AIPAC

May 9 through Nov 19, 2007

1. France and Germany: No Nuclear Weapons for Iran: French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday warned that more sanctions may be necessary to persuade Iran to suspend its illicit nuclear program, Agence France Presse reported. “We are on the same wavelength: no nuclear weapons for Iran,” Sarkozy said after talks with Merkel. “Germany and France believe in the usefulness of sanctions.” Merkel added that she and Sarkozy “discussed how we and other European countries each want to reduce our trade links with Iran.”
2. The United States and Israel on Thursday conducted a strategic dialogue on the common threats facing the two nations, strengthening the already close cooperation between Washington and Jerusalem, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. The meeting, led by Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, was the third strategic dialogue this year. “These talks are a manifestation of the profound historical and security ties between the two nations and are based on close friendship, shared values and common interests,” read a joint statement issued by the two sides following the talks.
3. U.S. and France Strengthen Alliance Against Iranian Nukes: In a show of strengthened ties between the United States and France, President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday met at the Virginia home of George Washington and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against a nuclear-armed Iran, the Associated Press reported. “It is unacceptable for Iran at any point to have a nuclear weapon,” Sarkozy said, adding that U.N. Security Council sanctions against Tehran must be strengthened.
4. Ahmadinejad Says Iran Has Reached Nuclear Milestone:Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday announced that the Islamic Republic has 3,000 centrifuges working at its uranium enrichment facility in Natanz – enough to produce a nuclear weapon within one year, the Associated Press reported. “The world must know that this nation will not give up one iota of its nuclear rights,” Ahmadinejad declared, adding that he had bluntly refused an offer to negotiate with the United States over Iran’s nuclear activities.
5. House Condemns Iran’s Influence in Latin America: The House approved a resolution by voice vote expressing concern “over the emerging national security implications of the Iranian regime's efforts to expand its influence in Latin America.” The resolution, passed on Monday, notes Iran’s close alliance with Venezuela, its sponsorship of Hizballah’s attack against a Jewish community center in Argentina in 1994, and its extensive money-laundering network on the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay that finances terrorism and drugs. The resolution also “calls on the United States Government to work with governments in the Western Hemisphere to pursue an anti-terrorism campaign based on cooperation and constant vigilance."
6. Financial Sanctions Hurting Nuclear-Minded Iran: Cut off from the dollar-based world financial system, the Iranian economy is starting to feel the sting from stringent U.S.-led banking sanctions, Agence France Presse reported. “It is no longer possible to wire money by dollar into Iran, and for the payments in euros there are just three European banks,” said an Iranian banker, who requested anonymity. “They could stop cooperating with us at any moment.”
7. Germany Backs Tougher Sanctions Against Iran: Speaking at a news conference in Tel Aviv, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday said that Berlin is in sync with other Western powers in supporting tough sanctions against Iran, The Jerusalem Post reported. “Germany’s position does not differ from that of the United States or some other European countries,” Steinmeier said. “If Iran refuses to provide answers, we should think about the possibility of European sanctions.”
8. Barak Concerned Large-Scale Gaza Operation is Unavoidable: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday said a large-scale IDF operation against Palestinian terrorists in Gaza was drawing near, The Jerusalem Post reported. “We are not happy to do it, we’re not rushing to do it, and we’ll be happy if circumstances succeed in preventing it,” Barak said. “But the time is approaching when we’ll have to undertake a broad operation in Gaza.”
9. Israeli Officials Observe New U.S. Missile System: Officials from Israel's Defense Ministry traveled to Hawaii to observe a test of a U.S.-made ballistic missile defense system capable of intercepting nuclear projectiles originating in rogue states such as Iran and North Korea, The Jerusalem Post reported. In a test last week, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, built by Lockheed Martin, successfully intercepted a ballistic target outside the earth's atmosphere, the U.S. military said. Israeli officials said the Jewish state is currently considering purchasing the THAAD system. The visit comes as Iran, which posses ballistic missiles capable of striking Israel, continues its pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community.
10. Oct 30, 2007AIPAC - Today's BriefingHamas Threatens to Take Over West Bank - Senior Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan on Monday said that the Islamist group would soon depose Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and take control over the West Bank, the Israeli newspaper Yedio
11. Hamas Threatens to Take Over West Bank: Senior Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan on Monday said that the Islamist group would soon depose Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and take control over the West Bank, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. “In the autumn Hamas supporters will be praying in the Muqata compound in Ramallah [the site of Abbas’ offices],” Rayyan said during a rally in Gaza, adding, “We are now praying at the Presidential compound in Gaza, just as we said we would. Abbas' regime will fall like a leaf come autumn.”
12. Abbas: Hamas Planning Coup in West Bank: Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday said that Hamas is planning to overthrow the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post reported. “We have information that Hamas is planning to copy the Gaza coup in the West Bank,” said Abbas. “It’s no secret that international parties are supporting Hamas in its efforts.” According to Abbas’ aides, the “international parties” refer to Iran, Syria and Qatar. Hamas has maintained control over Gaza since last June, when it violently overthrew Abbas’ Fatah government. Since taking control of the territory, Hamas has increased its smuggling of weapons into Gaza and rocket attacks into Israel.
13. Rice: U.S. Committed to Israel’s Military Edge: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reaffirmed the importance of maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region during testimony on Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In an exchange with Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) about the Bush administration’s proposal to sell sophisticated missile guidance technology to Saudi Arabia, Secretary Rice said the administration has no intention of allowing Israel to lose its military edge. “We are absolutely committed to Israel’s qualitative military edge,” Rice said. “We are absolutely attentive to it and have no intention of allowing it to erode."
14. United States Imposes New Sanctions Against Iran: The Treasury and State Departments on Thursday announced stringent new sanctions measures against Iran, The Washington Post reported The moves designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and label the elite Quds Force as a supporter of terrorism. The Revolutionary Guard “is so deeply entrenched in Iran’s economy, that it is increasingly likely that if you are doing business with Iran you are doing business with the IRGC,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said.
15. Palestinian Terrorists Fire Rockets at Israeli Civilians: Palestinian terrorists on Tuesday fired at least ten Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip at civilian targets in Israel, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. One rocket struck an apartment building in the town of Sderot, and several people suffered from shock. The attacks came a day after the terrorist group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for a barrage of six Qassam rockets. The group said in a statement that the attacks were “part of our decision to point our weapons only toward Israel.”
16. Russian Oil Company Suspends Work in Iran: Citing U.S. efforts to sanction Iran for its illicit nuclear program, Russia’s second-largest oil company, Lukoil, has suspended development of an oil field in western Iran, The New York Sun reported. The suspension marks the first time a Russian concern is applying economic pressure against the nuclear-minded Islamic Republic. “We opened the largest field in Iran, but we can’t work there because the U.S. State Department has banned third countries from investing more than $20 million,” said Leonid Fedun, vice president of Lukoil.
17. Cheney Warns Against a Nuclear-Armed Iran: Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday said that the United States and other nations will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, The Washington Post reported. “Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions,” Cheney said. He added that Tehran’s efforts to pursue technology that would allow it to build a nuclear weapon are obvious, and that “the regime continues to practice delay and deceit in an obvious effort to buy time.”
18. State Department Frustrated by Pace of U.N. Sanctions: A top State Department official on Wednesday said the U.N. Security Council is taking too long to impose additional sanctions against nuclear-minded Iran, The Jerusalem Post reported. “We need to make progress on the sanctions against Iran,” said Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns. “It’s been months since we should have passed a third Security Council resolution, a sanctions resolution against Iran. We very much want to work with Russia and China to get that done as quickly as possible in the month of November.”
19. Bush Warns of Dangers of Nuclear-Armed Iran: President Bush on Wednesday emphasized that the United States would continue to exert diplomatic and financial pressure on Iran until it abandoned its illicit nuclear program, The New York Times reported. “We’ve got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel,” Bush said. “So I’ve told people that, if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”
20. United States and Israel Boost Missile Defense Cooperation: In a meeting at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak on Tuesday agreed to work on a layered missile defense system to help the Jewish state counter growing regional threats, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported. Gates and Barak discussed upgrading Israel’s Arrow II, which is capable of intercepting long-range missiles from Iran and Syria. The U.S. and Israel are also working on a parallel project, David’s Sling, to defend against medium range rockets, such as those fired by Hizballah in Lebanon.
21. Rice Seeks to Marginalize Hamas: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday said that the terrorist group Hamas would have no role in the Israeli-Palestinian summit next month in Annapolis, Maryland, The Los Angeles Times reported. “We’ve been very clear what the criteria are for involvement in this process,” Rice said. “If you’re going to have a two-state solution, you have to accept the right of the other party to exist. If you’re going to have a two-state solution that is born of negotiation, you’re going to have to renounce violence.” Hamas, whose charter says that Israel will exist “until Islam eliminates it,” has increased its efforts to attack the Jewish state.
22. Treasury Warns China, Russia on Iran Sanctions: The United States warned Russia, China and other countries opposing further sanctions on Iran to avoid taking advantage of business opportunities that are available as a result of other nations supporting the sanctions effort, The Financial Times reported. “The Russians and Chinese have been signatories to each of the U.N. Security Council resolutions [sanctioning Iran],” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt, “and I would think, whether it be in the financial sector or other sectors, someone else stepping in would be very inappropriate and very counter to what the Security Council has called on the world community to do.” Russia and China have resisted efforts at the Security Council to impose a third round of sanctions on Iran, which continues to advance its illicit nuclear weapons program.
23. Rice: Iran “Lying” About Its Nuclear Program: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday said that Iran has a “history of obfuscation and indeed lying” to international nuclear inspectors about its atomic work, The Washington Post reported. “There’s a history of Iran not answering important questions and what is going on,” Rice said. “And there is Iran pursuing nuclear technologies that can lead to nuclear weapons-grade material.” Rice was responding to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that there is no evidence that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran has rebuffed multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that it end its efforts to enrich uranium – a key step toward producing nuclear weapons – and faces more stringent sanctions as a result of its non-compliance.
24. Schwarzenegger Signs Iran Divestment Bill Into Law: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday signed into law a bill requiring CalPERS and CalSTRS, the two largest pension funds in the world, to divest from companies investing in Iran’s oil, natural gas, nuclear and defense sectors. The California Public Divest from Iran Act unanimously passed the state legislature earlier this year. Following Florida and Illinois, California is the third state in the nation to enact Iran divestment laws, implementing a strategy to deprive Tehran of funds it uses to support its illicit nuclear program and international terrorist groups.
25. United States Tells Syria to Stay Out of Lebanon: President Bush on Thursday warned Syria against interfering in Lebanon’s upcoming presidential elections, the Associated Press reported. “The United States strongly supports the success of democracy in Lebanon,” Bush said after meeting with Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian majority in Lebanon’s parliament. “The United States is more than just an admirer. We want to help as best as we possibly can.” Saad’s father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was assassinated in a massive truck bombing in 2005. Bush said the international tribunal looking into his death needs to move more quickly. A previous U.N. investigation of the assassination implicated top Syrian officials linked to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
26. Ahmadinejad Leads “Death to Israel” Rally: Tens of thousands of Iranians on Friday marched through Tehran chanting “Death to Israel” and burning Israeli and American flags, Agence France Presse reported. “The Iranian people and other peoples will not stop until all of Palestinian territory is liberated,” President Ahmadinejad said, using a euphemism for the destruction of Israel. World powers “should not think the Iranian nation and other nations in the region will take off their hands off the throat of the Zionists and their supporters,” he added.
27. Bush Warns of Nuclear-Armed Iran: Denouncing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his remarks calling for the destruction of Israel, President Bush on Wednesday warned of the dangers of a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic and affirmed that the United States would defend the Jewish state, the Associated Press reported. “In Iran, we’re dealing with a country where the leader has said that he wants to destroy Israel,” Bush said. “My belief is that the United States will defend our ally Israel. This is a leader who has made very provocative statements.”
28. France Wants EU to Widen Sanctions Against Iran: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has urged the EU to widen existing sanctions on Iran’s banking sector, Reuters reported. “These new measures, coming from its most important commercial partner, should have the aim of increasing the pressure on Iran, in particular in the financial and economic area,” Kouchner said. “France is ready to make concrete proposals in this respect.” Russia and China last week delayed a Security Council vote on tougher sanctions on Iran until late November at the earliest.
29. Security Council Delays Iran Sanctions Vote: The United States, Britain and France on Friday chose unity over speed and agreed to delay until November a U.N. Security Council vote on a third sanctions resolution against Iran, The Washington Post reported. U.S. officials said the delay, a concession to Russia, China and Germany, reflected the harsh reality of getting all six countries to speak with one voice. The six nations issued a statement advising Iran that an offer of diplomatic incentives remained on the table if Tehran suspends its illicit nuclear work.
30. State Department: World Won't Ignore Iran’s Defiance: Responding to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s vow to never to end his country’s illicit nuclear work, a top State Department official said that sanctions efforts against the Islamic Republic would continue, The Washington Post reported. “I am sorry to tell President Ahmadinejad that the case is not closed,” said Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns. “The Iranian president is badly mistaken if he thinks the international community is going to forget about the fact that his country is continuing – against the will of the U.N. Security Council – its nuclear research programs.”
31. Senate Votes to Isolate Iran's Revolutionary Guard: As part of the fiscal year 2008 defense authorization bill, the Senate passed a measure by a vote of 76-22 that urges the Bush administration to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization . The IRGC - an elite military branch of Iran’s government consisting of some 125,000 members - arms, funds and trains terrorist networks from Gaza to Afghanistan. The proposed designation would allow the United States to freeze the assets of the IRGC and of those who conduct business with it. The measure was introduced by Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT).
32. Ahmadinejad Remains Defiant on Iran’s Nuclear Efforts: In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday vowed not to give in to pressure to end his country’s illicit atomic work and declared that as far as he is concerned, “the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed,” The Washington Post reported. “All our nuclear activities have been completely peaceful and transparent,” Ahmadinejad said. “[O]ur country is recognized as one with the capacity for industrial-scale fuel cycle production,” he added.
33. Bush Criticizes U.N. for Anti-Israel Bias: President Bush on Tuesday criticized the U.N. Human Rights Council for singling out Israel, a liberal democracy, while ignoring major human rights violators around the world, The Jerusalem Post reported. “The United States is committed to a strong and vibrant United Nations,” Bush said. “Yet the American people are disappointed by the failures of the Human Rights Council. This body has been silent on repression by regimes from Havana to Caracas to Pyongyang and Tehran while focusing its criticism excessively on Israel.”
34. Texas Bolsters Economic and Academic Exchange with Israel: Texas Governor Rick Perry on Tuesday announced the establishment of the Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce, an agency meant to foster economic exchange and academic collaboration between Austin and Jerusalem, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported. “[A]s we usher in a new era of relations between Texas and Israel, we speak of a grand vision of a world where terror is defeated by kinship, economic partnerships create new opportunity, and people are free to work and live in peace,” Perry said.
