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Reuters:
"At least 80 people and perhaps as many as 95 have been executed in
Iran already this year, a surge in the use of the death penalty that has
dampened hopes for human rights reforms under President Hassan Rouhani,
the United Nations said on Friday... 'There were some encouraging signs
last year where political prisoners were released ... But it appears at
least in the past seven weeks that in fact executions have been scaled
up,' U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news
briefing. 'We regret that the new government has not changed its approach
to the death penalty and continues to impose capital punishment for a
wide range of offences. We urge the government to immediately halt
executions and to institute a moratorium.' Last year Iran executed
between 500 and 625 people, including at least 28 women and two
juveniles, Shamdasani said... 'I am concerned that Europe in general is
getting ahead of itself, rewarding Iran for a lack of tangible
improvements by trying to relegate human rights,' Hadi Ghaemi, executive
director of the U.S.-based International Campaign for Human Rights in
Iran, told Reuters by telephone." http://t.uani.com/1k5azxJ
Reuters: "Iran
has signed a deal to sell Iraq arms and ammunition worth $195 million,
according to documents seen by Reuters - a move that would break a U.N.
embargo on weapons sales by Tehran. The agreement was reached at the end
of November, the documents showed, just weeks after Iraq's Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki returned from Washington, where he lobbied the Obama
administration for extra weapons to fight al Qaeda-linked militants. Some
in Washington are nervous about providing sensitive U.S. military equipment
to a country they worry is becoming too close to Iran. Several Iraqi
lawmakers said Maliki had made the deal because he was fed up with delays
to U.S. arms deliveries. A spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister would
not confirm or deny the sale, but said such a deal would be
understandable given Iraq's current security troubles. 'We are launching
a war against terrorism and we want to win this war. Nothing prevents us
from buying arms and ammunition from any party and it's only ammunition
helping us to fight terrorists,' said the spokesman, Ali Mussawi... 'If
true, this would raise serious concerns,' the U.S. official said. 'Any
transfer of arms from Iran to a third country is in direct violation of
Iran's obligations under UNSCR 1747.'" http://t.uani.com/MU042f
Bloomberg:
"Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif declared his country
ready to receive investments as a temporary nuclear deal with world
powers eases sanctions. 'This is a safe, stable business environment,'
Zarif said at a joint press conference with Belgium counterpart Didier
Reynders in the Iranian capital. He invited Belgian companies to 'place
themselves strategically' and consider business partnerships with
Iranians. 'Iran is open for business,' he said, parrying U.S. Treasury
Secretary Jacob J. Lew's Feb. 19 assertion that Iran 'is not open for
business' following the nuclear deal." http://t.uani.com/Modoei
Nuclear
Program & Negotiations
AFP:
"Iran and world powers will hold technical talks 'next week' in
Vienna ahead of a political meeting to negotiate a comprehensive nuclear
deal, a top Iranian negotiator said on Sunday. Iran and the P5+1 group of
world powers agreed last week on a timetable and framework for the
negotiations for an accord that would allay Western concerns about Iran's
nuclear programme in return for the lifting of crippling sanctions. 'The
issues on the agenda are enrichment (of uranium), the lifting of
sanctions and international cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy,' said
Abbas Araqchi, also a deputy foreign minister. Cited by the official IRNA
news agency, Araqchi said the talks would take place on the sidelines of
a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors
'next week'. He did not specify dates, but the board is set to meet in
Vienna from March 3 to 7." http://t.uani.com/1hpdUmj
Sanctions Relief
Reuters:
"U.S. aerospace companies are seeking permission to sell airliner
parts to Iran for the first time in three decades, in a key test of the
temporary relief on sanctions given under talks to curtail Iran's nuclear
activities. At least two leading manufacturers, Boeing and engine maker
General Electric (GE), have applied for export licenses in a six-month
window agreed by Iran and six world powers in November, industry
officials and other sources familiar with the matter said... Rival
European groups, however, have been slower to react because of doubts
over the status of the European Union's complex Iranian sanctions
legislation and fears of a backlash from the United States, which had
warned them not to rush into dealings with Iran." http://t.uani.com/1cg5Lxn
Reuters:
"Iran's non-oil exports are starting to feel the benefits of easing
international tensions under new President Hassan Rouhani, Iranian
businessmen at one of the world's biggest food industry shows say.
