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Top Stories
WashPost:
"David Plouffe, a senior White House adviser who was President
Obama's 2008 campaign manager, accepted a $100,000 speaking fee in 2010
from an affiliate of a company doing business with Iran's government. A
subsidiary of MTN Group, a South Africa-based telecommunications company,
paid Plouffe for two speeches he made in Nigeria in December 2010, about
a month before he joined the White House staff. Since Plouffe's speeches,
MTN Group has come under intensified scrutiny from U.S. authorities
because of its activities in Iran and Syria, which are under
international sanctions intended to limit the countries' access to
sensitive technology. At the time of Plouffe's speeches, MTN had been in
a widely reported partnership for five years with a state-owned Iranian
telecommunications firm... The White House on Sunday hinged its response
in part on the activities of a prominent watchdog group, United Against
Nuclear Iran. White House officials noted that the group did not start a
public campaign against MTN Group until this year. 'Seems like if MTN was
a notable public problem in 2010, they might have started their campaign
then,' the White House said in an e-mail to The Post. Mark Wallace, the
chief executive of United Against Nuclear Iran, said Sunday: 'MTN was a charter
member of UANI's target list - the Iran Business Registry - launched in
2009. We hope Mr. Plouffe will use his considerable influence to urge
President Obama to enact a full economic blockade of Iran so that
companies like MTN will no longer be able to operate there.'" http://t.uani.com/Pzz2pQ
Reuters:
"Iran's rial sank about 5 percent in trading against the U.S. dollar
on Monday after the central bank said it would change the currency's
official exchange rate, prompting fears of another devaluation as the
economy suffers from international sanctions. The rial was trading in the
free market at around 21,510 per dollar, according to Persian-language
currency tracking website Mazanex, down from about 20,440 on Sunday. Most
dealers in Tehran's major currency trading district stopped selling
dollars on Monday and removed signs from windows advertising their rates,
Mehr News Agency reported. It said the rial fell as low as 22,000 before
partly recovering to 21,400. Central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani said
on Sunday he would announce a change to the government's 'reference rate'
of 12,260 rials to the dollar 'within the next 10 days', Iranian media
reported. He did not elaborate, but Iranian media speculated the new
reference rate might be between 15,000 and 16,000 rials." http://t.uani.com/QETyfW
AFP:
"Iran is being hit by a 'war' on its economy, according to officials
facing tightened US sanctions and renewed Israeli threats of imminent
military action over Tehran's nuclear activities. 'This is war,'
Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, the hardline chief of Iran's influential
Guardians Council, said as he led Friday prayers in Tehran. Iran needs to
mobilise 'the nation, government, officials and armed forces' to tackle
its 'special and serious economic problems' which went beyond the global
economic malaise, he said. 'We should prepare and break this wave (of
economic pressure). We should not surrender,' he said." http://t.uani.com/MIJ4WU
Nuclear
Program
Reuters:
"Israel is upgrading its Arrow II ballistic missile shield in a
U.S.-backed 'race' against Iran, Syria and other regional enemies, a
senior Israeli defense official said on Sunday. The new 'Block 4'
generation of guided interceptor rockets, radars and technologies for
synchronizing Arrow with U.S. systems was being installed in deployed
Israeli batteries, a process that would take several weeks, the official
said. 'The accuracy and the reach will be greater,' the official said of
Arrow, which has been operational since 2000 and is designed to blow up
incoming missiles at altitudes high enough for non-conventional warheads
to disintegrate safely." http://t.uani.com/MnQAVO
AP:
"Iran claimed Saturday it has successfully test-fired an upgraded
version of a short-range ballistic missile with improved accuracy,
increasing the Islamic Republic's capability to strike both land and
naval targets. Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said the solid-fueled
Fateh-110 has a range of 185 miles. He claimed the weapon could strike
with pin-point precision, making it the most accurate weapon of its kind
in Iran's arsenal. 'By reaching this generation of the Fateh-110, a new
capability has been added to our armed forces in striking sea and land
targets,' state TV quoted Vahidi as saying. 'Few countries in the world
possess the technology to build such missiles.'" http://t.uani.com/NX0qnm
Bloomberg:
"Iran probably would attempt to block the Strait of Hormuz at the
mouth of the Persian Gulf only as a 'last resort,' according to a
Pentagon historian who's written a new history of America's 33-year
shadow war with the Islamic Republic. Iran has greatly improved its
ability to disrupt shipping through the strategic waterway, the route for
a fifth of the world's traded oil, said historian David Crist. Still, the
Islamic Republic's economy also relies on shipping through the Strait, he
said. 'Their prime means of exporting oil is through the Strait,' said
Crist, author of 'The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's
Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran', in an interview. 'If they mine, it means
their oil is not coming out, either.'" http://t.uani.com/RsAsZw
Reuters:
"Iranian state television on Sunday broadcast purported confessions
by more than a dozen suspects in connection with the killing of five
nuclear scientists since 2010. The broadcast showed some of the suspects
re-enacting the assassinations in different districts of the capital
Tehran. The 14 suspects shown on TV included eight men and six women. The
TV showed pictures from a military garrison it said was a training camp
outside Tel Aviv in Israel. It said the suspects took courses there,
including how to place magnetic bombs on cars -- the method used in the
killing of the scientists." http://t.uani.com/MYEOH7
Sanctions
JPost: "A Tel Aviv-based
civil rights group accused UK satellite operator Inmarsat Plc over the
weekend of admitting it provides its technology to Iranian oil tankers.
