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Top Stories
NYPost:
"Give him the heave-ho! Activist groups are demanding that the posh
Warwick hotel on Sixth Avenue refuse to host America-bashing Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he comes to talk at the United Nations
this month. 'This is a true outrage, particularly considering that US
Secret Service and NYPD will be responsible for securing the premises, at
taxpayer expense,' Mark D. Wallace, of the group United Against Nuclear
Iran, wrote in yesterday's Post. UANI is calling for a boycott of the
hotel and plans to be outside protesting when Ahmadinejad shows up during
the week of Sept. 24. This will be the second year in a row that The
Warwick New York has provided luxury digs to the hate-spewing prez, a charter
member of the axis of evil... Guests at the hotel yesterday weren't happy
with his impending arrival. 'I wouldn't feel comfortable with Ahmadinejad
here,' said Luiselle Mussano, 58, of Milan, Italy." http://t.uani.com/NJLx8D
NYT:
"With Israel openly debating whether to strike at Iran's nuclear
facilities in the coming months, the Obama administration is moving ahead
with a range of steps short of war that it hopes will forestall an
Israeli attack, while forcing the Iranians to take more seriously negotiations
that are all but stalemated. Already planned are naval exercises and new
antimissile systems in the Persian Gulf, and a more forceful clamping
down on Iranian oil revenue. The administration is also considering new
declarations by President Obama about what might bring about American
military action, as well as covert activities that have been previously
considered and rejected. Later this month the United States and more than
25 other nations will hold the largest-ever minesweeping exercise in the
Persian Gulf, in what military officials say is a demonstration of unity
and a defensive step to prevent Iran from attempting to block oil exports
through the Strait of Hormuz." http://t.uani.com/NI4Qzh
Reuters:
"Iran could hit U.S. bases in the Middle East in response to any
Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities even if American forces played
no role in the attack, the leader of Lebanon's Iranian-backed militant
group Hezbollah said on Monday. 'A decision has been taken to respond and
the response will be very great,' Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen
television. 'The response will not be just inside the Israeli entity -
American bases in the whole region could be Iranian targets,' he said,
citing information he said was from Iranian officials. 'If Israel targets
Iran, America bears responsibility.'" http://t.uani.com/NMQiIL
Nuclear
Program
Reuters: "Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world powers on Sunday to set a
"clear red line" for Tehran's atomic programme that would
convince Iran they were determined to prevent it from obtaining nuclear
arms. Netanyahu's remarks suggested a growing impatience with Israel's
main ally, the United States, and other countries that have been pressing
him to give diplomacy and sanctions more time to work and hold off on any
go-it-alone strike on Iran... 'I believe the truth must be stated: The
international community is not placing a clear red line for Iran and Iran
does not see international resolve to stop its nuclear programme,'
Netanyahu told his cabinet. 'Unless Iran sees this clear red line and
this clear resolve it will not stop moving forward with its nuclear
programme, and Iran must not have nuclear weapons,' he said, repeating
his view that sanctions so far have not curbed Tehran's atomic
ambitions." http://t.uani.com/OUD7Iz
Reuters:
"Israeli officials played down a report in an Israeli newspaper on
Monday that accused Washington of secretly negotiating with Tehran to
keep the United States out of a future Israel-Iran war. Israel's most
widely-read newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, said Washington had approached
Tehran through two unidentified European countries to convey the message
that the United States would not be dragged into hostilities if Israel
attacked Iran over its nuclear program. The paper said the United States
told Iran it expected Tehran in return to refrain from retaliating
against U.S. interests, including its military in the Gulf. The report
did not disclose any source for its information. An Israeli official, who
asked not to be identified, described the report as illogical." http://t.uani.com/Q0Jw2D
AP:
"Iran's sole operational nuclear power reactor has reached full
capacity, a senior official said Saturday. Iran's deputy nuclear chief,
Mohammad Ahmadian, said the reactor at the Bushehr power plant was
brought to its 'full capacity of 1,000 megawatts' Friday evening. The
reactor went into operation for the first time last year at minimum
capacity. The Islamic Republic built the nuclear power plant in the
southern Iranian port city with Russian help. The facility is a
cornerstone of Iran's drive to become a technological leader among Muslim
nations, with efforts such as an ambitious space program and long-range
missile development. Iran also runs smaller research reactors and is
building another power reactor." http://t.uani.com/Q1QBkP
AP:
"Iran's denials - while forceful and delivered from the pinnacle of
its ruling Islamic system - can carry a distinctly hollow ring among its
foes as the U.N. nuclear watchdog piles on worries: Complaining about
limits on inspection access and reporting that Tehran is expanding its
nuclear fuel labs in a virtually attack-proof underground site. They are
enriching uranium far beyond what's needed for their lone energy reactor
and preventing inspection, adding to the urgency while repeatedly
predicting Israel will be destroyed and actively supporting militancy in
the region... Iran could be shaping its nuclear ambitions after Japan,
which has the full scope of nuclear technology - including the presumed
ability to produce warhead-grade material - but has stopped short of
actually producing a weapon. It creates, in effect, a de facto nuclear
power with all the parts but just not pieced together." http://t.uani.com/TaOPCK
Reuters:
"Iran will hold a large-scale military drill involving all its air
defense systems next month, an Iranian commander was quoted as saying on
Saturday, one of a number of military simulations it has carried out this
year. The air defense drill will include fighter jets and simulate
emergency situations, said Farzad Esmaili, commander of the Iranian
army's air defense force, according to Iran's English-language Press TV.
