|
|
Top Stories
WSJ: "Western
sanctions against Iran, combined with years of economic mismanagement by
the country's government, have hammered Iran's currency and its economy.
The economy was predicted to contract by nearly 1% in 2012, according to
the International Monetary Fund, after registering annual growth above 6%
for much of the past decade. The IMF said Iran's economy could grow again
in 2013, but stressed that the collapse of the currency, inflation and
reduced oil sales were working against a rebound... Across Iran, industries
are facing similar problems. At the Alborz industrial complex near the
city of Qazvin, many factories are searching for cost-saving measures.
Some are closing an extra day each week, cutting paid holidays and
reducing the number of free meals and snacks provided to workers. The
five major factories that produce the bulk of Iran's dairy products wrote
a joint letter to Mr. Khamenei, the country's supreme leader, in October
complaining that if the economy doesn't turn around they would be out of business
in months. Iran's car industry, the region's largest with manufacturing
plants from Africa to Ukraine, posted 60% to 80% production declines last
year, leading to hundreds of thousands losing their jobs, according to
Iranian media reports. Many manufacturers of automobile spare parts are
working at 40% capacity because of a shortage of cash and a lack of raw
materials, according to a statement by one of the industry's union
leaders." http://t.uani.com/1384YLD
WSJ:
"President Barack Obama signed tough new sanctions on Iran into law
late Wednesday, the White House said. Congress, as it did with a previous
law in late 2011, overwhelmingly approved the legislation and tucked it
into a must-pass defense authorization bill. Unlike last year, however,
Obama didn't mention any problems with the Iran sanctions provisions in a
lengthy signing statement he issued when signing the 680-page law. He
dropped an earlier threat to veto it over other concerns, however,
saying, 'the need to renew critical defense authorities and funding was
too great to ignore.' The new Iran measures target the country's energy,
shipping and shipbuilding sectors, already in the sights of U.S.
sanctions. But the legislation goes further, restricting trade with Iran
in precious metals, graphite, aluminum and steel, metallurgical coal and
software for integrating industrial processes... It also targets the
state broadcast network, called the Islamic Republic of Iran
Broadcasting, which the law says violated human rights by broadcasting forced
confessions and show trials. The law orders the U.S. Treasury to slap
sanctions on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting and its president,
Ezzatollah Zargami." http://t.uani.com/UMVoMg
Reuters:
"The European Union says no date has been fixed for further talks on
Iran's nuclear program, while hoping they will be soon, an EU foreign
affairs spokesman said. He was reacting to comments from Iran's top
nuclear negotiator, who said earlier on Friday the country had agreed to
hold talks in January with the six major powers - represented by the EU -
about its atomic program. Saeed Jalili, Iran's national security council
secretary, said in India that Iran had 'accepted that these talks should
be held in January, but until now, the details have not been finalized'.
He was speaking through a translator. However, the EU spokesman would not
say whether the powers had agreed to further talks with Iran. Discussions
on a date and venue are still ongoing, said Michael Mann, a spokesman for
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, who leads negotiations on
behalf of the six powers - the United States, Russia, France, Britain,
Germany and China." http://t.uani.com/WaWk8Z
Nuclear Program
Today's Zaman:
"President Abdullah Gül has called for a comprehensive solution to
an international dispute over Iran's nuclear program and said Turkey does
not want to see any neighboring country possess nuclear weapons. 'Turkey will
not accept a neighboring country possessing weapons not possessed by
Turkey herself,' Gül said in an interview published in the latest issue
of Foreign Affairs. 'We are not underestimating this matter in any way.'
Turkey has initially raised eyebrows in the West by brokering -- together
with Brazil -- a deal with Iran on its nuclear program in 2010 and then
vetoing UN sanctions against Iran that the West had sought to impose on
Tehran. But Ankara's relations with Tehran later began to deteriorate as the
two countries found each other at odds over Syria, and political dialogue
has decreased as a result." http://t.uani.com/Z2Uycg
Wired:
"Iran's newest gunship helicopter, unveiled Wednesday, might look
awfully familiar to aviation historians. And it's not unique in that
regard. Almost all of Iran's 'new' weaponry - including jet fighters,
'copters, warships, tanks, missiles and other equipment - is a copy of a
much older American, British, Russian, Chinese or North Korean design.
