AFP: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to Britain, Israel and the West Bank for talks on Iran's nuclear program, Kosovo and Middle East peace efforts, the State Department said Friday.
Rice to make trip to Britain, Israel, West Bank
US contracted ship fires warning shots at boats in Gulf
AP: A civilian ship contracted by the U.S. military fired warning shots at two small boats that approached it in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy said Friday, the latest in a string of similar incidents to trigger concern in Washington.
One in four Iranian students sees no problem with alcohol
AFP: A new survey in Iran shows that 25 percent of university students see no problem in drinking alcohol, which has been strictly forbidden since the Islamic revolution, Mehr news agency reported on Friday.
Iran agrees to raise Turkmen gas price
Reuters: Iran has accepted to raise the price of natural gas it imports from neighbouring Turkmenistan, a senior Iranian official told the semi-official Mehr news agency on Friday.
A roadmap for the foreign terrorist organizations list
WINEP – By Patrick Clawson: Although the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list has a set of criteria for designating groups, there is little clarity in practice about the process for revocation. Even after organizations have renounced terrorism for many years, their designations persist without a clear explanation, and are based on the assumption that historical violence indicates future potential.
Swiss franc trades at a session high on Iran news
Reuters: The Swiss franc extended gains and traded at a session high against the dollar on Friday after news a ship contracted by the U.S. military fired on an Iranian boat.
Top IAEA official returning to Iran: report
AFP: The deputy chief of the UN nuclear watchdog is due to return to Tehran next week for more talks about claims Iran has been studying how to make an atomic weapon, the student news agency ISNA reported on Friday.
U.S. says new find shows Iran still sends arms to Iraq
Wall Street Journal: The U.S. military says it has found caches of newly made Iranian weapons in Iraq, leading senior officials to conclude Tehran is continuing to funnel armaments into Iraq despite its pledges to the contrary.
Sarkozy vows no talks with Taliban, Hamas, Iran
AFP: French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed Thursday that he would not hold talks with Taliban militia in Afghanistan, Hamas in the Palestinian territories nor Iran's president.
Iran begins run-off parliamentary vote: radio
Reuters: Polls opened on Friday for Iran's run-off parliamentary vote which is likely to have no impact on the firm control of conservatives after the disqualification of many reformists in the first round.
