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.
Lawyer who defends Iran activists jailed
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.
Hollande and Iran
New York Times: In the run-up to the French presidential election, the Iranian newspaper Tehran Emrooz wrote that “emphasis must be given to the advantages of a victory by François Hollande.”
U.S. institute says sees “new activity” at Iran site
Reuters: A U.S. security institute says commercial satellite imagery shows new activity at an Iranian military site which raises concern that the Islamic state may be “washing” a building the United Nations’ nuclear agency wants to inspect.
Biden pledges to prevent Iranian nuke ‘by whatever means necessary’
Los Angeles Times: Vice President Joe Biden, seeking to reaffirm the White House’s support for Israel and, in turn, its tough stance on Iran’s alleged efforts to gain nuclear weapons, promised economic sanctions would have an effect on the Iranian regime and predicted the current leadership’s fall within two years.
Boehner warns of Iranian threat to democracy in Americas
Bloomberg: Iran poses one of three major threats to democracy in Latin America, along with drug cartels and the danger of U.S. disengagement from the region, House Speaker John Boehner said.
UN inspector dies in Iran car crash: atomic agency
AFP: A UN nuclear inspector was killed and another injured in a car accident in central Iran on Tuesday, the country’s Atomic Energy Organisation said.
