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IRAN

France: Total Halts Gas Sales To Iran

June 28, 2010

Total became the latest big oil company to halt gas sales to Iran, The Financial Times reported June 28. Traders said Total stopped supplying Tehran about a month ago. It remained unclear whether some deliveries already agreed were still pending for delivery.

Iran: No Official Stance From Russia On S-300s - DM

June 30, 2010

Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said on June 30 that Russia has yet to take an official stance on the delivery of the S-300 missile system, ISNA reported. On the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting, Vahidi said Moscow has obligations that Tehran will pursue.

Iran: Egypt Denies Barring Aid Ship

June 27, 2010

Egyptian authorities denied barring an Iranian vessel from crossing through the Suez Canal to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, Xinhua reported June 27. A spokesman for the Suez Canal Authority said Iran’s charge that Egypt would not allow Iran’s aid ship through the canal was not true, and that Egypt allows all civilian and military ships to cross the canal in line with the 1888 Constantinople Convention.

Iran: Aid Ship Departure Delayed, New Route Announced

June 27, 2010

The Iranian Red Crescent announced June 27 it has postponed the departure of a ship intended to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip because of tighter restrictions imposed by Israel and other threats on aid vessels, Fars News Agency reported. A senior Iranian lawmaker said Tehran plans to send the aid ship to Gaza via a northern route through the Caspian Sea.

Iran: Enough Uranium Produced For 2 Weapons - CIA

June 27, 2010

Iran is believed to possess enough low-enriched uranium to produce two nuclear weapons, CIA Director Leon Panetta said in an interview with ABC News on June 27. Panetta said Israeli officials believe more strongly than the United States that Iran has already made the decision to pursue building nuclear weapons, but that the Israelis are willing to give the United States the room to try to negotiate with Iran.


Iran: Gaza Aid Delegation To Travel On Lebanon Ship

June 26, 2010

Iranian lawmakers protesting at Israel’s blockade of Gaza plan to travel on an aid ship scheduled to leave from Lebanon, Reuters reported June 26. Mahmoud Ahmadi-Beighash, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, said Iranian parliament delegates could sail on the ship instead of attempting to enter Gaza via Egypt. He said the decision to sail from Lebanon rather than use Egypt’s land border with Gaza was made in a meeting with parliament speaker Ali Larijani.

Iran: Palestinian Issue Puts Pressure On Tehran

June 30, 2010

During a meeting with Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal, Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said there is pressure on Iran over the Palestinian issue, Press TV reported June 30. Larijani disclosed information that reportedly came from the foreign minister of a country that is a permanent U.N. Security Council member. If Iran makes a compromise with the West over the Palestinian-Israeli issue, then all pressure will be eliminated, Larijani stated. The main problem is not over the nuclear dossier, there is no problem even if Iran builds a nuclear bomb, Larijani quoted the unnamed foreign minister as saying.

Iran: Bushehr Plant Operational By Mid-September

June 30, 2010

The Bushehr nuclear plant will be operational by mid-September, according to the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi, ISNA reported June 30. Iran is satisfied with Russian cooperation, Salehi said, adding that 3,000 Russian experts are working in the power plant. He stated that Bushehr is undergoing the last phase of its final test that was delayed for two weeks. Salehi said new sanctions do not have an impact on Bushehr or on Iran as activities continue. Russian Consul General Ali Mitkhadovich Mustafabeyli stated that the plant needs two months or less to be completed.

IRAQ

Iraq: SoL, Al-Iraqiya Leaders To Discuss New Government

June 29, 2010

The leader of Iraqi political coalition State of Law, Nouri al-Maliki, and al-Iraqiya list leader Ayad Allawi met June 29 and agreed to pursue talks in the next few days to break the political stalemate, KUNA reported. An al-Iraqiya list member who attended the meeting said there will be another meeting either June 30 or July 1, which shows that both parties “share the desire to form a new government as early as possible.”


