Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Eye on Iran: U.S., Israel Differ over How to Resolve Iran Nuclear Issue







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Reuters:
"U.S. and Israeli officials differed over Iran's nuclear programme on Wednesday as Israel called for its effective dismantlement and the United States suggested safeguards could show that it is peaceful rather than military. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke as they began talks ostensibly about Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations but which appeared likely to be overshadowed by Iran. 'Iran must not have a nuclear weapons capability, which means that they shouldn't have centrifuges (for) enrichment, they shouldn't have a plutonium heavy-water plant, which is used only for nuclear weapons,' Netanyahu told reporters. 'They should get rid of (their amassed) fissile material, and they shouldn't have underground nuclear facilities, (which are) underground for one reason - for military purposes.' He called Iran's programme the region's foremost security problem... Kerry, whose aides are exploring a diplomatic solution to rein in Iranian nuclear activity, took a tack different from Netanyahu by suggesting Iran could show its programme was peaceful by adhering to international standards followed by other nations. 'We will pursue a diplomatic initiative but with eyes wide open, aware that it will be vital for Iran to live up to the standards that other nations that have nuclear programs live up to as they prove that those programmes are indeed peaceful,' Kerry said as he and Netanyahu began a meeting at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Rome. 'We will need to know that actions are being taken which make it crystal clear, undeniably clear, fail-safe to the world that whatever programme is pursued is indeed a peaceful programme,' he told reporters." http://t.uani.com/HhmDdE

Reuters: "Iran is reaching out to its old oil buyers and is ready to cut prices if Western sanctions against it are eased, promising a battle for market share in a world less hungry for oil than when sanctions were imposed. New Iranian President Hassam Rouhani's 'charm offensive' at the United Nations last month, coupled with a historic phone call with U.S. President Barak Obama, revived market hopes that Iranian barrels could return with a vengeance if the diplomatic mood music translates into a breakthrough in the stand-off over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. The Islamic republic's crude exports more than halved after the European Union and United States, which accuse Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons, tightened sanctions in mid-2012, cutting its budget revenues by at least $35 billion a year. 'The Iranians are calling around already saying let's talk ... You have to be careful, of course, but there is no law against talking,' said a high-level oil trader, whose company is among many that stopped buying Iran's oil because of sanctions... Several months before the EU imposed its embargo, executives from large Western companies and buyers of Iranian oil, such as Shell and Total, said the move would lead to higher oil prices and EU consumers would be the main losers. But benchmark Brent oil prices have barely changed in the past two years, hovering in the $90-$120 a barrel range despite the loss of Iranian barrels and supply disruptions from Iraq, Libya and Nigeria... 'It's a different market. It's a market that has a greater degree of supply than the market they, Iranians, exited,' said a trader with an oil major, who used to buy Iranian oil." http://t.uani.com/18bbz82

AFP: "With nuclear talks between Iran and western powers gathering steam, the Obama administration will likely face an uphill battle to convince Congress to back any deal rolling back its tough sanctions regime. For years, US lawmakers have carefully crafted legislation aimed at reining in Iran's suspect nuclear program and moves to provide even some sanctions relief are likely to be met with suspicion on Capitol Hill. Even as the nations leading the talks with Tehran -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany -- met for the first time with the new Iranian leadership in Geneva last week, US lawmakers issued warnings to the negotiators to be on their guard." http://t.uani.com/18baVHL
Election Repression ToolkitSanctions

Reuters: "Better U.S.-Iranian relations would be very welcome for South African mobile phone operator MTN Group as it has been unable to repatriate around $450 million from a unit in Iran due to sanctions, a company spokesman said. Johannesburg-based MTN, Africa's largest mobile phone operator, said its funds had been blocked since early last year because of Washington's sanctions against Tehran. 'Our primary focus remains to ensure that we are sanction-compliant with everything we do there,' said spokesman Nik Kershaw. 'But obviously it would be a great outcome if things did improve.' MTN owns 49 percent of local unit MTN Irancell, which contributed 24 percent of its 2012 revenue. Iran's Ghanoon newspaper on Tuesday quoted MTN Irancell executive Alireza Ghalambar Dezfouli as saying MTN had been unable to repatriate around $450 million from Iran. Kershaw confirmed the money in Iran was around that amount, although he could not immediately give an exact figure because of exchange rates. Around $120 million of that is dividends owed to MTN with the remainder made up of loans due to be repaid to the South African company, he said." http://t.uani.com/1ag9RqL

