Top Stories
AP: "The European Union
on Monday formally adopted a package of new sanctions against Iran, targeting
the country's foreign trade, banking and energy sectors... 'We have a
comprehensive set of sanctions. This is something where we have all 27
countries working together,' EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said
ahead of the meeting." http://n.pr/bqFOL6
WSJ: "A former Central Intelligence Agency director on
Sunday said that bombing Iran's nuclear facilities 'might not be the
worst' option for the U.S., as the country continues to push ahead with
its nuclear programs despite heavy international sanctions." http://bit.ly/9TN3nQ
Guardian: "Iran is engaged in an extensive covert
campaign to arm, finance, train and equip Taliban insurgents, Afghan warlords allied to al-Qaida and suicide bombers fighting to eject British and western
forces from Afghanistan, according to
classified US military intelligence reports
contained in the war logs." http://bit.ly/cDCwiT
Nuclear Program
AP: "Iran's nuclear
agency began studies Saturday to build an experimental nuclear fusion reactor,
something that has yet to be achieved by any nation... Vice President Ali Akbar
Salehi, who also heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told a
conference on the new research program that his agency has set an initial budget
of $8 million to conduct 'serious' research in the area of nuclear fusion." http://bit.ly/a9BXVS
Reuters: "Only three cargoes of
gasoline have so far reached Iran in July, according to a shipping document
seen by Reuters, much less than the seasonal norm, as new sanctions cause ships
carrying fuel to be diverted... Traditionally during the summer holiday driving
season, Iran needs 11-13 cargoes a month, a Dubai-based trader told Reuters." http://bit.ly/b0oQX2
Commerce
WSJ: "Iran and a
little-known Turkish firm said they signed a €1 billion ($1.3 billion) deal to
build a new gas pipeline from Iran to Turkey that would supply gas to Europe. The
deal comes just weeks after Turkey voted against a new round of economic
sanctions against Iran at the United Nations, aimed at pressuring Tehran to suspend
its nuclear program." http://bit.ly/cIDLca
Human
Rights
Guardian: "Authorities in Iran
have issued an arrest warrant for an acclaimed Iranian lawyer and
arrested his
wife and brother-in-law over his involvement in the case of a woman
sentenced
to death by stoning." http://bit.ly/amz2aK
Herald Scotland: "Supporters of
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was jailed in 2005, held demonstrations
in more
than 30 cities worldwide, including London and Birmingham in the UK, as
well as
in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the United States, the
Netherlands, Norway and Sweden." http://bit.ly/cCEiVd
Domestic
Politics
ABC News: "President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said on Friday that Iran would send its first manned shuttle
into
space by 2019, Iran's English-language Press TV reported. In February
Iran
test-fired its domestically made satellite carrying rocket Kavoshgar-3
(Explorer-3) and Ahmadinejad said Tehran hoped to send astronauts into
space
soon. 'In response to the enemy's resolutions, it was decided that the
project
be pushed forward by five years,' Ahmadinejad said on Friday, referring
to
Iran's shuttle program." http://bit.ly/bSI1Br
Foreign Affairs
WaPo: "The
former naval chief for Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the country has set
aside 100 military vessels to confront each warship from the U.S. or any other
foreign power that might pose a threat, an Iranian newspaper reported Saturday".
http://bit.ly/bwFymN
NYT: "In an apparent effort to garner international
support for its nuclear program, Iran has agreed to meet with the European
Union's foreign affairs chief in early September, after the Muslim holy month
of Ramadan." http://nyti.ms/dnfSSM
AP: "Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Russia's president has turned against Tehran and
joined the U.S. in spreading lies about its nuclear program. The Iranian
president says Dmitry Medvedev entered a 'propaganda drama' directed by
Washington by saying last week that Iran was getting closer to being able to
develop nuclear weapons." http://bit.ly/afbcJH
Bloomberg: "Computers in Iran have
been hardest hit by a dangerous computer worm that tries to steal information
from industrial control systems. According to data compiled by Symantec, nearly
60 percent of all systems infected by the worm are located in Iran. Indonesia
and India have also been hard-hit by the malicious software, known as Stuxnet."
http://bit.ly/b8zhKT
Opinion
Claudia
Rosett in Forbes: "In sum, while it
rarely gets much attention, there's a strong Iranian tang to the U.N. alphabet
soup. This is a bizarre and alarming scene, given an Iranian regime that
continues to indulge in the execution of juveniles and homosexuals; the stoning
and mandatory veiling of women; the jailing, torture and murder of democratic
dissidents; the spread and support of terrorist groups not only in the Middle
East, but around the globe; and the sanctions-busting pursuit of nuclear
weapons and delivery systems." http://bit.ly/dgltpA
Barry Rubin in JPost: "Readers
often ask why it is that threatened by Iran, Syria, terrorist violence and
revolutionary Islamists, Arab regimes don't cooperate more with the West or
actively seek to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Sure, they do some things
- Jordan and Egypt made peace with Israel, there is some real work with the
West, as in the rescue of Kuwait from Iraqi aggression in 1991. But why not
much more, on the level that could achieve more stability in the region?" http://bit.ly/91tEsw
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