| For continuing coverage follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.
Top Stories
AP: "Britain's foreign secretary said Sunday that European nations will intensify pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, but insisted the West wasn't pressing for military action. William Hague told Sky News television that he believed the European Union would agree tough new sanctions against Tehran's oil sector later this month, and would continue to look for peaceful methods of persuading Iran to ditch its pursuit of a nuclear weapon... Britain's defense secretary Philip Hammond said earlier this month that Tehran was working 'flat out' on its weapons program... European officials have worked for several months on banning the purchase of Iranian oil, and are expected to agree to the measures at a meeting of foreign ministers on Jan. 23." http://t.uani.com/AukMIg
AFP: "Iran has starkly warned Gulf states not to make up for any shortfall in its oil exports under new U.S. and EU sanctions, adding yet another layer of peril to the international showdown over its nuclear programme. If Arab neighbours compensate for a looming EU ban on Iranian imports, 'we would not consider these actions to be friendly,' Iran's representative to OPEC, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, was quoted as saying by the Sharq newspaper on Sunday. 'They will be held responsible for what happens' in that case, he said, adding ominously: 'One cannot predict the consequences.'" http://t.uani.com/xZJcyI
CSM: "What? Well, you know those TV ads with Jennifer Lopez zipping around the Bronx in one of those new little Fiats? In the eyes of one anti-Iran group, helping to hawk Fiats makes her an accessory to Iran's crimes, including its advancing nuclear program. And it wants the singer and America's favorite 'American Idol' judge to stop. It's probably news to Lopez, but doing the Fiat ads associates her with the Iranian regime's many transgressions, from enriching uranium and developing long-range missiles to repressing its own people's aspirations for freedom. That's the view, at least, of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), a New York-based group that promotes a tough international response to Iran's nuclear program. In an open letter to Lopez Thursday, UANI President Mark Wallace demanded that the international star renounce her endorsement of Fiat products if the company does not end its business dealings in Iran." http://t.uani.com/w75F7V
Nuclear Program & Sanctions Reuters: "Iran will need to show genuine readiness to address mounting suspicions about its nuclear program at rare talks with senior U.N. officials this month to convince a skeptical West that it is not just stalling. With Iran facing intensifying sanctions pressure, a high-level team from the U.N. atomic watchdog is expected to visit this month, seeking explanations on long-standing concerns that Iran may be trying to develop nuclear weapons capability. Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said the Islamic Republic is ready to answer the agency's questions in order to remove 'any ambiguities' about its nuclear work and clear up the issue once and for all. But Iranian officials have used such language before, and diplomats say this will not be enough to satisfy the IAEA. 'I would tend to be rather pessimistic,' one Western envoy said. 'This road is paved with danger and past experience cannot render anyone optimistic.' Another diplomat added: 'I doubt very seriously that (the high-level U.N. nuclear mission) will lead to anything.'" http://t.uani.com/ySB5bG
Reuters: "Saudi Arabia says it has enough oil output capacity to meet global customers' needs if new sanctions keep Iran from exporting oil, a top U.S. Republican lawmaker said on Friday. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor spoke to Reuters by telephone from Europe after several days of meetings in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi was among the officials he met. 'The Saudi government indicated that it was ready and able to meet needs of its customers,' Cantor told Reuters. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter. Its top customers include the United States, Japan, China and South Korea." http://t.uani.com/w9EX7b
Reuters: "China critised U.S. sanctions on a Chinese company selling refined petroleum products to Iran, calling Washington's punishment an unreasonable step beyond international sanctions on Tehran's nuclear programme. On Thursday, the Obama administration invoked U.S. law to sanction China's state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, which it said was Iran's largest supplier of refined petroleum products... Analysts have said the U.S. move was largely symbolic, given that China's Zhuhai Zhenrong was unlikely to have much U.S. business, but that it sent a warning to Beijing and its state-run oil giants such as China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec Corp) and China National Offshore Oil Corp." http://t.uani.com/yWN4Ra
