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TOP STORIES
Iranian-Austrian dual citizen Kamran Ghaderi is
entering the second year of his 10-year prison sentence in solitary
confinement in Tehran after being coerced into confessing to
espionage in 2016, an informed source told the Campaign for Human
Rights in Iran. "They threatened him that if he didn't
cooperate, his wife would be taken into custody," said the
source. "They forced him to sign a confession under intimidation
and psychological torture, otherwise they had nothing to convict him
of espionage." ... The sentence was announced by Tehran
Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi on October 17, 2016,
along with the announcement of identical sentences against other dual
nationals Siamak Namazi, Bagher Namazi, Farhad Abd-Saleh, Nizar
Zakka, and Alireza Omidvar.
The chief prosecutor of Tehran has revealed that there
are as many as 70 spies serving sentences in the Iranian capital's
prisons, far more than what had been estimated. The 70 convicts had
"offered intelligence to enemies in various fields including
atomic, military, political, social and cultural," Abbas Jafari
Dolatabadi said, quoted by the Mizan Online news website. Dolatabadi
did not name the countries alleged to have recruited the spies. Only
a handful of cases of people charged with espionage had been made
public in the Islamic republic prior to his comments, which were
published late Tuesday. Among them are two Iranian-American dual
nationals. In October, business consultant Siamak Namazi and his
80-year-old father Baquer were given 10 years in prison for
"espionage and collaboration with the American government".
President Hassan Rouhani of Iran has urged the
hardline judiciary to disclose its financial accounts in a highly
unusual move that reflects an intensifying power struggle ahead of
this year's elections. "The government is ready to set up a data
centre to make all its income and expenses and accounts transparent,
as long as the judiciary agrees to make all its accounts transparent,
too," Mr Rouhani said on his official Twitter account. The tweet
on Tuesday was the latest salvo in a public row that erupted after
Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, alleged that Babak
Zanjani, a billionaire businessman, had financed Mr Rouhani's
election campaign in 2013. Zanjani was sentenced to death last year
after being found guilty of economic crimes in a scandal involving
several billions of dollars of oil he sold on behalf of the
authorities. The case came to symbolise corruption within Iran's
elite. "Zanjani has said he helped the president's election with
billions of tomans," Mr Larijani said on Monday, while
questioning the transparency of the presidential office's financial
records.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
Iranian-American political prisoner Reza (Robin)
Shahini is being held in adverse conditions with dangerous criminals
in Gorgan Prison, 186 miles northeast of Tehran in Golestan Province,
the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned.
"Reza is facing a lot of discrimination and hardship and the
prison officials justify it because he's accused of national security
crimes," an informed source told the Campaign. "He is being
kept in a ward with murder suspects and drug traffickers. His
cellmates call him names like 'foreigner' and 'spy' and have warned
him not to speak to them. So, basically he has been completely
isolated and has become very weak."
Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-born U.S. permanent resident
and internet freedom advocate who was sentenced to 10 years in prison
in Iran in September 2015 for "espionage," has been on
hunger strike since December 8, 2016 to protest his unjust sentence
and the denial of medical and consular services. "He is innocent
and wants to be released," said his U.S. lawyer, Jason Poblete,
in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in
Iran, adding that he has been denied access to his client's case
files. "In the meantime he wants to interact with the International
Red Cross or receive some third-party medical attention because he
has not been allowed to have visits with anybody," continued
Poblete. "He has not been allowed to have consular services,
even though he has asked for them multiple times." "He
wants to send a message that these things are happening not just to
him but also to other Americans, and hopefully it will help highlight
the plight of all hostages unlawfully detained in Iran," he
added.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
Over the course of the next 100 days, Republicans hope
to punish the UN for its passage of a resolution condemning Israel
over its settlement enterprise, and Iran over its destabilizing
actions in neighboring Middle East nations... GOP leadership is
preparing legislative options they believe will easily attract
Trump's support, specifically against Iran, which was a frequent
target of the president-elect during the campaign. Senior
congressional aides say to expect a bill within weeks that would hike
the tax rate and impose other penalties for companies doing business
with Tehran... an additional bill under consideration would target
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps for its support of Bashar Assad
in Syria. A third would attempt to thwart major Boeing and Airbus
deals with Iran's main airline, which Republicans argue provides dual
civilian and military use and facilitates the transfer of weapons to
Tehran's proxy organizations.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
China's Iranian crude oil imports may rise to a record
this year as state-owned oil firms lift more crude through their
upstream investments while extending their current supply contracts,
senior industry and trading sources said. Chinese firms were expected
to lift between 3 million to 4 million barrels more Iranian oil each
quarter in 2017 than last year, four sources with knowledge of the
matter estimated. That would be about 5 percent to 7 percent higher
than the 620,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude the country
has imported during the first 11 months of 2016, according to the
customs data... State refiner Sinopec Corp and state-run oil trader
Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, the two biggest Chinese lifters of Iran's oil,
are set to roll over annual supply agreements with National Iranian
Oil Co (NIOC), with combined volumes of about 505,000 bpd, two
sources with knowledge of the agreements said. Additionally, China
National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Sinopec expect to lift more oil
this year from two oilfields they operate under service contracts,
the sources said.
