Baltimore Sun: In 2003, I served as a senior military officer at Camp Ashraf, Iraq. In keeping with my responsibility as an oath-bound Army officer and under the Geneva Convention, I made a solemn promise to the group of 3,000 Iranian dissidents living there.
America abandons its responsibility for Iranian dissidents in Iraq
Iranian actress receives 18-month jail sentence
AFP: An Iranian court has sentenced filmmaker and actress Pegah Ahangarani to 18 months in prison, her mother told ISNA news agency Monday, apparently for her social activities, political comments and interviews with foreign media.
Deutsche Boerse faces $169 million fine over Iran sanctions
Bloomberg: The U.S. government may fine Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1)’s Clearstream unit $169 million after looking into potential violations of sanctions against Iran. Standard Chartered Plc agreed to pay $327 million in fines in December 2012.
Iran bans reformist newspaper Bahar
AFP: Iran’s press watchdog has imposed a ban on reformist newspaper Bahar for publishing an article seen by critics as questioning the beliefs of Shia Islam, media reported Monday. A leading reformist, Mohammad Reza Aref, also criticised the article.
Iran talks with UN nuclear monitors resume today in Vienna
Bloomberg: Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency resume talks over allowing monitors wider access to places and people suspected of conducting undeclared nuclear work in the Persian Gulf nation.
US obligations, foreign and domestic
Politics Home: The United States is in the middle of a federal government shutdown that’s been brought on by the legislature’s failure to put away party differences to the extent required to pass a budget bill and vote to raise the nation’s debt ceiling.
Iran’s state energy firms crippled by budget -minister
Reuters: Iran’s state oil refining and gas firms cannot afford the multi-billion dollar cash payments to householders demanded of them by the current budget, which leaves them nothing to invest in vital projects, Iran’s oil minister said on Sunday.
EU shifts tactics to bolster Iran sanctions
Wall Street Journal: The European Union is moving to a new approach in reinforcing its Iran sanctions regime in a bid to prevent legal challenges by companies from undermining the West’s efforts to counter Tehran’s nuclear program.
Past reveals truth about Rouhani
Columbia Daily Tribune: Hassan Rouhani — the current president of Iran — is a master of political deception. He has the world convinced that he is a “moderate” and that he is different than those who preceded him. Unfortunately for the people of Iran and the Middle East, this is not true.
Iranian Sunni militants claim attack near Pakistan border
AFP: A Sunni militant group, Jaish-ul Adl, has claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 14 Iranian border guards in the country’s mountainous southeast, ISNA news agency reported Sunday.
