Eye on Iran: Iran's Oil Output Increasing Despite Sanctions: Minister

Join UANI           Top Stories WSJ: "Iran's oil production is increasing despite sanctions, the country's oil minister said Tuesday. Speaking as he arrived for a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Bijan Zanganeh said 'we will do everything we can to increase our production. We have done it during the last month.' He didn't say by how much production-which has been hurt by international restrictions on investment and exports-had increased.  According to OPEC, Iran's crude-oil output stood at 2.8 million barrels a day in April... The minister also said the country's oil exports-which include crude and condensates-stood at close to 1.5 million barrels a day. But he didn't give a time reference for such a level." http://t.uani.com/1kOGCll WSJ: "China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, has doubled production at its Iranian oil project, according to people familiar with the matter, a rare success as the country struggles to revive its flagging oil output. The push is part of a broader attempt by China and Iran to mend fences after the cancellation of a $2.5 billion oil-field deal with another Chinese state-owned giant, China National Petroleum Corp. Production at the Sinopec-run Yadvaran project, near the Iraqi border, has increased to about 50,000 barrels a day from 25,000 barrels a day in early April, the people said. Sinopec didn't responded to repeated requests for comment. Sinopec is also pushing to start a new phase to boost output to 135,000 barrels a day, people familiar with the matter said." http://t.uani.com/SN7lTU Reuters: "China is set to take more Iranian crude than it did before tough sanctions were put in place in early 2012, as Asia's biggest refiner Sinopec Corp buys more oil from the Middle East nation, sources with direct knowledge of China's buying strategy said... Higher purchases by Chinese state refiner Sinopec mean Iran's top clients - China, Japan, India and South Korea - are expected to jointly import around 1.25 million-1.3 million barrels per day in the January-June period, according to five industry and government sources with knowledge of oil sourcing in these countries. 'Over the past two years Sinopec had reduced purchases. That was purely because of sanctions,' said an industry official with knowledge of the refiner's supply plans. 'Now that the pressure is eased, they are making the most of it.' ... China is likely to import about the same volume of oil in May and June as it did in the first four months of the year, when it took on average of around 620,000 bpd compared with pre-sanctions volumes of around 550,000 bpd. The Asian giant's imports are also higher in part because Dragon Aromatics, an independent petrochemicals producer based in Fujian, signed a contract last year for South Pars condensate, a light crude, with monthly purchases averaging at some 80,000 bpd... Sinopec's imports are done via its trading vehicle Unipec. Unipect lifts around 265,000 bpd of Iranian oil under an 8-year oil contract that will last through to end-2019." http://t.uani.com/1l8rbj2     Nuclear Program & Negotiations Reuters: "Iran, after talks with senior U.S. officials, questioned whether a July deadline for a nuclear deal with world powers will be met, fueling doubts on the outcome as France spoke out, saying talks on curbing Tehran's uranium enrichment had 'hit a wall'... While an extension is possible under the terms of the talks, experts believe both Iran and the international powers may face domestic political pressures to argue for better terms during this extra time period, further complicating negotiations. The Iranian official, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, said it was 'too soon to judge' whether more time was needed. 'But the good thing is all parties are seriously committed to meet that goal,' he said of the July 20 target. 'Whether we can do it or not is something else,' he told Iranian media in Geneva. A recording of his remarks were reviewed by Reuters." http://t.uani.com/UqN34d Al-Monitor: "House members sent the White House a clear message on Tuesday that Congress won't 'budge an inch' on sanctions on Iran unless the country comes clean about the suspected military dimensions of its nuclear program. In the first in a series of hearings on the ongoing nuclear talks, key members of the House Foreign Affairs panel reiterated their demands that any final agreement contain strong verification procedures. But they also insisted that Iran allow access to suspected military sites before lawmakers are asked to approve a final deal - or even a six-month extension of the current interim agreement beyond the July 20 deadline, should it prove necessary. 'Before we would ever consider the possibility of extending this interim agreement for another six-month period, certainly we should expect that the Iranians would at least be willing to grant that access to the areas where for more than a decade we've had these concerns,' said Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., the top Democrat on the Middle East and North Africa panel. 'At a bare minimum, Congress should be informed in a very detailed nature of whatever talks have taken place surrounding that issue before we should be asked to budge an inch on any sanctions.'" http://t.uani.com/UtnNtY WFB: "Nuclear expert Olli Henoinen told Congress Tuesday, 'Today we don't know how many centrifuges Iran has.' Although the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has some information on Iran's centrifuges, according to Henoinen, 'it has not got the total number of centrifuges produced.' Henoinen, the former Deputy Director of the IAEA, made the remarks while testifying before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Henoinen said that Iran 'is still likely building additional centrifuges', and that in his view, 'one should put a cap to this and not to wait. The problem doesn't become easier by waiting.' The IAEA reported last summer that Iran was preparing to test about 1,000 new advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges. They had also built 2,000 more of the older, slower IR-1 centrifuges." http://t.uani.com/1lapBBK Sanctions Relief Trend: "Japanese Suzuki Car Company is negotiating with Iranian car maker Iran Khodro to launch a new production line in Iran. Abdollah Babaee, director of marketing and sales at Iran Khodro, said Suzuki is among the companies Iran Khodro is negotiating to expand cooperation with, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on June 11." http://t.uani.com/1n5NcBK Fars News (Iran): "Switzerland's Evasan Insurance Company announced that it will soon open a branch in Tehran. 'We are now providing travel insurance services in Iran and plan to increase our presence in the country through opening a branch office,' Pedram Habibi said on the sidelines of the 8th International Bourse, Banking and Insurance Exhibition in Tehran on Tuesday. He noted that the Swiss insurance company has already obtained the European Union's official permission to take part in joint activities with Iranian firms. Habibi said that Evasan has already obtained the needed permission to provide travel insurance coverage in Iran. The 8th International Bourse, Banking and Insurance Exhibition opened at Tehran International Permanent Fairground on Sunday. A sum of 360 Iranian companies and 10 foreign companies from Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey are present in the exhibition." http://t.uani.com/UtqLi9 Human Rights IHR: "Three prisoners were hanged in three different Iranian prisons. According to the state run Iranian news agency Mehr, a prisoner identified as Abbas M (33 year old) was hanged in the prison of Qazvin (Northwest of Tehran) early this morning. The prisoner was convicted of possession of narcotic drugs and alcohol." http://t.uani.com/1oU2MBC Foreign Affairs AFP: "Ankara and Tehran have failed to reach a deal on the pricing of Iranian gas imports to Turkey but will meet again for further talks, officials said Tuesday. Turkey is one of the largest customers for Iranian oil and a major buyer of its natural gas, with about a fifth of its gas supplies coming from Iran. Ankara is seeking a discount on gas prices, arguing that they are unsustainable. 'Turkey purchases the most expensive natural gas from Iran among other suppliers,' Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters on the sidelines of a business forum in Ankara attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. 'We believe Iran will go for a discount on the price of the gas because we told them that this is not sustainable,' he said. Turkish and Iranian ministers held extensive talks late Monday on the issue but officials said Tehran has so far refused to slash its prices. Yildiz said an Iranian delegation would visit Turkey next week for further discussions." http://t.uani.com/SyNPu3 Opinion & Analysis Colin Kahl in Foreign Affairs: "The Obama administration and its negotiating partners are demanding that Iran substantially roll back its enrichment capacity. The purpose, U.S. officials say, is to extend Iran's breakout capacity -- defined as the time it would take Iran to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a single nuclear weapon -- from about two months, where it sits today, to at least a year. The longer it takes Iran to make one bomb, the thinking goes, the more its leaders will be deterred from building one, and the more time the international community would have to discover and stop the process if they aren't deterred. Outside analysis, including from some former U.S. officials, suggests that a somewhat shorter breakout cushion, perhaps even six months, may be enough. In either case, Iran would have to scale back its nuclear program from 19,000 centrifuges (10,000 of which are currently operating) to just a few thousand first-generation centrifuges or even fewer of the more advanced models. It would also have to reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU, which can theoretically be further enriched to bomb-grade) and place limits on centrifuge research and development. Iranian officials, in contrast, insist that the Islamic Republic's enrichment infrastructure be maintained and even expanded by tens of thousands of additional centrifuges, including more efficient next-generation machines, to fuel Iran's Bushehr power plant and additional power and research facilities that Iran plans to construct. Their argument is that Iran's practical need for an expansive enrichment infrastructure is substantial, both now and in the near future. But a 'civilian' nuclear program on that scale would also theoretically allow Iran to shrink its breakout timeline to a few weeks. For Iranian officials, however, the breakout concept is largely irrelevant; after all, they are quick to point out, the Islamic Republic is committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa years ago prohibiting the acquisition of nuclear weapons. Instead, Iranian negotiators have apparently favored a final deal that relies on transparency and verification procedures to confirm the peaceful nature of Tehran's program, without placing constraints on the country's centrifuge capacity, LEU stockpile, or future research and development. 'We have nothing to put on the table and offer to them but transparency,' Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently stated. 