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Bloomberg:
"Iran's crude shipments in February were the highest since the
imposition of Western sanctions that have crippled its oil-dependent
economy, according to the International Energy Agency. Imports of
Iranian oil were 1.65 million barrels a day in February, the highest
level since June 2012, the IEA said. March shipments were estimated to
have fallen to 1.05 million barrels a day from February's figure, 'but
that figure will likely be revised upwards closer to February levels upon
receipt of more complete data,' the IEA said. 'Imports of Iranian oil are
running well above 2013 levels for the third consecutive month,' the
Paris-based adviser to 28 nations, said in its monthly oil market report.
'Imports from Iran could remain high for April.' ... The IEA revised
upward February import volumes of Iranian crude by 240,000 barrels a day
on more complete data. China, India, and South Korea all imported more
Iranian oil than originally estimated in February, the IEA said. The
agency counts cargoes once they are received in importing countries...
Buyers permitted to import Iranian crude under U.S. sanctions are Turkey,
China, Japan, India, South Korea and Taiwan. In March importers of
Iranian oil expanded to include Albania and Syria... Iranian crude stored
on tankers fell from 32 million barrels at the end of February to 22
million barrels at the end of March, the agency said citing data from
E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers." http://t.uani.com/Qd6o6f
AP:
"Congress said no way to Iran's choice for ambassador to the United
Nations, outraged by the prospect of a member of a group responsible for
the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran stepping on U.S. soil.
The move forces President Barack Obama to make a decision that could have
serious diplomatic repercussions. In a rare unanimous vote on Thursday,
the House backed a bill that would bar entry to the U.S. to an individual
found to be engaged in espionage, terrorism or a threat to national
security. The vote came four days after similar action in the Senate and
sends the bill to the White House. The Obama administration opposes the
selection of Hamid Aboutalebi because of his alleged participation in a
Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during
the takeover. American officials have told Iran that Aboutalebi is
unacceptable, and the State Department indicated Thursday that the issue
could be resolved if Tehran simply withdrew the nomination... In
practical terms, Obama must decide whether to sign or veto legislation
that could upset host country agreements with numerous nations. Hours
after the House vote, White House officials declined to say what the
president would do. Spokesman Jay Carney said the administration was
continuing to tell Iran that its choice was unacceptable. Proponents of
the legislation said Obama's choice is clear. 'When Iran said they wanted
to send someone to New York City, to the United Nations under diplomatic
immunity, who is affiliated with those who captured our embassy and held
them for 444 days, something's wrong there and everyone realizes that,'
Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., who sponsored the bill in the House, said in
an interview." http://t.uani.com/1gS5xxJ
Al-Monitor:
"When the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah entered Syria for the
first time, almost a year ago, the status quo was different. Syrian
regime forces were losing ground to opposition rebels. Among some
observers, it became conventional wisdom that it was only a matter of
time before the regime fell; the rebels were at the gates of Damascus, or
at least this is what they used to say. Hezbollah, Syria and Iran form
what is known as the 'resistance and resilience bloc.' The view among the
three is that the bloc is gaining, and is even more necessary, given the
growing jihadist threat. Therefore, any battle being fought today by any
of the three or the three all together is a fight for the alliance and
the bloc and not for anyone alone; it is a fight for three decades of
strategic investment. In Tehran, the war in Syria is regarded by the
establishment and its supporters as a threat to national security. The
news of the war is everywhere in media and permeates political
discussions at all levels. Hezbollah's involvement in Syria is considered
a top-tier national security issue here in Tehran. While the Foreign Ministry
handles the diplomacy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has
the lead, and a direct line to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
because the battle for Syria is also rooted in Iran's perceived role as
leading Shiite revolutionary power. Supporters of Hezbollah and those who
back the Syrian regime regard the war fought by the group as a sacred
war, an existential war. 'Hezbollah is defending the resistance. They are
defending every Muslim who wants to liberate Palestine. This is not a war
that's aimed at defending a regime or a president at all, it's a war for
the resistance, for Palestine,' a source in Tehran told Al-Monitor,
