Iran Quake Toll Over 4,000…, United Press International, May 12

TEHRAN - Another earthquake has hit northwestern Iran as the death toll continues to climb from the major temblor that struck the western part of the country over the weekend.

Iranian television reports that more than 4,000 people have died from the massive earthquake Saturday. Several thousand more were injured and reports said that some 20 Iranian towns were either partly or completely destroyed….

Iran is asking for international aid but officials are reluctant to allow foreign rescue teams to enter the country….

 

… But, Mullahs Reject Help From Foreign Rescue Workers!, Agence France Presse, May 11 

GENEVA - Iranian authorities struggling to cope with a massive earthquake… have rejected an offer by a Swiss aid group to send 80 rescue workers and 15 dogs, a spokesman for the group said Sunday.

Stefan Kaspar of the Swiss Corps for Disaster Aid said that Iranian authorities had initially accepted the offer, but on Sunday morning, just as the rescue workers were boarding the plane to fly to Iran, informed the group that their services were not needed.

 

Policy Changes Unlikely as Iranians Go to Polls, The Washington Times, May 11 

NICOSIA, Cyprus - Boycotted by the United States and the European Union, Iran is staging the seventh presidential election in the 18 years of its Islamic revolution with no prospects of ending its international isolation.

On the contrary, according to Western diplomats and exiled Iranian opponents, the removal from power of… Rafsanjani after the May 23 vote signifies the end of any hope that the nature of the regime will change in the near future.

According to a statement from the National Council of resistance of Iran, which is based in Europe, there will be "a sharpening of internal antagonisms" among the ruling clergy and "the export of fundamentalism to the countries of the region will increase."

… Those in the West who had expected a major opening under his [Rafsanjani's] leadership now say that, at this point, the future president matters little….

"The key message of this year's election is none other than the political funeral of Rafsanjani and his inevitable removal from the highest executive post," said Shahin Gobadi, a resistance spokesman in London. "The election will be the last nail in the coffin carrying the mirage of moderation within the regime."…

 

U.S. Oil Firms Attend Conference In Iran, The Wall Street Journal, May 12 

ISFAHAN, Iran - Three American oil companies attended an Iranian-sponsored energy conference here this weekend, despite U.S. trade sanctions….

Iranian officials on Saturday said they have reached an agreement with a British oil company to develop the Balal offshore oil field. The project could cost $140 million or more, but would likely be designed to avert U.S. reprisals…

Officials of French oil company Total SA were negotiating with Iran for the multibillion-dollar development of a large portion of the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf…

Total, which would almost certainly need participation by other oil companies and financiers… acknowledged that the U.S. sanctions law has slowed its search for outside financing to continue its development of Iran's Sirri offshore oil field….

Some U.S. companies, through foreign subsidiaries, have been able to continue selling oil-field equipment in Iran….

 

US General Warns Iranian Armed Forces, Agence France Presse, May 11 

MANAMA - A senior US general on Saturday warned Iran that any attempt to take control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf would meet a firm US response.

General J.H. Binford Peay, commander-in-chief of the US central command, told a press conference here that although Iran had sophisticated ballistic missiles, it was unlikely to be able to carry out a recent boast that it could close the straight at will...

Peay described Iran as the "middle and long-term threat to the region", and said the Islamic republic continued to foster regional terrorism.

 

Iran Launches New Wargames, Reuter, May 11

DUBAI - Thousands of Iranian air and naval forces launched new wargames in the Gulf on Sunday…

Iran's new wargames, stretching from the strait to the northern Gulf, were the latest mock battles highlighting the Islamic republic's activity in the Gulf…

Gulf Arab states have expressed alarm at an Iranian military buildup... They have accused Iran of interfering in their internal affairs...

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