Reuters: President Barack Obama said on Monday that Iran having a nuclear weapon would be a “real problem” but he did not think military action by Israel or the United States was the “ideal way” to solve the crisis.
Obama says military action against Iran not ideal
ANALYSIS-Iran’s Ahmadinejad ahead in political in-fighting
Reuters: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s list of enemies is long, spreading from his feud with the West to reformists at home to emerging rivals in his own hardline camp. But support from Iran’s strong Revolutionary Guards and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei still ensures him the upper hand.
Special report – Tracking Iran’s nuclear money trail to Turkey
Reuters: Turkey and other U.S. allies have been allowing Iranian banks with suspected links to Tehran’s nuclear program to do business within their borders, frustrating Western countries trying to put a financial squeeze on the Islamic Republic, Reuters has learned.
Iran says U.N. atom body in credibility crisis
Reuters: Iran said Monday that the U.N. nuclear watchdog was suffering a crisis of “moral authority and credibility,” underlining increasingly strained ties between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran feels pain of sanctions-U.S. Treasury’s Levey
Reuters: Iran is struggling with international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear ambitions and pressure on its economy and banking sector is mounting, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Monday.
An Iranian ransom
Wall Street Journal Europe – REVIEW & OUTLOOK EUROPE: For most Americans, the Iranian hostage crisis that began in 1979 and carried on for 444 days ended the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. For the families of Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and even Sarah Shourd, who on Tuesday was released from Iran on a $500,000 bail, that nightmare is far from over.
Allawi: “Maliki must understand … no one stays in power forever”
Asharq Al-Awsat: Dr. Iyad Allawi, leader of the Iraqiya Coalition and the first Prime Minister of the new Iraqi governmental era, after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, confirmed that it would be impossible to replace that dictatorial regime with another one. He added that his rival, outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, was wrong in his insistence to stay in power.
US woman who was held in Iran says she’s not a spy
AP: An American woman who was held in Iran for more than 13 months and accused of espionage said Sunday she and two men detained with her never spied or committed any crime, calling their arrest “a huge misunderstanding.”
Iran leader shrugs off effect of Western sanctions
AFP: Iran’s economy is feeling no ill effects from the toughest Western sanctions yet and is in fact benefiting from them, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told American television on Sunday.
Colin Powell says no Iran strike likely
AP: Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says neither the U.S. nor Israel is likely to launch a military strike on Iran anytime soon.