adding that Iran sees Hezbollah's 'jihad' today as of benefit to the
whole region and even those who hate the group." http://t.uani.com/1lVkBCu
Sanctions Relief
Reuters:
"U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told his Russian counterpart on
Thursday that any oil-for-goods deal Moscow might strike with Iran could
run afoul of U.S. sanctions. 'Secretary Lew reiterated our serious
concerns regarding reports of a possible deal between Russia and Iran
involving oil-for-goods,' a Treasury representative said in a statement
after Lew met with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. 'He made
clear that such a deal ... could trigger sanctions against any entity or
individual involved in any related transactions,' the representative
said. Lew also told Siluanov a deal would run counter to an agreement
between Iran and six world powers, including the United States and
Russia, in which Tehran promised to curb its nuclear program in return
for a modest easing in Western sanctions. The sanctions were imposed to
choke off Iran's oil revenues. Reuters reported last week that Iran and
Russia had made progress on a barter deal that could be worth up to $20
billion under which Moscow would provide Russian equipment and goods in
exchange for Iranian oil." http://t.uani.com/1egwYGF
Reuters:
"Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday any
oil-for-goods deal between Moscow and Iran would follow United Nations
rules on sanctions, not U.S. rules. Siluanov would not say whether a deal
had been sealed with Iran... 'We act on the basis of the decisions made
by the United Nations that set sanctions, set product groups which would
be sanctioned and we operate within those decisions,' Siluanov told
journalists. 'There is a nuance. Our American partners have their own
legislation which differs somewhat from the provisions set by the United
Nations and they follow their own rules.'" http://t.uani.com/1jy5USi
Gatestone:
"Spanish police have arrested four individuals suspected of
attempting to export to Iran industrial machinery that could be used to
make weapons of mass destruction. The machinery involves so-called
dual-use equipment-products and technologies that can be used for both
civilian and military applications. Although the European Union bans the
export to Iran of certain dual-use machinery and technology that could be
used to aid Iran's military program, loopholes abound and enforcement
remains patchy. More than a dozen EU countries have supplied Iran with
dual-use technologies in one form or another in recent years, and much of
that trade was lawful and in compliance with export control regulations,
research shows. But the illegal transfer of dual-use equipment to Iran
continues unabated, due to lax enforcement and the failure of European
governments to keep pace with the growing number and sophistication of
actors involved in security-related trade with Tehran." http://t.uani.com/1oTdrk5
Syria Conflict
AFP:
"As he pushes a cart full of tomatoes and cucumbers in the market at
Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, nothing marks out Mahmud as an
experienced Hezbollah fighter... In Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold in
eastern Lebanon, 22-year-old Hussein is heading to Iran to undergo a
commander training course. The stocky vegetable vendor in his fifties,
who sports a red beard, fought Israel here in 2006, but that battle is
now old news. He has just come back from another front: in Syria, where
he fought for 25 days against the rebels who have sought to overthrow
President Bashar al-Assad for the past three years... 'When the party
called on me to go, I responded. I left my job and I went to stop the
takfiris from entering Lebanon,' says Mahmud. 'I fought in several
regions and took fighters from the region and elsewhere prisoner,' he
adds. 'Our cause is just. They are mercenaries from Chechnya, Yemen and
Libya who want to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, who supported us enormously
during the 2006 war against Israel,' Mahmud insists. 'It's our duty to
help him.' ... The psychology student's parents are both party members
and he has already fought in Syria's northern province of Aleppo. 'I'm
very excited about going to Iran to become a battalion chief. It's a
promotion,' he says, under his mother's watchful eye." http://t.uani.com/1iBdd8v
Terrorism
Al-Monitor:
"Although Hamas is more popular than Islamic Jihad, a recent poll by
the Watan Center for Studies and Research in the Gaza Strip suggests
increased support for the Islamic Jihad movement amid reports of
declining popularity for Hamas... Political analyst Hassan Abdo said that
Islamic Jihad's decision to stick with armed resistance and immediately
respond with attacks against the occupation are the main reasons for its
increased support. He contended that immediately responding to the
occupation inspires people, earns their admiration and fulfills their
desire not to let Israel's actions go unpunished, leading to increased
popular support. Abdo also noted that Islamic Jihad has stuck to its
political principles, despite the local and regional changes around it.
