Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Press Wonders if USA will fight Iran or not

Tuesday's Daily Briefing on Iran.
World Press ponders: Will the US Fight Iran or Not?
  • Brian Walden, BBC News pondered how best to respond to Iran 's bullish nuclear ambitions. Hawks can be dismissed as warmongers; doves can be blamed for a policy of appeasement, as our history shows.
  • The Guardian reported that one of the papers close to Iran 's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is threatening suicide attacks against American targets in response to the Iranian publics concern over a possible US attack on Iran - suggesting the highest levels are involved in ringing the alarm over the American deployment.
  • People's Daily Online reported that news reports predicting a US military strike on Iran have run wild, with some Arabic media speculating that Washington has decided to launch an attack from the sea before April.
  • Fars News Agency reported that the United States wants to incite a popular uprising in Iran , a senior Iranian official has been quoted as saying, adding that a confrontation between Washington and Tehran is "inevitable". US President George W. Bush "pursues a strategy hostile to Iran.
  • The Jerusalem Post reported that US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said, "We have to confront Iran ," at the Herzliya Conference on Sunday.
  • Ha'aretz reported that Richard Perle said President George Bush will order an attack on Iran if it becomes clear to him that Iran is set to acquire nuclear weapons capabilities while he is still in office.
  • Reuters reported that a confidential Iranian government report has highlighted the damaging effects of wide-ranging sanctions against the country if Iran continues its nuclear program, French newspaper Le Monde reported.
Iran ready to talk with U.S. on nuclear issues.
  • Xinhua reported that Iran is ready to talk if the United States makes a formal request for negotiations. However, the country also insists it will not suspend its nuclear program.
Iran President Defiant in Face of Critical MPs.
  • The Guardian reported that Ahmadinejad, defied his domestic critics yesterday by vowing not to retreat from his nuclear and economic policies.
  • International Herald Tribune reported that Iran 's most senior dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his nuclear diplomacy, saying it has harmed Iran.
  • Yahoo News reported that Iran has barred 38 nuclear inspectors on a United Nations list from entering the country.
U.S. Deadlocked on Whether To Free Iranian Terror Suspects.
  • Eli Lake, The New York Sun reported that the American government is deadlocked on the issue of whether to allow five Iranians captured last Wednesday in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil to return home, according to three administration officials.
Here are a few other news items you may have missed.
  • World Tribune.com reported that Iran 's nuclear program seeks first-strike capability against Israel , a leading strategist said.
  • The Telegraph reported that the European Union plans to increase sanctions against Iran 's nuclear program at a meeting of foreign ministers today.
  • International Herald Tribune reported that French President Jacques Chirac of France is not the first statesman to lose his touch at the end of a long reign, but his recently suspended plan to send Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy to Iran later this month qualifies as an extreme example of that syndrome.
Thank you, Doctor Zin and Team, for your service to the Iranian people and the world. It is much appreciated. Have a nice day everyone.

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