Top Stories
NYT: "The mystery over the whereabouts of the two main Iranian opposition leaders, Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, deepened on Monday with contradictory reports over whether they had been jailed on the eve of a nationwide protest or remained under extreme house arrest, completely cut off from the outside world. The two have not been seen in public or by their adult children since just before the Feb. 14 protests which they called for, ostensibly in solidarity with Arab uprisings but which quickly transformed into antigovernment rallies across the Islamic republic. The Web site Kaleme, published by Moussavi supporters, said both men and their wives were now incarcerated at Heshmatieh prison in Tehran, but it was unclear when exactly they were removed from their homes. Another Web site, Saham News, which is run by Mr. Karroubi's supporters, quoted one of his sons as saying that a neighbor saw the couple carted off to an undisclosed location around midnight last Thursday. Eight security vans surrounded the house before the former presidential candidate and his wife were taken away in a car, and the house has been dark at night since, neighbors reported." http://t.uani.com/gFP16Y
NYT: "Russia on Monday explained why fuel is being removed from a nuclear reactor in Iran, delaying plans to start up the giant plant this month. The Russian account, the first official rationale, came after experts last week offered theories of the failure ranging from a startup glitch to foul play. In a statement, Russia's state nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, which is building the reactor in Bushehr, Iran, said it found damage to one of the reactor's four main cooling pumps. That breakdown, it said, necessitated removal of the fuel core and an inspection of the reactor and its fuel assemblies to make sure they harbored no metal particles or chips. The detection of metal shards would prompt a thorough cleaning and, according to one official, a startup delay of up to two months... Iran has previously admitted that the Stuxnet computer virus infected the Bushehr reactor, and computer experts last week debated whether the computer worm was responsible for the latest problem. The Russian explanation seems far more prosaic, although experts cautioned that the full capabilities of the Stuxnet virus remained unclear." http://t.uani.com/fuylNT
Bloomberg: "Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions and continued arming of proxy fighters still represent the 'greatest long-term challenge' in the Middle East, the top U.S. commander for the region says. Iran, after four rounds of United Nations sanctions, still 'appears determined to mature its nuclear weapons program -- an ambition that could lead to the proliferation of illicit nuclear materials and spark a nuclear arms race in the region,' Marine Corps General James Mattis, who leads the U.S. Central Command, says in a statement prepared for delivery today to the Senate Armed Services Committee... Mattis says Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, under the control of its Islamic leaders, continues 'to fund, arm, train and equipment a network of agents, surrogates and proxies' in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and elsewhere. 'Of urgent concern,' said Mattis, the Revolutionary Guard 'continues to equip militants in Iraq and Afghanistan that attacks U.S. and coalition forces.' A January attack by insurgents in Iraq using a large- caliber improvised rocket-assisted mortar was aided by Iranian forces and 'demonstrated Iran's malicious intent and ability to escalate violence when they desire,' Mattis said." http://t.uani.com/ickCsU
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
Reuters: "Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he held fruitful and frank discussions with his European Union counterpart on Monday that he hoped would lead to further talks on Iran's disputed nuclear program. Salehi, who was previously head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told reporters in Geneva that Iran had always indicated a willingness to press on with talks with the 'P5+1' -- the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany. Referring to his meeting in Geneva with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, he said: 'I hope that the meeting today will facilitate the work for the upcoming meeting with 5+1.'" http://t.uani.com/ftjDiT
Reuters: "Safety at Bushehr, the first in Iran's planned network of nuclear power plants, matters more than its start-up date, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Monday. 'Safety for us and reliability is more important than the start-up of a reactor at an earlier time,' Salehi told reporters in Geneva. Iran is believed to have told the U.N. atomic watchdog that a broken pump is forcing it to remove fuel from the $1 billion, Russian-built Bushehr plant, which has yet to start injecting power into Iran's national grid." http://t.uani.com/hzpSzx
Reuters: "Iran has been trying without success to obtain Norwegian missile technology for possible use in delivering nuclear weapons, Norway's security chief said on Monday. Janne Kristiansen, general director of the Norwegian Police Security Service, told Reuters Iran had approached small Norwegian companies that sell 'special components that can ... be used in weapons of mass destruction, for building missiles.' Iranian efforts the past year, she said, targeted dual-use technology suitable for civilian products as well as advanced missiles like those that Norwegian contractor Kongsberg Defense Systems makes for several NATO navies and air forces." http://t.uani.com/fZCaja
Reuters: "Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday international sanctions on Iran could be eased if Tehran makes 'real positive steps' to meet concerns about its nuclear programme. Lavrov also told a Geneva news conference that a problem at the Russian-built nuclear reactor in Iran at Bushehr was 'exclusively' technical and he expected it to be resolved in three months." http://t.uani.com/fpVjdS
