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Top Stories
AFP:
"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Tehran on Saturday for New York
and the UN General Assembly, where he will deliver his final speech to
the world gathering, Iranian media reported. His speech this year is
keenly awaited in the face of sharp differences with the UN Security
Council over Iran's controversial nuclear programme, and Israeli threats
to launch pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Past
addresses by Ahmadinejad to the General Assembly -- which have included
Holocaust denials and conspiracy theories about the September 11, 2001
attacks in the United States -- have prompted walk-outs by US and other
Western representatives... Ahmadinejad's presence in New York for the UN
meeting has in the past sparked small protests. This year another is
planned, with the US anti-Iran lobby group United Against Nuclear Iran
urging the Manhattan hotel where Ahmadinejad is staying to boot out the
Iranian leader." http://t.uani.com/RT6hGv
Dow Jones:
"Iranian ships have started sailing under the Moldovan flag as
others lose their Tuvalu flags, databases and campaigners say, as Iran to
play an increasingly complex game of cat and mouse to access to global
markets amid U.S. pressure over its nuclear program. The moves underscore
how mounting pressure on Iran's shipping fleet is making its trade
increasingly difficult, as it increasingly relies on domestic tankers to
export its oil while also struggling to find ships to import cereals and
other basic goods. Iran has started moving its shipping registration for
some of its ships to the landlocked eastern European nation. According to
shipping databases Equasis and Clarksons, the Begonia, which is managed
by Tehran-based Soroush Sarzamin Ship Management Co., received a Moldovan
flag in June... New York-based campaigning group United Against Nuclear
Iran-which first uncovered the Moldovan connection-said Thursday Moldova
had reflagged as many as 11 vessels owned, managed or operated by IRISL.
It said it had written to Moldova's President Nicolae Timofti, warning
him the registration on IRISL ships 'could seriously affect U.S.- Moldova
trade relations.' A Moldovan government spokeswoman couldn't immediately
comment." http://t.uani.com/SMYN8a
Reuters:
"Iran plans to switch its citizens onto a domestic Internet network
in what officials say is a bid to improve cyber security but which many
Iranians fear is the latest way to control their access to the web. The
announcement, made by a government deputy minister on Sunday, came as
state television announced Google Inc's search engine and its email service
would be blocked 'within a few hours'. 'Google and Gmail will be filtered
throughout the country until further notice,' an official identified only
by his last name, Khoramabadi, said, without giving further details. The
Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) said Google ban was connected to the
anti-Islamic film posted on the company's YouTube site which has caused
outrage throughout the Muslim world. There was no official
confirmation." http://t.uani.com/Sq0QnG
 UN
General Assembly
NY Post:
"Dozens of protesters marched outside the posh Warwick hotel
yesterday before the arrival of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - with one prancing
around in a gigantic paper-mache head mocking the Iranian dictator. 'Keep
Ahmadinejad out of New York!' some chanted, while others held signs
outside the Midtown hotel... Protesters say they're angry that a luxury
Manhattan hotel would play host to a man whose country has been criticized
for its repressive treatment of its people and who has supported
terrorist groups such as Hamas... 'The Warwick might be hard up for
business these days, but damaging its reputation and angering New Yorkers
will come back to bite it,' said Nathan Carleton, a spokesman for United
Against Nuclear Iran, which plans to demonstrate outside the hotel on
Monday. 'It is outrageous that The Warwick would accommodate a terrorist
regime in exchange for its illegitimate money, and not even admit it,'
Carleton said." http://t.uani.com/PY3Hiq
Reuters:
"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric when two men met in New
York on Sunday before this week's annual gathering of world leaders at
the U.N. General Assembly. 'The secretary-general drew attention to the
potentially harmful consequences of inflammatory rhetoric,
counter-rhetoric and threats from various countries in the Middle East,'
Ban's press office said in a statement." http://t.uani.com/UxXhN6
Reuters:
"The United States has denied visas to about 20 Iranian government
officials hoping to attend next week's United Nations General Assembly,
including two ministers, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Saturday.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a regular at the assembly since he
took office in 2005, will give his final speech there on Wednesday and
