Iran's tough nuke stance masks struggles at top

The negotiating stance from Iranian officials never varies: The Islamic Republic will not give up its capabilities to make nuclear fuel. But embedded in the messages are meanings that reach beyond Tehran's talks with world powers.

It points to the struggles within Iran's ruling system as it readies for the next round of talks scheduled to ... Read More

Israeli intelligence head 'visited US for Iran talks'

Israeli military intelligence chief Aviv Kochavi made a "secret visit" to Washington earlier this month to discuss the upcoming talks between world powers and Iran, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

An Israeli security official confirmed the visit, which was reported in Haaretz newspaper, but could not provide further details.

As ... Read More

U.S. nuclear expert: Iran official linked to past program

By Tabassum Zakaria

Communications from the 1990s suggest Iran's current foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, had knowledge of a program to procure goods for an alleged clandestine nuclear program when he was head of a university, a U.S. nuclear expert said on Tuesday.

David Albright, founder of the Institute for Science and ... Read More

Iran's Coming "Halal" Intranet

By Doug Bernard

For years, the Iranian government has been threatening to pull the plug on the world wide web, sealing the nation and its people off from the rest of the Internet. Officially, Tehran says it wants to create a "halal" Internet, or one free from outside "impurities" or temptations. Unofficially, it's believed the ruling ... Read More

U.N Expands Sanctions On Iran For Arms Smuggling

The U.N. Security Council has imposed legally binding sanctions on Iran, including a conventional arms ban. The Iranian government has repeatedly defied these prohibitions, as it has other measures imposed by the Security Council.

The U.N. Security Council's 1737 Committee monitors implementation of UN sanctions, examines and takes ... Read More

Iran hangs man accused of killing nuclear scientist

Iran has hanged a man accused of being an Israeli agent who was convicted of killing a nuclear scientist in 2010, state media has reported.

Twenty-four-year-old Majid Jamali Fashi was hanged at Tehran's Evin prison on Tuesday after being sentenced to death in August last year for the murder of Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, Iran's state news agency ... Read More

Iran talks to continue, both sides see progress

By GEORGE JAHN

U.N. nuclear negotiators seeking to probe Tehran's nuclear program for signs of secret work on atomic-weapons technology spoke of a good exchange of views Tuesday after talks with Iranian officials, who described the meeting as having made progress.

Neither side elaborated on the substance of their talks. But in ... Read More

India tells U.S. Iranian oil import cuts to continue-source

By Ross Colvin

India pledged to continue cutting oil imports from Iran over time but gave no specific target or time-frame for such reductions in talks with U.S. special envoy Carlos Pascual on Tuesday, a source familiar with the discussions said.

Pascual, who has been pressing Iran's clients to cut their imports to avoid tighter ... Read More

US poised to take Iranian exile group off terrorism list

The Obama administration is poised to remove an Iranian opposition group from the United States' list of terrorist groups, officials briefed on the talk told the Wall Street Journal, in a move sure to upset Tehran as nuclear talks between the countries intensify.

The exile organization, the Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MeK, was named a terrorist ... Read More

House Voting to Shift U.S. Redline for War with Iran

By Jamal Abdi

Today the House is planning to take up H.Res.568 -- a resolution that shifts the U.S. redline for war with Iran -- on a suspension vote. There has not been a single hearing on this measure and no debate about its very serious implications.

If passed, the House will be voting to contradict the unequivocal redline ... Read More

Iran eyes new phase for Iraqi pipeline

Negotiations are under way to choose contractors for the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Iran to Iraq, Iranian officials said.

The managing director of Iran's Gas Engineering and Development Co., Ali Reza Qaribi, said a 48-inch pipeline to Iraq would carry around 880 cubic feet of natural gas per day once completed.
... Read More

Iranian rapper faces death threats and fatwa for 'blasphemous' song

An Iranian rapper has become "the Salman Rushdie of music" after clerics in the Islamic republic issued fatwas calling him an apostate, which is considered punishable by death under the country's sharia law.

Shahin Najafi, a Germany-based Iranian singer, recently released a song with references to Ali al-Hadi al-Naqi, the tenth of the 12 ... Read More

U.N. nuclear agency to push Iran on military site access

By Fredrik Dahl

The United Nations nuclear watchdog signaled on Monday it would press Iran for access to a military installation where it suspects Iran has built a chamber for high-explosive tests that could serve to develop atomic bombs.

The Vienna talks will test Iran's readiness to address U.N. inspectors' suspicions of military ... Read More

Iranian MP withdraws complaint against cartoonist after outcry

By Saeed Kamali Dehghan

An Iranian MP who brought a case against a cartoonist that resulted in a sentence of 25 lashes has withdrawn his complaint after widespread condemnation of the artist's conviction.

Mahmoud Shokraye was found guilty of insulting Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani, MP for Arak, the capital of Iran's central province of ... Read More

Drawing focuses on Iran's nuke work

By GEORGE JAHN

A drawing based on information from inside an Iranian military site shows an explosives containment chamber of the type needed for nuclear arms-related tests that U.N. inspectors suspect Tehran has conducted there. Iran denies such testing and has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of such a chamber.

The ... Read More

Iranian president: Israel 'nothing more than a mosquito' to Iran

Ahead of upcoming nuclear talks, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad downplayed the threat Israel poses to Iran, comparing it to an annoying bug.

"Israel is nothing more than a mosquito which cannot see the broad horizon of the Iranian nation," he said Saturday in northeastern Iran's Khorassan province, according to the semi-official Fars ... Read More

Salehi hopes Hollande win will boost Iran-France ties

Iran's foreign minister hailed Francois Hollande's election as French president, voicing hope it can boost bilateral ties, as he met visiting former French socialist premier Michel Rocard.

Ali Akbar Salehi "welcomed the victory of Francois Hollande and hopes to see a new approach taken between Tehran and Paris in all areas based on mutual ... Read More

Iran wins release of Turkish journalists in Syria

By Tulay Karadeniz

Two Turkish journalists who went missing while reporting on the uprising in Syria two months ago were released on Saturday with Iran's help, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

The release of the pair demonstrated Iran's influence with its ally Syria, which lost Turkey's friendship when it cracked down on ... Read More

Iranian Rapper Faces Calls For His Execution Over 'Insulting' Song

By Golnaz Esfandiari

Iranian rapper Shahin Najafi's new song, "Naghi," contains the perfect ingredients for controversy.

The lyrics include joking references to Naghi, the 10th imam of the Shi'ites; a penis; Viagra; and the breasts of an Iranian actress.

The image that accompanies the song on YouTube depicts the dome of what ... Read More

U.S. Encourages India On Iran Oil

During her recent visit to Kolkata, India, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that India and the United States share what she called "bedrock beliefs: beliefs about freedom, democracy, pluralism and opportunity."

At an interactive meeting at a school for girls, she answered questions on a variety of topics, including the reason why ... Read More