Transcript
1. Afghanistan and Syria Warn Against Attacks on Iran
Afghanistan’s President Karzai today expressed his opposition to using his country’s territory for launching any attack on Iran. In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Karzai said: “Afghanistan does not want its soil to be used against any country and Afghanistan wants to be a friend of Iran as a neighbor which shares the same language and religion."
Also today, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned against the possibility of any attack on its close ally Iran, saying: “It will cost the United States and the planet dear.” Assad, however, said he would consider France’s request to talk to Iran over the nuclear impasse. He is currently in Paris for Bastille Day celebrations after the summit of the Union for the Mediterranean.
2. Ahmadinejad Open to “Expansion of Ties” with U.S.
After a cabinet meeting yesterday, President Ahmadinejad said he would consider a US request to set up a diplomatic office in Tehran. “Expansion of ties,” he said, “is correct in our opinion and we would welcome any proposal or move that helps to the expansion of ties between nations.”
Last month, US officials floated the idea of establishing such an office but no formal requests were made. While America considers Iran’s suspension of uranium enrichment as a precondition for negotiation with Tehran, Ahmadinejad had this to say: “If you (Americans) come to negotiate with us in a just setting, that would be all right. But even if you do not come for negotiations, our nation will not be harmed.”
3. Two More Student Activists Detained
The secretary of Iran’s largest student organization, Tahkime Vahdat, the Office for the Consolidation of Unity, and the secretary for the women’s committee of the same organization, were both detained “on charges of having contacts with illegal, counter-revolutionary groups outside the country,” according to IRNA.
With these two arrests, the number of detained students in the past two weeks has climbed to 22.
4. Hundreds of Journalists Protest Their Association Closure
In an open letter published yesterday, more than 500 journalists protested the Labor Ministry’s closure of Iran’s largest association of journalists last week.
The signatories wrote: “Evidence shows that the endeavors of the Labor Ministry to announce the closure of the largest workers’ organization in the country on the basis of illegal pretexts, more than anything else is politically motivated.”
The Association of Journalists has more than 4000 members. It was closed reportedly for not electing a new executive committee in time.
