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NYT: "President Hamid Karzai acknowledged Monday that his chief of staff had taken money from the Iranian government, confirming a report in The New York Times. He said the cash was used to pay for presidential expense. His government will continue to receive the payments, which amount to no more than about a million dollars twice a year, he said at a news conference with the visiting president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmonov, adding that the money is part of a relationship between neighbors. 'They have asked for good relations in return, and for lots of other things in return,' said President Karzai of the Iranians." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.rjmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fnyti.ms%2FcQVz2P
NYT: "The bag of money is part of a secret, steady stream of Iranian cash intended to buy the loyalty of Mr. Daudzai [Mr. Karzai's chief] of staff and promote Iran's interests in the presidential palace, according to Afghan and Western officials here. Iran uses its influence to help drive a wedge between the Afghans and their American and NATO benefactors, they say. The payments, which officials say total millions of dollars, form an off-the-books fund that Mr. Daudzai and Mr. Karzai have used to pay Afghan lawmakers, tribal elders and even Taliban commanders to secure their loyalty, the officials said. 'It's basically a presidential slush fund,' a Western official in Kabul said of the Iranian-supplied money. 'Daudzai's mission is to advance Iranian interests.'" http://nyti.ms/bW36s2
NYT: "Scores of documents made public by WikiLeaks, which has disclosed classified information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, provide a ground-level look - at least as seen by American units in the field and the United States' military intelligence - at the shadow war between the United States and Iraqi militias backed by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. During the administration of President George W. Bush, critics charged that the White House had exaggerated Iran's role to deflect criticism of its handling of the war and build support for a tough policy toward Iran, including the possibility of military action. But the field reports disclosed by WikiLeaks, which were never intended to be made public, underscore the seriousness with which Iran's role has been seen by the American military. The political struggle between the United States and Iran to influence events in Iraq still continues as Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Malikihas sought to assemble a coalition - that would include the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr - that will allow him to remain in power. But much of the American's military concern has revolved around Iran's role in arming and assisting Shiite militias." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.tjmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fnyti.ms%2FaVR9V1
Nuclear Program
WSJ: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has taken initial steps to remove government subsidies of key energy and food products for Iran's citizens, a move American officials believe could destabilize his government as international sanctions bite into the economy. This week, Tehran began implementing its plan to reduce price supports on several staples by issuing cash payments to lower-class Iranians in three provinces, Iranian state media said. The payouts, equal to about $40 a month per eligible citizen, are designed to soften the impact of higher prices to come, according to Iranian officials. Iranian economists believe Tehran's plan to cut the subsidies could lead prices on goods such as gasoline and wheat to jump by as much as 20% in the coming weeks, possibly stoking popular unrest. The unwinding of lavish subsidies can be politically explosive in developing countries: Indonesia's cut in popular payouts helped lead to the fall of dictator Suharto in 1998. 'Politically, this is suicide if it doesn't work,' says Hashem Pesaran, a professor of economics at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. 'It's difficult to understand why he's making this decision now.'" http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.ujmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FbYXiEm
Bloomberg: "The U.S. said Iran shouldn't interfere with Afghanistan's internal affairs following a report that an Iranian official gave an aide of President Hamid Karzai a bag filled with packets of euro bills. 'We understand that Iran and Afghanistan are neighbors and will have a relationship,' Philip J. Crowley, a State Department spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. 'But Iran should not interfere with the internal affairs of the Afghan government.' The New York Times reported today that, in August, Iran's ambassador to Afghanistan, Feda Hussein Maliki, gave a plastic bag filled with euros to Karzai's chief of staff, Umar Daudzai, on Karzai's personal aircraft. The Times cited an Afghan official who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.vjmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FbISeya
