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WSJ: "India has boosted its imports of Iranian oil, becoming the Islamic Republic's largest customer last month and largely offsetting a cut in Chinese purchases as sanctions fail to dent Tehran's sales for now, people within the oil industry said this week. 'India scooped much of the crude the Chinese didn't want,' one person said. Iranian crude exports to India rose to 550,000 barrels a day in January, up 37.5% from December, the person said. That partly offset a 50% cut in crude exports to China--now at about 250,000 barrels a day--amid a pricing dispute. Based on preliminary figures, overall Iranian crude exports remained broadly unchanged at 2.10 million barrels a day, compared with 2.14 million barrels a day in December, amid easing seasonal demand in the first half of the year... Despite a pledge to find alternatives, South Africa also doubled its Iranian oil imports to 100,000 barrels a day, a person familiar with the situation said." http://t.uani.com/w3mWgH
Reuters: "Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged Tuesday for the first time that his militant movement received financial and material support from Iran, but denied it took instructions from the Islamic Republic. Nasrallah said Hezbollah previously only confirmed Iranian political and moral backing because it did not want "to embarrass our brothers in Iran," but had changed policy because Iran's leadership had announced its support in public. 'Yes, we received moral, and political and material support in all possible forms from the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1982,' Nasrallah told supporters by videolink in a speech marking the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Mohammad. 'In the past we used to tell half the story and stay silent on the other half ... When they asked us about the material and financial and military support we were silent.' Nasrallah said Iran had not issued orders to Hezbollah since the movement was founded 30 years ago, adding that if Israel attacked Iran's nuclear sites, the leadership in Iran 'would not ask anything of Hezbollah.' He said if that were to happen, Hezbollah's own leadership would 'sit down, think and decide what to do.'" http://t.uani.com/x3fzYJ
MSNBC: "Iran is capable of hitting U.S. military forces anywhere in the world if attacked by the United States, its ambassador to Moscow was quoted as saying at a news conference on Wednesday. Reuters reproted that Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Seyyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi saying the United States would be making a mistake if it carried out a military strike on Iran, although Washington has announced no such plans. 'The Americans know very well what Iran is like and what our potential is,' Sajjadi was quoted as saying in Moscow. 'Iran is in a very good position to deliver retaliatory strikes on America around the world ... An attack on Iran would be suicidal for them.' The ambassador's reported comments came as Western sanctions appeared to tighten a financial noose around Iran." http://t.uani.com/Ak77bQ
Nuclear Program & Sanctions Reuters: "The United Arab Emirates' main exporter of crude oil will fulfill all supply contracts to Asia for March, for the first time in almost a year, to help the region's top buyers cut their dependence on oil from sanctions-hit Iran. Asia consumes more than half of Iran's exports of 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) but China, India and Japan -- its three biggest customers -- are under pressure to seek crude from other suppliers as sanctions undermine sales from OPEC's second-largest producer. The UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) will supply full contractual crude oil volumes to Asia in March for the first time since May 2011, industry sources said on Wednesday." http://t.uani.com/AyR9Q5
Reuters: "JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp will cut crude oil imports from Iran by 10,000 barrels per day and Cosmo Oil has already reduced Iranian crude imports by around that amount, media and a source said, as Japan's government mulls restrictions on crude imports from that country due to U.S. sanctions. JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, Japan's top oil refiner and a unit of JX Holdings, is likely to cut imports of Iranian crude to around 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April from about 90,000 bpd now, the Nikkei newspaper said on Wednesday. Smaller rival Cosmo Oil Co has already lowered its Iran crude imports to a little below 30,000 bpd from about 40,000 bpd since January, an industry source told Reuters... Some other Japanese refiners including Idemitsu Kosan Co have not yet decided on reductions of imports from Iran and are awaiting instructions from the government." http://t.uani.com/wmRetS
Bloomberg: "Unipec, the trading unit of China's largest refiner, booked a supertanker to ship Iranian crude this month as the Persian Gulf nation continues to supply its biggest customer before Europe bans its oil exports. State-owned China International United Petroleum & Chemical Co. hired the Takamine, a very large crude carrier, to carry 265,000 metric tons from Kharg Island, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and reports from five shipbrokers including a unit of Clarkson Plc. The provisional booking, for loading around Feb. 24, is subject to change or cancellation... Unipec last week took delivery of another VLCC, the Yuan Yang Hu, which loaded from Kharg Island around Dec. 31, ship tracking data shows. The China-flagged vessel is docked in Bohai Bay." http://t.uani.com/w6NDiz
