Iran

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Ahmadinejad Retreats in Ayatollah Feud

President appears to be losing power struggle with supreme leader

(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not attend an OPEC summit next month, noteworthy only because it's being read as a signal that he's losing his power struggle with the nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, reports the New York Times . Ahmadinejad had announced earlier this month that he would go...

Iran's Largest Lake Turning to Salt

Oroumieh Lake shrunk by 60% thanks to drought, over-damming of rivers

(Newser) - It's the third largest saltwater lake on Earth—or was. Iran's Oroumieh Lake, home to migrating flamingos, pelicans, and gulls, has shrunk by 60% and could disappear entirely in just a few years, thanks to persistent drought, misguided irrigation policies, and the damming of rivers that feed it....

Nuke Watchdog: Iran Worked on Nuclear Triggers

Disclosure buried in 9-page International Atomic Energy Agency report

(Newser) - In the kind of revelation that doesn't help one sleep at night, the International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday disclosed that it has evidence that Iran has worked on nuclear triggering technology that has but a single use: setting off a nuke. The New York Times reports that the detail...

Ahmadinejad: Europe Stealing Our Rain

West using 'special equipment' on clouds to cause droughts

(Newser) - Conspiracy theorist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is at it again: He says Europe is hijacking Iran's rainclouds. "Western countries have designed plans to cause drought in certain areas of the world, including Iran," the state news agency quoted him as saying at the inauguration of a dam. "...

9/11 Families Say Iran Helped Plan Attacks

Lawsuit accuses Tehran and Hezbollah of aiding al-Qaeda

(Newser) - Lawyers representing 9/11 families are asking a federal judge to find Iran culpable in the Sept. 11 attacks, saying new evidence shows Iranian officials had advance word and even helped train the hijackers. The lawyers said Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah entered into a terrorist alliance with al-Qaeda in...

Iran Hikers' Moms Start a Hunger Strike

Cindy Hickey and Laura Fattal mark anniversary of seeing sons

(Newser) - Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, the hikers imprisoned in Iran since 2009, have not seen their mothers since a hasty visit exactly one year ago today . To mark that anniversary, mothers Cindy Hickey and Laura Fattal today announced that they will start a hunger strike. They fear their sons have...

UN Nuclear Experts: Iran Hacked Us
UN Nuclear Experts:
Iran Hacked Us

UN Nuclear Experts: Iran Hacked Us

IAEA investigating suspicions of tampering

(Newser) - Some of the International Atomic Energy Agency's top experts think Iranians hacked their cell phones and laptops, diplomats tell the AP. The incident is believed to have occurred earlier this year, when the diplomats left the equipment unattended during an inspection tour in Iran. The watchdog group became suspicious...

Al-Jazeera Journalist Held in Mideast for 19 Days Freed

Dorothy Parvaz was detained in Damascus then sent to Iran

(Newser) - An al-Jazeera journalist has safely landed in Qatar, having been released by Iranian officials after being detained in Damascus last month. Al-Jazeera confirms that Dorothy Parvaz is "safe and well and back with us in Doha. She has been in contact with her family, and we are with her...

Ayatollah: Aide Has 'Bewitched' Ahmadinejad

Cleric says president's 'unnatural' behavior is due to spells, charms

(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinedjad’s feud with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei isn't his fault: He’s under a magic spell. At least, that’s the theory one influential cleric is peddling. In an interview with an Iranian magazine, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a former Ahmadinejad supporter, says he believes...

Gunmen Kill Saudi Diplomat in Pakistan

Karachi shooting tied to recent grenade attack on consulate

(Newser) - Gunmen on a motorbike shot and killed a Saudi diplomat as he was driving in Pakistan's largest city today, just days after two hand grenades were tossed at the Saudi consulate, police in Karachi said. The diplomat, who was a member of the security staff at the consulate, was...

North Korea, Iran Swapping Missile Tech: UN Report

Report angers China for claims it helps facilitate illegal transfers

(Newser) - Iran and North Korea have been illegally swapping missile technology, apparently with the help of China, according to a confidential UN report acquired by Reuters yesterday. It found that "p rohibited ballistic missile-related item" are suspected of being transferred via Air Koryo or Iran Air flights; North Korea prefers...

Iran Postpones Court-Ordered Blinding

Acid attacker sentenced to have acid dropped in eyes

(Newser) - Iran has postponed a literal eye-for-an-eye punishment it was due to carry out today. A court had ordered a man who threw a bucket of acid in the face of a woman who refused to marry him to have acid dropped in both eyes. Human rights groups including Amnesty International...

UN: Iran Skirting Nuke Sanctions

But they are at least slowing it down

(Newser) - International sanctions have managed to slow down Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but that’s about it, according to a new UN report obtained by the AP . “Iran’s circumvention of sanctions across all areas … is willful and continuing,” the report concludes. The regime has...

Final Tests Under Way at Iran's Nuclear Power Plant

Bushehr expected to generate electricity in the next two months

(Newser) - Iran's first nuclear power plant is expected to begin generating electricity within two months, according to Iranian media. Final tests are being conducted at the Russian-built Bushehr complex, following a series of missed deadlines, Reuters reports. After fuel was first loaded into Bushehr last August, officials predicted the plant...

Ahmadinejad Allies Busted for Sorcery

Genies, 'Hidden Imam,' and US outreach raising tensions in Iran

(Newser) - The power struggle between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is getting more intense—and a lot weirder. Several people close to Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been arrested in recent days and charged with being magicians and summoning genies, reports...

US Hiker Suffering PTSD, Depression

Sarah Shourd won't return to Iran for trial

(Newser) - The hiker Iran released last fall says she won't be returning to stand trial for espionage with her two companions. Sarah Shourd is due in court May 11, along with her fiance Shane Bauer and friend Josh Fattal, who have both been in a Tehran prison for 21 months....

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Is AWOL From Job

He's in a power tiff with Iran's supreme leader

(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is waging a personal strike of sorts. He hasn't been in his office, on TV, or at a Cabinet meeting for more than a week, reports AFP . The reason is a tense feud with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—one that doesn't bode well for Ahmadinejad'...

Egypt Bolsters Relations With Iran, Hamas

Government will end Gaza blockade

(Newser) - As Egypt regroups after Hosni Mubarak’s exit, it is realigning its diplomatic ties: Officials plan to end the Gaza border blockade and forge closer ties with Iran and Hamas. As elections approach, officials say they’re working toward policies that better fit public opinion; meanwhile, they hope to regain...

Iran Pushing to Ban Dogs as Pets

It could soon be illegal to keep 'impure' animals as pets

(Newser) - Dogs are unclean in the eyes of Islam, but man's best friend in Iran has until now avoided being outlawed. That could all change if a new bill recently proposed in parliament passes: It would make "the walking and keeping" of "impure and dangerous animals" illegal, subjecting...

Secret Hand in Syria Crackdown: Iran

And it may soon help protesters in Bahrain, Yemen

(Newser) - Iran has a hand in the revolutions currently sweeping the rest of the Arab world. In Syria, Iran is secretly assisting President Bashar al-Assad to quell the pro-democracy demonstrations, US officials say. But in Bahrain and Yemen, Iran is looking to aid Shiite protesters, thus destabilizing the countries—both US...

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