LAT: "Iranian officials say international sanctions haven't kept them from continuing to do business with much of the world. At the Tehran International Industry Fair this month, leaders boasted in a brochure that 25 countries were taking part. But on a visit to the fair, one country stood out: China. Trade specialists say that Beijing, which conducted nearly $22 billion in trade with Iran in 2009, can supply versions of almost anything no longer imported from Western countries, and can easily circumvent or even ignore the banking complications faced by other nations attempting to do business with the Islamic Republic." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.wjmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Flat.ms%2Fb8jbTK
JPost: "While Israeli officials consistently talk about how 'no option is off the table when it comes to Iran,' and how Israel cannot allow Iran to become a nuclear power, the Foreign Ministry is drawing up options for the possibility Teheran may indeed acquire the bomb. Revelations on Sunday of a Foreign Ministry team working on these contingency plans was the first admission that the government is giving serious thought to adjusting to a reality where Israel is no longer, according to foreign sources, the sole nuclear power in the region. That the government is preparing various contingency plans for if it 'wakes up one morning and there is a nuclear Iran' does not mean that Jerusalem has come to terms with this eventuality, but rather that it is preparing for it if it transpires, one government official explained." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.zjmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FcEpCMh
Bloomberg: "The U.S. government warned Turkey against selling Adabank AS to an Iranian bidder after reports a bank from the country was interested in the lender, Star reported. Adabank, controlled by a fund managing failed banks, should not be sold to Iran because of sanctions in place against the Islamic regime, the U.S. told Turkey, according to the Istanbul- based newspaper. Washington is closely watching the sale process, it said." http://bit.ly/9dCZZr
Commerce
Reuters: "The volume of Iranian crude stored at sea has fallen by as much as 4 million barrels because of a spike in Asian demand this month, traders and shipping sources said. Asian refiners have more than offset waning demand from European buyers who have increasingly shunned Iranian crude because of tough international sanctions, which have made financing oil deals with the OPEC member more difficult... Only the biggest European oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), Total (TOTF.PA), and Eni (ENI.MI), remain major buyers of the Islamic Republic's crude oil, industry experts said." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.9jmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Freut.rs%2FazILNi
USA Today: "Iran has dramatically expanded economic ties with Iraq, taking advantage of increased security there to extend its influence. Iran ranks second behind Turkey among countries exporting goods to Iraq. Iran sold more than $2 billion worth of products in the first half of this year, a 33% increase over the same period a year earlier, according to Global Trade Information Services, which tracks trade data. Iran's growing economic clout raises concerns because Iran uses business ties to further military and political goals, analysts say. 'This is part of an Iranian effort to exert influence over Iraq's Shiite government,' says Anthony Cordesman, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.8jmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fusat.ly%2F9Egeae
Reuters: "Iran will soon sign a $5 billion contract with a foreign company to develop its offshore Farzad-B gas field, the Oil Ministry's website SHANA said on Monday. The report did not name the company, but India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) heads a consortium which has exclusive exploration rights for the offshore Farsi block of which the Farzad-B gas field is part... ONGC and Indian Oil Corp each own a 40 percent interest in the Farsi block, and Oil India Ltd holds the remainder." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.7jmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fa4f0GB Human RightsAP: "Iranian authorities have amputated the hand of a convicted thief in front of other prisoners, state radio reported Sunday, in a possible step toward restoring the punishment to common use and carrying it out in public. Cutting off the hands of thieves - allowed for by the Iranian judiciary's strict reading of Islamic law - has been rare in Iran in recent years, but the amputation reported Sunday was the second this month. And a week ago, a judge ordered the same punishment for a man who stole from a candy shop, though that ruling can still be appealed." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.6jmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F9BnHTP
NYT: "The idea was simple: each year, on the third Thursday in November, the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization would hold an international gathering of philosophers for a day of rational discussion and free debate. But this year, the celebration of World Philosophy Day has been overshadowed by a boycott organized by academics from around the world who say that by holding the event in Tehran, Unesco risks turning its 'school of freedom' into a propaganda exercise for a brutal regime." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.5jmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fnyti.ms%2FcYXdEL
