Manouchehr Mottaki

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Ahmadinejad Abruptly Fires Foreign Minister

Move illustrates internal tensions as nuclear talks loom

(Newser) - Iran's president abruptly fired his foreign minister today and named nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi as acting top diplomat. It's the latest sign of a rift at the top levels of the Islamic theocracy as the country faces intense pressure from the West over its nuclear program. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad...

Iran OKs Visit by Moms of Detained US Hikers

But Tehran has made promises in the past

(Newser) - Iran will allow the mothers of the three American hikers who have been in custody for nearly a year to visit their children. Tehran has ordered its UN mission to issue visas for the three moms, the AP reports, but no date has been has been set. Iran has told...

Iran Ready to Swap Uranium
 Iran Ready to 
 Swap Uranium  
Dec 12, 2009 6:00 AM CST

Iran Ready to Swap Uranium

Foreign minister says UN deal a go, wants to dicker over details

(Newser) - Iran is ready to exchange the bulk of its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel rods—as proposed by the UN—but according to its own mechanisms and timetable, the foreign minister said today. Manochehr Mottaki said Iran would swap 2,600 of its 3,300 pounds for rods, which cannot...

Iran Tells US: Give Us Our Scientist Back

Nuclear researcher is missing, and Tehran says he was abducted

(Newser) - Iran today accused the US and Saudi Arabia of kidnapping a prominent nuclear scientist. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Shahram Amir disappeared while visiting Saudi Arabia on a religious pilgrimage in June. "The Americans did abduct him," he said. "Therefore we expect the American government to return...

Iran Fingers US in Scientist's Disappearance

Researcher, AWOL in Saudi Arabia, rumored to work at Qom facility

(Newser) - Iran’s foreign minister has accused the US of conspiring with Saudi Arabia in the disappearance of Shahram Amiri, a scientist thought to be involved in Iran’s nuclear program. Amiri disappeared four months ago on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia—around the time President Obama asked for a report...

Iranian Nuclear Talks Begin

 Iranian Nuclear Talks Begin 
Oct 1, 2009 7:36 AM CDT

Iranian Nuclear Talks Begin

Officials gather in Geneva villa for critical negotiations

(Newser) - Representatives from Iran arrived in a secluded villa in the countryside near Geneva to begin a critical round of nuclear negotiations with the Western powers today. In attendance were reps from the five UN Security Council states, Germany, and the EU. The US is looking for “practical steps and...

Iranian Leaders at Odds on Election Results

Ministers at odds as violent scenes come to light

(Newser) - A rift is growing between Iran’s political leadership as two top-ranking officials issued opposing statements on the results of the recent presidential election, CNN reports. The country’s parliamentary speaker today suggested Iran’s election authority had sided “with a certain candidate,” while the foreign minister claimed...

Iran Considering Nuclear Talks: Foreign Minister

New incentives could bring Tehran to table, enrichment freeze

(Newser) - Iran’s foreign minister turned heads yesterday with optimistic talk about nuclear negotiations with the international community, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tehran is “carefully examining” an offer of economic incentives, Manouchehr Mottaki said, and won’t rule out halting enrichment work during negotiations. “We see the potential...

Iran Plans 19 Nuke Plants
Iran Plans 19 Nuke Plants
Dec 24, 2007 11:47 AM CST

Iran Plans 19 Nuke Plants

Rejects calls to drop uranium enrichment

(Newser) - Iran has dismissed calls to drop uranium enrichment and plans 19 new nuclear power plants, Reuters reports. "US officials have talked of negotiations" on the condition that Iran stop the enrichment, "but we do not accept any preconditions for talks," Iran's Foreign Minister said today. The UN...

Angry Iran Blasts US for 'Espionage'

Minister attack US intel, denies past weapons program

(Newser) - Iran has blasted the US for spying and demanded “explanations for US espionage" in a letter sent to Washington, the BBC reports.  Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said today that a recent US intelligence report—which claims Iran's nuclear weapons program ended four years ago—was full of “...

Iran Defends Nuke Program in Letter to the World

Tehran insists it's making electricity

(Newser) - Iran has written a letter to world diplomats insisting that the nation's nuclear program is not a threat. "I would like to emphasize that Iran's nuclear program is completely peaceful," the foreign minister writes, adding that Iran has worked with the IAEA "even beyond its legal commitments....

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