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Top Stories
Reuters:
"Legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators on
Wednesday would block Iran's access to billions of dollars worth of
foreign currency reserves in the latest congressional effort to slow
development of the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program. Lawmakers
in Washington say the government in Tehran taps the reserves held in
banks around the world, mostly in euros, to get around U.S. and EU
sanctions on oil sales that have damaged Iran's economy. Iran converts
the reserves it built up from decades of selling oil, estimated to be
worth $60 billion to $100 billion, into local currencies in order to
finance imports and stabilize its budget, the lawmakers say... If passed,
the bill introduced by Senators Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican, Joe
Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, and three others, would block such
currency conversions of the reserves and be retroactive to May 9.
Financial institutions around the world are 'on notice' to halt all
foreign currency transactions on behalf of blacklisted Iranian banks and
sectors 'or risk being cut off from the U.S. financial market,' the
lawmakers said in a statement." http://t.uani.com/10dePQr
NYT:
"Iran's 2009 presidential election was an exuberant and exciting
spectacle that aroused a powerful surge of optimism in the populace but
that ended with the trauma of a violent crackdown. This year's vote,
taking place under starkly different circumstances, promises to be far
more subdued. For most, the enthusiasm of 2009 has been replaced, for now
at least, with an indifference bred of fear and fed by a lack of
charismatic candidates. There is little talk of a boycott, but no
enthusiasm or expectations that the election will make any difference in
people's lives. Today, most of the leading figures of the 2009 opposition
- politicians, dissidents and journalists - have been silenced or fled
the country. Many of them are still in jail, while the two presidential
challengers and leaders of the so-called green movement, Mir Hussein
Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, remain under house arrest." http://t.uani.com/146ltYT
WSJ:
"The Iranian government has launched a pre-emptive crackdown ahead
of presidential elections next month, Iranians say, including disrupting
the Internet, creating a cyber-surveillance unit for social media,
arresting a prominent editor and canceling university classes. The coming
election is the first presidential vote since the contested polls in 2009
ignited massive protests against the government and fraud allegations.
This time around, amid international concern over Iran's nuclear program
and the country's involvement helping Syria's embattled regime to stay in
power, Tehran is keen to present a united and stable front to protect its
legitimacy. 'We are extremely worried. It looks like they are getting
ready for communication lockdown,' said Hadi Ghaemei, director of the New
York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran." http://t.uani.com/10IrNl3
Sanctions
Reuters:
"Iran is using an Indonesian port in a strategy to keep up sales to
buyers in Asia in the teeth of Western sanctions, according to shipping
data and industry sources. Two Iranian very large crude carriers (VLCCs)
able to hold 2 million barrels each sailed to Batam Island in April,
according to AIS ship tracking on Reuters, which tracks global tanker
movements, before moving on to China... 'Iran has been using this
strategy for the past few months,' said analysts at FGE, an energy
consultancy. 'The strategy is taking the crude to islands in Asia via
VLCCs and selling it from there. It's a crucial stream of revenue for the
country, so it's very important they sell as much as they can.' Batam
Island is just 20 km (12 miles) off the south coast of Singapore, the
continent's oil hub. Industry sources and oil traders said that before
last year it was rare for Iranian tankers to ship crude there." http://t.uani.com/15NmaLj
Reuters:
"While the sanctions threaten to bring the Iranian economy to its
knees, million dollar apartments fitted out with the best imported
equipment have become ever more common in Tehran. Embargoes imposed on
the oil and banking sectors since late 2011 have sent the Iranian rial
currency crashing, pushing up import prices and contributing to spiraling
overall inflation. Wealthy Iranians, often unable to move money abroad
due to the banking sanctions, have tried to protect their savings by
turning to property at home, further stoking the market. Developers have
reaped the rewards but some now believe a bubble is forming and fear the
consequences should it burst. For poorer Iranians, the boom is creating
more immediate problems as it stretches their ability to provide for
their families." http://t.uani.com/12iDhij
Reuters:
"Iran has offered new, more alluring terms to reluctant Indian
companies to win the investment it craves for its decaying energy sector
suffering from tight Western sanctions. Iran started offering production
sharing contracts (PSCs), long denied to investors, to a group of Indian
oil executives visiting Tehran in January, an Indian industry source said
on Thursday. Tehran's insistence, until now, on paying contractors back
in oil made projects unattractive to foreign firms even before sanctions
made it nearly impossible for most to work there... Indian firms say the
risks of investing large sums in Iran are still too great, even with a
more attractive PSC regime." http://t.uani.com/ZKihz3
Terrorism
NYT:
"When the hostages came home from Iran 32 years ago, after 444 days
in captivity, they were heroes, and their release was unalloyed good
