Tehran Times http://www.tehrantimes.com/ Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:09:13 GMT FeedCreator 1.8.0-dev (info@mypapit.net) ‘Pakistan would have to pay billions of rupees to Iran if scraps IP gas pipeline project’ http://www.tehrantimes.com/economy-and-business/108670-pakistan-would-have-to-pay-billions-of-rupeesnto-iran-if-scraps-ip-gas-pipeline-project TEHRAN – Pakistan would have to pay billions of rupees to Iran if it did not fulfill its obligations regarding the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, Former Pakistani federal minister Syed Naveed Qamar has said.
He cautioned the Pakistani government about the consequences of scrapping the project and said the government must complete the project before December 2014 or face penalties, according to the Express Tribune.
Addressing the National Assembly, Qamar asked “Will the U.S.... Read more

]]> Economic Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:25:53 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/economy-and-business/108670-pakistan-would-have-to-pay-billions-of-rupeesnto-iran-if-scraps-ip-gas-pipeline-project UK Supreme Court votes to lift sanctions on Iranian bank http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108669-uk-supreme-court-votes-to-lift-sanctions-on-iranian-bank- LONDON - The UK Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Bank Mellat, Iran’s largest private bank, in a result which will see it removed from the United Kingdom’s sanction list.
 
The appeal was heard by nine out of the Supreme Court’s twelve judges after the UK’s highest court was forced to enter closed session for the first time in its history, in order to receive secret evidence from the security services.
 
Her Majesty’s... Read more

]]> Political Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:46:17 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108669-uk-supreme-court-votes-to-lift-sanctions-on-iranian-bank- Putin torpedoes anti-Syria plan at G8 meeting http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/108668-putin-torpedoes-anti-syria-plan-at-g8-meeting ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) Russia's Vladimir Putin derailed Barack Obama's efforts to win backing for the downfall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at a G8 summit on Tuesday, warning the West that arms supplied to the rebels could be used for attacks on European soil.

After two days of intense talks that fell far short of what Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron had been hoping for, Putin fumed against... Read more

]]> World Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:21:23 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/108668-putin-torpedoes-anti-syria-plan-at-g8-meeting Protesters out again in Brazil's biggest city http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/108665-protesters-out-again-in-brazils-biggest-city AO PAULO (AP) — Tens of thousands of Brazilians again flooded the streets of the country's biggest city to raise a collective cry against a longstanding lament — people are weighed down by high taxes and high prices but get low-quality public services and a system of government infected with corruption.

That was the repeated message Tuesday night in Sao Paulo, where upward of 50,000 people massed in front of the... Read more

]]> World Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:19:45 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/108665-protesters-out-again-in-brazils-biggest-city News agency speculates on composition of Rohani’s cabinet http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108664-news-agency-speculates-on-composition-of-rohanis-cabinet TEHRAN – The Tasnim News Agency on Wednesday published the names of possible cabinet members of Iranian president-elect Hassan Rohani. 
 
The report said that it was more than likely that former first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref or former education minister Mohammad Ali Najafi would be appointed as first vice president. 
 
Former intelligence minister Ali Younesi or Mostafa Mohaqqeq-Damad will be probably nominated as intelligence minister.  
 
Current Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, former foreign... Read more

]]> Political Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:18:38 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108664-news-agency-speculates-on-composition-of-rohanis-cabinet North Korea repeats offer for nuclear talks http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/108666-north-korea-repeats-offer-for-nuclear-talks BEIJING (Reuters) A top North Korean diplomat repeated an offer for international talks over his country's disputed nuclear program during a meeting in China on Wednesday, saying the denuclearization of the peninsula was the “dying wish” of North Korea's founder.

The Beijing trip by First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan comes just days after North Korea offered talks with the United States to ease tension that spiked this year when... Read more

]]> World Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:17:03 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/108666-north-korea-repeats-offer-for-nuclear-talks Russia seeks engagement with new Iranian govt.: Putin http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108661-russia-seeks-engagement-with-new-iranian-govt-putin TEHRAN – Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed hope that consultations between Moscow and Tehran will continue during the administration of Hassan Rohani, who won the Iranian presidential election on June 14.
 
Putin, who was speaking at a press conference at the Lough Erne resort in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, also called Rohani an “experienced” diplomat and an advocate of the modernization of Iran. 
 
EP/HG
... Read more

]]> Political Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:13:39 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108661-russia-seeks-engagement-with-new-iranian-govt-putin U.S. should change course on Iran: article http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108659-us-should-change-course-on-iran-article- TEHRAN – The United States must seize the opportunity created by moderate Hassan Rohani’s victory in Iran’s presidential poll to settle the decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, according to an article published by the Guardian on Sunday. 
 
Following are excerpts of the article written by Jonathan Steele:  
 
Hassan Rohani’s victory in the Iranian election is truly stunning. It opens a window of hope for an easing of tension between Iran and the West... Read more

]]> Political Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:02:22 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108659-us-should-change-course-on-iran-article- U.S. should engage in wide-ranging talks with Iranians: Ryan Crocker http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108662-us-should-engage-in-wide-ranging-talks-with-iranians-ryan-crocker TEHRAN – Career U.S. diplomat Ryan Crocker has called for an engagement in comprehensive and wide-ranging talks with Tehran over its nuclear program.
 
Crocker made the remarks in an interview with Radio Free Europe published on June 12.
 
Crocker has served in ambassadorial posts throughout the Middle East and South Asia and was assigned to the U.S. Consulate in Khorramshahr, Iran, in the early 1970s and is currently a member of The Iran Project.
 
Following... Read more

]]> Political Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:02:20 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108662-us-should-engage-in-wide-ranging-talks-with-iranians-ryan-crocker France open to Iranian presence at Syria talks: Hollande http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108663-france-open-to-iranian-presence-at-syria-talks-hollande- TEHRAN – French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday opened the door to Iran attending a Syria peace conference, Reuters reported. 
 
Global leaders called for the so-called Geneva 2 talks to be held as soon as possible to end the Syrian civil war but they avoided mentioning the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a final G8 summit communiqué in Northern Ireland.
 
Paris had previously ruled out Iran taking part in the proposed conference,... Read more

]]> Political Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:02:18 GMT http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/108663-france-open-to-iranian-presence-at-syria-talks-hollande-