35. House Passes Landmark Iran Sanctions Bill: By a vote of 397-16, the House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a comprehensive Iran sanctions bill that chokes off funding for Iran’s illicit nuclear program and prohibits U.S. nuclear cooperation with those aiding Tehran’s atomic efforts. The landmark Congressional action comes on the same day that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at the United Nations and reiterated his refusal to end his country’s atomic work.
36. Sarkozy Supports Stringent Sanctions Against Iran: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that U.N. and European sanctions against Iran must be enforced, The New York Times reported. Strengthened sanctions, Sarkozy predicted, “eventually will produce results” in persuading Iran to curb its nuclear activities prohibited under Security Council resolutions. The French president expressed support for a third U.N. sanctions resolution against Iran and added that other punitive measures must be pursued, calling such an approach “an international, a multilateral, decision.”
37. Ahmadinejad Visits New York, Denies Iran’s Nuclear Violations: Speaking at Columbia University, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday brushed aside binding U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that Iran halt its illicit nuclear program and asserted that the Islamic Republic “operates within the framework of law.” In New York to address the U.N. General Assembly, Ahmadinejad challenged his audience to look into “who was truly involved” in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and questioned established Holocaust history.
38. Rice: U.S. and France Agree on Iran Policy: In advance of the U.N. Security Council meeting in New York this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday said that there is “no difference” in the way the United States and France view the necessity of imposing stringent economic pressure on Iran until it abandons its nuclear program, The New York Times reported. “I think it’s first important to note that we have set out a diplomatic path that includes negotiation as the preferred means by which to resolve this issue,” Rice said at a news conference with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
39. Bush Says U.S. Will Keep Pressure on Iran: In advance of an upcoming U.N. Security Council meeting, President George W. Bush on Thursday said that he remained hopeful that diplomatic measures would end Iran’s illicit nuclear program, Reuters reported. "I have consistently stated that I am hopeful we can convince the Iranian regime to give up any ambitions it has in developing a weapons program and do so peacefully," Bush said. "We'll keep the pressure on them."
40. United States Demands Tough Diplomacy Against Iran: In advance of an upcoming U.N. Security Council meeting, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday called for a stringent sanctions resolution against Iran, Agence France Presse reported. “We believe that the diplomatic track can work but it has to work both with a set of incentives and a set of teeth,” Rice said. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack added that the sanctions process “hasn’t moved as quickly as we would have liked, but that is par for the course with the Security Council resolutions.”
41. Iran Threatens Missile Attacks on U.S. Targets: A senior commander of the Iran Revolutionary Guards on Monday threatened to fire long-range missiles at U.S. targets in the Middle East, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported. “Today the Americans are around our country but this does not mean that they are encircling us. They are encircled themselves and are within our range,” said Gen. Mohammed Hassan Koussechi. “We have reached capacities that allow us to hit the enemy at a range of 2,000 kilometers [1,243 miles].” The headquarters of U.S. Central Command in Qatar, the main harbor of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and the oilfields of Saudi Arabia’s eastern province are all within Iranian missile range.
42. France Encourages EU-Wide Sanctions Against Iran: The French government of President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday raised for the first time the prospect of European-wide sanctions against nuclear-minded Iran, The Financial Times reported. “These would be European sanctions that each country, individually, must put in place with its own banking, commercial and industrial system,” said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. “The English and Germans are interested in talking about this. We will try to find a common European position.”
43. France Urges Divestment From Iran: Joining with the United States in an effort to divest from nuclear-minded Iran, the French government has asked the country’s biggest companies not to invest in the Islamic Republic, The Financial Times reported. “We have asked a certain number of our big companies not to respond to Iranian tenders,” said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. “I think this has been heard and we are not the only ones to have done so.”
44. California Law Requires Divestment from Iran: The California State Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a bill requiring CalPERS and CalSTRS, the two largest retirement funds in the nation, to divest from companies investing in Iran’s oil, natural gas, nuclear and defense sectors. The State Senate approved the Iran Divestment Bill last week, and it now moves to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk. The governor has voiced his intention to sign the bill in a major signing ceremony.
45. Judge Orders Iran to Pay $2.6 Billion for Hizballah Bombing: A federal judge on Friday ordered Iran to pay more than $2.6 billion to nearly 1,000 family members and a handful of survivors of the 1983 Hizballah bombing of a Marine barracks in Lebanon that killed 241 soldiers, The Washington Post reported. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth expressed hope that “this extremely sizeable judgment will serve to aid in the healing process and simultaneously sound the alarm to the defendants that their unlawful attacks on our citizens will not be tolerated.”
46. United States Urges Iran to Comply With Security Council Demands: The United States on Monday urged Iran to cooperate with an IAEA investigation into past suspicious nuclear activities, but warned the Islamic Republic that it also must end its ongoing illicit atomic work, the Associated Press reported. “The United States… will welcome any progress about resolving troubling questions about Iran’s past nuclear activities,” said Gregory Schulte, chief U.S. delegate to the IAEA. However, “cooperation that gives Iran the wherewithal to build nuclear weapons is not enough.”
47. Lawmakers Approve $2.4 Billion in Military Aid to Israel: The Senate on Thursday passed a foreign aid bill by a vote of 81-12 that includes $2.4 billion in military aid to Israel as part of the fiscal year 2008 budget. The House passed its version of the bill, which also includes the same level of aid for Israel, in June. The measure will now head to a conference committee where House and Senate negotiators will reconcile any differences in the bills. The aid represents the last year of a 10-year plan between Israel and the United States to phase out economic aid to Israel while gradually increasing the amount of military aid.
48. Nuclear-Minded Iranian Cleric Picked for Top Post: A former Iranian president who expressed the possibility that Israel could be destroyed by a nuclear weapon was picked on Tuesday to head the Assembly of Experts, a powerful clerical body in the Islamic Republic, the Associated Press reported. “[E]ven one nuclear bomb inside Israel will destroy everything,” Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said in 2001. “However, it will only harm the Islamic world. It is not irrational to contemplate such an eventuality.” Rafsanjani is wanted by Argentina for his role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.
49. Iran Pledges to Outsmart West on Nuclear Issue: Proclaiming Iran would outsmart “drunken and arrogant” Western opponents in its nuclear standoff, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday pledged that the Islamic Republic would never end its illicit atomic work, Agence France Presse reported. “The Iranian nation has withstood and it will withstand intimidation,” Khamenei said. “It will never bow to any intimidation in the nuclear issue and in other matters.”
50. IAEA Report Says Iran Expanding Its Nuclear Program: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday said that Iran is expanding its efforts to enrich uranium - a key step toward producing nuclear weapons, The New York Times reported. The IAEA report comes as Tehran has promised to answer questions about an array of suspicious nuclear activities in the past. “There is no partial credit here,” said State Department spokesman Tom Casey. “Iran has refused to comply with its international obligations, and as a result of that the international community is going to continue to ratchet up the pressure.”
51. Ahmadinejad Declares “Iran is a Nuclear Nation”: Top IDF Officer Says Hamas Fighters Training in Iran
52. Bush Warns of “Nuclear Holocaust” if Iran Gets Atomic Arms: In a major foreign policy address, President George W. Bush on Tuesday emphasized Iran’s negative influence in the Middle East and warned of the dangers of a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic. “Iran’s active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust,” Bush said. “Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere, and that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions.”
