** Iran Today ** Summary of News for Events in Iran - English
After his reelection as Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad extends an invitation to his American counterpart Barack Obama for a debate before the...
After his reelection as Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad extends an invitation to his American counterpart Barack Obama for a debate before the eyes of the world.
Addressing Iranian heads of medical universities on Saturday, President Ahmadinejad offered to debate President Obama at the United Nations headquarters in New York before the eyes of all nations of the world.
President Ahmadinejad had previously urged a debate with former US president George W. Bush.
The Iranian president wrote an 18-page letter to President Bush in 2006 that touched on religious values, history and international relations. The letter was viewed as an offer extended to the United States for dialogue.
However, the Iranian official's letter never received an answer from the former US president.
Under the former US president, Washington pursued a carrot-and-stick policy toward Tehran over its nuclear program and by setting preconditions, snubbed calls by President Ahmadinejad for talks on the long-standing dispute.
Meanwhile President Obama has adopted a new tone for engaging Tehran, drawing a sharp line between his foreign policies regarding Iran and that of his predecessor.
The call for talks come as earlier in February, Ahmadinejad expressed willingness for dialogue but stressed that negotiations should be held "in a climate of fairness with mutual respect."
Earlier in May a report by the Israeli daily Haaretz said the United States had set October as its deadline for engaging Iran in the first round of talks over the country's nuclear activities.
The report quoted the special US envoy on Iran, Dennis Ross, as saying that "unless the US sees a change in Iran's position on its nuclear program, Washington's stance toward Tehran will stiffen at that time."
An Iranian lawyer has said that his client Hossein Rassam, a British Embassy staffer who remains detained over recent unrest, has been accused of "acting against national security."
Lawyer Abdol-Samad Khorramshahi told AFP on Saturday that he was seeking permission to see his client, saying, "I have not met with him yet, but I will ask the judiciary for an appointment."
"I was told by a close relative that he is accused of acting against national security,” he added.
Iran became the scene of violence in recent weeks amidst rallies staged in protest at the outcome of the June 12 presidential election -- which saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad elected for a second term in office.
After warning other countries against interfering in its internal affairs, the Tehran government arrested nine Iranian nationals working at the British Embassy and said that these people had played a role in encouraging the post-election violence.
The British government said that seven of those arrested in Tehran have been released. However, Iranian state television has said that just one of them remains in detention.
In a statement on Friday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "urgently seeking clarification" from Iranian officials, dismissing allegations that the staffers were involved in any illegal act.
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***VIEWER DISCRETION*** Turkey leads anti-Syria smear campaign - 13Jun11...
Turkey's smear campaign against the Syrian government is much worse than the propaganda spread by Arab media to tarnish the image of Damascus with...
Turkey's smear campaign against the Syrian government is much worse than the propaganda spread by Arab media to tarnish the image of Damascus with regards to its recent unrest.
While Syrian officials and residents of crisis-hit Syrian regions have repeatedly said that armed groups are responsible for the deadly clashes in the country, Turkey has tried to portray Iran and the Lebanese Resistance Movement, Hezbollah, as being behind the unrest in Syria and that they help Damascus quell protests.
The Turkish NTV news channel recently claimed that the Syrian soldiers who refused to open fire on protesters were shot dead by their commanders.
The broadcaster reported that a Syrian soldier taking refuge in the country says that he and his comrades were trying to avoid hurting protesters by firing warning shots, but those who refused to open fire on protesters were shot dead.
"I've seen Iranians and Hezbollah operators giving instructions to shoot, and those who refused were immediately shot dead," the alleged fugitive Syrian soldier told NTV, adding that the soldiers were mostly shot from behind or in the neck.
The Turkish broadcaster has also claimed that Syrian forces have opened fire on unarmed civilians in al-Rastan.
"We opened fire on everyone, the young, the old... Women were raped in front of their husbands and children," the army defector told NTV.
Political analysts in Middle East affairs have accused Ankara of playing a double game -- claiming to support the Damascus government in order to have greater influence in the Middle East, while at the same time supporting and providing a safe haven for armed gangs seeking to incite revolt in Syria.
Iranian analyst Hadi Mohammadi says that the United States has now formed operational headquarters in southern Turkey close to the border with Syria to direct the riots in the Arab country after its attempts to cause unrest in southern Syria were unsuccessful.
Mohammadi said that the United States has assigned Turkey to carry out its anti-Syria plan. It has hence provided aid to the Turkish Army to assist Syrian dissidents in crossing into Turkey and settle in tent villages set up in Turkey's Hatay Province.
Meanwhile, a mass grave with bodies of at least 10 Syrian security forces was discovered near the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour on Monday.
Syria's state TV says the victims were killed by armed gangs and the bodies bore marks of torture.
Heavy clashes were reported as troops and tanks moved into the city on Sunday and gunmen targeted civilian areas including a hospital.
The government says it entered the town to restore order after some 120 security forces were killed there about a week ago. People in Jisr al-Shughour gathered to thank government troops for protecting them against the gunmen.
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*VIEWER DISCRETION* Bahrain: Unarmed Protesters Martyred & Public...
