European Union nations are calling for Iran to stop jamming international satellite broadcasts and censoring the Internet. A preliminary version of a statement that will go before EU foreign ministers next week demands that Iran cease its electronic interference immediately.

Iranian parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said the "carrot and stick" strategy used against Iran by the "great powers" won't halt its nuclear development.

Months of popular unrest have exposed the fissures in Iranian society and politics, so sanctions must achieve contradictory goals: cutting off the regime's access to sensitive technology while cajoling it to negotiate in good faith; undermining hardliners while empowering moderates.

APDS Blogger: Melanie Ciolek

Since the violent aftermath of Iran’s presidential elections, American policymakers have struggled with how best to approach the opposition Green Movement without jeopardizing U.S. efforts to limit Iran’s nuclear ambitions. There are signs that an increasingly popular approach might not be more sanctions – but fewer, at least when it comes to Internet technologies.

He is visiting Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan ahead of a more controversial visit to Iran in May. While in the region Lula will throw his country's growing diplomatic weight behind the Middle East peace process.

The figures confirm the exponential growth in commercial ties between the two countries, which were almost non-existent 15 years ago, when trade volumes amounted to just 400 million dollars.

With the Obama administration's year-old policy of engagement with Iran hitting a shambolic dead end, the US president is under growing domestic pressure to support the Iranian opposition – a strategy some maintain he has already adopted.

A senior professor of International Relations has called on the Iranian government to prepare a strategy to counter the "soft warfare" launched by the US. The Iranian officials should carry out studies on the tactics used by the West and the United States to influence on Iran,