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Iran's international relations

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Iran ex-president says Syria govt launched gas attacks: news agency. BEIRUT/ DUBAI: An Iranian news agency quoted former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as saying Syria's government had attacked its own people with chemical weapons, but later replaced the report with a different version that did not attribute blame for the raid.

Iran ex-president says Syria govt launched gas attacks: news agency

The second version by the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency reported him as saying on Sunday: "On the one hand the people of Syria are the target of a chemical attack, and now they must wait for an attack by foreigners. " In the earlier version, the quote was: "The people have been the target of a chemical attack by their own government and now they must also wait for an attack by foreigners. " However, a spokesman for the former president denied Saturday that Rafsanjani had ever made the remarks, saying his comments had been "distorted. " "Mr. HassanRouhani_ : Wall Street Journal: The U.S... Five lessons from the de-listing of MEK as a terrorist group. (updated below) The Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), or People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, is an Iranian dissident group that has been formally designated for the last 15 years by the US State Department as a "foreign terrorist organization". When the Bush administration sought to justify its attack on Iraq in 2003 by accusing Saddam Hussein of being a sponsor of "international terrorism", one of its prime examples was Iraq's "sheltering" of the MEK.

Its inclusion on the terrorist list has meant that it is a felony to provide any "material support" to that group. Nonetheless, a large group of prominent former US government officials from both political parties has spent the last several years receiving substantial sums of cash to give speeches to the MEK, and have then become vocal, relentless advocates for the group, specifically for removing them from the terrorist list.

"'Your speech agent calls, and says you get $20,000 to speak for 20 minutes. China & Iran.

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit 2012

Iran-israel-observer.com. Exclusive: Iran looks to Armenia to skirt bank sanctions. Leading Iranian cleric calls on regime to avoid war with Israel. A prominent Iranian cleric has called on the Islamic Republic's leadership to avoid war with Israel.

Leading Iranian cleric calls on regime to avoid war with Israel

In a sermon marking the end of Ramadan, Ayatollah Yousef Sanei, a vocal opponent of the Ahmadinejad regime, urged the leadership to avoid provoking Israel and "acting as warmongers. " "We must do everything to prevent a Zionist attack on Iran, because if that happens, Iran will be severely damaged, even if the Zionist regime is damaged even more," he said during a sermon marking Eid al-Fitr in the city Qom. "In war, one does not give out halva and bread," Sanei said, in one of the most critical speeches to date of Tehran's belligerent tone against Israel.

"We must not act as warmongers in our country and encourage war. Iran frees jailed US hiker 'spies' Bauer and Fattal. 22 September 2011Last updated at 00:04 The hikers' release has been negotiated against a backdrop of tension between Washington and Tehran A pair of Americans convicted as spies and jailed in Iran for two years have been released and emotionally reunited with their loved ones.

Iran frees jailed US hiker 'spies' Bauer and Fattal

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, were flown to Oman after being freed on bail from Evin prison. They were sentenced in September to eight years in prison on charges of spying. They were arrested in 2009 after crossing into Iran from Iraq, where they said they were hiking. 'Healthy and strong' "We are so happy we are free and so relieved we are free," Mr Fattal said to reporters soon after their arrival on Wednesday in the Omani capital, Muscat.

Continue reading the main story Analysis Laura TrevelyanBBC News, Washington The release is as carefully choreographed as their colleague Sarah Shourd's a year ago. The question is whether the release of the hikers is designed to defuse tensions between Washington and Tehran. Q&A: Can Iran Send Ships to America’s Maritime Borders? Released American Hikers Say Iranian Guards Used Gitmo, CIA Prisons To Justify Poor Prison Treatment. By Travis Waldron on September 26, 2011 at 12:20 pm "Released American Hikers Say Iranian Guards Used Gitmo, CIA Prisons To Justify Poor Prison Treatment" The Iranian government last week released Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, two Americans who had been held there on false spying allegations since 2009, from prison, and in their first chance to speak to the media, Bauer and Fattal detailed the human rights violations they had experienced at the hands of the Iranian government.

