US May Soften on Iran Civil Nuke Program

Once agency was certain this spring, Obama kept info as leverage for talks

(NEWSER) - The CIA knew about Iran's recently revealed uranium-enrichment facility and had been collecting intelligence on it since 2006. The US, the UK, and France had been on the lookout for a new secret plant since the 2002 revelation of the Natanz facility. When intelligence and covert operations uncovered a new project “built into a mountain,” CIA director Leon Panetta tells Time, “obviously that raised question marks.” More»

Stalemate seen as Ahmadinejad refuses more negotiations

(NEWSER) - Iran looks set to face another round of international sanctions as nuclear talks have reached an impasse and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad refuses to discuss a compromise, reports the Guardian. Mohamed ElBaradei, who heads the UN nuclear watchdog, said today Iran has not suspended enrichment activities and continues to be uncooperative with the agency. "There is stalemate," the Nobel Prize winner said. More»

(AP) - Iran's president said today he is willing to build a new relationship with the United States, adding that he is preparing new proposals aimed at breaking the impasse with the West over his country's nuclear program. "The Iranian nation is a generous nation," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a rally. "It may forget the past and start a new era, but any country speaking on the basis of selfishness will get the same response the Iranian nation gave to Mr. Bush." More»

'The nation will slap you in the mouth,' Ahmadinejad warns

(NEWSER) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad invoked some schoolyard rhetoric today, threatening the West with a "bloody nose" over ongoing criticism of Iran's uranium enrichment program, Reuters reports. "The Iranian nation will bloody the enemy's nose if they want to violate an iota of our rights" to nuclear technology, Ahmadinejad warned. Not clear enough? "The nation will slap you in the mouth," he added. More»

White House will apply pressure unilaterally on world trading

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration’s plan to sanction Iran looks a lot like that of his predecessor. Officials say that if nuclear talks with Iran fail, they will likely tighten enforcement of Bush sanctions rather than impose new ones, the Washington Post reports. Obama has even retained the top architect of Bush’s effort, Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey, to ensure continuity. Their goal: make it difficult for Iran to trade with the world. More»