AFP: The US Senate is urging Iran to free jailed leaders of the Bahai faith and recommending sanctions against officials in the Islamic Republic over treatment of the religion’s followers.
US Senate urges Iran to free Bahai leaders
U.S. stymies Iran bid to snatch Iraqi oil
UPI: The U.S. government is reportedly blocking Iranian moves to siphon oil from disputed oil fields on the border with Iraq to get around tightening international sanctions that threaten its energy industry, Iran’s economic backbone.
U.S. ambassador urges Turkey to reduce Iran oil imports, HT says
Bloomberg: The Obama administration expects Turkey to reduce its imports of Iranian oil, Francis Riccardione, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, was quoted as saying by Haberturk newspaper.
India and China skirt Iran sanctions with ‘junk for oil’
Bloomberg: Iran and its leading oil buyers, China and India, are finding ways to skirt U.S. and European Union financial sanctions on the Islamic republic by agreeing to trade oil for local currencies and goods including wheat, soybean meal and consumer products.
Japan crude imports from Iran fall 32.7% in Feb
Reuters: Japan’s crude oil imports from Iran fell 32.7 percent in February from a year earlier to 1.41 million kilolitres (305,800 barrels per day), data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed on Friday.
Baghdad Arab summit spotlights fault lines
UPI: The Arab League summit that began Thursday in Baghdad has illuminated the political and religious divisions splitting with Arab world, while powerful eastern non-Arab neighbor Iran looks on and tries to pull Iraq’s strings.
Obama likely to find oil market can handle Iran sanctions
Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to determine by Friday that there will be enough oil in the world market to allow countries to cut imports from Iran, taking another step toward sanctioning those nations that do not, analysts and a congressional aide said.
Iran, Turkey sharply differ on Syria
AP: Iranian and Turkish leaders exchanged sharply opposing views Thursday as they discussed how to deal with the crisis in Syria.
Reuters says Iran suspends staffers’ accreditation
AP: Reuters says the Iranian government has suspended media accreditation for its staff in Tehran after the news agency published a video on women’s martial-arts training that contained an error.
U.S. moving minesweepers to waters near Iran
CNN: Four Navy minesweepers will be on their way to the Persian Gulf within weeks as part of an effort to boost American military capability in the region amid rising tensions with Iran, a Navy official says.