FP: "Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said in an interview that it would be a mistake for the Obama administration to relax its sanctions on Iran or free up tens of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds, highlighting Jerusalem's growing concern that the Obama administration may be willing to make too many concessions to Iran during the current nuclear talks between the two longtime adversaries. Steinitz, a close political ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told The Cable that the punishing Western sanctions that have been imposed on Iran are the only reason that government of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is willing to engage in direct talks with the Obama administration. With the Iranian economy in free fall, Steinitz said the sanctions should be kept in place, or even strengthened, until Iran agreed to fully dismantle its nuclear weapons program. 'Iran is now coming to the negotiating table solely because of the pressure,' Steinitz said in the interview. 'They are really on the verge of the collapse and that's the reason they're coming to the negotiating table with some willingness to negotiate.'" http://t.uani.com/18KlhCG

Human Rights

AP: "A Southern California preacher who was briefly detained after protesting outside an Iranian prison was expected back home Wednesday, his daughter said. Eddie Romero surrendered peacefully to guards at Evin Prison in Tehran on Monday after repeatedly shouting 'Let my people go' in Farsi to protest the imprisonment of four Christian converts and a human rights advocate, Sarah Yetter said. He was held and questioned but called his family early Tuesday morning from the Swiss Embassy in Tehran and said he would return Wednesday afternoon to Los Angeles on a Turkish Airlines flight, Yetter said... Romero hoped to raise awareness about Farshid Fathi, Saeed Abedini, Mostafa Bordbar and Alireza Seyyedian. The Christian converts were imprisoned because of their faith, Afshar said. He also protested the imprisonment of a non-Christian, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, a human rights advocate and lawyer who defended dissidents." http://t.uani.com/1cdBm7U

AFP: "Iran has decided to spare the life of a convicted drug trafficker who survived a hanging, media reports on Wednesday quoted Justice Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi as saying. The reports follow calls from within Iran and appeals from international rights groups against the man found alive in a morgue facing execution for a second time. 'The convict who survived (the death penalty) will not be executed again,' Pour-Mohammadi said late Tuesday in remarks reported by the official IRNA news agency. 'After putting much effort to prevent the second execution of this convict, we have received a positive response,' he said without elaborating." http://t.uani.com/163kXOz

CBS: "In 2009, prominent Iranian activist Majid Tavakoli was arrested (again) for criticizing the country's leadership and protesting its disputed presidential election. He's been imprisoned ever since, enduring a hunger strike that reportedly left him critically ill. On Monday, Tavakoli was a free man - thanks in part to a U.S.-based human rights activist who reignited a campaign to release him after confronting Iran's foreign minister in New York. 'I'm totally overjoyed,' Advancing Human Rights executive director David Keyes told CBSNews.com. '(Tavakoli) symbolizes a lot of other people in Iran.' ... Keyes says the backlash on Facebook was the catalyst for Tavakoli's release. '(Zarif) was being shamed by so many people,' Keyes said. 'It wasn't worth the price.'" http://t.uani.com/1diCJBM

Domestic Politics

Reuters: "Iran is considering an interest rate hike to fight high inflation, a senior official was quoted as saying, in a sign that the government of newly elected President Hassan Rouhani plans economic policy changes. Mohammad Nahavandian, a member of the Money and Credit Council, said a rise in interest rates was being studied although the central bank would have to move carefully because the economy was so weak, the Tehran Times reported, citing the semi-official Mehr news agency. 'Currently, the country is grappling with inflationary recession, so that it is not possible to change the rates swiftly,' Nahavandian was quoted as saying." http://t.uani.com/1a96L6b