Bahraini security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters gathered in the capital, Manama.
Hundreds of mourners were marching...
Bahraini security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters gathered in the capital, Manama.
Hundreds of mourners were marching towards Pearl Roundabout when government forces fired live rounds and tear gas at them on Friday.
The wounded were taken to the city's Salmaniya Hospital, where protesters have gathered to offer blood and support.
On Friday evening, Bahrain's king asked his crown prince to begin a "national dialogue" with all parties over the continuing unrest in the country.
Al Jazeera's correspondent, who cannot be named for security reasons, reports from Manama.
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16th July - Full Speech of Iranian President Ahmedinejand in Mashad -...
Iran's president lashes out at Western powers for their opposition to the outcome of the June 12 presidential election.
In a Thursday address to...
Iran's president lashes out at Western powers for their opposition to the outcome of the June 12 presidential election.
In a Thursday address to thousands of people in the northeastern city of Mashad, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the West has gone as far as setting up satellite channels to influence Iranians against their better judgment.
Ahmadinejad, who was speaking during his first provincial trip after the June 12 presidential vote, said foreign countries have no right to insult the choice made during the election.
"During the whole election process, certain foreign countries attempted to push the country to the brink of civil war," argued Ahmadinejad.
Iran turned into a scene of opposition rallies after the re-election of president Ahmadinejad with nearly two-thirds of the vote.
President Ahmadinejad's rivals -- Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi -- reject the election result as fraudulent and have yet to acknowledge the Iranian president's re-election.
On June 20, the unrest over the result of the vote took a turn for the worse after protesters, who demanded a re-run of the 10th presidential election, gathered to hold a rally without the official permission of the country's Interior Ministry.
The day turned bloody -- increasing the post-vote deaths to at least 20 -- when, according to Iranian officials, terrorist elements infiltrated the rallies.
Ahmadinejad went on to say that the West has trouble tolerating an independent nation that takes a stand against their policies.
He said Iran would respond to any aggressors in a way that they would forget how to return home.
"I have told the enemies that this nation will strike you in the face so hard you will lose your way home," he said.
The president said the high voter turnout in the recent elections has caught Westerners off guard and "has foiled all their evil plans".
On the Iranian nuclear issue, Ahmadinejad said that his government would remain open to "logic and dialogue" to end the international deadlock.
He, however, issued a warning. "If each and every one of the Western countries that oppose Iran's nuclear program joins forces, they would still fail to deprive the Iranian nation of its inalienable nuclear rights," he said.
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[01 Aug 2012] Turkey plays US dangerous game on Syria Tarpley - News...
[01 Aug 2012] Turkey plays US dangerous game on Syria Tarpley - English
For more than a year, the deadly unrest in Syria has brought about more...
[01 Aug 2012] Turkey plays US dangerous game on Syria Tarpley - English
For more than a year, the deadly unrest in Syria has brought about more questions than answers but what's definitely clear is that civilians have been the main victims of what the armed opposition says is a government crackdown and the government says is a foreign-backed attempt to destroy the country.
On this edition of News Analysis we will discuss the situation.
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[01 July 13] Britain preplan to attack Syria - English
In this edition of the show: Roland Dumas says Britain had been planning a war against Syria some two years before to the unrest broke out in the...
In this edition of the show: Roland Dumas says Britain had been planning a war against Syria some two years before to the unrest broke out in the Arab country; The similarities between Britain\'s Iraq invasion and planning to invade Syria.
Monarchy: As part of her \'Birthday Honours List,\' the British Queen will recognize Professor David Newman of Ben-Gurion University for advocating academic partnership between countries and opposing the UK academic boycott of Israel!! A clear contradictory move against majority of British academics attitude.
Monarchy 2: While the British main stream media hype about queen\'s 60 coronation anniversary honours list has reached its peak a secret list of 300 top people who have snubbed the honours system by refusing knighthoods and other awards has been released.
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[01 July 13] Life harder in Gaza as Egypt tightens bolder security -...
Egypt is tightening security measures along its borders with the Gaza Strip following massive unrest in the country. The new security measures are...
Egypt is tightening security measures along its borders with the Gaza Strip following massive unrest in the country. The new security measures are affecting the daily lives of many Gazans in the coastal enclave. Gaza has been suffering for several years from an Israeli blockade which has caused a lot of difficulty for the people living there. But now the new situation on the Egyptian border is making the economic situation in the coastal enclave much more difficult than before. Due to the tight Israeli blockade, Gaza depends on the tunnels to obtain essential supplies and cheaper fuel. Estimates show 40 percent of the coastal enclave\'s needs come via underground tunnels.
Hala al-Safadi, Press TV, Gaza
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[01/11/19] US ignited unrest in Iraq to wrest control of country:...
Political commentator Seyyed Mohsin Abbas says the US and its allies have sparked unrest in Iraq to wrest control of the country.
Watch Live:...
Political commentator Seyyed Mohsin Abbas says the US and its allies have sparked unrest in Iraq to wrest control of the country.
Watch Live: http://www.presstv.com/live.html
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#PressTV #Iran #News
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