UANI

BBC provided more details about the merchant strike in Iran. "But on Monday some traders continued to protest - certainly in Tehran, though the situation in other cities is unclear. Some stores in the Grand Bazaar were shuttered. Other jewellery traders said they had been persuaded to go back to work by the police, and their own professional association." Read More

Reuters covered former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's conference with Western leaders. "Iran's moderate former president Mohammad Khatami hosted several former Western leaders on Monday, a move analysts saw as a bid to boost his standing ahead of the country's presidential election in 2009. Among the guests at a conference called 'Religion in the Modern World' were former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan, former Italian premier Romano Prodi and former presidents Mary Robinson of Ireland and Jorge Sampaio of Portugal." Read More

AFP reported that "Iran is to scrap a number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in order to expand its capacity to export gas by pipeline." "Iran has drafted several long-term LNG outlines to export 83 million tonnes of liquefied gas from its giant reserves, the second largest in the world after Russia. But the costly projects have lingered for lack of investment and have been hampered by political obstacles." Read More

Reuters reported that Iran "plans to build a Persian Pipeline for shipping its natural gas to Europe that would be independent of the EU-backed Nabucco project." "'We have nothing to do with the Nabucco pipeline and since the European Union announced ... it does not need Iran's gas we have designed a new plan independent of Nabucco,' Akbar Torkan, head of Oil Ministry planning, told the ministry's website Shana." Read More

Reuters reported that Iran's OPEC governor "called for cooperation between oil producers to resolve the current 'crisis' and create balance between demand and supply in the market." "'The major current problem of the market is the drop of demand and over-supply,' Mohammad Ali Khatibi told the semi-official Mehr News Agency ahead of a Nov. 18 OPEC meeting. 'The best way to resolve the current crisis in the oil market is cooperation between producers to create balance between demand and supply,' he said. ... Khatibi warned that the oil price drop could harm both producers and consumers. 'The financial crisis in the world market has increased and this has caused the drop in oil prices,' he said." Read More

Washington Post reported that "Iran has yet to receive a request from the United States to open an interests section here, officials said Monday, but analysts added that such a proposal would probably get a positive response." "'We have had no request from the United States on this issue,' said Hassan Qashqavi, a spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 'First we need a request, and then we can consider it.'David Ignatius of The Washington Post wrote in a column Sunday that the Bush administration plans to announce the opening of a U.S. interests section in Tehran in mid-November. ...'It is clear from the positive responses from Iranian officials that if such a request would be made, the Iranian system would accept it,' said Davoud Hermidas Bavand, professor of international relations at the Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran." Read More

Iranian press quoted Iran's spokesman criticizing the U.S.'s war in Afghanistan. "Tehran says the ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan has been counterproductive, adding that the U.S. has only managed to increase tensions. 'The occupation of Afghanistan to end terror has resulted in nothing but less security, health problems, extremism, radicalism and an increase in drug cultivation,' said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi in a press conference on Monday." Read More

AFP picked up former Irish president Mary Robinson's remarks at a conference in Iran that religious extremism has become "a weapon of mass destruction," as well as remarks at the conference from Kofi Annan and other speakers. "Robinson called for a strengthening of 'dialogue among political and religious leaders to prevent conflict and tension in the world.' She urged 'respect towards religious minorities,' warning against 'religious extremism, which has become a weapon of mass destruction.' The two-day meeting of Western former leaders is being hosted by former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami amid speculation he might stand for office again. ... Other participants also spoke out against extremism." Read More

AP covered the trial of a British "army interpreter" accused of spying for Iran while in Afghanistan. "British Army interpreter in Afghanistan sent a coded message to an Iranian military attache offering to spy for the country of his birth, prosecutors said at the opening of his trial Monday. Prosecutors said that Cpl. Daniel James — who was working as a translator for former Gen. David Richards, the NATO commander in Afghanistan — sent the message, which ended with the phrase, 'I am at your service' to the attache in Kabul." Read More

Retuers reported "Iran's foreign-language feature Oscar entry 'The Song of Sparrows' is heading to U.S. theaters this spring." "Majid Majidi's drama focuses on an ostrich farmer whose firing leads him to Tehran." Read More