UANI

Reuters reported that "Iran, a regular exporter of fuel oil, will halt spot exports in first-quarter 2009, as it looks to meet domestic demand for power generation during winter, giving more support to a recovering Asian market, industry sources said on Thursday." "The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which typically exports around three to four fuel oil cargoes monthly between January and March, will offer spot cargoes only if domestic requirements ease. 'We cannot offer spot cargoes because we have to manage our requirements for power generation in Iran during the winter,' a source familiar with the fuel oil export programme said. 'We will continue to meet our agreements on our term contracts, and will only consider spot sales if the winter is not severe and the requirement for domestic power generation is less.'" Read More

The LA Times analyzed the recent report that the Iranian government is planning a stock market bailout. "Iran is considering a $300-million financial bailout plan for companies listed on its weakened stock market, a newspaper reported this week, as share prices falter for businesses hurt by sagging oil and commodity prices. ... The newspaper revealed few details about the bailout plan, and no official could confirm the discussions between exchange chief Ali Saleh Abadi and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration." Read More

AP reported that "Benjamin Netanyahu, who hopes to become Israel's next prime minister, warned Thursday that 'a terribly dangerous threshold will be crossed' if Iran obtains nuclear weapons, and urged world leaders to make sure it does not happen." " 'We have never had a situation in the history of the world in which a radical regime with a retrograde ideology and apparently known ambitions on the use of force will get access to the weapons of mass death,' Netanyahu told reporters, referring to the prospect of an Iranian nuclear bomb." Read More

The Boston Globe wrote that Iran's recent absence from the Paris conference of Afghanistan's neighbors "sends the wrong signals about the Islamic Republic's readiness to align itself with the international resistance to terrorism and fanaticism." "Iran's snub of the conference in France raises questions about its interest in striking a grand bargain with the incoming Obama administration. Such a deal could provide Iran with security guarantees, an accepted role in regional security, and the inflows of foreign investment and technology that Iran's economy desperately needs. In return, the mullahs will have to forswear their pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability." Read More

Reuters reported that "Three members of Kuwait's parliament requested on Tuesday to question the prime minister after he allowed a controversial Iranian Shi'ite Muslim cleric to visit Kuwait, provoking an outcry among some deputies." "The three Islamist deputies accuse Iranian cleric Mohammad Fali of offending Kuwait's predominantly Sunni Muslim population by insulting some of the Prophet Mohammad's companions, whom Sunnis revere." Read More

In a UPI piece, James Phillips and Peter Brookes argued that "Iran's dissidents can put pressure on mullahs." "A well-educated group of young reformers does exist in Iran. ... The United States and its allies should discreetly support all Iranian opposition groups that reject terrorism and advocate democracy by publicizing their activities both internationally and within Iran, giving them organizational training, and inviting them to attend international conferences and workshops outside Iran." Read More

Iranian press reported that "Oman has criticized the United States for sponsoring a meeting on Persian Gulf security to which Washington did not invite Iran." "According to Alawi, leaders of Persian Gulf states had previously agreed not to interfere in the issue. He says the meeting in New York did not benefit the region because securing the Persian Gulf is 'impossible' without the help of Iran." Read More