World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (May 7-10, 2011)

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Iran has accepted the European Union’s proposal for more talks about the country’s controversial nuclear program. Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, sent a reply to Ashton, suggesting more talks aimed at “cooperation over mutual points,” according to state TV. He also said the talks should be fair, “respect rights of nations and avoid pressure.” Jalili did not say what Iran might bring to the table and instead maintained that Iran’s past proposal on comprehensive talks was based on a “correct understanding of realities.”

Israel’s former intelligence chief has said that a strike on Iran’s nuclear installations would be “a stupid idea,” adding that military action might not achieve all of its goals and could lead to a long war, The New York Times reported on Sunday. The defense minister, Ehud Barak, criticized Mr. Dagan after his comments were widely publicized in the Israeli news media on Sunday. “In the end of the day, these issues and decisions belong by their nature to the political echelon,” Mr. Barak said, adding that he was not sure that Mr. Dagan’s assessment was correct.

The Guardian published an article headlined “Suspicion blocks Iran's ELT promise.” It says that UK training providers urged to exploit growing demand for English language but Tehran regime's tight control over course content remains a serious obstacle. English teaching is happening across three sectors in Iran: the state-funded education system, private schools and private language institutes, all of which fall under the jurisdiction of the ministry for education. However, the group stressed that public demand for ELT in Iran is enormous. They said that new language institutes were opening in the larger cities at a rapid pace.

Hurriyet published an interview of former pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş. He claimed that Turkey is too big of a country to be centrally governed by one prime minister. Demirtaş, who is running as an independent candidate in the eastern city of Hakkari, said local administrations should be given more authority in order to overcome bureaucratic hurdles. Meanwhile, the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, is expected to release its offers of solution to the Kurdish issue on Friday.

The other article published by Hurriyet is devoted to the Iranian view on the Syrian problem. It says that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the government of Syria can solve its "problem" without foreign intervention. In contrast to its vocal support of uprisings that have swept the Arab world, Iran has been cautious in its stance on Syria, its main Arab ally. The United States and Syrian opposition groups have accused Tehran of helping President Bashar al-Assad violently repress the uprising in which more than 600 people have killed since it erupted mid-March, according to rights activists. Iran has denied the allegations.

“Iran not Arabs' enemy: AL chief” is an article published by the Iranian information agency Press TV. It says that the Egyptian head of the Arab League (AL) has rejected attempts to picture Iran as an enemy of Arab nations, saying Egypt is determined to expand ties with the Islamic Republic. The former Egyptian foreign minister emphasized the need for the post-revolution Cairo to improve its relations with Tehran. On Iran's nuclear program, Moussa described Iran's nuclear activities as separate from that of Israel, which remains Washington's closest Middle East ally and is believed to be the region's sole wielder of nuclear weapons.