This is evidenced by the group sticking with its allies in Syria and Iran
despite their current crises. Abdo believes this adds to Palestinians'
impression that Islamic Jihad is more consistent in its positions as
opposed to Hamas. According to Atallah, Islamic Jihad's continued
alliance with Syria and Iran forces the movement to resist being silent
in the face of Israeli attacks." http://t.uani.com/OOWwyv
Human Rights
AFP:
"United Nations human rights experts called Thursday on Iran to
provide urgent medical care to two political prisoners, warning the
seriously ill men risked dying in detention. The UN's special rapporteur
on the rights situation in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, and other experts voiced
alarm at Tehran's alleged denial of medical care for blogger Mohammad
Reza Pourshajari and religious cleric Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi.
'We are gravely concerned about the worsening health condition of Mr.
Pourshajari and Mr. Boroujerdi, who require urgent access to specialist
medical treatment outside prison,' the experts said in a statement. 'The
prison authorities have so far denied this fundamental right, despite
prison physicians recommending such urgent care,' they added, warning the
two men risked 'dying in detention.' The statement said Pourshajari, who
was arrested in 2010 for his blogging activities under the alias Siamak
Mehr, is serving a four-year sentence in Ghezal Hesar prison in Karaj. He
has suffered a heart attack, has prostate disease, kidney stones, high
sugar level, breathing problems and high blood pressure, according to the
statement. Boroujerdi, who was arrested in 2006 and is serving an
11-year-sentence, currently at Evin Prison in Tehran, meanwhile suffers
from Parkinson's disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, breathing and
walking problems, kidney stones and a heart condition, it said." http://t.uani.com/1erzs5k
ICHRI:
"Imprisoned human rights defender Abdolfattah Soltani is in critical
condition because prison authorities have been denying him needed medical
care for the past several months, according to his daughter. Soltani's
daughter, Maedeh Soltani, told the International Campaign for Human
Rights in Iran that her father, who is serving his 13-year sentence
inside Evin Prison, has lost 4 kilograms (9 pounds) in one month. The
prominent lawyer has also been denied furlough for the past three years.
'On several occasions, my mother made medical appointments for my father
and the Prosecutor even agreed with it, but after the administrative
steps for my father's transfer from prison to hospital were arranged,
each time they refused to bring my father to the hospital for unknown
reasons,' she told the Campaign. Soltani was hospitalized two years ago,
but was transferred back to prison before his treatment was
complete." http://t.uani.com/PXzdnd
Trend:
"Iranian parliament has rejected to send a delegation to Europe
after the invitation was sent for the second time, by senior European
lawmaker. The head of Iran and Europe Parliamentary Friendship Group,
Kazem Jalali said that he has rejected the invitation which was sent by
the chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with
Iran, Tarja Cronberg, the country's Mehr news agency reported on April
11. Jalali went on to note that Cronberg has called him on April 10 and
renewed her earlier invitation. Iranian media outlets reported on April 8
that visit of Iranian parliamentary delegation to Europe has been
cancelled in protest to European Parliament's disputed resolution which
included the situation of human rights in Iran. The Iranian parliamentary
delegation was to travel to Strasburg on April 27-28 upon an invitation
by Cronberg. The European Parliament passed a resolution on the EU
strategy towards Iran on April 3, expressing concern over the human
rights violations in Iran... Cronberg, during her phone call emphasized
that the members of European Parliament delegation for relations with
Iran have had a significant role in modifying of the resolution, which
was heavily criticized by both Iran's administration and some hardline
MPs." http://t.uani.com/1kcZSaE
Ericsson:
"In light of recent international developments related to Iran,
Ericsson has decided not to phase out equipment deliveries. The intention
is to engage with customers. At the same time the Sales Compliance Board
decided to conduct a new Human Rights Impact Assessment based on this
foundation." http://t.uani.com/1hpxeTp
Domestic
Politics
Al-Monitor:
"An investigation into the business dealings of one of Iran's
richest and most flamboyant businessman has countered claims of blocked
money and revealed a deeper network of corruption. Reformist newspaper
