Bush Retires Commander Standing Between the United States and War On Iran
The Florida sunshine, dress uniforms and upbeat music could not mask the fact that this ceremony was not expected to happen until later in the year, or even next year. That changed when Admiral Fallon was depicted in an Esquire magazine article earlier this month as the only man standing between the United States and war with Iran.

Bush Administration Hid the Fact Iran Halted Its Nuclear Arms Effort in 2003
Dec. 3 — A new assessment by American intelligence agencies released Monday concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen, contradicting a judgment two years ago that Tehran was working relentlessly toward building a nuclear bomb.

Christian Right's Emerging Deadly Worldview: Kill Muslims to Purify the Earth
Walid Shoebat, Kamal Saleem and Zachariah Anani are the three stooges of the Christian right. These self-described former Muslim terrorists are regularly trotted out at Christian colleges -- a few days ago they were at the Air Force Academy -- to spew racist filth about Islam on behalf of groups such as Focus on the Family. It is a clever tactic. Curly, Larry and Mo, who all say they are born-again Christians, engage in hate speech and assure us it comes from personal experience. They tell their audiences that the only way to deal with one-fifth of the world's population is by converting or eradicating all Muslims. These men are frauds, but this is not the point. They are part of a dark and frightening war by the Christian right against tolerance that, in the moment of another catastrophic terrorist attack on American soil, would make it acceptable to target and persecute all Muslims, including the some 6 million Muslims who live in the United States.

U.S. Renews Efforts to Keep Coalition Against Tehran
President Bush scrambled yesterday to hold together a fragile international coalition against Iran, declaring that the Islamic republic remains "dangerous" and that "nothing has changed" despite a new intelligence report that Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago.

The Price Tag to Michigan for the War On Iraq and Bush's Tax Cuts for the Wealthy PDF
As the economy falters, President Bush’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2009 would ignore the needs of Americans by cutting basic services, increasing tax cuts for the wealthy and pushing military spending to historical highs. It would allow billions more for the war in Iraq at the expense of investments in Michigan's future.

White House Leak: Cheney's Plan for Iran Attack Starts With Israeli Missile Strike
US Vice President Dick Cheney -- the power behind the throne, the eminence grise, the man with the (very) occasional grandfatherly smile -- is notorious for his propensity for secretiveness and behind-the-scenes manipulation. He's capable of anything, say friends as well as enemies. Given this reputation, it's no big surprise that Cheney has already asked for a backroom analysis of how a war with Iran might begin. In the scenario concocted by Cheney's strategists, Washington's first step would be to convince Israel to fire missiles at Iran's uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Tehran would retaliate with its own strike, providing the US with an excuse to attack military targets and nuclear facilities in Iran.

Pentagon, State Department Debunk Bush Fabrications on Iran
The charge that Tehran is using Iran's elite Quds Force to fight a proxy war in Iraq does not ring true, as even the United States' top man in Iraq, General David Petraeus, has conceded.

Pentagon Three Day Strike on Iran
The Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive airstrikes against 1,200 targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranians’ military capability in three days, according to a national security expert. Alexis Debat, director of terrorism and national security at the Nixon Center, said last week that US military planners were not preparing for “pinprick strikes” against Iran’s nuclear facilities. “They’re about taking out the entire Iranian military,” he said.

The Bush Administration Is Trying to Provoke Iran
The Bush Administration is once again escalating its confrontation with Iran. Clearly they have multiple motivations for doing so. They’re trying to “change the channel” from the failure of the “surge,” ahead of the September Congressional debate on Iraq. They would dearly love to split off from the Democratic opposition on Iraq Members of Congress who share the AIPAC goal of confronting Iran. And they want to undermine negotiations taking place between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency over Iran’s nuclear program. But details have emerged from the recent escalation that strongly indicate what many have long suspected: the Bush Administration’s fundamental conflict with Iran is not about its nuclear program or alleged weapons smuggling - so far unproven - into Iraq. It’s simply a great-power struggle for influence.

