| For continuing coverage follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.
Top Stories
Bloomberg: "The Obama administration is concerned Iran is on the verge of being able to enrich uranium at a facility deep underground near the Muslim holy city of Qom, which may strengthen those advocating tougher action to stop Iran's suspected atomic weapons program. Iranian nuclear scientists at the Fordo facility appear to be within weeks of producing 20 percent enriched uranium, according to Iran analysts and nuclear specialists who are in close communication with U.S. officials and atomic inspectors. Enriched uranium is used to fuel power plants and reactors, and may be further processed into atomic weapons material. Administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue say Iran's actions may bolster calls for military or covert action against the Persian Gulf country from Republican presidential candidates. It may also fuel pressure on the administration to impose measures approved by Congress to limit Iran's oil exports." http://t.uani.com/uyre1c
Reuters: "The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday that would expand sanctions on Iran, cracking down on a wider range of energy issues and closing some loopholes in existing energy and financial sanctions... In a 410-11 vote, the House passed a bill that would expand sanctions on companies involved in the oil industry, including on investments, selling Iran goods or services used in refineries, or providing Iran with refined products worth $5 million or more in a year. The bill, sponsored by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, would also place sanctions on developing infrastructure or ports, or buying Iranian sovereign debt." http://t.uani.com/tHlXae
The Guardian: "Iran has escalated its use of the capital punishment to what has been called 'a killing spree of staggering proportions' in an effort to contain drug-related crimes amid concerns about the west's continuing support for the regime's anti-narcotics campaign, according to a report. Amnesty International warned of 'a new wave of drug offence executions' in Iran in a report published on Thursday, which highlights the country's extensive use of the death penalty, especially in a series of public and secret hangings. According to the report, at least 600 people were executed in Iran from the beginning of 2011 up to the end of November, of which a minimum of 488 executions were carried out for alleged drug offences. Amnesty said the figures showed a threefold increase in comparison to drug-related executions it documented in 2009. 'Members of marginalised groups - including impoverished communities, ethnic minorities suffering discrimination, and foreign nationals, particularly Afghans - are most at risk of execution for drugs offences,' it said." http://t.uani.com/vk2JNh
Nuclear Program & Sanctions AFP: "Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi dismissed again Wednesday the possibility of sanctions on his country's energy sector despite market fears of crude oil shortages that have kept prices high. 'We are not concerned that Iran's crude oil will be sanctioned or embargoed,' he told journalists after a meeting in Vienna of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which Iran chaired. I really don't think that the EU would sanction or embargo Iran's crude oil. Iran's crude oil is very important to the international oil market. We are the second OPEC producer. It would make the market very tense (if sanctions were imposed).'" http://t.uani.com/tYHdq4
Reuters: "The United States is in close contact with all parties including China on new sanctions against Iran, suspected by the West of developing nuclear weapons, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman said on Thursday. Poneman also said the United States would work with partners to ensure the global oil market remains well supplied. 'The United States is in very frequent and close contact with many members in the international community, certainly including China, our key partner in the U.N. Security Council,' he told reporters of consultations on the sanctions." http://t.uani.com/rpSsvs
Reuters: "Plans for fresh U.S. sanctions to isolate Tehran have sent shudders among Asian governments who fear they will have no way to pay for Iranian crude imports and face rising costs to fuel the region's growing economies. Top buyer China, meanwhile, is looking to cash in on the pressure Tehran faces to snap up discounted Iranian crude. At stake is around 1.4 million barrels of oil Iran ships to Asia every day, meeting 10 percent of demand from top buyers China and India. South Korea, Japan and India are scrambling to find ways to keep the oil flowing." http://t.uani.com/tPPy78
Foreign Affairs
WSJ: "Iran's diplomatic overture to Saudi Arabia this week appeared designed to smooth over allegations that Tehran had tried to assassinate a top Saudi envoy, suggesting Iran is stepping up efforts to safeguard its role as a key Middle East power player. Tehran is already under pressure from the West over its nuclear program. In recent months, it has come into increasingly pitched diplomatic conflict with Saudi Arabia, its traditional rival for influence in the region. The goal of this week's meeting-for which Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi traveled to Riyadh to meet with the Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdel-Aziz Al Saud-appeared aimed at calming tensions on the nearer front, analysts said. Iran's foreign ministry said that during the meeting, the sides discussed regional security and policies. But the key to the intelligence chief's visit, analysts said, appeared to be his effort to address U.S. accusations in October that Iran plotted to have the Saudi ambassador to Washington killed." http://t.uani.com/uzRgxf
WashPost: "When a senior Iranian cleric announced last month that he was planning to move to this holy Shiite city to open an office, the furor that erupted offered a glimpse into the future of a complicated relationship. As American troops leave Iraq, Iran certainly ranks high among the beneficiaries of their nearly nine-year presence. As a Shiite power that suffered enormously during an eight-year war with a Sunni-dominated Iraq in the 1980s, Iran now can generally count on closer ties with a friendly Shiite government next door. But the biggest winners of all have been Iraqi Shiites, whose ascent to power reversed nearly 1,400 years of sometimes brutal Sunni domination. And although Iraqi Shiites broadly welcome the departure of the Americans, they seem in no mood to substitute one form of foreign domination for another - and least of all, they say, from Iran." http://t.uani.com/tklP4k
Opinion & Analysis
Rowan Scarborough in WT: "The U.S. military's fast-approaching Dec. 31 exit from Iraq, which has no way to defend its airspace, puts Israel in a better place strategically to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. Iraq has yet to assemble a force of jet fighters, and since the shortest route for Israeli strike fighters to Iran is through Iraqi airspace, observers conclude that the U.S. exit makes the Jewish state's mission planning a lot easier. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said the Iraqi military will maintain radars to monitor the country's airspace, but it has not taken possession of American F-16s to guard that space." http://t.uani.com/tdL6Mp |
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment