Irans presidential election registration wraps up

SINA - Wednesday 22nd May, 2013

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhuanet) -- The five-day candidate registration period of Iran's June 14th presidential election has wrapped up. Over 680 candidates, including Iran's former President Akbar Hashemi-Raf-san-jani, close aide to the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Es-fan-diar Rahim Masha-ei and Iran's top nuclear negotiator and the secretary of the country's Supreme ...

Iran bars Rafsanjani from standing for president

General Sources - Wednesday 22nd May, 2013

Iran said Tuesday the moderate ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was among those barred from standing in next month's presidential election, provoking a sharp reaction from Washington. Rafsanjani and a controversial aide of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been ruled unsuitable, the interior ministry said Tuesday. The Guardians Council, a conservative-dominated vetting body, omitted ...

UPDATE 1-S.Koreas Iran crude imports for April down 44.4 pct yy

Reuters - Wednesday 22nd May, 2013

Wed May 22, 2013 1:41am EDT * Crude imports from Iran in April at 4.18 mln bbls -data * Iranian imports for month below expectations * Total April crude imports at 69.12 mln bbls, down 5.6 pct y/y * Dec 2012-April 2013 Iran crude imports at 157,596 bpd (Adds details) By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL, May 22 (Reuters) - South Korea's imports of Iranian crude in April fell nearly 45 percent from a year ...

Iran Hezbollah role in Syria complicates peace strategy

Ya Libnan - Wednesday 22nd May, 2013

As evidence grows of increased Iranian support for the Syrian government, the Obama administration's strategy to bring the bitter fighting there to a close faces more challenges than ever. With White House support, Secretary of State John Kerry has pushed for an international conference in Geneva in June that would bring representatives of the Syria government together with the ...

Ten more arrested in Iranian espionage case

General Sources - Wednesday 22nd May, 2013

An official spokesman from the Saudi government has confirmed the arrest of 10 people involved in an Iranian espionage cell who were allegedly associated with the same spy network that was dismantled in March of this year by Saudi security officials. A security spokesman confirmed that the latest cell had eight Saudis, one Lebanese and one Turkish national. "Initial investigations carried ...

Iranian presidential candidates announced Rafsanjani disqualified

General Sources - Wednesday 22nd May, 2013

TEHRAN - The final list of candidates approved to run in Iran’s June 14 presidential election was announced Tuesday, generating surprise and tension with the omission of a former president considered one of the founding members of the Islamic ...

Iranian man extradited to U.S. tried to buy plane parts reports

SINA - Wednesday 22nd May, 2013

The Iranian man extradited by Cyprus to the United States on suspicion of violating U.N. sanctions on Iran had tried to purchase F4 and F5 plane parts in the United States and send them illegally to Iran, according to reports in two Cypriot newspapers on Saturday. The extradition of the man has caused diplomatic tension, with Iran recalling its ambassador in Nicosia for consultations and the ...

Iran Unveils New Weapons and Combat Equipment

Prensa Latina - Wednesday 22nd May, 2013

Tehran, 22 May (PL) The Iranian Defense Ministry announced the presentation today of what he described as "five new successes in defense" at the ceremony on the anniversary of the liberation of the province of Khorramshahr from Iraqi occupation. The new products include personal weapons and personal combat equipment and will be exhibited to the public at a ceremony to be attended by ...

Iran Unveils List of Eight Presidential Candidates - Report

RIA Novosti - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

MOSCOW, May 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Iranian Interior Ministry published on Tuesday a list of eight candidates permitted to run in June 14 presidential election, FARS news agency reported. The candidates were selected by the Guardian Council, the group that supervises the election. The list of presidential hopefuls is dominated by conservatives, who are Tehran’s mayor, Mohammad Bagher ...

Saudis arrest more suspects in Iranian espionage case

Congoo - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

AFPRIYADH--Saudi authorities have arrested 10 more suspects in an alleged Iranian spy ring unveiled two months ago, an interior ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. The eight Saudis, a Lebanese and a Turk bring the number of people arrested to 28, the official SPA news agency quoted the spokesman as ...

Irans Hashemi-Rafsanjani Rahim-Mashaei barred from competing for presidency

China.org.cn - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

In a statement issued by Iranian Interior Ministry on Tuesday, the presidential hopefuls Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, former moderate president, and Esfandiar Rahim- Mashaei, top aide of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, were not qualified for the country's upcoming presidential ...

10 alleged Iranian spies arrested in Saudi

albawaba - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Saudi security forces (AFP) Saudi Arabia's interior minister Major General Mansour Al Turki released a statement of Tuesday announcing that 10 members of an alleged Iranian spy ring had ...

Iranian officials bar prominent candidates from election

General Sources - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

In this picture taken on Saturday, May 11, 2013, former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani waves to media as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election. (Ebrahim Noroozi/The Associated ...

Iran and Hezbollah’s Support for Syria Complicates U.S. Strategy on Peace Talks

New York Times - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

MUSCAT, Oman -- As evidence grows of increased Iranian support for the Syrian government, the Obama administration's strategy to bring the bitter fighting there to a close faces more challenges than ...

Iranian soldiers fighting for Syria State contends

Tribune Review - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Iran has sent soldiers to Syria to fight alongside forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and those of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia, a senior State Department official said on ...

RPT-India leads Asian cuts in Iran oil imports ahead of waiver review

Reuters - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Tue May 21, 2013 9:55pm EDT (Repeats earlier story with no change in text) * India cuts Iranian crude imports 17 pct Dec-April vs previous 6 months * China may reduce Iranian imports 5-10 percent in 2013 * U.S. due to review Asia's waiver extensions on Iran sanctions 3rd time By Nidhi Verma and Meeyoung Cho NEW DELHI/SEOUL, May 21 (Reuters) - India has slashed Iranian oil imports by almost a ...

Iran bars Rafsanjani Mashaei from election

The Daily Star - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

This combination of eight pictures shows eight candidates approved Tuesday, May 21, 2013 for Iran's June 14 presidential election to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot run again because of term limits, clockwise from left: Mohammad Gharazi, Mohsen Rezaei, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, Saeed Jalili, Ali Akbar Velayati, and Hasan Rowhani, taken between May 9 and May ...

Iran blocks ex-President Rafsanjani from election race report

Global Post - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (C) arrives to register his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election at the interior ministry in Tehran on May 11, 2013. Reports say Rafsanjani has been blocked from running in the next election. (Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty ...

Rafsanjani a Founder of Irans Revolution Is Rejected as Candidate

International Herald Tribune - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

TEHRAN ...

Key omissions on final Iranian candidate list put riot police on guard in Tehran

Tribune Review - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

TEHRAN -- The final list of candidates approved to run in Iran's June 14 presidential election was announced on Tuesday, generating surprise and tension with the omission of a former president considered one of the founding members of the Islamic ...

New Evidence of Iran Support to Assad

ABC News - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

May 21, 2013 7:43pm The United States has new evidence that Iran and Hezbollah have direct involvement with the Syrian regime, a senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry in Oman. The official said that, according to the Free Syrian Army, Hezbollah and Iranian fighters have been helping the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad in Qusayr, ...

Carney says U.S. condemns Hezbollah support of Assad regime

Middle East Times - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Hezbollah 's efforts to help the Assad regime win the civil war in Syria is a concern to the United States and its allies, a White House spokesman said Tuesday. Press ...