Top Stories
Reuters: "The United States believes Iran intends to get to the brink of a nuclear arms capability so it could make them if it wished, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday. However, Robert Einhorn, the U.S. State Department's senior adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, said, he does not believe Iran soon plans to attempt a nuclear 'breakout' -- abandoning its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and moving full-speed to toward atomic weapons. 'We believe Iran is moving to the threshold of a nuclear weapons capability,' Einhorn, said in response to a question at a Washington think tank, making clear that he was talking about Iran's intentions rather than its current capabilities." http://t.uani.com/erDFhm
WashPost: "When Shiite protesters took to the streets of Bahrain three weeks ago, U.S. and Middle Eastern officials watched anxiously to see how Iran, the kingdom's notoriously meddlesome neighbor, would intervene. What happened - or didn't happen - surprised them. No Shiite clerics from Iran visited Bahrain to denounce its Sunni rulers. There were no provocateurs whipping up anti-government fervor in Shiite neighborhoods. Even popular Shiite Web sites controlled by Iranian clerics were unusually subdued. The muted response fits a pattern observed by intelligence analysts and experts since the wave of Middle East unrest began in December. Iran, which so often has sought to assert its influence in neighboring countries, is sitting this one out - apparently having concluded that it wins by simply doing nothing. 'Iran sees that everything is already going its way,' said a former U.S. intelligence official who consults with Arab governments on internal security. From the Persian Gulf states to Lebanon, 'they have decided to hold back.'" http://t.uani.com/dKHJEm
NYT: "The British Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that rockets found several weeks ago in Nimruz Province in the far southwest of Afghanistan were Iranian weapons en route to the Taliban. Calling the shipments to the Taliban 'unacceptable,' the foreign secretary, William Hague, sharply criticized the Iranians for trying to aid the insurgency in Afghanistan. 'I am extremely concerned by the latest evidence that Iran continues to supply the Taliban with weaponry,' Mr. Hague said. The weapons were 'clearly intended to provide the Taliban with the capability to kill Afghan and ISAF soldiers from significant range.' He was referring to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. 'This is completely unacceptable,' he added. 'It is not the behavior of a responsible neighbor. It is at odds with Iran's claim to the international community and to its own people that it supports stability and security in Afghanistan.' The shipment contained 48 rockets with a range of 12 miles, double the usual range of the rockets used by the Taliban, The Guardian reported, quoting diplomats who spoke on the condition of anonymity." http://t.uani.com/dHncqo
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
AP: "A senior U.S. envoy on Wednesday backed United Nations assessments that Iran may be continuing secret work on developing nuclear weapons, indirectly contradicting American intelligence estimates in the public domain that such activities stopped eight years ago. The comments by envoy Glyn Davies played off recent remarks by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano, whose attempts to follow up on allegations that Iran had conducted such clandestine experiments have been rebuffed by Tehran. In a confidential report late last month, Amano expressed concern about the possible existence of 'current undisclosed nuclear related activities ... related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile' and other work directly linked to a weapons program. The comments were significant because they differed from what has been publicly said by American intelligence agencies. The latest information in the public domain is a summary of a National Intelligence Agency Estimate from 2007 that says Tehran apparently abandoned attempts to develop nuclear weapons in 2003." http://t.uani.com/h9nXca
Bloomberg: "Iran has produced 'more than enough' low-enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon, if it were to further enrich and process the material for bomb use, according to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. United Nations sanctions 'are not stopping Iran's drive to enrich uranium' for potential nuclear weapons, says Army Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess, director of the DIA. Sanctions haven't slowed operation of Iran's heavy water nuclear reactor or the installation at its Natanz facility of more centrifuges that could enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, Burgess says in a statement prepared for the Senate Armed Services Committee." http://t.uani.com/h3yLmz
WSJ: "The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Wednesday the 27-nation bloc will continue its twin-track approach of engaging with Iran while also stepping up pressure over the country's nuclear issue. Ashton said in a statement Iran's nuclear program remains a 'serious concern' and that the first step Iran has to take is to put itself in full compliance with its obligations under the nonproliferation treaty. 'On the EU side, we remain determined to work towards a diplomatic solution on the basis off our double-track approach, which combines pressure with dialogue.' She said for now increased pressure meant 'a strengthening of the implementation of the existing sanctions.' Ashton also criticized Iran's government for what she called its 'unacceptable' human rights abuses." http://t.uani.com/hswsOs
