Eye on Iran: IAEA Report to Highlight Slow Headway in Iran Nuclear Investigation

Join UANI           Top Stories Reuters: "A U.N. watchdog report this week is expected to show little progress in an investigation into suspected nuclear weapons research by Iran, diplomats said on Wednesday, a potential sticking point in six world powers' diplomacy with Tehran. The quarterly report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran's nuclear program, due on Thursday or Friday, is likely to say that Iran has still not provided information that it was supposed to do more than two months ago. The confidential document will be issued to IAEA member states less than three weeks before a self-imposed Nov. 24 deadline for Iran and the global powers to end a decade-old standoff over the Islamic Republic's atomic activities... 'Undoubtedly there will be a linkage between shedding light on Iran's past nuclear activities and sanctions relief in the future,' said Ali Vaez, an Iran expert at the International Crisis Group think-tank." http://t.uani.com/10mu64z RFE/RL: "The United States remains 'the Great Satan' despite nuclear negotiations between Iran and Washington, Iranian hard-liners conveyed in a November 4 message marking the 35th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. embassy in the Islamic republic. The statement was issued by anti-U.S. demonstrators who gathered outside the former U.S. embassy in Tehran -- dubbed the 'Nest of Spies' -- and called for resistance against the United States, which they decried as an oppressor. The Iranian people still consider the United States their main enemy, the demonstrators said in the statement issued at the annual rally, which coincided with the religious Ashura holiday that commemorates the killing of the venerated Shi'ite spiritual leader Imam Hussein in 680 C.E. ... The rally's main speaker, cleric Alireza Panahian, said that even if November 4 were not the anniversary of the hostage-taking by radical students in 1979, the slogan 'Death to America' would have been chanted in the sermons. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and the government's nuclear negotiators should receive a pay raise because they negotiate with 'savages,' Panahian added." http://t.uani.com/1E5yN00 AP: "When Islamic State militants retreated from the embattled town of Jurf al-Sakher last week, the Iraqi military was quick to flaunt a rare victory against the extremist group, with state television showing tanks and Humvees parading through the town and soldiers touring government buildings that had been occupied by the militants since August. However, photos soon emerged on independent Iraqi news websites revealing a more discreet presence - the powerful Iranian general Ghasem Soleimani - whose name has become synonymous with the handful of victories attributed to Iraqi ground forces. Local commanders said Lebanon's powerful Shiite Hezbollah group was also on the front lines... Militia commanders told The Associated Press that dozens of advisers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese Hezbollah were on the front lines in Jurf al-Sakher, providing weapons training to some 7,000 troops and militia fighters, and coordinating with military commanders ahead of the operation." http://t.uani.com/1Gpj53U     Nuclear Program & Negotiations LAT: "The Obama administration has agreed to allow Iran to operate 6,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium, up from a proposed ceiling of 4,000 reported two weeks ago, as part of negotiations for a nuclear deal, according to a website approved by the Iranian government. The claim appeared to be the latest sign that the pace of bargaining is intensifying between Iran and six world powers as they face a Nov. 24 negotiating deadline... Iran, which denies that it seeks to build a bomb, has insisted that it must maintain its current inventory to provide fuel for electricity and other peaceful purposes. It has 9,400 operating centrifuges and roughly 10,000 others that are not in operation... The Iranian website said the Obama administration has repeatedly given ground on the centrifuge count, starting early this year with a ceiling of 500 centrifuges, then being raised in negotiations to 1,500 and then 4,000." http://t.uani.com/1qpmV2K Reuters: "Indian refiners completed payment of $900 million in frozen oil revenues to Iran on Wednesday under an interim deal that eased some sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear work, said industry sources with direct knowledge of the matter... "The first instalment of $400 million was cleared last month and today the companies paid the second instalment of $500 million," said one of the industry sources. The sources declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the press. In the second instalment of $500 million, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd and Essar Oil paid around $220 million each, Indian Oil Corp about $60 million and Hindustan Petroleum Corp about $5 million, according to the sources." http://t.uani.com/1xdLBPE Al-Monitor: "As nuclear talks enter a crucial period ahead of the Nov. 24 deadline, one of the incentives the Barack Obama administration is dangling before Iran is a direct banking channel between a US and an Iranian financial institution, Al-Monitor has learned." http://t.uani.com/1uv5WDc Sanctions Relief Trend: "The European countries exported over 6.257 million metric tons of goods, worth $5.937 billion to Iran during the 7-month period from March 21 to Oct. 22 (Iran 's fiscal year starts on March 21). The Islamic Republic's imports from the Europe registered an increase