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Top Stories
Reuters:
"Russia and China backed four Western powers on Wednesday to step up
diplomatic pressure on Iran to allay concerns that it is developing
atomic bombs capability, a day after Israel ramped up threats to attack
the Islamic state. The United States, France, Germany and Britain as well
as Russia and China agreed a draft resolution at the U.N. nuclear agency
to rebuke Iran over its expanded uranium enrichment programme while
making clear their desire to find a peaceful resolution to the dispute
which risks a new Middle East war. Russia and China, critical of
unilateral Western sanctions on Iran's oil exports, were initially
reluctant to submit a resolution on Iran to the 35-nation board of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), diplomats said." http://t.uani.com/Q5maKg
Reuters:
"South Africa proposed a last-minute change to a U.N. nuclear agency
resolution rebuking Iran on Thursday, throwing the meeting into
confusion, diplomats said... Western diplomats said the South African
amendment, though adding only five words to a two-page document, risked
weakening somewhat the message to Iran that it must open up to IAEA
investigations into suspected atom bomb research... The proposed
text says 'it is essential for Iran to immediately implement' a framework
deal with the IAEA to clarify concern over possible military dimensions
to its nuclear program. South Africa's amendment would add: 'once it (the
framework deal) has been concluded,' a formulation which Western
diplomats said could dilute some of the pressure on Tehran." http://t.uani.com/QeiKrt
WSJ:
"At least several European banks that vowed to stop doing business
with Iran have kept handling billions of euros in transactions for
Iranian entities and foreign companies with operations there, a review of
regulatory filings and other documents by The Wall Street Journal shows.
The dealings aren't suspected of violating any sanctions, which are
looser for the Continent's banks under European Union rules than
prohibitions imposed by the U.S. But some government officials and
banking experts said the banks are risking embarrassment or regulatory
problems in the U.S. as it scrutinizes financial transactions with
sanctioned countries. 'The risk to reputation and legal standing is
great,' said Iain Begg, a professor at the London School of Economics,
adding that any bank still active in Iran could jeopardize its access to
the U.S. Germany's Deutsche Bank AG handled as much as $2.8 billion in
transactions with Iran last year. Other banks still doing business in
Iran include France's BNP Paribas SA, Banco Santander SA of Spain, ING
Groep NV of the Netherlands and HSBC Holdings PLC of the U.K. ... The
dealings are a sign of Iran's continued access to the global financial
system despite U.S. efforts to isolate Iran, and go against a perception
among some observers that the banks have cut ties to Iran
completely." http://t.uani.com/TVCeCa
Nuclear
Program
WSJ:
"The U.S. and several of its allies aim to step up pressure on Iran
with a proposal that would empower the United Nations nuclear watchdog to
order snap inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities. In a draft
resolution presented Wednesday, the five permanent members of the U.N.
Security Council-the U.S., Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom-plus
Germany called it 'essential and urgent' that Iran give international
inspectors unfettered access to its nuclear sites. The International
Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors is expected to approve the
resolution at its meeting in Vienna this week, diplomats said. Legally,
the language of the resolution, particularly the use of the words
"essential and urgent," would give the U.N. agency some more
leverage in its long-standing and often stalled probe of Iran's nuclear
program, which the U.S. and its allies suspect is being used to develop
weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Although the atomic agency doesn't have
power to enforce resolutions, not obeying an order for a snap inspection
would put Iran in violation of the U.N. nuclear safeguards treaty it
signed onto in 1974 and could further isolate it diplomatically." http://t.uani.com/O1x08n
WSJ:
"A bipartisan group of ambassadors, retired generals and foreign
policy experts is warning against a U.S. or Israeli attack on Iran's
nuclear facilities without a more thorough public discussion to weigh the
costs and benefits. In a paper and letter to be released Thursday, the
group argues that an attack could delay Iran's development of a nuclear
weapon for up to four years, but would have other consequences, such as
rallying the Iranian people behind the current regime and solidifying the
government's hold on power. The group, which includes retired Marine Gen.
