Iran News Clips, August 27, 2007

“Iran slow to markedly expand atom work,” Reuters, August 26, 2007
Iran seems to have made little progress towards enriching uranium in significant amounts this summer but it is unclear whether technical problems or fear of stiffer U.N. sanctions lie behind the slowdown, diplomats say. "It could be technical, it could be political, it could be both. We need to understand the reasons," said a senior diplomat familiar with International Atomic Energy Agency inspections at the Islamic Republic's underground Natanz enrichment complex. "But they are apparently still far away from (producing nuclear fuel in usable quantities)," he said ahead of a detailed IAEA report on Iran due on Wednesday and which six world powers will scrutinise to guide any further moves on sanctions.
Straight to the source.

“Governor of Iran’s Central Bank Resigns,” New York Times, August 26, 2007
The head of the Central Bank of Iran resigned Sunday, bringing the number of key economic figures who have left President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s cabinet to three this month. A government spokesman, Gholamhossein Elham, announced the resignation of the bank’s governor, Ebrahim Sheibani, after weeks of rumors that he had resigned over his differences with Mr. Ahmadinejad. The resignation came after the departures this month of the minister of oil, Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh, and the minister of industry, Alireza Tahmasebi. Mr. Sheibani had reportedly opposed Mr. Ahmadinejad’s unexpected intervention to lower interest rates to 12 percent from 15 and 17 percent.
Straight to the source.

“France's Sarkozy raises prospect of Iran airstrikes,” Reuters, August 27, 2007
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday a diplomatic push by the world's powers to rein in Tehran's nuclear programme was the only alternative to "an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran". Sarkozy said a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable and that major powers should continue their policy of incrementally increasing sanctions against Tehran while being open to talks if Iran suspended nuclear activities. "This initiative is the only one that can enable us to escape an alternative that I say is catastrophic: the Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran," he said, adding that it was the worst crisis currently facing the world.
Straight to the source.