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Al Jazeera: English: Israel 'Held Iran Attack Exercise'
Israel 'held Iran attack exercise'
An Israeli military exercise held this month was most likely a rehearsal for an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, US defence department officials have said.
Israel sent warplanes and other aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean earlier this month for "large scale" exercises, a Pentagon official told the Associated Press news agency. -
Gulf News: US moves against Iranian officials.
US moves against Iranian officials
The Bush administration moved on Tuesday to impose financial sanctions on Iranian officials and companies accused of helping the country develop nuclear weapons.
The action by the departments of State and Treasury marks the latest effort to tighten the financial noose on Iran, which the United States accuses of bankrolling terrorism and seeking a nuclear bomb. -
Gulf News: Ahmadinejad dismisses US, Israel threats.
Ahmadinejad dismisses US, Israel threats
Iran's president said Tuesday that he does not see the possibility of a war with the United States or Israel, dismissing military threats by the two countries as a "funny joke."
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also called for confidence-building by the next US administration, saying it should make up for the "domineering hegemony" of President George W. Bush and rebuild America's... -
Gulf News: Iran Will Target US Interests Worldwide If Attacked - Khomeini Aide.
Iran will target US interests worldwide if attacked - Khomeini aide
Iran will target US interests if around the world if it is attacked, an aide to Iran%u2019s Supreme Leader was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followed by Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe," the students news agency ISNA quoted Ali Shirazi as saying in a speech to Revolutionary Guards. -
Al Jazeera: English: Iran Tests Missiles Amid Tension.
Iran tests missiles amid tension
Iran's Revolutionary Guards has test-fired a longer range Shahab-3 missile, whose range is sufficient to put Israel within reach, Arabic language state channel Al-Alam reports.The channel said on Wednesday that the missile test fired was a "Shahab-3 with a conventional warhead weighing one tonne and a 2,000km range". -
Gulf News: Israel Prepared to Strike Iran.
Gulf News: Israel Prepared to Strike Iran.
Israel's defence minister hinted yesterday that Israel was ready to attack Iran's nuclear programme, saying it didn't balk before "when its vital security interests" were at stake.
"Israel is the strongest country in the region and has proved in the past that it doesn't hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake," Ehud Barak told a meeting... -
Gulf News: Iran Test-Fires More Missiles.
Gulf News: Iran Test-Fires More Missiles.
Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the US or Israel, Iranian state media reported on Thursday.
The weapons have "special capabilities" and included missiles launched from naval ships in the Gulf, along with torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles, the broadcast said... -
ABC News: Expert: Iran `Doctored' Photo of Missile Launches.
ABC News: Expert: Iran `Doctored' Photo of Missile Launches.
An Iranian photograph showing a cluster of missile launches was apparently altered to add a fourth missile lifting off from a desert range, a defense analyst said Thursday. -
Gulf News: Iran Says Attacking It Would Be 'Madness'
Gulf News: Iran Says Attacking It Would Be 'Madness'
Iran warned the United States and Israel on Saturday it would be "madness" to attack the country over its nuclear programme.
The comments by government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham came a few days after Iranian missile tests heightened regional tension.
Israel staged an air force exercise last month that stoked speculation about a possible assault on Iranian nuclear sites. -
Gulf News: Iran missile tests used 'old equipment' says US official.
Gulf News: Iran missile tests used 'old equipment' says US official.
Iran's missile test this week demonstrated no new capabilities, according to a US official familiar with the intelligence, and the test may not have included one of the longer-range missiles that Iran said was among those launched.
Iranian officials said the tests on Wednesday and Thursday demonstrated a new variant of the Shahab missile with a range... -
Adnkronos International: India: Gov't Warns US and Israel Over Iran Attack.
Adnkronos International: India: Gov't Warns US and Israel Over Iran Attack.
India has asked "all concerned governments", the US and Israel included, to exercise restraint, and to choose negotiations and diplomacy over use of military force against Iran.