Kissinger: Oil Drives U.S. in Iraq, Iran
Alan Greenspan had acknowledged what is blindingly obvious to those who live in the reality-based world: The Iraq War was largely about oil. Meanwhile, Henry Kissinger says in an op-ed in Sunday’s Washington Post that control over oil is the key issue that should determine whether the U.S. undertakes military action against Iran. These statements would not be remarkable, but for the effort of a broad swath of the U.S. political establishment to deny the central role of oil in U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Greenspan’s remarks, appearing first in his just-published memoirs, are eyebrow-raising for their directness

Attacking Iran Would be Madness and a Capital Crime
With the Bush administration clearly pushing for war with Iran, as crazy as that would be, not just for an already over-extended, burned out military, but because of the havoc it would wreak on the global economy, it is time to call attention to a few points that are being ignored. First of all, even U.S. intelligence experts were saying only last year that Iran was at least 10 years away from having a bomb, so the alarmist claims being made by Bush and his gang, echoing the nonsense we heard in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, about the threat of nuclear holocaust, are simply scare tactics and should fool nobody.

Are Bush & Co. Gearing Up to Attack Iran?
It is as though I'm back as an analyst at the CIA, trying to estimate the chances of an attack on Iran. The putative attacker, though, happens to be our own president. It is precisely the kind of work we analysts used to do. And, while it is still a bit jarring to be turning our analytical tools on the U.S. leadership, it is by no means entirely new. For, of necessity, we Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) have been doing that for almost six years now -- ever since 9/11, when "everything changed." Of necessity? Yes, because, with very few exceptions, American journalists put their jobs at grave risk if they expose things like fraudulent wars.

U.S. Renews Efforts to Keep Coalition Against Tehran
President Bush scrambled yesterday to hold together a fragile international coalition against Iran, declaring that the Islamic republic remains "dangerous" and that "nothing has changed" despite a new intelligence report that Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago.

A Blow to Bush's Tehran Policy
President Bush got the world's attention this fall when he warned that a nuclear-armed Iran might lead to World War III. But his stark warning came at least a month or two after he had first been told about fresh indications that Iran had actually halted its nuclear weapons program. The new intelligence report released yesterday not only undercut the administration's alarming rhetoric over Iran's nuclear ambitions but could also throttle Bush's effort to ratchet up international sanctions and take off the table the possibility of preemptive military action before the end of his presidency.

Bush Administration Hid the Fact Iran Halted Its Nuclear Arms Effort in 2003
Dec. 3 — A new assessment by American intelligence agencies released Monday concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen, contradicting a judgment two years ago that Tehran was working relentlessly toward building a nuclear bomb.

Bush Preparing to Attack Iran?
The US navy conducted its biggest war drill in the Gulf since 2003 [AFP] Nine US warships carrying 17,000 personnel have entered the Gulf in a show of force off Iran's coast. Navy officials said on Wednesday that this was the largest daytime assembly of ships since the 2003 Iraq war. [Editor: Like Iraq, Iran is a sovereign nation that has committed no act of war or aggression against the United States. Like the preemptive attack upon Iraq, an invasion of Iran would be a violation of international laws and agreements signed by the United States under numerous previous Presidents. Another invasion in the gulf region would exponentially increase terrorism at home and around the world. Bush/Cheney must be impeached NOW before it is too late to change the outcome of this dreadful chapter in world history.]

The U. S. Occupation Is The Main Cause Of Sectarian Violence In Iraq
In March of 2003, the United States bombed and invaded Iraq, overthrew the Sunni-controlled government of Saddam Hussein, and established an interim government of military occupation. This interim government of occupation led eventually to a U.S. - inspired Constitution and an elected government dominated by the Shiite majority, which had been largely disempowered by Saddam and the minority Sunnis.

Iran makes £55 million from hostage crisis as oil prices soar
IRAN is gaining up to £5 million a day from detaining 15 British sailors and marines as the crisis causes the price of oil to rise dramatically. Since Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the Britons 11 days ago, the price of oil has soared 10 per cent, reaching six-month highs of $66 per barrel in New York last week. According to OPEC figures, Iran exports 2.3 million barrels of oil per day, meaning Tehran has profited from the crisis by up to £5 million a day. By the end of today, the extra cash it has raked in could total £55 million.

