Israel Behind Blast at Tehran Missile Base: Official

White House shifting strategy, but activists aren't thrilled

(NEWSER) - With President Obama's attempts to negotiate with Tehran going nowhere, the White House is looking to a new approach to pressuring Iran on nuclear weapons: backing the Iranian opposition movement. The US administration is now convinced the Iranian opposition is here to stay, and hopes to boost it while further destabilizing the regime with sanctions targeting the Revolutionary Guard. But the Iranian opposition says the last thing it needs is love from Washington. More»

NYT investigation finds 49 firms still doing business in Tehran

(NEWSER) - Want to thumb your nose at US sanctions, and sink some money in Iran? That's OK, the US government doesn't mind—to the tune of some $107 billion it's given in federal contracts and grants to corporations doing business with Tehran. As the New York Times reports, a large portion of that went to Iran's energy sector—a huge financial boon to both Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran's Revolutionary Guard. More»

Internet access slows, foreign media warned on eve of annual event

(NEWSER) - An annual rally is shaping up as another battle between Iran's government and citizens, with Internet access in Tehran restricted and foreign reporters warned not even to go outside for the next 3 days. Dec. 7 is Students Day, marking the anniversary of the deaths of three student protesters in 1953, but this year's observation is likely to turn into another protest of the disputed June presidential election. More»

It was a pretext used to create a Jewish state, he says

(NEWSER) - Iran's president repeated his assertion that the Holocaust is a myth today, calling it a "pretext" used to create Israel, the New York Times reports. "It is a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told attendees at an anti-Israel rally in Tehran. "Confronting the Zionist regime is a national and religious duty" for Iranians, he said. "This regime will not last long. Do not tie your fate to it." More»

(NEWSER) - Police used tear gas against hundreds of protesters in Tehran today and fired warning shots into the air, the Guardian reports. About 200 had gathered to protest in Haft-e-Tir square, defying the Revolutionary Guard’s warning that it would crack down on further demonstrations. Hundreds of police descended to disperse them, preventing even small groups from gathering or standing still, as helicopters hovered overhead. More»