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Iran has ignored a U.N. Security Council ultimatum to freeze uranium enrichment - a pathway to nuclear arms - and has instead expanded its program by setting up hundreds of centrifuges, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said yesterday.
By George Jahn
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Posted 24/2/2007 @ 10:52:46 GMTRivals in Iran Defiant Toward WestTEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's divided leadership closed ranks against foreign critics of the its nuclear program Friday, with both its current president and former president accusing the West of "bullying" Tehran through ultimatums and threats of new sanctions. more By The Associated Press

Posted 24/2/2007 @ 10:36:53 GMTCould Battle of Wills Escalate to War?Every time Robert Gates is asked whether the United States is preparing for war against Iran, the U.S. Defence Secretary becomes agitated and impatient, expressing disbelief the question would even be posed. more By National

Posted 24/2/2007 @ 0:32:45 GMTPlans, But No Intention for War With IranEarlier this week, the BBC carried a report that said it had learned "U.S. contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure." more By The Washington Post

Posted 24/2/2007 @ 0:22:4 GMTIran: Free Wife of Political Prisoner Seized on StreetNew York -- The Iranian government should immediately release Somaye Bayanat, wife of the well-known political prisoner Ahmad Batebi, and investigate the manner in which she was snatched from the streets, Human Rights Watch said today. more By Human Rights Watch

Posted 24/2/2007 @ 0:15:57 GMTIran and the Diplomatic FetishistsIran has an interesting take on international law. According to Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki, the UN Security Council's Chapter VII resolution from last December requiring Iran to cease all its uranium enrichment activities is illegal. As he put it Wednesday during a friendly visit in Turkey, "We were against [the resolution] for being illegal and politically motivated." more By The Jerusalem Post

Posted 23/2/2007 @ 20:19:42 GMTWhat Scares Iran's Mullahs?Iran has once again defied the United Nations by proceeding with enrichment activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported yesterday. And yet, simultaneously, Iranian officials have been sending a very different message — one that has gone largely unremarked but merits close attention. more By The New York Times

Posted 23/2/2007 @ 17:27:34 GMTSymposium: Iran: The CountdownWith Iran's Mullahs refusing to stop their nuclear program, a collision with the U.S. appears inevitable -- and approaching sooner rather than later. To discuss the Iranian threat and the options the U.S. has to deal with it, Frontpage Symposium has assembled a distinguished panel. Our guests are:
more By FrontPageMagazine.com

Posted 23/2/2007 @ 17:17:54 GMTThe Mullahs' VoiceIran’s ruling clerics have a new unofficial spokesman in Washington, who can talk circles around their official ambassadors. His name is Trita Parsi, and he is a protégé of Francis Fukayama, the policy heavy-weight who has now turned against the Bush agenda of promoting freedom in the Middle East as an antidote to terror. more By FrontPageMagazine.com

Posted 23/2/2007 @ 15:21:14 GMTArmed Conflict With Iran AvoidableU.S. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns says he does "not believe a conflict with Iran is inevitable," and "it is certainly not desirable": more By VOA News

Posted 23/2/2007 @ 15:4:48 GMTCheney Hints at Iran Military StrikeUS Vice President Dick Cheney vowed the United States would "do everything" it can to deprive Iran of nuclear weapons, and refused to rule out military action in a US television interview on Friday. "We haven't taken any options off the table," Cheney said in an interview with ABC News from Australia, where he is traveling. more By AFP

Posted 23/2/2007 @ 10:53:6 GMTSignals From TehranWASHINGTON -- The title of the two-page Iranian document is "Gentlemen's Agreement.'' In convoluted English, it lists 11 points of understanding supposedly reached last September between Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani and his European counterpart Javier Solana on a temporary, partial, not-quite suspension of uranium enrichment. more By The Washington Post