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Reuters: "Iran's supreme leader has
awarded medals to navy commanders for capturing U.S. sailors who
entered Iranian territorial waters this month, Iran's state media said
on Sunday. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has said Iran should remain wary
of its arch-enemy the United States even after a landmark accord over
Tehran's nuclear program, awarded the Fath (Victory) medal to the head
of the navy of the Revolutionary Guards and four commanders involved in
the seizure of two U.S. Navy boats. Iran has awarded the Fath medal
since 1989 to war heroes, military commanders and politicians,
especially those linked to the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
Iran freed the ten U.S. sailors on Jan. 13, a day after detaining them
aboard the two U.S. Navy patrol boats in the Gulf.'" http://t.uani.com/1nYTcTJ
AP: "Iran said Monday it now has
access to more than $100 billion worth of frozen overseas assets
following the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal with world
powers. Government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said much of the
money had been piling up in banks in China, India, Japan, South Korea
and Turkey since international sanctions were tightened in 2012 over
Tehran's nuclear program. Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency
meanwhile quoted central bank official Nasser Hakimi as saying nine
Iranian banks are now reconnected to SWIFT, a Belgian-based cooperative
that handles wire transfers between financial institutions. No foreign
banks operate in Iran, and ATMs in Iran are not yet linked to the
global system. SWIFT had no immediate comment... 'These assets ($100
billion) have fully been released and we can use them,' Nobakht said in
comments posted on the website of state-run Press TV. He said much of
the money belongs to Iran's central bank and National Development Fund.
He said Iran will not bring all the money back because it can be spent
on purchasing goods... Mohsen Jalalpour, the head of Iran's Chamber of
Commerce, said on state TV Monday that Iranian businessmen are already
able to open letters of credit for transactions in other
countries." http://t.uani.com/202JjAh
Reuters: "In December 2012, aircraft
trader James Kim received a letter from a company based in Cyprus
offering to buy four jetliners. It was brief and to the point. The
hitherto unknown firm was 'ready, willing and able' to buy four used
Airbus A340 jets for which Kim was trying to broker a sale. 'I talked
to them and when I got the Letter of Intent with an Iranian name, I
informed them that a deal was not possible because of sanctions,' Kim,
managing director of British-based aircraft trading company AvCon
Worldwide, told Reuters. The company that tried to buy them, registered
in a Nicosia apartment with two directors with names that sounded
Iranian, vanished from the radar, Kim said in a telephone interview.
The planes, for which there is little demand, remain with their Asian
owner but the suspected approach typifies a shadowy trade in airplanes
and parts that spanned the globe for decades. Suspected front firms
sought to trade in spare parts and even whole aircraft, according to
people involved in the trade and other experts who mostly spoke on
condition of anonymity. 'The Iranians would set up companies to try to
do deals and then fold them up. They didn't stay around for long,' said
Kim." http://t.uani.com/20j0T8l
U.S.-Iran
Relations
Reuters: "U.S. citizens traveling to
Iran, particularly Iranian-Americans, risk arrest and detention in the
Islamic republic, the U.S. State Department said in a travel warning on
Friday. The notice, which largely echoes an August warning, was issued
days after five Americans, including four dual Iranian nationals, were
released by Iran in a prisoner swap coinciding with the lifting of economic
sanctions on Iran as the implementation of a deal to curb its nuclear
program began. The warning aims to 'reiterate and highlight the risk of
arrest and detention of U.S. citizens, particularly dual national
Iranian-Americans, in Iran,' the State Department said. 'Various
elements in Iran remain hostile to the United States,' it said, adding
that Iran has 'continued to harass, arrest, and detain U.S. citizens,
in particular dual nationals' since the nuclear deal was signed in
July." http://t.uani.com/1QT96KC
Free
Beacon: "Aerospace
giant Boeing lobbied hard for the nuclear deal that lifted sanctions on
Iran, but the Iranian regime announced on Thursday that it would spend
billions to buy aircraft from French competitor Airbus. Boeing spent
millions of dollars since late last year on a lobbying operation that
pushed for Iranian sanctions relief. It expected to be a major
beneficiary of the lifting of sanctions on Iran's aviation sector,
despite U.S. lawmakers' concerns that that sector supports Tehran's
international terrorist proxies. Though Boeing has long eyed business
opportunities in Iran, it failed to show up at last week's CAPA Iran
Aviation Summit, the first such event in Iran in nearly 40 years. The
company cited visa trouble, though some speculated that the State Department
had discouraged Boeing from attending to avoid the appearance that U.S.
companies that supported the Iran deal were profiting from its
implementation... A team of 11 lobbyists with the Monument Policy Group
pushed the Iran deal on Boeing's behalf, according to disclosure forms.
They included former aides to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D.,
Nev.), House Ways and Means chairman Kevin Brady (R., Texas), and House
Armed Services ranking member Adam Smith (D., Wash.), as well as a
former White House senior counsel and special adviser to the president.
