Shifting priorities
The Daily Star, Lebanon Meeting ahead of the resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John […]
Senior Iranian council deems new tough hijab law unconstitutional
Iran’s top legislative body has turned down a new draft law aimed at giving more powers to Iranian police and notorious volunteer militias to enforce women’s compulsory wearing of the […]
Rouhani criticizes west’s intervention in Muslim world
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 2 By Umid Niayesh – Trend: Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has criticized western powers’ intervention in the Islamic countries, the Islamic Republic’s IRNA news agency reported Jan. 2. “Why strangers should be able to make decisions upon the fate of the Muslims?” Rouhani said, criticizing the US […]
Iran unveils a memorial honoring Jewish heroes
Washington Post: Earlier this week, authorities in Tehran unveiled a monument to slain Iranian Jewish soldiers who died during the country’s long and bitter war with Iraq between 1980 and 1988. Death tolls for the hideous conflict differ, but casualty counts usually reach more than 1 million for both countries. A public ceremony marked the […]
Too Dangerous to Fail
FP: by Barry M. Blechman — Why the failure to secure a nuclear deal with Iran could have devastating consequences for global proliferation. An agreementnt would have been preferable, of course. But it’s not all bad news out of Vienna right now. The decision to extend until July the deadline […]
Muslim clerics gather in Iran to discuss how to counter terrorism
Clerics from 80 countries plan how to combat extremist groups including ISIS The Huffington Post: Shiite and Sunni clerics from about 80 countries gathered in Iran’s holy city of Qom […]
Iran is shifting from pariah to possible future policeman of the Gulf Iran’s crisis – our crisis with Iran, if you like – is about that great and historic nation’s future geo-strategic role in the Middle East and Southeast Asia
by Robert Fisk, The Independent Chatting with my favourite Lebanese banker-journalist before a trip to the Gulf last week, I asked him what he thought I should discuss with the investors and asset managers I was to talk to in Abu Dhabi. “Iran,” he said. “Whatever happens with the […]
IRAN: Old challenges continue for women under new president
Womensnewsnetwork.net: by Elahe Amani with Lys Anzia –– A woman nurse in Iran checks IV fluid for infants at the Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran. Recent October 2013 protests by nurses from the hospital brought the needs for trained women medical workers to the attention of others after a shortage of […]
Iran: New Law Proposes 74 Lashes for Dog Owners
New Iranian Law Proposes 74 Lashes for Dog Owners A new law proposed in Iran would make walking, owning or selling a dog a crime punishable by 74 lashes and a fine of $370 to $3,700. Sun, November 9, 2014 Clarion Project An Iranian woman stands in front of a […]
Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh detained at protest against acid attacks on women
theguardian: by Emma Graham-Harrison — Iranian authorities have arrested a photographer who documented a string of acid attacks on women, and detained a top human rights lawyer at a protest about the assaults, even as President Hassan Rouhani made a public show of sympathy with the victims. The apparent effort […]
Iran, Pakistan Exchange Mortar Fire
The Diplomat: by Ankit Panda — Amid growing tensions, Pakistan and Iran exchanged mortar fire. According to Pakistani officials, the Iranian army fired six mortar shells into the Pakistani border town of Mashkail early Friday morning. The BBC reports that Pakistan “is then thought to have fired back.” This exchange of fire comes […]
US Policy Towards Iran Played Big Role in Rise of Sunni Extremism
By Shireen T. Hunter (source: LobeLog) Throughout the recent handwringing about how the US and other Western countries failed to foresee the emergence of ISIS, one factor has been totally ignored, either intentionally or inadvertently: the impact of Washington’s hostility towards Iran, especially its persistent tendency to treat any anti-Iranian […]
Khamenei blames United States, ‘wicked’ Britain, for creating Islamic State
By Michelle Moghtader | Reuters – Mon, Oct 13, 2014 DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran‘s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Monday blamed the United States and the “wicked” British government for creating the Islamic State in his first speech since undergoing prostate surgery last month. The sharp remarks were a reminder of Iranian suspicions […]
No breakthrough in IAEA-Iran talks on nuclear bomb inquiry
VIENNA — Talks between the UN nuclear watchdog and Iran this week appear not to have substantively advanced an investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Tehran, potentially dimming chances for a broader deal between the Iranians and big powers. Western officials say Iran must improve cooperation with United Nations […]
Watch three Mideastern developments very carefully
Rami G. Khouri| The Daily Star The upheaval of ideological forces and reconfiguration of geostrategic conditions across the Middle East took a dramatic turn on Sunday and Monday, with in three principal developments in and around the Arab world: the combined American-Arab Gulf states airstrikes in Syria; the control of […]
UK: Iran Imprisons British Woman for Trying to Watch Men's Volleyball
After attempting to enter a men’s volleyball game, a 25-year old British-Iranian woman has been jailed for more than two months in the notorious Evin prison. Mon, September 15, 2014…clarionproject.com Imprisoned British-Iranian Ghoncheh Ghavami ISIS Releases New Agitprop Video, Goes Underground A British-Iranian woman, arrested more than two months ago […]
UK: Iran Imprisons British Woman for Trying to Watch Men’s Volleyball
After attempting to enter a men’s volleyball game, a 25-year old British-Iranian woman has been jailed for more than two months in the notorious Evin prison. Mon, September 15, 2014…clarionproject.com Imprisoned British-Iranian Ghoncheh Ghavami ISIS Releases New Agitprop Video, Goes Underground A British-Iranian woman, arrested more than two months ago […]
Israel behind US demands on Iran: Journalist
Israel is behind Washington’s excessive demands over Iran’s nuclear energy program, “making it impossible to reach an agreement,” an American journalist says. BY JAMES HENRY FETZER PRESSTV.IR “The United States is obviously moving the goal post, making it impossible to reach an agreement by insisting that inspectors must have access […]
Islamic State: John Kerry in Egypt for coalition talks
US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Egypt amid US attempts to form a broad coalition to tackle Islamic State (IS) militants. Mr Kerry will meet Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi in Cairo on the latest leg of his Middle East tour. He has enlisted the support of […]
Iran arrests 3 foreigners on suspect trip to Iraq
Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran: Iran’s state-owned newspaper says authorities have detained three foreigners traveling through Iran under the suspicion of planning to join ISIS in neighboring Iraq. Tuesday’s report by the IRAN daily quoted Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli as saying Iranian border guards stopped several travelers en route to […]