AFP: Iran suspects them of spying, but friends of eight Slovak paragliders detained in May know them as freedom-loving adrenalin junkies who travel the world to film high-flying documentaries.
Slovak paragliders held in Iran explorers, not spies: friends
Fugitive Lebanon cleric in new audio message
AFP: Assir has gained notoriety for his fierce opposition to powerful Hezbollah militia, particularly in the wake of the group’s decision to back the Syrian regime against an uprising.
US quietly invites Iran to talks based on ‘mutual respect’
FoxNews: The U.S. State Department has quietly offered to enter into bilateral talks with Iran based on “mutual respect,” according to an interview an American diplomat gave to the Islamic republic’s state-run media.
Reactions to Morsi ouster reveal domestic politics
AP: Iran is disappointed at the fall of Morsi, with a prominent lawmaker saying the leader failed to reshape Egypt’s powerful military and other security agencies. After Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, the new leadership formed military and security forces loyal to the clerics and others.
Nations across Mideast welcome Morsi’s ouster
AFP: Governments across the Middle East on Thursday welcomed the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi with varying degrees of enthusiasm, with war-hit Syria calling it a “great achievement”.
Iran swimmer says record denied over unIslamic costume
AFP: An Iranian woman has claimed that the authorities in the Islamic republic have denied her a free water swimming record after saying that her costume failed to meet the standards of sharia law.
Russia worried by lack of progress towards Iran nuclear talks
Reuters: Russia voiced concern on Thursday that no progress has been made towards organizing new talks between Iran and six world powers on Tehran’s nuclear program, despite the election of a relative moderate as Iran’s president.
Iran lawmaker: Morsi failed to gain military sway
AP: Egypt’s now-toppled Islamist president made a tactical blunder by not exerting stronger influence over the country’s security and intelligence services after taking office last year, a prominent Iranian lawmaker said Thursday in comments that reflect Tehran’s disappointment over the fall of Mohammed Morsi.
US Navy bolsters presence in Gulf
AFP: The US Navy has deployed three additional coastal patrol ships to its Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, bolstering America’s presence in the strategic Gulf, officials said Wednesday.
Iran’s Ahmadinejad defends rights record
AFP: Iran’s outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday defended his government’s rights record, saying he was not responsible for other branches of the Islamic regime.