For Team Bush, an Attack on Iran Has Been a Six-Year Project
The escalation of war rhetoric against Iran from the Bush White House and the neocons is just the latest installment of a long-term plan for yet another preemptive war. Presently, the Administration is trumpeting claims that Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than the CIA's own analysis shows and positing Iranian influence in Iraq's insurgency, but efforts to destabilize Iran have been conducted covertly for years, often using members of Congress or non-government actors in a way reminiscent of the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal. [Editor: Bush wars that primarily benefit his war-profiteering buddies such as Dick Cheney and his Halliburton Corporation are killing the domestic economy in the United States. We must contact our Senators and Congressmen and say "NO" to this mad-man and his keepers.]

Target Tehran: Washington Sets Stage for a New Confrontation
The United States is moving closer to war with Iran by accusing the "highest levels" of the Iranian government of supplying sophisticated roadside bombs that have killed 170 US troops and wounded 620. The allegations against Iran are similar in tone and credibility to those made four years ago by the US government about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction in order to justify the invasion of 2003. In reality such bombs have been around for a long time and were also used by guerrillas during the Irish war of independence in 1919-21 against British patrols and convoys. They were commonly used in the Second World War, when "shaped charges", similar in purpose to the EFPs of which the US is now complaining, were employed by all armies (especially by the U.S.). The very name - explosive formed penetrators - may have been chosen to imply that a menacing new weapon has been developed.

Scant evidence found of Iran-Iraq arms link
In his speech this month outlining the new U.S. strategy in Iraq, President Bush promised to "seek out and destroy" Iranian networks that he said were providing "advanced weaponry and training to our enemies." For all the aggressive rhetoric, however, the Bush administration has provided scant evidence to support these claims. Nor have reporters traveling with U.S. troops seen extensive signs of Iranian involvement. During a recent sweep through a stronghold of Sunni insurgents here, a single Iranian machine gun turned up among dozens of arms caches U.S. troops uncovered. British officials have similarly accused Iran of meddling in Iraqi affairs, but say they have not found Iranian-made weapons in areas they patrol. The lack of publicly disclosed evidence has led to questions about whether the administration is overstating its case. Some suggest Bush and his aides are pointing to Iran to deflect blame for U.S. setbacks in Iraq. Others suggest they are laying the foundation for a military strike against Iran.

US Could Bomb Iran Nuclear Sites in 2007
President George W. Bush could choose military action over diplomacy and bomb Iran's nuclear facilities next year, political analysts in Washington agree. "I think he is going to do it," John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a military issues think tank, told AFP. White House hawks led by Vice President Dick Cheney are intent on attacking Iran with or without the approval of the US Congress, both houses of which switch from Republican to Democratic control in January after the November 7 legislative elections.

Tug of war with U.S. unsettles neighbors
TEHRAN -- Iranian leaders say that years of efforts to improve relations with the country's Arab neighbors are being undermined by the hard-line policies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the nation's support for Shi'ite groups in Iraq. Some diplomats and foreign policy analysts argue that the United States is working to hasten this process by encouraging the formation of a Sunni political coalition in Baghdad with the tacit support of the region's conservative Arab states.

Lobbying for Armageddon
Some influential evangelical leaders are lobbying for an attack on Iran. But it's not about geopolitics -- it's about bringing about the End Times. Although it sounds like the kind of Pat Robertson lunacy that makes even the wingnuts run for the nearest exit, it's a question Bush should be forced to answer. Bush and other leading Republicans have lined up behind a growing movement of Christian Zionists for whom a European Antichrist figures prominently in an end-times scenario. [Editor: This is not a joke... there really are nutjobs out there that believe that these are supposed to be the end times (and George Bush appears to be one of them), and they intend to whatever is necessary to bring about the end of world as we know it. Of course not a one of them thinks long enough to have any doubt, or to consider the implications of their folly, as they truely believe that they are doing Gods work.]

