UPI: Iran closed its border with Iraq Wednesday and banned its citizens from traveling to the war-torn country where the Shiites’
Iran Focus: Tehran, Dec. 22 Two antique smugglers had
AFP: The Iranian military led by the air force has been ordered to stand ready to defend the country’s nuclear sites in case of attack, army chief General Mohammad Salimi said Wednesday. “The air force has been ordered to protect the nuclear sites, using all its power,” Salimi said, quoted by the government daily Iran. Iran Focus: Tehran, Dec. 22 Two antique smugglers had
Reuters: Iran has arrested more than 10 people this year for spying on its atomic programme for Washington and Israel, three of them working within the state nuclear programme, the intelligence minister says. 
Boston Globe – Editorial: It may be a positive sign that when campaigning began for elections scheduled for Jan. 30 in Iraq, the first hot-button issue raised by Iraqi politicians was the specter of Iranian influence. US officials as well as Arab leaders are breaking no new ground when they warn in public about Iranian meddling in Iraq. They are fearful of Tehran for geopolitical reasons. They don’t want Iranian-style theocracy to spread beyond Iran’s borders. 
AP: Iran is continuing with a key process used to enrich uranium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons, but it is not violating an agreement to stop such activities because of a loophole in the deal, diplomats said Tuesday. The diplomats told The Associated Press that Tehran is still turning tons of raw uranium into uranium metal. The metal is a precursor of uranium hexafluoride – a substance that can then be used to produce weapons-grade uranium. 
Reuters: Iran’s decision to keep preparing raw uranium for enrichment, a step on the way to making nuclear weapons, breaks the spirit though not the letter of its pledge to freeze all such activity, diplomats say. Under a deal Iran reached with three EU nations to freeze all enrichment activity as of November 22, preparing “yellowcake” uranium for enrichment is strictly prohibited. 
RFE/RL: Along with China and the United States, Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the world. In the last two decades, thousands of political prisoners, drug traffickers, and drug addicts have been executed in the Islamic Republic. In 2003, more than 100 executions were recorded in Iran. Human rights groups, however, say the real number of people put to death is much higher. “Unfortunately, every year there are
BBC: The UN General Assembly has censured Iran for human rights violations, in a relatively close vote. By 71 votes to 54, with 55 abstentions, the assembly on Monday said Tehran restricted free speech, used torture, and persecuted dissenters. The resolution is not legally binding but is an expression of world opinion. Meanwhile, Amnesty International says it fears an Iranian woman convicted of adultery may be buried up to her chest and stoned to death on Tuesday. 
