Top Stories
Reuters: "Sanctions against Iran
may be working better than originally expected, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert
Gates said on Thursday, as his French counterpart urged allies to show no
weakness going forward. The comments by
Gates came just days after a veteran Iranian politician criticized President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for failing to counter the impact of the economic
sanctions, and said the Islamic Republic was under unprecedented global
pressure. Gates, emerging from talks with France's Herve Morin, said the U.N.
sanctions approved in June had provided a crucial legal platform for individual
nations to enact additional measures." http://bit.ly/blsyzK
FT: "Iran billed it as a victory
of 'self-sufficiency' over dependence. But when the government in Tehran
decided this month to convert petrochemical plants to boost domestic production
of petrol, it delivered a small victory to the US. It was, after all, admitting
that American unilateral sanctions were striking hard. Although the sanctions
against Iran - some of them imposed by the UN and others by the US and the
European Union alone - have been building up for years, it is only in recent
months that their impact has become most pronounced." http://bit.ly/9gLuSv
Reuters: "Security
forces attacked the office of Mir Hussein Moussavi, an Iranian opposition
leader and former presidential candidate, and seized his computers, Mr.
Moussavi's Web site said Thursday. The Web site, Kaleme, said that with the
attack on Wednesday night, 'a new wave of pressure and limitations' was being
imposed on Mr. Moussavi. It said some of his other property had also been
taken." http://nyti.ms/chOmYt
Nuclear Program
Reuters: "Iran's central bank has
agreed to open won accounts at two South Korean state-owned banks to avert
disruption in bilateral trade despite international sanctions, Seoul's finance
ministry said on Friday. The Iranian
central bank plans to open the accounts with the Industrial Bank of Korea
(024110.KS: Quote) and Woori Bank by the end of this month so that exporters
and importers from both countries can settle their transactions in won, it said
in a statement. Trade with Iran accounts for less than 1.5 percent of South
Korea's trade but Iran is an important supplier of crude oil to South Korea,
which imports all of its crude needs." http://bit.ly/dnmbkA
AFP: "A senior U.S. official said
Thursday there was evidence that North Korea has transferred technology to
Iran, confirming cooperation between two nations of deep concern to Washington.
Asked at a congressional hearing if he saw signs of technology transfer from
North Korea to Iran, Wallace Gregson, the assistant secretary of defense for
Asian affairs, responded: 'Yes.' 'North Korea has demonstrated frequently their
intent to violate a number of international norms, sanctions and resolutions to
transfer forbidden military technology to more than one other party,' Gregson
said." http://bit.ly/cnGLVJ
Commerce
Reuters: "Iranian carmaker Iran Khodro and Turkey's Hema Endustri are set to sign
a deal worth 200 million euro ($262 million) to build two automotive factories,
company officials told Reuters on Thursday. They said the memorandum of
agreement could be signed in Iran in two weeks. One factory would make brakes
and the other steering wheels and they would be built in a free-trade zone on
the Iranian border." http://bit.ly/aTqQCz
Human
Rights
AP: "Oman's foreign minister says he's not aware of any current plans for
Iran to release two other Americans still being held there but that his country
is willing to act as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington. Oman played
a key role in helping mediate the release of American Sarah Shourd from Iran on
Tuesday. Two other Americans with whom she was arrested last year are still
being held in Tehran on espionage charges." http://bit.ly/9vaUwg
Domestic Politics
Bloomberg: "Iranian opposition
leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi, who have been accused of
inciting protests over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re- election, will be
put on trial, according to a prosecutor. A case has been built against the two
men, who lead the opposition Green Movement, the state-run Mehr news agency
reported today, citing prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi in Tehran. No details
were given of the charges facing Mousavi and Karrubi, who have been labeled by
the government as 'leaders of the sedition,' a reference to the dissent that
has followed the June 2009 ballot." http://bit.ly/9BMfpC
AP: "Iran's president will likely swagger into New
York next week in much the same style as past visits for the annual U.N.
General Assembly: ready to take his jabs at America on its home turf. But any
outward confidence on the big U.S. stage contrasts sharply with his
increasingly public power struggles back in Iran that could shape the tone of
the Islamic republic for years to come. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - who was
a divisive figure in Iran after his disputed re-election last year - is now the
great divider among the conservative leadership as the threat fades from the
battered and dispirited opposition, analysts say." http://bit.ly/clTDwR
Reuters: "Iranians
will face economic hardship when the government slashes food and fuel
subsidies, a senior cleric said on Friday, contradicting President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad's line that his policy will be painless. The subsidy reform that
Ahmadinejad has called 'the biggest economic plan in the past 50 years' aims to
phase out the $100 billion the state pays every year to keep down the price of
essential goods. It is due to be launched in the coming weeks. Political
analysts say the expected surge in household bills and prices for gasoline and
food could reignite unrest which flared after Ahmadinejad's disputed
re-election last year." http://bit.ly/cIc3Gg
Foreign Affairs
Guardian: "Iran is downgrading
its relations with Britain by not replacing its outgoing ambassador to London,
Rasoul Movahedian, when he leaves in the next few weeks, diplomatic sources said
today. Last year, Tehran nominated former deputy foreign minister Mehdi Safari
to take up the post but changed its mind in spring, sending him instead to
Beijing as ambassador to China, which has emerged as Iran's principal backer on
the world stage. A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are aware that Mr
Movahedian is leaving, but we have not been made aware of any plans to replace
him.'" http://bit.ly/ds04pr
Opinion
The
National Editorial Board: "Since
the contested - some say hijacked - elections result last year, the Iranian
ruling elite has tried to project a show of strength in the face of concerns
over its nuclear programme. But the inconsistent messages coming out of Tehran
belie their best efforts.Recently there was the bizarre flip-flop on the US journalist Sarah Shourd. The
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that she would be released
after Ramadan, only to have prosecutors rescind the order immediately. Ms
Shourd was released shortly thereafter, making the about-turns appear to be a
slap in the face of Mr Ahmadinejad, but little more. There are stronger
currents working against the fiery Iranian president." http://bit.ly/aWINTr
David Ignatius in WashPost: "Skeptics contend the Afghan gambit would dilute
the main focus of Iran policy, which is stopping Tehran's pursuit of nuclear
weapons. That same logic led the Bush administration to pull back in March 2006
from its proposal for talks in Baghdad with Iran, after Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei had appointed a key adviser, Ali Larijani, as his representative. When
I visited Tehran in August 2006, hard-liners there were still gloating over the
stop-and-go diplomacy, which they said proved the United States was an
unreliable partner. I hope the administration will open a U.S.-Iranian channel
on Afghanistan soon, before the morass there gets any worse. It's one of the
best ways I can think of to undermine the Taliban's morale -- and bring all the
key regional powers into a process that could allow an eventual withdrawal of
U.S. troops. The only way to find out if Iranian signals are for real is to
start testing them." http://bit.ly/bLDkJo
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