World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (September 15, 2011)

The Washington Post reported that the U.S. dismissed a recent offer by Iran to discuss its disputed nuclear program with world powers as a “charm offensive”, saying Iran was “flouting” its international obligations. The statement by Glyn Davies, chief U.S. delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, comes before next week’s U.N. General Assembly meeting. Davies said the Islamic republic’s latest offer for talks fails to provide any fresh indications of an Iranian commitment to address international concerns that it could be working on nuclear warhead experiments. Iran already is under four sets of Security Council sanctions for refusing to freeze uranium enrichment, as the U.S. and its Western allies have been demanding for years.

The Turkish information agency Hurriyet published an article headlined “Malatya set to host missile shield radar.” It says that Turkey and the United States have concluded a deal to station an early warning radar system in the eastern province of Malatya as part of a NATO missile defense program to counter threats, mainly from Iran. The Pentagon has said the radar will be operational by the end of 2011 and will be linked to ballistic missile defense ships operating in the Mediterranean Sea. A high-ranking Turkish military officer is expected to be posted to a NATO anti-ballistic team stationed in Germany.

The Iranian information agency reported that the major “Fadaeeyan Harim Velayat 3” (Defenders of Velayat Sanctuaries 3) manoeuvers showed that sanctions imposed on Iran over the past three decades by global arrogance, led by the US and its European allies, were futile, Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) Brigadier General Hassan Shah-Safi told reporters. He added that the drills began successfully with Eastern, Western and Iranian aircrafts and will last for three days. He noted that the IRIAF displayed the great achievements it had acquired over the past 33 years, both in terms of quality and quantity, despite enduring undue and extensive US-led sanctions that aimed to cripple the country's armed forces.

“Ahmadinejad vows to promote Iran rights” is an article published by Press TV. It says that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reiterated his vow to defend rights of the nation, insisting that he would never retreat from the path. He noted that foreign powers regard the progress of the Iranian nation as a major obstacle to their hegemonic aims. Iran's chief executive emphasized that foreign powers are also fully aware that the Iranian nation will not permit them to engage in plundering the wealth of nations once it achieves full development and establishes itself as the pioneer of justice.