AFP: Direct peace talks between Israel and Palestinians will fail as long as the “root” of the problem remained, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday.
Mideast talks will fail: Iran
Residents in western Iran city snub officials’ request for cash
Iran Focus: Tehran, Aug. 23 – From the Grapevine… Officials in the western city of Aligoodarz are taking boxes, marked with “contribution”, to people’s homes and collecting them at the end of each month.
Ahmadinejad names controversial aide Mideast envoy
Reuters: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has defied calls to fire one of his closest aides and appointed him envoy to the Middle East instead, suggesting that for now he may have the upper hand over his critics.
US concerned about Iran’s assault boats, drone
AFP: The United States said Monday that Iran’s unveiling of new assault boats and an aerial drone highlights US concerns about the Islamic republic’s growing military capabilities.
Iran to raise baby girls as Basij members
RFE/RL: A female commander of the pro-government Basij militia, Zohreh Abbasi, has said that her unit has introduced a special program that allows baby girls to be registered as members of the force and receive training.
Iran launches assault boats with warning
AFP: Iran kicked off mass production of two high-speed missile-launching assault boats on Monday, warning its enemies not to “play with fire” as it boosts security along its coastline.
Iran says Turkey may help build petrochemical units
Bloomberg: Turkey and Iran may jointly build two petrochemical units, state-run Press TV news channel reported, citing Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister.
Turkey to remove Iran from enemies watchlist
AFP: Turkey is to remove Iran from a watchlist of nations it considers a specific threat to its national security, a news report said Monday, amid Western concerns of rapprochement between the two countries.
Oriflame workers detained in Iran as operations shut
BBC: Iranian authorities have closed the Tehran operations of Oriflame Cosmetics and detained five workers, the Swedish firm has said.
Kuwait monitors pro-Iran sleeping cells: report
AFP: Kuwait is closely monitoring “sleeping terror cells” that would resort to violence if Iran came under a military strike, a newspaper quoted a security source as saying on Sunday.
