Iran

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D'oh! Iran Bans Homer Simpson Doll

Like Barbie, Homer's on the outs in Tehran

(Newser) - Maybe the Supreme Leader doesn't giggle at lines like "Homer no function beer well without" and "I felt a surge of power … like God must feel when he’s holding a gun." But whatever the reason, Iranian officials have placed the Homer Simpson doll alongside...

Obama Orders Sanctions Against Iran's Central Bank

Tougher measures were included under NDAA

(Newser) - President Obama issued an executive order today imposing tough new sanctions on Iran's Central Bank. The order freezes "all property and interests in property of the Government of Iran," and of "any Iranian financial institution." The sanctions were included in the controversial defense bill Obama...

Obama: Israel Not Sure About Bombing Iran

President urges diplomatic solution to nuclear crisis

(Newser) - President Barack Obama said today he does not think Israel has decided whether to attack Iran over its disputed nuclear program, a standoff that has the Middle East on edge. The president sought to assure allies and foes alike that the United States was working in lockstep with Israel to...

Iran Again Flexes Naval Muscles

Ayatollah Khamenei promises war would hurt US interests more

(Newser) - Just a month after the Iranian navy held war games in the Persian Gulf , the more powerful Revolutionary Guard is holding naval maneuvers, too, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, reports the AP . The Guard is directly controlled by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who yesterday pledged to help any...

Israel Warns Jewish Targets Around World of Iran Threat

Sabre-rattling means extra precautions even at schools and synagogues

(Newser) - Israel is warning its facilities in the US and around the world, as well as Jewish targets in general such as synagogues and schools, that they could be in danger from Iran, reports ABC News . "We predict that the threat on our sites around the world will increase …...

US Fears Israel Will Hit Iran Without Warning

Ehud Barak warns, 'Later will be too late'

(Newser) - The Obama administration is worried that Israel is on the verge of launching a military strike against Iran—and that Israel plans to give the US little to no warning or say in the matter, sources tell the Washington Post . Ehud Barak certainly reinforced that idea yesterday. "Whoever says...

US: Iran May Be Cozying Up to al-Qaeda

Country may have offered detained militants freedom

(Newser) - Iran appears to have eased restrictions on senior al-Qaeda militants who have been under house arrest, offering to let them leave the country, US officials say. The approximately five men were detained nine years ago, and are members of al-Qaeda's management council—one is a former adviser to Osama...

Israel Will Attack Iran Soon? No Comment, Says Panetta

He doesn't dispute columnist's account

(Newser) - In his Washington Post column today, David Ignatius stated flatly that defense chief Leon Panetta thinks it's a "strong likelihood" that Israel will bomb Iran in either April, May, or June. The columnist didn't explain how he learned this, and reporters asked Panetta this afternoon whether he...

Iran Willing to Attack US: Report
 Iran Willing to Attack US: Report 

Iran Willing to Attack US: Report

Director of National Intelligence thinks Iran is 'plotting against US interests'

(Newser) - Iran no longer appears to have any reservations about launching attacks on US soil, National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in Senate testimony today. The new assessment is based in part on Iran's alleged attempt to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the US. The incident "shows that some...

Iran: Hey, Wanna See Oil Hit $150 a Barrel?

Tehran says EU's embargo will spike global prices

(Newser) - Iran is getting ready to vote today on banning oil sales to the EU —you know, before the EU can enact an embargo on aforementioned oil —and Tehran is engaging in some typical sabre-rattling, with the head of Iran's state oil company predicting global crude prices will...

UN Nuke Team Presses Iran; Oil Embargo Vote Tomorrow

Prove You're Not Making Nuclear Weapons: Inspectors

(Newser) - A UN nuclear inspection team is headed to Tehran today with a blunt message: You've been stonewalling for too long. "We're looking forward to the start of a dialogue," said atomic energy chief Herman Nackaerts. "A dialogue that is overdue since very long." The...

For Iran, Pentagon Wants a Bigger Bomb

Current 'bunker busters' don't go deep enough

(Newser) - The US military's largest conventional bomb is the 30,000-pound "bunker buster," or Massive Ordinance Penetrator, designed to take out fortified nuclear facilities in Iran or North Korea. Now, the Pentagon has decided it's not big enough, and is asking for $82 million to make the...

Ahmadinejad: Iran Ready for Nuke Talks

Decision comes amid increasing sanctions

(Newser) - A breakthrough in Iran? President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that his country is ready for nuclear talks. The announcement comes amid increasing sanctions against Tehran, but Ahmadinejad says Iran won't be forced to give in to Western demands despite the sanctions. Iran had previously indicated a willingness to engage...

War of Words Escalates Over Iran Sanctions

Lawmakers again threaten to close Strait of Hormuz

(Newser) - Senior Iranian lawmakers stepped up threats today that Islamic Republic warships could block the Persian Gulf's oil tanker traffic after the latest blow by Western leaders seeking to rein in Tehran's nuclear program: A punishing oil embargo by the European Union that sharply raises the economic stakes for...

EU Rolls Out Embargo on Iran Oil

May also freeze central bank's assets

(Newser) - The European Union today rolled out its embargo of Iranian oil, adopting the measure as what Britain's foreign secretary called "an unprecedented set of sanctions" designed to crack down on the country's nascent nuclear program. Existing contracts for crude oil and petroleum will be honored until July,...

Bush's CIA Chief: We Ruled Out Iran Strike

Michael Hayden says it would have backfired then, and would now, too

(Newser) - George W. Bush's administration pondered an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and ultimately rejected it, says former CIA and NSA chief Gen. Michael Hayden. He and others concluded that an attack on Iran's nuke factories "would guarantee that which we are trying to prevent—an Iran...

Iran Helping Syria Skirt Sanctions

And Russia is shipping in weapons

(Newser) - Iran is quietly helping Syria evade US and European Union sanctions by selling its oil on the international market, US officials have discovered. Transit records show that one shipment last month saw more than 91000 metric tons of crude sent to Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports. An Iranian spokesman...

Israel: Decision on Iran Attack 'Very Far Off'

Meanwhile, Russia says it won't support sanctions

(Newser) - Iran got some good news today, as Israel moved to defuse tensions and Russia indicated it likely would not support more sanctions against the rogue nation. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said a decision on whether to attack Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons was "very far...

Roger Cohen to Israel: Stay Out of Iran
 Hey Israel: 
 Stay Out 
 of Iran 
OPINION

Hey Israel: Stay Out of Iran

Roger Cohen offers plenty of reasons why

(Newser) - Israel is considering bombing Iran within months, against the White House's wishes—a decision that would be utterly disastrous on multiple fronts, writes Roger Cohen in the New York Times . Benjamin Netanyahu sees a number of reasons to do so sooner rather than later: First, Israel is concerned that...

Iran Bans Barbie, Offers US a Toy Model of Downed Spy Drone
Sorry, Kids: Iran Bans Barbie 

Sorry, Kids: Iran Bans Barbie

But luckily, a replica of the downed US stealth drone will be on sale soon!

(Newser) - As the US tries to crack down on Iran , Iran is doing some cracking down of its own—on that oh-so-American symbol, the Barbie doll. The country's morality police have begun enforcing a Barbie ban issued in 1996. (Authorities blasted the doll's "destructive cultural and social consequences"...

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