The Telegraph: Between 11 and 15 North Korean military officers are advising the Syrian government forces in tactics and the use of artillery against the rebels, reports claim. The regime is also being bolstered with Russian weapons and pro-Iranian Hizbollah forces.
Syria: North Korean military ‘advising Assad regime’
Why is Obama ignoring Iraq?
Real Clear World: It is hard to determine why Iraq receives so little U.S. attention as it drifts towards sectarian conflict, civil war, and alignment with Iran. Tensions in Iraq have been rising for well over a year. 1,045 Iraqis were killed and another 2,397 were wounded in acts of terrorism and acts of violence in May alone.
UK MPs demand Ban Ki Moon sack Martin Kobler after bogus presentation
News Blaze: The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom issued a press release Monday, with a demand that Martin Kobler, the Special Representative to UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, be sacked.
Useless rial is U.S. goal in new Iran sanctions, Treasury says
Bloomberg: The U.S. wants to make Iran’s currency useless in global commerce through an executive order that gives financial institutions a July 1 deadline to stop dealing in rials or face sanctions, Treasury official David Cohen said.
Iran leader’s election bid: Taming the presidency
AP: At the height of Iran’s internal political clashes in late 2011, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became so exasperated that he warned the Islamic Republic could someday drop the office of an elected president.
Trouble brewing in Tehran
The Diplomat: The Iranian regime is building up to the June presidential elections, which will shape an extremely significant period in that regime’s future. The incoming president will rule over a period in which disputes over Iran’s nuclear program will have to come to a head.
Arabs press Iran on atomic reactor safety
Reuters: Arab Gulf states sought reassurances from Iran at a U.N. nuclear agency meeting this week over the safety of its only atomic energy plant, which is located in an earthquake-prone coastal area, diplomats said on Thursday.
German-Iranian connection solid as ever
UPI: A curious spectacle unfolded May 29 in the European Parliament, as the U.N. Envoy in Iraq Ambassador Martin Kobler testified before the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Iran on our back porch
USA TODAY: The Iranian regime’s activities in Latin America are extensive – and evolving. Last week, Argentine state prosecutor Alberto Nisman dropped a bombshell when heissuedhis long-awaited indictment in the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israel Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires.
Lawmakers in new drive to slash Iran’s oil sales to a trickle
Reuters: U.S. lawmakers are embarking this summer on a campaign to deal a deeper blow to Iran’s diminishing oil exports, and while they are still working out the details, analysts say the ultimate goal could be a near total cut-off.
