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NRO: "President Obama didn't require
Iranian leaders to sign the nuclear deal that his team negotiated with the
regime, and the deal is not 'legally binding,' his administration
acknowledged in a letter to Representative Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) obtained
by National Review. 'The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not
a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document,' wrote
Julia Frifield, the State Department assistant secretary for legislative
affairs, in the November 19 letter. Frifield wrote the letter in response
to a letter Pompeo sent Secretary of State John Kerry, in which he observed
that the deal the president had submitted to Congress was unsigned and
wondered if the administration had given lawmakers the final agreement.
Frifield's response emphasizes that Congress did receive the final version
of the deal. But by characterizing the JCPOA as a set of 'political
commitments' rather than a more formal agreement, it is sure to heighten
congressional concerns that Iran might violate the deal's terms. 'The
success of the JCPOA will depend not on whether it is legally binding or
signed, but rather on the extensive verification measures we have put in
place, as well as Iran's understanding that we have the capacity to
re-impose - and ramp up - our sanctions if Iran does not meet its
commitments,' Frifield wrote to Pompeo." http://t.uani.com/1lXmcds
BuzzFeed: "A new resolution being introduced
in the House and Senate on Tuesday seeks to support individual states'
ability to maintain their own sanctions against Iran, despite Iran getting
sanctions relief as part of the nuclear deal. Many states have their own
sanctions against Iran separate from the federal government's sanctions...
The fact that many U.S. states maintain their own sanctions against Iran
could prove a complicating factor to the deal. The resolution is being
introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Peter Roskam alongside
Reps. Brad Sherman, Mike Pompeo, Ted Deutch, Lee Zeldin and Dan Lipinski.
The group includes Democrats and Republicans. A Senate version is being
introduced by Sens. Mark Kirk, Joe Manchin, and presidential candidate
Marco Rubio; Kirk has been one of the most vociferous critics of the Obama
administration's Iran policy. 'State-level sanctions, which were authorized
under bipartisan legislation signed into law by President Obama in 2010 and
target Iran's illicit non-nuclear activities, in no way contradict the
agreement reached by the P5+1 earlier this year,' Roskam said in a
statement. 'Nevertheless, we must take precautionary action to clarify
Congress's legislative intent to ensure state pension funds and contracts
are not used to fund terrorism and atrocities against the Iranian
people.'" http://t.uani.com/1TkMwbW
Free
Beacon: "A human
rights organization claimed on Tuesday that an Iranian-American man had been
hanged by the Islamic regime for committing murder in California...
'According to confirmed sources, Iranian authorities carried out the death
sentence for Hamid Samiee and another prisoner at Karaj's Rajai Shahr
Prison on Wednesday November 4,' Iran Human Rights, a nonprofit
organization that claims to have sources within Iran, disclosed on Tuesday.
'Samiee, reportedly accused of committing an act of murder in California,
was arrested by Iranian authorities upon his return to Iran,' according to
the organization's report. 'He was sentenced to death by Branch 71 of
Tehran's Criminal Court for the murder of an Iranian man identified as
Behrouz Janmohammadi.' ... A State Department official told the Washington
Free Beacon Tuesday afternoon that Samiei is a dual citizen and that it is
looking into the reports on his hanging. 'We are aware of reports of the
execution in Iran of a dual citizen, Mr. Hamid Samiei,' said the State
Department official, who was not authorized to speak on record. 'We do not
yet have official confirmation of his death and are seeking more
information.' The State Department has been aware of Samiei's plight since
late October, the source said. 'This case was brought to our attention on
October 28, immediately after the Foreign Interests Section at the Swiss
Embassy in Tehran was notified of Mr. Samiei's impending execution,' the
official said. 'We are not aware of any notification to the Department of
State or the Swiss Foreign Interests Section of Mr. Samiei's arrest,
sentencing, or imprisonment prior to October 28. Iran does not recognize
dual nationality.'" http://t.uani.com/1NHuEd8
Nuclear
Program & Agreement
AP: "The UN atomic agency is set to
issue its final report on allegations that Iran worked in the past on
nuclear arms - a summary that will likely be inconclusive. The report,
expected later Wednesday, is significant because it is linked to the
lifting of sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program. Yukiya Amano, the
head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, has already said that
his report won't be 'black and white.' But he must present a final report
that says Iran has met all deadlines in supplying information requested by
the IAEA for the agency's 35-nation board to approve closure of the nearly
decade-long investigation." http://t.uani.com/1l7CKiE
Sanctions
Relief
WSJ: "Iran's energy industry is
plagued by a host of challenges-from leaking pipelines to skeptical western
oil investors-as it attempts to throttle up crude output next year when
western sanctions are expected to be lifted. Iran's aging infrastructure is
in disrepair after several years without the expertise of the world's
largest oil companies, western and Iranian officials say. The country is
likely to be selling as much as 500,000 new barrels of oil into an already
