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Top Stories
WSJ:
"Iran's President Hasan Rouhani aims to reshape the Islamic
Republic's image at the United Nations this week in a charm offensive
motivated in large part by the dire condition of his country's economy. At
Tehran's international airport before departing for New York, Mr. Rouhani
told reporters that he would seek 'a path for negotiations and
moderation' to replace the economic sanctions that have defined the
West's relationship with Tehran in recent years... The shift comes after
a year in which Iran has seen its oil revenue-which the government and
industry analysts say totaled $100 billion in 2011-fall to half that
level because of a European Union oil embargo and banking restrictions.
The impact of sanctions has now fully trickled down to Iranian consumers,
who are contending with soaring inflation, a lack of affordable medicine
and a fluctuating currency. Business executives, industrialists and
merchants who hold regular meetings with Iranian officials said the need
for relief from sanctions often dominates their discussions. 'Everybody
in Iran is hoping that Rouhani will come back with some good news about
removal of sanctions from New York because the country can't survive
otherwise,' said a Tehran industrialist named Hussein, who asked that his
last name be withheld." http://t.uani.com/1bDg8zc
Bloomberg:
"With international talks on Iran's disputed nuclear weapons program
now set to resume, world powers will test whether the country is
moderating its policies or merely its rhetoric... The enthusiastic
reception for the Iranian leaders' campaign to advertise their peaceful
intentions, through social and traditional media, should be tempered by
tests of whether they're prepared to make significant concessions in
exchange for relief from the economic sanctions that have battered Iran's
economy, according to [UANI President] Gary Samore, who until earlier
this year was President Barack Obama's chief adviser on
non-proliferation. 'Now that Washington has come this far and achieved a
truly painful sanctions regime -- which is obviously working or a charm
offensive wouldn't be taking place -- I don't think they're going to
throw that away,' Samore, who participated in several rounds of nuclear
talks, said in an interview. 'All the good words on both sides are
positive, but one should not misread that for a solution that's going to
happen tomorrow... In exchange for relief from sanctions, the U.S. and
its European allies will 'demand very significant limits on Iran's
nuclear capacity -- meaning numbers of centrifuges, numbers of
facilities, stockpiles of uranium -- all the things that give them a
theoretical possibility to produce nuclear weapons,' said Samore, who's
now at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard
University's Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge,
Massachusetts." http://t.uani.com/1eDZcd5
NYT:
"This is Hassan Rouhani's moment. The toast of the United Nations,
the new Iranian president is busy granting interviews to select audiences
and possibly cramming in a meeting with President Obama - the first such
high-level get-together since the 1979 revolution. But when he stands
before the world to speak on Tuesday, he will do so as the loyal
representative of Iran's supreme leader, the ultimate authority behind
the country's recent diplomatic charm offensive. Since his election in
June, Mr. Rouhani has made no secret of his wish to reach an accord with
the West on Iran's nuclear program - and no secret that the only reason he
can reach out so conspicuously is that he has the support, for now
anyway, of one man, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader... But the
question for many here is, how much room will the supreme leader allow
for diplomacy before pulling the rug out from under Mr. Rouhani?" http://t.uani.com/18StUgi
UN
General Assembly
NYT:
"So, will President Obama actually shake hands with President Hassan
Rouhani of Iran at the United Nations on Tuesday, when both men are
scheduled to speak to the General Assembly? ... By any standard, a
meeting of Mr. Obama and Mr. Rouhani would be a seminal event: Iranian
and American leaders have not met since before the Islamic Revolution in
1979. Even if it does not happen, officials noted, Secretary of State
John Kerry planned to meet Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif,
here later this week - the highest-level meeting between the countries
since May 2007. If the two sides were to orchestrate a handshake,
diplomats said, the most likely venue would be a luncheon Tuesday for
heads of state given by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon." http://t.uani.com/1bDhn1o
Reuters:
"Planned talks this week between Iran and six world powers including
the United States may show whether Tehran is serious about resolving a
dispute over its nuclear program, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.
