Iran helping crackdown in Syria: US

The United States today blamed Iran of secretly helping Syria in its labors to onslaught on demonstrator.

"We consider that there is credible information that Iran is supplementary Syria. I'm not going to get into particulars about that material help, but it's of real concern to us," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

Iran Toner, though, said he said no details about what support Iran is only if to the Syrian government.

"I don't have particulars about what material backing they're providing the Syrian Government," he said.

Full Story

Iran hangs man convicted of spying for Mossad: IRNA

Iran on Tuesday suspended an Iranian criminal of spying for the Islamic Republic's arch foe Israel; the official IRNA news agency extracted a report from the judiciary as saying.

Ali Akbar Siadat was establishing guilty of relaying responsive data to Mossad, having worked for the Israeli astuteness agency since 2004. He was arrested four years later when he tried to leave Iran with his wife. Iran and Israel have been opponents since the 1979 Islamic uprising in Iran and Tehran occasionally announces the arrest of people supposed of spying for Israel, which Iran refuses to distinguish.

"Ali Akbar Siadat, who spied for Israel's Mossad, was hanged surrounded by the Evin prison (in Tehran) this morning," IRNA said. "He was convict of corruption on Earth; tackle the Islamic Republic and escalation the Zionist regime (Israel)."

Full story

useful links: transport rankings

Iran agrees to discuss its nuclear program

Iran – harden its place ahead of next week's nuclear talks with the world powers, Iran's president vow Tuesday his country would not make "one iota" of concession over its nuclear rights.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that a get through could only be likely only if the new talks are held under "equal" circumstances and if Iran's rights are appreciated.

"If you want consequences from the talks, you must put aside the devil's temper and sit collectively under equal conditions on the basis of justice and esteem ... and talk about various economic and nuclear fields, arrive at a deal and do joint work," Ahmadinejad said in a speech show live on state TV.

Full story

Afghan, Pakistan agree on coordinated anti-drug raids

The accord was clinching at an annual meeting of the Triangular proposal facilitated by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Islamabad. Iran was also a part of the conference.

"Now Pakistan and Afghanistan through this gathering have also agreed that our law enforcement forces' synchronized operations will begin soon," Pakistan's Secretary of Narcotics Control, Tariq Khosa, told journalists.

Relations flanked by Kabul and Islamabad have been frosty since the removal of the Taliban in 2001, but have just been thawing, with an agreement on a transfer trade last summer.

Iran rejects media claims on uranium programme halt

Iran has discarded western media claims that it for the time being halted uranium enhancement due to technical problems and asserted that it had productively fight out a serious cyber attack on its manufacturing and personal computers.

Head of the Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi described as “lies” media reports that appeared on Monday, that Iran had knowledgeable technical difficulties that had temporarily paralysed thousands of its centrifuges used for the enhancement of uranium.

Reuters quoting a civil servant close to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its report that U.N. inspectors had found on November 16 that centrifuges occupied in low level uranium enhancement at the Natanz facility were not life form fed uranium hexafluoride gas.

Full story

Iran says foreign planes violated its airspace

Iran said Wednesday that nameless foreign planes violated its airspace six times as the nation kicked off its biggest ever air protection drill but that the intruder were intercept and forced back by Iranian jets.

The remarks by Gen. Hamid Arjangi, a spokesman for the exercise, were the first Iranian claim of an infringement. Initially, he had only said that distant investigation planes had approach Iran's air space.

There was no way to verify Iran's claims. The spokesman did not identify whether the aircraft were warplanes or pilotless watch drones that might have been sent up to observe the drill.

Full story

Iran kicks off 5-day air defense war games

Iran kicks off five-days of air defense war games Tuesday to display the country's capability in defensive its nuclear facilities from probable attack, state television report.

The drill, which comes as Iran is protected in a standoff with the U.S. and its European allies over Tehran's doubtful nuclear program, aims to "upgrade the combat watchfulness" of Iran's air protection system, an Iranian air force all-purpose said.

"These large-scale military exercises ... will additional improve preparedness to confront probable threats to Iran's air space and the very populated, vital landmarks and nuclear centers," Gen. Ahmad Mighani was quoted as saying by state TV.

Full story

Iran agrees to new nuclear talks

For the first time in additional than a year, Iran has agreed to talks with earth powers over its nuclear power agenda.

European Union foreign rule chief Catherine Ashton told reporters in Brussels on Friday that she received an affirmative reply from Iranian nuclear negotiator Said Jalili to a standing invite to talks sometime after Nov. 10 "in a place and on a date suitable to both sides," according to news agencies.

Ashton describe the letter as "a significant move" and said diplomats were now attempt to pinpoint a place and time for negotiations on ways to decide the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at producing arsenal and Iran says is solely for civilian purpose.

Full story

American woman freed by Iran is grateful, humbled

The American woman out by Iran on Tuesday following more than a year in prison said she was humbled and thankful to Iran's president for her liberty shortly before she boarded a flight to the nearby Gulf sultanate of Oman where her mother was pending her.

Iran not tied up Sarah Shourd, 32, after a $500,000 bail was paid to win her liberty. However, the case that has got deeper strains between the U.S. and Iran was still far from determined.

Shortly after proclaimed Shourd's release, Iranian establishment said they are not considering the immediate release of the two Americans under arrested with Shourd — her fiance Shane Bauer and their friend Josh Fattal. Iran has emotional all three with spying, though their families say they were blameless hikers arrested in a scenic peak area along Iran's border with Iraq.

Full story

Iran to free 1 of 3 Americans in holiday clemency

Iran whispered Thursday it will free one of three Americans locked up for more than 13 months as an act of mercy to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The custody of the Americans has get deeper tensions between the U.S. and Iran, a relationship by now strained over Washington's qualms that Tehran is trying to produce nuclear weapons — a little Iran denies.

The Culture Ministry sent a text communication to reporters telling them to come to a Tehran hotel on Saturday dawn to witness the discharge. The site is the same one where the three were allowable the only meeting with their mothers since they were under arrest in July 2009.

Full story

Son: Iran woman who faced stoning to be lashed

An Iranian woman who was vindicated to death by mineral for adultery is now opposite a new punishment of 99 lashes since a British newspaper ran a image of an unveiled woman mistakenly recognized as her, the woman's son said Monday.

Present was no official corroboration of the new sentence. The son, Sajjad Qaderzadeh, 22, said he did not know whether the new lashing verdict had been carried out yet, but heard about it from a captive who had recently left the Tabriz prison where his mother is being held.

The attorney who once represents Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani in Iran said from Paris that the state of affairs was not clear.

"Issue the photo provided a judge an reason to sentence my poor mother to 99 lashes on the charge of taking a image unveiled, Iran " Qaderzadeh told The Associated Press.

Full story

Iran says explosion near president just fireworks

Iran's bureaucrat news agency said Wednesday that an bang near the president's group was just an excited fan location off fireworks, denying earlier reports of an murder attempt.

A admirer set off a firecracker alike to those used during sports matches to express his enthusiasm at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the western Iranian town of Hamedan, reported the IRAN news agency. The bang near the president's group had set off a flurry of media reports, counting one that it was a handmade grenade.

The conventional Iranian website, khabaronline.ir, said a grenade exploded as the president's group headed from the airport to the venue for the talking, but did not damage him.

Eyewitnesses in Hamedan told The connected Press by telephone that the detonation definitely came from a firecracker.

"It was a sparkler, which made a sound and produced smoke near where I was standing," Amin Mehrabi said. "Many people filmed it with their cell phone cameras."

Irans assistant police chief, Gen. Ahmad Reza Radan told the state news agency the information about the explosion were "sheer lies" circulated by foreign media.

Ahmadinejad went on to give his speech as planned, and it was show live on state television. He made no talk about of the attack in his remarks, focusing instead on the country's disputed nuclear program.

full story