Eye on Iran: Iran Displeased With UN Nuclear Agency Report

For continuing coverage follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group. Top Stories AP: "Iran's nuclear chief on Thursday expressed displeasure over a report issued this week on its nuclear program by the U.N. atomic agency, which included information on how less centrifuges were functioning than previously believed. The semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's nuclear department, as saying the International Atomic Energy Agency should just inspect the nuclear facilities and not give out any details like 'how many kilograms of uranium or how many centrifuges we have.' Iran has repeatedly accused the agency's inspectors of leaking information found during their inspections to the U.S. and its allies. Earlier this week a report by agency head Yukiya Amano said inspectors found that centrifuges at the facility in central Iranian town of Natanz were not operating during a Nov. 16 visit." http://wapo.st/dNYmeT AP: "A Nigerian court on Thursday charged an Iranian and three Nigerians for arms trafficking in connection to an arms shipment officials seized last month at Nigeria's busiest port. The Magistrate Court in Abuja said it had charged Iranian national Azeem Aghajani for attempting to import prohibited arms into Nigeria with the intent of sending them to nearby Gambia... 'This is a matter of great national importance, and if I may add, it has international implications,' said prosecutor Matthew Idakwo. 'These arms were imported from Iran to our country. It is of great interest to the world. In fact, the United Nations has interest in this matter.'" http://wapo.st/fQTB02 Bloomberg: "Commerzbank AG, Germany's second- biggest bank, is cooperating with U.S. authorities on an investigation of transactions involving Iran and said it can't gauge the outcome or financial impact of the examination. 'The bank is investigating the matter and cooperating with the U.S. and N.Y. authorities,' the Frankfurt-based company said by e-mail today. 'It is premature to assess the outcome or timing of the investigation and what, if any, impact financially or otherwise it may have on the bank.' Commerzbank may need to pay a three-digit million-euro fine to the U.S. because of past business with Iran, Boersen-Zeitung reported earlier today, citing settlements by other banks. Barclays Plc agreed in August to pay $298 million and Credit Suisse Group AG paid $536 million last year to settle claims they helped facilitate transactions that let Iran and other nations avoid government sanctions." http://bit.ly/gzhkT5 Nuclear Program & Sanctions Reuters: "The United Arab Emirates has signaled it will rein back its role as a trading and financial lifeline for Iran after the U.N. Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran in June, over accusations it is developing a nuclear bomb.The measures could spell disaster for many of the Iranian banks and thousands of Iranian businesses who deal with Dubai, which built its reputation on its role as the re-export hub for the Gulf. 'There is a severe impact on trade between the UAE and Iran due to the current sanctions, particularly on the banking sector,' said Morteza Masoumzadeh, vice president of the Iranian Business Council and managing director of Jumbo Line shipping agency. 'Due to the recent sanctions, the Iranian banks' operations have come almost to a standstill. They have lost their businesses,' he told Reuters in his office on the 14th floor of a building that overlooks Dubai's busy saltwater creek." http://yhoo.it/eYdPAA The National: "The UAE is implementing United Nations sanctions against Iran, including barring some Iranian ships from its ports, banning some of its citizens from entering or transiting through the country, and empowering Emirati officials to inspect shipmentstravelling to or from Iran, the government has told the UN. In an official report to the committee monitoring the implementation of UN sanctions against Iran, the UAE outlined a co-ordinated effort by multiple ministries and agencies to comply with Security Council sanctions. The UN imposed a fourth round of trade curbs against Tehran on June 9 designed to halt Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes by targeting Iranian cargo, financial transactions and firms run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines." http://bit.ly/hYfTLe BBC: "Guernsey has adopted financial sanctions against Iran after the island signed up to a United Nations Security Council Resolution. The resolution, signed in June, requires vigilance over transactions that could help with the spread or development of nuclear weapons. The Policy Council warned island banks to exercise extra caution when it came to doing business with the country. It said any Iranian assets, frozen under the resolution, must be reported." http://bbc.in/iazoFv Domestic Politics AP: "Dozens of Iranian lawmakers have signed a petition seeking to make Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the first president to be summoned for questioning since the Islamic Revolution 32 years ago.However the challenge looks unlikely to succeed because the numbers fall short of the constitutional requirement that at least one-fourth of the 290 parliament members must sign the petition before the president can be questioned. Still it was a reminder that Ahmadinejad, one of the most polarizing leaders on the international scene, also faces deep dissent within his own country and even within his own conservative political camp." http://wapo.st/f3JC6q Foreign Affairs WSJ: "The European Parliament Thursday passed a written declaration calling on the U.S. to remove the People's Mujahideen of Iran from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The resolution became official when more than half the members of the 736-seat chamber signed it, but support was nearly unanimous, a parliament official said. The resolution also called on Iraq to cease its blockade of Camp Ashraf, a settlement of more than 3,000 Iranian dissidents near the border between the two countries. The People's Mujahideen, which aims to overthrow the Iranian government, has been on the list since 1997, when the U.S.'s Clinton administration put it there in a bid to secure closer cooperation with Tehran." http://on.wsj.com/hxvwg0 Reuters: "Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri visits Iran on Saturday, seeking its help to prevent political tensions turning violent if a U.N.