Iran Focus: Baghdad, Jan. 01 – Iraq’s Defence Minister,
Hazem Shaalan, accused Iran today of attempting to “create a Safavian-style Shiite Crescent stretching from Iran all the
way to Syria and Lebanon, engulfing Iraq and bringing about corruption in the country”.

Iran Focus: Baghdad, Dec. 31 – The Iraqi interim-Prime Minister, Ayad Allawi, speaking on Iraqi TV today echoed comments made yesterday by Iraq’s Defence Minister, about Iranian and Syrian meddling in Iraq. “There are countries which host those who are involved in activities that are harmful to the people of Iraq”, he said.

Iran Focus: Baghdad, Dec. 31 – The Iraqi Defence Minister announced yesterday that he has fresh information on Iranian and Syrian meddling in Iraq. “I have important information regarding the interference into Iraq by these two countries”, Hazem Shaalan said. Speaking on Al-Arabia satellite TV channel, Shaalan stated, “The Iraqi people will soon see footage of the confessions of one of the perpetrators who has information about the meddling of these two countries in Iraq”.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Dec. 31 – Recent studies reveal that fourteen percent of all children in Iran are currently working so as to provide income for their families.
Many of these children are forced into illegal employment such as smuggling, selling narcotics, and prostitution and have to forgo any opportunity of studying in school. Virtually all such children are facing malnutrition and are prone to diseases due to lack of hygiene, according to the latest statistics.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Dec. 30 – The director general of Iran’s Teachers Union resigned on Tuesday after increased
pressure by the Iranian regime on teachers and educational establishments. In the general meeting of the directors of the Teachers Union attended by ten of the fifteen members of the board, Mahmoud Beheshti-Langroudi, handed in his resignation citing “personal reasons”.