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The Hill: "Eleven Senate Democrats are
pushing the Obama administration to respond to Iran's ballistic missile
test, suggesting it could send a signal of how the White House would
respond to any violations of the Iran nuclear agreement. The senators
sent a letter Wednesday to Secretary of State John Kerry, saying they
have 'profound concern' over the long-range missile test and suggesting
the administration should consider taking action either alone or with
other countries. 'We are concerned about the military significance of
this test, which is part of a long-term Iranian program that seeks to
improve the range and capabilities of its ballistic missiles,' the
senators wrote. 'We are also convinced that the launch is an attempt to
test the world's will to respond to Iranian violations of its
international commitments.' ... The Democratic senators, however,
said the ability to enforce the nuclear deal 'must be fortified by a
zero-tolerance policy to respond to violations of the agreement and of
applicable UN resolutions.' 'There must be no ambiguity in our
willingness to enforce Iran's obligations under UN resolutions and the
JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action],' they wrote. Wednesday's
letter is the latest sign of growing concern from Congress over how the
Obama administration will handle the missile test from Iran. On Monday,
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) called on Kerry to tighten sanctions against
Iran over the missile test and pushed the administration to support an
extension of the Iran Sanctions Act, which is currently set to expire
next year. Senators also sent separate letters to Kerry and President
Obama last week wanting to know the administration's strategy and
questioning whether a similar test in the future would impact the nuclear
agreement. Wednesday's letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Michael
Bennet (Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Ben
Cardin (Md.), Christopher Coons (Del.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Chris Murphy
(Conn.), Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Mark Warner (Va.)
and Ron Wyden (Ore.)." http://t.uani.com/1PCGAfO
AP: "The United States, France,
Britain and Germany asked the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to
investigate and take 'appropriate action' against Iran for conducting a
ballistic missile test earlier this month, which they say violated U.N.
sanctions. A report to the council committee monitoring sanctions against
Iran from the four countries, which U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power raised
at a council meeting, said the medium-range missile launched by Iran on
Oct. 10 'is inherently capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.' It said
the missile firing is 'a serious violation' of a Security Council
resolution adopted on June 9, 2010 that bans Iran from undertaking 'any
activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear
weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology.' The
launch was Iran's first missile test since the historic nuclear deal
reached July 14 between Iran and six world powers - the U.S., France,
Britain, Germany, Russia and China. While condemning the ballistic
missile test, the United States has made clear that it is 'entirely
separate' from the nuclear deal, which is aimed at preventing Iran from
developing atomic weapons. Power called the launch 'provocative' and said
she underscored to the council 'that the United States considers it to be
a serious matter and undermines regional stability. 'We call on the
(sanctions) committee, with the support of the independent U.N. panel of
experts, to review this matter quickly and recommend appropriate action,'
she said in a statement. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said
the action 'will depend on their technical experts' view of the launch.'
'It's clear in our view that is a violation of the relevant Security
Council resolutions which remain in force after the Iran deal,' he said.
Rycroft said everyone wants to see the Iran nuclear deal implemented
'properly and fairly and fully by all parties, but that includes ensuring
that launches of ballistic missiles which are ... in clear violation of
Security Council resolution have to be pursued.'" http://t.uani.com/1NpzA2O
NYT: "Iran's supreme leader on
Wednesday publicly endorsed for the first time the July nuclear agreement
between Iran and six world powers, state news agencies reported. But the
provisional endorsement was accompanied by a warning that Tehran expected
all sanctions to be lifted or it would walk away from the deal. The
support of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is the final step
in an approval process involving the Supreme National Security Council,
the Iranian Parliament and the Guardian Council. Iran can now begin
carrying out the measures outlined in the agreement, including
dismantling thousands of centrifuges used for enrichment and downsizing a
heavy water plant so it can no longer produce plutonium. The endorsement
was included in a letter addressed to President Hassan Rouhani that
included accusations against the United States, Iran's longtime enemy,
and pointed out several flaws in the deal, state television reported.
