Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jul. 30 – Iran will put two employees of its nuclear establishment on trial behind closed doors on espionage charges on August 2 and August 20 in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, state-run newspapers reported on Saturday. Judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimi-Rad announced in late June that the trial of the “nuclear spies” was postponed, “because one of the accused was ill and had to undergo surgery”.

Iran Focus: Baghdad, Jul. 30 – Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said he had complained to Iranian leaders in a recent visit to Tehran that Iran continued to meddle in the affairs of its neighbour. Speaking on Al-Iraqiya television on Thursday night, Zebari said, “I recently visited Iran with Prime Minister [Ibrahim al-Jaafari”>, where we discussed these issues with Iranian officials.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jul. 30 – Some 300 Kurdish activists gathered on Saturday at a sit-in outside the governor’s office in Iran’s western province of Kurdistan following two weeks of unrest that had brought several Kurdish towns and cities to a complete stand-still. The activists gathered to protest against a government crackdown on demonstrations which were sparked by the brutal torture and killing of a young Kurd in the town of Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, at the hands of Iran’s State Security Forces.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jul. 29 – Iran’s judiciary has arrested several executives of a privately-owned oil drilling company over their dealings with the U.S.-based oil giant Halliburton
and one of the country’s top nuclear negotiators is facing charges of involvement in an oil scam, a semi-official news agency reported.

Iran Focus: Mashad, Iran, Jul. 29 – A riot broke out in a village on the outskirts of the city of Mashad, northeast Iran, on Thursday leading to clashes between residents and security forces. Dozens of villagers were reportedly detained. Residents had requested that the village of Kharou Olya be upgraded to a town due to the increasing population level.