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Top Stories
AP:
"Turning the screw on Iran and its nuclear program, the Obama
administration imposed new sanctions Monday on Iran's currency and auto
industry, seeking to render Iranian money useless outside the country and
to cut off the regime from critical revenue sources. The executive order
from President Barack Obama broadens an already concerted and
multifaceted sanctions campaign aimed at crippling Iran's economy,
forcing it to comply with international demands that it prove its nuclear
program is peaceful. The U.S. believes Iran is working to develop nuclear
weapons, a charge that Iran denies. Officials described the move as part
of a dual-track effort to offer meaningful negotiations to the Iranian
regime while continually upping the economic stakes... The new sanctions
marked the first time Iran's currency, the rial, has been targeted
directly with sanctions, the White House said. The sanctions apply to
foreign financial institutions that purchase or sell significant amounts
of the rial, and to those who hold significant amounts of the rial in
accounts outside Iran. Senior administration officials said the sanctions
were designed to make the rial essentially unusable outside of Iran. The
hope is that banks and businesses holding Iranian currency will dump the
funds, making the rial weaker. The value of the rial has dropped by half
since the start of 2012, the White House said... Another set of sanctions
will ban the sale or transfer of goods or services to be used in Iran's
auto sector. Officials said the auto sector is a key source of revenue
for the regime. Many of the auto parts and components from subsidiaries
are dual-use and can be used in centrifuges or missiles." http://t.uani.com/14s9kMf
FT:
"Iranian oil production is heading to its lowest in 25 years after
its biggest customers in Asia cut their imports amid tightening US and
European energy sanctions. The current drop comes as Iran's main clients,
China, India, Japan and South Korea, slashed their imports, with the four
Asian countries as well as Turkey, importing about 750,000 b/d in April,
according to customs data. This is down more than 30 per cent from 1.1m
b/d the previous month. The big drop in April, which continued in May,
forced Iran to store crude in tankers offshore. Middle East-based
industry officials believe that, after filling up the available space,
Iran reduced its production in May. As a result, Iranian oil production
is expected to drop to 2.5m-2.6m b/d in May, a level last seen in 1989
when Tehran was grappling with the impact of the Iran-Iraq war, according
to consultants and traders who keep tabs on the country's oil
output." http://t.uani.com/11p8To2
Reuters:
"U.N. nuclear investigators may no longer find anything if granted
access to Iran's Parchin military site, their chief said on Monday, in
view of suspected Iranian efforts to remove any traces of illicit atomic
activity there. Yukiya Amano also said his agency's talks with Iran on
unblocking an IAEA inquiry into possible nuclear arms research by Tehran
had been 'going around in circles' for some time... In hard-hitting
comments to the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors and later at a news
conference, he also said Iranian advances in building a research reactor
and in its uranium enrichment work were in 'clear contravention' of U.N.
Security Council resolutions calling for a suspension in such
activities... But Amano acknowledged for the first time that 'extensive
activities' by Iran - including removal of soil and asphalting - now
meant inspectors may return empty-handed even if Iran were to allow them
to visit. Iran says Parchin is a conventional military site and has
dismissed the cleansing allegations. 'It may no longer be possible to
find anything,' he said, adding, however, that the IAEA still wanted to
go to Parchin." http://t.uani.com/16Dytuk
Nuclear Program
Reuters:
"China and Russia are expected to join four Western powers in
voicing deep concern about Iran's atomic activities this week and
pressing it to cooperate with a stalled inquiry by the U.N. nuclear
agency, diplomats said on Tuesday. A draft statement by the six powers,
expected to be delivered during a June 3-7 meeting of the 35-nation board
of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says it is essential and
urgent for Iran to engage with the IAEA. The statement - which diplomats
said had yet to be formally approved by all six governments - appeared
intended to signal continued big power unity in the decade-old dispute
over Iran's nuclear program." http://t.uani.com/18Ld5AC
Sanctions
Platts:
"A Chinese-owned VLCC with European insurance cover has called at Iran's
crude loading port Kharg Island to load oil for the second time in the
last three months, market sources said this week. China's Cosco Dalian
Ocean Shipping Company-owned Yuan Yang Hu had called at Kharg Island on
May 23 in an unladen state and sailed out on May 24 after being loaded,
according to Platts ship-tracking tool cTrack. Prior to the current visit
to the Iranian crude oil terminal, the 2010-built Yuan Yang Hu had called
at Kharg Island on March 21 to load oil, according to cTrack. The vessel's
status shows its current location in the Gulf of Oman and its destination
as Huizhou. The vessel's draught is indicated at 19.6 meters, which means
the tanker is fully laden. A VLCC can hold up to 2 million barrels of
crude. Norway-headquartered Skuld P&I Club confirmed Wednesday that
it is the provider of protection and indemnity insurance to the
China-flagged vessel. The vessel was under the Norwegian club's insurance
cover when it had made its visit to Kharg Island on March 21." http://t.uani.com/16GI2bU
June 14
Elections
Guardian:
"Iranian authorities are mounting a sophisticated campaign of online
censorship, hacking attacks and filtering to influence the country's
imminent presidential elections, according to reports from people inside
the country and security researchers outside. Iranians are finding that
text messages or websites containing certain words, such as candidates'
names or slogans, are being intermittently blocked, while some news sites
within the country are taken offline entirely. Those that try to relocate
overseas have been subjected to extensive DDoS (distributed denial of
service) attacks - which make it impossible for regular users to access
websites - from computers in Russian or eastern Europe, while reporters
and activists have reported receiving phishing emails containing viruses
or surveillance software. The approach marks a stepped increase in
sophistication in internet filtering in Iran. During the 2009 election
and the uprising that followed, authorities sometimes simply turned off
the internet, or text messaging, across the country for days at a time.