Foreign Affairs

Reuters: "Upset at President Barack Obama's policies on Iran and Syria, members of Saudi Arabia's ruling family are threatening a rift with the United States that could take the alliance between Washington and the kingdom to its lowest point in years. Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief is vowing that the kingdom will make a 'major shift' in relations with the United States to protest perceived American inaction over Syria's civil war as well as recent U.S. overtures to Iran, a source close to Saudi policy said on Tuesday. Prince Bandar bin Sultan told European diplomats that the United States had failed to act effectively against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was growing closer to Tehran, and had failed to back Saudi support for Bahrain when it crushed an anti-government revolt in 2011, the source said. 'The shift away from the U.S. is a major one,' the source said. 'Saudi doesn't want to find itself any longer in a situation where it is dependent.'" http://t.uani.com/Hhj86Y

AFP: "Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi called on the United Nations on Tuesday to undertake reforms to reflect the 'growing role of developing countries'. 'To continue its presence in the international political and economic scene, the United Nations needs to undertake fundamental reforms,' the ISNA news agency quoted Araqchi as saying. He was speaking at a ceremony in Tehran to mark the 68th anniversary of the UN charter going into effect, which was attended by UN Development Programme administrator Helen Clark... 'These illegal, inhumane and oppressive sanctions target Iranian citizens ... as well as the country's developing programmes in health, education and its fight against poverty,' Araqchi said... Tehran has struggled to obtain medical supplies because of sanctions, even though the health sector is not directly targeted by the international measures. Clark told AFP on Tuesday that 'sanctions either made by Security Council or unilateral should not harm humanitarian needs,' but said that the World Health Organisation and the UN children's agency UNICEF had both offered to procure medicine to trade with Iran." http://t.uani.com/1h84GfD

Al-Monitor: "The head of Iran's Basij organization, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, spoke at a cultural event on clothing on Oct. 21 about the influence of Western styles on Iranian clothing and how cultural values in Europe are causing Europeans to become extinct. 'The European race, just like the dinosaurs, is in the process of extinction,' said Naghdi. 'An obscene and vulgar culture is becoming prevalent over there.' He added that one 'reason their race is becoming extinct is the prevalence of homosexuality and living with animals.' Naghdi continued, 'Their economy, culture and morals is in complete decline. ... If 100 years from now, you want to find the European race, you will have to send a research team because they have a declining birth rate.' Although many European countries have a declining fertility rate, Iran suffers the same, and in the final year of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, government programs were implemented to address this issue." http://t.uani.com/1diAMp5

Opinion & Analysis

Boston Globe Editorial: "In 1993, South African president F.W. de Klerk acknowledged something the world had long suspected: South Africa had developed nuclear weapons and then destroyed them. De Klerk's decision to come clean about South Africa's activities - and to invite the International Atomic Energy Agency in to verify the claim - helped transform South Africa from an international pariah into a trusted actor on the world stage. Today, Iran is in a similar situation. It wants to take its place as a respected regional power but finds itself hamstrung by crippling international sanctions. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was elected on a pledge to remove those sanctions by clearing up suspicions about Iran's nuclear program. It is hard to see how he can do that without admitting Iran's past research into nuclear weapons. That acknowledgement - plus a series of concrete pledges and agreements to allow unannounced inspections - should be the centerpiece of any agreement between Iran and the United States. Although Iran has always insisted that its nuclear activities are peaceful, it continues to install far more centrifuges than a peaceful program requires. And while Iran has been careful to keep its stockpile of enriched uranium under 250 kilograms - roughly the amount needed to produce enough weapons-grade fuel for one nuclear weapon - it still has far more than a civilian program needs. US intelligence agencies believe that Iran halted most of its work on building a bomb in 2003, amid international attention. But Iran's habit of walking up to the red line, even without crossing it, suggests that the country could be hedging its bets. The Iranian regime should remove doubts about its intentions by disclosing past efforts, agreeing to voluntary curbs on its uranium enrichment work, and providing greater transparency into its nuclear activities." http://t.uani.com/1idFUbO

