Reuters: As tension grows between Pakistan and Iran after a mosque bombing in Iran, Pakistan could find itself increasingly isolated as its western neighbour looks to increase its influence in the region, analysts say.
Pakistan and Iran jockey for influence after bombings
Man tied to weapons trafficking via Iran seized in Kandahar
CNN: A Taliban member suspected of helping to move weapons between Iran and Afghanistan has been seized, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said on Wednesday.
Iran prevents fuel shipments into Afghanistan
Wall Street Journal: Iran is preventing nearly 2,000 fuel tanker trucks from crossing into Afghanistan, claiming their load would supply U.S.-led coalition forces, Afghan officials say.
Jailed Iranian students start hunger strike
Reuters: Two jailed Iranian students have gone on hunger strike, a reformist website said on Tuesday, the latest in a string of such protests which have drawn expressions of concern from the United Nations and even some of the Islamic Republic’s conservative clerics.
Lebanon PM ‘respects’ but brushes off Iran supremo
AFP: Lebanon’s Saudi-backed ruling camp on Tuesday brushed aside comments by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who dismissed a UN probe into the murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri as “null”.
Iran quake kills seven, wrecks villages
AFP: A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Iran, wrecking villages, bringing down power lines, and killing up to seven people and injuring hundreds more, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.
U.S. tightens pinch on Iran’s finances, shipping
Reuters: The U.S. Treasury Department announced new measures on Tuesday aimed at choking finances for Iran’s military and for a shipping line that Treasury says engages in illegal activity.
Treasury targets Iranian banks, investment firm for sanctions
Bloomberg: The U.S. Treasury Department today said it targeted an Iranian investment firm and other entities for financial sanctions aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Iran central bank repatriating foreign bank deposits
Reuters: The Central Bank of Iran has decided to repatriate an unspecified amount of its deposits from foreign bank accounts, its governor said on Monday, citing global economic conditions as the reason.
Ahmadinejad appoints fourth woman to cabinet
AFP: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sacked the head of Iran’s National Youth Organisation on Monday and appointed a woman to the cabinet post, official media reported.