saturated market for crude exports, setting up logistical hurdles. And the
Islamic Republic is more divided politically over the return of western
companies than expected, western executives say. Oil industry officials who
attended an energy conference in Tehran last week said it wasn't clear if
Iran could carry through on plans to double production over the next few
years. 'I doubt Iran's oil industry has the capacity to absorb the required
investments,' said a European oil executive. 'They may be overstretching
themselves.' ... Ali Kardor, the investment chief at state-run National
Iranian Oil Co, said Swiss trader Glencore PLC was demanding the ability to
sell Iranian oil to any buyer. Instead, Tehran wants to control its
European and African destinations, Mr. Kardor said in an interview. A
spokesman for Glencore declined to comment... When Iran recently conducted
a test to see if its infrastructure could cope with a sudden increase,
'there was some leaking of pipelines,' Iran's oil minister Bijan Zanganeh
said in response to a question from The Wall Street Journal." http://t.uani.com/1l7ATKX
IRNA
(Iran):
"Representative of the Croatian oil firm INA said convention of the
Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) Conference in Tehran on November 28-29 was a
new and positive move by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) toward
international companies. 'My feeling is that the conference is desirable
progress and demonstrates the new approach of the NIOC toward foreign
investors,' Branimir Kesic told Shana on the sidelines of the event. He
said the Croatian company is interested in taking part in Iran's energy
projects adding, 'It is highly likely that INA will invest in exploration
and production of oil and gas in Iran.'" http://t.uani.com/1lvHPkr
Shana
(Iran): "The
French energy industry company Technip said it is hopeful to have a strong
partnership in Iran's new oil development projects. 'Technip had successful
projects in Iran. We hope to continue our activities after betterment of
international conditions,' the firm's regional director, Shahram
Motevaselian told Shana on the sidelines of the Iran Petroleum Contract
(IPC) Conference in Tehran. 'The conference achieved introducing new
investment opportunities in Iran,' he added." http://t.uani.com/1IEwtA1
Sanctions
Enforcement
Free
Beacon: "Members
of Congress expressed Tuesday their full support for U.S. states to
continue imposing sanctions on Iran due to its support for terrorism,
violation of human rights, and other rogue activities, according to a new
congressional measure obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. As the Obama
administration begins to lift sanctions on Iran under the parameters of the
nuclear agreement, the lawmakers are urging state and local governments to
keep the pressure on Iran. The bipartisan measure is backed by key
lawmakers in both the House and Senate and maintains that U.S. law
authorizes state and local governments to enact sanctions on Iran and those
that do business with the Islamic Republic. The resolution comes amid a
debate over whether states have the right to continue imposing sanctions on
Iran... Iranian officials have maintained that any new U.S. sanctions would
be a dealbreaker and force the country to walk away from the agreement. The
measure states that the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action, does not impact the legal authority of states and local
government to level sanctions on Iran for its terrorism-related activities
and human rights violations, according to a copy of the measure shared with
the Free Beacon... 'With this bipartisan measure, Congress stands with the
30 states and the District of Columbia that have imposed sanctions against
Iran's threatening behavior,' Sen. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.), a leading
supporter of Iran sanctions, told the Free Beacon. 'As the Iran nuclear
deal hands over more than $100 billion to the world's biggest state sponsor
of terrorism, it's critical for the United States to do all it can to
prevent Iran from escalating its support for terrorism, militancy, and
human rights abuses in the Middle East and beyond,' said Kirk, who is
sponsoring the resolution in the Senate with Sens. Joe Manchin (D., W. Va.)
and Marco Rubio (R., Fla.)." http://t.uani.com/1XH4Tc9
Iraq
Crisis
Reuters: "Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim
armed groups on Tuesday pledged to fight any U.S. forces deployed in the
country after the United States said it was sending an elite special unit to
help combat Islamic State. Defense Secretary Ash Carter offered few details
on the new 'expeditionary' group, but said it would be larger than the
roughly 50 U.S. special operations troops being sent to Syria to fight the
ultra-hardline Sunni militants there. A U.S. defense official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said the new force will be based in Iraq. 'We will
chase and fight any American force deployed in Iraq,' said Jafaar Hussaini,
a spokesman for one of the Shi'ite armed groups, Kata'ib Hezbollah. 'Any
such American force will become a primary target for our group. We fought
them before and we are ready to resume fighting.' Spokesmen for the
Iranian-backed Badr Organisation and Asaib Ahl al-Haq made similar
statements to Reuters, expressing their distrust of American forces since
the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and the subsequent
occupation." http://t.uani.com/21v3Fp9
AP: "Millions of pilgrims gathered in
Iraq's holy city of Karbala amid tight security on Wednesday to mark
Arbaeen, the annual commemoration of the end of the 40-day mourning period
after the seventh century martyrdom of a central figure in Shiite Islam...
