Zaman: A politically motivated witch hunt against police investigators who uncovered a highly secretive Iran-backed terrorist network that has ties to senior government officials has reversed direction and hit the government by revealing to the public damaging details from the prosecutors’ confidential investigation files.
Deadly Iran-backed terror network Tawhid-Salam exposed
U.S. airstrikes target Islamic State militants in northern Iraq
Washington Post: U.S. military aircraft carried out airstrikes on Islamist militants besieging Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, the Pentagon announced Friday. The airstrikes targeted artillery being used by militants of the Islamic State extremist group against Kurdish forces defending Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital, the Pentagon said. It said the artillery was used “near U.S. personnel.”
Obama authorizes possible airstrikes against Iraq
Washington Post: President Obama has authorized airstrikes against Sunni Muslim extremists who punctured Kurdish defenses in a powerful offensive in northern Iraq on Thursday, and has sent U.S. military aircraft to drop food and water to besieged Iraqi civilians in the region. “We intend to take action if they threaten our facilities anywhere in Iraq . . . including Irbil and Baghdad,” he said.
Iran still pushing for nuclear arms
The Hill: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently said in a high-profile speech that Iran has a “definite need” for tens of thousands of more uranium enrichment centrifuges than it already has. The statement was made ahead of a July 20 deadline for a deal between Iran and the 5+1 countries. Detecting indecisiveness among western powers, Khamenei was clearly raising the stakes to gain as many concessions as possible.
Iran policeman gets 3 years over death of blogger
AP: ISNA quoted Giti Pourfazel, a lawyer hired by Beheshti’s mother, as saying the sentence was too light considering the nature of the crime. “While journalists are sentenced to six years in this country, it’s surprising that a murderer is sentenced to three years in jail,” the lawyer was quoted by ISNA as saying. Dozens of bloggers and journalists have been arrested in Iran in recent years.
U.S. official warns against Russian companies engaging in Iran
Bloomberg: David Cohen, the Obama administration’s top official for terrorism and financial intelligence, warned that any Russian companies engaging in deals with Iran would be subject to U.S. penalties. Russia and Iran signed a five-year memorandum of understanding to expand trade cooperation, the Russian Energy Ministry said on Aug. 5. Russia will help organize Iranian oil sales under the agreement.
To stop Iran gaining nukes, stop rewarding it for lying
Newsweek: In a perfect world, a repeated pattern of deceit and moral failure has consequences. Indeed, when trust and credibility are eroded, we dump the shady contractor, we vote out the lying politician, we fire the skimming employee. So how is it we are still at the negotiating table with Iran? Since the 1990s, Iran has hoodwinked the international community over its nuclear program time and time again.
US nuclear negotiator to resume talks with Iran
AP: The Obama administration’s chief nuclear negotiator is meeting Thursday with Iranian officials in Geneva as negotiations resume on a deal to prevent the Islamic republic from developing nuclear weapons. The State Department says Undersecretary Wendy Sherman will be part of a U.S. delegation that also includes Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.
Iran seeks alternative to Maliki – sources
Reuters: Regional power broker Iran believes Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is no longer able to hold his country together and is looking for an alternative leader to combat a Sunni Islamist insurgency. Political deadlock since an inconclusive general election in April has paralysed efforts to fight back against Islamic State rebels who have captured swathes of northern and western Iraq and Syria and have threatened to march on Baghdad.
Russia: U.S. ruined Iranian oil deal
UPI: An official inside the Kremlin said Wednesday the U.S. government got in the way of a possible deal between Iranian and Russian oil companies. Iran can export around 1 million bpd under the terms of a November arrangement that brought some relief from economic sanctions in exchange for a commitment to curb nuclear research activity. In the wake of the agreement, Iran said it was in negotiations with the Russians to swap oil for goods.
