The New York Times published an article headlined "Iran Executes Man Convicted of Spying for Israel." It says that Iran on Tuesday executed two men, one of whom was said to be a member of an exiled opposition group and the other convicted of spying for Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, according to official reports. Iran's judiciary reported that the alleged spy, Ali-Akbar Siadat, had been hanged at Tehran's Evin Prison after being found guilty of passing on to "Iran's enemies" information about the country's military capability, including the missile program operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Hurriet reports that relations between Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council are deepening, through an action plan in a number of different sectors to promote the strategic ties between the country and the council. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu said working groups in nine different areas including trade, agriculture, transportation, environment, tourism and culture, would discuss concrete projects. One of the projects was a railway connecting the Gulf countries to Europe via Turkey, he added. Relations between Turkey and the council have made progress since 2008 and were turning into true strategic cooperation.
"Iran says no date set for nuclear talks in Istanbul" is an article, published by Hurriyet. Iran is yet to agree on an exact date for the next round of nuclear talks with world powers, due to be held next month in Istanbul, foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, said the West's hostile policies could harm further talks over the country's disputed nuclear program. The Istanbul negotiations would be the second round between Iran and six world powers - Britain, China, France, Russia, United States and Germany - after talks resumed in Geneva earlier this month following a 14-month hiatus.
The Iranian agency Press-TV published an article "Iran: US, Israel will face minefields." It says that Iranian Parliamentary (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani has warned the United States and Israel against their aggressive efforts, saying the two would surely face "minefields." Larijani pointed to the second anniversary of the devastating war Israel launched on the Gaza Strip in December 2008, which claimed the lives of hundreds of Gazans, and urged the West to learn from past mistakes.
Another article touching on relations between Iran and the West was published by Press-TV. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has warned the US against efforts to interfere in the domestic affairs of the Islamic Republic. In a statement last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed a UN General Assembly resolution accusing Iran of human rights violations. The statement alleged that the international community was "deeply concerned" about "ongoing human rights abuses" in the Islamic Republic, calling on Iran "to permit credible and independent investigations of all allegations of human rights violations." Mehmanparast pointed out that Iranian officials have repeatedly cautioned Western countries against interfering in Iran's internal affairs.
