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AFP: "US President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned Iran that the window for diplomacy to solve a nuclear showdown was 'shrinking,' stiffening his rhetoric ahead of looming new talks on the issue. Obama sent a public message to Iran as preparations went ahead for a new round of dialogue between global powers and the Islamic Republic, amid rising fears of a military confrontation, possibly triggered by Israel. 'In the past, there has been a tendency for Iran in these negotiations to delay, to stall, to do a lot of talking but not actually move the ball forward,' Obama said at the White House. 'I think they should understand ... that the window for solving this issue diplomatically is shrinking.'" http://t.uani.com/AAYPBL
FT: "Iran's oil production has fallen to a 10-year low and could drop to levels last seen during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s as sanctions over its nuclear programme disrupt an industry already suffering from years of underinvestment. The country's crude production fell by 50,000 barrels a day to 3.38m b/d in February, according to the International Energy Agency. The last time it was that low was in late 2002, IEA statistics show. Tehran's oil output had already been in long-term decline as previous US sanctions deterred foreign oil companies from investing, starving Iran of the technology needed to boost its flagging production... Yet Iranian output could fall even further. In its monthly market report, the IEA said that from July onwards - when a European Union oil embargo comes into effect - Iranian exports could be curtailed by around 800,000 b/d to 1m b/d, about a third of the current total... The IEA based its figures on the 500,000-600,000 b/d of oil Iran exported to the EU before the advent of sanctions and the assumption that its other buyers would also scale back volumes in order to avoid falling foul of sanctions." http://t.uani.com/wLRcpo
WSJ: "The European Union's new steps aimed at tightening the noose around Iran's banks are unlikely to bridge a growing gap between Brussels and Washington over how hard to push financial sanctions against the Tehran regime. The new measures, which would ban European companies from conducting financial wire transfers for sanctioned Iranian banks, are expected in coming days, several diplomats said. One said it would be approved by member states on Thursday unless there is last-minute resistance. A second person said preparation was 'very advanced.' However, while Europe prepares to act, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are drafting bills that would seek to blacklist essentially every Iranian bank and threaten penalties against European and other overseas companies that deal with any of these banks... Congress's plans mean the board of directors of European companies like Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a financial communication and clearing system almost all the world's major banks use, could still face penalties and sanctions even if it fully complies with EU rules." http://t.uani.com/zt6wg8
Nuclear Program
AFP: "Iran on Wednesday made a formal request for a date and venue to be fixed for talks to resume with world powers focusing on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili sent a letter to EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton saying he wanted to see 'representatives from both sides in contact to set a date and place for the new round of talks,' the official IRNA news agency reported. Ashton represents the so-called P5+1 group of world powers, comprising the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany." http://t.uani.com/x8dPiQ
Sanctions
Washington Jewish Week: "Congressional lawmakers have introduced new legislation targeting specific loopholes in existing sanctions law against Iran. 'The Iran Financial Sanctions Improvement Act' which was authored by U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and co-sponsored by U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), would tighten sanctions against Iran's banking sector... 'Measures adopted in the last few months, including efforts to sanctions Iran's Central Bank and end Iranian access to the SWIFT system, have dramatically increased the pressure on the Iranian regime, but more can be done. Now is the time to do everything possible to ensure that we are applying the most robust sanctions in history. These measures certainly represent a step towards achieving that goal,' said David Ibsen, executive director of United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI)." http://t.uani.com/zo8uA3
Reuters: "Major money exchange houses in the United Arab Emirates have stopped handling Iranian rials over the last several weeks, executives at the houses said, further reducing Iran's ability to trade and obtain hard currency. Since late last year, Iran has largely been frozen out of the global banking system by U.S. sanctions aimed at its disputed nuclear programme. Washington has used anti-money laundering legislation to make it risky for banks around the world to do business with Iran, including trade financing. In December, the U.S. government pressured Dubai-based Noor Islamic Bank into stopping the channelling of billions of dollars from Iranian oil sales through its accounts." http://t.uani.com/yRI4rG
Bloomberg: "Obama administration officials say they are concerned India may run afoul of a new U.S. law restricting payments for Iranian oil, forcing the White House to impose sanctions on one of its most important allies in Asia. So far this year, India is failing to cut back its purchases of Iranian oil, which may force President Barack Obama to impose penalties as early as June 28, according to several U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The U.S. law, which targets oil payments made through Iran's central bank, applies in any country that doesn't make a 'significant' reduction in its Iranian crude oil purchases during the first half of this year." http://t.uani.com/wLau1O '
Bloomberg: "The European Union may allow insurance against risks such as collisions and spills for tankers carrying Iranian oil, a proposal that would ease curbs on the nation's crude exports. The EU would prohibit the insurance and re-insurance of Iranian oil 'except for third-party liability insurance and environmental liability insurance,' according to a draft document obtained by Bloomberg News. The bloc aims to complete the regulation, which is being considered by national governments, within a month, according to an EU official with knowledge of the matter... 'This is a first sign that the EU and U.S. realize that they have overshot a bit on the sanctions against Iran, and that internal pressure is increasing on the question of oil prices spinning out of control,' said Olivier Jakob, managing director at Petromatrix GmbH, a researcher in Zug, Switzerland." http://t.uani.com/zJHk2v
