AP: Iran’s foreign minister says authorities have detained a veteran Iranian diplomat, but describes the incident as a potential “misunderstanding.” No other details were given in Thursday’s report by the semi-official ISNA news agency.
Iran detains senior diplomat for unknown reasons
US reconsidering whether to arm Syria rebels
AFP: The United States said Thursday it was taking a fresh look at whether to arm Syria’s rebels as the Damascus regime pressed an assault on opposition forces in the embattled city of Homs.
EU’s Ashton to meet Iran’s nuclear negotiator on May 15
Reuters: Negotiators from the European Union and Iran will meet in Istanbul this month to discuss future diplomatic efforts to resolve a decade-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Kenya court: 2 Iranians guilty of terror plot
AP: A Kenyan court has found two Iranian nationals guilty of planning to attack Western targets in Kenya. Magistrate Kaire Waweru Kiare said Thursday the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt all counts against the two.
Iran’s foreign minister fuels war of words over Syria
The Guardian: By describing the use of chemical weapons in Syria as a “red line”, Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, has added fuel to the war of words over the increasingly nasty war on the ground.
Syrian forces ‘tighten noose on Homs rebels’
AFP: “The Syrian army, supported by back-up forces and expert officers from Iran and Hezbollah, has taken control of large parts of the Wadi al-Sayeh district” in the centre of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human rights watchdog said.
Turkcell dismisses suit against MTN over Iran license
Bloomberg: Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (TCELL) withdrew a lawsuit against MTN Group Ltd. (MTN) over bribes MTN allegedly paid to get an Iranian mobile-phone license, citing a Supreme Court decision that bars such cases in the U.S.
Forgotten children – human trafficking & child labor in Iran
Near East Observatory: There are many pressing humanitarian issues in the Middle East, but one that is often overlooked and under reported is the issue of child labor.
What could U.N. sleuths unearth at Iran’s Parchin base?
Reuters: The self-styled “Sherlock Holmeses” of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, now seeking access to a major Iranian base, say they have the capability to find tiny traces of atomic material at a site even if a country were to try to cover it up.
Ignoring al-Qaeda, Iran links ‘extraordinarily foolish’
CBC News: Given the ideological differences between the Sunni militant group al-Qaeda and the theocratic Shia government in Iran, recent allegations that the two groups had conspired in a foiled attack in Canada struck many observers as odd.
