- Japan, overriding U.S. opposition, plans to develop an
Iranian oil field that contains estimated reserves of 26 billion barrels.
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- A Japanese consortium supported by the government in
Tokyo said it will develop an Iranian oil field at Azadegan in a $2 billion
deal. Under the accord, the Japanese consortium would obtain a 75 percent
stake. Iran's state-owned oil company was given the remaining interest,
Middle East Newsline reported. The field was expected to begin oil production
in mid-2007.
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- U.S. officials said they were informed of the Japanese
deal with Iran earlier this week. They said the Japanese project would
bolster the Iranian regime at a time when it is pursuing nuclear weapons.
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- "Our policy has been, with respect to Iran, to oppose
petroleum investment there," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
said. "We remain deeply concerned about deals such as this."
- U.S. intelligence officials say Iran is advancing its
missile and weapons of mass destruction programs with the assistance of
China and North Korea, Geostrategy-Direct.com has reported.
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- China, which in 2002 announced export controls on military
and dual-use technologies, produced the components and exported them through
North Korea to avoid U.S. sanctions, the sources said.
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- http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/front_1.html
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