Transcript
1. Iran: U.S. “Politically motivated
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said today the U.S. is “politically motivated” to keep Iran’s nuclear dossier open.
Iran’s disputed nuclear program has drawn intense criticism since IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei issued a report on Monday that said Iran had not answered key questions about Western intelligence. The report alleges Iran had conducted high explosives and missile modification studies in connection to its nuclear program.
But Soltanieh said the report was “fabricated,” and suggested that the U.S. and other countries are “following a hidden agenda” to keep Iran’s nuclear dossier open.
2. Bush-Olmert on Iranian Nuke Threat
President Bush in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minsiter Ehud Olmert, reaffirmed his commitment to Israel and his stance on Tehran by calling Iran:
[Sound Bite] “an existential threat to peace. It is very important for the world to take the Iranian threat quite seriously, which the United States does.”
Many have seen Olmert’s meeting with Bush as his farewell visit because of increasing pressure for Olmert to resign due to accusations of shady financing from an American businessman.
However his focus remained on prompting international cooperation to thwart Iranian nuclear plans.
3. Turkey and Iran on PKK
General Ilker Basbug, the head of Turkey’s ground forces said today Turkey is coordinating its operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) with Iran, but has not done so in the past two months.
Iranian media reported that border guards had killed twelve “terrorists trying to infiltrate the country” from its Northwestern border.
Yesterday, Iran shelled an alleged Kurdish rebel position in bordering villages of Northern Iraq. The mortar rounds killed two civilians.
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