The tyrants of Tehran took the "axis of evil" charge very seriously, perhaps because they know better than anyone just how accurate it is. They assumed that when the president of the United States issued the moral equivalent of a declaration of war, he was ready to take serious steps to end their murderous rule, and bring freedom to the Iranian people. ... more

A few months ago, on Nov. 5, 2001, to be exact, The Wall Street Journal ran an odd report from Tehran. Thousands of young Iranians had taken to the streets to wave American flags and chant pro-American slogans. They had responded to the appeal of Reza Pahlavi, son of the former shah, who lives in Maryland and addressed the Iranian people via a call-in television talk show broadcast from North Hollywood, Calif. ... more

Tehran, March 4, IRNA -- Over two decades ago, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, the late Imam Khomeini, dismissed the idea of Tehran-Washington ties, wrote `Kayhan International' in its Viewpoint column on Monday. ... more

A world conference on women and Islam has ended in the Spanish city of Cordoba with calls for western society to change its negative image of the Muslim religion. Delegates said that Islam's image had worsened since 11 September and the US-led war on terrorism but that much of the criticism stemmed from misconceptions. ... more

Some might call it reaching out to American Muslims. But to many Iranians living in California, a fund-raiser for Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) at the home of a prominent pro-Iran lobbyist on Feb. 19 sent a wrongheaded message to the ruling clerics in Tehran. "When we learned that Sen. Biden was planning to hold a fund-raiser at the California home of Dr. Sadegh Namazi-khah, we immediately contacted his office to express our dismay," a prominent Iranian-American activist tells Insight. ... more

US security and technology companies said they had no idea how their products found their way to a trade fair in Iran, despite a ban on trade and technology transfer. Iranian exhibitors at the first International Police and Security Equipment exhibition in Tehran this week told the Financial Times they were acting as "representatives" of US and other foreign companies. ... more

The statement which more than 60 American intellectuals and university professors in the fields of politics, religion, and philosophy issued recently (titled: "What We're Fighting For: A Letter from America") is set to become some sort of icon that different parties will interpret the way each deems fit. This significant document ­ which counts Samuel Huntington and Francis Fukuyama among its authors ­ refers to such issues as American values, God, the idea of a "just war," and support for the current war on terror. ... more

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) A leading Iranian dissident has been released after more than a year in detention, a close associate said Monday. Ezatollah Sahabi, a leader of the National Religious Alliance, a liberal political group, was released on Saturday, said Farzaneh Roustaei, wife of another jailed dissident. Sahabi was freed on a bail of $250,000, Roustaei said. ... more

Serious differences have arisen between Russia and Iran regarding the financing of the construction of the atomic reactor at Bushehr [Iranian nuclear power station]. The [Russian] Mignews internet agency quotes Russian diplomatic sources as saying that Iran is not meeting it commitments regarding payment for work completed. ... more

Tehran, 4 March: Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi on Monday [4 March] rejected rumours on cessation of Iran-Russia cooperation in Bushehr nuclear power plant, stressing that the two countries continue their bilateral cooperation in this regard. Addressing domestic and foreign reporters, he stressed that the two countries' bilateral cooperation in this field is fully aimed at peaceful goals and there is no reason for halting the project. ... more

Moscow, 4 March: Russia does not have differences with Iran in financing the construction of a nuclear power plant in Bushehr [NPP], Russian Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy Reshetnikov has told Interfax. "Russia does not have any problems with the financing of works at the Bushehr NPP. Iran has allocated funds for the construction of the power plant on time," he said referring to press reports that claimed the opposite. ... more

Tehran, March 4, IRNA -- `Iran Daily' in its Perspective column on Monday commented on current developments affecting the Middle East crisis, saying the time is ripe for a review and revision of the country's foreign policies to "remove ambiguities" and to reflect realities. ... more

Estighlal of Iran qualified for the second DSF and Al Ahli international youth football tournament by notching their second successive win to top group B on second day of tournament's at Rashid Stadium on Saturday. The Iranian youth team defeated Arab Contractors of Egypt 2-0. Estighlal now have now six points from two matches and confirmed their place in the semifinals even if they lose their last match in group B today against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia. ... more

PARIS -- The Sept. 11 attacks initially brought Europe and the United States closer together, with spontaneous outpourings of sympathy on the streets of Europe and pledges of solidarity from the corridors of power. But nearly six months on, the transatlantic allies are at odds over how to deal with key international issues highlighted by the attacks on New York and the Pentagon. ... more

MOSCOW (AP) OPEC's secretary-general began negotiating with top Russian officials Monday to persuade the world's second-biggest oil producer to keep exports down so world prices can stabilize. Ali Rodriguez said upon arriving Sunday he hoped Russia would keep output low in the second quarter. ''Russia is playing a very important role at the present,'' he said. Rodriguez will meet with Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, Energy Minister Igor Yusufov and Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Kalyuzhny, who is influential in shaping energy policy. ... more

A Saudi Arabian peace plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is causing a rift among Arab states ahead of a key summit. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah has said he would try to persuade Arab leaders to adopt his plan at the Arab League summit in Beirut, Lebanon, on 27-28 March. But Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has rejected it, calling it "cheap bargaining" and has threatened to quit the Arab League. ... more

IT is a sure sign that Saddam Hussein knows he is in trouble when he finds it necessary to launch a charm offensive. With a wide variety of torture chambers and an extremely effective security apparatus to support him, Saddam has the means, and the will, for dealing with his critics, at home and abroad. It is only when Saddam dispatches his key aides on a diplomatic offensive to present Baghdad's case, as he has done over the past few weeks, that one can be sure that the cracks are starting to appear in his otherwise steely composure. Tariq Aziz, his long-suffering deputy prime minister, went to Moscow to lobby the Russians ... ... more

SAR-E-PUL, Afghanistan (AP) In the last days of his life, Shamsulla Khal couldn't speak. He lay shivering on a hand-woven carpet laid over a packed-mud floor, his body stiff with pain and wracked by coughs. Shamsulla, 48, died Thursday in a northern Afghan camp where thousands of people have come in search of food and water after more than three years of drought. He never saw a doctor, so his family doesn't know what killed him. ... more

Opinion in the West Bank and Gaza Strip now has the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Yasser Arafat, at the peak of their popularity. Palestinian journalists report that the fact that almost all the attacks on Israeli targets are being carried out by the Fatah's Tanzim militias, through the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, has greatly improved the prestige of the PA in Palestinian eyes. This new-found prestige stands out against a backdrop on which most of the attacks till recently were perpetrated by opposition groups, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, while the PA's security forces were arresting and jailing those who planned and executed them. ... more

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) Saudi Arabia's plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is causing a rift among Arabs ahead of a key summit, and an Israeli official said Sunday that its main provision was an unacceptable precondition for talks. The proposal floated by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah two weeks ago envisions full Arab political, economic and cultural relations with Israel if the Jewish state withdraws from Arab lands it captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Abdullah has said he would try to persuade Arab leaders to adopt his plan at the March 27-28 Arab League summit in Beirut, Lebanon. ... more