NYT: "Iran has accused three American hikers of illegally crossing into Iranian territory in July2009 and is still holding two of them in prison. But a classified American military report made public by WikiLeaks, which describes the chaotic day when the hikers were detained, asserts that the hikers were on the Iraqi side of the border when they were seized. The initial reports of any incident are not always correct. But one American government official who served in Iraq said that the field report was generally consistent with what he had been told by Iraqi officials - namely, that the hikers were close to the border but on the Iraqi side." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.4jmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fnyti.ms%2F9LqB2B
Daily Telegraph: "Iran will not allow its universities to begin teaching certain disciplines it deems too 'Western', and existing courses will be revised, a senior education ministry official ruled. 'Expansion of 12 disciplines in the social sciences like law, women's studies, human rights, management, sociology, philosophy....psychology and political sciences will be reviewed,' said Abolfazl Hassani, from the education ministry. 'These sciences' contents are based on Western culture. The review will be the intention of making them compatible with Islamic teachings.'" http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.akmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fa4p3BM
Foreign AffairsReuters: "Afghanistan and its Western allies are dangerously underestimating Iran's destabilizing influence on the country, said a former governor of a border province who claims he was ousted for his criticisms of Tehran. Ghulam Dastgir Azaad, who ran western Nimroz for five years, said he frequently investigated and was sometimes an intended target of attacks inside Afghanistan which variously used Iranian supplied weapons or Iranian trained militants." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.bkmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Freut.rs%2Fcv5Pmz
AFP: "Bolivian President Evo Morales was in Tehran on Monday on a three-day visit aimed at securing Iranian investment in the South American country, the English-language Press TV reported. Morales, who arrived late on Sunday, was scheduled to hold meetings with Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The two governments are expected to discuss details of a planned 287 million dollar Iranian investment in Bolivia's minerals and textiles sectors, the television said on its website." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.ckmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FcaJNdW Opinion
Jackson Diehl in WashPost: "Last Tuesday 215,646 Internet users in Iran evaded their regime to visit sites such as Facebook, Twitter and RadioFarda.com, the U.S.-funded Persian-language news service. In Syria, 14,886 people freely surfed; in Vietnam, 10,612; in Saudi Arabia, 14,691; in China, 18,000. I know this because I saw the internal logs of a company called UltraReach, which created and manages a firewall-breaching system that is allowing as many as half a million people a day to visit Web sites banned by their governments, and circumvent or avoid detection... That the technology created by UltraReach and an affiliated company called Freegate works is not a matter of debate. Its success has been recognized from the State Department to the Chinese government, which has devoted enormous resources to trying to defeat it, so far unsuccessfully... You'd think State would be eager to act. After all, Hillary Clinton gave a major speech last January saying that the promotion of Internet freedom would be a top priority. Her senior aide for human rights and democracy, Assistant Secretary Michael Posner, says that defeating Internet censorship could be 'a game-changer' in countries like Iran." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.dkmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwapo.st%2F9FecS6
Sadegh Zibakalam in The Daily Star: "Whichever way one approaches Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon, there can be little dispute that it was a personal triumph for the hardline Iranian president. The Iranian media covered the state visit thoroughly and in particular showed the huge crowd that gathered to welcome the Iranian leader. Ahmadinejad's aides and supporters back in Iran tried to portray the visit as a personal triumph for the president's 'bold, revolutionary and courageous foreign policy.' Having confronted unabated criticism since the much-disputed presidential election in June 2009, it was only natural for Ahmadinejad to portray his visit to Lebanon as a victory against his opponents in Iran. Whether or not the visit was equally a triumph for Iran itself is a more controversial question. There are many Iranians who ask why our money should be spent on Shiites in Lebanon or for that matter on the Palestinians. These complaints are no secret; Iranian leaders are painfully aware of them." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.ekmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FbLfUhe
Toby Harnden in The Daily Telegraph: "It seems to me that the most significant revelations from the massive WikiLeaks document dump is the apparent extent of Iran's nefarious role in Iraq. Remember how we were always being told that the Bush administration was exaggerating the extent of Iranian influence with the Shia militia groups in order to push along a neocon plot to attack Iran? Well, an initial reading of the documents conducted by the New York Times indicates there wasn't much exaggeration at all." http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hfdiftcab&t=tzrxtaeab.0.fkmztaeab.hfdiftcab.30860&ts=S0548&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FcG59s3
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