Eye on Iran: Rouhani Says 'to Hell' with Nuclear Critics

Join UANI           Top Stories Al-Monitor: "At a meeting of Iran's ambassadors, President Hassan Rouhani defended his administration's performance on the nuclear negotiations, using harsh language to remind critics of the nuclear deal that his administration has the support of the different branches of government and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in the negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1). Fars News reported that in response to criticism over some Iranian officials appearing to get close to Western officials, Rouhani said, 'Some who are politically timid and cowardly do not have confidence and they assume everyone is like them.' He said, 'Whenever negotiations start, they say that they are shaking - To hell, go and find a warm place for yourself.' 'The administration has done something big,' Rouhani said. 'One of these examples is the Geneva agreement and if some are not thankful for these efforts, sooner or later they will be and history will have its own judgment.' Rouhani said that the nuclear issue, which afflicted Iran with a number of sanctions, is in reality 'an artificial crisis,' and that Iran is 'not in a hurry in the nuclear discussions, but we do not see a delay as advisable. The foundations of sanctions have broken and I have no doubt in this and we should know that the previous situation will not return,' he said. 'In the negotiations with the P5+1, we are in the process of breaking the sanctions, and they know how we break the sanctions.'" http://t.uani.com/1kZzHYL AFP: "Iran will not accept a weak uranium enrichment program which world powers might be willing to grant the Islamic republic like a 'toy' in nuclear negotiations, a top official said Sunday. The size and scale of the Islamic republic's enrichment activities remain the biggest stumbling block in efforts to clinch a long-term agreement over Iran's disputed atomic activities. Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for American and European Affairs, made the remarks on returning to Tehran from Geneva, after five hours of talks with US officials. 'We said to the other party ... we will not accept that our uranium enrichment program becomes something like a toy,' he said, referring to last week's discussions. 'Our enrichment program has a specific framework and we cannot accept anything outside of this framework,' he added." http://t.uani.com/1yrfhZc ITWeb (South Africa): "MTN, Africa's largest operator, has billions tied up in operations in Syria and Iran which it is trying to repatriate as both countries continue to face challenges. CFO Brett Goschen notes MTN has four months, under the current international arrangements, to find a solution to getting its cash out of Iran. Goschen notes the company has been in talks with several international authorities in a bid to get its money out, an amount that is currently in the region of about $400 million, or around R4.3 billion. In total, including dividends and loans, some $900 million - or R9.7 billion - is held up in Iran. Goschen says there are several complexities to overcome and if its current option fails, it will look at other avenues... Meanwhile, Goschen adds the company is also trying to repatriate money out of war-torn Syria. The amount currently totals $250 million - or around R2.6 billion. President and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa notes the group is bidding to convert its build-operate-transfer licence in Syria to a fully-fledged licence and will use some of the money that is locked in that country to pay for the conversion." http://t.uani.com/1rmnY4k     Sanctions Enforcement & Impact AP: "A Maryland man has been convicted on charges of exporting American manufactured industrial products to Iran. Prosecutors said Monday that a federal grand jury convicted 34-year-old Ali Saboonchi of Parkville after a two-week trial. Saboonchi conspired with others to export products to Iran in violation of a U.S. trade embargo. Prosecutors say the goods included stainless steel filter elements, which are used primarily in the oil and gas industry, as well as liquid pumps and valves and other industrial parts." http://t.uani.com/VimBt8 Foreign Affairs AFP: "Iran, a key ally of Iraq's sidelined Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said Tuesday it backed the legal process which led to him being replaced, following the nomination of Haidar al-Abadi as premier. The statement was the first official signal that Maliki no longer enjoys the support of his fellow Shiite leaders and politicians in Tehran to stay on as head of government in Baghdad. Ali Shamkhani, secretary and representative of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Iran's Supreme National Security Council, made the remarks at a meeting of Iranian ambassadors in Tehran, the Fars and Mehr news agencies said. 'The framework provided by the Iraqi constitution stipulates that the prime minister has been chosen by the majority group in the parliament,' Shamkhani said. Iran was influential in ensuring that Maliki retained the post of prime minister and served a second term following Iraq's inconclusive general election in 2010." http://t.uani.com/1kyJnsB Tasnim (Iran): "Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani emphasized that the Israeli regime will come to an end in near future. 'Without a doubt, the future belongs to Muslim nations and faithful revolutionary youths and the usurper regime of Israel will be annihilated,' said Ali Larijani on the occasion of the 8th anniversary of Hezbollah's victory in the 33-day war against Israel." http://t.uani.com/VfxSul Opinion & Analysis Mary Breme Rezaian in WashPost: "Jason is a global citizen whose extended travels have allowed him to make many dear friends in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Everywhere he goes, he tells people about the beauty and wonders of Iran. He has encouraged countless people, including many Americans, to travel to Iran to experience this beauty for themselves. Ironically, now one of Iran's premier ambassadors has been silenced. For despite his great love of Iran, my outgoing son and his lovely wife, Yeganeh Salehi, have been detained in Iran, without charge, for three weeks. They and two others (one of whom who has since been released) were taken from their homes on July 22. This kind of treatment of professional journalists who were credentialed by the Iranian government as members of the foreign press corps is unconscionable. We do not know why they were taken, who took them and what charges - if any - they face. I don't even know if Jason and Yeganeh are being held together. Our family and hers have been turned upside down with fear and worry, and there has been little news to dispel that fear as we wait to find out why they are being held. While Yeganeh was allowed brief contact with her family, Jason's brother and I have gotten no word from him. Yegi is a vibrant spirit, and Jason is warm and fun loving. Our families are deeply concerned for their well-being and about the consequences of their detainment. Jason has high blood pressure, which requires him to take medication daily. I have no idea whether his health is in peril and have no way of communicating with people around him to tell them of his medical condition. The silence is unbearable. For all these reasons, I am imploring Iranian officials to release Jason and Yeganeh immediately. Iran is a complex and multilayered society that is often misperceived and vilified by the West. My son and daughter-in-law have committed themselves to dispelling many of these misconceptions through their nuanced and fair reporting. And, once released, they will continue to do so in a country they both call home." http://t.uani.com/1sUfjIj Jay Michaelson in The Daily Beast: "The tragic hanging of two 'sodomites' in Iran may seem, in theory, like an obvious cause for U.S. concern and U.S. action. (Sign a petition! Demand human rights!) Yet in practice, those most attentive to LGBT concerns may be the least eager to pick this fight. As Nina Strochlic reported in these pages Sunday, the two men, Abdullah Ghavami Chahzanjiru and Salman Ghanbari Chahzanjiri, were hanged in southern Iran on August 6, possibly for consensual sodomy. Their deaths are part of a wave of executions in Iran, with more than 400 in the first half of 2014 alone, according to the NGO Iran Human Rights. We do not know for certain that they were executed for being gay-one Iranian source says they were, another is vague about their 'crimes' but calls them 'immoral villains.' If these men were hanged for consensual homosexuality, however, this could be another LGBT headache for the Obama administration, which has been trying to walk a tightrope between LGBT human rights on one end and international politics on the other. Despite Iran's state anti-Semitism, the recent arrest of U.S. journalists, and the continued oppression of women, the Obama administration has been attempting a rapprochement with the Iranian regime. Fending off Iran hawks in Congress and the D.C. punditocracy, the administration has argued for a policy of constructive engagement, pursuing diplomacy over military action to halt Iran's nuclear program. The execution of two gay men, while it may not be surprising, certainly doesn't make that 'engagement' any easier." http://t.uani.com/VinSQU 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.