Reuters: A top U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday that he was skeptical that Iran could find an alternative payment system to its central bank, which is the target of U.S. sanctions aimed at depriving Tehran of funds needed to develop its nuclear program.
US official doubts Iran can find alternative to cenbank
London troubled by Iranian rights record
UPI: A nine-year prison sentence for an Iranian human rights lawyer is a sign the government is consistently repressing its people, a British official said.
EU to review Iran oil embargo, shipping insurance ban in June – diplomats
Wall Street Journal: The European Union will carry out its planned review of its oil embargo on Iran in June, EU diplomats said Thursday.
Iran finds ‘vast’ crude oil reserves in Caspian Sea, Mehr says
Bloomberg: Iran discovered “vast” crude oil reserves in the Caspian Sea, the state-run Mehr news agency reported, without citing anyone.
Essar refinery in India makes preliminary booking of Iran crude
Bloomberg: Essar Oil Ltd. (ESOIL), the operator of India’s second-largest non-state refinery, provisionally hired a crude tanker to load from the Iranian port of Kharg Island, shipping data show.
Lawyer who defends Iran activists jailed
UPI: Iranian lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, who has defended political and human rights activists condemned to death, has himself been sentenced to nine years behind bars amid a crackdown on dissent that has resulted in a sharp increase in executions.
Iran may be ‘cleansing’ suspected nuclear site, analysis says
Los Angeles Times: A flurry of recent activity at an Iranian military compound, spotted on commercial satellite photos, has raised concern that Iran may be “cleansing” a building before nuclear inspectors can examine it
Iran spells out green energy agenda
UPI: Tehran announced it set aside an estimated $650 million from a national development fund to help finance renewable energy projects.
EU’s Ashton discusses Iran talks with Israel PM
AFP: EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming nuclear talks between world powers and Iran, an Israeli official told AFP.
India, Iran sign trade deals
Wall Street Journal: An Iranian trade delegation to India has sealed deals to buy shipments of rice, sugar and soybean from the South Asian country, as part of a plan for Tehran to use such pacts to get around U.S. financial sanctions on its oil shipments.
