Top Stories
WP:"Iranian authorities banned the country's two remaining official opposition parties Monday after two of their leaders received prison sentences. The move, subject to confirmation by Iran's judiciary, effectively silences the last parties legally permitted to promote political change in Iran and prevents foes of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from gaining power through elections." http://bit.ly/aH0Z3r
AP:"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has approved the site for a new enrichment facility Iran plans to build, his top adviser said Monday, the latest step in expanding a nuclear program that the United Nations has demanded Tehran halt. Still, in an apparent attempt to ward off a new U.N. sanctions, Iran's foreign minister said his country wants to hold further discussions on a nuclear fuel deal that was originally touted as a possible way to ease the standoff but has since hit a dead end." http://bit.ly/c2EUqk
Reuters:"Iran may be able to build a missile capable of striking the United States by 2015, according to an unclassified Defense Department report on Iran's military sent to Congress and released on Monday. 'With sufficient foreign assistance, Iran could probably develop and test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the United States by 2015,' said the April report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters." http://bit.ly/aOGqo0
Nuclear Program
Reuters: "China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday there was still room for a negotiated solution to Iran's disputed nuclear program, despite talks among major powers of fresh sanctions against Tehran. China has been among the six countries, also called the '5+1,' engaged in deepening discussions on a proposed new round of United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program." http://nyti.ms/9X14LV
AP:"If diplomacy fails and Iran gets a nuclear bomb, the U.S. would still have ways to discourage Tehran from using these terrifying weapons. But there are limits on what even the world's sole superpower can do to contain a nuclear-armed Iran and blunt its influence in the volatile Middle East." http://nyti.ms/aLGr2w
AP:"As the United States builds its case for stiffer sanctions against Iran, Tehran's foreign minister appeared to voice new enthusiasm Tuesday for a U.N.-backed nuclear fuel deal, calling it a chance to boost trust with the West. The U.S. and its allies are locked in a standoff with Iran over its disputed nuclear program. Washington and other western powers fear Tehran is using the program to build nuclear arms. Iran denies the charges, and says its program only aims to generate electricity." http://nyti.ms/bkNz9z
Reuters:"State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the deal, proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last October as a means of heading off confrontation over Iran's nuclear ambitions, was still on the table but signaled that Washington had little hope Tehran would follow through." http://bit.ly/auDQzK
Human Rights
AP: "A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear immodest clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes. Iran is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric's unusual explanation for why the earth shakes follows a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should relocate." http://bit.ly/bYAUwY
Foreign Affairs
Dow Jones:"The presidents of Iran and Uganda plan to discuss potential investments in Uganda's oil sector during a state visit to Uganda later this week, Ugandan officials said Tuesday. According to Uganda's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will arrive in Uganda on Friday for a two-day state visit. During the visit, he is expected to hold bilateral talks with President Yoweri Museveni on Iran's pledge to invest in the country's up-and-coming oil sector." http://bit.ly/bMxdyf
Culture
Radio Farda:"Female vocals and the soft thud of chill-out beats mixes with the steam of the coffee maker, the jingle and clank of cups, and the chatter of young people. Over 10 years ago, there were very few coffee shops in the Iranian capital, but now they are everywhere and each person has at least one or two favorite places." http://bit.ly/9pR4Tf
Opinion
NYT Editorial Board:"The good news is that Mr. Obama is also hedging his bets, with an effort - first begun under President George W. Bush - to persuade an ever-widening circle of international corporate interests to eschew business in economically strapped Iran. Total, the French energy company, and Eni of Italy claim they are planning to end new investments in Iran." http://nyti.ms/bUtovZ
WP Editorial Board:"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was the focus of one of those curious Washington kerfuffles over the weekend in which a senior official makes headlines by saying what everyone knows to be true...Mr. Gates quickly denied that his memo was intended as a 'wake-up call,' as one unnamed official quoted by the Times called it. And that's probably true: It is evident to any observer that the administration lacks a clear backup plan." http://bit.ly/9IANBP
Martin Indyk in NYT:"How do you know when there's a real crisis in U.S.-Israel relations? It's when the president of the United States convenes a nuclear security summit to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, and the Israeli prime minister declines the invitation." http://nyti.ms/bvA0wK
Mark Mardell for BBC:"America's top brass has pointed to the elephant in the Iranian room, only to make it clear it's a particularly unattractive beast. Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Adm Mike Mullen has said that a US air strike on Iran could 'go a long way to delaying' Iran's nuclear program, but would be his 'last option'. But he suggested that as far as he was concerned, it was not only a last option, but a bad one." http://bit.ly/ay301t
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