US troops in IraqThe current crisis in Iraq contains all the factors that are shaping the new political realities in the region. After two invasions of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, an ongoing Cold War against Iran and a war on terror that is losing traction in the mountainous labyrinth of the Hindu Kush along the Afghan-Pakistani border, the United States is finally realizing that the contemporary international system cannot be ruled by military might. ››read more

As part of the current and ongoing effort to demonize further the Islamic Republic, there has been an uptick in media stories, drawing on conveniently leaked Western intelligence assessments, highlighting Tehran’s allegedly looming acquisition of nuclear weapons. One of these stories, from The Associated Press seems particularly emblematic, so we want to look at it more closely. ››read more

Assassinations and other acts of state terrorism are short-term expedients that usually end up being paid for dearly. Countries have long memories. Hate isn’t easily expunged. The United States, and to a lesser extent Britain, are still paying for their clandestine overthrow in 1953 of Mohammad Mosaddeq, Iran’s democratically-elected prime minister, whose ‘crime’ was to seek to protect Iran’s oil from imperialist predators. Why has Netanyahu chosen to portray Iran’s nuclear programme as the gravest threat to the survival of the Jewish people since Hitler? He must know that this is pure fantasy. Ehud Barak, his defence minister, has himself admitted that Iran poses no ‘existential threat’ to Israel. With its own vast nuclear arsenal, Israel has ample means to deter any attack. ››read more

Adib-MoghaddamThere is no evidence that Iran is building a nuclear weapon. No IAEA report, not even national intelligence agencies hostile to the Iranian state such as the CIA and the Mossad in Israel have provided any evidence to that end. So the nuclear weapons allegation is a political mirage, a tactical manoeuvre to outflank Iran on other matters. ››read more

If the main oil consuming and producing nations in the world conspire to trade oil over an open exchange, similar to Iran’s Oil Bourse, and price the oil in currencies other than or as well as the U.S. dollar, then the world is likely to be economically more stable.

Iran’s IOB is not new. The timing of its move to trading physical cargos of oil on July 13 seems a clear step towards putting pressure on the U.S. dollar, and to show others that an alternative to the status quo of oil trading is available. The main question is which country will be the next to use its own oil exchanges, and will the U.S. military be able to surround that country? ››read more

"When we say we don't want to build an atomic bomb it means we really do not want to build an atomic bomb," Ahmadinejad, interviewed by the Euronews TV channel, said. ››read more

Barack Obama has thrown in the towel regarding negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and yielded to his advisors’ policy of relentlessly demonising Iran, notes Patrick Seale. ››read more

Peter Hart, activism director at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), discusses the media’s warm reception to Treasury Department claims that Iran’s government is actively aiding al-Qaeda; the suspicious timing of these kinds of articles every time there’s a debate on withdrawal or troop drawdowns from Iraq; how the US condemns Iranian “foreign interference” in neighboring Iraq while ignoring the foreign US military’s continued occupation of the country; and the media’s failure to develop a healthy skepticism of “anonymous government officials” since falling for the Iraq War lies. ››read more

This is all strongly reminiscent of the way in which the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations prepared the way for the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. And much of the mainstream media seems content to reprise the dishonorable role they played in making that war possible. As her pre-war reporting on Saddam Husayn’s weapons of mass destruction programs unraveled in the war’s aftermath, Judy Miller of The New York Times sought to defend herself by arguing that “my job isn’t to assess the government’s information and be an independent intelligence analyst myself.” Ms. Miller may no longer be at The New York Times. But it seems that her spirit lives on there, at the Washington Post, and in too many other journalistic venues. ››read more

The US has a record of attempting to intervene in Syria that even predates the US Central Intelligence Agency's and British intelligence's 1953 coup in Iran against prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. Between 1947 and 1949, American government officials intervened in Syria. Their aim was to liberate the Syrian people from a corrupt autocratic elite. What resulted was a disaster and led ultimately to the rise to power of the Assad family. Western powers may no longer remember this history, but as one BBC commentator recently noted, the Syrians surely do. ››read more

India would pay mainly in euros and also use other currencies to settle its debt ››read more

A senior member of Iran's Majlis (parliament) says the Islamic Republic will not tolerate US' extralegal moves that go beyond the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations. ››read more

"Iran arming Iraq insurgents" was last month's story. Today's papers are telling a different story; the new line being pushed by U.S. officials is that Iran is supporting Al-Qaeda. ››read more

"The missile defense system is not purely a defensive system," envoy Dmitry Rogozin said. "There are serious and authoritative experts in Russia and in other countries who fear that the creation of a European missile defense system, officially assigned the task of blocking a threat from Iran, may in fact be a pretext for preparing an attack on Iran." ››read more

The Financial Times reports that Iran and China are “in talks about using a barter system to exchange Iranian oil for Chinese goods and services, as U.S. financial sanctions have blocked China from paying at least $20 billion for oil imports”. According to the story, Tehran and Beijing are now discussing how to “offset” the debt, presumably by letting China pay it down with merchandise exports and infrastructure projects. ››read more

Fresh off of weeks of accusing the Iranian government of secretly backing Iraqi Shi’ite militias against the US occupation force there (without any evidence) the Obama Administration is now accusing the Iranian government of having entered into a “secret deal” with al-Qaeda. ››read more

Ali Akbar Salehi

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says he will discuss a proposal by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov regarding Tehran's nuclear program in a future visit to the Russian capital, Moscow. ››read more

Rezai-NejadU.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies have basked in their apparent success using a computer virus to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program. But a darker side of this disruptive operation may be the assassinations of the scientists themselves, reports Lawrence Davidson. ››read more

Mourning for Rezaeinejad"The UN Security Council issues a resolution and makes a list of our scientists, then some terrorists who receive money from the CIA and Mossad, kill them," said Larijani, "this is a very clear game and strong action should be taken about it."

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Dariush RezaeinejadWestern security agencies were most probably behind the killing of an Iranian scientist, analysts have said.
Darioush Rezaeinejad, 35, was shot dead by gunmen in eastern Tehran on Saturday, the third murder of a scientist in the city since 2009. ››read more