Shargh's Amene Shirafkan spoke to members of parliament's Article 90
Committee and other officials involved in the high profile case. The
investigative team dispatched by Iran's judiciary to Turkey, Tajikistan
and Malaysia has revealed other assets belonging to Babak Zanjani, Iran's
celebrity businessman who referred to himself as an 'economic Basij.' At
one time, Zanjani claimed to be worth $14 billion. He became famous for
talking casually about this wealth with BBC Persian, posting pictures of
the hotels and airlines that he owned on Facebook." http://t.uani.com/1n0RY7d
Al-Monitor:
"According to Ali Jannati, Iran's minister of culture and Islamic
guidance, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani was not
responsible for the closing of one of the most radical right-wing
publications in Iran. However, there are indications that the Rouhani
administration has gone on the offensive against Principlist media, a
move welcome by some Reformists, a group typically on the receiving end
of newspaper closures and censorship." http://t.uani.com/1ew930F
Opinion &
Analysis
Eli Lake in The
Daily Beast: "You probably can't get the new Twitter
profile just yet. But if you want to peak into the future, check out
First Lady Michelle Obama's profile @flotus; or super-star actor
@channingtatum; or Iran's Supreme Leader @Khamenei_ir. All three twitter
profiles have the brand new profile page, with its panoramic backdrop
image and a seamless display that makes the photos look like distinct
tweets. But only one of those accounts represents a man who has
systematically jailed, executed, and monitored his country's democratic
opposition since 1989. While Iran has a president and civil government,
real power in the Islamic Republic is wielded by the country's clerics,
and the top cleric is Khamenei. Since coming to power in 1989, Khamenei
has stymied efforts from other Iranian figures to reform a political
system that imposes the death penalty on gays and blasphemers. The
current president Hassan Rouhani, a former hardliner who issued decrees
in the 1990s banning satellite dishes, campaigned on a promise to begin
releasing jailed members of Iran's green opposition. But to this day the
two main leaders of the green movement remain under house arrest and the
pace of state executions has increased under Rouhani in large part
because the supreme leader and a council of clerics control the state's
judiciary. It is particularly ironic that the Twitter feed of Iran's
autocrat would get the profile update before the rest of us. When
Iranians took to the streets in 2009 to protest an election they said
Khamenei had stolen, Twitter was on their side. The social media company
delayed routine maintenance scheduled during the peak of the uprising at
the request of the State Department. In the west, users adorned their
profile pictures with green ribbons to show solidarity with the
opposition known as the green movement. Now, the villain of 2009 is just
another big shot getting the good stuff before the rest of us. Khamenei's
account is not verified like that of Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif
(@Jzarif) or its president, Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani). Also
@Khamenei_Ir only has 49,400 followers, a number that seems low for the
man who presides over what the State Department has deemed the world's
leading state sponsor of terrorism. Nonetheless, Iran watchers believe
its real. In June 2013, the Associated Press reported the @Khamenei_ir
feed was believed to be run by the supreme leader's office. A western
diplomat who has consulted with his country's intelligence agency on the
matter said the account was operated by Khamenei's media office in Qom.
In many ways the feed looks exactly like something a twenty-something
Iranian with near fluent English working for the Supreme Leader would
create. @Khamenei_ir only follows three other accounts: one that belongs
to the supreme leader's media office, another for his Farsi language
feed, and one belonging to @IRKhomeini, a user that posts sayings of
Iran's first supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini." http://t.uani.com/1kANmVn
Barry Rosen in
NYT: "On Nov. 4, 1979, a group of radicals seized
the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and kidnapped the diplomats inside, flouting
fundamental international law. I and 51 of my colleagues then suffered
through 444 days of fear, beatings, solitary confinement, mock executions
and other horrors - some so unspeakable I prefer not to immerse myself in
the memories. Some of us had teeth knocked out, bones broken and our
bodies bruised. We lost weight and sanity. Some tried to kill themselves.