Calling for close supervision of the application of the agreement, the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Ayatollah Khamenei said the deal
'suffers from several ambiguities, and structural weaknesses.' He added
that without close oversight, the deal would lead to 'great damage to the
present and future' for Iran... While the agreement stipulates that
sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear work are to be lifted, older
measures are to remain in place. A central issue is that the United
States will continue to regard Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism
because of its support for the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah. That
could potentially restrict payments between Iran and Europe, because many
financial transactions pass through New York. Ayatollah Khamenei warned
that any 'repetitive and self-made pretexts' of new sanctions, over human
rights and terrorism charges, for instance, must be answered by the
Iranian government's canceling the nuclear agreement." http://t.uani.com/1Xmckr4
Nuclear
Program & Agreement
Reuters: "Iran's president on Thursday
welcomed conditional approval of a nuclear agreement with six major
powers by the country's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, Iran's state television reported. In a letter to Khamenei,
President Hassan Rouhani said his government will fully implement the
agreement while observing the leader's guidance and considerations. 'The
Supreme National security Council will closely monitor the other party
regarding fulfilling its commitments ... We will make appropriate
decision for suitable reaction as well,' Rouhani said in his letter...
Pragmatist Rouhani, whose 2013 election paved the way for Iran's
diplomatic thaw with the West, said the agreement will help boost Iran's
economy. 'The deal caused the collapse of the structure of sanctions that
had put pressure on our dear nation and on our economy,' the letter
read." http://t.uani.com/1MGotzq
Tasnim
(Iran):
"Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs
Seyed Abbas Araqchi stressed that Supreme Leader's interpretation of the
nuclear deal reached between Tehran and world powers is the final word
for the Iranian administration. Earlier on Wednesday, Supreme
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in a letter
to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani highlighted nine main points that the
administration will need to take note of regarding the course of implementing
a final nuclear deal with six world powers. The second observation in the
letter was the categorical rejection of imposition of any new sanctions
against Iran, which the Leader described as a breach of the JCPOA in
which case the Iranian administration would be obligated to stop
implementing the deal. Araqchi, in a Wednesday night televised interview
with the IRIB, stressed that the points mentioned by the Leader are
certainly binding for the government. As Imam Khamenei put it, if new
sanctions are imposed on the country even under such pretexts as human
rights and terrorism, it would be a violation of the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iranian diplomat noted. Araqchi, who was a
senior Iranian negotiator in the course of nuclear talks between Iran and
the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany),
further noted that Tehran's possible reaction to such breaches of the
deal would be determined and pursued by a panel assigned by Supreme
National Security Council (SNSC)." http://t.uani.com/1Mbr7Tw
JPost: "And the country must also
prepare, he added, 'to reach 190,000 SWUs [separative work units]' in 15
years - a goal Khamenei had set out before the nuclear negotiations had
begun in earnest. The nuclear deal allows for Iran to expand its nuclear
program on an industrial- sized scale by 2030. Iran currently operates a
model of centrifuge dubbed the IR-1- a 1970s-technology device that
enriches uranium at a slow pace. According to Harvard University's Olli
Heinonen, who once served as deputy director-general of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, that model, at its best, reaches a capacity of 1
SWU per year. 'In my view, [Khamenei] maintains as his goal to have a
190000 SWU/year capacity,' Heinonen told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
'Thus you can also say that the goal could be 190,000 centrifuges.'
