UANI

AFP reported that "Germany wants further sanctions to be imposed against Iran, hitting the banking and transport sectors, according to the weekly Der Spiegel to be published Monday." "The magazine says Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's chief-of-staff Volker Stanzel suggested new measures to his French and British counterparts on Thursday. The Europeans would try to reach agreement on extending sanctions on Tehran with the incoming US administration of Barack Obama, as well as Russia and China, which would not require a UN Security Council vote. The aim was to give Obama a means of pressure on Iran in any future dialogue, according to Der Spiegel." Read More

The New York Times highlighted remarks by Sec. Gates indicating that President-elect Obama will "take a forceful line against Iran." "Mr. Gates, who said he had had discussions with Mr. Obama about both wars, also signaled that Mr. Obama would take a forceful line against Iran. 'The president-elect and his team are under no illusions about Iran's behavior and what Iran has been doing in the region and apparently is doing with some weapons programs,' Mr. Gates said Saturday at a regional security conference in Manama, Bahrain, where he stopped between visits to Afghanistan and Iraq." Read More

AP reported that "The Tehran Stock Exchange's index has plummeted to its lowest level in five years." "The official Web site of the market reports that the index fell to 8,974, dropping below the symbolic 9,000 level for the first time since 2003. The index has fallen 18 percent since October, when it was at 11,000. Sunday media reports attributed the drop to the falling prices of commodities." Read More

The Globe & Mail reported that "Numbers from the International Monetary Fund show that Mr. Ahmadinejad has presided over a spendthrift regime, where increased expenditures have outpaced increases in revenue. The President has dipped repeatedly into the country's rainy-day oil stabilization fund in order to subsidize life for many of his poor constituents, rather than save it for the lean years. Now Iran is paying the price." Read More

AP reported that "the Iranian Oil Ministry says Iran is proposing a cut in OPEC's production of up to 2 million barrels per day." "The ministry's Web site quotes Iran's Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari as saying Iran would push for a production cut of 1.5 to 2 million barrels per day at the organization's meeting in Algeria on Wednesday. Nozari said Sunday the proposed cut is meant to provide balance to the oil market." Read More

Iranian press reported that "A parliamentarian said on Sunday that negotiations within the framework of Iran's proposed package is the best solution to Iran's nuclear issue." "The head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi told reporters that talks, based on the recognized principles of the UN nuclear watchdog and the Non-Proliferation Treaty as well as the framework proposed by the two sides' proposed packages are the best possible solution." Read More

Reuters reported that "a senior Iranian cleric described President-elect Barack Obama on Friday as a novice who was adopting old U.S. tactics of 'deception and fraud.'" "'He (Obama) recently opined that the development of nuclear arms in Iran would be unacceptable, and also that Iran's support for "terrorist organizations", such as Hezbollah (in Lebanon), is unacceptable,' conservative cleric Ahmad Khatami said. 'I want to say that these statements are made by a raw person, an upstart (in politics), who has just reached power and is traveling the world of thoughts and imagination. The policy of deception and fraud has been an instrument that has defamed all American presidents,'" Read More

The Wall Street Journal wrote that Iranian students who have been protesting their government's policies and filming them represent the promising phenomenon of "Iran's YouTube Generation." "The Shiraz student calls to mind the lone man, that 'unknown rebel,' who stood up to Chinese tanks during the Tiananmen protests. President-elect Obama says the U.S. should engage Iran. As one of our friends points out, 'He has a choice: Engage with what Larijani represents, or engage with the generation of that student.'" Read More

BBC profiled Iranian bloggers, writing that "Iran's bloggers thrive despite blocks." "Day-by-day there is an intriguing cyber-war, as the government wrestles for control of the internet, and Iran's bloggers wrestle it back. Iran hosts around 65,000 bloggers, and has around 22 million internet users. Not bad for a country in which some remote areas do not yet have mains electricity." Read More

AFP covered Iran's shunning of a Paris conference for Afghanistan's neighbors and allies. "The conference got off to a bad start when Manouchehr Mottaki, the foreign minister of Iran, one of Afghanistan's most powerful neighbours, failed to turn up. No official reason was given for the no-show. But it came a few days after Iran summoned the French ambassador to protest about remarks by President Nicolas Sarkozy condemning Iran's threats against Israel." Read More

Iranian press wrote that Italy is "keen to boost banking cooperation with Iran." "Iran-Italy banking cooperation lays the ground for further economic ties in other sectors, the Italian Ambassador to Iran Alberto Bradanini said in a meeting with Isfahan Chamber of Commerce directors' board, in Isfahan on Sunday. Bradanini noted that Italian banks are less hit by the global financial crisis and can help Iranian tradesmen with currency transfer and credit opening, the Mehr News agency reported." Read More

Reuters covered an Iranian report claiming that Iran has proof that the U.S. and U.K. support the group that recently killed 16 abducted Iranian police officers.  "'There are documents that show that Britain and America are supporting Rigi's terrorist group with arms and information,' the radio quoted Ebrahim Raisi, first deputy to Iran's judiciary chief, as saying. 'The Iranian nation will avenge the blood of the border post soldiers powerfully,' it added, without providing further details on the documents." Read More

Reuters reported that "Iran has reached an initial agreement for Australia's Union Resources Ltd to build a zinc production plant worth $1.2 billion in central Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported on Friday." "The deal was reached between the Australian firm and Mineral Products Procurement and Production Co., an affiliate of Iran's state-owned Mines and Mineral Industries Development and Renovation Organization, according to the IRNA report." Read More

The Guardian covered Iranian criticisms of the upcoming U.S. film "The Wrestler." "Newspapers and websites have alerted readers to the 'anti-Iranian film' by highlighting a scene in which Rourke's character, Randy 'the Ram' Robinson, violently breaks a pole bearing an Iranian flag across his knee, after his opponent tries to use it to put him in a stranglehold. Perhaps to avoid offending Iran's clerical rulers, no mention has been made of the screen name of Rourke's antagonist, the Ayatollah, played by Ernest Miller." Read More

Professor Askari of George Washington University wrote in the LA Times that there is "No rush on Iran" for President-Elect Obama. "Iran's record of economic failure since the revolution is astonishing. Average real per-capita income is lower and income distribution is more unequal. Oil production has dropped 30% and yet dependence on oil revenues is higher. The unemployment rate is hovering around 25%, and this year inflation may top 30%.... If Obama takes stock of these developments, he'll realize there is no need to rush to engage Iran. Iran is no superpower, after all.... Even if Iran is striving to develop nuclear weapons, it is at least three years away. All Iran can do is fan the flames against U.S. interests through surrogates such as Hezbollah and Hamas. So the Obama administration has no need to swing into action." Read More