AFP: The United States on Wednesday tightened sanctions on Iran to further choke off its oil income, saying it was necessary to increase pressure on Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.
US expands sanctions on Iran to press nuclear case
Iran releases Ahmadinejad ally linked to deaths
AP: Iran’s official news agency is reporting that authorities have released a close ally of the president from custody, a day after he was arrested over an alleged role in the torture and killing of prisoners.
Bulgaria blames Hezbollah for deadly anti-Israeli bomb
AFP: Bulgaria has blamed Hezbollah for a July 2012 bomb attack that killed five Israeli tourists, leading to renewed calls on the EU to declare the Lebanese movement a “terrorist” organisation.
Egypt’s top cleric scolds Ahmadinejad over interference
AFP: Egypt’s top cleric has told visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to interfere in the affairs of Bahrain or other Gulf states, and to uphold the rights of his country’s Sunni minority.
Iran faces oil-cash squeeze as U.S. bolsters sanctions
Bloomberg: Iran faces a fresh obstacle to turning its most lucrative export into cash as the U.S. tightens sanctions this week to keep importers from paying for the oil with dollars and euros.
Analysis: Diplomatic window closing on Iran
AP) — Judging by its expanding nuclear program, harsh sanctions against Iran have done little but impose hardship on its people, while diplomacy has also failed to slow the Islamic Republic’s atomic progress.
Iranian ex-prosecutor arrested as power struggle flares
Reuters: A former Iranian prosecutor linked to the deaths of anti-government protesters was arrested on Tuesday as a public showdown between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his big political rival, Ali Larijani, gathers pace.
Ahmadinejad in Cairo at start of historic Egypt visit
AFP: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, marking the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, Egyptian television footage showed.
US: Bulgaria likely to link Hezbollah to bus bomb
AP: U.S. officials are expecting Bulgarian investigators to link the militant group Hezbollah to a bomb attack last year that killed five Israeli tourists in the coastal city of Burgas.
Analysis: Diplomatic window closing on Iran
AP: Judging by its expanding nuclear program, harsh sanctions against Iran have done little but impose hardship on its people, while diplomacy has also failed to slow the Islamic Republic’s atomic progress.
