AFP: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday reiterated Iran’s staunch support for Damascus, insisting that a rebel victory in Syria would threaten the entire region, his office’s website said.
Iran says Syria rebel victory would threaten region
McCain calls on Obama to arm Syrian rebels
UPI: Sen. John McCain criticized U.S. President Barack Obama’s policy on Syria, saying his “red lines” on chemical weapons gave a green light for other violence.
Is Iran trying to set up a new arms smuggling route to Gaza from Sudan?
The Telegraph: Following this week’s revelation by Canadian officials that two suspects detained over a plot to blow up a passenger train had links to an al-Qaeda cell based in Iran, I now gather that the Islamic Republic is trying to link up with another radical Sunni Muslim group – the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza.
Iranian sanctions and potential impact on oil market
Arab News: With an expected drop in demand for oil this year and increase in non-OPEC supplies, the oil market is waiting anxiously to see how US-led Western sanctions against Iran will unfold after they complete full year in effect.
Egypt delegation talks Syria with Iranian leaders
AP: Iran’s state TV is reporting an Egyptian presidential delegation has discussed the Syrian crisis with the leaders of Iran, the key regional ally of Syria’s President Bashar Assad.
Iran and al-Qaeda: a ‘joke’ with a nasty punchline
The Telegraph: When Canadian officials revealed that an al-Qaeda terror cell caught planning to blow up a passenger train was acting on the orders of comrades based in Iran, the allegation was enough to give the Iranian foreign minister a fit of the giggles.
Iranian scientist returns after release from US
AP: An Iranian scientist held by the U.S. since late 2011 has returned to Iran. The scientist, Mojtaba Atarodi said U.S. authorities had treated him “generally well.”
Will Iran’s national internet mean no world wide web?
BBC: Eight years ago, when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad first took office, the Iranian government announced plans to develop a national internet network.
EIA: Sanctions cut Iran’s 2012 oil exports to lowest level since 1986
Wall Street Journal: Global sanctions cut Iran’s crude oil exports by 39% in 2012, to 1.5 million barrels a day, the lowest level since 1986, during the Iran-Iraq war, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Friday.
Family of jailed Marine in Iran seeks Kerry’s help
AP: The family of an ex-Marine detained in Iran wants Secretary of State John Kerry to step in and demand his release.
