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AFP: "Iran's President Hassan
Rouhani and his French counterpart Francois Hollande hailed a 'new
relationship' between their countries Thursday as the leader of the
Islamic Republic visited Paris to seal a host of post-sanctions deals. A
commitment for Tehran to buy 118 Airbus aircraft was the most
eye-catching of the deals that also included agreements for carmaker
Peugeot to return to Iran and for Total to buy Iranian crude oil. 'A new
era in our relationship starts today,' Hollande said at a press
conference with Rouhani... French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Iran
'can count on France'... Rouhani was welcomed to Paris with military
honours and national anthems before addressing business leaders. Deals
agreed Thursday included a $25 billion (22 billion euros) accord under
which Iran will purchase 73 long-haul and 45 medium-haul Airbus passenger
planes to update its ageing fleet. The countries signed a memorandum of
understanding because the aircraft deal cannot be finalised until
sanctions are fully lifted. 'The sky has brightened for Iranian
passengers, and Airbus is pleased to welcome the return of Iran to the
international civil aviation community,' said the boss of the European
aircraft maker, Fabrice Bregier... In another bonanza for France, oil
giant Total agreed to take between 150,000 and 200,000 barrels of Iranian
crude a day." http://t.uani.com/1KKohiP
AP: "Iran flew a surveillance drone
over a U.S. aircraft carrier and took 'precise' photographs of it as part
of an ongoing naval drill, state television reported Friday. The U.S.
Navy said an unarmed Iranian drone flew near a French and American
carrier on Jan. 12, but couldn't confirm it was the same incident. The
reported overflight by the unmanned aircraft came after a series of naval
incidents between Iran and the U.S. in the greater Persian Gulf,
including test rocket fire by the Islamic Republic and its brief capture
of American sailors who strayed into its territorial waters. The
Associated Press could not independently verify the footage, which shows
the drone taking video as it flies over the flight deck of an aircraft
carrier. Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet
based in Bahrain, said an unarmed Iranian drone flew near the French
aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and 'directly over' the USS Harry S.
Truman on Jan. 12 as the vessels were in international waters in the
Persian Gulf. He said the drone 'posed no danger to the ship' as the
unmanned aircraft was unarmed and the carrier wasn't conducting flight
operations at the time... 'It was, however, abnormal and unprofessional,'
Stephens said... The report by state television said the drone flight
occurred on the third day of the naval exercise, suggesting it happened
Friday. Later, its website and the semi-official Fars news agency, which
is close to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, published footage it said
was of the drone's flight. The footage showed the drone launch and later
hover above what appeared to be an aircraft carrier underway in a body of
water. The footage zoomed into a row of fighter jets on the carrier's
deck... Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, the commander of Iran's navy, called the
drone overflight 'a sign of bravery.' It 'allowed our men to go so close
to the warship and shoot such a beautiful and accurate footage of the
combat units of the foreign forces,' he told state television. State
television and the state-run IRNA news agency said an Iranian light
submarine also participated in the surveillance operation... Separately,
state television said Iran's navy successfully fired surface-to-surface
Noor cruise missiles during the drill at mock targets." http://t.uani.com/23xQnth
Mehr
(Iran): "Head
of AEOI has said during an expert meeting the volume of nuclear material
has increased significantly since implementation of JCPOA. Ali Akbar
Salehi who was speaking a meeting of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign
Relations held to address nuclear deal with the 5+1 on Wednesday, said
that the nuclear negotiations had been led in a path so as to leave the
major components of program intact; 'exploration, extraction, enrichment,
research reactors, and R and D are the major components of the nuclear program;
JCPOA did not completely stymied the program, and we have only been
slower in terms of progress,' Mr. Salehi told the meeting of experts. 'In
other activities even we have accelerated the pace, including in the
volume of nuclear material which was 550 ton before, now we have 770 tons
of nuclear material; this is a fact known to IAEA. With heavy water, we
secured the project along with R and D, extraction and exploration. These
provide testimony to the fact that allegations of complete suspension of nuclear
activities are baseless. In the process, we also secured UNSC's
acknowledgement and recognition of Iran's nuclear program,' he
emphasized. 'We believe that Iran is fully entitled to enrichment rights
according to articles of the IAEA and NPT; a major derive behind
pressures on Iran was to prevent enrichment and heavy water production;
they believed Iran should not have been active in these areas; however,
we were active in both paths, since we were not sure that which one would
lead us to nuclear fuel sooner,' Salehi concluded his speech." http://t.uani.com/1NFzSPU
Nuclear
Program & Agreement
NBC: "It took Iran's Ayatollah, an
Arab sultan, secret letters, and an American college connection to help
seal the historic deal between Iran and the United States, according to a
senior Iranian negotiator. Ali Akbar Salehi, the energetic,
English-speaking head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told NBC News
in Tehran how the deal unfolded from Iran's perspective, revealing for
the first time some of his country's calculations, preconditions and
continued mistrust of Washington. Salehi, who is also one of Iran's vice
presidents, said the country's supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali
Khameini, was involved at every step of the way in the secret so-called
'second track' with Washington. 'Without the supreme leader, we were not
able to start the second track. That is for sure,' he said... Salehi said
the supreme leader's four conditions limited how far the negotiators were
able to go in their talks with Washington. 'One condition was that, Look,
you just discuss the nuclear issue. You do not enter into any other
issue. I mean, no political negotiations. It's only nuclear issue
negotiation.' The second condition, he said, was for the talks to be
quick, and not drag on 'lethargically.' 'The third condition was that
they (Washington) will have to recognize our basic right, which is
enrichment. And the fourth condition was a condition that, let's keep it
for ourselves.' When pressed, Salehi said the fourth condition was
'procedural,' but provided no further details... The negotiations over
Iran's nuclear program culminated with smiling press announcements from
Kerry and Zarif in Vienna earlier this month, but this didn't all happen
peacefully. There's blood on the ground too. Five photographs are
prominently displayed on the wall of Salahi's Tehran office. The quiet,
soft spoken man, who speaks fluent, barely accented English, became
emotional when he showed them to us, his voice instantly hardening. The
photographs are of four nuclear scientists and a driver murdered in
Tehran in an effort to sabotage Iran's nuclear program. Salehi blamed
Israel for the murders but says Washington shares the responsibility. 'We
have all the information that it was the Zionist regime,' he said. 'But
there is - there was - a tacit, we think, agreement from the United
States as well, unfortunately.' ... Asked if he expected a sixth
photograph on his wall, Salehi showed a passion previously hidden behind
his relaxed demeanor. 'I hope it's me. I hope it's me,' he said. 'Because
this is a source of pride, I told you. We look for martyrdom. We are not
frightened of that.'" http://t.uani.com/1QL1vO9
Tehran
Times: "Iran's
nuclear chief announced on Wednesday that South Korea has expressed its
willingness to cooperate with Iran in building nuclear power plants. 'In
a meeting that I recently had with the South Korean ambassador in Tehran
they expressed their willingness for cooperation with Iran in (building
nuclear) plants,' Ali Akbar Salehi, director of the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran (AEOI), told a meeting hosted by the Strategic
Council for Foreign Relations. Salehi said 'some European countries have
also expressed willingness' to cooperate with Iran in nuclear industry.