Boeing's in-house lobbying shop, which spent nearly $5 million in the
fourth quarter of 2015 alone, also reported working on 'U.S.-Iran
relations.'" http://t.uani.com/1PPVPUd
Sanctions
Relief
WSJ: "Iran is continuing its
aircraft-buying spree days after announcing a blockbuster, $27 billion
order for 118 Airbus Group SE jetliners. ATR, the plane-making joint
venture of Airbus and Italy's Finmeccanica SpA, said on Monday that it
would sell up to 40 turboprop planes to the Islamic Republic's flag
carrier Iran Air. The deal is valued at around 1 billion euros ($1.1
billion) at list price, the Toulouse-based plane maker said. The deal
includes the purchase of 20 ATR 72 turboprop planes with options for 20
more... Iranian transport minister Abbas Akhoundi said last week that
many of the country's airports were largely idle because of a lack of
planes after years of sanctions. Iran is seeking foreign investment to
upgrade regional airports, which would likely be the main bases where
the ATR planes would operate, the minister said. Patrick de
Castelbajac, chief executive of Avions de Transport Regional, as ATR is
formally called, said ''we are honored to take part in this new era in
Iran by providing the national airline with aircraft that will strongly
contribute to reinforce and boost regional transportation across the
country.' French and Italian export credit agencies are assisting in
financing of the planes." http://t.uani.com/1m8aIDr
Reuters: "Iran has cancelled a London
conference where it was set to introduce new oil and gas contracts to
investors, the Seda weekly reported on Saturday citing a senior Iranian
official who blamed a delay in getting visas. Postponed five times amid
uncertainty over international sanctions against Iran which were lifted
this month, the conference had been set for Feb. 22-24. Foreign
companies will now be invited in May to bid for the new Iran Petroleum
Contracts (IPCs), Ali Kardor, deputy head of the National Iranian Oil
Co. (NIOC), told the weekly. 'The London conference has been cancelled
because the British embassy in Tehran could not issue visas for
representatives of Iranian companies as its visa section has yet to
become active,' Kardor said. 'There will be bids in May for new
contracts ... There will be no need to hold a conference abroad after
the bids,' he said. To bolster its economy, Iran is sweetening the
terms of its oil development contracts to lure back international
companies. Some 135 firms, including BP, France's Total, Italy's Eni
and Spain's Repsol attended a conference in Tehran in November to hear
about the IPC." http://t.uani.com/20iHMeT
WSJ: "Iran is struggling to
finalize the terms under which foreign energy companies can drill for
oil there, as a political battle rages between the country's more
moderate forces and its conservative hard-liners. Iranian oil officials
canceled a conference set to be held this month in London where Iranian
officials had said new contracts for Western companies would be
presented. Officials blamed the cancellations on the inability to
secure enough British visas for the event. According to people familiar
with the matter, another reason for the conference's cancellation are
conservative factions-inside and outside the energy industry-that
believe the contracts drawn up by President Hassan Rouhani's oil
ministry are too generous to foreign companies. At a time of low oil
prices, the country also is under pressure from international oil companies
to sweeten the terms of agreements known as Iranian Petroleum
Contracts. The disagreements have delayed the publication of the
contracts' final terms, the people said. 'The contracts are simply not
ready,' one of the people said. The controversy over the new contracts
underscores the challenges Iran faces in rebuilding its oil industry
into the global powerhouse it was before western sanctions over its
nuclear program crippled its exports... Iran is trying to ramp up its
production by 500,000 barrels a day in the next few months and by 1
million barrels a day by the end of the year. By the end of 2020, the
country seeks to nearly double oil production capacity to 5.7 million
barrels a day. To accomplish this, Iran would need the help of the
western oil giants that once worked there. France's Total SA and
Russia's Lukoil have signed preliminary agreements to re-enter Iranian
oil and gas fields. But they are unlikely to return until the terms of
the contracts are set. The contracts are a sensitive political matter
in Iran because the country bans foreign ownership of its natural
resources like oil and gas." http://t.uani.com/1WXpw5i
NYT: "A political battle is taking
shape in Iran over any new foreign role in developing the country's
enormous oil wealth, only a few weeks after the Iranian nuclear deal
with foreign powers relaxed tough economic sanctions. The battle pits
hard-liners, including some who opposed the nuclear deal, against
moderates aligned with President Hassan Rouhani, who has touted that
deal as denoting a new economic era for Iran. Already the battle is
threatening to complicate efforts to bring in much-needed foreign
investment for Iran's outdated oil industry, which remains a critical
source of revenue for the country. On Saturday, hard-line students
gathered in front of the Oil Ministry in Tehran to protest the terms of
a proposed contract that would permit foreign oil companies to help
revitalize outdated wells and infrastructure. The proposal amounted to
'the plundering of national wealth,' the students shouted. Dozens of
protesters were arrested by riot police officers who 'severely beat up
female students,' the semiofficial Fars news agency reported... The
proposed contract for foreign oil companies, known as the 'Iran
Petroleum Contract,' is meant to replace older contracts that industry
officials regard as obsolete. Under the proposal, outside oil companies
would gain rights to a set percentage of Iran's enormous oil reserves
for 20 or 25 years. According to Reza Zandi, an Iranian journalist who
