Eye on Iran: Deadline Passed, No Sign of Breakthrough in Iran Nuclear Probe

Join UANI           Top Stories Reuters: "Iran may have failed to meet a deadline for addressing U.N. concerns about suspected nuclear bomb research, but it could still act to influence a key report due next week, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday. The sources, who follow the nuclear issue but declined to be identified, said they had seen no indications so far that Tehran had replied in substance to questions from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by the agreed August 25 date. They suggested, however, that there was still time for Iran to provide information in the coming days in order to avoid any negative impression in the IAEA's closely-watched quarterly report on Tehran's nuclear program, expected around September 3. 'Probably, they are late,' one envoy said. 'They only give as much as they have to.' ... 'The nuclear negotiations are not progressing. The positions are still very far apart,' one senior Western diplomat said, ahead of next month's expected resumption of the talks." http://t.uani.com/1q4R8qK AFP: "Iran said Wednesday it has started to modify its Arak heavy water reactor and limit plutonium output, a cause of Western concerns over the country's nuclear programme. 'Modification of the heart of the Arak reactor is in the process of being carried out by our experts ... to ease the worries of certain countries,' said Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads Iran's nuclear programme, quoted by ISNA news agency. 'Foreign ministry officials have been informed of the technical details of these modifications,' Salehi said. The reactor in Arak, 240 kilometres (145 miles) southwest of Tehran, could in theory provide Iran with weapons-grade plutonium." http://t.uani.com/1tc2WtO AFP: "Iran said Wednesday that Palestinian militants had emerged the victors and brought their Israeli foe 'to its knees' during the bloody 50-day Gaza conflict. 'The heroic Palestinian people have forged a new era with the victory of the resistance which has brought the Zionist regime to its knees,' the foreign ministry said in a statement. 'This victory prepares the way for the final liberation of all the occupied lands especially Quds (Jerusalem),' it said, congratulating the Palestinian people and the militant groups in Gaza that Iran supports." http://t.uani.com/1qKHLZA   Nuclear Program & Negotiations Fars (Iran): "Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi announced on Wednesday that Tehran is preparing to launch a new generation of nuclear centrifuge machines called IR8. 'We have introduced the latest generation of our centrifuges, IR-8, whose SWU (Separative Work Unit) stands at 24 to the (International Atomic Energy) Agency,' the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said in a televised interview with Iran's state-run TV on Wednesday. 'These centrifuges have undergone mechanical tests, but we haven't yet injected (UF6) gas into them as it requires a relevant permission by the president,' he added." http://t.uani.com/1AU3mGr Sanctions Relief Trend: "Iran's non-oil trade turnover (including condensates) surpassed $41.62 billion during the 5-month period from March 21, indicating 32 percent increase compared to the country's $31.5 billion foreign trade in same period of preceding year(Iran's fiscal year starts on March 21). Iran's non-oil exports stood at $19.639 billion during the period, 20.83 percent more compared the 5-month period of last year, Iranian Customs Administration reported Aug. 27. Iran also imported about $21.981 billion worth of goods during the period, which indicates a rise by 33.58 percent in value year on year. Liquefied propane, methanol, and liquefied butane were the main items exported." http://t.uani.com/1q4Q2Ly Trend: "Russian Railways has signed a memorandum of understanding with Iranian Railways to expedite the implementation of rail projects in Iran. The 6th meeting of Iran-Russia transport cooperation working group was held in Tehran, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on August 27. Russian Railways agreed to expedite the implementation of the Garmsar-Incheborun railway project as well as the establishment of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway which is intended to connect Iran's railway to Azerbaijan and Russia. The Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway, with a length of 375km is currently the missing link in the North-South corridor, which, when completed, will extend from Northern Europe to Southeast Asia." http://t.uani.com/1qgWUoc Iraq Crisis Guardian: "Mujtaba is a good example of the new breed of Shia fighter, hellbent on confronting what they see as an existential threat against them, battle-hardened by more than a decade of conflict in Iraq and Syria and, in some cases, trained in Iran and Lebanon under the unrelenting attention of Hezbollah. Mujtaba is in his mid-20s, has fought in Syria, and has little faith in the Iraqi army's capability to fight this war. 'You can't depend on the army - even if they put 2,000 soldiers in this village I won't take them seriously or count on them,' he said. 'We are a resistance faction that have been fighting for 11 years. Each one of us has been sent to at least three outside training camps in Iran and Lebanon under supervision of Hezbollah. Each lasted for two months. Do you know what it means to go for 60 days under constant gruelling by Hezbollah? You come back as a new person. You can't compare us with those soldiers who joined the army for money.' He was so impressed by his experiences that he named his first son after Imad Mughniya, the legendary Hezbollah military commander." http://t.uani.com/XSeN3r Al-Monitor: "After Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denied that Iran had sent troops into Iraq, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said that advisers had been sent into Iraqi Kurdistan at the request of the Kurdistan Regional Government. At the meeting with provincial officials in Qom, Fazli also related that President Hassan Rouhani had drawn a red line at the fall of Shiite holy cities Karbala and Najaf. On Aug. 25, Fazli said that when the Islamic State group (IS) "attacked Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish officials requested help from Iran. And the Islamic Republic, in addition to providing advisers, organized their forces." http://t.uani.com/1ph4elK Foreign Affairs WSJ: "A small U.S. Coast Guard boat fired a single shot toward an armed Iranian-flagged ship in the Persian Gulf during a brief encounter on Tuesday, a potentially provocative incident in a volatile area. U.S. officials emphasized that the situation didn't escalate and that both vessels ended contact after the warning shot was fired. The Coast Guard Patrol Boat Monomoy, working in the Persian Gulf, had been in contact with the bridge of the Iranian dhow, a traditional vessel common in the Middle East, when the Iranian crew abruptly broke off the conversation, U.S. defense officials said. The Coast Guard dispatched a small boat from the Monomoy to investigate, said Navy Commander Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Cmdr. Stevens said the crew of the dhow aimed a .50 caliber machine gun at the Coast Guard boat, demonstrating 'hostile intent.' In response, the small Coast Guard boat fired a single shot. The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. local time, Cmdr. Stevens said." http://t.uani.com/1qgXXEs Reuters: "Iran's deputy foreign minister said he held 'positive and constructive' talks with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Tuesday where Islamist militancy in Iraq - that both see as a threat - was one of the topics discussed. Hossein Amir Abdollahian was in Jeddah for the first high-level bilateral talks between the two countries since Hassan Rouhani was elected president of Iran a year ago, pledging to thaw Tehran's frosty relations with its Arab neighbors. 'Both sides emphasized the need to open a new page of political relations between the two countries,' Abdollahian told Reuters by telephone after meeting Prince Saud al-Faisal." http://t.uani.com/1qKHi9R Fars (Iran): "Commander of Iran's Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi announced on Wednesday that arming the Palestinian resistance groups in the West bank has started. 'Arming the West Bank has started and weapons will be supplied to the people of this region,' Naqdi told FNA on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of a forum of Basiji university professors in Tehran today. He underlined that arming the West Bank will lead to the annihilation of the Zionist regime. Stressing the need for Israel to return the Palestinian lands to their real owners, Naqdi said, 'The Zionists should know that the next war won't be confined to the present borders and the Mujahedeen will push them back.' ... 'The continued war in Gaza will accelerate arming the West Bank and annihilation of the occupiers,' Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri said in Tehran on Sunday." http://t.uani.com/1wCpINK 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.