Reuters: Iran declared a day of national mourning on Wednesday after the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who shared the Islamic Republic’s loathing for U.S. “imperialism”.
Family of ex-Marine held in Iran calls for mercy
AFP: The family of a former US Marine held for 555 days in Iran, mostly in solitary confinement, urged Iranian leaders on Tuesday to show mercy and free him, revealing his father is dying from cancer.
John Kerry concedes Iran is moving closer to possessing nuclear weapon
ABC: At the end of his first overseas trip as Secretary of State, John Kerry acknowledged that despite the continued diplomacy and tough sanctions being leveled against Iran, the regime continues to get closer to possessing a nuclear weapon.
MPs, lawyers call for relocation of Iranian dissidents
Scoop: Members of Parliament, women’s rights personalities and legal and religious professionals on Tuesday urged the Foreign Office to support a call on the United Nations to urgently relocate more than 3,000 Iranian dissidents from a prison camp – Camp Liberty – in Baghdad, following a deadly missile attack last month.
World powers ‘deeply concerned’ by Iran nuke upgrades
AFP: Six world powers holding talks with Iran on its nuclear programme said Tuesday at a meeting of the UN atomic agency that they were “deeply concerned” by Tehran’s recent atomic upgrades.
Top US commander: Iran sanctions not working
AP: The top U.S. commander in the Middle East says the current sanctions and diplomatic efforts to stop Iran from gaining nuclear capabilities are not working. He says Tehran has a history of denial and deceit and is enriching uranium beyond any plausible peaceful purpose.
Iran spurns UN call for Parchin visit
AFP: Iran on Tuesday spurned a request by the IAEA for access to a military base where Tehran allegedly conducted nuclear weapons research, saying the issue should be addressed in a wider agreement with the UN atomic agency.
Clock runs as Obama faces pressure for strike on Iran
Bloomberg: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said there remains “time and space” for diplomacy aimed at averting military action to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons power.
Iran assails Western criticism, defends nuke talks
AP: An Iranian spokesman on Tuesday said the country’s nuclear talks with world powers yielded “positive results” and assailed what he described as “negative” remarks by some Western officials following those negotiations.
Big powers want fast results in revived diplomacy with Iran
Reuters: Six world powers called on Tuesday for quick and concrete results in nuclear negotiations with Iran that have resumed after an eight-month hiatus, aimed at averting the threat of a new Middle East war.
