Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

State Support?

When former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami comes to Massachusetts to speak at Harvard University next week, there will be no state security of any kind. That's because Republican Governor Mitt Romney has ordered state agencies not to support Khatami's visit saying, "State taxpayers should not be providing special treatment to an individual who supports violent jihad."

Romney points out Khatami's crackdown on democracy reformers, his praise for Hezbollah and his call for the annihilation of Israel and criticized Harvard for hosting Khatami, calling it, "a disgrace to the memory of all Americans who have lost their lives at the hands of extremists." The State Department, meanwhile, will provide a security detail for the former Iranian leader.

Kofi Weighs In

Fresh off a visit to Tehran, where he was rebuffed in his effort to convince Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment program, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has now pronounced himself on Iran and Lebanon.

So what does Annan say about the country that facilitated the destruction by arming Hezbollah terrorists? Annan tells the Spanish newspaper El Pais that the international community "should count on Iran" in rebuilding Lebanon.

He also says Iran assured him, "that they are not seeking nuclear weapons and their intentions are peaceful," saying, quote: "The main thing is we have to avoid confrontation."

Demands Stall Nuke Deal

U.S. offers to advance India's civilian nuclear program, in exchange for cooperation on non-proliferation are going nowhere and one critic says that's because India refuses to accept even the most relaxed restrictions on what it does with the new technology.

Writing in the Weekly Standard, nonproliferation advocate Henry Sokolski notes that, over the last 20 months, the State Department has sanctioned seven Indian firms for sending weapons technology to Iran. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says he'll scuttle any deal without a "complete and irreversible removal" of restrictions on how he uses the civilian nuclear assistance — including transferring technology to help India's military nuclear program.

Reunited and It Feels So Good?

Former CBS News Producer Mary Mapes — who lost her job over the use of discredited documents in a "60 Minutes" segment on the president's National Guard service — has been reunited with her partner on the story... former CBS Anchor Dan Rather.

Mapes will produce documentaries and the occasional news feature for Rather's weekly one-hour show on the HDNet Channel, which debuts next month.

Mapes tells Radar magazine she's "thrilled to be on board," saying the channel doesn't "give a damn about ratings," but wants to — quote — "break news and have some fun breaking balls."

—FOX News Channel's Aaron Bruns contributed to this report.