According to Tasnim news agency, Salehi also said Iran is keen to
cooperate with South Korea on construction of small nuclear reactors and
large nuclear power plants. Salehi, a nuclear physicist, also voiced
Iran's keenness for closer cooperation with Seoul in supplying advanced
equipment for nuclear medicine and other peaceful uses of nuclear
technology." http://t.uani.com/1Sg7f4c
Boston
Globe: "A
Chinese national was sentenced Wednesday to nine years in federal prison
for his role in smuggling US-manufactured goods used to enrich uranium
into Iran, in a case that is connected to recent diplomacy deal with that
country. Sihai Cheng, 36, ... was indicted in 2013 along with an Iranian
national and two Iranian companies for smuggling US-manufactured pressure
transducers through China and into Iran, to help that country in its
efforts to produce weapons-quality uranium. The Iranian national, Seyed
Abolfazl Shahab Jamili, lives in Iran, and a warrant had been issued by
the United States for his arrest. But charges against him were dismissed
earlier this month when the United States and Iran agreed to a program
that allowed for the release or dismissal of charges for 14 Iranian
nationals accused of US crimes. David Albright, a researcher with the
Institute for Science and International Security, who has studied Iran's
proliferation efforts, testified during a hearing Wednesday that the
transducers are used in gas centrifuges to enrich uranium. Because
international sanctions prohibit transporting transducers into Iran, the
country depended on illegal networks like Cheng's to build its nuclear
facilities, Albright testified. 'They were critical parts to make a
centrifuge work, and if Iran did not get these parts they could not use a
centrifuge,' Albright testified... Cheng's lawyer, Stephen Weymouth,
accused federal prosecutors of unfair treatment against Cheng - whom he
described as a middleman in the smuggling scheme -while agreeing to
dismiss charges against Jamili, who he called the mastermind. Jamili had
a national interest to obtain the parts, Weymouth argued... [US District
Judge Patti B.] Saris said she could not judge Jamili's release without
knowing the details, though she called him an equal accomplice in Cheng's
crimes. Still, she agreed to dismiss the case against him at the
government's request and said Cheng's sentence will serve as a deterrent against
smuggling. 'I hope this is sending a clear message that regardless of the
current diplomatic stance in all this, it's still against the law to sell
these products to Iran,' she said." http://t.uani.com/1OUtpVB
U.S.-Iran
Relations
AP: "Secretary of Defense Ash
Carter says Iran's videotaping of American sailors surrendering aboard
their boats in the Persian Gulf earlier this month made him deeply angry.
In the video, the 10 Americans were on their knees with their hands on
the heads, as Iranian troops took them and their boats into custody. They
were released the following morning. The boats had crossed into Iranian
territorial waters for reasons the U.S. Navy has not yet fully explained.
Carter said that if the circumstances were reversed, U.S. forces would
not have videotaped captured Iranian sailors. He said he has no reason to
think the U.S. sailors acted inappropriately." http://t.uani.com/1WRNNcQ
Free
Beacon:
"Defense Secretary Ash Carter lashed out at the Iranian government
on Thursday for the way it treated 10 U.S. sailors who were recently
captured in the Islamic Republic's waters. Carter said that the U.S.
personnel were not treated properly by Iran, which seized the U.S. ships
by force and later published embarrassing pictures of the sailors on
their knees at gunpoint. Carter's comments are significantly different
from those offered by Secretary of State John Kerry, who claimed earlier
this month that the U.S. sailors were 'well taken care of.' Asked how he
felt upon viewing video footage of the U.S. sailors being abducted at
gunpoint, Carter responded, that he 'was very, very angry at it.' 'I'll
tell you what. Americans wouldn't have done that,' he said. 'I said that
before, that for me, as Secretary of Defense, I think it's probably true
of everybody in the Department, to see our guys in that situation on
Iranian TV, that's really not OK.' U.S. forces would never treat another
country's personnel in this manner, Carter said... Referring to video
published by Iran showing the U.S. sailors apologizing for their actions,
Carter described the footage as inappropriate and coerced. 'I have no
reason to believe anything else, and this was a situation that they were
put into coercively and then filmed. Again, not something we would ever
do,' he said. Carter's comments stand in sharp contrast to those offered
by Kerry in the days after the sailors were captured and subsequently
released. Kerry praised Iran and thanked 'the Iranian authorities for
their cooperation and quick response.'" http://t.uani.com/1Pn71FG
USNI: "A navigation error - not
technology tampering - led to two U.S. Navy riverine command boats and
ten sailors being held by Iranian forces earlier this month, USNI News
has learned. Several sources confirmed to USNI News that the crews of the
two boats, assigned to Coastal Riverine Squadron 3, had misjudged their
location when they mistakenly strayed into Iranian waters off of Farsi
Island in the middle of the Persian Gulf on Jan. 12 while trying to meet
a ship for refueling. The sources said the mistake was a result of human
error, not a failure in navigation systems. During the voyage leadership
on the RCBs made an unplanned course change during the transit in route
to a refueling stop with with USCGC Monomoy (WPB-1326) at about the
midway point of the trip. The crews of the boats were determining their
position and repairing a mechanical problem with one of the boats when
forces from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) - the
units responsible for costal defense in Iran - interdicted the U.S. RCBs
and took both the boats and their crews to Farsi Island... While the
error on the part of the sailors prompted the interdiction by the IRGCN,
the conduct of the Iranians is arguably a violation of maritime law,
James Kraska, professor in the Stockton Center for the Study of
International Law at the Naval War College, told USNI News on Thursday.
