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Top Stories
Reuters:
"Congressional negotiators are trying to finish work on new
sanctions aimed at further restricting Iran's oil revenues, a package
they hope to approve by the end of next week before lawmakers leave
Washington for an extended recess. The sanctions, which have been in the
works for more than seven months, are designed to crack down on
transactions with Iran's national oil and tanker companies, and to hamper
the ability of Iranian banks to transfer funds electronically... There
are some complaints that draft language is too weak. An advocacy group
that has pushed for stricter sanctions on Tehran said provisions to force
financial messaging service providers to block Iranian banks from making
electronic banking transfers had been watered down. The group, United Against
Nuclear Iran, wrote to Senator Tim Johnson, head of the Senate Banking
Committee, on Wednesday, saying it was 'concerned that the banking lobby
has gutted these important provisions.' The measure had initially been
aimed at the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication,
or SWIFT, but revised language was less specific." http://t.uani.com/NwyyWQ
AFP:
"Top Iranian government officials and lawmakers agreed in a meeting
on Wednesday to budget cuts in a bid to shore up an economy struggling
with Western sanctions and inflation, media reported. 'The conclusion of
today's meeting between the economic officials of the government and
lawmakers is to minimise the effects of sanctions,' Economy Minister
Shamseddin Hosseini said after the talks also involving oil, commerce and
agriculture ministers, and the central bank chief, the official IRNA news
agency reported. He said 'we agreed to cut budget spending ... and focus
on domestic production.'" http://t.uani.com/Nwz4UI
JPost:
"A Tel Aviv-based civil rights group warned on Wednesday that
British satellite operator Inmarsat could face criminal prosecution if it
continued providing its technology to Iranian oil tankers. In a letter to
Inmarsat, Shurat HaDin (Israel Law Center) said the company could risk
civil as well as criminal proceedings in US courts if it did not stop
supplying its guidance services to Iranian military vessels and
tankers... Twenty-eight of the vessels that the department named appear
on Inmarsat's shipping directory as being in receipt of the company's
services... On Tuesday, US-based group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)
called on Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to end his country's
provision of sovereign insurance guarantees for companies shipping
Iranian oil. According to UANI, last week, Japanese crude carrier Ryuho
Maru loaded 1.7 million barrels of Iranian crude on behalf of two
companies, JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corp and Idemitsu Kosan Co." http://t.uani.com/Oo8jyj
Nuclear
Program
Bloomberg: "Iran's
deputy chief nuclear negotiator said his meeting with a European Union
official that aimed to establish common ground for another round of talks
on the country's atomic program was 'positive.' Ali Baqheri said that
during his July 24 meeting in Istanbul with Helga Schmid, the EU foreign
policy chief's deputy, 'we managed to move forward with the talks within
good frameworks and reach agreements on continuation of the work and
future talks,' the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The talks
will be followed by contact between EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton and Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief negotiator, Ashton's office said
after the meeting, without giving details." http://t.uani.com/OpeORh
Reuters:
"Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak called on Wednesday for major
powers to speed up efforts to stop Iran's nuclear program, cautioning it
would be tougher to confront it once Tehran managed to cross an atomic
threshold. Israeli media interpreted Barak's comments as pushing for a
possible Israeli strike against Iran to stop a project the West sees as a
drive to achieve nuclear weapons though Tehran denies seeking nuclear
weapons, saying its program is intended solely for peaceful purposes. 'I
am very well aware and know in depth the difficulties and complexity
involved in preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weapons,' Barak told a
graduation ceremony for security officers, in remarks later released by
his office." http://t.uani.com/NwASx7
Sanctions
AP: "Western-led sanctions and
diplomatic pressure will not force Iran to halt its nuclear program,
Iran's Supreme Leader said Wednesday. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the
final say on all state matters in Iran, voiced confidence that the
Islamic Republic can beat the latest punitive measures aimed at blocking
the country's vital oil and banking industries over the disputed program.
