1.   The harder line from Tehran may have been prompted in part by scathing statements from the Taliban, who have imposed on Afghanistan a far more rigid Islamic system.

2.   Thinking of Simpson as not black is, of course, a scathing statement about race.

3.   In a scathing statement, the group demanded those who attacked the van be swiftly arrested.

4.   Red Bank, N.J.-based Ansell issued a scathing statement Monday accusing the studio of not wanting to be associated with a condom company.