But that doesn't mean all of Tehran's weapons suck. Far from it. While
some of the sillier Iranian gear is obviously meant mostly for fleeting
propaganda purposes, the main hardware is grounded in experience and
hardship. Driven by desperation and shaped by the isolation that comes
with widening external sanctions, Tehran's copycat arsenal could contain
a few nasty surprises for the U.S. and its allies in the unlikely event
that tensions over Iran's nuclear program come to blows. For one,
low-tech weapons force the users to fight creatively. 'There's a chance
they'll catch us by surprise,' Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Ward, an engineer
and acquisitions expert and prolific writer, tells Danger Room in an
e-mail." http://t.uani.com/S9598m
Daily Star:
"Hezbollah and Syria, Iran's two allies in the region, are unlikely
to help Tehran in any military confrontation with Israel given the
weakened state of the government in Damascus, Maariv newspaper reported
Friday. Maariv, referring to an intelligence report by Israel's Foreign
Ministry, said Syria would not risk losing its grip on power by joining a
battle to defend Iran as its central government faces rapid
disintegration as a result of the 21-month-old crisis there. The report,
which Maariv said was presented to Israeli diplomats at a Jerusalem
conference this week, also said the conflict in Syria has taken its toll
on the military there. 'Iran's ability to harm Israel in response to an
attack on our part declined dramatically,' Maariv quoted a senior
official who attended a Jerusalem conference as saying." http://t.uani.com/RwwdNq
Sanctions
Reuters:
"Turkish refiner Tupras has asked the country's statistics agency to
stop publishing details of its oil imports from Iran as it comes under
pressure over tightening U.S. sanctions on Tehran's oil trade, Turkish
officials said on Friday. The Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK)
stopped publishing the origin of Turkey's crude oil imports in late
December, releasing figures for total monthly imports only, according to
data on its website. 'Tupras asked TUIK not to release Tupras' oil import
data from Iran, and TUIK stopped releasing the data,' a Turkish official
told Reuters, asking not to be named. A second source familiar with the
matter also said Tupras had made the request because it was coming under
pressure over its imports from Iran." http://t.uani.com/Z2Yp9t
WSJ:
"Iran has sent a top official to India to reaffirm its ties with the
South Asian country at a time when Tehran is facing tough U.S. economic
sanctions. Over the past two days, Iran's Supreme National Security
Council Secretary and Chief Nuclear Negotiator Saeed Jalili has met
India's national security advisor Shiv Shankar Menon, Finance Minister P.
Chidambaram and Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid. The visit comes at a
tricky time for Iran, one during which it's crucial to maintain its
relations with India... The U.S. has pressured countries that buy oil
from Iran to reduce purchases or face sanctions. India was among
countries that won a reprieve last month for significantly cutting back
its imports from Tehran. According to news reports, India bought 12% less
Iranian crude between April and September compared to a year earlier. New
Delhi has pledged to reduce its purchases of Iranian crude in the current
fiscal year through end-March by 11% to 15.5 million tons. At the same
time, India faces pressure from Tehran to continue to purchase oil. With
the U.S.-dollar financing system out of bounds for Iranian companies,
India and Iran have begun a barter system in which Tehran accepts Indian
rupees in payment for crude oil. It then uses these rupees to buy Indian
goods like wheat." http://t.uani.com/S95FU0
Tanker Operator:
"Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi has claimed that the country's
oil industry has set up an international insurance company to insure
tankers carrying its export crude shipments. 'The first step to confront
these sanctions was establishing an international insurance company,
which insures Iranian oil tankers and we have taken effective measures to
get rid of these sanctions and it is now evident that we have left behind
the difficult conditions of the early days of the sanctions,' Qassemi
said, addressing a recent seminar in Tehran. According to newswire
reports, early last month, managing director of Iranian Mualem Insurance
Co, Mahmoud Tadayoun, said that his company had started insuring domestic
oil tankers after the US and EU boycotted all vessels carrying Iranian
crude cargoes. He also said that Mualem Insurance Co is exclusively in
charge of providing P&I insurance to Iranian tankers." http://t.uani.com/X5Z4HE
Opinion &
