AFP: The United States warned Iran Thursday that the installation of next-generation centrifuges at one of its main nuclear plants, as reported by the UN atomic agency, would be a “provocative step.”
US says new Iran centrifuges would be ‘provocative’
Iran installing new nuclear equipment: IAEA
AFP: Iran has begun installing next-generation equipment at one of its main nuclear plants, a new IAEA report said Thursday, drawing condemnation from the United States, Britain and Israel five days before Iranian talks with world powers.
Iran plans to build oil refinery in Pakistan
AP: An Iranian semi-official news agency says Iran is planning to build an oil refinery in Pakistan. The plan is part of Iran’s effort to decrease international pressure on its oil industry, which has been target of international sanctions over the country’s disputed nuclear program.
Iran imports luxury cars by way of disputed island
AP: An Iranian newspaper says at least 500 Porsche cars have been imported by way of a Persian Gulf island that is also claimed by the United Arab Emirates.
Lawmakers target ECB to stop Iran from using euros
Reuters: U.S. lawmakers are crafting a bill designed to stop the European Central Bank from handling business from the Iranian government, a congressional aide said on Thursday, an attempt to keep Tehran from using euros to develop its nuclear program.
A call for Iranian dissidents to be returned to Camp Ashraf
UPI: The Friends of a Free Iran intergroup in the European Parliament, which enjoys the active support of more than over 200 members of parliament from different political groups, had an urgent news conference highlighting the recent rocket attack on Iranian dissidents in Camp Liberty in Iraq.
Analysis: Power struggle, not nuclear deal, priority for Iranian elite
Reuters: Preoccupied with an intensifying domestic power struggle, Iran is unlikely to agree with world powers next week on ways out of a nuclear dispute: Surviving a turbulent period of pre-electoral infighting will be the priority for its faction-ridden elite.
U.N. report may show slower growth in Iran nuclear stockpile
Reuters: A U.N. nuclear watchdog report due this week is expected to show that growth of Iran’s stockpile of higher-grade enriched uranium has slowed as it is using some of the material to make reactor fuel, diplomats said on Wednesday.
Rafsanjani criticizes Iran’s ‘imaginary’ economic data
Bloomberg: Iran’s former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani criticized Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s policies and his government’s “imaginary” economic indicators, the Donya-e- Eqtesad newspaper reported.
Iran’s skepticism of foreign media
Washington Post: Three weeks after authorities here arrested several Iranian journalists, saying they had been illegally working for foreign media without government permission, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence issued a statement saying three of the journalists had been freed on bail.
