Reuters: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday the dispute over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program could easily be resolved if the West were to stop being so stubborn.
Iran’s Khamenei says nuclear talks easy if enemy not stubborn
Kerry in Kuwait on swing through Asia, Mideast
AP: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is making his first visit to Kuwait as America’s top diplomat, having talks with the tiny, oil-rich country’s leader about deepening violence in Syria, Iran’s new president and prospects for peace in the Mideast.
Iran urges Qatar’s new emir to revise Syria policy
Reuters: Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Wednesday urged Qatar’s new Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to revise his country’s policy of backing Syrian rebel groups.
Iran’s new president looks westward for nuke talks
AP: Hasan Rouhani knew there was an element of risk. Just a week before Iran’s election gatekeepers announced the presidential ballot, Rouhani said one-on-one talks with Washington are the only way for breakthroughs in the nuclear standoff, given that the United States – as he put it – is the world’s “sheriff.”
Ahmadinejad to attend GECF summit in Moscow
Xinhua: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend a summit meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Russia next month, semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.
Talk to Iran’s new president. Warily.
New York Times: The election of Hassan Rowhani as Iran’s new president has created a sense that there are new possibilities of progress on the nuclear issue; we need to respond, but warily.
NY regulator cracks down on sanctions violations
CNBC: Wall Street banks are being investigated for transactions that violated sanctions on Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Sudan and other countries with ties to terrorism, New York state’s chief financial regulator disclosed Tuesday.
Iraq bombs targeting protesters, pilgrims kill 17
AFP: Bombs targeting mostly protesters and pilgrims killed 17 people in Iraq on Tuesday, the latest incidents in a surge of violence that has sparked fears of a revival of all-out sectarian conflict.
Bahrain arrests 9 Shiites for ‘planning prison break’
AFP: Bahrain announced on Tuesday the arrest of nine Shiites it said are linked to Iran and that were planning to attack a prison to facilitate a jail break.
Iran’s president-elect praises ties with Russia
AP: Iran’s president-elect says Tehran’s relations with Russia will take high importance during his term in office. The statement carried late Monday on the official website of Hasan Rouhani is the first to a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
