Iran Focus: London, Feb. 08 The international human rights group Amnesty International warned on Thursday that two sisters, Zohreh and Azar Kabiri-niat, were facing execution by stoning in Iran for adultery.
Amnesty: Two sisters to be stoned to death in Iran
Iran is reported to test new centrifuges to make atomic fuel
New York Times: Iran has reportedly begun to deploy a new generation of machinery to produce nuclear fuel, a development bound to intensify a debate in Washington about whether a recent National Intelligence Estimate accurately portrayed Tehrans progress toward the ability to build a nuclear weapon.
Iranian nuclear rewrite
Wall Street Journal – REVIEW & OUTLOOK: Give Admiral Michael McConnell credit for trying to walk back the cat. Questioned this week by the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Director of National Intelligence defended the “integrity and the professionalism” of the process that produced last December’s stunning National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran’s nuclear program. Yet his testimony amounts to a reversal of the previous judgment.
Iran bans thousands of election hopefuls
Daily Telegraph: Iran’s regime was yesterday accused of trying to secure an “obedient parliament” after almost a third of the potential candidates in next month’s general election were banned from standing.
US sees attacks by Iranian-backed groups up in Iraq
Reuters: Attacks by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq have increased in recent months, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, casting doubt on the view Iran might have reduced its support for violence in the war.
France says Iranian “rocket” cannot work in space
Reuters: France said on Thursday an Iranian rocket Tehran says is intended to put a satellite into orbit is in fact a missile that cannot navigate in space, and added to concerns that the technology is aimed at making weapons.
Experts: Iran has faster centrifuges
AP: Iran has developed its own version of an advanced centrifuge that churns out fissile material much faster than other machines and has started testing them, diplomats and experts said Thursday.
Lebanon’s Hariri blasts Syria and Iran, calls for mass rally
AFP: Majority leader Saad Hariri blasted Syria and Iran on Thursday for interfering in Lebanese politics and urged a massive turnout for a rally on the third anniversary of his father’s assassination.
Lebanon in confrontation with Syria,Iran -Hariri
Reuters: The leader of Lebanon’s pro-Western majority in parliament said on Thursday the country was in direct confrontation with Syria and Iran, which back the Hezbollah opposition group in its conflict with the Beirut government.
Iran: Scores of young Kurds arrested
AKI: Two Kurdish students have been arrested in Iran for unknown reasons, increasing the number of arrested Kurdish students to 11.