by 29.05 percent in terms of volume and 6.89 percent in terms of value respectively compared the same period of last year, the Iranian Customs Administration said in its latest monthly report released Nov. 3. The EU countries shared 19.61 percent of Iran's total imports in terms of value during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. Meanwhile Iran's exports to Europe registered a 59.95 percent increase in terms of volume and stood at 1.372 million metric tons during the period... Germany was the Islamic Republic's main European trade partner during the period. The country exported over $1.453 billion worth of goods to Iran, indicating an increase by 14.28 percent year on year. Germany stood at sixth place among the countries exported goods to Iran, followed by Switzerland (with $943.5 million worth of exports), Italy ($622.4 million) and Netherlands ($604.7 million). Italy was the main European target of the Islamic Republic exports. Iran exported $263 million worth of goods to Italy during the 7-month period, 28.73 more year on year." http://t.uani.com/1E5AdYx Domestic Politics Reuters: "It is a question all Iranians are asking: who is stalking the streets of Isfahan, throwing acid into women's faces? The attacks - there have been at least four in the busy city in central Iran in recent weeks - appear aimed at terrorizing women who dare to test the boundaries of the Islamic dress code. The crimes coincided with the passage of a new parliamentary bill that allows private citizens to enforce 'morality' laws. The bill has sparked a clash between hardline politicians, who overwhelmingly support it, and moderates including President Hassan Rouhani." http://t.uani.com/1vICTXw Foreign Affairs WSJ: "As the U.S. struggled in recent years to help prop up Afghanistan's anemic economy, the American military turned for help to an unlikely partner: Iran. The U.S. has no formal relations with Tehran and American companies are restricted from working with Iran by sanctions over the country's disputed nuclear activities. Nevertheless, a specialized Pentagon task force sought to engage Afghanistan's western neighbor for major business ventures it was promoting in the country. Twice in the last two years, the task force secured special permission from the U.S. government to seek help from Iran in setting up Afghanistan's first pharmaceutical company and in developing four mines, according to government documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and interviews with people directly involved in the unusual outreach effort. Though the engagement with Iran ultimately faltered, the efforts demonstrated the lengths to which the American military was willing to go to promote business investment in Afghanistan to replace billions of dollars the U.S. and its allies have spent during 13 years of war." http://t.uani.com/1x3MzS8 RFE/RL: "The Pentagon's latest assessment on security in Afghanistan has strongly criticized Pakistan and Iran, saying they are destabilizing regional security... The Pentagon says Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp -- the Qods Force - 'provides calibrated lethal aid to the Taliban' in a bid to speed the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan... It says Iran's strategy includes a 'soft-power campaign to promote a pro-Iranian and pro-Shi'a sentiment' in Afghanistan through a $1 billion aid and development program." http://t.uani.com/1wxhgh0 Opinion & Analysis UANI Advisory Board Member Michael Singh in WSJ: "Citing U.S. and Arab officials, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that U.S.-Iran relations have 'moved into an effective state of détente over the past year.' Détente implies a mutual easing of tensions, but the changes in U.S.-Iran relations have been decidedly one-sided. The central aim of American policy toward Iran in recent years had been to persuade Tehran to make a strategic shift: away from a strategy of projecting power and deterring adversaries through asymmetric means, and toward one that would adhere to international norms and reinforce regional peace and stability. Détente-and, for that matter, a nuclear accord-resulting from such a shift would be welcome by not only the U.S. but also its allies in the region and beyond. Iran does not, however, appear to have undergone any such change. Iranian support for Hezbollah in Lebanon has continued unabated even as the group has thwarted efforts to strengthen Lebanese sovereignty and dispatched forces to Syria. According to the U.S. director of national intelligence, Hezbollah has increased 'its global terrorist activity in recent years to a level that we have not seen since the 1990s.' Tehran also continues to support non-state actors such as the Houthi rebels in Yemen and-after a brief period of apparent estrangement accompanying the 2011 Arab uprisings-Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups. In Iraq, much is made of the supposed alignment of interests between the U.S. and Iran. But no such alignment is apparent. Iran's increased public profile in Iraq and its overt backing for Shiite militias-which U.S. intelligence officials have warned would inflame sectarian tensions-is directly at odds with President Barack Obama's strategy of seeking to restore Iraqi Sunnis' confidence in Baghdad, turn them against Islamic State, and promote their inclusion in Iraq's government and institutions. In Syria, the strategic rift between the U.S. and Iran is even clearer. Washington's stated policy is that Bashar al-Assad is illegitimate and that ending the Syrian conflict requires that he cede power to an inclusive, representative