U.S. Pushes for UN Censure of Iran, Syria on Arms Jay Solomon: The Obama administration is pushing for a formal censure of Iran and Syria at the UN over an arms-smuggling case that U.S. officials see as highlighting the risks that Iranian weapons shipments pose to regional stability. The move could impede the ability of Iranian shipping firms to deliver arms to militant groups such as Hizbullah and Hamas. Washington has already placed unilateral sanctions on Tehran's largest freight shipping firm, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, for its alleged role in arms smuggling and procuring equipment for Iran's nuclear and ballistic-missile programs. "The fact that Iran is smuggling arms isn't new. What's new is that they got caught in the act," said a European official working on Iran. "We now have the evidence." The evidence involves an ! Iranian-chartered cargo ship that was detained in Cyprus after American intelligence suggested it was ferrying arms to Syria. The Cypriot-flagged ship, the Monchegorsk, left Iran in January, chartered by Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. Cypriot authorities found bullet shells, high-explosive gun charges and items related to 125-mm armor-piercing guns. The Syrian port of Latakia was to be the port of discharge. Last month, a UN committee ruled that both Iran and Syria violated a Security Council resolution that bans Tehran from both importing and exporting weapons. (Wall Street Journal)

Obama Reaches Out to Muslim World - Michael D. Shear and Kevin Sullivan: President Obama made his most direct outreach to Muslims around the world Monday, telling Turkey's National Assembly that the U.S. "is not and never will be at war with Islam." "Our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a violent ideology that people of all faiths reject," he said. (Washington Post)

The Obama Administration and Implications for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East - Scott Carpenter: The U.S. government can use Arab governments' insecurity regarding Iran as leverage to encourage real reform. This is particularly true for Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia - now engaged in the ideological fight of their lives with Iran and its reactionary allies. Only by establishing a new bargain with these regimes that stresses the need for them to respect internal civil and political rights, while forging a joint response to the reactionary threat, can the U.S. offer a true alternative to theocratic and minority rule. The writer, a fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs from 2004 to 2007. (Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

Iran Rejects Obama's Hand of Friendship - Tim Shipman and Colin Freeman: Speaking a day after U.S. President Barack Obama broadcast a message inviting the Iranian people to a "new beginning," the country's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dismissed it as a "slogan." The cleric delivered his response during a speech in the city of Masshad, as tens of thousands of his followers chanted "death to America." Obama had invited Iran to "take its rightful place in the community of nations."  (Telegraph-UK)