“Iran” on The Daily Caller

For the second time in a few months, we have seen a crazy Israel-about-to-attack-Iran story spread around the globe. I don’t want to go into all of the details, but this tale is an example of how the media has lost it completely due to a combination of laziness (reporters don’t really do research or check sources), agenda, ignorance, and good old sensationalism. Partly, too, it arises from the mass media’s struggle to deal with the Internet media era and the Internet media’s struggle to achieve decent journalistic standards. (more)

1.) Republican adopting the language of Occupy Wall Street?  – In a campaign strategy she really ought to take a moment to reconsider, the Republican opponent of California Sen. Diane Feinstein, Elizabeth Emken, is adopting the language of Occupy Wall Street. TheDC’s Alexis Levinson reports: (more)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Tuesday dismissed the new U.S. sanctions, saying they are part of a “psychological war” meant to sow discontent among Iranians and insisting the measures would not halt the country’s nuclear program. (more)

“Whoever says later may find later is too late,” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said last week. His words drove Western policymakers into a tizzy. Everyone wants to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, but not everyone is willing to do what it takes to bring that about. (more)

It’s not a case of déjà vu. (more)

Add the Simpsons clan to the list of toys banned in Iran, Reuters reports. (more)

President Barack Obama announced on Monday a policy intended to shut down international transactions by the Bank of Iran, amid growing worries by Democrats that Iran’s nearly-complete effort to build a nuclear weapon will spark a war with Israel and an oil-price shock in the run up to the November election. (more)

On Saturday’s coverage of the Nevada caucuses on CNN, Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination offered viewers a glimpse into how he might handle a potential international crisis. (more)

VIENNA (AP) — A senior U.N. nuclear inspector spoke Wednesday of a “good trip” to Tehran and the agency said his team will return to Iran’s capital in late February, indicating progress on attempts to investigate suspicions that Iran is secretly working on nuclear weapons. (more)

Washington’s hostility towards Tehran is fast making war inevitable. But the bluster, sanctions and covert action are aimed at foiling Iran’s nuclear weapons program, a threat that may be entirely imaginary. (more)

Presidential candidate Ron Paul has said repeatedly that Iranians hate America because of its role in the 1953 coup overthrowing Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadegh. Similarly, Paul frequently claims that the September 11th attacks were a response to a supposed decade-long U.S. bombing of Iraq. In fact, about the only bombing of Iraq done by the United States in the last 20 years was for two weeks at the start of the 2003 war and one time in retaliation against an assassination plot against former President George H.W. Bush. (more)

Earlier this month, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) sent a letter to Jennifer Lopez, the well-known actress, singer and judge for “American Idol,” asking her to renounce her ties to the Italian automaker Fiat. Most Americans have seen Ms. Lopez’s Fiat commercials, which she filmed as part of a multimillion-dollar deal that also includes product placement during her performances. (more)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. and Europe are trying to stop Iran, the world’s third-biggest oil exporter, from selling crude. Iran’s response is to threaten to disrupt shipments from the entire Middle East. (more)

The European Union‘s unprecedented sanctions on Iranian oil exports are aimed at seriously punishing Iran over questions about the nature of its nuclear program, delaying military action, and, however likely or unlikely, spurring talks. (more)

CORAL SPRINGS, FL. — Rick Santorum told a Florida crowd on Sunday that if Iran doesn’t dismantle its nuclear program, a Santorum administration would do the job for them. (more)

JERUSALEM (AP) — The top U.S. general, visiting Israel at a delicate and dangerous moment in the global standoff with Tehran, is expected to press for restraint amid fears that the Jewish state is nearing a decision to attack Iran’s nuclear program. (more)

An Iranian lawmaker said Wednesday that President Obama called for direct talks with Iran in a letter he sent last week to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (more)

Five days after a nuclear scientist in Iran was assassinated, more than 1,000 students in Tehran’s universities announced their intention to apply or change their major to nuclear physics. (more)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — State radio says an Iranian company is sending the United States a model of the American surveillance drone captured by the Islamic Republic. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Thursday about Iran amid tensions over the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist, but the White House refused to comment on any role by Israel even as it continued to deny U.S. involvement. (more)