"There is no military solution to the issues that are being discussed between Iran and the international community..." -
CNN: U.S. diplomat will talk nukes with Iran.
CNN: U.S. diplomat will talk nukes with Iran.
In a break with past Bush administration policy, a top U.S. diplomat will for the first time join colleagues from other world powers at a meeting with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, The Associated Press has learned.
William Burns, America's third highest-ranking diplomat, will attend talks with the Iranian envoy, Saeed Jalili, in Switzerland on Sat... -
Yahoo News: Iran has clear "red lines" in nuclear talks.
Iran has clear "red lines" in nuclear talks.
Iran has "clearly-defined red lines" in any talks with major powers on its disputed nuclear program, its highest authority said on Wednesday, making clear the country would not give up its atomic activities.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking three days before Iran's chief nuclear negotiator is due to meet European Union... -
Gulf News: US to establish presence in Tehran.
Gulf News: US to establish presence in Tehran.
The United States will next month announce its plans to establish a diplomatic presence in Tehran for the first time in 30 years, a British newspaper on Thursday reported.
In a front-page report, the Guardian said Washington would open a US interests section in the Iranian capital, halfway towards opening an embassy. -
Adnkronos International: Iran nuclear: Focus - Supreme Leader closes ranks with hardline President
Iran nuclear: Focus - Supreme Leader closes ranks with hardline President
Little more than 24 hours ahead of talks on Iran's nuclear programme taking place on Saturday in Geneva, the country's Supreme Leader has declared his support for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's anti-US stance. "No-one intends to cross the red line," Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (photo) stated, referring to uranium enrichment. -
Gulf News: Bush shifts tack on Iran.
Gulf News: Bush shifts tack on Iran.
Iran on Thursday said that it hoped weekend talks aimed at defusing the long-running standoff over its nuclear drive would produce "positive developments" and voiced satisfaction at US involvement.
"The presence of an American delegate in Geneva will help the United States be informed directly," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said during a visit to Syria... -
Gulf News: Iran sees little chance of Israeli or US attack.
Gulf News: Iran sees little chance of Israeli or US attack.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Friday he saw almost no possibility of Israel or the United States attacking his country. "The possibility of such an attack (from Israel or the US) is almost zero," Mottaki said, via a translator, in an interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV. -
Gulf News: Iran 'open' to US mission and flights.
Gulf News: Iran 'open' to US mission and flights.
Washington's top diplomat confirmed on Friday that the United States had shifted its position on diplomacy with Iran, as Tehran said it was prepared for a dialogue on establishing a US interests section in Iran and beginning direct flights between the two countries.
"The US doesn't have any permanent enemies," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in response to a question... -
Al Jazeera: English: Iran 'open' to US dialogue.
Al Jazeera: English: Iran 'open' to US dialogue.
Iran says it is prepared to have dialogue with the United States on establishing a US interests section in Iran and beginning direct flights between the two countries.
Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, said during a visit to Turkey on Friday that Tehran was aware of media reports saying Washington was interested... -
Gulf News: Iran: Talks Fail to Resolve Iran Nuclear Impasse.
Gulf News: Iran: Talks Fail to Resolve Iran Nuclear Impasse.
Attempts to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear programme have made "insufficient" progress, the EU's diplomatic chief Javier Solana said on Saturday following high-level talks in Geneva.
"There is always progress in these talks, but insufficient," and the international community was still waiting for Iran's response to a proposed package of incentives for Tehran... -
Al Jazeera: English: Israel's all-seeing eyes.
Al Jazeera: English: Israel's all-seeing eyes.
The heightened policy of surveillance by drones over Gaza has changed the way that Israel carries out its attacks on the occupied territories.
The Israeli military says that the number of anti-tank missiles held by fighters in Gaza has risen since September last year and it has increased the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in response... -
Gulf News: Iran given two-week deadline for nuclear answer.
Gulf News: Iran given two-week deadline for nuclear answer.