Matthew Levitt in NYDN: "Thirty years ago today, on Oct. 23, 1983, a delivery van filled with 18,000 pounds of explosives slammed into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut. Seconds later, another car bomb hit a French military building four miles away. A total of 241 American and 58 French soldiers lost their lives, all members of the Multi-National Forces in Lebanon. The attack on the Marine barracks was not only the single-largest nonnuclear explosion since World War II, it was also the deadliest terrorist attack against Americans up to that time. And the legacy of that moment haunts us to this day. The attacks, perpetrated by Hezbollah under orders from Iran, announced the arrival of the Lebanese Shiite group as a potent, anti-Western terrorist force supported and directed by Tehran. Today, despite warming relations between the United States and Iran, Hezbollah remains a weapon in Iran's arsenal, a means to pursue the agenda of the Islamic Revolution in Syria and in terrorist operations around the world. Despite the current charm offensive of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani - and suggestions by some that the Islamic Republic is moderating its stance - it is highly unlikely that Iran will ever give a thought to reining in Hezbollah. Founded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps soon after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Hezbollah has always had an intimate relationship with Iran based on a shared ideological foundation. Today, Hezbollah is no longer just a proxy of Iran; it is in a 'strategic partnership' with Iran, as National Counterterrorism Center director Matthew Olsen put it. Or, in the words of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Hezbollah and Iran are in 'a partnership arrangement . . . with the Iranians as the senior partner.' For the past 30 years, this has proven to be a mutually beneficial relationship. From Iran, Hezbollah gets tens of thousands of rockets, hundreds of millions of dollars a year, training and operational logistical support from Iran. From Hezbollah, Iran gets an extended reach - to the Mediterranean and beyond - and a means of targeting its enemies from afar with reasonable deniability. Today, Hezbollah targets Israeli tourists around the world - in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Thailand, Nigeria - not out of any Lebanese interest but at Iran's command. The U.S. State Department concluded in its annual Country Reports on terrorism that 2012 represented 'a marked resurgence of Iran's state sponsorship of terrorism' in which 'Iran and Hezbollah's terrorist activity has reached a tempo unseen since the 1990s.' Could the recent election of Rouhani as president mark the beginning of the end for this 30-year, violent partnership between Tehran and Hezbollah? Not likely... As negotiators try to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, the anniversary of the Beirut bombings serves as a timely reminder that tensions with Iran ought not be limited to Tehran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon. At the very same time, through its terrorist proxy, this government is eagerly sponsoring the killing of innocents around the world." http://t.uani.com/19uVNZG

Admiral James A. Lyons in WT: "With all the media focus on the recently concluded talks in Geneva with Iran over its nuclear program, it's easy to overlook the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Marine barracks bombing in Beirut 30 years ago on Oct. 23, 1983. On that day, 241 of our finest military personnel were killed, with scores more seriously injured. Almost simultaneously, a similar attack was carried out at the French military headquarters, killing 58 French paratroopers. We have positive proof that these attacks were planned and ordered by Iran using their Islamic Amal terrorist proxies - forerunners to Hezbollah - in Lebanon. It is astounding that we had the information to prevent these attacks, and even more astounding is the 'reason' for not retaliating. The National Security Agency issued a highly classified message dated Sept. 27, 1983, which contained the instructions that Iranian Ambassador Ali Akbar Montashemi in Damascus had previously received from Tehran and then gave to Husayn al-Musawi, the leader of the Islamic Amal. Those instructions directed the terrorist group to concentrate its attacks on the Multi-National Force but take a 'spectacular' action against the U.S. Marines... At the time of these 'acts of war,' President Obama was still a student at Columbia University and later at Harvard. He was probably more involved in absorbing the wisdom of the leftist agenda than on the tragic events carried out by Iran against our military. However, he is certainly aware today of the thousands of our military personnel who have died as the result of Iran's actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also must realize that Iran has provided material and training support to the September 11 hijackers. Iran was found guilty of providing such support by Judge George B. Daniels of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in December 2011. Previously, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Iran guilty in the Marine barracks bombing. Iran remains the world leader in state-sponsored terrorism. It is a rogue regime that will do anything to ensure the survivability of the corrupt theocracy. The mullahs have not spent billions to build underground nuclear facilities, as well as absorbing crippling economic sanctions, to simply negotiate away their nuclear weapons objectives. In August 1995, Russia offered to provide Iran with a 10-year supply of fuel for their nuclear plant at Bushehr for only $30 million. Iran adamantly rejected the proposal because Russia insisted that Iran return the spent fuel rods to Russia for reprocessing. Case closed. Iran, with enough oil and gas to last at least a few hundred years, doesn't need nuclear capability for electricity. With Mr. Obama's eagerness to negotiate with Iran, it has been reported that he is weighing the possibility of unfreezing billions in Iranian assets in response to 'potential' concessions by Iran. Such a move would be nonsensical. If Mr. Obama were to unfreeze billions of Iranian assets, then the money should not go to Iran, but to the surviving families of the Marine barracks bombing, as well as to the surviving families of the September 11, 2001, atrocity, as our courts have mandated." http://t.uani.com/18bmXAZ

