POLITICS: New Doubt Cast on U.S. Claim Qom Plant is Illicit

An Iranian assertion that construction on its second enrichment facility began only last year and further analysis of satellite photos of the site have cast fresh doubts on the Barack Obama administration's charge that the construction of the plant near Qom involved a covert decision to violate Iran's obligations to report immediately to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on any decision to build a new facility.

POLITICS: U.S. Story on Iran Nuke Facility Doesn’t Add Up

The story line that dominated media coverage of the second Iranian uranium enrichment facility last week was the official assertion that U.S. intelligence had caught Iran trying to conceal a "secret" nuclear facility.

POLITICS: U.N. Chief Weighs in on Iran, Libya and Afghanistan

Addressing his monthly press conference Tuesday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon refused to back a Western endorsement of a premature election victory for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, implicitly criticised Libyan Leader Muammar el-Qaddafi for denigrating the U.N. charter, and faulted Iran for lack of transparency in its nuclear programme.

IRAN: New Nuke Charges Raise Stakes in Upcoming Talks

Charges by U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of France and Britain Friday that Iran is building a secret underground plant to enrich uranium appear certain to heighten tensions just days before critical talks between Tehran and its three accusers, as well as Germany, China and Russia.

IRAN: Poll Finds Public Support for Nuke Power over Weapons

A poll released Tuesday shows that Iranians are still strongly in favour of continuing their government's nuclear programme, but are open to compromises which would permit uranium enrichment while allowing international inspectors access to ensure that no bomb-making activities are taking place if sanctions are dropped.

RIGHTS-IRAN: Groups Call for Special U.N. Probe

Just ahead of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, two human rights organisations asked the international media to seize what they termed a crucial opportunity to hold him accountable for post-election violence in Iran.

IRAN: New Poll Finds Strong Domestic Support for Regime

Despite persistent mass demonstrations protesting June's disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a new survey of Iranian public opinion released here Saturday suggests majority domestic support for both him and the country's basic governing institutions.

POLITICS: Nuclear Agency Demanding Iranian Missile Blueprints

Iran stopped meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency last year over Western allegations of covert Iranian nuclear weapons work because the nuclear agency was demanding access to the designs for its Shahab-3 missile and other secret military data, according to both Iranian and IAEA officials.

POLITICS: Obama and Netanyahu Still Tussling over Priorities

As world leaders prepare to gather here for the all-star "general debate" at the U.N. General Assembly on Sep. 23, two of them - U.S. Pres. Barack Obama and Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu - are still tussling over whether to prioritise their anti-Iran campaign or the push for a Palestinian-Israeli peace.

POLITICS: IAEA Conceals Evidence Iran Documents Were Forged

The International Atomic Energy Agency says its present objective regarding Iran is to try to determine whether the intelligence documents purportedly showing a covert Iranian nuclear weapons programme from 2001 to 2003 are authentic or not. The problem, according to its reports, is that Iran refuses to help clarify the issue.

US-IRAN: War Drums Begin Beating in Washington

As nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West continue to move slowly, U.S. President Barack Obama is coming under growing pressure from what appears to be a concerted lobbying and media campaign urging him to act more aggressively to stop Iran's nuclear programme.

IRAN: Govt Ups Ante Against Reformists Probing Abuses

The stepped-up crackdown against reformist leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, notably the arrest of key aides, signals that the crisis faced by the Islamic regime in Iran has reached new heights.

POLITICS-US: Obama Struggles to Regain Early Momentum

The United States Congress returns to work Tuesday after a turbulent summer recess that has raised doubts over President Barack Obama's ability to face down domestic opposition from Republicans and enforce party cohesion on issues ranging from healthcare reform to troop commitments in the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan.

POLITICS: Taliban’s Tank-Killing Bombs Came from U.S., Not Iran

In support of the official U.S. assertion that Iran is arming its sworn enemy, the Taliban, the head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Dennis Blair, has cited a statement by a Taliban commander last year attributing military success against NATO forces to Iranian military assistance.

IRAN: Backlash Mounts Against Women Ministers

The Iranian Parliament will begin voting on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nominations for 21 cabinet positions on Wednesday. What makes this process unique is the inclusion of three women for ministerial posts, a fact that Ahmadinejad also pointed to during the three-day parliamentary debates on his nominations, which started on Aug. 30.

RIGHTS: U.S. Forum Highlights Abuses in Post-Election Iran

The Emory University School of Law and a coalition of Iranian students co-hosted a daylong seminar Saturday to discuss the controversial Jun. 12 Iranian presidential election and the human rights abuses perpetrated in its wake.

POLITICS: ElBaradei Foes Leak Stories to Force His Hand on Iran

Western officials leaked stories to the Associated Press and Reuters last week aimed at pressuring the outgoing chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, to include a summary of intelligence alleging that Iran has been actively pursuing work on nuclear weapons in the IAEA report due out this week.

IRAN: Allegations of Rape in Detention Centres

At continued public protests at Tehran's Grand Bazaar Wednesday, demonstrators are expressing their discontent with the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while the rifts among the ruling elites of the Islamic government widen.

IRAN: Under Pressure from Hawks, Obama Tacks to the Right

In the face of mounting pressure from hawks in Washington and the continued threat of military action from Israel, the Barack Obama Administration has been taking a harder line in its latest pronouncements about Iran.

IRAN-VENEZUELA: Alliance Problematic for the U.S., But Not Threatening

Some foreign policy experts are saying that the deepening relationship between Iran and Venezuela, while worrisome, is not currently a major threat to U.S. interests.

IRAN: Ahmadinejad’s Predicament and Iran’s Political Crisis

With the confirmation of his re-election by Ayatollah Khamenei and his oath of office taken, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will begin his second term facing much steeper challenges than any of Iran’s previous second-term presidents.