Reuters: Iran test-fired a new land-to-sea ballistic missile in the Gulf, a senior official said on Tuesday, days before an annual ceremony meant to showcase its military muscle at a time of rising tension with the West over its nuclear activity.
Iran says it test-fires new land-to-sea missile in Gulf
Iran’s cartoonists find new lines of expression
CNN: In 2003, former newspaper editor Ali Reza Eshraghi made a mistake that cost him his freedom: he published a cartoon. The sketch in question, a drawing from 1937 depicting U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt’s pressure on the U.S. Supreme Court.
A mysterious Iranian-run factory in Germany
Washington Post: For years, mystery surrounded an Iranian-controlled factory tucked away in this town of 70,000 in Germany’s industrial west. The plant manufactured high-pressure gas tanks, but its managers seemed uninterested in making a profit.
Kerry focuses on Iran, North Korea leaders
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in his campaign to stabilize North Asia and the Middle East, is wrestling to understand the strategic calculations of two obscure and autocratic men.
Dubai to curb reliance on Iranian condensate, ENOC’s CEO says
Bloomberg: Dubai’s state refining company, which buys most of its condensate from Iran, is seeking alternative sources of the fuel to curb imports from the Islamic republic and avoid running afoul of international sanctions.
Another reason for U.S. to act on Syria: Sending message to Iran
Los Angeles Times: Former Obama advisor Dennis Ross, added another: U.S. hesitance in Syria, he said, is sending the wrong message to the rulers of Iran, who are backing Assad’s regime.
Iran’s Ahmadinejad visits uranium-producing Niger
Reuters: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived on Monday in Niger, the world’s No. 4 uranium producer, where the French nuclear group Areva has seen its grip on the industry loosened by a government looking to diversify its partners.
Ahmadinejad says Iran does not need atomic bomb
AFP: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday defended his country’s controversial nuclear programme while on a tour of west Africa, calling it peaceful and arguing that Tehran has no use for an atomic bomb.
Iran begins registration for municipal elections
AP: Iran’s state radio says candidates can begin to register for municipal council elections scheduled for June. The councils have little power. But unlike in parliamentary and presidential contests, the candidates are not vetted by a clerically dominated constitutional watchdog.
South Korea’s imports of Iranian crude oil fall 17% in March
Bloomberg: South Korea, the world’s fifth- largest oil importer, reduced crude shipments from Iran by about 17 percent in March from a year earlier, customs data show.
