Iran Focus: Tehran, Mar. 02 At least 54 Iranian girls and young women, between the ages of 16 and 25, are sold on the streets of Karachi in Pakistan on a daily basis, according to report outlining the latest statistics. The report also revealed that there are at present at least 300,000 runaway girls in Iran, adding that the estimated number of women under the absolute poverty line was more than eight million.
Girls in Iran being sold in Pakistan on daily basis
US says “alarming number of unresolved questions” in Iran nuclear program
AFP: There are “an alarming number of unresolved questions about Iran’s nuclear program,” which the United States claims hides atomic weapons development, US ambassador Jackie Sanders told the UN atomic agency Wednesday. Sanders said Iran had continued to deny UN inspectors “the transparency and cooperation they need to perform their duties” and that Tehran was “cynically” manipulating “the nuclear nonproliferation regime in the pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
U.S. Criticizes UN Nuclear Watchdog Over Iran Program
Bloomberg: The U.S criticized the United Nations nuclear watchdog today over its ability to assure the world that Iran is using atomic technology for peaceful means. “The IAEA is still not able to provide assurances that Iran is not pursuing clandestine activities at undeclared locations as it has been doing for years,” U.S. Ambassador Jackie Sanders said today in a statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s …
Iranian commander says 190,000 US troops a target if Iran attacked
AFP: The head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards has warned that 190,000 US troops stationed close to the Islamic republic could be targetted if Iran were attacked, a report said Wednesday.
“More than 190,000 members of American forces are scattered in Afghanistan and Iraq. If the US carries out its threats against Iran, they nust know that all these forces will be within our reach,” Yahya Rahim Safavi told the ultra-hardline Ya Lessarat newspaper.
Iran must come clean on nuclear questions – ElBaradei
AFP: Iran must come clean on nuclear questions, UN atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Wednesday. ElBaradei, whose International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating Iran for possible nuclear weapons work, said Tehran must carry out “transparency” measures that allow widespread visits by IAEA inspectors beyond what is required under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
EU trio criticises Iran over nuclear freeze
Reuters: France, Britain and Germany, who are spearheading atomic talks with Iran, criticised Tehran on Wednesday for not keeping its pledge to suspend all sensitive parts of its nuclear programme that could be used in bomb-making. In a statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) board of governors, the trio cited Iran’s pledge to suspend activities linked to uranium enrichment, and said Tehran’s recent cleaning and quality control work on nuclear equipment parts was “of serious concern”.
Senators Warning On Negotiations With Iran Regime
New York Sun: Two leading Republican members of Congress are urging the White House to refrain from joining European negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. In an interview yesterday with The New York Sun, Senator Santorum, a Republican of Pennsylvania who is his party’s third-ranking senator, said he did not like the idea of the negotiations.
IAEA Must Refer Iran Nuke Breaches to UN Council -US
Reuters: The United States said on Wednesday the U.N. nuclear watchdog has a “statutory obligation” to refer Iranian breaches of its non-proliferation obligations to the U.N.
Security Council for possible economic sanctions.
Iran Denies U.N. Atomic Agency A Second Visit to Suspect Site
The Wall Street Journal: Iran won’t allow United Nations inspectors to revisit a military base where U.S. officials suspect it might have tested high-explosive components for a nuclear weapon, opening a new source of tension between the Bush administration and Tehran over its possible nuclear ambitions.
Europeans expect swift Iran decision
Reuters: European officials have said they expect a quick U.S. decision — within days or weeks — on whether to support incentives for Iran to give up its suspected nuclear weapons programme. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raised the issue on the sidelines of a Middle East conference and a senior U.S. official expected her to do so at a dinner Tuesday …
