UANI

Iranian press reported that "MP Fatemeh Alia stated on Tuesday that televised debates among presidential candidates may be cancelled as certain candidates have expressed displeasure over the move. However, she said the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting should go ahead with holding the debates." (http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=195531)

The UK Times reported that "Two weeks from today, Iran’s presidential election will determine whether Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Holocaust-denying, Israel-hating, America-bashing incumbent, remains in office, whether his country continues its drive to become a nuclear power, and whether a state with a key role in Iraq, Afghanistan and other international flashpoints remains hostile to the West. The stakes could scarcely be higher, but it is the lowly potato that has been grabbing attention. The Government is handing out 400,000 tonnes of free spuds in rural towns. It says that it is merely distributing the surplus from a bumper crop, but Mr Ahmadinejad’s opponents accuse it of bribing the poor." (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6382829.ece)

The Wall Street Journal reported that "As Iranians prepare to elect their next president on June 12, a range of civil-liberties issues -- from juvenile executions to the freedom to blog -- have become hot topics. Ending a period of relative openness, the government has pursued a clampdown on dissidents, human-rights activists, journalists and students, the likes of which hasn't been seen here in decades." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124355320443064445.html)

Time reported that "Is Obama's Iran policy doomed to failure? Despite the president's promise to pursue 'honest' negotiations with the Islamic Republic, is he actually following the advice of a senior advisor who instead believes that showing a willingness to negotiate is simply a tactic to build support for a war against Iran? Serious concerns about Obama's approach are already being voiced by prominent pro-engagement Iran experts who are generally sympathetic to Obama's foreign policy ideas." (http://mideast.blogs.time.com/2009/05/28/is-our-diplomacy-president-head...)

Reuters reported that "Iran's leading moderate candidate Mirhossein Mousavi said on Friday he would continue talks with major powers on his country's disputed nuclear activities if he won the June presidential vote. Mousavi's remarks contradicted hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his main challenger in the June 12 race, who on Monday ruled out any nuclear talks with the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain." (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE54S1WW20090529)

ABC News reported that "From playing piano on the prison walls to repeating the 'Star Spangled Banner' to keep her spirits up, former Iranian prisoner Roxana Saberi said she got through her nearly three months of confinement by praying to a God she once thought had given up on her.... Grateful for her freedom and the international push that helped her get home, Saberi said she left Iran with a heavy conscience knowing all the other women would stay behind -- some for months or years -- with the public never knowing their names." (http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=7688875)

Reuters reported that "An explosion hit a mosque in the southeast Iranian city of Zahedan Thursday, killing 15 people and wounding 50, the state news agency IRNA reported." (http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE54R5O320090528)

The LA Times reported that "While the Obama administration is mulling over the possibility of engaging Iran, the United States Soccer Federation has beaten U.S. officials to it.
Two months ago, USSF President Sunil Gulati sent a letter to his Iranian counterpart, Ali Kafashian, requesting a friendly soccer match, meaning it wouldn't count toward tournament play. The invitation was sent directly to Kafashian, missing the intermediary typical of recent Iranian-U.S. relations. No agreement has been reached yet, but Kafashian on Tuesday expressed the Islamic Republic’s willingness to play the American national team." (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/05/iran-despite-tensi...)

The Boston Globe's editorial page said that "Powerful factions in Iran's mixed political system may conspire to keep Ahmadinejad in power. But Obama still should appeal to the popular thirst for a less conflictual relationship with America." (http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/...)

Ed Morse and Michael Makovsky wrote in the New Republic that "Lower oil prices, combined with the rise in spare global oil production capacity, reduce Iran's ability to fund surrogates in the region, trim its diplomatic leverage among net energy consumers, and make a military strike on its nuclear facilities more conceivable by damping its consequences for the global economy." (http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=4db1787e-02de-4f34-9b99-79c550...)

David Harris of the AJC wrote in the Christian Science Monitor that "While there is a broad consensus in the West that Iran should be dissuaded from pursuing its nuclear weapons program, no clear strategy has emerged for attaining that goal.... Now, the Obama administration is trying a new tack. Several overtures to Iran have been made in recent months, and more may be in the offing. Will they succeed in halting Iran's enrichment efforts? Perhaps. But what if Tehran rebuffs the American overture or, more likely, strings Washington along with well-practiced feints that seem to offer encouragement but add up to nothing more than a ploy to keep America guessing – and, yes, hoping?" (http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0528/p09s03-coop.html)

Iranian press reported that "Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce Cevallos says his country is going beyond the Cold War rules and seeking defense ties with Iran." 9http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=96329&sectionid=351020706)

Iranian press reported that "Seminar themed ‘Review of Imam Khomeini’s Mystical Ideas and Spiritual Heritage’ will be held in Madrid concurrent with the 20th death anniversary of the founder of the Islamic Republic 1979. The event to be attended by scientific and religious figures and Iranian expatriates in Spain is scheduled to be held on June 3." (http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=513209&IdLanguage=3)