Front-page Iran

Sorry about the past week and no updates. I've been busy, and this week will follow with no updates and then I'll be back to normal daily feed.
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Watchdog says Iran defies UN

Iran has defied a UN deadline to halt uranium enrichment, the UN nuclear agency said in a report yesterday that led to calls for tough Security Council action over Tehran's atomic program. US President George W Bush said Iran's nuclear ambitions were "dangerous" but that Washington, which fears Tehran is trying to develop atomic weapons, wanted to resolve the dispute "diplomatically and peacefully". Iran reacted sharply, hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisting it was being denied its right to atomic energy and issuing a veiled threat to cut off ties with the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He said Iran did "not give a damn" about demands to freeze sensitive nuclear work, adding that the world would enjoy peace if it were not for US bullying. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei's report came as a 30-day UN Security Council deadline expired for Tehran to comply with UN demands to halt enrichment, which makes the fuel for civilian nuclear reactors but what can also be the explosive core of atom bombs. The report said the IAEA had taken samples on April 13 at Iran's enrichment facility in Natanz "which tend to confirm as of that date the enrichment level (of 3.6 percent) declared by Iran."
More at TMCnet

PFLP's Jibril warns US, Israel against attacking Syria, Iran

"We will not allow any aggression against Syria or the Islamic Republic of Iran," leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command Ahmed Jibril told a rally of about 1,000 supporters in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital.

"I say it frankly, we will not only be on their side, we will be in the forefront," said Jibril.
Jibril was among the Palestinian faction leaders who met President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when the Iranian leader visited Damascus in January.

"You must understand that the pressures on Syria and Islamic Iran are primarily because of their stand on the Palestinian cause," Jibril told the rally.

"If the United States of America and this Zionist entity (Israel) believe that they can change the regimes in Syria and Iran, then we tell them: 'Think whatever you wish, but the Palestinians inside and outside (the territories) will remain on the side of Syria and Iran'," Jibril said.

Earlier this month, after a dramatic highway pursuit, Israeli security forces apprehended a PFLP member en route to carry out a suicide bombing. The group also supplied the bomb used in an April 2 suicide bombing that killed four Israelis near Kedumim in the West Bank.

In October, one of Jibril's aides reported that he was planning to move to the Gaza Strip.
More at the Jerusalem Post

Iran N-strike must be ruled out: Kasuri

Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said on Friday nuclear strike against Iran should never be considered and the international community should provide it an opportunity for face saving.

He was speaking at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) on the subject of Pakistan's role in promoting peace and stability here today. He reiterated his call for efforts to seek a peaceful solution of the Iranian crisis.

Referring to reports on the possibility of a nuclear attack to eliminate Tehran's nuclear capability, he said. "I think that should not ever be contemplated."

Mr Kasuri cast doubts if a nuclear strike on Iran would be able to achieve the conceived objectives, adding , Iran might have already ⌠dispersed what it had. Secondly he said an attack on Iran would be considered an attack on yet another Muslim country.

This will destabilize large parts of the Muslim world, he said, adding there were Shia population in the Muslim countries.

Opposing sanctions against Iran, he said, Islamabad's oil import bill last year soared to $6 billion registering an increase of 50 per cent. If the price of oil went up by $100 a barrel one could imagine its impact on the world's economy including Pakistan.

He said the international community should not to undermine Tehran's capability to hurt and give a robust response following a strike against it. If a few ships were sunk in the Straits of Hormuz by anybody, there were not enough facilities for refining oil hence it would lead to oil price hike, he added.
More at DAWN

Excerpts from IAEA report to the U.N. Security Council on Iran's nuclear program

"After more than three years of agency efforts to seek clarity about all aspects of Iran's nuclear program, the existing gaps in knowledge continue to be a matter of concern."

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"... the agency has repeatedly requested Iran to provide additional information on certain issues related to its enrichment program. Iran declined to discuss these matters ... ."

