Headlines for 04-12-08

Iran cleric rejects Bush's accusations on Iraq


Navy ship encounters Iranian boat The USS Typhoon tried unsuccessfully to establish radio contact with the Iranian boat after it came within an estimated 200 yards of the Typhoon on Thursday, outside Iranian territorial waters. A Navy official said the ship then fired the flare and continued on its way without incident.


U.S. sceptical about Iranian nuclear advances Gregory Schulte, U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, told reporters they should take "with a grain of salt" comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday.


Report: Iran says Gulf encounter with US not confrontational There has been no confrontation between Iran and United States in the Persian Gulf, official news agency IRNA reported Friday.


More Americans Want to End Iraq War Next Year


Powell: Troops in Iraq must be reduced Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that President Bush's successor will have to come to grips with the reality that the United States cannot continue to keep such large numbers of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.




Crocker: Room at the table for Iran The United States would enter trilateral talks with Iraq and Iran if the Iraqis wanted a round of security talks, the top U.S. diplomat in Iraq said.


Bush says no plans to attack Iran: interview "The message to the Iranians is: we will bring you to justice if you continue to try to infiltrate, send your agents or send surrogates to bring harm to our troops and/or the Iraqi citizens," he said.


Spy photos 'show Iran missile site'


New Iran incentives, sanctions unlikely now -Rice


Gates: Iran boosts support for militias Making the case for war.


Cheney on the Warpath Again? Cheney also notably refused to comment about any recent conversations he may have had with Israeli leaders about the possibility of their bombing Iranian nuclear facilities. Some observers suspect Cheney of encouraging Israel to attack Iran as a proxy.


Cheney cold-shouldered Dick Cheney's belligerence and aggressive anti-Iran rhetoric is driving Arab nations into the arms of Russia



Hadley: Iran a Threat in Iraq With al-Qaida's influence diminishing in Iraq, U.S. troops have much work to do in stemming Iranian support for militias, President Bush's national security adviser said Sunday.


US confrontation with Iran unlikely in Iraq: US defense secretary


Iran-UN nuclear talks postponed A meeting between Iran's chief nuclear negotiator and the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency has been postponed, Iranian media have said.




It's Occupation, Not War by Charley Reese As for al-Qaeda, it has been virtually wiped out in Iraq ? not by us, but by Sunni tribesmen who turned against it because of its murderous fanaticism. McCain keeps confusing al-Qaeda with Shia and trying to link it to Iran, but al-Qaeda is a fundamentalist Sunni group way outside the mainstream of Islam.


Al-Assad immunity proposal rejected Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday rejected suggestions to offer Syrian President Bashar al-Assad immunity in a U.N. probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in exchange for his help in reining in the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas.


Iranian, Lebanese officials to skip Doha Forum over Livni's participation


History brings tourists to Syria Syria has become increasingly popular as a holiday destination in recent years with annual growth in visitor numbers of up to 15%, double what it witnessed in the 1990s.