Iran and what is up there.

[mlurp]

Could it be that after so long sanctions do have an impact? Or is this just another slight of hand by the top officials of Iran.

.Iran 'confidence' bid shifts uranium to fuel stock

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI | Associated Press – 1 hr 51 mins ago. 6 Oct. 2012 ...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — In a bid to ease international concerns over its nuclear program, Iran has converted more than a third of Tehran's most highly enriched uranium into a powder for a medical research reactor that is difficult to reprocess for weapons production, experts and U.N. monitors say.

The work — noted in a technical report by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency in late August — suggests Iran is trying to display enough goodwill to restart nuclear talks with world powers, while aiming to soften demands by the U.S. and others to halt Tehran's top-level uranium enrichment.

An influential Iranian parliament member, Hossein Naqavi, said the country was taking a "serious and concrete confidence-building measure" by converting some of the 20 percent enriched stockpile into U3O8, or uranium oxide, in the form of powder.

The move also appears to be part of a wider strategy to seek relief from tightening Western sanctions in exchange for step-by-step plans to scale back uranium enrichment, which Washington and its allies fear could lead to weapons-grade material. Iran insists it only has peaceful nuclear ambitions.

But it has offered no substantial concessions to cut into Iran's stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium, the highest level acknowledged by the Islamic Republic. Iran already has enough to provide fuel for its Tehran research reactor for years and labs are equipped to make more material at that level, said Olli Heinonen, former director-general at the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency who headed the organization's Iran file until 2010.

So far, Iran's proposals have met with resistance from the West as the economic toll from the embargos take a toll, including protests this week after the nation's currency shed nearly 40 percent of its value.

Iran's 20 percent enrichment program is among the core disputes. That's because it can be boosted to weapons-grade far more rapidly than the 3.5 percent-enriched uranium used for Iran's lone energy reactor.

Iran says it needs this degree of enrichment for its medical research reactor, which can produce isotopes for cancer treatment. It also has announced plans to build more such reactors. The U.S. and allies want Iran to halt the 20 percent production and ship the rest of the material outside the country.

The impasse has put talks on hold between Iran and a six-nation group, the permanent Security Council members plus Germany.

Iranian officials repeatedly insist they will never give up the capacity uranium enrichment. But tightening Western sanctions and growing public outcry could open Tehran's leadership to more deal-making.

The U.N.'s IAEA confirmed in its Aug. 30 report Iran had made U308 — uranium oxide — from 71.25 kilograms (157 pounds) of its total of 190 kilograms (nearly 419 pounds) of 20 percent enriched uranium produced until mid-August.

U308 is effectively off the table as a material for possible weapons production, experts say.
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Iran 'confidence' bid shifts uranium to fuel stock - Yahoo! News

29 comments.

[mlurp]

These are the major links for Asia and the Middle East.. As well as other regions.


Middle East News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Asia News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Africa News Headlines - Yahoo! News

These are links to other regions worth watching...

Latin America News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Europe News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Australia / Antarctica News Headlines - Yahoo! News

My to the readers & to those who have help by adding other items I did not find.........

[mlurp]

Several other news stories on Iran at the M.E. link.

.Iran says it blocks cyberattack on oil platforms

Associated Press – 5 hrs ago. 8 Oct. 2012 ....................

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran says it has successfully blocked a cyberattack on the computer network of its offshore drilling platforms, a semiofficial news agency reported Monday.

The report by ISNA quoted Mohammad Reza Golshani, IT head of Iran's state offshore oil company, as blaming Israel for having planned the attack.

Iran periodically reports the discovery of viruses and other malicious programs in government, nuclear, oil and industrial networks, blaming Israel and the United States. In May, Iran shut down part of its oil facilities because of another such cyberattack.

Israel has done little to deflect suspicion that it uses viruses against Iran.

In this case, Golshani said, the attack occurred over the past two weeks, was routed through China, and affected only the communications systems of the network. He said the main network was safe since it was isolated from the Internet, and was back to normal operations. Iran announced that it had temporarily disconnected its oil ministry and its main crude export terminal from the Internet after the May attack.

Iran earns up to 80 percent of its foreign revenue from the export of crude.

Iran is odds with the West over its nuclear program. The West suspects the program is aimed at developing weapons. Tehran denies the charge, saying its nuclear program is geared toward peaceful purposes like power generation and cancer treatment.

A computer worm known as Stuxnet briefly brought Iran's uranium enrichment activity to a halt in 2010.

Iran says it blocks cyberattack on oil platforms - Yahoo! News

40 comments.

[mlurp]

The same old crap the leadership of Iran spews about America over and over.

.Iran's spy agency finds voice in cyberspace

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and BRIAN MURPHY | Associated Press – 54 mins ago.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A glimpse into the shadow world of Iran's main spy agency is now a click away.

