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US Hopes Iran Can Supply Europe with Gas

The US has expressed hope that Iran changes position so that the country's gas could be used in projects such as Nabucco to diversify sources of energy supply.

"Today it is not time to use the Iranian gas in the projects due to country's violation of its international obligations and presenting a threat to international peace and stability," the US Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy, Richard Morningstar, said Monday in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This is while Morningstar, whose country has already opposed Iran's involvement in the $10 billion project, said during an energy summit in April that Washington did not exclude Iran as a potential supplier for the Nabucco pipeline.

In addition, the Nabucco consortium managing director Reinhard Mitschek hinted in early February that the consortium was considering Iran as one of the several starting points for the construction of the pipeline.

The proposed 3,300-kilometer Nabucco pipeline aims to carry natural gas from Central Asia via Turkey and the Balkan states to Austria, bypassing Russia and Ukraine.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in March that the Nabucco gas pipeline is not feasible without Iran's involvement in the project.

"...Nabucco will not reduce the number of transit countries but increase them. Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia. But even that is not enough, as Nabucco cannot be carried out unless Iran joins the project," Morningstar stated.

The projects such as Turkey-Greece-Italy (TGI) gas pipeline and Nabucco are very important from a strategic point of view and in terms of diversification, Morningstar pointed out.

Iran owns 16 percent of the world's natural gas reserves.

US to Attend G8 Meeting alongside Iran

US to Attend G8 Meeting alongside Iran
The US State Department confirmed on Friday that the country's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend a meeting of the Group of Eight foreign ministers in Italy at the end of June.

"Yes, the secretary will attend," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

The US announcement came a day after the Italian Foreign Ministry extended an invitation to the Islamic Republic of Iran to attend the G-8 foreign ministerial meeting in Trieste, port city north of Italy, on June 25-27.

"Iran is invited to the conference, yes," said Italy's special envoy for Afghanistan Sergio Mercuri whose country currently holds the G8 presidency.

The two-day conference aims to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan with the help of its neighbors including Iran.

Washington has backed Tehran's participation in the G8 meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan this month.

Earlier in May, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that Clinton was in favor of inviting Iran to the meeting.

Also in March, Tehran was invited to an international conference on Afghanistan at The Hague.

Washington has shown desire to reach out to Tehran to tackle problems facing Afghanistan, including the growing strength of Taliban militants across the war-torn country.

Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta has also welcomed the presence of Iran at the meeting on Afghanistan.

Refugee funds 'running short' in Pakistan

The UN warns that humanitarian efforts for Swat war refugees would have to be scaled down if the international community does not come up with financial assistance.

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Islamabad said it had received only 22 per cent of the $543 million international aid appeal they had made for the internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The office also added humanitarian efforts would be facing severe problems in a couple of weeks if more money was not received.

The developments come after Pakistani army launched an operation named 'Black thunder' early this month claiming to be aimed at flushing out the militants from the restive valley and its adjoining districts.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates nearly 126-thousand people flee the fighting in the troubled northwest every day.

The clashes in Swat have pushed millions of terrified civilians into camps set up in various parts of the North West Frontier Province since May 2.

More than three million internally displaced people are now residing in temporary camps in the country's northwest.

UN officials in Islamabad have warned that a fund to help the refugees remained woefully short.

UN officials also on Thursday warned against potential disease outbreaks among millions of Pakistanis displaced by an army operation against the militants in Swat.

The massive displacement is Pakistan's biggest movement of people since the country secured independence from Britain in 1947.

Pakistan claims more than 1,350 militants and 86 soldiers have been killed in the over a month conflict.

Thousands of civilians are believed to be still trapped in the conflict zone. Human Rights Watch has warned of a large-scale human tragedy in the conflict-torn region.

Pakistan's army warns that the battle against insurgency in the troubled valley could take longer than previously thought. "It may be another two months when we can say the complete area is fully secured," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Wednesday.