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NYT: "Iran told atomic inspectors this week that it had run into a serious problem at a newly completed nuclear reactor that was supposed to start feeding electricity into the national grid this month, raising questions about whether the trouble was sabotage, a startup problem, or possibly the beginning of the project's end. In a report on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran told inspectors on Wednesday that it was planning to unload nuclear fuel from its Bushehr reactor - the sign of a major upset. For years, Tehran has hailed the reactor as a showcase of its peaceful nuclear intentions and its imminent startup as a sign of quickening progress. But nuclear experts said the giant reactor, Iran's first nuclear power plant, now threatens to become a major embarrassment, as engineers remove 163 fuel rods from its core. Iran gave no reason for the unexpected fuel unloading, but it has previously admitted that the Stuxnet computer worm infected the Bushehr reactor. On Friday, computer experts debated whether Stuxnet was responsible for the surprising development." http://t.uani.com/ggQUPh
Reuters: "The U.N. atomic watchdog has received new information regarding allegations that Iran may be seeking to develop a nuclear-armed missile, the agency said in a report voicing deepening concern about the issue. The confidential document signaled the U.N. body's growing frustration at what it sees as Iran's lack of cooperation with a long-running investigation into its disputed nuclear program... The IAEA report, obtained by Reuters on Friday, said it remained concerned about possible current activity in Iran to design a nuclear payload. 'Iran is not engaging with the agency in substance on issues concerning the allegation that Iran is developing a nuclear payload for its missile program,' it said. For several years, the IAEA has been investigating Western intelligence reports indicating Iran has coordinated efforts to process uranium, test explosives at high altitude and revamp a ballistic missile cone in a way suitable for a nuclear warhead. An official with knowledge of the IAEA's investigation said the new information, if it turned out to be correct, concerned both Iran's past and more recent activities." http://t.uani.com/hjVIdq
WashPost: "Iran appears to be preparing to scale up its production of enriched uranium with advanced new equipment, according to a new U.N. report that also chastises the country's leaders for failing to answer questions about alleged nuclear weapons research. The report, which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released to its board of governors on Friday, also includes fresh evidence that Iran has contained the damage inflicted to its existing uranium plant by apparent cyberattacks in the past two years. The nuclear watchdog said Iran was boosting its enriched-uranium stockpile at a steady or slightly higher rate compared with production before the attack. In an unusual step, IAEA officials catalogued a list of Iranian failures and shortcomings, criticizing the Islamic republic in particular for stonewalling U.N. efforts to investigate alleged nuclear weapons studies by Iranian scientists." http://t.uani.com/hLGyzu
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
Reuters: "Iran is believed to have told the U.N. atomic watchdog a broken pump is forcing it to remove fuel from its first nuclear reactor, in a fresh setback for the $1 billion project, experts familiar with the issue said on Monday. They said it was a potentially serious problem that could cause months of further delays for the Russian-built Bushehr plant, which has yet to start injecting power into Iran's national grid. Iran has said Bushehr, first in a planned network of nuclear power plants, would start producing electricity early this year." http://t.uani.com/dXPVTX
Reuters: "Iran has awarded contracts worth $2.6 billion to a company controlled by the Revolutionary Guards, the semi-official Mehr news agency said on Saturday, showing the continuing rise of the elite military force. Khatam al-Anbia will build two pipelines totalling 1,100 km long to carry oil from the southeastern Khuzestan province to a refinery in Rey, south of the capital Tehran, under a contract with a state oil company worth $1.3 billion, Mehr said. 'These oil projects have been ceded to the Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters by forgoing tender formalities,' said Ali-Reza Zeighami, the head of the state-owned National Iranian Refining and Distribution Co." http://t.uani.com/i5P3Wa
AFP: "China is to invest $2.5 billion (1.81 billion euros) in developing Iran's South Azadegan oilfield that straddles the border with Iraq, Iranian news agency Mehr reported Friday. 'According to the final agreement, China will invest $2.5 billion in the field,' Mehr quoted Naji Saadouni, president of Iran's Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), as saying. The output of the field, currently 55,000 barrels per day (bpd), is expected to reach 320,000 bpd upon completion of the first phase of development, which has already started. A second phase will boost output to 600,000 bpd. Saadouni did not specify which Chinese company would undertake the development." http://t.uani.com/gLh4lS
Reuters: "Iran has secured the release of a container ship seized by authorities in Hong Kong more than three months ago due to sanctions-related problems, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday. Five vessels operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) were impounded at ports around the world late last year as sanctions on Iran caused European banks to call in loans they had made to IRISL early. Three ships held in Singapore were released in January. One is still impounded in Malta." http://t.uani.com/hFYN7D
Human Rights
AP: "The White House is condemning what it calls an 'organized intimidation campaign' by the Iranian government against opposition leaders and other activists. In a statement released Sunday, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor accused Iran of 'blatant violation of the universal rights of its citizens.' An international human rights group said Sunday that Iranian security forces had abducted two opposition leaders and their wives. Vietor said Tehran's intimidation campaign included 'arrests of political figures, human rights defenders, political activists, student leaders, journalists and bloggers,' as well as jamming satellite transmissions and blocking Internet traffic." http://t.uani.com/hWPxmm
