AFP: France will remain “tough” with Iran on its controversial nuclear programme, President Francois Hollande reassured Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday after the Israeli premier warned Paris against succumbing to Tehran’s charms.
France will stay ‘tough’ on Iran, Hollande soothes Netanyahu
UN calls Iraq death penalty ‘obscene and inhuman’
AP: Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, says mass executions of this sort “are not only obscene and inhuman, they are most probably in contravention of international law.”
Hunger strike for Ashraf
Church Times: Hundreds of people attended a rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday to draw attention to seven former residents of Camp Ashraf, in Iraq, who have been missing since an attack on 1 September which left at least 52 dead.
MEPs urge Tehran to free US-Iranian pastor
AFP: The European Parliament called on Tehran on Thursday to free an American-Iranian pastor jailed for eight years for his role in establishing underground churches in Iran.
Hezbollah ‘execution’ video sparks online outrage
AFP: A gory online video that appears to show Hezbollah fighters executing gravely wounded Syrian rebels has sparked outrage and threatens to worsen sectarian tensions in Lebanon.
Iraq executes 42 ‘terrorism’ convicts in a week
AFP: Iraq executed 42 “terrorism” convicts over the past week, the justice ministry said on Thursday, defying international condemnation of its extensive use of the death penalty, as deadly violence intensifies.
Iran won’t give up nuclear program, ex-Rouhani associate says
Bloomberg: A former associate of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said no amount of sanctions will be able to spur the country to surrender its nuclear program, even though restrictions have debilitated the economy.
Iran ‘moving nuclear research centre to hoodwink world’
AFP: An exiled opposition group claimed Thursday that Iran has transferred a research centre leading its alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons to a new location in order to hoodwink the world.
U.S. should make good on its word to Iranian dissidents
UPI: While Washington is gridlocked on the federal budget dispute between the White House and U.S. Congress, there was consensus by U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle on the U.S. commitment toward Iranian dissidents in Iraq.
Western powers ask is Iran really ready to make a nuclear deal?
Reuters: Western nations are struggling to answer one key question as they assess conflicting signals from Tehran ahead of next week’s big-power meeting with Iran in Geneva – is the Islamic Republic ready to make a deal on its controversial nuclear program.
