Latest in Tag: iran Highlight
Latest in Tag: iran
Iran will not give up nuclear advances, says key MP
By Marc Burleigh / AFP TEHRAN: Iran will make absolutely no concessions on its nuclear program, a key lawmaker declared on Sunday amid high geopolitical tensions and ahead of mooted talks with world powers. “The parliament will never allow the government to go back even one step in its nuclear policy,” Aladin Borujerdi, the head of …
Iran parliament questions President Ahmadinejad
By Ali Akbar Dareini / AP TEHRAN: Iran’s parliament grilled President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday over a long list of accusations, including that he mismanaged the nation’s economy and defied the authority of the country’s supreme leader. Ahmadinejad is the first president in the country’s history to be hauled before the Iranian parliament, a serious blow …
Iran dismisses claims of military site clean-up
By Farhad Pouladi / AFP TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday dismissed claims it was clearing away traces of suspected nuclear weapons research activities from a closed military site, saying the allegations were “propaganda”. The sprawling Parchin military site, located 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of Tehran, “is conducting normal military activities,” foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told …
Iran tells West to drop ‘bullying’ tone
By Mohammad Davari / AFP TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that the West should drop its “bullying” stance against his country and insisted that sanctions imposed over its nuclear program were having no more than a “psychological” effect. “As God is my witness, the Iranian nation will not give a damn for (your) …
Israel ex-spy chief urges caution on Iran strike
By Daniel Estrin / AP JERUSALEM: The recently retired head of the Mossad intelligence agency has said Israel must consider alternatives to a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, but another expert said Friday an Israeli attack could come within months. Ex-Mossad director Meir Dagan pointed to a need for caution after Israel’s prime minister hinted …
World powers want ‘serious dialogue’ with Iran
By Simon Sturdee / AFP VIENNA: World powers said Thursday that mooted talks with Iran must be “serious” and urged Tehran to allow UN inspectors access to a military base thought to be central to its suspected nuclear weapons drive. “We call on Iran to enter, without preconditions, into a sustained process of serious dialogue, which …
Iran’s talking point: ‘Dignity’ in nuclear work
By Brian Murphy / AP DUBAI: Days before Iran’s just-completed parliamentary elections, the country’s supreme leader gave what amounted to a pep rally on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear views. Atomic technology is a pillar of “national dignity,” boasted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iran must stand firm against the “bullying” pressures from the West. It showed how …
No Israeli decision on Iran attack, Netanyahu tells Obama
By Jeffrey Heller and Matt Spetalnick / Reuters WASHINGTON: Benjamin Netanyahu assured President Barack Obama on Monday that Israel has not made any decision on attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, sources close to the talks said, but the Israeli prime minister gave no sign of backing away from possible military action. With Obama appealing for more time …
Obama seeks to calm Israeli fears over nuclear Iran
By Steve Weizman / AFP WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu go into key talks on the Iranian nuclear stand-off on Monday, with each publicly seeking to stake out some common ground. While Obama in an address to the powerful pro-Israel lobby on Sunday criticized “loose talk of war” he also gave …
Anti-Ahmadinejad MPs hold sway in Iran’s new parliament
By AFP TEHRAN: Iran’s parliament looks certain to be dominated by MPs critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to preliminary election results that also showed a big turnover in lawmakers. The partial results, from elections held last Friday, accounted for two-thirds of the 290 seats in parliament. However the composition, given by Iranian media, remained …
Obama, Netanyahu set to confront divisions over Iran
By Matt Spetalnick and Jeffrey Heller / Reuters WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM: Just days before what could be the most consequential meeting of US and Israeli leaders in years, aides to President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are scrambling to bridge stark differences over what Washington fears could be an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites. Further …
Iran to elect MPs amid tensions with West
By AFP TEHRAN: Iran is to vote on Friday in parliamentary elections that leaders are keen to show as a sign of defiance to the West, which is imposing tough sanctions over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. Some 3,400 candidates are vying for the 290 seats in Iran’s legislature, known as the Majlis. Iran has an …
Iran: two worlds meet, over tea
By Parisa Hafezi and Zahra Hosseinian / Reuters TEHRAN: Mina and Mohammad stood on opposite sides of the political barricades when protests against Iran’s rulers erupted into mass street violence; she, a student demanding democratic reform, he a member of the hardline Basij militia that helped crush the greatest challenge ever to the Islamic Republic. Now …
Campaigning begins for Iran parliamentary poll
By Siavosh Ghazi / AFP TEHRAN: Campaigning began in Iran on Thursday for parliamentary elections to take place on March 2, with officials and state media calling for a big turnout to counter “enemies’ threats” against the regime. It will be the Islamic republic’s first national poll since the controversial 2009 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. …