AFP: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday rejected Iran's warnings that a draft security pact will hurt Iraq, saying the Iraqis can "defend their interests without the Iranians."
Iraqis don’t need Iran to defend interests, Rice says
Iran bank denies weapons charges by U.S. Treasury
Reuters: The Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) denied on Thursday U.S. Treasury charges it was a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and said Washington had taken the step to try to cover up its own economic woes.
Stopping a nuclear Tehran
Washington Post: It is likely that the first and most pressing national security issue the next president will face is the growing prospect of a nuclear-weapons-capable Iran.
Iran jobless rate tops 10%
AFP: More than one in 10 people in Iran's workforce are now without jobs, Labour Minister Mohammad Jahromi said in comments published on Thursday.
Court order over EU terror list
Press Association: Europe's governments were ordered by a court to follow the UK's lead and take Iran's main opposition group off a blacklist of suspected terror organisations.
Court annuls EU assets freeze for Iranian opposition group
AFP: A European court on Thursday annulled an EU decision to freeze the assets of the main Iranian opposition in exile, dealing a fresh blow to the bloc's attempts to keep the group on its terror blacklist.
Iraq doesn’t need Iran’s help, Rice says
Reuters: Iraq does not need Iran to help defend its interests, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday, after Iran charged that Washington sought to continue "looting" Iraq with a new security pact.
Iran’s oil party is over, economists warn
AFP: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will have a hard time meeting his election pledge of "putting oil money on people's tables" as crude prices tumble, industrial investment shrinks and spending on imports soars.
US slaps sanctions on Iran bank
AP: The Bush administration is imposing financial sanctions on the Export Development Bank of Iran for allegedly providing financial services in support of the country's weapons program.
Cleric in Iran issues fatwa against US-Iraqi pact
AP: An influential Iraqi cleric living in Iran on Wednesday issued a fatwa condemning a U.S.-Iraqi security pact that would keep American troops in Iraq for three more years and warned Iraqi leaders not to back the deal.
