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Reuters:
"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's promises of greater freedoms for
the Islamic Republic have not resulted in any major improvements
regarding human rights and freedom of expression, the U.N. chief said in
a new report on Iran. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's annual report
to the General Assembly on human rights in Iran, obtained by Reuters on
Friday, also expressed alarm at the reported recent increase in executions
in Iran. 'President Rouhani has pledged to decrease restrictions on
freedom of expression and to ensure security for the press,' the report
said. 'Unfortunately, those promises have not yet led to significant
improvements, and restrictions on freedom of expression continue to
affect many areas of life.' But reporters, Ban said, continue to face
restrictions and other difficulties. 'Journalists and other media
personnel are frequently summoned or detained by the judiciary or face
harassment and attacks by security forces,' his report said." http://t.uani.com/1BFZrgC
Reuters:
"The U.N. nuclear watchdog sought to put pressure on Iran on Monday
to address suspicions it may have carried out atomic bomb research, three
weeks after Tehran failed to meet a deadline for providing information
about the issue. In line with the findings of a confidential report by
the International Atomic Energy Agency earlier this month, Director
General Yukiya Amano said Iran had not carried out two of the five
transparency steps it had agreed to implement by Aug. 25. A lack of
progress in the IAEA investigation could further complicate efforts by
six world powers to negotiate a resolution to a wider, decade-old dispute
with Iran and curb its nuclear work in exchange for a gradual ending of
sanctions. 'In order to resolve all outstanding issues, past and present,
it is very important that Iran continues to implement, in a timely
manner, all practical measures agreed,' Amano told the U.N. agency's
35-nation board of governors. The phrase 'past and present' refers to the
IAEA's long-running inquiry into suspicions, denied by Iran, that the
country has worked on designing a nuclear weapon." http://t.uani.com/1m5JpJD
AFP:
"Iran rejected a US request for cooperation against the jihadist
Islamic State group early in its advance in Iraq and Syria, supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday. 'Right from the start, the
United States asked through its ambassador in Iraq whether we could
cooperate against Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS),' Khamenei said in a
statement on his official website. 'I said no, because they have dirty
hands,' said Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state in
Iran. 'Secretary of State (John Kerry) personally asked (Iranian
counterpart) Mohammad Javad Zarif and he rejected the request,' said
Khamenei, who was leaving hospital after what doctors said was successful
prostate surgery. He accused Washington of seeking a 'pretext to do in
Iraq and Syria what it already does in Pakistan -- bomb anywhere without
authorisation.'" http://t.uani.com/1y6Bcd7
Nuclear Program & Negotiations
AFP:
"A top Iranian nuclear negotiator said Saturday that 'disagreements
over serious questions' persisted in the latest talks with the world
powers on his country's atomic programme. 'After two rounds of
negotiations with the European representatives, our positions have not
been reconciled and disagreements over serious questions still exist,'
said Majid Takht-Ravanchi, who is also a deputy foreign minister.
Takht-Ravanchi urged the so-called P5+1 group to 'respect the red lines'
drawn up by Iran to reach an agreement that would end the decade-old
dispute. His remarks came after the Iranians and their European
counterparts exchanged views Thursday in Vienna ahead of negotiations in
New York on September 18." http://t.uani.com/1BG07CO
Trend:
"Iran plans to start construction of two new nuclear power plants by
the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21). The Atomic
Energy Organization of Iran's Deputy Director for International Affairs
Behrouz Kamalvandi said that the final negotiations are underway with the
Russians to build the plants, Iran's Tabnak News Website reported on
Sept. 15. 'The two power plants will most probably be constructed near
the Bushehr nuclear power plant,' he said, adding that the two plants
will have the capacity to produce 1,000 megawatt of electricity. 'The
construction plan will be complete in five to seven years,' Kamalvand
added. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Sept. 10, 'We have
been informed that Iran plans to construct 20 new nuclear power
plants.'" http://t.uani.com/1BG33zh
Sanctions
Relief
Reuters:
"South Korea's imports of Iranian crude doubled in August from a
year ago but fell 8 percent in the first eight months year-on-year,
reflecting moves by the world's fifth-largest crude oil importer to
navigate terms of sanctions reliefs. Preliminary customs data showed on
Monday that Seoul bought 567,913 tonnes of crude oil from Tehran last
month, or 134,284 barrels per day (bpd), compared with 558,690 tonnes a
month ago and 272,090 tonnes a year ago... The intake of Iranian crude in
January-August this year by Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 4.24
million tonnes, or 127,944 bpd, down 8 percent from a year ago and 5
percent below the 2013 average at 134,000 bpd, according to the data and
Reuters' calculations." http://t.uani.com/1uOzYgV
Domestic
Politics
Bloomberg:
"An Iranian paramilitary group will deploy thousands of volunteers
to clamp down on women who violate the Islamic dress code, media
reported, in a new push-back against government efforts to liberalize
society. Ansar-e-Hezbollah, which receives its funding from conservative
sources outside the government, hasn't applied for a required permit from
the Interior Ministry to carry out the patrols, the Shargh newspaper
cited Deputy Interior Minister Hossein-Ali Amiri as saying. Its work
would parallel the activity of police squads empowered to arrest women
who don't abide by the dress code, which requires women to wear head
scarves and loose-fitting coats. The Ansar-e-Hezbollah patrols will issue
'verbal warnings' and won't carry out arrests, the Shargh and Etemaad
newspapers cited the group's secretary, Abdolmajid Mohtasham, as saying
yesterday." http://t.uani.com/1uDyF5w
Foreign Affairs
Fars (Iran):
"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani plans to travel to New York on
September 22 to attend the upcoming meeting of the UN General Assembly.
The Iranian president is also due to address the UN General Assembly
meeting similar to the last year. The 69th Session of the UN General
Assembly (UNGA 69) will convene at UN Headquarters on Tuesday, 16
September 2014." http://t.uani.com/1tW6yNj
Trend:
"Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will fly to New York
on September 16 to attend the UN General Assembly. Deputy foreign
ministers Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi will also
accompany him on this trip, Iran's Fars News Agency reported on September
14. Zarif is scheduled to have a joint working lunch with Catherine
Ashton on September 17. Ashton and Zarif will have another round of talks
on Thursday." http://t.uani.com/YLrai1
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