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AP: "The European Union has expanded sanctions against Iran because of continued human rights abuses. A meeting of EU foreign ministers added 29 officials linked to the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the list of people facing a visa ban and asset freeze. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Monday the measures were enforced to increase 'the pressure on Iran to improve its appalling human rights record.' The EU says human rights abuses have increased over the past weeks and months, including the execution of minors. It also calls for more religious freedom and an end of repression of the political opposition." http://t.uani.com/qEZC0W
NYT: "As the United States draws down its forces in Iraq, fears abound that Iran will simply move into the vacuum and extend its already substantial political influence more deeply through the soft powers of culture and commerce. But here, in this region that is a center of Shiite Islam, some officials say that Iran wore out its welcome long ago. Surely, Iran has emerged empowered in Iraq over the last eight years, and it has a sympathetic Shiite-dominated government to show for it, as well as close ties to the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr. But for what so far are rather obscure reasons - perhaps the struggling Iranian economy and mistrust toward Iranians that has been nurtured for centuries - it has been unable to extend its reach. In fact, a host of countries led by Turkey - but not including the United States - have made the biggest inroads, much to the chagrin of people here in Najaf like the governor. 'Before 2003, 90 percent of Najaf people liked Iranians,' said the governor, Adnan al-Zurufi, who has lived in Chicago and Michigan and holds American citizenship. 'Now, 90 percent hate them. Iran likes to take, not give.'" http://t.uani.com/nauMHG
AP: "Not far from one of Iran's most secretive nuclear sites, villagers proudly declare a willingness to sacrifice their lives to defend their country's nuclear program from attack by the West. If history is any judge, the pledges by residents of Fordo are more than bluster. The village is already enshrined in Iranian lore for suffering the greatest per capita losses during the 1980s war with Iraq. 'I lost four family members to defend Iran against Saddam. I'm ready to sacrifice my blood and the blood of my other children to defend nuclear facilities against foreign threats now,' said 73-year-old Kazem Koohi in his walnut orchard on the outskirts of Fordo, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of the holy city of Qom. Statements such as these are often lost in the international showdowns with Iran. Despite huge internal political strife - and disagreements about how to handle Western pressure - many Iranians view the nuclear program as a point of agreement and a source of national honor... Iran's message in using the village as a namesake for the nuclear site is unmistakably one of defiance." http://t.uani.com/pGo2M6
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
Reuters: "Iran confirmed on Sunday that Gazprom would not be involved in the development of a major on-shore oil field, accusing the Russian state energy giant of dragging its feet over the project, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Iran -- under international sanctions that have hit foreign investment in its vital energy sector -- said last month it had 'excluded' Gazprom from the Azar field , but the two sides agreed to delay a final decision for another month. 'Unfortunately, the Russian Gazprom company has failed concerning its commitments to Iran despite the National Iranian Oil Co.'s (NIOC) repeated warnings which have been completely ignored,' said NIOC chief Ahmad Qalebani." http://t.uani.com/rg4viY
AP: "A senior military commander says Iran's air defense units have been equipped with advanced radars capable of detecting unmanned drones. Gen. Farzad Esmaeili says Iran in the past was unable to detect small drones but can now trace and shoot them down over its airspace. He made the comment in an interview with the official IRNA news agency Saturday. Esmaeili is commander of the Khatam-ol-Anbia Air Defense Headquarters. Iran has a locally made radar system with a range of some 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers)." http://t.uani.com/nGy8nW
Bloomberg: "Iran's first domestically produced guided-missile destroyer has been sent to the Gulf of Aden to provide security to vessels in the area, a top Iranian navy commander said. 'The presence of Iran's navy is not only to counter piracy but also to display Iran's flag in the Indian Ocean as there are currently around 25 countries pursuing their interests in the region,' Iranian Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari was quoted as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency." http://t.uani.com/npsdJK
Human Rights
AFP: "Actress Marzieh Vafamehr has been sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes for her role in a film about the limits imposed on artists in the Islamic republic, an Iranian opposition website reported Sunday. 'A verdict has been issued for Marzieh Vafamehr, sentencing her to a year in jail and 90 lashes,' Kalameh.com reported. 'Her lawyer has appealed the sentence, which was handed down yesterday (Saturday),' the report added, without giving further details. Vafamehr was arrested in July after appearing in 'My Tehran for Sale,' which came under harsh criticism in conservative circles." http://t.uani.com/psbl8y
Guardian: "An Iranian student activist has been lashed 74 times for insulting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Peyman Aref, a student of political science at Tehran University, was sentenced in March 2010 to a year in jail after being found guilty of propaganda against the regime for speaking to foreign media. Aref, who was initially arrested in the aftermath of Iran's disputed presidential elections in 2009, was also sentenced to 74 lashes for writing an 'insulting' letter to Ahmadinejad and given a lifetime ban on working as a journalist or membership of any political parties. His jail sentence came to an end on Sunday but, hours before his release from Tehran's notorious Evin prison, Aref was told the lashing would be carried out." http://t.uani.com/oIQxCU
AFP: "Iran on Saturday hanged a man convicted of multiple rapes of 37 women whom he coerced by filming acts with them, the Fars and ILNA news agencies reported. The man, aged 67 but not otherwise identified, was executed in a prison in the central city of Isfahan after four years of repeated appeals against his sentence. Isfahan's prosecutor, Mohammad Reza Habibi, was quoted by ILNA as saying the man 'video-taped the victims at his home and used the the films for future abuses.' He did not go into further detail... The hanging brought to 219 the number of executions reported in Iran so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on media and official reports." http://t.uani.com/qnzKRM
