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04 Mar 2012 19:50

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Politics: Obama speaks before skeptic AIPAC audience

  • Now is the time to heed that timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt: speak softly, but carry a big stick.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the day before he is scheduled to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although he was quick to condemn what he believed to be “too much loose talk of war”, President Obama pleased many in attendance when he confirmed he would not support “containment” of a nuclear-armed Iran. When asked about the possibility of military intervention, the President replied, “I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests.”source

04 Mar 2012 10:55

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World: Iran: Ahmadinejad looking like lame duck after parliamentary elections

Roughly 75 percent of the votes went to backers of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a contest between conservative factions, leaving Ahmadinejad looking a lot weaker ahead of next year’s presidential elections. source

29 Feb 2012 15:32

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World: Israeli officials urge U.S. to impose “suffocating” sanctions on Iran

  • Suffocating sanctions could lead to a grave economic situation in Iran and to a shortage of food. This would force the regime to consider whether the nuclear adventure is worthwhile, while the Persian people have nothing to eat and may rise up as was the case in Syria, Tunisia and other Arab states.
  • An unnamed Israeli official • Calling for the U.S. to cripple Iran’s economy with harder sanctions, to cause food shortages for the Iranian public as a means to gain diplomatic leverage. The impetus of this thinking came earlier today, when North Korea agreed to halt production of new nuclear weapons in exchange for food aid. While respecting the existential concern Iran’s nuclear prospects pose for Israel, the fact that the U.S. would itself impose a food shortage (unlike North Korea, where state mismanagement and famine were to blame) seems like it would aim the Iranian public’s outrage outward, not inward. The Arab spring had much do with economics, Tunisia’s high unemployment, for example, but a foreign state inducing hunger and starvation, and hoping people will therefore turn against their own government? That seems highly unlikely, as well as morally dubious. source

19 Feb 2012 15:09

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World: U.S. and British officials to Israel: Don’t get into a war with Iran

  • American General Martin Dempsey, who leads the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, regarding the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, that it’s “not prudent” at this time to attack in such a way, and “a strike at this time would be destabilizing.” Ya think?
  • British British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who recently warned of a renewed Cold War, agreed with Dempsey, saying Israel should  go along with the U.K.’s “very serious economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and the readiness to negotiate with Iran.” source

15 Feb 2012 10:20

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World: Iran says it’s making its own nuclear fuel, doesn’t care what you jerks think

  • cause In a dramatic speech Wednesday, a white-lab-coat-clad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran had figured out a way to produce its own domestically-made nuclear fuel. If true, this would be a big deal on the diplomatic front.
  • reaction For this and other reasons, both the U.S. and Europe are considering slamming the country with some super-strong financial sanctions, which have already led Iran to cut off oil exports to six European nations. source

14 Feb 2012 11:01

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World: Was Tuesday’s Bangkok explosion tied to Iran, too? Israel says yes.

  • monday Israel blames the bombings of their embassy vehicles, in both India (successful) and Georgia (foiled), on Iran. Despite this, Iran denied responsibility for the attacks.
  • tuesday In Bangkok, an Iranian man carrying grenades managed to blow his own legs off and wound four others. Israel also blamed this attack on Iran. source

11 Jan 2012 20:16

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World: More on the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan

  • How it happened: Mostafa Roshan was being taken to work when two people on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to the side of his car, which then exploded. Roshan was killed in the blast, and his driver suffered fatal wounds. Roshan, the deputy director of commerce for the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was likely targeted for his prominent role in the facility, which is at the center of a major controversy over what the U.S. sees as a push by Iran to create nuclear weapons. Roshan, in his role, would likely have been in charge of procuring materials to build nuclear fuel. The U.S. has denied any role in his death. source
 

11 Jan 2012 19:51

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World: Hillary Clinton denies U.S. involvement in Iran nuclear scientist’s bombing death

  • I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran. We believe there has to be an understanding between Iran, its neighbors and the international community that finds a way forward for it to end its provocative behavior, end its search for nuclear weapons and rejoin the international community and be a productive member of it.
  • Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton • Defending the U.S. from allegations that they were behind a bombing that led to the death of an Iranian nuclear scientist. Despite this claim, the Iranian government pointed its finger at Israel and the U.S., saying they placed a magnetic bomb on Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan’s vehicle. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, declined making a statement on the bombing; many diplomats and analysts in Washington feel that Israel may be behind the series of covert killings of prominent Iranian nuclear scientists over the past two years. No matter whether the U.S. is involved, the attacks are nonetheless ratcheting up tensions between Iran and the West at a tough time for said tension. source

09 Jan 2012 10:27

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World: American charged with “spying” sentenced to death in Iran

  • He has 20 days to appeal under Iranian law: Amir Hekmati, a 28-year-old former U.S. Marine who holds dual Iranian and American citizenship, was sentenced to death “for cooperating with the hostile country . . . and spying for the CIA,” according to Iran’s Fars news agency. His family disputes the claims, saying they believe the verdict wasn’t fair. “Amir is not a criminal,” they said in a statement. “His life is being exploited for political gain.” source

03 Jan 2012 11:09

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World: Daughter of Iranian ex-president jailed for fomenting political dissent

Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, will spend six months in jail ahead of Iranian parliament elections for “propaganda against the Islamic system.” She will also be barred from political activities for five years. source