Reuters: "Iran said on Sunday it had received a letter from the U.S. government about the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial oil shipping lane that Tehran has threatened to close if sanctions prevent it exporting oil. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted by news agencies as saying Tehran had not yet decided if it would reply to the letter, the contents of which he did not detail. 'America's message over the Strait of Hormuz reached us through three channels. It was given to our U.N. representative, the Swiss ambassador conveyed it to the Foreign Ministry and also Iraqi President Jalal Talabani gave the message to Iran,' Mehmanparast said, according to the ISNA news agency." http://t.uani.com/wVeBxy
Human Rights
AP: "Iranian state TV says authorities have hanged 12 convicts in the southern city of Shiraz. The report Sunday on state TV's website says seven of the 12 were convicted of drug smuggling and were executed in a prison in the city. State TV says the other five convicts were hanged in public in the neighborhoods where they committed their crimes. In Iran, murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping and drug trafficking are punishable by death. Occasionally, Iran announces hanging of convicted criminals but it does not publish official total figures." http://t.uani.com/wrHtAd
Domestic Politics
AP: "An Iranian news website says a court has sentenced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's press adviser to one year in prison on the charge of insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Sunday report by Mashreghnews says Ali Akbar Javanfekr was banned for journalism activities for five years. The report does not specify what Javanfekr had allegedly said... In November, Javanfekr received another one-year sentence for publishing material 'contrary to Islamic norms.' He has not yet begun to serve the sentence." http://t.uani.com/xStRIH
AP: "Iran's central bank deputy governor said Monday that trading foreign currency outside of banks and licensed currency exchange operations was now banned, marking the government's latest attempt to stem an outflow of foreign currency amid worries over the state of the economy... Deputy Central Bank Gov. Ebrahim Darvishi said authorities were monitoring street vendors and currency trading operations, in what was the government's latest effort to shore up the currency which was being traded on the open market at rates differing from those set by the government. He said that any foreign exchange trade must come with a receipt or the funds would be confiscated." http://t.uani.com/xEyWuX
Reuters: "Iran's morality police are cracking down on the sale of Barbie dolls to protect the public from what they see as pernicious western culture eroding Islamic values, shopkeepers said on Monday. As the West imposes the toughest ever sanctions on Iran and tensions rise over its nuclear program, inside the country the Barbie ban is part of what the government calls a 'soft war' against decadent cultural influences. 'About three weeks ago they (the morality police) came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies,' said a shopkeeper in a toy shop in northern Tehran." http://t.uani.com/w06Yr7
Foreign Affairs
AFP: "Iranian Navy speed boats harassed US naval vessels in two recent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, a senior US defense official said, confirming a CNN report. The first incident occurred as the USS New Orleans, an amphibious transport ship, was sailing last week through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf. Three Iranian Navy speed boats rapidly approached within 500 yards of the US ship, according to US officials cited by CNN. The second incident involved a US Coast Guard cutter off the Kuwaiti coast, similarly approached by an Iranian speedboat. Sailors aboard the cutter USCGC Adak reported seeing Iranians aboard the speed boat brandishing AK-47 assault rifles and a heavy machine gun, CNN said. 'I can confirm there was some harassment,' a senior official told AFP." http://t.uani.com/z4p7Wp
Reuters: "Iran said on Saturday it had evidence Washington was behind the latest killing of one of its nuclear scientists, state television reported, at a time when tensions over the country's nuclear program have escalated to their highest level ever. In the fifth attack of its kind in two years, a magnetic bomb was attached to the door of 32-year-old Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan's car during the Wednesday morning rush-hour in the capital. His driver was also killed. U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton denied responsibility and Israeli President Shimon Peres said Israel had no role in the attack, to the best of his knowledge. 'We have reliable documents and evidence that this terrorist act was planned, guided and supported by the CIA,' the Iranian foreign ministry said in a letter handed to the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, state TV reported. The Swiss embassy represents U.S. interests in a country where Washington has no diplomatic ties." http://t.uani.com/yyntru
