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WSJ: "Iranian hackers infiltrated the control system
of a small dam less than 20 miles from New York City two years ago,
sparking concerns that reached to the White House, according to former
and current U.S. officials and experts familiar with the previously undisclosed
incident. The breach came amid attacks by hackers linked to Iran's
government against the websites of U.S. banks, and just a few years after
American spies had damaged an Iranian nuclear facility with a
sophisticated computer worm called Stuxnet. In October 2012, then-Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta called out Iran's hacking, prompting fears of
cyberwar. The still-classified dam intrusion illustrates a top concern
for U.S. officials as they enter an age of digital state-on-state
conflict. America's power grid, factories, pipelines, bridges and
dams-all prime targets for digital armies-are sitting largely unprotected
on the Internet. And, unlike in a traditional war, it is sometimes
difficult to know whether or where an opponent has struck. In the case of
the dam hack, federal investigators initially thought the target might
have been a much larger dam in Oregon... The incident at the New York dam
was a wake-up call for U.S. officials, demonstrating that Iran had
greater digital-warfare capability than believed and could inflict
real-world damage, according to people familiar with the matter. At a
congressional hearing in February, Director of National Intelligence
James Clapper called Iranian hackers 'motivated and unpredictable cyber
actors.' ... U.S. intelligence agencies noticed the intrusion as they
monitored computers they believed were linked to Iranian hackers
targeting American firms, according to people familiar with the matter.
U.S. officials had linked these hackers to repeated disruptions at
consumer-banking websites, including those of Capital One Financial
Corp., PNC Financial Services Group and SunTrust Banks Inc., the Journal
reported at the time... Officials feared that hackers breached the
systems at the Arthur R. Bowman Dam in Oregon, a 245-foot-tall earthen
structure that irrigates local agriculture and prevents flooding in
Prineville, Ore., population: 9,200. The White House was notified of the
discovery, on the belief that it was a new escalation in the ongoing
digital conflict with Iran, three people familiar with the incident
said." http://t.uani.com/1TcB7en
AP: "Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the
trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files
when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyberattackers had opened a
pathway into the networks running the United States power grid. Digital
clues pointed to Iranian hackers. And Wallace found that they had already
taken passwords, as well as engineering drawings of dozens of power
plants, at least one with the title 'Mission Critical.' The drawings were
so detailed that experts say skilled attackers could have used them,
along with other tools and malicious code, to knock out electricity
flowing to millions of homes... 'If the geopolitical situation changes
and Iran wants to target these facilities, if they have this kind of
information it will make it a lot easier,' said Robert M. Lee, a former
U.S. Air Force cyberwarfare operations officer. 'It will also help them
stay quiet and stealthy inside.' ... Attributing attacks is notoriously
tricky. Neither U.S. officials nor cybersecurity experts would or could
say if the Islamic Republic of Iran was involved in the attack Wallace
discovered involving Calpine Corp., a power producer with 82 plants
operating in 18 states and Canada... Cylance researchers said the
intruders stored their stolen goods on seven unencrypted FTP servers
requiring no authentication to access details about Calpine's plants.
Jumbled in the folders was code that could be used to spread malware to
other companies without being traced back to the attackers' computers, as
well as handcrafted software designed to mask that the Internet Protocol
addresses they were using were in Iran. Circumstantial evidence such as
snippets of Persian comments in the code helped investigators conclude
that Iran was the source of the attacks." http://t.uani.com/1TZQCGS
Reuters: "Iran will export most of its enriched uranium
to Russia in the coming days as it rushes to implement a nuclear deal and
secure relief from international sanctions, Tehran's nuclear chief was
quoted as saying on Saturday. Drastically reducing its stock of enriched
uranium, which can be used in nuclear weapons, was at the heart of the
deal Iran reached in July with a group of six world powers... 'In the
next few days around nine tonnes of Iran's enriched uranium will be
exported to Russia,' nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying
by state news agency IRNA. That is roughly the amount that Iran must
export to bring its stock down to the required level. He said the
enriched uranium would be taken out of Iran on board a Russian ship. Iran
has already received a shipment of yellowcake, an unenriched uranium
compound, from Russia in exchange for the stockpile. President Hassan
Rouhani's government is aiming to get sanctions lifted by the end of January,
to boost pro-government candidates in Feb. 26 elections to parliament and
the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that chooses the Supreme
Leader." http://t.uani.com/1NyiUqa
Nuclear Program &
Agreement
Reuters: "Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that
Israeli lobbying was behind a new measure passed by the U.S. Congress
that will prevent visa-free travel to the United States for people who
have visited Iran or hold Iranian nationality. The measure, which
President Barack Obama signed into law on Friday, also applies to Iraq,
Syria and Sudan, and was introduced as a security measure following the
Islamic State attacks in Paris and similar attacks in San Bernardino.
