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Bloomberg: "Iran's refusal to let United Nations experts investigate allegations of illicit nuclear activities at a military base doesn't inspire confidence for a return to negotiations with the international community, U.S. officials and nuclear-proliferation specialists said. An International Atomic Energy Agency team visiting Tehran was denied access to the Parchin military base during two days of meetings that ended Feb. 21. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano expressed disappointment that the team 'engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached.' White House spokesman Jay Carney said Iran's refusal to allow access to sites where Western intelligence agencies have reported suspected nuclear weapons work 'suggests that they have not changed their behavior.' It is 'another demonstration of Iran's refusal to abide by its international obligations,' he said yesterday." http://t.uani.com/xkKmVd
AP: "The European Union is preparing regulations that will shut out Iran's banks from a major financial clearinghouse used by virtually every country in the world, a senior official said Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of European Union rules, said the regulations are currently being worked on, but should be adopted 'rather quickly.' The move is part of an unprecedented escalation of economic pressure by the United States and the EU meant to halt Iran's suspected drive for nuclear weapons. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, said last week it would comply with EU instructions to cut off the Iranian banks once it has clarity on what new rules will require." http://t.uani.com/wfb0sf
WSJ: "Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic would move ahead with its nuclear program, despite growing international pressure. 'Iran's nuclear path must continue firmly and seriously, with the help of God and by ignoring propaganda,' Mr. Khamenei told nuclear scientists and employees of Iran's Atomic Energy Agency in a rare meeting at his residence. 'Pressures, sanctions and assassinations will bear no fruit. No obstacles can stop Iran's nuclear work.' The nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes, he said. Mr. Khamenei's defiant comments offered a window into the motives of the man who will ultimately decide whether Iran will compromise with the West over its nuclear program or continue on a path of international isolation." http://t.uani.com/w9FtTW
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
CNN: "Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency left Iran on Tuesday unable to fully investigate Iran's nuclear program. One site in particular remains a flashpoint. Iran refused to allow a team from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency to visit its military base at Parchin, southeast of Tehran, during a just completed two-day visit, the IAEA said. According to November's IAEA report, Parchin may have been the site of tests of high explosives that could be used to detonate a nuclear bomb - experiments the agency called 'strong indicators of possible weapon development. It is disappointing that Iran did not accept our request to visit Parchin during the first or second meetings,' IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in the IAEA statement. 'We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached.'" http://t.uani.com/xywpdG
Reuters: "An Iranian research center that has been investigated by U.N. nuclear inspectors appears to have played a key role in Tehran's atomic program, which Western powers fear is aimed at producing weapons, according to a new report released on Wednesday. The study by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) will likely cast further doubt on Tehran's denials that it is seeking atomic bombs as the U.N. nuclear agency prepares to publish a new report on Iran in the coming days. Iran's Physics Research Center was established in 1989 'as part of an effort to create an undeclared nuclear program,' according to ISIS's president David Albright, a nuclear expert and former inspector for the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as Andrea Stricker and Paul Brannan." http://t.uani.com/zvOfvg
Reuters: "Iran is believed to be carrying out preparations to expand nuclear activity deep inside a mountain, diplomats say, in a further sign of defiance in the face of intensifying Western pressure to curb its sensitive uranium enrichment drive. Increased capacity at the Fordow underground site would probably heighten Western suspicion of Iran's intentions, after it last month started refining uranium there to a level that cuts the time it would need for any nuclear weapons bid. A senior team of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) failed again this week to get the Islamic state to start addressing their mounting concerns about its nuclear work and returned empty handed to Vienna after two days of talks in Iran." http://t.uani.com/AtenVA
Reuters: "Israel believes that within 2-3 years Iran will have intercontinental missiles able to hit the United States, an Israeli minister said in remarks aimed at raising awareness of the threat it believes a nuclear Iran would pose to the world. Analysts now estimate the longest range of an Iranian missile to be about 2,400 km (1,500 miles), capable of reaching Tehran's arch-enemy Israel as well as Europe. But Israel has also been keen to persuade any allies who do not share their view of the risk posed by Iran that an Islamic Republic with atom bombs would also threaten the West. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz's assessment, in an interview with CNBC, was in line with an unclassified U.S. Defense Department report in 2010 that estimated Iran may be able to build a U.S.-range missile by 2015." http://t.uani.com/yvEJNe
BBC: "The White House has said it is disappointed that UN nuclear inspectors were barred from a site in Iran, calling the visit a 'failure' for Iran. 'It's another demonstration of Iran's refusal to abide by its international obligations,' said White House spokesman Jay Carney. IAEA inspectors had sought to clarify the 'possible military dimensions' of Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran insists its nuclear intentions are purely peaceful. US state department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters that Tehran's move was 'disappointing', but the country wanted to see negotiations move forward." http://t.uani.com/zjnfHh
Reuters: "Japan may cut Iranian crude oil imports by a more-than-expected 20 percent as it seeks a waiver from U.S. sanctions, a newspaper reported on Thursday, a move which would spare its banks from a major blow but also boost its rising fuel import bill. Japan, the world's third biggest oil importer, last year bought almost 9 percent of its crude from Iran and its dependence on fuel imports has increased because almost all its power-generating nuclear reactors have been shut after the Fukushima nuclear disaster a year ago. In a report datelined Washington, and which did not cite any sources, the Nikkei business daily newspaper said Japan and the United States would reach a basic agreement by the end of February on how Japan would reduce its dependence on Iranian oil without incurring financial sanctions." http://t.uani.com/xvlnFZ
