RFE/RL: A female commander of the pro-government Basij militia, Zohreh Abbasi, has said that her unit has introduced a special program that allows baby girls to be registered as members of the force and receive training.
Iran to raise baby girls as Basij members
Iran launches assault boats with warning
AFP: Iran kicked off mass production of two high-speed missile-launching assault boats on Monday, warning its enemies not to “play with fire” as it boosts security along its coastline.
Iran says Turkey may help build petrochemical units
Bloomberg: Turkey and Iran may jointly build two petrochemical units, state-run Press TV news channel reported, citing Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister.
Turkey to remove Iran from enemies watchlist
AFP: Turkey is to remove Iran from a watchlist of nations it considers a specific threat to its national security, a news report said Monday, amid Western concerns of rapprochement between the two countries.
Oriflame workers detained in Iran as operations shut
BBC: Iranian authorities have closed the Tehran operations of Oriflame Cosmetics and detained five workers, the Swedish firm has said.
Kuwait monitors pro-Iran sleeping cells: report
AFP: Kuwait is closely monitoring “sleeping terror cells” that would resort to violence if Iran came under a military strike, a newspaper quoted a security source as saying on Sunday.
Iran working against Iraqi democracy: US general
AFP: Iran is funding extremist groups in Iraq out of fear of a strong democracy as a neighbor, the commander of US forces in Iraq said Sunday.
Nabucco group scraps plan for Iranian gas supply
Dow Jones: European energy companies have shelved a plan to source gas from Iran to Europe via the European Union-backed Nabucco gas pipeline given Iran’s political situation, the Nabucco consortium said Monday.
16 wounded in violent demo over Iraq power rationing
AFP: Dozens of Iraqis violently protested in the southern city of Nasiriyah to demand better power supplies, wounding 16 people including 10 policemen, witnesses and officials said on Sunday.
U.S. ready to resume Iraq combat role if needed – Odierno
Reuters: The top U.S. military commander in Iraq said local security forces will be ready for the withdrawal of American troops next year but the United States could return to combat operations if needed.
