The Washington Post recently published an article headlined "Iran offers talks but without key nuclear demands". On Tuesday, Iran offered to resume nuclear talks with the United States and other world powers, though it set a possible deal-scuppering ground rule, by insisting that a key international demand be left off the table, the author reports. Iran ruled out any discussion of a nuclear fuel exchange deal like the one it balked at last year and which was meant to ensure it could not divert material to nuclear weapons production.
Another article published by the Washington Post is devoted to Israeli-Turkish relations. The author cites US Senator John Kerry, who has called on Turkey and Israel to overcome recent tensions and renew close ties to help with peace efforts in the Middle East. "It is important that Turkey and Israel renew relations and go back to the
way they were," Kerry said.
"Unesco Backs Off Philosophy Day in Iran" - an article with such a headline was published recently by the New York Times. The author reports that on Tuesday Unesco decided to pull the plug on another embarrassment to its reputation, dissociating itself from this year's celebration of philosophy, to be held in Iran in less than two weeks.
Unesco has been celebrating World Philosophy Day since 2002, but an agreement made quietly in 2008 for Iran to host this year's event became extremely controversial, given Iran's record of repression and censorship after disputed elections in 2009.
Another article published today by the New York Times deals with the problem of independent media in Turkey. Turkey must make strides in safeguarding freedom of speech and of the press if it wants to join the European Union, the author cites a report released on Tuesday on the country's progress in complying with the EU's standards. Among the examples cited in the European Commission's report were a multi-billion-dollar tax penalty on a media group that has been critical of the government and the jailing of more than 100 journalists under a law that limits criticism of the state.
The prominent British newspaper the Guardian has published an article by Massoumeh Torfeh headlined "Don't ignore Iran's human rights abuse". The author reports that the EU's high representative on foreign affairs, Catherine Ashton, has been called upon to include the issue of human rights in future exchanges with Iran. Iranian human rights activists demand that the international community should not ignore human rights violations in Iran during their planned talks later this week.
Turkish news agency Hurriyet has published an article devoted to the problems of Turkey's EU accession. The author quotes EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, who has said: "Turkey has continued its political reform process, in particular through the reform of its Constitution. But no one can be satisfied with the current pace of
negotiations". The EU Commission on Tuesday officially announced its annual progress reports on candidate and potential candidate countries, including Turkey. In its report, the commission concluded that Turkey had made progress in meeting EU membership criteria, in particular through the reform of its Constitution. But further results
are needed as regards fundamental rights, in particular to ensure freedom of expression.
The Iranian news agency Press TV reports that the country robustly rejects Israeli war threats. Iran's Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, told Press TV that Tehran has taken legal action in the United Nations against the Israeli threat. "Our mission in New York will send a note to the Secretary General of the United Nations and register these kinds of threats by the [Israeli] regime in the region," the top Iranian diplomat said. "The existence of this illegal regime is mixed with violation, terror, threats and aggression," Mottaki stated.