Shurat HaDin (Israel Law Center) warned Inmarsat last month that 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. Rich Harris, Inmarsat's senior vice president told
Shurat HaDin that the group's allegations had no basis, and that Inmarsat
is not violating sanctions... The warning letter came in the wake of
recent US Treasury Department sanctions against Iranian vessels, imposed
last month." http://t.uani.com/MnQ7CO
Times LIVE:
"Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe's romantic partner Gugu Mtshali
and her close associates stand accused of peddling political support for
the Iran deal - in return for a promised R104-million. The Grant Thornton
report, commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry, is the
first independent proof that officials delivered on their side of a deal
to solicit political support for the company, 360 Aviation. It found that
officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) were guilty of
'gross negligence' by providing a government support letter to 360
Aviation for a R2-billion helicopter deal with Iran." http://t.uani.com/OY5dot
Bloomberg:
"The Islamic Development Bank approved a 170 million-euro ($210
million) loan for wastewater plant upgrades in Iran's capital, the Tehran
Times reported, citing Tehran Water and Wastewater Co.'s managing
director. The loan will be used to establish a sewage treatment plant in
western Tehran, the executive, Mohammad Parvaresh, said without
elaborating, according to today's report. The greater Tehran area has a
population of about 12 million. Iran received a $50 million World Bank
loan in October to help develop wastewater projects in northern Iranian
cities, the paper cited Mehdi Samareh-Hashemi, managing director of the
Iran Water and Wastewater Engineering Co., as saying." http://t.uani.com/OF26O7
Human Rights
MEMRI:
"Iran has the second-highest annual rate of executions in the world,
after China. According to the regime, those executed are criminals
convicted of felonies such as murder, rape and drug trafficking; human
rights activists say that some are regime opponents. Moderate
conservative circles in Iran recently criticized the Iranian public's
enthusiasm for attending public hangings, particularly the practice of
bringing children to watch them. Jafar Mohammadi, editor of the moderate
conservative website Asr-e Iran, wrote in an article that the public's
appetite for this activity was a sign of social sickness." http://t.uani.com/R9ejOf
Syrian Civil
War
NYT:
"A group of Syrian rebels took responsibility on Sunday for the
kidnapping of 48 Iranians in Damascus a day earlier, but the rebels
insisted that their captives were members of Iran's elite Revolutionary
Guards, not religious pilgrims as Iran's official news agency had
reported. 'They are Iranian thugs who were in Damascus for a field
reconnaissance mission,' said a rebel leader, in a video that the rebels
said showed the captives sitting calmly behind armed Syrian fighters. In
the video, the rebels flipped through what they said were Iranian
identification cards and certificates for carrying weapons, proving, the
rebels said, that the hostages were not religious pilgrims." http://t.uani.com/OGlfCe
Reuters:
"Iran warned against foreign intervention in Syria on Sunday and
said the conflict there could engulf Israel, Iranian media said. Iran's
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani accused the United States and regional
countries he did not name of providing military support to rebels
fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.
Syria has accused Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of backing rebels in
Syria and fuelling violence there. Iran has supported Assad's efforts to
crush the 17-month revolt and has accused Western countries and Israel of
interfering in the crisis." http://t.uani.com/OKM3ih
Reuters:
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend a summit of
Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia expected to focus on Syria, Iranian media
said on Monday, as tensions between Tehran and Riyadh run high over their
opposing stances on regional uprisings. The extraordinary summit of the
Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) is to be held in Mecca next week.
'Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be present at this summit at the invitation of
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia,' Mohammad Reza Forghani, the director of
international affairs in Ahmadinejad's office, was quoted as saying by
state news agency IRNA." http://t.uani.com/MnSCFe
Opinion &
Analysis
Jaime Suchliki in
The Miami Herald: "The same week that President
Obama downplayed the threat to U.S. security from Venezuela's Hugo
Chávez, a high-level delegation from Hezbollah was visiting Caracas and
Havana. Ammar Musawi, head of Hezbollah International Department, praised
Cuba as a model on how to oppose 'imperialist hegemony, arrogance, and
plunder.' In Venezuela, he met with the Vice-Foreign Minister and condemned
the 'ferocious attack' against their Syrian ally. Venezuela's growing
relations with Iran and Chávez' support for terrorist groups both in the
Americas and the Middle East should worry the U.S. The most remarkable
and dangerous foreign policy initiative of the Chávez regime has been
allying Venezuela with Iran. Chávez has allowed the Iranians to use
Venezuelan territory to penetrate the Western Hemisphere and to mine for
uranium in Venezuela. Chávez policy is aiding Iran in developing nuclear
technology and in evading U.N. sanctions and U.S. vigilance of the
Iranian drug trade and other illicit activities. The Chávez regime is
also providing Venezuelan passports to Iranian operatives. Venezuela's
Mining and Basic Industries Minister Rodolfo Sanz, acknowledged that Iran
is 'helping Venezuela to explore for uranium.' What would stop the
Iranians, once they develop their own weapons, from providing some to
their close ally in Caracas? Or worse, will the Iranians use Venezuela as
a transshipment point to provide nuclear weapons to terrorist groups? Or
with the help of Venezuelans, would the Iranians smuggle a nuclear weapon
into the U.S.? Given Chávez's erratic and irresponsible behavior, these
possibilities should not be dismissed lightly. Fidel Castro helped the
Soviet Union surreptitiously introduce nuclear weapons into Cuba aimed at
the United States. The October 1962 missile crisis is a grim reminder
that poor U.S. vigilance, a daring leader in the Caribbean and a reckless
dictator in Russia almost brought the world to a nuclear holocaust. Iran
is also providing Venezuela with technical assistance in the areas of
defense, intelligence, energy and security. Iranians, as well as Cuban
personnel, are advising and protecting Chávez and training his security
apparatus. This triple alliance represents a clear threat to the
hemisphere." http://t.uani.com/MfamqY
Erin Burnett in
Fortune: "The U.S. and Europe are implementing the
toughest sanctions yet on Iran to stop its leaders from developing
nuclear weapons. The measures have succeeded in making life harder for
regular Iranians; according to Iranian news sources, milk prices are
rising daily, and citizens boycotted bakeries and grocery stores in
protest in June. As difficult as sanctions have made life for Iranians,
they could be tougher and more effective. That's because the U.S.
government, the leader of the international sanctions program, is
applying its policies inconsistently. First are the exemptions that the
State Department granted to the top three buyers of Iranian oil: China,
Japan, and India. If the U.S. really wanted to apply pressure on
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear program, it could insist that
China, Japan, and India cease all oil imports (oil is the lifeblood of
Iran's economy, accounting for 80% of Iranian foreign-exchange earnings
-- and China alone buys half of Iran's crude exports) and pledge to deny
those countries access to U.S. banks if they don't comply. The U.S.
already bars Cuba from tapping our financial system, for example, but Havana,
unlike Beijing, doesn't own $1.17 trillion of U.S. debt. And so our
diplomats praise China, Japan, and India for merely reducing their
dependence on Iranian oil imports and look the other way. Then there's
South Korea, historically the fourth-biggest buyer of Iranian crude. The
Koreans have relied on Iran for about 10% of their oil needs. Recently
government officials indicated they'd look elsewhere for oil. And Iran
responded by threatening a trade embargo on Korean imports to Iran. As
Fortune went to press, South Korea had halted Iranian oil imports because
it could not get insurance for the shipments, but Seoul is looking for
ways to resume its purchases, including using Iranian tankers. To
understand why Korea is so keen to maintain good relations with Iran,
just look at Samsung (No. 20 on the Fortune Global 500), Hyundai (No.
117), and Kia (No. 266), companies that would feel the pain if Korean
goods were barred from Iran. Samsung tells me it sells the world's
current must-have gadget, the Galaxy S III, in Iran, along with printers,
cameras, and televisions. When I was in Iran about 18 months ago, Samsung
had a retail store in a mall I visited. It was sleek and new,
indistinguishable from Samsung stores in major U.S. cities. All the
televisions I saw in Iranian hotel rooms and homes were made by Samsung.
So it's no surprise that Iran's threat of a trade embargo on South Korea
carries weight. So why is the U.S. government to blame for this
situation? Because while the U.S. was putting the harshest sanctions in
history on Iran and pushing its allies to join, it signed a free-trade
deal with South Korea, the biggest single free-trade deal for America
since NAFTA." http://t.uani.com/OF2I6m
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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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