UANI

Reuters reported that "Iran is aiming to commission its first nuclear power plant in 2009 after years of delays." "'The commissioning stage of Bushehr nuclear power station has begun and we are hopeful the power station will be commissioned in 2009 as per the agreement we have had with the Russian party,' the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohsen Delaviz, was quoted a saying." Read More

The New York Times reported that a senior officer in Iran's Revolutionary Guard was detained in Iraq "on suspicion of smuggling weapons into Iraq, the United States military said in a statement.... It said the man was also carrying cocaine." Read More

Reuters reported that "Iran is considering a return to international debt markets with bonds worth $1 billion... The Islamic Republic is under tightening U.N. and U.S. sanctions over its disputed nuclear plans and many Western banks have severed ties with Tehran and halted Iran-linked business.... Iranian officials have shrugged off the impact of sanctions, but analysts say Western firms especially are becoming more wary of investing in the country, including major oil companies." Read More

Reuters covered Speaker Larijani's opposition to the U.S.-Iraqi security pact and his call for Iraq's Parliament to reject it. "Iran's parliament speaker urged Iraqi lawmakers to keep resisting a security pact with the United States, official media said Tuesday, a day after Baghdad signed an accord on U.S. troop presence in Iraq. ... Larijani said the United States had wanted to turn Iraq into 'another U.S. state, but the Iraqi sources of (Islamic) jurisprudence, government, and nation resisted for eight months and changed the articles of the pact seven times.'" Read More

The New York Times covered the confirmation of Sadeq Mahsouli as Iran's new Interior Minister following the resignation of Ali Kordan. "The vote was 138 in favor of the new minister, Sadeq Mahsouli, a Revolutionary Guard commander, and 112 against. Around 20 lawmakers abstained. The vote came two weeks after Parliament fired Ali Kordan after it became clear that he did not hold a doctorate degree from Oxford University. Mr. Mahsouli was confirmed as lawmakers sought more details about the source of his wealth." Read More

The New York Times rounded up the "mixed reviews" the Iraqi-U.S. security agreement was getting in Iran. "Conservative Iranian politicians and newspapers expressed opposition Tuesday to the new Iraqi-American security agreement and urged Iraq's Parliament to reject it, but that view was not unanimous; at least one prominent figure, a senior judicial official, said Iraqi negotiators had done well. The government of Iran still had no official reaction to the security agreement." Read More

Reuters reported that "OPEC will discuss talks with non-member oil producers on cooperating to manage the oil market when the exporter group meets in Cairo this month, IRNA news agency quoted Iran's oil minister as saying on Tuesday." Read More

The LA Times reported that an Iranian "judiciary official said Tuesday that there was no obstacle barring a Cal State Northridge graduate student from leaving Iran, even as her father said authorities had seized her American passport." Read More