Human Rights
AP: "Iran's top diplomat said Monday he hopes his country's judiciary will expedite the case of two Americans charged with spying, comparing it to that of two German journalists released last week. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran's government is 'working on' the case of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who were arrested in northern Iraq with a third American, Sarah Shourd, near the Iranian border in July 2009. Bauer, a native of Onamia, Minnesota, and Fattal, who grew up in Pennsylvania, pleaded not guilty earlier this month. Shourd was released on bail last September and pleaded not guilty in absentia." http://t.uani.com/eEk0iW
Domestic Politics
AP: "Iran's top diplomat on Monday praised the popular uprisings roiling the Arab world, but dismissed protests in his own country as unjustified. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran has only experienced a few 'manipulated protests, while mass movements in the nations in the region are authentic, popular and people's movements.' Speaking to several reporters in Geneva, he said: 'There is absolutely no comparison between what is happening in the countries in the region and what has happened in Iran in a few incidents.'" http://t.uani.com/i2RlVM
Bloomberg: "Iran's Foreign Ministry said issues relating to the country's opposition are 'internal affairs' and rejected Western criticism after the reported arrests of two prominent dissidents. 'These are internal affairs and no country has the right to interfere,' Ramin Mehmanparast, a ministry spokesman, told journalists in Tehran today. His comments were aired live by state television's news channel. He was replying to a question about the reported arrests of opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi. Mehmanparast, who didn't mention the two men's whereabouts, spoke before a planned opposition march in Tehran later today to protest the arrests." http://t.uani.com/gteN4F
Foreign Affairs
AFP: "The United States said Monday that the detention of opposition leaders in Iran was 'unacceptable' amid conflicting claims in Tehran that key anti-government figures had been arrested. The White House took a new jab at Iran over its reaction to Middle East political tumult and its own domestic situation as the websites of opposition figureheads Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi reported their arrest. Iran's judiciary however denied the report, saying the leaders were at home. 'We obviously find the detention of opposition leaders to be unacceptable. And we call (for) them to be treated well and released,' White House spokesman Jay Carney said. President Barack Obama's spokesman also hit out at what he said was the 'hypocrisy' of the Iranian government over its different attitude to anti-government protests abroad and at home." http://t.uani.com/dKnwhF
Reuters: "The International Olympic Committee has rejected Iran's complaint that the logo for the 2012 Olympics resembles the word Zion and is racist. 'The London 2012 logo represents the figure 2012, nothing else,' the IOC said in a statement on Tuesday. The London logo, launched in 2007, shows the numbers 2012 in four jagged figures. Zion is a term that refers to the city of Jerusalem and Iran does not recognise Israel. Iran made the complaint in a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge." http://t.uani.com/gnXFD4
Opinion & Analysis
Suzanne Maloney in The Iran Primer: "Iran's stability is once again in question, as historic protests sweep the Middle East and revive the flagging fortunes of its own opposition movement. Expectations of the Islamic Republic's inevitable demise are further fueled by the revolutionary state's own vulnerabilities. Political elites are constantly at war with one another. Much of the clerical estate is alienated from theocratic rule. The merchant community has fought both the encroachments of the state and tax obligations. And youth- who represent more than two-thirds of the population - are simply fed up with the lack of opportunities and the stultifying social and cultural restrictions. Since the disputed June 2009 presidential election, a new homegrown opposition movement has emerged, led by political revolutionary stalwarts and propelled by millions of ordinary Iranians who took to the streets for six months. Iran's economic predicament has particularly provoked popular frustration with the post-revolutionary regime. Iran boasts the world's second largest reserves of oil and gas. But revolution, war, sanctions, and internal philosophical differences over economic policy have dramatically eroded per capita income. Iran today suffers from a wide range of economic problems. It has failed to create enough jobs, particularly for new entrants to the labor market. Inflation has reached epic rates in recent years. It has a chronic overreliance on petroleum revenues. Sanctions have raised the cost, time and inconvenience of almost all international transactions. It has underdeveloped capital and financial markets. And growth rates, which tanked as a result of the global economic slowdown, have been exacerbated by maladroit government interventions. Yet just as the regional upheaval threatens to infect Iran, the Islamic Republic may be on track to alleviate one of the most significant dimensions of its economic Achilles' heel. In late 2010, the government embarked on sweeping economic reforms that eliminate state subsidies on a range of essential consumer goods - including bread and gasoline - and provide modest cash payments to every Iranian household. The subsidy reforms are still in the first of many phases." http://t.uani.com/hQK6e5
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