Top Stories
AFP: "Iran is supporting three Shiite extremist groups in
Iraq that have been attempting to attack US bases, General Ray Odierno, the top
US commander in Iraq, said Wednesday.
For the past four years the US military has blamed Iran
for supporting violent anti-US groups operating in Iraq, but has been unable to
establish a clear link with the government in Tehran." http://bit.ly/9xoMFM
NYT: "Iran fired a new salvo on Wednesday in what is
becoming a bizarre propaganda war over the supposed defection and later return
of an Iranian nuclear scientist, with Iran's semiofficial media suggesting that
he was a covert operative who had provided "valuable information" about the
Central Intelligence Agency's inner workings." http://nyti.ms/cdiSK5
NYT: "The trial of two men accused of plotting to attack
Kennedy International Airport took an unexpected twist on Wednesday when
prosecutors suggested that one of the men, a former government official in
Guyana, spent decades secretly working as an Iranian spy - passing along
information about the country's economy, foreign policy and military to Iranian
officials." http://nyti.ms/bTsqEm
Nuclear Program
JPost: "Iran is not working seriously with the
International Atomic Energy Agency in discussions over its nuclear program,
said German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday. Reuters reported that speaking
at a news conference in Berlin, Merkel said she viewed the outcome of
negotiations with Iran with skepticism, given the lack of progress made so far."
http://bit.ly/9jjmnD
Bloomberg: "Iran, the second-largest oil producer in
OPEC, wants to 'move away' from taking payment in dollars and euros for its
crude exports, the country's vice president said today. 'Iran has the liberty to use the currency it favors,'
Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi told reporters on the sidelines of an event
at the Economy Ministry in Tehran. 'We will do whatever is in the interest of
the country.'" http://bit.ly/a9Ar2m
Reuters: "China seeks to finance development of Iran's
refinery industry, an Iranian official was quoted on Thursday as saying, trying
to show sanctions have not stopped foreign investment in the Islamic state's
energy sector." http://bit.ly/a25Jh4
Human Rights
The Guardian: "Iran has put fresh pressure on the woman
it last month sentenced to death by stoning, demanding the names of those
involved in the campaign for her release. The case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has drawn international attention
after her children launched a campaign for her release. After a global outcry
last month, Iran's judiciary said Sakineh would not be put to death by stoning,
but still faced execution by hanging." http://bit.ly/bJylcY
Reuters: "Iran amputated the hands of five convicted
thieves inside a prison in the western city of Hamedan on Thursday, the
semi-official ILNA news agency said. 'The
average age of the five thieves on whom the hand amputation verdict was carried
out was over 25 and they had committed major thefts,' the agency quoted local
judiciary official Akbar Biglari as saying." http://bit.ly/cmwUQi
Radio Farda: "A spokesman for Tehran's municipal
bus-service union has been released from prison on bail, RFE/RL's Radio Farda
reports. Said Torabian, who had been
held at Rajaee Shahr prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, was released on July 20.
He was detained by authorities on June 9." http://bit.ly/drpKVB
Domestic Politics
LAT: "A series of earthquakes on Wednesday rattled
southern Iran, injuring at least 19 people and damaging buildings amid a
dispute over government plans to disperse offices to provincial cities because
of the seismic threat to the capital." http://bit.ly/bUyDxk
Foreign Affairs
Radio Farda: "Iraqi officials say Tehran has not informed
Baghdad about Iran's reported intention to build a security wall along its
borders with Iraqi Kurdistan, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports. Saad Muttalibi, a political adviser to Iraqi
officials and leading member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law Coalition,
told RFI on July 20 that Iraq has not been officially informed of the
construction project, nor has the Iraqi Embassy in Tehran received any official
notification." http://bit.ly/9HE48s
Opinion
Michael Barone in National Review: "Later, Iran's
theocratic regime sponsored the 1983 attack on our Marine Corps barracks in
Lebanon and recent attacks on our soldiers in Iraq - more acts of war. Six
presidents have chosen not to retaliate for reasons of prudence that have much
to commend them. War with Iran would be a terrible thing. But one can also
believe, as the UAE ambassador incautiously said, that a nuclear-armed Iran
would be even worse." http://bit.ly/9hXXSm
Mats Tunehag in WSJ: "Iran is by far the most dangerous
threat to peace in the Middle East and beyond. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is
a Holocaust denier who has threatened to annihilate Israel. This threat is
reinforced by the Islamic regime's pursuit of nuclear weapons and support for
the terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah." http://bit.ly/c7U7xV
David Shariatmadari in The Guardian: "In a world of
competing national interests, political differences, clashes not just of
personalities, but of civilizations, you could be forgiven for thinking that
there's nothing of any significance all our leaders agree on. The need to
prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, however, may qualify. This is why Iran
now finds itself facing toughened sanctions, why Barack Obama, just like George
W Bush before him, sees preventing an Iranian bomb as an urgent foreign policy
priority, and why North Korea, it was announced yesterday, will receive similar
treatment." http://bit.ly/cPFP5S
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