Bloomberg: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran’s effort to develop nuclear weapons is in a “red zone,” and the U.S. must set a clear “red line” that Iran can’t cross without risking a military attack.
Netanyahu says Iran’s nuclear program is in a ‘red zone’
U.S. leads biggest Gulf mine exercise in signal to Iran
Bloomberg: The U.S. and 29 other nations have begun the biggest mine-clearing exercise in the Persian Gulf region, a show of force as tensions escalate over a threatened Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Last big group of Iranian exiles moves to Baghdad
AP: The last big batch of a group of controversial Iranian exiles in Iraq reluctantly left their decades-old home in northeast Iraq on Sunday and moved to a refugee camp outside Baghdad, taking what officials say is a necessary step towards resettling them in other nations.
Report: Iran adds to reward for Rushdie’s death
AP: Iranian newspapers are reporting that a religious foundation has increased a reward for killing British author Salman Rushdie to $3.3 million from $2.8 million in response to alleged insults to the Prophet Muhammad.
Why it matters: Iran
AP: Despite unprecedented global penalties, Iran’s nuclear program is advancing. The United States and other Western nations fear the Islamic republic is determined to develop nuclear weapons and fundamentally reshape the balance of power in the Middle East.
Iran says will hit Hormuz, US bases, Israel if attacked
AFP: The head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards on Sunday warned of retaliation against the Gulf’s strategic Strait of Hormuz, US bases in the Middle East and Israel if his country was to be attacked.
Iran admits its elite forces operating in Syria
AFP: Syrian troops on Sunday fought rebel fighters in the country’s two main cities Damascus and Aleppo, as Iran acknowledged for the first time it has elite forces present in Syria and Lebanon as “counsellors.”
Ban says Israel attack against Iran ‘unacceptable’
Bloomberg: An Israeli military offensive against Iran would be “unacceptable,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, expressing concern over the “fierce rhetoric” on the issue, Agence France-Presse reported.
Iran announces drone that flies 24 hours
UPI: Iran’s military announced in Tehran Sunday it has reached its goal of developing a drone aircraft that can fly for 24 hours and carry missiles.
Iran’s children look on and families cry for pardons at daily hangings
Observer: Hanging is the common method for execution in Iran. The judicial killings usually take place in the morning as the sun rises, often at the crime scene or in a city centre.
