Reuters: OPEC president Iran threw down the gauntlet to the Gulf Arab oil producers on Friday, asking them to reduce output back to pre-Libya crisis volumes, making agreement on output policy at OPEC’s December meeting more difficult.
Iran seeks OPEC cuts, Arab members unlikely to agree
Iran exile group claims blast hits missile base
AP: An Iranian exile group claimed Saturday that a blast near Tehran hit a missile base run by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, disputing the Iranian government’s account that it occurred at an ammunition depot.
Huge military base blast kills Guards commander, 16 others
AFP: A massive explosion at a Revolutionary Guards base just west of the Iranian capital on Saturday killed 17 members of the elite force, including a top commander, officials said, revising the toll down from 27.
Greece turns to Iranian oil as default fears deter trade
Reuters: Greece is relying on Iran for most of its oil as traders pull the plug on supplies and banks refuse to provide financing for fear that Athens will default on its debt.
Clinton urges China to put pressure on Iran
AFP: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China to use its influence to raise pressure on Iran after new charges that the Tehran regime is pursuing nuclear weapons, officials said.
White House says IAEA report on Iran ‘very alarming’
Reuters: The White House said on Thursday that this week’s International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran’s nuclear program was “very alarming” and said it would continue to pressure Tehran to “change its behavior.”
IAEA, Iran spar over bomb work allegations
Reuters: The U.N. nuclear watchdog showed letters and satellite images on Friday as part of evidence pointing to military dimensions to Iran’s atomic activities, diplomats said, but Tehran’s envoy dismissed it as “lousy” intelligence work.
U.S. plans bomb sales in Gulf to counter Iran
Wall Street Journal: The Obama administration has quietly drawn up plans to provide a key Persian Gulf ally with thousands of advanced “bunker-buster” bombs and other munitions, part of a stepped-up U.S. effort to build a regional coalition to counter Iran.
EU mulls new sanctions against defiant Iran
Reuters: The European Union may approve fresh sanctions against Iran within weeks, after a U.N. agency said Tehran had worked to design nuclear bombs, EU diplomats said on Thursday.
Russia ‘ready to build new reactors’ in Iran
AFP: Russia is ready to build more nuclear reactors in Iran, its nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko said Thursday despite renewed fears that Tehran is seeking to produce nuclear weapons.
