Bloomberg: “Easily 90 percent of them have gone overseas,” the 29-year-old software developer said, reflecting on a middle-class flight that has seen many of the nation’s best scientists and engineers leave. “Of my 45 university classmates, I guess maybe five are left.”
Brain drain blights Iran’s economy as investors wait in wings
U.N. nuclear watchdog holds talks in Tehran ahead of May deadline
Reuters: The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday its chief inspector had held “informal” talks in Tehran, ahead of a mid-May deadline for Iran to answer questions about detonators that could be used to help set off an atomic explosive device.
Senior British diplomat in Iran for talks
AFP: The most senior British diplomat to visit Iran since the sacking of Britain’s embassy in 2011 held talks in Tehran on Monday with Iranian officials. Political Director Simon Gass would discuss a “range of bilateral and international issues” with Iranian officials, the Foreign Office in London said.
Iraq attacks kill 57 as security forces vote
AFP: Attacks including a spate of suicide bombings killed 57 people on Monday as soldiers and policemen cast their votes in Iraq’s first parliamentary election since US troops withdrew. The deadliest attack struck in the mostly-Kurdish town of Khanaqin, near Iraq’s border with Iran.
What we left behind
New Yorker: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is seeking a third term. Many Iraqis fear another civil war, and think that Maliki is to blame. In the protests at Ramadi, a member of parliament named Ahmed al-Alwani had inflamed the crowds, accusing Maliki of being in league with the Iranian regime.
U.S. concerned about Iran missiles, committed to Gulf security
Reuters: A senior U.S. official signaled optimism on Sunday about a possible resolution of the Iranian nuclear dispute but said Washington remained concerned that Iran’s ballistic missiles threatened Gulf Arab states.
Netanyahu warns against repeating holocaust ‘mistake’ with Iran
Bloomberg: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a ceremony to mark Holocaust Day, said the world must avoid repeating the mistake it made with the Nazi regime and open its eyes to the Iranian nuclear threat.
Blair: ‘Nonsense’ to say west causes terrorism
The Hill: Those nations are now struggling to support themselves after the militaries have left Iraq and as the U.S. is on the way out of Afghanistan, but that is due to “the disruptive effect” of radical Islam from Iran and al Qaeda, according to Blair.
Iran to target decoy US aircraft carrier in drills
AP: An Iranian newspaper is reporting that the country’s military plans to target a mock-up American aircraft carrier during upcoming war games. The Sunday report by independent Haft-e Sobh daily quotes Adm. Ali Fadavi, navy chief of the Revolutionary Guards.
Giuliani speaks on dangers from Iran
azcentral.com: Iran poses a serious threat to the United States, whose government is failing to counter it, former New York mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani told an enthusiastic crowd in Phoenix on Friday.
