Headlines: The Seige on Karroubi's House

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EA | Sept 2

Fatemeh Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's wife, tells BBC Persian that tonight's attack is "different" and that the crowd is trying to kill her husband.

Saham News reports that one of Mehdi Karroubi's bodyguards, "Mr Yari", has been taken to hospital and is in a coma.

The website says that water pipes around Karroubi's complex are destroyed, and electricity has been cut. Security forces have abandoned the scene.

Iran hardliners attack opposition leader's home: website

AFP | Sept 2

Hardline "thugs" surrounded the home of opposition Iranian leader Mehdi Karroubi, pelting the building with rocks to prevent the cleric from attending a rally, his website said.

In the latest such incident, members of the Islamist Basij militia "violently attacked" the building where the opposition cleric lives, the sahamnews.org website said.

The militia, "in a coordinated and pre-planned action, gathered in front of the building which houses Mehdi Karroubi," the website said.

"The Basij thugs... with the support of police... disrupted public order and peace. They threw stones, sprayed the building with paint and stole security cameras of the building" in northern Tehran, the report said.

Preparations for Qods Day

Tehran Bureau correspondent: Yahoo! & Gmail reportedly down in Tehran; Iran's internet filter is dropping SSL (encrypted) connections (on ANY port) that transfer a significant amount of data (anything above interactive terminal usage).

EA: Video of today's "Control in Tehran" operation, taken "discreetly" by observers, has emerged. Plans are under way for Qods Day.

Egypt halts Iran FM visit over peace talks comments

AFP | Sept 2

Egypt said Thursday it has postponed a visit to Cairo by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki over comments criticising the role of some Arab leaders in facilitating Middle East peace talks.

The head of the Iranian interests section in Cairo was summoned to explain comments attributed to Mottaki in which he criticised "the participation of certain Arab leaders in the relaunch of direct peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis in Washington," the foreign ministry said.

The ministry informed the Iranian diplomat that "due to this development" the meeting in Cairo on Monday of the Non-Aligned Movement "troika" -- Iran, Egypt and Cuba -- has been postponed, the ministry said.

It was not immediately clear to which remarks of the Iranian foreign minister the Egyptian ministry was referring to.

Ahmadinejad dismisses Mideast peace talks

AFP | Sept 1

Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed on Wednesday the holding of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, saying the negotiations will fail to resolve conflict in the Middle East.

"Tens of negotiations have been held in more than 30 years and tens of plans have been proposed, but they have all failed," Ahmadinejad told Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam Television in an interview.

His remarks came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas prepared to re-launch direct peace talks in Washington on Thursday after a 20-month suspension.

Is that the Holocaust Ahmadinejad's Foreign Minister is referring to?

DER SPIEGEL | Sept 2

In a SPIEGEL interview, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, 57, discusses the stoning of adulterers, the consequences of Western sanctions against Iran and the risk of a military strike against his country.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Foreign Minister, you are the senior diplomat of the Islamic Republic of Iran. You represent a nation that prides itself on a cultural history stretching back more than 2,500 years. Don't you find it shameful that people are stoned to death in your country?

Manouchehr Mottaki: You come from a country that murdered millions of people during a tyrannical war, and you want to talk to me about human rights?

Lawyer's family reunited in Norway

EA | Sept 2

Human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, forced to leave Iran this summer because of threat of arrest, has been re-united with his wife and daughter in Norway.

Iran's Ahmadinejad to visit Qatar

AP | Sept 2

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to make a brief visit on Sunday to Qatar, Iran's closest ally among the Gulf Arab states, the Iranian ambassador in Doha, Abdollah Sohrabi, said.

Ahmadinejad will hold talks with Qatari emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, on issues including the Palestinian question and the devastating floods in Pakistan, Sohrabi told reporters on Thursday.

'Bahrain proud of Iran's progress'

Press TV | Sept 2

Bahrain's Oil and Gas Affairs Minister Abdul-Hussain Bin Ali Mirza, in a meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has lauded the Islamic Republic's progress.

The Bahraini minister, during the meeting of Thursday, said relations between Tehran and Manama have flourished during past years and that Bahrain is proud of Iran's progress.

No travel to 'terrorist' countries for Florida state universities: court

CSM | Sept 1

Florida-based international scholars are reacting with disappointment to a federal appeals court ruling that reinstates a ban on state university funding for travel to "terrorist" countries, including Cuba.

The state law defines "terrorist state" as any country designated by the US State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism. Four countries are currently on the list: Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria.

Iran cleric slams Wahabi terrorists

Press TV | Sept 1

Senior Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi has lambasted terrorist activities committed by Wahabis, saying terrorism has no place in Islam.

"The extremist Wahabis... have spread terrorism under the name of Islam," Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi said on Tuesday, Fars News Agency reported.

"By attempting to brand themselves [as Muslims] the Wahabis have damaged the image of Islam worldwide," he said.

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