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Top Stories
AFP:
"Iran's currency plummeted to an all-time low on Saturday,
registering a more than 21-percent drop in a span of two weeks against
the US dollar, currency tracking websites and money changers said. The rial
was traded at between 39,000 and 40,000 per dollar on the open market on
Saturday, down from about 33,000 two weeks ago, according to money
changers contacted by AFP. It had briefly dropped in late January to
37,000 per dollar amid rumours that central bank head Mahmoud Bahmani
could be sacked because of his failure to shore up the rial. The
devaluation comes with Iran facing a growing shortage of foreign cash
because of international sanctions against its central bank and vital oil
sector over its disputed nuclear programme. Uncertainty over stalled
negotiations with the UN's atomic watchdog agency and world powers over
the nuclear standoff has added to controversy over the rial, according to
local media. The currency was traded at 12,000 in late 2011, prior to the
introduction of tough Western sanctions on Iran's oil and banking
sectors." http://t.uani.com/14M0NH3
Reuters:
"Iran said on Sunday it was open to a U.S. offer of direct talks on
its nuclear program and that six world powers had suggested a new round
of nuclear negotiations this month, but without committing itself to
either proposal... Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said a
suggestion on Saturday by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden that Washington
was ready for direct talks with Iran if Tehran was serious about
negotiations was a 'step forward'. 'We take these statements with
positive consideration. I think this is a step forward but ... each time
we have come and negotiated it was the other side unfortunately who did
not heed ... its commitment,' Salehi said at the Munich Security
Conference where Biden made his overture a day earlier. He also
complained to Iran's English-language Press TV of 'other contradictory
signals', pointing to the rhetoric of 'keeping all options on the table' used
by U.S. officials to indicate they are willing to use force to keep Iran
from obtaining a nuclear weapon. 'This does not go along with this
gesture (of talks) so we will have to wait a little bit longer and see if
they are really faithful this time,' Salehi said." http://t.uani.com/WLOT9K
WSJ:
"Iran's foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, told world leaders on
Sunday that Tehran was prepared to resume negotiations aimed at curbing
its nuclear program this month in Kazakhstan, potentially ending eight months
of stalled international diplomacy. But U.S. and European Union officials
said in interviews following Mr. Salehi's speech in Munich that they were
skeptical Tehran would follow through with his pledge, given the nation's
recent history on the issue. They also said his government has yet to
formally commit to sending a delegation to Astana on Feb. 25. European
Union Foreign Secretary Catherine Ashton proposed the date and location
to Iran's government in a letter sent last month, but hasn't received a
reply, her spokeswoman confirmed late Sunday... U.S. and European
officials said Sunday that they were cautiously optimistic that Tehran
would formally announce its attendance in Kazakhstan through a letter to
Ms. Ashton in the next few days. But there was also skepticism in
Washington and Brussels that Iran was committed, or capable, in the
coming months to engage in substantive talks aimed at eliminating
Tehran's ability to produce nuclear weapons." http://t.uani.com/12mVsq8
Nuclear Program
AFP:
"US Vice President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran that
opportunities for diplomacy over its disputed nuclear programme were not
unlimited but offered direct talks between Washington and Tehran. In an
interview with the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily, Biden said the
'burden of proof' that Iran was not seeking a nuclear weapon lay with the
authorities in Tehran. 'President (Barack) Obama has made clear that
containment is not an option. We will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear
weapon,' Biden was quoted as saying in remarks published in German. 'We
think there is time and space for diplomacy -- accompanied with economic
pressure. But this window will not be open for an unlimited time,' he
added. He said Tehran could expect continued sanctions and increasing
international pressure over its disputed nuclear drive, which Iran
insists is entirely peaceful." http://t.uani.com/11Br8rP
Reuters:
"Iran could be able to make thousands of next-generation uranium
enrichment machines, according to a former chief U.N. inspector, adding
credibility to Tehran's claims of technical advances in its disputed
nuclear program... Olli Heinonen, until 2010 a deputy director general of
the U.N. nuclear agency, said Iran had started purchasing special
materials needed for manufacturing new centrifuges years ago when the
sanctions on the country were not as strict as now. It was not clear how
many of the upgraded centrifuges Iran aimed to put in place at its
enrichment Natanz plant, which is designed for tens of thousands of machines.
