Iran news headlines on Saturday include death of 6 people and wounding dozens in rocket attack on Iranian exiles at refugee camp; Iranian deputy defense minister remark over country being among the top five drone technology owners; Argentine Jewish leaders suspicion on Argentina-Iran deal on bombing probe; US Secretary of State stressing on Iran seriousness in nuke talks and fall of U.S. pharmaceutical exports to Iran.
6 dead in rocket attack on Iranian exiles at refugee camp

Assailants fired rockets and mortar rounds at a refugee camp for Iranian exiles outside Baghdad on Saturday, killing six people and wounding dozens, police and a camp spokesman said.

Nearly three dozen rockets and mortar shells struck the camp, home to some 3,100 people, before daybreak, said camp spokesman Shahriar Kia. He said more than 100 were wounded, several in serious condition.

 
Iran among top five drone technology owners: Deputy Defense Minister
The Iranian deputy defense minister says Iran is among the top five countries in the world that possess drone technology.


Mohammad Eslami said on Friday that Iran is also among the “top ten countries in the world” in most fields of military sector. The Iranian Defense Ministry official added that the Islamic Republic is currently designing and manufacturing some 20 unmanned aerial vehicles, which are categorized in terms of the range and altitude of flights. The long-range UAVs are “strategic,” Eslami explained.

Jews express suspicion as Argentina-Iran deal on bombing probe
Argentine Jewish leaders are opposing a deal with Iran that President Cristina Fernandez sent to congress Friday for approval.

Fernandez says it will advance a criminal investigation of Argentina’s worst terrorist attack – the 1994 bombing at a Jewish center that killed 85 people.

 
Big powers set to respond if Iran addresses nuclear concerns: Kerry
Major powers are ready to respond if Iran comes to February 26 nuclear talks prepared to discuss “real substance” and address questions about its nuclear program, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday.

The powers – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – are scheduled to meet Iranian negotiators in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this month to see if there is a way to ease Western concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

 
U.S. pharmaceutical exports to Iran cut in half in 2012
Exports of U.S. pharmaceuticals to Iran were cut in half last year, according to data released on Friday, while overall U.S. exports to the Islamic republic rose about nine percent because of grain sales.

The official U.S. government statistics appear to support the claims of sanctions lawyers and some independent experts that financial sanctions are making it harder for Iranians to obtain medicine despite loopholes designed to permit such trade.

 

The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.