Thursday, October 31, 2013

Eye on Iran: White House Faces Tough Sell in Congress on Delay of Iran Sanctions







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Reuters:
"Top Obama administration officials have been pushing U.S. lawmakers hard to hold off on new sanctions over Iran's nuclear program, but some key lawmakers said on Wednesday they had not yet been convinced to support a delay. Senator Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which is considering the sanctions package, said lawmakers were skeptical because they felt they had to push the White House to back strict sanctions on Tehran. 'It's incumbent upon them over the next 24 to 48 hours to persuade folks like me and others that the course of action they want to follow is a sound one,' Corker told Reuters. 'I think ... because Congress had to push the administration into the sanctions regime in the first place, there is a degree of skepticism. But from my standpoint I'm certainly open to listening,' he said. Corker had a breakfast meeting on Wednesday with Secretary of State John Kerry. On Thursday, Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew were to hold a classified briefing on the status of talks with Iran for the Senate banking panel." http://t.uani.com/HgPor7

Free Beacon: "Democrats in Congress are seeking to delay a new round of Iran sanctions by up to four months as they assess the impact of U.S. policies towards Tehran, according to draft legislation circulating on Capitol Hill. A bill sponsored by Democrats in Congress seeks to establish a panel to 'review, assess, and make recommendations with respect to the current United States strategy toward the threats posed by the Government of Iran,' according to a draft copy of the bill obtained by the Washington Free Beacon... The Iran Strategy Assessment Panel would have 120 days to travel, discuss, and investigate the prospect of passing new sanctions on Iran, according to the bill. Congressional insiders and experts say that the proposal unnecessarily duplicates Iran legislation already passed in the House and that it would give the regime more than enough time to achieve an undetectable nuclear breakout capability." http://t.uani.com/17uQL1Y

Reuters: "Iran and six big powers began expert-level talks on Wednesday, building on diplomatic momentum created by a pragmatic shift in Tehran towards negotiating a peaceful solution to the dispute over Iranian nuclear ambitions. However, despite much friendlier contacts between the sides since Hassan Rouhani took office as Iranian president with a pledge to reduce tension with the West, major differences remain to be overcome for any breakthrough deal to be reached. Highlighting one big hurdle, Iran said it was continuing its most sensitive nuclear activity, uranium enrichment to a level close to that needed for bombs, denying a statement by a parliamentarian last week that it was halted." http://t.uani.com/1aKYvLU
Election Repression ToolkitNuclear Program

NYT: "Iran has never stopped 20 percent uranium enrichment, Iran's top nuclear official said on Wednesday, contradicting an influential lawmaker who last week said the country had voluntarily halted its production. 'Twenty percent uranium and nuclear plates are being produced inside the country and there has never been a halt in the production trend,' the official, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying by the Icana news agency, which is the mouthpiece of Iran's Parliament. Iran has a stockpile of nearly 300 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 20 percent, which it says is needed to power a reactor in Tehran, but analysts say Iran has produced enough fuel to last years." http://t.uani.com/1gexrIO

Bloomberg: "A Belgian man accused of violating a U.S. law aimed at curbing nuclear weapons proliferation will be arraigned on charges tomorrow, U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of Chicago said. Nicholas Kaiga, 36, the managing director of a Belgian company called Industrial Metals & Commodities, has been in federal custody since June and was indicted last week, according to a statement issued by Fardon today. He allegedly tried to ship aluminum tubes made by a suburban Chicago business -- and subject to the federal International Emergency Economic Powers Act -- to a company in Malaysia that was controlled by an individual 'who is located at times' in Iran, the prosecutor said." http://t.uani.com/Hu05Hx

Sanctions

The Hill: "House leaders are running out of patience with their Senate counterparts over Iran sanctions. The lower chamber voted 400-20 in July to tighten the noose on Iran's energy sector and have been waiting for three months for the upper chamber to follow suit. The Senate Banking Committee had been expected to introduce and mark up its own sanctions bill this week but that timeframe has slipped after the Obama administration urged senators to hold off while U.S. diplomats test Iran's recent overtures... The latest delay hasn't gone down well with House members of either party. 'The Senate should act,' said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), a Jewish Democrat who's close to leadership. 'We ought to pass these increased sanctions, and make sure that the Iranians don't think that they can charm their way out of this situation. Act now.' A spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the Republican leadership agrees. 'The House has acted on this important issue already,' Michael Steel said. 'It's time for the Senate to follow suit.'" http://t.uani.com/HwqGmC