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"... the agency was shown by Iran in January 2005 a copy of a hand written one-page document reflecting an offer said to have been made to Iran in 1987 by a foreign intermediary (in the nuclear black market). In order to be able to ascertain its nature and origin, a copy of the document is needed by the agency. However, Iran continues to decline the agency's request for a copy of the document."

More at the Chicago Tribune

War game will focus on situation with Iran

Amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran over the future of Iran's nuclear program, the Pentagon is planning a war game in July so officials can explore options for a crisis involving Iran.
The July 18 exercise at National Defense University's National Strategic Gaming Center will include members of Congress and top officials from military and civilian agencies. It was scheduled in August, before the latest escalation in the conflict, university spokesman Dave Thomas said.
It's the latest example of how otherwise routine operations are helping the United States prepare for a possible military confrontation with Iran. On Tuesday, President Bush refused to rule out military action — even a nuclear strike — to stop Iran's nuclear program. "All options are on the table," Bush said in the Rose Garden.
The exercise is one of five scheduled this year, including others envisioning an avian influenza pandemic and a crisis in Pakistan. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld started the exercises involving members of Congress in 2002 to help the legislative and executive branches discuss policy options.
Such exercises do not involve military members simulating combat. Instead, officials gather for a daylong conference and discuss how to react to various events presented in a fictional scenario.
Prodded by the United States, the United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all uranium enrichment activities by April 28. Last week, Iran said it has mastered the technology to make fuel that could be used for power plants or bombs, but it insists its nuclear program is only meant to generate electricity. The United States and its allies say Iran is working to build nuclear weapons.
The July exercise may have real-world consequences since Iran could interpret it as evidence the United States plans to attack, said Khalid al-Rodhan, an Iran expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Anything the U.S. will do in the region will be seen as further provocation," al-Rodhan said. "Given what's happening in Iraq, it's clear the Iranians are afraid of U.S. intentions."
More at USA Today

Nuclear war with Iran too costly for Americans, Iranians

Author Gore Vidal has called this country the United States of Amnesia because decisions made by the American government often seem divorced from a memory of history. One example of this was the lead-up to the latest U.S. invasion of Iraq, which many people said would bear similarities to the U.S. war on Vietnam.
While there are many clear differences between the war against the peoples of Vietnam and the war in Iraq, the similar idea is that the people of a country will do whatever it takes to fend off the aggressive invasion of their country by a superpower, no matter what the apparent odds.But now it seems Americans can't even remember 2003 as the Bush administration is threatening to attack Iran. Iran has a much stronger military than Iraq, which had been devastated by a decade of sanctions. If the United States were to attack Iran, it is likely the results will be similar to what's happening in Iraq.Iran has recently enriched uranium, which is a necessary component for nuclear weapons the country has threatened to develop in the future. In response to Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Pentagon presented a plan to the White House that includes "the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon ... against (Iran's) underground nuclear sites," according to an article in The New Yorker by Seymour Hersh.There's nothing "tactical" about a weapon of mass destruction. Nuclear weapons kill innocent people indiscriminately. Two years ago, I completed a pilgrimage to the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in order to see the destruction the "leaders" of my country wreaked on the people of those two beautiful cities. It's impossible for me to conceive that with all Americans know about the suffering of the hundreds of thousands of victims in August 1945, there are still people in the United States of Amnesia who would consider ever using nuclear weapons. If the option of nuclear war is unleashed, innocent Iranians will die.
More at TMC Net

Bush won't exclude Iran nuke strike

The United States on Tuesday failed to secure international support for targeted sanctions against Iran and President George W. Bush refused to rule out nuclear strikes if diplomacy failed to curb the Islamic Republic's atomic ambitions.
Bush said he would discuss Iran's nuclear activities with China's President Hu Jintao, who has been cool towards sanctions, during his U.S. visit this week.
Asked if his options included planning for a nuclear strike, Bush said: "All options are on the table. We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we're working hard to do so."
But a meeting of major powers in Moscow ended without consensus despite strong U.S. pressure for international sanctions. Washington believes Iraq is trying to build bombs but Tehran says it is only developing nuclear energy.
The meeting of deputy foreign ministers of the U.N. Security Council's permanent members -- The United States, Britain, France, China and Russia -- plus Germany, was called after Tehran declared last week that it had enriched uranium and was aiming for industrial-scale production.
The No. 3 U.S. State Department official, Nicholas Burns, argued that sanctions should be imposed on Iran, but Russia and China are resisting and the parties came to no agreement, said U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey in Washington.
"Burns raised the issue of some form of sanctions and there will need to be further discussions on this," he said after being briefed by U.S. officials about the meeting.
More at Reuters

