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Reuters:
"The United States said on Monday it would refuse to seek Iran's
cooperation in fighting Islamic State forces by being more flexible in
the negotiations of six world powers with Tehran on its nuclear
program. Senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran is ready to
work with the United States and its allies to stop Islamic State
militants but would like more flexibility on Iran's uranium enrichment
program in exchange. Asked to respond, White House spokesman Josh
Earnest said the idea was unacceptable, remarks that echoed those from
other Western powers in the negotiations with Tehran. European
officials have also made clear they do not want to bring other issues
into the nuclear negotiations. Earnest said the effort by world powers,
including the United States, to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear
program is 'entirely separate' from President Barack Obama's attempts
to build a coalition against Islamic State. 'The United States will not
be in the position of trading aspects of Iran's nuclear program to
secure commitments to take on ISIL,' Earnest said, using an acronym for
Islamic State (IS). He also said the United States would not coordinate
the coalition's military activities with the Iranians and would not
share intelligence on Islamic State with Iran." http://t.uani.com/1yoK5iy
LAT:
"U.S. proposal aimed at resolving a central dispute in nuclear
talks with Iran is meeting skepticism in the Iranian capital from
conservatives and observers of other political stripes. U.S.
negotiators have proposed to have Iran disconnect some of its
centrifuges, rather than dismantling them, as part of a plan to assure
that Iran can't race quickly to achieve a nuclear-weapons capability...
The U.S. proposal would allow Iran to claim to its public that it
wasn't dismantling the machines, a step Iranian officials have insisted
they will never take. But in a column carried Sunday by the Fars News
Agency, which reflects the views of the powerful Iranian Revolutionary
Guard Corps, conservative analyst Alireza Karimi described the approach
as a 'stunt' aimed at 'deception of public opinion.' Iran would be left
with only 'window-display enrichment,' which wouldn't be sufficient for
the nuclear research and development it seeks, and wouldn't bring it
closer to its goal of having enough uranium enrichment capacity to
satisfy its needs for electric power generation, Karimi wrote. Nader
Karimi Juni, a reformist analyst who favors a deal, said in an
interview that he, too, saw the proposal as window dressing aimed at
easing a public-relations problem. He said Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani intends to do all he can, 'in good faith,' to reach a deal
during the talks. But any agreement has to meet the requirement of
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Iran be allowed to develop
an industrial-scale enrichment capacity in the next few years, he
said." http://t.uani.com/1slmhsY
AP:
"Diplomats are reporting a setback at talks on Iran's nuclear
program, saying Tehran has resumed rejecting U.S. demands it repurpose
a uranium enrichment site. They told The Associated Press Monday that
Tehran is invoking what it says was an Israeli drone shot down last
month near another Iranian enrichment site in arguing that it wants to
leave the underground facility as an enrichment plant. The U.S. wants
the site shut down or converted because it is dug deep into a mountain.
Washington fears it is impervious to air attack." http://t.uani.com/1mqy5rn
Nuclear Program & Negotiations
Press TV (Iran):
"Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic will
never give up its right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, vowing to
continue the nuclear path for the country's development. 'In the fields
of development and access to peaceful nuclear technology, we have
inalienable rights which are pivotal to the country's development
goals. We will not abandon them and will continue the [nuclear] path,'
Rouhani told reporters on Monday ahead of his departure for New York
City to attend the 69th annual session of the United Nations General
Assembly. He added that Iran has never sought to develop weapons of
mass destruction and nuclear arms. 'In the negotiations, the P5+1 asks
us to show more transparency within the framework of international
regulations and build mutual confidence and respect which are
acceptable, but if the P5+1 calls on us to give up our absolute rights,
it is not possible...,' the Iranian president pointed out." http://t.uani.com/1rlpB4V
Daily Telegraph:
"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addressed concerns about his
country's nuclear programme on Monday, saying it was not interested in
making weapons of mass destruction. However, he said Iran's
rights over nuclear technology must be respected... Speaking at a
military parade in Tehran to mark the anniversary of an 8-year war with
Iraq in the 1980s, President Rouhani said: 'We have not thought of
making weapons of mass destruction and we are not thinking of it. He