news, a national triumph, observed with ticker-tape parades, speeches,
awards and miles of yellow ribbons. Now they are older, grayer, and, some
of them say, approaching the status of historical footnote, and their
mood is darker and angrier than they let on when they returned, in
January 1981. Part of the bitterness is their fruitless 17-year struggle
for substantial compensation. They were blocked by the State Department
from winning damages in court, because the agreement that freed them, the
Algiers Accords, barred such suits. But last year they gained 69
co-sponsors on a House bill to let them be compensated, as much as $4.4
million each, through fines on companies caught violating trade sanctions
with Iran. Now there is a substantial bipartisan effort in the Senate to
do the same." http://t.uani.com/17O7Oba
Domestic
Politics
AFP:
"Former president Mohammad Khatami has expressed doubts about
running in Iran's presidential election on June 14, saying his
participation could weaken the reformist movement, local media reported
on Thursday. Khatami, reformist head of state from 1997 to 2005, and his
predecessor, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, moderate president from 1989 to
1997, have yet to decide whether to contest the polls to succeed Mahmud
Ahmadinejad. But Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi has warned the
pair, without naming them, over their alleged role in the protest
movement that followed Iran's disputed 2009 election. In a statement
published on his personal website and reprinted on Thursday by the
English-language Tehran Times, Khatami said his candidacy -- which may be
rejected -- could aggravate tensions with the authorities and harm the
reformist movement." http://t.uani.com/11Vg2dC
Guardian:
"Again in 2009, the economy was the major issue; and although
Karroubi polled badly in a disputed election, Mir Hossein Mousavi,
another reformist candidate, fought a skilful campaign that blended
day-to-day issues with the traditional reformist call for civil and
political rights. Now, the economy is still at the centre of election
debate, with a large field of would-be candidates criticising the
economic management of Ahmadinejad, who is ineligible under the
constitution for a third consecutive term. At the core of economic policy
is the tension between resources going into short-term consumption or
into the investment required for long-term growth. Despite having the
world's second-largest reserves of both gas and oil, Iran has been less
than successful in using energy revenue to develop other sectors." http://t.uani.com/ZKkpXt
Foreign Affairs
Reuters:
"Sudan has granted an Iranian firm a licence to explore for gold in
the African country, state-linked media said, a sign of strengthening
business ties between Khartoum and Tehran... Sudan has granted an Iranian
firm called 'Mine an Metals' a licence to explore for gold in River Nile
state north of Khartoum, where much of Sudan's gold comes from, the
state-linked Sudanese Media Center website said late on Tuesday. Work
would start immediately, it said, without giving more details." http://t.uani.com/10dddWV
Opinion &
Analysis
Sherif Mansour in
the Committee to Project Journalists: "Iranian
authorities are holding at least 40 journalists in prison as the June
presidential election approaches, the second-highest total in the world
and a figure that reflects the government's continuing determination to
silence independent coverage of public affairs, a new analysis by the
Committee to Protect Journalists has found. CPJ's census of journalists
imprisoned on April 15 also highlights the severe deterioration of
freedom of expression in Iran over time. In December 2004, during the
last full year of President Mohammad Khatami's tenure, CPJ documented
just one journalist in prison during its annual worldwide prison census.
By December 2009, after a contested presidential election returned
Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to office, the number had grown to 23 in CPJ's annual
census. CPJ surveys since that time have consistently shown 35 to 50
journalists in prison in Iran at any given time. Only Turkey, with 48 in
jail, was detaining more journalists on April 15, CPJ research shows. As
devastating as the imprisonments are to the individual journalists and
their families, the Iranian government's tactics have had an intimidating
effect on the press, choking off the flow of information. This census and
CPJ's past surveys are simply snapshots in time-they do not include the
large numbers of journalists convicted of crimes or facing charges who
are temporarily free on bail or furlough. Iran has pursued a
revolving-door policy in imprisoning journalists, freeing some detainees
on short-term furloughs even as they make new arrests. The pattern of
rotating critical journalists in and out of prison has sown fear and
self-censorship across the entire press corps, according to CPJ research.
At least 68 Iranian journalists fled into exile between 2007 and 2012 due
to harassment and the threat of imprisonment, according to CPJ research.
Only Somali journalists have gone into exile in higher numbers during
that period. The Iranian government has used several other tactics to
intimidate journalists. Authorities have blocked millions of websites,
banned reformist publications, and conducted widespread electronic
surveillance in an effort to make a wide range of topics off-limits to
public debate. 'Many of the topics we could cover five years ago, like
cultural issues, we couldn't do anymore,' Omid Memarian, an exiled
Iranian journalist, told CPJ. 'Journalists were even prevented from
covering the earthquake relief efforts that happened in Iran last
year.'" http://t.uani.com/10kHteA
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