Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Eye on Iran: Iran Sentences Iranian-American, His Father Each to 10 Years


   EYE ON IRAN
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An Iranian-American businessman and his father have been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran, a state-run judicial news agency reported Tuesday, the latest dual nationals imprisoned since the nuclear deal. The announcement by the Mizan news agency came a day after it released footage of businessman Siamak Namazi, a sign of the power still wielded by hard-liners in the Islamic Republic. The Mizan report said Namazi and his father Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF representative who once served as governor of Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province under the U.S.-backed shah, were convicted of "cooperating with the hostile American government." ... The report also said Nizar Zakka, a U.S. permanent resident from Lebanon, also received a 10-year prison sentence. His supporters had earlier told The Associated Press about the sentence, though the Mizan report was the first official Iranian report of it. The report also said two others had been convicted as well, without naming them or identifying their nationalities.

German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt will travel to Iran with a trade delegation on Friday to meet the transport and industry minister, his spokesman said on Monday, and an industry source said Siemens would be going too. Siemens has long been in negotiations with Iran over an order for track technology and ICE 3 trains, a model of intercity train in use in Germany. The deal would be worth more than 2 billion euros ($2.25 billion), industry sources say. German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel traveled to Iran at the start of the month and during that trip Siemens got an order to build parts for 50 locomotives.

Vodafone Group PLC is partnering with an Iranian internet-service provider to help improve its local networks-the first big Western firm to jump into Iran after the U.S. moved earlier this month to make it easier for companies doing business in the Islamic Republic. The U.K. telecoms carrier said on Tuesday it plans to assist Iran's HiWEB, a small, privately owned operator, in modernizing infrastructure and expanding landline and mobile internet services for personal and business customers. It didn't disclose details, including any planned investment in the venture. It said it wouldn't take an equity stake in the project.

U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS

Top U.S. officials are charging that Iran supplied Yemeni rebels with the missiles that were aimed at a U.S. Navy warship in several attacks this week. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, who was briefed by the Pentagon on the three failed missile attacks on the USS Mason destroyer, said on October 13 that Iran likely provided the missiles. McCain endorsed the Pentagon's move to retaliate by launching cruise missiles that destroyed mobile radar sites used by the Huthis to launch their missiles, which were believed to be C-802 antiship weapons. "The United States Navy has delivered a strong message" that it won't tolerate such aggression, McCain said. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby also said this week that the missiles were "provided by Iran to the Huthi rebels," although he said it was also possible the Huthis captured some missiles from the Yemeni government army.

Chief spokesman for Iran's Armed Forces says the United States is the most important reason behind all the current problems in the Middle East, stressing that Washington must accept its strategic mistakes and leave the region. "The root cause of all the problems in the West Asia region is the US hegemony," Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said on Sunday... "The US presence in the region is [like] a malignant cancerous tumor and the only way to treat it is to remove this infected tumor and kick the US out of the region," Jazayeri added.

An Iranian-American businessman arrested in Iran a year ago was seen publicly for the first time Monday in a video posted online by the country's judicial news service, which seemed to hint that he would be accused of espionage. The video - a montage of anti-American-themed images that runs one minute, 12-seconds, and is set to dramatic music - showed the businessman, Siamak Namazi, his hands raised, along with his United States passport and United Arab Emirates resident identification... It was not clear when the video, released by the Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, had been made. But the timing roughly coincided with the first anniversary of Mr. Namazi's arrest in Tehran, suggesting that formal charges were looming.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted hard-liners in Iran for releasing a video on Monday featuring a detained Iranian-American businessman who was arrested last October. The minute-long video showed Siamak Namazi, his U.S. passport, an ID card and a clip of him in a conference room with his arms raised, all set to music, according to The Associated Press... McCain said the video was just part of a pattern of intimidation against the U.S. by Iran, enabled by the Obama administration's pursuit of the Iran nuclear deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program. "The video released by Iranian hard-liners this week depicting a detained Iranian-American along with footage of the 10 American sailors who were illegally captured in January is just the latest attempt to intimidate the United States following the signing of the dangerous Iran Nuclear Deal," he said. 

