Today's Iran News (July 29, 2008) IranVNC.com

Today's Top Stories

1. White House urges "skepticism" on Ahmadinejad Statements
2. Israel defense minister -- "keep all options on the table"
3. Ahmadinejad calls for unity against UN "bias"
4. EU strongly condemns Iran's mass execution

White House urges "skepticism" on Ahmadinejad Statements

The White House is urging "skepticism" toward NBC's interview with Iran's President Ahmadinejad.

The interview came less than a week before Iran's deadline to respond to a package of incentives offered by the 5+1.

White House Spokes Person speaking to reporters said: "We have put together an incentives package with the P5+1, and it calls for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment. That's all they have to do is suspend and then this incentives package could move forward and so could negotiations. And then the Iranian people could move forward to not be so isolated."

Israel defense minister: "keep all options on the table"

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met privately in Washington with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, where the two agreed on the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran. Ehud Barak urged tighter sanctions on Tehran and advised Gates to keep all available options open in dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat.

Both countries have called for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear dispute, but neither has ruled out a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Ahmadinejad calls for unity against UN "bias"

At the opening of the 15th meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement countries in Tehran today, Iran's President Ahmadinejad called for unity today among these countries as an alternative to the "bias" of the UN Security Council, which he sees as favoring Western powers.

He also claimed the influence of major powers over the Security Council was dwindling.

"The major powers are on a descending course. The extent of their influence drops day by day. They are approaching the end of their era," Ahmadinejad said.

EU strongly condemns Iran's mass execution

The Presidency of the European Union today strongly condemned the execution of 29 people in Tehran's Evin prison on 27 July, describing the media attention Iran placed on the simultaneous executions as "an affront to human dignity".

The 27-nation bloc also called on Iran to put an end to death sentences and executions, saying capital punishment "cannot form the basis of a fair and effective prosecution policy."

The Iran-based Defenders of Human Rights Center, run by Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, also protested Sunday's mass hanging, questioning whether or not the convicts had been given a fair trial.

Meanwhile, Iran reportedly executed four people today. Fars News Agency reports that two convicted murderers were hanged in Isfahan, while the official IRNA news agency says a "drug smuggler" was executed in Zahedan. Another man, 45-year-old Nasser Hamidi, was hanged today in Sanandaj.

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