Eye on Iran: U.S. Sees No Sign Iran is Addressing Concerns on Nuclear Program

For continuing coverage follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.    Top Stories Reuters: "The United States voiced disappointment on Thursday that Iran's new president has not moved more swiftly to allay international concerns about the country's atomic program, saying Tehran is undermining hopes of ending its nuclear standoff with the West. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday the foreign ministry would take over talks with world powers on Iran's contested nuclear program, an apparent move to smooth the diplomatic process after years of control by conservative Iranian hardliners. However, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power did not sound impressed with Rouhani's initial steps on Iran's nuclear program, which Western powers suspect is aimed at developing the capability to produce atomic weapons - a charge Tehran vehemently denies. 'Like others here, the United States hopes that the inauguration of President Rouhani creates an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's serious concerns about Iran's nuclear intentions,' Power told a meeting of the 15-nation Security Council on Iran sanctions. 'Unfortunately, we have not yet seen any clear signs that Iran is committed to addressing the most pressing concerns about its nuclear program,' Power said. 'To the contrary, recent developments trouble us.' Last week, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran plans to test about 1,000 advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges it has completed installing. 'Rather than take steps to meet the obligations imposed by this Security Council, Iran is installing advanced centrifuges, which may be two to three times more efficient at enriching uranium than its current centrifuges,' Power said." http://t.uani.com/17DTG5g WSJ: "The U.S. has intercepted an order from Iran to militants in Iraq to attack the U.S. Embassy and other American interests in Baghdad in the event of a strike on Syria, officials said, amid an expanding array of reprisal threats across the region. Military officials have been trying to predict the range of possible responses from Syria, Iran and their allies. U.S. officials said they are on alert for Iran's fleet of small, fast boats in the Persian Gulf, where American warships are positioned. U.S. officials also fear Hezbollah could attack the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and on Friday the State Department ordered nonessential U.S. diplomats to leave Lebanon because of security concerns. The department has instructed nonessential staffers to leave Beirut and urged private U.S. citizens to depart Lebanon... The Iranian message, intercepted in recent days, came from Qasem Soleimani, the head of Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force, and went to Iranian-supported Shiite militia groups in Iraq, according to U.S. officials. In it, Mr. Soleimani said Shiite groups must be prepared to respond with force after a U.S. strike on Syria." http://t.uani.com/15EhEzt WSJ: "A European Union court ruled Friday against the bloc's sanctions freezing the funds of seven companies allegedly linked to Iran's nuclear program, increasing concerns that successful legal challenges threaten to undermine efforts to combat Tehran's atomic ambitions. The court decided in favor of continuing sanctions against Bank Melli, Iran's largest commercial bank. The judgments will likely spur efforts to craft new measures to stop the sanctions regime from unraveling. The U.S. is pressing for a clear resolution soon-as are some European firms that, diplomats say, fear they could fall foul of U.S. law and face penalties if they conduct business with delisted Iranian firms. The Luxemburg-based European General Court-which hears actions against EU institutions-ruled against the bloc's freeze on funds owned by key companies in Iran's oil and financial services sectors, saying there wasn't enough evidence to justify the sanctions. Among the seven companies, the state-owned Iran Insurance Co. is the country's largest insurer and Post Bank is its third-largest governmental commercial bank. Persia International Bank PLC is a U.K. bank 60% of which is owned by Bank Mellat, Iran's largest private bank, and the Iranian Offshore Engineering & Construction Co. is involved in the development of oil and natural gas fields. The court also canceled freeze orders on Good Luck Shipping Co., a Dubai shipping company alleged by the EU to have acted for the sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, and on IRISL's former legal director, Naser Bateni. The court said the entire ruling could be appealed within two months." http://t.uani.com/164OkzJ   Nuclear Program WSJ: "Iranian President Hasan Rouhani signaled a possible shift in the nation's nuclear policy on Thursday by announcing that the Foreign Ministry would take charge of nuclear negotiations with the West. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a career diplomat who served as ambassador to the United Nations and is known in the West for being moderate and pragmatic, will become the new chief nuclear negotiator. Iran's nuclear policies and negotiations until now have been formulated and controlled by the country's conservative Supreme National Security Council. The council's secretary, Saaed Jalili, also served as the Islamic Republic's chief nuclear negotiator, a position President Rouhani previously held. Mr. Zarif told Iranian media on Thursday that the nation's new team of negotiators consisted of 'experts and technocrats from the foreign ministry' with backgrounds in foreign policy, nuclear negotiations and disarmament." http://t.uani.com/17ViTu0 AP: "The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Friday at a meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, that she called Zarif and agreed to meet him later this month on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. 'I stand ready with my colleagues to get the talks moving,' she said. Ashton added she hopes 'that when we meet in New York we will have the opportunity to set dates (for the formal talks) there.' While it is assumed that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will have the last word on the nuclear issue, Rouhani was elected on the promise of getting rid of the international sanctions that are crippling Iran's economy. Analysts view the appointment of Zarif to lead the nuclear negotiations - instead of the Supreme National Security Council - as a sign that the new administration might be more willing to compromise with the West." http://t.uani.com/15AV9We AFP: "The United States urged Iran Thursday to hold substantive talks on its nuclear program, as Tehran revealed that the foreign ministry had now been tasked with leading the negotiations. We reiterate our hope that the Iranian government will engage substantively with the international community to reach a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program and to cooperate fully with the IAEA in its investigation,' State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said... 'The inauguration of President Rowhani presents an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's deep concerns over Iran's nuclear program,' Psaki said in a statement. 'Should this new government choose to engage substantively and seriously to meet its international obligations and find a peaceful solution to this issue, it will find a willing partner in the United States.'" http://t.uani.com/1dYUaZ7 Sanctions AP: "The committee on Iran sanctions was meeting Thursday afternoon, but it is deadlocked between the West, which wants to tighten sanctions, and Russia, which contends that Rouhani should be given a chance to prove Iran can be a trustworthy negotiating party. The committee consists of all 15 Security Council members. Australia's Ambassador Gary Quinlan, who chairs the committee, told reporters Wednesday that the council members cannot even agree to endorse their own panel of experts' report that Iran violated U.N. sanctions when it launched several ballistic missiles a year ago. 'We're not making as much progress as we should,' Quinlan said. The panel of experts concluded that Iran's launch of Shahab-1 and Shahab-3 missiles in a war-game exercise in July 2012 "constituted a clear violation" of sanctions, and therefore all U.N. member states 'should redouble efforts to implement ballistic missile-related sanctions on Iran.' The experts are appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and approved by the council to investigate reports of violations." http://t.uani.com/14pVaS3  Syria Conflict AFP: "Conservatives in Iran are demanding that former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani respond to allegations he allegedly said Damascus used chemical weapons against civilians, despite denials that he did so... The issue of chemical weapons is highly sensitive in Iran, which was the target of deadly gas attacks during its 1980-1988 war with Iraq. The controversy stems from a report by the unofficial ILNA news agency, which quoted the moderate ex-president as saying 'the Syrian people who were the target of a chemical attack by the authorities must now face the threat of foreign intervention.' But the agency quickly deleted from the quote the words 'by the authorities,' and the foreign ministry denied that Rafsanjani had said such a thing. But several conservative websites also took the opportunity to attack Rafsanjani." http://t.uani.com/1acmjHa  Foreign Affairs Daily Telegraph: "Hassan Rouhani, Iran's president, appeared to be at the centre of a regime power struggle thanks to a happy new year Twitter message to the world's Jews... Reflecting the sensitivity of such sentiments within a theological regime that denies Israel's right to exist, Fars News - an outlet close to the powerful Revolutionary Guards - cast doubt on the message's veracity by quoting one of the president's aides as distancing him from it while denying that he had a Twitter account. The aide, Mohammad Reza Sadegh said social media accounts set up by Mr Rouhani's supporters during last June's presidential election campaign remained active but had no official status. 'All his news and activities since the election have been published through the president's office,' he said. 'Only news published through these channels is official and Mr Rouhani does not have any Twitter account.'" http://t.uani.com/15J1vC3  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. 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