Iraqi officials said security was increased this year, with operations
coordinated between the Interior Ministry, Shiite militias and Iranian
advisers. The Islamic State group has repeatedly targeted Iraq's Shiite
majority, viewing them as apostates deserving of death... A special task
force of Shiite militiamen has been deployed to Karbala to provide extra
security, said Hashim al-Musawi, a spokesman for the umbrella group of
militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. He said Iranian advisers
are also on hand to coordinate security. 'We have a joint operations room,'
al-Musawi said. 'It enables the Iranian advisers who have expertise in the
field of security to help protect the visitors.'" http://t.uani.com/1TkEAHD
Human
Rights
AP: "The State Department says it is
seeking information about the fate of a dual Iranian-American citizen who
was reportedly sentenced to death in Iran and executed last month.
Spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday the department learned of the arrest and sentencing
of Hamid Samiee in late October and had asked Iranian authorities through
the Swiss embassy in Tehran to stay the execution. Toner said the
department was still looking for information about the case and could not
confirm that the execution had been carried out as reported by Iran Human
Rights, an Oslo, Norway-based organization. The group said Samiee had been
arrested in Iran in 2008 and was executed by hanging on November 4 for
allegedly killing an Iranian man in California. Details of that incident were
not immediately clear." http://t.uani.com/1PvnjO0
RFE/RL: "A well-known Iranian poet and
songwriter has been arrested in Tehran for reasons that remain unclear.
Forty-year-old Yaghma Golruyi was detained at his home in the Iranian
capital on November 30, his wife, Athena Habibi, said via social media.
Habibi said security agents took her husband to an 'unknown location.' 'So
far we don't have any news about him and we're deeply worried about his
health,' Habibi wrote on her Instagram account on December 1. Iranian
authorities frequently jail suspects or try defendants without public
explanation. Habibi urged friends and fans to spread the news while warning
against 'any comment' that could complicate his situation... His arrest
comes on the heels of a warning by Iran's Culture Ministry to artists who
work with Persian-language television channels that broadcast to the
country from abroad. 'They will be warned and there will be legal action if
they insist on the cooperation,' ministry spokesman Hossein Nushabadi was
quoted as saying by the semiofficial ISNA news agency. Golruyi released a
music video in March titled Liberation, which highlighted Iranian women who
have made strides in various areas despite state-imposed restrictions and
legal discrimination. 'We're happy, joyful, and smiling even though we're
in a prison,' Golruyi sings in the clip to images of Iranian female
athletes, rights advocates, scientists, artists, and others, adding in the
refrain, 'We know we're free at the end of the story.'" http://t.uani.com/1HGwrwI
ICHRI: "Singer-songwriter Hossein Zaman,
who has been banned from performing for nearly ten years and lost his
university teaching post due to his political views, says Rouhani
administration officials in Iran are refusing to allow him to resume his
artistic career because he has continued to openly express criticism about
the country's affairs... What is noteworthy in Zaman's case is the direct
involvement of the Rouhani administration in his repression. During
Rouhani's 2013 presidential campaign, he pledged to give more freedom to
artists and cultural figures. In a meeting with artists and cultural
figures on January 8, 2014, President Rouhani stated, 'Viewing the arts as
a security concern is the biggest mistake...If there is no freedom, true
artistic creations would not be produced. We cannot create and produce arts
on order. Any type of security atmosphere can nip arts in the bud.' Yet in
addition to Hossein Zaman, authorities in the Ministry of Islamic Culture
and Guidance, which is under the direct authority of President Rouhani,
have over the last two years banned or prevented the work of numerous
writers, publishers, filmmakers, musicians, and others. While Rouhani
posits himself as a force for greater cultural openness, pushing back
against hardliners in Iran who would have it otherwise, officials who are
under his administration's direct authority have continued to implement
policies of artistic and cultural repression. In the music sphere, the
Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance under the Rouhani administration
has canceled dozens of concerts in Tehran and other cities." http://t.uani.com/1O3Dqwf
Domestic
Politics
FT: "'For years I have put my life at
risk for God and this country,' Babak Zanjani, dressed in blue striped
prison uniform, told a Tehran court on October 31. 'I have been imprisoned
for two years under difficult conditions in a small room which is like a
toilet.' Iran's most notorious billionaire, who has claimed he has more
than 60 companies inside and outside Iran, stands accused of corruption,
fraud and forging documents. In his defence, Zanjani claims he served his
country by helping its authorities manoeuvre around EU and US oil and
banking sanctions introduced in 2012 'when Iran could not sell one barrel
of crude nor could transfer one US dollar'. In response, Iran's oil
ministry claims it is owed more than €2.7bn for oil exports, which Zanjani
says were frozen by sanctions. But the Zanjani saga signifies more than
just a tit-for-tat between the state and a colourful businessman. The case
is a microcosm of contemporary attitudes towards wealth in Iran's closed
society - wealth that is associated, as great fortunes usually are, with
political patronage rather than individual entrepreneurship... Following
the 1979 revolution, Islamic rulers denounced capitalism and advocated an
economy based on an amalgamation of Islamist and socialist ideology. But in
practice, they created a class of oligarchs, nominally operating in the
private sector, linked to and dependent on the survival of the regime...
