Financial Times FT.com

Iran

Resources

Shell and Repsol drop Iran gas project

Pair’s withdrawal from the $10bn-plus development deals heavy blow a blow to Tehran’s attempts to expand its energy exports in the face of US and international sanctions

EU to tighten screw on Tehran bank

Bank Melli, Iran’s biggest commercial bank, is set to be banned from operating in the European Union under proposals in the final stages of discussion in Brussels

Ahmadi-Nejad in clashes over rates

Iran’s president and its central bank governor are locked in a power struggle over interest rates, with Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad insisting on a cut but the chief banker standing firm

Bush warns against a nuclear Iran

Allowing Iran to build nuclear weapons would mark an “unforgivable betrayal of future generations”, George W. Bush told the Israeli parliament, promising that the US would continue to stand with the Jewish state in future confrontations

Italy to join ‘very firm’ approach on Iran

Foreign minister Franco Frattini says the new government is prepared for closer ties with Israel and take a tougher line on Iran along with the US and big European powers

Iran says it foiled attack on Russian consulate

Iran says it has foiled an attempt by an alleged US-sponsored ‘terrorist’ group to bomb the Russian consulate in Rasht in northern Iran.

US alerts banks to risks of Iran support

The Bush administration is seeking to broaden the scope of its enforcement tools to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme, including greater scrutiny of global banks that may be violating US export control rules by financing prohibited transactions

Iran and Syria accused over Beirut chaos

A senior US official has claimed that both states have a hand in the disturbances in the Lebanese capital, the scenes of confusion worrying the Bush administration

Comment: Know, rather than imagine, your enemy

The Bush administration has appeared nonplussed as Iran emerged as the main beneficiary of the US’s regional policies, writes Lawrence Freedman

Iran blames foreign-linked group for Shiraz attack

An explosion in the southern city of Shiraz last month which killed 14 people was the result of a bomb attack by a group with links to the US and Britain, Iran’s intelligence minister has said.

Related content and features

Analysis

How Iranians are avoiding sanctions

A crackdown on Tehran’s financial sector is proving less than effective as businesses step up their use of hawala, an ancient system based on trust and leaving no clear paper trail

Features

Iranians give US Democrats their vote

Tehran’s locals are fascinated with a US election contest that will have implications for the future of Iran

Award-winning film-makers struggle for funding

Cultural repression is making life difficult for the country’s award-winning film-makers, who find themselves struggling for funding as their films are banned