UANI

The Washington Times reported that "Nearly two dozen senators will introduce legislation Tuesday threatening punishment of foreign companies that provide gasoline and other refined petroleum products to Iran. The Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act, a summary of which was made available to The Washington Times on Monday, would sharply escalate a U.S. economic war aimed at persuading Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and answer unresolved questions about its nuclear program. Past legislation and White House executive orders have banned U.S. investment in Iran's petroleum sector and barred U.S. banks from even indirect contacts with Iranian financial institutions. The new sanctions would go much further, though it is not clear how easily the measures could be enforced. They would freeze the U.S. assets of foreign companies providing refined petroleum to Iran and forbid them from doing business in the United States." (http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/28/senators-push-for-business-s...)

The NY Times reported that "The Iranian-American journalist imprisoned here since late January has become weak after seven days of a hunger strike, her father said Monday. Reza Saberi, the father of Roxana Saberi, who was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment this month on charges of spying for Washington, said his daughter had lost about 10 pounds. Mr. Saberi spoke after he and his wife, Akiko, visited her in prison on Monday, a day after her 32nd birthday." (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/world/middleeast/28saberi.html?hpw=&pa...)

Politico reported that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) "is giving low grades to President Obama on foreign policy, accusing him of an addiction to 'fresh starts' with adversaries.... the leader took issue with Obama's promise to change the country's relationship with Cuba, Iran and other longtime adversaries." (http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0409/McConnell_blasts_Obama_fo...)

The LA Times reported that "Iranian officials probably did not imagine that an Israeli 'infiltration' of their territory would happen this way. They were taken by surprise when oranges with the label 'Jaffa Sweetie Israel PO' were found ready to be unpacked in fruit markets throughout Tehran last week." (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/04/iran-israeli-orang...)

Reuters reported that "Iran's judiciary said on Tuesday a U.S.-born journalist jailed for espionage was in good health and not hunger striking, but Roxana Saberi's father said she was 'frail and weak' after refusing food for a week." (http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53R3BV20090428)

The NY Times reported that "When President George W. Bush ordered new ways to slow Iran’s progress toward a nuclear bomb last year, he approved a plan for an experimental covert program — its results still unclear — to bore into their computers and undermine the project. And the Pentagon has commissioned military contractors to develop a highly classified replica of the Internet of the future. The goal is to simulate what it would take for adversaries to shut down the country’s power stations, telecommunications and aviation systems, or freeze the financial markets — in an effort to build better defenses against such attacks, as well as a new generation of online weapons. Just as the invention of the atomic bomb changed warfare and deterrence 64 years ago, a new international race has begun to develop cyberweapons and systems to protect against them." (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/us/28cyber.html?pagewanted=print)

Sen John Kerry (D-MA) wrote in US News & World Report that "By engaging rather than bullying Iran, by listening rather than threatening, we have our best shot at averting the creation of a new nuclear power and at opening the door to lasting stability in the region. By exercising responsible global leadership rather than walking away from a threat to international security, we can reclaim the moral high ground and the strategic initiative." (http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/04/21/diplomacy-can-and-will...)

Elliott Abrams wrote in US News & World Report that "Responsible leadership cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weapons. We can all agree that diplomacy must always be tried, and all other possibilities exhausted, before military action. But resorting to force is the second-worst, not the worst, outcome. The only thing worse would be to allow Iran's dangerous theocratic regime to have in its arsenal the most destructive weapon known to man." (http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/04/21/iran-must-know-the-us-...)

Abdel Monem Said Aly, director of the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, wrote in the Wall Street Journal about "Iran's determined effort to sabotage Egypt's attempts at regional stability." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124087394756961155.html#)

Author and Iranian human rights activist, Ramin Ahmadi, reviewed "Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President" by Richard N. Haass and Martin S. Indyk in Forbes. He wrote that the authors "tackle the subject of Iran from multiple angles to arrive at a Kissingerian solution. Though the book covers a gamut of pressing issues in the region--from Iraq policy, to Arab-Israeli peace, to nuclear proliferation--Iran is the major common theme throughout much of their discussion. Its authors present as new an approach that is reminiscent of the old dual containment policy of carrots and sticks, except that the carrots are far from tangible and the sticks hardly defined. They acknowledge Iran as a tough challenge but, they argue, diplomacy can work because the regime does ultimately care about its immediate interests." (http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/27/haass-indyk-restoring-balance-opinions-...)

Muhammad Sahimi, a professor at the University of Southern California, wrote in the NY Times that "Ms. Saberi’s predicament shows the significance of any improvement in relations between Iran and the United States. Such improvements will ultimately result in a more open and democratic Iran, where the rule of law will be supreme and the gross violations of human rights that have become widespread under Mr. Ahmadinejad’s government will stop. This would have great impact on the quest for peace in the Middle East." (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/opinion/29iht-edsahimi.html?hpw)

Iranian press reported that "Tehran has canceled the Islamic Solidarity Games after Saudi Arabia asked Iran to remove the term Persian Gulf from game medals and brochures." (http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92810&sectionid=3510211)

Iranian press reported that "Iranian and German industry managers will discuss ways to boost bilateral industrial ties in a business forum to take place in Dusseldorf in the near future, Iranian ambassador to Berlin announced. Representatives of around 200 German companies and numerous Iranian industrial managers will discuss ways to further boost bilateral industrial ties... The Dusseldorf forum is organized by the influential German Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV) whose chairman is former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder." (http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8802071096)

Iranian press reported that "Information Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejeie said on Monday that a terrorist network affiliating to Zionists was identified and busted before they could carry out any anti-security actions. Speaking to reporters, he said that the Zionist regime is seeking to mastermind plots against the country's security by inciting anti-revolutionarily groups and bandits." (http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=457296&idLanguage=3)

Iranian press reported that "Korean government in collaboration with Korea Tourism Organization is holding 'Korean Night in Iran' to promote culture and tourism between the two countries. The cultural program is organized as a fundraising event for charity. South Korea is holding its first cultural night in Tehran on May 2 at the Dasht-e Behesht complex on Farhang Square, Saadatabad neighborhood." (http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=193257)