Iran, a Shi'ite Muslim theocracy staunchly opposed to Sunni radicalism,
says its inclusion on the list is intended to undermine a nuclear deal
that Tehran reached with world powers, including the United States, in
July, known as the JCPOA. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi
Ansari said in a televised news conference that the U.S. measure had been
passed 'under pressure from the Zionist lobby and currents opposed to the
JCPOA'. Citizens of 38 countries, most of them in Europe, are eligible
for waivers under the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. Under the new
restrictions, citizens who have visited Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan in the
last five years, and those who hold dual nationality with one of those
countries, are excluded. The measure was introduced after 130 people were
killed in the Islamic State attacks in Paris on Nov. 13. Several of the
attackers had European passports, and some had traveled to Islamic
State's territory in Syria... Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's
National Security Council, which is responsible for ensuring the United
States and other powers abide by the deal, warned that the measures would
drive mistrust between the two countries. 'It could have irreversible
effects on the implementation of mutual commitments under the JCPOA,'
Shamkhani was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA." http://t.uani.com/1NycWFF
WSJ: "The Obama administration, pushing to support
international trade with Iran, has advised the country's rulers not to
worry about new U.S. legislation that clamps visa restrictions on people
who have traveled to Iran. Iranian officials have publicly complained the
new U.S. rules will unfairly target travelers who visit Iran and could
dampen investment interest in their country. Secretary of State John
Kerry wrote his Iranian counterpart on Saturday to assure him the visa
changes approved by Congress last week won't undermine business
opportunities in Iran or violate the terms of the nuclear agreement
between global powers and Tehran in July. Mr. Kerry said the
administration was exploring ways to ensure visitors to Iran aren't
unfairly blocked from entering the U.S. He specifically cited the State
Department's ability to expedite visa applications and to issue
longer-term, multiple-entry travel documents. He also said the White
House had the power to issue waivers to potentially exempt individuals
from the new travel laws. 'I am also confident that the recent changes in
visa requirements passed in Congress...will not in any way prevent us
from meeting our' commitments under the nuclear deal, Mr. Kerry wrote.
'We will implement them so as not to interfere with legitimate business
interests in Iran.' Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said in New York
on Friday that the visa regulations could serve as a de facto new
sanction on Iran, in violation of the nuclear deal. He also said Tehran
could declare the visa rules a breach of that agreement." http://t.uani.com/1O3GUTx
Sanctions Relief
Reuters: "Spurred by the prospect of an end to western
sanctions, Iran has agreed to consider Indian demands for steep oil price
discounts and other buying incentives, sources said, as it works to
rebuild market share in a world awash with crude. Tehran's return to the
market will deepen a global supply glut that has cut benchmark Brent
crude prices by two-thirds since 2014, below the lows hit during the 2008
financial crisis and to levels last seen in 2004, leaving producers to
battle for market share. The National Iranian Oil Company's international
affairs director, S.M. Ghamsari, met Indian refiners last week, the
sources told Reuters, including firms that halted imports from Tehran
because of the sanctions. Rather than quoting its own terms and prices,
people involved in the negotiations said the Iranian delegation made the
rare move of asking the refiners for proposals that would make their
supplies more competitive than those of rivals... Currently, Iran offers
90-day credit, free shipping and some discounts on crude prices to buyers
in India... In India, Iran already supplies oil to Mangalore Refinery and
Petrochemicals, Essar Oil and Indian Oil Corp. Reliance Industries Ltd,
Hindustan Petroleum Corp, HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, Chennai Petroleum Corp
and Bharat Petroleum Corp stopped imports from Iran due to sanctions that
hit banking channels." http://t.uani.com/1QUuaj2
Syria Conflict
AFP: "After years of waning influence, Russia and
Iran made a dramatic comeback in the Middle East in 2015 as they threw
their support behind Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad. A
decades-long backer of the Syrian regime, Moscow dramatically raised the
stakes this year by deploying its air force to bomb rebels fighting
Assad's army. And after years of isolation and crippling sanctions,
Tehran returned as a regional power with a seat at Syria's peace talks,
denoting growing international legitimacy... 'The resurgence of Iran and
Russia is obvious, and their interventionism is increasingly unabashed,'
said Karim Bitar, head of research at the Institute for International and
Strategic Affairs. 'They are looking to fill the void left by the
American retreat' from the region, he added... Iran's regional influence
has surged since the signing of a landmark nuclear deal with world powers
under which economic sanctions will be rolled back." http://t.uani.com/1mw7ydm
Reuters: "Iran has decided to unify its stance with
Russia's in the push for a political deal to end Syria's civil war,
Iranian officials said, in a sign it could ease its opposition to the
departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as part of the agreement.
