BBC: At least 10 people have drowned and dozens are missing in north-east Iran after heavy rain caused flash floods.
AFP: The UN atomic agency has cancelled a planned formal meeting Wednesday on Iran’s nuclear program because diplomats remain locked in closed-door talks on an EU proposal to stop fuel cycle work, a spokesman here said. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-nation board of governors is expected to meet again on Thursday. 
Reuters: Iran began breaking U.N. seals at a uranium processing plant on Wednesday, the IAEA said. “They have begun breaking the seals,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said. “They are going to break all the seals and begin operating the plant in full.” 
AFP: Three Iranian men convicted of drug trafficking have been hanged in the western city of Hamedan, the Etemad daily reported Wednesday. The men only identified as Hamid Reza, Nosratollah and Reza were hanged Tuesday by the Hamedan revolutionary court for possession and sale of more than 10 kilos (22 pounds) of opium and heroin, the report said without specifying whether the hangings took place in public. 
The Globe and Mail – Editorial: Iran’s defiance is even beginning to frustrate its nuclear ally, Russia. That may be a good thing. Moscow’s intervention may help resolve the latest standoff between Tehran and the European Union over Iran’s nuclear activities, which Washington and others worry are intended to produce weapons-grade uranium. They have ample reason to fret. 
The Baltimore Sun – Opinion: THE TIME for diplomacy with Tehran may be over. Iran has flatly rejected an offer from European negotiators to ensure a steady supply of nuclear energy to meet its civilian needs and head off development of new nuclear weapons. Despite the claims of its new president, Iran can’t be truly interested in continued bargaining – not unless some international pressure can be brought to bear. 
Daily Telegraph: The diplomatic storm surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme intensified yesterday as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog held an emergency meeting to discuss sanctions against Teheran. There were also credible but unconfirmed reports that Iran had resumed the manufacture of centrifuges, used in producing weapons-grade uranium, despite an earlier promise to stop. 
The Guardian: Iran came under concerted international pressure yesterday to back off from a confrontation with the west over its nuclear programmes as Europe’s main powers sought to salvage an ambitious mediation effort. 
New York Times: Iran on Tuesday rejected calls by European leaders to halt its renewed nuclear activities, but indicated a willingness to continue negotiations over its program, perhaps by offering a proposal of its own. “There is no reason to suspend this activity,” Sirus Naser, Iran’s chief delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters after an emergency meeting here of the agency’s governing board on the matter. 
Washington Post: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that weapons have been found in Iraq that were “clearly, unambiguously” from Iran and that the weapons would ultimately become a problem for Tehran. 
