IRAN

[Dealey Joe]

Iran (/ɪˈræn/ or i/ɪˈrɑːn/;[8] Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia.[9][10] The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/).[8][11] Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.[12][13]The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 78 million.[14] It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power,[15][16] and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas.Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations.[17] The first dynasty in Iran formed during the Elamite kingdom in 2800 BC. The Iranian Medes unified Iran into an empire in 625 BC.[1] They were succeeded by the Iranian Achaemenid Empire, the Hellenic Seleucid Empire and two subsequent Iranian empires, the Parthians and the Sassanids, before the Muslim conquest in 651 AD. Iranian post-Islamic dynasties and empires expanded the Persian language and culture throughout the Iranian plateau. Early Iranian dynasties which re-asserted Iranian independence included the Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids and Buyids.The blossoming of Persian literature, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics and art became major elements of Muslim civilization. Iranian identity continued despite foreign rule in the ensuing centuries[18] and Persian culture was adopted also by the Ghaznavids,[19] Seljuk,[20][21] Ilkhanid[22] and Timurid[23] rulers. The emergence in 1501 of the Safavid dynasty,[2] which promoted Twelver Shia Islam[24] as the official religion of their empire, marked one of the most important turning points in Iranian and Muslim history.[25] The Persian Constitutional Revolution established the nation's first parliament in 1906, within a constitutional monarchy. In 1953 Iran became an authoritarian regime, following a coup d'etat instigated by the the UK and US. Growing dissent with foreign influence culminated during the Iranian Revolution which led to establishment of an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979.[26][27]Iran is a founding member of the UN, NAM, OIC and OPEC. The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader. Shia Islam is the official religion and Persian is the official language.The name of Iran (ایران) is the Modern Persian derivative from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānā,, meaning "Land of the Aryans", first attested in Zoroastrianism's Avesta tradition.[29][30][31][32] The term Ērān is found to refer to Iran in a 3rd century Sassanid inscription, and the Parthian inscription that accompanies it uses the Parthian term "aryān" in reference to Iranians.[33] However historically Iran has been referred to as Persia or similar (La Perse, Persien, Perzië, etc.) by the Western world, mainly due to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persēs (Πέρσης), meaning land of the Persians. In 1935 Rezā Shāh requested that the international community should refer to the country as Iran. Opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and in 1959 both names were to be used interchangeably.[34] Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 the official name of the country has been the "Islamic Republic of Iran."

[Dealey Joe]

(CNN) -- Iran flaunted a new generation of centrifuges and mastery of the nuclear fuel cycle Wednesday as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, clad in a white lab coat, was on hand to load domestically made fuel rods into the core of a Tehran reactor.Also announced was an intent to start production of yellowcake, a chemically treated form of uranium ore used for making enriched uranium.United Nations sanctions ban Iran from importing yellowcake. Domestic production would further Iran's nuclear self-sufficiency.In a speech outlining the latest developments, Ahmadinejad said Iran was willing to share its nuclear knowledge with other nations that subscribe to the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).Iran hails major step in nuclear program Iran's message to the West Report: Iran tests nuclear fuel rod Zakaria: Iran loses in Syrian civil war The U.S. State Department, however, dismissed Iran's announcements as bluster for a domestic audience."We frankly don't see a lot new here. This is not big news," said spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "In fact, it seems to have been hyped. The Iranians for many months have been putting out calendars of accomplishments and based on their own calendars they are many, many months behind.State-run Press TV broadcast live images of the Tehran event, hailed by the Iranians as a major scientific advancement for the Islamic republic.The first Iranian nuclear fuel rods, produced by Iranian scientists at the Natanz facility in central Iran, are to be used at the Tehran Nuclear Research Center, which Iran says is used primarily for medical purposes.The Tehran facility creates radio isotopes used for cancer treatment, Press TV reported, adding that 850,000 cancer patients were in dire need.Ahmadinejad had announced in a speech marking the 33rd anniversary of the Iranian revolution last week that Iran would be unveiling something big.Wednesday, he lashed out once again at Western powers who, he said, attempt to monopolize nuclear technology and prevent other nations from acquiring a key energy source.Ahmadinejad, surrounded by photos of assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists, said Iran has shown up the West.Tehran's latest activities have spiked tensions with Western powers, which believe Iran's atomic ambitions are focused on building a bomb."I am not so worried about the fuel issue but I am worried about the advanced centrifuges," said Arnie Gundersen, chief energy adviser with the nuclear consulting group Fairewindes Associates."If they are better, (Iran) can make enriched uranium faster," he said.Nuclear power plants use uranium that is enriched to 5%, Gundersen said. Making a nuclear bomb requires uranium to be enriched 20% or more, he said.That means the centrifuge must spin at 50,000 revolutions per minute for a longer amount of time. A more sophisticated centrifuge would make the process easier, Gundersen said."To be able to make any centrifuge, let alone a high-speed centrifuge, is technologically a very substantial step," he said.A November IAEA report found "credible" information that Tehran has carried out work toward nuclear weapons -- including tests of possible bomb components.Subsequent punitive measures against Iran have disrupted its economy. In response to the latest European Union sanctions on the energy and banking sectors, Iran is cutting oil exports to six European countries: the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal, Press TV reported Wednesday.Despite Iran's drift away from the international community, Tehran's leaders have refused to bow down, insisting its nuclear program is intended for civilian energy purposes.In January 2008, the semi-official Fars news agency reported that Iran was able to produce everything it needs for the nuclear fuel cycle, making its nuclear program self-sufficient. But it was not clear that Tehran actually had the technology to turn enriched uranium into fuel rods.Then, last month, Iran said it had succeeded in building and testing a nuclear fuel rod, or a stack of low-enriched uranium pellets bundled together at the core of a nuclear reactor.The IAEA's governing council has adopted a resolution expressing "deep and increasing concern about the unresolved issues regarding the Iranian nuclear program."Iran called the November IAEA report a fabrication aimed at bolstering U.S. accusations that Iran is working toward making a bomb."We will never ever suspend our enrichment," Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's permanent envoy to the IAEA, said in November.

[Dealey Joe]

Iranian warships enter Mediterranean SeaTEHRAN – Iranian ships moved through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday, the IRNA news agency reported, citing the country's navy commander, Admiral Habibollah Sayari. Sayari said the passage through the Suez Canal was only the second made by Iranian ships since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It follows the passage of the Iranian frigate Alvand and the supply ship Kharg on Feb. 22 last year. The ships successfully moved through the canal and then docked two days later at the Syrian port of Latakia. Israel called last year's passage a "political provocation" and put its own navy on alert in response. It was not known how many ships passed through the canal Saturday. However, Sayari said the ships were docked in the Saudi port city of Jeddah ahead of their passage through the canal, AFP reported. Two Iranian ships -- the destroyer Shahid Qandi and the Kharg -- were docked in Jeddah two days ago.Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/18 ... z1ml2qnHsR

[kenmurray]

Iran gave Syria $1 Billion to aid regime against sanctions:http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/na ... l_16001518