Offer to talk merely signals shift from 'hard conflict to a soft attack,' commander says
Washington Post Nov 13, 08 10:34 AM CST
(Newser)
-
Facing a US president-elect willing to negotiate, just as they’ve asked for, Iran’s leaders have adopted a more hostile tone toward Barack Obama, the Washington Post reports. “People who put on a mask of friendship, but with the objective of betrayal, and who enter from the angle of negotiations without preconditions, are more dangerous,” one military official said yesterday.
More »
Sejil has the capability to reach Israel, Tehran says
Times (UK) Nov 12, 08 3:54 PM CST
(Newser)
-
The Iranian government said today it test-fired a new model of missile capable of reaching Israel or US bases in the Middle East, although it insisted its intentions were peaceful, the Times of London reports. Tehran released photos of a test of what it said were Sejil missiles, which it said can be upgraded to have a range of 1,200 miles.
More »
Though Obama team hasn't been consulted, move could insulate Dem from criticism
Newsweek Nov 7, 08 5:13 PM CST
(Newser)
-
The Bush administration is moving ever closer to establishing a long-rumored diplomatic office in Iran, Newsweek reports, with a decision possible by Thanksgiving on putting an “interests section” inside another embassy in Tehran, likely the Swiss. The move might signal a victory for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and company in their final skirmish with Dick Cheney's hardliners.
More »
ANALYSIS
Iranian collusion may be behind the success of the surge in Iraq
Daily Beast Oct 7, 08 2:31 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Secret cooperation between Iran and the Bush administration may be behind the success of the Iraq surge, which has played heavily in "John McCain’s rise from the ashes," writes Salameh Nematt in the Daily Beast. Arab intelligence sources say such a “Grand Bargain” has been reached and is the reason for the Iranian restraint in Iraq that, along with the Anbar Awakening and Gen. Petraeus’ counterinsurgency tactics, has helped stabilize Iraq.
More »
Denies rights groups' charges of excessive use
BBC Jul 27, 08 11:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Amid charges of excessive use, Iran hanged 29 convicts this morning in Tehran. The Iranian Supreme Court approved the death sentences, variously on charges of murder, rape, armed robbery, or drug trafficking, the BBC reports. Last year, the country carried out 317 executions, second only to China. Tehran, however, insists the death penalty is an effective deterrent, judiciously used after a lengthy legal process.
More »
Move hailed as breakthrough in Iranian relations
Washington Post Jul 16, 08 12:17 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
In a break with long-standing policy, a top US envoy will join European Union talks with Iran concerning its nuclear program, reports the Washington Post. Undersecretary of State William Burns will join the EU's foreign policy chief and Iran's nuclear negotiator in Geneva this weekend. Burns will hold out the possibility of direct talks with the US if Iran ceases enriching uranium.
More »
Tehran turns down 6-nation deal to stop enriching uranium
Associated Press Jun 14, 08 8:09 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Iran said no to an incentive offer today to stop making uranium, sparking a warning from President Bush and Nicolas Sarkozy not to build nuclear weapons, the AP reports. "Our allies understand that a nuclear-armed Iran is incredibly destabilizing," Bush said. Even before an EU official delivered the six-nation offer of economic, educational, and other rewards, Tehran had rejected it.
More »
OPINION
US misunderstanding of split personality hinders any progress
Wall Street Journal May 28, 08 2:42 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Barack Obama can berate President Bush for refusing to "sit down with" Iran, and John McCain can beat up Obama for proposing to do just that, but the fact is that every administration in the past 30 years has tried talking to Iran—without preconditions—and been rejected. Including Condoleezza Rice, who worked in the White House at the time and has written a book about Iran, writes Amer Taheri in the Wall Street Journal .
More »
Tehran says it has 'left no question unanswered'
BBC May 26, 08 8:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The UN's nuclear watchdog blasted Tehran today for hiding data on its nuclear weapons program, BBC reports. The UN said Iran had blocked access to documents and experts while running 3,500 centrifuges, which can enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Iran quickly vowed to keep enriching uranium and said it had "left no question unanswered."
More »
Man charged with 'moralizing' Iran capital caught with prostitutes
Ynetnews.com Mar 12, 08 4:17 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The man in charge of "moralizing" Iran's capital city is out of a job after being arrested during a raid on a Tehran brothel, Ynetnews reports. Police chief Reza Zarei, who had led crackdowns on women who disobeyed strict Islamic dress codes, was caught naked with six prostitutes in the recent raid and, according to unofficial sites, resigned his post.
More »
90% of Iraq's foreign fighters come across neighbor's borders, new report contends
Associated Press Mar 12, 08 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Syria is a key jumping-off point for foreign militants in Iraq, with 90% entering through the Syrian border, the Pentagon reported yesterday. “It is not clear that Syria has made a strategic decision to deal with foreign terrorists using Syria as a transit point,” the report notes. Meanwhile, Iran's support of Shiite insurgents also remains troublesome, the AP reports.
More »
Move comes after
article depicts him defying Bush on Iran
Associated Press Mar 11, 08 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The top US military commander for the Middle East resigned today after the publication of a magazine profile that portrayed him as a vocal opponent of the Bush administration's Iran strategy, the AP reports. Adm. William Fallon, head of US Central Command, denied any rift and said he stepped down only because recent press reports created a "distraction at a critical time," ABC News reports.
More »
First-ever trip by an Iranian prez upsets Sunnis, poses security risk to hosts
BBC Mar 1, 08 7:48 PM CST
(Newser)
-
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will fly to Baghdad Sunday to meet with Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, the first state visit ever by an Iranian president, the BBC reports. Sunni Iraqi leaders expressed outrage over the visit, which also comes a day after the US claimed further evidence of Iranian meddling in the country—a sniper "trained in Iran," US military said.
More »