But the wording of a note by the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) to member states last week implied it could be as many as 3,000.
'There are reasons to believe that it (Iran) can manufacture those 3,000
IR-2s,' Heinonen told Reuters in an email at the weekend, referring to a
centrifuge which is estimated to refine uranium several times faster than
those Iran operates today... If Iran has mastered the more modern model,
it 'could dash to a bomb considerably more quickly,' said Cliff Kupchan,
Middle East director at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group." http://t.uani.com/Yx138L
Reuters:
"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday he was ready to be the
first human sent into orbit by Iran's fledgling space program, Iranian
media reported. Iran declared last week that it had successfully launched
a monkey into space and retrieved it alive, which officials hailed as a
major step towards their goal of sending humans into space. The launch
added to Western concerns about Iran's space program because the same
rocket technology could potentially be used to deliver a nuclear warhead
on a ballistic missile. 'I am ready to be the first human to be sent to
space by Iranian scientists,' Ahmadinejad said on Monday, on the
sidelines of an exhibition of space achievements in Tehran, according to
the Mehr news agency. 'Sending living things into space is the result of
Iranian efforts and the dedication of thousands of Iranian
scientists.'" http://t.uani.com/Wm4ZZn
AP:
"President Barack Obama may have to decide this year whether to use
military force to fulfill his vow to prevent Iran from being able to
build nuclear weapons, foreign policy experts say. But America's economic
and military realities argue intensely against attacking the Islamic
republic and for muddling through by, perhaps, further tightening
sanctions that have cut deeply into Tehran's economy. Americans are weary
of war after more than a decade of military involvement in Iraq and
Afghanistan. The U.S. economy, while recovering from the Great Recession,
still is weak. The military could face deep cuts this year as Congress
considers massive reductions in government spending. What's more, Iran is
far stronger militarily than either Iraq or Afghanistan and would
undoubtedly strike back by hitting Israel and attacking U.S. soldiers in
neighboring Afghanistan. Also, Iran has put much of its nuclear program
deep under ground, making it uncertain how much damage could be done by
American airstrikes... But time is running out. Experts say Iran has uranium
enriched to 20 percent, a level from which it can be converted to
weapons-grade fairly quickly. The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency
says the Iranians are preparing to install faster centrifuges that would
speed the process. 'Many people think 2013 is the year of decision as to
the question of whether to go to war or strike a conclusive deal to end
Iran's nuclear ambitions,' said Suzanne Maloney, senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy." http://t.uani.com/11IIT3R
AP:
"Iran on Saturday unveiled its newest combat jet, a domestically
manufactured fighter-bomber that military officials claim can evade
radar. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a ceremony broadcast on
state TV that building the Qaher F-313, or Dominant F-313, shows Iran's
will to 'conquer scientific peaks.' The Qaher is one of several aircraft
designs the Iranian military has rolled out since 2007. Tehran has
repeatedly claimed to have developed advanced military technologies in
recent years, but its claims cannot be independently verified because the
country does not release technical details of its arsenals." http://t.uani.com/12mUwCc
Sanctions
Bullion Street:
"Turkey is facing more pressure from global communities to end its
gold-for-gas dealings with Iran. The latest to join the fray is United
Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which launched its Turkey gold campaign, and
called on both the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and Istanbul
Gold Exchange (IGE) to enact new measures to combat illicit barter
agreements, where Iranian crude oil is being exchanged for Turkish gold.
Specifically, UANI is calling for the LBMA to require all of its members,
particularly the IGE, to certify that the recipient of their gold
products is not Iran. The LBMA should revoke the membership of any member
that is unable to do so. The trade of Turkish gold for Iranian crude oil
is enabling the Iranian regime to evade sanctions and continue funding
its nuclear program. Most of the world's over-the-counter gold trading is
cleared through London. Without a membership to the LBMA, clients around
the globe could not reliably access the international bullion
market." http://t.uani.com/Xag1An
Reuters:
"The United States will target companies that help disguise Iranian
oil shipments to skirt Western sanctions, a State Department official
said, as Washington steps up the pressure on Tehran to abandon its
nuclear programme... The U.S. official said he planned this week to meet
government and company officials in Malaysia, where a Reuters
investigation last year revealed two tankers lying at anchor near the
tax-haven port of Labuan, storing millions of barrels of Iranian oil.