BUSINESS RISK

Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Valiollah Seif once again lashed out at Washington for not complying with its undertakings under the last year nuclear deal with Tehran. "The status quo is not desirable compared with the expectations before the nuclear deal," Seif said on Saturday. Noting that the European countries and their banks are interested in cooperation with Iran, he said "but the US has not completely implemented the undertakings that it has accepted under the nuclear deal" and the European banks are lagging in improving relations with their Iranian counterparts given the concerns they have about the US behavior in future. Seif asked the US to give necessary assurances to the European banks to develop relations with their Iranian counterparts.

Iran says technical issues are to blame for the delay in receiving the airplanes it has purchased from global aviation giants Airbus and Boeing. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi said what was previously obstructing the delivery of the planes were the related authorizations by the US Treasury Department which were issued last month. "The delivery of the planes now depends on the finalization of negotiations between Iran Air from one side and Airbus and Boeing from another," Araqchi told Iran's ISNA news agency. He emphasized that negotiations on plane purchases are complicated and comprise many technical and legal issues.

SANCTIONS RELIEF

Iran's October crude and condensate exports are set to hold near five-year highs hit in September, a source with knowledge of its preliminary tanker schedule said, reflecting Tehran's success in boosting shipments after Western sanctions were lifted. The No. 3 OPEC producer is producing around 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and ultra light oil condensate, according to local oil officials, while it has just about doubled its total exports since sanctions targeting its nuclear program were lifted in January. Iran is seeking to raise its crude and condensate production to more than 5 million bpd by 2020, with its deputy oil minister saying on Monday that Iran's output was now almost sufficient to agree to the group limit planned last month by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Iran's October crude oil and condensate exports are set at 2.56 million bpd, according to the preliminary tanker schedule, down from 2.60 million bpd in September. The September exports - which some sources put as high as 2.8 million bpd - were the most since mid-2011, and compare with just under 2.5 million bpd in August.

Iran's economy minister, at a meeting with his Luxembourgian counterpart, called for providing grounds for development of bilateral cooperation. Speaking after a meeting on Monday with the visiting Luxembourg's Economy Minister Etienne Schneider, Iran's Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayebnia voiced the country's willingness to bolster economic and financial relations with the European country and deemed the concentration of international monetary activities in Luxembourg as an excellent venue for mutual cooperation... Luxembourg's Economy Minister Etienne Schneider, who is on a three-day visit to Tehran, said expressed hope to witness a very promising economic cooperation between the two countries in the future.

Iran says the US Treasury Department has effectively opened the way for non-American banks and financial institutions to proceed with dollar-dominated transactions with Iranians.  The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in an announcement has told the banks across the country that any failure by non-American banks to provide dollar-related services to Iranians is "unacceptable" in light of the US Treasury's recent update on doing business with Iran. "Providing dollar-related services [to Iranians] will no longer expose non-American banks to the risks of sanctions provided that they stay clear of US financial system," the CBI said in its statement. "Therefore, non-American banks cannot use US sanctions against Iran as an excuse for refusing to provide dollar-related services to Iranian individuals and entities."

For the first time since lifted sanctions, Asian investors will have the chance to gain privileged access to bankable projects in Iran as the country opens its doors to foreign investment. MillionaireAsia will organize the inaugural 1st Iran Investment Summit to be held in Singapore on 26 October 2016 in collaboration with Basio Consultants & Services Ltd (Hong Kong), and endorsed by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Facilitated by His Excellency Javad Ansari, the Iranian Ambassador to Singapore, an extensive delegation from the country will be heading to Singapore, led by Keynote Speaker H.E. Dr Valiollah Seif, Central Bank Governor, Islamic Republic of Iran... Tech will also be an important subject at the summit with Fintech company and main sponsor, DasCoin leading the ranks.

