Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (file photo) 24 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 23 May instructed the Guardians Council to reconsider the applications of two would-be presidential candidates, including a former education minister who is regarded by many as the reformists' best hope for winning the presidency, Radio Farda and Iranian news agencies reported.
Iran's Guardians Council, a conservative election watchdog, yesterday cleared just six of more than 1,000 hopefuls to stand in the first round of the country's presidential election on 17 June. The reformists’ main candidate, former Higher Education Minister Mostafa Moin, is among those disqualified. The reformists have called the disqualification of their leading candidate an illegal and unfair decision and said they will boycott the elections if the Guardians Council does not reverse its position.
Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility A conference aimed at reinforcing nuclear nonproliferation safeguards enters its final week with few results and deepening concern about its effectiveness. Delegates at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference took nearly three weeks to begin debate on substantive issues. There are few signs that the 188 signatories will reach consensus on key issues such as a reaffirmation of disarmament pledges and controls over nuclear fuel technology.
EU foreign ministers today adopted a declaration condemning the mass killing of demonstrators in Uzbekistan and criticising the government of the country for not allowing an independent international inquiry to take place. A draft of the declaration, which was leaked on 20 May was rewritten to reflect deepening concerns among EU ministers. However, officials continue ruling out cuts in aid or the suspension of political ties.
Expediency Council Chairman Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who served as president from 1989-97, is considered a front-runner among those reportedly approved 23 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Iran's Guardians Council, which vets candidates for elected office in the country, announced yesterday that it has approved six men from a list of more than 1,000 applicants to compete in the mid-June presidential election, Radio Farda and Iranian state television reported.
Large-scale electoral violence is not a defining trait of Iranian elections, but violent incidents do occur, and they have chiefly targeted reformers. The culprits are usually rowdy men who disrupt electoral gatherings. Sometimes they beat attendees -- and the speaker, if they are sufficiently determined -- in incidents that spread fear and cause injuries rather than deaths. And, despite threats from officials to take action, the perpetrators often go unpunished, strengthening an impression that the political thugs enjoy discreet support from elements within the political establishment.
Two children were killed last night when this Shi'ite mosque was bombed Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist leader Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi might well have been pleased with the turn of events this week in Iraq. While his insurgency cannot take sole credit for the escalation of tension between Sunnis and Shi'a, his 18 May statement justifying the killing of innocent Muslims and labeling Iraq's Shi'a as collaborators who have betrayed the Muslim cause has added momentum to a rift that appears to be reaching crisis proportions. Meanwhile, attempts by the transitional Shi'ite-led government to respond appear to have been drowned out by political accusations on both sides.
Foreign Minister Kharrazi As Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi arrived in Baghdad on 17 May to stress Iran's support for a stable, unified Iraq, Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam television station was broadcasting footage showing desecrated Korans strewn across a mosque floor in Iraq.
Foreign Minister Kharrazi Iraq has hailed Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi's visit to Baghdad as a new start in mutual relations. Kharrazi's trip yesterday was the highest-level visit by an official from any of Iraq's six neighboring countries since Saddam Hussein's ouster two years ago. Both nations have expressed readiness to improve ties.
Washington, 18 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Iranian judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimi-Rad said in Tehran yesterday that the dossier of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who was killed in state custody in Tehran in June 2003, remains open and would be reexamined on 25 July, Radio Farda reported.
Washington, 16 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- A reported 1,010 people registered to run in the 17 June presidential election in five days of registration that ended on 14 May, Radio Farda reported on 15 May, seemingly to the dismay of a member of the Guardians Council, which must verify the eligibility of those hopefuls.
John Bolton (file photo) A sharply divided U.S. Senate panel has voted to advance to the full Senate the nomination of John Bolton as UN ambassador. The move amounted to a mixed endorsement for the man the U.S. administration is hoping will lead a crucial reform effort at the United Nations. Democrats and some Republicans have raised concerns over Bolton's management abilities and whether he tried to influence intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction.
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