Now they are working in a far more targeted manner." http://t.uani.com/14shYdI
AP:
"On the hardscrabble streets in south Tehran, a group of
paramilitary volunteers looks to hard-line presidential candidate Saeed
Jalili - Iran's top nuclear negotiator - as the best defender of the
Islamic system. On the other end of Tehran's social ladder, a university
professor in a marble-trimmed apartment building plans to boycott next week's
election because he rejects all the candidates allowed on the ballot. A
confusing mix of shifting political views, apathy and indecision is
brewing across Iran's capital. Taken together, it suggests the June 14
race to replace President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could be closer and more
complex than reflected by the size of rallies or the depth of ties to the
all-powerful theocracy - both hallmarks of Jalili's bid that have earned
him an aura of front-runner. Instead, rivals such as Tehran Mayor
Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf and Jalili's predecessor as nuclear envoy, Hasan
Rowhani, are increasingly mentioned by voters wanting fewer West-bashing
diatribes and more attention to Iran's sinking economy and its nuclear
impasse with the West, according to dozens of interviews across Tehran by
The Associated Press." http://t.uani.com/18LbTNF
AP:
"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged presidential
candidates on Tuesday not to make concessions to appease the West, an
implied rebuke to several of the candidates running in June 14 elections
who said that they would focus on improving the Islamic Republic's
relations with other countries. The comments by Khamenei, who has final
say on all state matters, are a red line to candidates indicating how far
they can go, and a reminder that the ruling clerics rather than the
elected president determine all major policies. 'Some, following this
incorrect analysis - that that we should make concession to the enemies
to reduce their anger - have put their interests before the interests of
the Iranian nation. This is wrong,' said Khamenei during a televised
speech marking the anniversary of the June 3, 1989 death of Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic. He said candidates
'must promise' to put Iran's interests before foreign interests." http://t.uani.com/17ln41I
WashPost:
"Supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a sweeping
speech here Tuesday morning in which he railed against what he described
as foreign attempts to undermine the country's June 14 presidential
election. 'A vote for any of these eight candidates is a vote for the
Islamic Republic and a vote of confidence in the system and our electoral
process,' said Khamenei, denouncing critics inside and outside of Iran
who say the elections are 'engineered' or 'illegitimate' because only
perceived loyalists to the ruling establishment have been permitted to
run... In the speech, which lasted over an hour and was broadcast live on
state television, Khamenei spoke about the economic woes caused by
increasing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear activities, among other
issues. 'Yes, we have economic problems, yes we have inflation, but, God
willing, the person who comes can provide a solution to these problems.
This is the wish of the Iranian people,' said Khamenei." http://t.uani.com/10VStR2
Human Rights
Fox News: "The
White House has issued a strong statement pressing for the immediate
release of the American pastor held in Iran for his Christian faith,
while his wife and attorney present his case to the UN Human Rights
Council this week. 'We remain deeply concerned about U.S. citizen Saeed
Abedini who has been sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran on
charges related to his religious beliefs,' the statement said. Abedini, a
33-year-old Idaho resident and father of two young children, is currently
serving his term in Tehran's infamous Evin prison." http://t.uani.com/10VUfl6
Opinion &
Analysis
Sohrab Ahmari in
WSJ: "'Iran is a country with a government that was
elected.' So declared Secretary of State John Kerry on a visit to France
in February. His statement echoed an earlier one by Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel, who during his Senate confirmation hearings in January
pronounced the Iranian government 'elected' and 'legitimate.' In the coming
days, count on Western media to reinforce that view of Iranian democracy
with coverage of the run-up to the June 14 presidential election. The
horse-race aspect of the reporting is already in the air. There was
breathless news on May 21 about the disqualification of dozens of
presidential hopefuls, including the reformist standard-bearer, former
President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. This week, attention turned to the
improving fortunes of one candidate, Saeed Jalili, a hard-liner with a
pronounced hostility to the West. Could a reformer still win? With
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stepping down after two four-year terms,
would a Jalili victory mean even more trouble for America and its allies
than his predecessor? Mojtaba Vahedi is here to say: None of it matters.
'What is happening now is not an election but a form of theater and the
candidates should really be called actors,' he says from his home in
exile in Northern Virginia. 'The regime couldn't care less who the people
prefer.' Exiled critics of the Iranian regime aren't hard to find in the
West, but Mr. Vahedi, who is 49, brings a unique perspective to his
condemnation of the country's rulers: He was at the heart of the reform
movement that began to gain traction in Iran a decade ago. And he was a trusted
adviser and strategist for the moderate cleric Mehdi Karroubi, who co-led
the popular opposition movement that in 2009 represented perhaps the best
hope Iran has ever had of steering away from tyranny and extremism... Mr.
Vahedi observes events in Iran from a frustratingly long distance, but he
often appears on Persian-language media, such as the Voice of America's
Persian service, denouncing Iran's clerical regime. He also derides his
former allies in the Iranian establishment reform movement. The reformists,
he says, cling to the notion that the past decade's massive increase in
repression was the work of President Ahmadinejad. They delude themselves,
Mr. Vahedi says, because the problem is far deeper than one man. 'Anyone
who thinks Ahmadinejad was behind the electoral rigging of recent years,
or the brutality and the killing, is a fool.' Dictatorship in Iran is
'structural,' Mr. Vahedi says. 'The structure makes everyone obey one
man, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the leader isn't accountable to
anyone.'" http://t.uani.com/13iKAs7
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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