Defiant Iran threatens to ‘cut off hands of any aggressor’

The defiant stance came hours before a two-day meeting in Moscow of senior diplomats from the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany to discuss the issue and less than two weeks before a council deadline for Iran to stop uranium enrichment. “Today, you are among the world’s most powerful armies because you rely on God,” Mr Ahmadinejad declared at a parade to commemorate Army Day. “Iran’s enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and the land of Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders and the integrity of the Iranian nation and cut off the hand of any aggressor and place the sign of disgrace on their forehead,” he added.
The United States, Britain, Japan, Israel, France and Germany have accused Iran of using its civilian nuclear programme as a cover to produce nuclear weapons. Iran has maintained its right to enrich uranium and says it is only building nuclear facilities to generate electricity. US President George W Bush said that “all options are on the table” to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons, but added that he would continue to focus on the international diplomatic option to persuade Tehran to drop its nuclear ambitions. “We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we’re working hard to do so,” Mr Bush told reporters in the Rose Garden. Mr Bush also said there should be a unified effort involving countries “who recognise the danger of Iran having a nuclear weapon”, and he noted that US officials are working closely with Britain, France and Germany. Mr Bush was asked if his administration was planning for the possibility of a nuclear strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. “All options are on the table,” he said. Mr Ahmadinejad said Iran’s army “has to be constantly ready, equipped and powerful. It has to be equipped with the latest technologies, recognize the enemy and constantly be vigilant.”
More at the IrishExaminer


Oil prices rise above 71 US dollars

World crude oil prices closed with record highs above 71 dollars on the eve of U.S. energy stocks weekly report Tuesday, amid worries of supply in Iran and Nigeria.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, added 93 cents to close at 71.35 dollars a barrel, its highest closing price since 1983, after touching intra-day high of 71.60 dollars, the highest price since 1983.
On London's ICE Futures exchange, the price of Brent North Sea crude for June delivery climbed 1.05 dollars to 72.51 dollars a barrel, its record high since 1988.
The Organization of Petroleum downgraded the world demand-growth forecast for 2006 to 1.42 million barrels a day, down from 1.46 million barrels per day in the previous report Tuesday in its latest monthly report.
Traders are still concerned about the possibilities that Iran's oil exports would halt if the United Nations imposes Teheran an international sanction for its nuclear activities.
Iran vowed on Monday to keep on enriching uranium despite international demand that it freeze its controversial nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported.
More at Xinhua

Over 70$

Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in June ended at $71.46 per barrel on Monday, rising for the ninth consecutive day.
Markets are anxious about the idea that the US could launch military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran has pledged to carry on enriching uranium to fuel a nuclear reactor.
Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, says it needs nuclear power to generate electricity, but western nations are concerned it wants to develop atomic weapons.
ABN Amro broker Lee Fader told the Associated Press news agency that the trigger for Monday's rally was "heightened fear about military action" against Iran.
"If somehow this got resolved diplomatically," Fader said, "that would definitely take a few dollars off" the price of crude oil.
But traders say that in the short-term the price could rise as high as $75 per barrel.
A sentence more at BBC NEWS

Not much news today, actualy oddly silent.

I find it funny that just now the major newscasts are reporting on the 40 000 suicide bombers waiting and preparing for a possible confrontation. This is old news mates. Boy it takes a while for the "news" to spread. I read this story a couple months back, and I cannot see how it comes as a surprise to anyone that there is such a growing number of supporters to Ahmadinejad.