'Iran will not retreat one step in the field of nuclear technology.' Objectively, Iran's case for a large-scale enrichment program is weak. Russia is committed to providing fuel for Bushehr through 2021, and has indicated its willingness to renew the supply contract for the life of the reactor. Further, Iran has enough enriched material to fuel its Tehran Research Reactor, which produces medical isotopes, for many years to come. And if the heavy-water research reactor under construction at Arak is eventually modified to use LEU, as the P5+1 are reportedly requesting to address concerns about plutonium output, Arak's fuel requirements could be met by fewer than 2,000 first-generation centrifuges. Beyond this, the need for additional domestic sources of nuclear fuel -- and, therefore, tens of thousands of spinning centrifuges -- remains purely hypothetical. And, in any case, construction of any new reactors is likely to take at least a decade. Tehran's current negotiating position is therefore more about political symbolism -- a nationalist assertion of expansive nuclear rights -- than practical, near-term requirements. The P5+1's recognition five months ago that Iran will ultimately possess a limited enrichment program under a final agreement was a huge, and long sought after, concession to Iran. The Obama administration and its partners rightly saw the move as a way to provide the regime with a face-saving exit from the nuclear crisis. As talks enter the final stretch, all sides will have to make additional tough compromises for diplomacy to succeed. But after years of repeated Iranian violations of their obligations under NPT safeguards, the greater onus is now on Tehran to take the steps necessary to assure the international community of the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program. And that is why Iran's current nuclear demands are a dead-end street. There is no evidence that the Obama administration would acquiesce to Iran maintaining or increasing its centrifuge infrastructure in the near term. And, even if the administration were so inclined, such a deal would be a political nonstarter in the U.S. Congress -- which could easily torpedo a final deal -- and would face enormous opposition from the United States' closest allies in the Middle East, Israel and Saudi Arabia. For these reasons, if Iran persists in its unrealistic stance on enrichment, there will be no final deal, period, and the glimmer of diplomatic hope this week could quickly be replaced by the shadow of conflict. To be sure, backing down from its maximalist position will require Khamanei and other Iranian leaders to swallow some of their revolutionary pride. But the alternative -- a diplomatic train wreck -- would likely prove far worse for the regime." http://t.uani.com/1oNznuX Jefferson Morley in The Daily Beast: "Chinese businessman Li Fangwei, known as 'Karl Lee,' is one of the most wanted men on the planet, with a bounty of $5 million on his head. Li's alleged offense: flouting the international ban on trading with Iran. But, according to an indictment unsealed in April, Li and his associates were doing business in New York City as recently at 2011-five years after U.S. officials in Beijing had first urged the Chinese government to take action against him, and two years after New York state authorities had indicted him on 119 counts of fraud and deception (PDF) in connection with his Iran dealings. As international negotiators meet in Geneva on Monday for the next round of talks on the future of Iran's nuclear program, Li's career is testimony to the Islamic Republic's success in building its conventional military power while enduring international sanctions for its nuclear program. The inability to rein him in-or bring him to justice-is a reflection of the enormous complications and conflicting interests that surround Iran's weapons program. Li, a 42-year-old metallurgical engineer and entrepreneur in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, has been 'a principal contributor' to Tehran's ballistic missile program for years, according to prosecutors. With Li's assistance, Iran's Ministry of Defense obtained high-strength metals that can be used to build ballistic missiles and gas centrifuges used in uranium enrichment. Iran's missile arsenal (shared with Hezbollah in Lebanon) serves as its chief deterrent to oft-threatened attack by Israel or the United States. Earlier this year Washington adopted Israel's position that the ongoing nuclear talks should include discussion of Iran's ballistic missile program, a demand that Iran spurned. If the current negotiations break down, Israel and its allies in the U.S. Congress are sure to renew the call for a pre-emptive attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. If that were to happen, Iran might well fire the missiles manufactured with Li's help at U.S. Navy vessels in the Persian Gulf, Israel's cities, and its nuclear weapons facility at Dimona. China has supported sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, while insisting the sanctions be enforced multilaterally. The Chinese government objected to Li's indictment in April saying it 'resolutely opposes' the use of U.S. law to enforce a ban on trading with Iran. In fact, the State Department has been trying-and failing-to get Beijing to take action against Li since the Bush administration. In February 2013, Li told a Reuters reporter that he had not violated any laws and said he no longer accepted orders from Iran. But in the world of Western arms control policymakers, Li remains notorious. 'Not since AQ Khan has a manufacturer of proliferation-sensitive technologies so brazenly and repeatedly sold their goods for use in prohibited programmes despite ongoing attention from national and international authorities,' according to British intelligence analysts Daniel B. Salisbury and Ian J. Steward of the Centre for Science and Security Studies in London in a recent article about Li's career... Former U.S. official David Albright and two colleagues called Li a 'serial proliferator' in a May 8 analysis for the Institute for Science and International Security. 'China's lack of action over the years to shut down Li's operations shows that it is willing to tolerate high levels of criminal behavior in violation of UN sanctions on Iran and the international export control regimes to which it belongs,' they wrote. Not only has Li allegedly violated sanctions on Iran. He did so under the nose of U.S. authorities.  He is alleged to have used his front companies to conduct 165 transactions worth $8.5 million in the United States since 2006. While under indictment, he sold one unidentified U.S. firm 20 tons of graphite, according to prosecutors." http://t.uani.com/1oU4qTW 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.