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NBC News: "U.S. officials tell NBC News that there is new evidence that Iran may be supplying goods to the terror group that U.S. intelligence officials consider to be the most dangerous threat to the United States -- al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Over the weekend, the Indian Navy intercepted a ship -- the MV Nafis-I -- off the coast of Mumbai. Indian sailors found several weapons (including a few AK-47s and a pistol), but mostly just food and supplies on board. The ship had a crew of several Yemeni nationals, along with at least one Somali, and several others from other nearby African countries. A U.S. official says that the ship left Iran several days ago and that U.S. assets tracked the ship as a 'vessel of interest' for a few days and then provided information to the Indian Navy so they could intercept it. U.S. intelligence officials say that the ship was headed to Yemen and they believe it was bringing the goods to AQAP. 'We were cognizant of this vessel and what it was intending to do,' one U.S. official said, adding that, 'we go on our best intelligence.' The official explained that if a ship is transporting goods to supply a terror network, then the vessel is in violation of the U.N. Security Council resolution and is subject to boarding. The official acknowledged that there were not many weapons on the ship when it was boarded, but also pointed out that it is common for crews to throw weapons overboard when a military vessel approaches. A senior defense official said that if Iran is aiding AQAP, that would be 'highly unusual,' but added that there is clear evidence that Iran has supported other branches of al-Qaida in the recent past, including al-Qaida in Iraq." http://t.uani.com/oqhH5Z
FT: "Iran's government hopes to privatise Iran Air soon for more than $1.5bn to help the embattled national flag-carrier circumvent US sanctions that bar it from buying aircraft and spare parts. Farhad Parvaresh, the airline's managing director, said he expected the sale of the lossmaking airline to be pushed through within two months, although he admitted he did not know yet whom the purchaser would be. The tightening of sanctions has caused the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad to speed up disposal of the airline, which was first slated for sale in 2007 under a national plan to cede control of most government companies to the private sector. Mr Parvaresh said in an interview: 'When Iran Air is privatised, our hands will be more open in dealing with sanctions and buying aeroplanes and spare parts.'" http://t.uani.com/oFhbgC
Wall Street Journal: "A group of nearly 1,000 American victims of international terrorism is suing Clearstream Banking SA of Luxembourg, a unit of Germany's Deutsche Börse AG, for allegedly assisting Iran in fraudulently securing the release of $250 million in frozen assets and in moving it out of the U.S. financial system, according to legal documents recently unsealed by a federal court in New York. ... The plaintiffs, according to records at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, allege that in 2008 Clearstream and a second financial institution helped Iran move the money out of accounts at Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank unit in New York after a federal court had ordered the funds frozen. The plaintiffs say Clearstream and the second bank fraudulently masked Iran's control of the accounts as a means to win the release of the money. The name of the second financial institution has been redacted from the unsealed documents. The case was sealed by a judge both for U.S. national-security reasons and to respect Luxembourg bank-secrecy laws. 'The foregoing transfers were made...in a deliberate attempt to stave off creditors by putting property in such a form and place that Iran's creditors could not reach it,' the plaintiffs alleged in the court filing.Perles Law Firm P.C. is one of the firms representing the plaintiffs." http://t.uani.com/p9btnz 
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
Reuters: "Iran welcomed on Tuesday a Russian attempt to revive talks with six world powers that are concerned about the its uranium enrichment programme, a potential pathway to nuclear weapons, but was vague about what the agenda should be. After meeting Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, his Iranian counterpart said a proposal by Moscow -- details of which have not been made public -- could be used to re-launch the talks that stalled in January. 'Our Russian friends' suggestion could be a basis for starting talks for regional and international cooperation especially in the field of peaceful nuclear activities,' Saeed Jalili, secretary general of Iran's National Security Council, told state broadcaster IRIB. Jalili's general remarks gave no indication Iran was now prepared, unlike previously, to address what the powers see as the crucial concern -- its uranium enrichment drive, which U.N. inspectors say Iran has not proven is for peaceful energy only." http://t.uani.com/rh1gWL
CNN: "An Iranian citizen who lived in California was sentenced in federal court in Chicago Monday to 51 months in prison for illegally trying to send missile parts from the U.S. to Iran, federal prosecutors announced. Davoud Baniameri, 38, of Woodland Hills, California, was sentenced nearly three months after he pleaded guilty to two felony charges for his plot to ship restricted equipment through the United Arab Emirates to Iran. The Justice Department says the case is the 13th in the past year in which one or more individuals were prosecuted for trying to circumvent restrictions on defense-related materials prohibited for sale to entities in Iran." http://t.uani.com/rfk2Jz
Commerce
Reuters: "The Belarusian national oil company Belarusneft is pulling out of developing Iran's Jofeir oilfield over differences with the state National Iranian Oil Co.(NIOC), the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Tuesday. 'Belarusneft has brought to an end to all its oil activities in Iran since (late June), and it is predicted that the European company's contract on the development of phase one of the Jofeir oil field will be cancelled on (Tuesday),' the agency said quoting unnamed NIOC sources. The $500 million buy-back contract at the Jofeir oil field, in the southwestern province of Khuzestan on the Iraq border, was signed between NIOC and Belarusneft in September 2007. The report said the differences between the two companies stemmed from 'the manner of the field's production, Belarusneft compensation from the development of the field and some technical issues.'" http://t.uani.com/qwX61H
