Iran says in touch with big powers on new nuclear talks, EU denies it

A year after the last talks collapsed, tensions are rising with the United States and EU preparing to embargo Iran's lifeblood oil industry over its refusal to suspend a nuclear program that the West suspects is meant to develop atom bombs.

U.S. rejects Israeli assessment that Iran sanctions are ineffective

A senior U.S. official said Wednesday that Iran sanctions are effective, contrasting a recent statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the current sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic are insufficient to curb its nuclear program.

Nato urges Iran to keep Strait of Hormuz open

Nato pressed Iran to guarantee the security of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz but said the Western military alliance had no plans to intervene in the area – used for a third of the world's seaborne oil exports.

Michael Ledeen: Who’s really killing those ‘Nuclear scientists’ in Tehran?

Before getting into the details, let me caveat this whole thing:  I don’t know who did it, and neither does anybody else writing about it.  The Iranian regime, which usually claims to know everything about everything, has so far accused the Brits, the Americans, the MEK, and the Israelis.

However, I think that I do know this:  If the Israelis (or the Americans, or the Brits) are actually capable of operating at will in the midst of the virtual military occupation in Tehran,  we do not have to worry about the Iranian nukes, because if the Israelis, the Brits or the Americans can do that, they can do anything they want to.

Saudis deny stock exchange website infiltrated by Israeli hackers

Israeli hackers claimed they brought down the websites of both the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Tuesday, in the latest episode of a continuing cyber war between hackers in Israel and other countries.

The gap between resistance and governance

We witnessed, with much agony, the outrageous attack upon free expression and peaceful assembly since March 2011. There are reports of hundreds of cases of torture and abuse. Several people died in detention and under torture in Gaza and the West Bank.

Khaled Abu Toameh: Human rights activist attacked twice in Gaza Strip

A prominent Palestinian human rights activist who criticized Palestinian armed groups for the use of "human shields" has been attacked twice since the beginning of the month, human rights groups in the Gaza Strip said Wednesday.

And: What Abdullah and Abbas hope to achieve from Amman talks

The Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which resumed in Amman earlier this month, are mainly intended to help Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah bolster their stature among their constituents and the international community.