A Daily Briefing on Iran: Thursday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 4.13.2006:

The world responds to Iran's announcement.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran in formal breach of a U.N. Security Council resolution and now has the know how to make a nuclear bomb.
Reuters reported that the UN is unlikely to act sooner than May on the question of Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The Washington Post reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the United Nations Security Council must now take "strong steps." The permanent 5 (plus Germany) will meet next week in Moscow.
The Washington Post reported that Russia's Foreign Ministry criticized Iran saying: "We believe that this step is wrong."
Reuters pointed out that Russia did not reiterate its past opposition to sanctions.
Downing Street released a statement from Jack Straw which said: "The latest Iranian statement further undermines international confidence in the Iranian regime and is deeply unhelpful."
Bangkok Post reported that a day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad declaration, Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said: "We have no comments."

Iran's leaders stay on the offensive.

Iran Focus reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded that the world’s “lying and corrupt powers” disarm their nuclear arsenals.
Mehran Riazaty reported that Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Najjar said Iran's enemies' reaction to Iran's acquisition of the nuclear enrichment cycle does not matter much to the Iranians.

Iran headed toward being able to produce a nuclear weapon every 16 days.

Bloomberg reported that a U.S. State Department official said Iran may be capable of making a nuclear bomb within 16 days, once they have their planned 50,000 centrifuges online.

Bush being held hostage by the Iranians?

Howard Fineman, MSNBC reported that a generation ago, the Iranian hostage crisis cost Jimmy Carter and the Democrats the White House. Now, 26 years later, another Iranian hostage crisis threatens to do the same thing to George W. Bush and the Republican Party.
The New York Times reported that one of President Bush's most senior foreign policy advisers said "The problem is that our policy has been all carrots and no sticks... and the Iranians know it."

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

Michael Ledeen, The National Review outlined the Iranian Mullah’s view of why their confrontation approach to the international community will work.
Ilan Berman, AFPC reported that Iran considering a bill which would require American citizens to be fingerprinted and searched at all entry points into Iran while at the same time some 500 intelligence operatives from Iran are suspected to have entered Iraq over the past couple of weeks.
IranMania reported that Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani held talks with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz. The Saudi king said that Iran-Saudi Arabia cooperation would be effective in repelling the threats and establishing permanent security in the region.
William Kristol, The Weekly Standard sees parallels between how the west failed to deal with Hitler early on and how the west now appears headed to do the same with Iran.