53. Iran Says Its Nuclear Program Has Not Slowed Down: A top Iranian official on Sunday said that the Islamic Republic is pressing ahead with its illicit nuclear program, rejecting reports that it has not significantly expanded its atomic work, the Associated Press reported. “There has been no slowing down, no halt and no retreat,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini. He was responding to speculation that the threat of more U.N. Security Council sanctions may have forced Iran to slow down its efforts to enrich uranium -- a key step toward developing nuclear weapons.
54. Iran Announces New 2,000 Pound Smart Bomb: The Iranian defense ministry on Thursday announced that the Islamic Republic has developed a new 2,000 pound smart bomb, the Associated Press reported. The guided bomb, named Qased or Messenger, can be deployed by Iran’s aging U.S.-made F-4 and F-5 fighter jets and will be officially unveiled next week. Earlier this month, Iran said it had started industrial-scale production of its own fighter jet, known as Azarakhsh or Lightning, to upgrade its elderly air force, much of which dates from before the 1979 revolution.
55. U.S. Dismisses Iranian Cooperation as Smoke Screen: A senior U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) dismissed Iran’s professed willingness to answer questions about its illicit nuclear program as a smoke screen and said it would not prevent the U.N. Security Council from imposing additional sanctions on Tehran, the Associated Press reported. “Iran is clearly trying to take the attention from its continued development of bomb-making capabilities, and I don’t think the Security Council will be distracted,” said Gregory Schulte, the chief U.S. delegate to the IAEA.
56. State Dept. Chides U.S. Allies for Iran Business Ties: A top State Department official said the U.S. drive to sanction Iran’s economy through the United Nations is being undercut when allies in Europe, Turkey, India, Japan and South Korea continue to make lucrative trade deals and even offer credits to businesses trading with the Islamic Republic, The Washington Times reported. “We have paid the price,” Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said. “It is time for our allies to pay the price as well.”
57. Ahmadinejad Denounces Israel’s Existence: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday denounced Israel as the “flag of Satan” and said it may be facing disintegration, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported. “When the philosophy of the establishment and the continuation of this regime is not just, it is not unlikely that it is on the path of decline and disintegration,” Ahmadinejad said of Israel. “This regime is the flag of Satan.” Ahmadinejad has previously said that the Jewish state should be “wiped off the map” and has called the Holocaust a “myth.” In June, he said a “countdown” had begun that would end with Hizballah and Palestinian terrorist groups destroying Israel. The State Department consistently lists Iran as the world’s leading state sponsor of international terrorism.
58. Top General Says Iran Trains Terrorists Inside Iraq: Marking the first time the U.S. military has alleged that Iranians are aiding insurgents from inside Iraq, a senior U.S. general on Sunday said that about 50 members of an elite Iranian military unit are training Shia militias south of Baghdad, The Washington Post reported. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said the men were sent by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps -- a military branch that the U.S. government has reportedly decided to label a “specially designated global terrorist” -- to train insurgents in firing mortars and rockets.
59. United States and Israel Sign Defense Agreement: The United States and Israel on Thursday signed a pact providing $30 billion in military aid to the Jewish state over the next decade, The New York Times reported. “There is no question that, from an American point of view, the Middle East is a more dangerous region now even than it was 10 or 20 years ago and that Israel is facing a growing threat” from Iran and Syria, said Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns. “This $30 billion in assistance to Israel is to be an investment in peace, in long-term peace -- peace cannot be made without strength.”
60. Report: Revolutionary Guard to be Labeled “Terrorist”:The United States is preparing to identify Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps -- the country’s 125,000-strong elite military branch -- as a “specially designated global terrorist,” The Washington Post reported. The move would allow Washington to target the group’s business operations and finances and would make it unlawful for anyone to knowingly provide material support or resources to the group. “Anyone doing business with these people will have to reevaluate their actions immediately,” a U.S. official said. “It increases the risks of people who have until now ignored the growing list of sanctions against the Iranians. It makes clear to everyone who the IRGC and their related businesses really are. It removes the excuses for doing business with these people.” The State Department consistently lists Iran as the world’s leading state sponsor of international terrorism.
61. United States to Sign $30 Billion Arms Deal With Israel: The State Department on Tuesday said the United States will sign a pact this week providing $30 billion in military aid to Israel over a decade, Agence France Presse reported. The package was unveiled by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on July 30 in a bid to “counter the negative influences” of Iran and Syria as well as the terrorist groups Al Qaeda and Hizballah. The increased aid to Israel will ensure that the Jewish state maintains its qualitative military edge over the Arab states and Iran.
62. State Department: Hamas Will Remain Isolated: The State Department on Monday said that the Middle East Quartet -- the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia -- has ruled out any dialogue with the terrorist group Hamas until it recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism and accepts previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements. “I haven’t seen any indication, thus far, that they are planning to meet those requirements,” spokesman Sean McCormack said of Hamas.
63. IDF: Syrian Anti-Aircraft System Most Advanced in World: Following its continued purchase of advanced Russian weapons systems, Syria currently has the densest anti-aircraft deployment in the world, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. According to an Israeli military source, the Syrians have more than 200 anti-aircraft batteries of different types. In a bid to respond to the Israel Air Force's supremacy, Damascus has been exerting great efforts in the past few years to improve its ground-to-ground and ground-to-air missile capabilities. Syria, which has refused to recognize Israel for nearly 60 years, is a prime sponsor of the terrorist army Hizballah and has an arsenal of missiles that can reach every part of the Jewish state.
64. Bush Says Iran Destabilizing Iraq: President George W. Bush on Thursday said that Iran is a destabilizing force in Iraq, Reuters reported. Iran is a “very troubling nation” that must be isolated, Bush warned during a White House news conference. “When we catch you playing a nonconstructive role [in Iraq], there will be a price to pay.” Bush added that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki “knows that weaponry being smuggled into Iraq from Iran and placed into the hands of extremists… is a destabilizing factor.”
65. United States and Israel to Discuss Iran Sanctions: Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department’s top anti-terrorism official, will hold talks on Thursday with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni about Iran’s illicit nuclear program, Agence France Presse reported. Levey and Livni will discuss a push for stronger international sanctions on the Islamic Republic, according to Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. “Diplomacy must be firm and speak with one voice in order to succeed,” Regev said. “The Tehran regime must understand that business as usual cannot continue while it is pursuing its nuclear program.”
66. Treasury Targets Hamas Funding: The Treasury Department on Tuesday moved to clamp down financially on Al-Salah Society, a large charitable organization in Gaza, for allegedly raising money and providing other support to the terrorist group Hamas, the Associated Press reported. “Hamas has used the Al-Salah Society, as it has many other charitable fronts, to finance its terrorist agenda,” said Adam Szubin, director of the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. As a result of Treasury’s action, any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the United States belonging to Al-Salah must be frozen.
67. U.S. Military: Iran-Supplied Bombs Killing Troops: Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, said that attacks on U.S. troops with roadside bombs supplied by Iran reached a new high in July, The New York Times reported. The devices, known as explosively formed penetrators, were used to carry out 99 attacks last month and accounted for one-third of U.S. combat deaths. The bombs, which can penetrate the armor on a Humvee, are used almost exclusively by Iran-backed Shia terrorists. The State Department consistently lists Iran as the world’s leading state sponsor of international terrorism.
68. State Department: Iran Must Meet U.N. Demands: The State Department on Tuesday said that in order for Iran to avoid more stringent sanctions, it must adhere to the multiple U.N. Security Council demands that it end its illicit nuclear activity, Reuters reported. “Until they have complied with the full length of what… is required of them under international law, it is pretty hard to see how they are going to get any partial credit for making gestures towards cooperation,” spokesman Tom Casey said.
