Iran Focus
Paris, 3 Apr – A number of female Air France cabin crew are resisting an airline ruling that they should wear a headscarf while in Iran when flights to Tehran resume on 17 April.
Pakistan seeks investigation into suspected Indian spy’s Iran links
Islamabad, 2 Apr – Pakistan has asked Iran to investigate the case of a suspected Indian spy who Pakistani authorities say has confessed to spying against Pakistan from Iran, according to a copy of an Interior Ministry letter to Iran obtained by Reuters on Friday.
Last month, Pakistan said it had detained the suspected spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav, in the violence-plagued province of Baluchistan after he had illegally entered the country from Iran.
Bahrain: Gulf Arabs serious about standing up to Iran
Dubai, 2 Apr – Bahrain’s foreign minister said on Friday that Gulf Arab states were prepared to confront Iran over its foreign policy and Tehran should drop its support for Middle East factions.
Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa also played down any difference with the United States over remarks by US President Barack Obama last month telling Saudi Arabia and Iran “to find an effective way to share the neighbourhood”, Reuters reported.
Obama: Iran not following ‘spirit’ of nuclear deal
Washington, 2 Apr – United States President Barack Obama on Friday criticized Iranian leaders for undermining the “spirit” of last year’s historic nuclear agreement, even as they stick to the “letter” of the pact.
In comments following the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Obama denied speculation that the US would ease rules preventing dollars from being used in financial transactions with Iran, in order to boost the country’s engagement with the rest of the world.
Iran arms shipment seized by French navy
Iran Focus
London, 31 Mar – On March 20 a large shipment of arms believed to have come from Iran was seized by the French Navy off the coast of Somalia. The cache, which included several hundred AK47 assault rifles, machine guns and anti-tank weapons was spotted heading toward Somalia by a helicopter performing routine surveillance although the ultimate destination is believed to be Yemen.
IRAN: Rouhani calls off trip to Austria
Iran Focus
London, 31 Mar – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has cancelled a trip to Austria planned for March 30-31. A statement from the Austrian President’s office stated the meeting had been postponed by the Iranian side for security reasons. A spokesperson for the Austrian Interior Ministry, Karl-Heinz Grundboeck said that there were “no concrete indications of any security threats”. The Iranian government confirmed the postponement of the meeting, a decision reached by “mutual agreement”.
No deal with Iran, US Congressman says
Washington, 31 Mar – Western businesses ought to avoid dealing with Iran or risk being named and shamed by the United States Congress, Rep. Peter Roskam, chairman of the US House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight wrote in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
The following is the full text of Roskam’s op-ed in The Wall Street Journal:
Pressure urged to save dissident Iran cleric
Iran Focus
Tehran, 30 Mar – Supporters of Iranian dissident cleric Ayatollah Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi are calling for international pressure on Iran’s regime to free him and allow him proper medical treatment.
Ayatollah Boroujerdi, 57, was arrested in Tehran on October 8, 2006. He has spent almost 10 years in various regime jails and is currently being held in the infamous Evin Prison. Reports from the prison say that Boroujerdi is subject to physical and psychological torture. He is being denied medical treatment and is said to be suffering from heart, kidney and respiratory problems in addition to losing 90% of his vision in one eye and as much as 36kg (80lbs) in weight.
Western powers accuse Iran of defying UN resolution
Iran Focus
London, 30 Mar – Major world powers have described Iran’s recent testing of nuclear-capable missiles as “destabilising and provocative”.
On March 9 the Iranian government tested two missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload. On Tuesday the Associated Press obtained a joint letter of protest from the US, France, Britain and Germany.
US, allies say Iran missile tests were ‘in defiance of’ UN resolution
Washington, 29 Mar – By launching nuclear-capable missiles Iran has defied a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorsed last year’s historic nuclear deal, the United States and its European allies said in a joint letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
Iran’s recent ballistic tests involved missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and were “inconsistent with” and “in defiance of” council resolution 2231, adopted last July, said the joint US, British, French, German letter to Spain’s UN Ambassador Roman Oyarzun Marchesi and UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Reuters reported.
