Friday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 1.27.2005:

All of the major powers are now support the Russian proposal.

• The New York Times reported that President Bush and the Chinese government both declared their full support for a Russian proposal. See also BBC News.
• BBC News reported that China's government has said: Plans to enrich uranium in Russia for use in Iran could help break a global stalemate over Tehran's nuclear aims.
• USInfo.State.gov reported that UN Ambassador John Bolton said that placing the Iran crisis under the spotlight of the Security Council, will “help dramatize the extent of world opposition to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and demonstrate to them that the course they are pursuing is not acceptable.”
• Reuters reported that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: Iran is "feeling the heat" of international pressure over its nuclear program.

Was Bush's Endorsement of the Russian proposal a mistake?

• The New York Sun Blog argued that while the president may be counting on Iran to reject Russia's offer but it also permits Iran the opportunity to now negotiate with Moscow for months on end, giving Iran more time to build its bomb.

US Poll on Iran.

• FOX News reported that according to their polling Americans think Iran is the country that poses the greatest immediate danger to the United States. Read the poll results.

Talk of War.

• Gerard Baker, The Times argued that we need to prepare ourselves for the unthinkable, saying: War against Iran may be a necessity.
• Asia Times believes that the Bush administration planning for possible military action against Iranian nuclear facilities appears to have focused on commando operations to sabotage them rather than on air attacks.
• Middle East Newsline reminded us that just last month; Iran completed a huge military exercise that tested Teheran's ability to attack Western shipping and Arab oil facilities in the Gulf.
• Countdown argued that if the more ideologically oriented Iranian armed forces 9IRGC, etc) crumble for any reason (including strikes by the US) the traditional Iranian army has the potential to step in and end the conflict. That could be our winning card.

More from the unbelievable, Ahmadinejad.

• European Jewish Press reported that Iran said it was willing to send a team of "independent investigators" to visit former Nazi deaths camps across Europe.
• The International Herald Tribune reported that Iran has asked the United States to allow direct flights between the two countries.
  
• Meysam Tavab, Rooz Online reported that Ahmadinejad's government has asked Iran's Parliament to stop making foreign policy pronouncements.
• Shahram Rafizadeh, Rooz Online argued that the increasing international pressure on Iran has motivated Iranian leaders to search for younger neighboring allies, instead of depending on traditional diplomacy.
• IranMania.com reported that Iran congratulated the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas for its election victory and declared last month that they represented a "united front" against Israel.

Here are a few other news items you may have missed.

• Bloomberg reported that Prime Minister Tony Blair rejected Iranian claims that British soldiers were involved in two bombings that killed at least nine people in the city of Ahvaz.
• The New York Sun reported that the man who served as the no. 2 official in Saddam Hussein's air force says Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war.
• AxisGlobe reported that Iran is preparing to help Georgia in its gas crisis with Russia.
• BBC News reported that India has summoned the US ambassador to Delhi after comments he made over India's relations with Iran.
• VOA News reported that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has said that he will go ahead with plans to build a natural gas pipeline to Iran, despite U.S. pressure, unless the US wants to compensate them for giving it up.
• And finally, ET, View from Iran published another of his "Tehran Taxi talks."