Under the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention - of which Iran is a signatory -
the IRGCN forces could challenge a ship in their territorial waters
operating under the concept of innocent passage but went over the line in
drawing weapons, detaining the crew and seizing the boats, Kraska said.
The lack of U.S. reaction internationally to the seizure - which occurred
mere days before the implantation of the long negotiated nuclear treaty
with Iran - creates a troubling precedent for U.S. operations in the
future, he said... 'Why wouldn't there be any reaction to this incident
[on the part of the U.S.]?' Kraska said. 'Other countries now understand
there's going to be no reaction to the similar incidents in the
future.'" http://t.uani.com/1nsR5aa
NYT: "Mr. Trevithick - whose incarceration
in Iran was not even publicly known until the prisoner deal was announced
- spoke in detail for the first time about his confinement in an
interview Wednesday night on CNN's 'Anderson Cooper 360.' Mr. Trevithick,
who had been studying Farsi and staying at Tehran University, said he was
arrested in December by three people in an unmarked car while 'walking
down the street on my way to buy my ticket to come home.' Fifteen minutes
later, he said, he was inside a cell at Tehran's Evin Prison, and was asked
by an interrogator who was fondling prayer beads if he knew Mr. Rezaian.
Mr. Trevithick said he responded that 'the whole world' knew him. 'He's
never leaving and neither are you,' Mr. Trevithick quoted the
interrogator as saying. Mr. Trevithick said he was told he was a suspect
in a conspiracy to topple the government. 'I was accused of having access
to bank accounts of millions of dollars. And I was accused of knowing the
locations of weapons caches that had been secretly planted around the
country to prepare for my work,' he said. Fleshing out another new detail
of the five former captives, the family of Amir Hekmati, 32, confirmed in
a statement that he had spent 60 days as a cellmate of Saeed Abedini, 35.
Mr. Hekmati, a Marine veteran from Flint, Mich., was held for
four-and-a-half years, the longest imprisonment of all five. Mr. Abedini,
a pastor from Boise, Idaho, was held for more than three years. Mr.
Abedini first spoke of his time with Mr. Hekmati in an interview on Fox's
'On the Record with Greta Van Susteren' broadcast on Monday. After he
refused to sign papers implicating him in crimes he did not commit, Mr.
Abedini said, he was abused. Later he was blindfolded and moved into a
cell with Mr. Hekmati. 'First, when I removed my eye band, and I saw
Amir, I got very heartbroken to see what they did to our Marine,' Mr.
Abedini said, describing Mr. Hekmati as having looked thin, weak and
beaten, with two black eyes." http://t.uani.com/1SoxBz4
Reuters: "An American student detained
in Iran who was freed this month under a prisoner swap said on Thursday
he was accused of trying to overthrow the Iranian government and held for
nearly a month in solitary confinement. Matthew Trevithick, who had
traveled to Iran to study Farsi, told CNN that interrogators at Iran's
Evin Prison also accused him of having access to millions of dollars and
knowledge of secret weapons caches. In his first television interview since
his Jan. 16 release, he described his 41-day ordeal, including how he was
captured and his treatment and conditions at the prison. Asked what he
would tell tourists or students considering travel to Iran, he said: 'I
wouldn't advise that they go, sadly.... Unfortunately, I don't think the
time is ready for you to go.... I would not encourage people to go to
Iran.' The Massachusetts native had traveled to Iran in September,
planning to spend four months at a center affiliated with Tehran
University, his family has said. Trevithick told CNN he was finishing his
studies and making plans to go home for the Christmas holidays when he
was picked up and driven straight to prison. He said he spent 29 days
alone before being moved to a cell with other prisoners. A jailer asked
if he knew Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post journalist who had been
held for more than a year in Iran. 'I said of course, the whole world
knows Jason Rezaian,' he told CNN. 'And he said 'He's never leaving and
neither are you.' And that's when you know it starts to hit you ... I'm a
prisoner.' ... He said interrogators tried to videotape a confession
admitting to attempts at overthrowing the Iranian government, but he
refused." http://t.uani.com/1VvpbW9
Tasnim
(Iran): "A
senior Iranian cleric urged President Hassan Rouhani's administration not
to allow the domestic market to turn to a hub for American and European
goods, especially after the recent termination of anti-Iran sanctions
following the implementation of nuclear deal. Addressing a large group of
worshippers here in Tehran on Friday, the city's Provisional Friday
Prayers Leader Ayatollah Kazem Seddiqi appreciated the Iranian nuclear
negotiating team for finalizing the nuclear deal (known as JCPOA) with
world powers back in July 2015 as well as its implementation on January
16. Ayatollah Seddiqi, however, warned against the (excessive) imports of
European and American goods to the Iranian market, saying that it would
make people consumerists and lead to a liberalist economy." http://t.uani.com/1ZYDa8c
Sanctions
Enforcement
AP: "The Treasury Department is
sanctioning two Lebanese men suspected of laundering money for the
Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. The department targeted Mohamad
Noureddine and Hamdi Zaher for providing financial services to Hezbollah,
which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization. Thursday's
action freezes any assets they have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits
U.S. citizens from doing business with them. The U.S. has sanctioned more
than 100 individuals and entities associated with Hezbollah. Treasury
claims Noureddine has laundered money through his company called Trade
Point International S.A.R.L. He is accused of using his network across
Asia, Europe, and the Middle East to provide money laundering, bulk cash
shipment, black market currency exchange and other financial services to
clients, including members of Hezbollah." http://t.uani.com/1Pn9obI
Sanctions
Relief
Reuters: "Iran agreed on Thursday to buy
118 Airbus jets worth $27 billion at list prices, including a dozen A380
superjumbos, after international sanctions were lifted against Tehran
this month. The planemaker said the deal, signed amid a raft of others
during a visit by President Hassan Rouhani, was conditional on getting
U.S. export licenses because more than 10 percent of Airbus jetliner
parts come from the United States. The order for 73 wide-body and 45
narrow-body jets allows Airbus to steal a march on US rival Boeing as Iran
seeks to renovate and expand its worn-out fleet of 225 planes. The
inclusion of A380s - the world's largest jetliner - sends a commercial
signal to established carriers in the Gulf, and is a boost for Airbus,
which has been struggling to sell them. However, they will not be
delivered before end-decade as Iran expands its airports and focuses on
urgent needs. Boeing has so far held back from Iran amid what industry
sources and diplomats describe as political and legal concerns, but
Iranian officials are urging it to mimic its European rival. The Airbus
deal depends on unraveling a knot of financial issues including whether
and how Iran can avoid using the U.S. financial system for the jets,
usually priced in dollars. Deputy transport minister Asghar Fakhrieh
Kashan told Reuters the deal would be financed using a mixture of
European export credits - which guarantee loans by commercial banks - and
lease financing... The deal was negotiated partly on the sidelines of a
major CAPA aviation conference in Tehran this week, where Iran outlined
requirements for 400-500 planes and offered flexible new regulations...
Other models ordered include 45 A320-family jets and 45 longer-haul
A330s. Both those sets of orders included current and revamped models and
helped lift the catalog value of the deal from earlier estimates of $25
billion. Iran also ordered 16 long-range A350-1000 twin-engined
jets." http://t.uani.com/1RR57iK
Mehr
(Iran): "Deputy
transport minister has revealed details of the four transport contracts
with France, saying a new Airbus A330 jet is likely to enter Iran by
mid-February. Deputy Transport Minister for International Affairs, Asghar
Fakhrieh, told MNA correspondent that two deals have been struck with
Europe's Airbus, one of which is a comprehensive cooperation with Airbus
in the aviation sector on various issues such as maintenance, service and
spare parts supply, management and even help with the country's technical
air condition. Fakhrieh added that Airbus plans to cooperate with Iranian
knowledge-based companies which are capable of building certain aircraft
parts and can export these parts abroad. 'Airbus can even give
certificates so that these companies could export their products. It has
even been decided that the French company would purchase some of the
Iranian-built parts,' he said. Noting that Iran has plans for buying a
total of 118 Airbus aircraft from the French company, he added 'the
aircraft will gradually enter Iran by 2023, while to meet our needs, a
number of these jet airliners in various classes will enter the country
within the next seven years.' According to Fakhrieh, the majority of the
aircraft are of A320 and A321 models that will be used for domestic
flights as well as for flights destined to neighboring countries." http://t.uani.com/1OUt310
WSJ: "European buyers of Iranian
crude oil are struggling to find tankers to ship the commodity, shipping
company officials said, highlighting a challenge for Iran as it ramps up
exports with the end of western sanctions. In recent days, half a dozen
oil companies-including France's Total SA, Spain's Compañía Española de
Petróleos SAU, or CEPSA, and Swiss trader Litasco Group-have been trying
to find tankers to ship up to 8 million barrels to EU countries next
month, according to European and Iranian shipping professionals. 'I am
just testing the waters. But I had to give up,' said an official at Greek
tanker owner who initially agreed to book a loading of Iranian crude
before failing to find insurance. The insurance problems have put a brake
on Iran's efforts to ramp up exports by 1 million barrels a day this year
with the end of western sanctions over its nuclear program in January.
The country's crude exports rose by 200,000 barrels a day in January, an
increase of 19% over the same month in 2015, but the shipments were
mostly to Asia. Iranian officials say their plans to increase exports by
500,000 barrels a day in the short term and by 1 million barrels a day
later this year, largely rely on the return of European buyers. Western
insurance companies are reluctant to underwrite voyages to Europe with
Iranian crude oil because several layers of Americans sanctions remain in
effect, despite a broad set of restrictions that were lifted this month
in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear program. One key issue is that
London's International Group of Protection & Indemnity Clubs-which
covers most of the world's tankers-pools coverage of its larger claims
between insurers, including a U.S. member. That is problematic because
the U.S. maintains a ban on direct relations between American companies
and financial institutions and Iran-including a prohibition to use U.S.