Organisers of the annual Gulfood fair in Dubai said 46 Iranian exporters
have stands at this week's event, roughly double last year's number - a
sign of Iran's partial return to the global trading system since Rouhani
took office in August... Rouhani's diplomacy seems to be helping
Iranian exporters in at least two ways. By creating hope for a resolution
of Iran's nuclear dispute, he has halted wild swings of the rial
currency, which lost roughly half its value against the U.S. dollar in
2012. 'The stabilising of the dollar has helped a lot and decreased the
risk of doing business. It's stabilised our prices,' said Mohammad Ali
Khoshbin, an executive at the Khoshbin Agro Group, which exports
pistachios and raisins to North Africa and Europe. With the risk of an
immediate crisis over the nuclear programme receding, foreign buyers of
Iranian products also feel safer signing contracts. 'Definitely, Europe
has been in more contact with us' since Rouhani took office, Khoshbin
said." http://t.uani.com/1epsrLu
Bloomberg:
"Iran will offer foreign partners incentives to find and pump more
crude and natural gas and will pay some fees in barrels as it seeks to
boost income once international sanctions are lifted. New contracts Iran
is developing will offer higher fees for riskier exploration and
production projects, oil-ministry officials said at a conference in
Tehran yesterday. Local and international executives attended a two-day
meeting to discuss rules that would govern oil and gas production if
Western curbs on Iranian energy exports are removed. The committee
revising the Islamic republic's contract model presented terms called the
'Iran Petroleum Contract.' ... Russia's OAO Gazprom, China National
Petroleum Corp. and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd., or Petronas, were
among a dozen foreign firms the organizers said attended the conference.
Western European companies were not present." http://t.uani.com/1leYYfN
Trend:
"Italian company, Danieli, has expressed its readiness to establish
a factory in Iran for manufacturing mining machinery, ISNA reported on
February 21. Danieli's CEO Gianpietro Benedetti made the remarks at a
meeting with Iranian Deputy Industry Minister Mehdi Karbasian in Tehran.
Currently, a steel plant is being built by Danieli in Iran's city of
Shahreza, in Isfahan province, he said, adding that the project will be
inaugurated by in the next 15 months. An Italian business delegation will
soon visit Iran to explore investment opportunities in the Islamic
Republic, Press TV reported. The delegation headed by Chairman of the
Italy-Iran Chamber of Commerce Rosario Alessandro, will start a four-day
visit to Iran on Saturday, the press office of the Iranian Embassy in
Rome, said. The delegation will hold bilateral meetings with their
counterparts from Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines."
http://t.uani.com/1hphzRk
Foreign Affairs
AFP:
"A prominent hardline cleric in Iran warned on Friday against the
Islamic republic resuming ties with the United States, and said any
attempt to do so would prove futile. 'Some people have created an
underground network for establishing relations with the America,'
Ayatollah Ahmad Janati told crowds at Friday prayers in Tehran, in
comments broadcast by state media. 'Our people are anti-American -- you
should be anti-American as well. Why did you go a different way from the
people?' Janati asked, addressing those alleged to be behind the move.
'As long as our people and our supreme leader do not want it, your
efforts will not bear any fruit,' added Janati, who heads the powerful
Guardians Council electoral watchdog. His comments sparked chants of
'Death to the America!' and 'Death to Israel!' from the thousands of
Friday worshippers." http://t.uani.com/1k3Pale
AFP:
"Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders expressed hope Sunday that
Iran's nuclear negotiations with world powers could lead to the
restoration of trust between Tehran and the West. 'I hope relationships
that are based on trust will be revived with the nuclear negotiations and
when a clear, final agreement is reached,' Reynders said in a press
conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. Reynders
had earlier met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a relative
moderate elected last year on vows to engage the West diplomatically in
order to secure the lifting of crippling international sanctions.
Reynders is the third foreign minister from the European Union to visit
Iran in the past two months, following in the footsteps of Italy's Emma
Bonino and Sweden's Carl Bildt... Zarif, for his part, expressed optimism
for better economic cooperation with Europe. 'Our European friends should
know that a good atmosphere and stable conditions have been created for
investment in Iran,' Zarif said. He added that Iran would continue the
negotiations 'to remove all excuses for sanctions, so that the situation
for foreign investment is prepared.'" http://t.uani.com/1bEMWJi
Opinion &
Analysis
Michael
Kassen & Lee Rosenberg in NYT: "Like all Americans, we strongly
hope that the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts lead to the
peaceful dismantling of Iran's nuclear weapons program. To achieve this
key national security goal, we support a policy that complements the
current negotiations with a range of congressional actions that threaten
greater economic and diplomatic pressure on the Iranian government. Some
opponents of such a policy crudely characterize its proponents as
warmongers, and fret that Tehran will walk away from the table. But the
critics have it backward. The approach we outline offers the best chance
to avoid military conflict with Iran. In fact, diplomacy that is not
backed by the threat of clear consequences poses the greatest threat to
negotiations - and increases prospects for war - because it tells the
Iranians they have nothing to lose by embracing an uncompromising
position. Successful negotiations between adversaries rest on the
confluence of interests and goals. Iran came to the negotiating table
because it sought the abrogation of sanctions; we came to the table to
reach an agreement that, in the words of President Obama, would 'make it
impossible' for Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Our message to Tehran
should be clear: It will not achieve its objectives unless it satisfies
ours. Unfortunately, Iran's leaders are acting as if they have not received
that message. In recent weeks, the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, has
declared that his government will not dismantle a single centrifuge.