The drill will include both the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps, Esmaili said, and follows a series of large-scale military
simulations such as the 'Great Prophet 7' missile exercises in
July." http://t.uani.com/OOZtZR
Reuters:
"Iran has built about 30 percent of a missile defense system it is
developing in place of the Russian S-300 system Moscow refused to sell
it, and hopes to complete the system by next year, a senior military
official said on Monday. Farzad Esmaili, commander of the army's air
defense force, also reiterated that Iran will hold a large-scale air
defense exercise in the next two months covering the whole country, the
Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported." http://t.uani.com/See5IZ
Reuters:
"Iran on Monday gave Mongolia's president a tour of its main uranium
enrichment plant, the first time that it has opened the site to a foreign
leader. The visit by President Tsakhia Elbegdorj followed a summit of
nonaligned nations in Tehran that Iranian officials hoped would show the
failure of Western sanctions to isolate Iran diplomatically. State TV
showed Elbegdorj inspecting centrifuges used to enrich uranium at the
facility in the central Iranian town of Natanz." http://t.uani.com/RCtSis
NYT:
"The 120-nation Nonaligned Movement handed its host Iran a
diplomatic victory on Friday, unanimously decreeing support for the
disputed Iranian nuclear energy program and criticizing the American-led
attempt to isolate and punish Iran with unilateral economic sanctions.
But the group's communiqué, issued by Iranian state news media at the end
of its annual meeting, omitted any mention of support for Syria, Iran's
vital Middle East ally, which appeared to reflect a view among many
members that the Syrian government's attempt to crush the uprising there
was indefensible." http://t.uani.com/ThtoP0
Sanctions
Reuters:
"For years, the United States struggled to get foreign bankers to
comply with its effort to throttle Iran's economy - but a couple of billion
dollars in fines, not to mention lurid headlines and talk of jail time,
has suddenly got their attention. A half-hearted shuffling forward to
settle years-old claims of busting U.S. sanctions on Tehran is becoming a
stampede since Washington tightened rules to punish Iran's nuclear
program and a new aggression among regulators so alarmed many banks that
shareholders will be paying out billions more for years to come. Deutsche
Bank and Italy's Intesa San Paolo are among big names that may soon join
the still short list of foreign banks that have so far paid more than
$2.3 billion in fines; some still protest their innocence but have
regarded the cash as the price of keeping access to the U.S. market - and
keeping executives out of court, or even jail." http://t.uani.com/PDFWfC
WSJ:
"Turkey's gold sales to Iran extended a record streak in July,
helping mask an otherwise deteriorating export performance as demand for
precious metals from its eastern neighbor helps Turkey reduce its trade
deficit.Iran became Turkey's top export market this year as $6.2 billion
of gold sales, or 86% of the total, propelled the Islamic republic ahead
of Germany, traditionally the leading destination for Turkish goods, data
from the Ankara-based state statistics agency showed Friday. Gold exports
in the first seven months of the year are already five times more than
the total in 2011 owing to rising demand from Iran, which accounted for
only 4% of sales two years ago, when its purchases started." http://t.uani.com/QXL3Mf
Reuters:
"Turkey's imports of Iranian crude plummeted in July to their lowest
in 2-1/2 years, official trade data showed, as Western sanctions against
the Islamic Republic widened. Turkey imported just over 48,000 barrels
per day (bpd) of Iranian crude in July, the lowest since December 2009,
