Fox News: Cuba piped up as one of the few countries to side with Iran at a meeting Tuesday of a United Nations committee where Iran formally protested – and the United States defended – the decision by the Obama administration to bar Iran’s U.N. ambassador pick from U.S. soil.
Cuba sides with Iran at private meeting over UN ambassador dispute, sources say
Iran admits nuclear agency reshuffle to pave way for 5+1 talks
Reuters: President Hassan Rouhani’s government confirmed rumors on Monday it had reshuffled the leadership of Iran’s atomic agency to sideline nuclear experts opposed to talks on its atomic program with the West.
Syria elections set for June 3 amid civil war
AP: Syria called a presidential election for June 3, aiming to give President Bashar Assad a veneer of electoral legitimacy in the midst of a civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people and driven a third of the population from their homes.
Oman fights Saudi bid for gulf hegemony with Iran pipeline plan
Bloomberg: Oman’s plan to build a $1 billion natural-gas pipeline from Iran is the latest sign that Saudi Arabia is failing to bind its smaller Gulf neighbors into a tighter bloc united in hostility to the Islamic Republic.
Iran claims expertise in deepwater exploration
UPI: Iran is the only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that has expertise in deepwater oil and gas exploration, Ali Osouli, director of the Khazar Exploration and Production Co. in Iran, said.
Families of Iran prisoners stage protest outside parliament
Reuters: Families of Iranian prisoners charged with political offences demonstrated outside parliament in Tehran on Sunday to protest at what they said was violent treatment of their relatives at the Evin prison, the Iranian Students’ News Agency reported.
Report: Next Iran nuclear talks to be in New York
AP: Iran’s state news agency is reporting that the next round of expert-level talks over its contested nuclear program will be held in New York. The report Sunday by the official ISNA news agency quotes Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi.
Ghana company says U.S. plane seen in Tehran broke no laws
Reuters: A U.S.-flagged plane which landed at an airport in the Iranian capital Tehran last week was carrying business executives from Ghana and did not flout international laws, according to the mining firm which leased it.
Iran rape victim bound for gallows unless she changes story
The Telegraph: An Iranian rape victim has been offered the option of avoiding the gallows if she complies with terms for forgiveness set by the son of the predator she murdered. Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, an Iranian intelligence agent, was killed by Reyhaneh Jabbari after she was lured to flat to undertake interior design work but sexually abused.
Iran says it would redesign heavy-water reactor as concession to west
AP: Iran will redesign its Arak heavy water reactor to greatly limit the amount of plutonium it can make, the country’s vice president said on Saturday, marking a major concession from the Islamic Republic in negotiations with world powers over its contested nuclear program.
