AFP: Powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, leader of a major political movement and a key figure in post-Saddam Iraq, has announced his exit from politics two months before elections.
Iraqi Shiite cleric Sadr quits politics
Saudi Arabia may go nuclear because of Obama’s Iran deal
Daily Beast: President Obama wants an agreement with Iran to prevent a Middle Eastern nuclear arms race, but it’s pushing Saudi Arabia toward its own nuke program.
British lawmakers strongly condemn secret burial
Scoop: The government of Iraq has secretly buried the bodies of 52 Camp Ashraf residents, slain during the 1 September 2013 massacre at the camp in Iraq. A total of 52 men and women were executed on 1 September by an Iraqi SWAT team.
Iran’s future: Why it’s a mistake to trust the new regime
Azcentral: I am all the more worried for the future of Iran because the friendly, overly trusting tone of the West has taken crucial pressure off of the clerical regime and may prolong its brutal rule within Iran and its sponsorship of terrorism abroad.
Tanker insurers warn on Iran shipments
Wall Street Journal: The world’s largest pool of tanker insurers is advising members they shouldn’t insure Iranian oil shipments, citing the short-time frame of sanction loosening agreed to between Iran and Western powers.
West aims to minimize nuclear bomb risk in Iran talks
Reuters: When world powers start talks with Iran next week on a final agreement on their nuclear dispute, the main question for the West will be how to ensure Tehran gives up enough atomic activity to ensure it cannot build a bomb any time soon.
Complex double game: Iran supporting Assad and al-Qaeda?
Al Arabiya: Since the uprising erupted in Syria— both Tehran and Damascus have been playing a masterful political game with the United States and other Western powers by arguing that Assad’s regime is being targeted by terrorist enemies like al-Qaeda and its affiliations.
Pitt-Bradford faculty member testifies before Canadian House of Commons subcommittee
Bradford Today: Retired U.S. Army Col. Wes Martin, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, testified via live remote before the Canadian House of Commons’ Subcommittee on International Human Rights.
Iran nuclear talks resume as companies prepare for market access
Bloomberg: The prospect of access to Iran’s $500 billion economy is tempting executives from countries including France and the Netherlands as negotiators resume their slog toward a nuclear deal.
Iran’s defense program a ‘red line’
UPI: Iran’s defense program is a “red line” that can’t be crossed during Tuesday talks in Vienna on nuclear issues, a senior Iranian defense legislator said. He said negotiators need to stick to a nuclear agenda.