Christophe Landais, the chief executive of French multinational hotel operator Accor Hotels Group, says the company is pursuing a special mission in Iran and plans to implement various projects around the country within the next 10 years and perhaps build 100 hotels during this time. In an interview with ISNA, as translated by IFP, Landais said the Accor Hotels is serious in making investment in Iran.

Turkish steel producer Kardemir has shipped 10,000 tons of rail to Iran as part of an €80-million contract to export 140,000 tons of rail, according to the company's CEO Mesut Ugur Yilmaz. "The company has so far produced 40,000 tons of rail as per the contract," he was quoted as saying by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. Turkey signed the contract with Iran in April to barter Turkish rail in exchange for Iranian oil to be supplied to Turkish Petroleum Refineries Company. According to the Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi, Iran needs to build 1,500 kilometers of railroads, for which it needs 1.8 million tons of rails by 2021.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Every year for the past 34 years, Iran's Education Evaluation Organization has refused young members of Iran's Baha'i minority admittance to Iran's institutions of higher education. For at least the past 20 years, the organization's excuse has been that applicants have filed an "incomplete dossier." This year, it is clear that at least 129 of those rejected after successfully passing the National Iranian University Entrance Exam were Baha'is. The education ban against Baha'is -- who are Iran's largest religious minority -- began soon after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Right after the revolution, authorities shut down Iran's universities. They did not reopen until December 18, 1982. During this period, which authorities called the "Cultural Revolution," the new Islamist government set about "purging" all Baha'is from future involvement in education.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

When it comes to President Barack Obama's disastrous nuclear deal with Iran, it has become difficult to keep track of the troubling new revelations that seem to surface almost daily. Outrageous, potentially illegal, actions by this administration have become so commonplace that many Americans have become numb to the recent news regarding this President's policy toward Iran. We now know the President authorized a $1.7 billion cash ransom payment to Iran, then his administration lied about it to Congress. Only President Barack Obama and supporters of the Iran nuclear deal refuse to accept that the pallets of cash were a ransom payment, even though it was ransom by every definition of the word. This endangers every American overseas by incentivizing kidnappers and encouraging hostage-takers, and since Iran's release of five US hostages in January, multiple American citizens have been thrown into Iranian jail cells. Providing cash to Iran has also allowed the mullahs to circumvent the international financial system as they shuttle much-needed resources to their terrorist proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen... Despite all this, President Obama naively claims the Iran deal is a success. But with each passing day, it becomes more painfully obvious that this deal has made our country less secure, and the U.S. taxpayer money President Obama gave to Iran is being used to support terrorism and help in the killing of thousands of innocent people in Syria and elsewhere. Those who support this disastrous nuclear deal should be haunted daily by these facts.

Iran has a military-industrial complex problem. The complex is a hulking guild that stands in the way of any Iranian attempt toward policy moderation. Its visible head is the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the armed guardians of the Islamist regime since 1979. As a phenomenon, however, it comes in different shapes and affects every aspect of life in Iran. Since coming to power in 2013, the moderate President Hassan Rouhani has cautiously pushed back against the military-industrial complex but has otherwise primarily engaged in overtures to co-opt the IRGC leadership for his vision for the future. Rouhani's pitch, which he defines as a "win-win" formula, is simple: The IRGC bosses should accept change and, in return, they will not be excluded from post-sanction economic opportunities. But IRGC generals remain wary of both Rouhani and his vision for Iran's future. And they have proven time and again that they are willing to take on the president and his team if they feel threatened. To the outside world, the IRGC's undermining of the elected Rouhani government is readily discernable. From its periodic war games and firing off missiles as a show of strength, to the IRGC intelligence arm's willfully arresting Iranian dual nationals to embarrass the president, the corps barley hides its intention to expose the limits of Rouhani's power.






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@uani.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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