The Guardian: Sitting in Tehran’s grand bazaar, once the spiritual heart and financial lifeblood of Iran’s Islamic revolution, the man fidgeting with the prayer beads ventured a fiercely uncompromising opinion of his country’s ruling elite. “We won’t vote for any of them, they are all robbers,” he declared, his voice rising with indignation. “All of them have been lying to us.”
Voter fury threatens Iranian election
U.S. warns Iran on Iraq
United Press International: The U.S. State Department said Monday Iran must make its ties with Iraq “transparent” and stay out of its neighbor’s politics. “Iran’s relations with people inside Iraq are not transparent,” spokesman Richard Boucher said. “They need to be made transparent.”
Iranian lawyers appeal over slain photojournalist
Reuters: Human rights lawyers on Monday accused Iran’s hardline judiciary of permitting an illegal trial that acquitted a government agent of the killing of a Canadian photojournalist. However, a judge gave the lawyers’ arguments short shrift and indefinitely postponed giving his verdict on their appeal, one of the human rights team said.
New Iran hearing into murdered photographer ends in an hour
AFP: A Tehran appeals court handling the case of murdered Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi on Monday wrapped up its first hearing in less than one hour after turfing out reporters and refusing to hear arguments from family lawyers. The intelligence agent accused of the murder but acquitted in the first trial was absent from the hearing, which may prove to be Iran’s last look into a controversial case that has badly damaged relations with Canada.
Annan warns U.S. on Iran
USA TODAY: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned the Bush administration that the Security Council might deadlock if asked to punish Iran for its nuclear program. The United States and Britain have called for Iran to be brought before the Security Council if it carries out threats to resume efforts to make nuclear fuel.
Support for U.S. Sanctions for Iran Grows
AP: As Iran appears to move closer to resuming nuclear activities, support has been quietly building in Congress for new U.S. sanctions, including penalties that could affect multinational companies and this country’s foreign aid recipients.
Iran pessimistic ahead of last-ditch nuclear talks
AFP: Iran warned Monday that an emergency meeting next week with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany may have little chance of resolving mounting tensions over its nuclear programme.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said the May 23 talks may prove to be the “last round of negotiations” between Iran and the so-called EU-3, insisting that Iran has already decided to resume controversial uranium activities.
Is Tehran toying with Europe?
Washington Times – Editorial: In recent days, the European Union has toughened somewhat its rhetorical treatment of Iran’s nuclear-weapons program. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Britain could back referring Iranian violations of nuclear agreements with Europe to the United Nations Security Council, where Tehran could face economic or political sanctions.
Iran ready to meet EU ministers but stands by nuclear demand
AFP: Iran is ready to meet top European officials in the coming days but will not continue long-term nuclear negotiations without first resuming sensitive uranium work, a senior
national security official said Sunday. “We cannot continue the negotiations with the Europeans without having resumed
some of our activities,” Hassan Rowhani told state television.
French FM confirms Iran-EU meeting in coming days
AFP: French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier confirmed on Sunday that a meeting between the Iranian authorities and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany on Tehran’s nuclear program would take place in the coming days. “We have scheduled a meeting of the three Europeans with Iranian authorities in the coming days,” Barnier told AFP, without specifying the venue of the talks.