Analysis
Majid Rafizadeh in
FP: "Many analyses have been made about Iran's
strategic and geopolitical role in the Syrian regime, but not enough
attention has been paid to the crucial and changing economic relations
between the two countries. By analyzing Iran-Syria relations through this
prism, one can shed light on the more nuanced, unconventional, and
complicated aspects of Iran's role in Syria. Iran has historically
invested a considerable amount of money, resources, skilled forces, and
labor in Syria. These investments were ratcheted up, particularly, in the
last few years before uprisings began erupting in March 2011 across
Syria. Although large sums of money and resources were allocated to
investments in Syrian transportation and infrastructure, Iranian and
Syrian economic ties are not limited to these spheres. A few months
before the popular uprisings were ignited, Iranian authorities signed a
$10 billion natural gas agreement with Syria and Iraq for the
construction of gas pipeline that would start in Iran, run through Syria,
Lebanon, and the Mediterranean, and reach several Western countries.
According to the agreement, Iraq and Syria would receive a specified
amount of cubic meters of natural gas per day. This proposal was endorsed
by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who also supported the allocation
of $5.8 billion in aid to Syria by Iran's Center for Strategic Research
(CSR), which concentrates on the Islamic Republic of Iran's strategies in
six different arenas including Foreign Policy Research, Middle East and
Persian Gulf research, and International political economy research.
Another unique and significant agreement that was signed before the
crisis broke out in Syria was a proposal to establish a joint bank in
Damascus, 60 percent of which the Iranian government would own. The
agreement would have allowed Iran to identify other financial hubs with
which to conduct its transactions in Syria. At the time, Syrian banks
were allowed to engage in trade and transactions with the West, prior to
sanctions imposed after the start of the conflict. Iranian First Vice
President Mohammad Reza Rahimi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
discussed an even more comprehensive agreement shortly before the
uprisings seeking to establish a regional economic bloc. As a result of
this proposal, a 17-article agreement was signed which focused on 'trade,
investment, planning and statistics, industries, air, naval and rail
transportation, communication and information technology, health,
agriculture, [and] tourism.' The recent rounds of international sanctions
imposed on Syria have led to the suspension of all former agreements that
Iran was attempting secure in the region, which has put tremendous
pressure on Iran. The Syrian pound (SYR) has lost 25 percent of its
spending power falling from 47 SYR to $1 USD to 67 SYR to $1 USD. The
Syrian Ministry of Economy has stated that food prices have surged
dramatically. The prices of some items have increased by up to 37 percent
since the popular uprisings began. Due to increases in military
expenditures, public expenditures increased by $19 billion in 2011.
Meanwhile, public revenue has decreased by $2.31 billion. Although
Iranian officials have frequently pointed out that their economic
alliance would not be shaken by the security issues since the uprisings began,
Syrian state companies as and business operators have encountered growing
difficulties and obstacles in trading and reaching deals with Iran due to
the restrictions on dollar transactions. The Iranian and Syrian economic
alliance has operated between multi-level contracts of state and
semi-private organizations through the adoption of the dollar for
transactions, which were worth billions of dollars. However, regulations
imposed by the United States, European Union, and other Arab Gulf states
after the start of the conflict have made it difficult to utilize and
source foreign currencies through the Syrian Central Bank... Without
doubt, Iran has tremendous geopolitical and strategic interests in Syria,
but the country has additionally become a crucial economic lifeline for
Iran. As both countries become increasingly isolated from the
international community their economic ties have become exceedingly more
important. However, billions of dollars in Iranian investments have been
suspended with the current crisis in Syria. And until there is a
resolution to the nearing two-year conflict, with either Assad regaining
control or the establishment of a new government, economic conditions
will continue to be threatened." http://t.uani.com/UKZd3D
|
|
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.
|
|
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment