The current U.S. standoff against Iran, like the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, was instigated by the neoconservatives of the Bush Administration based on their doctrine of “maintaining U.S. pre-eminence, thwarting rival powers and shaping the global security system according to U.S. interests”. In the case of Saddam’s regime, its fictitious Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and its alleged links to Al-Qaida were used in the U.S. propaganda war to first impose U.N. sanctions and eventually invade Iraq. We now have a déjà vu situation in which the U.S. and its allies, prodded by Israel, demonize Iran as a threat to world security and accuse it of having a program to develop nuclear weapons. As with Iraq, the real aim is a regime change in Iran to set up a U.S. puppet government in this oil- and gas-rich country in the key strategic Persian Gulf region. This has also happened before in the 1953 U.S.-British coup in Iran. The same forces in U.S., U.K., Israel and allies today distort the truth and engage in deceit, coercion and aggression to achieve their goals. We will briefly examine some of the key facts in the standoff. ››read more

Funeral of the victims of the Tehran plane crash in 2005Since the victory of Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979 which toppled the U.S.-backed regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran has been facing with devastating and agonizing financial sanctions of the United States and its European allies. The most inequitable and unreasonable sanctions against Iran were those which would were endorsed in 1995 and disallowed the aviation companies around the world to sell aircrafts and repair parts to the Iranian airlines directly. Iran has experienced several deadly air accidents in which hundreds of innocent civilians lost their lives. The United States has failed to dictate its political will to Iran and resorts to this failure as a pretext for punishing its people. ››read more

IAEA head AmanoIran says the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the country's nuclear work has been politically influenced. "The agency should maintain its technical dignity defined within the NPT framework. It would be outside its legal duty ... if it deals with political matters and attends to external pressure on the agency," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. ››read more

The IAEA’s latest report on Iran, leaked today to a number of media outlets, has sparked a wild array of stories and speculation, though it appears to say very little. CNN’s headline “IAEA: Iran still enriching uranium” perhaps says it all, as there was no one who actually thought they had stopped. ››read more

Our mentor, Agha Halajion, has nearly single-handedly kept Iran's felt rug tradition alive. It is an art form that speaks from the heart of Iran, where carpet making has been a way of life for thousands of years. When we are forced to close this month, felt rug making will once again be in danger of extinction. Some well-meaning acquaintances have said that while it's a shame we must close, sanctioning Iran is our only choice. But the pain of closing our shop is deepened by the fact that the sanctions are not likely to work. ››read more

Is the world hurtling headlong toward a nuclear war? For months, former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has been warning that the United States and Israel are planning to attack Iran - and that as a result of this, a war with untold consequences would erupt. According to this news item from Cuba's state-run Granma, Castro warned students of the 'real likelihood that 7 billion human beings would perish.' ››read more

Israel's Dimona nuclear facilityVIENNA — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency asked Israel to consider signing up to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in a boost to Arab-led pressure on the Jewish state to do so, a report said Friday.
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BlairBack in the public eye with the release of his memoirs, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair might lead one to believe it is 2003 all over again. Praising George W. Bush as a great leader and one of the most decisive men he had ever met, Blair also lauds the Iraq War. ››read more

MottakiIn the lead up to a likely resumption of Western “diplomacy” with Iran, conducting an interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, with questions designed to elicit substantive and revealing responses, could potentially yield real benefits for the international community. The prominent German newsmagazine Der Spiegel had an opportunity to conduct such an interview today. But Der Spiegel opted, instead, to engage in an egregious exercise of agenda-driven, ideologically-loaded journalism ››read more

In a SPIEGEL interview, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, 57, discusses the stoning of adulterers, the consequences of Western sanctions against Iran and the risk of a military strike against his country. ››read more

US Nuclear Posture Report (April 2010) Amid strained relations between Tehran and Washington, Iran says it will enter talks with the US only under "equal and respectful conditions" and without any prejudice. "If the US seriously seeks to revive relations with Iran, it should make changes in its attitude. Washington should prove that it will never repeat previous mistakes and will not pursue misguided and hostile policies towards the Iranian nation," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said. ››read more

As the US expresses optimism about future talks on Iran's nuclear program, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says Tehran has never refused nuclear talks. ››read more

America's march to a disastrous war in Iraq began in the media, where an unprovoked U.S. invasion of an Arab country was introduced as a legitimate policy option, then debated as a prudent and necessary one. Now, a similarly flawed media conversation on Iran is gaining momentum. ››read more

On August 21, 2010, a long awaited launch of the first unit of Iran's first nuclear power plant Bushehr was held. The first stage of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program has been completed and we can congratulate the Iranian people with such a significant achievement. ››read more

The drums for war on Iran have been banging louder than ever lately, with a spate of articles by political commentators either directly encouraging the bombing of the Islamic Republic or otherwise offering a narrative in which this is effectively portrayed as the only option to prevent Iran from waging a nuclear holocaust against Israel. ››read more

Central Bank of Iran governor Bahmani A top Iranian official says Tehran has withdrawn its assets from European banks to counter new financial sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear program. The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said on Friday that the preemptive measure was a precautionary response to a potential European decision to freeze Iranian asset. ››read more

Iran's proposal to jointly produce fuel with Russia for the Bushehr nuclear power plant is bound to raise even more opposition to its nuclear pursuits. ››read more

Centrifuges

Ending decades of waiting and underlining Iran's long-standing nuclear ambitions, the opening of the Bushehr reactor is a giant leap forward for the country's nuclear programme ››read more

Bushehr ReactorThe launch of the Bushehr nuclear plant will enhance the peaceful nature and legitimacy of Iran’s nuclear program at the level of international public opinion and this will give Iran the upper hand in any future talks with the 5+1 group. With Bushehr’s launching, Russia has practically conceded that Iran is a nuclear state and this will bring Moscow closer to Tehran in its effort to reap future rewards by means of bilateral nuclear cooperation. This will create a new political atmosphere which gives Iran greater bargaining power in future nuclear talks. ››read more

This CIA "Red Cell" report from February 2, 2010, looks at what will happen if it is internationally understood that the United States is an exporter of terrorism; 'Contrary to common belief, the American export of terrorism or terrorists is not a recent phenomenon, nor has it been associated only with Islamic radicals or people of Middle Eastern, African or South Asian ethnic origin. ››read more