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Top Stories
WSJ:
""Major Wall Street and European financial firms are coming
under pressure to dump their holdings in Lebanese debt and securities
from activists who charge that Iran, Syria and the Lebanese militant
group Hezbollah are using Beirut's banking system to launder money and
evade international sanctions. The campaign-which is being led by New
York-based United Against Nuclear Iran, or UANI-could threaten Beirut's
financial sector, traditionally among the Middle East's most important
and vibrant. Lebanon's banking sector historically accounts for around
35% of the country's total economic output. The U.S. Treasury also has
intensified its scrutiny of Lebanon's banks in recent months, concerned
that Hezbollah is using them to move illicit funds derived from narcotics
trafficking. UANI has sent letters to private-equity firm Blackstone
Group LP, mutual-fund firm Fidelity Investments, international bank HSBC
Holdings PLC, and Germany's DekaBank Group in recent months to lobby them
to unload their Lebanese holdings. 'UANI calls on you... to divest all
such securities...to ensure that you don't unwittingly support Lebanon's
role as a sovereign money launderer,' UANI's Chief Executive Mark Wallace
wrote. Three financial firms, Ameriprise Financial Inc., Finland's Aktia Bank,
and Vienna-based Erste-Sparinvest KAG, confirmed that they have divested
themselves of their holdings in Lebanese securities in recent months,
though they didn't cite the amounts of their investments." http://t.uani.com/KQTdhY
NYT:
"The United States has quietly moved significant military
reinforcements into the Persian Gulf to deter the Iranian military from
any possible attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz and to increase the
number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iran if the standoff
over its nuclear program escalates. The deployments are part of a
long-planned effort to bolster the American military presence in the gulf
region, in part to reassure Israel that in dealing with Iran, as one
senior administration official put it last week, 'When the president says
there are other options on the table beyond negotiations, he means it.'
... The most visible elements of this buildup are Navy ships designed to
vastly enhance the ability to patrol the Strait of Hormuz - and to reopen
the narrow waterway should Iran attempt to mine it to prevent Saudi
Arabia and other oil exporters from sending their tankers through the
vital passage." http://t.uani.com/KQSZHP
NYT:
"Iran took defiant steps on Monday in response to the intensified
Western sanctions aimed at stifling its oil exports, announcing
legislation intended to disrupt traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital
Persian Gulf shipping lane, and testing missiles in a desert drill
clearly intended as a warning to Israel and the United States. The
legislation calls for Iran's military to block any oil tanker heading
through the strait en route to countries no longer buying Iranian crude
because of the European Union embargo, which took effect on Sunday. It
was unclear whether the legislation would pass or precisely how Iran
would enforce it, given that the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet patrols
the strait. Pentagon officials have said Iran's military is capable of
closing the strait temporarily, and the Obama administration has warned
that any such move would constitute a 'red line' that would provoke an
American response." http://t.uani.com/N6jCfg
Nuclear
Program & Sanctions
Bloomberg: "Iran, in the middle
of a three-day military exercise in the Persian Gulf, convened a meeting
with world powers in Istanbul in search of a diplomatic solution to the
nation's nuclear work. Chinese, French, German, Russian, U.K. and U.S.
diplomats, known as the P5+1 group, will meet their Iranian counterparts
today to review unresolved issues from their previous discussions. The
sides downgraded the talks to a 'technical level' after high-level
negotiations on June 20 in Moscow failed to yield a compromise. 'We hope
Iran will seize the opportunity of this meeting to show a willingness to
take concrete steps to urgently meet the concerns of the international
community, to build confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear
program and to meet its international obligations,' Catherine Ashton, the
European Union foreign policy chief, said yesterday in a statement."
http://t.uani.com/O09nXH
WashPost:
"With downgraded nuclear talks with world powers set to begin
Tuesday, there are growing signs in Iran that Western sanctions are
hurting the nation's economy and alarming its decision-makers.
