Eye on Iran: Pentagon Bulks Up 'Bunker Buster' Bomb to Combat Iran

For continuing coverage follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.    Top Stories WSJ: "The Pentagon has redesigned its biggest 'bunker buster' bomb with more advanced features intended to enable it to destroy Iran's most heavily fortified and defended nuclear site. U.S. officials see development of the weapon as critical to convincing Israel that the U.S. has the ability to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb if diplomacy fails, and also that Israel's military can't do that on its own. Several times in recent weeks, American officials, seeking to demonstrate U.S. capabilities, showed Israeli military and civilian leaders secret Air Force video of an earlier version of the bomb hitting its target in high-altitude testing, and explained what had been done to improve it, according to diplomats who were present. In the video, the weapon can be seen penetrating the ground within inches of its target, followed by a large underground detonation, according to people who have seen the footage." http://t.uani.com/1091iq0 Reuters: "Negotiators from the European Union and Iran will meet in Istanbul this month to discuss future diplomatic efforts to resolve a decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear program. The May 15 meeting between the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who leads diplomacy with Iran on behalf of six world powers, and Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili follows a failed round of talks in Kazakhstan in April. Its outcome may be crucial in deciding whether a new round of negotiations can take place, and when, Western diplomats say. Before diplomacy resumes, the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - want to reinforce to Tehran that no deal can be reached without Iran addressing its most sensitive nuclear work, their main concern." http://t.uani.com/1243FfD Reuters: "The United States said on Friday that Iran and North Korea were trying to obtain high-tech materials linked to their nuclear programs in violation of U.N. sanctions. Iran was also sending weapons and ammunition to Syrian government forces despite a ban, said Thomas Countryman, Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation. 'Both Iran and North Korea have developed channels that enable them to continue to export and continue to procure the items they need for their weapons industry,' he told a news briefing in Geneva. In comments to Reuters, he made clear he was referring to high-tech materials related to nuclear and other programs, including conventional weapons." http://t.uani.com/16yEsiJ Nuclear Program & Sanctions   Bloomberg: "Ashland Inc. (ASH), the biggest producer of specialty papermaking chemicals, said a 50-50 joint venture with Switzerland's Clariant AG (CLN) sold products to Iran without the approval of the U.S. government.  Units of the ASK Chemicals GmbH venture sold "granulate, coatings and hot top products" from Oct. 1 through March 1 to entities that may be owned or controlled by the Iranian government, Covington, Kentucky-based Ashland said today in its 10-Q filing. The products generated 715,000 euros ($934,000) of sales and 75,000 euros of profit, Ashland said. The products are used in metal casting, said Gary Rhodes, an Ashland spokesman. ASK's supervisory board unanimously voted in March to end transactions with Iran and ASK is terminating all business in the country, Ashland said in the filing." http://t.uani.com/18hEr1V Daily Telegraph: "An investment company controlled by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been accused of bullying in the takeover of the country's biggest dealer in German cars. The head of Nouriyani Enterprise, which for 80 years was the exclusive trade partner between Iran and Germany's car making and printing industries, complained that he had no choice but to sign over his share in its nationwide car dealership to a charity run by Ayatollah Khamenei's office. 'These gentlemen from the Shah Abdulazim Religious charity came to see me and offered to buy out my shares and work with my enterprise', Ali Nouriyani, the managing director of Nouriyani Enterprise told the Fararu news website." http://t.uani.com/ZEHsX3 Domestic Politics AP: "The son of Iran's toppled shah has a new job as spokesman for a nascent movement that is challenging the clerical regime to hold free and fair elections - or risk a civil disobedience campaign. Reza Pahlavi said Thursday that his Paris-based collective, the Iranian National Council, brings together tens of thousands of pro-democracy proponents from both inside and outside Iran. He said the council 'is calling for a major boycott' of Iran's June 14 elections but that 'is not enough.' 'The regime once again is going to put on another show, another circus,' Pahlavi said in an interview. 'This is an opportunity ... to challenge a system that, if they were to refuse such a request, leaves us no choice but to organize a campaign of civil disobedience to ultimately force this regime to collapse.'" http://t.uani.com/10wCNSy Foreign Affairs Economist: "Mr Morsi's moves to strengthen ties with Iran have not so far yielded much, other than exchanges of official visits and vague promises. But they have annoyed not just fellow Egyptian Islamists. The Muslim Brothers in Syria, a big component in the opposition to President Bashar Assad's Iranian-allied regime, are having a hard time explaining their Egyptian siblings' friendliness to Iran. Nor are Iran's richest foes, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, amused. Unlike other countries in the region, including Iraq, Libya, Qatar and Turkey, they have signally abstained from doling out money to bolster Mr Morsi and Egypt's floundering economy." http://t.uani.com/1244yoB   Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.