Iran

August 16, 2007 -- "This week marked the 100th day of detention for Iranian-American scholars Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, head of the Middle East Progam at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and development consultant Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh.    » read more »

Islamabad, 14 August 2007 (By Benjamin Sand) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spent the day in the Afghan capital, part of a three-nation tour of Central Asia. The visit comes as Afghanistan faces growing U.S. scrutiny over its relationship with neighbor Iran. From Islamabad, VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports the Iranian leader denied U.S. charges that Tehran supports Afghanistan's Taleban insurgency.

It was President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's first trip to Kabul and he used the occasion to highlight Tehran's support for its South Asian neighbor.    » read more »

13 August 2007 -- Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is set to visit neighboring Afghanistan this week for the first time since taking office two years ago.

Mr. Ahmadinejad will hold talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the capital, Kabul, on Tuesday. Officials say the purpose of the trip is to strengthen bilateral ties.

Kabul has maintained good relations with Iran since the Taleban was ousted from Afghanistan in 2001, despite tensions between the United States, a key Afghan ally, and Tehran over Iran's nuclear program.    » read more »

09 August 2007 -- U.S. President George Bush says Iran will pay a price for what he says is a continuing effort to supply Iraqi militants with weapons to attack American troops. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Thursday wrapped up two days of talks in Tehran.

President Bush says he presumes Prime Minister Maliki is trying to get Iran to play a more constructive role in Iraq. But Mr. Bush says when he catches Iranian leaders playing a non-constructive role, there will be a price to pay.    » read more »

08 August 2007 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is in Iran for talks expected to focus on bilateral relations and security in his country.

The Shi'ite leader is a close ally of Shi'ite Iran, where he once lived in exile.

He met Wednesday with Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoudi. He also plans to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The United States accuses Iran of providing weapons and training to Iraq's Shi'ite militias - a charge Tehran denies.    » read more »

31 July 2007 (By VOA News) -- The U.S. military in Iraq says coalition forces have captured three suspected terrorists who have ties to Iran's Revolution Guards Qods Force.

A military statement said the three were captured during a U.S. raid on a suspected hideout in Baghdad's Shi'ite majority Shulah neighborhood. It said four terrorists were killed during the operation.

Officials said the captured individuals are believed to be part of a weapons smuggling ring from Iran that imports deadly "explosively formed penetrators." Officials did not reveal the suspects' nationality.    » read more »

31 July 2007 (By VOA News) -- The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill to increase pressure on investors in Iran's energy sector.

The bill requires the naming of foreign companies with more than $20 million invested in Iran's energy sector. It also offers protection to private investment managers and state and federal pension funds that divest from companies on the list.    » read more »

Washington, 31 July 2007 (By Al Pessin) -- The man nominated to be the top U.S. military officer says he is concerned about what he called Iran's "increasingly hostile" role in the Middle East. Admiral Mike Mullen discussed Iran, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other issues in a wide-ranging confirmation hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, VOA's Al Pessin reports from Washington.    » read more »

New Delhi, 30 July 2007 (By Steve Herman) -- A U.S. diplomat says details of a nuclear energy agreement with India will soon be made public. VOA's Steve Herman reports from New Delhi that since the deal was announced on Friday there has been considerable speculation about its contents and whether it will win approval from U.S. lawmakers.

The U.S. Ambassador to India says the text of the landmark civil nuclear-cooperation agreement between Washington and New Delhi will be released in a "matter of a few days."    » read more »

Jerusalem, 29 July 2007 (By Jim Teeple) -- Israel's Prime Minister on Sunday said he has no objections to a proposed massive U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem.

Israel has long expressed wariness over U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the proposal by the U.S. to sell $20 billion worth of advanced weaponry to Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states is understandable.    » read more »

30 July 2007 (By VOA News) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has announced a proposed $13 billion military aid deal with Egypt and a $30 billion military package for Israel.

Rice made the announcement in Washington before leaving Monday with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on a trip to the Middle East to seek support for stabilizing Iraq.

Rice said the military assistance deals with Egypt and Israel will be for a 10-year period. She also said the U.S. is forging new assistance agreements with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states.    » read more »

U.S.-India pact, if approved by Congress, would pave way for nuclear trade

Washington 27 July 2007, By David Shelby (USINFO Staff Writer) – The United States and India reached an agreement July 27 to govern their cooperation in developing civil nuclear energy programs. It would allow the countries to cooperate in research and development and nuclear safety and to engage in commercial trade in nuclear reactors, technology and fuel.    » read more »

06/29/2007 -- SANTA FE, NM -- Democratic Presidential candidate New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson released the following statement today on the rioting in Iran:

"The growing unrest in Iran underscores precisely why we must change the way we deal with the Iranians. It took only two days for gasoline rationing there to turn to riots. The nation's economy is unstable and, despite their enormous oil reserves, extremely dependent on imports of foreign refined oil. Clearly, the Iranian government does not have its house in order.    » read more »

06/27/2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- In a speech to the Center for National Policy today, Democratic Presidential candidate Governor Bill Richardson laid out his vision for engaging Iran, halting the nation's development of nuclear weapons and support for international terrorism, and transforming the Middle East.    » read more »

June 27, 2007 -- "I am saddened and dismayed by the continued detention of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari and Parnaz Azima, and the recent arrests of fellow Iranian-Americans Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh and Ali Shakeri. I have joined the fifteen women Senators in writing to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urging him to intervene on behalf of Dr. Esfandiari and Ms. Azima, and I am gravely disappointed that the situation in Iran has been allowed to escalate. It is an unconscionable violation of human rights to detain and imprison individuals without just cause, and we cannot let this situation stand.    » read more »