AFP: The United States needs to strike Syria in part to send a message to its ally Iran over its nuclear program, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser said Monday.
US says Syria strike would deter Iran
Blocking action on Syria makes an attack on Iran more likely
Washington Post: The opponents of congressional authorization for military strikes against Syria are focused on one set of concerns: the belief that the costs of action are simply too high and uncertain. Syria for them is a civil war, with few apparent good guys and far too many bad guys.
Iran’s president urges government on Facebook
AP: Iran’s curious world of online politics looked a bit more crowded Monday with members of President Hasan Rouhani’s Cabinet encouraged to open their own Facebook pages – in a country where authorities, at the same time, try to block the public from social media.
Iran oil-export capacity seen rising 6.4% in ship-tracking data
Bloomberg: The combined carrying capacity of oil tankers leaving Iranian ports last month rose 6.4 percent from July, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. The data may be incomplete because not all ship transmissions are captured.
U.N. nuclear chief says ‘urgent’ for Iran to address concerns
Reuters: The U.N. nuclear chief told Iran on Monday it was “essential and urgent” for it to address concerns about suspected atomic bomb research, signaling his hope that the new government in Tehran will stop stonewalling his inspectors.
Iranian foreign minister visits neighboring Iraq
AP: Iran’s new foreign minister arrived in Iraq on Sunday on his first trip abroad since taking office, underscoring the growing links between the two Shiite-led neighbors. Mohammad Javad Zarif was met at Baghdad International Airport by his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari.
UN: Iraq to move last exile camp residents out
AP: Iraqi authorities are planning to relocate the remaining residents of a camp housing dozens of Iranian exiles where 52 people were killed last week, the United Nations mission to the country said Saturday.
Iran’s latest olive branch leaves West wondering
Times Live: Iran’s government extended an olive branch to the West this week, as officials offered talks on the country’s nuclear programme and repudiated the previous government’s Holocaust denial. The latest charm offensive has Western observers wondering what it means.
Iran cancels barter deal for wheat
DAWN.com: Iran has scrapped its barter trade deal with Pakistan for purchase of one million tonnes of wheat. The first shipment of 30,000 tonnes of wheat was to leave for Iran last week, but has been halted as Iranian authorities informed the government about cancellation of the deal.
We wring our hands over Syria, but not the massacre of 52 Iranians
Sunday Telegraph: This massacre, carried out on the direct orders of Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, was only the latest twist to a much longer story, which arguably makes our own Foreign Office a passive accessory to the crime.
