Iran

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Skirting Laws, Iran Buys Bomb Parts From US Firms

Materials used to make top weapon against US troops

(Newser) - Through front firms and complex maneuvering, Iran skirts trading laws to buy bomb parts from US companies, the Washington Post reports. The equipment allows production of improvised explosive devices, or IEDS, bombs that are the leading killer of US troops in Iraq, according to Justice Department documents and a new...

Bush Blocked Israeli Strike on Iran, OK'd Covert Ops

President refused requests for missiles, but began covert sabotage missions

(Newser) - Washington stopped Israel from bombing Iran last year and told the Jewish state of covert plans to undermine Iran's nuclear ambitions, the New York Times reports. Israel asked President Bush to aid the strike with bunker-busting bombs and a free pass over Iraqi air space, which he refused—but he...

Gaza Encapsulates Mideast Strife: Friedman

Can the Jews have a room at this hotel?

(Newser) - The bloody scene playing out in Gaza is painful, but “all too familiar,” writes Thomas Friedman of the New York Times: It’s “a mini-version of three great struggles that have been playing out since 1948.” Those struggles:
  • Who Owns This Hotel? Who’s the Mideast
...

Fatwa Against Rushdie Set Off Self-Censorship
Fatwa Against Rushdie Set Off Self-Censorship
OPINION
Jan 5, 2009 4:27 PM CST

Fatwa Against Rushdie Set Off Self-Censorship

Edict brought Muslim culture war to the West: Hitchens

(Newser) - When Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens knew what it meant: "This was not just a warning of what was to come,” he writes in Vanity Fair, “it was the warning.” A global culture war, between Muslim fundamentalists and everyone else, had...

Will Israel Win Out, or Fire Up Its Enemies?

Israel's success—or failure—could prompt range of scenarios

(Newser) - Invading the Gaza Strip may boost Israel's leverage, shoring up alliances and isolating Iran—but that's optimistic, writes Steven Lee Myers in the New York Times. President Mahmoud Abbas could be the one isolated—from his own people—as surviving Hamas leaders seethe and militants plot revenge across the Arab...

Iranian Suicide Bombers Want Govt's OK to Attack Israel

Iranian groups say 10,000 have signed up

(Newser) - Hardline Iranian student groups have asked the government to authorize volunteers to carry out suicide bombings in Israel in response to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has not responded to the call. Five student groups and a conservative clerical group launched a registration drive on...

Premarital Sex, Abortion on Rise in Iran

Marriage rates dip, despite Tehran's efforts

(Newser) - Iran’s Islamic law bans premarital sex and abortion, but an increasing number of Iranians are engaging in both, the Guardian reports. More than a quarter of men aged 19 to 29 had premarital sex, and 13% of those situations resulted in the termination of an unwanted pregnancy, a state...

Anti-Israeli Protests Spread Across Middle East

(Newser) - Anti-Israel protesters gathered in the Arab world and beyond today to protest Israel’s bombing campaign against Gaza, the AP reports. At the largest protest, in Lebanon, tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters listened as the group’s leader warned Israel of the futility of a ground invasion. "Israel's...

What Embargo? HP Printers Find Their Way to Iran

Company skirts US law with help from overseas distributor

(Newser) - HP printers have become top-sellers in Tehran, despite a 13-year embargo against US companies doing business with Iran, the Boston Globe reports. An Indian-owned distributor sells HP products in Iran, enabling it to skirt American law. But questions remain: If HP execs cut the deal with Redington Gulf knowing their...

Pirate Hostages Brace for Christmas at Sea

More than 260 remain off Somalia's coast in 14 hijacked vessels

(Newser) - More than 260 hostages will spend Christmas with pirates off Somalia’s coast, CNN reports. At least 14 vessels remain in pirate custody as a tumultuous year—with nearly 100 attacks on cargo ships, oil tankers, and yachts—nears its end. The EU, China, and Iran have stationed naval vessels...