Cheney Gets Flawed Neocon Briefings on Iran
In what has become an all-to-familiar storyline, Dick Cheney is receiving flawed intelligence briefings from a clique of neocons who are viewed skeptically by veteran analysts. The Bush administration continues to bypass standard intelligence channels and use what some believe to be propaganda tactics to create a compelling case for war with Iran, US foreign experts and former US intelligence officials have said.

'Significant gaps' in American Intelligence on Iran
A congressional report yesterday warned that the US was facing "significant gaps" in its intelligence on Iran that could be as serious as the shortcomings in its prewar knowledge about Iraq, leaving Washington ill-prepared to assess Tehran's military capabilities.

Israeli Use of U.S. Cluster Bombs
Aug. 24 — The State Department is investigating whether Israel’s use of American-made cluster bombs in southern Lebanon violated secret agreements with the United States that restrict when it can employ such weapons. Of course, as always with this presidency, Bush administration officials were granted anonymity to discuss the investigation because it involves sensitive diplomatic issues and agreements that have been kept secret for years. [Editor: Why did the U.S. even supply such unspeakably brutal weapons to Israel in the first place?]

Former US Security Experts Warn Against Pre-Emptive Strike in Iran
Two former U.S. National Security Council experts say military action against Iran could be more damaging to U.S. interests than the struggle in Iraq. Writing in Sunday's New York Times, Richard Clarke and Steven Simon said any pre-emptive U.S. strike could affect global oil prices, de-stabilize Iraq and threaten U.S. interests around the world.

Bombs That Would Backfire
White House spokesmen have played down press reports that the Pentagon has accelerated planning to bomb Iran. We would like to believe that the administration is not intent on starting another war, because a conflict with Iran could be even more damaging to our interests than the current struggle in Iraq has been. A brief look at history shows why.

Bush warned against attacking Iran
Critics of the Bush administration have expressed alarm over reports that the president is considering a military strike to knock out Iran 's nuclear programme.

US Considers Use of Nuclear Weapons Against Iran
The administration of President George W. Bush is planning a massive bombing campaign against Iran, including use of bunker-buster nuclear bombs to destroy a key Iranian suspected nuclear weapons facility, The New Yorker magazine has reported in its April 17 issue. A senior unnamed Pentagon adviser is quoted in the article as saying that "this White House believes that the only way to solve the problem is to change the power structure in Iran, and that means war." One former defense official said the military planning was premised on a belief that "a sustained bombing campaign in Iran will humiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up and overthrow the government," The New Yorker pointed out. [Editor: Ah, guys, you tried that one out in Iraq, remember? In case you already forgot, it didn't work out, and now pretty much the entire Arab speaking world hates us.]

US ready for nuclear strike on Iran
The reporter Seymour Hersh says that undercover American troops are already in Iran to collect target information and to establish contact with ethnic groups likely to be antagonistic to the Tehran regime. The article cites numerous anonymous sources, including former Pentagon and intelligence officials, as well as sources described as having ties to the Pentagon but no direct involvement in its decision-making. The Joint Chiefs of Staff recently unsuccessfully tried to remove the nuclear option from war planning, but the White House asked why they wanted to remove it when the initial idea came from them. [EDITOR: This may be one of the most bone-headed stupid things the Bush administration has ever considered. Please note that China is very well armed, has a modern and massive military force, and is a close ally to Iran. China also purchases much of the crude oil produced in Iran (and Iran is talking about eliminating all oil sales to the United States) ... yes people, another "oil based war." If Iran or China attack the U.S. preemptively, I would not be surprised. If the U.S. takes on China in an altercation, WWIII would be the logical result.]

Why Iran oil cutoff could be suicidal
Iran's nuclear standoff with the United States, Europe, and other nations has led to considerable speculation of $100-per-barrel oil and $4-per-gallon gasoline in the US. Such high prices might kick off a worldwide energy crisis and recession.

Iran Oil Exchange
Iran could easily make a go of it with just its own oil and that of a friendly Venezuela. According to the Financial Times Venezuela has asked Iran to help it divert more of its oil away from the U.S. and into the China market. Iran should also be able to gently nudge some of its major oil and gas trading partners like China and India to make their spot trades on the bourse.

So Far, No Good
As Rep. John Murtha put it, 'The only people who want us in Iraq are Iran and al-Qaida.'

