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Top Stories
LAT:
"After Secretary of State John F. Kerry sits down Thursday with his
Iranian counterpart to start the highest level talks between the two
nations in 34 years, negotiators for the two sides are likely to grapple
with a highly sensitive issue: Can the mullahs in Tehran be trusted to
enrich uranium - potential nuclear bomb fuel - to even low levels on
their own soil? ... To advocates, including some current and former Obama
administration officials, and some foreign governments, allowing Iran to
enrich uranium for energy may be a face-saving way to curtail Iran's
broader nuclear ambitions. The West suspects that Iran ultimately aims to
build a nuclear weapon, a goal Iran has repeatedly denied. To skeptics,
including the Israeli government and many in Congress, even enrichment of
uranium to 5% purity - the level used for civil power plants - would
amount to surrender. Iran, they believe, would require the West to ease
punitive economic sanctions as part of any deal, and secretly move
nuclear work into hidden sites until it reaches bomb-making capability...
Gary Samore, who was also a member of Obama's small Iran team until
February, said the United States doesn't have a clear policy on whether
it would accept limited Iranian enrichment 'because the Iranians have
never agreed to any limits.' As a result, administration officials 'have
never really had to answer the question,' said Samore, now research chief
at the Belfer Center at Harvard's Kennedy School." http://t.uani.com/1h4PahT
Reuters:
"Iran's new government, stepping up a campaign to project a more
moderate image abroad, said on Wednesday it wants to jump-start talks
with world powers to resolve a decade-long dispute over its nuclear
program and hoped for a deal in three to six months. Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is set to hold talks on the nuclear issue
on Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry as well as diplomats
from Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, in a rare encounter
between top American and Iranian officials. 'The only way forward is for
a timeline to be inserted into the negotiations that's short,' new
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was quoted as telling the Washington
Post, through a translator, during a visit to New York, where he
addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. 'The shorter it
is, the more beneficial it is to everyone. If it's three months that
would be Iran's choice, if it's six months that's still good. It's a
question of months not years,' said Rouhani when asked for a time frame
for resolving Iran's nuclear dispute with the West." http://t.uani.com/185gB9a
AP:
"Foreign ministers from the five permanent members of the U.N.
Security Council and Germany will meet with Iran's top diplomat on
Thursday to test the Islamic Republic's apparent willingness to reach a
deal to resolve international concerns about its nuclear program after
years of defiance. The meeting on the sidelines of the annual United
Nations General Assembly is aimed at paving the way for the first round
of substantive negotiations on the nuclear issue since April, probably
next month. It will also mark the highest-level direct contact between
the United States and Iran in six years as Secretary of State John Kerry
comes face-to-face with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. The United
States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany will participate, with
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton serving as host of
the meeting... Zarif is urging step-by-step compromises between his
country and world powers to advance the negotiations. His remarks on
Iran's state TV referred to 'phased actions' after reviving the stalled
talks. He did not elaborate in his comments late Wednesday, but it is
seen as a reference to gradual removal of sanctions by the West in return
for a gradual decrease in Iran's nuclear activities, possibly uranium
enrichment." http://t.uani.com/15wGRvy
UN
General Assembly
NYT:
"As he conducts a high-profile good-will visit to New York this
week, Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, says he is bringing a simple
message of peace and friendship. But on Wednesday, Mr. Rouhani set off a
political storm here and in Iran, with an acknowledgment and condemnation
of the Holocaust that landed him in precisely the kind of tangled dispute
he had hoped to avoid. Mr. Rouhani, in an interview on Tuesday with CNN,
described the Holocaust as a 'crime that the Nazis committed towards the
Jews' and called it 'reprehensible and condemnable.' It was a
groundbreaking statement, given that his predecessor, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, denied the systematic extermination of Jews during World War
II. Mr. Rouhani largely repeated his comments in a meeting with news
media executives on Wednesday. But a semiofficial Iranian news agency
accused CNN of fabricating portions of Mr. Rouhani's interview, saying he
had not used the word Holocaust or characterized the Nazi mass murder as
'reprehensible.' Mr. Rouhani spoke in Persian; officials at CNN said they
used an interpreter provided by the Iranian government for the interview,
which was conducted by Christiane Amanpour. The dispute over his comments
reflects the extreme delicacy of the Holocaust as an issue in Iranian-American
relations." http://t.uani.com/1b90TuY
Fox News:
"The Iranian delegation may be pariahs inside the UN building, but
they've found at least one friend during their visit to New York - Nation
of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan and his entourage attended a
dinner party hosted by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday night.
