By Gareth Porter WASHINGTON – The agreement on draft United Nations Security Council resolution sanctions against Iran has grabbed the headlines on the Barack Obama administration’s response to Iran’s nuclear swap proposal brokered by Turkey and Brazil. But the more consequential response is the acknowledgement by the US State Department on Monday that the administration is not willing to hold talks with Iran unless it agrees to a complete halt in uranium enrichment. That announcement was accompanied by the revelation that the objective of the original swap proposal last autumn was to get Iran to agree to eventually suspend its enrichment … Continue reading Washington burns its bridges with Iran?

By Haroon Mirani SRINAGAR – When a popular travel guide revived a decades-old debate by saying that a tomb in Indian-administered Kashmir may be the final resting place of Jesus Christ, the influx of foreign tourists and conspiracy theorists did not go down well with local Muslims – they insist the grave contains the remains of an ancient Sufi saint. Lonely Planet took pains to add a disclaimer when it described the “Jesus tomb” in its latest edition for India, but this didn’t stop curious foreigners flocking to the Roza Bal Shrine in downtown Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir’s summer capital. Muslim youths responded by roughing … Continue reading Holy row in Kashmir over ‘Jesus tomb’

By Mohammad Ilyas Dayee HELMAND – Sayed Mohammad, 55, is preparing to leave his Marjah home with his children, wife and brother, all piled onto a tractor alongside some furniture and three chickens. Mohammad’s dirty turban signals his poverty, and his four children, covered in dust, look frightened and try to hide in their mother’s arms. “Marjah will never be secure,” he said. “In the past, there was only Taliban oppression; but now the government and foreigners have also joined in. I don’t know who is more cruel. I had to leave Marjah.” Pale-faced and angry, Mohammad claimed that the … Continue reading Marjah residents flee unrest

By Olivia Chung HONG KONG – Hon Hai Group, which should be celebrating a 35% surge in first-quarter profit from making electronics products such as computers for Hewlett Packard and iPhones for Apple, is instead calling in monks and counselors in an attempt to halt a growing number of suicides among its 800,000-strong Chinese workforce. So far with little success. A 21-year-old man jumped to his death early on Friday at the Shenzhen operations of Foxconn Technology Group, a Hon Hai affiliate. The fatal jump brought to eight the number of suicides over the past five months at Foxconn’s operations in … Continue reading Foxconn suicide toll mounts

By M K Bhadrakumar The agreement between Iran, Turkey and Brazil for a swap deal on the stockpile of Tehran’s nuclear fuel sets the stage for a diplomatic pirouette of high significance for regional security. The paradigm shift affects Indian interests. The Barack Obama administration has hastily debunked the Iran-Turkey-Brazil deal, which was announced in Tehran on Monday, and announced its intention to press ahead with a United Nations Security Council sanctions resolution, claiming that a “strong draft” has been reached by the so-called “Iran Six” (the five permanent council members plus Germany). The grandstanding highlights that Washington’s policy is at a … Continue reading India’s course correction on Iran

By Pepe Escobar Let’s face it: Hillary Clinton is one hell of a dominatrix. At first the United States Secretary of State said the Brazil-Turkeymediation to get Iran to accept a nuclear fuel swap was destined to fail. Then the US State Department said it was the “last chance” for an agreement without sanctions. And finally, less than 24 hours after a successful agreement in Tehran, Hillary whips the UN Security Council into submission and triumphantly proclaims to the world a draft resolution for a fourth UN round of sanctions against Iran has been reached. She framed the drive towards sanctions as … Continue reading Iran, Sun Tzu and the dominatrix

By Peter J Brown China and the United States have been down a rocky road together over the past two decades with respect to China’s missile technology transfers to Iran. Today, China’s ongoing contributions to the buildup of Iran’s missile forces warrant closer scrutiny. The opening by Iran of a new missile production plant in March will enable Iran to further quickly expand its supply of Nasr anti-ship missiles. Although no Chinese officials attended the opening ceremony, there are Chinese footprints all around this facility. [1] In addition, Iran is preparing to launch several satellites. As in the case of … Continue reading US silence on Iran-China links