|
|
Top Stories
AFP: "Iran's
new President Hassan Rowhani said Tuesday that Tehran will not give up
"one iota" of its nuclear rights, echoing his hardline
predecessor, after the UN nuclear watchdog urged improved cooperation.
The comments come ahead of meeting later this month between his Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton on restarting negotiations on the Islamic republic's controversial
nuclear ambitions. 'Our government will not give up one iota of its
absolute rights' on the nuclear issue, said Rowhani, a reputed moderate,
repeating a mantra frequently used by his predecessor Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad." http://t.uani.com/17UBTmD
AFP:
"The United States needs to strike Syria in part to send a message
to its ally Iran over its nuclear program, President Barack Obama's
national security adviser said Monday. Susan Rice, joining a major public
effort by Obama to persuade a skeptical Congress, said the United States
was morally bound to respond to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's alleged
use of chemical weapons... 'We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear
weapon,' Rice said at the New America Foundation, a think tank. 'As the
president has said, all options remain on the table. For our efforts to
succeed, however, the leaders in Tehran must know that the United States
means what we say,' she said. 'If we do not respond when Iran's close
ally uses weapons of mass destruction, what message does that send to
Iran? It risks suggesting that the international community cannot muster
the will to act when necessary,' Rice said." http://t.uani.com/15gA1bv
AP:
"Iran's president plans to use this month's U.N. General Assembly in
New York to reach out to world leaders about possibly restarting nuclear
talks, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday... 'Maybe in coming
weeks, the first talks on the nuclear case will take place in New York,'
Rouhani told a group of clerics, according to IRNA. Rouhani and Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif plan to attend the U.N. gathering in what
will be the Iranian president's first trip to the West since his
inauguration in August... But Rouhani has also insisted that Iran would
not make concessions on the pillars of its nuclear program such as
uranium enrichment. Iran 'will not withdraw an iota from the definite
rights of people,' Rouhani was quoted by IRNA as saying. He also urged
the West to change its policies, including withdrawing economic sanctions
imposed on Iran over the controversial nuclear program. He said 'the job'
of reaching a nuclear accord 'will not be done without respect.' 'There
will be no achievement through imposing sanctions and pressure on the
Iranian nation,' Rouhani said." http://t.uani.com/1d2tPWn
Sanctions
National Post:
"The federal government has identified millions of dollars worth of
Iranian state assets in Canada, ranging from bank accounts to a parking
spot, that may now be claimed by victims of terrorist groups sponsored by
the Islamic republic. The list of Iran's 22 Canadian assets was to be
released by the Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday to help victims
who want to collect damages from Iran due to the regime's support for
terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. A copy of the list obtained
in advance by the National Post includes the Iranian Cultural Centre in
Ottawa, a parking spot in the capital, 13 bank accounts containing more
than $2.6-million, a VISA account and $325,000 currently frozen under
United Nations sanctions. In addition to those 'non-diplomatic assets,'
the list also includes Iran's five diplomatic properties: the Iranian
chancery, ambassador's official residence and staff headquarters in
Ottawa, as well as two embassy bank accounts. The federal government says
Iran's non-diplomatic assets can be awarded to terror victims, while
diplomatic assets are protected under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations and therefore cannot be awarded. But the matter is still before
the Ontario courts." http://t.uani.com/17UFEIB
Bloomberg:
"The combined carrying capacity of oil tankers leaving Iranian ports
last month rose 6.4 percent from July, vessel-tracking data compiled by
Bloomberg show. The implied capacity of departing vessels rose to the
equivalent of 1.07 million barrels a day from 1.01 million barrels,
according to signals gathered by IHS Maritime, a Coulsdon, England-based
research company. The data may be incomplete because not all ship
transmissions are captured. U.S. and European sanctions are curbing
Iran's oil exports to pressure the country's leaders to stop their
nuclear program. Shipments dropped from more than 2 million barrels a day
in 2011, before the latest rules took effect, according to figures from
the website of the Joint Organizations Data Initiative." http://t.uani.com/17njmlV
Syria
Conflict
Reuters:
"Iran supports Russia's offer to work with Syria to put its chemical
weapons under international control, the Iranian foreign ministry said on
Tuesday. U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he saw a possible
breakthrough in the crisis with Syria after Moscow proposed that its ally
hand over chemical weapons for destruction, offering a path that averts
U.S. military strikes. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government has
welcomed the Russian proposal. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran favors that
initiative and we find this to be within the framework of putting a halt
to militarism in the region,' foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham
told a news conference carried live on state television. Iran has
staunchly supported Assad against rebels seeking to oust him, and has
said the rebels, which it calls 'terrorists,' were responsible for the
chemical attack." http://t.uani.com/1azgYx7
Human
Rights
IHR:
"Four prisoners were hanged in two different Iranian prisons on
Saturday September 7 and Sunday September 8. Three prisoners were hanged
in the prison of Rasht (northern Iran) on Saturday September 7, reported
the official site of Iranian Judiciary in Gilan Province... Another
prisoner who hanged in the Lakan Prison of Rasht was identified as 'M.