Yochi Dreazen in FP: "Congress has spent the past three years imposing tough sanctions on Iran that are designed to cripple its economy and force Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. In recent weeks, a parade of congressmen and senators have demanded that those sanctions stay in place, never mind the nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran. Lost in the noise is the fact that President Obama can -- and often does -- lift the measures with a stroke of the pen. The current sanctions have sharply limited overseas investment in Iran's energy sector, locked foreign financial institutions that do oil-related business with Iran's central bank out of the U.S. banking system, and required banks around the globe to freeze more than $50 billion of Iranian money. In July, the House approved new sanctions by a whopping 400-20 vote designed to effectively make it impossible for Iran to sell any oil abroad; similar legislation will likely be introduced in the Senate before the end of the month. The measures have devastated the Iranian economy and driven the value of its currency to historic lows. The question now is whether they'll remain in place. Congress can draft any sanctions it wants to, but the White House has tremendous leeway to decide how strictly they get enforced. The legislation that imposed tough sanctions on Iran's central bank gives Obama a 'national security waiver' he can use to temporarily soften or lift the measures.  The sanctions put in place to punish countries that buy Iranian oil allow the State Department to issue waivers to those that have significantly reduced their purchases.  Key allies like Japan and the ten members of the European Union have been protected from the sanctions since the measures were put in place several years ago. 'The sanctions give the president maximum leeway,' a senior administration official said.  'That's how they were designed from the start.' Congress has tried to make it as hard as possible for the White House to use its waiver powers.  To lift the sanctions on Iran's central bank, for instance, the administration has to certify -- in writing -- that fully enforcing the measures would harm the national security interests of the U.S. The waiver, which the White House has never used, would also have to be renewed every 120 days, a measure lawmakers inserted into the bills to force the White House to face a heated political fight over the sanctions every four months... If anything, the White House has shown a willingness to fight the Hill over sanctions that it thinks go too far. The administration initially lobbied against the measures targeting the Iranian central bank, arguing that they threatened the stability of the global financial system. Last week, Wendy Sherman, the State Department's chief nuclear negotiator, asked Congress to hold off on imposing any new sanctions on Iran while the talks with Tehran continued. The bill being crafted together by lawmakers in the Senate would impose punish companies that do business with the Iranian shipping, construction and petrochemical sectors... 'If the president were to ask for a lifting of existing sanctions it would be extremely difficult in the House and Senate to support that,' Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told The Cable last week. 'I'm willing to listen but I think that asking Congress to weaken and diminish current sanctions is not hospitable on Capitol Hill.' The president, though, doesn't need to ask lawmakers like Israel for permission to lift or modify the sanctions. At least for the moment, the power to determine the measures' future sits inside the White House, not the halls of Congress." http://t.uani.com/1a77qIY

Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.

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