The European Union announced on Monday that Iranian Foreign Minister
Javad Zarif would join a meeting of major powers - including Britain,
France, China, Russia and the United States and Germany - to discuss the
Iranian nuclear program. 'This opportunity with the Iranian foreign
minister will give our ministers a sense of their level of seriousness
and whether they are coming with concrete new proposals and whether this
charm offensive actually has substance (under it),' the senior U.S. State
Department official told reporters." http://t.uani.com/15RepTa
Reuters:
"A meeting between Iran's top diplomats and world powers at the
United Nations this week will start a 'new era' in efforts to end the
dispute with the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, the Iranian
foreign ministry said on Tuesday. It did not hint at any concessions by
Tehran. The European Union said on Monday Iranian Foreign Minister Javad
Zarif would join a meeting of major powers - including Britain, France,
China, Russia and the United States and Germany - to discuss the Iranian
nuclear program. The meeting, due on Thursday and expected to include
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, would be the highest-level encounter
involving the two nations since relations were severed in 1980 at the
height of the U.S. embassy hostage crisis. 'These talks are the start of
a new era. The Islamic Republic has explicitly stated its views regarding
its rights to peaceful nuclear energy and the right to enrich (uranium)
on Iranian territory,' foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham told a
news conference, Mehr news agency reported." http://t.uani.com/1fgG0mM
Nuclear
Program
Reuters:
"Four senior senators on Monday urged President Barack Obama to
stick to tough policies against Iran, despite overtures from Tehran ahead
of this week's U.N. General Assembly in New York. In a pair of letters,
Democrats Robert Menendez and Charles Schumer, and Republicans Lindsey
Graham and John McCain, said Obama should use his U.N. speech to restate
the U.S. goal of stopping Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability
and demanding verifiable actions from Tehran. 'Like you, we viewed the
election of (Iranian President) Hassan Rouhani as an indicator of
discontent amongst the Iranian people and we have taken note of recent
diplomatic overtures by Iran. However, whatever nice words we may hear
from Mr. Rouhani, it is Iranian action that matters,' Menendez and Graham
said in their letter. Menendez is the chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, and Graham is an influential voice on international
issues." http://t.uani.com/18SvEpU
AFP:
"The international community is waiting for 'concrete steps' by Iran
before moving to improve relations with the country's new government,
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said. After meeting Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Hague welcomed conciliatory
statements by the new government and said moves could be made to end a
suspension in ties since Britain's Tehran embassy was ransacked in
November 2011. Hague said he and Zarif had discussed Iran's contested
nuclear program, the Syria conflict and signals coming from President
Hassan Rowhani that he wants better relations with the West. Britain
'does not seek a confrontational relationship with Iran, as I explained
to the foreign minister, and we are open to better relations,' Hague told
reporters Monday. 'The time is now right for those statements to be
matched by concrete steps by Iran to address the international
community's concerns about Iran's intentions. And if such steps are taken
then I believe a more constructive relationship can be created between
us,' he added." http://t.uani.com/19waiL9
WashPost:
"The Israeli government, skeptical of Iran's recent diplomatic
outreach, believes that the Islamic republic has embarked on a 'smile and
enrich' strategy to divert attention as it seeks to rapidly expand its
nuclear capability, according to an internal assessment. The assessment,
described as reflecting the judgment of the country's senior security and
policy officials, concludes that Iran will try over the coming weeks to
win relief from harsh economic sanctions through a combination of
diplomatic charm and 'cosmetic' nuclear concessions. But it says Iran's
recent actions show no sign of willingness to make meaningful cuts in its
nuclear program. 'The current Iranian charm offensive aims at reaching a
deal with the international community that will preserve Iran's ability
to rapidly build a nuclear weapon at a time of its choosing - the
so-called breakout option,' states the assessment, a copy of which was
provided to The Washington Post." http://t.uani.com/1gW9ulx
Sanctions
Reuters:
"India's oil ministry wants to raise imports of Iranian crude - even
though U.S. sanctions call for a cut - and has argued its case in a memorandum
ahead of President Barack Obama's meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh on Friday. Oil accounts for about a third of India's total imports
and higher dollar prices combined with a rupee near all-time lows have
increased its cost, adding pressure to a bloated current account deficit.
