AFP: Iran appealed Sunday for a negotiated settlement to its standoff with the UN atomic energy watchdog but showed no inclination to abide by a resolution calling for an immediatehalt to its sensitive nuclear activities.
“No negotiations with the Americans are on the agenda, but
we call on the Europeans to discuss with us,” foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.


Time Magazine: Iran days after the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved a resolution demanding that Iran suspend all uranium-enrichment activities, a defiant Tehran announced that it had started the conversion of some 37 tons of uranium oxide (yellowcake) into UF6-gas the feed material for enriched uranium.
Washington Times: By Jalal Ganje’i – Thirty-five years ago, when in a jurisprudence course in Najaf, Ayatollah Khomeini boasted that Khoms (a religious tax equivalent to one-fifth on property or income) from Baghdad’s Bazaar was adequate to run the affairs of the Islamic world, he wanted to affirm that assuming power on his part cost very little but benefited the public at large.
AFP: A German businessman under investigation for illegally exporting nuclear technology had planned to sell the material
AFP: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has postponed a visit to Turkey after the conservative-controlled parliament threw into doubt two major contracts signed with Turkish companies, an official said.
Boston Globe: The diplomatic showdown over Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions could escalate into a confrontation that changes the political dynamic of the Middle East and further destabilizes the region, Western diplomats, officials, and analysts say.
AP: Iran added a “strategic missile” to its military arsenal after
UPI: Iran’s Foreign Minister at the United Nations Friday described the United States as extremist and said its use of unbridled militarism causes terrorism.
Washington Post: The Bush administration is exploring several steps aimed at containing Tehran’s growing influence in Iraq, according to U.S. officials, who say a split between the Pentagon and the State Department has paralyzed the administration’s ability to craft a long-term policy on Iran for three years.
Washington Times: Federal prosecutors completed a plea agreement this week that imposed more than $6.3 million in fines on a U.S. company that illegally sent embargoed high-technology pumps to Iran. 