69. Bush Warns Karzai Over Iranian Influence: Capping a two-day visit to Camp David, President Bush on Monday warned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to be more suspicious of neighboring Iran, calling the Islamic Republic a "destabilizing force" that should be isolated until it drops any nuclear aspirations and proves it can be a positive influence, The Washington Post reported. "They're not a force for good, as far as we can see," Bush said of Iran. "They're a destabilizing influence wherever they are."
70. Ahmadinejad Tells Israel to Find New Home: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called on Israel to “go find somewhere else” for its state and leave all of its territory for the creation of a Palestinian state, Agence France Presse reported. Ahmadinejad has previously said that the Jewish state should be “wiped off the map” and has called the Holocaust a “myth.” In June, he said a “countdown” had begun that would end with Hizballah and Palestinian terrorist groups destroying Israel. The State Department consistently lists Iran – a prime benefactor of Hamas and Hizballah – as the world’s leading state sponsor of international terrorism.
71. Iran: Nuclear Suspension "Completely Ruled Out": Responding to reports that Iran might suspend its illicit nuclear program, a foreign ministry spokesman said the Islamic Republic has no intention of slowing its atomic work, Reuters reported. “Iran’s nuclear activities continue as planned and scheduled,” Mohammad Ali Hosseini said. “Those reports are false and the suspension [of uranium enrichment] is unacceptable. It is completely ruled out.” Iran has rebuffed multiple binding U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that it end its efforts to enrich uranium -- a key step toward developing nuclear weapons -- and faces more stringent sanctions as a result of its non-compliance.
72. Bush Signs Bill Boosting U.S.-Israel Security Ties: Boosting U.S.-Israel security cooperation, President Bush signed into law a bill implementing recommendations of the 9-11 Commission, The Jerusalem Post reported. Provisions in the bill create an office within the Department of Homeland Security that will be responsible for coordinating security measures with key U.S. allies, including Israel. In signing the legislation, Bush said he would "continue to work with Congress to advance our security and foreign policy objectives by allowing greater flexibility to bring some of our closest allies into the program."
73. Lawmakers Expand Iran Sanctions: As Iran presses ahead with its illicit nuclear program, the House approved legislation this week that strengthens previous sanctions laws against the Islamic Republic, closing loopholes and adding clarifications. The bill, which passed by a vote of 415-11, amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996. It extends the threat of sanctions to foreign subsidiaries of American companies if the subsidiaries exist in order to evade prohibitions on trade with Tehran.
74. House Authorizes States to Divest from Iran: The House on Tuesday passed legislation by a vote of 408-6 that authorizes state and local governments to divest from companies investing in Iran's petroleum and natural gas sector and protects fund managers who divest from such companies from potential lawsuits. The passage of the bill comes as states around the country -- including Florida, California, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, New York and New Jersey -- are mounting efforts to divest their pension funds from companies investing in Iran's petroleum sector or conducting business with its defense or nuclear sectors.
75. Major German Banks to Sever Iran Ties: In the latest example of international financial institutions cutting off their business dealings with Tehran, two major German banks have said they will end most of their ties to Iranian companies, The Wall Street Journal reported. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank were the two largest European banks still doing business with Iran. "The increased effort required to ensure compliance with European Union and United Nations guidelines is so great, it just isn't worth it to continue this business," a Deutsche Bank spokesman said. Iran has long relied on Europe for its banking needs in the face of stringent U.S. financial sanctions. The United States remains at the forefront of international efforts to sanction the Islamic Republic for its continued refusal to end its illicit nuclear program.
76. United States to Increase Military Aid to Israel: The Bush administration on Monday announced that it will ask Congress to increase military aid to Israel and other allies in the region, The New York Times reported. "We will move soon to conclude a new ten-year military assistance agreement with Israel," said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "This agreement will provide a total of $30 billion to ensure Israel's ability to defend itself." American military aid for Israel would be increased to $3 billion annually over ten years, from $2.4 billion now, further helping the Jewish state maintain its qualitative military edge over the Arab states and Iran.
77. Iran Says U.S. and Israel Are Its Biggest Enemies: Just days after U.S.-Iranian talks about security in Iraq, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday declared that the United States and Israel were his country's main enemies, Reuters reported. "The Zionist regime [Israel] and the American government are the main enemies of Iran, and hatred for America is deepening every day around the globe," Khamenei said. President Bush and other top administration officials have accused the Islamic Republic of backing terrorists who target U.S. troops in Iraq.
78. Treasury Says Iran Sanctions Bearing Fruit: Stuart Levey, the Treasury's top anti-terrorism official, on Thursday said that mounting financial sanctions against Iranian companies tied to nuclear activities, weapons proliferation and terror funding are bearing fruit, Agence France Presse reported. "We believe that there is a real potential that these sanctions will have the effect of changing the government of Iran's mind about the defiant policy it is currently pursuing," Levey said, adding that the Treasury had received good cooperation from the private sector.
79. Iran Says It Will Never Abandon Its Nuclear Program: Declaring that any further U.N. resolutions would not prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear technology, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday said Tehran would never yield to international pressure to suspend its illicit atomic work, Reuters reported. "Let's say they issue resolution number 300. what will happen?" Ahmadinejad asked. "It should be remembered that Iran is obtaining nuclear technology. They have to eventually accept that."
80. United States Freezes Terrorist Assets: The Treasury Department took action Tuesday against an Iranian organization that finances Hizballah terrorism, the Martyrs Foundation, and its U.S.-based subsidiary, called Goodwill Charitable Organization, the Associated Press reported. "We will not allow organizations that support terrorism to raise money in the United States," said Stuart Levey, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department. The action freezes bank accounts and other financial assets of the organizations found in the United States and prohibits Americans from doing business with them
81. Public Funds Pressure Companies to Cut Ties With Iran: With states around the country working on bills to force their public pension funds to unload shares of foreign companies doing business with Iran, a coalition of large public funds has begun pressuring companies to reconsider their ties to the Islamic Republic, The Wall Street Journal reported. The coalition is composed of pension funds in California, New York, Illinois and North Carolina. It collectively controls $570 billion in assets - or nearly a fifth of all public pension funds assets nationwide - including $3.7 billion invested in energy companies doing business in Iran. Divestment from Iran's energy sector is part of a wider U.S.-led effort to force Tehran to end its illicit nuclear program.
82. United States Freezes Terrorist Assets: The Treasury Department took action Tuesday against an Iranian organization that finances Hizballah terrorism, the Martyrs Foundation, and its U.S.-based subsidiary, called Goodwill Charitable Organization, the Associated Press reported. "We will not allow organizations that support terrorism to raise money in the United States," said Stuart Levey, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department. The action freezes bank accounts and other financial assets of the organizations found in the United States and prohibits Americans from doing business with them.
83. State Department: Iran Fomenting Terrorism in Iraq: The State Department on Tuesday highlighted Iran's role in destabilizing Iraq, repeating accusations that Tehran is supplying Shiite terrorists with arms used to kill U.S. servicemen, The Washington Post reported. Iran's leaders "say they would like strategic stability in Iraq, and if that is in fact the case, they're certainly going about it in an odd way," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. McCormack said Iran's behavior "needs to change."
