Iran

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Iran Might Have Faked Its Monkey Launch

British newspapers examine photos, smell a rat

(Newser) - Iran announced with great fanfare this week that it launched a monkey into space and brought him home safely. Hold the trumpets, though: British newspapers the Times , the Telegraph , and the Independent now say, or at least strongly suggest, that Iran is lying. Why? In part because the monkey celebrated...

Syria, Iran Threaten Israel in Wake of Strike

Russia expresses concern

(Newser) - Syria today threatened to retaliate for an Israeli airstrike , and its ally Iran chimed in, too, saying there will be repercussions for the Jewish state over the attack. Syria's ambassador to Lebanon said Damascus "has the option and the capacity to surprise in retaliation." He said he...

Iran's Nuke Centrifuges Getting Massive Upgrade

New generation plants to process uranium 5 times faster

(Newser) - Iran insists its uranium enrichment program is just for peaceful purposes—and now it is poised to start making a lot more of it. Tehran plans on mounting as many as 3,132 new-generation, IR-2m centrifuges; the machines are capable of enriching uranium five times faster than its current equipment,...

Iran Denies Explosion at Bunker Nuke Plant

But Israel welcomes it if no one was hurt

(Newser) - Iran today denied reports that an explosion had ripped through its Fordow nuclear site, which is buried 300 feet underground and considered safe from air strikes, the Telegraph and Reuters report. "The false news of an explosion at Fordow is Western propaganda ahead of nuclear negotiations to influence their...

Iran: We Launched a Monkey Into Space

News may fuel US rocket concerns

(Newser) - Somewhere Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might be trying on his spacesuit, because Iran is inching closer to sending a person into space—and perhaps to developing long-range missiles, if US concerns prove accurate. Iranian state TV today said that the country launched a monkey into space and it came home safe and...

Iran Rolls Out 'Finger-Chopping Machine'

New device an attempt to quell protest: activist

(Newser) - After publicly hanging two muggers , Iran has released photos of an apparent finger-chopping machine used for punishing criminals. The four images show a convicted robber and adulterer losing a finger before he is sentenced to 99 lashes and three years in prison, according to state media. But he shows no...

Iran Executes Muggers Who Took Man's Coat

Video of crime was posted to YouTube

(Newser) - After pledging to get tough on growing street crime, Iran has publicly hanged two muggers who took a man's coat, bag, and cash in November, in a crime that was videotaped and posted to YouTube. The convicts were hanged by crane, whose operators lifted the men from the ground...

Iran on Restarting Nuke Probe: No

IAEA negotiators had hoped to make progress before six-nations talks

(Newser) - The International Atomic Energy Agency's latest round of negotiations with Iran ended today without any real progress made toward restarting investigations into Iran's nuclear program, reports the AP . The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany head to Tehran later this month for direct talks, and those...

Iran May Have Enough Uranium for Nuke in 2014

Plus: Sanctions cause drug shortages

(Newser) - By the middle of next year, Iran may have stockpiled enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon, US experts say, calling for heightened sanctions on the country. In a new report, five nonproliferation experts argue that it's time for President Obama to make it "crystal clear" that...

How Iran Is Working Around Sanctions

Sticks to couriers, trading firms in other countries: US Treasury

(Newser) - Iran is managing to sneak around heavy economic sanctions using other countries' private trading houses, fake identities, and something called hawala, the US Treasury tells reporters. The sanctions have left the country "almost without recourse through ordinary banking channels," says a spokesman. So Iranian officials are in some...

US Positive Iran Is Behind Wave of Banking Hacks

Cyberattacks have caused online slowdowns at several sites

(Newser) - Just about every big American bank has been hit by cyberattacks in recent months, and while one obscure overseas group has claimed responsibility, US officials think the real culprit is Iran, reports the New York Times . The attacks are too sophisticated to be the work of amateurs and smack of...

Syrian Rebels Free 48 Iranians in Prisoner Swap

In exchange, regime releases more than 2,000

(Newser) - Syrian rebels freed 48 Iranians held captive since August, Iranian state TV reported today, part of what appeared to be the first major prisoner swap of the civil war. The deal—reportedly coordinated by a Turkish Islamic aid group—will also involve the release of more than 2,000 held...

New Photos of Kidnapped American Released

US officials believe Iran knows where he is

(Newser) - The family of kidnapped former FBI agent Robert Levinson has released chilling photographs received in early 2011. The photos show Levinson, who disappeared in Iran while working as a private investigator in 2007, clad in an orange jumpsuit and holding signs with captions including, "I am here in Guantanamo....

Tehran Pollution So Bad That Going Out Is 'Suicide'

City shuts down for days until winds pick up

(Newser) - When the potent mix of cold weather and windless days hits Tehran, so does pollution so thick that it shuts down buildings and stings the eyes and throat, prompting calls to stay indoors. Schools, banks, and government buildings were closed for five days last week in an effort to cut...

Iran: OK, We&#39;ll Talk Nukes Again
 Iran: OK, We'll Talk Nukes Again
Jan 4, 2013 8:49 AM CST

Iran: OK, We'll Talk Nukes Again

No date, details set, but Saeed Jalili says talks should continue this month

(Newser) - The latest Iran/six-nation talks over the country's nuclear program failed in June , leading to tough sanctions. But Iran is now ready to resume talks once more, says Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, reports the AP . No date was suggested in today's announcement, but talks should occur...

Syria Using Advanced Iranian Missiles: US

Meanwhile, two Syrian air force generals defect, Russia may meet opposition

(Newser) - The Syrian military has fired two missiles in the past week that US officials believe are a newer, more-accurate model from Iran. These Fateh A-110 missiles have less range than the Scud variants the regime has been relying on, with a maximum distance of 125 miles versus 185. But they...

Iran Says It Thwarted Latest Stuxnet Attack

Claims cyberattack targeted power plant in country's south

(Newser) - The dangerous Stuxnet worm has attacked Iran again, this time hitting a power plant and other facilities in the country's south—but after being rocked by the powerful computer virus for more than a year beginning in June 2009 , Iran says it has rebuffed the latest attack, reports the...

Family: Tehran Imprisoned US-Iranian Pastor

Saeed Abedini has not been notified of formal charges

(Newser) - The Rev. Saeed Abedini was born in Iran but is now a US citizen—and on his most recent visit to family still in Iran, he was imprisoned without being notified of any formal charges, reports Fox News . The 32-year-old has been prevented from returning home to his wife and...

Iran Now Claims It Pulled Spy Data From Drone

Airs footage of drone, but US still denies it was captured

(Newser) - Fresh claims from Iran, and more denial from the US: Iran today announced it has "fully extracted" data from the drone it reports having captured , and says that data proves the drone was spying on Iranian military and petroleum terminals where the country transfers its oil, Reuters reports. In...

Iran: We Captured US Drone US: No, You Didn't

US says all ScanEagles 'fully accounted for' after Iranian report

(Newser) - Iranian state TV is claiming that the country's Revolutionary Guard captured a US drone after it entered Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf—a report the US moved quickly to squash, reports the AP , with a Navy spokesman saying that all US drones are "fully accounted for."...

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