the data showed. That was down sharply from June, when it imported
167,000 bpd, and a fraction of Turkey's 2011 average of 180,000
bpd." http://t.uani.com/NJMVYS
Reuters:
"India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp.'s plans to develop a gas field in
Iran are in the balance as the company's exposure to the sanctions-hit
OPEC member may hit aspirations for U.S. energy assets, Chairman Sudhir
Vasudeva said on Tuesday. "We are present in Iran and Sudan. Because
of this there are restrictions. We are trying to find ways to circumvent
that. For any opportunity in the USA, we will have to address the law of
the land," Vasudeva told reporters at an industry event... Mangalore
Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, a subsidiary of ONGC, the country's
biggest oil and gas producer, is one of the key Indian oil clients of
Iran." http://t.uani.com/PYCZcJ
Reuters:
"Afghanistan's Chamber of Commerce said on Monday it would not heed
any calls from the United States to halt some business conducted with
neighbouring Iran, saying abiding by U.S. sanctions would stifle its
already suffering economy. A U.S. Treasury delegation met officials from
the Afghan central bank, private banks and other private businesses last
week in Kabul, and urged them to not conduct business with Iranian firms
with Western sanctions, the Afghan Chamber of Commerce said... Three
Iranian businesses operating in Afghanistan, or with Afghan interests,
have U.S. sanctions on them: Aryan Bank, National Iranian Oil Company and
the operator of Iran's Bandar-Abbas port, through which passes a large
volume of goods bound for Afghanistan." http://t.uani.com/R08y7w
Reuters:
"Iran's oil exports are at their normal levels and are unaffected by
Western embargoes, an Iranian oil official was quoted as saying on
Sunday. 'We don't see anything abnormal, almost everything is progressing
routinely,' Mohammad Ali Khatibi Tabatabaei, director for international
affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told the Iranian
Students' News Agency (ISNA). He did not give any figures on Iran's
current oil export levels. Iran's top oil customers have slashed Iranian
purchases under pressure from European Union and U.S. sanctions that aim
to squeeze Tehran's oil income and curb its nuclear program." http://t.uani.com/RdFXWC
Bloomberg:
"Iran and China suspended a contract to build a liquefied natural
gas plant in the Persian Gulf port of Asaluyeh "until further
notice," the Mehr news agency reported, without saying where it
obtained the information. The governments decided to halt the 2.6 billion
euro ($3.3 billion) contract because the Chinese group involved was
unable to finance the project, the state-run agency said today. Iran LNG
Co., an affiliate of the National Iranian Gas Export Co., signed the accord
with Chinese counterparts in 2008, Mehr said." http://t.uani.com/Te6iZy
WSJ:
"The Treasury Department's point man on terrorism financing and
economic sanctions leaves Saturday for a trip to Switzerland and Turkey
to discuss newly expanded U.S. sanctions against Iran as well as
international embargoes against Syria. Under Secretary for Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen will visit the two countries from
Sept. 1 to Sept. 5, where he will meet with senior government officials
and members of the financial sector in Bern and Geneva, Switzerland, and
Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey." http://t.uani.com/RgFPFS
Terrorism
Daily Telegraph:
"Turkey has accused Syria and Iran of backing Kurdish terrorist
attacks on military outposts in the south-east of the country that left
30 dead. Kurdish-dominated provinces in Turkey have been swept by an
upsurge in attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in recent weeks.
