New York Times: In an effort to stop Iran from producing a nuclear bomb, the 25 leaders of the European Union on Friday offered Iran economic and political incentives if it suspended its production of enriched uranium. The proposal, issued in a statement at the end of a two-day summit meeting in Brussels, coincided with negotiations that opened here in which Iran
Daily Telegraph: With Iran believed to be coming ever closer to developing nuclear weapons, President Bush may have to decide in the next four years whether to order pre-emptive military action against another “rogue” state. As with Iraq, the debate would revolve around the quality of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction and what constitutes “active” co-operation by Iran with weapons inspections. 
AFP: Canada on Friday introduced a draft resolution at the UN General Assembly on what it maintains is the worsening human rights situation in Iran, a foreign ministry statement said. The text follows an earlier resolution on human rights violations by Iran, adopted by the United Nations and sponsored by Canada, in November of last year. 
National Post: More proof that the goal of Iran’s nuclear program is megatons not kilowatts, came last weekend. On Sunday, all 247 legislators present in the Iranian parliament voted to resume their country’s uranium enrichment activities, in violation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) restrictions. As if to confirm suspicions regarding their intentions, some deputies shouted “Death to America.” 
Reuters: Tehran is inching closer to a compromise with French, British and German diplomats seeking to persuade
AFP: Russia confirmed Friday that it opposed Iran’s nuclear ambitions coming up for debate at the UN Security Council, where it has veto power, saying such a debate could lead to further regional tensions. 
AFP: China’s foreign minister discussed the North Korea and Iran nuclear issues in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Colin Powell Friday, state media reported, two days after Bush’s reelection. 
USA TODAY: Of all the foreign policy challenges facing President Bush in his second term, none apart from Iraq looms larger than Iran. Twenty-five years after Iranian students seized U.S. diplomats as hostages, Iran and the United States are at the brink of a potentially more serious confrontation over Iran’s apparent determination to develop a nuclear bomb.
AFP: The European Union’s Dutch presidency dismissed Thursday speculation about a US military strike on Iran to force the Islamic republic to abandon its nuclear drive. 
The New York Times: James Billington, the librarian of Congress, is in Iran this week on the first visit by a notable U.S. government official to that country in 18 years, administration officials said. The unannounced visit was confirmed by the Library of Congress on Wednesday after it was disclosed by the Federation of American Scientists, an independent policy group in Washington. 