'Concealing the origin of Iranian crude, or shipping Iranian crude to a
non-excepted country is a sanctionable offense,' the U.S. official told
Reuters. 'We are actively looking at a variety of companies where we see
instances of potential sanctions offenses and we are looking to target
companies that are engaged in that,' the official said, declining to name
any of these companies... Ship-to-ship transfers (STS) are a common
tactic Iran and its buyers use to get around the sanctions. Cargoes of
Iranian oil are dispatched from large tankers to other vessels and then
blended with oil from another source to alter its physical specification.
Shipping documents are then issued with a new origin for the blended
cargoes." http://t.uani.com/Wm1p1j
Bloomberg:
"The International Energy Agency said it was too early to revise its
estimate for Iranian oil exports amid speculation that the Persian Gulf
nation boosted shipments in December. Iran's crude shipments were 1.2
million barrels a day, the Paris-based agency said in a Jan. 18 report,
an estimate it won't be revising until next month, Diane Munro, a supply
analyst at the IEA, said in a phone interview today. That's down from
1.45 million in November. Reuters reported earlier today that Iranian
exports rose to 1.4 million barrels a day last month, the highest level
since European sanctions began, citing data it compiled from analysts and
shipping and customs data. 'With exports close to 1.5 million barrels a
day and Brent crude above $110 a barrel Iran does not really care anymore
about the sanctions,' Olivier Jakob, managing director of consultants
Petromatrix GmbH in Zug, Switzerland, said in a report today. 'The export
revenues from Iran are now equivalent to exporting at full capacity in a
market at $81 and that is far from pushing Iran in a corner.'" http://t.uani.com/URI7BP
Financial Express:
"Domestic refineries owned by oil companies have suddenly found
themselves in a bind as global reinsurance giants have refused to provide
cover for refineries processing Iranian crude oil. The reinsurers have
resorted to such a step in the wake of sanctions imposed by the US and
the European Union. Indian insurance companies alone cannot provide
insurance cover for refineries as they fall under the high risk category
and need substantial reinsurance support. But most reinsurance companies
that provide reinsurance support to Indian firms are complying with the
US fiat on sanctions against Iran. Recently, GIC Re, the country's sole
reinsurer, had intimated to general insurers about the situation where
any Indian refineries processing Iranian crude cannot recover any claims
from the reinsurers." http://t.uani.com/Vz6IIP
Syrian Uprising
Reuters:
"Iran told Israel on Monday it would regret its air strike against
Syria last week, without spelling out whether Iran or its ally planned
any military response. 'They will regret this recent aggression,' Saeed
Jalili, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told a
news conference in Damascus a day after holding talks there with
President Bashar al-Assad. Jalili likened Israel's attack on a military
compound north-west of Damascus on Wednesday to previous conflicts
including its 34-day war with Lebanon's Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah
in 2006, all battles that he said Israel had lived to regret. 'Today,
too, both the people and the government of Syria are serious regarding
the issue. And also the Islamic community is supporting Syria,' he
said." http://t.uani.com/Un5VzC
Terrorism
WSJ:
"Defense Secretary Leon Panetta accused Iran's paramilitary force of
an intensified campaign to destabilize the Middle East by smuggling
antiaircraft weapons to its militant allies. Iran's export of so-called
manpads-antiaircraft missiles that can be carried by a single
person-represent what Mr. Panetta called a dangerous escalation. 'There
is no question when you start passing manpads around, that becomes a
threat-not just to military aircraft but to civilian aircraft,' Mr.
