AFP: World powers will hold their next talks on Tehran’s contested nuclear programme February 18, top Iranian and European Union diplomats agreed during Friday talks.
Next Iran nuclear talks set for February 18 in Vienna
Former Marine Corps commandant warns Capitol Hill about a nuclear Iran
PRNewswire/ Retired Marine Corps General James Jones, former commandant of the Marine Corps, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and President Obama’s first National Security Advisor, warned of the dangers posed by a nuclear-armed Iran.
Time to tackle ‘more difficult’ issues with Iran, IAEA head says
AFP: After recent progress with Iran, it is time to tackle “more difficult” nuclear issues such as allegations of past weapons work, the head of the UN atomic watchdog told AFP in an interview.
Howard Dean: Obama must push human rights issues with Iran
Newsmax: Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean spoke out against the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran at a Capitol Hill briefing held by a controversial Iranian dissident group on Wednesday.
McCain: Obama is ‘disconnected’ from reality in Mideast
The Hill: “I have never seen a message on national security and foreign policy as disconnected from reality as the president’s speech was,” McCain said Thursday. Tuesday night Obama gave his speech, touching on Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Iran.
Its great lake shriveled, Iran confronts crisis of water supply
New York Times: After driving for 15 minutes over the bottom of what was once Iran’s largest lake, a local environmental official stepped out of his truck, pushed his hands deep into his pockets and silently wandered into the great dry plain.
Iran rejects Obama’s claim that sanctions halted nuclear program
The Hill: Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday rejected President Obama’s remarks about Iran’s nuclear program in the State of the Union speech. Obama said in his address that the interim deal was the result of sanctions.
Iran to cut cash handouts to millions to limit budget spending
Bloomberg: Iran will pare handouts to millions of citizens in its effort to limit spending in the new Iranian year starting late March, state-run and local media reported.
Iran begins vetting expatriates seeking to return, group says
Bloomberg: Iranian intelligence officials have begun reviewing requests of exiles interested in returning home, the New-York based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported.
Rubio: Senate should challenge Obama’s SOTU veto threat on Iran
The Hill: “If a sanctions bill made it to the floor, it would pass,” Rubio told reporters at a breakfast hosted by The Wall Street Journal. “I believe it would pass with a veto-proof majority.
