Wall Street Journal – REVIEW & OUTLOOK: Give Admiral Michael McConnell credit for trying to walk back the cat. Questioned this week by the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Director of National Intelligence defended the “integrity and the professionalism” of the process that produced last December’s stunning National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran’s nuclear program. Yet his testimony amounts to a reversal of the previous judgment.
Iranian nuclear rewrite
Iran bans thousands of election hopefuls
Daily Telegraph: Iran’s regime was yesterday accused of trying to secure an “obedient parliament” after almost a third of the potential candidates in next month’s general election were banned from standing.
US sees attacks by Iranian-backed groups up in Iraq
Reuters: Attacks by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq have increased in recent months, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, casting doubt on the view Iran might have reduced its support for violence in the war.
France says Iranian “rocket” cannot work in space
Reuters: France said on Thursday an Iranian rocket Tehran says is intended to put a satellite into orbit is in fact a missile that cannot navigate in space, and added to concerns that the technology is aimed at making weapons.
Experts: Iran has faster centrifuges
AP: Iran has developed its own version of an advanced centrifuge that churns out fissile material much faster than other machines and has started testing them, diplomats and experts said Thursday.
Lebanon’s Hariri blasts Syria and Iran, calls for mass rally
AFP: Majority leader Saad Hariri blasted Syria and Iran on Thursday for interfering in Lebanese politics and urged a massive turnout for a rally on the third anniversary of his father’s assassination.
Lebanon in confrontation with Syria,Iran -Hariri
Reuters: The leader of Lebanon’s pro-Western majority in parliament said on Thursday the country was in direct confrontation with Syria and Iran, which back the Hezbollah opposition group in its conflict with the Beirut government.
Iran: Scores of young Kurds arrested
AKI: Two Kurdish students have been arrested in Iran for unknown reasons, increasing the number of arrested Kurdish students to 11.
Order given to fire on Iranian speedboat, but it turned away: Mullen
AFP: The commander of a US warship gave the order to fire on an approaching Iranian speedboat in the Strait of Hormuz last month but it turned away just in time, the US military chief said Wednesday.
EU blasts rise in executions in Iran
Iran Focus: London, Feb. 07 The European Union criticised Iran on Thursday for the rise in the number of executions carried out by the state.
