Eye on Iran: Senate Panel OKs Threat of New Iran Sanctions

Join UANI           Top Stories Defense News: "A Senate committee on Thursday easily approved legislation that would impose tougher economic sanctions on Iran if ongoing talks about its nuclear arms program remain stalled. The Banking Committee, in a bipartisan 18-4 vote, approved a new Iran sanctions bill crafted by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. Senators from both panels spoke in support of the legislation, arguing the threat of new economic penalties will cause Iranian officials to take the ongoing 'P5+1 talks' more seriously. 'Sanctions are what got Iran to the table,' the Senate's No. 3 Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, said. 'If they don't come to a strong deal that prevents a nuclear Iran, period, there will be additional sanctions by this body.' ... Menendez wants to wait at least two months before the full Senate votes on the bill. But he stressed that if Iranian officials continue to stall, the chamber should vote on his bill. To him, if a vote is held at the right time, 'I believe it would have broad bipartisan support.' ... Still, the 18-4 committee vote suggests there may be the 67 required votes in the chamber to overturn a veto." http://t.uani.com/1A6ARrG Fox News: "Most American voters continue to believe President Obama has been too easy on Iran -- and that it will take military force to stop the Iranian regime from getting nuclear weapons, according to a new Fox News poll released Thursday. All in all, 7 in 10 voters say Obama has not been tough enough on Iran (70 percent). That number has remained roughly the same since 2009. And that tally includes 57 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 87 percent of Republicans. Only a tenth as many -- seven percent -- think the president has been too tough on the Iranian regime. In addition, a 62-percent majority thinks military force will be necessary to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons, while 28 percent say that goal can be reached through diplomacy and sanctions alone. Here again, there's agreement across political party lines: majorities of independents (52 percent), Democrats (53 percent) and Republicans (76 percent) think stopping Iran's nuclear aims will take military action." http://t.uani.com/1HrgyJq Trend: "Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries can reach nuclear agreement in less than 4 months, if the other side shows political will. 'If they want to reach agreement, they need to be realistic,' he said, Iran's Fars News Agency reported on Jan. 28. 'The other side should know that Iranians will never bow to pressure, so if they want to reach an agreement they need to lift the pressures,' Zarif noted. 'The negotiations have reached a critical level. We are currently talking about the details,' he explained. 'If we don't reach an agreement by the deadline, the talks won't be extended anymore,' the Iranian minister said." http://t.uani.com/1LnrHu9     Nuclear Program & Negotiations Reuters: "Iran said talks with France, Germany and Britain on Thursday on its nuclear program were 'promising' but more work was needed to settle the 12-year standoff, the official IRNA news agency reported. Political directors from Iran and the three European countries held talks in Istanbul in an effort to overcome the remaining gaps on a long-term nuclear deal by a self-imposed June 30 deadline. 'The talks were very useful, positive and promising but still we are not in a position to say we made progress,' IRNA quoted senior Iranian nuclear negotiator and deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as saying after the talks. 'While discussing details ... we face more diversity of views,' he added. 'We can reach an agreement if all the parties involved show strong political will to end this issue.'" http://t.uani.com/1JU86QQ Al-Monitor: "The legacy of the founder of the Islamic Republic, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, is contested among Iran's top leadership circles... In his latest statements, President Hassan Rouhani has attempted to blend the two disparate readings, while at the same time, perhaps in a nod to the current stalemate in the nuclear negotiations, reminding the top leadership that the former supreme leader knew when it was time to 'choose peace.' At a ceremony in honor of Ayatollah Khomeini's return to Iran after a 15-year exile Feb. 1, 1979, Rouhani said, 'Imam [Khomeini] taught us the path of moderation, progress and development. An imam that at various points stood up to arrogance and the enemy and taught us anti-arrogance and had the courage to, when necessary, choose the path of peace and continue the path of stability and development for the country.' Rouhani's reference can be construed as referring to a number of issues, though none can be more significant than Ayatollah Khomeini's decision to end the Iran-Iraq war in 1988 after a brutal and devastating conflict with a foe that was supported by Arab nations in the Persian Gulf, Western Europe and the United States." http://t.uani.com/1DeBcGn Congressional Sanctions Bloomberg: "Congress is going to move forward with Iran sanctions legislation sooner rather than later, and there's nothing the Barack Obama administration can do to stop it. That's the word from one of the two authors of the bill that passed the Senator Banking Committee today. Illinois Republican Mark Kirk told me in an interview today that even if the Senate delays until late March on voting on the new sanctions bill he crafted with Democrat Robert Menendez, his party's leadership is committed to moving forward and he is confident the Senate will pass it. This despite repeated warnings from the Obama administration that it would blow up ongoing negotiations with Iran, fracture the international sanctions coalition and provoke a presidential veto. 'The notion that the Iran sanctions effort can be stopped was killed by the American people at the ballot box when they elected a Republican Senate,' Kirk said. 'This is going to move forward in the Senate regardless of what the president's feelings are on it.'" http://t.uani.com/1veW8yc Reuters: "U.S. President Barack Obama would veto a bill crafted by U.S. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bob Corker that would require the administration to receive congressional approval for any deal it strikes with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Thursday. The bill would set a 'harmful precedent' that would 'negatively impact' negotiations with Iran, Earnest said at a news briefing." http://t.uani.com/1yem60a Sanctions Relief Reuters: "Asian imports of Iranian crude rose by 19.8 percent last year to hit a three-year high, although further increases by the OPEC nation's biggest buyers will depend on whether Tehran and world powers can settle the dispute over its nuclear programme. Imports by Iran's four biggest buyers - China, India, Japan and South Korea - averaged 1.12 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2014, government and tanker-tracking data showed, the highest since the region took more than 1.5 million bpd in 2011. Soaring imports last year by China and India after the partial easing of economic sanctions at the end of 2013 more than offset declining shipments into Japan and South Korea. December imports into Asia rose 22.1 pct from a year ago to 1.21 million bpd - the highest since May - due to a huge jump in India's imports for the month and higher seasonal winter demand." http://t.uani.com/1Dneg89 Trend: "According to Iran's [Anzali]  port's latest report, Iran imported 24,707 tons of oil products from Neka port between March 21 and December 21, while this figure for the same period in the previous year was 52,141 tons. According to the report, there has not been any non-oil cargo delivered to Neka port during the last two years. However, a document released by Fars News Agency last week, says Iran imported a huge amount of non-standard gasoline through Neka port after last February... Iran hasn't received any oil products cargo from Anzali port, but taking petroleum products from Shahid Rajaee (988,494 tons), Emam Khomeini (92,724 tons), Chabahar (40 tons), Bushehr (20,212 tons), Noshahr (66,734), Amirabad (18,386 tons), Fereidoon Kenar (9,090 tons), Khorramshar (53 tons), Abadan (53 tons) and Lengeh (28 tons) ports reached a total of 1.22 million tons during March 21 to December 21, 2014. Noshahr, Neka, Fereidoon Kenar and Amirabad ports are located on the Caspian Sea, therefore Iran imported 118,700 tons of oil products from Caspian littoral countries during the last nine months. If the total imported cargoes are gasoline, then Iran imported above 900,000 barrels, or 68 million liters of gasoline from its northern neighbors." http://en.trend.az/business/economy/2358518.html Shana (Iran): "On gas imports from the neighboring country, Turkmenistan, Kameli said: 'Despite rising gas production in the country, Petroleum Ministry has no intention to cut gas imports from Turkmenistan because we prefer to have gas trade with the neighboring countries which is a kind of diversification in gas trade in itself.' He noted that in addition to gas imports from Turkmenistan, Iran swaps as much as one million cubic meters of gas per day for delivery to Nakhjavan enclave and at the same time exchanges gas with electricity in its transactions with Armenia." http://t.uani.com/161blrh Terrorism Reuters: "President Cristina Fernandez has portrayed Argentina's spy agency as sinister, accountable to no one, and possibly responsible for the mysterious death of a prominent prosecutor in his Buenos Aires apartment... But the underlying story of the dispute, sources close to both the agency and Fernandez's leftist government tell Reuters, is more complicated, with roots in Iran and a terrorist attack two decades ago that has never been fully solved. They say Fernandez has been in open conflict with her own spy agency for two years, following a deal in which she enlisted Iran's help to investigate the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people... However, some of the spy agency's leaders felt betrayed by the deal, a source with knowledge of the agency's affairs said on condition of anonymity. They had spent many years helping prosecutors build the case against Iran, and saw Fernandez's agreement as an attempt to whitewash their investigation... A government official confirmed the Iran deal was the origin of the conflict, which he described as a grave threat to Fernandez. 'When (the spy agency) stops supporting you, you're screwed,' the official said." http://t.uani.com/1zGfIEY Human Rights IranWire: "The Fajr Film Festival has refused to screen at least six controversial films. The festival, which is overseen by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture, is marred by controversy most years, with filmmakers and film lovers alike accusing the board of directors of censorship and bowing to pressure from authorities. Actors, producers, and directors spoke out against the board's decision to exclude certain films, which runs from February 1 to February 10." http://t.uani.com/1yenv76 Foreign Affairs Fars (Iran): "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned the crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, saying that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is the root cause of all the regional problems. 'We believe that the root cause of problems in the region is the usurping occupation of Palestinian territories,' Rouhani said in a meeting with new Jordanian Ambassador to Tehran Abdullah Suleiman Abdullah Abu Romman on Monday. Stressing that today the Zionists' crimes and aggressions are condemned by the world public opinion, he said, 'The Islamic Republic of Iran's goal is (the establishment of) stability and security in the Middle-East and settlement of the Palestinian issue to return the Palestinian refugees to their homeland.'" http://t.uani.com/1LnpLSx WSJ: "The U.S. has formed ties with Houthi rebels who seized control of Yemen's capital, White House officials and rebel commanders said, in the clearest indication of a shift in the U.S. approach there as it seeks to maintain its fight against a key branch of al Qaeda. American officials are communicating with Houthi fighters, largely through intermediaries, the officials and commanders have disclosed, to promote a stable political transition as the Houthis gain more power and to ensure Washington can continue its campaign of drone strikes against leaders of the group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, officials said... The shift also could place it on the same side as Iran in the Yemen conflict... U.S. officials believe the militia has received considerable funding and arms from Shiite-dominated Iran, something Houthi leaders have variously confirmed and denied." http://t.uani.com/18CnJ1Y         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.