AFP: Iran will target NATO’s missile shield in neighbouring Turkey if it is threatened by military action, the commander of the aerospace division of the Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday.
We’ll hit NATO shield in Turkey if threatened: Iran
Mysterious explosions pose dilemma for Iranian leaders
Washington Post: A massive blast at a missile base operated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps nearly two weeks ago was the latest in a series of mysterious incidents involving explosions at natural gas transport facilities, oil refineries and military bases — blasts that have caused dozens of deaths and damage to key infrastructure in the past two years.
Analysis – EU may believe it can afford to ban Iran’s oil
Reuters: Europe is edging towards an Iranian oil embargo despite worries a ban would hit enfeebled euro zone members hardest, propel global crude prices higher and only hurt Iran by obliging it to rely on China to buy more crude at discounted prices.
US Treasury to brief UAE, Israel on Iran pressure
Reuters: The U.S. Treasury will send its top national security official to the United Arab Emirates and Israel this weekend to brief government officials on new U.S. actions to increase financial pressure on Iran.
EU looks at banning Iranian oil
Wall Street Journal: European Union officials will weigh next week a French-led effort to ban Iranian oil imports in what would mark an unprecedented step against the world’s third-largest oil exporter over its alleged nuclear-bomb program.
Iran denies purchasing Syrian crude-report
Reuters: Iran denied on Friday reports that the Islamic state had purchased crude from sanctions-hit ally Syria, the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted a senior oil official as saying.
UK says considering fresh sanctions on Iran
Reuters: Britain expects to announce sanctions on further Iranian “entities and individuals” at a European Union foreign ministers’ meeting on Dec. 1, the Foreign Office said.
Italy oil sector fears inevitable ban on Iran crude
Reuters: Italian sanctions prohibiting imports of crude oil from Iran are inevitable and will come at a cost to the region’s oil companies, the director of Italy’s oil industry body said.
French slip on solo Iran oil ban puts spotlight on EU
Reuters: A slip by a French government official on Thursday, mistakenly suggesting Paris was about to unilaterally ban Iranian oil imports, has raised expectations that European Union countries could consider a boycott of the OPEC producer’s oil sales to step up the pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme.
U.N. atomic chief boosts efforts to inspect Iran
Wall Street Journal: The United Nations’ nuclear chief, Yukiya Amano, is stepping up efforts to gain access to Iranian scientists, secret documents and military sites, even as Tehran unleashes new attacks against his credibility and mandate.