Since our return to America, our torture and treatment have led to early
deaths, suicide and psychiatric care. Some of us never really came home
because human beings, after all, can only stand so much. I am sure
you can understand our anger over Iran's selection of Hamid Aboutalebi as
its ambassador to the United Nations, and the joy we shared when the
Senate -- red and blue, liberal and conservative - led the fight against
him, with the ultimate goal of eliminating state sponsorship of acts of
terror. We wait for the Obama administration to end this travesty. No
matter how Aboutalebi tries to erase or minimize his past, he freely
admits in interviews that he acted as a translator and negotiator for
those who took control of the embassy. He excuses himself by saying that
he was a young man, but he is as complicit as each vengeful radical who
terrorized us. Many have been heard in the heated debate surrounding
Aboutalebi. But we have not heard from Aboutalebi himself or from the
Islamic Republic. There has never been an acknowledgement of what
occurred 35 years ago, much less an apology. That silence is the greatest
outrage of this controversy. Had Aboutalebi come before the United
Nations, before the United States, and offered a formal apology on behalf
of his country and himself, with a plan for reparations for our physical
and mental torture and the damage to our families, perhaps then America
and we former hostages, our spouses and children might have been able to
say, 'You are forgiven.' Before we can move forward, with serious nuclear
negotiations as well as a rapprochement between our two countries, Iran
must affirm that it committed heinous crimes against us, breaking and
altering our lives forever." http://t.uani.com/1ewbPD1
Ephraim Asculai in
JPost: "On March 28, 2014, Reuters reported that a
senior US official said that '[US President Barack] Obama... assured
[Saudi King] Abdullah that the United States would not accept a bad
nuclear deal with Iran.' Given that the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) that
was agreed between the P5+1 and Iran in November of last year was hailed
by the parties as a good agreement in spite of its many shortcomings, it
behooves us to try and define the characteristics of a 'bad agreement.'
These are the characteristics that should be avoided, if the final
agreement is to serve its purpose. Although in the present-day mood it is
not considered in good taste to criticize the JPA, one must do so in
order to try and learn from its mistakes, and attempt to remedy these in
the final or comprehensive agreement. Besides giving in to Iran by
avoiding all major points that were imperative in the United Nations
Security Council resolutions concerning Iran, the JPA studiously avoided
adding any demands that would clarify the outstanding issues and bring
about a halt, albeit temporarily, to Iran's unrelenting progress toward
the reduction of the potential timetable of producing a first nuclear
explosive device. On the bad side of things, for Iran's opponents, were:
the permission to continue enrichment, with the same equipment and the
same rate of enrichment to 3.5% as hitherto, in contravention of the
Security Council's demands to suspend all enrichment operations; the
dilution of only a fraction of the 20% enriched uranium stocks; the
remaining stocks of 3.5% enriched uranium, and the dubious demand that
all future 3.5% stocks be converted into oxides, thus rendering them (as
incorrectly referred to) not usable for further enrichment; suspension of
all heavy-water-related activities; and the non-compliance with the
Security Council demands that Iran resolve all outstanding issues
relating to the possible military dimensions of its nuclear program.
These demonstrate the many things in the JPA that did not conform to the
Security Council's demands. In addition, there comes the very serious
issue of verification. Verification, alongside with intelligence
information, constitutes one of the factors that could sound the warning
bell. Although intelligence can produce the best evidence of possible
non-compliance, it has two serious drawbacks: it is an opportunist
factor, arriving if and when new information comes to light, not when
events actually occur, and, for reasons of secrecy cannot always be used
as evidence to convince the world of wrongdoings. Thus, verification has
to be as perfect as possible. In order to be so, the following conditions
have to be met: verification should cover all possible geographic
locations, and all aspects of the development of nuclear weapons and
their delivery systems; verification has to be versatile in its methods
of inspections, with new technologies being applied whenever they are
developed; people and documentation must be made accessible to the
inspectors; all possible means should be available to the inspectorate.
These must not be constrained by budget, personnel and equipment
limitations. All administrative hurdles such as visas and any-time access
must be dismissed beforehand. Without these presets being met, the
chances of failure are significant. Iran could then do whatever it wants,
wherever it wants to do so, with little prospect of being discovered before
it is too late." http://t.uani.com/1nc9gvh
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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