Reuters: Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency will hold more talks on Thursday to resolve doubts about its nuclear work, officials said, a week ahead of an IAEA report key to deciding on any tougher sanctions against Tehran.
More Iran talks set ahead of key U.N. report
Saudi king calls on Iran to avoid escalation
Reuters: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has urged Iran to avoid escalation in its standoff with the West over its nuclear program and called for a solution that would allow Tehran to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
Oil fuels Irans confidence on nuclear ambitions
The Times: Iran is giving not an inch in the stand-off over its nuclear ambitions. Two reports next week are likely to accuse it of breaking international agreements, but with oil at $98 a barrel boosting its confidence, it is not showing any inclination to yield.
China tells Iran to heed international pressure
Reuters: China on Thursday urged Iran to heed rising international worry about its nuclear ambitions, saying Beijing would seek to work with Europe and the United Nations to defuse the crisis but holding its tongue on any new sanctions.
Iran leader urges police to keep up social vice crackdown
AFP: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday urged the police to keep up its crackdown on social vice that has also targeted un-Islamic dress.
US asks Greece to take measures against Iranian bank
AFP: The United States has asked Greece to take measures against the local subsidiary of Iran’s Bank Saderat which it suspects of funding Islamist militants, the American embassy in Athens said Wednesday.
Bush, Sarkozy stand together on Iran
AP: President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy stood shoulder-to-shoulder against a nuclear-armed Iran on Wednesday, demonstrating the cozier relationship between the two countries under France’s new conservative leader.
US fears Israeli strike against Iran over latest nuclear claim
The Times: A claim by President Ahmadinejad that Iran has 3,000 working uranium-enriching centrifuges sent a tremor across the world yesterday amid fears that Israel would respond by bombing the countrys nuclear facilities.
Diplomat denies Putin gave Iran secret message
Reuters: President Vladimir Putin gave Iran no secret messages about its disputed nuclear program during a visit last month but pressed Tehran to resolve the issue through negotiations, a senior Russian diplomat said on Wednesday.
U.S. says to free two Iranian Qods Force “associates”
Reuters: The U.S. military in Iraq said on Wednesday that two of the nine Iranian detainees it plans to release are “associates” of Iran’s Qods Force, an elite military unit Washington has dubbed a supporter of terrorism.
