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LAT:
"Hassan Rouhani won world leaders' warm embrace a year ago when he
arrived at the United Nations General Assembly in New York as Iran's new
president, speaking of reconciliation and offering a new era in relations
between his nation and the West. But when Rouhani arrives next week for
this year's U.N. session, diplomats will be pondering a different
question: What went wrong? A year after that auspicious beginning,
tensions with the West are as high as ever, and 10 months of negotiations
over the toughest issue in the relationship - Iran's nuclear program -
are at an impasse. Now Western leaders want to know Iran's intentions and
if Rouhani is even calling the shots in Tehran on the nuclear issue and
overall foreign policy... But in recent months, signs suggest the
staunchly anti-Western Khamenei is directly managing the negotiations. He
appears determined to sharply increase the country's uranium enrichment
capability in seven years, and not roll it back, as the West demands.
Rouhani, who has lost a series of domestic political battles to
conservatives, has taken a harder line on the nuclear talks. In a news
conference two weeks ago, he expressed doubt that the U.S. has enough
'goodwill' to negotiate an end to the standoff... Gary Samore, Obama's
former top advisor on nuclear proliferation, said Khamenei 'seems to be
very stubborn and very confident that he can retain his enrichment
capability.' While the Iranian leader may be wrong, 'what matters is what
he believes,' said Samore, who is now with the Belfer Center for Science
and International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School
of Government." http://t.uani.com/XnV2iW
Reuters:
"Zarif, speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York,
complained about what he described as unreasonable demands by Western
powers in the nuclear talks but added that Tehran was committed to
resolving the decade-long nuclear stand. 'We are committed to resolving
this issue, we want to resolve this issue,' he said, though he said later
that Iran is 'totally distrustful of the United States'. Iran, diplomats
close to the talks said, appears unwilling to reduce the number of its
centrifuges to below 10,000. But that would be an unacceptable for the
six powers, who diplomats say are aiming to have a deal in place that
leaves Iran in a position where it would need at least one year to
produce enough high enriched uranium for a single bomb - the so-called
'breakout' capacity. 'On the question of enrichment we have practically
made no progress,' a senior Western diplomat said. 'The six want that in
case the agreement is broken and the nuclear activities restart towards a
military objective, that we have a breakout capacity of a year.'
Diplomats said a breakthrough in the New York negotiations was unlikely.
'Things remain blocked,' the senior Western diplomat said. 'New York will
be vital to see if we can break the impasse.' Depending on how the
negotiations among senior foreign ministry officials go in the coming
days, another Western diplomat said foreign ministers might join the
talks late next week 'if good progress is being made or if there's a
blockage.'" http://t.uani.com/1tnxvM3
Reuters:
"Western powers told Iran on Thursday it must step up cooperation
with a U.N. watchdog investigation into suspected atomic bomb research if
it wants to get a broader nuclear deal that would ease sanctions on the
oil producer... A report by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency
in early September showed Iran had failed to answer questions about what
the IAEA calls the possible military dimensions of the country's nuclear
program by an Aug. 25 deadline. The EU said it was disappointed with the
'very limited progress' in that investigation in a statement at a
quarterly meeting of the IAEA's board of governors. 'The EU underlines
that resolving all outstanding issues (between Iran and the IAEA) will be
essential to achieve a comprehensive, negotiated long-term settlement,'
it added... U.S. envoy Laura Kennedy echoed the EU's message, telling
reporters outside the IAEA meeting: 'We do remain concerned ... about the
pace of progress in addressing the possible military dimensions of Iran's
nuclear program.' ... 'We urge Iran to intensify its engagement with the
agency,' Kennedy, the U.S. envoy, said. 'Concerns about the possible
military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program must be addressed as part
of any comprehensive solution.' 'Only when this happens will it be
possible to have confidence that Iran's nuclear program is and will
remain exclusively peaceful,' she said." http://t.uani.com/1uWtc8T
Nuclear
Program & Negotiations
Reuters:
"The No. 2 and 3 U.S. diplomats will hold bilateral talks with
Iranian officials about Tehran's nuclear program on Wednesday and
Thursday in New York, the U.S. State Department said. 'Deputy Secretary
of State William J. Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy R.
