The Independent: Mehdi Kazemi is a gay teenager from Iran. He sought sanctuary in Britain after his boyfriend was hanged for homosexuality. So why is Britain so determined to send him back to Tehran to almost certain execution?
A life or death decision
Brutal land where homosexuality is punishable by death
The Independent: The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, did not bat an eyelid when he asserted at New York’s Columbia university that there were no homosexuals in Iran.
Iraq: Sunnis say Iran working to solidify economic control
RFE/RL: Even before his foot touched Iraqi soil, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad had much to celebrate. His country has entrenched itself in the Iraqi economy, so much so that observers say Iraq is becoming economically, if not politically, subordinate to Iran.
Irans religious conservatives are expected to solidify power at polls
New York Times: With eight days before Irans parliamentary elections, there is little doubt that religious conservatives will tighten their grip on power, pushing aside some of the veteran politicians who helped found the Islamic Republic 29 years ago.
‘Filthy trick’: Iran targets 95-year-old mother of journalist
New York Sun: The Iranian government has presented an Iranian-American journalist working for an American-funded radio station with a choice between her 95-year-old mother and prison.
Iran inflation surges on Ahmadinejad subsidies, price controls
Bloomberg: On a deserted Tehran street, an ex- geologist named Reza was hawking black-market fuel from the back of a battered van — for about four times the legal price.
Iran team leaves without US talks on Iraq
AFP: An Iranian delegation left Baghdad for home on Thursday without holding talks with officials from archfoe the United States on the security situation in Iraq, an Iranian official said.
Iraqi official: US-Iran talks postponed
AP: A meeting brokered by Baghdad between Iran and the United States over Iraq’s security was postponed Thursday, an Iraqi government official said, a day after Washington insisted no such talks were planned.
Iran says sanctions will not affect oil sector
Reuters: Iran’s oil minister said on Thursday the latest U.N. sanctions on Tehran over its disputed nuclear plans would not affect the oil sector in the world’s fourth-largest crude producer.
Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers meet in Cairo
Reuters: The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia held talks at Cairo airport on Wednesday, Egyptian officials said, in a possible attempt to resolve a political crisis in Lebanon.