Rouhani's dinner party was held on the second floor of the One UN Hotel,
where the Iranian delegation is staying, and at the same time as
President Obama's party at the Waldorf Astoria just blocks away. The
private dinner party was held just hours after Rouhani's speech to the
general assembly." http://t.uani.com/171Ojgt
Sanctions
WSJ:
"The company that holds the multibillion-dollar Pentagon contract to
supply U.S. forces in Afghanistan with food and water brought in supplies
to build an Afghan warehouse through Iran, in a possible violation of
U.S. sanctions. Anham FZCO used Iran's Bandar Abbas seaport last year to
land equipment and building materials that were then transported across
Iran, according to business executives involved in the process and
corporate emails reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Completing the
warehouse at Bagram military base near Kabul put Anham in position to win
the Pentagon supply contract, which it did in June 2012. Anham, which the
Journal asked about the matter about two weeks ago, said in a statement
on Sunday that it 'has made a voluntary disclosure to the Treasury and
Commerce Departments that some items were transshipped through Iran.'"
http://t.uani.com/15vyxXs
Human Rights
AP:
"The ailing father of a former U.S. Marine imprisoned in Iran is
pleading for the release of his son in a letter delivered Wednesday to
Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, in New York to attend a meeting of world
leaders. Ali Hekmati is asking Rouhani to order the release of his son,
Amir, who was arrested in Iran in 2011. The family says Amir Hekmati, who
has dual U.S. and Iranian citizenship, was visiting his grandmother. Iran
accused him of being a CIA spy and convicted him. 'I long more than ever
to see Amir's face. I am now very sick with a brain tumor,' Ali Hekmati
wrote in the letter, which was delivered to Rouhani's delegation by an
Islamic religious official from Michigan who has a personal relationship
with the Iranian president, according to a representative for the family.
'I ask that you let me see him again, one more time, and so that he may
lead our family when I am gone,' Hekmati wrote in his letter. 'Amir is a
good man. An honorable man. He is not a spy, I can assure you of
that.'" http://t.uani.com/16C2gNO
Fox News:
"As his wife is in New York to fight for his freedom, a letter
American pastor Saeed Abedini recently managed to get out of his Iranian
jail cell and to his seven-year-old daughter for her birthday has come to
light. He calls Rebekka his 'little hero' and expresses heartbreak about
not seeing her grow. Rebekka's mom, Naghmeh, is unable to travel with
their two young kids to Iran for fear she might also be arrested, but
with the Iranian delegation in New York for the UN, she is pressing his
case. This week, she traveled to New York and was able to hand-deliver a
letter Monday to the delegation of Iran's new president asking for her
husband's quick release. Abedini, 33, an American citizen who left his
wife and children behind in their Boise home to travel to Iran last year,
has been held in the notoriously brutal Evin prison for his Christian
faith." http://t.uani.com/18rwnMt
Reuters:
"Reformist former president Mohammad Khatami called for all
political prisoners in Iran to be freed following a decision to pardon 80
people in an easing of the Islamic Republic's strict security policies.
The pardons were in keeping with moderate President Hassan Rouhani's
pledge to loosen a repressive security grip that Iranians say has been
prevalent since the 2009 re-election of his hardline conservative
predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In comments published on his official
website, Mohammad Khatami, who was president from 1997 to 2005, welcomed
the pardons announced on Monday but said they did not go far enough. 'I
am happy about this news but I say why this number? I should say all,
unless someone has truly committed a crime and has been found guilty in a
competent court. Many of them haven't done anything; many of the charges
were wrong,' Khatami said." http://t.uani.com/1eJIt8b
Foreign Affairs
Gallup:
"In an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday,
President Barack Obama announced that he will pursue diplomatic options
with Iran on its nuclear program. Despite the possibility of a thaw in
relations, close to half of Americans, 45%, consider Iran an enemy and
38% 'unfriendly,' slightly more than thought so in 2000." http://t.uani.com/15wKHVo
Opinion &
Analysis
Rep. Ed Royce
& Rep. Eliot Engel in LAT: "Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani's visit to the United Nations this week is being analyzed
in excruciating detail for signs that the long-stalled negotiations over
Iran's nuclear program can finally gain traction. What exactly did Rouhani
mean when he talked about peace and moderation? The media blitz has been
interesting, but what really matters is what Rouhani does with his first
100 days in office. Although a new leader's first 100 days is admittedly
an arbitrary marker - the Iranian president's U.N. speech punctuated the
halfway mark - in Rouhani's case, it will be a reasonable test of whether
he can match his words with actions. Will Tehran show any willingness to
end Iran's nuclear weapons program? For starters, Rouhani needs to make
it crystal clear whether Iran is prepared to accept President Obama's
long-standing offer to establish direct, substantive and meaningful
negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. Does he have the political
courage to take this step? More important, does he have the abiding
blessing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader? If we get to this
point, Rouhani must bring something new and meaningful to the table.
