AFP: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stepped up Washington’s verbal assault on Iran on Thursday, saying the hardline Islamic regime’s treatment of its people was “something to be loathed”. “I don’t think anybody thinks that the unelected mullahs who run that regime are a good thing for either the Iranian people or for the region,” Rice told reporters accompanying her to Europe and the Middle East.
Iran human rights record ‘to be loathed’ — Rice
US warns Iran may be violating nuclear freeze: diplomats
AFP: The United States has complained to the European Union about centrifuge-related work by Iran that could be used to make nuclear weapons and may violate a uranium enrichment freeze Tehran agreed with the EU, diplomats said Thursday.
Suspected Iran spy says planned “president’s” killing in Egypt
Reuters: An Egyptian accused of spying for Iran said Iranians paid him for information about a road often used by President Hosni Mubarak and he planned an assassination there, according to a video shown in court on Thursday. Mahmoud Eid Mohamed Dabbous said in the video he was going to plant bombs on the road in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh …
Iran Tests Nuclear Trigger Mechanism Opposition
Reuters: Iran has conducted successful experiments on a crucial triggering mechanism for a nuclear weapon, an exiled opposition group said on Thursday. President Bush on Wednesday renewed his accusation that Iran was seeking to develop atomic weapons and called it the “world’s primary state sponsor of terror.”
Bush says Iran “primary state sponsor of terror”
Reuters: U.S. President George W. Bush, who three years ago said Iran and North Korea were part of an “axis of evil,” has emphasised diplomacy in dealing with the two countries.
Bush called Iran the “world’s primary state sponsor of terror” and reiterated his accusations that the country is striving to develop nuclear weapons, a charge denied by Iran. He also promised to “stand with” the Iranian people in their quest for liberty, a veiled jab at the republic’s ruling clerics.
Bush: US stands with Iran reformers
AFP: US President George W. Bush on Wednesday accused Damascus and Tehran of ties to terrorism, and told Iranians: “As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.” “We expect the Syrian government to end all support for terror and open the door to freedom,” Bush said in his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of the US Congress and a television audience of millions.
Iran nears bomb production with nuclear trigger capacity: opposition group
AFP: Iran has obtained the materials and expertise to make the triggers for an atomic bomb, bringing closer its goal of acquiring nuclear weapons later this year, the main Iranian opposition grouping said in Paris Thursday. Citing secret sources inside Iran’s nuclear development programme, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said that Tehran has produced or bought from abroad quantities of polonium-210 and beryllium — two elements required for building a “neutron initiator.”
Iran says it will never scrap nuke program
AP: Iran will never scrap its nuclear program, and talks with Europeans are intended to protect the country’s nuclear achievements, not negotiate an end to them, an Iranian official said Wednesday. The remarks by Ali Agha Mohammadi, spokesman of Iran’s powerful Supreme National Security Council, are the latest in a hardening of his country’s stance amid ongoing talks with European negotiators.
GE Says No New Business in Iran
Reuters: Faced with political pressure over its business ties in Iran, General Electric Co. said on Wednesday it would not accept any new business there, citing “uncertain conditions” in the country. “Senior management and the board decided in mid-December to discontinue taking new orders because of uncertain conditions relating to Iran,” said Gary Sheffer, executive director of communications and public affairs at GE.
US official scoffs at fears of war with Iran
AFP: US President George W. Bush will make clear in his annual State of the Union address that he wants a peaceful solution to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, a senior aide said Tuesday. The official, speaking at a briefing organized by the White House on condition that he not be named, scoffed at concerns that Washington might use force against Iran after invading Iraq 22 months ago.
