UANI

Iranian press reported that over 20,000 Iranian students have "registered their names on a website to announce they are ready to be sent to the Gaza Strip and are prepared to be martyred there, the Fars news agency reported." Read More

The NY Times reported "Hamas has in recent days displayed an arsenal that has been upgraded with weapons parts smuggled into Gaza since it seized control of the territory 18 months ago, according to American and Israeli officials.... The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss intelligence matters, said that Hamas appeared to have relied on a combination of black-market entrepreneurs and help from its longtime patrons Iran and Syria to procure rocket parts." Read More

The LA Times reported on Iran's reaction to the recent violence in Gaza. "With bellicose rhetoric, the Islamic Republic has taken the lead in opposing the Israeli military operation in Gaza. The vociferous public displays, analysts say, are aimed primarily at hard-core government supporters in Iran whom officials are seeking to energize before the June presidential election. But the high-profile maneuvers are a double-edged sword, because they also reinforce perceptions in Israel, the U.S. and large parts of the Arab world about links between Iran and Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that took military control of Gaza in mid-2007." Read More

The NY Times reported on yesterday's Arab League meeting. "Moderate Arab states generally allied to the United States blamed Palestinian disunity for the crisis and more radical states, some of whom did not attend, urged collective action to defend the Palestinians against Israel.... Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, has made similar criticisms, and he has essentially told Arab nations that want Egypt to come to the defense of Hamas - and Iran - to mind their own business." Read More

Reuters reported "A newspaper close to former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been closed down for publishing an article the authorities said was sympathetic to Israel" Read More

Reuters reported "Iraq said on Wednesday it wants thousands of Iranian opposition exiles at a camp north of Baghdad to leave the country, although it does not plan to expel them by force." Read More