Middle East Briefs: Iraqi president suffers a stroke

Libya plans to establish one authorized border crossing with each of the four neighbors, army spokesman Ali al-Sheikhi said.

Analysts see the measure as a response to the crisis in Mali, which has sparked calls for international intervention, but say that Libyan security forces simply do not have the means to implement it while they remain in disarray after last year’s ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Mali does not share a border with Libya, but Mali was afflicted by the spillover of fighters and weapons, both Tuareg and Islamist, from the uprising that overthrew Gadhafi.

IRAN

Ahmadinejad says sanctions won’t stop nuke program

TEHRAN — Iran’s president says Western sanctions could cause a short delay in Tehran’s nuclear program but will not slow it down substantially.

State TV quoted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday as claiming that the “West is not happy with Iran’s progress” in various technological fields, including uranium enrichment, which is a possible pathway to nuclear arms.

His remarks come just days after Tehran again rebuffed visiting U.N. nuclear agency inspectors from visiting the Parchin military base near the Iranian capital.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has linked the site to suspected secret nuclear weapons research. Iran denies that, insisting Parchin is only a conventional military facility.

The West has imposed a series of punitive oil and banking measures against Iran over concerns that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge.

IRAN

Supreme leader gets clicks with Facebook page

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Facebook page purportedly created by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attracted nearly 10,000 followers Tuesday, although the site’s content and style raise serious questions about its authenticity.

Iranian authorities had no immediate comment on the site, which apparently went online last week but only recently gained prominence among social media watchers.

Despite the possibility that it is a hoax, the page has generated at least 170 comments — laudatory and derogatory, and nearly all in Farsi — that highlight the deep political divisions in Iran and possibly opposition fervor from expatriate Iranians.

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