New York Times: Iran is finding a way around Western sanctions to export increasing amounts of an ultralight oil to China and other Asian markets, expanding the value of its trade by potentially billions of dollars a year. The exports come during a slight thaw in Iran’s relations with the West as negotiations over its nuclear program continue.
With gas byproduct, Iran sidesteps sanctions
Iranian Stanford professor first woman to win top maths prize
Reuters: Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani on Wednesday became the first woman to be awarded the Fields Medal, mathematics’ equivalent to the Nobel Prize.The professor at Stanford University in California was among four Fields Medal recipients at the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Seoul, and the first female among the 56 winners since the prize was established in 1936.
Maliki seems to back away from using military force to retain power
New York Times: After two days of defiant speeches and special security units deployed in the Iraqi capital, raising the specter of a coup, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki appeared to back away on Tuesday from his implied threat to use force to stay in power, issuing a statement saying that the army should stay out of politics.
Iran’s secret massacre: the untold legacy
Medium.com: This summer marks the 26th anniversary of Iran’s massacre against political prisoners in 1988. The shock and terror inflicted on the Iranian nation wen tens of thousands of prisoners were executed in a matter of months went unnoticed. The legacy of this event has resulted in the survival of a despotic regime, and the stunted growth of a nation.
Lord Carlile: Dangers still posed by Iran regime
PoliticsHome: A range of politicians and analysts have recently argued for close cooperation between the United States and Iran on issues such as the sectarian conflict in Iraq. The view is irresponsibly neglectful of the dangers still posed by the Iranian regime.
Power struggle on Baghdad streets as Maliki replaced but refuses to go
Reuters: Iraq’s president named a new prime minister to end Nuri al-Maliki’s eight-year rule on Monday, but the veteran leader refused to go after deploying militias and special forces on the streets, creating a dangerous political showdown in Baghdad. Washington, which helped install Maliki following its 2003 invasion, congratulated Haidar al-Abadi.
Iraqi president names Haider al-Abadi new prime minister, defying Maliki
Washington Post: Iraq’s president on Monday asked a veteran Shiite politician, Haider al-Abadi, to form a new government, setting the stage for a vicious political showdown in a country already struggling to contain an Islamist extremist insurgency. Nouri al-Maliki argued that the appointment of the 62-year-old Abadi as prime minister-designate was legally invalid.
Iranian plane crashes after takeoff, killing 39
AP: A regional passenger plane assembled in Iran crashed Sunday while taking off from the capital, killing 39 and injuring another nine onboard, according to a senior transportation official and state media. The IrAn-140 operated by domestic carrier Sepahan Air crashed in a residential area near Tehran’s Mehrabad airport. State TV said the plane’s tail struck the cables of an electricity tower before it hit the ground and burst into flames.
Deadly Iran-backed terror network Tawhid-Salam exposed
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.
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.”
