Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Iran

Iran Blocks UN Inspectors

Manuchehr Mottaki (file photo) (epa)

January 22, 2007 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki has confirmed reports that 38 UN nuclear inspectors have been prohibited from entering the country.

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January 22, 2007

The Iranian Students' News Agency earlier quoted Aleaddin Borujerdi, the head of the parliament's National Security Committee, as saying the decision has been officially announced to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, which carries out routine checks of Iran's nuclear facilities.

After the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program in December, parliament voted to "revise its cooperation" with the IAEA.

EU Urges Iran Sanctions Compliance

Also today, the European Union has called on all countries to enforce limited UN sanctions against Iran. The Security Council approved the sanctions on December 23 in an effort to force Tehran back to the negotiating table to discuss its nuclear program.

In a declaration today, EU foreign ministers said the sanctions are targeted against the "most sensitive parts" of the Iranian nuclear and missile programs.

(AFP, Reuters, AP)

The Proliferation Threat

The Arak heavy-water plant in central Iran (Fars)

BENDING THE RULES. Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, told an RFE/RL-Radio Free Asia briefing on January 9 that the West is hamstrung in dealing with Iran and North Korea because of the way it has interpreted the international nonproliferation regime to benefit friendly countries like India and Japan.

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Iran, North Korea Present Proliferation Challenges

Tehran Watches As North Korea Tests Global Resolve

Rogue Nuclear Programs Threaten New Arms Race

Why Shouldn't Pyongyang Join Nuclear Club?

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (center) looks on as scientists unveil a fuel rod at the Tehran Research Reactor.

Iranian Nuke Still One-To-Three Years Away, Says Expert

Iran on announced on February 15 that it has installed its first domestically produced nuclear fuel rods in a reactor in Tehran. Tehran also announced that it activated a new generation of centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility. RFE/RL spoke with nuclear physicist Frank Barnaby about what the advances reveal regarding Iran's uranium enrichment abilities, which Western countries allege are aimed at secretly building a nuclear weapon. More

Iran has stepped up its pressure on activists using the Internet

Iranian Activists, Journalists Receive Threatening E-mails

A number of Iranian activists and journalists based inside and outside the country have told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda they have been threatened in anonymous e-mails. More

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More