DPA: Iran and the European Union trio of Germany, Britain and France will meet on 10 April to resume negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, the deputy of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on Wednesday. Iran-EU nuclear talks have been pending since 23 March as both sides try to reach a consensus in the dispute over uranium enrichment.
Iran-EU nuclear talks to continue on 10 April
Iraqi border guards shut Iran border post
AFP: Iraqi border guards have temporarily shut one of the main frontier posts with Iran, blocking large numbers of pilgrims from entering the country ahead of a major Shiite Muslim holy day, press reports said Tuesday. According to the official news agency IRNA, the Shalamsheh crossing point — situated close to the southern Iraqi city of Basra — was closed on Monday, the eve of the end of mourning for the seventh-century martyrdom of Shiite Imam Hussein.
Robson not for turning by offer from Iran
The Times: SIR BOBBY ROBSON was at the centre of one of footballs more curious episodes last night when the Iran Football Federation (IFF) pronounced itself confident that the former England manager was to be appointed coach of the countrys Olympic and youth teams. This surprising revelation caused most shock in one particular household. This is absolutely bizarre, Robson said.
Unbridled mullahocracy
Washington Times: Britain, France and Germany recently persuaded President Bush to let them offer bigger carrots in their negotiations to coax Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The new carrot ending U.S. objections to Iran’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), a long process probably requiring the best part of a decade. Understandably, this has elicited more yawns than yelps among the bearded turbans of Tehran and Qum.
Indian oil minister to visit Pakistan in May to discuss Iran gas pipeline
AFP: India’s oil minister Mani Shankar Aiyar Monday said he would visit Islamabad in the second half of May to discuss the modalities of a gas pipeline from Iran through Pakistan to India.
“Over the weekend, I received an invite from the Pakistan Prime Minister through their High Commission (embassy) in India to visit Islamabad in April,” Aiyar told reporters in New Delhi, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said.
Closing a Peephole Into Iran
Los Angeles Times: In its scramble to marshal resources for gathering intelligence on Al Qaeda and Iraq, the CIA shut down a spy ring it was operating in South America that was providing a rare glimpse of the activities of Iranian militants and intelligence networks, according to a former agency official involved in the operation.
Is a State Sponsor of Terrorism Winning?
New York Times – Magazine: Imagine with me a nation’s security leaders sitting around the conference table being briefed on the progress of things in Iraq. They celebrate the overwhelming victory of their favorites in the Iraqi elections. They are pleased with the effectiveness of their huge investment in building schools and hospitals in Shiite communities. They are delighted that the thousands of their security forces in Iraq are doing well, with few casualties. The nation? Iran.
Egyptian jailed for 35 years for spying for Iran
AFP: An Egyptian was jailed for 35 years by an emergency tribunal Sunday for spying for Iran and plotting to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a sentence that cannot be appealed. The court also sentenced former Iranian diplomat Mohammed Reza Doust to 25 years’ imprisonment in absentia for being Egyptian Mahmud Aid Dabbus’s handler.
Cairo Court Jails Egyptian for Spying for Iran
Reuters: A Cairo court sentenced an Egyptian to 35 years in prison Sunday after finding him guilty of spying for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and planning to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
No legal basis for terror tag on Iranian Mojahedin: Iran expert
Iran Focus: London, Mar. 26 The European Union must immediately abandon its failed and counterproductive policy
of appeasement” towards Iran and instead support the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people and their resistance, according to a London-based legal expert.