'However, the IR-1s are not reliable and old technology,' he added. 'This
is why Iran is developing more advanced centrifuges. When the limitations
of the JCPOA start to fade away after ten years, we will see other
centrifuges than IR-1 emerging.'" http://t.uani.com/1PCQ5fc
Politico: "Congressional Democrats
celebrated the roll-out of the Iran nuclear deal at a private reception
on Wednesday hosted by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The nonproliferation
deal was officially adopted Sunday after a brutal congressional review
earlier this year that saw Democrats narrowly push forward the agreement
over the strong objections of Republicans. At the private reception,
attended by White House Chief of Staff, Pelosi thanked the House
Democrats who led the whip operation on the Iran deal, including Texas
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, North Carolina Rep. David Price and Illinois Rep. Jan
Schakowsky... Former ambassador Thomas Pickering, along with Reps. Gerry
Connolly of Virginia, Peter Welch of Vermont, Debbie Dingell of Michigan,
Jerry Nadler of New York and another two dozen lawmakers attended the
event." http://t.uani.com/1GWphOK
Sanctions
Relief
FT: "With Iran's economy beset by
plunging oil prices, international sanctions, anaemic growth and a
banking sector saddled with high levels of non-performing loans, the
central bank governor has plenty to worry about. But Valiollah Seif
insists the eventual lifting of US and EU sanctions agreed as part of
this summer's landmark nuclear deal with Iran will transform a country
that has since 1979 been subjected to one form of US penalty or another.
'When the sanctions are lifted there will be a new condition created for
Iran,' Mr Seif said in an interview with the Financial Times on the
sidelines of an IMF meeting in Peru. Delegations of investors from Asia
and Europe have in recent months begun arriving to do deals in a country
previously considered out of bounds. Mr Seif says they have come with a
'new perspective and outlook' about the Islamic Republic and are 'asking
many questions about the new conditions'. Much has been made of interest
from international oil companies but other industries are also eyeing
opportunities. Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceuticals group, plans to
build a €70m manufacturing facility in Iran and international banks have
been testing the waters. Mr Seif is also keen to draw much-needed
international investment into roads and other infrastructure." http://t.uani.com/1M8eoLi
BusinessKorea: "In preparation for the end of
economic sanctions on Iran in the first half of next year, domestic firms
are accelerating the local market invasion... Hyundai Engineering &
Construction (E&C) has started its activities to win orders after
reopening its office in Teheran this month. The company, which carried
out the South Pars Gas Field development project in Iran in the past,
closed down its subsidiary after the imposition of sanctions against the
country. However, it has recently increased the workforce related to
orders in Iran. An official from Hyundai E&C said, 'We are planning
to send out more workers to Iran, including the regional director.' Also,
Hyundai Engineering has recently established its branch office and sent
its employees. Trading firms also got busy. They are expecting to see
more business opportunities not only in trading raw materials, but also
project organizing. GS Global, which closed down its local office in
2006, is currently going through the licensing procedure for branch
establishment, and expecting to receive approval within the year. The
company is aiming at the plant construction organizing business, along
with its subsidiaries, GS Engineering & Construction and GS Entec. SK
Networks, which used to trade raw materials in Iran, has also increased
the number of workers at the branch office, while Daewoo International
and LG International are strengthening the monitoring systems." http://t.uani.com/1Gk49aC
Reuters: "Russia considers providing a
$5 billion loan to Iran for joint infrastructure projects, Moscow's
energy ministry representative told Reuters on Wednesday. '(Russia) is
considering the possibility (to provide the loan). Iran asked for it,'
the representative, who asked not to be named, said. Russian Energy
Minister, Alexander Novak, currently visiting Iran, said earlier on
Wednesday that Russia and Iran had agreed to $40 billion in projects in
the last two years." http://t.uani.com/1LHKBK2
Mehr
(Iran): "Tehran
and Paris oil and petrochemical deals have resumed officially. Following
four years of gap, a new load of Iran's petrochemical products was
exported to France. The National Iranian Petrochemical Company released a
short report announcing that some of Imam Khomeini Port Petrochemical
Complex's petrochemical and polymer products were, last month, sent to
France as well as other EU member countries including Spain, Belgium and
the Netherlands; however the national Iranian company has not provided
the details." http://t.uani.com/200luM4
Syria
Conflict
NOW
Lebanon: "Iran
has attacked rebels in northwest Syria with explosive-laden unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs) that fly into their targets, according to rebels.