Zanjani's case also serves as a distraction from other, possibly bigger,
examples of corruption that could be embarrassing for the Islamic regime
and potentially destabilising at a time when youth unemployment has hit 25
per cent and inflation stands at 14 per cent." http://t.uani.com/1QTR9M9
Opinion
& Analysis
WashPost
Editorial: "On
Thursday, The Post's Jason Rezaian marks another dismal milestone: his
500th day of detention in Iran. He is held in Tehran's notorious Evin
Prison, where political prisoners are kept; his principal companion is a
cellmate who speaks neither English nor Persian, making communication
difficult. Mr. Rezaian is no longer allowed contact with his lawyer nor
fresh supplies of reading material. His exercise time was cut back after
Iran finished negotiating its nuclear deal with a U.S.-led coalition over
the summer. Though his trial on espionage charges ended Aug. 10, neither he
nor his lawyer has been formally informed of the verdict or sentence
against him. This outrage will have continued for 56 days longer than the
hostage crisis of 1979-81, when 52 Americans were held captive at the U.S.
Embassy. Though Iran has previously arrested journalists with foreign
citizenship, Mr. Rezaian has been held far longer than any of them. His
wife, Yeganeh Salehi, an Iranian citizen, also remains in limbo: Arrested
with Mr. Rezaian on July 22, 2014, at their home, she was released after
two months but has not been allowed to return to her work as a journalist
and remains under threat of prosecution. The couple are allowed to meet
every other Saturday for an hour, and Mr. Rezaian is also allowed a weekly
meeting with Ms. Salehi and his mother. Otherwise, he is subjected to a
cruel isolation. It has been widely speculated that Mr. Rezaian is a pawn
in an internal Iranian power struggle. Hard-liners are said to be using
him, and at least three other Americans they are holding, to block any
further improvement in relations between the United States and the
government of Hassan Rouhani. While that may be true, Mr. Rouhani and his
foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, haven't been encouraging about Mr.
Rezaian's case. Mr. Zarif has gone from describing him as a 'friend' and
'good reporter' to suggesting he might be guilty of wrongdoing, while Mr.
Rouhani floated the idea that he should be traded for 19 Iranians being
held in the United States. What seems clear is that the Obama
administration has failed to create incentives for the regime to release
Mr. Rezaian and other Americans. It continues to implement the nuclear deal;
in a change of policy, it invited Iran to participate in political talks on
Syria. No one has been sanctioned - or even threatened with sanctions - in
response to the Rezaian case. Iran appears content to allow Mr. Rezaian and
the other Americans to rot in prison indefinitely, even as the regime
collects more than $100 billion in sanctions relief and is granted the role
it has long sought as a regional power. That should not be an acceptable
outcome." http://t.uani.com/1Q0GRK0
Ilya Somin
in WashPost: "In
a recent letter written by Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs
Julia Frifield, the State Department indicates that the nuclear deal with
Iran is not legally binding. It is, the letter claims, merely a set of
'political commitments between Iran and the P5+1 (the United States, the
United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China) and the European Union.'
The Obama administration has taken this position at least in part to avoid
rendering the deal unconstitutional. If it were a legally binding
international agreement, it would require ratification by the Senate, or at
least some form of congressional approval, which it currently does not have
and is unlikely to get in the future. But, as legal scholar Michael Ramsey
and Matthew Weybrecht of Lawfare point out, if the agreement is not legally
binding, that means that a future president could repudiate it any time,
without violating either domestic or international law. Ramsey further
emphasizes that, if the administration's view of the agreement is accurate,
defenders of the deal can no longer attack Republican advocates of
repudiation as lawless or indifferent to the America's legal commitments.
