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AFP: "Chanting 'Death to America'
and burning the US flag, thousands of Iranians joined protests Wednesday
marking the 36th anniversary of the seizure of Washington's embassy in
Tehran. The outpouring of anti-US sentiment came despite a landmark
nuclear deal between Iran and major powers including Washington in July.
The storming of the embassy by students, months after the Islamic
revolution, led to a 444-day hostage crisis and a break in diplomatic
relations that continues to this day. Demonstrators gathered outside the
former US embassy in Tehran and across Iran for what was declared
'national day of the fight against global arrogance' -- a term often used
by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Protesters held placards with
slogans including 'Down with U.S.A' and 'Down with Israel'. Prosecutor
General Ebrahim Raisi gave a fiery speech attacking US 'atrocities'
ranging from slavery, the treatment of Native Americans, phone tapping
and 'the killing of 300,000 Iraqis.'" http://t.uani.com/1MhlUrw
NYT: "Anyone who hoped that Iran's
nuclear agreement with the United States and other powers portended a new
era of openness with the West has been jolted with a series of
increasingly rude awakenings over the past few weeks. On Tuesday, the eve
of the 36th anniversary of the student takeover of the American Embassy
in Tehran, state television announced the arrest of a Lebanese-American
missing for weeks - after he had been invited here by the government. He
has been accused of spying. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader,
said the 'Death to America' slogan is eternal. New anti-American
billboards in Tehran include a mockery of the Iwo Jima flag-raising
photograph that symbolized Marine sacrifice in World War II. And an
Iranian knockoff version of K.F.C., the chicken chain widely associated
with the United States, was summarily closed after two days. 'It feels
like a witch hunt,' said one Iranian-American businessman in Tehran, who
dared not speak for attribution over fear for his safety. 'It's pretty
scary.' ... Proponents of the nuclear deal had expected some backlash in
Iran. But even they appear to have been blindsided by its intensity. 'All
these arrests baffle me,' said Farshad Ghorbanpour, a political analyst
who has long said the nuclear deal would lead to positive changes and
more freedoms. 'I cannot say more.' State-sanctioned media have been busy
producing a litany of American conspiracy theories - Iran's Press TV
website even published an article on Tuesday raising the possibility that
the C.I.A. was responsible for downing a Russian jetliner in Egypt over
the weekend. Iranian news has also given prominent mention to the
'network of American and British spies' rounded up by the Guards's
agents." http://t.uani.com/1GLnK3J
Reuters: "As Iran's government promises
a new age of prosperity after sanctions, many Iranians are hoping for the
best. But the security establishment, with an eye to its political
survival, is very publicly preparing for the worst... the armed forces
have loudly advertised developments to Iran's missile deterrent and other
defense capabilities, proclaiming they are still prepared for an attack
by the Islamic Republic's enemies. The increase in martial messaging,
which analysts say is aimed both at Iran's enemies abroad and political
moderates at home, has alarmed Israel and Gulf Arab countries which are
wary of Iran's ambitions in the Middle East. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei approved the nuclear deal last month. But he insisted that it
did not herald a new era of co-operation with the United States, which he
believes is determined to bring about regime change in Tehran. 'America's
goals have not changed. If they could destroy the Islamic Republic today,
they would not hesitate for a moment,' he said on Tuesday... The Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and other security hawks, whose
narrative of resisting neo-imperialism found a ready audience under
sanctions, have happily heeded his warnings." http://t.uani.com/1kstkNP
Nuclear
Program & Agreement
MEMRI: "The mainstream media are
misleading the world into believing that Iran has accepted and is
implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that was agreed upon
on July 14, a prominent Middle East expert who served in military
intelligence and was an adviser to two prime ministers told The Jerusalem
Post Tuesday. 'The recent phenomenon in the Western media saying that
Iran has accepted the nuclear deal when it has not, shows that it has
completely coddled to the line in defending the Iran deal,' Yigal Carmon,
president of the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute
(MEMRI), told the Post. 'This is very dangerous,' he asserted. In an article
Carmon published on MEMRI's website on Friday titled, 'The emperor has no
clothes,' he wrote: 'With every passing day, Iran is more and more in
violation of the JCPOA. But neither the Republicans nor the Democrats,
nor the media, nor anyone else will acknowledge this, for the
implications are too devastating.'" http://t.uani.com/1ksrCfB
U.S.-Iran
Relations
AP: "Iranian state television on
Tuesday claimed that a Washington-based Lebanese citizen missing in
Tehran since September is actually an American spy now in the custody of
authorities. However, those who know Nizar Zakka - who holds
permanent-resident status in the United States - said an image of him in
army-style fatigues shown on Iranian state TV came from him recently
taking part in a homecoming parade as an alumnus of his military high
school in Georgia. Through a lawyer, the Zakka family said they were
'shocked by these false accusations,' and stressed that he has no
'relation with any military, security institution or secret services
whatsoever.' The state TV report is the first official word in Iran about
Zakka since his disappearance. It comes as four Americans are known to be
held by Iranian authorities after the Islamic Republic struck a nuclear
deal with world powers and amid increasingly hostile rhetoric against the
U.S. in the agreement's wake. Jim Benson, the president of Riverside
Military Academy in Gainesville, said state TV even identified the wrong
man in the image as Zakka." http://t.uani.com/1RSX4OE
AP: "Thousands of Iranians burned
the American flag and chanted slogans Wednesday as they marked the
anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by militant
students 36 years ago... Protesters on Wednesday carried placards reading
'political and security penetration is forbidden.' They pumped their
fists in the air, shouting 'God damn America,' and 'No compromise, no
surrender to U.S.' Others carried banners rejecting U.S. fast food chains
McDonald's and Starbucks. Authorities recently closed a newly opened
knock-off of KFC, saying it was unlicensed. Hard-liners view fast food
outlets and other American products as part of a 'cultural invasion' by
the U.S. aimed at undermining Islamic rule and public morality... Iran's
state TV showed similar demonstrations in other Iranian cities to mark
the occasion, known as the 'National Day against Global Arrogance.'