'They (the West) explicitly say they need to increase pressures, tighten
sanctions to force Iranian authorities to reconsider their calculations,'
Khamenei said in comments broadcast on state television. 'But a look at
the facts leads us not only to avoid reconsidering our calculations, but
to move on our intended path with greater confidence.'" http://t.uani.com/P2VgQV
AP:
"An Iranian-led shipping venture that predates the 1979 Islamic
Revolution is now unraveling as one of the most high-profile blows from
international sanctions and U.S.-driven efforts to drive wedges between
Tehran and its key trading partners. The impending collapse of the Irano
Hind Shipping Co. - created in 1974 with India's state-run maritime firm
- is likely to be noted in Washington and among allies as evidence of the
deepening wounds from the diplomatic and economic onslaught over Iran's
nuclear program... The top executive of the Indian side of Irano Hind
said Wednesday it had become too difficult to operate the fleet's seven
vessels under sanctions - imposed by the U.S. in 2008 and U.N. two years
later for the company's connections to the state-owned Iranian shipping
line." http://t.uani.com/OlEkZD
Dow Jones:
"There's a 'high chance' that South Korea will resume importing
Iranian crude oil in the near future, Minister of Knowledge Economy Hong
Sukwoo said Thursday. He didn't elaborate on the terms or the scale of
possible future crude-oil imports from Iran. Issues relating to Iranian
crude imports 'will be resolved well without any big problems,' and South
Korean companies will be able to export as much as they want to Iran, Mr.
Hong told reporters, without elaborating. South Korea's imports of
Iranian crude were suspended at the beginning of July, after European
Union sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports came into effect. The
sanctions effectively cut off insurance on shipments of Iranian crude."
http://t.uani.com/MLnkMo
Bloomberg:
"Western sanctions on Iran are biting so deep that even fishermen
who make the two-hour journey across the Strait of Hormuz at night to
Oman to smuggle flat-screen televisions, cell phones and food say they're
feeling the pain. Using small fishing boats in a waterway through which a
fifth of the world's traded oil passes has always been a risky business.
Rising fuel costs have increased the price of boat trips, while a slide
in Iran's currency has made it harder to pay suppliers. The risks are
even greater with the state promising a crackdown on imports of
manufactured items." http://t.uani.com/Ql1fYy
Terrorism
AP:
"Iran called Israeli allegations that it was responsible for last
week's suicide bombing of a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria
'baseless' on Wednesday and accused Israel of carrying out a terrorist
operation. Israel's deputy U.N. ambassador Haim Waxman called the
allegation by Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee 'appalling but not
surprising' since it came from the same government that says the 9/11
attack was a conspiracy theory and denies the Holocaust... When he took
the floor, Khazaee insisted that 'we have never and will not engage in
such a despicable attempt on the lives of innocent people.'" http://t.uani.com/N58sVd
The Hill:
"The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday said
he believes Iran was behind the recent attack in Bulgaria that killed
five Israeli tourists. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who gets to see
detailed intelligence information, told The Hill, 'I believe there were
certainly elements of Hezbollah [involved] and I believe it was under the
direction of their masters in Iran.' Rogers's remarks are significant for
several reasons. He is the highest-ranking U.S. official to blame Iran,
and his comments go further than what the Obama administration has said
publicly." http://t.uani.com/MZp9lM
Foreign Affairs
AFP:
"A high-level Syrian economic delegation led by Deputy Prime
Minister Omar Ghalawanji arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to boost
cooperation between the two allies faced with Western economic sanctions.