Sherman, and Senior Advisor Jacob J. Sullivan will travel to New York for
consultations with Iranian officials September 17-18,' it said in a
statement... 'Following these bilateral meetings, Under Secretary Sherman
will participate in the comprehensive nuclear negotiations of the P5+1
and European Union with Iran beginning September 18,' the State
Department added in its statement." http://t.uani.com/1r3Ip7D
AFP:
"Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday accused
Washington of being 'obsessed' with sanctions as a new round of
high-stakes bilateral nuclear negotiations opened in New York. 'We are
committed to resolving this issue,' Zarif told a US think-tank, as a State
Department official confirmed to AFP that the two sides had resumed talks
here late Wednesday. But Zarif argued part of the problem blocking a deal
was the US 'infatuation' with sanctions... 'Sanctions have become an end
in themselves. Sanctions do not serve any purpose,' he argued, saying
during the time that the Iranian economy has been slapped with Western
measures the number of the country's centrifuges has soared from 200 to
20,000." http://t.uani.com/1BPU4vt
Sanctions
Relief
Reuters:
"Indian imports of Iranian oil rose by nearly half to 271,000
barrels per day (bpd) in January-August from a year ago, when refineries
cut purchases due to worries about insurance coverage for processing
crude from Tehran, data from trade sources shows... India, the Islamic
state's top client after China, had boosted imports in the first quarter
of this year to make up for the cuts in 2013 and to hit its target of
importing 220,000 bpd from Iran in the fiscal year to March 31. India
shipped in 273,500 bpd of Iranian oil in August, up 30 percent from the
previous month and about 81-percent higher than a year ago, the data
showed. Shipments in August were bolstered as Indian Oil Corp., the
country's biggest refiner, bought Iranian oil after a two-month gap,
shipping in nearly 2 million barrels. State-run IOC is not a regular
buyer of Iranian oil as it has a deal to buy only 24,000-25,000 bpd, or
about 9 million barrels, from the country in 2014/2015." http://t.uani.com/1p2lG8A
Iraq Crisis
Guardian:
"Iran has intensified its criticism of the US-led coalition against
the Islamic State (Isis), with key officials saying they doubt Washington
intends to destroy the terrorist group and the president calling it
'ridiculous'. Following Iran's exclusion from an international conference
in Paris aimed at confronting Isis, senior figures in the Islamic
Republic have said the US-led coalition will do little against the group
and is doomed to fail. Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, described the
US-led coalition against Isis as 'ridiculous' in an interview with NBC
News on Wednesday. 'Are Americans afraid of getting casualties on the
ground in Iraq?' he asked. 'Are they afraid of their soldiers being
killed in the fight they claim is against terrorism?' Senior government
and military officials in Tehran have in recent days argued the US's Isis
strategy is intended to deliver it a greater military presence in the
Middle East." http://t.uani.com/1r3KIYn
Human Rights
WashPost:
"A senior Iranian official said Wednesday that Jason Rezaian, a
Washington Post reporter detained in Tehran nearly two months ago, is
being interrogated on unspecified charges by judicial authorities. 'He is
facing interrogation in Iran for what he has done as an Iranian citizen,'
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with NPR.
Zarif did not say why Rezaian, a dual American and Iranian citizen, was
arrested or what charges he may be facing. He said Iran's judiciary has
'no obligation to explain' any charges to the United States. 'His lawyers
know. He knows his charge. I'm not supposed to know, but he knows his
charge,' Zarif said, adding that the judiciary operates
independently." http://t.uani.com/1r25EjJ
Daily Telegraph:
"The six Iranian singers who were arrested for appearing in a viral
video dancing to Pharrell Williams' song 'Happy' have been sentenced to
six months in prison and 91 lashes. The group became famous in May
when their music video for the hit song circulated on YouTube, racking up
more than 150,000 views before attracting the attention of Iranian
authorities... Authorities arrested the group for contravening Iran's
strict vulgarity laws, which prohibit public displays of dancing, and
paraded the six on state television, forcing them to express remorse for
their behaviour. The Islamic Republic condemned the video as a 'vulgar
clip which hurt public chastity' and in a trial on Wednesday sentenced
the participants to a suspended sentence of six months in prison. The
director of the video was handed a suspended sentence of one year, while
the whole group was told they would receive 91 lashes each. 'A suspended
sentence becomes null and void after a certain period of time,' their
lawyer, Farshid Rofougaran, told Iran Wire. 'When it's a suspended
sentence, the verdict is not carried out, but if during this period a
similar offense is committed, then the accused is subject to legal
punishment and the suspended sentence will then be carried out as
well.'" http://t.uani.com/XKXxwg
IHR:
"The execution wave continues in Iran. According to the official and
unofficial reports, in the last 30 days at least 95 people have been