will address a meeting on the 'rule of law' on Monday. But of the
160-or-so visas requested by the Iranian delegation two months ago, about
20 were turned down, Fars said. It gave no reason, but many Iranian
officials are subject to travel bans under sanctions related to Iran's
nuclear program." http://t.uani.com/QsTBtc
NY Post:
"Feel the love, Mahmoud - and taste the gefilte fish. Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived last night at the Warwick Hotel in
Midtown in advance of his annual hate-spewing address to the UN General
Assembly on Wednesday - and The Post tried to deliver him a gift fit for
a despot. The anti-Semite's special welcome basket - from New Yorkers
with love - included such locally procured goodies as Gold's Borscht,
Manischewitz Gefilte Fish and smoked whitefish from the world-famous
Murray's Sturgeon House on the Upper West Side." http://t.uani.com/PczBIF
NYT:
"When President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran arrives in New York for
the United Nations General Assembly, delegates may see the face of an
American missing in Iran for more than five years. In recent days, an
electronic billboard in Times Square and displays in subway stations in
Midtown Manhattan have started showing a picture of the man, Robert A.
Levinson, a former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. An
accompanying message urges U.N. delegates to 'encourage the Islamic
Republic of Iran to work with the U.S. to bring Bob home.' Mr. Levinson,
who worked more recently as a private investigator, disappeared in March
2007 on Kish Island, a resort island that is part of Iran." http://t.uani.com/PObfWB
Nuclear
Program
AP:
"The Senate has overwhelmingly approved a resolution that reaffirms
U.S. efforts to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and says
containment of a nuclear-capable Iran is not an option. By a vote of 90-1
early Saturday, the Senate backed the nonbinding measure that specifically
states that it should not been interpreted as an authorization for the
use of military force or a declaration of war... The measure was
introduced months ago by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Bob Casey, D-Pa.,
and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn." http://t.uani.com/NMv6r2
Reuters:
"Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the
Jewish state was preparing to attack it, a senior commander of its elite
Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday. Amir Ali Hajizadeh,
a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the
comments to Iran's state-run Arabic language Al-Alam television. 'Iran
will not start any war but it could launch a pre-emptive attack if it was
sure that the enemies are putting the final touches to attack it,'
Al-Alam said, paraphrasing the military commander. Hajizadeh said any
attack on Iranian soil could trigger 'World War Three'. 'We can not
imagine the Zionist regime starting a war without America's support.
Therefore, in case of a war, we will get into a war with both of them and
we will certainly get into a conflict with American bases,' he said. 'In
that case, unpredictable and unmanageable things would happen and it
could turn into a World War Three.'" http://t.uani.com/PASdmK
Reuters:
"Iran does not take seriously Israeli threats of attack, but is
prepared to defend itself, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on
Monday... 'Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the
Zionists. ... We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are
ready to defend ourselves,' Ahmadinejad told reporters in New York, where
he is due to attend the U.N. General Assembly. 'While we are fully ready
to defend ourselves, we do not take such threats seriously,' he said,
speaking through an interpreter." http://t.uani.com/UrlRus
Reuters:
"A senior Iranian lawmaker accused the UN nuclear watchdog on Sunday
of passing confidential details of Iran's atomic work to Israel, and a
military commander said Tehran may consider a pre-emptive strike on the
Jewish state if it looked set to attack. Javad Jahangirzadeh, a member of
parliament's presiding board, said International Atomic Energy Agency
chief Yukiya Amano had made 'repeated trips' to Israel, divulging
sensitive information about what Tehran says is its peaceful nuclear
program. 'Amano's repeated trips to Tel Aviv and asking the Israeli
officials' views about Iran's nuclear activities indicates that Iran's
nuclear information has been disclosed to the Zionist regime and other
enemies of the Islamic Republic,' Jahangirzadeh was quoted as saying by
Iran's English-language Press TV." http://t.uani.com/PAV2Ee
AP:
"Iran is accusing the German technology company Siemens of
implanting tiny explosives in equipment the Islamic Republic purchased
for its nuclear program. A prominent Iranian lawmaker says the
booby-trapped equipment was meant to derail Iran's uranium enrichment
efforts, but security experts discovered the explosives and removed them.
