Daily Show to Feature Dispatches From Iran

Tehran didn't hide new facility, he insists

(AP) - Iran's president hit back today at President Obama's accusation that his country had sought to hide construction of a new nuclear site, arguing that Tehran reported the facility to the UN even earlier than required. "The US president made a big and historic mistake," said Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Later it became clear that (his) information was wrong and that we had no secrecy." More»

(NEWSER) - A potentially big development on the Iran elections tonight: The nation's most prominent clerical group demanded that the results be thrown out and called the new government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad illegitimate, the New York Times reports. The decision may yet collapse under state pressure, but it's a defiant rebuke of the nation's supreme leader and the clearest sign yet of a serious split in the country's leadership. More»

Witness describe chaos at a protest near Tehran mosque

(AP) - Riot police clashed with up to 3,000 protesters near a mosque in north Tehran today, using tear gas and truncheons to break up Iran's first post-election demonstration in 5 days. Witnesses told the AP that some protesters fought back, chanting: "Where is my vote?" They said others described scenes of brutality—including the alleged police beating of an elderly woman—in the clashes around the Ghoba Mosque. More»

Jailed US journalist has prison term cut to two years suspended

(NEWSER) - Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American reporter jailed in Tehran for the last 5 months, has been freed and reunited with her parents, the AP reports. An appeals court yesterday cut her sentence to a 2-year suspended term, down from the 8 years she was given for spying for the US. The case sparked international concern, and Saberi undertook a two-week hunger strike to protest her conviction. More»

Ebadi urges bail release for journalist Roxana Saberi

(NEWSER) - Shirin Ebadi, the dissident Iranian human rights lawyer who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, will defend the Iranian-American journalist sentenced this weekend to 8 years in prison, reports the Washington Post. Ebadi is seeking to secure a bail release for Roxana Saberi, who was convicted of spying for the United States after initially being accused of other offenses. More»