AFP: The United States has warned Beijing over reported use of Chinese weapons by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the Asian giant's continued sale of arms to Iran, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said.
US warns China over weapon links in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan
Obama says Bush policies strengthened Iran and Hamas
Reuters: Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama said on Friday President George W. Bush's "failed policies" had strengthened U.S. enemies like Iran and Hamas.
Iraq finds its Arab neighbors are reluctant to offer embrace
Washington Post: When Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal greeted his Iraqi counterpart with a bear hug at a Persian Gulf conference last month, Bush administration officials watching from the sidelines were all smiles. After years of trying to bring their client state and the Arab giant together, it looked like things were finally starting to click.
Don’t enable Iran’s offenses
San Jose Mercury News – By Bob Filner and Lord Corbett: Peace movements always struggle with the balancing act of wanting to engage enemies without appeasing them. Peace activists don't want war, but they also recognize that peace at any price can be costly. In the case of Iran, these choices are becoming painful and difficult.
US seeks to pressure Iran, not give incentives: Pentagon
AFP: The United States is not trying to create incentives to bring Iran to the negotiating table but rather is seeking ways to intensify pressure to force it to change its ways, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Iran condemns EU for anti-Ahmadinejad stance
Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, May 15 – Iran criticised the European Union over a statement it issued condemning comments made by Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against the state of Israel, state media reported on Wednesday.
Bush sees talks with Ahmadinejad as “appeasement”
Reuters: U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday decried his critics' calls for negotiations with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as comparable to the "appeasement" of Adolf Hitler before World War Two.
Iran’s central bank chief at odds with Ahmadinejad
AFP: The head of Iran's central bank is at loggerheads with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over interest rates, the local press reported on Thursday, the latest criticism of his economic policies.
Iran calls UN sanctions illegal, offers a proposal for talks
AP: Iran's new offer for international talks touches on a broad range of topics, but fails to address U.N. Security Council calls for Tehran to give up uranium enrichment, according to a copy of the offer obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
Gunmen wound 3 Iranian embassy staff in Baghdad
Reuters: Gunmen opened fire on a car carrying three Iranian embassy staff in Baghdad on Thursday, wounding them and their Iraqi driver, a spokesman for the Iranian embassy said.