84. U.S. Intelligence: al-Qaeda Operating Openly in Iran: One of al-Qaeda's two main leadership councils is meeting regularly in eastern Iran with the knowledge of the Iranian government, according to a classified American intelligence document cited by The New York Sun. The document, portions of which were released publicly on Tuesday, states that the council is a consensus-building group that focuses in part on planning attacks. The top Qaeda leaders in Iran include the heir apparent to Osama bin Laden, his son Saad bin Laden, as well as Suleiman Abu Ghaith, the organization's minister of propaganda. Analysts believe that Iran views the terrorist organization as another useful weapon in its campaign of terrorism against the United States. The State Department has consistently labeled Iran the world's number-one state sponsor of terrorism.
85. Israel Takes Steps to Bolster Abbas: Israel announced Sunday a series of new gestures designed to bolster the government of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Government officials said that Israel will pardon 178 fugitives associated with Abbas' Fatah faction. The men have agreed to cease all activities against Israel and to relinquish their weapons. "They were terrorists who have chosen to deactivate themselves," said Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Israel also agreed to allow several exiled Palestine Liberation Organization officials into the West Bank to attend a meeting of the group's Central Council this week in Ramallah.
86. House Resolution Condemns British Boycott of Israel: The House on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution that condemns Britan's University and College Union for initiating an academic boycott of Israel. "When Israel comes under attack from hate-mongers, it is the American values that are also under such attack," said Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), who cosponsored the resolution along with Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL). "Today, by passing this bi-partisan resolution, we are stating with one voice that this Congress will stand up and defend our friend the state of Israel." The resolution also urges the international scholarly community, the European Union and individual governments to oppose the boycott. Bush Emphasizes Mutual Threats to U.S. and Israel:
87. At a White House news conference on Thursday, President Bush said that the United States and Israel face mutual security threats from Iran and Syria, The Jerusalem Post reported. "The same regime in Iran that is pursuing nuclear weapons and threatening to wipe Israel off the map is also providing sophisticated IEDs [improvised explosive devices] to extremists in Iraq who are using them to kill American soldiers," Bush said.
88. Iran Defies U.N. Demand to End Nuclear Work:As talks with the U.N. nuclear watchdog ended without any apparent progress, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday said that Iran has no plans to suspend its illicit atomic work "and would not surrender even to the amount of an iota," the Associated Press reported. "The process of installing centrifuges could be slow or fast," Ahmadinejad said. "But no one should expect that we will give up our rights and stop the process."
89. Iran Confirms Domestic Nuclear Production Capability: A top Iranian official on Tuesday said that the Islamic Republic is domestically producing centrifuges for uranium enrichment -- a key step toward developing nuclear weapons, Reuters reported. "All parts of centrifuges are built inside Iran," said Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Each part is built in various parts of the country. Then they are assembled at one place. Iran's nuclear technology is native and it cannot be eliminated."
90. Oil-Rich Iran to Buy Gasoline from Venezuela: Less than a week after oil-rich Iran unveiled a rationing program to limit its dependence on gasoline imports, Venezuela on Tuesday agreed to sell Iran gasoline, The New York Times reported. Iran, a major oil exporter, imports 40 percent of its gasoline because of high consumption and limited refining capacity. While gasoline costs about $2 a gallon on world markets, the Iranian government sells it for 34 cents, a subsidy that costs it about $5 billion a year. The government's decision to ration gasoline comes as the Islamic Republic -- OPEC's second-largest exporter of oil -- faces the threat of more stringent U.N. sanctions over its refusal to end its illicit nuclear program.
91. Solana Suggests Iran Behind Gaza, Lebanon Violence: Connecting the dots of recent violence in the Middle East, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana this week suggested that the Hamas takeover of Gaza, the Palestinian attacks on the Lebanese army and the bombing of European peacekeepers in Lebanon could be linked to Iran, Reuters reported. "All this is connected," Solana said. "It didn't happen by accident or miracle, it was probably planned."
92. U.S. General: Iran Using Hizballah as Proxy in Iraq: A U.S. general on Monday said Iran is using the terrorist group Hizballah as a proxy to arm Shiite insurgents in Iraq, the Associated Press reported. "Our intelligence reveals that the senior leadership in Iran is aware of this activity," said Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, identifying a senior Hizballah operative with close ties to Iran, Ali Mussa Dakdouk, as the man responsible for a January attack in Karbala that killed five U.S. troops.
93. Senate Panel Approves $2.4 Billion in Aid to Israel: The Senate Appropriations Committee on June 28 approved by a 28-1 vote $2.4 billion in military aid to Israel as part of the fiscal year 2008 foreign aid bill. The bill also includes $40 million in assistance to help Israel absorb refugees and key provisions to help Israel maximize the effectiveness of the aid. The aid represents the last year of a 10-year plan between Israel and the United States to phase out economic aid to Israel while gradually increasing the amount of military assistance. The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill, which also includes the same levels of funding for Israel, on June 21 by a vote of 241-178. The United States and Israel are now discussing a new 10-year aid plan aimed at ensuring the Jewish state's qualitative military edge over potential adversaries.
94. Khamenei Endorses Ahmadinejad's Anti-Western Stance: With President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by his side, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei this weekend endorsed the anti-Western policies of the Iranian president, who has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," The Los Angeles Times reported. "As regards foreign policy, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always adopted an aggressive stance, and changing this policy into a defensive position, which has unfortunately happened sometimes, is wrong," Khamenei said.
95. Unrest Grows Amid Gas Rationing in Iran: Unrest spread in Tehran on Thursday, the second day of gasoline rationing in oil-rich Iran, with drivers lining up for miles, gas stations being set on fire and state-run banks and business centers coming under attack, The New York Times reported. "We are importing gasoline from 16 different countries," said Saeed Leylaz, an economist and political analyst in Tehran. "The country would be on the verge of collapse if they suddenly decide not to sell us gasoline." The government's decision to ration gasoline comes as the Islamic Republic -- OPEC's second-largest exporter of oil -- faces the threat of more stringent U.N. sanctions over its refusal to end its illicit nuclear program.
96. House Panel Approves Iran Sanctions Bill: The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday approved by a vote of 37-1 the Iran Counter Proliferation Act of 2007, which closes loopholes in existing sanctions law against Iran, strengthens U.S. tools to cut off funds to Iran's nuclear program and prohibits U.S. nuclear cooperation with those aiding Iran's atomic efforts. It also calls for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be brought before the International Court of Justice for violating the Genocide Convention through his repeated calls for the destruction of Israel. The bill was sponsored by Reps. Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL).
97. United States, Britain Preparing Stringent Iran Sanctions Resolution: As Iran presses ahead with its pursuit of atomic arms, the United States and Great Britain are preparing drafts of a punishing new U.N. Security Council resolution against the Islamic Republic, The Washington Post reported. "This one can't just be another piece of paper," said a U.S. official. "It has to have some bite to it." The next Security Council resolution against Iran could impose sweeping travel bans on the country's top military and security officials, require inspections on its cargo flights and ships, forbid all import and export of arms shipments and freeze the assets of major Iranian banks. Tehran has ignored previous Security Council resolutions calling for a nuclear freeze and has indicated that it will disregard further U.N. demands.
98. U.S. Sanctions Two Supporters of Iran's Nuclear Program: The Treasury Department on Friday froze the assets of and prohibited all transactions with two Iranians, Mohammad Qannadi and Ali Hajinia Leilabadi, due to their involvement in Iran's nuclear program. "Even individuals who are active in Iran's nuclear program are going to be held to account for their conduct and isolated by the international financial community," said Stuart Levey, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Qannadi, according to the Treasury Department, works for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), which overseas the country's nuclear program and reports directly to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while Leilabadi works for the Mesbah Energy Company, an AEOI subordinate. The move comes as Iran continues to defy repeated international demands to halt its illicit nuclear weapons pursuit.
