The Iranian government and parliament yesterday discussed the next steps to be taken following the UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran, the Khabar news network reported.
In a closed-door session, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki briefed deputies on developments following UN resolution 1737, which imposed sanctions on Iran for defying suspension of its uranium enrichment programs.
No details have yet leaked out from the meeting but Khabar quoted Mottaki as saying after the session that the government would follow all relevant parliamentary decisions.
The parliament had proclaimed on Sunday that it would approve a bill obliging the government to revise, reduce or even end cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Mohammad Saeidi, the deputy of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, however, told Khabar on Monday that all nuclear programs would stay under IAEA supervision.
the oil card
Iran has repeated threats that it was ready to use its massive oil exports as a weapon to defend itself if it felt necessary in an international dispute over its atomic program, the Fars news agency said yesterday.
"If necessary, Iran will use any weapon to defend itself," Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh said.
The Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to impose sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and technology, in an attempt to stop uranium enrichment work that could produce material to be used in bombs.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that those who backed the UN resolution -- drawn up by Britain, France and Germany but supported unanimously by the Security Council -- would soon regret their "superficial act."
Vaziri-Hamaneh urged European countries to prevent "inappropriate" decisions if they wanted Iranian oil to flow.
Vaziri-Hamaneh has repeatedly said the world's fourth biggest crude producer would prefer not to play the oil card.
oil crisis
Meanwhile, a US researcher said in a report made public on Monday that Iran's nuclear ambitions are motivated not just by a desire for regional supremacy but by a potentially devastating crisis in its oil industry.
Iran's image is of a muscular oil producer with plentiful reserves, but in fact it could soon face its own energy crunch owing to failing infrastructure and lack of investments, Roger Stern of Johns Hopkins University said.
Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the professor of geography and environmental engineering said Iran's oil problems have the potential to topple the clerical regime.
Stern said there was no reason to doubt US-led accusations that Iran's drive to develop nuclear energy has more sinister ends in mind -- to entrench the regime in power and fend off US military hegemony in the Gulf.
"But it cannot be inferred from this that all Irani[an] claims must be false," he added.
"The regime's dependence on export revenue suggests that it could need nuclear power as badly as it claims," Stern wrote.
Many of Iran's oil deficiencies are of its own making, he said, noting that generous domestic subsidies for gasoline have meant that Iran's national oil company is unable to make money at home and therefore needs to export as much as it can.
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
RSS