AFP: "The United States believes Iran is supplying munitions to aid Syria's bloody protest crackdown in an initiative spearheaded by Tehran's revolutionary guard supremo, according to senior US officials. Qasem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps elite Quds force, was in the Syrian capital this month, one official said on Friday, in what Washington sees as the most concrete sign yet that Iranian aid to Syria includes military hardware. 'We are confident that he was received at the highest levels of the Syrian government, including by President Assad,' the official said on condition of anonymity. 'We think this relates to Iranian support for the Syrian government's attempts to suppress its people.' The official said Washington has reason to believe that Iran is supplying security-related equipment 'including munitions' to Syrian forces." http://t.uani.com/wlh6d8
Opinion & Analysis
Sheldon Silver in NYDN: "The recent announcement of Iran's second major uranium enrichment site, this one in the heavily fortified mountain facility, is cause for grave concern in the international community. It was less than three months ago that federal officials unveiled details of a foiled international terror plot directed at the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Had the terrorists been successful, innocent Americans would have been caught in the middle of an attempt to bomb a foreign embassy in Washington. It is alleged that this plot was directed and sanctioned by elements of the Iranian government. On this occasion, innocent lives were spared. However, the Iranian government is a tyrannical regime and a sponsor of international terrorism. Iran is quickly gaining resources in its mission to acquire nuclear weapons. Terrorist activities are sanctioned and facilitated by resources from Iran's energy sector. It is imperative to the safety of our international community that resources to support these activities are cut off. State and local governments in New York cannot continue to support businesses that funnel funds to terrorists. The Iran Divestment Act of 2012, passed by both houses of the New York State Legislature last week, would prohibit state and local governments from conducting business with companies that invest in Iran's energy industry. Fortunately, the federal government had led the way in tightening the screws. A federal law passed last year authorized state and local governments to divest from companies whose interests in Iran's energy sector directly or indirectly support the nation's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Based on legislation in California and Florida, New York's Iran Divestment Act applies to companies that engage in oil or natural gas development in Iran, as well as any company found to be directly involved in nuclear power. New York's legislation will require the State Office of General Services to identify persons or entities that invest an excess of $20 million in goods, services or credit in the Iranian energy industry. Persons or organizations that appear on the list will be prohibited from entering into or renewing contracts with New York State and local governments." http://t.uani.com/AaNLkz
Michael Makovsky & Lawrence Goldstein in The Weekly Standard: "In 1993, James Carville, President Bill Clinton's political strategist, said that 'if there was reincarnation,' he'd like to return as the bond market, because then he could 'intimidate everybody.' Today, with interest rates historically low, the fantasy of choice would no doubt be to come back as the oil market, which intimidates even the U.S. government. Fear of the oil market and its impact on the fragile U.S. and global economy is seemingly a driving factor in the Obama administration's Iran policy. The administration cited that fear in opposing and then weakening legislation that would sanction Iran's Central Bank and in belittling the prospects for a U.S. military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. While the administration is right to be concerned, it should take a longer view. A fuller analysis of the oil market suggests that allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons capability would produce higher oil prices for a longer duration than would either action taken to prevent it... However great the impact on oil prices of military action to address the Iranian threat, it could be relatively minimal and short-lived compared with the sustained period of higher prices that would result from Iran passing the nuclear threshold. This would create longer-term economic damage to the United States. Consider first the potential consequences of a nuclear Iran. It could set off a proliferation cascade across the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia leading the way in acquiring nuclear capability. Iran would also be in a position to transfer nuclear materials to its terrorist allies. Further, Iran would seek to dominate the energy-rich Persian Gulf emirates and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), threaten Israel's existence, destabilize moderate Arab regimes, subvert U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, embolden radicals, violently oppose the Middle East peace process, and increase support for terrorism and proxy warfare across the region. Former undersecretary of defense Eric Edelman, Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr., and Evan Braden Montgomery argued in Foreign Affairs that Israel and Iran could each have incentives to strike the other first