dollars. The U.S. Treasury recently reminded the International Group of
these prohibitions, the insurers' group said in a circular last week,
adding it is trying to find solutions to insure Iranian oil ships without
breaching U.S. sanctions... The insurance issue has cast a cloud over
recently announced deals between Iran and western companies. On Thursday,
Total said it had signed a long-term crude supply deal with Iran for up
to 200,000 barrels a day, hard on the heels of a similar deal with
Greece's largest refinery Hellenic Petroleum. But Total, Litasco, a
trader owned by Russian oil giant Lukoil, and Cepsa have run into similar
issues, shipping officials said... In Asia, shipping companies have
obtained tanker insurance through their governments. Shipping officials
said that solution hasn't been applied in Europe yet." http://t.uani.com/1NFtyYT
Reuters: "Iran is on track to raise oil
production by 500,000 barrels per day after the lifting of sanctions this
month and has already sold 6 supertankers with additional crude to buyers
in Europe and Asia, a Iranian oil source said. The source, familiar with
export operations, said three supertankers with additional volumes of
crude have been sold to buyers in Europe and three to Asian customers for
delivery in February. Trading sources said Litasco, the trading arm of Russia's
Lukoil, looked set to become the first buyer in Europe since the lifting
of sanctions. The Swiss trader will deliver one million barrels of
Iranian Light grade to Lukoil's Petrotel refinery in Romania, loading at
Iran's Kharg Island terminal on February 5. 'Iran raised its crude oil
production by at least 500,000 bpd and the market will see it in the next
few days,' said the Iranian source, who is familiar with export
operations. '(There are) three contracts finalised with European
customers... Iran is also talking with its traditional customers in Asia,
especially India.' ... The source said that by the end of March or start
of April Iran will also introduce a new heavy crude blend, West Karun, to
win back more customers." http://t.uani.com/1QKMmwj
Reuters: "Iran's oil exports are on set
to rise more than a fifth in January and February from last year's daily
average, data from a source with knowledge of its loading schedules
shows, revealing how Tehran is ramping up sales after the lifting of
sanctions. The data is the first sign of a resurgence in crude shipments
as the OPEC producer begins to raise output and clears out oil that has
built up in offshore storage over the past four years of curtailed
participation in world markets... The Islamic republic's overall exports
will total around 1.44 million barrels a day (bpd) in February and about
1.5 million bpd in January, according to the data on Iran's preliminary
tanker loading schedules. Those shipping levels would be more than 20
percent higher than Iran's average daily exports last year, with the
loadings this month at the highest since February 2014... 'It was
expected that Iran would increase their exports as quickly as possible,'
said Tony Nunan, a Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) risk manager. 'Physically
they can do it because they have so much availability in floating
storage.' Much of the nearly 40 million barrels of oil stored by Iran in
domestic tankers is condensate - an ultra light grade of crude - shipping
sources have said, and the faster the light crude is moved out the
quicker the ships can be used for more oil deliveries. Iran's shipments
have surged nearly a quarter over the last four weeks from average tanker
loadings of 1.21 million bpd last year following the lifting of sanctions
earlier this month, according to the source's data... An Iranian source
has said the country is targeting India, Asia's fastest-growing oil
market, as its main destination for oil, which was backed by the shipping
schedules. India will load more than 300,000 bpd in February, up from
183,000 bpd in January, according to the data. 'Why not? Nothing stops
us. Definitely it should go up. It has to go up,' said an Indian oil ministry
official, speaking to Reuters earlier this month about the end of
sanctions on Iran... Exports to Asia in February are set to total 1.20
million bpd, holding near to an expected nine-month high of 1.24 million
bpd for January. Iran plans to load 504,000 bpd for top customer China in
February, down 5 percent from a six-month high expected in January,
according to the source. Iran is planning to load 303,000 bpd next month
for India, up 66 percent from the month before and highest since May
2015. Shipments to Japan and South Korea are expected to be lower in
February after hitting multi-month highs in January." http://t.uani.com/1Pn1BKO
Reuters: "Asian imports of Iranian oil
fell 18 percent in December from a year earlier, as Iran's biggest crude
buyers refrained from increasing their purchases before sanctions were
lifted as part of an agreement on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.
But Iran's rehabilitation in the international commercial system is
proceeding fast, with oil exports surging this month and next, according
to data obtained by Reuters. Billions of dollars of deals have also been
agreed with companies from Italy, France and other European countries
since sanctions were lifted at mid-month. Imports by Iran's four biggest
buyers - China, India, Japan and South Korea - came to just below 1
million barrels per day (bpd) in December, down from 1.2 million
bpd from a year ago, government and tanker-tracking data show. The 2015
imports were slightly above 1 million bpd, down 8 percent from the year
before... Japan's purchases of Iranian crude rose more than 30 percent in
December from a year earlier to about 175,000 bpd, trade ministry data
showed on Friday." http://t.uani.com/1nCO1sO
WSJ: "Iran's biggest shipping line
hopes to start calling again at European ports, with plans for a
bi-weekly service connecting India, Iran and Europe as early as next
month, according to people familiar with the matter. The service would be
the first time in five years that ships from the company, Islamic
Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, would tie up at European ports. The plan
comes just two weeks after the lifting of broad economic sanctions
against Iran, part of an international deal to curtail Tehran's nuclear
ambitions. Since sanctions have lifted, Iranian officials have announced
a host of deals with European companies, including an agreement earlier
this week to buy Airbus Group SE jetliners. Also this week, Total SA
agreed to start buying Iranian crude again... IRISL or one of its
subsidiaries plans to start a regular service shipping 6,000 containers
along a route that would include stops at the Iranian port of Bandar
Abbas on the Persian Gulf, Nhava Sheva in India, Istanbul, and European
ports, including Felixstowe, U.K, Genoa, Italy, and Le Havre, France,
according to one person familiar with the plans. More ports could be
added later. Executives hope the sailings will be the first step in an
ambitious plan by the Iranian company to win a slice of the global
container-shipping market. The company is also contemplating purchases of
giant Triple E container vessels, the largest class of container ships in
the world... In addition to IRISL, global shipping firms will be jostling
for a slice of the newly opened Iran market, Mr. Jensen said. The last
time IRISL made port calls to Europe was in 2010 through its subsidiary Hafiz
Darya Shipping Co., or HDS Lines. Brokers said HDS Lines will likely be
the one launching the new sailings to Europe. IRISL Managing Director
Mohammad Saeidi told The Wall Street Journal late last year that annual
seaborne trade between the European Union and Iran amounted to $15
billion before the first broad, international sanctions were imposed on
the country in 2008. Tehran expects to reach that level within three
years after sanctions are lifted... Mr. Saeeidi said in the interview in
October that IRISL had a fleet of 41 container vessels, with the biggest
ships having a maximum capacity of around 12,000 containers... Earlier
this week, IRISL and French giant CMA CGM signed an agreement that will
see the two operators sharing vessels, routes and port calls." http://t.uani.com/1VvixPD
FT: "When Shahrzad Afrashteh
returned from the UK to her birthplace in Iran two years ago, she spotted
an opportunity. With Iran open for business now sanctions over its
nuclear ambitions have been lifted, investors are being drawn to one of
the largest untapped markets where the government hopes they will bring
$50bn a year. But in a business environment marked by scarce data, tax
evasion, outdated accounting practices, corruption and an inefficient
judicial system, foreign investors often look to local partners to help
them navigate what could be a due-diligence minefield. Fixers are
everywhere, but finding one with the right expertise is no easy task.
