Top Stories
WashPost: "The Israeli navy on Tuesday intercepted what officials alleged was a ship carrying Iranian weapons destined for Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip. Navy commandos boarded the German-owned, Liberian-flagged ship Victoria 200 miles off Israel's coast and directed it to an Israeli port for further inspection, officials said.The Israeli military, citing shipping documents and statements by the ship's crew, said the vessel had left Syria's Latakia seaport and proceeded to the Turkish port of Mersin. From there, it was headed to Alexandria, Egypt. The military noted, however, that neither Egypt nor Turkey appeared to have any connection to the weapons on board... Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the weapons seized had originated in Iran. A spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces speculated that they were related to a shipment from Iran to Syria via the Suez Canal last month. 'We can assume there might be a relation or connection,' Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich told reporters." http://t.uani.com/fLLGf8
AP: "Israeli officials are displaying thousands of bullets, mortar shells and anti-ship missiles they say were seized from a cargo ship delivering the arms to Palestinian militants in Gaza. The Israeli navy intercepted the ship on Tuesday. Israel says the ship was carrying weapons sent by Iran via Syria. Next to the captured ship, officials Wednesday showed off what they said were roughly 2,500 mortar shells, nearly 75,000 bullets and six C-704 anti-ship missiles. Israeli officials say that if the missiles had reached Gaza, they would have impeded Israel's ability to enforce a naval blockade of the Hamas-controlled area. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, examining the to the weapons, vowed to 'smash' what he called a Syrian-Iranian 'axis of terror.'" http://t.uani.com/ej3W15
JOC: "Israeli commandos March 15 boarded a CMA CGM chartered container ship bound for Egypt allegedly carrying weapons for militant groups in the Gaza Strip. The Victoria was sailing from the Turkish port of Mersin to Alexandria, Egypt, when it was seized 200 miles off Israel. The vessel, chartered by the French ocean carrier from Hamburg-based ship-owner Peter Dohle, began its voyage at the Syrian port of Latakia, according to an Israeli military spokesman. An initial search found three containers loaded with arms, and more of the ship's 1,678 20-foot equivalent units will be examined when the ship docks in Israel, the spokesman said. 'The ship's manifests do not show any cargo in contravention [of] international regulations, and we do not have any more information at this stage,' Marseille-based CMA CGM said in a statement. 'We are currently in contact with the vessel's owner in order to ascertain further information.' Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, accused Iran of being behind the arms smuggling operation." http://t.uani.com/h5At7n
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
AP: "Turkey's government says a cargo plane from Iran has been required to land in Turkey so its shipment could be searched. But the Foreign Ministry denied a Dogan news agency report that Turkish military jets forced the plane to land at Diyarbakir airport on Tuesday night to search it for an alleged cargo of arms from Iran to Syria. The ministry says it is standard procedure for Iranian cargo planes to request permission to fly over Turkey and sometimes be required to make unscheduled landings to be searched. Turkey's official Anatolia news agency confirmed that the plane, heading from Tehran to Aleppo, Syria, was searched Wednesday. But Anatolia and the government did not say what the cargo plane was found to be carrying." http://t.uani.com/eo43My
Reuters: "Italy's import of crude oil from Iran, a major supplier, jumped 80.6 percent in 2010, despite tightening international sanctions against Tehran, data from Italy's industry group Unione Petrolifera (UP) showed. Italy imported 10.377 million tonnes of oil from Iran last year, or 13.3 percent of of its total imports, making Iran the fourth-biggest oil supplier to Italy, according to UP data published on Wednesday on its website. Total crude oil imports in Italy rose 2.2 percent to 77.893 million tonnes last year, the data showed. Tightening of international sanctions against Iran which took full effect around July 2010, has complicated deals involving buying Iranian crude or selling refined oil products to the Islamic Republic and has pinched Tehran's purse." http://t.uani.com/fZ1zmB
WSJ: "Total SA said it is in negotiations with U.S. authorities to settle a probe over allegations that the French energy company paid bribes to Iranian officials to obtain contracts. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department have been investigating Total's pursuit of contracts in the early 2000s to develop parts of Iran's South Pars gas field, among the world's largest. The SEC opened its probe in 2003, and the Justice Department followed. Total said in its annual report filed late Monday that the investigation focuses on whether a consultant hired by the company paid bribes on its behalf, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The act bars bribery of foreign officials and holds companies liable for corrupt payments made by third parties, such as sales agents and consultants. Total said it opened talks with U.S. authorities last year, 'without any acknowledgement of facts, to consider an out-of-court settlement.'" http://t.uani.com/hQhQyL
AFP: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday his country's Bushehr nuclear plant has taken every security precaution and relies on more modern technology than Japan's. Spain's public television asked the Iranian leader in an interview in Tehran whether Iran could handle a similar event to the massive earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Japanese nuclear accident. 'We have observed all security measures at the Bushehr nuclear plant,' Ahmadinejad told television broadcaster TVE. 'I don't think there will be any serious problem,' he added." http://t.uani.com/gNsfaQ
