran sanctions
Reuters: The U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday it was expanding sanctions on Iran to include 10 “shipping and front companies and one individual based in Malta” affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).
Obama: Iran and Cuba ties don’t benefit Venezuela
Reuters: The United States believes increasingly warm ties between Venezuela, Iran and Cuba do not benefit the Venezuelan people, U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview with a Venezuelan newspaper published on Monday.
Japan, US unite on N.Korea, differ on Iran
AFP: The United States and Japan put on a united front Monday after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s death but the allies showed differences elsewhere with the Asian power refusing to stop oil imports from Iran.
Iraq signs $72 mln power deal with Iran’s Sunir
Reuters: Iraq signed a $72 million electricity deal with Iranian power development firm Sunir to expand a plant in northern Iraq by 320 megawatts to help feed the power-starved nation, an electricity ministry official said on Monday.
UN denounces human rights violations in Iran
AP: The U.N. General Assembly has approved a resolution denouncing serious human rights violations in Iran ranging from flogging and amputations to frequent use of the death penalty.
