Eye on Iran: Shiite Rebels are Yemen's New Masters

Join UANI           Top Stories WashPost: "The capital of Yemen, the Arab world's poorest and perhaps most chronically unstable nation, has new masters. Shiite rebels man checkpoints and roam the streets in pickups mounted with anti¬aircraft guns.  The fighters control almost all state buildings, from the airport and the central bank to the Defense Ministry. Only a few police officers and soldiers are left on the streets. Rebel fighters have plastered the city with fliers proclaiming their slogan - 'Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews and victory to Islam' - a variation of a popular Iranian slogan often chanted by Shiite militants in Iraq and supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah... Now the Houthis, who many believe are backed by Shiite-led Iran, are poised to become Yemen's version of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah - top power brokers dominating the government and running a virtual state-within-a-state." http://t.uani.com/1vJ0sml WashPost: "An Iranian journalist detained in Iran since July along with her husband, The Washington Post's bureau chief in Tehran, has been released from custody, a family member said Sunday. While Yeganeh Salehi was freed on bail in the middle of last week, her husband, Jason Rezaian, remains imprisoned, his brother, Ali, wrote in an e-mail. Salehi succeeded in visiting Rezaian over the weekend and said that she and her husband are 'physically healthy' despite being in custody for 21/2 months, Ali Rezaian said. There have been concerns about Rezaian's health because he has high blood pressure and must take medication daily. As first disclosed to the National, an Abu Dhabi-based newspaper for which Salehi was working in Iran, she now does not have accreditation to work as a journalist in Iran. Neither she nor her family in Tehran will be speaking to the media about their detentions, Ali Rezaian said, and he asked for their privacy to be respected. 'We are thankful Yeganeh has been released on bail,' said a statement by her family. 'We remain confident that Jason has committed no crime. We pray that the Iranian government will conclude that Jason should be released as well.' Rezaian and Salehi were arrested July 22 amid murky circumstances. A photojournalist and her husband also were arrested, but they have been released." http://t.uani.com/1uslQfk Reuters: "Iran is increasing steel exports and courting foreign investors in an ambitious bid to quadruple steel output in a decade and replace at least a small part of the massive revenue it loses due to sanctions on its oil sales. A developing economy heavily reliant on construction, the Islamic Republic exported an average of 1.35 million tonnes of steel in 2011 and 2012, according to a presentation by Iran's top steelmaker, Mobarakeh Steel. By contrast it exported 1.26 million tonnes of steel during the first seven months of this year, data from the Iran Steel Producers Association (ISPA) showed... Tehran is leaving no stone unturned in bolstering the sector. In August, it withdrew the special rate foreign exchange allocation for all steel imports except flat products in a bid to further boost local production. In addition, it is courting foreign steelmakers to invest in a host of new steel complexes. According to a press statement from Iran's deputy minister of industry, mines and trade, Mehdi Karbasian, the country signed an agreement with Kuwait Steel in June to build a new complex with 1 million tonnes of rolling capacity... For western companies, however, readiness to do business with Iran is still largely contingent upon the success of its nuclear negotiations with global powers. German steel mill equipment maker SMS Siemag, for example, told Reuters it is prepared to supply Iranian steel companies, but declined to say whether it is actually doing so at the moment... However, Vladislav Shik, head of foreign trade for Russia's Akron Metal Group, said there were still opportunities for his company: 'We do see perspectives for scrap sales to Iran. We could supply up to 250,000 tonnes per year - the volumes that we now ship to Turkey.'" http://t.uani.com/1oJHiqF     Sanctions Relief Trend: "Four foreign shipping lines are ready to operate at Iran's Shahid Rajaee Port after easing of sanctions against the country's shipping industry. Mohammad Saeidnejad, the managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, said that Hyundai, Cosco, Hanjin, and Wan Hai shipping lines have been negotiating with Iran to resume operations at the Shahid Rajaee Port, Iran's Fars news agency reported on October 6. The Taiwanese Wan Hai container, with 6,000 TEU, took the lead and berthed at the Shahid Rajaee Port on July 22... Direct shipment through Shahid Rajaee Port will decrease costs $40,000-100,000 per ton of cargo." http://t.uani.com/1s4jaUB Press TV (Iran): "The British Treasury has announced the repeal of an asset freeze on five Iranian entities and an Iranian businessman following an EU court verdict. The announcement came after the General Court of the European Union annulled the sanctions against Iranian businessman and five firms, namely, Sorinet Commercial Trust (SCT), Sharif University of Technology, National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), Moallem Insurance Company (MIC) and Sina Bank. The rulings in respect to the businessman, Sorinet Commercial Trust, Sharif University of Technology, and the NITC were passed on July 3, 2014. The verdict regarding Moallem Insurance Company was handed down on July 10, 2014, while the decision on Sina Bank was issued on June 4, 2014. Since the judgments were not appealed within the designated two months, they have now come into effect." http://t.uani.com/1nX3liS Trend: "Some 521,585 cars have been produced in Iran in the first half of the current calendar year (March 21 - September 22). The figure shows 74.3 percent increase compared to the same period of time previous year, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on October 4." http://t.uani.com/1vGB12z Trend: "Iran imported 51,474 cars in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 - September 22). The figure shows 115 percent increase compared to the same period of time previous year, the ISNA News Agency reported on October 5... Currently, the highest number of cars is imported from Germany, Japan, and South Korea to Iran... Mohebbinejad said on April 29 that the Iranian car industry had suffered 'partial stroke.' He added that the country's car exports had sharply declined in the past year, so that just about 10,000 cars were exported, a 80 percent decline year on year. He noted that the domestic carmakers suffered some 40 trillion rials (about $1.3 billion) loss over the past two years." http://t.uani.com/1xVTY64 Human Rights Reuters: "An Iranian-British woman has gone on hunger strike in prison in Tehran to protest against her arrest for trying to watch a men's volleyball game, the opposition website Kalame reported on Sunday. Ghoncheh Ghavami's incarceration has angered Iranian women who say they are still waiting for the greater freedom promised reforms by the pragmatic cleric Hassan Rouhani when he was elected president last year. Ghavami, 25, was arrested on June 20 outside Tehran's Azadi Stadium, where she was taking part in a demonstration demanding that women be allowed inside to watch Iran playing Italy in an international league match. Iranian women in the Islamic Republic are banned from watching certain male sports events such as football and volleyball. Ghavami was released soon after, but then re-arrested days later when she was called back to reclaim items that had been confiscated when she was first detained. The human rights group Amnesty International says she has been held at the Evin prison, which has a reputation for brutality, and has spent time in solitary confinement. Kalame said she had been on hunger strike for five days." http://t.uani.com/1vGu3uB IranWire: "In a letter to President Hassan Rouhani, 135 Iranian reporters, editors and media workers from inside and outside Iran urged the president not to insult them by lying about the persecution of journalists in Iran. The letter, published in Persian on IranWire, criticized Rouhani for recent comments he made during an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. During the interview, which took place while Rouhani was in the United States to attend a the United Nations General Assembly, Amanpour asked the president to comment on the case of Jason Rezaian, the jailed Washington Post journalist. 'I really don't believe the fact at all,' he said. 'I do not believe that an individual would be detained or put in prison for being a journalist.' Technically, Rouhani is right, but the reality is very different. Most of those in prison are not charged with activities related to journalism... According to research conducted by IranWire, there are 65 professional and citizen journalists currently in prison in Iran. All of them were arrested because of their reporting. Since the disputed presidential election in 2009, almost 300 journalists have been arrested. Iran has the highest number of women journalists in prison, and hundreds of Iranian journalists are forced to live in exile." http://t.uani.com/1vJ0haO Domestic Politics Reuters: "Images of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appearing frail and in bed have raised questions about the seriousness of his condition, and who might eventually succeed him... Rumors about Khamenei have circulated for years. But there has never been such a media blitz on the health of the Supreme Leader, who holds substantial influence or constitutional authority over the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government as well as the military and media. The head of the surgical team said Khamenei had an operation on his prostate which lasted less than half an hour and only local anesthetic had been used. He was completely awake and speaking during the procedure, the surgeon said. But if Khamenei's health deteriorates, the traditional clergy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Iran's top military force and an economic powerhouse - will need to settle on a successor quickly if the country is to avoid a period of political instability, experts say." http://t.uani.com/1yHbRGX  Foreign Affairs LAT: "The Obama administration's muscular counter-terrorism campaign against a dangerous Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen is facing a new threat from the sudden military gains and growing political influence of a Shiite Muslim rebel group backed by Iran, according to U.S. officials. The Houthi rebels seized control of Sana, the Yemeni capital, last month and forced the country's president, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, to sign a deal giving them a leading voice in the formation of a new government... The Saudis, who share a porous 850-mile border with Yemen, fear that Iran will seek to use the Houthis as a destabilizing force, as it has used its ally Hezbollah, a Shiite militia, to project power in Lebanon. Yemeni officials say they captured, then released, members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah who had come to train Houthis. And the senior State Department official said the Iranian government previously has provided arms and possibly money to the Houthis. 'The influence of Iran on the Houthis is absolutely there,' he said." http://t.uani.com/1n9Q9WX    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.