Siemens denies the charge and says its nuclear division has had no
business with Iran since the 1979 revolution." http://t.uani.com/QPvrHf
Sanctions
AFP:
"Britain, France and Germany have officially called for new European
Union sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, diplomats said.
The foreign ministers of the three countries wrote to EU foreign policy
chief Catherine Ashton last week calling for tougher measures as the
showdown with Tehran becomes more tense, a European diplomat told AFP
Sunday on condition of anonymity. The EU is working on more sanctions as
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seeks to counter the pressure on his
country at this week's UN General Assembly in New York." http://t.uani.com/SO0ouo
Bloomberg:
"The Obama administration will today report that Iran's state-owned
oil company is linked to a military unit sanctioned for weapons
proliferation, terrorism and human-rights abuses, according to a U.S.
official involved in the finding. In a classified report to Congress,
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner will present evidence that the National
Iranian Oil Co., known as NIOC, is 'an agent or affiliate' of Iran's
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the official said on condition of
anonymity because the finding isn't yet public. The Treasury Department
didn't find sufficient proof to sanction the National Iranian Tanker Co.,
or NITC, the main carrier for Iranian crude, for ties to the
Revolutionary Guard, according to the official." http://t.uani.com/PR5xTX
Irish Independent:
"Taxpayer-backed Adaptive Mobile has pulled out of Iran on the back
of concerns about the regime. It earlier exited Syria for similar
reasons. 'The worsening political situation together with the behaviour
of the Iranian government has led the company to re-evaluate its business
in Iran,' the technology firm told the Sunday Independent. It ended
lucrative contracts with a major mobile provider there at the end of
May." http://t.uani.com/RQau3q
WashPost:
"The State Department has decided to remove the Iranian exile group
Mujaheddin-e Khalq from the U.S. government's terrorist list, officials
said Friday, ending a decade-long fight over a controversial organization
that had become a favorite cause of prominent U.S. politicians and
lobbyists. The decision, detailed in classified documents prepared for
submission to Congress, is a victory for U.S. allies of the onetime
militant group, known as the MEK, which is fiercely opposed to Iran's
clerical regime. But the move could further complicate U.S. diplomatic
engagement with Tehran, which bore the brunt of the MEK's campaign of
bombings and assassinations in the 1970s and '80s." http://t.uani.com/SNW8Lu
Reuters:
"Iranian hackers have repeatedly attacked Bank of America Corp,
JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc over the past year as part of a
broad cyber campaign targeting the United States, according to people
familiar with the situation. The attacks, which began in late 2011 and
escalated this year, have primarily been 'denial of service' campaigns
that disrupted the banks' websites and corporate networks by overwhelming
them with incoming web traffic, said the sources. They said there was
evidence suggesting the hackers targeted the three banks in retaliation
for their enforcement of Western economic sanctions against Iran. Whether
the hackers have been able to inflict more serious damage on computer
networks or steal critical data is not yet known." http://t.uani.com/Qdc6SK
Reuters:
"Standard Chartered Bank signed a final agreement with New York's
banking regulator to pay $340 million to settle allegations that it hid
transactions with Iran from regulators. The London-based bank agreed in
principle to pay the civil penalty last month after its stock dropped
amid the allegations and a threat to revoke the bank's license to do
business in New York. The parties agreed the conduct at issue involved
transactions of about $250 billion, Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of
the New York state Department of Financial Services, said in announcing
the formal agreement." http://t.uani.com/QdcYa7
Reuters:
"Iran launched a fresh bid on Monday to stabilise its falling
currency, opening a foreign exchange centre that provides
government-subsidised U.S. dollars to import some goods as the country
struggles with Western economic sanctions. The rial's street value has
