Reuters: Iran, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, accused Qatar on Friday of “intensifying the bloodshed” in Syria and criticized it for enabling an opposition bloc to open its first embassy in Doha.
Iran criticizes Qatar for giving embassy to Syrian opposition
Iran, N. Korea, Syria block arms trade treaty
AFP: Iran, North Korea and Syria on Thursday held up agreement on the first global treaty on the $80 billion a year conventional arms trade.
Egypt says Iranians pose no risk
AP: Egypt’s tourism minister said Thursday that allowing Iranian tourists to visit Egypt after being banned for more than three decades would pose no threat and could help shore up the nation’s struggling tourism industry.
Ten years after Iraq war began, Iran reaps the gains
Los Angeles Times: Ten years after the U.S.-led invasion to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the geopolitical winner of the war appears to be their common enemy: Iran.
Iran summons Saudi envoy over spy ring claim
AP: Iran has summoned a Saudi envoy to protest the kingdom’s allegation that members of a spy ring arrested in the Arab country last week worked for Iranian intelligence.
Japan takes on more Iranian crude oil
UPI: Japan imported more crude oil from Iran in February than it did during the same period last year, the Japanese Ministry of Finance said.
China oil tanker seen at Iran port for first time since EU ban
Bloomberg: A Chinese supertanker able to haul 2 million barrels of crude sent a signal from Iran’s largest export terminal in what may be the first visit of its kind since a European ban on insuring shipments in July.
Focus on Syria and Iran instead
New York Times: Much of the news media coverage of President Obama’s Middle East trip focused on the quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace, the “Holy Grail” of recent American presidents. But that issue, though important, is simply not ripe for resolution.
Iran ordered to pay $40m for taking share of dairy
AP: A federal judge has ordered Iran to pay $40.55 million for confiscating an American company’s share in an Iranian dairy.
How Iran could get the bomb overnight
Wall Street Journal: The West has tried to stop Iran from manufacturing nuclear weapons by diplomacy, sanctions and cybersabotage, and with the threat of military action if Tehran crosses red lines in moving toward the final stages of making a bomb.
