News & Views: The US has called for talks with Iran. State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said he hopes “that reasonable individuals in Iran would see the positive opportunity given to it by the international community to enter negotiations.” We are efforting an interview or comment from State on this. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statement that Iran has 3,000 centrifuges running is not backed up by evidence, diplomats familiar with U.N. inspections said. Statements from congress on the release of Americans detained in Iran, in particular Sen. Clinton and Carden calling for the release of the remaining detained Americans Dr. Tajbaksh and Ali Shakeri.
Roundtable hosts Farbod Talaee, a Masters student at the University of Reading, UK, on Iran's "brain drain."
Late Edition hosts author Rudi Matthee on his recent book, "The Pursuit of Pleasure" exploring the persistent tension between social practice and religious norms exemplified by the use of and attitude toward wine, drugs, and stimulants in Iranian society between 1500 and 1900. A VOA report on American soccer and efforts to increase the sport's popularity in the States.
NewsTalk hosts contributors Mohsen Sarzgara and Alireza Nourizadeh on the latest politics inside Iran's ruling structure including the naming of the new head of the Pasdaran, and Rafsanjani's new post as head of the Assembly of Experts.