McClatchy Newspapers: Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Monday that the United States must be prepared to use military force to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon – and added that the last-resort step should be taken with the goal of overthrowing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
U.S. must consider military force against Iran, Sen. Graham says
Gulf states have ordered $123 billion of U.S. weaponry, FT says
Bloomberg: Arab states around the Persian Gulf have ordered U.S. weapons systems worth a total of $123 billion “to counter Iran’s military power,” the Financial Times reported.
Iran’s paramilitary force gets new missile
AP: Iran’s defense minister says the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard has received its first batch of new missiles with enhanced guidance systems to hit ground targets.
Lawmaker wary of China/Iran ties
Reuters: Wary that Chinese oil companies could be undermining new U.S. sanctions against Iran, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said he would push the Obama administration to investigate.
Iran’s parliament outlines policies to counter UN sanctions
Bloomberg: Iran’s parliament outlined policies aimed at countering United Nations sanctions over the country’s nuclear program, the head of the body’s economic committee said.
Turkey questions sanctions on Iran
Wall Street Journal: Turkey’s president questioned the effectiveness of sanctions as a tool to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and indicated his country’s relations with Israel won’t improve until the Jewish state apologizes for its deadly May raid on a flotilla trying to reach Gaza.
US presses China on Iran, NKorea sanctions
AP: The Obama administration is pushing China to implement international sanctions against Iran and North Korea as it seeks Chinese advice on how to engage the two countries over their nuclear programs.
Delhi’s Tehran conundrum
Wall Street Journal Europe: India is damned if it doesn’t enforce sanctions on Iran and disadvantaged if it does.
US dismisses Ahmadinejad prisoner swap
AFP: The United States on Monday dismissed a suggestion by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to free Iranians in exchange for two detained hikers as Washington drums up pressure on the Islamic republic.
Clinton did not ask for regime change in Iran: spokesman
AFP: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not call for regime change in Tehran when she asked at the weekend for “responsible” leaders to assert control in Iran, her spokesman said Monday.
