Israel does not do irony. Or human rights. If it did either, it would surely reverse its decision to ban a Gaza woman from studying human rights in the West Bank. Unfortunately, Israel sees nothing wrong in restricting the movement of people, forcing millions of them into tiny pockets that it surrounds and, in the case of the 2009 assault on Gaza, bombarding them with heavy artillery and white phosphorus.

Iran is to press ahead with enriching uranium to twenty per cent with the Iranian parliament calling on the government to step up its efforts. Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi also said today that Iran is designing a new nuclear reactor to make radio isotopes that will be "more powerful" than those from its current facilities.

Israel's blockade of the Gaza strip continues to inflict severe damage, not on Gaza or Hamas, but on Israel. The announcement that Israel itself would investigate the murder of aid activists aboard the aid flotilla was greeted with derision by much of the world community. Although the U.S. said it had every confidence Israel could carry out an impartial inquiry, the move is akin to an accused person investigating himself to see if a crime was committed. The action would hold up in no court in any country, and Israel's insistence (and America's obedience) that it should have special treatment will be treated as a whitewash around the world.

Is the Iranian regime feeling the pressure? A public spat today with its traditional ally Russia could be signs that Iran is feeling abandoned. Iran seems to be reacting badly to the news that Russia has thrown its weight behind new American backed sanctions. Russia and America could have traded America's withdrawal of its Star Wars missile defence program from Poland in return for Russian support against Iran - but there is nothing from either side to confirm or deny this.