executed in different Iranian cities... Five people were hanged publicly
in the cities of Shiraz and Sardasht (Province of Fars, Southern Iran)
early Thursday morning September 18, reported the Iranian state
media." http://t.uani.com/1wsyR7Y
Domestic
Politics
Al-Monitor:
"In a press conference yesterday, Sept. 17, the commander of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohamamd Ali Jaffari, spoke
about relations with the administration of President Hassan Rouhani,
Iran's support for Iraqi groups in Amerli and Iran's position on the
US-led coalition against Islamic State group (IS). In regard to relations
between the administration and IRGC, Jaffari said, 'Although there were
doubts in the beginning, the officials from the administration also
reached the conclusion that [the IRGC's] ability in construction cannot
be ignored. At the moment, there is good cooperation and interaction
between [the IRGC] and the administration.' When Rouhani took office in
August 2013, one of his goals was to decrease the economic and also
political role of the IRGC." http://t.uani.com/YV3ZSy
Opinion &
Analysis
Frederic Hof in FT:
"As John Kerry, US secretary of state, works to build a coalition to
defeat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as Isis, the piratical
jihadi group presiding mainly over desert straddling Iraq and Syria, he
faces demands from Syria, Russia and Tehran itself to include Iran. But
if Tehran desires to join others to defeat the bogus caliphate, it must
first reverse policies in Iraq and Syria that keep Isis in business...
The US and its coalition partners - Europeans and regional states alike -
see the creation of an inclusive and competent government in Baghdad as
the key to stability, legitimacy and the erasure of Isis in Iraq. Not
Iran, though. One would think its interests would centre on a loosely
unified, if militarily marginal, Iraq, and that it would avoid sectarian
policies alienating Arab Sunnis and encouraging Kurds to secede from a
terminally broken, permanently dysfunctional Iraq. Either way, it is
entitled to its own calculation; the salient fact is that its current
approach in Iraq opposes the interests of the US and its partners.
Concerning Syria, the administration of President Barack Obama has
rightly said the negligence, brutality and grotesque sectarianism of the
Assad regime is the single most important factor in the ascent of Isis.
Indeed, Mr Assad and the caliphate are collaborating - at least in a de
facto manner - in trying to eliminate the nationalist opposition to both
parties in western Syria. The Obama administration has made clear
that collaboration with Mr Assad would be immoral and self-defeating:
that as long as his regime runs part of Syria, Isis cannot be eliminated.
Tehran, however, remains firmly committed to the survival of its
client-employee in Damascus. Whatever his value to Isis's recruiting
campaign, he serves Iran's pursuit of power in western Syria and Lebanon.
In sum, Iran has helped build the ersatz caliphate. So what role could it
play in a coalition dedicated to the ultimate defeat of Isis? Continue to
back Iraqi Shia militia as they cleanse Baghdad of Sunni Arab residents?
Suggest the west and regional partners sweep under the carpet the war
crimes of the Assad regime, and sell to Syria's people the outrageous
proposition that their president can save them from terrorism? Iran can
join the anti-Isis coalition when it adopts and implements policies
consistent with the grouping's mission. Every effort should be made
diplomatically to persuade it to do so. But unless and until it behaves
in ways contrary to the interests of Isis, Iran should be regarded as it is:
a dangerous and destructive adversary." http://t.uani.com/Zrxf3t
ICHRI:
"Ahead of President Rouhani's visit to New York next week, the
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran released a video today,
bringing into sharp focus the disconnect between Rouhani's rhetoric on
domestic affairs and the reality on the ground. The Campaign urges
diplomats, the international media, and experts who will meet Rouhani
during his visit to express their serious concerns regarding Iran's
continued abysmal human rights record. The video, Rhetoric and Reality:
One Year of Rouhani's Presidency, contrasts Rouhani's many pledges to
usher in a new era in which the fundamental rights of Iranians would be
protected, with the repression that remains firmly in place in Iran, more
than one year after Rouhani assumed office. The record of the past year
speaks for itself. The number of executions continues to distinguish Iran
as the highest state executioner in the world on a per capita basis.
Freedom of expression, assembly, and association remain highly
restricted. Iran remains the second largest prison for journalists in the
world. Gender policies aiming to exclude women from public life,
particularly in higher education and employment, have increased. Hundreds
of political prisoners remain behind bars, many imprisoned following the
disputed 2009 election. The extra-judicial house arrest of the 2009
presidential candidates, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, together
with Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, is nearing its fourth year." http://t.uani.com/1uWAxp7
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