New York Times: Until Iran’s current political crisis, Iranian experts largely agreed that the Islamic republic wanted to develop the capacity to build nuclear weapons, without actually producing them. Now, not everyone is so sure.
Hard-line rise in Iran alters view in West
Iran bans graffiti on banknotes
AFP: Iran's central bank has warned people not to write on banknotes and sought to collect defaced ones after the appearance of opposition slogans on many, local media reported on Thursday.
Protest against Khamenei turns violent
UPI: The People's Mujahedin of Iran said a protest against the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, turned violent in Najafabad.
Senior US senator promises vote on new Iran sanctions
AFP: US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pledged Thursday to move forward to a vote legislation allowing President Barack Obama to sanction companies that export gasoline to Iran.
Anti-Iranian demonstrations spread across Iraq in oil well dispute
The Times: A row over an oil well on the Iran-Iraq border has triggered anti-Iranian demonstrations across Iraq, angry statements by politicians accusing the Government of supporting Iran and the announcement of a new cross-tribal armed force to combat Iranian incursions.
Iran police clash with dissident cleric’s mourners: website
AFP: Iranian police clashed Thursday with mourners of dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, making arrests and injuring some, an opposition website said after Tehran warned of a crackdown.
Iran jails former government spokesman
BBC: A former Iranian government spokesman has been jailed for six years.
Iran protests spread in heartland
Los Angeles Times: Demonstrations in Esfahan and Najafabad are evidence that the opposition movement has spread beyond Tehran to include a broad cross-section of people in central Iran.
Sarkozy calls French academic on trial in Iran
AFP: French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke by phone on Thursday with a French academic on trial in Iran for allegedly taking part in anti-government protests, his office said.
Courage, websites and sound judgment fight Irans media suppression
The Times: The Iranian regime is fighting not only to suppress opposition protests but to suppress news of those protests lest the contagion spread.