Commerce
Bloomberg: "Iran, which said last year that it had become self-sufficient in the production of gasoline, exported 1,000 metric tons of the fuel to Afghanistan, deputy Oil Minister Alireza Zeighami said. Iran may export two more shipments to the neighboring country, the state-run Fars news agency reported today citing Zeiqhami. The official also said that Iran was in negotiations with several other countries in the region to sell the fuel. Gasoline is typically shipped in sea-going tankers of 30,000-ton capacity and trade in 1,000- to 2,000-ton barge lots in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp oil-hub. The Oil Ministry announced last month that it was planning to export four gasoline consignments by March 20, the end of the Iranian calendar year." http://t.uani.com/hi03lU
Foreign Affairs
AFP: "Military intervention in Bahrain by Gulf troops to help quell pro-democracy protests is 'foul and doomed,' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday, the IRNA news agency reported. 'This expedition is a very foul and doomed experience and regional nations will hold the American government responsible for this,' Ahmadinejad told reporters after a cabinet meeting, IRNA reported. Armed forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates rolled into Bahrain on Monday at the invitation of the Sunni monarchy help Manama deal with Shiite-led protesters." http://t.uani.com/gEdPJ2
Opinion & Analysis
Joshua Mitnick in CSM: "Israel today seized the merchant ship 'Victoria' 200 miles off its coast, asserting that it had a 'solid basis' of suspicion that the vessel was ferrying arms shipments from Iran to Hamas in the Gaza Strip that were 'intended to hit Israel.' The ship, which originated in Syria and was sailing to the Egyptian port of Alexandria, was diverted to the Israeli port of Ashdod following the takeover, which was met with no resistance from the crew. Israel's naval commander said that the shipment contained land-to-sea missiles of 'strategic importance' to Gaza and accompanying Farsi-language manuals. Though not the first time Israel has commandeered a weapons shipment to block arms to the Palestinians, the seizure comes amid rising unease in Israel that the turmoil sweeping the Middle East - especially Egypt - is creating an opportunity for Iran to widen its influence. 'The fact that Iran wanted to use an Egyptian port to unload the weapons is yet another clear indication that Tehran is trying to take advantage [of] the recent developments in the region, and Egypt in particular,' says Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian expert based in Tel Aviv. 'To Iran's leadership, the changes in Egypt have now made it into a new land of strategic opportunities in many areas, including Iran's support for Hamas.' ... 'The Iranians are more confident now. The upheavals in the Arab world are very good for them,' says Dan Schueftan, a political science professor at Haifa University and a former adviser to Israel's foreign ministry. 'The Iranians are trying every way to arm the region, and except for Israel, nobody is trying to stop them. When Egypt is weakened, even if Egypt wants to help Israel, I don't think there is anyone in Egypt who can do it.'" http://t.uani.com/hmGeMN
Farnaz Fassihi in WSJ: "The tiny Island of Bahrain could become a battleground for regional influence between two historical rivals-with Saudi Arabia backing Bahrain's Sunni monarchy, and Iran supporting the Shiite opposition. A coalition of about 2,000 soldiers deployed by Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf states, part of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, rolled into Bahrain's capital Monday to help restore order and save a government challenged by an opposition seeking an end to the monarchy. It was the first time Gulf countries deployed troops to an Arab nation to settle an internal dispute. In 1991 and 2003, Arab soldiers were dispatched to Kuwait amid threats from Saddam Hussein. 'The [Gulf states'] strategy in Bahrain has gone from defensive to offensive for both protecting the monarchy and limiting Iran's influence,' said Jihad Zein, a political analyst and editor of An Nahar newspaper in Lebanon. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, told a news conference Tuesday that the presence of foreign forces in Bahrain was 'unacceptable and would further complicate things.' Iranian parliamentarians blamed the U.S. for siding with autocratic rulers. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently visited Bahrain and warned of Iran's influence with the opposition. "The U.S. bears the responsibility of any violence and bloodshed in Bahrain," parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said. Even as Tehran has sought to take credit for inspiring what it calls an 'Islamic awakening' in the Arab world, many of the region's pro-democracy leaders have sought to distance themselves from Iran. But Sunni rulers have been wary that Iran could benefit. Saudi Arabia has particularly been concerned because of its own restive Shiites population concentrated near the eastern oil rigs close to Bahrain's borders. Bahrain, like Lebanon and Iraq, has long been seen by Iran as vital to its strategy of winning loyalties of Arab Shiites, who have long economic and cultural ties to Iran. Iran has expanded its influence in Iraq and Lebanon in part through sophisticated networks of clerics, charities and social programs that now also include political parties and proxy militants like Hezbollah and Moqtada al-Sadr's movement. Analysts say Iran could attempt to do the same in Bahrain if the opposition gains the upper hand. They cite the potential for 'Lebanonization,' a Bahrain torn apart by sects and a battlefield for regional and outside powers." http://t.uani.com/hHRcLq
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