Iran Focus: Tehran, Dec. 02 – All schools and kindergartens throughout Tehran and Shahre-Rey, south of the Iranian capital, are closed today due to extreme air pollution in the region. Following an emergency meeting by representatives of Iran’s Health and Interior Ministries yesterday on Tehran’s weather conditions it was announced that all schools and kindergartens would be closed today.

Iran Focus: Baghdad, Jan. 01 – Iraq’s Defence Minister,
Hazem Shaalan, accused Iran today of attempting to “create a Safavian-style Shiite Crescent stretching from Iran all the
way to Syria and Lebanon, engulfing Iraq and bringing about corruption in the country”.

Iran Focus: Baghdad, Dec. 31 – The Iraqi interim-Prime Minister, Ayad Allawi, speaking on Iraqi TV today echoed comments made yesterday by Iraq’s Defence Minister, about Iranian and Syrian meddling in Iraq. “There are countries which host those who are involved in activities that are harmful to the people of Iraq”, he said.

Iran Focus: Baghdad, Dec. 31 – The Iraqi Defence Minister announced yesterday that he has fresh information on Iranian and Syrian meddling in Iraq. “I have important information regarding the interference into Iraq by these two countries”, Hazem Shaalan said. Speaking on Al-Arabia satellite TV channel, Shaalan stated, “The Iraqi people will soon see footage of the confessions of one of the perpetrators who has information about the meddling of these two countries in Iraq”.