Wednesday's rally in Tehran also saw State Prosecutor Ebrahim Raeisi
announce that the intelligence department of the elite Revolutionary
Guard had detained a number of writers... 'Under no circumstances will we
allow penetration of Americans in economic, social and cultural areas,'
he added." http://t.uani.com/1GLo3vs
Fars
(Iran):
"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani underlined that the anniversary of
the US embassy takeover in November 1979 marks the beginning of a new era
of important political developments in Iran and also ushered the nation
in an era of independence. 'The US embassy takeover formed the foundation
of the country's independence and fight against the arrogant powers by
Iran,' President Rouhani said on Tuesday, addressing a meeting of the
Cultural Revolution Supreme Council. The Iranian president lauded the
Iranian students for their determining role in the political developments
and safeguarding the Islamic Revolution's achievements. Since the 1979
takeover of the US embassy in Tehran, Iranians have been celebrating the
occasion every year by holding rallies on the anniversary and marking it
as the National Day against the 'Global Arrogance.'" http://t.uani.com/1MHOuV4
Mehr
(Iran): "On the
occasion of the 36th anniversary of US embassy takeover in Tehran,
thousands of Iranians have participated in a campaign on socials media
expressing their reasons why the anti-US movement needs to be kept alive.
Commemorating the November 4 anniversary of US 'Den of Espionage'
takeover in 1979, thousands of Iranians have started participating in a
social media campaign dubbed 'Why Down with US?' by posting pictures of
themselves with their hands raised up, showing to the camera the reasons
why Iranian nation still holds such a great amount of distrust and
animosity toward the US government... @Faryadedastha [shouting of hands]
is a page on Instagram currently posting the campaign's pictures." http://t.uani.com/1H818ub
Daily
Beast: "Nestled
in a suburban Washington, D.C., office park, across the street from a
shopping mall, a technology company that counts the U.S. Defense
Department as its biggest customer is charting out a new frontier:
providing Internet service to Iran. But GTT Communications
Inc.-headquartered in McLean, Virginia, just a 15-minute drive from the
headquarters of the CIA and hired by various unnamed U.S. intelligence
agencies and satellite operators-hasn't exactly been touting its new
venture. The company has issued no press release about its deal with an
undersea cable network that sells Internet services to Iran and other
Persian Gulf. (One of the cables comes ashore at the city of Bushehr,
home to a nuclear plant that's been the subject of intense debate about
its role in Iran's nuclear program.) Instead, the partnership was
announced in a single tweet last May; both parties have been largely
silent about the deal since then. When contacted by The Daily Beast for
details about the deal with the Doha-based submarine cable operator, Gulf
Bridge International, a GTT spokesperson said the agreement wouldn't be
finalized for a few more weeks. And yet technical data shows that GTT was
providing Internet service to Iran for months." http://t.uani.com/1RTknIg
Sanctions
Relief
Bloomberg: "Boeing said it's stepping up
efforts to assess the potential for jetliner sales to Iran as it awaits a
signal from the US government on the lifting of sanctions following curbs
on the Islamic republic's nuclear program. 'There's clearly potential,'
Boeing's plane-marketing chief Randy Tinseth said Tuesday. 'A population
of almost 80 million people, a country that has large natural gas and oil
reserves, a country that has a youthful population and has a couple of
hundred planes that are old and operate only a few hours a day.'" http://t.uani.com/1MhoePa
Tehran
Times:
"Malaysia will resume imports of oil from Iran when the
West-engineered sanctions are removed against the Islamic Republic,
according to Ikhlas Abdul Rahman, the Middle East director of Malaysia's
Petronas Company. The official said his country is ready to import
50,000-60,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran in the
post-sanctions time, the Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday. A new
round of cooperation will be started between Petronas and National
Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) after lifting of the sanctions, Abdul Rahman
noted. Petronas's office in Tehran was active even during the sanctions;
the official stated, adding that the activity of this office will rise
when the sanctions are removed. 'We are very hopeful to return to the
Iranian oil industry', he further highlighted." http://t.uani.com/1Q5o6Ff
Mehr
(Iran): "Prior
to the Italian president's visit to Iran, two large Italian companies
have proposed a 4-billion-euro offer to participate in Iran's steel and
