Iran must cut imports to defeat sanctions: chief banker

The UN’s top nuclear official is expressing concern that Iran may be secretly continuing work on nuclear weapons. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano told The Associated Press that his agency has indications of such activities both “in the past and now.” Iran denies secret weapons work and even the United States — which provides much of the intelligence on Iran to the agency — said in 2007 that Tehran had suspended all meaningful weapons development by 2003.

On Wednesday I noted that encouraging more U.S. oil production was unlikely to result in a significant drop in U.S. retail gasoline prices. Nevertheless, I believe that there would be some important economic benefits from lowering the U.S. oil import bill, as I discuss here.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry insisted on Tuesday there was a "diplomatic path" to be forged with Iran on its disputed nuclear programme, as world powers and Tehran held crunch talks. "There is a diplomatic path," said Kerry after meeting his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in Berlin.

Iran's central bank chief said on Friday that Tehran has withdrawn the assets held by its banks in Europe to escape the latest round of international economic sanctions over its nuclear drive."The Central bank ... has transferred the (Iranian) banks' assets from Europe. Currently there is no problem in regards to blocking of assets of the Iranian banks by the European Union," Mahmoud Bahmani was quoted as telling the Fars news agency.He did not say how much money was involved, what its destination was or when the transfers took place.

Iran on Saturday begins transferring fuel into its Russian-built first nuclear plant, as it remains defiant about sanctions imposed by world powers over its controversial atomic programme.After decades of delay, engineers will finally transfer the Russia-supplied fuel into the plant in the southern port city of Bushehr, in the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.The event "will be a thorn in the eye of ill-wishers," the Islamic republic's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said last week, adding that the transfer would be complete by September 5.

Iran is designing a new nuclear reactor for radio-isotope production that is "more powerful" than its existing Tehran research facility, atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday.Salehi said Tehran will also adopt a "dual-track" policy in dealing with the world powers which imposed new sanctions on Tehran even as they offered to talk with the Islamic republic over its nuclear programme.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was due in Shanghai on Thursday hours after China -- to Tehran's dismay -- backed new UN Security Council sanctions over the Islamic republic's nuclear drive.Ahmadinejad was to arrive in Shanghai for a visit officially focused on the World Expo, but unusually strong criticism of Beijing by Iran's atomic chief could cast a shadow over the trip.