with nuclear weapons. Similarly, Ambassador Dennis Ross, who recently served as a senior Mideast official in the Obama White House, explained that in such a situation the 'potential for miscalculation' would be 'enormous.' It is likely that some sort of conflict could emerge in the region involving both nuclear powers, which could drag in the United States. The U.S. position in the region, including the perception of its ability to secure the Strait of Hormuz, would plummet. All these potential consequences would heighten risks for the secure and sufficient supply of oil from the Persian Gulf, made worse by rising Iranian strength in OPEC and the need of major energy-importing countries, primarily in Asia, to deal delicately with Iran. The result would be a long-term rise in oil, gasoline, and heating fuel prices that would have serious negative implications for the fragile U.S. economy. Oil prices reflect many factors, including transit costs, current supply, projected future supply, and demand. Transit costs in turn include insurance premiums, which vary with the chance that vessels could be damaged or lost. The political risk to delivery is another factor; even without nuclear weapons Iran already has raised oil prices by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz. In short, supply and transit projections reflect consideration of risks, and such risks would be tremendously heightened if Iran developed nuclear weapons. To begin to assess the economic consequences, consider that roughly every $10 rise in annual oil prices produces a nearly 0.5 percent decline in U.S. gross domestic product. It is impossible to predict how the Iranian crisis will play out. The most desirable but least likely scenario is an elegant resolution that inflicts no short-term economic sacrifice on the United States. If the crisis gets resolved through tough sanctions or military action, the economic pain could be significant but relatively short-lived. The worst prospect both strategically and economically is a nuclear-armed Iran. The United States needs to prevent that from developing for both security and economic reasons." http://t.uani.com/wvn0q8
Tabassum Zakaria & Caren Bohan in Reuters: "President Barack Obama entered the White House in 2009 carrying an olive branch for Iran, determined to show the world that Washington would not play the villain in a relationship marked by blood and bitterness over three decades. Obama chose his words with excruciating care in reaching out to Iran publicly and privately, including through secret letters to Iran's Supreme Leader. The new president emphasized he wanted a 'new beginning' with a country that called the United States 'the Great Satan' and was branded by his predecessor as part of an 'axis of evil.' Obama intended to go the extra mile on engagement, his aides said, so if the gambit failed, allies and adversaries alike could not point the finger at the United States as the 'bad guy.' Instead, they would rally behind the effort to pressure Iran. Three years later, tensions over Iran's nuclear program have escalated to their highest level in years. Tehran is threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz and the chances of a miscalculation that could lead to a military clash - and a global oil crisis - appear to be rising. Diplomacy has given way to harsher tactics, with Obama and his European allies trying to isolate the Islamic republic with the toughest sanctions ever. Interviews with U.S. officials reveal a strategy of watching and waiting and a belief that the West's leverage over Iran may grow as Tehran feels the heat from the sanctions and popular upheaval in the Middle East. One official also predicted that the neighboring government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key Iranian ally, would ultimately collapse, adding to the worries of Iran's leaders. 'It's our assessment that the Assad regime is not going to survive,' White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told Reuters. 'The fall of the Assad regime would substantially impact Iran's strategic position in the world and the region. The combination of those sanctions and the demise of the Assad regime is a level of pressure that the Iranian government has never been under before,' he said. The White House insists that the United States is not pursuing a strategy of seeking 'regime change.' 'We are absolutely not,' Rhodes said. 'It's very much the policy of the United States to change Iran's behavior through our sanctions and through isolation, not to change the Iranian regime.' Obama remains open to talks with Iran, aides say. But after years of disappointment, with a U.S. election looming, and with Congress and allies like Israel lobbying him to stand tough, Washington sees the next move as Tehran's, officials and European diplomats say. How Obama arrived at this point is a story of peace offers made and rebuffed, a crushed revolution on Tehran's streets, and dashed hopes for a civilian nuclear deal. At the start of the 2012 U.S. election year, Iran and its suspected quest for a nuclear bomb is firmly at the top of Obama's foreign policy priorities." http://t.uani.com/Ati7Av |
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment