Top Stories
AFP: "Parliament speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday called
on Iran's government to push ahead with its controversial program to enrich
uranium to 20 percent, despite being slapped with fresh UN sanctions." http://bit.ly/dCC228
AP: "Iran's nuclear chief says his country is designing a
new atomic research reactor in another snub of international efforts to curb
the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions." http://bit.ly/bZVZt1
WSJ: "European Union leaders are set to authorize a list
of sectors for sanctions on Iran that goes further than those adopted in a
United Nations Security Council resolution last week. The proposed EU sanctions, which are aimed at
pressuring Tehran to curb its nuclear program, include curbing investment and
technology transfers in Iran's oil and gas industry, and also target aspects of
Iran's finance, insurance, trade, banking and transport sectors." http://bit.ly/cvVNyz
Nuclear Program
NYT: "A leading figure in Iran's opposition issued a
defiant statement on Tuesday demanding prosecution of those he accused of fraud
in the disputed presidential election and of human rights abuses against
opposition demonstrators over the past year." http://nyti.ms/9HNDTN
Reuters: "Iran said on Tuesday it was undeterred by
European Union plans for tighter sanctions over its disputed nuclear
activities, and threatened to punish countries that backed sanctions by curbing
exports of minerals. EU members have
agreed to push ahead at a summit on Thursday with plans to move beyond
sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council last week, with extra
measures including steps to curb investment in Iran's energy sector." http://bit.ly/bbjIfX
Australian AP: "Australia will take out its own sanctions
against Iran as it seeks to help curb the regime's nuclear program. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has announced
Australia will impose sanctions on a bank, a shipping line, and an individual
involved in a construction company." http://bit.ly/chEo3l
AFP: "Iran's hardline president on Wednesday accused
Barack Obama of meddling in his country after the US leader called for global
support for Iranians in their fight for greater democracy. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reinstated as president
last year in what the opposition charged was a fraudulent election, branded the
US government as 'the most violent dictatorship.'" http://bit.ly/c6z04K
Human Rights
AP: "Western nations rebuked Iran for its human rights
record Tuesday after overcoming an attempt by Iran and its Muslim allies to
block the statement from being read aloud in the U.N. Human Rights Council. The United States and Norway pressured Iran
to make good on its pledge to improve human rights, crafting a statement that
won the backing of all 27 European Union nations and more than two dozen other
countries." http://bit.ly/aW3Eor
LAT: "As June 12 saw the anniversary of Iran's contested
presidential election pass, the Green Movement is once again making news. HBO's
new documentary, 'For Neda,' is a poignant reminder of the movement's human
cost, and Babylon & Beyond wanted to know more about the project." http://bit.ly/cHzGe6
Radio Farda: "Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin
Ebadi has dedicated a prestigious human rights prize she received to a recently
detained Iranian colleague, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. Ebadi received the Felix Ermacora Prize for
Human Rights in Vienna on June 15." http://bit.ly/90UleH
Opinion
Japan Times Editorial Board: "For the fourth time, the
United Nations Security Council has voted to impose sanctions against Iran to
get that country to share more details about its nuclear program. Tehran's
determination to shield those efforts from international scrutiny only
compounds doubt about its intentions. The new sanctions will not compel Iranian
compliance, but they signal increased concern about Iranian obstinacy and
consolidate the international consensus that is essential to resolve this
standoff." http://bit.ly/c42km4
Massimo Calabresi in TIME: "Like most of the major
Western oil companies, British Petroleum has cut back its ties with Iran as
international sanctions against the Islamic Republic have mounted in response
to its nuclear program. BP several years ago halted investments larger than $20
million into Iran's energy infrastructure, remaining below the threshold for
penalties set by the 1995 Iran Sanctions Act. And in the second half of 2009,
the company halted the sale of refined petroleum products to Iran, which Tehran
needs because of its limited domestic refining capacity." http://bit.ly/b914kG
Bret Stephens in Commentary Magazine: "As for the idea
that Iran might actually use its weapons, containment advocates note that
nuclear states-even ones as erratic as Maoist China or present-day North
Korea-aren't so crazy as to seek anything but political advantage from their
bombs. Nor do the advocates believe that a nuclear Iran will necessarily set
off a wave of nuclear proliferation among Middle Eastern states...All this makes
for a powerful case for containment. Yet it is far from being convincing." http://bit.ly/b9xncG
Mark Hosenball in Newsweek: "U.S and European officials
seem surprisingly relaxed about news that Iran is sending its own seaborne
challenge to Israel's Gaza blockade. The officials say they see no cause to
doubt Iranian media reports that the first ship in what could become a small
flotilla will sail from Iran this week, if it hasn't embarked already." http://bit.ly/dp95cF
Golnaz Esfandiari in Radio Farda: "Clerics who have been
critical of the brutal crackdown that followed Iran's 2009 presidential
election are coming under fresh pressure from the Iranian establishment,
judging by a wave of recent attacks. The
incidents have all come since the one-year anniversary of the June 12 vote,
which sparked unprecedented street protests in the Islamic republic and
allegations of massive fraud." http://bit.ly/9RMnw8
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment