Eye on Iran: Nuclear Deal Fuels Iran's Hard-Liners

Join UANI             Top Stories WSJ: "The Obama administration's nuclear deal was intended to keep Iran from pursuing an atomic bomb, and raised hope in the West that Tehran would be nudged toward a more moderate path. But there are growing fears in Washington and Europe that the deal-coupled with an escalating conflict with Saudi Arabia-instead risks further entrenching Iran's hard-line camp... As much as $100 billion in frozen revenues are expected to return to Iran after sanctions are lifted, which U.S. officials said could happen in coming weeks. The White House hoped the cash windfall would aid Mr. Rouhani's political fortunes. But Iranian academics close to Mr. Rouhani are increasingly concerned Mr. Khamenei will use the money and diplomatic rewards to entrench hard-line allies, at the expense of the president.' Many activists are angry at the Obama administration for failing to support them six years ago in a rebuff that hasn't been previously reported. Iranian opposition leaders secretly reached out to the White House in the summer of 2009 to gauge Mr. Obama's support for their 'green revolution,' which drew millions of people to protest the allegedly fraudulent re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The demonstrations caught the White House off guard, said current and former U.S. officials who worked on Iran in the Obama administration. Some U.S. officials pressed Mr. Obama to publicly back the fledgling Green Movement, arguing in Oval Office meetings that it marked the most important democratic opening since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Mr. Obama wasn't convinced. 'Let's give it a few days, was the answer,' said a senior U.S. official present at some of the White House meetings. 'It was made clear: We should monitor, but do nothing.' The president was invested heavily in developing a secret diplomatic outreach to Mr. Khamenei that year, sending two letters to the supreme leader in the months before the disputed election of Mr. Ahmadinejad, said current and former U.S. officials... Mr. Obama and his advisers decided to maintain silence in the early days of the 2009 uprising. The Central Intelligence Agency was ordered away from any covert work to support the Green Movement either inside Iran or overseas, said current and former U.S. officials involved in the discussions... 'A historic opportunity was missed' six years ago, said former Green Movement leader Heshmat Tabarzadi in an interview via Skype in Tehran. He has served intermittent jail terms there since 2009. 'There isn't much of a Green Movement left,' he said." http://t.uani.com/1P3qYwC WSJ: "Congressional Democrats are intensifying pressure on the Obama administration to hold Iran accountable for its testing of ballistic missiles. Both supporters and opponents of the multinational nuclear accord with Iran say that to maintain U.S. credibility in enforcing the deal, the White House must move forward with sanctions on Iran after two missile tests in the fall. The administration in late December told lawmakers it planned to impose new financial penalties on nearly a dozen companies and individuals for their alleged role in developing Iran's ballistic missile program. It then reversed course, saying it needed more time for diplomatic work with the Iranian government, but it hasn't given a timeline for when they would be imposed. The delay has put some Democrats, particularly those who represent large Jewish constituencies and donors, in an uncomfortable position. Many such lawmakers agonized this summer over whether to support the nuclear deal, which was opposed by Israel, saying their backing was contingent on strict oversight of Iran's behavior. 'They ought to impose sanctions because we have to show we take this seriously,' Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D., N.Y.), who backed the nuclear deal, said in a recent interview. 'Iran is very destabilizing, very aggressive and very badly behaved and we have to do what we can to stop that.' ... Last week, seven House Democrats, including Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, urged President Barack Obama in a letter to sanction Iran for the missile testing." http://t.uani.com/1TPAzLL Military Times: "The U.S. military released a video Saturday showing what it says is an Iranian military vessel firing several unguided rockets near the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and other Western warships and commercial craft. The incident occurred Dec. 26 in the Strait of Hormuz. Navy officials released the video to Military Times in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The images show what appears to be an Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel firing rockets from a distance of about 1,370 meters. Officials with U.S. Central Command first disclosed details about the incident last month. Approximately 20 minutes before the incident occurred, the Iranians had announced over maritime radio that they would be carrying out a live-fire exercise, officials said. Although the rockets traveled away from the Truman, firing weapons 'so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional and inconsistent with international maritime law,' said Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. Iran had dismissed the U.S. claim as 'psychological warfare' against the Islamic Republic." http://t.uani.com/1OXjUrC Nuclear Program & Agreement The Hill: "The United States is steaming ahead with implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran, and appears ready to lift sanctions as soon as this month... The quick pace of implementation comes despite harsh opposition from Capitol Hill, where critics have accused the administration of emboldening Iran by refusing to get tough in the face of aggressiveness from Tehran. The administration has failed to adequately punish Iran for a pair of ballistic missile tests, lawmakers say, setting a potentially dangerous precedent. Iran has also recently sent ships within 1,500 yards of a U.S. aircraft carrier traveling through international waters, and failed to protect Saudi Arabian diplomatic buildings from ransacking protesters outraged over the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric... The administration has insisted that the ballistic missile tests, continued imprisonment of Americans and aggressive posturing are outside the scope of the deal. The pact is meant solely to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, supporters say - nothing more. But officials seem especially eager to implement the deal, which is a pillar of Obama's legacy, and may be willing to let Iran's other behavior slide for now. 'The administration is obviously very nervous if implementation day doesn't come quickly something will happen that will cause the deal to collapse or unravel,' said Gary Samore, an academic at Harvard University and former arms control advisor at the White House. Once the deal goes into effect, Samore predicted, the White House will likely carry through with the punitive measures that it has pulled back in order to see the deal implemented. 'The administration will want to show that the nuclear deal won't provide protection for Iran's actions for non-nuclear activities,' he said. The Obama administration has insisted that the nuclear accord allows for nations around the globe to beef up sanctions related to Iran's missile programs, human rights abuses and support of terrorist groups such as Hezbollah. But Iran has pushed back, claiming that new sanctions would violate the nuclear deal and give it cause for an about-face." http://t.uani.com/1ZWInPD Reuters: "The European Union has no firm timeframe for lifting sanctions on Iran and the move could come soon, the bloc's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday. 'There is no set date yet. The date is going to be related to the full implementation of all the steps that need to be taken,' she said at a news conference after meeting Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek. 'I can tell you that my expectation is that this day could come rather soon. The implementation of the agreements is proceeding well.' Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television on Monday as he inaugurated new gas projects: 'We are hopeful that the sanctions against Iran would be lifted in the next few days.' ... 'Iran has met its commitments under the July nuclear agreement earlier than expected,' Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for Iran's atomic energy agency, said in an interview the Iranian Etemad newspaper published on Monday. 'Implementation of JCPOA will finish in the next 7 days,' he added, referring to the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action." http://t.uani.com/1OKNOO3 Free Beacon: "One day after North Korea claimed to have successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb, lawmakers and regional experts are warning that Pyongyang and Tehran are continuing an illicit clandestine partnership enabling the rogue nations to master nuclear technology. Loopholes in the nuclear pact recently reached between Iran and the international community have allowed the Islamic Republic and North Korea to boost their nuclear cooperation, which includes the exchange of information and technology, according to material provided to Congress over the past year. Iran is believed to be housing some of its key nuclear weapons-related technology in North Korea in order to avoid detection by international inspectors. Iranian dissidents once tied to the regime have disclosed that both countries have consulted on a nuclear warhead. Following the test, however, the White House publicly denied that Iran and North Korea are working together, according to multiple statements issued by the administration on Wednesday. Still, the Iranian-North Korean nuclear axis is coming under renewed scrutiny by lawmakers in light of Pyongyang's most recent detonation, which is the fourth of its kind in recent years." http://t.uani.com/1JFvIMM Embassy Attack AP: "Arab foreign ministers, with the exception of Lebanon, condemned in a Sunday statement what they called Iran's meddling in Arab affairs. The ministers accused Iran of breaking international agreements by intentionally failing to protect Saudi diplomatic posts in a statement issued following a closed emergency meeting. Lebanon, which has a large Shiite population and is home to powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah, was the only dissenting voice. Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil said in a statement that his country had rejected the statement because it also condemned Hezbollah over alleged interference in Bahrain. Protesters in Tehran stormed the Saudi Embassy and a Saudi consulate elsewhere in the country after Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric and opposition leader, earlier this month. Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan who led the emergency meeting said the embassy attack 'took place under the nose and within the earshot of security forces.' Saudi's Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that Arab nations would 'confront' the Islamic Republic if it does not change its ways, without elaborating. Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby said the region's foreign ministers will discuss the 'steps' they can take against Iran in future meetings over the next two months. Al-Jubier added that there was no real timeline for such measures. 'We don't want conflict. We don't want war,' the UAE's Al Nahyan told reporters. Sunday's session was requested by Saudi Arabia to discuss the attacks. The ensuing crisis has seen Saudi Arabia and several Arab states cut or downgrade diplomatic ties with Iran. 'Iran doesn't have qualms and doesn't hesitate to using the sectarian card as a way to dominate the region, and interfering in the internal affairs of Arab countries,' Al Nahyan said at the opening ceremony." http://t.uani.com/1OmwP0H U.S.-Iran Relations Press TV (Iran): "Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says enemies have left no stone unturned over the past decades to destroy Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. In a Saturday meeting with a group of people from the holy city of Qom, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Republic faces a vast enemy front comprised of the US, the Israeli regime and the Takfiri elements, including the Daesh terror group. 'Enemies have focused all their attempts on uprooting the flourishing tree of the Islamic Revolution,' said Ayatollah Khamenei, stressing that the country should make all efforts to foil such plots." http://t.uani.com/1Znt19T AP: "Executives from 25 news organizations, including The Associated Press, sent a letter Friday to Secretary of State John Kerry urging him to press Iran to release jailed Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian. The letter said Iran should recognize that independent journalism is 'a fundamental human right' and free Rezaian. 'The United States has considerable leverage with Iran right now to press that point, and we urge you to continue to do so,' the executives wrote. Rezaian, 39, was born in California and holds both U.S. and Iranian citizenships. He was convicted in closed proceedings last year after being charged with espionage and related allegations. The length of his sentence has not been disclosed publicly. 'Iran has never offered any evidence that even makes a pretense of justifying this imprisonment,' the news executives wrote. They noted: 'Many of our organizations employ journalists who, like Jason, operate in countries, like Iran, that do not always hold a high regard for the free flow of information. We understand the risks involved.' Still, the letter continued, 'we depend on the United States and other democratic countries to stand behind the values that Jason represents.' Media organizations represented in the letter included the AP, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN." http://t.uani.com/1P3zsDX Congressional Action USNI: "The perception among American Middle Eastern allies and partners is that 'we have tilted to Iran' since concluding the nuclear agreement and are now regularly showing a failure to respond to new provocations from Tehran, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said on Friday. 'The crux of the problem' with President Barack Obama's foreign policy is it is 'a policy of constantly backing down,' Rep. Ed Royce, (R-Calif.), said Friday, and it is a policy that needs to change when a new administration takes office next year. Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank, he asked, 'Why aren't we sticking to the letter of the agreement' with Tehran and calling for tougher United Nations' sanctions against Iran for its intercontinental ballistic missile tests, firing a missile close to American carrier USS Harry S. Truman, the hacking of a dam in New York state and taking of an American hostage. As a result of this inaction, Middle Eastern allies and partners 'are less likely to take our counsel.' As an example, Royce said, 'we were not included in this discussion' among Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Gulf states - predominantly Sunni countries - before they took military action against the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are supported by Iran." http://t.uani.com/1VZPqol Sanctions Relief WSJ: "Iran is in talks to help build a refinery in Spain, an Iranian oil official told state media over the weekend, as it seeks to secure buyers for its oil after a European embargo on its oil is lifted... Iran is planning to invest with local companies in a Spanish facility that could refine 200,000 barrels of oil a day, said Abbas Kazemi, the head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co., in remarks carried by the official Islamic Republic News Agency. 'The safest way to increase the exports is investment in refineries abroad. On this basis, the petroleum ministry wants to invest in refineries abroad, whose crude oil will be met by Iran,' he said. Mr. Kazemi didn't name the Spanish companies involved in the talks... Iran has held talks in Europe, Asia, and South and Central America to build or buy stakes in existing refineries ahead of its full return to the export market. A National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co. spokesman has previously said the company is in talks to buy stakes in Indian and Brazilian refineries. The Wall Street Journal has also reported attempts by Iranian private companies to buy refineries in Switzerland and France, though they failed due to the risk posed by existing sanctions. Securing stakes in refineries would help guarantee an outlet for Iranian oil when the country returns to fully exporting its crude." http://t.uani.com/1UJiAa4 Mehr (Iran): "Islamic Republic of Iran Railways and Germany's Siemens Company have sealed an MoU for new railroad cooperation. Mohsen Pourseyyed Aghaei, the President of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI) and Jochen Eickholt, the CEO of the Mobility Division of Siemens signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday. With RAI being keen on expanding the country's railroads in various areas and the German company being interested in developing cooperation with Iran's railway, the two sides have signed an MoU in several sectors." http://t.uani.com/1N34w5y Press TV (Iran): "Iran's media reported on Thursday that Germany's Siemens has won several deals to develop the country's railway infrastructure. A deal specifically concerns the electrification of Tehran-Mashhad railroad.  Accordingly, the German company will provide the signaling equipment, the electric locomotives, passenger train coaches as well as the related maintenance services for the railroad. A second deal concerns the construction of Tehran-Isfahan high-speed railway and a third the provision of 500 passenger train coaches. Siemens has also agreed to provide training for the railway sector of Iran, IRNA reported. The German engineering powerhouse will in most of its projects be obliged to team up with Iranian companies. This, IRNA's report added, will be meant to transfer know-how to the Iranian companies." http://t.uani.com/1ZgjMTQ     Human Rights ICHRI: "An official Iranian state censorship body has resisted calls by hardliners in Iran to block the Telegram messaging service, the most popular social media application in Iran. The Working Group to Determine Instances of Criminal Content on the Internet, Iran's principal body charged with Internet filtering, had tried to have Telegram blocked, and in this they were supported by hardliners in Parliament, Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Judiciary, conservative Iranian media outlets, and influential Friday prayer leaders. But they were not able to amass the votes in the body needed to block the widely used application. Abdolsamad Khorramabadi, Secretary of the Working Group, said on January 5, 2016, that a proposal to ban the use of the Telegram messaging network in Iran did not get the required votes. However, he left the door open for the Judiciary to block the application in the future if it deemed necessary." http://t.uani.com/1mQii6r ICHRI: "The poet and civil activist Hila Sedighi was arrested at Imam Khomeini International Airport on January 7, 2016, as she and her husband returned from a trip to the United Arab Emirates, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned. Sedighi's arrest appears to be in connection with a sentence issued against her in absentia by the Culture and Media Court, a court established by the Iranian Judiciary to try media and culture-related crimes. There has been no comment as of yet from government or judicial officials on the reasons for her arrest or where she is being detained. 'Artistic expression is under unprecedented assault in Iran,' said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'The Iranian Judiciary is incapable of tolerating the peaceful expression of its own citizens, seeking instead to intimidate and silence them with arrests and imprisonment.' Sedighi, 30, co-recipient of the 2012 Hellman/Hammett prize for free expression, was a campaign worker for reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in 2009 and she recited poems in public gatherings in support of the Green Movement." http://t.uani.com/1RwUd1R IHR: "Two prisoners were reportedly hanged at Lakan, Rasht's central prison, on drug charges. A report by the press department for Gilan's Judiciary says the executions were carried out on Saturday January 9." http://t.uani.com/1VZyYVg Opinion & Analysis Hassan Hassan in The National: "Not long before the Riyadh-Tehran diplomatic row that followed the execution of Saudi Shia cleric Nimr Al Nimr, a showdown between the two countries unfolded in New York. While it is difficult to draw a direct correlation between the two events, the incident can help us understand the depth of the continuing crisis. On December 18, heated debate ensued between representatives of the two countries at a meeting in New York over the listing of armed groups operating in Syria for possible determination as terrorist organisations. The list, which Jordan was asked to develop, would name extremist groups that must be defeated as part of the UN-sponsored political process for Syria. A month earlier in Vienna, Saudi Arabia had insisted on including in the list foreign Shia militias fighting on the side of president Bashar Al Assad. Riyadh argued that all foreign fighters must leave Syria, regardless of which side they supported. In New York, Iran, joined by Russia, strongly objected to the demand and the standoff caused a deeper rift between the two countries. For now, the designation of terror groups in Syria has been referred to a committee comprising several European and regional countries. They first determined indicators and criteria of what constitutes a terrorist organisation, then named armed groups currently fighting in Syria. There is a preliminary list of more than 160 Sunni and Shia organisations. Iran categorically rejects including any Shia groups in the list. For Tehran, the fate of the Assad regime it supports is critically tied to the presence of those Shia militias. It is a fact that adds to the many issues that compound the conflict in Syria - issues that the international community would seemingly rather sweep under the carpet instead of deal with head on. The Syrian regime controls about 30 per cent of the country, though it probably controls over 50 per cent of the population. According to the defence think tank IHS Jane's, the regime lost 16 per cent of its territory over the past year. These figures are particularly damning if one considers that foreign Shia militias were on the front line of key battles against the rebels - in the Qalamoun region, Aleppo and central and western Syria - over this period... The presence of Shia militias is important for the regime and for its backer in Tehran. Many of these militias are also key Iranian proxies in Iraq, with recent reports suggesting that Iran has diverted them to Syria to assist in the wake of the Russian intervention in Syria. So the issue has also a regional dimension that cannot be ignored. Iran finds itself in a situation where it seeks to save the regime in Syria through the help of religious zealots, while pushing for the designation as terrorists of Sunni extremists fighting on the side of the opposition. In western capitals, strangely, that seems to be a reasonable position. For the opposition and regional backers such as Saudi Arabia, that is double dealing that further complicates the already-complex conflict in Syria." http://t.uani.com/1PnNXTR         Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.