aluminum industry. At a meeting with Iran's deputy minister of industry,
mines and trade, CEO's of two giant Italian companies in the fields of
steel and aluminum made a proposal worth 4-billione-euroes to participate
in Iranian steel and aluminum projects in line with expansion of economic
relations between the two countries. Italy's Danieli and Fata companies
have carried out several projects in Iran in the fields of design,
supply, procurement, implementation and financing of steel and aluminum
projects over the past 25 years. These foreign companies are currently
seeking to invest in mining projects as a result of the recent
achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the international arena
leading to creations of new grounds for development of economic relations
with the world's countries." http://t.uani.com/1Mhs4bk
Sanctions
Enforcement
AFP: "Deutsche Bank has agreed to
settle US regulators' charges it did business with entities in
US-sanctioned countries like Iran and Syria, a person familiar with the
matter said Tuesday. The big German bank is expected to pay more than
$200 million in penalties to the New York State Department of Financial
Services (DFS) and the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, the person
said. The settlement could be announced this week." http://t.uani.com/1QcaCGQ
Syria
Conflict
Reuters: "Iran will not cooperate with
the United States on any issue including the 'fight against terrorists in
Syria', a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted
on Wednesday as saying by state media. 'Iran will not cooperate directly
or indirectly with the United States,' Ali Akbar Velayati was quoted as
saying on Press TV after a meeting with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister
Faisal Mekdad in Tehran. Furthermore, 'Iran will not accept any
initiative regarding Syria without consultation with the country's
government and people,' Press TV also quoted Velayati as saying." http://t.uani.com/1Oosyyp
AFP: "A senior officer in Iran's
elite Revolutionary Guards unit has been killed in Syria, the fourth
Iranian commander to die there in the last month, the Fars news agency
said Tuesday. Colonel Ezzatollah Soleimani died during an 'advisory mission'
near the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, it said. Iranian media have
since Saturday announced the deaths of five Iranians in Syria, bringing
the total killed there to 20 since October 9." http://t.uani.com/1MhkrS6
Human
Rights
Journalism
Is Not a Crime:
"Over the last week, Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Intelligence Unit
arrested at least five journalists working for various print and online
media outlets in Iran. According to Iranian media reports on Tuesday,
November 3, 2015, all the journalists are members of an 'influential
network' guilty of colluding with hostile Western governments. The
number of arrests has not been confirmed. But a Fars News Agency website
close to the Revolutionary Guards put the number at five. Those arrested
include journalist and political activist Isa Saharkhiz, Ehsan
Mazandarani, managing editor of the newspaper Farhikhtegan, Afarin
Chitsaz, a member of the editorial board of the newspaper Iran, and Saman
Safarzaei, a member of the editorial board of the monthly publication
Andisheh Pouya. The name of the fifth person has not yet been revealed.
News of the arrests came a day after Mohammad Ali Jafari, chief commander
of the Revolutionary Guards, warned that a new 'sedition' was underway
following parliament's official approval of the nuclear agreement in
October. 'The enemy has started its work,' he said in an interview. 'We
must understand the threat of infiltration and prevent certain actions.'
Marking 'Fight Against International Arrogance and Imperialism Day' on
November 4, the Revolutionary Guards followed Jafari's warning with its
own statement on the dangers of 'infiltration' and 'sedition.'" http://t.uani.com/20tXDVp
AFP: "Iranian authorities have
arrested three pro-reform journalists, one of whom has been critical
recently of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, news agencies reported
Tuesday. State television said the elite Revolutionary Guards had
arrested 'several members of an infiltration network linked to hostile
Western governments who were working in the country's media and social
networks.' It did not give details, but said they would be published
later. The ILNA news agency, which is close to Iran's reformists, had
earlier reported the arrest of journalists Issa Saharkhiz and Ehsan
Mazandarani, but did not say when they were detained or on what
charges... Separately, the Mehr news agency, close to moderate
conservatives, announced the arrest of Afarine Chitsaz, a journalist with
government newspaper Iran." http://t.uani.com/1LPTfZ8
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
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