AP: Iran’s newly appointed deputy foreign minister has resigned under pressure from hard-liners who view him as part of a movement seeking to weaken the role of Iran’s powerful Muslim clerics, media reports said Tuesday.
Iran deputy foreign minister resigns amid pressure
Iraqi opposition leader denounces Iranian meddling – text of remarks
Iran Focus: London, Jun. 21 – Iyad Allawi, a former Iraqi Prime Minister and the de-facto leader of the opposition movement to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, recently launched a stunning televised attack on Maliki accusing him of running a new dictatorship in Iraq and owing his Premiership to Iran’s theocratic rulers.
Iran imports gasoline from Asia-Pacific region, oil daily says
Bloomberg: Iran is importing about 200,000 metric tons a month of gasoline, mostly from the Asia-Pacific region, amid U.S. sanctions, the International Oil Daily reported, citing unidentified shipping sources in the Persian Gulf area.
Iranian company charged with tricking U.S. banks
New York Times: An Iranian government-owned shipping line that the United States believes is integral to Iran’s efforts to obtain banned technology for its nuclear and missile programs has illegally funneled tens of millions of dollars in financial transactions through the American banking system over the past three years, evading sanctions by cloaking itself in corporate alter egos and falsifying records, according to an indictment that the Manhattan district attorney plans to unseal on Monday.
Iranians rally in support of opposition group
Iran Focus: Villepinte, France, Jun. 19 – Tens of thousands of Iranians rallied north of Paris on Saturday calling on the United Nations to protect members of Iran’s main opposition group in Iraq.
Lawmakers want U.N. rights auditor barred from Iran
Reuters: Iranian lawmakers urged the government on Sunday to prevent a U.N. investigator from coming to the country to look into allegations of human rights abuses.
Iran nuclear plant link-up to grid in August: report
AFP: Iran’s first nuclear power plant, built by Russia, is to be connected to the national grid in early August, the Iranian ambassador to Moscow, Reza Sajjadi, said in media reports on Sunday.
Iran plane makes Tehran emergency landing on foam
AFP: An Iranian Mahan Air plane made an emergency landing on foam at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport due to faulty landing gear, without causing any casualties, Mehr news agency said on Sunday.
Gates: Iran supplying arms to Iraqi Shiite groups
AP: Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Shiite extremists, not al-Qaida terrorists, are to blame for most of the recent U.S. military deaths in Iraq, and they’re “clearly getting some fairly sophisticated and powerful weapons” from Iran.
Iran FM threatened with impeachment
AFP: A number of Iranian MPs threatened on Sunday to impeach Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi for appointing an aide to the president’s underfire chief of staff as one of his deputies.