Tehran also went beyond words by testing long-range ballistic missiles
that could reach American military bases in the Middle East, as well as
our ally Israel. It has even dispatched warships to sail close to the
maritime borders of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean. We also know
the Iranians have worked to deceive us in previous rounds of negotiations.
In 2003, when Mr. Rouhani was Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Tehran
issued a declaration that it was suspending uranium enrichment and other
nuclear activities. Last year, as he ran for president, Mr. Rouhani even
boasted that Iran had flouted the agreement. Offering inducements is not
enough. Diplomacy must be backed by a clear choice for the Iranian
government: Either it dismantles its nuclear program so that it lacks a
pathway to weapons capability or it faces greater economic sanctions and
international isolation. Without this clarity, no one can be surprised if
Iran rejects diplomatic overtures. The partial recovery of Iran's economy
in recent weeks, thanks to the relaxation of sanctions, in tandem with
its continuing advanced research and development of centrifuges,
highlights our concerns. If Iran can achieve such progress without
dismantling any part of its nuclear program, why should it make
concessions? We strongly believe that the assertion by Congress of its
historic role in foreign policy can, in fact, complement and enhance the
administration's efforts by forcing Iran to recognize the stark
implications of intransigence. The president should welcome such
congressional initiatives, which would actually strengthen, not weaken,
the hand of his administration in forthcoming negotiations. Thus we urge
Congress to outline for Iran the acceptable terms of a final accord. This
must include, at a minimum, the dismantling of its nuclear program, so
that Iran has neither a uranium nor a plutonium pathway to a nuclear
weapon. Second, Congress should exercise oversight to ensure that Tehran
understands that our existing core sanctions architecture will remain in
place for the full duration of the negotiations. Third, Congress must
oversee continual implementation of the interim agreement: We cannot
permit Iran to violate trust again by advancing its nuclear program even
as it joins negotiations." http://t.uani.com/1cHxUB1
Claudia
Rosett in Forbes: "As things now stand, what are the benefits of
this process for America and its allies? Well, there's a temporary pause
in some aspects of Iran's nuclear weapons program; but nothing to really
impede Iran rolling forward again, should its rulers so choose. There's
also the pleasure of imagining that Iran's aging Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei, having presided for decades over Iran's quest for the ultimate
weapon, might decide he'd prefer to be remembered as the ayatollah who
surrendered his nuclear ambitions to Catherine Ashton and Wendy Sherman.
And for P5+1 diplomats engaged in these talks, there is of course the
promise in coming months of fine dining and high-profile diplomatic
dealings in Vienna. What's in it for Iran? With partial easing of
sanctions, there's a chance for the repressive, terrorist-sponsoring
Tehran regime to regroup economically and financially. The hope of the
western diplomats leading these negotiations is that sanctions relief,
friendly talk and other accompanying favors might entice Iran's despots
to abandon their bellicose ways and in the general interest of their
fellow Iranians take a seat as benign members of the community of
nations. That hope could backfire to terrible effect, if - as seems
likely - Iran's rulers stick to their usual ways of favoring their own
power, wealth and messianic ambitions over the welfare of their
countrymen. While the Iranian economy is enjoying a spell of sanctions
relief, the opportunities are expanding again for the funding and
procurement needed for Iran's proliferation programs. There is also an
utterly undeserved legitimacy now being conferred on Tehran's
tyranny. Iran's regime remains the world's leading sponsor of
terrorism, a patron of carnage in Syria, and a brutally repressive power
at home. Yet the attention paid to Iranian officials in these negotiations
- verging at times on deference - is conferring on the likes of Javad
Zarif, or Iran's president Hassan Rouhani, a celebrity status that
casually ignores their roles as longtime loyal advance men for a
murderous government. What now appears to be playing out at the
bargaining table is a potentially protracted, ill-defined gamble, led by
the EU and the U.S., that Iran is ready to be talked out of its nuclear
program. The model that comes to mind is North Korea, where the road to
three nuclear tests over the past eight years - and a fourth quite likely
now in the works - entailed round after round of negotiations, under both
the Clinton and Bush administrations. The pattern was one of procedural
triumphs, announced as progress, only to be followed by Pyongyang's
reneging, cheating, pocketing the gains and concessions won at the
bargaining table, and walking away. The diplomatic extravaganzas served
not to win over the rogue nuclear-proliferating state, but to shore it
up. It's a good bet that Iran, a close ally of North Korea, learned
something from watching that scene. One might have hoped that Sherman,
who served as policy coordinator for North Korea during the second term
of the Clinton administration, had learned something as well. But here we
go again. Lots of diplomatic procedure. But who benefits?" http://t.uani.com/1k3PFvH
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear
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email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
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