Satellite images show reinforcement of Iran's nuclear sites

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a U.S.-based think tank, said in an email with commercial satellite photos attached sent to news media that Iran has built a new tunnel entrance at an Iranian uranium conversion facility in Isfahan. Just two entry points existed in February, it said."This new entrance is indicative of a new underground facility or further expansion of the existing one," said ISIS, led by ex-United Nations arms inspector and nuclear expert David Albright.ISIS also released four satellite images taken between 2002 and January 2006 it said showed Natanz's two subterranean cascade halls being buried by successive layers of earth, apparent concrete slabs and more earth and other materials. The roofs of the halls now appear to be eight meters (26 feet) underground, ISIS said.The revelations came one week after Iran announced it had enriched uranium for use in power stations for the first time, stoking a diplomatic row over Western suspicions of a covert Iranian atomic bomb project. Iran says it seeks only nuclear energy for its economy.The UN Security Council, wielding the threat of sanctions against Iran, has urged Tehran to halt enrichment activity and asked U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report on the Iranian response on April 28. Iran stood its ground during a visit by ElBaradei last week. "Iran is taking extraordinary precautions to try to protect its nuclear assets. But the growing talk of eliminating Iran's nuclear program from the air is pretty glib," Albright told Reuters by telephone from Washington.Despite Bush's denial, Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Tehran could not discount the possibility of a U.S. military strike."We stress at the same time that it would not be in the interest of the United States, nor us," Rafsanjani, who heads a council that arbitrates Iranian legislative disputes, said during a visit to Syria."Harm will not only engulf the Islamic Republic of Iran, but the region and everybody," the influential Iranian leader told a news conference with Syrian Vice President Farouq Shara.
(Please note that these sites are popping up all over the country, as just last month more underground facilities were found in tehran in preparation.)
More at Haaretz

Iran `suicide squads ready to hit US, British targets'

Teheran has trained suicide bombers to attack British and American targets if Iran's nuclear sites are attacked, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The main force - the Special Unit of Martyr Seekers in the Revolutionary Guards - was first seen in Iran last month when members marched in a military parade, dressed in uniforms with explosive packs around their waists and detonators held high, The Sunday Times said.
Dr Hassan Abbasi, head of Iran's Center for Doctrinal Strategic Studies in the Revolutionary Guards, said 29 Western targets had been identified.
"We are ready to attack American and British sensitive points, if they attack Iran's nuclear facilities," The Sunday Times quoted Abbasi as saying in a tape recording of a speech the paper said it had obtained. He said some sites were "quite close" to Iran's border with Iraq.
Abbasi warned the would-be martyrs to "pay close attention to wily England" and vowed that "Britain's demise is on our agenda," The Sunday Times reported.
The paper quoted unidentified Iranian officials as saying 40,000 Iranian suicide bombers have been trained and are ready for action.
At a recruiting station in Teheran recently, volunteers for the suicide force had to show their birth certificates, give proof of their address and mark a box stating whether they would prefer to attack American targets in Iraq or Israeli targets, the paper said.
(Please note here that those 40 000 suicide bombers are likely to be used against military targets in and around the middle eastern region and that before this report came out another one stated that 400 terrorists were being prepared to attack targets over seas. These 40 000 are basicly "soldiers" if you can even call them that, thsoe 400 are the real threat to the American people.)
More at the Standard

Iran's leader calls on global propaganda campaign against Israel

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday called on a global propaganda against Israel, the news agency ISNA reported.
'To defeat the Zionist regime (Israel) we need solidarity among the Islamic world and use of new methods such as staging effective propaganda to disclose the inhuman and blood-thirsty nature of the regime to all nations,' Ahmadinejad said.
In a meeting with Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, Ahmadinejad said the world was gradually getting aware of the 'faked nature' of Israel which, he said, 'would lead to the fall of the regime.'
More at Monsters and Critics