Fighting has spiked since the group gained control of dozens of villages
across northern Syria this summer, when the regime concentrated its
forces on Aleppo." http://t.uani.com/PY0ceU
CBS Los Angeles:
"Senior police officials on Wednesday warned of potential terrorist
attacks in Southern California amid a growing risk of war breaking out
overseas... The Department is currently tracking 'government of Iran
operatives, Hezbollah, sovereign citizen, homegrown violent extremists,
animal rights groups' and others, Downing said. He added that Iranian or
Hezbollah agents may initiate attacks locally if war erupts between the
U.S. and Iran." http://t.uani.com/OTd8CP
Foreign Affairs
Reuters:
"Iran and North Korea have signed an agreement to cooperate in
science and technology, Iranian media reported on Saturday, and Iran's
supreme leader declared that the two countries had 'common enemies.' The
two countries will cooperate in research, student exchanges and joint
laboratories, and in the fields of information technology, engineering,
biotechnology, renewable energy, the environment, sustainable development
of agriculture and food technology, the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA)
reported." http://t.uani.com/RdHTi1
Reuters:
"Bahrain has criticized Iranian officials over a mistranslation of a
speech by Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, which replaced the word
'Syria' with 'Bahrain' when he listed Arab states that had experienced
revolts since last year. The reference was diplomatically sensitive
because Iran, a Shi'ite Muslim power and an ally of the Syrian
government, has expressed sympathy with a Shi'ite-led democratic protest
movement in Bahrain against the ruling Al Khalifa family. The Khalifas,
backed by Washington, are Sunni Muslim. Mursi, a Sunni Islamist who was
elected president this year, gave the speech on Thursday during a meeting
in Tehran of the Non-Aligned Movement, a group of 120 mostly developing
nations." http://t.uani.com/QhvugA
Opinion &
Analysis
UANI CEO Amb. Mark
Wallace in the NYPost: "In a few short weeks,
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will descend on New York City to
deliver his "swan song" speech to the UN General Assembly. If
the past is any guide, the tyrant will spend his days spewing vitriolic
and hateful anti-American and anti-Semitic rhetoric, as well as wild and
offensive conspiracy theories. And when the sun goes down, he will likely
rest his head on a fluffy pillow at the Warwick Hotel on 54th Street.
That's right: United Against Nuclear Iran has recently learned that the
Warwick is preparing to host Ahmadinejad and his delegation for the
second year in a row. This is a true outrage, particularly considering
that US Secret Service and NYPD will be responsible for securing the
premises, at taxpayer expense. Last year, a few city leaders responded to
New Yorkers' anger toward the Warwick by suggesting we "grin and
bear it" when it comes to hosting Ahmadinejad and other thugs, since
the United Nations is good for the city and its economy. We strongly
oppose that sentiment -particularly since Ahmadinejad could easily stay
at his country's UN mission, as some other world leaders do.
Ahmadinejad is entitled to speak at the United Nations, but neither the
Warwick nor any other hotel is obliged to provide him VIP treatment and accommodation.
Instead, the Warwick should do what other Manhattan hotels have done, and
tell Ahmadinejad and his cohorts that they're not welcome here, and never
will be. How else should a New York business treat a person who leads a
criminal regime, calls 9/11 a 'big lie,' brutalizes his own people and
prominently sponsors terrorism around the world? For this reason, UANI is
calling for a boycott of the Warwick and its other properties. We will do
whatever it takes to show Americans what the Warwick's values are these
days, and remind them that they always have a choice when it comes to
where they stay. We are also calling on UNITE HERE and other unions that
include Warwick employees to refuse service to Ahmadinejad and his
delegation during this last week of September. Iran is supremely hostile
to unions and workers' rights, and no worker should be expected to play
host to such a regime here in New York. It is time for Americans to say
'enough' to a leader who has openly vowed to destroy our allies, is building
a nuclear weapon and who has so deeply insulted the people of New York.
By refusing Iran's delegation, the Warwick could send a powerful message
that it as a business cares about more than just dollars. If it goes
ahead with its irresponsible decision, it will only help legitimize this
heinous regime." http://t.uani.com/N8I1TS
UANI Midwest
Coordinator Bob Feferman in the South Bend Tribune:
"In 2010, when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to New
York for the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly, the
organization United Against Nuclear Iran greeted him with a massive
billboard in Times Square with his picture. On it was written,
"Kills Iranian Freedom activists, supports some of the world's most
violent terrorist groups, imprisons critical journalists, calls for
Israel's extermination. And that was Iran without a nuclear weapon."
All of these facts are still true today, and they are the reason why
working to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran should be a priority for all
those who truly care about human rights and world peace. Since 2006, Iran
has continued to enrich uranium in defiance of UN Security Council
resolutions and the united international community. According to the
Wisconsin Project, an organization that monitors Iran's nuclear program,
in 2008, Iran had nearly 4,000 centrifuges spinning to enrich uranium.