HUMAN RIGHTS
A British-Iranian woman being held in Tehran's
notorious Evin prison has appeared in an appeals court, using the
last legal opportunity to challenge her five-year jail sentence.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters
Foundation, the news agency's charitable arm, was found guilty in
September on unspecific charges relating to national security. On
Wednesday, she attended a court session in the Iranian capital that
lasted up to three hours, her husband told the Guardian. Few details
have emerged about the hearing but a verdict is expected to be
announced next week.
Four fingers of the right hand of two prisoners were
amputated in an Iranian prison on the Christmas day, December 25...
According to close sources the two prisoners who were brothers, were
sentenced to prison and amputation of four fingers of the right hand
because of a robbery they allegedly committed in 2011.
The lawyer of an imprisoned Iranian activist who just
ended a 71-day hunger strike says his client has yet to be taken to a
hospital. Lawyer Amir Raisian told The Associated Press on Thursday
that Arash Sadeghi remained at Evin prison despite judicial officials
approving his transfer to a hospital. Raisian said prison authorities
had offered no reason why Sadeghi had not been transferred, though he
remained "hopeful" his client would be moved soon. Sadeghi
is serving a 15-year prison sentence for several charges. He ended
his hunger strike Tuesday after his wife, imprisoned in a separate
case, won a temporary release.
Tehran's hardline prosecutor general has announced
that people caught at mixed-gender parties, especially celebrity artists
and athletes, along with those caught consuming alcohol, or
participating in other "indecent" activities should face
stiffer penalties. "As role models you should be more careful
because youths can pick up bad lessons from these actions," said
Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi on December 27, 2016, addressing the
celebrities. "The enemy's (US-led West's) evil intention is to
spread promiscuity and cultural corruption. One reason these
violations are taking place is that the punishments are too
low." Hardliners often blame the growing popularity of liberal
culture in Iran on a US-led western onslaught on the Islamic
Republic. The warning accompanied an announcement that his office was
investigating a recent mixed-gender party in Tehran where "some
artists were present."
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
US Gulf allies are looking at Donald Trump to tilt
Washington in their favour, analysts say, but fear a dangerous void
if the incoming president goes so far as to tear up the Iran nuclear
deal. Still fuming after the nuclear agreement was brokered over
their objections, Saudi Arabia and its fellow Sunni Arab states in
the Gulf hope Trump will rebalance ties at the expense of their
regional rival Tehran. Washington's traditional allies in the Middle
East are concerned, however, over the potential uncertainty of a
radical move to go back on the deal with Iran. "Eight years of
(President Barack) Obama's administration destroyed the balance of
power in the region completely," says Mustafa Alani, a senior
adviser to the Gulf Research Centre. Gulf states "hope now that
under Trump the regional balance of power is going to be
restored" after Obama "just ignored Iran's expansionist
policy" in the Middle East, Alani says.
Sri Lanka plans to dispatch a high-ranking trade
delegation led by the country's president, Maithripala Sirisena, to
Iran in late January. "President Maithripala Sirisena's
forthcoming tour of Iran could open many new opportunities for Sri
Lankan businesses", said Minister of Industry and Commerce
Rishad Bathiudeen on January 3 in Colombo. Addressing a team of
officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Foreign
Ministry, who will accompany the president in his trip to Iran, the
minister said the objective of the visit is to explore bilateral
trade, investment and tourism potential as well as take part in a
business forum with Iranian counterparts.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
When the Iran nuclear agreement was signed more than a
year ago, the country's hardline regime hoped it would turn around
its crippled economy. Western negotiators hoped it would restrict
Iran's nuclear weapons programme while also moderating Iranian
behaviour. The agreement has helped the Iranian economy, but contrary
to the hopes of the current US administration, Iran's government
remains extremist, expansionist and repressive. Any company that is
currently looking at investing in Iran or doing business with Iranian
companies needs to be aware of the risks of violating continuing
global business sanctions on Iran. It will also expose its own
company and its employees to the risk of kidnapping, and end up
helping the Iranian regime, which is the world's biggest state
sponsor of terrorism. The legal, political, financial and
reputational risks of doing business with Iran therefore cannot be
ignored... Banks are probably the most exposed to these risks. Strong
penalties remain in place for institutions that directly or
indirectly facilitate prohibited transactions. Many banks have
previously been punished and rightly approach Iran with great
reluctance. Since 2009, international banks have been fined $15bn for
violating US sanctions related to Iran. In light of this history, it
is unsurprising that many financial institutions remain hesitant...
Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of
Scotland, Société Générale and UBS have all said they would be
restricting or avoiding Iranian business. For that, they and the
others who have shown similar forbearance should be thanked. Markus
Kerber, director-general of the Federation of German Industries, very
pointedly said that any sensible bank wouldn't go "anywhere near
Iran" and wouldn't even "look the country up on the
map". For any bank thinking about re-entering Iran, there is no
easy or clean route to trouble-free business. Every way you turn, the
journey is mired in danger and risk, not only to your own
institution, but also to the world.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is perceived
by some as a business empire, with an estimated quarter of the
country's economy under its control. That has not changed since
President Hassan Rouhani assumed office in 2013, despite his repeated
calls for a reduction in the IRGC's economic and financial
activities, which had grown substantially during the eight years of
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. Rouhani's efforts to rein in the
IRGC economically have intensified since Iran and the P5+1 signed and
adopted the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, as
the president has sought to bring much-needed foreign direct
investment to the country's key economic sectors. Rouhani's ability
to contain or coordinate the IRGC's economic activities is crucial
for reviving Iran's economy and would be enhanced by the sanctions
relief and foreign direct investment provided by the JCPOA - not to
mention the endorsement or approval of Iran's Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The IRGC has been reluctant to fully comply
with Rouhani's efforts to reduce its economic role. Since the IRGC is
under the direct command of the supreme leader and does not report to
the elected president, it has, on many occasions, ignored and
circumvented the government's moves to limit its involvement in the
economy. Several months ago, this came to a head when Rouhani's
government announced an agreement assigning the IRGC a leading role
in the economic development activities of the country's border
regions with Iraq and Pakistan. The agreement has been portrayed in
some quarters as a victory for the IRGC. However, rather than further
paving the way for the IRGC's unchecked economic expansion, the
agreement can be seen as part of the president's plan to contain that
expansion.
Of the countless Obama-era foreign policy missteps and
mistakes, Donald Trump has reserved his strongest criticism for the
nuclear deal with Iran. And rightly so. The agreement allows Iran to
continue its research into advanced nuclear technologies and sunsets
most restrictions in ten to fifteen years. Supporters of the accord
argue that Trump should not reverse the deal because this would
permit Iran to lift all curbs on its nuclear work. But many opponents
also maintain that ending the agreement is impractical now that the
accord has been in place for eighteen months. Both are wrong. The
Iran nuclear deal can and should be dismantled in a gradual manner
that takes into account the interests of American allies around the
world and relies on Iran's almost inexorable determination to
continue its march to nuclear weapons... In order to bring U.S.
allies along and safeguard America's relations with many of its
closest partners, Trump should act gradually and with clear
justification. What this means is that he should wait for Iran to
cheat-and cheat it will. In fact, Tehran has already been out of
compliance with the JCPOA on numerous occasions since its
implementation began.
Iran's list of 29 companies qualified to bid for its
upstream tenders contains just one "American" company,
Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services firm. It is a
bold gamble by Schlumberger on many levels, not least because of the
uncertainty about how the new Donald Trump White House will view future
dealings with Iran... Schlumberger, despite being hit with a US$233
million fine for breaching Iran (and Sudan) sanctions the year before
last, was the first and so far only company headquartered in the US
to agree in principle to deal with Iran, to work in the country's
Khouzestan province... Indeed, while Royal Dutch/Shell - which is on
Iran's qualified companies list - is not an American company, like BP
it has huge financial and operational exposure to the US and would be
taking as much of a chance in Iran as Schlumberger. Schlumberger may
still think of itself as not quite American. Though its top
executives, including its chief executive Paal Kibsgaard, operate out
of its headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas (near Houston), and it is
NYSE listed, Schlumberger is technically incorporated in Curaçao,
Netherlands Antilles, and its origins are European... Still, neither
it nor Shell nor any other company with substantial US exposure would
want to risk sanctions if the Trump administration takes a hard line.
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