Angry U.S. to Iran
The United States is pushing the United Nations Security Council to give Iran a two-week deadline to halt nuclear work that could be related to the making of weapons. The ultimatum to Iran to step down from its nuclear defiance or face sanctions could come as soon as Friday when the 15 members of the Security Council meet in New York.

Iran
Of all the conflicts the West has had to confront since the end of the Cold War, the one that presently opposes it and Iran is undoubtedly the most serious and dangerous to world peace. To general surprise, and thanks to massive fraud, the country brought to its leadership the former ultra-conservative mayor of Teheran, Ahmadinejad, who has set himself the objective of "erasing Israel from the map." It would be a mistake to imagine that is just rhetoric.

Bush asks EU to warn Iran on nuclear arms
June 27, 2005—By Alec Russell in Washington. President George W Bush urged Europe yesterday to send an unequivocal and united message to Iran's hardline new leader that development of nuclear weapons is out of the question

Bombs Won't 'Solve' Iran
Iran is threatening to restart its suspended uranium enrichment program. If it does, negotiations with the European Union will collapse and the crisis will escalate. Does the United States -- or Israel -- have a military option? Vice President Cheney seems to think so, or at least he did in January. "Iran is right at the top of the list," he told radio host Don Imus on Inauguration Day. Cheney came close to endorsing military action, noting that "the Israelis might well decide to act first and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards."

Findings Could Hurt U.S. Effort On Iran
U.N. nuclear inspectors have determined that traces of enriched uranium found in Iran came into the country on contaminated equipment bought through middlemen and dealers, some of whom were connected to Pakistan's nuclear black market, according to experts and diplomats working on the investigation.

Fact or Fiction? Iran's Quest for the Atomic Bomb
Iran has vehemently denied pursuing nuclear weapons, arguing that its atomic ambitions are limited to generating electricity and that developing the bomb would violate Islamic law. Wary of sparking another Iraq-like invasion of a Middle Eastern country, inspectors from the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are cautious and say there is still no clear evidence that Tehran wants the bomb.

Bush, CIA at Odds on Iran
The president's interest in a possible 9/11 link goes against the agency leader's assessment. They also disagree over intelligence reforms.

Regime Change in Iran Now in Bush's Sights
President George Bush has promised that if re-elected in November he will make regime change in Iran his new target.

France warns against Iran action
The US pursuit of forcible regime change is not a viable or safe policy in the dangerous world that exists after September 11, the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, said in an interview with the Guardian.

IDF planning to attack nuclear sites in Iran
Israel is prepared to launch an attack on Iran's nuclear sites in order to prevent them from being operational, the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday.

US Iranians shocked, overjoyed at Nobel Peace Prize selection
Iranians across the country celebrated Friday after human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, saying the first Muslim woman to win the honor can draw attention to the fight against oppression in the Middle East.

Israel And US Prepare To Attack Iran
Before the Israelis bombed Syria for the first time in decades, MER warned over the past weekend that General Sharon - and what is essentially another military-Mossad government in Israel - was trying hard to provoke an "excuse" for a new regional war; much as has been done before, most recently in 1982 when Sharon, then Defense Minister, cleverly orchestrated the invasion of Lebanon in an attempt to install a 'new regime' in that country.

Nuclear watchdog chief: Inspections in Iran to be ''decisive''
The United Nations nuclear watchdog Head said on Tuesday that inspections to be carried out in the Islamic Republic of Iran would be "decisive" in verifying allegations that Tehran is covertly developing nuclear weapons.

American's Start Psychological War Against Iran: Information Minister
"(The enemies of the country) have declared a psychological war against Iran. We have entered the scene under quite unequal conditions." "The enemy uses unfair tactics, policies, methods and tools to discredit Iran," he said, and stressed the need to "defend ourselves in this unequal war."

Rumsfeld puts Tehran `on notice'
Washington has levelled the same sort of accusations against Tehran as were made against Baghdad prior to the US invasion — that Iran is seeking “weapons of mass destruction” and is supporting Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.

