(2021-04-03). Pakistan: Christians Practice Islamic Traditions During Lent. eurasiareview.com 
By Kamran Chaudhry | Part of a classic trend in the Lent season, interfaith groups are hosting breaking-of-the-fast Iftar dinners in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. | Ashiknaz Khokhar, the Catholic leader of Active Youth group of the Sacred Heart Church, attended two such gatherings in Sahiwal in Punjab province. | "Such initiatives were common in provincial capitals. Now interfaith Iftars are being organized in small districts. They have increased love and respect for the local Muslims," he told UCA News. | Khokhar was speaking on the sidelines of a buffet on Palm Sunday eve hosted by Muttahida Aalmi (Unite…
(2021-04-03). Over objections of Dem Hawks, Biden agrees to indirect Talks with Iran in Vienna to return to the 2015 Nuclear Deal. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — AFP reports that an arrangement was reached at Friday's teleconference in Vienna between the current signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to mediate indirect talks between Iran and the United States next week. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the US had agreed to participate in the discussions …
(2021-04-03). No Talks Needed For US Return To Iran Nuclear Deal. popularresistance.org Last month, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced that Tehran is in "no hurry" to return to its obligations under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and is prepared to wait until the US lifts its illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic. | Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has stated that a possible US decision to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal, also known asthe Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), does not require any talks. | Speaking to the deal's remaining signatories during a virtual meeting on Friday, Araqchi added that "Iran will suspend its steps [scaling back compliance…
(2021-04-03). Iran Rules Out US Claim of "Step-by-Step" Lifting of Sanctions. telesurenglish.net "As has been clearly stated many times, no step-by-step plan is being considered," Khatibzadeh told Press TV. | RELATED: | "The definitive policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the lifting of all US sanctions, whether those which Trump reimposed after withdrawing from the JCPOA or those which he initiated, as well as sanctions imposed under any other heading," he said. | His remarks came in response to claims…
(2021-04-03). Two letters to the editor on the pandemic lockdown. indybay.org Our collective thinking has often been manipulated and corrupted (eg Vietnam, Iraq, Nicaragua, Iran). According to GlobalResearch.ca, the WHO made a late admission on Jan 20, 2021 that "the lockdown has no scientific basis" and test results are misleading. "Release the vaccines and put an end to the lockdown," urges Jens Berger, editor of nachdenkseiten.de.
(2021-04-03). Why Is The United Kingdom Raising Its Nuclear Stockpile Limits? popularresistance.org On March 16, the United Kingdom announced it was significantly raising a self-imposed cap on its overall nuclear stockpile, from a previous target of 180 warheads by the mid-2020s to a new cap of 260. The decision was outlined in the United Kingdom's Integrated Review, a landmark strategic update, which also said the country will no longer declare the size of its operational warhead stockpile (previously 120), or the numbers of warheads and operational missiles deployed on submarines (previously 40 and no more than 8, respectively). A previous review in 2015 had left open the possibility of a future change in nuc…
(2021-04-02). Russia Says Iran and US Are On Track to Return to Nuclear Deal. telesurenglish.net In a positive sign, both parties agreed to meet formally in person in Vienna on Tuesday. | Based in the Austrian capital, the joint commission's virtual meeting followed a breakthrough earlier in the week in private talks on how Iran and the US could both rejoin the deal on a step-by-step basis. | RELATED: | The commission, comprised of France, the UK, Germany, China, the EU, and Russia, is responsible for monitoring the deal's i…
(2021-04-02). Iran Activates Fourth Cascade of Centrifuges to Enrich Uranium. news.antiwar.com The IAEA has confirmed that Iran has Iran intends to activate six cascades overall and enrich up to 5% purity. The new cascades are IR-2m centrifuges, more advanced and more efficient than those which Iran had at the start of the nuclear deal. | Under the deal, Iran was allowed to improve its centrifuge technology, but putting the new ver…
(2021-04-02). US removes military assets from Saudi Arabia, Gulf: Report. middleeasteye.net 
US removes military assets from Saudi Arabia, Gulf: Report | Patriot anti-missile batteries, an aircraft carrier and surveillance systems are being diverted from the Middle East, US officials say | Fri, 04/02/2021 – 16: 20 | The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz transits Strait of Hormuz on 18 September (AFP photo/US Navy) | The US has begun to reconfigure its military capabilities in the Gulf and removed at least t…
(2021-04-02). US and Iran Agree to Indirect Talks to Revive Nuclear Deal. news.antiwar.com Negotiations on how to bring the US back into compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, will begin in Vienna next week. While US and Iranian officials will attend the talks, The decision to meet in Vienna was decided on Friday during virtual talks between Iran and officials representing the remaining JCPOA participants; Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany. | The EU
(2021-04-02). Iranian Forces Moved 'Short-Range Missiles' To Syria's Deir Ezzor. southfront.org 
Missiles are displayed during an exhibition on the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, as part of the "Sacred Defense Week" commemorating the 8-year war on September 28, 2014 at a park, northern Tehran. (Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images). | Iranian-backed forces have moved "short-range missiles" to the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor, the Naher Media reported on March 30. | According to the pro-opposition outlet, the unidentified missiles were handed over to the Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas group in the town of al-Mayadin in southe…
(2021-04-02). Iran Begins Enriching Uranium With New Centrifuge Cascade. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | As of March 31st, Iran is enriching uranium with its forth cascade of advanced IR-2m machines at its Natanz plant, a new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. | The UN nuclear agency reported on March 8 that Tehran had begun enriching uranium with the third cascade of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility."On 31 March 2021, the Agency verified at FEP (Fuel Enrichment Plant) that: Iran had begun feeding natural U…
(2021-04-02). NIAC Applauds Diplomatic Progress Made Towards Restoring Iran Deal. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-04-02). Jesuit Priest Continues Holy Resistance to Nuclear Weapons, Will Spend Easter Sunday at FDC SeaTac. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-04-02). The Heat: Is an India-Pakistan Detente Likely? america.cgtn.com 
Pakistan backtracks on an earlier decision to resume trade ties with India. Is a détente between the two nuclear-armed neighbors still likely?
(2021-04-02). Iran Says Removal Of US Sanctions First Step In Reviving JCPOA. eurasiareview.com 
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made it clear at an online session of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that the verifiable termination of the US sanctions on Tehran is the first and foremost step in restoring the 2015 nuclear deal. | The 18th meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission was held via videoconference on Friday, April 2. | The webinar was chaired on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell by the Deputy Secretary General and Political Director of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora. | The meeting was attended by the representatives of Iran,…
(2021-04-02). "Global Britain": Flying Flags, Banging War Drums and Going Down the Nuclear Plughole. counterpunch.org Many Britons are in despair about the direction their country has taken under the fraud Boris Johnson. But there are not yet enough of them to make any difference. The United Kingdom is in a dire condition, socially and economically, and as with other countries has a major crisis on its hands in having to
(2021-04-02). UNAC says: 'No to U.S. war threats against China!'. workers.org 
This slightly edited statement was issued by the United National Antiwar Coalition March 24. The Biden administration is intensifying its aggression against China. The Pentagon's new Pacific Deterrence Initiative includes increasing U.S. military encirclement of China and deploying nuclear missiles previously banned by the U.S.-signed Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. . . . |