US moves towards engaging Iran

The coming few weeks are going to be critical in the standoff between the United States and Iran as the upheaval in the Middle East reaches a turning point. And all options do remain on the table, as the George W Bush administration likes to say, from military conflict to a de facto acceptance of Iran's standing as the region's dominant power.

One thing is clear. The time for oratorical exercises is ending. A phase of subtle, reciprocal, conceptual diplomatic actions may be beginning.

An indication of this is available in the two radio interviews given by Bush last weekend and beamed into Iran, exclusively aimed at reaching out to the Iranian public on the Persian New Year Nauroz.

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Iran to hold run-off parliament votes April 25

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will hold run-off votes on April 25 for parliamentary seats not decided in a first election round earlier this month, Iranian media said on Wednesday, but the outcome will not threaten a conservative majority.

More than 200 of parliament's 290 seats were decided in the first round and the Interior Ministry said over 70 percent of those went to conservatives, who call themselves "principlist" for their loyalty to the Islamic Republic's ideals.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may not get an easy ride even though he shares the "principlist" tag because the camp is broad and includes political rivals who may use parliament as a springboard for next year's presidential race.

Some conservatives have also joined the president's staunchest critics, reformists, in questioning Ahmadinejad's economic management, blamed for double-digit inflation.

The Guardian Council, a supervisory body of clerics and jurists, said run-offs would take place on Friday, April 25, the official IRNA news agency reported.

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Cheney accuses Iran and Syria of sabotaging peace process

US Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday hit out at Iran and Syria as he wrapped up a Middle East peace push, saying the two countries were undermining the renewed but faltering Israeli-Palestinian talks. Iran and Syria "are doing everything they can to torpedo the peace process," Cheney told reporters in Occupied Jerusalem as he wrapped up a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories before heading to Turkey.

During his talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, "I reaffirmed the president's commitment to help the process forward," Cheney said.

US President George W. Bush has said he hoped the two sides could strike a deal before he ends his term in January 2009.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who met twice with Cheney during his visit, "reaffirmed his commitment to the president's vision and his willigness to do everything he can to achieve a result in 2008 although he is well aware of the difficulties," Cheney said.

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This is relevant because anytime a leader or a vice leader say a negative comment about another country is causes controversy.

Iran in Olympics

Legendary Iranian slugger Mehdi Ghorbani has out-powered his Jordanian contender so that he can take part in the 2008 Olympic Games.Boxer Ghorbani's move into the final in Almaty, Kazakhstan, secured the 81 kg class boxer a much-coveted berth at the Olympics in Beijing.

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GRADE ME

Iran is now definitely in the upcoming olympics.

Amin Ebrahim Nikfar breaks Iran's record in shot put

Tehran, March 24, IRNA - Amin Ebrahim Nikfar, Iran's champion in shot put, who lives in the USA, broke Iran's record in this athletic event.

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GRADE ME

This article shows the victories that Iran has and how proud the people are of their victories

Iran's Inflation-Driven Housing Crisis

In the three years since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president, Iranians have been had to contend with a novel kind of policy-making on domestic, foreign and economic affairs. One area that would appear to back up such claims is the housing sector, where Ahmadinejad's policies are widely blamed for fuelling an astronomical rise in prices over the last 18 months.

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GRADE ME

This is a major economic problem because the people need to be able to buy houses and they can not because of the housing prices inflating.

By Elle Chadwick

Satellite Launch over Summer

--Head of Iranian Space Organization said on Tuesday Kavoshgar-1 (Explorer-1) has transmitted data from 200 km above the earth’s hemisphere and the satellite ’Omid’ will be launched in summer.

"We have skilled manpower in the field of aerospace technology. Space technology courses have also been launched at the doctorate level,“ he added.

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Iran will be launching a satellite over the summer.

Gay Iranian Fights For Asylum In Europe

(AP) The Netherlands' highest court rejected a gay Iranian asylum seeker's last-ditch bid to avoid deportation to Britain, where he fears authorities will send him back to Tehran and possible execution.

In a ruling published on its Web site Tuesday, the Council of State said Britain is responsible for Mehdi Kazemi's case, because it was there that the 19-year-old first applied for asylum.