POLITICO: "European diplomats have prepared a list of over 80 Iranian militia and police unit commanders, prison guards, prosecutors, judges and ministry bureaucrats that will be taken up for discussion for possible European Union sanctions for alleged torture, murder and other human rights violations against Iranian citizens. POLITICO was provided a list of the Iranian individuals that the EU will discuss possibly targeting for sanctions to include asset freezes and travel bans. EU foreign ministers will discuss the list at a 'brainstorming session' in March, a European diplomat said Friday." http://t.uani.com/hcLcuf
Domestic Politics
AP: "Iran's state prosecutor says all outside contact with the country's two opposition leaders has been cut as part of a campaign to silence dissent. Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi warned 'other measures' could be taken if necessary against Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi. His remarks were reported Monday by the official IRNA news agency. The development is a dramatic escalation following warnings by an international human rights group, which said Sunday the two leaders and their wives were taken from their homes by security forces." http://t.uani.com/dPawbN
Foreign Affairs
AP: "Iran's navy chief says Iran had 'no hostile intentions' by sending two warships to the Mediterranean for the first time in more than 30 years. Adm. Habibollah Sayyari says the voyage was meant to build up Iran's defense capabilities. The ships arrived at Syria's Latakia seaport last week after sailing through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean - the first such trip in at least three decades. Iran said the trip was for a training mission but Israel said it was provocative. Sayyari told a news conference in the Syrian capital of Damascus Monday that Israeli fears were unjustified." http://t.uani.com/eVpdCG
AFP: "Iran have protested against the already controversial logo of the 2012 Olympic Games, saying the emblem is racist and spells the word 'Zion,' the ILNA news agency reported on Monday. The jagged, multi-coloured emblem, which reportedly cost 400,000 pounds (nearly 650,000 dollars) features four bold numerals representing 2012, with the signature Olympic Rings emblazoned within the digit zero. But Mohammad Aliabadi, head of the National Olympic Committee in the Islamic republic, said the logo was undermining the event and accused the British organisers of indulging in 'racism,' ILNA reported." http://t.uani.com/eIlxJZ
AFP: "The Iranian potatoes, oranges and raisins on sale in the bazaars of Astara are not the only signs of the Islamic republic's influence in this Azerbaijani border town. There is also the Iranian television station which beams the news according to Tehran into Astara's homes and tea-houses in the Azerbaijani language. Hundreds of Iranian trucks rumble north each day along the nearby highway, loaded with goods bound for Azerbaijani markets, but despite the trading links between the mainly Shiite Muslim neighbours, their political relationship has become increasingly strained -- particularly over the issue of Islam." http://t.uani.com/fEY276
AFP: "A trip to the Middle East by the top US military officer Mike Mullen shows the 'deep worry' of Washington when it comes to the fate of its forces in the region, the top Iranian general said Sunday. 'The hasty trip of Mike Mullen shows the deep worry regarding the fate of American forces stationed in the region,' armed forces chief of staff General Hassan Firouzabadi said in a statement. Calling for the withdrawal of US forces from the region, Firouzabadi said that 'any kind of military operation will fail to have an effect on the Muslim peoples' revolution which is being done to get rid of American oppression.'" http://t.uani.com/dWgciz
Opinion & Analysis
Jamsheed Choksy in RCW: "Events in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and the rest of the Arab Middle East are not politically and ideologically disconnected from Iran. From Tripoli to Tehran, repressed citizens demonstrate for freedom and representative governments. So far the uprisings have been largely untainted by anti-Western sentiments. Yet like the Iranian Revolution, and the Russian and Chinese ones before it, populist uprisings often are commandeered by extremists posing as moderates. There is even an Arabo-Persian word for such religio-political deception: taqiyya. Ayatollah Khomeini's followers deployed it with devastating impact in 1979. Harakat al-Nahda al-Islamiyya (Islamic Renaissance Movement) in Tunisia and Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood) in Egypt, like Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, advocate creating Islamic states, acquiring atomic warheads, abrogating peace with Israel and diminishing American and European influence in the region. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood thinks highly of "characteristics found only in the Islamic Republic of Iran" and hopes 'Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia will be like that' according to Kamal al-Hilbawi, one of its leaders. Members of the Shiite Haq and Houthi movements in Bahrain and Yemen, respectively, feeling alienated from their nations' American-supported leaders, may also look to Iran for guidance as well... So if a fission-powered Islamic Republic of Iran partners successfully with Arab Islamists, upheaval could ensue for the Middle East and the world. Only the advent of democratically-oriented governments in Arab capitals and Tehran will mitigate Islamic fundamentalism and nuclear threats by ensuring liberty and safety. Therefore, the U.S., EU and even Israel should welcome and aid movements in the Middle East that seek to establish freely and fairly elected governments based on secular politics." http://t.uani.com/gwMuNC |
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