(Reuters) – Britain and other powers negotiating with Iran for a deal over its nuclear programme, which they suspect is aimed at building a bomb, must not make “unwise concessions” for the sake of convenience, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Saturday.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Catherine Ashton will stay on as European Union special adviser on the Iranian nuclear talks despite stepping down as EU foreign policy chief, the EU said on Friday.
BOSTON (CBS) — A suspect accused of shipping goods from Massachusetts to help build up Iran’s nuclear weapons program landed at Logan Airport Friday. He goes by different first names, including Sihai and Alex Cheng. He’s set to face a federal judge in Boston Monday.
Source: The Washington post
After a decade of patient negotiations with Iran over its contested nuclear program, the prospects of the United States and other world powers securing a final deal are not good. The wheels of diplomacy will grind on and an extension of the talks should be granted. But it is time to acknowledge that the policy of engagement has been predicated on a series of assumptions that, although logical, have proven largely incorrect. As Washington assesses its next moves, it would be wise to reconsider the judgments that have underwritten its approach to one of its most elusive adversaries.
Source: Saudi Gazert
RIYADH – Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal has received an invitation to visit Iraq, according to an official source at the ministry. “Prince Saud has promised to respond to the invitation after taking into account a convenient time for both sides,” the source said.
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Republican-controlled House approved a $585 billion defense policy bill that grants President Barack Obama the authority to expand the U.S. military campaign against Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria despite misgivings about a new American combat role after more than a decade of war.
Source: THE HILL
By: Soona Samsami
In recent weeks, over two dozen women across Iran have been subjected to a spate of hideous acid attacks, leaving them with permanent burns on their faces and bodies. One victim reportedly died of her injuries in Isfahan after having acid splashed on her face by state-affiliated gangs. But far from being a mark of strength, these cowardly assaults on defenseless women expose the face of a weak and desperate theocracy unable to curb increasing social opposition to its rule – led by women.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The owner of a Pennsylvania company that makes steel-processing equipment has been sentenced to 12 months on probation under a plea deal for conspiring to illegally sell an $800,000 machine to an Iranian firm.
Source: AFP
The detention of the Washington Post’s bureau chief in Tehran has been extended for up to 60 days, the paper said Wednesday, quoting his family.
Source: AP
Congressional hawks are struggling to build a veto-proof majority for new Iran sanctions despite wide discontent among lawmakers over the lack of progress from more than a year of nuclear talks with Iran, recently extended for seven more months.