Authorities remain defiant, but they increasingly are acknowledging
publicly the economic pressures that Iran is facing... Interior Minister
Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was more willing to acknowledge the impact of
sanctions when he told a meeting of provincial governors Monday:
'Sanctions are measures taken by our enemies to stop our progress. We
have been able to bypass such problems, though there are difficulties
like high prices. But with correct planning we can stop the rise and
disappoint our enemies.' Despite such assurances, many Iranians are
worried about making ends meet in their new economic situation, as
spending power has been decimated in recent months and continues to
decline more quickly than the state can react." http://t.uani.com/MQLoxp
Reuters:
"Iran said on Tuesday it had successfully tested medium-range
missiles capable of hitting Israel in response to threats of military
action against the country, Iranian media reported... The Islamic
Republic announced the 'Great Prophet 7' missile exercise on Sunday after
a European embargo against Iranian crude oil purchases took full effect
following another fruitless round of big power talks with Tehran. Iran's
official English-language Press TV said the Shahab 3 missile with a range
of 1,300 km (800 miles) - able to reach Israel - was tested along with
the shorter-range Shahab 1 and 2 and other missile classes. 'The main aim
of this drill is to demonstrate the Iranian nation's political resolve to
defend vital values and national interests,' Revolutionary Guards Deputy
Commander Hossein Salami was quoted by Press TV as saying." http://t.uani.com/Lj5fHf
Reuters:
"The delivery of millions of barrels of Iranian crude to its top
buyer, China, is at risk of delay due to a dispute between refining giant
Sinopec and shipper National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC) over freight terms,
Beijing-based sources said on Tuesday. China has turned to NITC for
delivery of the 500,000 barrels per day of crude it buys from Iran as a
result of European Union sanctions. The EU measures took effect on Sunday
and prohibit European insurers, who dominate the maritime sector, from
offering cover on Iran crude. That left Sinopec unable to use Chinese
shippers and forced it to use NITC. No vessels have been named to carry
the 12 million barrels of crude that China has nominated for loading in
Iran in the first 20 days of July, industry sources told Reuters. 'There
is some problem between NITC and (Sinopec's trading arm) Unipec over the
freight issue,' said an Iranian oil official who requested anonymity as
he was not authorized to speak to the media... Sinopec, through Unipec
and state-trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, had scheduled to lift some 500,000
bpd of Iranian oil this month, traders said." http://t.uani.com/MSPnZ4
Bloomberg:
"MTN Group Ltd. (MTN), Africa's largest wireless operator, asked a
federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Turkcell Iletisim
Hizmetleri AS over a mobile-phone service deal in Iran, saying the core
of the case has 'no conceivable' connection to the U.S. MTN, in a filing
today in Washington, said Turkcell is improperly trying to use the Alien
Tort Statute to bring a commercial dispute between a Turkish company and
a South African company before a U.S. court. The 1789 law, usually cited
in human rights and torture cases, gives U.S. courts jurisdiction in some
instances to consider claims by foreigners for illegal conduct that
occurred in another country. 'This is not a case about grave issues of
universal international concern that the ATS addresses -- such as piracy
and genocide,' according to MTN's court filing... 'This is far from a
routine business dispute,' David Farber, a lawyer for Turkcell, said in
an e-mail. 'Contemporaneous documents and recent testimony clearly
demonstrate MTN's efforts to assist Iran's nuclear program, and its
attempt to facilitate Iranian arms sales in spite of the international
embargo.'" http://t.uani.com/N5zZ8r
AFP:
"South Africa's mobile phone giant MTN said on Tuesday it has asked
a US federal court to dismiss a bribery suit brought by a rival Turkish
firm which failed to win a cellphone deal in Iran. Turkcell in March
filed a $4.2-billion (3.3-billion-euro) lawsuit in Washington alleging MTN
had bribed Iranian officials and pressed Pretoria to offer weapons and
diplomatic support for its nuclear programme. Through these bribes, MTN
allegedly obtained a 49-percent stake in Irancell, an Iranian mobile firm
which Turkcall was also eyeing. The South African group has denied the
bribery claims and said it wants the Turkcell case thrown out because the
US court lacks jurisdiction over the matter... MTN operates in 21
countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. In January, it came under
fire for its Iranian operations from the influential US lobby group
United Against Nuclear Iran." http://t.uani.com/LOtS88
WSJ:
"A top U.S. lawmaker called for Tanzania's president to cancel the
country's re-flagging of Iranian vessels under the country's own flag. In
a letter sent to Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Rep. Howard Berman
(D., Calif.) said Tanzania has allowed the National Iranian Tanker Co. to
re-flag at least six, and as many as 10, of its vessels with the
Tanzanian ship registry, allowing it to continue to transport Iranian
crude exports, effectively assisting Iran with evading U.S. and European
Union sanctions... Berman said in the letter that the re-flagging is, in
his view, conduct that could make Tanzania subject to U.S. sanctions
under an executive order signed May 1 by President Barack Obama that
targets those who help Iran or Syria evade sanctions. He also said if
Tanzania continues to allow NITC ships to operate under a Tanzanian flag,
Congress 'would have no choice' but to consider the range of U.S.
