Reuters: Iran released an Iraqi border patrol officer Friday after he was detained briefly when Iraqi border guards were mistaken for Kurdish rebels on a northern stretch of the two countries’ border, an official said.Iran frees Iraqi soldier in border incident
Reuters: Iran released an Iraqi border patrol officer Friday after he was detained briefly when Iraqi border guards were mistaken for Kurdish rebels on a northern stretch of the two countries’ border, an official said.Iranian cleric defends earthquake-promiscuity link
AP: A prominent hard-line Iranian cleric elaborated on his claim that promiscuity and immodest dress cause earthquakes, saying Friday that God may be holding off on natural disasters in the West in order to let people sin more and doom themselves to hell.Diplomats say Iran expands enrichment facility
AP: Iran has set up new equipment that could let it produce more enriched uranium from a smaller amount of raw material, diplomats said Friday.Hague slams Iran ahead of US trip
AFP: Newly appointed Foreign Secretary William Hague has criticised Iran’s nuclear programme ahead of his first visit to Washington on FridayDespite political uncertainties in Iraq, U.S. sticking with drawdown plan
Washington Post: The U.S. military is on track to draw down to 50,000 troops in Iraq by the end of the summer, but it now faces the long-dreaded prospect that its exit could coincide with a power vacuum similar to the one that drove the country to civil war in 2006.
Iran seen improving higher atom enrichment: diplomats
Reuters: Iran has been setting up extra equipment which could improve the way it enriches uranium to higher levels, diplomats said, a move which shows Tehran seeking to enhance its atomic work as big powers discuss new sanctions.Iranian government opponents see executions as warning
Washington Post: Iranian authorities are taking increasingly harsh measures to prevent protests marking the one-year anniversary of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed reelection, opposition leaders and analysts say, exacerbating political tensions.Exclusive: Division at the heart of the regime
Iran Focus: London, 14 May – For more than 30 years, Iran has been run on Ayatollah Khomeini’s theory of velayat-e faqih, or supreme rule of religious jurisprudence. Khomeini promoted this principle from the outset of the 1979 revolution and for 10 years held the title of Supreme Leader.Death row Prisoner of Conscience condemns execution of 5 Kurdish activists
Iran Focus: Tehran, May 14 – The following is the text of a statement released by Saeed Massouri, 45, a political prisoner currently on death row, on the execution of five Kurdish activists in Tehran’s Evin Prison on Sunday.
Iraqi and Iranian soldiers trade fire on border
AFP: Iraqi border guards exchanged fire with Iranian troops along the two countries’ border on Thursday, the first major incident between the two since Iran took over a disputed oil well in December.