Enter Ms Afrashteh, who is confident her 13 years in the western
healthcare sector, coupled with the local knowledge of Mia Mortazavi, her
Iranian partner, will benefit their Arta Corporate Business Services
consultancy... Business consultancies such as Turquoise Partners, Ara
Enterprise, ICG Group, Cyrus Omron International and Atieh Bahar are well
established in the country, working largely with investors in the private
sector, where business relationships and structures have become opaque
after many state-run organisations, including the elite revolutionary
guards, set up their own 'private' front companies... Corruption remains
a problem in the state sector, with Iranian businesspeople complaining of
the need to bribe officials in customs, the judiciary and elsewhere - a
practice that would be unacceptable and even illegal for many foreign
organisations. 'In a legal dispute, I had to pay about 100m tomans
[$32,000] in fines,' says one businessman in Tehran selling European-designed
watches. 'But the judge told me his daughter was getting married and sent
his family over to my shop, which cost me 15m tomans in watches instead
of 100m toman.' Some middlemen are prone to skirting around customs
duties - another practice that could land foreign investors in trouble,
warns Ali Amiri, a London-based founder of ACL, an asset manager...
Outside Iran's own business culture, remaining US non-nuclear sanctions
have alerted international investors to the risks of entering the market
too quickly. 'It is a complex regulatory environment, not at all
consistent,' says the chief executive of a large UAE lender. 'At this
stage we have to be very careful and we should assume harsh
implementation.'"http://t.uani.com/1NFx3yq
Reuters: "Iran's trade and industry
minister urged French banks on Thursday to overcome their wariness about
doing business with the country, seeking to drum up much-needed foreign
investment. French banks have been reluctant to handle deals with Iran,
deterred by a $9 billion U.S. fine on Paris-based BNP Paribas in 2014 for
sanctions violations, even as both governments celebrated renewed ties...
Iran's industry minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, speaking at a
Franco-Iranian business forum, said there were no longer obstacles to keep
French banks from doing business with Iran. 'If they don't get active,
there will be no increase in business,' he warned... Senior French
bankers said the memory of BNP Paribas' fine remained too fresh and the
current sanctions framework, with a possibility to snap them back in
place, was off-putting. 'Big banks got really smacked down, so they won't
come back without seeing how things go for while,' Cyrus Mobasher, an
Iran-based consultant, told Reuters. However, smaller banks such as
Natixis may be more willing to do business with Tehran, he said.
Businessmen hope French export-credit insurer Coface could also help get
things moving. Coface signed a deal with Iran on Thursday, the French
president's office said. Nematzadeh said it was a major step, but no
details were immediately available... But Josiane Galippe, head of
development and international at Banque SBA, a unit of Banque
Libano-Francaise, said it was still too early to engage with Iran. 'There
are still many products that remain under sanctions for the moment,
sanctions have only partially been lifted,' she said. 'When you hear them
speak today, it's like everything is open for business. But so far it's
still just talk, things have not started in practice.' Meanwhile, the
French and Iranian central banks have formally re-established ties to
allow Iranian banks to handle business with France, French Economy
Minister Emmanuel Macron said." http://t.uani.com/1PET5CF
Mehr
(Iran):
"National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has signed an agreement with
French oil major Total SA allowing the company to buy hundreds of
thousands of barrels of Iranian crude oil a day. NIOC Managing Director
Roknodin Javadi and one senior manager at Total SA signed a Memorandum of
Understaning (MoU) at the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
and the President of France François Hollande. The meeting was also
attended by Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh and Total CEO Patrick
Pouyanné. 'We will sign an MoU with Total today,' Zanganeh had said on
Thursday. Meanwhile, after meeting with President Rouhani in Paris on
Thursday afternoon, Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné had underlined
the deal would allow his company to buy between 150,000 and 200,000
barrels a day from Iran. 'Previously, Total had an active participation
in Iran fulfilling its commitments,' Pouyanné had noted estimating
implementation of other projects with Iran though they require further
negotiations." http://t.uani.com/20xNBSa
Reuters: "Sanofi signed a memorandum of
cooperation with Iran's government aimed at boosting its presence in the
country, the French drugmaker said on Thursday. The agreement was signed
during the visit to Paris of President Hassan Rouhani during which France
and Iran agreed to a series of transactions with several French firms...
Sanofi said in statement it would consider expanding partnerships with
local manufacturers to enhance the sharing of its expertise in industrial
quality standards and increase the transfer of pharmaceutical production
technology and know-how... Sanofi said that 55 percent of is sales in
Iran were from products manufactured locally... Sanofi will compete in
Iran with pharmaceutical firms such as Denmark's Novo Nordisk or Japan's
Takeda as well as with Indian generics maker Cipla." http://t.uani.com/1SO5f2Q
Presidential
Visit to Europe
Daily
Mail: "A lunch
between the French and Iranian presidents in Paris was scrapped today
because France refused to remove wine from the menu. Iran's President
Hassan Rouhani has been on a tour of Europe, signing billions of pounds
worth of business deals with different nations, after economic sanctions
against the country were lifted. He was due to dine with President
Francois Hollande at an upmarket restaurant in the French capital. The
French insisted on serving local food and wine but the Iranians demanded
a halal menu in keeping with their Muslim faith. Hollande's officials
said preparing the meal to be 'Iran friendly' went against France's
republican values. The Elysee Palace suggested a breakfast with Rouhani
instead, but this was said to be snubbed by the Iranian leader for being
'too cheap'... In contrast, the Italians made sure the Iranian visit went
smoothly by keeping alcohol off the menu for state dinners and covering
up its nude statues." http://t.uani.com/1UvexhU
Syria
Conflict
WSJ: "Iran's President Hassan
Rouhani on Thursday dismissed calls for Syria's president to step aside,
dimming hopes that Tehran's détente with the West would help the two
sides find common ground to end the Syrian war. Asked at a news
conference in the Élysée Palace whether Tehran would drop its support for
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Mr. Rouhani called the question
'strange.' 'Syria's problem is not a question of people. The problem is
terrorism and Islamic State,' Mr. Rouhani said, standing beside French
President François Hollande, who has repeatedly called for Mr. Assad to
step down. The stalemate over Mr. Assad bodes ill for a meeting set for
Friday in Geneva, where the Syrian regime and opposition groups are
meeting for talks to push for an end to the nearly five-year war. Mr.