bilateral programs with Tanzania." http://t.uani.com/M3RJ6v
Terrorism
LAT:
"Human Rights Watch has urged Iran to scrap the death penalty for
citizens convicted of drinking alcohol following reports that the
nation's judiciary has upheld two such sentences. The watchdog called on
Iranian authorities to end capital punishment for 'crimes that are not
considered serious and exceptional under treaties that bind it.' The
prosecutor general of Iran's Khorasan Razavi province confirmed that
Iran's Supreme Court had upheld death sentences against two people
convicted of consuming alcohol, the Iranian Students' News Agency
recently reported." http://t.uani.com/NdRYvq
Foreign Affairs
JPost:
"Hezbollah has upgraded its network of tunnels in southern Lebanon
to secure itself against airstrikes in a future war with Israel,
according to a report by a Lebanese newspaper on Monday. Al-Joumhouria
said its source was a diplomatic report issued by an unspecified European
embassy, which it said contained information from 'a number of Western
security agencies.' Al-Joumhouria claimed the report said that 'Iranian
experts' had supervised the digging of a new tunnel network in Lebanon's
Beqaa Valley region, which borders with Syria, following the Second
Lebanon War." http://t.uani.com/MFXOci
Reuters:
"he U.N. drugs watchdog chief voiced 'dismay and serious concern' in
talks with an Iranian envoy on Tuesday over allegations by a senior
government official in the Islamic state that Zionists were inciting
narcotics trafficking. Yury Fedotov, head of the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, called for the meeting with the Iranian diplomat after
'the anti-Semitic comments' of Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza
Rahimi, Fedotov's spokesman said. Speaking at a global drug enforcement
conference in Tehran last week, Rahimi said the Talmud - or canon of
Jewish religious law - 'teaches them how to destroy non-Jews so as to
protect an embryo in the womb of a Jewish mother', according to excerpts
published by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency." http://t.uani.com/N8jNqU
Opinion &
Analysis
WSJ Editorial
Board: "In Istanbul Tuesday, U.S. and Iranian
nuclear negotiators meet for the fourth time in four months, with the
classic diplomatic assignment of talking about whether to hold future
talks. They'll likely agree to do so, but the real news happened under
the radar last week: Though economic sanctions still haven't slowed or
stopped Iran's nuclear drive, the Obama Administration has decided to
make them even weaker. The Iran sanctions regime is looking like the U.S.
tax code-filled with loopholes. It's so weak, in fact, that all 20 of
Iran's major trading partners are now exempt from them. We've arrived at
a kind of voodoo version of sanctions. They look real, insofar as Congress
forced them into a bill President Obama had to sign in December. The
Administration has spoken incantations about their powers. But if you're
a big oil importer in China, India or 18 other major economies, the
sanctions are mostly smoke. This is possible because, thanks to lobbying
by the Obama Administration, the sanctions law contained several
loopholes you could drive a warhead through. One provided that if a
country 'significantly reduced' its oil imports from Iran, the State
Department could exempt it from sanctions for a renewable period of six
months. Naturally, the definition of a significant reduction was left to
the Administration's discretion. As of last week, we know that its
definition is trifling: India earned a free pass after merely pledging to
cut its Iran imports by 11%, and Japan earned one after cutting 22% of
its Iranian business in 2011. Then there's China, the Islamic Republic's
biggest customer, which is now exempt after cutting Iran imports by 25%
between January and May (measured year-over-year). The problem is that
China's reduction is an apparent fluke, not a dedicated effort to reduce
trade or isolate Iran economically. Imports fell by about 50% in February
and March because a Chinese oil giant delayed the start of a contract
over a price dispute. Once that was resolved, imports shot back up-by 34%
between April and May, and again by 35% between May and June." http://t.uani.com/N8ijgg
David Ignatius in
WashPost: "Examining the negotiating proposal Iran
made to the 'P5 + 1' group last month, you can see areas where the two
sides might eventually agree - but also a gap in current positions that's
so wide the most likely outcome is that the talks will collapse after a
scheduled experts' meeting this week. The possible point of agreement is
the demand that Iran stop enriching uranium to 20 percent and export its
existing stockpile of such fuel. The text of the Iranian proposal doesn't
concede this directly, but several Iranian sources have said the language
allows room for an eventual deal on this issue. The two sides are still
so far apart, however, that Iranian sources agree with U.S. and European
officials that a deal may be impossible by Wednesday's scheduled end of
discussions. Iran might be willing - as U.S. and Israeli officials are
hoping - to continue talks in another setting if such a breakdown occurs,
but that's far from assured. I obtained from a source close to the talks
the 48-page PowerPoint presentation Iranian negotiators gave in Moscow.