Reuters: "Iran has made its second purchase of U.S. wheat in recent weeks as it builds stockpiles in response to tough new sanctions aimed at containing Tehran's nuclear program. A weekly export sales report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday showed that Iran has bought an additional 60,000 tonnes of U.S. wheat. USDA reported earlier this month that Iran had made a rare purchase of 120,000 tonnes of hard red winter wheat for delivery before May 31." http://t.uani.com/xMU6EN
Terrorism
ABC: "Nearly two dozen people are in custody in Azerbaijan for allegedly plotting terror attacks on U.S. and Israeli embassies in the Azeri capital of Baku on behalf of neighboring Iran, according to local and international reports. Azerbaijan's National Security Ministry released a statement Wednesday saying it had arrested 22 of its citizens who were recruited by Iran's Revolutionary Guard to 'commit terrorist acts against the U.S., Israeli and other Western states' embassies and the embassies' employees,' according to The Associated Press and Agence France Presse. It was not immediately clear whether the suspects had been recently arrested or if the ministry was commenting on a previous round of arrests reported by the AP last month. In that report, the suspects were allegedly targeting the Israeli embassy and a Jewish center." http://t.uani.com/wW1a4o
AP: "An Indian court has issued arrest warrants for three Iranians in connection with a bombing attack last month on an Israeli diplomat's wife, police said Thursday. Israel has accused Iran of orchestrating the Feb. 13 attack that wounded the diplomat's wife and three others with a bomb attached to her car by a magnet. Indian authorities have not implicated Iran in the bombing, even as the police investigation appears to be centering on people with Iranian ties. Last week police arrested an Indian freelance journalist who reportedly worked for Iranian news organizations to investigate possible links to the bombing." http://t.uani.com/xDxLUC
Domestic Politics
WSJ: "Iran's parliament summoned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning on Wednesday, a first for that country and the latest step in an escalating political feud. In a session broadcast live on state radio, lawmaker Ali Mottahari raised 10 questions about Mr. Ahmadinejad's rule, including charges that he disobeyed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mismanaged the economy and abused state funds. In Iranian law, summoning a president to parliament is a serious step that could lead to impeachment, but Mr. Ahmadinejad defiantly ridiculed lawmakers, evading directly answering questions and instead directing questions back at lawmakers, as he often does in interviews with foreign journalists. He also questioned lawmakers' credibility and alleged that many of them purchased their university degrees." http://t.uani.com/w8Q9l1
Foreign Affairs
NYT: "In the past several months, Iran appears to have increased its political outreach and arms shipments to rebels and other political figures in Yemen as part of what American military and intelligence officials say is a widening Iranian effort to extend its influence across the greater Middle East. Iranian smugglers backed by the Quds Force, an elite international operations unit within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, are using small boats to ship AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades and other arms to replace older weapons used by the rebels, a senior American official said. Using intercepted cellphone conversations between the smugglers and Quds Force operatives provided by the Americans, the Yemeni and Indian coastal authorities have seized some shipments, according to the American official and a senior Indian official." http://t.uani.com/xxHUQj
Guardian: "Bashar al-Assad took advice from Iran on how to handle the uprising against his rule, according to a cache of what appear to be several thousand emails received and sent by the Syrian leader and his wife... The emails appear to show that Assad received advice from Iran or its proxies on several occasions during the crisis. Before a speech in December his media consultant prepared a long list of themes, reporting that the advice was based on 'consultations with a good number of people in addition to the media and political adviser for the Iranian ambassador.'" http://t.uani.com/wQbwS8
Opinion & Analysis
Howard LaFranchi in CSM: "Do Americans support airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities - or don't they? With two recent surveys appearing to offer very different answers to that question, the key to understanding how Americans really feel lies in how the question is asked. Given a choice between Israel conducting strikes on Iran's nuclear program or the United States and other world powers pursuing a negotiated solution with Iran, nearly 7 out of 10 Americans choose diplomacy, according to a new poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland. But if the question is put another way, and Americans are asked if they would support the US launching military action against Iran if there were evidence that Tehran is building nuclear weapons, a clear majority - 56 percent - say they would, according to a poll released Tuesday by Reuters and the Ipsos polling group. What looks like contradictory responses is most likely explained by the differing wording: One poll asks about bombing Iran's 'nuclear program,' while the other asks specifically about military action in the event that 'evidence' shows Iran is building a nuclear weapon. But taken together, the two polls reflect to some degree the position that President Obama has staked out on Iran. As he reiterated in a Rose Garden press conference Wednesday with British Prime Minister David Cameron, the president favors a negotiated settlement for Iran's nuclear challenge, even as he warns Iran that the time for dialogue is drawing to a close. 'The window for solving this issue diplomatically is shrinking,' Mr. Obama said, adding that the world and the US will not accept a nuclear-armed Iran. He concluded with a message to the Iranian government: 'Meet your international obligations or face the consequences.' The Reuters/Ipsos poll does suggest that Republicans are much more likely to favor striking Iran - perhaps reflecting the hawkish rhetoric on Iran from Republican presidential candidates during last week's visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While 70 percent of Republicans would support bombing an Iran that was shown to be building a nuclear weapon, 46 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of independents would support such action. The inclusion of 'evidence' in the Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests that Americans may still be operating under an 'Iraq effect.' Many Americans remember that the Bush administration presented what was said to be conclusive evidence that Saddam Hussein was building and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. The invasion revealed that those weapons did not exist. How much 'evidence' would actually be required for the public to support military action is unclear." http://t.uani.com/zzeSqF
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