Dow Jones: The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Wednesday the 27-nation bloc will continue its twin-track approach of engaging with Iran while also stepping up pressure over the country’s nuclear issue.
EU’s Ashton: EU to continue twin-track approach to Iran
Iran aims to get to brink of nuclear arms: U.S. aide
Reuters: The United States believes Iran intends to get to the brink of a nuclear arms capability so it could make them if it wished, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.
Britain slams Iran over Taliban weapons
AFP: Foreign Secretary William Hague on Wednesday condemned Tehran’s “completely unacceptable” actions after British special forces seized Iranian weapons heading to the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Iran, Syria will set up joint bank in ‘months’, Arman reports
Bloomberg: Iran and Syria will set up a joint bank in the coming months, Arman reported, citing Iranian economy and finance minister, Shamseddin Hosseini.
Key Iranian body replaces critical cleric; women demonstrate
Washington Post: Former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani withdrew his candidacy Tuesday for reelection as chairman of a key clerical council that holds power over Iran’s supreme leader, state media reported.
World powers press Iran to cooperate with IAEA
AFP: World powers urged Iran to cooperate with the UN atomic watchdog at a meeting here Wednesday, where Tehran once again found itself in the hot seat over its controversial nuclear drive.
UN, US protection urged for Iranian exiles in Iraq
Reuters: The United Nations and the United States should take on protection of a community of Iranian exiles in Iraq that the Iraqi government wants dispersed, human rights advocates said on Wednesday.
Intel official: Iran sends Taliban deadly rockets
AP: An international intelligence official says that NATO forces have seized the most powerful Iranian-made rockets ever smuggled into Afghanistan for the Taliban’s upcoming spring campaign.
Iran opposes long-term US presence in Afghanistan
AFP: Iran’s interior minister spoke out against a long-term US military presence in Afghanistan Tuesday, as the American Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited his country’s troops in the warring country.
US warns Zimbabwe over Iran nuke cooperation
AP: The Obama administration is warning Zimbabwe that it could face penalties if it cooperates with Iran’s nuclear program in violation of U.N. resolutions.
