UANI

The LA Times reported that former Iranian President Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani said "Hamas possesses a 'new weapon' to face Israeli armor in case Israel decides upon a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip, a senior Iranian official and ranking cleric told worshippers in Tehran today. According to former Iranian president Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of Iran's powerful Expediency Council, the advanced weapon would allow the Palestinian militant group to target Israeli tanks 'from a long distance.'" Read More

Iran's Supreme Leader was ranked #11 on Newsweek's 50 Global Elite saying "It is Khamenei, as the authoritative communicator of God's will, who will decide how Iran chooses to exercise its newfound clout in the region. Will he push ahead with Tehran's nuclear program and move from bleeding the United States in Iraq to pricking it in Afghanistan?" Read More

AFP reported that "Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki hit out at the international community for not doing more in the face of Israel's deadly blitz on Gaza on Friday and demanded an immediate halt to the assault.... Mottaki accused the Israeli navy of behaving like 'a bunch of Somali pirates' after a patrol boat collided with an aid boat carrying medicines and international activists trying on Tuesday to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. He said the Gazans were justified in their belief that some Arab countries had 'betrayed' them. Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani called on Muslims to provide political, financial and military help to the Hamas fighters." Read More

In an editorial, The New York Times said "Men hold all of the meaningful levers of political power in Iran, but it is a woman they fear. If not, why is the mullah-led government trying to shut down the operations of Shirin Ebadi?...  We condemn Tehran's mistreatment of this woman of extraordinary honor and courage. We urge the United States, Europe and other major powers to keep pressure on Iran to ensure that no further harm comes to Ms. Ebadi and that she remains free to do her essential work. If Tehran wants relief from international criticism about its human rights record, it must start by adhering to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and respecting the rights of all of its citizens." Read More

AP reported "A former Iranian now living in Tulsa wants to block a law proposed in Iran that would require men who leave the Muslim faith to be executed. The Rev. Reza Safa is the founder and president of TBN Nejat TV, a Tulsa-based television ministry that beams 24-hour-a-day Christian programming to satellite dishes in Iran." Read More

Ambassador Bolton wrote in the Wall Street Journal that "on proliferation, what is striking are the similarities between Mr. Obama and President George W. Bush's second term. Given Mr. Bush's recent record, continuity between the two presidencies is hardly reassuring. And where Mr. Obama differs with Mr. Bush, he is only more accommodating to the intractable rogues running Pyongyang and Tehran. This is decidedly bad news." Read More

Telegraph columnist Terry Riddell, wrote that "While it is never wise to over-state British clout, UK diplomacy has something to offer the rookie president of a country which has refused to denounce Israel or engage with Iran.... We can't afford, in 2009, to fight extravagant wars. Mr Brown must tell the incoming president that military might is never going to win Afghanistan. Once again, we risk pursuing the wrong conflict while another global crisis - this time in Iran - festers almost unseen." Read More