Until now, the Iranian negotiators have offered minimal nuclear
concessions in exchange for maximum financial and oil sanctions relief.
Since his election, the only nuclear-related action taken by Rouhani has
been to announce that his foreign minister, Javad Zarif, a veteran
Iranian diplomat known to many in the West, will represent the country in
upcoming nuclear negotiations. It remains to be seen though how much
authority Zarif will have. And neither Zarif nor Rouhani has shown a
willingness to commit to a freeze in Iran's nuclear program, as called
for in successive U.N. Security Council resolutions. Although the U.S.
should engage in negotiations if the opportunity presents itself, we must
make clear that, absent a concrete, comprehensive deal, Iran's economy
will continue to suffer. The economic sanctions imposed on Iran over the
last half-decade have shaken the government, and inarguably contributed
to the Iranian people's discontent with hard-line rule. To show our
seriousness, the Senate should pass and Obama should sign our
comprehensive Iran sanctions legislation that overwhelmingly passed the
House of Representatives in July. And we must continue to make clear that
all options remain on the table to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear
weapons capability... By the end of Rouhani's 100 days - in mid-November
- we will be in a better position to judge whether there truly is an
opening for a workable diplomatic solution. The House Foreign Affairs
Committee will hold a hearing as that approaches to assess this
possibility." http://t.uani.com/16zovEa
Samia Nakhoul in
Reuters: "In the photograph the two robed men stand
shoulder-to-shoulder, one tall and erect, the other more heavyset. Both
smile for the camera. The picture from Tehran is a rare record of Iran's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meeting Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,
the head of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi'ite paramilitary group. Taken in
April during a discreet visit by the Hezbollah chief to his financial and
ideological masters, the photograph captured a turning point in Syria's
civil war and the broader struggle between Sunnis and Shi'ites, the two
main branches of Islam. It was the moment when Iran made public its
desire for Hezbollah to join the battle to help save Syria's President
Bashar al-Assad, diplomats said. At the time, Assad and his Alawite sect,
an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, were losing ground to an advancing Sunni
insurgency. Within days of returning home, Nasrallah gave a televised
speech making it clear that Hezbollah would fight alongside Assad to
prevent Syria falling 'into the hands' of Sunni jihadi radicals, the
United States and Israel. The very survival of the Shi'ites was at stake,
he said. Soon afterwards, fighters from Hezbollah - which until then had
largely stayed out of its neighbour's civil war - entered Syria. In June
they helped Assad's forces recapture the strategic town of Qusair and
other territory, turning the war in Assad's favour. Regional security
officials told Reuters there are now between 2,000 and 4,000 Hezbollah
fighters, experts and reservists in Syria. One Lebanese security official
said a central command in Iran led by the Revolutionary Guards directs
Hezbollah operations in Syria in close coordination with the Syrian
authorities. Another source said Hezbollah had 'hit squads' of highly
trained fighters in Syria whose task is to assassinate military leaders
among the Sunni rebels. Hezbollah declined to comment for this report on
its involvement in Syria. Nasrallah has previously said it is necessary
for Hezbollah to fight Sunni radicals allied to al Qaeda. Officials in
Iran did not respond to requests for comment. Last week, Iran's foreign
ministry spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, said that Iran had no official
military presence in Syria, but was providing humanitarian assistance.