Panetta told The Wall Street Journal in an interview describing shifting
threats to the U.S. as he prepares to leave his post. 'That is an
escalation.' Western officials have long worried about the spread of such
weapons and the risk they pose to airline passengers as well as to
military helicopters and jets. Recent U.S. intelligence pointed to new
efforts by Iran to smuggle manpads, but few shipments had been intercepted
before Jan. 23, when Yemen, aided by the U.S., intercepted a boat
carrying the weapons." http://t.uani.com/XEPs6f
Domestic
Politics
Reuters:
"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the parliament speaker's
family of corruption on Sunday, turning a long-standing rivalry between
two of Iran's most powerful figures into a face-to-face feud, months
before an election. Addressing parliament to defend one of his ministers
against impeachment, Ahmadinejad went on the attack, playing astonished
lawmakers a recorded conversation with the brother of the speaker that he
said implicated the whole family in corruption. Speaker Ali Larijani is a
likely frontrunner to succeed Ahmadinejad at a June election but a
financial corruption scandal could damage his standing among voters
struggling with an economy battered by Western economic sanctions." http://t.uani.com/11Bgj97
WashPost:
"Iran's parliament voted Sunday to impeach the country's labor
minister, the ninth minister from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet to be dismissed
during the president's second term in office. The proceedings Sunday
represent a dramatic escalation in the long-standing power struggle
between Ahmadinejad and the speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani. In
Sunday's vote, 192 of 272 parliament members voted in favor of impeaching
Labor Minister Abdul-Reza Sheikholeslami over his decision to make Iran's
former general prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, the head of the country's
social security fund. The move, the articles of impeachment said, was
'against the expediency of the country, unlawful and against the
interests of 33 million workers under this fund.' Mortazavi was removed
from the judiciary over his alleged role in the deaths of protesters held
in custody after Ahmadinejad's disputed 2009 reelection." http://t.uani.com/TzaC7V
AP:
"The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reports that a man caught last
month trying to enter Germany with a check worth about $70 million was
Iran's former central bank chief. The weekly reports that customs
officials at Duesseldorf airport found the check in Tahmasb Mazaheri's
luggage Jan. 21 upon his arrival from Turkey. German customs had issued a
statement Friday saying a check for 300 million Venezuelan Bolivars
issued by the Bank of Venezuela was found on an unnamed 59-year-old
man." http://t.uani.com/11IHR7U
Opinion &
Analysis
Gideon Rachman in
FT: "The announcement that talks with Iran over the
country's nuclear programme will resume later this month sounds
potentially exciting - but perhaps only for those with short memories.
There have been plenty of six-party talks with Iran before, and they have
generally left the negotiators frustrated and angry. Is there any reason
to think things might be better this time? Clutching at a straw, I
initially got excited by the fact that the latest talks are to be held in
Kazakhstan. The Kazaks like to point out that they are one of the very
few nations ever to have given up nuclear weapons. Indeed President
Nursultan Nazarbayev has been waging a lonely and unsuccessful campaign
to get himself awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, on the basis of these
anti-nuclear credentials. But, on reflection, I think I may have
over-played the Kazak angle. A more substantial reason for hoping that
there might be a real Iranian change of heart is that sanctions are
having a really serious effect on the economy. On the other hand, Iran has
its own presidential election next June. Just as the US was unable to try
anything new on Iran in the pre-election season, so Iran seems unlikely
to make radical policy shifts ahead of its own leadership battle. (Of
course, Iranian politics are hardly the mirror image of the US - but the
overall effect might still be the same.) One new sounding element was Joe
Biden's offer, earlier today, to hold direct talks with the Iranians. But
Tehran does not seem eager to respond - the more bureaucratic and gluey six-party
talks might suit them better, particularly if the plan is to stall,
rather than deal. Most of the diplomats I know who have actually been
involved in nuclear talks with Iran over the years have found the whole
experience deeply dispiriting and frustrating. One told me that he rated
the chances of success as 10% at best. So why carry on? The diplomat's
reply was that the alternatives - war or a nuclear Iran - were so
dreadful, that he felt compelled to establish that there really was no
other option. A cheerful thought to set us up for those talks in
Astana!" http://t.uani.com/URKi8x
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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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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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