Anthony Zinni, former National Security advisor Brent Scowcroft and
former deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who served in
Republican administrations, doesn't oppose military action across the
board. But members argue that the country needs a more thorough debate
about the consequences of an attack on Iran." http://t.uani.com/OrzoVT
Sanctions
Reuters:
"U.S. economic sanctions against Iran have slashed the country's
crude exports and oil revenue, the U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday as it
vowed to keep up the pressure on Tehran to prevent the Iranian government
from getting nuclear weapons... U.S. efforts have paid off with Iranian
crude exports down to about 1 million barrels of oil per day from the
approximately 2.4 million barrels last year, the U.S. Treasury said. This
hit to exports is costing Iran about $5 billion a month, 'forcing the
Iranian government to cut its budget because of a lack of revenue,'
Treasury Undersecretary David Cohen said at the New York University
School of Law... Citing sanctions the United States has imposed on Iran,
Syria and, last year, on Libya, Cohen said the strategy is 'a heck of a
lot better than a war.'" http://t.uani.com/RLRwKs
FT:
"Iran managed to increase its exports of crude oil last month, but
the rise is likely to be temporary as the US and EU prepare to tighten
sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme. In its monthly survey of
the oil market, the International Energy Agency said exports of Iranian
oil inched up to 1.1m barrels a day in August, from less than 1m b/d in
July. But the respite for Iran is expected to be brief, with US and
European officials said to be considering tougher measures against Tehran
in response to its perceived intransigence in nuclear negotiations. Sanctions
on Iran have reduced its oil production to 2.85m b/d, a 22-year low.
Output is now 650,000 b/d lower than at the end of last year." http://t.uani.com/O1xgEl
Reuters:
"Iran is using a little-known port off the East Malaysia coast to
hide millions of barrels of oil from Western sanctions, according to
shipping data, industry sources and officials. A Reuters examination of
shipping movements and interviews shows how Iranian crude is shipped to
the area and loaded on to empty vessels at night to await potential Asian
buyers. Storing the oil on hired tankers operating under the Panamanian
flag in the calm waters off the tax-haven port of Labuan - an offshore
financial centre about the size of Manhattan - means Iran can keep its
own fleet active and ensure the flow of oil money into its struggling
economy. At least two large oil tankers have been unloaded this way in
recent weeks and several more Iranian vessels were steaming towards Asia,
according to Reuters Freight Fundamentals, which tracks the movement of
the global tanker fleet. One was destined for a Chinese port, while three
others, carrying as much as 6 million barrels of crude or fuel oil, were
sailing to unknown destinations." http://t.uani.com/U8Bqaz
Reuters:
"Two senators asked the Obama administration on Wednesday to push
countries to make more cuts in Iranian oil purchases before they receive
exemptions from U.S. penalties for doing business with the OPEC nation.
In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senators Mark Kirk and
Robert Menendez said they believed the administration should ensure
oil-consuming countries have cut Iranian crude purchases by about 18
percent before the United States renews 180-day exemptions to sanctions.
Kirk and Menendez were two architects of the sanctions laws... Kirk and
Menendez said reductions should continue to be made because the Energy
Information Administration, an independent branch of the Energy
Department, has found that increased production from Saudi Arabia, Iraq
and Libya has partly made up for production lost in Iran due to the
sanctions." http://t.uani.com/OJuMq1
Reuters:
"Iran is hoping that radical reform of its currency market will help
to stabilise the rial, which has been badly battered by Western economic
sanctions, speculators and inconsistent government policy. The rial's
unofficial rate plunged to record lows around 25,000 to the U.S. dollar
this week, less than half its value a year ago, as Iranians rushed to
convert their savings into hard currencies. They fear the sanctions,
imposed over the country's disputed nuclear programme, will prevent the
central bank from preserving the value of the rial. To combat the slide,
authorities have proposed establishing a currency exchange that would
bring together major traders and replace the small, scattered money
changers which dot Iran's cities." http://t.uani.com/LWnH4n
NYT:
"Lawyers within the Treasury Department have recommended a
preliminary settlement with Standard Chartered, clearing the path for the
British bank to pay a penalty to state and federal prosecutors and to
move beyond claims that it flouted laws governing international money
transfers. The lawyers approved a potential prepayment amount this week,
a crucial step to a final agreement, though it will be much smaller than
the $340 million the bank had to pay to New York State's top banking
regulator in a related case, according to three officials with direct
knowledge of the settlement talks. The differing penalties stem from
determinations by federal authorities and Manhattan prosecutors that the
bank's suspected wrongdoing was much less extensive than the state
banking regulator's claims that Standard Chartered had schemed with Iran
to hide from regulators 60,000 transactions worth $250 billion over a
decade." http://t.uani.com/UOlzQv
NYT:
"European governments are displaying increasing nervousness about
the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran and are trying to persuade
the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that tougher
sanctions are still the best weapon to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
The message has been carried to Israel in recent days by, among others,
the foreign ministers of Germany and Italy and, according to one report,
by the head of Britain's spy agency, MI6." http://t.uani.com/U9cM9D
Opinion
& Analysis
Michael Weiss in
NOW Lebanon: "Controlled Engagement Policy may sound
like a legal condition for Tom Cruise's visitation rights with his
daughter, but up until last week it was how Canada defined diplomacy with
Iran. Basically, the relationship was one of North American nose-holding
as the only real business Ottawa got up to with Tehran was over human
rights, Iran's nuclear program, its nefarious mucking about in the Middle
East, and the 2003 case of a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist who died
(or was killed) in Iranian custody. There were never any ambassadors
stationed in either country, just representations. But all that's over
now. Citing Tehran's violation of UN resolutions, its military assistance
of the Assad regime in Syria, and its chronic anti-Semitism and
incitement to genocide, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said:
'Canada has closed its embassy in Iran, effective immediately, and
declared personae non gratae all remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada.'
