IRAN
Europe bans Iranian oil imports in push to curtail nuclear program
Edward Cody, The Washington Post – January 23, 2012
Europe banned the import of Iranian oil Monday and froze Europe-based assets of the Central Bank of Iran, intensifying an international campaign to choke Iran’s economy and force the radical Islamic government to dispel fears that it is working to develop nuclear weapons.
U.S. aircraft carrier sails through strategic Strait of Hormuz
David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times – January 22, 2012
A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first transit since Iran warned American ships this year against using the strategic waterway.
Iran gets the message from Washington
David Ignatius, The Washington Post – January 20, 2012
The Iran nuclear crisis is far from over, but Tehran appears to have made a subtle blink — backing away from its threat a few weeks ago to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to escalating U.S. sanctions.
“What we know suggests the development of nuclear weapons’
Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic – January 20, 2012
Yukiya Amano, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is not shrinking in the face of Iranian denials. Once again, he has asserted his suspicions that Iran’s goal is a nuclear-weapons capability.
John Bolton: On Iran, sanctions are not the answer
John Bolton, USA Today – January 18, 2012
America is in a race to stop Iran from making the world’s most dangerous weapons, and we are losing.
MIDDLE EAST
Assad’s fall could solve Iraqi weapons mystery
Rowan Scarborough, The Washington Times – January 22, 2012
If Syria’s regime falls, the U.S. will be in a better position to answer one of the lingering questions from the long Iraq War: Did Baghdad ship weapons of mass destruction components to Syria before the 2003 American-led invasion?
Syria ‘signs Russian military jet deal’
Natalia Kolesnikova, AFP – January 23, 2012
Syria has signed a $550 million (425 million euro) contract to purchase 36 Yak-130 advanced training fighter planes from Russia, the Kommersant business daily reported on Monday.
UNITED STATES
Congress wary about conflict with Iran
Jeremy Herb, The Hill (Blog) – January 22, 2012
Lawmakers from both parties are wary of a U.S. military conflict with Iran as tensions continue to escalate between the two countries.
Gingrich’s South Carolina win raises stakes in Florida race
Lisa Lerer and Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Bloomberg Business Week – January 22, 2012
Newt Gingrich’s victory in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary derails rival Mitt Romney’s plans for quickly sealing the party’s nomination, raising the stakes in the next contest in Florida.