99. House Bill Prohibits Sale of Spare F-14 Parts to Iran: The House on Monday passed legislation by voice vote that prohibits the Pentagon from selling surplus F-14 fighter jet parts to Iran. The Stop Arming Iran Act asserts that the sale of such parts "could make it more difficult to confront the nuclear weapons capability of Iran and would strengthen the ground war capability of Iran." The legislation also notes the urgency of preventing arms sales to Tehran in light of its support for terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hizballah, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The bill was sponsored by Reps. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and Steve Pearce (R-NM).
100. U.N. Secretary-General Condemns Iranian Calls for Israel's Destruction: The United Nations on Thursday said that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "shocked and dismayed" at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments said the world would soon witness the destruction of Israel, The Washington Post reported. "The secretary-general points out that the state of Israel is a full and long-standing member of the United Nations with the same rights and obligations as every other member," a U.N. spokesperson said...
101. California State Assembly Votes to Divest from Iran: The California State Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed legislation that requires the state's two largest pension funds to divest from Iran, the Sacramento Bee reported. "This is a country looking to pick a war. We can't have our retirement [funds] there," said Assemblyman Joel Anderson. "This was a big hurdle we crossed today." The legislation, which obligates the two pension funds to divest more than $2 billion in retirement money invested in foreign companies doing business in Iran, now moves to the California State Senate for a vote. The move comes as Iran continues to threaten Israel with annihilation and make rapid advancements in its illicit nuclear weapons program.
102. Congress Congratulates Israel on 40th Anniversary of Six-Day War: The House on Tuesday passed a resolution by voice vote congratulating the citizens of Israel on the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War as well as praising the Jewish state for reunifying Jerusalem and protecting religious freedom in the city. Introduced by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) and co-sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the resolution urges the Palestinians and all Arab countries to join with Israel in peace negotiations and commends Egypt and Jordan for reaching peace with the Jewish state. The measure also calls upon the president to abide by the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
103. Defiant Ahmadinejad Threatens International Community: Two days after declaring a "countdown" to Israel's destruction, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday said that Tehran has no intention of ending its illicit nuclear program and warned the U.N. Security Council not to "play with the lion's tail," Agence France Press reported. "It is too late to stop the progress of Iran," Ahmadinejad said. "We have broken through to a new stage and it is too late to push us back." Iran has rebuffed multiple Security Council resolutions demanding that it end its efforts to enrich uranium -- a key step toward developing nuclear weapons -- and faces more stringent sanctions as a result of its non-compliance.
104. Bush Warns of Potential Iranian Nuclear Blackmail: Defending the United States' plan to build a missile defense system in eastern Europe, President Bush said that the 21st century's greatest challenges are "threats of radical extremists who will kill to advance an ideology and the threats of proliferation," the Associated Press reported. "I'm deeply concerned about Iran having a nuclear weapon that could fly toward Europe, or, for that matter, any other allies," Bush said. "And we don't want to ever have ourselves in a position where the world could become blackmailed. And, therefore, one way to deal with this issue is through a missile defense system." Iran has tested missiles that can reach Israel and parts of Europe as well as U.S. forces in the Middle East.
105. Ahmadinejad Declares Countdown to Israel's Destruction: Threatening all supporters of Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday said a "countdown" has begun that will end with the extinction of the Jewish state, Agence France Presse reported. "The countdown to this regime's [Israel's] destruction started through the hands of Hizballah's children," Ahmadinejad said, referring to members of the Lebanon-based and Iran-sponsored terrorist army, which fired over 4,000 rockets at Israeli civilians last summer. He added: "I warn the Zionist regime and its protectors." Ahmadinejad has called the Holocaust a "myth" and has said that Israel should be "wiped off the map." Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic continues to pursue a nuclear weapons capability in defiance of multiple U.N. Security Council demands
106. Rice: Iran Must Halt Nuclear Program Before Any Talks: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday said that Iran must verifiably freeze its efforts to enrich uranium - a key step toward developing nuclear weapons, Agence France Presse reported. "The international community is united on what Iran should do and that is to suspend [uranium enrichment] to demonstrate that it is in fact not seeking a nuclear weapon under cover of civil nuclear power," Rice said, adding that talks with Iran could not start while it "continues to try to perfect technologies that are going to lead to a nuclear weapon." Iran has rebuffed multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that it end its illicit nuclear program and faces more stringent sanctions if its non-compliance continues.
107. U.S. Public Opinion Consistently Favors Israel: In the 40 years following the Six-Day War, more Americans have placed their primary sympathy with Israel than with Arab states or with the Palestinians, according to a Pew Research Center study. The report notes that a high level of support for Israel is consistent throughout Israel's nearly 60-year history, regardless of which political party is in power in Jerusalem. The report suggests that U.S. support for Israel is driven in part by Americans' belief that the two allies face a common threat from terrorist organizations.
108. Iran Refuses to Freeze Illicit Nuclear Program: On the eve of talks with the EU foreign policy chief, Iran's nuclear negotiator on Wednesday rejected the possibility of the Islamic Republic suspending its efforts to enrich uranium - a key step toward developing nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported. "If Iran is supposed to suspend its nuclear activities, there will be no issue for talks," Ali Larijani said. "Past experiences have shown that suspension is not acceptable, at all." Iran has rebuffed multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that it end its illicit nuclear program and faces more stringent sanctions as a result of its non-compliance. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday said that the United States and its allies were "firm about the need to increase the pressure" on Iran.
109. Russia Condemns Iran's Nuclear Defiance: On the heels of a critical International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran's rapid nuclear progress, Russia on Monday said it was greatly disappointed by Tehran's nuclear policies, Agence France Presse reported. The U.N. nuclear watchdog's report "showed that Iran was not fulfilling the resolutions of the [IAEA] board of governors and the Security Council," Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said. Russia's close cooperation with the Islamic Republic's civilian nuclear program has weakened in recent months amid Iranian financial troubles. Moscow had previously resisted urgings from Washington to increase pressure on Iran to end its efforts to enrich uranium - a key step toward developing nuclear weapons.
110. Rice: Sanctions Against Iran Hurting the Regime: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday said that international sanctions against Iran are affecting the Islamic Republic's ability to function in the global economy. "We are using the Security Council and its resolutions to demonstrate that Iran is isolated," Rice said. "Iran is beginning to have difficulty using the international financial system. It is having difficulty getting the level of investment in its oil and gas reserves that it needs. And so sooner or later, Iran is going to realize that the course that it's on is not going to lead to greater international power and authority, it's going to lead to greater isolation." The United States continues to lead the international effort to apply robust financial and diplomatic sanctions on Iran until it verifiably ends its illicit nuclear program.
111. Ahmadinejad Remains Defiant on Iran's Nuclear Drive: Reacting to an IAEA report that Iran has accelerated its illicit nuclear program, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday proclaimed that Tehran would "never retreat even one step" from its desire to be a nuclear power, The Washington Post reported. President Bush responded to the report by urging world powers to enact more stringent sanctions against the Islamic Republic. "An Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly destabilizing for the world," Bush said, adding that world leaders must "work collaboratively to continue to isolate that regime." Iran has rebuffed multiple Security Council resolutions demanding that it end its efforts to enrich uranium -- a key step toward developing nuclear weapons.