added that Iran would 'never bow to pressure by superpowers', in an
apparent reference to the country's nuclear stance." http://t.uani.com/1Cajggi
Islamic State
Reuters:
"British Prime Minister David Cameron will meet Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani in the next two days in New York and ask him for help to
fight Islamic State, the first meeting between leaders of the two
nations since Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Cameron will meet
Rouhani on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, a
source in the British leader's office told Reuters, speaking after the
United States and Arab partners struck IS targets inside Syria." http://t.uani.com/ZG0PlO
Human Rights
IranWire:
"Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Intelligence Unit have extracted a
forced confession from the detained Iranian-American journalist Jason
Rezain under duress. In a short conversation an Iranian security
official, who withheld his name due to the sensitivity of the case,
told IranWire that the Guards pressed Rezaian to confess in order to
'influence Iran's nuclear negotiations with the Western powers, including
the United States.' The official did not elaborate as to how the
confession will be used, and when it will be aired." http://t.uani.com/1tX1F95
ICHRI:
"Jason Rezaian and Yeganeh Salehi have lost a 'shocking' amount of
weight in prison, an informed source has told the International
Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. According to this source, the family
of the imprisoned Iranian journalist Yeganeh Salehi was allowed to have
their first visit with her and her Washington Post reporter husband
Jason Rezaian on September 7, and they were astonished at the couple's
appearance. The source, who was knowledgeable of the details of the
visit, told the Campaign that after seeing Rezaian and Salehi, Yeganeh
Salehi's father was overcome with emotion and collapsed. According to
the source, the couple stated during the visit that they had no
physical problems, but the family was gravely concerned by their
appearance. The source stated that the couple 'has no idea when they
may be released [and that they]repeatedly told their family during
their visit that they have not committed any crimes and that they are
very worried about their state of limbo in prison.'" http://t.uani.com/1CahLyI
AP:
"The family of a former U.S. Marine imprisoned in Iran since his
arrest three years ago on spying charges said his conditions have
improved and he is now allowed to call home several times a week. The
sister and brother-in-law of Amir Hekmati acknowledge that's a big step
forward for a man who spent his first 16 months held in solitary confinement
in Iran's notorious Evin prison, north of the capital, Tehran. But
Hekmati's relatives are unwavering in their goal to obtain his release.
'The important thing here is that he needs to come home. And our push
is one of urgency,' Hekmati's brother-in-law, Ramy Kurdi, told The
Associated Press in an interview. Hekmati's father is dying of cancer,
and 'every day matters. Every day is an injustice,' Kurdi said." http://t.uani.com/1CafPWX
NYT:
"Anticipating the arrival of Iran's president in New York on
Monday for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly,
the family of Amir Hekmati, a former United States Marine incarcerated
in Tehran for three years, has called attention to the case by
releasing a video in which his father, who has terminal brain cancer,
appeals to Iranian leaders for Mr. Hekmati's freedom. The family, from
Flint, Mich., has also released a statement sent by Mr. Hekmati from
Evin Prison in Tehran, in which he acknowledges the widespread support
he has received from the United States and elsewhere, saying the
efforts to win his release have given him hope. 'It is this hope that
helps me believe that I will return home to Michigan, to my family, and
my life,' Mr. Hekmati said in the statement." http://t.uani.com/1rg0GP5
AFP:
"A 25-year-old British-Iranian woman arrested in June after trying
to attend a men's volleyball match has had her detention extended,
still without charge, her lawyer said on Saturday. Mahmoud Alizadeh
Tabatabaie was speaking as the British foreign office said it was 'very
concerned' about Goncheh Ghavami's situation and had raised the matter
with the Iranian government. A British spokesman confirmed press
reports that a foreign office official had met Ghavami's brother in
London to discuss the case, but 'won't comment further on private
discussions'... 'Her provisional detention has been extended,'
Tabatabaie said without elaborating, adding that she has now been in
jail for around 80 days without any charges being filed." http://t.uani.com/1od2Yer
AFP:
"Eleven Iranians accused of sending insulting SMS text messages
about Islamic republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini have been
arrested in the southern province of Shiraz, a newspaper reported on
Monday. 'After monitoring social network applications on mobile phones
like WhatsApp, Viber, Line and tango ... 11 people were arrested,' the
provincial Revolutionary Guards chief, General Esmail Mohebipour, said.