R.' (45 year old) was convicted of murder, said the report. One prisoner
was hanged in the prison of Gachsaran yesterday Sunday September 8. The
prisoner was identified as 'H. A. P.' and was convicted of murder said
the report." http://t.uani.com/15Ovm2N
HRW:
"Iranian authorities should shelve plans to expel hundreds of
thousands of Afghans after their visas were set to expire on September 6,
2013, Human Rights Watch said today. Iran should not expel any Afghan
refugee until a system is in place that allows asylum seekers to have
their asylum claims considered fairly and to challenge any order to
deport them. The September 6 deadline passed without any Iranian
government statement about whether and how it may carry out the
deportations. Prior to September 6, the Afghan government asked the
Iranian government to extend the deadline, sending a delegation to Tehran
for this purpose, Afghan government sources told Human Rights
Watch." http://t.uani.com/1ecSX0C
Domestic
Affairs
AP:
"Iran's curious world of online politics looked a bit more crowded
Monday with members of President Hasan Rouhani's Cabinet encouraged to
open their own Facebook pages - in a country where authorities, at the
same time, try to block the public from social media. The
government-as-Facebook Friends initiative, reported by the pro-reform
Shargh daily, is seen as part of Rouhani's efforts to give the presidency
a makeover as more accountable and accessible after his combative
predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But it further exposes the internal tensions
among Iran's leadership over whether the Internet is ultimately a force
to be expanded or best kept tightly controlled. Disputes even broke out -
on Web-based Iranian news sites - over the authenticity of some of the
Facebook pages linked to some ministers... Some newspapers Monday
speculated that Rouhani's push for government Facebook accounts might
signal an easing of some of the Internet barriers. Not so, replied Iran's
chief Internet overseer. Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei, head of the
supervisory board on Internet content, said 'it is not the time for
lifting filters' on Facebook and other sites." http://t.uani.com/1evJJKo
AP:
"Iranian President Hasan Rouhani has given a vice-presidency post to
an environmental expert who once served as a spokeswoman for the
hostage-takers at the U.S. Embassy after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, an
adviser said... Ebteker, who is fluent in English, was a main spokeswoman
during the 444-day hostage standoff. She later served on the Tehran
Municipal Council and became a respected scholar in environmental
studies. The official IRNA news agency also said Rouhani on Tuesday named
a former defense minister, Adm. Ali Shamkhani, to lead the Supreme
National Security Council." http://t.uani.com/1ezKB0H
Opinion
& Analysis
Dennis Ross in
WashPost: "The opponents of congressional
authorization for military strikes against Syria are focused on one set
of concerns: the belief that the costs of action are simply too high and
uncertain... Still, for the opponents of authorization, these arguments
are portrayed as abstractions. Only threats that are immediate and
directly affect us should produce U.S. military strikes. Leaving aside
the argument that when the threats become immediate, we will be far more
likely to have to use our military in a bigger way and under worse
conditions, there is another argument to consider: should opponents block
authorization and should the president then feel he cannot employ
military strikes against Syria, this will almost certainly guarantee that
there will be no diplomatic outcome to our conflict with Iran over its
nuclear weapons. I say this for two reasons. First, Iran's President
Rouhani, who continues to send signals that he wants to make a deal on
the nuclear program, will inevitably be weakened once it becomes clear
that the U.S. cannot use force against Syria. At that point,
paradoxically, the hard-liners in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps
and around the Supreme Leader will be able to claim that there is only an
economic cost to pursuing nuclear weapons but no military danger. Their
argument will be: Once Iran has nuclear weapons, it will build its
leverage in the region; its deterrent will be enhanced; and, most
importantly, the rest of the world will see that sanctions have failed, and
that it is time to come to terms with Iran. Under those circumstances,
the sanctions will wither. What will Rouhani argue? That the risk is too
high? That the economic costs could threaten regime stability? Today,
those arguments may have some effect on the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
precisely because there is also the threat that all U.S. options are on
the table and the president has said he will not permit Iran to acquire
nuclear weapons. Should he be blocked from using force against Syria, it
will be clear that all options are not on the table and that regardless
of what we say, we are prepared to live with an Iran that has nuclear
arms. Israel, however, is not prepared to accept such an eventuality, and
that is the second reason that not authorizing strikes against Syria will
likely result in the use of force against Iran. Indeed, Israel will feel
that it has no reason to wait, no reason to give diplomacy a chance and
no reason to believe that the United States will take care of the
problem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees Iran with nuclear weapons
as an existential threat and, in his eyes, he must not allow there to be
a second Holocaust against the Jewish people. As long as he believes that
President Obama is determined to deal with the Iranian threat, he can
justify deferring to us. That will soon end if opponents get their way on
Syria. Ironically, if these opponent succeed, they may prevent a conflict
that President Obama has been determined to keep limited and has the
means to do so. After all, even after Israel acted militarily to enforce
its red line and prevent Syria's transfer of advanced weapons to
Hezbollah in Lebanon, Assad, Iran and Hezbollah have been careful to
avoid responding. They have little interest in provoking Israeli attacks
that would weaken Syrian forces and make them vulnerable to the
opposition. For all the tough talk about what would happen if the United
States struck targets in Syria, the Syrian and Iranian interest in an
escalation with the United States is also limited. Can the same be said
if Israel feels that it has no choice but to attack the Iranian nuclear
infrastructure? Maybe the Iranians will seek to keep that conflict
limited; maybe they won't. Maybe an Israeli strike against the Iranian
nuclear program will not inevitably involve the United States, but maybe
it will - and maybe it should. If nothing else, it is time to ask the
opponents of authorization of strikes in Syria if they are comfortable
with a position that is very likely to rule out any diplomatic outcome on
the Iranian nuclear program. Even in their eyes, the costs of inaction
may then not appear so low." http://t.uani.com/15N3O8c
|
|
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