Eye On Iran: Iran Announces Launch of Animals Into Space
Wed, 02/03/2010 - 12:42 | by uaniadminDid You Know? "Iran
sent its first satellite, the Omid,
into orbit last year amid patriotic fervor in the run-up to the 30th
anniversary of the Islamic Revolution," according to the LA
Times. http://bit.ly/bnOAp4
LAT: "Iran announced the test-firing of a powerful rocket loaded with several live animals into space and unveiled a handful of other space technologies Wednesday, ahead of a nationalist holiday and amid heightened international concerns about Tehran's nuclear research and missile programs." http://bit.ly/bnOAp4
NYT: "German companies, long Iran's biggest trading partners in Europe, are finding it increasingly difficult to do business there as the United States, Israel and others campaign for tougher United Nations sanctions in response to the country's nuclear program." http://bit.ly/b2kRKV
WSJ: "Iran's leading opposition figure lashed out at the country's ruling class, saying that despite the Islamic revolution that toppled the shah 31 years ago, tyranny and dictatorship have survived. The harshly worded critique, posted Tuesday in the form of an interview on kaleme, the Web site of Mir Hossein Mousavi, ratchets up the war of words between regime hard-liners and opposition figures ahead of next week's anniversary marking the fall of the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in 1979." http://bit.ly/b0ruqQ
Nuclear
Program
WP: "A long-dormant proposal to remove the bulk of Iran's enriched uranium from the Islamic republic appeared to be revived Tuesday as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran had 'no problem' with a deal initially brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency." http://bit.ly/c1LS5l
AP: "Italy's prime minister told the Israeli parliament Wednesday that the world ''cannot accept'' a nuclear-armed Iran and defended the Jewish state's much-criticized war against Palestinian militants in Gaza last year. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also expressed hope that Israel and the Palestinians would soon resume peace talks." http://bit.ly/aNSvNX
AP: "Iran denied on Tuesday claims by Thailand that a planeload of North Korean weapons seized there in December was headed to Iran. 'There is no link between the aircraft and our country,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters." http://bit.ly/boH1Ig
Reuters: "Iran is keeping open the option of developing nuclear weapons but it remains unclear whether Tehran has the 'political will' to do so, the U.S. director of national intelligence said on Tuesday." http://bit.ly/d1DvOW
Human Rights
Reuters: "A 20-year old university student arrested for participating in anti-government street protests in Iran in December rejected charges of spreading moral corruption as the trial of 16 opposition supporters resumed on Wednesday. All of the accused were arrested after clashes between protesters and security forces on Ashura Day, the Shi'ite ritual mourning ceremony, on December 27." http://bit.ly/b9cn5P
Reuters: "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday three U.S. citizens detained in Iran and charged with spying may be swapped with jailed Iranians in the United States. 'We do not like to have any person in jail. Some discussions are going on to swap the three with jailed Iranians in America,' Ahmadinejad told state television. He did not clarify whether the discussions were held with U.S. officials." http://bit.ly/aSWDhO
VOA: "U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says Iran's leaders are 'sowing the seeds of their own destruction' by continuing a crackdown on the Iranian opposition. Biden said Tuesday the Iranian leadership's use of force to put down opposition protests has cost it moral credibility within Iran and around the region. He was speaking in an interview with a U.S. television network." http://bit.ly/ca6zty
Domestic Politics
Radio Farda: "Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has proposed increasing funds for hard-line think tanks by 143 percent in his draft government budget, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. If passed by the parliament, hundreds of millions dollars more than the previous year would be directed to ideological institutes -- mostly run by close associates of Ahmadinejad -- that are trying to prepare the country for the imminent return of the 'Hidden Imam.'" http://bit.ly/bKs8CE
Opinion
Michael
Gerson in WP: "It means something in foreign
policy circles when realists and idealists converge on a
policy -- as they are
beginning to do on Iran." http://bit.ly/9BNe7VWP: "A long-dormant proposal to remove the bulk of Iran's enriched uranium from the Islamic republic appeared to be revived Tuesday as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran had 'no problem' with a deal initially brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency." http://bit.ly/c1LS5l
AP: "Italy's prime minister told the Israeli parliament Wednesday that the world ''cannot accept'' a nuclear-armed Iran and defended the Jewish state's much-criticized war against Palestinian militants in Gaza last year. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also expressed hope that Israel and the Palestinians would soon resume peace talks." http://bit.ly/aNSvNX
AP: "Iran denied on Tuesday claims by Thailand that a planeload of North Korean weapons seized there in December was headed to Iran. 'There is no link between the aircraft and our country,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters." http://bit.ly/boH1Ig
Reuters: "Iran is keeping open the option of developing nuclear weapons but it remains unclear whether Tehran has the 'political will' to do so, the U.S. director of national intelligence said on Tuesday." http://bit.ly/d1DvOW
Human Rights
Reuters: "A 20-year old university student arrested for participating in anti-government street protests in Iran in December rejected charges of spreading moral corruption as the trial of 16 opposition supporters resumed on Wednesday. All of the accused were arrested after clashes between protesters and security forces on Ashura Day, the Shi'ite ritual mourning ceremony, on December 27." http://bit.ly/b9cn5P
Reuters: "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday three U.S. citizens detained in Iran and charged with spying may be swapped with jailed Iranians in the United States. 'We do not like to have any person in jail. Some discussions are going on to swap the three with jailed Iranians in America,' Ahmadinejad told state television. He did not clarify whether the discussions were held with U.S. officials." http://bit.ly/aSWDhO
VOA: "U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says Iran's leaders are 'sowing the seeds of their own destruction' by continuing a crackdown on the Iranian opposition. Biden said Tuesday the Iranian leadership's use of force to put down opposition protests has cost it moral credibility within Iran and around the region. He was speaking in an interview with a U.S. television network." http://bit.ly/ca6zty
Domestic Politics
Radio Farda: "Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has proposed increasing funds for hard-line think tanks by 143 percent in his draft government budget, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. If passed by the parliament, hundreds of millions dollars more than the previous year would be directed to ideological institutes -- mostly run by close associates of Ahmadinejad -- that are trying to prepare the country for the imminent return of the 'Hidden Imam.'" http://bit.ly/bKs8CE
Opinion
Thomas Friedman in NYT: "Finally, the U.S. and its allies are about to ratchet up pressure on Iran by unveiling a new economic-sanctions resolution at the U.N. aimed at Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps and the vast network of financial institutions it controls inside Iran." http://bit.ly/btEkzg
Ilhan Tanir in Hurriyet Daily News: "The United States' recent speeding up of arms sales with its Gulf allies has raised some eyebrows as these sales appear to be preparations for a potential clash with Iran. Although these contracts to sell warplanes and anti-missile systems actually started with the George W. Bush administration in 2005 to ally with Arab states and counter Iran's growing influence in the region, accelerating it now increases the tension in an already tense Middle Eastern climate." http://bit.ly/d99FAi
News Analysis
AP: "The United States opens a critical international campaign this month to punish Iran for its nuclear program, and U.S. officials and China experts believe Beijing -- despite heated anti-U.S. rhetoric of recent days -- won't stand in the way." http://bit.ly/c5I2DE
Join us on
Search