government. Iran, on the other hand, has worked to shore up President Assad, dispatching military advisers and paramilitary proxies, and organizing regular and irrregular Syrian forces. Nor when it comes to Islamic State (ISIL) are the U.S. and Iran on the same page. Both countries are fighting the group, to be sure; but you wouldn't guess as much by listening to Iranian leaders. They accuse the United States of having created ISIL (which Iran's supreme leader says represents 'American Islam') as a pretext for intervening in Syria and Iraq. Iranian leaders also pointed to Islamic State militants' recent seizure of errant American aid airdrops as evidence that Washington is providing ISIL with material support. In short, what has changed is not Iran's strategy but the American response. We are choosing to overlook, rather than counter, long-standing Iranian policies. This-combined with the concessions we have made in the nuclear talks, the ambiguity of U.S. policy toward the Assad regime and rising tensions with once-stalwart allies in the region-reinforce the impression that the United States, not Iran, is undergoing a strategic shift." http://t.uani.com/1zw6I4b Sohrab Ahmari in WSJ: "And that wasn't the biggest charade afoot last week at the United Nations Human Rights Council. On Friday, it was Iran's turn to undergo its Universal Periodic Review, or UPR, a process that invites all member states to judge each other's rights records. The North Koreans praised the ayatollahs for making 'commendable achievements in the field of political, economic, social and cultural rights,' and they urged Tehran to 'continue adequate measures for addressing the special needs of women and protecting children from violence' and to 'make continued efforts to improve the social security system.' The Syrians commended Tehran for 'the adoption of new law and regulations' that allegedly promote human rights. Sudan 'warmly welcomed' Iran's human-rights progress in the face of international sanctions. Zimbabwe hailed Iran's adoption of human-rights-friendly textbooks. All this during a week when Iran executed Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 26-year-old woman convicted in 2007 for killing an Iranian intelligence officer who she said had attempted to rape her. Welcome to the crown jewel of the U.N. human-rights system. Established in 2006, the Human Rights Council was supposed to be an improvement over its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission. That earlier body had devolved into a dictators' mutual-praise society that spent most of its time bashing Israel. The nadir came in 2003, when Moammar Gadhafi's Libya assumed its presidency... But no reform, it turns out, could fix the problem at the heart of the previous commission's failure and now dogs the current council: the fundamental dissonance between the U.S. and its democratic allies, on the one hand, and the illiberal states that dominate most U.N. bodies, on the other. China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Russia were elected to the inaugural council by a majority of U.N. member states... At Iran's UPR, the world's authoritarians offered thousands of words of praise for their brother dictators in Tehran: 'Belarus notes with satisfaction the practical steps taken to protect women's and children's rights.' Criticism from the U.S., Israel and some European states offered the occasional break from this dictatorial backslapping. But all states 'welcomed the participation' of the Iranian delegation. In Geneva, everyone is perpetually 'encouraged by progress,' and everyone gets a medal for showing up. Leading the Iranian delegation was Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary of the country's own Human Rights Council. The UC-Berkeley graduate is best known for using a racial epithet to describe Mr. Obama. 'Today this [the Persian equivalent of the n-word] talks of regime change in Iran,' Mr. Larijani said in 2010. He later clarified: 'I am not a racist, but I must respond to this man in some way.' In Geneva, Mr. Larijani responded to criticism of Iran's treatment of its Baha'i minority. The Baha'i, he said, 'have professors at university, they have students at university.' Yet a 1991 edict bars Baha'i from the country's postsecondary institutions. To his credit, Mr. Larijani didn't deny the fact that the legal age of marriage for girls in the Islamic Republic is 9. Instead, he lamented that some young Iranian women are marrying as late as in their 20s and 30s. He added: 'My recommendation to my daughters are get married at least around 20 years old.' Mr. Larijani also washed the Iranian regime's hands of Ms. Jabbari's execution. 'The judiciary is not in a position to execute,' he said, but merely carried out the murder-victim's family members' private right to avenge their loved one's death. The Iranian judiciary, he added, had attempted to dissuade the victim's heirs from exercising this right and may have succeeded but for the international 'media blitz' surrounding the case. As for the regime's oppression of gays and lesbians, Mr. Larijani said: 'We do not accept imposing a special lifestyle under the banner of human rights. Universality should be promoted by a kind of multicultural mechanism.' The Universal Periodic Review, Mr. Larijani concluded, 'is a fantastic place,' and judging by his beaming smile at the end of the event, the Iranian meant it. The question is how the cause of human rights is served by America's legitimating presence as the world's despots rub shoulders and sip tea together." http://t.uani.com/1plghj3      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.