YnetNews: "Iran is continuing to milk the assassination of its nuclear scientists for internal propaganda against the 'Zionist entity': The wife of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, who was deputy director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, told the Fars News Agency in an interview published Tuesday that 'Mostafa's ultimate goal was the annihilation of Israel.' Fatemeh Bolouri Kashani said: 'I understood from Mostafa that his ultimate goal was the annihilation of Israel and perhaps that was the reason he was interested in Ahmed Matousselian.' Matousselian was a senior officer in the Revolutionary Guard and one of four Iranian diplomats killed in Lebanon in 1982." http://t.uani.com/ACclEu
Human Rights
Fox News: "A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team. Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years. It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order." http://t.uani.com/xkeZtw
Opinion & Analysis
David Ignatius in WashPost: "'We are of the opinion that the Iranian regime is a rational actor,' said Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on CNN on Sunday. That sounds right to me, but his comment raises a tricky question: How much pressure will it take to get this 'rational' country to curb its nuclear program? The answer here isn't comforting: Recent history shows that the Iranian regime will change behavior only if confronted with overwhelming force and the prospect of an unwinnable war. Short of that, the Iranians seem ready to cruise along on the brink, expecting that the other side will steer away. I count two clear instances when Iran has backed down, and two more 'maybes.' These examples remind us that the Iranian leaders aren't irrational madmen - and also that they drive a hard bargain. Here are the two documented retreats: In July 1988 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 'drank the cup of poison,' as he put it, and agreed to end the Iraq-Iran war. He accepted a U.N.-sponsored truce but only after eight years of brutal fighting, Iraqi rocket attacks on Iranian cities and the use of poison gas against Iranian troops. Khomeini's decision followed the shooting down of an Iranian civilian airliner on July 3 by the USS Vincennes - unintended but a demonstration of overwhelming American firepower in the Persian Gulf. In the fall of 2003 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's regime halted its nuclear weapons program because of 'international pressure,' according to a 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate. The decision came after the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, which the Iranians apparently feared was the prelude to an attack on their soil. The Iranians also agreed in 2003 to start talks with European nations on limiting their enrichment of uranium - beginning the haggling that continues to this day... But what about the message to Iran? History shows that the clerics in Tehran won't accept a deal unless they conclude that there's no alternative but a punishing war. Somehow, the United States must convince Iran that this confrontation is deadly serious - and then work to find the rational pathway toward agreement." http://t.uani.com/AecG4y
Luke Hunt in The Diplomat: "Speculation has firmed that the motive behind the botched plot - dubbed the Valentine's Day Bombings - is linked to Israel's well-publicized alleged assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists. Two people have been held in Bangkok in connection with the Bangkok blasts, a third is expected to be extradited from Malaysia and a fourth, a woman who rented the house, is believed to be in Tehran and is also wanted. Two more - one spotted leaving the house shortly before the blast - are also wanted. All are linked to Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based Shiite paramilitary group whose benefactors include Iran and Syria, and are largely regarded as a terrorist outfit by the West. Israel was quick to blame Iran for targeting its diplomatic staff in Thailand, as well as India and Georgia, after a series of bombs was detonated in the three countries over a 24 hour period. The Bangkok plot was initially uncovered after a bomb was mistakenly detonated - blowing up part of the roof of a house the bombers had rented. According to some accounts, the pair fled, one attempting to hail a taxi that refused to stop. A grenade was tossed amid terrified onlookers.They fled and were eventually cornered by police. A bag of grenades was thrown, but it missed and bounced off a tree, exploded and blew the leg off one of the bombers. In all, five people, including the Iranian, were injured in three explosions. Their fate was dictated solely because Thailand remains an open country and prides itself on ease of access for foreigners of all backgrounds - the Iranians simply found this an easy place to operate... The Iranian profile in Southeast Asia has risen significantly in recent years, and the country remains an international pariah due to its nuclear program, which Israel and the West claim, amid an abundance of evidence, is for military purposes. Sanction busting companies like the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL) have ignored maritime authorities by plying the waterways, while Iranians have also been linked to gun-running out of North Korea. Indeed, they have emerged as significant players in a booming regional drug trade, in particular methamphetamines. 'The Iranians are also big into the drug smuggling scene in the region now...and there's a huge influx of Iranians coming into the region now doing illegal activities,' says John Boyd, Chief Executive Officer for regional security group Independent Protective Services. The bungled Bangkok bombing, which sounds almost as if it deserves comparisons with the incompetent Keystone Cops of the silent film era or Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the Pink Panther films, will only increase Iran's isolation despite denials and protests from Tehran. Boyd says the botched Bangkok bombing would have proved disappointing, but argues that the Iranians had also proved they had access to C4 from either military sources or a supplier with supplies of stolen C4 and 'with those type of resources an experienced member could do a lot of damage.' He says the Delhi and Tbilisi bombs were useless in terms of hitting their objective, but had confirmed widespread views in the West that Iran is a sponsor of terrorism, justifying further actions against Iran either through further sanctions or direct military action. That in itself is a tragedy for the vast majority of Iranians who are as educated and as erudite as any, are neither terrorists nor state-employed and opposed to their government's policies, which have ensured their country will continue to languish near the bottom of the heap in terms of international standing." http://t.uani.com/xXzEYX
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