A commander in the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group told Al-Souria Net that
'kamikaze drones thought to be [of] Iranian [origin] were used [on Monday
to strike] Syrian opposition military bases in rural Idlib, causing
extensive material damage at the targeted location.' 'Five aircrafts
loaded with explosives targeted an Ahrar al-Sham base in the town of
Ma'ar Shimmareen [near] Idlib province's Ma'aret Nuaman,' Hassan Abu
Hamid claimed... 'The destructive force of the plane was equal to the destructive
force of an 82 mm mortar round, but had a higher fragmentation rate,' he
explained... Iran's burgeoning UAV production program has given focus to
developing 'suicide drones' capable of destroying targets." http://t.uani.com/200aMFk
Human
Rights
ICHRI: "The CEO of the instant
messaging service Telegram, Pavel Durov, announced in a tweet on October
20, 2015, that the Iranian government had asked the company to spy on its
users in Iran. The development is a dramatic twist in a six-month
struggle by Iranian authorities to monitor the popular mobile phone
application in Iran. Durov tweeted that when the company declined to
provide the Iranian government with backdoor access to user data in Iran,
they blocked their services. 'Iranian ministry of ICT demanded that
@telegram provided them with spying and censorship tools. We ignored the
demand, they blocked us,' Durov tweeted. 'Iran's thirst to seize control
over its citizens' private communications, spy on them, and use online
content to identify and prosecute any individual who departs from the
official line should raise a red flag for all potential investors in
Iran,' said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign
for Human Rights in Iran. 'No company should be expected to compromise
the privacy and security of its users in such an unlawful way, and
undermine their own reputational integrity in the process.'" http://t.uani.com/1hWQWJ5
IranWire: "The Intelligence Ministry has
banned at least 26 popular Iranian singers, including Shahram Shokoohi,
Mohsen Yeganeh, Reza Sadeghi and Sirvan Khosravi, from performing in Iran
after their music was broadcast by satellite networks abroad. But the
list of affected artists could be higher still, according to an extensive
report published by Etemad newspaper on October 19. According to the
investigation, the music department at the Ministry of Culture and
Islamic Guidance sent a letter to a number of prominent Iranian artists
informing them of the ban, and the head of the department confirmed the
news. The latest reports say there are at least 26 Iranian musicians and
singers who have received an official ban in connection with a range of
crimes including, but not limited to, 'publishing music online,'
'publishing music on foreign networks,' including the Washington-based
Radio Javan, and for 'inappropriate behavior' during concerts held
outside of Iran. Although reports are yet to be confirmed, the list of
banned artists is thought to also include traditional singers like
Homayoon Shajarian and Hafez Nazeri, suggesting it is not only pop
artists who are being targeted... Rouhani and Jannati's promises to lift
bans on artists have not been fulfilled, and the latest developments do
little to inspire confidence in the government when it comes to cultural
matters... All of this would suggest that cultural censorship is very
much ongoing, and in fact now goes much further than bans on pop music
alone." http://t.uani.com/1MGgvqa
Domestic
Politics
Al
Arabiya: "In
light of press reports that estimated the Iranian supreme leader's
fortune at about ninety five billion dollars, the grandson of the former
supreme leader Ali Khomeini criticized the fact that the corruption in
his country has broken new records, despite the economic suffering of the
Iranian people. Corruption in Iran is a major issue, revealing the
tragedy of the Iranian people who are paying the price of slogans raised
by figures of their regime, according to critics." http://t.uani.com/1RYr3FB
Foreign
Affairs
AFP: "Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani will visit Pope Francis on November 14, the Vatican announced
Thursday in the latest sign of relatively warm relations between the Holy
See and the Islamic Republic. Rouhani will call at the Vatican as part of
an official trip to Italy, which has led European attempts to rebuild
trade and investment ties with Tehran following the July nuclear deal.
