The swift move by Iran’s Islamic Culture and Guidance Minister to ban a newly published novel by Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez has once again put the spotlight on the phenomenon of censorship in Iran. read more… »

Over the past week, senior Iranian officials have repeated the claim that Iran, despite its massive reserves of natural gas and oil, desperately needs to develop nuclear energy. It’s an argument that some independent energy analysts find bewildering. read more… »

The scene is a board meeting of Bank Sepah, Iran’s second-largest financial institution, in Tehran. The directors are waiting for the sardar (literally “head-owner”) to arrive. But the sardar is in a changing room, shedding his uniform for a civilian suit. The man in question is Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the new commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which owns and controls the bank. read more… »

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday predicted that Israel would not survive, as he lashed out at the US-hosted conference seeking to relaunch the Middle East peace process. read more… »

The United States recently labeled Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terror group. Many Americans worry that it’s not enough. They should, because the IRGC and the Iranian regime have been engaged in a one-sided “Death to America” campaign for 28 years. read more… »

The Middle East peace conference here on Tuesday was officially about ending the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. But there was an unspoken goal just below the surface: stopping the rising regional influence of Iran and Islamic radicalism. read more… »

Iranian economic cooperation and energy policy within the developing world serve as pillars of its foreign policy strategy, helping both its quest for regional hegemony in the greater Middle East and its position vis-à-vis the international community in the context of the ongoing nuclear crisis. read more… »

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran Tuesday ruled out discussing a suspension of uranium enrichment in this week’s talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana aimed at breaking the deadlock over its controversial atomic programme. read more… »

He denounces it as the “Great Satan” and frequently dismisses its power, but the overtures of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to the US seem to grow ever more extravagant. read more… »

The United States urged China here Monday to back a new UN Security Council resolution mandating tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, saying a deal with Beijing was possible soon. read more… »