Gay rights campaigner Rene van Soeren said Kazemi's Dutch lawyer was considering an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. The lawyer, Borg Palm, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Boris van der Ham, a lawmaker who has taken up Kazemi's cause, has tabled questions in Parliament asking the junior minister for immigration, Nebahat Albayrak, to lobby British authorities on Kazemi's behalf.

Albayrak should either urge Britain not to send Kazemi back to Iran or offer him asylum in the Netherlands, Van der Ham said in a telephone interview.

Kazemi's case highlights not only the plight of homosexuals in Iran, but also differences in the way European Union allies deal with asylum seekers.

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US not seeking war with Iran: White House

The White House says "there is no one" inside the US Government who wants war with Iran, even though US President George W Bush has not ruled out any options.

"There's no one in the administration that is suggesting anything other than a diplomatic approach to Iran," spokeswoman Dana Perino said one day after the commander of US forces in the Middle East resigned.

Ms Perino said "it's nonsense" to say that Admiral William Fallon was pushed out because he reportedly disagreed with Mr Bush's hardline approach towards forcing Tehran to end its suspect nuclear program.

"The President welcomes robust and healthy debate," she said, adding that there were "dissenting views on a variety of issues that get worked out through our policy process. That is usually not played out in the press."

"What the President has said is that all options are on the table is what helps make diplomacy work and makes it more effective," she said.

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Vice President coming to Iran

President Bush is sending Vice President Dick Cheney to the Middle East, following on last week's trip to the region by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House, Cheney will be encouraging Israelis and Palestinians to move forward following an outbreak of violence in Gaza, and new concerns about Israel's settlements policy.

"His goal is to reassure people that the United States is committed to a vision of peace in the Middle East, that we expect relevant parties to obligate themselves - uphold their obligations on the road map," said Mr. Bush.

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GRADE ME

Cheney is going to Iran to try to keep peace in Iran and the Middle East.

Iran's rise owes much to Bush's Iraq and Afghan wars

By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent - Analysis

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Five years on, Iran can thank the United States for unwittingly aiding its drive for regional power by ousting Saddam Hussein, one of Tehran's deadliest foes.

The U.S. military had already defeated Afghanistan's Taliban after the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities in 2001 -- with the unintended consequence of wiping out another of Iran's enemies and tilting the local balance of forces in Tehran's favor.

"The removal of these two regimes without powerful successor states benefited Iran greatly...and opened elbow room for Iran to spread its influence," said Vali Nasr, senior fellow at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations.

Iran cannot entirely rule out U.S. military action to destroy its nuclear sites, and its oil-reliant economy may prove vulnerable a few years hence, but for now it is riding high.

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This is significant because it is about nations involving with other nations.

Indonesia supports Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has thanked Indonesia for abstaining from a vote last week on a U.N. resolution that imposes new sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program.

Iran's state news agency, IRNA, says Mr. Ahmadinejad also described Iran and Indonesia as strong leaders in the Islamic world. It quotes him as saying that promoting bilateral relations would benefit other Muslim countries.

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GRADE ME

Indonesia has decided to go against the UN and support Iran in their nuclear program.

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Iran's President Claims no one likes Americans

"No one likes them," Ahmadinejad told reporters prior to returning to Iran, referring to the predominantly U.S. makeup of coalition forces in Iraq.

His visit follows trips to Iran last year by top officials of Iraq's Shiite-led government, which has been fostering a closer relationship with predominantly Shiite Iran since the Saddam Hussein regime was toppled by U.S.-led forces in 2003.

The Iranian president made digs at the United States. He contrasted his trip, which was advertised in advance, with the "stealth" visits of others, a reference to visits by U.S. officials who sometimes do not broadcast their visits to Iraq for security reasons.

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GRADE ME

Iran wants countries, especially the United States, to stay out of their business. They are starting to get fed up.

China and Russia show sympathy

Russia and China Tuesday scuttled a Western attempt to introduce a resolution on Iran's nuclear defiance at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, diplomats said.

It came a day after the U.N. Security Council imposed another round of sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. Iran defiantly vowed to continue its nuclear program, which it insists is aimed only at generating power.

Asked why Russia and China were opposed, one of the diplomats said Moscow decided to withdraw its support "on principle" and Beijing, which often takes a cue from Russia on the Iran nuclear dispute, followed suit.

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GRADE ME

China and Russia as major powers claim that the UN was too rough on Iran but they still believe that Iran is up to no good.

Iran being Contained

Nobody on any side of the Iran nuclear dispute believes that yesterday's U.N. sanctions vote is going to break the deadlock. Faced with continuing Iranian defiance of the demand that it suspend uranium enrichment until concerns over the intent of its nuclear program can be resolved, the Security Council passed a package that incrementally tightens existing sanctions. It banned travel by certain officials of Iran's nuclear program, freezing the assets of certain companies and barring Iran from importing certain dual-use technologies. But Iran has made quite clear that it has no intention of complying with the U.N.'s demand, which it deems "illegal," and it is more than capable of absorbing the very limited pain inflicted by the new measures.

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GRADE ME

Iran has been contained by the UN in many ways. With restricting Iran, hopefully the nuclear program will hault. Iran still wants to continue the program and insists that the nuclear program is peaceful.

Iran: Appointment A ‘Surprise’

Daei, Iran’s record goal-scorer, was famously axed after Team Melli were eliminated from the World Cup in 2006. But when the Iranian Football Federation [IFF] offered him the job, it was an honour the striker simply could not refuse.

“I love my reputation more than anything,” Daei told Iran’s ISNA news agency.
“You all know how I left the Team Melli and now I have returned this way. [The IFF] choosing me for the post of Team Melli coach was a surprise.”

With the appointment of Daei as Iran coach on Sunday, the IFF have finally put an end to a long-running saga over a new manager to take charge of the national side. Several foreign names and homegrown coaches were mentioned.

But, the IFF failed to settle on a particular candidate despite former Spain boss Javier Clemente and Iranian-American Afshin Qotbi being linked to the job.

Daei, though, appealed for the fans to overlook the confusion over Iran’s search for a new national football coach. Instead, he promised Iran will deliver an improved performance when they take on Kuwait in their next World Cup qualifier.

And, he plans to instill discipline to his squad in order to rescue Iran’s flagging fortunes. Daei also revealed he will be employing two foreign and two Iranian coaches to assist him.

Iran dismisses 'worthless' UN resolution

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran on Tuesday dismissed the latest UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear programme as "worthless", vowing to press on with the contested drive which the West fears could be used to make weapons.

The Security Council on Monday imposed its third set of sanctions against Iran in the space of 15 months to punish Tehran's repeated refusal to suspend the process of uranium enrichment.
The resolution "is worthless and unacceptable and it is condemned", foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in a statement quoted by Iranian news agencies.

"The continuation of this trend (of issuing resolutions) will have no effect on the Iranian people and the government's determination in seeking its legitimate and lawful right for peaceful nuclear activities," he added.

Iran had been hoping its ongoing cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog to answer questions about past areas of ambiguity in its atomic programme would mean the nuclear case would be taken away from the Security Council.

Officials have also repeatedly hailed the UN watchdog's latest report as a success for Tehran that "closed" its nuclear case, even though the body was unable to confirm the atomic drive was peaceful.

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This is significant because it is about the nuclear program.

Iran calls on US to quit Iraq

The Iranian president, on a landmark visit to neighbouring Iraq, has called for US troops' withdrawal from the war-torn nation, saying that the country will "live in peace" without them.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the call on Monday while signing seven pacts with Iraq in the areas of trade, industry and transport.

"Without the presence of the foreign troops the region will live in peace and brotherhood," said Ahmadinejad.

"We believe that the forces that travelled thousands of kilometres to reach here must leave the region, and must hand over responsibility to the people of the region."

He avoided directly naming the United States, which has 158,000 troops in Iraq.

US commanders have accused Iran of training and arming Shia fighters.

Iraqi government figures revealed at the weekend that for the first time in six months the Iraqi death toll from unrest rose in February. At least 23 people were killed in fresh attacks on Monday.

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This is relevant because Ahmadinejad believes that if the United States troop leave Iran that we can all "live in peace".

Assessment Complete