AFP: Iran is to insert its first domestically produced uranium fuel into its Tehran reactor by mid-February, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in comments published by the IRNA state news agency on Thursday.
Iran to start using own nuclear fuel plates
South Korea announces new sanctions on Iran
AFP: South Korea Friday joined a fresh multinational effort to press Iran to scrap its suspected nuclear weapons programme, adding more than 100 names to a financial blacklist of Iranian firms and individuals.
US “in contact with all sides” on Iran sanctions
Reuters: The United States is in close contact with all parties including China on new sanctions against Iran, suspected by the West of developing nuclear weapons, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman said on Thursday.
Camp Ashraf exiles file US complaint against Iran, Iraq
AFP: Four Iranian exiles have filed a complaint in US court against senior Iranian and Iraqi officials for their alleged role in an April attack on Camp Ashraf, a site for Iranian dissidents in Iraq.
Asia frets over oil as US eyes new Iran sanctions
Reuters: Plans for fresh U.S. sanctions to isolate Tehran have sent shudders among Asian governments who fear they will have no way to pay for Iranian crude imports and face rising costs to fuel the region’s growing economies.
India exploring options to pay for Iran oil via Russia-govt source
Reuters: India is exploring the option of paying for Iranian oil imports through Russian banks, a senior government source said on Thursday.
Iraq’s Shiites in no mood to embrace Iran
Washington Post: When a senior Iranian cleric announced last month that he was planning to move to this holy Shiite city to open an office, the furor that erupted offered a glimpse into the future of a complicated relationship.
US nears new Iran bank sanctions
AP: The Obama administration has given in to legislation that would apply sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank, despite weeks of opposition over concerns the measures may drive up oil prices or inflict severe economic hardship on American partners overseas.
Turkey refuses to open BPCL a/c for Iran oil-sources
Reuters: Turkey’s Halkbank has refused to open an account for India’s BPCL to settle payments for Iranian oil imports, three oil industry sources told Reuters on Thursday.
House backs tough sanctions on Iran
AP: The House on Wednesday endorsed harsher sanctions on Iran as it seeks to weaken Tehran economically and derail its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