AFP: "The director of an Iranian film documenting violence in the runup to the 2009 presidential vote has been banned from travel to Lebanon, where his film was set to be screened, an organiser said on Sunday. 'Today we found out that Iranian director Nader Davoodi will not be allowed to travel to Lebanon,' said Colette Naufal, director of the Beirut International Film Festival which runs from October 5 to 13. 'Lebanese censorship authorities on Friday requested they see Davoodi's film Red, White and the Green prior to its screening. We informed them that we decided to pull it from our programme,' Naufal said in a statement. The 2010 film, to be screened as part of the festival's 'Middle East Documentary Film Competition,' focuses on the violent events of the last three weeks leading up to the June 2009 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." http://t.uani.com/nSGTtZ
AFP: "The court case of an Iranian pastor facing a possible death sentence for apostasy is being referred to Iran's supreme leader, the pastor's lawyer told AFP on Monday. 'The court has decided to ask the opinion of Mr (Ali) Khamenei,' Iran's supreme leader, in the matter of pastor Yusef Nadarkhani, lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah said. Ayatollah Khamenei has ultimate authority in the Islamic republic. However the move to involve him in the case is unusual, and suggested that a final verdict in the case -- which has garnered international attention -- could be delayed." http://t.uani.com/olXV2O
AP: "Iran's semi-official Fars news agency says two filmmakers arrested last month over their alleged links to BBC's Farsi-language service have been released. Fars said Monday that Nasser Saffarian and Mohsen Shahrnaz had been freed, without providing further details. The agency did not say if four other independent filmmakers detained on the same charges - providing the British Broadcasting Corp. with video and news reports perceived as damaging to Iran - would also be released." http://t.uani.com/rqAaSW
Foreign Affairs
AP: "An Iranian military commander said Sunday that the protests spreading from New York's Wall Street to other U.S. cities are the beginning of an 'American Spring,' likening them to the uprisings that toppled Arab autocrats in the Middle East. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri of Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the protests against corporate greed and the gap between rich and poor are a revolution in the making that will topple what he called the Western capitalist system. The Occupy Wall Street movement started in New York City last month and is spreading to other parts of the country. The loosely affiliated movement is peacefully protesting the power of the financial and political sectors." http://t.uani.com/oXd3WR
WashPost: "More than six months after the start of the Syrian uprising, Iraq is offering key moral and financial support to the country's embattled president, undermining a central U.S. policy objective and raising fresh concerns that Iraq is drifting further into the orbit of an American arch rival - Iran. Iraq's stance has dealt an embarrassing setback to the Obama administration, which has sought to enlist Muslim allies in its campaign to isolate Syrian autocrat Bashar al-Assad. While other Arab states have downgraded ties with Assad, Iraq has moved in the opposite direction, hosting official visits by Syrians, signing pacts to expand business ties and offering political support." http://t.uani.com/mUxTjr
Reuters: "A key aide to Iran's supreme leader said on Saturday Turkey must radically rethink its policies on Syria, the NATO missile shield and promoting Muslim secularism in the Arab world -- or face trouble from its own people and neighbors. In an interview with the semi-official Mehr news agency, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's military adviser described Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's invitation to Arab countries to adopt Turkish-style democracy as 'unexpected and unimaginable.' Turkey and Iran, the Middle East's two major non-Arab Muslim states, are vying for influence in the Arab world as it goes through the biggest shake-up since the Ottoman Empire fell, a rivalry that has strained their previously close relations." http://t.uani.com/qlM2df
Opinion & Analysis
Commander Joshua Himes in the Institute for The Study of War: "The Arab Spring has fomented increasing uncertainty in the Middle East, a circumstance in which Iran's regional intentions are of increasing concern. U.S. attempts to isolate the regime are driven by concerns over Iran's nuclear program, the enduring energy chokepoint at the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran's export of radical Shi'a militancy through proxy groups across the region, particularly as it affects Iraq, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon. Tehran has historically used its naval forces to send strategic signals and project its foreign policy ambitions and priorities. The regime views its naval resources as its most visible counterforce to U.S. and allied operations of Iran's shores and the best prepared of Iran's military services to conduct conventional military operations. Prior to the fall of the Shah, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) was Iran's preeminent naval force and served to secure the country's maritime borders. Following the Iranian Revolution, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini built an armed force to protect the gains from the revolution as he distrusted the conventional armed forces and doubted their loyalty. In so doing, he created the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) to guard the regime's maritime interests. The IRIN was forced to share the waters of the Gulf with the newly-created naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard. The IRIN and IRGCN's shared responsibility for the waters of the Gulf was confusing, not only for the two services, but also for those with whom they came into contact. In 2007, Tehran initiated a maritime reorganization that redefined duties and reassigned operational areas of both the IRIN and IRGCN, clarifying the roles and responsibilities of Iran's two navies. Although they had traditionally shared operations in the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman, this change split the IRIN and IR GCN areas of responsibility, and ultimately, their missions. The rise of the IR GCN since the naval reorganization in 2007 mirrors the larger rise of the Revolutionary Guard from the guardians of clerical rule to an increasingly dominant role as the shadow government of Iran. The IRGCN retains its strong asymmetric approach and has invested heavily in enhancing its speed, mass, and lethality to strengthen its deterrent value in the Gulf. Armed with new, more lethal, high-speed small boats, and potentially complemented by expanding supporting capabilities such as extended range coastal radars, 'smart' anti-ship ballistic missiles, and even IR GCN-operated submarines, the IR GCN's power has increased significantly since assuming responsibility for defending the Persian Gulf in 2007. Now, almost 25 years after its creation, the IRGCN has assumed full responsibility for the Persian Gulf, relegating the IRIN to a more conventional deterrent role in the region." http://t.uani.com/nGoMcO
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