AFP: Iran claimed to have the largest oil refinery in the Middle East after the inauguration on Saturday of an expansion to an existing facility by Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi, media reports said.
Iran ‘has Mideast’s biggest oil refinery’
Russia’s Lavrov against further Iran sanctions
AP: Russia’s foreign minister is indicating that he opposes slapping more international sanctions on Iran in the standoff over its nuclear program.
Iran’s FM too busy to attend security conference
AP: Iran’s foreign minister and nuclear chief says he is too busy to attend an international security conference where his country’s suspected nuclear weapons ambitions featured prominently in the past.
Ahmadinejad chides parliament for sacking minister
Reuters: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hit back at Iran’s parliament on Saturday for sacking one of his most loyal ministers, branding the impeachment unlawful and calling the competence of the legislature into question.
US hikers’ lawyer ‘denied access’ before Iran trial
AFP: An Iranian lawyer representing three US hikers held by Tehran on charges of spying said on Saturday he has been denied access to the two who remain in custody, on the eve of the start of their trial.
White House slams Iran on Egypt comments
AFP: The White House Friday slammed Iran for intervening in the Egypt crisis, saying Tehran was in no position to make such “remarkable” comments after crushing its own uprising last year.
Concern over Iran nuclear programme
Press Association: The Government remains “gravely concerned” over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the Foreign Office has said.
Iranian airline forced to buy used Airbus jets for cash as sanctions bite
Bloomberg: Iran Aseman Airlines said it’s in negotiations to buy six used Airbus SAS A320 jetliners from an undisclosed seller to renew its fleet and improve safety in a country where sanctions prohibit the purchase of new aircraft.
Confusion over EU travel ban on Iranian minister
Reuters: EU member states failed to relax a travel ban on Iran’s foreign minister in time for him to attend this weekend’s Munich security conference, but plan further discussion on whether to let him visit the bloc in future, an EU official said Friday.
Arab uprisings sign of ‘Islamic awakening’: Khamenei
AFP: A wave of uprisings in Arab countries is a sign of an “Islamic awakening” which was envisaged when the 1979 Iranian revolution took place, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday.