Iran: Opens Consulate Office In Iraq

June 26, 2010

Iran inaugurated a consulate office in Najaf, Iraq on June 26 in a ceremony attended by Arak Friday Prayer Leader Qorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi and Iranian and Iraqi officials, IRNA reported.


ISRAEL

Turkey: Ankara Confirms Rejecting Israeli Airspace Request

June 29, 2010

Turkey confirmed that it turned down a request by Israel to use Turkish airspace, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said June 29, Anatolia reported. The spokesman said use of airspace is divided into civilian and military flights and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The recent denial came from a request for a military cargo plane, but Israel may continue to use Turkish airspace for civilian flights.


Turkey: Airspace Closed To Israel

June 28, 2010

Turkey closed its airspace to Israel, according to state-run news agency quotes of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, AP reported June 28. The Anatolia news agency quoted Erdogan as telling reporters in Canada that Turkey imposed a ban on flights after the May 31 Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Erdogan did not elaborate.

Georgia: Israel Will Not Attack Iran From Here - DM

Israel: 150 Trucks Allowed Daily Into Gaza

June 30, 2010

Israeli Defense officials said the international community, led by Quartet envoy Tony Blair, was formulating a plan for Israel to continue to loosen the Gaza blockade, The Jerusalem Post reported June 30. Israel lifted restrictions on food imports and is encouraged to allow Gazans to export goods to potential markets in Israel, the West Bank and Europe. The Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) informed the Palestinians that 150 trucks, double what was allowed before the easing of the blockade, would pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing. COGAT plans to increase the number to 250.

June 30, 2010

Georgia’s Defense Ministry refuted information that Israel is planning to attack Iran from Georgian territories, Panorama.am reported. The ministry refuted a June 23 article that said Israeli military leadership worked out a plan with Azerbaijan and Georgia for Israel to use the countries’ territories during a military attack on Iran.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan: Operation Launched To Clear Insurgents In North

June 29, 2010

The Afghan National Army is leading an operation codenamed “Tawhid-3” to clear insurgents from vulnerable areas of Baghlan province and ensure security for the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, Afghan Arzu TV reported June 29. The operation will cover Baghlan-e Kohna, Dand-e Ghowri, Shahab and Qaisarkhail districts. National police and International Security Assistance Force troops are backing the National Army and plan to clear insurgents from all northern and northeastern provinces in four phases.


Afghanistan: Taliban Power-Sharing Deal Unlikely - CIA

June 27, 2010

CIA Director Leon Panetta said June 27 a power-sharing deal promoted by Pakistan between Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government and the Taliban is unlikely because Taliban militants do not have a reason to enter serious negotiations, ABC News reported. Panetta said in an interview that there is no evidence the group is interested in reconciliation, laying down its arms, denouncing al Qaeda or joining Afghan society. He added that unless the militant group believes the United States will defeat them, it will be difficult for a reconciliation process to proceed.

U.S.: Afghan President Assured War Plan Stays

June 26, 2010

U.S. military top officer Adm. Mike Mullen assured Afghan President Hamid Karzai on June 26 that the new NATO commander, Gen. David Petraeus, will pursue the same war strategy crafted by Gen. Stanley McChrystal the ousted general whom Karzai praised for training Afghan security forces and reducing civilian casualties, AP reported.
Mullen visited Afghanistan three days after U.S. President Barack Obama accepted McChrystal’s resignation. Karzai welcomed Obama’s decision to appoint Petraeus, a man he said had a wealth of experience and knowledge about the situation in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Taliban Threatens Mining Companies Monitor

June 28, 2010

The Taliban has threatened to attack any foreign company that tries to extract minerals from Afghanistan, according to the monitoring group SITE, AFP reported June 28. The Taliban claimed that the Afghan government is illegitimate and has no right to issue mineral contracts.

U.S.: System To Assess Afghan Forces Flawed

June 28, 2010

A report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction reveals that the United States does not know the capability of the Afghanistan security forces at this time, Reuters reported June 28, citing U.S. auditors. According to the report, rankings used to grade Afghan forces varied greatly from one region to another, personnel numbers for the Afghan army were overstated and widespread corruption and drug abuse among Afghan security forces as well as logistics issues plagued the effort to develop independent Afghan forces.