-backed tribunal indicts Hezbollah members for killing his father. Western diplomats have said that the tribunal could indict members of Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria, by early next year for the 2005 bombing which killed former premier Rafik al-Hariri and 21 others. Lebanese politicians fear the indictments could prompt confrontation and possible violence between the Shi'ite Hezbollah, which has denied any involvement in Hariri's killing, and allies of the Sunni prime minister." http://bit.ly/dYDvHo Opinion & Analysis NYT Editorial Board: "In September, Sarah Shourd was freed from Iran's infamous Evin prison, but she's not really free. Her fiancé, Shane Bauer, and their friend, Josh Fattal, are still languishing in a tiny cell in Tehran... Iran's leaders claim that the case is in the hands of the judiciary, but there is no doubt that it is being manipulated for political ends. Mr. Bauer and Mr. Fattal were to finally go on trial this month, but the proceedings have now been postponed until February. They have never been allowed to meet privately with their Iranian lawyer, making it hard to plan a defense. This game has gone on long enough. Whatever dispute Tehran has with Washington, ordinary citizens should not be used as political pawns. The conditions under which they are being held are abusive and arbitrary. Prisoners are supposed to be permitted visits and phone calls with family. The Americans have been allowed one call and one visit from their mothers." http://nyti.ms/hug78Y Gerald Seib in WSJ: "Life is full of choices, some easy, some hard. The goal of the U.S. and its allies right now is to make sure Iran has to make hard choices. And on that front, there are at least some signs of progress. That still leaves the world a long way from stopping Iran's seeming march toward nuclear weapons capability, of course, but it's more than could have been said a year ago. That, in brief, is the backdrop for talks between Iran and six world powers-the U.S., Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany-coming up soon. Iran is being typically evasive on agreeing to arrangements, U.S. officials say, but the talks probably will be Dec. 5 in Switzerland. The goal of the U.S. and its allies, of course, will be to prod Iran off its current nuclear path. The Iranians, in turn, deny they are even pursuing nuclear weapons, but sure would like to talk about taking away Israel's nuclear arms, which gives you some idea of the gulf between the two sides." http://on.wsj.com/idvGf6 Jamsheed Choksy in FP: "Casual Iran observers tend to portray the country's most prominent political division as that between fundamentalist hard-liners and secular moderates. In reality, however, the struggle for Iran's future is a three-way fight waged by the different branches of conservatives that control the parliament, the presidency, and the theocracy. The Green Movement may have stalled, but the parliamentary opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has only grown stronger and more assertive over the past year -- culminating in a recent push to charge the president with abuses of power warranting impeachment. Those efforts are coming to a halt under orders from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who fears that the parliament's attempt to assert itself against the president will also be at the expense of his own power base, the country's conservative mullahs. In fact, this isn't the first round of infighting among Iran's leaders. In July 2009, legislators warned Ahmadinejad that they would seek to oust him as the chief executive if he continued acting in an autocratic manner. Ahmadinejad responded by claiming the executive branch is the most important one of the government... But at its root, the infighting is motivated by differences over pragmatic political strategy. At a time of economic stagnation and international isolation, Iran's power players are all competing to put their stamp on national crisis management." http://bit.ly/engLEL Admiral James Lyons in WT: "Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates expressed his views on Iran to the Wall Street Journal CEO Council in Washington on Nov. 16. His key message was that sanctions (economic pressure) are working. He went on to make the case that this economic pressure is causing splits in the Iranian leadership. He implicitly advocates continuing on this course to cause further splits, while at the same time acknowledging that he believes personally that the Iranian leadership is intent on acquiring nuclear weapons. What's more disturbing is that even though the Iranian leadership has continued to conduct 'acts of war' against the United States for more than 30 years, Mr. Gates nonetheless has ruled out any military action against Iran. Instead, he makes the case to continue attempts at negotiation with the illegitimate regime of Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. On the surface, it seems Mr. Gates does not appear to appreciate the psychological effect that the mere threat of attacking Iran would have on the Iranian leadership, if we only set out to do so. It would undercut the view that has persisted since the Carter administration that no responsible American leader wants a war with Iran. It is this ill-advised position, plus our failure to respond to Iran's repeated acts of war, that has given a major boost to the Islamic fundamentalist movement." http://bit.ly/epMbUc 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@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.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.

Email Marketing by United Against Nuclear Iran PO Box 1028 New York NY 10185