Reuters: "Asia's top buyers of Iranian crude have reduced purchases by 11.5 percent so far this year, and shipments are set to fall further even after tentative signs of better relations between Tehran and Washington... The U.S. believes the impact on Iran's economy has forced Tehran to the negotiating table, and sources say the U.S. is unlikely to allow exports to rise before striking a deal on the nuclear programme. Until then, Asian buyers need to show the United States evidence of continuous reductions in purchases from the OPEC member to qualify for a waiver from sanctions every six months. 'We will maintain our current stance until the United States takes actual action to ease sanctions,' said a source at a north Asian buyer of Iranian crude. 'There have been hopes that U.S. sanctions against Iranian oil import will be eased, but we can't change our trading policy only with hopes.' ... Iran's oil sales are expected to fall sharply in October to their lowest in months at about 719,000 bpd, according to sources who track preliminary tanker loading plans." http://t.uani.com/17uNYpv

Reuters: "Japan's crude oil imports from Iran in September rose 35 percent from a year earlier to 252,216 barrels per day, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry data showed on Thursday." http://t.uani.com/1cshxKn

Reuters: "Iran will probably abandon a multi-billion-dollar contract to supply gas to Pakistan, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Iran's oil minister as saying on Wednesday. 'The contract for supplying gas to Pakistan is likely to be annulled,' Fars quoted Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh as saying on the sidelines of a gas forum in Tehran on Wednesday. He gave no other details, Fars said. Under the contract, Iran is supposed to export 21.5 million cubic meters of gas per day to Pakistan from next year... Iran has already spent hundreds of million or dollars and nearly completed the 900 km (560 mile) pipeline to the Pakistan border. Pakistan, although suffering from severe gas shortages, has made little progress on its part of the line due to a lack of funds and warnings it could be in violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran." http://t.uani.com/1aKVGdx

CBN: "The Obama administration assured Jewish and pro-Israeli groups that it will not allow Iran to make a nuclear weapon. In a meeting at the White House Tuesday, officials told Jewish leaders that they want to resolve the issue through diplomacy. Some believe Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, is a moderate who is willing to negotiate. But Bob Feferman of the United Against Nuclear Iran told CBN News's Gary Lane that the West has to increase pressure on the Islamic state." http://t.uani.com/17ZdqxG

Syria Conflict

BBC: "Footage from Syria appears to show the extent of Iran's involvement in the conflict-ridden country. The regime in Tehran says it is assisting Damascus by sending advisers from its elite Revolutionary Guards. But when some rebels captured a video camera, belonging to an Iranian cameraman who had been embedded with the Revolutionary Guards, the scope of Iran's covert activities in Syria became clear." http://t.uani.com/1hwlz43

Human Rights

RFE/RL: "Iranian President Hassan Rohani has been in office just three months, but he is already being reminded of his campaign promises. High on the list is his pledge to release opposition prisoners, which has largely gone unfulfilled. In recent days, two prominent critics of the Iranian establishment have told Rohani that many voted for him after he vowed to work to end the house arrest of Mir Hossein Musavi and reformist cleric Mehdi Karrubi. Those two opposition figures, along with Musavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, have been under house arrest since February 2011. This week the issue came to the fore when Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Dastgheib criticized Rohani's silence after Musavi's daughters were allegedly physically assaulted by security guards... 'Our first condition was for you to try to release all political prisoners, particularly to end the house arrest of Musavi and Karrubi,' said the outspoken ayatollah. 'Those who were against this idea voted for others.' Abdollah Nuri, a former interior minister and a widely respected reformist figure, has also reminded Rohani that many voted for him hoping for a political thaw. Nuri made the comments last week during a meeting with Karrubi's family. A transcript of his comments was e-mailed to RFE/RL and published by opposition media on October 28. Nuri told Rohani 'not to forget' that his supporters voted for him because they are fed up with 'lawlessness,' 'the violation of civil rights,' and 'narrow-mindedness' in the Islamic republic." http://t.uani.com/1geyo3L