Virtually all the GOP presidential candidates are in fact committed to
repudiating the deal if they win. IF the agreement has no legal force, then
they can easily act on that intention without getting the approval of the
other parties to the deal, or even that of Congress. Furthermore, if the
deal is not legally binding on the United States, it also does not bind
Iran either. If the Iranians cheat or renege on the agreement, the
administration cannot claim that they violated international law. The
Iranian regime, of course, is unlikely to be much influenced by
considerations of legal propriety. But such considerations do matter to
elite and public opinion in Europe, whose support is necessary for any
effective 'snapback' of sanctions in the event of Iranian violations. It
seems unlikely that many European governments will forego significant
business opportunities in Iran merely to punish violations of a deal that
isn't even legally binding. The snapback provisions - which are the key
enforcement mechanisms for the deal - have other significant weaknesses, as
well." http://t.uani.com/1XystgJ
Cathy Votaw
in Politico: "For
more than 30 years, April 18 for my family has been the day the Earth stood
still. My relatives and I call and write one another, sharing tears and
memories, seeking solace and strength. On that day in 1983, Hezbollah
terrorists, backed by the Iranian government, murdered my father, 16 other
Americans and numerous others in a suicide truck bombing at the U.S.
Embassy in Beirut. Many more suffered terrible injuries but managed to
survive. But decades later, despite a long journey through the U.S. court
system, none of the survivors or the families of those killed in the attack
have extracted justice from the Iranian regime for the trauma and loss it
caused. My family and the other victims of the Beirut Embassy bombing are
hardly alone in this struggle. Hundreds of Americans affected by similar
state-sponsored terror attacks, such as the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing in
Nairobi, Kenya, have also been denied justice despite their own arduous
legal battles. Only adding to our pain is the sense that our country has
forgotten our families' sacrifices and our quest for justice. However,
legislation recently introduced in Congress offers a glimmer of hope that
Iran and all government sponsors of terrorism will finally be held to
account for their despicable actions, and that American victims of these
attacks will finally receive the justice they have fought so hard to
secure... We joined victims of the Beirut Embassy bombing in a lawsuit
against the Iranian government for its role in financing the attack. As
citizens of a civilized society, we simply had no other recourse to justice.
My family and others affected by the attack told our stories in U.S.
federal court. We talked about our father and what it meant for us to lose
such a wonderful and caring presence in our lives. Survivors of the attack
recounted terrifying details of the bombing and described how the effects
of the blast would stick with them for the rest of their lives. On
September 11, 2003, a federal judge awarded our group more than $120
million in damages, ruling that Iran indeed shared responsibility for the attack
carried out by Hezbollah. To this day, however, the Iranian government has
not had to disgorge one cent. And with no mechanism in place to enforce the
ruling, the victims of the Beirut attack have long feared that justice
would never be done... As the years pass, it has grown hard to shake the
feeling that our government has simply forgotten about the sacrifices made
by its public servants and their families. They were sent abroad to
represent the United States. We look to the U.S. government to help us
pursue justice on their behalf. This is why the new legislation-introduced
by Reps. Bob Goodlatte, Steve Chabot and Lamar Smith-gives all of us who
suffered the heartbreak of these events a renewed hope for achieving the
justice we are owed. The bill would do so by establishing a compensation
fund that would help victims and families affected by state-sponsored
terrorism. Instead of using taxpayer dollars, the compensation fund would
be supported with a portion of the $9 billion forfeiture agreement with the
French bank BNP Paribas SA, which pleaded guilty in 2014 to violating U.S.
sanctions by funneling money on behalf of governments recognized by the
United States as state sponsors of terror, including Iran and Sudan. Under
the proposed legislation, those funds would also go to reauthorizing the
September 11 Victims Compensation Fund, recognizing other victims of
terrorist acts perpetrated against our country... Our country owes it to
the victims of these attacks and the families of those killed to ensure that
the devotion and bravery of these public servants are honored. All of us
who bear the scars inflicted by state-sponsored terrorism understand that
no amount of compensation will ever heal the physical and emotional wounds
we suffered in these attacks or erase the pain of losing a loved one. But
that is not the point of this legislation. The point is to offer hope for a
semblance of long-elusive justice and reminding us that the sacrifices of
public servants like my father will never be forgotten. I hope all
Americans will join us in our search for justice against the government
that killed my father and so many other proud U.S. government employees by
calling on Congress to support this important legislation." http://t.uani.com/1jyt677
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