Headlines: Ahmadinejad Says Iran Ready for Nuclear Talks

Ahmadinejad says Iran ready for nuclear talks: report

AP | Aug 20, 2010

Iran is ready for immediate talks with world powers over a nuclear fuel swap deal, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview published in Japan on Friday.

Iran is "ready to resume in late August or in early September" talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany over an exchange of enriched uranium, Ahmadinejad told the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Ahmadinejad hinted Iran could stop its controversial programme of uranium enrichment if a deal were struck to ensure the supply of nuclear fuel to Tehran.

"We promise to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent if fuel supply is ensured," he said in the exclusive interview in Tehran, published in Japanese.

Iran test fires surface-to-surface missile

AFP | photos | Aug 20, 2010

Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced on Friday that Iran has test fired a surface-to-surface missile, Qiam, a day before it is due to launch its Russian-built first nuclear power plant.

State television showed images of the sand coloured Qiam (Rising) blasting into the air from a desert terrain, amid chants of "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest).

The words "Ya Mahdi" were written on the side of the missile, referring to Imam Mahdi, one of the 12 imams of Shiite Islam, who disappeared as a boy and whom the faithful believe will return one day to bring redemption to mankind.

Vahidi (pictured above), whose speech during Friday prayers in Tehran was broadcast on television, did not say when the launch took place nor did he reveal the precise range of the missile.

US Navy rescues Iranian fishermen, returns to Iran

Reuters | Aug 20, 2010

A ship with the U.S. Navy's Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group rescued eight Iranian fishermen from a burning ship in the Arabian Sea, gave them food, water and fresh clothing and delivered them to an Iranian naval vessel two days later, the Navy reported on Friday.

The burning fishing boat was sighted on Wednesday and two SH-60 helicopters from the group's Antisubmarine Squadron were dispatched to pick up the mariners, who had abandoned the burning boat by life raft.

The Iranians were transported by helicopter to the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, where they were examined by doctors who determined they were in good condition with no significant injuries. They were assigned temporary sleeping quarters aboard the ship while Iranian authorities arranged to pick them up.

Newspaper says actors, singers, poets and writers banned from television over support for opposition

LAT | Aug 20, 2010

The moderate daily newspaper Mardom Salari printed a list of singers, poets, actors and other celebrities it claims have been banned from appearing on television for supporting the political opposition known as the "green movement."

In the past, cultural authorities have denied the existence of such a list, but the report includes the names of many high-profile figures.

Among them are Parviz Parastoui, a well-known cinema and theater actor who openly sided with former presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi during their runs against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. Ahmadinejad's victory sparked widespread demonstrations across Iran that have continued intermittently since.

Iran's Bushehr plant 'not a proliferation risk'

AFP | Aug 20, 2010

Iran's first nuclear plant, scheduled to go online this weekend, is not a major proliferation risk, despite international concerns about the nature of Tehran's atomic programme, experts said Friday.

The Russian-built plant in the southern port city of Bushehr is set to be launched on Saturday, following more than three decades of delay. But it will be months yet before it actually starts generating electricity.

Cleric Underlines Unity among Iranian Officials

Fars | Aug 20, 2010

Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers Leader Hojjatoleslam Kazzem Sediqi underscored the necessity for unity among Iranian authorities.

Addressing a large and fervent congregation of people at Tehran University, Hojjatoleslam Sediqi called on Iranian officials and policy makers to close their ranks and get united.

Head of Russia's Atomic Agency Due in Iran Today

Fars | Aug 20, 2010

The head of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) Sergei Kiriyenko is scheduled to arrive in Iran on Friday to visit the country's first nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

Russian news agencies on Thursday quoted Kiriyenko as calling the construction of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant a "big international project."

Kiriyenko will join the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi to open the facility on Saturday.

Inspectors from the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency will oversee fuel transportation to the reactor, Kiriyenko said in a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The launch "coincides with Russia's position that any country in the world has the right to nuclear energy for peaceful use," he said.

311,000 tons non-oil exports through Shalamcheh to Iraq

Mehr | Aug 20, 2010

311,000 tons of non-oil products have been exported to Iraq through Shalamcheh border point in the first four months of the Iranian calendar year (starting March 21).

The supervisor of the Customs Administration Office of the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan said the value of the products is $165 million.

U.S. officials discussed Iran sanctions with Turkey

Reuters | Aug 20, 2010

U.S. officials have held talks with Turkey over U.S. sanctions on Iran, U.S. and Turkish officials said, a possible sign that Washington may be growing impatient with Ankara's trade with Iran despite sanctions.

The meeting this week, which included talks between U.S. State and Treasury officials and the Turkish government, came as Turkey said it would support Turkish companies making sales to Tehran despite unilateral U.S. sanctions that restrict trade.

"They were here to discuss and explain U.N. sanctions and also the new U.S. sanctions package signed into legislation by President Obama on July 1," a U.S. embassy official in Ankara told Reuters.

announcements

Sen. McCain regarding the case of Iranian human rights advocate Shiva Nazar Ahari | Aug 20, 2010

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today made the following statement regarding the case of Iranian human rights advocate Shiva Nazar Ahari:

"Now is the time for the United States to position ourselves squarely on the right side of Iranian history -- on the side of courageous Iranian reformers like Shiva Nazar Ahari.

"Shiva was first arrested on September 11, 2001, at the age of 17, for the heinous act of participating in a candlelight vigil for the victims of that day of terror. After her release, she continued her human rights activism, until she was detained again in the wake of last year's election. Shiva now faces the baseless charge of supporting terrorism -- a charge that carries the penalty of death.

"Today is Shiva's birthday. She is only 26. But she is spending this day, like so many before it, unjustly detained in Iran's most notorious prison -- locked in a cage so small, last we heard, that she cannot fully move her arms and legs.

"Shiva Nazar Ahari represents the future of Iran, and all that could be best about it -- its decency, its peacefulness, its commitment to dignity and justice for all. Shiva, and all of Iran's prisoners of conscience, must know that they are not alone in their struggle for democracy, and their desire to change their government. America stands with them, as we do with all who seek a better future for Iran."