Popular Demands” Transmogrified to Achieve What America’s Might Failed to

did not pay enough attention to what was happening in Tunisia for many reasons, but one of the most important one was my argument against Tunisian people “We all seek a better democracy, but Tunisians who since their independence were never at war with anybody why should not they fight against their rulers for a better democracy and better freedom???” We, the Syrians, are disadvantaged with an aggressive expansionist enemy that had been for decades occupying parts of our territories and above all the troops of this enemy are no more than 40 miles away from the capital, Damascus, the center-nerve system of our homeland. My students at Damascus University, Open University Program, asked me…

US, Israel, S. Arabia Support Suppression of Protests in Bahrain to Attain Interests

TEHRAN (FNA)- Washington and Tel Aviv support the Bahraini regime’s brutal acts against the people and Saudi Arabia even plays a main and obvious role in repressing protesters in the tiny Persian Gulf island for the sake of their own interests, a senior Bahraini opposition figure said.         Speaking to FNA, a senior leader of the February 14 Coalition Sheikh Issa bin Ali al-Jamri stated that the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia are providing unlimited support for the Al Khalifa regime and help it in the massacre of the innocent people in the tiny Persian Gulf island.   He said that Riyadh and Amman are supporting Manama because they fear the spread…

Europe Begs Tehran to Avoid Cutting Oil Exports

  A prominent Iranian lawmaker announced that the European countries have demanded the parliament to stop passing a double-urgency bill on cutting the country’s oil exports to the EU members. “So far the ambassadors of several European countries such as France, Greece, Germany and Italy have desperately rushed to the parliament to call for restraint against passing a bill on stopping [the Iranian] oil exports to Europe,” Vice-Chairman of the parliament’s Energy Commission Nasser Soudani said on Saturday. Soudani further highlighted that the double-urgency bill is still on the table and that the Iranian lawmakers have expressed readiness to approve it. After months of debates, the EU member states eventually reached an agreement in their…

Saudi Arabia Unable to Fulfill Oil Pledge

  Analysts believe that Saudi Arabia cannot live up to its promise to fill the oil-supply gap in case the US-led European Union imposes a ban on Iranian oil supplies. Analysts said failure could put further price pressure on markets already roiled by tensions linked to efforts to curb Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program. There are encouraging signs that the West is re-examining the prospects for a diplomatic solution. But that does not mean the European Union is likely to drop proposed measures to ban Iranian oil imports from mid-year that are due to be discussed by its foreign ministers on Monday. Iran fired back this week after Ali al-Naimi, the Saudi energy minister, said in…

Oil Sanctions against Iran to Harm European Consumers

The Iranian oil ministry in a statement downplayed the effects of the US and EU’s unilateral oil sanctions against Tehran, and said such embargoes will merely harm the European economies and oil consuming countries. European sanctions against Iran’s oil exports will affect world economy and hurt European and non-European countries, the statement said on Monday. “Hurried decision by EU states to use oil as a political tool will have a negative effect on the world economy and especially on recovering European economies which are fighting to overcome the global financial crisis,” it added. The statement continued that since just 18 percent of oil produced by Iran is exported to European countries, Islamic Republic can easily…

Iran Adopts Necessary Measures to Protect Scientists

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said that Tehran has adopted proper measures to protect its scientists and elites against terrorist attacks.           “The president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) issued strict orders to relevant officials at the beginning of the current (Iranian) year (started on March 21) to put protection of nuclear scientists on their working agenda,” Rahimi said on the sidelines of a ceremony held here in Tehran on Tuesday to commemorate the martyrs of Iran’s nuclear industry.   “Some remarkable measures have been taken in this regard and all people active in the nuclear sector have come under a special protection plan accordi ng to the very same order,”…

Fujairah pipeline test in May

Abu Dhabi has set May as the start of trial operations of a pipeline that will cut across much of the UAE’s barren desert to transport massive quantities of crude from its oilfields straight to the Indian Ocean. Oil from the emirate’s massive onshore fields will begin flowing on a trial basis in May before the project is fully commissioned a month later to allow Abu Dhabi to bypass the Hormuz Strait through which nearly a fifth of the world’s crude exports pass every day. “The trial stage for the pipeline will begin in May…an agreement has already been signed between Adnic and I[ic,” the semi-official Arabic language daily Alittihad said, quoting ADNOC sources. International…

Oil up on Iran, Nigeria supply worries

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent crude rose more than $1 to over $113 on Thursday on worries a showdown between Iran and the West in the Middle East Gulf and a strike in Nigeria could disrupt oil supplies. Tension between the West and Iran over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program has increased after an Iranian nuclear scientist was blown up in his car by a motorbike hitman on Wednesday, prompting Tehran to blame Israeli and U.S. agents. Brent crude futures for February rose $1.64 to a high of $113.88 a barrel and was trading close to that level by 1225 GMT. U.S. crude oil was up more than $1 above $102. Iran has threatened to close…

First nuclear fuel rod tested in Iran

Scientists and researchers at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have successfully tested the first domestically produced nuclear fuel rod containing natural uranium, Iranian news agencies reported on Sunday. According to the reports, the first nuclear fuel rod was loaded into the core of the Tehran research reactor as part of an experiment to test its performance in operation. Now Iran should convert fuel rods into fuel plates to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment. Iran has constructed an advanced plant at the Isfahan nuclear facility for manufacturing nuclear fuel plates. With the construction of the plant, Iran is now among the few countries that can manufacture both nuclear fuel…

Turkish government is Responsible about Tense Atmosphere in Region

ANKARA, (SANA) – Official spokesman of the Turkish Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi) Mustafa Yilmaz said that Syria and Turkey are neighboring countries brought together by deep-rooted fraternity, but recently there were attempts to destroy the historic relations between them which upset the Turkish people. In an interview with the Syrian TV’s correspondent in Ankara, Yilmaz said that the recent stance of the Justice and Development Party caused concern among the Turkish people and politicians, stressing that the biggest winners if a confrontation occurred between Syria and Turkey are Israel and the United States. He pointed out that the Turkish people believe that Turkish media isn’t portraying the reality of what is happening in Syria, and that media…