AFP: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought to play down a report in a British newspaper Wednesday that North Korea was helping Iran prepare an eventual nuclear test explosion.
U.N. says Iran plans nuclear development
AP: Iran plans to start installing thousands of centrifuges in an underground facility next month, U.N. officials said Friday, paving the way to large-scale uranium enrichment, a potential way of making nuclear weapons.
Iran nearing satellite launch, U.S. magazine says
Reuters: Iran has converted a 30-ton ballistic missile into a satellite launch vehicle that will be used to send a satellite into space soon, a move that could have wider security implications, Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine reported on its Web site on Thursday.
Egyptian state paper attacks Iranian policies
Reuters: The editor of Egypt’s most prestigious government newspaper said Iran was trying to spread Shi’a Islam in Arab countries that have no Shi’ites in an attempt to recreate an Iranian empire in the Middle East.
ANALYSIS-Saudi fears Iraq chaos is strengthening Iran
Reuters: Saudi Arabia fears the Iraq conflict has sapped America’s ability to guarantee Gulf Arab security and breathed new life into the threat from Iran, according to analysts.
UN atom agency’s Iran section head must go – Tehran
Reuters: Iran has demanded the removal of the U.N. official overseeing nuclear inspections in the country, accusing him of breach of trust, and barred all inspectors from nations behind sanctions, diplomats said on Friday.
Troops authorized to kill Iranian operatives in Iraq
Washington Post: The Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of an aggressive new strategy to weaken Tehran’s influence across the Middle East and compel it to give up its nuclear program, according to government and counterterrorism officials with direct knowledge of the effort.
Saudi denies working with Iran on Lebanon plan
Reuters: Saudi Arabia is not negotiating with Iran to try to broker an end to the political crisis in Lebanon, but the two countries have exchanged messages about Muslim cooperation, the Saudi foreign minister said on Thursday.
US says its has proof Iran is interfering in Iraq
AFP: The United States Wednesday said it had proof of Iran’s interference in Iraq, promising soon to publish details of Iranian networks in its strife-torn neighboring country.
Iran a source of tension in Afghanistan’s western Herat
AFP: The influence of Iran is a source of tension between Shiites and Sunnis that recently exploded into deadly violence in Afghanistan’s western city of Herat, residents say.