Gallup: "As the U.S. orders more economic sanctions against Iran, a new Gallup poll finds nearly two-thirds of Iranians think recent sanctions that the United Nations, the U.S., and Western Europe have already imposed will hurt the livelihoods of the country's residents 'a great deal' (27%) or 'somewhat" (38%).'" http://t.uani.com/Aznh0F
Chosun Ilbo: "Woori Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea have apparently severed ties with Iran's state-run Bank Tejarat following U.S. Treasury Department sanctions against the Iranian bank. According to financial industry sources Tuesday, the two banks halted financial transactions with Bank Tejarat on Jan. 23. Bank Tejarat is the third-largest in Iran and specializes in export and import financing. The U.S. government blacklisted it last month citing links to other financial institutions in Iran that were allegedly involved in the country's nuclear weapons program. This is the second time Korean banks have severed ties with an Iranian bank since July 2010 after U.S. sanctions went into effect. At the time, financial authorities in Korea shut down Bank Mellat's branch office in Seoul." http://t.uani.com/z3uNSo
Reuters: "More evidence emerged on Tuesday of the crippling impact of new sanctions on Iran, with international traders saying Tehran is having trouble buying rice, cooking oil and other staples to feed its 74 million people weeks before an election. New U.S. financial sanctions imposed since the beginning of this year to punish Tehran over its nuclear program are playing havoc with Iran's ability to buy imports and receive payment for its oil exports, commodities traders said. Iran denies that sanctions are causing serious harm to its economy, but Reuters investigations in recent days with commodities traders around the globe show serious disruptions to its imports. That is having a real impact on the streets of Iran, where prices for basic foodstuffs are soaring." http://t.uani.com/wPk8dK
Reuters: "Malaysian palm oil exporters have stopped supplying Iran with most of the 30,000 tonnes of the food staple the Middle Eastern country buys each month, or about half its demand, as Western financial curbs on Tehran stymie payments, two trading sources said. The halt in Malaysia's palm oil exports to Iran, which the traders said started late last year, is the latest sign that sanctions aimed at persuading Tehran to abandon a suspected nuclear weapons program have started to bite." http://t.uani.com/zrsXkx
Domestic Politics
FT: "With less than a month to go before Iran's parliamentary election, candidates who back President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad are keeping their allegiances secret. The March 2 poll is set to be one of the most sensitive elections since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The results will reveal the winner of an unprecedented power struggle between those who support the president and those who back Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader. This helps explain the secrecy attached to candidates' affiliations. The Guardian Council, the top electoral authority, vets candidates to check their loyalty to the regime and the supreme leader. It also approves the final tally of the ballot box. Candidates are choosing to be discreet rather than incur the council's wrath and potentially be barred from standing or have their votes discounted." http://t.uani.com/ACbrjt
Foreign Affairs
AFP: "A US judge Tuesday set an October 22 trial date for an Iranian-American accused of plotting with senior Tehran officials to hire Mexican gangsters to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington. Federal Judge John Keenan rejected a request for more time by the defense lawyer for Manssor Arbabsiar, a used car salesman from Texas with dual US-Iranian citizenship. Arbabsiar's lawyer, Sabrina Schroff, had asked for a later trial date, arguing that 'the case is complex and the indictment is complex,' but the judge denied the request.'I'm giving you eight months,' he told the defense lawyer. 'And it's 363 days between the first time I saw him and the trial.'" http://t.uani.com/wbFn6a
AP: "The West's increasing pressure on Iran has meant scrutiny for South African businesses that operate in the Middle Eastern nation accused of having nuclear ambitions. South African-Iranian political ties have long been close, and that has meant close business ties. A politically connected South African telecommunications company has been accused of pushing Pretoria to support Iran's nuclear power program. A South African energy and chemicals company is reviewing its Iranian investments. Iranian oil makes up nearly a third of South Africa's oil imports." http://t.uani.com/w3izLR
Opinion & Analysis
Charles Robb & Charles Wald in WSJ: "In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama declared, 'Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.' Yet Iran is fast approaching the nuclear threshold, despite new, tough international sanctions. The clock must be stopped. The best hope for doing so is a triple-track strategy of diplomacy, sanctions and a more credible threat of force by the U.S. and Israel. The time has come for American leaders to begin preparations for, and a robust public debate about, military action against Iran. From its inception, the Islamic Republic has terrorized its citizens, killed American soldiers, supported terrorist groups, and repeatedly undermined the stability of our Arab allies. Last October, American authorities uncovered an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States on U.S. soil. And just last month, Iranian military leaders threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical energy shipping lane. An Iran with nuclear weapons capability, overconfident behind its own nuclear deterrent, would act even more aggressively, threatening our allies and vital interests.
