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Reuters:
"President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday international sanctions on
Iran would unravel in months following negotiations with world powers on
its nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported... 'With your
support, this government has taken the first steps towards the lifting of
the brutal sanctions ... We will witness the sanctions shattering in the
coming months,' Rouhani told a crowd during a tour of Sistan-Baluchestan,
a restive underdeveloped province bordering Pakistan. 'Today we already
see the sanctions unraveling,' he said, according to IRNA, referring to
the modest easing of sanctions in return for concessions made by
Rouhani's government in nuclear talks with world powers... 'Due to the
brutal sanctions and unwise administration, our country has faced myriad
problems in the past years... but we will break down the inhuman
sanctions,' Rouhani said. 'We will prove to the world through these
negotiations that what has been said about Iran is a lie. Iran has never
pursued nuclear weapons and never will.'" http://t.uani.com/QcTh56
AP:
"The United Nations will release a report this week certifying that
Iran's ability to make a nuclear bomb has been greatly reduced because it
has diluted half of its material that can be turned most quickly into
weapons-grade uranium, diplomats said Tuesday... Under the agreement,
Iran agreed to halt its 20-percent enrichment program and to turn half of
its nearly 200-kilogram (440-pound) stockpile into oxide for reactor
fuel. As well, it pledged to dilute the other half into low-enriched
uranium. Making weapons-grade uranium by reconverting from oxide or from
the lower level would take much longer than doing so from the 20-percent
enriched material, giving more time for the international community to
react... The U.N. nuclear agency is due this week to report on Iran's
adherence to the deal and two diplomats told The Associated Press that it
would say that Iran has fulfilled its dilution commitment while
continuing the process of conversion into oxide." http://t.uani.com/QphqFy
Khamenei.ir:
"Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's website published an
information graphic with the six red lines of the nuclear negotiations after
meeting with Atomic Energy Organization of Iran personnel on April 9:
1.
Nuclear scientific movement must not
cease or slow down whatsoever.
2.
Iranian negotiators must insist on
continuing nuclear research, expansion, and progress.
3.
No one has the right to bargain
regarding nuclear achievements, and no one will do this.
4.
Officials must have prejudice regarding
nuclear achievements.
5.
Our country's negotiators must not
allow any bullying from the opposing side.
6.
Relations between the International
Atomic Energy Agency and Iran must be standardized and
non-extraordinary." http://t.uani.com/1iZJ4Be
Nuclear
Program & Negotiations
Reuters: "Iran expects to get a fifth installment this week of
previously blocked overseas funds, a senior official was quoted as
saying, a payment that would confirm Tehran's compliance with an interim
deal with world powers to curb its nuclear program. Separately, Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani said 'tough issues' faced the Islamic Republic
and the six major powers in negotiating a permanent accord to resolve the
decade-old nuclear dispute but that it was still possible by a late July
deadline. 'If it (the negotiation process) goes on with the same trend,
the final agreement could be reached within six months,' Rouhani, seen as
a pragmatist, was quoted by news agency Tasnim as saying at a meeting in
a southeastern province late on Tuesday... Under the preliminary
agreement that took effect on January 20, Iran will receive a total of
$4.2 billion of blocked funds in eight payments over six months, if it
lives up to its part of the deal designed to allay fears about its atomic
aims. It says it has already received four transfers in February and
March, totaling some $2.1 billion. A fifth payment of $450 million was
due on April 15, contingent on Iran having diluted half of its most
sensitive stockpile of nuclear materials." http://t.uani.com/P4ZyyO
AP: "Tehran will not discuss its ballistic missiles as part of
ongoing talks with world powers on a final agreement to curb the Iranian
nuclear program, the country's defense minister said Wednesday. The
remarks by Gen. Hossein Dehghan came as a rebuff of recent comments by
U.S. State Department's nuclear negotiator, Wendy Sherman, who said
Iran's ballistic capabilities should be addressed as part of a
comprehensive agreement with Iran... The U.S. has argued that a U.N.
Security Council resolution bans Iran from 'undertaking any activity
related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.' But
Dehghan said Iran's missile program has 'nothing to do' with the nuclear
negotiations and that it has no nuclear dimensions. 'Iran's missiles are
not up for discussion under any circumstances,' he told the semiofficial
Fars news agency. 'Iran's missiles are only our concern ... We don't
accept any intervention from anybody on this issue.' Tehran has developed
a series of missiles, some of which have a range 2,000 kilometers (1,250
miles) - enough to reach much of the Middle East. Military commanders
have described them as a strategic asset and a strong deterrent, capable
of hitting U.S. bases or Israel in the event of a strike on Iran." http://t.uani.com/P50KlC
Military
Matters
Free Beacon: "Iran announced that it has armed its warships with a
new generation of cruise missiles and warned the West that its response
to 'any threat' will be 'more deadly and heavier,' according to regional
media reports. A top Iranian naval commander revealed on Monday that Iran
has armed its coastal defenses and warships with a new, domestically
produced cruise missile primarily used to destroy enemy ships. These new
'Ghadir cruise missiles' have been loaded onto 'both destroyers and
missile-launching warships of the Navy, and they are also used as
coast-to-sea missiles,' Iranian Navy Commander Rear Adm. Habibollah
Sayyari was quoted as telling the state-run Press TV. The new weapons
were unveiled just a day before a top Iranian Army Commander 'downplayed
the U.S. and its allies,' warning them that 'in case of any threat, our
response will be more deadly and heavier,' according to Iran's Fars News
Agency." http://t.uani.com/1eIIEm6
Sanctions
Relief
Just Auto: "Renault says it is 'closely monitoring' the diplomatic
situation concerning Iran as automakers and suppliers start to take
advantage of the slight relaxation in sanctions against Tehran... In
January, the French automaker said sanctions had cost it 64,500 models,
but the thaw in relations could see it up shipments to Iran later this
year, with Renault regional chief, Gilles Normand, noting the next few
months presented an opportunity for component exports for assembly, while
also making reference to the importance of finance flow. 'Since the
Geneva agreements in November, the embargo has been partially suspended,'
a Renault spokeswoman in Paris told just-auto. 'It has not been lifted
yet. We are waiting and are closely monitoring the diplomatic situation
there and we hope it will be resolved any time soon. Iran is a really
important market and if the embargo is lifted eventually and also the
financial situation is resolved - this is what our management -
especially [CEO] Carlos Ghosn has been repeating regarding the situation
these past few months.' Renault has business with both major Iranian
automakers, Iran Khodro and SAIPA and started shipping components for
Tondar (Dacia) models at the beginning of the year. The Tondar90 is a
version of the first generation Dacia/Renault Logan built by both IKCO
and SAIPA... Paris business association, MEDEF, recently took a
delegation to Tehran, while French supplier body, FIEV, attended an
automotive conference in the Iranian capital, bringing with it 16
domestic component producers." http://t.uani.com/QnT1jJ
Domestic
Politics
Guardian: "Iran's parliament is seeking a ban on vasectomies and a
tightening of abortion rules as the country moves away from its
progressive laws on family planning in an attempt to increase the
birthrate. Two decades after Iran initiated an effective birth control
programme, including subsidised male sterilisation surgeries and free
condom distribution, the country is to make a U-turn. Last year the
supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, criticised existing policy on
contraception, describing it as an imitation of western lifestyle. The
74-year-old has urged the government to tackle what he believes to be an
ageing population and to double the number of people in Iran from 77
million to at least 150 million. This week Tehran's
conservative-dominated parliament, the Majlis, voted to discuss banning
vasectomies and introducing punishments for those involved in encouraging
contraceptive services and abortions, local agencies reported." http://t.uani.com/1t9DxPw
Bloomberg: "Water shortfalls may affect half of Iran's population by
this summer if consumption isn't cut by as much as 20 percent, its deputy
energy minister said. 'Tehran, along with 10 other major cities, is at
risk of water shortage,' Rahim Meydani told the state-run Fars news
agency. Iran's 77 million residents need to be 'mindful of their water
consumption given the decrease in rain and water levels behind dams.'
Curbing consumption by 10 percent to 20 percent will help the government
supply drinking water to cities, where levels in reservoirs since the
Iranian year started March 21 are one-tenth lower than a year earlier,
the deputy minister said. Major Iranian cities including the capital as
well as Esfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Hamedan, Kerman, Yazd, Qom and Qazvin,
or about 37 million Iranians, are most at risk of water shortages within
months, according to Meydani." http://t.uani.com/1hLcl6l
Trend: "The gasoline that is being imported into Iran is highly
pollutant, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency. The agency reported on
April 16 that the four elements in gasoline (benzene, sulfur, aromatic,
and olefin) - have a pollution level above standard... Iranian government
has never announced the source of imported gasoline, but Chinese
state-trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, which was sanctioned by Washington in
early 2012 for supplying gasoline to Iran, reportedly has maintained
gasoline export to the Islamic Republic." http://t.uani.com/1qZPGmk
Foreign Affairs
Reuters: "The United States adopted a harsher tone toward Iran's
proposed U.N. ambassador on Tuesday, calling Tehran's choice of Hamid
Abutalebi 'unacceptable' and tying him to the 1979-1981 U.S. hostage
crisis in Tehran. While it did not detail what the veteran diplomat may
have done during the period, when radical Iranian students seized the
U.S. embassy and held 52 U.S. hostages for 444 days, the State Department
for the first time linked the U.S. decision not to issue him a visa to
those events. 'He himself has said he was involved and, given his role in
the events of 1979, which clearly matter profoundly to the American
people, it would be unacceptable for the United States to grant this
visa,' State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily
briefing. Abutalebi has said that he acted only as a translator.
Previously U.S. spokespeople used softer language, saying the choice was
not 'viable.'" http://t.uani.com/1nbp0l3
AFP: "Iran's foreign minister held talks Tuesday in the United Arab
Emirates in Tehran's latest effort to mend fences with Gulf states
suspicious of its nuclear programme and regional ambitions. Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met the UAE Vice President and Prime
Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also the ruler of
Dubai, home to a sizable Iranian community, the WAM state news agency
reported. The two discussed 'bilateral relations... and ways to enhance
peace and stability,' WAM said, adding that Zarif delivered an invitation
from President Hasan Rouhani to visit Tehran. Zarif delivered a similar invitation
to the UAE president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, back in
December, when he toured several Gulf countries." http://t.uani.com/1l7fiff
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