Today, Iran now has 10,000 centrifuges. Iran has produced enough uranium
to build four nuclear weapons should it decide to continue to enrich the
uranium it already has to weapons grade.For the past decade, Israel has
been the proverbial 'canary in the coal mine' warning the world about the
dangers from a nuclear-armed Iran. And with good reason. Last February,
the Supreme Leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Khamenei, said, 'The Zionist
regime is a real cancerous tumor that should be cut and will be cut, God
Willing.' Just this May, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces,
General Hassan Firouzabadi said, 'The Iranian nation is standing for its
cause that is the full annihilation of Israel.' Professor Irwin Cotler,
Canada's former Minister of Justice wrote, 'The Holocaust did not begin
in the gas chambers; it began with words. These are the chilling facts of
history.' Iran is designated by the U.S. State Department as 'the world's
most active state sponsor of terrorism.' Iran was responsible for the
deaths of 19 U.S. Air Force personnel in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar
Towers in Saudi Arabia. In the 1990s, Iran provided training to al-Qaeda
leading to the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in Africa. By
providing weapons, funding and training to Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi
insurgents and the Taliban, the Iranian regime is responsible for the
deaths of civilians in Israel and American soldiers in Iraq and
Afghanistan. And Iran is now providing direct assistance to the Syrian
regime for its brutal suppression of the popular uprising. The historian
Niall Ferguson warned that if we allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons,
'We would have acquiesced to the creation of an empire of extortion."'Indeed,
Iran's Arab neighbors in the oil-rich Persian Gulf are extremely nervous
about the potential dangers from an ideologically motivated nuclear-armed
Iran that seeks to impose its own brand of radical Islam on the region.
What can Americans do to help prevent a nuclear-armed Iran? The
non-partisan advocacy organization, United Against Nuclear Iran, conducts
a number of campaigns aimed at economically isolating the Iranian regime
to pressure it to end its pursuit of nuclear weapons. UANI campaign
successes have prompted major Fortune 500 companies including General
Electric, Siemens, Royal Dutch Shell, Huntsman, Ingersoll Rand, KMPG,
Caterpillar, Komatsu and recently Fiat to end or curtail their business
in Iran. UANI also promotes model legislation such as Iran Contracting
Legislation at the state level. This law requires companies contracting
with a state to certify that they are not doing business in Iran's energy
sector. As of August, 2012 six states -- including Indiana -- have
enacted this legislation." http://t.uani.com/OT1BSk
Jeffrey Goldberg
in Bloomberg: "The U.S. has often been feckless in
its response to genocide. In the years leading up to World War II, and
even during the war itself, it didn't do nearly what it could have to
offer refuge to Europe's Jews and to thwart Adolf Hitler's Final
Solution, although much later we did build some excellent museums
commemorating the event. Our words since then have sometimes rung hollow.
'Never again,' the slogan goes, but, as David Rieff once said, in actual
practice 'never again' has meant, 'Never again will Germans kill Jews in
Europe in the 1940s.' The writer Ron Rosenbaum, in an essay for Slate
that I mentioned last week, asks the question: How much discussion about
the Holocaust is too much? Why does he raise this now? Because we're
approaching a pivotal moment in the continuing drama surrounding Iran's
nuclear progress -- and that means the U.S. may once again find itself in
a position to confront the threat of genocide. The rulers of Iran, who
deny the historical reality of the Holocaust even as they dream of
annihilating Israel, may in the very near future possess the ability to
build nuclear weapons and to immunize their nuclear program from outside
intervention. Rosenbaum argues eloquently that it isn't neurotic or
hysterical or parochial to worry that a regime that seeks the
annihilation of Israel may be gaining the means to achieve it. Civilized
people have condemned the Iranian rhetoric, of course, most recently Ban
Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary- general (who nevertheless granted
the Iranian regime legitimacy by attending an international conference in
Tehran last week). But Rosenbaum is surprised, as I am, that more people
don't seem to grasp the urgency of keeping nuclear weapons away from a
regime that openly threatens genocide... The U.S., under Barack Obama's
administration, is now in a position to upend this unfortunate history.
Yet we feel insufficient urgency to blunt the Iranian regime's openly
stated genocidal intentions, and we do embarrassingly little to stop the
mass slaughter of thousands of mainly Sunni Syrians by their country's
minority Alawite rulers. It is true that the continuing massacre in Syria
doesn't yet rise to the level of genocide. It is also true that Obama's
passive response makes it more likely that one day it will. In Iran,
Obama's promise to use all means necessary to prevent the regime from
getting nuclear weapons -- to forestall the possibility of a future
genocide -- may also one day soon be put to the test. Sometimes, we turn
away from issues that seem insoluble or that raise doubts about our
humanity. But turning away always -- always -- makes things worse." http://t.uani.com/OJIcD5
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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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