Ahmadinejad: Jesus Is On Our Side
Ahmadinejad:
Jesus Is On
Our Side
Dec 24, 2008 12:30 PM CST

Ahmadinejad: Jesus Is On Our Side

British TV will air Christmas address from Iran's leader

(Newser) - Iran's ever-controversial president will deliver a Christmas address on British television tomorrow in which he will argue that if Jesus were alive today, he would "fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as he did in his lifetime." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's address is billed...

Moderate Tehran Mayor Eyes Presidential Bid

Ex-hardliner unites lefties, righties fed up with Ahmadinejad

(Newser) - Tehran's mayor appears to be mounting a presidential bid in Iran as political winds shift against President Ahmadinejad, the Boston Globe reports. Liberals and conservatives are allying for the first time, and Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 47, has attended their meetings. Whoever wins in June will be "hugely consequential,...

Iranian Cops Raid Nobel Winner's Office

Prosecutors claim Shirin Ebadi's organization was acting as political party

(Newser) - Iranian police today raided the office of a human rights group led by Nobel prize-winning activist Shirin Ebadi, Reuters reports. The office was hours away from hosting a Human Rights Day celebration when cops shut it down. "We will protest against it," said Ebadi. "It will not...

Blinded Woman Wins Eye-for-Eye Islamic Justice

Iranian court orders acid be dropped in attacker's eyes

(Newser) - An Iranian judge is applying Islamic law to give a blinded woman the eye-for-an-eye justice she seeks. A jilted suitor who poured acid on the woman—blinding and disfiguring her—will have the chemical dropped into his eyes, the Washington Post reports. Some officials say it may deter similar crimes...

US to Sign Nuclear Pact With UAE
US to Sign Nuclear Pact With UAE
Dec 12, 2008 6:42 AM CST

US to Sign Nuclear Pact With UAE

Some fear move could help fuel Iran's nuclear ambitions

(Newser) - The White House is set to sign a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates—a move some fear could put nuclear materials in the hands of Iran, the UAE’s top trading partner. The Bush administration’s first such pact with a Middle Eastern country would mean sharing...

Bush Touts Mideast Legacy
 Bush Touts Mideast Legacy 
Dec 5, 2008 4:24 PM CST

Bush Touts Mideast Legacy

(Newser) - President Bush is optimistic about his legacy in the Middle East, saying the region is a “more hopeful and more promising place than it was in 2001,” the Washington Post reports. Bush does acknowledge some missteps: “As with any large undertaking, these efforts have not always gone...

US Claims Success in Latest Missile Defense Test

System shoots down projectile over Pacific

(Newser) - The Pentagon says the latest test of its missile-defense system, performed today, was a success, Reuters reports. An interceptor missile dispatched from an Air Force base in California shot down a test projectile—similar to those Iran and North Korea claim to possess—fired from Alaska over the Pacific this...

Iran's Former Prez Mulls Run Against Ahmadinejad

Moderate Khatami, battered by conservatives, still has large following

(Newser) - Mohammad Khatami is considering a run to reclaim the Iranian presidency, the Economist reports. Frustrated with successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s financial mismanagement and controversial rhetoric, moderate Iranians have swamped Khatami with entreaties to run. Although Khatami ultimately failed to deliver reform, his 1997-2005 tenure is remembered fondly for relaxed restrictions...

Obama to Fill WMD Post Bush Ignored

Dem has long focused on stopping proliferation of nuclear, chemical arms

(Newser) - President-elect Obama will hire an official to oversee efforts to stop terrorists from gaining nuclear and biological weapons, the Boston Globe reports, a position the Bush administration approved but left unfilled. Such efforts are currently spread among many agencies, and a report predicting a deadly attack within 5 years using...

Iran Boosts Uranium Stockpile
 Iran Boosts Uranium Stockpile 
Nov 20, 2008 2:42 AM CST

Iran Boosts Uranium Stockpile

UN reports finds country may already have enough for bomb

(Newser) - Iran is rapidly moving forward with its nuclear program and may already have enriched enough uranium to take the next step toward building a nuclear bomb, the Financial Times reports. The uranium will need more enrichment to reach weapons-grade levels, say UN experts, who believe the country will wait until...

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