Sunday, April 09, 2006

Govt. insists focus is on diplomacy against Iran

The Bush administration insisted on Sunday its priority was to seek a diplomatic solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear ambitions, amid reports of stepped-up planning for possible US air strikes.
A senior administration official downplayed prospects for American military action, calling the latest reports "ill-informed," but stopped short of an outright denial.
Iran accused the United States of waging a "psychological war" out of desperation.
The US official spoke after a New Yorker magazine article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said Washington was stepping up planning for a possible bombing campaign against Iran, despite publicly pushing for a negotiated settlement.
The Washington Post, citing unnamed US officials and independent analysts, also reported the administration was studying options for strikes against Iran as part of a broader strategy of coercive diplomacy.
The newspaper said no attack was likely soon and many specialists inside and outside the US government harbor strong doubts whether such action would be effective. But it said the intent was to show Iran the seriousness of Washington's intentions.
"The president's priority is to find a diplomatic solution to a problem the entire world recognizes," the senior official told Reuters.
"And those who are drawing broad, definitive conclusions based on normal defense and intelligence planning are ill-informed and are not knowledgeable of the administration's thinking on Iran."
More at ABC News

Meeting with Iran on hold

A meeting with Iran to discuss its role in Iraq will not be held until the formation of a government in Baghdad, said the U.S. ambassador to Iraq on Sunday.
Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni leaders are struggling to form a unity government they hope can avert civil war but there are no signs of immediate resolution.
"What we have decided is not to hold the meeting until the Iraqi government is formed," said U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad on "Fox News Sunday." "We do not want to give the impression that the United States is sitting with Iran to decide about the Iraqi government. The Iraqis will decide that."
More at Reuters

Iran blasts “psychological war” by U.S.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi blasted on Sunday what it described as a “psychological war” by the United States against the Islamic Republic after an American magazine reported that the Bush administration was considering carrying out military strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites.
In an article in The New Yorker magazine, acclaimed investigative journalist Seymour Hersh quoted anonymous current and former U.S. officials as saying that Washington had increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack on its nuclear sites.
“This psychological war is due to America’s anger and desperation”, Asefi said at his weekly press conference.
More at Iran-focus

Spy Plane Shot Down

Iran said on Sunday that it shot down an unmanned spy plane from Iraq in the south of the country.
“This plane had lifted off from Iraq and was busy filming the border regions”, the semi-official daily Jomhouri Islami wrote.
The plane’s structural markings and systems have given officials “information”, the report added, without elaborating.
More at Iran-focus

Iran's Ahmadinejad not planning to attend World Cup

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has no plans to travel to Germany to support his country's World Cup campaign, an official said on Sunday.
Ahmadinejad labelled the Holocaust a myth and German diplomats feared he could become a controversial and embarrassing distraction from the tournament.
"It is not on his agenda," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters, when asked whether Ahmadinejad was planning to support Iran from the stands in Germany.
Iran's opening match against Mexico on June 11 is in Nuremberg, a city closely associated with Nazism.
There have been calls, particularly from Jewish leaders, to ban Iran from playing in the World Cup but German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the country's team and fans should not be penalised for their president's remarks.
More at reuters

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