President Obama entered office pledging 'to use all elements of American power to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.' We applaud his sincere diplomatic outreach and support for stricter sanctions passed by Congress. But it is now time to engage other elements of our power. Though Iran's economic condition may be worsening, its centrifuges continue to spin, unimpeded. International Atomic Energy Agency reports indicate that in the last two years Iran's nuclear program advanced dramatically-doubling its uranium enrichment rate, enriching uranium to ever higher levels, testing advanced centrifuges, beginning enrichment at a fortified facility, and continuing its weaponization program. While important, recent sanctions-a European oil embargo to possibly take effect July 1 and U.S. measures designed to limit Iran's oil exports by targeting firms dealing with its Central Bank-are unlikely to suffice on their own. China, which buys over a quarter of Iran's oil exports, has refused to cooperate. Other top buyers of Iranian crude, like India, South Korea and Japan, have promised to lower their Iranian imports but are unlikely to do so in significant quantities soon. We support additional tough sanctions but believe that as Congress considers further measures it must also regularly assess the effectiveness of sanctions in bringing a halt to Iran's nuclear program... Additional pressure needs to come from the credible threat of military action-whether by the U.S. or Israel-against Iran's nuclear program. Such threats can enable peaceful, diplomatic solutions. After U.S. and coalition forces toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, fear of military action apparently led Iran, briefly, and Libya, permanently, to halt their nuclear programs... Also, while we do not advocate an Israeli military strike against Iran, we believe that enhancing Israel's military capabilities-by providing it with 200 advanced GBU-31 bunker-busting munitions and three KC-135 refueling tankers to extend the range of its jets-would improve Israeli credibility and help convince the Iranians to pursue a diplomatic solution. The Obama administration, under a prior commitment from President Bush, already delivered less-advanced GBU-28 bunker busters to Israel." http://t.uani.com/ynRXeI
Efraim Halevy in NYT: "The public debate in America and Israel these days is focused obsessively on whether to attack Iran in order to halt its nuclear weapons ambitions; hardly any attention is being paid to how events in Syria could result in a strategic debacle for the Iranian government. Iran's foothold in Syria enables the mullahs in Tehran to pursue their reckless and violent regional policies - and its presence there must be ended. Ensuring that Iran is evicted from its regional hub in Damascus would cut off Iran's access to its proxies (Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza) and visibly dent its domestic and international prestige, possibly forcing a hemorrhaging regime in Tehran to suspend its nuclear policies. This would be a safer and more rewarding option than the military one. As President Bashar al-Assad's government falters, Syria is becoming Iran's Achilles' heel. Iran has poured a vast array of resources into the country. There are Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps encampments and Iranian weapons and advisers throughout Syria. And Iranian-controlled Hezbollah forces from Lebanon have joined in butchering the Syrians who have risen up against Mr. Assad. Iran is intent on assuring its hold over the country regardless of what happens to Mr. Assad - and Israel and the West must prevent this at all costs... The current standoff in Syria presents a rare chance to rid the world of the Iranian menace to international security and well-being. And ending Iran's presence there poses less of a risk to international commerce and security than harsher sanctions or war. Russia and China, both of which vetoed a United Nations resolution last week calling on Mr. Assad to step down, should realize that his downfall could serve their interests, too. After all, Iranian interventionism could wreak havoc in Muslim-majority areas to Russia's south and China's west. And a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a serious potential threat on Russia's southern border. Russia's interests in Syria are not synonymous with Iran's, and Moscow can now prove this by withdrawing its unwavering support for Mr. Assad. Russia simply wishes to maintain its access to Syria's Mediterranean ports in Tartus and Latakia and to remain a major arms supplier to Damascus. If Washington is willing to allow that, and not to sideline Russia as it did before intervening in Libya, the convergence of American and Russian interests in Iran and Syria could pave the way for Mr. Assad's downfall. Once this is achieved, the entire balance of forces in the region would undergo a sea change. Iranian-sponsored terrorism would be visibly contained; Hezbollah would lose its vital Syrian conduit to Iran and Lebanon could revert to long-forgotten normalcy; Hamas fighters in Gaza would have to contemplate a future without Iranian weaponry and training; and the Iranian people might once again rise up against the regime that has brought them such pain and suffering." http://t.uani.com/xXfkBy |
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