08
May
Committee to Protect Journalists: As election nears, Iran’s journalists are in chains
h/t NBC News
01
May
We have always emphasized that using chemical weapons, by anyone, is our red line… We oppose any type of production, stockpiling and use of weapons of mass destruction, and this stance is the clear message and consistent policy of Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Tuesday echoed U.S. President Barack Obama’s ‘red line’ stance in regards to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but suggested that rebels may be the perpetrators of such offenses not the Syrian government.
24
Apr
Western countries are advised to change gear from confrontation to cooperation, the window of opportunity to enter into negotiation for long-term strategic cooperation with Iran, the most reliable, strong and stable partner in the region, is still open.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, on Tuesday said current U.S. and European policies are bound to fail.
(Source: reuters.com)
16
Apr
The most powerful earthquake to hit Iran in 40 years, 7.8 magnitude struck near the Pakistani border with tremors felt across Pakistan, India and the Middle East on Tuesday. At least 34 people have been reported dead in Pakistan according to official sources. The death toll in Iran has not been confirmed. (via RT, image via BBC)
The underlying cause of most international tension is the unwillingness of powerful states to recognise that we live in a multipolar world. The idea of hegemony, often sanitised as “leadership”, is unacceptable. In a post-colonial era there are multiple centres of authority, international influence and soft power, and we should rejoice when new or old states, individually or collectively, have the courage and ability to challenge another state’s ambition to be a superpower. States will always make common cause or “coalitions of the willing” on specific issues, but interests fluctuate and priorities change – and we should junk the cold war-style system of military alliances and ideological or sectarian camps.
Jonathan Steele, In this nuclear standoff, it’s the US that’s the rogue state
Ironically, it was Iran at the recent talks with security council members that suggested a roadmap with a clear end state: the acceptance of Iran’s right to enrich uranium like any other signatory of the non-proliferation treaty. In other words, the issue is primarily a matter of national dignity and sovereignty. Meanwhile, the US declined to promise to lift all sanctions whatever Iran does.
(via mohandasgandhi)
via mohandasgandhi11
Apr
Our primary and overall goal should be to break, literally destroy this axis, not destroy the countries but destroy the interaction between these three states.
Former CIA Director James Woolsey called on the Obama administration to take action against the “nexus between North Korea, Iran and Syria” during a joint hearing on the alleged ties among the three countries.
An estimated 70,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict in Syria, the UN has cited U.S. enacted sanctions on Iran as harming humanitarian operations in the country and Amnesty International reports that North Korea has “one of the worst –but least understood and reported - human rights situations in the world.”
09
Apr
Bahrain became the first Arab country to blacklist Hezbollah as terrorist organization on Tuesday.
Government officials cite intelligence received from defected Syrian soldiers who claimed that the “regime was conspiring against the people of Bahrain” in coordination with Iran and Hezbollah. Bahrain has a Shiite majority, but is ruled by a U.S. backed Sunni monarch that has faced numerous uprisings as protests spread across the region.
06
Apr
28
Feb
The US decision to take further steps now is the result of the brutality of superior armed force propped up by foreign fighters from Iran and Hezbollah… President Assad is out of time and must be out of power.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has promised an additional 60 million in aid to Syrian opposition groups, adding that Assad can not “shoot his way out” of the conflict.
(Source: BBC)
