IRAN GROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Iran Takes Up Visa Denial Row With US at UN [May 23]
“Iran has accused the United States of abusing its position as the host of the United Nations by denying a visa to the Islamic Republic’s deputy foreign minister, according to a letter released on Friday. Iran’s letter to the UN Committee on Relations with the Host Country said deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Mohammad Mahdi Akhondzadeh Basti was repeatedly denied a visa by US authorities. In the letter, Iran’s UN ambassador Mohammad Khazaee said Washington’s refusal to issue an entry visa to Tehran’s top official overseeing its relations with the United Nations kept him from attending events like the review conference held from May 3 to 28 on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, where Iran’s atomic programme is a key topic of discussion..” [Complete Report]
Iran speaker: Will Ditch Fuel Plan if New Sanctions [May 23]
“Iran will abandon an atomic fuel swap plan brokered by Turkey and Brazil if the United States imposes new sanctions on the Islamic state, Iran’s parliament speaker said on Sunday. In remarks broadcast on state-owned IRIB, Ali Larijani said Tehran could also review its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “If the Americans want to seek adventure, whether in the U.N Security Council or in (the U.S.) Congress, all the efforts of Turkey and Brazil will be in vain and this path will be abandoned,” said Larijani, an influential conservative. “In this situation parliament will make a different decision over Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA.” Parliament has the power to oblige the government to change its cooperation with the IAEA, as it did in 2006 after the Vienna-based agency voted to report Iran to the Security Council..” [Complete Report]
As Tensions Rise, Israel Launches Air Raid Drill [May 23]
“Israel launched its biggest air raid exercise Sunday to test its preparedness against possible missile strikes from Iranian-sponsored militant groups as international tensions rose over Tehran’s nuclear program. Israel has called for strong economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear plans but, in a hint of possible military action, has said all options were on the table should diplomacy fail to resolve the dispute. Israeli officials said the exercise, which will include sounding air raid sirens Wednesday, would focus on municipal authorities’ responses to a scenario in which missiles were launched from the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas Islamists, and by Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Both are allies of Iran. In public remarks at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Israel’s biggest civil defense exercise as a routine, protective move and said the government sought only “quiet, stability and peace.”..” [Complete Report]
Iran Aims to Become Gasoline Exporter – official [May 23]
“Iran seeks to become self-sufficient in gasoline in two years’ time and then to start exporting the fuel, an official said on Sunday, as some traders and international oil firms cease sales to the Islamic state. The world’s fifth-largest crude exporter imports at least 30 percent of its gasoline needs but says the construction of new refineries will boost domestic output and make it less vulnerable to any future sanctions targeting such trade. “By building new refineries we will become a gasoline exporter,” ISNA news agency quoted Ali Reza Zeighami, managing director of the National Iranian Refining and Oil Products Distribution Company, as saying. “The plan is to become self-sufficient in two years’ time … by implementing the scheme to increase gasoline production in refineries,” Zeighami said..” [Complete Report]
