AFP: Iran appealed Sunday for a negotiated settlement to its standoff with the UN atomic energy watchdog but showed no inclination to abide by a resolution calling for an immediate
halt to its sensitive nuclear activities.
“No negotiations with the Americans are on the agenda, but
we call on the Europeans to discuss with us,” foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.
Iran calls for nuclear talks but shows no sign of halting work
Nuclear Showdown
Time Magazine: Iran days after the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved a resolution demanding that Iran suspend all uranium-enrichment activities, a defiant Tehran announced that it had started the conversion of some 37 tons of uranium oxide (yellowcake) into UF6-gas the feed material for enriched uranium.
Two Islams face off
Washington Times: By Jalal Ganje’i – Thirty-five years ago, when in a jurisprudence course in Najaf, Ayatollah Khomeini boasted that Khoms (a religious tax equivalent to one-fifth on property or income) from Baghdad’s Bazaar was adequate to run the affairs of the Islamic world, he wanted to affirm that assuming power on his part cost very little but benefited the public at large.
However, no one, not even me, attending his course as a student at the time, had any idea that some day Khomeini’s covetous design on Baghdad, not to mention Tehran, would emerge as the principle foreign policy objective of the theocracy that he erected a few years later.
German trader suspected of selling nuclear secrets to Iran
AFP: A German businessman under investigation for illegally exporting nuclear technology had planned to sell the material
to Iran, Der Spiegel magazine reported in its issue out on Monday.
On Thursday the German federal prosecutors office arrested 53-year-old Helmut R., in Friedrichshafen in southwest Germany, on suspicion of involvement in the delivery of 24 long-distance detonators, a device indispensable to the development of nuclear arms.
Khatami postpones Turkey visit after MPs move against contracts
AFP: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has postponed a visit to Turkey after the conservative-controlled parliament threw into doubt two major contracts signed with Turkish companies, an official said.
Tension grows over Iran’s nuclear aims
Boston Globe: The diplomatic showdown over Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions could escalate into a confrontation that changes the political dynamic of the Middle East and further destabilizes the region, Western diplomats, officials, and analysts say.
Iran successfully tests ‘strategic missile’
AP: Iran added a “strategic missile” to its military arsenal after
a successful test, and the defense minister said Saturday his country was ready to confront any external threat.
The report by state-run radio did not say whether the test involved the previously announced new version of the
Shahab-3 rocket, capable of reaching Israel and U.S. forces stationed in the Middle East, or a different missile.
Iran to U.N.: U.S. to blame for terrorism
UPI: Iran’s Foreign Minister at the United Nations Friday described the United States as extremist and said its use of unbridled militarism causes terrorism.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly, Kamal Kharrazi said, “The prevailing world realities illustrate that unbridled militarism and blind terrorism are mutually reinforcing,” giving the attack against Iraq as an example.
U.S. Targets Iran’s Influence in Iraq
Washington Post: The Bush administration is exploring several steps aimed at containing Tehran’s growing influence in Iraq, according to U.S. officials, who say a split between the Pentagon and the State Department has paralyzed the administration’s ability to craft a long-term policy on Iran for three years.
As one measure, the United States has earmarked $40 million to help Iraq’s political parties mobilize — and, subtly, to …
U.S. firm fined $6.3 million for Iran trade
Washington Times: Federal prosecutors completed a plea agreement this week that imposed more than $6.3 million in fines on a U.S. company that illegally sent embargoed high-technology pumps to Iran.
“We view this case as very significant,” said Julie Myers, assistant commerce secretary for export enforcement …
