CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN IRAN

By Reza Pahlavi 01/21/12

My Dear Compatriots and Freedom loving citizens of the World,

Today I am submitting the following report to the United Nations Security Council on crimes against humanity, ordered by Mr Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and carried out on the people of Iran. The focus of the attached ... Read More

Keep the "Voice of Iran" Alive

For over 20 years KRSI (Radio Sedaye Iran) has been in pursuit of exposing the true identity and nature of the Islamic Regime. Our resolve has been to give a voice to the people of Iran in order to achieve freedom from the plague that has ravaged our country for the past 30 long years. As you know the events from the previous year will only ... Read More

Israel could attack Iran over nuclear program as early as April: U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

War hysteria continues to grip the Middle East, as heightened anxieties over Iran's surreptitious nuclear program have the U.S. Defense Secretary on edge.

Leon Panetta said Thursday that Israel could launch attacks against Iran as early as April or May in effort to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb.

Panetta made the initial ... Read More

Iran Threatens to Strike Back Against Sanctions, Attack

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Friday that Iran will retaliate against Western-backed oil sanctions and threats of attack, as media reports say U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta fears Israel could strike Iran in the next few months.

Israel's intentions

A report Thursday in The Washington Post, later backed by other ... Read More

Iran reports launch of small satellite into orbit

Iran successfully launched a new small satellite into orbit early Friday, state media reported, the latest in the country's ambitious space program that has raised concerns because if its possible military applications.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called in to the launch site, saying he was "hopeful this act will send a signal of more ... Read More

BBC accuses Iran of "bullying and harassment" of its staff and their relatives

The head of the BBC on Friday accused Iran of intimidating staff members of its Persian service through slander, snooping and the arrest of their relatives.

BBC director-general Mark Thompson said "a campaign of bullying and harassment" against the broadcaster had worsened in recent months.

Thompson said in a blog post that last week ... Read More

Iran policy not swayed by phone firm, S.Africa says

By David Dolan

South Africa denied on Friday it had been pressured by MTN Group into backing Tehran's nuclear programme and aiding its military when the Johannesburg-based mobile operator was bidding for a telephone licence in Iran.

"South Africa's foreign policy is independent and it cannot be influenced by anyone," Foreign Ministry ... Read More

Iran bans nationals from road travel to Syria

Iran banned its citizens on Friday from travelling to Syria by road following the abduction of nearly 30 Iranians in the escalating uprising in its key Middle East ally, state media reported.

"Due to the terrorist acts against Iranian pilgrims who are taking road trips to the holy sites in Syria, from Friday and until further notice road ... Read More

Iraq eyes waiver on U.S. Iran sanctions

By Patrick Markey

Iraq could seek a waiver from the United States on sanctions on Iran because of its high trade with the neighboring country and to protect its foreign reserves from penalties, an Iraqi government spokesman said on Friday.

The U.S. government in December signed a law imposing sanctions on financial institutions ... Read More

EU planning sanctions against Iran telecoms sector

By Justyna Pawlak and Julien Toyer

European Union governments could ban the sales of some telecommunications equipment to Iran in the coming months under plans for new sanctions discussed by EU experts in Brussels.

EU diplomats said on Friday the bloc's 27 governments have reached an agreement in principle to target equipment that ... Read More

Iran to raise jet fuel exports

Iran said on Friday it planned to increase its jet fuel exports to neighbouring countries by launching a new pipeline this month, the state-run Press TV quoted an oil official as saying.

"The 12.5 kilometer-long pipeline, aimed at increasing the exports of jet fuel, will come on stream in Bandar Abbas, the capital of southern Hormozgan ... Read More

Germany's Merkel urges China to use influence on Iran

By Lucy Hornby and Andreas Rinke

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged China on Thursday to use its influence to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program, at the start of a three-day visit when she will also seek China's support for the ailing euro.

Merkel is expected to make the case for tighter sanctions on Iran, ... Read More

Iran has material for 4 nuclear bombs: Israeli general

Iran has enough radioactive material to produce four nuclear bombs, Israel's chief of military intelligence, General Aviv Kochavi, asserted at a security conference on Thursday.

"Today international intelligence agencies are in agreement with Israel that Iran has close to 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of uranium enriched to 20 percent, which ... Read More

EU Parliament Calls on Iran to End Threats of Hormuz Blockade

By Jonathan Stearns

The European Parliament urged Iran to back down from threats to block shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the disruption to trade could stoke international tensions.

"Such an act could lead to a regional conflict and trigger retaliation by the international community," the 27-nation European Union assembly ... Read More

Barak: Iran's nuclear program nearing 'immunity zone'

By YAAKOV KATZ

Iran's nuclear program is nearing the stage when it will enter the so-called "immunity zone" when it will be too heavily fortified for a military strike to succeed, Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned on Thursday night.

Barak was referring to Iran's recent decision to activate the Fordow enrichment facility which is ... Read More

Why many Iranian-Americans are wary of Tehran, and vice versa

By Howard LaFranchi

When, in early January, Iran sentenced Arizona-born Iranian-American Amir Hekmati to death for allegedly spying for the CIA, the case cast a spotlight on a prosperous American community that had long lived under the radar. Not anymore.

With US-Iran tensions rising over recent months to what some fear is the brink ... Read More

U.S. lawmakers urge SWIFT to drop Iranian banks

By Roberta Rampton

Senators agreed on Thursday to a plan that would pressure a global electronic platform used by the world's banks to stop providing services to Iranian banks blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury.

The proposed measure is part of a package of new sanctions passed by the Senate Banking Committee that lawmakers hope will ... Read More

Stranded grain ships diverting from Iran ports

By Jonathan Saul

Up to five ships carrying grain to Iran have been diverted to new destinations as European Union sanctions hold up payments and start to hamper staple food supplies to the Islamic Republic, ship tracking data showed on Thursday.

Around 400,000 tonnes of grain has been held up on at least 10 vessels for as long as ... Read More

Ex-CIA spy: History of failed negotiations shows Iran won't deal

By Reza Kahlili

President Obama, in his State of the Union Address, said he will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and that all options to prevent that are on the table.
More importantly, Obama said the Islamic regime, which fuels terrorism worldwide and oppresses its own people at home, could still rejoin the international ... Read More

IAEA, Iran to meet again after "good" talks

By Michael Shields

Senior U.N. nuclear inspectors plan another trip to Iran later this month after holding what both sides described as good talks on the Islamic state's disputed atomic program.

The Jan 29-31 talks in Tehran were a rare direct dialogue in the long-running international stand-off, which has worsened in recent weeks as ... Read More