It's an argumentative document, conveying Iran's view in language that
is, by turns, defensive and sharply assertive. The Iranians' overarching
theme, to which they devote the first third of their presentation, is
that 'enrichment is an inalienable and chartered right' under the Non-Proliferation
Treaty, which Iran signed decades ago. Some U.S. and Israeli experts say
this claim is questionable, given the treaty's vague language, but
Iranian officials have insisted this be the cornerstone of any deal...
Reading the document, it's clear why Western negotiators see an impasse.
Even if the language on 20 percent enrichment could be finessed, the
Iranian presentation emphatically rejects the West's additional demand to
close the Fordow facility, deep under a mountain near Qom. Explaining why
this facility is so heavily fortified, the document states: 'Facing
constant threats, we need a back-up facility to safeguard our enrichment
activities.' This is precisely what worries the United States and
Israel... The pressure is on Iran to make a deal. Sanctions have pounded
its currency, financial markets and commercial activities, and a new
round that took effect this week could slash oil exports. Hard-liners in
Iran's parliament have begun calling for counter-measures to punish the
United States and its allies - or for Iran to quit the NPT and stop
cooperating with inspectors. But those actions could trigger a U.S.
military response. One other item caught my eye - a warning that Iran may
need even more 20 percent fuel than anticipated because of plans for 'at
least four other research reactors' and for exporting enriched fuel 'to
other countries.' Maybe that's a bargaining chip, or maybe it's a sign
these negotiations really are headed into the ditch. Perhaps the Iranians
have a bargain in mind, but it it's hard to see it in their
presentation." http://t.uani.com/MQHEvQ
David Albright and
Robert Avagyan in ISIS: "Satellite imagery from June
21, 2012 that ISIS has obtained from Digital Globe shows that suspected
sanitization activity at the Parchin site has continued to progress. This
site is where Iran is suspected to have conducted high explosive tests
pertinent to the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. The
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) deserves international backing
in support of its efforts to gain access to this site. The IAEA
needs to do so in order to fulfill its obligation to determine both the
correctness and completeness of Iran's declaration under its traditional
safeguards agreement and carry out its responsibilities under U.N.
Security Council resolutions on Iran. The IAEA Board of Governors in 1992
affirmed and in 1995 reaffirmed that the IAEA has the right and
obligation not only to verify that State declarations of nuclear material
subject to traditional safeguards are correct, but that they are also
complete. Safeguards were developed to provide assurances required
by the states that are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,
specifically that there is no diversion of nuclear material outside of
proscribed purposes. In order to do that, the IAEA has to look
beyond that what is declared. The IAEA can justify its request for access
to locations on the basis that it has credible evidence there are
undeclared activities being carried out. It can seek access if it believes
such access will contribute to the fulfillment of its mandate-making sure
there is no diversion of nuclear material. If Iran carried out what
the IAEA suspects is nuclear weaponization activities at the Parchin
site, then the IAEA necessarily has doubts about whether Iran has
declared all of the nuclear material, facilities, and activities which it
is required to declare under its traditional safeguards agreement.
If Iran does not allow the IAEA access to the Parchin site, the IAEA's
Board of Governors needs to consider this matter at its September 2012
meeting... In the past, Iran cleaned up sites in attempts to defeat IAEA
discovery of its activities. The inspectors managed to establish hidden
activities in some but not all cases. Extensive demolishment and cleanup
of sites can prevent the IAEA from detecting hidden activities through
the application of its analytical capabilities, such as environmental
sampling. It is difficult to predict how the IAEA would do in the
case that it gains access to Parchin. Iran should immediately halt
any further work at this site, grant the inspectors access to it, and
cooperate so that the IAEA can conduct a thorough investigation of this
site. Otherwise, the next IAEA Board of Governors meeting should
condemn Iran's activities at Parchin as thwarting a legitimate IAEA
request aimed at answering the fundamental issue of whether Iran's
nuclear declaration is complete." http://t.uani.com/LuIb3E
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear
Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive
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discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please
email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
United Against Nuclear
Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a
commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a
regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons. UANI is an
issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own
interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of
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