Foreign Affairs
Rob Crilly in The Telegraph: "Iranian snipers have been deployed in Syria as part of an increasingly brutal crackdown on protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, according to a former member of the regime's secret police. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals, crossed the border into Turkey last week after being ordered to shoot to kill, bringing with him sickening details of increasingly desperate measures to end five months of demonstrations. He said he had beaten prisoners and fired on protesters in Damascus. At times during the past two months he was aware of Iranian troops - confirmed by senior officers - alongside his team in the Syrian capital. 'We knew they were from Iran because we were not allowed to speak to them and they were kept well away from us,' he told The Daily Telegraph in Yayladagi, the nearest town to the refugee camp where he now lives. 'When we had operated with the Syrian army we would always mix with them and chat.' His account confirms other reports that Syria has turned to its closest ally for help in putting down the protests directed at the Assad family's 41 years in power." http://t.uani.com/mY4mNK
AFP: "Iran's prosecutor general said on Monday that the verdict in the case of three Americans arrested two years ago on espionage charges would be issued 'soon,' Mehr news agency reported. 'The final verdict will be issued soon,' Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie said. When asked whether there was a possibility of pardoning the three during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which ends late August, he said he had 'not heard such a rumour.' Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, were arrested along with Sarah Shourd, 32, on the unmarked border between Iran and Iraq on July 31, 2009." http://t.uani.com/nsEJ8a
Opinion & Analysis
Mark D. Wallace in The Daily Beast: "This September, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his delegation will once again visit New York City to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly. As always, expect Ahmadinejad to make a big splash with his normal bombast and conspiratorial flourish. It is worth recalling that in his speech before the assembly last year, he despicably claimed that the U.S. orchestrated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against its own citizens. And just this July, the U.S. government for the first time outlined Iran's alliance with America's public enemy No. 1, al Qaeda. In this secret relationship, revealed by the Treasury Department, al Qaeda is operating a network on Iranian soil to transfer money, arms, and fighters to its bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Now, with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaching, it seems appropriate to once again ask which Manhattan hotel will dare accommodate Ahmadinejad. Last year, that dubious distinction was bestowed upon the Hilton Manhattan East Hotel after it decided to host Ahmadinejad and his accompanying mammoth security detail, which dwarfed that of all other 140 foreign heads of state attending. For its irresponsible decision, Hilton understandably received a great deal of negative publicity in the media, and its guests were unfairly burdened by the hotel's strict security measures. During his stay, Ahmadinejad also found the time to attend a 'Monster's Ball' of radical American extremist groups at the luxurious Warwick Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Clearly, no American-based venue should host this man, the leader of a criminal regime that flouts international law by pursuing an illegal nuclear-weapons program, sponsoring terrorism, and abusing its own citizens. For this reason, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is launching its 'Hotels Campaign' for the third consecutive year. UANI hopes to prevent Ahmadinejad and his delegation from staying in any Manhattan hotel or venue this year. If he insists on coming to New York to spread his vitriolic hate, then he can no doubt stay in diplomatic accommodations at Iran's mission to the United Nations. International law requires only that he receive an entry visa, not maid service." http://t.uani.com/noAjbw
Patrick Disney in The Atlantic: "It makes sense that Ahmadinejad would advocate sprinting across the nuclear finish line as a way of salvaging his legacy. If the country builds a nuclear weapon during his presidency, history will remember him as the one who vaulted Iran to great power status. For exactly this reason, however, his clerical opponents are likely going to continue to oppose finishing a bomb in order to deny him that great legacy. Therefore, absent some unforeseen change, it is reasonable to assume that Iran will not move forward with building a nuclear bomb at least until Ahmadinejad leaves office in 2013 -- and quite possibly later. Does that mean the West can use this time to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran? Most likely not. Many Iran experts have viewed Ahmadinejad as Tehran's most ardent advocate of negotiations with the United States. Some U.S. officials have said Ahmadinejad can't possibly be for finishing a bomb because he's more 'moderate' than Supreme Leader Khamenei and more open to talks with the West. And he may be; these two positions -- being in favor of both weaponization and negotiations - aren't mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, for anyone hoping the U.S. and Iran will reach a negotiated solution, Ahmadinejad is a crummy advocate to have on your side. Ahmadinejad is a politician, and like any other politician he cares about how he will be remembered in the history books. For an Iranian president, there are few more attractive prospects than to be the man who brought Iran and the U.S. back together again. Despite the constant rhetoric and "Death to America" chants, Iran's elected politicians crave the prestige and legitimacy that a reunion with the West would bring to their country. Ahmadinejad's two most recent predecessors each tried to negotiate a rapprochement with the U.S., and both failed. If Ahmadinejad were to preside over a negotiated agreement that ushers Iran back into the good graces of the international community, he would get the credit." http://t.uani.com/n1wJMg |
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