Top Stories
WP:"Iranian authorities banned the country's two
remaining official opposition parties Monday after two of their leaders
received prison sentences. The move,
subject to confirmation by Iran's judiciary, effectively silences the last
parties legally permitted to promote political change in Iran and prevents foes
of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from gaining power through elections." http://bit.ly/aH0Z3r
AP:"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has approved the site
for a new enrichment facility Iran plans to build, his top adviser said Monday,
the latest step in expanding a nuclear program that the United Nations has
demanded Tehran halt. Still, in an
apparent attempt to ward off a new U.N. sanctions, Iran's foreign minister said
his country wants to hold further discussions on a nuclear fuel deal that was
originally touted as a possible way to ease the standoff but has since hit a
dead end." http://bit.ly/c2EUqk
Reuters:"Iran may be able to build a missile capable of
striking the United States by 2015, according to an unclassified Defense
Department report on Iran's military sent to Congress and released on Monday. 'With sufficient foreign assistance, Iran
could probably develop and test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
capable of reaching the United States by 2015,' said the April report, a copy
of which was obtained by Reuters." http://bit.ly/aOGqo0
Nuclear Program
Reuters: "China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday there
was still room for a negotiated solution to Iran's disputed nuclear program,
despite talks among major powers of fresh sanctions against Tehran. China has been among the six countries, also
called the '5+1,' engaged in deepening discussions on a proposed new round of
United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran over its nuclear
program." http://nyti.ms/9X14LV
AP:"If diplomacy fails and Iran gets a nuclear bomb, the
U.S. would still have ways to discourage Tehran from using these terrifying
weapons. But there are limits on what
even the world's sole superpower can do to contain a nuclear-armed Iran and
blunt its influence in the volatile Middle East." http://nyti.ms/aLGr2w
AP:"As the United States builds its case for stiffer
sanctions against Iran, Tehran's foreign minister appeared to voice new
enthusiasm Tuesday for a U.N.-backed nuclear fuel deal, calling it a chance to
boost trust with the West. The U.S. and
its allies are locked in a standoff with Iran over its disputed nuclear
program. Washington and other western powers fear Tehran is using the program
to build nuclear arms. Iran denies the charges, and says its program only aims
to generate electricity." http://nyti.ms/bkNz9z
Reuters:"State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said
the deal, proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last
October as a means of heading off confrontation over Iran's nuclear ambitions,
was still on the table but signaled that Washington had little hope Tehran
would follow through." http://bit.ly/auDQzK
Human Rights
AP: "A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear immodest
clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes. Iran is one of the world's most
earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric's unusual explanation for why the
earth shakes follows a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a quake
is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should
relocate." http://bit.ly/bYAUwY
Foreign Affairs
Dow Jones:"The presidents of Iran and Uganda plan to
discuss potential investments in Uganda's oil sector during a state visit to
Uganda later this week, Ugandan officials said Tuesday. According to Uganda's Foreign Affairs
Ministry, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will arrive in Uganda on Friday
for a two-day state visit. During the visit, he is expected to hold bilateral
talks with President Yoweri Museveni on Iran's pledge to invest in the
country's up-and-coming oil sector." http://bit.ly/bMxdyf
Culture
Radio Farda:"Female vocals and the soft thud of chill-out
beats mixes with the steam of the coffee maker, the jingle and clank of cups,
and the chatter of young people. Over 10
years ago, there were very few coffee shops in the Iranian capital, but now
they are everywhere and each person has at least one or two favorite places." http://bit.ly/9pR4Tf
Opinion
NYT Editorial Board:"The good news is that Mr. Obama is
also hedging his bets, with an effort - first begun under President George W.
Bush - to persuade an ever-widening circle of international corporate interests
to eschew business in economically strapped Iran. Total, the French energy company, and Eni of
Italy claim they are planning to end new investments in Iran." http://nyti.ms/bUtovZ
WP Editorial Board:"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates
was the focus of one of those curious Washington kerfuffles over the weekend in
which a senior official makes headlines by saying what everyone knows to be
true...Mr. Gates quickly denied that his memo was intended as a 'wake-up call,'
as one unnamed official quoted by the Times called it. And that's probably
true: It is evident to any observer that the administration lacks a clear
backup plan." http://bit.ly/9IANBP
Martin Indyk in NYT:"How do you know when there's a real
crisis in U.S.-Israel relations? It's when the president of the United States
convenes a nuclear security summit to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, and the
Israeli prime minister declines the invitation." http://nyti.ms/bvA0wK
Mark Mardell for BBC:"America's top brass has pointed to
the elephant in the Iranian room, only to make it clear it's a particularly
unattractive beast. Chairman of the
joint chiefs of staff Adm Mike Mullen has said that a US air strike on Iran
could 'go a long way to delaying' Iran's nuclear program, but would be his 'last
option'. But he suggested that as far as
he was concerned, it was not only a last option, but a bad one." http://bit.ly/ay301t
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