The strongest message out of the nuclear talks with Iran over the weekend was that western powers are willing to tolerate even the most egregious violations and intransigence by a pariah state only if it agrees to talk nicely. For merely agreeing to talk about talking Tehran was rewarded with less pressure and more time, with the second round of negotiations to be held in late May in Baghdad, of all places. But, clearly, expecting Iran to comply with UN Security Council resolutions and its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty should not require any convincing at all, let alone a decade of negotiations.It defies common sense that the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) has once again been lured by Tehran into repeating the same mistakes while expecting different results (Einstein called this the very definition of insanity). Almost 10 years of failed negotiations and constant concessions have given no reason to pin hopes on further negotiations.

CBC-The wife of a Canadian on death row in Iran says she spoke with her husband on Sunday, as he waits to learn his fate and the Canadian government pleads for his release.Antonella Mega has been fighting since 2008 to free her husband, Hamid Ghassemi-Shall.“He was in tears,” Mega told CBC News on Monday. She said he’s been told that his execution may be coming soon.The Iranian-born Ghassemi-Shall, 43, emigrated to Canada after Iran’s 1979 revolution, and most recently lived in Toronto.He was arrested four years ago while visiting family, and was later charged with espionage. He was sentenced to death in 2009.‘It seems that the level of sensitivity in Iran towards people who live in the West is increased.’—Antonella Mega

Mega said her husband has been told by a judge that he is waiting for instructions from a prosecutor. “And it seems that the prosecutor of Tehran is the person who controls Hamid’s life,” she said.

HuffingtonPost-TEHRAN, Iran — Iran calls it the “soft war” with the West: Battles to control, defend and monitor the Internet and other high-level telecommunications. The latest move came quietly when the powerful Revolutionary Guard recently launched what it claims is a hack-proof communications network for its high-level commanders.Largely overshadowed by the showdowns over Iran’s nuclear program, the efforts to build a cyber-fortress have become a priority among leaders fearful of Internet espionage and virus attacks from abroad and seeking to choke off opposition outlets at home.The drive also highlights the stepped up attempts by many nations – particularly across the Middle East – to filter the Web after social networking sites played such a crucial role in the Arab Spring uprisings.In a video message for Iranian new year last month, President Barack Obama denounced what he called the “electronic curtain” that keeps ordinary Iranians from reaching out to Americans and the West.