In an unexpected display of outreach, the Intelligence Ministry now hosts a website with addresses of provincial offices, appeals for tips and anti-American essays that mock rising obesity rates, large prison populations and school shootings.

There's no mission statement on the site, but it appears part of stepped-up attempts by Iran's leadership to promote national unity and project its authority amid Western sanctions and international isolation. After protests in Tehran last week over Iran's slumping currency, the nationally broadcast Friday prayers tapped heavily into the theme of shared sacrifice in times of trouble. And on Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the sanctions as a "war against a nation."

The new website also fits into Iran's narrative of fighting a "soft war" in cyberspace against Western cultural and political influences. For more than a year, Iran's leaders have touted plans for a "clean" Internet that could presumably try to block Western content, but Web experts have raised questions about its technical feasibility.

"The ministry is going online to make its presence known to the Iranian public, especially the young who use the Internet," said Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born political analyst based in Israel. "This is basically a show of force."

What the new Farsi-language site, ????? ???????, lacks in innovation (mostly a simple list of stories and links), it makes up for in pure anti-American bluntness.

Click on "America from a Different Perspective." The list of shame includes the huge U.S. prison population, rising obesity, school shooting statistics, why supporters of euthanasia seek to "kill grandparents" and how giant chain stores such as Walmart are smothering small businesses.

Another essay claims the chief goal of U.S. economic sanctions is not to force concessions over Tehran's nuclear program, but to incite civil unrest. It specifically cites U.S. diplomat Jillian Burns, who set up Washington's first Iranian monitoring office in Dubai in 2006 and is currently the consul in Herat in western Afghanistan, where Iran has strong cultural and economic ties. There was no immediate comment from the State Department.

Tehran-based political commentator Hamid Reza Shokouhi sees the website — the web name is the Farsi acronym for the Intelligence Ministry — as part of a new image-building campaign by Iran's ruling system in the Internet era, which has left authorities in a constant struggle to block opposition sites and Western influences.
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Iran's spy agency finds voice in cyberspace - Yahoo! News

9 comments.

Middle East News Headlines: Middle East News Headlines - Yahoo! News

[mlurp]

Is this more bold talk or can they back it up?

.Iran's leader: We will defeat enemy plots

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI | Associated Press – 6 hrs ago. 13 Oct. 2012 .......

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's supreme leader said Saturday that his country will defeat a combination of sanctions, military threats and "soft wars" launched by enemies trying to weaken Iran and force it to back down over its nuclear program.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks, his third public speech in a week, came as tensions rise in the standoff between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear program.

They follow a precipitous decline in Iran's currency linked to economic sanctions imposed by the West, as well as remarks by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta highlighting the possibility of a cyberwar between Iran and the United States.

"We should not neglect the enemy. The enemy enters through various ways. One day it's talk of sanctions. Another day it's talk of military aggression. And one day, it's talk of soft war ... We have to be vigilant," state TV quoted Khamenei as saying during a speech in northeast Iran Saturday. "But they should rest assured that ... our enemies will fail in all their conspiracies and tricks."

The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran has denied the charges, saying its program is peaceful and geared toward generating electricity and producing radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

The West are pursuing a two-pronged strategy that includes a mix of sanctions and diplomacy to try to force Tehran to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or materials for use in a warhead.

But the West has not ruled out the possibility of military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, and Panetta made a pointed warning on Thursday that the U.S. will strike back against a cyberattack, underscoring the Obama administration's growing concern that Iran could be the first country to unleash cyberterrorism on America.
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Iran's leader: We will defeat enemy plots - Yahoo! News

Plus 583 comments.

[mlurp]

Now comes this change of heart or should I say more time wasted by the West.

Iran says ready for nuclear flexibility

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI | Associated Press – 1 hr 16 mins ago. 13 Oct. 2012 ....

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is ready to show flexibility at nuclear talks to ease Western concerns over its contentious nuclear program, its foreign ministry spokesman said on Saturday, as tensions rise in the standoff between the Islamic Republic, Israel and the West.

The remarks by Ramin Mehmanparast, published by the official IRNA news agency, underscore Tehran's push to resume talks with world powers as Western sanctions squeeze the economy tighter and the European Union weighs a boycott of Iranian natural gas.

"Iran is ready to show flexibility to remove concerns within a legal framework but such measures should be reciprocal," Mehmanparast was quoted as saying. "The other party needs to take measures to fully recognize Iran's nuclear rights and Iran's enrichment for peaceful purposes."

The five members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany and Iran, aim to resume high-level talks that were suspended in June. The countries want the Islamic Republic to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent purity because at that level the material can be quickly turned into fuel for nuclear weapons.

Iran has indicated it is ready to stop the higher enrichment if sanctions are lifted and its right to enrich is recognized. The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, a charge Tehran denies.

