Iraq frees 36 Iranian opposition members

October 7th, 2009 Iranian opposition detainees freed in IraqBAGHDAD — A group of 36 Iranian opposition members were returned Wednesday to an exile camp in northern Iraq after nearly three months in Iraqi custody and despite an ongoing effort to expel them, a government spokesman said. The men were returned to Camp Ashraf, where nearly 3,500 members of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran have been confined since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, while the Iraqi government works to find a country other than Iran that will take them, said spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

September 22nd, 2009 Ahmadinejad tells AP he regrets protester deathsNEW YORK — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he regrets the deaths of protesters in the violence that followed his country's disputed presidential elections. But he denied that his government had any role in the killings.

September 17th, 2009 Iranian regime's forces warn opposition over rallyTEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian regime's elite Revolutionary Guard is warning opposition protesters against holding a new anti-government demonstration. Opposition activists have called for protests to coincide with government-sponsored demonstrations marking Quds Day, dedicated to condemning Israel and expressing support for the Palestinians.

September 9th, 2009 Iranian exiles vent fury at US over Iraq attacksLONDON — Iranian exiles camped outside the American Embassy in London say they've been on hunger strike for weeks to push the United States to protect their compatriots in Iraq. The People's Mujahedeen of Iran say the U.S.

August 18th, 2009 Iranian activist hospitalized after hunger strikeTEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian journalist and opposition activist has been hospitalized after a nine-day hunger strike to protest his detention and trial, a reformist news Web site reported Tuesday. Ahmad Zeidabadi is among more than 100 prominent activists and opposition supporters on trial in Iran.

July 18th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Teheran's Intelligence Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei has claimed that Israel had planned to assassinate Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the country's elections last month. Mohseni-Ejei claimed that Israel collaborating with Iranian Mujahedeen opposition members had met in Egypt and France to plan Ahmadinejad's killing, The Jerusalem Post reports.

July 9th, 2009 US releases 5 Iranian officials in IraqBAGHDAD — U.S. forces on Thursday released five Iranian officials detained in January 2007 in northern Iraq on suspicion of aiding local Shiite militants, Iranian and Iraqi officials said.

June 25th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iranian authorities arrested 70 academics after they met opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi, the defeated presidential candidate's website said Thursday. The report did not clarify where the university professors, who are all members of the Islamic Associations of their universities, were brought after Wednesday's arrests.

June 22nd, 2009 BRUSSELS - The European Union (EU) Monday dismissed as "baseless and unacceptable" Iranian claims that some of the bloc's biggest members are trying to topple its regime. "The EU considers the accusations made by various Iranian authorities towards the EU and its member states concerning European interference in the Iranian elections as baseless and unacceptable.

June 18th, 2009 BAGHDAD - Iraq's foreign minister Thursday said the "instability" in neighbouring Iran was a source of continued concern for his country. "The instability in Iran is a source of concern for Iraq, just as the instability of Iraq was a source of concern for Iran," Hoshyar Zebari told the al-Jazeera news channel.

May 8th, 2009 EU lawmakers to Obama: Lift ban on Iranian groupBRUSSELS — More than 100 members of the European Parliament are urging President Barack Obama to remove an Iranian opposition group from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations.

May 5th, 2009 BAGHDAD - Iraq has strongly condemned the shelling of villages in the northern Kurdistan region by Iran, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The ministry has summoned the Iranian ambassador here to register its protests against the Iranian action, a statement said.

May 4th, 2009 Russian ship frees Iranians seized with piratesMOSCOW — Iran's embassy in Moscow says a Russian warship has freed eight Iranians who were seized along with suspected Somali pirates last week. The embassy says the Iranians had been held captive by the pirates for almost three months, and has praised the Russian Navy for the rescue.

April 24th, 2009 EU parliament urges Iraq not to expel groupBRUSSELS — The European Parliament urged Iraq on Friday not to deport members of an Iranian opposition group to Iran. In a resolution, the EU assembly called on Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "to ensure that no action is taken" that violates the rights of 3,500 residents in a camp north of Baghdad.

March 17th, 2009 BAGHDAD - American warplanes shot down an unmanned Iranian aircraft last month as it flew over Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Monday.