Wall Street Journal: “You need to stop the hemorrhage first and foremost before you can do anything else with the patient.” So declared President Hasan Rouhani during an interview on Iranian state TV last week. The patient in question is the Iranian economy.
The Iranian welfare state and its discontents
Iran says china keeping north Azadegan oil project
Wall Street Journal: China National Petroleum Corp. will retain Iran’s North Azadegan oil-field project for the time being, a top Tehran official said Wednesday, after the company lost the neighboring South Azadegan contract last week.
Iran, six powers hold ‘useful’ nuclear talks; agreement elusive
Reuters: Iran and six world powers held more “useful” talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, the European Union announced on Wednesday, as a Western diplomat said they are still struggling to overcome deep disagreements on the future of Iranian atomic capabilities.
Iran students gear up solar car for US challenge
AP: Clouds may still linger over relations between Washington and Tehran, but that’s not stopping a group of Iranian students and their teachers from gearing up for a summer road trip through the American heartland.
Japan contributes funds to help save shrinking Iran lake
Bloomberg: Japan is contributing funds to help save Lake Urmia, one of the Middle East’s largest lakes that has shrunk by 85 percent the past two decades as dams were built and farmers diverted too much water for crops.
Iran keeps links to Chinese energy companies
UPI: Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh last week said a contract with China National Petroleum Corp. for development of the South Azadegan oil field was torn up because the company wasn’t meeting Iran’s expectations at a field said to hold more than 40 billion barrels of oil.
Iran on agenda for White House aide talks in Israel
Reuters: U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice will travel to Israel on Wednesday and Thursday for meetings with Israeli officials in which nuclear talks with Iran will be on the agenda, the White House said on Tuesday.
Evacuation of Syria’s Homs rebel districts to begin
AFP – Some 2,000 rebels and civilians were to begin leaving besieged opposition-held districts of Homs in central Syria on Wednesday under a deal between fighters and the government. The deal will be guaranteed by the United Nations and Iran, according to a copy of the text seen by AFP.
Iran warships dock in Sudan: Khartoum military
AFP: Two Iranian warships docked in Sudan on Monday, Khartoum’s military said, emphasising what analysts say are poor relations between Islamist Sudan and its Arab neighbours. Sudan’s army spokesman said the warships, one of them a navy supply ship, had arrived in Port Sudan.
Fire breaks out in industrial Iranian city
AP: A large fire broke out Tuesday in an oil and wood storage facility in an industrial city in northern Iran, but only one person was injured, officials said. The mayor of Qazvin denied earlier reports that there was an explosion at the site. He also said firefighters had contained the blaze.