Iran on Sunday faced a two-week deadline to give a final answer to world powers hoping to end the row over Iran's nuclear programme.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Saturday's talks in Geneva were "constructive" but Iran had still not given a final response.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the talks as a "step forward" in the nuclear standoff. -
Yahoo News: AFP: US Admiral Urges Global Pressure on Iran.
Yahoo News: AFP: US Admiral Urges Global Pressure on Iran.
The international community must put economic and political pressure on Iran in order to help reach a breakthrough in the crisis over Tehran's nuclear program, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs said Sunday.
Admiral Michael Mullen told the Fox network he felt "encouraged by the talks" that were held Saturday in Geneva between Iranian.. -
Al Jazeera: English: 'No clear answer' at Iran talks
'No clear answer' at Iran talks
Iran has given "no clear answer" to a package of incentives offered in exchange for suspending its nuclear programme, Javier Solana, the EU's diplomatic chief, said following talks on Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Despite the positive mood before Saturday's talks in Geneva, little tangible progress had been expected after Iranian officials said they would not halt uranium enrich.. -
Gulf News: AP: Iran: Rice Warns Iran on Deadline for Response on Nuclear Issue.
Gulf News: AP: Iran: Rice Warns Iran on Deadline for Response on Nuclear Issue.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that it has two weeks to respond seriously to an international offer to halt its sensitive nuclear work or face further "punitive measures".
Rice tried to put pressure on Tehran after sending a top US diplomat to meet Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili at international talks in Geneva... -
Gulf News: AP: Brown to Warn Iran in Speech to Israeli Parliament.
Gulf News: Brown to Warn Iran in Speech to Israeli Parliament.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrived at the Israeli parliament in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday for an historic address marking 60 years since Israel's foundation.
Iran may face further sanctions unless it accepts an international proposal to freeze nuclear enrichment, Brown will tell Israel's Knesset.
"Iran now has a clear choice to make,'' Brown... -
International Herald Tribune: Sciolino, Elaine: Iran Offers 2 Pages and No Ground in Nuclear Talks.
Sciolino, Elaine: Iran Offers 2 Pages and No Ground in Nuclear Talks.
The Iranians called their proposal a "None paper."
Indeed, for officials of the six countries sitting on the other side of the table, the paper addressed none of their ideas for resolving the crisis over Iran's nuclear program.
Instead, the informal two-page document that Iran distributed at nuclear talks in Geneva on Saturday ignored the main six-power... -
23.7.08 Al Jazeera: English: Iran 'Steadfast' on Nuclear Work.
Al Jazeera: English: Iran 'Steadfast' on Nuclear Work.
Iran's president has said that his country will not bend on its uranium enrichment programme, despite proposals by world powers aimed at bringing an end to Tehran's sensitive nuclear programme.
The Iranian people are steadfast and will not step back an inch against the oppressive powers," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday at a rally in the southw -
Al Jazeera: English: Iran 'Steadfast' on Nuclear Work.
Al Jazeera: English: Iran 'Steadfast' on Nuclear Work.
Iran's president has said that his country will not bend on its uranium enrichment programme, despite proposals by world powers aimed at bringing an end to Tehran's sensitive nuclear programme.
"The Iranian people are steadfast and will not step back an inch against the oppressive powers," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday at a rally in the so -
Gulf News: Defiant Ahmadinejad Says No Iran Concessions in Nuclear Crisis.
Gulf News: Defiant Ahmadinejad Says No Iran Concessions in Nuclear Crisis.
World powers have offered to start pre-negotiations during which Tehran would add no more uranium-enriching centrifuges and in return face no further sanctions - the so-called "freeze-for-freeze" approach.
Iran is under three sets of UN Security Council sanctions over its refusal to halt sensitive uranium enrichment work, which the West fears could be... -
Yahoo News: Farmani, Hiedeh: AFP: Ahmadinejad Vows No Iran Concessions in Nuclear Crisis.
Farmani, Hiedeh: AFP: Ahmadinejad Vows No Iran Concessions in Nuclear Crisis.
