AP: U.S. Rep. Adam Smith is a leader on military issues in a comfortably Democratic district – a perfect ally to build support for President Barack Obama’s proposal for a military strike in Syria. Yet Smith, like many of his fellow Democrats, remains cautious and uncertain about the idea.
Obama ally in Congress grapples with Syria plan
Iran’s Zarif offers IAEA supervision of nuclear program
Bloomberg: Iran’s nuclear program must remain peaceful and be conducted under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with state-controlled PressTV.
American says Iran keeping him for prisoner swap
AFP: A US citizen jailed in Iran said in a letter released Wednesday that his captors were keeping him in harsh conditions in hopes of obtaining a prisoner swap. Amir Mirzai Hekmati, a former Marine who holds dual citizenship, said he was kept in “miserable prison conditions”.
U.S. sees ‘troubling’ Iran nuclear moves, seeks steps by Tehran
Reuters: The United States said on Wednesday it saw “troubling developments” in Iran’s nuclear program and called on the country’s new president to take concrete steps soon to ease concerns about Tehran’s aims.
Putin to offer Iran ‘arms, nuclear deal’ at summit
AFP: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iran’s new president for the first time this week, reportedly armed with an offer to supply missile systems and build a second nuclear power reactor that is likely to gladden Tehran and trouble the United States.
Iran’s Khamenei hopeful new U.S. policy on Syria is ‘serious’
Reuters: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday he hoped that a U.S. promise to pursue diplomacy to remove the threat of chemical weapons in Syria was “serious”, the state news agency IRNA reported.
Harsh introduction for Iran’s new IAEA envoy
AFP: Western envoys gave Iran’s new ambassador to the UN atomic agency a frosty welcome Wednesday, saying Tehran’s new government should waste no time proving to the world it does not want the bomb.
Extricating the President
Huffington Post: See for example where a lack of a policy has taken us in the killing of more and more Iranian dissidents – the MEK – in Iraq. Although the U.S. pledged repeatedly to protect them through various agreements, it did nothing after Iraq killed more than 50 of them more than a week ago.
U.S. loosens sanctions on Iran for disaster relief, sports
Reuters: The United States relaxed sanctions on Iran on Tuesday to make it easier for U.S. humanitarian groups to work there and sports exchanges to occur between Americans and Iranians, a possible goodwill gesture after Iran elected a new moderate president.
Syrian rebels and Iranian dissidents
The Hill: Syria illustrates violation of humanitarian norms against gassing of civilians. President Barack Obama makes a strong argument that Bashar Assad of Syria commits crimes against humanity. But Obama makes little credible case about U.S. strategic interests being advanced by bombing Syria.