Iran donates $50m to Hamas government

Iran has announced it is giving $50 million to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to fill gaps left by western aid cuts.
The US and the European Union (EU) have cut off aid and Israel has frozen a transfer of about $50 million a month to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Government.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says the gift is Iran's duty as a friend of the Palestinians but has not said how or when it will reach them.
Iran has been at odds with the US since its 1979 Islamic revolution and has refused to recognise Israel.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday labelled Israel "a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm".
Washington and the EU have frozen aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority because the Islamist group has not complied with their demand to recognise Israel, renounce violence and abide by interim peace agreements.
(When the world figures it should stop supplying a terrorist organisation with money you can always count on Iran to jump right into the wrong lane traffic. Though I do understand the palestinian people are under great stress financialy and socialy, I don't believe that giving there terrorist government money will help the people and will only finance future attacks.)
More at ABCNEWS Online

Senators Back Direct Talks With Iran

"I think that would be useful," said GOP Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, when asked on ABC's "This Week" about having direct talks. "The Iranians are a part of the energy picture," Lugar said. "We need to talk about that."
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., agreed, saying the U.S. has ceded too much diplomacy to Europe.
"I happen to believe you need direct talks," Dodd said on "Fox News Sunday." "It doesn't mean you agree with them. It doesn't mean you support them. It doesn't mean you have formal diplomatic relations. But there's an option."
The Bush administration has warned Iran to comply with worldwide insistence to back off its nuclear program and said it had a "number of tools," including a military option, if Tehran did not cease uranium enrichment activities.
However, while the administration has said it would talk with Iran about its activities in Iraq, it has rejected the idea of direct negotiations over its nuclear program. The concern is that Iran is seeking to build a nuclear bomb, an allegation Tehran denies.
More at the Houston Chronicle

Well as some of you might have read before, Bloomberg published an article with the header of something of the sorts," Iran can produce Nuclear weapon in 16 days." When I first read the article was shocked on how a reliable source such as Bloomberg could manipulate the public in that way. As you all should know by now, the title was referring to Iran when it has all it's centrifuges running (54 000) it would be able to produce a weapon in 16 days. That moment is now years away. But I must say shame on Bloomberg for this manipulative title.

Not all in Iran back president's rhetoric

Iran's success in producing enriched uranium for the first time may have increased national pride, but hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is annoying predecessors by claiming the achievement in his name alone.
And others, including some among the president's supporters, worry his tough rhetoric is intensifying international anxiety over the nuclear program and worsening the country's isolation. Since his announcement, Ahmadinejad has been even more defiant in defending his country's decision to press ahead with its nuclear program over the U.N. Security Council's objections.
Ahmadinejad rebuffed a request Thursday by Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, saying Tehran will not retreat "one iota." This left some conservative Iranians angry. "The more Ahmadinejad confronts the international community, the more power he may show to his public in the short term but deny Iran a good life among world nations in the long term," said Hossein Salimi, a professor of international relations in Tehran. But even still this is the minority voice in Iran.
More at the Seattle Investigator

Islamic Jihad vows aid to Iran if it is attacked

Abdullah Ramadan Shala, the head of the palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said, "Any threat to the Islamic republic is a threat to the Palestinians, and Iran will not be alone in facing these threats. And any aggression against Iran is an aggression against the Palestinians." Hamas has showed similar support.
More at Iran Mania

General says Iran’s military ready “to project its power”

In preparation to a possible confrontation, Brigadier General Mohammad-Hossein Dadras, commander of the regular Iranian army’s ground forces, said Iran’s military has identified “the enemies’ weak spots” in the region and its missile capabilities would guarantee Iran’s “national interests”.“We have identified and studied the enemies’ strong and weak spots in the region regarding ground, sea, and air forces”, Dadras said at the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran.“Today, we have in the country that which is adequate to face threats. Right now, we have that thing which, when required, will land on the enemy’s weak spot. The enemies know this”, Dadras said.“We do not need foreign support. We have an adequate missile capability which can guarantee our national interests”, he said.“Iran’s capability is such that no one dares to come near it. If they do they will return with no success”.Alluding to the border with Iraq and Afghanistan, the army chief said that Iran has six military divisions based at “strategic and operational points”.
More at Iran Focus