Oil Minister M. Veerappa Moily is looking for cuts of up to $25 billion
in the oil bill and boosting volumes from Iran, which accepts partial
payment in rupees even though they are not widely traded, could save foreign
exchange outflows. The oil ministry argues in the memorandum seen by
Reuters that imports from Iran could be justified at close to 2012/13's
low level of 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) and still win a waiver from
U.S. sanctions that is tied to cuts of 15 percent." http://t.uani.com/16WNXHM
Syria
Conflict
NYT:
"In a softening of the Western stance on Iran, France's foreign
minister said on Monday that Iran could be included, under certain
conditions, in a Geneva conference that would seek to negotiate an end to
Syria's bloody civil war. In a meeting with the editorial board of The
New York Times, the minister, Laurent Fabius, said Iran would need to
accept the goal of the conference: the establishment by consensus of a
transitional government that would not include President Bashar al-Assad.
Iran would also need to understand, Mr. Fabius said, that it would not be
rewarded for any cooperation on Syria by being granted flexibility to
pursue its nuclear program, another major issue between Iran and the
West." http://t.uani.com/1b261Bg
Terrorism
Times of Israel:
"Iran has resumed its financial backing of Hamas and its government
in Gaza, a pro-Hezbollah Lebanese daily reported on Monday. According to
As-Safir, a series of meetings have taken place in Iran and Lebanon over
the past two weeks between Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian leadership to
discuss developments in Egypt and the Palestinian territories following
the ouster of Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood government in early
July. Iranian officials have been holding regular meetings with Hamas,
the report said, noting that the Islamic extremist group that rules Gaza
plays a crucial role in coordinating between Islamist movements in the
Arab world and the regime in Tehran. Last week, Hamas official Mahmoud
al-Zahar declared that his movement had formed a joint command with
Islamic Jihad, a more radical Islamist movement in Gaza and a close ally
of the Iranian regime." http://t.uani.com/18SBeZ8
Human Rights
AFP:
"Supporters of two US citizens jailed in Iran appealed for their
freedom Monday as President Hassan Rowhani arrived for the UN General
Assembly, with one handing him a letter. Rowhani, seen as a moderate, is
paying a closely watched visit to the annual United Nations meeting as he
seeks to improve Iran's relations with the West. The wife of Saeed Abedini,
a naturalized US citizen involved in underground churches in Iran,
approached Rowhani as he checked in at his hotel, a support group said.
Naghmeh Abedini 'respectfully introduced herself' and asked Rowhani in
Farsi to free her husband, said the American Center for Law and Justice,
a group supporting the family. A member of Rowhani's entourage accepted a
letter that was written by her husband and addressed to the Iranian
president asking for his release, the group said. Separately, 64 members
of the US House of Representatives took part in a campaign to free Amir
Hekmati, a former Marine who is also imprisoned in Iran. The lawmakers
took pictures of themselves with signs seeking Hekmati's release and
posted them on social media with the hashtag #FreeAmir. Representative
Dan Kildee, who led the campaign, said he believed the Iranian government
was responsive to social media." http://t.uani.com/19wdOFi
Reuters:
"Iranian authorities have pardoned 80 prisoners ahead of President
Hassan Rouhani's visit to the United Nations in New York this week,
Iranian media reported on Monday. In a tentative sign that hardline
policies are starting to soften following moderate conservative Rouhani's
inauguration last month, authorities freed prominent human rights lawyer
Nasrin Sotoudeh and at least 10 other prisoners last week. On Monday,
judiciary spokesman Mohseni Ejei told a news conference 80 prisoners had
been pardoned, including some arrested over protests that followed the
disputed re-election of former hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in
2009. Ejei's comments suggest the total of 80 includes those freed last
week in a move seen as intended to dampen Western criticism of Iran's
human rights record ahead of Rouhani's address to the U.N. General
Assembly." http://t.uani.com/18mQpHU
Toronto Star:
"It was the phone call Antonella Mega had waited for during more
than five emotionally devastating years: her husband, Hamid
Ghassemi-Shall, had been released on Monday from Iran's grim Evin Prison,
where he had been held on espionage charges and sentenced to death. 'I'm
completely elated,' said Mega, who has campaigned tirelessly for his
release. 'I'm almost speechless. Hamid hardly knows what is happening. He
just wants to come home to Canada.' The unexpected release was part of an
amnesty for some 80 political prisoners, in advance of Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani's visit to the United Nations Tuesday, where he will make
his maiden speech ahead of difficult negotiations over Tehran's nuclear
ambitions." http://t.uani.com/1b28gEF
Opinion &
Analysis
UANI Advisory
Board Member Fouad Ajami in Bloomberg: "Down is up
and up is down. I feel like we have passed through the looking glass and