tumbled by more than half in the last year because of U.S. and European
sanctions against Iran's oil and banking sectors, which have cast doubt
on the central bank's ability to defend its currency... Iranians have
rushed to informal money changers to convert their savings into hard currencies,
driving down the rial's open-market value. This has raised the price of
imported goods, contributing to double-digit inflation. The new foreign
exchange centre allows importers of goods including truck tyres,
construction equipment and synthetic fibres to buy dollars at a rate 2
percent cheaper than the street rate at any given time." http://t.uani.com/RQhbma
Human
Rights
AFP:
"As Iran's academic year kicked off on Saturday, a US-based rights
group raised concern about new restrictions putting scores of university
degree courses off-limits to women. Human Rights Watch said in a
statement that the restrictions extended a creeping 'Islamicisation' of
Iran's universities that have been imposed under President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad. Citing an August report by the Iranian news agency Mehr, the
group said that women were barred from 77 courses in various
universities, including those in computer science, chemistry engineering,
business administration and sciences." http://t.uani.com/SgsHB7
Amnesty:
"Dozens of university students in cities across Iran have been
interrogated or arbitrarily arrested in recent weeks, marking an
escalation in the authorities' clampdown on students as the academic year
begins, Amnesty International said today. Some universities have banned
women from certain areas of study. Members of some religious minorities
and student activists have been specifically targeted, with many being
banned from further study or summoned to serve prison sentences for
earlier offences - in many cases merely because they peacefully exercised
their right to freedom of expression, association or assembly. Iran's
academic year begins on 23 September, and the recent rise in harassment
dates back to May 2012, although student activists have faced persecution
for many years." http://t.uani.com/QdhLbx
Domestic
Politics
Bloomberg:
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes his final appearance at
the United Nations this week as a leader vilified abroad and with
dwindling popularity at home. With nine months left before his final term
expires, Ahmadinejad, 55, presides over an economy hobbled by European
and U.S.-led sanctions and a currency collapse that's firing inflation.
As Israel repeatedly warns that it may bomb Iran to stop it getting
atomic weapons, Ahmadinejad's last speech to the UN on Sept. 26 may
highlight his growing isolation. 'There is a high probability that he
will leave Iran in somewhat of a disgraced fashion, in terms of what he
has done for the country,' says Hooman Majd, author of 'The Ayatollahs'
Democracy: An Iranian Challenge' and an interpreter for Ahmadinejad on
some of his previous UN trips." http://t.uani.com/SpXXDm
Reuters:
"The son of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
returned to Iran from exile to answer charges of inciting unrest after a
disputed election in 2009, fuelling speculation that Rafsanjani's
influence in Tehran may once again be growing. Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani
arrived in Tehran late on Sunday, Fars news agency reported, having spent
three years in the United Kingdom following his alleged involvement in
the widespread protests that followed the re-election of President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad... Mehdi Rafsanjani's return comes 24 hours after
another member of the powerful and wealthy Rafsanjani family, his sister
Faezeh, began a six-month jail sentence for 'spreading anti-state
propaganda.'" http://t.uani.com/OPdH2q
Opinion
& Analysis
NYT
Editorial Board: "Leaders of Iraq's Shiite-led
government have often advised the United States not to worry about their
ties with Iran, where Shiites are also in the majority. But the
assurances are getting harder to swallow. Baghdad is showing a
distressing willingness to side with the region's most repressive
regimes, not just Iran but also Iran's chief ally, the brutal Syrian
president, Bashar al-Assad. In recent months, the United States has
accused Iraq of allowing Iran to fly weapons through its airspace to Syria,
where Mr. Assad is pounding his people with air power in an effort to
crush an 18-month rebellion in which some 25,000 people have been killed.