Al-Monitor: "Contradicting his previous statements, Iran's Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi said that President Hassan Rouhani's administration would not get involved in the effort to release Mir Hussein Mousavi, his wife Zahra Rahnavarad and Mehi Karroubi, who are approaching nearly 1,000 days of house arrest. After meetings today, Pourmohammadi responded to reporters' questions about the recent attack on Mousavi's daughters by security agents guarding Mousavi and his wife. Pourmohammadi said, 'What could be said about this event is that it is noise from the media.' When asked if the Rouhani administration has formed a special committee to end the house arrests of Mousavi, Rahnavard and Karroubi, Pourmohammadi said, 'The administration will not interfere in this matter.'" http://t.uani.com/1h306Sr

AFP: "Malaysia insisted Wednesday two Iranian women sentenced to death for drug trafficking must face 'due process' despite a warning from Tehran that their executions would harm bilateral relations. Shahrzad Mansour, 31, and Neda Mostafaei, 26, were sentenced to death in September for smuggling methamphetamine into Malaysia in December 2010. Defence lawyers are appealing the case. The two Muslim nations both use the death penalty against drug traffickers. But Iran's foreign ministry warned last week that executing the women would have a 'negative effect' on bilateral ties, and called for them to be spared. In a statement sent to AFP, Malaysia's Foreign Ministry said that while it valued relations with Iran it could not tolerate 'illegal activities, which are detrimental to Malaysia's image and security.'" http://t.uani.com/17zhWXa

Foreign Affairs

AFP: "Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will visit France next week to deliver a speech at UNESCO, ahead of nuclear talks in Geneva with world powers, media reported Wednesday. Zarif, the first Iranian foreign minister to visit France in years, will also hold talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Paris, the official IRNA news agency said. Relations between Tehran and Paris sharply deteriorated under former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but ties between Iran and the West have been witnessing a thaw since the election in June of his moderate successor Hassan Rouhani. French President Francois Hollande met Rouhani in September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where Zarif and Fabius also hold a meeting. France was an important economic partner of Iran until 2000, but later it campaigned for the adoption of oil and banking sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear programme... Zarif will be addressing the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's as it meets for its 37th general conference." http://t.uani.com/1bFQmq9
Opinion & Analysis

Simon Henderson & Olli Heinonen in WINEP: "Despite public statements suggesting progress, the actual advances so far appear to be limited to atmospherics. Further progress will require Tehran to make concessions that some Iranian political figures have ruled -- at least publicly -- as not open for negotiation. Ceasing production of enriched uranium and stopping the installation of more centrifuges would be an important initial indication of good faith. Equally important would be a changed attitude toward verification, including prompt and full implementation of all provisions of the IAEA's Additional Protocol, which Iran agreed to in 2003. This goes hand in hand with verification of the military-related questions the agency has raised since 2004, as well as concerns over the plutonium-capable IR-40 heavy-water reactor at Arak, which is steadily approaching its commissioning. The Obama administration appears anxious for negotiations to succeed, though it has also stated that no deal is better than a bad deal. If the talks collapse, international support for sanctions would likely begin to fall apart, reducing U.S. leverage. The world is watching, particularly U.S. allies in Europe and Asia, as well as regional friends like Israel, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Last week, Riyadh indicated disappointment with Washington for its lack of resolve in Syria and its apparent conciliatory attitude toward Iran. Washington appears to believe that time is on its side, with Iran's nuclear advances still reversible. From a technical point of view, that is debatable. And any concessions granted to Iran, such as allowing it to enrich uranium at all, would soon be demanded by other countries that have previously been denied those rights. Indeed, rewarding Iran in this way for noncompliance with its nonproliferation commitments would seem indulgent. In the Middle East, many are concerned that Iran's progress puts it on the cusp of becoming a de facto nuclear power. Perception being a reality, Tehran is emerging as the regional hegemon, and an agreement with the West would be seen as Washington confirming this status. Even at this delicate stage, then, Washington needs to negotiate expeditiously, achieving tangible progress that defangs Iran and eases the fears of U.S. allies." http://t.uani.com/1h2ZcoY

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.

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