The United States took the unprecedented step of sending a top diplomat to meet Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili at Saturday's international talks in Geneva which ended in a stalemate.
But Washington, which has led the efforts to thwart Iran's nuclear drive... -
Yahoo News: Hosseinian, Zahra: Reuters: Ahmadinejad Says U.S. Envoy Showed Iran Respect.
Hosseinian, Zahra: Reuters: Ahmadinejad Says U.S. Envoy Showed Iran Respect.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday praised U.S. participation in last week's talks with Tehran on its disputed nuclear program as "a positive step" and said its arch foe had shown respect. -
Yahoo News: AFP: All options against Iran must be prepared: Israel army chief.
Yahoo News: AFP: All options against Iran must be prepared: Israel army chief
The Israeli army chief of staff has said in Washington that all options must be prepared to counter Iran's controversial nuclear programme, in remarks relayed on Thursday. -
Jerusalem Post: Former Iranian leader rejects deadline
Former Iranian leader rejects deadline
Iran's former president, the cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, told the international community on Friday that he rejected any deadline to respond to an incentives package designed to persuade Teheran to give up its nuclear enrichment program. -
Khaleej Times Online: Iran ends cooperation with UN nuclear arms probe
Iran ends cooperation with UN nuclear arms probe
Iran signaled Thursday that it will no longer cooperate with UN experts probing for signs of clandestine nuclear weapons work, confirming the investigation is at a dead end a year after it began.
The announcement from Iranian Vice President Gholam Reza Aghazadeh compounded skepticism... -
Al Jazeera: English: Iran 'expands' nuclear programme
Iran 'expands' nuclear programme
Mahmoud Ahmedinjad, Iran's president, has said that the country now has 6,000 centrifuges actively enriching uranium as part of its nuclear programme.
State radio also quoted Ahmadinejad as saying on Saturday that the West had "accepted that Iran would continue uranium enrichment with its current 6,000 centrifuges". -
Gulf News: Israeli defence minister to visit US for talks on Iran
Israeli defence minister to visit US for talks on Iran
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud
Barak is travelling to the United States on Monday for talks with senior officials, a defence ministry spokesman said.
The talks are expected to focus on Iran's nuclear programme, which Israel views as a major strategic threat, according to public radio. -
Gulf News: Obama says Iran should take US engagement seriously
Obama says Iran should take US engagement seriously
US presidential candidate Barack Obama said President George W. Bush's decision to send a senior diplomat to nuclear talks with Iran was a substantive move and should be taken seriously by Tehran.
Obama has been highly critical in the past of Bush's policies toward Iran and has promised that if elected he would pursue a policy of greater engagement aimed at persuading Tehran.. -
Al Jazeera: English: Iran urges US over nuclear crisis
Iran urges US over nuclear crisis The Iranian president has said he is willing to seek "common ground" with the US if Washington takes a new approach over the country's nuclear programme.
Speaking to US television channel NBC, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said such an approach should be rooted in "mutual respect" not "confrontation". -
Gulf News: Iran tells developing states to fight world-power bias
Iran tells developing states to fight world-power bias
Iran's president called on Tuesday for developing nations to unite against what he said was bias by the UN Security Council, which the Islamic Republic accuses of siding with the West in a nuclear impasse.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran yesterday not to delay a decision on an international offer of incentives if... -
The New Republic: Stirring the Pot
Stirring the Pot
What has apparently persuaded so many Israeli politicians that an attack on Iran might be the only available course of action? There are a number of factors; but one of them, oddly enough, may be a faith in the power of diplomacy. -
Gulf News: Iran to continue nuclear path: Khameni
Iran to continue nuclear path: Khameni
Iran's highest authority said on Wednesday the Islamic Republic would continue on its nuclear path, speaking shortly before a deadline Western officials set for Tehran to respond to an incentives offer by world powers.
"The Iranian nation ... will continue with its path," Ayatollah Ali Khameni was quoted as saying by state radio when discussing the nuclear issue.
