Iran Focus: Tehran, May 15 – From the Grapevine… Brig. Gen. Nematollah Hakim is a veteran commander of the Revolutionary Guard. He is also in the inner circle of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad loyalists.
Top General fears Iranian Kurdistan may be lost to the masses
No fraud in Baghdad recount: Iraq election commission
AFP: A recount of votes in Baghdad yielded no evidence of fraud, Iraq’s election commission said on Friday, more than two months after March elections from which no new government has yet emerged.
No ‘serious response’ from Iran without sanctions: US
AFP: The United States does not expect Iran to provide any “serious response” to concerns about its nuclear program until the United Nations acts on sanctions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday.
Russia says Lula has poor chance of success in Iran
Reuters: Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev on Friday said the Brazilian president was unlikely to succeed in his last ditch attempt to prevent further sanctions against Iran by mediating with the Islamic Republic.
Iran frees Iraqi soldier in border incident
Reuters: Iran released an Iraqi border patrol officer Friday after he was detained briefly when Iraqi border guards were mistaken for Kurdish rebels on a northern stretch of the two countries’ border, an official said.
Iranian cleric defends earthquake-promiscuity link
AP: A prominent hard-line Iranian cleric elaborated on his claim that promiscuity and immodest dress cause earthquakes, saying Friday that God may be holding off on natural disasters in the West in order to let people sin more and doom themselves to hell.
Diplomats say Iran expands enrichment facility
AP: Iran has set up new equipment that could let it produce more enriched uranium from a smaller amount of raw material, diplomats said Friday.
Hague slams Iran ahead of US trip
AFP: Newly appointed Foreign Secretary William Hague has criticised Iran’s nuclear programme ahead of his first visit to Washington on Friday
Despite political uncertainties in Iraq, U.S. sticking with drawdown plan
Washington Post: The U.S. military is on track to draw down to 50,000 troops in Iraq by the end of the summer, but it now faces the long-dreaded prospect that its exit could coincide with a power vacuum similar to the one that drove the country to civil war in 2006.
Iran seen improving higher atom enrichment: diplomats
Reuters: Iran has been setting up extra equipment which could improve the way it enriches uranium to higher levels, diplomats said, a move which shows Tehran seeking to enhance its atomic work as big powers discuss new sanctions.