America to Introduce Limited Sanctions on Iran

In this frame, the US reportedly may freeze assets of several Iranian government officials and impose visa restrictions that would make it difficult for these officials to conduct foreign visits.
In his statement, US Secretary of State Spokesman Sean McCormack said the seventh article of the United Nations (UN) contract discusses freezing assets and imposing visa restrictions. "Taking such decisions is in the hand of international society," McCormack added.
At an important gathering next Tuesday in Moscow, high level foreign ministry officials from the UN Security Council's permanent members US, Britain, Russia, China, and Germany will discuss the response against Iran's uranium enrichment.
American officials reported Washington does not foresee any kind of sanction towards Iran's oil and gas sectors, so as not to increase the difficulties faced by the people of Iran.
More at Zaman Daily News

Israel condemns Iranian threats

Shimon Peres urged the world to unite against Mr Ahmadinejad who he predicted would end up like Saddam Hussein.
"The United Nations cannot but react," Mr Peres insisted.
"Iran is a member state of the United Nations that is threatening to destroy another member state of the United Nations," he said. Mr Peres, one of Israel's senior statesmen and a potential senior cabinet member in Israel's new government-in-the-making, replied that: "What the Iranian president says is reminiscent of Saddam Hussein's proclamations, and Ahmadinejad will meet the same end as he did. "The Iranian president represents Satan and not God. History has rejected these sorts of sword-brandishing lunatics," said Mr Peres.
More at BBC News

Iran maintains defiant stance towards US

Iran’s religious leaders maintained an assertive stance Friday towards the US and its allies, despite assurances given by officials on Thursday to the United Nations nuclear chief, Mohammad ElBaradei, of increased co-operation with his agency. A team of UN inspectors will travel to Tehran next week after Mr ElBaradei’s visit, but Iran has refused international calls for a halt to sensitive nuclear work.
Opening a conference on Palestine on Friday in Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, accused the US of “linked plots” against Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria and demanded Washington stop “enflaming the Middle East and Persian Gulf”.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told Friday prayers in Tehran that this week’s announcement that Iran had completed nuclear enrichment in its Natanz laboratory was more important in the country’s history than the nationalisation of the oil industry in the 1950s.
In day-long talks on Thursday, Mr ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was promised access to sites, documents and people requested by inspectors still trying to piece together a complete picture of Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.
More at the Financial Times

'Rotten Israel will be annihilated' - Iran's president

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today said Israel was a “rotten, dried tree” which will be annihilated by “one storm”.“Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation,” Ahmadinejad told a conference for supporting the Palestinians as it opened in the Iranian capital Tehran.At the opening of a conference on supporting the Palestinians, Ahmadinejad fired a series of verbal shots at Israel, saying it was a “permanent threat” to the Middle East that will “soon” be liberated, and questioning the validity of the Nazi Holocaust against Jews in the Second World War.“Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation,” Ahmadinejad said. “The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm,” he said.The president provoked a world outcry last October when he said Israel should be “wiped off the map”.Today, he repeated his previous line on the Holocaust, saying: “If such a disaster is true, why should the people of this region pay the price? Why does the Palestinian nation have to be suppressed and have its land occupied?”The land of Palestine, he said, referring to the British mandated territory that includes all of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, “will be freed soon”.He did not say how this would be achieved, but insisted to the audience of at least 900 people: “Believe that Palestine will be freed soon.”“The existence of this (Israeli) regime is a permanent threat” to the Middle East, he added. “Its existence has harmed the dignity of Islamic nations.”
More at Ireland Online

Iran fears push oil price above $70

The price of Brent North Sea crude oil broke through $70 a barrel for the first time on Thursday evening, fuelled by simmering tensions between Iran and the international community.
The price of Brent crude for June delivery jumped 34 cents to reach $70.20 before later falling back slightly to $70.15, an increase of 28 cents from Wednesday's close.
Brent has been striking record high points since Monday on market concerns that the US might launch military strikes at uranium facilities in Iran, the world's fourth largest producer of crude.
More at RTE Business

