Eye on Iran: Pro-Iran Iraqi Militia Says Jerusalem Decision Could Make U.S. Troops A Target

TOP STORIES Pro-Iran Iraqi Militia Says Jerusalem Decision Could Make U.S. Troops A Target | Reuters A prominent Iraqi militia backed by Iran, Harakat Hezbollah al- Nujaba, said on Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital could become a "legitimate reason" to attack U.S. forces in Iraq." U.S. Military Will Stay In Syria After ISIS Is Defeated, Threatening New Conflict With Russia and Iran | Newsweek The Pentagon has revealed its intention to keep troops in Syria after the defeat of the Islamic State militant group, despite calls from the country and its Russian and Iranian allies to expel U.S. forces, whose presence they consider illegal.  Iran Condemns U.S. Decision To Move Embassy To Jerusalem | Reuters Iran "seriously condemns" the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and its recognition of the city as Israel's capital, read a statement on Wednesday from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried by state media. The move violates international resolutions, the statement said. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier that the United States was trying to destabilize the region and start a war to protect Israel's security.  UANI IN THE NEWS The Ticking Time Bomb of Iran's Proxy Industry | UANI Senior Advisor Norman Roule for the Cipher Brief Tehran has created a dynamic in which a range of well-armed surrogates are capable of sparking sudden regional conflicts. Just as ISIS hid its fighters behind innocent civilians, Iran has embedded proxy groups among civilian populations that have already endured years of violence and likely will suffer further in any retaliation by third countries that fall victim to their attacks. The international community needs to communicate clearly to Tehran that such a callous strategy is unacceptable. IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL Iran's Terror Threat and Nuclear Compliance Should be Dealt with Separately, NATO Chief Says | CNBC NATO has warned that U.S. concern over Iranian terror activity should not spell the end of a fragile nuclear deal. U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS Iran 'Will Not Tolerate' Trump Jerusalem 'Violation': Rouhani | Agence France-Presse Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasted his US counterpart Donald Trump's plan to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on Wednesday, saying it would not be tolerated.  At Sochi Conference, Iran's Islamic Regime Celebrates Its Triumph Over ISIS, U.S., And Zionism | Middle East Media Research Institute The November 22, 2017 Sochi conference gave Iran a diplomatic opportunity to celebrate the triumph of the Iran-led resistance axis over the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as over the Western forces headed by the Global Arrogance - the U.S. - and over Zionism, against which Iran has been waging a massive propaganda campaign, accusing them of establishing and supporting ISIS. SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT Erdogan Says U.S. Trying To 'Blackmail' Turkey With Iran Sanctions Case | Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called the New York trial of a Turkish banker accused of conspiring to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions "blackmail" and a "blemish" on his country.  FOREIGN AFFAIRS Tillerson Stresses Common NATO View Of Iran's Regional Threat | Asharq Al-Awsat (U.K.) US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that NATO allies share a common view of the regional threat that Tehran poses over its destabilizing activities in Yemen and Syria.   Turkmenistan, Iran To Seek Mediation of $1.8 Billion Gas Dispute | Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Turkmenistan has agreed to seek international arbitration of a dispute with Iran over $1.8 billion Ashbagat says Tehran owes for deliveries of natural gas, Turkmen media report. The energy-rich Central Asian state halted shipments of natural gas to Iran at the start of the year, saying Iran owed $1.8 billion for supplies it never paid for. IRAQ CRISIS Iraq and Iran Negotiating Start Date for Kirkuk Oil Exports: Luaibi | Reuters The head of Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO is currently holding talks in Iran to determine a start date for oil exports from Iraq's Kirkuk oilfields, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Wednesday. An oil official told Reuters last week that some Kirkuk crude would be shipped "in the near future" by trucks to Iran's Kermanshah refinery, at a rate of 30,000 barrels per day. Iran in Iraq | Kenneth Pollack for the Atlantic Council Geographic proximity and shared religion, specifically Shia Islam, give Iran deep influence in Iraq, as shown in a new Atlantic Council issue brief entitled  "Iran in Iraq," by American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Kenneth M. Pollack. Despite advantages in geography and demography, Pollack argues that Iranian influence in Iraq is not insurmountable. The United States should therefore seek to implement policies that strengthen Iraq's government and unify its people in order to keep Iran at bay. GULF STATES, YEMEN, LEBANON, AND IRAN Analysts: Yemen's Saleh Lost His Life over Anti-Iran Stance | Asharq Al-Awsat (U.K.) Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has paid his life for supporting an Arab positions and standing up against the Iran-styled state in Yemen, analysts said. IRANIAN DOMESTIC ISSUES Iran Official Says Roots of Sedition 'Still Strong' | Radio Farda The chairman of the influential Guardian Council and speaker of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, says "sedition" has not yet been rooted out of Iran and a number of "neo-hypocrites" are attempting to keep it alive. Jannati was referring to the controversial presidential election in 2009 followed by months of bloody unrest in major cities, including the capital, Tehran. The uprising against the re-election of Mahmud Ahmadinejad was labeled "sedition" by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israeli Tech Puts Iranian Ride-hailing Startups in Bind | Al-Monitor Iran's recent decision to once again block Waze, a mobile navigation app developed in Israel, has created a great deal of controversy in the country. The GPS-based software had become popular both among the public as well as Iran's leading ride-hailing apps, Snapp and Tap30. 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.