Bloomberg: The European Union’s 28 governments blacklisted the military wing of Hezbollah, striking a political blow against the Iranian-backed Shiite group that is helping President Bashar al-Assad cling to power in Syria.
EU brands Hezbollah’s military wing as terrorists
Iran ex-president urges changes in foreign policy
AP: An influential Iranian ex-president is calling for deep changes in the country’s foreign policy, saying Iran can no longer remain “angry with the world.” The statement by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is an unusually pointed criticism of the combative style of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose critics say has internationally isolated Iran.
Iran opposes Israel-Palestinian peace talks
AFP: Iran on Sunday voiced opposition to a US-mediated resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, predicting the Jewish state would never agree to withdraw from occupied Arab lands.
Insight: By relying on Iran, Syria’s Assad risks irrelevance
Reuters: Military support from Iran and its Shi’ite ally Hezbollah has given Syrian President Bashar al-Assad new impetus in his fight against the insurgents intent on ousting him, but at a price.
Iran’s Khamenei says US can not be trusted
AFP: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Sunday that Washington was “not trustworthy”, after former US officials and lawmakers urged diplomacy with the Islamic republic’s incoming president Hassan Rowhani.
Iran bars captain’s UAE transfer over Gulf name
AFP: Iran has barred national football team captain Javad Nekounam’s lucrative transfer to a club in neighbouring UAE because of a dispute over a name, media reports said on Sunday.
Gunmen kidnap Iranian diplomat in Yemen capital
AP: Gunmen on Sunday kidnapped an Iranian diplomat who was driving his car in the capital, Sanaa, a Yemeni official said. Iran condemned the abduction. The official said armed men stopped the diplomat’s car and forced him into their vehicle before speeding away.
Iran invites Western leaders to inauguration
AP: Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araghchi was quoted by the semiofficial ISNA news agency as saying Sunday that American and European leaders and officials were among those invited to the swearing-in of Hasan Rouhani.
Britain’s part in the UN’s disgraceful act of betrayal
Sunday Telegraph: Last week, before the UN Security Council in New York, there unfolded the latest bizarre chapter in one of the most extraordinary stories I have ever followed in this column. Testifying to the council was Martin Kobler, who has just retired after two years as the special representative of the UN’s Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in Iraq.
Syria war widens rift between Shi’ite clergy in Iraq, Iran
Reuters: The civil war in Syria is widening a rift between top Shi’ite Muslim clergy in Iraq and Iran who have taken opposing stands on whether or not to send followers into combat on President Bashar al-Assad’s side.
