Iran Focus: London, Aug. 10 Two members of Irans main opposition group have been kidnapped in Baghdad by Iraqi security forces, the Associated Press reported from Baghdad on Monday. The Peoples Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, or Mujahedeen Khalq (MeK), identified the two as Hossein Pouyan and Mohammad-Ali Zahedi and said they were abducted by Iraqs Interior Ministry Special Forces on …
Abduction of Iran dissidents in Iraq may signal new policy
Abduction of Iran dissidents in Iraq may signal new policy experts
Iran Focus: London, Aug. 10 Two members of Irans main opposition group have been kidnapped in Baghdad by Iraqi security forces, the Associated Press reported from Baghdad on Monday. The Peoples Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, or Mujahedeen Khalq (MeK), identified the two as Hossein Pouyan and Mohammad-Ali Zahedi and said they were abducted by Iraqs Interior Ministry Special Forces on …
Dozens missing in Iran flooding
BBC: At least 10 people have drowned and dozens are missing in north-east Iran after heavy rain caused flash floods.
An official in Golestan province says floods overnight on Tuesday were worse than those which had swept through the area a few days before.
UN watchdog cancels meeting to allow more talks on Iran
AFP: The UN atomic agency has cancelled a planned formal meeting Wednesday on Iran’s nuclear program because diplomats remain locked in closed-door talks on an EU proposal to stop fuel cycle work, a spokesman here said. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-nation board of governors is expected to meet again on Thursday.
Iran breaks U.N. seals at Isfahan plant-IAEA
Reuters: Iran began breaking U.N. seals at a uranium processing plant on Wednesday, the IAEA said. “They have begun breaking the seals,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said. “They are going to break all the seals and begin operating the plant in full.”
Three drug traffickers hanged in Iran: report
AFP: Three Iranian men convicted of drug trafficking have been hanged in the western city of Hamedan, the Etemad daily reported Wednesday. The men only identified as Hamid Reza, Nosratollah and Reza were hanged Tuesday by the Hamedan revolutionary court for possession and sale of more than 10 kilos (22 pounds) of opium and heroin, the report said without specifying whether the hangings took place in public.
Iran’s disturbing return to uranium enrichment
The Globe and Mail – Editorial: Iran’s defiance is even beginning to frustrate its nuclear ally, Russia. That may be a good thing. Moscow’s intervention may help resolve the latest standoff between Tehran and the European Union over Iran’s nuclear activities, which Washington and others worry are intended to produce weapons-grade uranium. They have ample reason to fret.
Iranian stalemate
The Baltimore Sun – Opinion: THE TIME for diplomacy with Tehran may be over. Iran has flatly rejected an offer from European negotiators to ensure a steady supply of nuclear energy to meet its civilian needs and head off development of new nuclear weapons. Despite the claims of its new president, Iran can’t be truly interested in continued bargaining – not unless some international pressure can be brought to bear.
UN nuclear watchdog debates sanctions as row with Iran deepens
Daily Telegraph: The diplomatic storm surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme intensified yesterday as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog held an emergency meeting to discuss sanctions against Teheran. There were also credible but unconfirmed reports that Iran had resumed the manufacture of centrifuges, used in producing weapons-grade uranium, despite an earlier promise to stop.
Iran and EU in nuclear impasse
The Guardian: Iran came under concerted international pressure yesterday to back off from a confrontation with the west over its nuclear programmes as Europe’s main powers sought to salvage an ambitious mediation effort.
An emergency meeting of the 35-strong board of the UN nuclear authority, the International Atomic Energy Agency, convened in Vienna to try to plot a path out of a dangerous impasse.