Last September, Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of the Revolutionary Guards,
said some members of Iran's elite Quds force were in Syria but that it
did not constitute 'a military presence.' Hezbollah's role in Syria has
ramifications not just in its home in Lebanon but across the region. If
Assad wins, Iran's influence along the shores of the Mediterranean will
grow. If he loses, Hezbollah and Iran's reach will likely be damaged. For
some members of the group, the fight is an existential one. Reuters has
learned that a few voices within Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist
organisation by the United States and Europe, opposed joining the
conflict in Syria. Two prominent members feared intervention would drag
Hezbollah and the Shi'ite community into a quagmire; they questioned
where the group would draw the line after Qusair. Sheikh Subhi
al-Tufayli, who led Hezbollah from 1989 to 1991, said the decision to
intervene had been entirely down to the Islamic Republic of Iran. 'I was
secretary general of the party and I know that the decision is Iranian,
and the alternative would have been a confrontation with the Iranians,'
Tufayli, who fell out with Iran and his former group, told Reuters at his
home in the Eastern Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border. 'I know that the
Lebanese in Hezbollah, and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah more than anyone, are
not convinced about this war.' Such doubts are repeated across the Middle
East. Shi'ite groups, clerics and communities in places such as Iraq are
struggling with whether to back Assad or not. But the critical voices
were ignored and eventually silenced. 'Even if (Hezbollah) has its wise
men, the decision (to fight in Syria) is not theirs,' said a Lebanese
security official who, like most people Reuters spoke to for this report,
would not be named. 'The decision is for those who created and established
it. They are obliged to follow Iran's orders.' A Lebanese politician
summed up the point, saying: 'Nasrallah is not going to say No to someone
who has given him $30 billion over the past 30 years.'" http://t.uani.com/1eJJVHE
Ray Takeyh in FT:
"The public relations rollout of Hassan Rouhani can best be compared
to the unveiling of a new iPhone by the late Steve Jobs. The Iranian
president is placed at the centre of a media frenzy, with scores of
interviews, receptions where the global elite can mingle with the latest
curiosity from Tehran and, finally, a speech at a high-profile gathering.
But Mr Rouhani's success abroad does not mitigate his problems at home.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader who holds the ultimate
authority in the Islamic Republic, and his aggrieved Revolutionary Guard
are wary of the new president. It is the domestic manoeuvres of these
three parties that is likely to define the terms and limits of Mr
Rouhani's diplomacy - particularly regarding Iran's nuclear programme.
Shortly after the president was elected, the powerful Revolutionary Guard
subtly conveyed its view. An article appeared on a website close to the
elite corps suggesting that it would confront 'an emphasis on negotiating
with America... and satisfying Europe and the White House'. It has long
been known that the Guard oversees Iran's nuclear infrastructure and has
a vested interest in the programme's survival. It was during Mr Rouhani's
tenure from 2003 to 2005 as the nuclear negotiator that the programme was
suspended, causing much resentment among those scenting the power of
atomic weapons. Mr Rouhani's appointment of Ali Shamkhani - a longtime
guardsman and an advocate of Iran's nuclear surge - as head of the
Supreme National Security Council must have calmed nerves. The programme
remains firmly with the SNSC despite official claims it has been
transferred to the foreign ministry. Mr Shamkhani will devise the
strategy while Mohammad Javad Zarif, the urbane, thoughtful foreign
minister, will present it at any international talks. Events since the
election have been particularly kind to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The
supreme leader's foremost objectives are preservation of the regime's
revolutionary identity and ensuring that resistance to the west remains
the main of pillar of his republic. Before Mr Rouhani took office, Mr
Khamenei was saddled with a fractured elite and an unsympathetic
international community. All this has now changed; the Islamic Republic
has now cobbled together a domestic political consensus, and its
president is being praised at home and abroad. Mr Khamenei is likely to
offer Mr Rouhani an opportunity to craft a nuclear settlement, but the
terms have to be acceptable to the ever suspicious supreme leader and his
Revolutionary Guard. Should the president succeed, commerce and contracts
will return to Iran, ensuring the survival of the regime. Should he fail,
a unified elite will try to persuade the Iranian populace that the cause
of their hardship is American truculence. Putting aside the bickering and
back-stabbing that has characterised Iran's politics in the past eight
years, the Islamic Republic will try to fracture the international
consensus on its nuclear programme. Either way, Mr Khamenei wins." http://t.uani.com/185juai
David Ignatius in
WashPost: "The U.S.-Iranian diplomatic train is
rolling fast, with President Hassan Rouhani talking Wednesday about a
three-month timetable for a nuclear deal. But Rouhani was also cautiously
insistent about staying on the single track of the nuclear issue -
perhaps fearing that if this becomes a runaway, it will derail. It was a
careful Rouhani who sat down for a one-on-one interview, following a
lengthy session with several dozen journalists and news executives. He
appeared wary of using chits he may need in the negotiations or of
complicating the diplomacy by raising issues of normalization, such as
reopening embassies in Tehran and Washington. Rouhani, wearing a white
turban and his clerical robes, spoke slowly and deliberately; although
he's fluent in English, he used a translator. As in other recent
interviews, he wanted to show a new, moderate Iranian face - speaking at
length with the larger group of journalists, for example, of the 'crimes'
the Nazis committed against the Jews. This is a man who wants to 'make
haste slowly,' as the Latin aphorism puts it. Here are some highlights
from the interview." http://t.uani.com/1bIhFny
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