'They recognised the error of their ways,' the Haft e-Sobh daily cited
the general as saying." http://t.uani.com/1uYM5ZZ
Reuters:
"Iran's hardline judiciary has given the government one month to
block WhatsApp and other popular instant messaging services, as
pressure mounts on reformist President Hassan Rouhani to scale back his
social and political liberalisation. In the severest warning yet to
Rouhani's one-year-old administration, chief prosecutor Gholam-Hossein
Mohseni-Ejei accused Communications Minister Mahmoud Vaezi of failing
to unplug social networking sites and apps 'with immoral and criminal
content.' 'Despite a three month grace period to allow you and your
colleagues enough time, no effective action has been taken to filter
out immoral and un-Islamic offences' relayed through WhatsApp, Viber
and Tango, said Mohseni-Ejei, an influential cleric and judge." http://t.uani.com/1od3ARg
Radio Zamaneh:
"A second day of protest by Gonabadi dervishes in front of the
Tehran Prosecutor's office was met violently by security forces, who
attacked and arrested a number of protesters. The Majzooban-e Noor
website reports that riot police used batons and tear gas, and some of
dervishes sustained serious injuries such as broken bones. The report
indicates that riot police fenced off hundreds of men and women near
the prosecutor's office. The dervishes have gathered in Tehran as part
of a campaign to bring them from across the country to protest against
the treatment of their peers in jail. Majzooban-e Noor reported earlier
that more than 800 dervishes were held overnight. A rallying call was
sent out to organize another protest for this morning at 9 AM." http://t.uani.com/1rlobr7
IHR:
"Four prisoners were hanged in the prison of Bandar Abbas
(southern Iran) Thursday morning September 18, reported the official
website of the Iranian Judiciary in Hormozgan Province." http://t.uani.com/ZbZ53H
Foreign
Affairs
NYT:
"An assault on Yemen's capital rocked the transitional government
on Sunday as fighters from a Shiite rebel group stormed through the
city, seizing government buildings, state media facilities and military
bases. The military broke apart, some units appeared to side with
rebels, and the prime minister abruptly resigned. By late Sunday night,
President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi announced that the rebels, known as
the Houthis, had agreed to an immediate cease-fire and the formation of
a new 'technocratic national government.' Although the details remained
vague, analysts said the Houthis' control over the capital would give
them the upper hand in dictating the terms of any agreement... The
Houthis' gains on Sunday are certain to exacerbate sectarian and
political tensions in the region: Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni
Muslim-led Persian Gulf states believe that the Shiite rebels in Yemen
are backed by their archrival, the Shiite state of Iran. The Sunni-led
states of the gulf are waging a fierce proxy fight against Iran through
the conflict in Syria, and three years ago Saudi Arabia even sent its
troops to Bahrain to tamp down an uprising by its Shiite majority, in
part because of fears that the movement's leaders were in league with
Iran. 'In the regional cold war, this has strengthened the position of
the Iranians,' Mr. Sharqieh said. 'For the Saudis, the Houthis arriving
in Sana is definitely not good news.'" http://t.uani.com/1mJgNWX
Guardian:
"Iran and Saudi Arabia have held their first foreign minister-level
meeting since the 2013 election of President Hassan Rouhani, official
Iranian media have reported, signalling a possible thaw in relations
between the rival Gulf powers... The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad
Javad Zarif, suggested after his meeting in New York with his Saudi
counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal, that the talks could lead to an
improvement in relations. 'Both my Saudi counterpart and I believe that
this meeting will be the first page of a new chapter in our two
countries' relations,' Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Zarif as
saying. 'We hope that this new chapter will be effective in
establishing regional and global peace and security and will safeguard
the interests of Muslim nations across the world.'" http://t.uani.com/1rtm8Sc
AFP:
"French President Francois Hollande will take the opportunity of
the gathering of world leaders in New York for the UN General Assembly
to meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, his office said Monday.
French officials said the pair were expected to meet on Tuesday and
address the crisis in Iraq, where France has just carried out its first
air strikes against Islamic State jihadists. The two leaders will also
discuss Iran's nuclear program, a source in Hollande's office told
AFP." http://t.uani.com/1uhoSo2
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