Iran's official news agency IRNA said the visiting team included the
ministers of oil, electricity, health, water and housing. 'The Islamic
Republic of Iran has no limit for developing cooperation with the brother
and friendly country of Syria,' Vice President Ali Saidlou was quoted as
saying in a meeting with Ghalawanji. 'The enemies of Syria with their
sanctions, terrorist actions and economic pressures seek to put pressure
on the Syrian people and government but we are sure they will fail,' he
said." http://t.uani.com/NL2rQz
AP:
"A high-ranking Iranian official said his country is ready to share
'experience and capabilities' with the Tehran-backed regime of President
Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the official IRNA news agency reported. The
late Wednesday report said Iran's vice president in charge of
international affairs, Ali Saeedlou, described the two countries as
powerful nations able to influence regional and global stability. The
comments appear to reinforce Iran's support for its main Middle East ally
and counter speculation that Iran's leadership was facing internal
battles over whether to continue their backing for the embattled
Assad." http://t.uani.com/MInhD3
Reuters:
"Dubai's chief of police has warned of an 'international plot' to
overthrow the governments of Gulf Arab countries, saying the region needs
to be prepared to counter any threat from Islamist dissidents as well as
Syria and Iran. The comments by Dahi Khalfan, one of the most outspoken
security officials in the United Arab Emirates, follow the detention in
the UAE since April of at least 20 dissidents, according to relatives of
the detainees and activists." http://t.uani.com/Ql01fN
LAT:
"After an Iranian official said that the Islamic Republic's athletes
would play 'every country' at the Olympics, it seemed the London Games
would put a halt to Iranians boycotting events to avoid facing off
against Israelis. But the question of whether Iran and Israel will
compete head to head is up in the air again after an Iranian news agency
linked to the government reported that the official had been misquoted
earlier this week. Ducking out of events to make a statement is frowned
on by the Olympics. The president of the International Olympic Committee,
Jacques Rogge, warned earlier this summer that athletes who bowed out of
competition without a good reason would face sanctions." http://t.uani.com/PuXdti
Opinion &
Analysis
UANI CEO Amb. Mark
Wallace in RCW: "For months, various pundits, oil
experts and Iranian regime officials warned that an embargo on Iranian
oil exports by the U.S., EU and others would precipitate a catastrophic
shock to oil prices worldwide. This mantra has led many to oppose the complete
sanctioning of Iran's oil industry and full enforcement of robust
sanctions against Iran. Yet real-world developments have shown this
conventional wisdom to be off-base: the truth is that the world's oil
markets can withstand a full embargo of Iranian oil, particularly right
now. The numbers prove it. Since the end of 2011, Iran's oil exports have
been cut in half, falling by one-and-a-half million barrels per day as
customers seek new sources of oil in the face of intensifying U.S. and EU
sanctions. If the pundits were correct, the removal of this Iranian
supply should have unnerved oil markets and sent oil prices surging. In
fact, the opposite has been true. Oil prices recently hit an
eighteen-month low. How is this possible? The standard line on oil is that
any disruption of supply from Persian Gulf countries will lead to
devastating price spikes. Yet in reality, today's global markets are more
resistant to shocks than the pundits would have us believe. Although Iran
is regularly touted as an oil powerhouse, consider that its exports -
which have recently fallen to as low as one million barrels per day -
actually make up a small, replaceable, part of the more than 80 million
barrels of oil consumed globally every day. The expansion of oil
production and exports in other parts of the Middle East are making up
for the loss of Iranian oil. Saudi Arabia, for one, is utilizing its
spare capacity to increase its output to record levels, while Iraq's oil
industry is undergoing a resurgence with production now higher than Iran
at nearly 3 million barrels per day. Libya has also achieved a near total
recovery of its oil production since the end of its recent conflict.
These developments, as well as the overall global economic slowdown and
the widespread international disapproval of Iran's illicit nuclear
program, have led to a decrease in demand for Iranian oil... Now is not
the time for half measures or needle-threading. By pushing the remaining
million barrels of Iranian oil exports off the global market and imposing
a complete economic blockade of Iran, the international community can
succeed in extracting real concessions from the regime on its illicit
nuclear program. The reality is that the regime can survive without its
nuclear program, but not without its economy, and world powers must force
Ayatollah Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to make that choice.
Squandering this opportunity could mean a nuclear Iran in a volatile
Middle East, a scenario we must do whatever it takes to prevent." http://t.uani.com/O17Q4w
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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
media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with
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
nuclear weapons.
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