U.S.: Lawmaker Blocks Afghan Aid

June 28, 2010

Representative Nita Lowey, who heads the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, said she would hold hearings into allegations that top Afghan officials flew suitcases full of cash from U.S. aid to foreign safe havens, AFP reported June 28. Lowey said she would not appropriate any more assistance to Afghanistan beyond “life-saving humanitarian aid” until she is convinced U.S. taxpayer money is not being abused and until the Afghan government is willing and able to root out corruption within its ranks.

U.S., Afghanistan: Forces Launch Major Assault

June 29, 2010

A force of about 700 U.S. and Afghan troops launched a major assault along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, according to senior U.S. Army officials, The Washington Post reported June 29. The U.S. and Afghan troops, flown in on helicopters, seized the mountainous high ground in Konar province’s Marawara district in the pre-dawn hours on June 27 and were attacked by a force of about 200 insurgents. Two U.S. troops died in the assault, and an estimated 150 insurgent fighters were killed in what U.S. officials said was one of the most intense battles of the past year


SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Mexico: La Familia Cartel Member Arrested

June 30, 2010

Mexican authorities arrested Miguel Ortiz Miranda, the person suspected of planning an April 23 attack on Michoacan state Public Security Secretary Minerva Gomez Bautista, Milenio reported June 30. Miranda, a former federal policeman, is a member of the La Familia drug cartel.

U.S.: Wells Fargo Admits Financing Mexican Drug Cartels

June 29, 2010

Wells Fargo and Co. and Wachovia — bought by Wells Fargo and Co. in 2008 — admitted in court they failed to monitor and report suspected money laundering by narcotics traffickers, including cash used to buy four planes that shipped a total of 22 tons of cocaine, Bloomberg Markets reported in its August 2010 issue. The admission came following a March agreement between Wachovia and federal prosecutors. Wachovia also admitted it failed to properly identify illicit funds in handling $378.4 billion for Mexican currency-exchange houses from 2004 to 2007. The federal prosecutor handling the case, Jeffrey Sloman, said Wachovia’s negligence gave international drug cartels “virtual carte blanche” to finance their operations.

Mexico: Gubernatorial Candidate Assassinated

June 28, 2010

Rodolfo Torre Cantu, the Todo Tamaulipas Coalition gubernatorial candidate for the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, has been assassinated in Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, in an ambush, STRATFOR sources reported June 28. Sources in the candidate’s campaign committee have confirmed his shooting death; he was on his way to the airport to fly to the city of Valle Hermoso, Milenio reported. El Universal reported he was killed in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas state. Four other people were reportedly killed, El Universal reported.

MISC

South Korea: North Open To Talks On Warship Sinking

June 27, 2010

North Korea is willing to open talks between the North Korean and South Korean militaries addressing the March 26 sinking of a South Korean navy corvette, and said that the United States should not be involved in the case, AFP reported June 27, citing an unnamed military official’s statement released by North Korean state-run KCNA. Pyongyang has demanded that it be allowed to send its own investigators to South Korea to verify the facts of the case, which Seoul has rejected. The North Korean military official also said the United States should not be involved in North-South relations or the investigation under the name of the U.N. Command, and Pyongyang’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification of Korea criticized the South’s participation in recent military drills and U.S.-led efforts to stop the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction

Kyrgyzstan: New Government To Form In July

June 27, 2010

A new Kyrgyz government will be formed by July 10, according to Kyrgyz interim leader Roza Otunbayeva, Interfax reported June 27. Otunbayeva said members of the interim government will resign around July 10 and be replaced by members of the new government.

Turkey: Army To Be Professionalized

June 30, 2010

Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said the Turkish government is working on a proposal to professionalize the Turkish army but the number has yet to be decided, NTV reported June 30.



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