Reuters: The United States voiced disappointment on Thursday that Iran’s new president has not moved more swiftly to allay international concerns about the country’s atomic program, saying Tehran is undermining hopes of ending its nuclear standoff with the West.
U.S. sees no sign Iran is addressing concerns on nuclear program
Iran ex-president in row over Syria chemical arms quote
AFP: Conservatives in Iran are demanding that former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani respond to allegations he allegedly said Damascus used chemical weapons against civilians, despite denials that he did so.
Iran foreign minister tasked with nuclear talks
AFP: Iranian President Hassan Rowhani has tasked the foreign ministry with handling the country’s sensitive nuclear talks, his website said Thursday, in a possible signal of a less confrontational approach with world powers.
Church leaders condemn Camp Ashraf violence
Christian Today: The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales and the Archbishop of Wales have condemned the reported killing of 52 Iranian dissidents at a camp in Iraq on Sunday.
UN seeks Syria peace talks amid military strike threat
AFP: The United Nations is making a desperate new push for a Syria peace conference even as the United States prepares a possible military strike, according to diplomats.
Iran the real U.S. threat, not Syria
Chicago Sun Times: The Obama administration is flailing on the subject of national security, declaring the war over in one breath and thundering against Syria’s use of chemical weapons in the next.
Senate committee approves resolution authorizing U.S. strike on Syria
Washington Post: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution Wednesday granting President Obama limited authority to launch a military strike on Syria in response to its reported use of chemical weapons against civilians.
OMCT condemns the recent attack on Camp Ashraf
Iran Focus: The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) issued a press release about the massacre at camp Ashraf on Sunday. The text of their press release follows.
Syria isn’t Obama’s litmus test on Iran
Bloomberg: Over the past two days or so, the Syria interventionists (a group that includes yours truly, at least some of the time) have argued with great fervor that President Barack Obama’s proposed missile strike would be meant as a message not only to the Bashar al-Assad regime, but to its masters in Tehran.
French PM: not acting in Syria would send wrong message to Iran
Reuters: A lack of international action to the chemical attack in Syria would risk sending Iran the wrong message over its nuclear program, France’s Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned on Wednesday.
