Eye on Iran: Congress Demands a Say in Iran Talks

Join UANI           Top Stories The Hill: "Congress is demanding to have a say in whatever final nuclear deal the Obama administration ends up striking with Iran. In bipartisan letters to President Obama, House and Senate lawmakers say Iran must not retain any ability to pursue a nuclear weapon. The letters, which were spearheaded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to coincide with its annual conference, come after the White House successfully prevented a vote on sanctions legislation it says would derail talks. 'As negotiations progress, we expect your administration will continue to keep Congress regularly apprised of the details,' wrote House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). 'And, because any long-term sanctions relief will require Congressional action, we urge you to consult closely with us so that we can determine the parameters of such relief in the event an agreement is reached, or, if no agreement is reached or Iran violates the interim agreement, so that we can act swiftly to consider additional sanctions and steps necessary to change Iran's calculation.' ... The lawmakers single out the heavy water reactor at Arak and the fortified enrichment plant at Fordow as facilities that should be dismantled." http://t.uani.com/1i3s7pl JPost: "The United States is reportedly pressuring Israel to stop assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists, a number of whom have been mysteriously killed in a campaign thought to be carried out by Mossad. According to CBS News, Obama administration officials have communicated to Israeli intelligence their wish for a cessation of the targeting of scientists in order to allow diplomatic negotiations aimed at rolling back Iran's nuclear program to take their course. While Israel has never officially acknowledged that it was behind the killings, it is widely believed that Mossad agents carried out the hits in an effort to slow down Iran's nuclear development as well as to deter the country's top scientific minds from cooperating with the government's clandestine weapons program." http://t.uani.com/1kTIl6f FT: "Three Bahraini policemen were killed in an explosion while dispersing 'rioters' on Monday, as an escalation in the tactics of the opposition's radical fringe raised concerns of Iranian meddling in the Gulf state. One of the officers who died in the blast was Tariq al-Shehi, a lieutenant from the United Arab Emirates serving as part of a Gulf force deployed to Bahrain in the wake of the 2011 pro-democracy uprising led by the majority Shia against the minority Sunni-led government... The rise in tensions comes after Bahrain accused Iran of 'active involvement' in attempting to keep the Gulf nation's political crisis 'alive', saying foreign interference is undermining reform. After initial scepticism at Tehran's involvement, Bahrain's western allies are also increasingly wary of Iranian interference... Iain Lindsay, the British Ambassador to Bahrain, last year condemned Iran, saying there was 'increasing evidence' of Tehran 'providing support to people bent on violence.' ... As frequent clashes erupt in Shia villages, officials are concerned that radical elements and Iran may be exploiting the lack of progress in negotiations between the government and opposition. Bahrain's western allies, such as the UK and US, have been assisting Manama in assessing the rising sophistication of weaponry seized in raids over the past few months. One western official said the markings on recently inspected arms showed clear signs of Iranian involvement." http://t.uani.com/1q0yu2d       Sanctions Relief Reuters: "Indian officials, dismissing Iranian media reports, said they had not yet paid any oil money to Iran under a deal that provides Tehran some relief from Western sanctions. Under a landmark deal signed on Nov. 24, Washington and the European Union agreed to let Iran access $4.2 billion in oil revenue that had been frozen in accounts abroad. Iranian oil ministry news service Shana reported on Tuesday that Mohsen Qamsari, head of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said India had deposited some of the money in a Central Bank of Iran (CBI) account. He said 45 percent of the money had been deposited in Indian rupees and 55 percent in euros, according to Shana. Indian government and industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday that India had yet not made any payments... Indian officials said late last month that they were ready to pay $1.5 billion to clear part of a backlog of payments, following the partial easing of Western sanctions on Tehran." http://t.uani.com/1q0zOCk Trend: "A trade delegation from South Korea will arrive in Iran on March 9 to discuss expanding bilateral ties, the Tasnim News Agency quoted Iran's Trade Promotion Organisation's Deputy Director Mehdi Mir-Aboutalebi as saying on March 4. The delegation comprises the heads of South Korean companies in the fields of mining, food and industry." http://t.uani.com/1jOrO3v Human Rights Free Beacon: "Iran executed two gay men on Sunday for the crime of 'perversion' and has sentenced a third individual to death for 'insulting the prophet,' according to human rights activists tracking the situation. The head of Iran's judiciary department in the northern city of Rasht announced on Sunday that two homosexual men had been executed for 'perversion,' which is considered a severe crime under Iran's hardline Islamic law. The executions come less than two months after Iranian authorities publicly hanged 40 individuals in a two-week period. Iran is executing at least two people a day, according to activists." http://t.uani.com/1fW8AIz IHR: "Farzaneh (Razieh) Moradi (26) was hanged in the prison of Isfahan this morning- She was convicted of murdering her husband, to whom she had been married to at the age of 15. Farzaneh's daughter is 10 year old and has not seen her mother since she was arrested six years ago." http://t.uani.com/1cz6mua 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.