Hands off Iran and Syria
2 - 4pm, US Embassy
Grosvenor Square
London W1K 2

Called by Stop the War Coalition.
Supported by UNITE the Union, War on Want, Palestine Solidarity Campaign,
Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention on Iran, Friends of
Al-Aqsa, Goldsmiths Student Union and SOAS Student Union. ››read more

The current US stand-off against Iran, like the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, was instigated by the neoconservatives of the Bush Administration based on their doctrine of “maintaining US pre-eminence, thwarting rival powers and shaping the global security system according to US interests”. In the case of Saddam’s regime, its fictitious Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and its alleged links to Al-Qaida were used in the US propaganda war to first impose UN sanctions and eventually invade Iraq for a regime change. We now have a déjà vu situation in which the US and its allies, prodded by Israel, demonize Iran as a threat to world security and accuse it of having a nuclear weaponisation programme. The same Israeli lobby and “hawks” who pushed for the invasion of Iraq under the Neo-Conservative Bush administration, are now succeeding in browbeating Obama administration on to the path of most crushing sanctions and military attack on Iran. ››read more

Below is a statement by United National Anti-War Coalition on the assassination of Iranian scientists and the growing threat of war against Iran.

Also, UNAC members participated in a national conference call on Tuesday with many other antiwar and Iranian groups. The meeting called for demonstrations on February 4 to protest the threat of war against Iran. Please join us on February 4 and plan a protest in your local area. ››read more

Berlin, Jan 23, IRNA -- Head of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano has openly acknowledged to German lawmakers there was no proof whatsoever that Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program, said an opposition legislator of The Left party Monday. ››read more

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Wednesday that global crude prices could rise as much as 30 per cent if Iran halts oil exports as a result of United States (US) and European Union (EU) sanctions.
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Has Iran decided to build a nuclear bomb? That would seem to be the central question in the current bellicose debate over whether the world should simply cripple Iran’s economy and inflict severe pain on its civilian population or launch a preemptive war to destroy its nuclear capability while possibly achieving “regime change.” ››read more

TEHRAN - The Iranian parliament is discussing a plan calling for a halt to Iran’s oil exports to the European countries that voted for sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, MP Nasser Soudani has announced. ››read more

What do the majority of Syrians want? That is still the million dollar question, and the answer appears to shift with each major development – sometimes with optimism, usually with pessimism. If I were to wager on the outcome of this crisis though, I would firmly place my bets on the Syrian people rejecting these interventions and reaching their own national consensus on a democratic transition that ensures sovereignty. ››read more

REPORTING FROM YAROSLAVL, RUSSIA -- Russia slammed the new package of sanctions against Iran approved Monday by the European Union..... In a tough-worded statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the EU move “deeply erroneous." ››read more

No one ever lost money betting on the foolishness of European Union (EU) politicos. And if you are an oil trader, rejoice - all the way to the bank; as expected, EU foreign ministers - meekly following the Barack Obama administration - have given a green light for a full Iranian oil embargo. ››read more

John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, is best known for his brief stint at the Justice Department during the George W. Bush administration (2001-2003), where he authored a controversial memorandum approving the use of torture in prisoner interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. In the reviewed article, Yoo argues that the US should attack Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons because this “would cause a radical reversal of the balance of power” in that part of the world, a prospect that “justifies action in itself.” The US need not and should not seek authorization from the UN Security Council, Yoo argues, because the UN “has no armed forces of its own, has a crippled decision-making system, and lacks political legitimacy.” ››read more

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil held above $110 on Tuesday as supply concerns rooted in tension between Iran and the West offset fears over demand growth stemming from protracted negotiations over Greece's debt. ››read more

For the first time, British government censors have banned a 24-hour news channel from British viewers. As of the afternoon, UK-time, 20th January 2012, viewers of Press TV, an avowedly anti-imperialist TV channel headquartered in Tehran and featuring many of the voices found in CounterPunch, saw the words “Channel Unavailable” when tapping their clicker. And so the war on Iran by Britain, Israel and the U.S. continues using propaganda, proxy militants and asymmetric warfare. ››read more

Despite all the hype, Iran's nuclear program has yet to violate international law. It's time to calm down, think, and above all halt the rush to war ››read more

In what she termed a “dual track approach,” European Union FM Catherine Ashton has insisted that the union is “open” to the idea of additional talks with Iran, in spite of the member nations focusing almost exclusively on imposing new sanctions on Iran. ››read more

Iran’s state-operated PressTV news channel has gone black for British satellite TV customers today after the nominally independent Office of Communications (Ofcom) revoked the station’s license, demanding that they move their entire editorial team to London if they want to resume broadcasts. ››read more

The past few weeks have made me scratch my head about the dramatically dissonant signals coming out of Washington. One possible conclusion is pure chaos and incompetence, with no one in control of the message. But there is an alternative explanation that intrigues me. Perhaps messages are being delivered to multiple audiences more or less simultaneously, in a complicated effort to have your cake and eat it too. Or as I would like to believe, undertaking a new initiative with Iran while trying to disarm the political opposition. ››read more

Under the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has the legal right to produce nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has found no evidence that Iran is developing a nuclear weapons program. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently said on CBS that Iran is not currently trying to build a nuclear weapon.
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Russia has strongly objected to Western belligerence towards its allies Syria and Iran, warning that a military assault on the Iranian regime could cause a “chain reaction” that would destabilize the entire world. ››read more

Top five, 10 or 100 lists are standard at the end of the year. Though the Iranian year doesn’t end for roughly two months, given the escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, with threats and counter threats over the Strait of Hormuz — to say nothing of most GOP presidential candidates’ views on what to do about Iran — it might be useful to compile one on the growing Iran crisis, early 2012 here and late 1390 there: ››read more