are looking back at a backwards world," a military historian of the
modern Middle East wrote in a recent note to me about the hectic
diplomacy over Syria and Iran. 'Where did all the realists go? It's as
though the Cold War never took place.' The logic of familiar things has
been overturned. Iran President Hassan Rohani comes to New York for a
meeting of the United Nations General Assembly preceded by a brilliant
publicity campaign. There was an interview with NBC, with a female
correspondent at that. There was an op-ed article under his name in the
Washington Post. His foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, sent Rosh
Hashanah greetings to Jews worldwide via Twitter. The Iranian
president stepped forth in the nick of time, right as the Barack Obama
administration was reeling from the debacle of its Syria policy. We have
been here before with the skilled and tenacious guild that runs the
Iranian theocracy. An attractive cleric with a winning smile, Mohammad
Khatami, cultured and literate, preaching the notion of a 'dialogue of
civilizations,' was elected president in a landslide in 1997; he was
re-elected four years later. Great hopes were pinned on Khatami. He
delivered an oration at the Washington National Cathedral, and his ascent
was seen on both sides of the Atlantic as evidence of the mellowing of
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's revolution of 1979. But the hopes invested
in Khatami were to no avail. Iran pushed on with its nuclear weapons
program and with its bid for greater power in neighboring states. At
home, a student rebellion animated by unmistakable liberal sentiments
that broke out in 1999 was crushed without mercy. Khatami was either a
man powerless to defend the movement or a faithful son of the Khomeini
order who was given leeway by the regime's powers that be. He couldn't
defy the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or run afoul of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard. The case is now being made that Rohani is no
freelancer, that he is a player of standing in the regime, and that the
olive branch he carries with him has the consent of the supreme leader
himself. The regime has been humbled, brought low by draconian sanctions,
this line of argument goes, and has come to a reckoning with its
weaknesses. There are serious and obvious flaws in this view." http://t.uani.com/18mPGGG
Omid Memarian in
IHT: "As part of its diplomatic charm offensive
before this week's United Nations General Assembly, Iran has released a
dozen political prisoners, including my lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh. At the
same time, President Hassan Rouhani published an op-ed in The Washington
Post arguing his case for resolution of the nuclear crisis. In contrast
to his hard-line and often unsophisticated predecessor, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, Rouhani is rolling out a coherent and well-planned public
campaign... The authorities did not give Nasrin any papers to make her
release permanent or official; she has no guarantees that she won't be
put back behind bars. Other freed political prisoners are in the same
situation, while still many hundreds more remain incarcerated. Many of
them are journalists, activists and reformist politicians who have done
nothing more than press for reforms and justice for Iranian people. Many
of Iran's political prisoners were jailed for airing critical opinions of
the previous Iranian government's domestic and foreign policies -
critiques of Ahmadinejad's policies similar to the arguments Rouhani is
now making with such success in his speeches in Iran and in the American
media. Iranian journalists toil under severe censorship, social
networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are restricted, and
Iranians generally have no free access to information. As a journalist
persecuted for my writings in Iran, I find it remarkable that Rouhani can
take advantage of press freedom in America, publishing op-eds and making
media appearances while at the same time keeping prominent Iranian
journalists imprisoned. When I hear Rouhani speaking of Iranian economic
malaise, inflation, Ahmadinejad's wrongheaded foreign policy, the need
for reducing international tensions and so forth, I am reminded of my
journalist friends behind bars whose lives have been destroyed. .. Iran
has many brave rights advocates who should never have been arrested. The
United States and other countries should welcome these releases, but also
demand an end to the 'revolving door' of prisoners. If these releases
were meant to end the repression of a people who have suffered so many
injustices, it would be a positive step. But many doubt the sincerity of
the gesture, especially given the ad hoc manner in which the prisoners
were freed. Instead, this has given rise in Iran to the belief that
political prisoners are being treated like hostages whose release is
timed with political machinations ahead of the U.N. General Assembly...
An Iranian diplomat told me recently that Rouhani has lived in the West,
knows its culture and respects democratic values. If this is true, then
the Iranian president should put his values into action and ensure
freedom of expression for his own people." http://t.uani.com/1eDZRv4
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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