Rouhani's comments sounded a note of discord at the end of a four-day
trip to Rome and Paris-the first for an Iranian president in 17 years...
'Iran can do business with Europe and support Assad and Hezbollah at the
same time,' said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace. 'If anything Iran may feel that now
that is has Europe's commercial blessing there is even less reason for
them to modify their policies.'" http://t.uani.com/1OUq4Wr
HRW: "Iran's Revolutionary Guards
Corps (IRGC) has recruited thousands of undocumented Afghans living there
to fight in Syria since at least November 2013, Human Rights Watch said
today, and a few have reported that Iranian authorities coerced them.
Iran has urged the Afghans to defend Shia sacred sites and offered
financial incentives and legal residence in Iran to encourage them to
join pro-Syrian government militias. Human Rights Watch in late 2015
interviewed more than two dozen Afghans who had lived in Iran about
recruitment by Iranian officials of Afghans to fight in Syria. Some said
they or their relatives had been coerced to fight in Syria and either had
later fled and reached Greece, or had been deported to Afghanistan for
refusing. One 17-year-old said he had been forced to fight without being
given the opportunity to refuse. Others said they had volunteered to
fight in Syria in Iranian-organized militias, either out of religious
conviction or to regularize their residence status in Iran. 'Iran has not
just offered Afghan refugees and migrants incentives to fight in Syria,
but several said they were threatened with deportation back to
Afghanistan unless they did,' said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director
at Human Rights Watch. 'Faced with this bleak choice, some of these
Afghan men and boys fled Iran for Europe.' ... While Iran officially
claims that thousands of Afghans living in Iran have volunteered to join
the militias, their vulnerable legal position in Iran and the fear of
deportation may contribute to their decision, making it less than
voluntary. Many said that the threat of arrest and forced conscription in
Iran was an important contributing factor in their decision to leave
Iran." http://t.uani.com/1SNYEp7
Human
Rights
RFE/RL: "A revolutionary court in
Iran's Golestan Province has sentenced 24 believers in the Baha'i faith
to as many as 11 years in prison each. A Geneva-based spokeswoman for the
International Baha'i community, Simin Fahandezh, said the 24 individuals
are being imprisoned strictly because of their religious faith, which is
not officially recognized by Iran. 'They're innocent,' Fahandezh said.
'They haven't committed any crime as the only charge against them is
their membership in the Baha'i community.' She said the prison sentences,
ranging from six to 11 years, demonstrate that 'human rights have no
value for Iranian authorities.' She said those who've been sentenced were
detained in 2012 in Golestan during a crackdown against the Baha'i
community... Fahandezh said there are currently more than 80 Baha'is in
jail in Iran. She said the treatment of Baha'is in Iran has not changed
since President Hassan Rohani took office and promised to improve Iran's
human rights record. 'Baha'is are still being detained. Jailed. Young
Baha'is are still being deprived of their right to study, and the number
of Baha'i cemeteries that have been desecrated has increased,' Fahandezh
said." http://t.uani.com/1OUnXSo
Domestic
Politics
IranWire: "A recent survey conducted by
Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC (iPOS) has revealed that the
majority of Iranians consider banks to be the most corrupt institutions
in Iran. Of those polled, 77 percent said they believed that banks in
Iran were 'highly', 'very' or 'relatively' corrupt. People also
considered corruption to be rife in city governments and the judiciary,
with 63 percent of those polled saying corruption was a serious problems
in these public institutions. Fifty-five percent also said police were
corrupt. Most of the Iranians surveyed (71 pecent) believe that
corruption is pervasive, and 96 percent agreed with the view that the
only way to tackle the problem effectively was through harsh punishment.
The new survey was conducted by iPOS, a private research institute based
in McLean, Virginia in the United States. The survey was conducted
through telephone interviews from September 26, 2015 to October 8, 2015,
with a random sample of 1,548 Iranian adults aged 18 and older. All of
those polled currently reside in Iran." http://t.uani.com/1PJM2ip
Opinion
& Analysis
NYT
Editorial: "Next
month's elections in Iran do not bode well for Iranians eager for more
political and social freedoms or for the promising new relationship with
the West symbolized by the recent deal limiting Iran's nuclear program.
Even before any ballots are cast, the death-to-America hard-liners who
bitterly opposed the deal are stacking the deck against moderates led by
President Hassan Rouhani, who signed the agreement and is more open than
others in the power structure to further engagement with Western nations as
well as expanding rights and freedoms for Iranian citizens. The
hard-liners are in a good position to prevail in the Feb. 26 polls
because of political manipulation and a nominating process that gives a
small group of people enormous power over who can and cannot run. On that
day, Iranians will vote for a 290-member Parliament and an 88-member
Assembly of Experts, which is charged with selecting a new supreme leader
when the incumbent, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is 76 and reportedly
ailing, dies. In a sign of heightened interest in electoral politics,
some 12,000 Iranians registered to run in the election for Parliament,
more than double the 5,405 who registered in 2012. Yet, more than 7,000
of those would-be candidates were disqualified by the Council of
Guardians, a 12-member group appointed partly by the supreme leader and
partly by the judiciary. Last week, nine reformist political parties
complained that the council had approved only 30 of the 3,000 moderates
who registered, and urged top leaders to reverse the disqualifications.
Of the 801 candidates who had filed to run for the Assembly of Experts,
only 166 were approved. On Tuesday came word that not even the grandson
of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic in 1979,
could pass muster with the ideologues who are determined to maintain
control and resist change. The grandson, Hassan Khomeini, a cleric,
wanted to run for the Assembly of Experts but was told that the council
could not establish his 'scientific qualifications.' The council has not
publicly explained what that means, but it seems likely that Mr. Khomeini
was rejected because he is close to Mr. Rouhani and other reformers.
Human Rights Watch says it reviewed documents that show significant
numbers of candidates were disqualified for their political opinions.
Iran does not have anything close to a real democracy. Mr. Rouhani is a
creature of Iran's establishment, not a revolutionary. But he has tapped
into widespread popular support for ending the country's long isolation.