While maintaining its firm backing for Assad in public, Russia has
recently made clear to Western nations that it has no objection to him
stepping down as part of the peace process, diplomats said. Iran's
decision to step up its coordination with Russia was made after a meeting
last month between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, according to a senior Iranian
official with knowledge of the discussions. Like Russia, Iran has
insisted publicly that Assad should only step down if he is voted out in
an eventual election. 'What was agreed was Iran and Russia will pursue
one policy which will benefit Tehran, Moscow and Damascus,' the senior
Iranian official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. 'Iran seriously
believes that the Syrian nation should decide about their fate. But first
calm should be restored.' 'It is possible that the Syrian people decide
Assad should leave, and then he must leave,' the official added. 'If he
cannot serve his country and his people, then a capable successor should
run the country.' A second Iranian official told Reuters that Iran and
Russia are in 'full harmony over Syria and Assad's fate'. 'The meeting
between Putin and the Supreme Leader Khamenei was very successful and now
Iran and Russia share the same view on Assad,' the official said." http://t.uani.com/1J1RqdM
Human Rights
Reuters: "As the United States negotiated this year's
nuclear pact with Iran, the State Department quietly agreed to spare the
Gulf sultanate of Oman from an embarrassing public rebuke over its human
rights record, rewarding a close Arab ally that helped broker the
historic deal. In a highly unusual intervention, the department's
hierarchy overruled its own staff's assessments of Oman's deteriorating
record on forced labor and human trafficking and inflated its ranking in
a congressionally mandated report, U.S. officials told Reuters. The move,
which followed protests by Oman, suggests the Obama administration placed
diplomatic priorities over human rights to pacify an important Middle
East partner." http://t.uani.com/1IjZh6f
Domestic Politics
Reuters: "Schools across Tehran will be closed on Sunday
and residents have been warned to stay at home as a thick smog of
pollution hangs in the air, officials said on Saturday. 'All educational
establishments in the city of Tehran, and some towns in the province, are
suspended on Sunday due to air pollution,' the city's top education
official Esfandiar Chaharband was quoted as saying by the Mehr news
agency. Outdated vehicles and inconsistent enforcement of emissions
regulations are the main drivers of pollution in Iranian cities, which
officials have blamed for thousands of deaths from respiratory
illnesses... Three years ago, officials blamed smog for more than 4,000
deaths across the country." http://t.uani.com/1m42SM1
Foreign Affairs
AFP: "France hopes to welcome Iran's president in
January after a visit last month was postponed due to the Paris attacks,
the head of the French Senate said Saturday. Gerard Larcher, who is
visiting Tehran, said French President Francois Hollande 'hopes to be
able to welcome' Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani 'on January 27 and
28'. Rouhani was due to visit France on November 16-17 but the trip --
the first by an Iranian president in 10 years -- was postponed after
jihadist attacks in Paris just three days before killed 130 people. He
had also been due to visit Italy on his first European tour." http://t.uani.com/1YrqUkY
Opinion & Analysis
WashPost Editorial: "Iran is following through on the nuclear deal
it struck with a U.S.-led coalition in an utterly predictable way: It is
racing to fulfill those parts of the accord that will allow it to collect
$100 billion in frozen funds and end sanctions on its oil exports and
banking system, while expanding its belligerent and illegal activities in
other areas - and daring the West to respond. Unfortunately, the Obama
administration's response to these provocations has also been familiar.
It is doing its best to downplay them - and thereby encouraging Tehran to
press for still-greater advantage. We've pointed out how the regime of
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has unjustly sentenced Post correspondent Jason
Rezaian to prison and arrested two businessmen with U.S. citizenship or
residence since signing the nuclear accord. There have been no penalties
for those outrageous violations of human rights. Now a United Nations
panel has determined that Iran test-fired a nuclear-capable missile on
Oct. 10 with a range of at least 600 miles, in violation of a U.N.
resolution that prohibits such launches. Moreover, it appears likely that
a second missile launch occurred on Nov. 21, also in violation of
Security Council Resolution 1929. The U.S. response? 'We are now actively
considering the appropriate consequences to that launch in October,'
State Department official Stephen Mull testified at a Senate committee
hearing Thursday. In other words, there have so far been none - other
than a speech by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations blaming the
Security Council for the lack of action. As for the second missile
launch, the administration claims to be investigating it, though it
likely has in its possession the intelligence necessary to make a
judgment. It's not hard to guess the reasons for this fecklessness.
President Obama is reluctant to do anything that might derail the nuclear
deal before Iran carries out its commitments, including uninstalling
thousands of centrifuges and diluting or removing tons of enriched
uranium. The same logic prompted him to tolerate Iran's malign
interventions in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere, along with the arrest of Mr.