112. IAEA: Iran Expanding Its Nuclear Capabilities: Warning for the first time that its knowledge of Iran's nuclear activities was shrinking, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday said that the Islamic Republic has accelerated its illicit nuclear program in the past 60 days, The Washington Post reported. The IAEA report is "disturbing, because it shows that Iran is effectively thumbing its nose at the U.N. and the entire international community," said Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns. Iran has rebuffed multiple Security Council resolutions demanding that it end its efforts to enrich uranium - a key step toward developing nuclear weapons - and faces more stringent sanctions as a result of the latest IAEA report.
113. U.S. Military Finds Iranian Bomb-Making Material in Iraq: On a search for a suspected weapons smuggler, U.S.-led forces discovered a cache of Iranian money and bomb-making equipment during a Wednesday raid in the Shia neighborhood of Sadr City in Baghdad, the Associated Press reported. Troops found more than $6,000 in U.S. currency as well as materials for making improvised explosive devices, which can penetrate armored vehicles and are responsible for numerous U.S. casualties in Iraq. Many high-ranking U.S. officials have accused Iran of providing weapons and training to Shia terrorist groups in Iraq. The State Department consistently lists Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of international terrorism.
114. Key Nuclear Report Expected to Show Iranian Defiance: Opening the door for further international sanctions against Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is to issue a report on Wednesday expected to show Iran continuing to defy U.N. demands that it halt its illicit nuclear program, Agence France Presse reported. The report should have "no surprises and everything in it will be negative for Iran," said a diplomat in Vienna, where the IAEA is based. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei recently said Iran has made alarming advances in its nuclear program. The United States and its allies believe that strong economic and diplomatic sanctions can block Iran's atomic ambitions and are expected to push for a third round of Security Council penalties against Tehran.
115. United States and Britain Back Israel's Right to Self-Defense: In the face of ongoing Palestinian rocket attacks, the United States and the United Kingdom on Monday publicly endorsed Israel's right to defend its citizens from terrorism, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. "Israel is faced with the difficult challenge countering these continued rocket attacks from Gaza into Israeli territory," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "They have a right to defend themselves." British Ambassador to Israel Tom Phillips visited the bombarded Israeli town of Sderot. "It is terrible that civilian life in southern Israel is under daily fire," Phillips said. Hamas, whose charter says that Israel will exist "until Islam eliminates it," faces an international embargo on direct financial aid until it halts terrorism and incitement to violence against Israel.
116. Oprah Winfrey to Visit Israel on Solidarity Trip: At a Monday event in Manhattan, American talk show icon Oprah Winfrey announced that she will accept Nobel laureate and author Elie Wiesel's invitation to travel to Israel and will be arriving in the Jewish state for a solidarity visit in the near future, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, called on Winfrey to visit Israel, where "the major war on terror is currently taking place." In her speech, Winfrey said she sympathized with the suffering of the people of Israel. Winfrey's upcoming visit to Israel, said Israel's U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman, could help bring an end to international indifference toward the terror threat faced by Israelis.
117. U.S. Condemns Austrian Company for Investing in Nuclear-Minded Iran: The U.S. ambassador in Vienna criticized Austrian energy company OMV for pursuing a gas development deal with Iran, saying the deal "circumvents or undermines" U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic, the Associated Press reported. U.S. Ambassador Susan McCaw noted that Washington could employ the Iran Sanctions Act -- which mandates sanctions on foreign companies investing more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector -- to impose punitive measures against the company. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), a leading cosponsor of more stringent Iran sanctions legislation currently before Congress, echoed McCaw's remarks, saying that if OMV proceeds with the deal, "I have no doubt it will be sanctioned."
118. Bush: Iran Must Not Have a Nuclear Weapon: Standing alongside British Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Bush on Thursday urged the international community to stay united against Iran's pursuit of an atomic bomb, The Jerusalem Post reported. "We fully recognize that the Iranians must not have a nuclear weapon," Bush said. "And therefore it's important to continue to work in the international arena to speak with one voice." Bush's comments came a few days after the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that Tehran has overcome technological hurdles to developing nuclear weapons. Iran has rebuffed multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding an end to its illicit nuclear program and faces more stringent sanctions if its non-compliance continues.
119. House Increases Funding for U.S.-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation: The House on Thursday approved a measure that expands U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation as part of a larger defense authorization bill. The measure, spearheaded by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), includes an additional $25 million for the co-production of Arrow missiles - a cornerstone program of U.S.-Israel defense cooperation that has consistently demonstrated that one missile can shoot down another at high altitudes and speeds. The legislation also includes an additional $180 million for other joint missile systems. For decades, the United States and Israel have maintained a close strategic partnership resulting in numerous military innovations of mutual benefit to both countries.
120. IAEA: Iranian Nuclear Progress Faster Than Expected: The International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded that Iran has overcome technological hurdles to developing nuclear weapons and is now beginning to enrich uranium -- which can serve as fuel for an atomic bomb -- on a much larger scale than before, The New York Times reported. "We believe they pretty much have the knowledge about how to enrich," said Mohammed ElBaradei, director general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog. "From now on, it is simply a question of perfecting that knowledge. People will not like to hear it, but that's a fact." Iran has rebuffed multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding an end to its illicit nuclear program and faces more stringent sanctions if its non-compliance continues.
121. Cheney Says U.S. Won't Allow Iran to Acquire Nuclear Weapons: Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday said the United States and its allies will not permit Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, close off sea lanes for oil supplies and control the Middle East, The Washington Post reported. "With two carrier strike groups in the Gulf, we're sending clear messages to friends and adversaries alike," Cheney said during a speech aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. "We'll keep the sea lanes open. We'll stand with our friends in opposing extremism and strategic threats. We'll disrupt attacks on our own forces. We'll continue bringing relief to those who suffer and delivering justice to the enemies of freedom." Cheney's statement comes as Iran continues to defy international demands to halt its enrichment of uranium -- a key step toward developing nuclear weapons.
122. State Department: Iran Faces Another U.N. Sanctions Resolution: As Iran presses ahead with its illicit nuclear program, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns on Wednesday said that Iran must choose between engagement or more stringent international sanctions. "If Iran doesn't say yes to negotiations and continues [with efforts to enrich uranium]," Burns said, "they are going to find a third Security Council Resolution in the month of June, a third Chapter VII resolution." Iran has rebuffed the Security Council's multiple demands to end its illicit nuclear program and is facing increased financial pressure from Congress and individual states as well as international businesses
123. Report: U.S. Support for Israel at All-Time High: Veteran pollster Stanley Greenberg on Tuesday said that Israel's image was at a five-year high among U.S. opinion elite - those who are highly educated, likely voters and avid consumers of news, The Jerusalem Post reported. "There is strong support for Israel in the United States," Greenberg said. "It is very important to remind people that Israel is committed to peace." Greenberg also addressed Iran, saying nearly 75 percent of the American opinion elite believe the Islamic Republic should be stopped from developing nuclear weapons, and more than 80 percent of opinion elite say Americans should divest from companies that do business in Iran. The United State and Israel continue to work together in the international arena to halt Iran's quest for a nuclear weapons capability
124. Rice Tells Iran to End Its Nuclear Program: As Iran presses ahead with its illicit nuclear program, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday said that the Islamic Republic must verifiably end its efforts to enrich uranium - a key step toward developing nuclear weapons, The Washington Post reported. "The international community has made its demands through the United Nations," Rice said. "Iran should stop nuclear enrichment, after that there would be a change in the U.S. policy that has been going on for 27 years and then I can talk to them about any issue." Washington severed its ties with Tehran in 1980 after radical Islamic students seized the U.S. embassy there and held 52 hostages for 444 days. Many of those responsible for the embassy seizure are now in prominent positions in the Iranian government.

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