Last week, Reuters disclosed a Western intelligence report that said the
supply operation was far bigger and more systematic than first thought,
involving the transport of "tens of tons" of arms and military
personnel on civilian aircraft almost daily. The report also said Iranian
trucks were moving overland through Iraq to Syria. Iraqi officials deny
the charges. A United Nations Security Council resolution forbids Iran
from exporting arms to Syria. And member nations, like Iraq, are
obligated to prohibit procurement of these items. That means Baghdad is
required to deny overflight rights for Iranian planes headed to Syria or
to inspect the cargo to verify what is being shipped... Iraqis have a
chance to build a new democratic system based on the rule of law and
respect for all citizens. It would be morally wrong and hypocritical if
Iraqi leaders, who were so long oppressed by Saddam Hussein, kept working
against Syrians as they struggle to overthrow their tyrant." http://t.uani.com/QtMCQX
David Ignatius in
WashPost: "Iran may be on the firing line, but
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was as calmly combative as ever Sunday,
dismissing Israel's military threats and predicting that nothing will
happen in the nuclear talks until after the U.S. presidential elections.
In an interview on the eve of his visit to the United Nations,
Ahmadinejad seemed unfazed by recent months of speculation about bombing
strikes or by the precarious state of Tehran's allies in Damascus.
Instead, he talked often about politics - including a reference to what
he saw as the war-weariness of the American public... 'We, generally
speaking, do not take very seriously the issue of the Zionists and the
possible dangers emanating from them,' he said early in the interview.
'Of course, they would love to find a way for their own salvation by
making a lot of noise and to raise stakes in order to save themselves.
But I do not believe they will succeed.' Asked if he thought Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was bluffing in his threats to strike
Iranian nuclear facilities, the Iranian president said he agreed with
that view and asserted that this analysis was a 'common consensus.'
Ahmadinejad's bland self-assurance is partly a matter of style, for no
politician ever wants to display weakness before his adversaries. But in
this third interview I've had with the Iranian president, I had the sense
that he genuinely believes the world is going Iran's way. He sees an
America that is facing reversals across the Muslim world - in the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan and most recently, in dealing with the Arab
uprisings. Close U.S. allies such as Egypt's Hosni Mubarak are gone, and
Ahmadinejad is still standing... The most intractable subject in any
conversation with Ahmadinejad is Israel, and Sunday's discussion was no
different. Pressed why he continued to make comments that Israelis
regarded as hate speech, he parried back with a series of questions about
Israeli occupation of Arab territory. Asked to affirm Israel's existence,
he wouldn't." http://t.uani.com/VxfV5F
UANI Advisory
Board Member Irwin Cotler in JPost: "When Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in New York to address the UN
General Assembly, a man who should be in the dock of the accused will
instead be given an international podium - a cruel parody of law and
justice that will put us on the wrong side of history. Ahmadinejad will enter
the US despite being inadmissible under American law. He will address the
UN General Assembly despite being in violation of its UN Charter and
international law. And he will be indulged by universities, institutes
and the media, thereby sanitizing his crimes and mocking the suffering of
the Iranian people. Let there be no mistake about it: A person who
pursues the most destructive of weaponry in violation of UN Security
Council resolutions, who incites to genocide, who is complicit in crimes
against humanity, who is engaged in a massive repression of the human
rights of his own citizens, who assaults the basic tenants of the UN
Charter - such a person should be indicted by this international body;
rather than have it provide a pulpit. Simply put, this charade - repeated
annually since 2007 - ignores and undermines basic principles of
domestic, international and humanitarian law. Indeed, Ahmadinejad belongs
on the US 'watchlist' - those who 'aid terrorists... persecute religious
minorities... or are prohibited from entering the US.' The evidence of
Ahmadinejad's criminality on each of these counts is compelling...
History shows that sustained international juridical efforts can bring
dictators like Milosevic and Pinochet to justice. Ahmadinejad must be held
to account for his criminality - not rewarded for it. Our choice is
clear: We can either act or be on the wrong side of history." http://t.uani.com/OPgnwJ
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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
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