Tehran Correspondent, Financial Times
Tehran correspondent for the Financial Times
PROFILE
Najmeh Bozorgmehr
Guest
FROM Najmeh Bozorgmehr
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Iran's Supreme Leader Just Says 'No' The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a huge crowd that President Ahmadinejad was re-elected by a landslide. He denied that last Fridays voting was rigged. He told protesters to stay off the streets and warned that future violence would be blamed on their leaders. The opposition has scheduled a rally tomorrow. Will they back down? Will there be violent repression? Whats the impact on Middle East neighbors? And whats the status of President Obamas hope for engagement with the Islamic Republic? We look at these and other issues today.
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Iranian Missile Tests and Russian Threats Iran today test-fired nine ballistic missiles, including a new version of the Shahab-3, which Iran says has the capacity to strike Tel Aviv. The tests were shown on government-run TV and a commander of the Revolutionary Guard said they were designed to "tell the world...that our finger is always on the trigger." We get perspective from Iran, Israel, Russia and the US.
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New Intelligence on Iran's Nuclear Program US intelligence agencies now believe that Iran stopped trying to build nuclear weapons four years ago. The "military option" appears to be off the table. President Bush's effort to increase sanctions against Iran is still going strong, but the latest intelligence estimate may undermine that, too. In Iran today, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the latest US Intelligence Estimate a "victory" for his claim that Iran is not building nuclear weapons. He did not mention the finding that there was such a program up until 2003. Mohamed elBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is " somewhat vindicated " but that there still are "lingering concerns." Have 16 intelligence agencies declared their independence from political influence? Has the President turned his back on the neo-cons who wanted to follow the war in Iraq with attacks on Iran?
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Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
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White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
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Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.