Released American Hikers Say Iranian Guards Used Gitmo, CIA Prisons To Justify Poor Prison Treatment

Among those violations were poor prison conditions and long periods of time spent in isolation, complaints similar to those filed by the lawyers of prisoners at American prisons controlled by the military and Central Intelligence Agency. According to Bauer and Fattal, Iranian prison guards repeatedly used the harsh conditions of Guantanamo Bay and CIA prisons around the world to justify their own human rights violations:

Libya-Iran Foreign Relations. Mossad behind assassinations in Iran' 'Mossad behind assassinations in Iran' Dr.

Mossad behind assassinations in Iran'

Majid Shahriari's car after his assassination by terrorists in Tehran on Monday, November 29, 2010 Reports say the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, has collaborated with American and British intelligence to carry out the assassination of Iranian scientists in Tehran. Mossad conducted the assassinations “with the help of the CIA and MI6,” The Jerusalem Post reported, citing independent French weekly Le Canard enchaine.

Intelligence sources told the influential French weekly that the assassinations were part of Israeli plots aimed at sabotaging Iran's nuclear program. On November 29, unidentified terrorists detonated bombs in the vehicles of Majid Shahriari and Fereydoun Abbasi -- both professors at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. Professor Shahriari was killed immediately, but Dr. Iran has blamed Israel and Western powers for the terrorist attacks. Pourquoi faut-il parler avec l'Iran ? de Robert Baer. Jean-Pierre Perrin - Sans l'assistance de l'Iran, le Hamas comme le Hezbollah ne seraient pas devenus ce qu'ils sont.

Pourquoi faut-il parler avec l'Iran ? de Robert Baer

Les tragiques événements du Proche-Orient confirment ce diagnostic. D'où ma première question : selon vous, Barack Obama modifiera-t-il ce qu'était, sous George W. Bush, la politique iranienne des États-Unis ? Robert Baer - Regardez le discours de Barack Obama devant l'American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) (1) : il a été clairement inspiré, guidé même, par Israël. Aux États-Unis, vous ne pouvez pas parvenir au pouvoir en défendant une politique étrangère indépendante pour le Moyen-Orient, une politique qui ne soit pas filtrée par l'AIPAC.

J. R. J. R. J. R. J. R. J. R. Une chose est certaine : les Iraniens sont plus habiles que les Américains. J. R. Obama a déjà entamé le dialogue avec l’Iran et la Syrie - lesoir.  1324 - Rapport d'information de M. Jean-Marc Roubaud déposé e. Al Jazeera English - Americas - Obama urges Turkey to 'move' Ira. The US president has said that Turkey can play an "important" role in persuading Iran to engage in dialogue over its nuclear programme.

Al Jazeera English - Americas - Obama urges Turkey to 'move' Ira

Barack Obama said on Monday after meeting Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, that he had stressed the importance of resolving Iran's nuclear capacity "in a way that allows Iran to pursue peaceful nuclear energy, but provides assurances that it will abide by international rules and norms". "I believe that Turkey can be an important player in trying to move Iran in that direction," Obama said, referring to international norms and regulations governing atomic energy. Erdogan told Obama that Ankara was prepared to play the role of "mediator", but he has criticised the West for being too quick to censure Iran for its nuclear programme.

The US and the other countries negotiating with Iran are concerned Tehran is secretly using its nuclear programme as a cover to develop atomic weapons, a charge Iran denies. Iran and China. John S.

Iran and China

Park Iran is a linchpin in China’s regional energy security strategy. Iran and Iraq. Michael Eisenstadt The overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime provided Iran with a historic opportunity to transform its traditional Iraqi enemy into a partner or ally.

Iran and Iraq

A long, porous border and extensive political, economic, religious and cultural ties provide Iran the potential for significant influence in Iraq. Iranian attempts to wield this influence, however, have often backfired, leading to a nationalist backlash by Iraqis and tensions with the Iraqi government.As the United States withdraws its forces from Iraq, the uncertain security situation will present both risks and opportunities for Iran.