Because of the nuclear deal, which required Iran to sharply limit its
nuclear program, crippling sanctions have been lifted and Iranian
officials are now being welcomed again in world capitals as they seek
business deals and acceptance. Even so, Mr. Rouhani, who won election in
2013, has yet to deliver on campaign pledges to restore basic freedoms,
including free speech and the release of political prisoners. Hundreds of
political activists and journalists remain in prison, according to the
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center; Iran is a leading executioner of
prisoners, including juveniles." http://t.uani.com/1m12vkv
UANI
Advisory Board Member Olli Heinonen in FDD: "Implementation Day marks the
beginning of the true test of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA). Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are
embarking on the long walk towards Transition Day - the date by which the
IAEA is supposed to confirm that Iran is not engaged in any undeclared
nuclear activities and that all of its nuclear materials are for peaceful
use. In eight years, the IAEA is supposed to complete the verification of
the correctness and completeness of Iran's declarations on nuclear
material and facilities. The JCPOA restricts Iran's uranium enrichment
capabilities for 8 to 15 years, but allows it to continue to enrich
uranium provided its stockpiles stay below 300 kilograms enriched to 3.67
percent U-235. By permitting enrichment, this agreement gives the
international community's blessing to uranium enrichment in the Middle
East. This could lead to a regional nuclear cascade, with Iranian rivals
like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia expressing interest in
similar capabilities. The agreement also does not explicitly forgo
plutonium separation in the long term. The JCPOA's constraints on
weapons-grade plutonium production are irreversible for the first 15
years. Beyond this, however, the text simply states that it is Iran's
intention not to build additional heavy-water reactors or conduct
reprocessing. This still leaves the door open for future reprocessing.
The JCPOA negotiators argue that the agreement will reduce tensions and
prevent regional nuclear proliferation because, they contend, it is based
on full transparency, intrusive verification, and vigilant enforcement.
The IAEA's report this weekend acknowledged that Iran has met the key,
initial parameters stipulated under the JCPOA, thereby paving the way for
Implementation Day. However, the report does not provide a full picture
of Tehran's current nuclear material inventories, nor does it explain how
Iran met the JCPOA requirements. The IAEA is now responsible for
continuous monitoring of Iran's activities to ensure it remains in
compliance with the deal. This will be the true test of the JCPOA. To aid
in verification efforts and to reinforce the transparency of the deal,
substantially more detailed reports are needed. The IAEA should, for
example, detail the actions it has taken after finding man-made uranium
particles in September at the Parchin military facility - samples that
could indicate the presence of undeclared nuclear material. Information
on the types and frequencies of inspections, as well as approaches
undertaken in its verification work, would also build confidence on the
IAEA's conclusions throughout its verification of the deal. Additionally,
a baseline report would provide a full account of nuclear material
inventories, including hold-ups, wastes, scrap, and materials declared as
retained waste by Iran. It should also contain the number of rotors and
centrifuges subject to the IAEA monitoring, including those which had
never been installed at Natanz or Fordow. A baseline should also list the
current centrifuge rotor manufacturing installations, indicate the
monitoring procedures applied to relevant locations, and explain whether
or not Iran has dismantled those specific capabilities at locations
previously used for this purpose. As stipulated in the JCPOA, Iran
submitted its uranium enrichment and enrichment research-and-development
plan to the IAEA. This is an important first step, and as a
confidence-building measure, it should be made public. This transparency
would demonstrate to the international community Iran's justification for
ramping up uranium enrichment after the eight-year mark. Today, Tehran's
breakout time to produce enough enriched uranium for a single nuclear
device could be as little as seven months - far less than the one-year
figure that the Obama administration claims. The advanced centrifuge and
enrichment research that Iran is now permitted to conduct will further
reduce its breakout time once Tehran can begin installing advanced
centrifuges. On the current trajectory, after 15 years, Iran's breakout
time drops to just a couple of weeks. As the JCPOA's restrictions lapse,
the Islamic Republic will have a patient pathway to nuclear-weapons
capability. Finally, the December 2015 IAEA report on possible military
dimension of Iran's nuclear program left many questions unanswered. While
the IAEA Board of Governors took a note on the report and declared the
agenda item closed, the remaining outstanding questions mean the IAEA
will continue to pursue answers to open questions. This is needed for the
successful verification of the correctness and completeness of Iran's
declaration on nuclear material. The success of the JCPOA in containing
Iran's nuclear capabilities depends on full transparency and vigorous
verification and monitoring. This approach has its risks, since Iran
remains a nuclear-threshold state that threatens regional and
international security. While the JCPOA caps Tehran's nuclear
capabilities in the early years, the deal may, over the long term,
contribute to a proliferation cascade that will make the world's most
volatile region all the more combustible." http://t.uani.com/1OUtVTl
IranWatch: "Iran and the P5+1 announced on
January 16, 2016 that Iran had met its obligations under the terms of the
nuclear agreement and would immediately receive a first round of
sanctions relief. As a result, restrictions that had been imposed
against Iran's financial, transport, and energy sectors were lifted, and
hundreds of entities - companies, individuals, banks, government
organizations, and state-controlled ships and aircraft - were removed
from blacklists maintained by the United Nations, European Union, and
United States. However, hundreds of Iranian entities were not removed
from blacklists on Implementation Day and remain subject to sanctions,
particularly entities linked to Iran's ballistic missile program, the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the IRGC-Qods Force.
According to U.N. Security Council resolution 2231, restrictions on
Iran's conventional arms program, including arms imports and exports,
apply for a further five years, and restrictions on Iran's missile
program apply for a further eight years. Additional entities may be
added to U.N. and other lists in response to Iranian actions that are
found to violate the nuclear agreement, or resolution 2231. The
United States demonstrated this by announcing new missile sanctions on
the day after Implementation Day. The entities still sanctioned by the
United Nations, the European Union, and the United States are listed
below. Each entity's name is linked to an Iran Watch profile of its
activities, and the document related to the sanctions designation is
linked as a 'Referencing Document' available from the Iran Watch
Library." http://t.uani.com/1UvjEi4
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