New evidence Iran is arming government forces in Syria

Tehran accused of smuggling weapons

BREAKING NEWS: Ahmadinejad Says Iran Ready to Start Nuclear Talks

TEHRAN, Iran –  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran is ready for nuclear talks with the world powers amid toughening sanctions aimed at forcing Tehran to sharply scale back its nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad, however, says sanctions won't force Iran to capitulate to Western demands.

The United States and allies want Iran to halt uranium enrichment, which they worry could lead to weapons-grade material. Iran says it only seeks reactors for energy and research.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks in Kerman, southeastern Iran on Thursday.

Iran had previously indicated that it is ready for a new round of talks with the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany. A senior U.N. nuclear agency team is expected to visit Tehran on Saturday.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/26/ahmadinejad-says-iran-is-ready-for-nuclear-talks/#ixzz1kZCEn4dA

Iranians chant 'death to America' at funeral for scientist

TEHRAN, Iran (The Blaze/AP) — Thousands of mourners chanted “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” on Friday during the funeral of a slain nuclear expert whom Iranian officials accuse the two nations of killing in a bomb blast this week as part of a secret operation to stop Iran’s nuclear program.

“I will kill, kill, those who killed my brother,” demonstrators shouted, according to the Washington Post. Some carried posters depicting President Barack Obama with a Star of David on his forehead and “terrorist” written underneath.

The assassination of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan has raised calls in Iran for retaliation against the U.S. and Israel, and an independent news website Friday said Iran is preparing a covert counteroffensive against the West.

Roshan, a chemistry expert and a director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, was killed in a brazen daylight assassination when two assailants on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to his car Wednesday in Tehran. The killing bore a strong resemblance to earlier killings of scientists working on the Iranian nuclear program.

Iran says it's easy to close Strait of Hormuz

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's navy chief says his country can easily close the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the passageway through which a sixth of the world's oil flows.


Adm. Habibollah Sayyari told state-run Press TV Wednesday that the navy is in control of the vital waterway and can readily block it. It was the second such warning from a senior official in two days.


Vice President Mohamed Reza Rahimi threatened Tuesday that Iran will close the strait, cutting off oil exports, if the West imposes sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to punish Tehran for its nuclear program, which the west suspects is aimed at making weapons.

Iranian Students Destroy British Embassy in Tehran-1979 Repeats !!!

Iranian protesters break the windows of a British Embassy building, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. (Photo: AP)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Hard-line Iranian students stormed the British diplomatic compounds in Tehran on Tuesday, bringing down the Union Jack flag and throwing documents from windows in scenes reminiscent of the anger against Western powers after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The mob surged past riot police into the British Embassy compound – which they pelted with petrol bombs and stones – two days after Iran‘s parliament approved a bill that reduces diplomatic relations with Britain following London’s support of recently upgraded Western sanctions on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program.

Less than two hours later, police appeared to regain control of the site. But the official IRNA news agency said about 300 protesters entered the British ambassador’s residence in another part of the city and replaced British flags with Iranian ones. The British Foreign Office harshly denounced the melee and said Iran has a “clear duty” under international law to protect diplomats and offices.

“We are outraged by this,” said the statement. “It is utterly unacceptable and we condemn it.”

It said a “significant number” of protesters entered the compound and caused vandalism, but gave no other details on damage or whether diplomatic staff was inside the embassy, although the storming occurred after business hours.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency said embassy staff had left the compound before the mobs entered, but it also said those who occupied the area had taken six staff as hostages. It did not give their nationalities and the report was later removed from the website without elaboration.

The protesters broke through after clashing with anti-riot police and chanting for its takeover. “Death to England,” some cried in the first significant assault of a foreign diplomatic area in Iran in years. More protesters poured into the compound as police tried to clear the site.

Smoke rose from some areas of the embassy grounds and the British flag was replaced with a banner in the name of 7th century Shiite saint, Imam Hussein.

The occupier called for the closure of the embassy calling it a “spy den” – the same phrase used after militants stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 hostages for 444 days. Washington and Tehran have no diplomatic relations since then.

The rally outside the British Embassy – on a main street in Tehran downtown – included protesters carrying photographs of nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari, who was killed last year in an attack that Iran blamed on Israeli and British spy services.

Outside the embassy, students from some universities and seminaries burned British flags on fire as clashing with police.

State TV reported that another group of hard-line students gathered at the gate of British ambassador’s residence in northern Tehran, at the same time.

Tensions with Britain date back to the 19th century when the Persian monarchy gave huge industrial concessions to London, which later included significant control over Iran’s oil industry.

An Iranian hard-line protester runs inside the British Embassy as a diplomatic vehicle is set on fire by demonstrators who stormed the embassy, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. (Photo: AP)

But they have become increasingly strained as the West accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons – a charge Tehran denies.

In recent years, Iran was angered by Britain’s decision in 2007 honor author Salman Rushdie with a knighthood.

Rushdie went into hiding after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill the author because his novel “The Satanic Verses” allegedly insulted Islam.

The decision shortly after Iran detained 15 British sailors and marines in March 2007 for allegedly entering the country’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf – a claim Britain denies. The 15 were released after nearly two weeks in captivity.

In 2006, angry mobs burned the Danish flag and attacked Danish and other Western embassies in Tehran in protest to the reprinting of a cartoon deemed insulting of the Prophet Muhammad in the Nordic country’s newspapers.

VIDEO: Dozens of Iranian students stormed the British Embassy in Tehran, some shouting, "Death to England"

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Dozens of hard-line Iranian students stormed the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, bringing down the Union Jack flag and throwing documents from windows in scenes reminiscent of the anger against Western powers after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The mob moved into the diplomatic compound two days after Iran's parliament approved a bill that reduces diplomatic relations with Britain following London's support of recently upgraded Western sanctions on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program.

The protesters broke through after clashing with anti-riot police and chanting for its takeover. "Death to England," some cried in the first significant assault of a foreign diplomatic area in Iran in years.

There was no immediate word on casualties or how many embassy employees were inside at the time of the assault, although it occurred after business hours had ended. More protesters poured into the compound as police tried to clear the site.

Smoke rose from some areas of the embassy grounds and the British flag was replaced with a banner in the name of 7th century Shiite saint, Imam Hussein.

The occupier called for the closure of the embassy calling it a "spy den" - the same phrase used after militants stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 hostages for 444 days. Washington and Tehran have no diplomatic relations since then.

The rally outside the British Embassy - on a main street in Tehran downtown - included protesters carrying photographs of nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari, who was killed last year in an attack that Iran blamed on Israeli and British spy services.

Outside the embassy, students from some universities and seminaries burned British flags on fire as clashing with police.

State TV reported that another group of hard-line students gathered at the gate of British ambassador's residence in northern Tehran, at the same time.

Tensions with Britain date back to the 19th century when the Persian monarchy gave huge industrial concessions to London, which later included significant control over Iran's oil industry.

But they have become increasingly strained as the West accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons - a charge Tehran denies.

In recent years, Iran was angered by Britain's decision in 2007 honor author Salman Rushdie with a knighthood.

Rushdie went into hiding after Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill the author because his novel "The Satanic Verses" allegedly insulted Islam.

The decision shortly after Iran detained 15 British sailors and marines in March 2007 for allegedly entering the country's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf - a claim Britain denies. The 15 were released after nearly two weeks in captivity.

In 2006, angry mobs burned the Danish flag and attacked Danish and other Western embassies in Tehran in protest to the reprinting of a cartoon deemed insulting of the Prophet Muhammad in the Nordic country's newspapers.