Rezaian, while the pact was under negotiation. U.S. officials argue that
Iran's nonnuclear violations make it all the more important that the
nuclear deal be implemented. But that ignores the clear connections
between the missile launches and Tehran's ambitions to become a nuclear
power. The only practical military purpose of the missiles the regime is
testing is to carry atomic warheads. And while missile launches are not
prohibited by the nuclear pact itself, the separate resolution banning
them remains in effect until the deal is implemented, after which a new
resolution takes effect that calls on Iran not to develop such missiles
for eight years. By flouting the U.N. resolutions, Iran is clearly
testing the will of the United States and its allies to enforce the
overall regime limiting its nuclear ambitions. If there is no serious
response, it will press the boundaries in other areas - such as the
inspection regime. It will take maximum advantage of Mr. Obama's fear of
undoing a legacy achievement, unless and until its bluff is called.
That's why the administration would be wise to take firm action now in
response to the missile tests rather than trying to sweep them under the
carpet." http://t.uani.com/1TZSCin
Daniel Levinson in
WashPost: "American and
European companies are drafting plans to begin doing business in Iran
with the lifting of sanctions as part of this summer's nuclear-weapons
agreement, and Westerners are planning visits to the country. My family
and I cannot emphasize enough how dangerous traveling to Iran remains. It
is widely known that my father, Robert Levinson, was detained on Iran's
Kish Island on March 9, 2007. Iranian state media even reported as much
at the time, though Tehran now denies knowledge of his whereabouts. Iran
is holding four other U.S. citizens, including Post reporter Jason
Rezaian. It temporarily detained 15 members of the British navy two weeks
after my father's detention and several U.S. and European citizens in the
years since. Any foreign national considering a trip to
Iranian-controlled territory risks arbitrary detention, potentially
without access to any basic human rights or their loved ones for years to
come. This is what happened to my father. My mother, my aunt and I went
to Iran in late 2007 to retrace my father's footsteps and meet with
officials. We were treated well, and I was struck by the kindness of
ordinary Iranians, their sympathy for our situation and the beauty of the
country. I would love to return after my father's case is resolved to see
more of what Iran has to offer, but I couldn't imagine doing so for 'fun'
anytime soon. We urge everyone to think twice before traveling there. My
family has always advocated maintaining an open line of communication
between Washington and Tehran, as we believe it can pave the way to
improved relations and progress on key issues. We were optimistic about
President Obama's pursuit of direct talks with Iranian officials. In
particular, we saw the nuclear talks as a golden opportunity to resolve
my father's case, so long as both sides were willing to negotiate.
However, we were devastated that he was not released in the aftermath of
the accord. Now we fear that the United States has squandered its best
opportunity for leverage in ensuring my father's safe return home. Of
course, the Iranian government is ultimately responsible for my father's
suffering. If the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said
four words - 'Send Robert Levinson home' - this nightmare would end. But
as is the case in matters of diplomacy, we can't simply rely on Tehran's
goodwill to magically release him; there must be negotiations - give and
take. Merely mentioning to Iranian officials that we would like some help
in locating him - the official U.S. line for years now - won't cut it.
While Iran has an enormous opportunity to open a new chapter in its
relationship with the United States and the world, it is unlikely to do
so without incentives. Shortly after the nuclear deal was reached this
summer, CBS News's Major Garrett asked Obama why my father and the other
Americans weren't included in the deal. It was a fair question, but the
ensuing media storm about the exchange focused on Garrett's phrasing and
the president's response to that, rather than on the issue itself.
Garrett explained in a follow-up interview, 'In the final hours of this
deal, the Iranians put other things on the table that hadn't been
previously discussed: the arms embargo on conventional weapons and
ballistic missiles. If those could be introduced, it seems to me it's
reasonable to ask the commander-in-chief if other issues on the American
side could have been introduced.' Obama insisted then he was not
'content' as he 'celebrate[s] with American citizens languishing in
Iranian jails.' Yet in October, Roll Call reported, 'Democrats threw a
party to celebrate formal adoption of the Iran nuclear deal,' with
several White House officials attending. There should be no celebrating.
My father and four other Americans are still there, lost in the misguided
euphoria over the nuclear deal. Their plights must never be forgotten,
and officials have a responsibility to take immediate action to bring
them home. At the same time, Iran should know that the release of my
father and the other Americans would be an opportunity to reassure
potential foreign partners - both governments and private enterprises -
that the country is a welcoming and safe place for their citizens and
employees to work... The United States cannot leave one of its own
behind, especially after he has given so much to this country." http://t.uani.com/1NylegK
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear
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email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
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