Pope Francis received the Iranian vice-president for family affairs
Sahindokht Molaverdi in February and has been a prominent backer of the
nuclear accord as a significant step towards stability in the region. The
last Iranian president to visit the Vatican was Mohamed Khatami, who held
talks with Jean-Paul II in 1999 and subsequently attended the Polish
pope's funeral in 2005... Iran outlaws conversions to Christianity but
the country's eastern Catholics remain free to exercise their
religion." http://t.uani.com/1MbjUTv
Opinion
& Analysis
Fred
Fleitz in NRO:
"Although Adoption Day was intended to be an indication that the
Iran deal is progressing, it has been overshadowed by growing signs that
Iran intends to ignore important aspects of the deal and that the Obama
administration is planning to look the other way. President Obama refused
to follow the Constitution and allow the Senate to ratify the JCPOA as a
treaty. This was not the case for Iran's parliament. Although the
agreement only required the Iranian parliament (the Majlis) to ratify the
Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (an agreement
that in theory will give IAEA inspectors greater access to Iranian
nuclear sites), Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave parliament the
opportunity to ratify the entire JCPOA. According to Obama officials and
most press reports, the Iranian parliament passed a bill endorsing the
nuclear deal on October 13. These reports were wrong. The Majlis did not
endorse the JCPOA. It approved its own amended version of the agreement that
is drastically different, substantially limits Iran's cooperation, and
demands additional concessions. These reports were wrong. The Majlis did
not endorse the JCPOA. It approved its own amended version of the
agreement that is drastically different, substantially limits Iran's
cooperation, and demands additional concessions. The Iranian
parliamentary bill that 'approved' the JCPOA reportedly is 1,000 pages
long and has not yet been fully translated into English... The Middle
East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) assessed in an October 13, 2015
report that the Iranian parliament ratified 'a nonexistent document,' not
the JCPOA, because it called for sanctions against Iran to be cancelled
and not to be reimposed. By contrast, the nuclear deal calls for sanctions
to be suspended and to snap back in the event of Iranian noncompliance.
MEMRI also reported text in the Iranian parliament bill calling on the
government to handle the rapid expansion of the country's centrifuge
program so that within two years, Iran's enriched-uranium output will
reach 190,000 SWUs (separate work units). This would equal about 25 to 28
times the output of the 9,000 centrifuges Iran currently is operating and
contradicts Tehran's JCPOA commitment to only operate 5,060 centrifuges
for 10 years. According to press reports, Supreme Leader Khamenei issued
a letter on October 21 'endorsing' the JCPOA that actually appears to
endorse the Iranian parliament's bill. In the letter, Khamenei demanded
that the U.S. and the EU agree in writing that sanctions 'are completely
canceled' when Iran meets its obligations under the agreement. Khamenei
also complained about 'ambiguities' in the JCPOA and said any new
sanctions against Iran would be a violation of the agreement... Further
alarming JCPOA critics, Obama officials are now playing down the
importance of the IAEA PMD investigation and have said that the nuclear
deal and sanctions relief will go forward regardless of its outcome. An
October 19, 2015, Wall Street Journal article noted that Kerry and other
U.S. officials had previously said sanctions would not be lifted unless
Iran substantively cooperated with the PMD investigation. Meanwhile, as
the JCPOA moves forward, Iranian behavior has grown worse in other ways.
Iran reportedly has sent hundreds of troops and Hezbollah fighters to
Syria over the past few weeks to prop up the Assad regime. On October 11,
an Iranian court convicted Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian of
espionage. Iran continues to imprison three other innocent Americans. So
with Obama officials claiming this week that the JCPOA's Adoption Day
indicated progress and the willingness of all parties to implement the
agreement, the truth is that Iran is already violating it and has an
entirely different view of the deal from what Obama's officials have
claimed. I am sure Obama's officials are aware of this, but they are so
desperate for the JCPOA to succeed that they are ignoring these
violations and finding ways to explain them away, including by
contradicting earlier claims that missile sanctions and the PMD issue
were part of the nuclear deal. The amended version of the JCPOA passed by
the Iranian parliament is a crucial part of this puzzle. At least one
organization in Washington is working to translate this document.
Congress must demand the U.S. Intelligence Community translate it ASAP
and post online so Congress can consider further action on the nuclear
deal." http://t.uani.com/1OUAYMn
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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