Iran Focus: Paris, Feb. 26 An international conference entitled, “United against Fundamentalism and for Equality,” was held in Paris yesterday on the initiative of several women’s rights organisations to discuss the threat posed by fundamentalists to women’s rights and status. Over 1,000 political and human rights personalities and equality movement activists from Europe, the United States and the Middle East attended the conference.
Paris conference highlights women’s rights abuses in Iran
Official admits Iran may hide nuclear program in tunnels
AP: Iran may be hiding its nuclear technology inside special tunnels because of threats of attack by the United States, Tehran’s chief nuclear negotiator said in an interview
published Friday.
U.S. may give EU till June to coax Iran on nukes
Reuters: In its drive to stop Iran gaining any ability to make nuclear weapons, the United States is ready to give European allies only until June to cajole Tehran before Washington seeks U.N. sanctions, U.S. diplomatic documents show. There were mixed signals from Iran on Friday over how its talks with Germany, France and Britain were going.
Briton Indicted for Iran Exports
Washington Post: A British national once convicted of smuggling into Iran steel used to make nuclear weapons has been indicted in Washington on charges of illegally exporting new materials to Iran. A grand jury indicted Ali Asghar Manzarpour, 43, on Thursday on charges of violating the U.S. Iranian export embargo, charges that were unsealed by a federal judge yesterday.
European Parliament censures Iran rights violations, calls for special representative to monitor sit
Iran Focus: Brussels, Feb. 25 The European Parliament yesterday passed a resolution condemning Iran’s human
rights violations and called on the European Union to sponsor a separate resolution, censuring Iran in the United Nations and demanding that a special representative be re-appointed to monitor the human rights situation in Iran.
European Parliament censures Iran rights violations, calls for special representative to monitor sit
Iran Focus: Brussels, Feb. 25 The European Parliament yesterday passed a resolution condemning Iran’s human
rights violations and called on the European Union to sponsor a separate resolution, censuring Iran in the United Nations and demanding that a special representative be re-appointed to monitor the human rights situation in Iran.
Another blogger gets jail sentence
Reporters Without Borders: Reporters Without Borders today strongly condemned the Iranian authorities for confirming a six-month prison sentence and one million rials (85 euros) fine on Mohamad Reza Nasab Abdolahi, editor of the weblog Webnegar (Web Writer), for supposedly insulting the country’s leaders and making anti-government propaganda. He was sentenced on appeal on 23 February and is still free but risks arrest at any moment. The day before, another blogger, Arash Sigarchi, was jailed for 14 years on similar charges.
Iran’s ayatollahs challenged
Washington Times: The hard-line ayatollahs ruling Iran reacted enthusiastically to the election results in neighboring Iraq. “Certainly it is promotion of democracy, and in that respect we welcome that,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi.
The ayatollahs’ fervent calls for democratic elections in Iraq, while denying the very same choice to their own people, is the latest irony in the convoluted labyrinth of Middle Eastern politics.
Vice-President of European Parliament: Iran’s ayatollahs challenged
Washington Times: The hard-line ayatollahs ruling Iran reacted enthusiastically to the election results in neighboring Iraq. “Certainly it is promotion of democracy, and in that respect we welcome that,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi.
The ayatollahs’ fervent calls for democratic elections in Iraq, while denying the very same choice to their own people, is the latest irony in the convoluted labyrinth of Middle Eastern politics.
Iran girl gets 100 lashes
BBC: A teenage girl and two young men in Iran have been sentenced to lashes for having sex.
The court dismissed the girl’s claim that we was raped. It said she had sex of her own free will, the official Iran Daily newspaper reported.
