Reuters: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday acknowledged for the first time chemical weapons had killed people in ally Syria and called for the international community to prevent their use.
Iran’s Rouhani says chemical weapons killed people in Syria
Sierra Leonean faces U.S. charges in Iran uranium sting
Bloomberg: A Sierra Leonean arrested at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in an undercover probe of illegal uranium sales will be taken to Florida to face charges, according to court documents.
U.S. Mideast policy has failed
Wall Street Journal: Iraq continues to unravel, the Syrian War grinds on with violence spreading to Lebanon and allegations of chemical attacks this week, and Egypt stands on the brink of civil war with the generals crushing the Muslim Brotherhood and street mobs torching churches.
Iran boosts iron exports to China, India as oil sales slump
Reuters: Iran is raising its exports of iron ore and iron products to China and India in an attempt to replace at least a small part of the massive revenue that has been lost due to sanctions on its oil sales.
Sanctions biting but Iran not budging
AP: New signs are emerging that international sanctions are taking a deepening toll on Iran’s economy – putting billions of dollars in oil money out of the government’s reach. Yet there is no indication the distress is achieving the West’s ultimate goal of forcing the Islamic Republic to halt its nuclear program.
Man accused of brokering uranium deal for Iran
AP: Federal officials in Miami say a man from Sierra Leone has been charged with brokering a uranium deal intended for Iran. Patrick Campbell was arrested Wednesday in Queens, N.Y.
I was lucky to escape with my life
The Independent: Social media has made it harder for governments to cover up their abuses. For me this realization has poignant implications. Perhaps the lives of thousands of innocent people, many of them my close friends, could have been saved in my native Iran.
Iran oil minister vows to revive output as he eyes price war
Bloomberg: In his first few days as oil minister in President Hassan Rohani’s new government in Tehran, the 61-year-old initiated plans to revive oil production to pre-2005 levels, hinted at a price war to win old customers and brought back managers sidelined by the previous administration.
1988 massacre in Iran – 25 years later
The Hill: In late July 1988, the Iranian government began the massacre of political prisoners that continued for several months and resulted in the slaughter of more than 30,000 political prisoners, the overwhelming majority of them activists of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
US Institute: Iran asphalts possible nuke site
AP: A U.S. institute tracking Iran’s nuclear program says recent satellite images it has analyzed show further major alterations of a military site that the U.N. has long tried to access to follow up suspicions that Tehran may have used it in attempts to develop atomic arms.
