Reuters: EU states reached a political agreement on Wednesday to extend sanctions against Syria to four military-linked entities and seven individuals, including three Iranians, linked to suppression of dissent, EU diplomats said.
EU agrees to extend Syria curbs to include Iranians
Iran seeks closer ties with Cuba
Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jun. 22 – Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a telephone conversation with Cuban President Raul Castro expressed Tehran’s enthusiasm and willingness to intensify relations with all South American nations in particular Cuba, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.
Larijani urges foreign troops to leave Afghanistan
Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jun. 21 – Iranian Majlis (Parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani on Monday demanded that all international forces leave Afghanistan.
Beirut ready to implement Iran-Lebanon agreements
Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jun. 21 – Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has declared his new government is ready to implement agreements which had previously been discussed with Tehran, Iranian state-media reported on Tuesday.
Iran sets new hearing date for US hikers: lawyer
AFP: Iran has set a date of July 31 for the next hearing in the trial of two American hikers who have been held for around 22 months in the Islamic republic on espionage charges, their lawyer told AFP on Monday.
Ahmadinejad’s inner circle under pressure
Washington Post: A growing confrontation between Iran’s clerical rulers and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is spilling over to unusually direct criticism of the president’s inner circle of advisers.
Iran parliament begins bid to impeach Salehi
AFP: Iran’s parliament on Tuesday launched impeachment procedures against Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi for appointing an aide to the president’s underfire chief of staff as one of his deputies.
Iran deputy foreign minister resigns amid pressure
AP: Iran’s newly appointed deputy foreign minister has resigned under pressure from hard-liners who view him as part of a movement seeking to weaken the role of Iran’s powerful Muslim clerics, media reports said Tuesday.
Iraqi opposition leader denounces Iranian meddling – text of remarks
Iran Focus: London, Jun. 21 – Iyad Allawi, a former Iraqi Prime Minister and the de-facto leader of the opposition movement to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, recently launched a stunning televised attack on Maliki accusing him of running a new dictatorship in Iraq and owing his Premiership to Iran’s theocratic rulers.
Iran imports gasoline from Asia-Pacific region, oil daily says
Bloomberg: Iran is importing about 200,000 metric tons a month of gasoline, mostly from the Asia-Pacific region, amid U.S. sanctions, the International Oil Daily reported, citing unidentified shipping sources in the Persian Gulf area.


