UPI: “They want to annihilate us” — Hossein Madani from Camp Ashraf in 2005. How prophetic his words would become. While the death of all 52 Camp Ashraf residents was heart-wrenching, the assassination of Hossein Madani made my heart quite literally ache.
‘They want to annihilate us’
Iran seeks ‘phased actions’ in nuclear talks
AP: Iran’s foreign minister is urging step-by-step compromises between his country and world powers to advance negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The West fear Iran could eventually produce a nuclear weapon – a charge Iran denies.
Iran says it wants to resolve nuclear row within months
Reuters: Iran’s new government, stepping up a campaign to project a more moderate image abroad, said on Wednesday it wants to jump-start talks with world powers to resolve a decade-long dispute over its nuclear program and hoped for a deal in three to six months.
Father of Iran prisoner appeals to Rouhani
AFP: The father of a US citizen imprisoned in Iran forwarded a letter to President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday pleading with him to free his son on humanitarian grounds.
After Syria, Congress wary of Obama’s Iran thaw
Reuters: After balking at President Barack Obama’s plan to attack Syria, the U.S. Congress is also stirring in opposition to his latest foreign policy goal: an effort to improve relations with Iran. Many lawmakers are skeptical about a charm offensive by new President Hassan Rouhani.
Israel PM accuses Iran president of hypocrisy
AP: Israel’s prime minister on Tuesday voiced deep skepticism about the new Iranian president’s outreach to the West, saying the world “should not be fooled” and must keep up the pressure on Tehran’s suspect nuclear program.
Iran’s new president calls Holocaust ‘reprehensible’
AFP: Iranian President Hassan Rowhani on Tuesday condemned the Holocaust as “reprehensible” in a new sign of a radical change by the Tehran government. However, the president also implicitly criticized the creation of Israel, an arch enemy of Iran’s clerical regime, as a Jewish homeland.
UN rights office calls on Iraq to determine whereabouts of missing Iranian exiles
UN News Centre: The United Nations human rights office today called on the Government of Iraq to do all it can to ascertain the whereabouts of seven former residents of Camp Ashraf, who have been missing since the facility, which housed Iranian exiles, was attacked on 1 September, leaving at least 52 residents dead.
Crowd protests Iran’s Rouhani outside UN
AP: Waving Iranian flags and carrying signs, a throng of people gathered in protest near the United Nations on Tuesday to condemn Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, saying his recent moves seemingly toward a more conciliatory stance and dialogue with the United States is merely a ruse.
Iran leader meets French president, but not Obama
AP: Iran’s new president met with the French leader Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, but not with U.S. President Barack Obama, as Western nations explored whether conciliatory talk from the Middle Eastern leader offers a way out of the impasse over Iran’s nuclear program.