Russia to host new round of talks on Iran nuclear program

Russia will host a new round of talks next week with leading world powers on Iran's nuclear program in a bid to head off a confrontation with the U.N. Security Council, the Government said on Friday.
The talks involving Russia, the United States, the European Union and China will be held in Moscow on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Krivtsov said.
The United States and Britain say that if Iran does not comply with the Security Council's demand to stop enrichment by April 28, they will seek a resolution that would make the demand compulsory.
Sergei Mironov, the Kremlin-allied speaker of the Russian parliament's upper house, warned that sanctions against Iran would be ``premature and won't yield positive results,'' ITAR-Tass reported.
Russia's chief nuclear official, meanwhile, voiced hope for a diplomatic solution to the standoff despite Tehran's vow to press ahead with uranium enrichment.
Sergei Kiriyenko said that ``there is still a chance for a diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear program.''
More at the Hindu

Rice Urges Iran's Nuclear Compliance

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that Iran will have no choice but to comply with worldwide insistence that it back off its disputed nuclear activities. Rice indicated the next step against Iran will be a resolution at the United Nations Security Council seeking punitive or coercive sanctions to stop what the United States says is a covert drive to acquire nuclear weapons. "When the Security Council reconvenes, there will have to be some consequence for that action and that defiance," Rice said after a meeting with Canada's new foreign minister, Peter MacKay. "And we will look at the full range of options available to the Security Council." Rice referred to the Security Council's power to "compel ... member states of the U.N. to obey the will of the international system." "I'm certain that we'll look at measures that could be taken to ensure that Iran knows that they really have no choice but to comply," Rice said. Iran denies it intends to build weapons, and has refused to give up what it calls a legitimate program to develop nuclear power for electricity.
More at Forbes

Iran Is `Some Years Away' From Making a Nuclear Bomb, U.S. Says

Iran is ``some years away'' from developing a nuclear bomb, said Thomas Fingar, deputy U.S. director of national intelligence.
Fingar, who chairs the National Intelligence Council, said that's the shared assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies. Fingar, one of three deputies who reports to national intelligence director John Negroponte, is in charge of intelligence analysis.
The question of how soon Iran could build a nuclear weapon gained urgency April 11 when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country had enriched uranium sufficiently to produce nuclear fuel. He said used 164 centrifuges were used. Yesterday, Deputy nuclear chief Mohammad Saeedi said Iran planned to install 3,000 centrifuges at its Natanz plant this year, then expand to 54,000. Nuclear experts say that's enough to build a bomb.
Fingar and other senior intelligence officials, talking with reporters in Washington, sought to put Iran's assertions in context.
Kenneth Brill, head of the National Counterproliferation Center and the U.S. envoy to the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, said previous Iranian claims about their number of working centrifuges were exaggerated.

More at Bloomberg

More at the Washington Post

General: No Air Force planes lost in Iran

Spy planes that Iran claims to have shot down over its territory were not operated by the U.S. Air Force, a top American general said Thursday. Maj. Gen. Allen G. Peck also played down Pentagon planning for air strikes on Iran, calling it routine.
Iran's Farsi-language daily Jomhouri Islami reported Sunday that Iran had downed an unmanned spy plane flying in its airspace near the border with southern Iraq.
Peck, the deputy commander of U.S. Air Force operations in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, said no unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, that fly in the region had gone missing.
"All of my UAVs are accounted for," Peck said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I know where they all are and none of them are on the ground in Iran."
It is possible Iran downed a spy drone operated by an intelligence agency, military officials said, or it could have downed a plane flown by a non-coalition military.
Or Iran may have fabricated the incident, the military officials said.

More at SeattlePi

Once again the UNSC is not calling for any sanctions. It's really getting annoying, to see the great security council being so passive. At the end of the month once again Iran will be given another 30 days, until it creates a Nuclear weapon and then the UNSC will once again drop it saying they don't posses any nuclear weapons. This round is going to go round and round and it wont stop untill some country comes in and actualy does something.

UNSC shame on you.