Reuters: The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Thursday she had pressed China to ensure that Chinese companies did not fill the void left by other firms leaving Iran due to U.N. sanctions.
EU presses China on observing Iran sanctions
Iran’s Ahmadinejad to visit Qatar
AFP: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to make a brief visit on Sunday to Qatar, Iran’s closest ally among the Gulf Arab states, the Iranian ambassador in Doha, Abdollah Sohrabi, said.
Iran hardliners attack opposition leader’s home: website
AFP: Hardline “thugs” surrounded the home of opposition Iranian leader Mehdi Karroubi, pelting the building with rocks to prevent the cleric from attending a rally, his website said.
Iranian filmmaker decries ‘mental imprisonment’
AFP: Prominent Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, barred from attending the screening of his short film “The Accordion” at the Venice film festival, on Wednesday decried his “mental imprisonment.”
Tony Blair: West should use force if Iran ‘continues to develop nuclear weapons’
The Guardian: The west should use force against Iran if it “continues to develop nuclear weapons”, Tony Blair said today, aligning himself with US hawks who have called for strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran’s Ahmadinejad dismisses Mideast peace talks
AFP: Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed on Wednesday the holding of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, saying the negotiations will fail to resolve conflict in the Middle East.
Turkey exports less gasoline to Iran in July -data
Reuters: Turkey’s gasoline exports to Iran dropped by a hefty 74 percent in July after U.S.-led sanctions against the Islamic Republic came into force, figures obtained by Reuters from Turkey’s statistics office showed on Wednesday.
Obama aims for Mideast deal to block Iran by stabilizing region
Bloomberg: President Barack Obama leads Israel and the Palestinian Authority into direct talks starting tomorrow aiming for a big prize: a peace deal that will help stabilize the region and thwart Iran’s bid to expand its influence.
US spies worry about Iraq’s political deadlock
AFP: US spy agencies view political stalemate in Iraq as the biggest threat to security in Iraq as the American military scales back its mission in the country, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Obama: Time to turn the page in Iraq
Reuters: President Barack Obama declared an end to the seven-year U.S. combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday and promised recession-weary Americans “my central responsibility” now is to repair the U.S. economy.
