** 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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[28 May 13] israel lobby: Money interests behind the Wailing Wall - English
AIPAC is one of the most powerful lobby groups in Washington and is the most powerful pro-Israel lobby group in the country, as evidenced by the...
AIPAC is one of the most powerful lobby groups in Washington and is the most powerful pro-Israel lobby group in the country, as evidenced by the array of high profile politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, who speak at its conference each year.
The Pentagon\\\'s new chief held talks with Israeli Minister for Military Affairs Ehud Barak, on March 5 and pledged to ensure US budget cuts have no effect on funding for military assistance to Israel.
Pro-Israel interests have contributed $56.8 million in individual, group, and soft money donations to federal candidates and party committees since 1990, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Between the 2000 and the 2004 elections, the 50 members of AIPAC\\\'s board donated an average of $72,000 each to campaigns and political action committees. AIPAC claims it \\\"has a stranglehold on Congress.\\\" With a $47 million a year budget and more than 100 full-time staffers, it is no doubt a formidable advocate for Israel\\\'s interests.
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[04 June 13] Cyber security in Obama administration - English
News has just come out that the Justice Department secretly collected two months of telephone records for reporters and editors at The Associated...
News has just come out that the Justice Department secretly collected two months of telephone records for reporters and editors at The Associated Press.
The records included calls from several AP bureaus and the personal phone lines of several staffers, AP President Gary Pruitt has called the subpoenas a \"massive and unprecedented intrusion\" into its reporting.\"
These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP\'s newsgathering operations and disclose information about AP\'s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know,\" wrote Pruitt, the news agency\'s CEO.
The AP reported that the government has not said why it wanted the records. But it noted that US officials have said they were probing how details of a foiled bomb plot that targeted a US-bound aircraft leaked in May 2012.
On this episode of Inside Out, Susan Modaress takes an in-depth look at the cyber security of the United States in the Obama administration.
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