Bloomberg: "The U.S. government is concerned Iran may be working with Chinese companies to obtain sensitive technology that may be useful for developing a nuclear weapons capability, Robert Einhorn, the State Department's special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, said yesterday. Einhorn's comments are the latest reflection of unease among U.S. officials and proliferation experts that China remains a gap in enforcing United Nations sanctions on Iran, which the government in Beijing supported last year. 'Implementation is not uniform,' said Einhorn, speaking at an event sponsored by the nonprofit Arms Control Association at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. China responded by saying relations with Iran don't violate any international treaties or regulations... An unclassified Pentagon review of Iran's military power last year found that both China and North Korea had assisted Iran 'in developing and expanding its missile program,' and made reference to smuggling efforts through China." http://t.uani.com/etrEBy
Foreign Affairs
CNN: "The family of a former FBI agent missing since a 2007 trip to Iran marked the fourth anniversary of his disappearance Wednesday, their hopes buoyed by U.S. authorities' belief that he's still alive. Bob Levinson was last seen checking out of a hotel on Kish Island, an Iranian resort. He didn't make a scheduled flight to Dubai, where his family said he was working as a private investigator. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week that U.S. officials have evidence that Levinson 'is being held somewhere in southwest Asia' and asked Iran -- which has denied any knowledge of his whereabouts -- to help secure his release. 'We are encouraged at news that he is alive,' Levinson's wife, Christine, said in a statement on the anniversary. 'Our family is eagerly waiting for the day we will be reunited.'" http://t.uani.com/fxKSdC
Opinion & Analysis
Reza Kahlili in CSM: "Today, while the world is celebrating International Women's Day, honoring the women who have made the world a better place, it is essential that we remember the innocent women of Iran and what they've lost at the hands of a vicious regime. Ever since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, women have been subjected to the cruelest of punishments. Despite Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini's promise that he would allow women freedom of choice in clothing, activities, and lifestyle, one of the first orders of the Islamic government was to force all women to wear the Islamic hijab, covering their hair and their body. No makeup was allowed, and they could not be seen with anyone other than their husbands or relatives. Anyone caught disobeying the law was subjected to lashing and imprisonment. The ruling clerics called themselves God's representatives on earth, and anyone opposing them was deemed a mohareb, an enemy of God. The Quran authorizes torture and death for enemies of God. The Islamic regime has taken this authority to its most heinous extreme. Thousands of innocent young girls have been brought to prison for the most specious of reasons. They're thrown into small cells, designed for just a few, along with sometimes 30 of their fellow victims. As a CIA spy in Iran, I was a witness to this. Every few days, guards call out names over a loudspeaker. These women know what it means to have their names called, and they hold hands, praying that this will not be the day they are dragged out of their cell and executed. Those whose names are not called for execution are lined up and lashed. Many of them faint from the lashing, never knowing what the guards do with their unconscious bodies. If they are called, they are raped before execution so they are no longer virgins and therefore, according to hardline Islamic beliefs, can no longer go to heaven. None of these girls would ever know the joys of romantic love. None of them would ever hold her own baby in her arms. Their final days have been filled with a level of abuse few can imagine." http://t.uani.com/eDRse1
Drew Hinshaw in CSM: "Diplomatically, West Africa may be moving closer to the West as two of its most controversial trading partners - Iran and Libya - suffer setbacks and instability. This region has long been a place where rogue nations, isolated in the world, could court local leaders who lack the resources, geopolitical clout - or, sometimes, the scruples - to turn down an investment or high-profile visit from a shady world figure. But since the unrest that has swept the Arab world began in January, many of West Africa's leader nations have been distancing themselves from the crumbling regimes to their north... And then there's Iran. The Persian Gulf nation had recently worked out a nuclear know-how exchange with Nigeria, and had gotten an unlikely vote of support for its nuclear program from Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. But last month, Senegal cut ties with Iran after a forensic study found that Iranian weapons have been used to kill Senegalese soldiers fighting to put down a rebellion in the country's casamance province. In October, the Persian Gulf nation was caught shipping 13 containers of ballistic arms - rocket launchers, grenades, guns - through Nigeria's Lagos port, on their way to Senegal or neighboring Gambia. Iran watchers say the discovery wasn't necessarily a surprise. Iran is infamous for arming insurgent groups in forgotten corners of the globe. But the move cost Iran its budding relationship with one of the region's top economies, Senegal. Gambia - where Iran had invested $2 billion in aid since 2005 - has also broken ties with Iran. And now Nigeria is waiting for the results of a United Nations investigation on the matter before possibly downgrading ties with Iran." http://t.uani.com/gwYfno
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