Earlier, the country's supreme leader said Iran would defeat its adversaries, who he said are using a combination of sanctions, military threats and clandestine operations in an attempt to make Tehran back down on its nuclear program.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks follow a precipitous decline in the country's currency linked to economic sanctions imposed by the West, as well as remarks by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta highlighting the possibility of a cyberwar between Iran and the United States.

"We should not neglect the enemy. The enemy enters through various ways. One day it's talk of sanctions. Another day it's talk of military aggression. And one day, it's talk of soft war ... We have to be vigilant," state TV quoted Khamenei as saying during a speech in the northeast. "But they should rest assured that ... our enemies will fail in all their conspiracies and tricks."

Western powers are pursuing a two-pronged strategy that includes a mix of sanctions and diplomacy to try to force Tehran to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or materials for use in a warhead.

But the West has not ruled out the possibility of military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, and Panetta made a pointed warning on Thursday that Washington will strike back against a cyberattack, underscoring the Obama administration's growing concern that Iran could be the first country to unleash cyberterrorism on America.

I sure hope we are better prepared than we were in Libya.

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Iran says ready for nuclear flexibility - Yahoo! News

Middle East News Headlines: Middle East News Headlines - Yahoo! News

[mlurp]

The last I have heard is Iran want more talks.. Which I am sure the West will buy into more talks.
The amount of pressure placed on Iran are working so place some more till they stop with the enrichments.

[mlurp]

There is more news at the M.E. site about Iran. Middle East News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Ahmadinejad has lost his appeal among the ruling cleric. He will soon be just another citizen of Iran. And won't be very popular with many of the younger people to boot.

.Iran judicial branch chief fires back at president

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI | Associated Press – 1 hr 6 mins ago. 24 Oct. 2012 ....

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The head of Iran's judiciary lashed out at the country's president Wednesday, the latest salvo in an escalating political conflict that has undermined much of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's political clout.

The latest issue appeared relatively minor — Ahmadinejad's intention to visit a prison north of Tehran. The head of the judiciary branch, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, said permission from his office was needed to visit Evin prison, and Ahmadinejad angrily rejected that. Larijani retorted Wednesday that the president does not understand his constitutional powers.

One of Ahmadinejad's aides is being held at the prison.

The background is a longstanding clash between Ahmadinejad and Iran's powerful clerics, as presidential elections loom next year. Ahmadinejad cannot run for another term but wants to influence the race to succeed him. His supporters were soundly defeated in parliamentary elections earlier this year.

Ahmadinejad originally had the backing of the clerics, but they broke over his perceived challenge to the authority of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last year. The conflict is mostly over internal politics. The two leaders do not differ significantly over policies, especially Iran's contentious nuclear development program.

The latest spat revolves around Ahmadinejad's request to visit the prison where his top press adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, was sent last month after being convicted of publishing material deemed insulting to Khamenei.

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Iran judicial branch chief fires back at president - Yahoo! News

[mlurp]

Well it seems clear the same things happen where ever these two sects of Islam (such a peaceful religion) gather/live...

Gunmen kill 2 policemen in southeastern Iran

Associated Press – 5 hrs ago. 26 Oct. 2012 .......

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian semi-official news agency reports attackers opened fire on a checkpoint in southeastern Iran, killing two policemen.

The report by Fars news agency said the attack happened before dawn Friday morning, near the town of Sarbaz in Sistan-Baluchistan province near the Pakistani border.

It says four "terrorists" dressed in local traditional clothing fled on motorbikes after the attack.

The province was hit by violence just a week ago, when a suicide attacker detonated explosives near a mosque, killing two people.

No one has claimed responsibility for either of the attacks.

The Sunni Muslim militant Jundallah group, which says it is fighting for the rights of Sunnis and the Baluch ethnic minority in mainly Shiite Muslim Iran, has been involved in sporadic bombings in the region in the past.

http://news.yahoo.com/gunmen-kill-2-...151147424.html

17 comments.

[mlurp]

Now that Obama won another 4 years I wonder if Iran will get their way on the nukes. As under his admin., they might feel they can contain Iran. Now this is just a thought I have.

I do hope with results like these he and his state department can find a way to stop them.

.Iran annual inflation hits 24.9 percent in October

Associated Press – 8 hrs ago. 7 Nov. 2012 ...........

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's Central Bank says the country's annual inflation rate hit 24.9 percent in October compared to 24.0 the previous month.

The figure, reported by the official IRNA news agency Wednesday, was one of the highest inflation rates since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to office seven years ago.

They add to a bleak economic picture which conservatives are pinning on Ahmadinejad, who they supported in his disputed 2009 re-election.

Iran's national currency, the rial, lost about 50 percent of its foreign exchange value in less than a week in October, hitting an all-time low of 35,500 versus the dollar. It currently stands at about 32,000, and was close to 10,000 in early 2011.

The decline has been blamed on a combination of government mismanagement and sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear program.

Iran annual inflation hits 24.9 percent in October - Yahoo! News

29 comments.