US Plans To Overthrow Iranian Regime
Here we go again. While postwar Iraq continues to crumble, the Bush administration is now setting its sights on a new target—Iran—in its so-called effort to reshape most of the Middle East and bring democracy to countries ruled by vicious dictators. But the Bush administration is again relying on flimsy evidence and thin intelligence information in claiming that the Iran poses an immediate threat to the United States.

'US plan for military action against Iran complete'
Washington has drawn up a plan for military action against Iran, which it accuses of supporting terrorism and having a secret nuclear weapons program, a Russian newspaper reported yesterday, citing diplomats.

Next stop Tehran?
With Iraq beaten, the US is now playing the same dangerous WMD game with Iran

Phase Two: Syria and Iran
For some time now, here in the USA, it's been apparent that there's a power struggle, perhaps what you can call a "two-line struggle" between Colin Powell's State Department and Donald Rumsfeld's Defense Department.

Israel to U.S.: Now deal with Syria and Iran
Two of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's senior aides will go to Washington for separate talks this week. Israel will suggest that the United States also take care of Iran and Syria because of their support for terror and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Israel will point out the support of Syria and Iran for Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers an important target in the war against international terrorism.

Iraq Wrecked, Is Iran Next?
Not only the current war on Iraq but also the likelihood that the United States will next invade Iran were widely discussed at a huge conference in Washington sponsored by a powerful Israeli lobby.

Powell Gives Warning to Iran
March 31, 2003 — Secretary of State Colin Powell, ranging beyond the ongoing war with Iraq, demanded on Sunday that Iran halt its quest for weapons of mass destruction.

Iran says it may fire on aircraft in its skies
Iran, which has reported several violations of its airspace by U.S and British jets attacking Iraq, said on Monday it might fire on aircraft which enter its skies.

Iran to be US next target: CIA Report
March 24 (Online): The next target of US after capturing Iraq will be replacement of religious government in Iran with a secular government

Iran Oil Depot Hit By Rocket - Iran Warns US, UK
" When it happened the city of Abadan shook," Hossein, a government employee, told Reuters by telephone from Abadan which is about 50 km (30 miles) east of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, and on the opposite side of the Shatt al-Arab estuary from Iraq's Faw peninsula.

Is Iran Next? This Senate Resolution, Suggests It May Be:
Expressing the sense of the Senate concerning the continuous repression of freedoms within Iran and of individual human rights abuses, particularly with regard to women. (Introduced in Senate)

Iran says US war aimed to protect Israeli interests
Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here Tuesday strongly criticized the US for planning to attack Iraq and said that the main aim of the attack was to protect Israeli interests. "The world today needs a coalition to avert a war, and not a pre-emptive war. How come (US Secretary of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld made military assistance to Iraq that time and now is drumming up a war," he said.

Border Developments
In a development that could complicate Washington's war plans, Iranian-backed fighters opposed to Saddam Hussein's regime are quietly constructing a camp inside Kurdish-controlled Northern Iraq.

Inspectors in Iran Examine Machines to Enrich Uranium
Noting that North Korea's and Iran's nuclear programs are far ahead of Iraq's, critics of the Bush administration have contended that it has focused too much on a lesser proliferation problem. Administration officials contend that it is important to act before Iraq becomes a nuclear power and say the United States is trying to devise strategies to try to head off North Korea's and Iran's weapons programs.

Iran Says It's Working on Enriched Uranium Plant
The head of Iran's atomic energy program Monday said preliminary work had begun on a plant to produce enriched uranium

Bush Administration Sued Over Arrest of Mideast Immigrants
A coalition of Arab-American, Iranian-American and U.S. Muslim groups is suing the U.S. immigration service and Attorney General John Ashcroft for arresting men of Middle Eastern origin who voluntarily registered under new rules aimed at tracking suspected terrorists.

Immigrants Sue Over Detentions After Checking In
The class-action suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, says that immigration officials unlawfully arrested and detained the men without appropriate warrants and that it is illegal to arrest and deport people who are eligible to apply for legal status based on family relationships or employment.

US quietly turns up the heat on Iran
Peter Beaumont: The US sets its sights on world enemy number two: Iran