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.
Analysis: Power struggle, not nuclear deal, priority for Iranian 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.
Diplomats: Iran starts upgrade of nuclear site
AP: In a disheartening signal to world powers at upcoming Iran talks, Tehran has started installing high-tech machines at its main uranium enrichment site that are capable of accelerating production of reactor fuel and — with further upgrading — the core of nuclear warheads, diplomats said Wednesday.
Three Nigerians arrested for spying for Iran: police
AFP: Nigerian secret police on Wednesday paraded a 50-year-old Islamic cleric and two accomplices who they alleged were spying on prominent individuals and targets in the west African nation for Iran.
Major powers to make “substantial and serious offer” to Iran
Reuters: Major powers are ready to make “a substantial and serious offer” to Iran during talks next week in return for concessions on its nuclear program, a Western diplomat said on Wednesday.
Two charged in Germany over drone engines to Iran
AFP: Germany’s federal prosecutor said on Wednesday it had filed charges against two men over the alleged illegal export to Iran of dozens of aircraft engines for use in drones.
Iraq gives go-ahead for Iranian pipeline to Syria
AP: Iraq has approved the construction of a natural gas pipeline across its territory that will connect Iran to key ally Syria. The move likely to strengthen Tehran’s influence over its neighbors.
Tehran’s Azadi Tower, witness to history, victim of neglect
Reuters: Within days of the 2009 election that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to office, demonstrations engulfed Tehran and other Iranian cities, centered on the capital’s sprawling Azadi Square.
