Reuters: ZTE Corp, China’s second-largest telecoms equipment maker, has essentially stopped doing business in Iran after a U.S. investigation into alleged sales of embargoed equipment, the company’s chairman told Reuters on Thursday.
China’s ZTE says it basically dropped Iran business
Kerry blames Iran for attack on Iraq camp
AFP: US Secretary of State John Kerry blamed the Iranian government for a deadly attack on an opposition camp in Iraq, and voiced fears of another assault.
Iraq executes 21 men convicted of terrorism
AP: Iraq has executed 21 prisoners convicted on terrorism charges and links to al-Qaida, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday, setting off fresh criticism from a human rights expert over Baghdad’s insistence on enforcing capital punishment.
US working to free Americans held in Cuba, Iran
AFP: Washington is seeking to free two US citizens held in Cuba and Iran, but has rejected a deal with Havana to swap a jailed American for five Cuban spies, top diplomat John Kerry said Wednesday.
Diplomats: Iran ups nuke technology
AP: Technicians upgrading Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility have tripled their installations of high-tech machines that could be used in a nuclear weapons program to more than 600 in the last three months, diplomats said Wednesday.
Sanctions cause problems, do not halt progress: Ahmadinejad
AFP: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that international sanctions imposed over his country’s nuclear drive had caused “problems”, but insisted they had not stopped progress.
OPEC may cut supply to hold budgets at $99 Oil: Apicorp
Bloomberg: OPEC will probably cut output if Brent prices keep trading below $100 a barrel because that’s less than what many member countries need to balance their budgets, an inter-governmental Arab energy lender said.
Iran condemns the Boston bombing, with a caveat
Washington Post: Iran’s foreign ministry has issued a statement condemning the attack at the Boston marathon and expressing sympathy for the victims. But the statement, made by spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast, also used the bombing to reiterate a political point that Iran has been making to the U.S. for months.
Iran readies for this week’s oil exhibition
UPI: An oil exhibition in Iran is a chance to show that sanctions do little to displace the country as a world leader, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said.
A third way to address the Iranian threat
Wall Street Journal: With an Iranian presidential election coming in June, President Obama may be presented with a second chance to get his policy right.