This bold Maple Leaf maneuver led to feverish speculation that the Canadians
knew something the rest of us didn't, perhaps about Israeli or American
war plans in Persia. But the truth is simpler and more mundane: Canada
killed diplomacy with Iran because Iran was using Canada as a base for
spying, as the excellent Macleans journalist Michael Petrou said in a
study put out by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. According to
Petrou, the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa is 'a busy hub from where Iran
seeks-both covertly and overtly-to spy on anti-regime activists in
Canada, shape public policy, and build relations with influential
Iranian-Canadians, as well as politicians, students, academics and
police.' And the Iranian regime was stupid enough to acknowledge the
fact. Hamid Mohammadi, a cultural affairs counselor at the embassy, said
in an interview in July that his goal was to encourage Iranian-Canadians
to 'occupy high-level key positions' and 'resist being melted into the
dominant Canadian culture.' Well, you can't do both unless you're up to
no good. Replicating the tactics used by the Comintern, Iran couches its
covert spy recruitment and infiltration operations in the language of
'peace' and 'friendship,' typically channeled through thinly disguised
cultural outreach." http://t.uani.com/RLXriG
Fareed Zakaria in
WashPost: "Underneath the headlines of the
presidential campaign, there are growing signs that we are moving toward
another war in the Middle East. This week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu publicly scolded the United States for refusing to draw a 'red
line' on Iran's nuclear program that, if crossed, would commit Washington
to military strikes. He added that he would not accept a 'red light'
placed in front of Israel. Unless something dramatic changes its course,
Israel is on a path to strike Iran's nuclear facilities in the next six
to nine months. Israel's rhetoric over the past year had seemed, to me,
designed to force the international community into action and the United
States into hyper-action. It worked in the sense that international
sanctions and isolation of Iran are at their highest point ever. But Iran
has not surrendered, and Israel seems to view any other scenario as
unacceptable. Last month, an Israeli 'decision maker' - widely reported
to be Defense Minister Ehud Barak - gave a revealing interview to the
newspaper Haaretz in which he implied that Israel could not wait for the
United States to act and might not be able to wait until next spring
before taking matters into its own hands. The 'decision maker' made the
point that Israel might find itself more hamstrung if Mitt Romney were
elected in November. '[H]istory shows that presidents do not undertake
dramatic operations in their first year in office unless forced to,' he
said. This strikes me as an accurate reading of the likely scenario that
a Romney administration would view economic policy as its urgent
preoccupation upon taking office. The Obama administration has brought
together a global coalition, put into place the toughest sanctions ever,
worked with Israel on a series of covert programs and given Israel
military hardware it has long wanted. In addition, the Obama
administration has strongly implied that it would be willing to use force
as a final resort. But to go further and define a red line in advance
would commit the United States to waging a war; no country would make
such a commitment. Notice that while Netanyahu assails Obama for refusing
to draw a clear line, he himself has not drawn such a line. Israel has
not specified an activity or enrichment level it would consider a casus
belli.The reason is obvious: Doing so would restrict Israel's options and
signal its actions and timetable to Iran. If it doesn't make sense for
Israel to do this, why would it make sense for the United States?" http://t.uani.com/QQNHUt
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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
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email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
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