AFP: Three-time champions Iran swept aside North Korea 1-0 at the Asian Cup Saturday to become the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals in their bid to end a 35-year title drought.
Iran first into Asian Cup quarter-finals
Iran factory workers strike again over wage arrears
RFE/RL: Workers at Iran’s Alborz tire factory are one week into a resumed strike over salary arrears, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
Envoys to tour 2 key Iranian nuclear facilities
AP: Seven international envoys headed to an Iranian nuclear site Saturday for a tour that Tehran hopes will build support before a new round of crucial talks with world powers on its disputed atomic activities.
Iran to ban flights of Russian-built Tupolev jets
Reuters: Iran will ban flights by all its Tupolev aircraft from February following a series of disasters involving Russian-built jets in the Islamic state, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.
Iran says 2 spy planes it claims to have downed were US-operated, will be displayed publicly
AP: Iran says it has determined that two spy planes it claims to have downed were operated by the United States. An Iranian official says authorities will publicly display them.
China’s LNG work has eyes on Iran, and beyond
Reuters: China may have the technical capability to build a natural gas liquefaction plant within five years, potentially opening the door to vast reserves in Iran where sanctions have kept away western firms.
Hollywood shines light on director Jafar Panahi’s sentencing in Iran
Los Angeles Times: Paul Haggis urges stars to wear white ribbons in support of directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, sentenced to six years in prison.
Japan’s Iran crude imports fell to 332,000 bpd
Reuters: Japan’s imports of Iranian crude averaged 332,000 barrels per day in April-November 2010, trade ministry data showed, down 16 percent from the 2009/10 average, as buyers cut their contracted volumes amid high prices and political pressure.
List of guests shrinks for Iranian nuclear tour
Reuters: Russia and China will not join a weekend tour of Iranian nuclear sites, the Islamic state’s envoy to the U.N. atomic watchdog confirmed on Friday, adding to a growing number of countries which have rejected Tehran’s offer.
Russia says Iran nuclear visit can’t replace talks
Reuters: Russia said on Thursday that Iran’s offer to tour the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities deserved attention but cautioned that such a visit could never replace regular nuclear inspections or talks with major powers.