specializes in the oil and gas industries, the issue concerns language
in the Iranian Constitution, which prohibits privatization or foreign
ownership of the exploration and production sections of the oil
industry. The proposed contract has been interpreted by some as
circumventing that prohibition." http://t.uani.com/1PPX45V
NYT: "Until 2012, the leaders of
the National Iranian Tanker Company relished their work, playing cat
and mouse with the Western authorities as they tried to keep a portion
of their fleet on the seas despite an array of economic sanctions. 'We
felt like the last line of defense of the country's economy,' said
Nasrollah Sardashti, the company's commercial director. 'The nation
depended on us to get the oil out to the few markets we had left.' Back
then, Iran cavalierly dismissed Western sanctions, saying the obstacles
that the measures sought to erect were easily evaded. But beginning in
2012, when a new round of comprehensive sanctions took effect, commerce
with much of the world was choked. Suddenly, the tanker company found
itself struggling to get Iranian oil out. Hours after the most
restrictive sanctions were lifted this month as part of the recent
nuclear deal, Mr. Sardashti, wearing a light-blue suit, entertained
hundreds of foreign guests, mostly Europeans, as shipbrokers, insurers and
journalists celebrated the company's 60th anniversary... 'We really
missed them on the market,' said Edwin Remeeus, a team leader at Vopak,
a shipping agent based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, that also stores
and handles crude oil and natural gas. Vopak was forced to sever ties
with N.I.T.C. in 2012, after having been its agent for over 30 years.
'Every year, they would send us Christmas cards,' Mr. Remeeus said.
'You'd think they would be upset, but they understood it wasn't
personal.' ... 'All our crews have been updated, our standards are
still high, we are ready for business,' Mr. Sardashti said. 'Now, we
hope the others are, too.'" http://t.uani.com/1P0zoIp
WSJ: "Iran is taking preliminary
steps toward leasing or buying commercial satellites and potentially
acquiring related technologies, according to industry officials
familiar with the matter, another sign of dramatic changes stemming
from the recent international rollback of economic sanctions. Providers
of satellite services and hardware on both sides of the Atlantic are
maneuvering to land business in Iran, even as Tehran has started
recruiting Western advisers to pave the way for such deals, which could
include using satellites already in orbit, according to some of these
officials. But agreements, they predicted, are at least weeks or months
away. Some of the global satellite industry's biggest players are
actively involved, and the secretive Iranian Space Agency already has
made preliminary moves to get assistance from various legal and
technical experts in the U.K., according to one person involved in the
discussions... The current talks are largely exploratory, according to
industry officials, with no major satellite-related deals believed to
be imminent... The heightened level of activity, however, reflects
Iran's long-standing interest in gaining access to Western
commercial-space technology... 'There are going to be some big
contracts, and they're going to come quickly,' said Keith Volkert, a
U.S.-based satellite-industry consultant who works for American and
European clients. As soon as Tehran decides on a path, he adds, a
number of satellite-services companies 'could put coverage into Iran
instantly.'" http://t.uani.com/1m8hpp6
FT: "Top UK regulators are trying
to help three Iranian-owned banks reintegrate into the financial system
after years of international sanctions - by deploying a unit designed
to aid start-ups. The UK-based Iranian lenders would be among the first
beneficiaries of the just-launched unit, which allows participating
banks access to services such as a helpline and case officers. The Bank
of England officially reactivated the licences of the three banks -
Persia International Bank, Melli Bank and Bank Sepah International -
two weeks ago. The move was part of the international deal reining in
Tehran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. But the
three banks - which together have about €1bn of combined assets -
remain unable to carry out most financial transactions according to
people familiar with the matter. This is because they have yet to catch
up with several years of rules introduced since they were hit by
sanctions... It is not clear how long it will take the three banks to
update their systems and controls to meet current requirements. But
regulators had already been working with them for months to prepare for
sanctions being lifted and it could take several more before they are
operational... Banks based in Iran face similar challenges to improve
their systems, controls and governance, according to a report by
Mazars, an accountancy firm. The report found that years of sanctions
had 'left deep scars in the banking sector' and called for Tehran to
revise capital and solvency requirements. 'The Iranian banking sector
has not yet adopted Basel I or II, let alone Basel III,' Mazars added,
in a reference to the global regulations for capital adequacy. Four out
of nine Iranian banks had not yet published annual reports for the year
to March 2015, while only five out of nine Iranian banks provided an
audit report as part of their annual financial statements." http://t.uani.com/1nZ2SO3
Reuters: "Iran's government plans to
increase its issues of short-term Islamic bonds this year, aiming to
rejuvenate the domestic debt market and help reduce local firms'
reliance on loans from a debt-laden banking sector. In the wake of the
lifting of nuclear-related sanctions, authorities in Tehran are rolling
out a series of initiatives to develop the country's capital markets,
such as new rules covering mortgage-backed securities... Foreign
portfolio investors started to send money to Iran even before sanctions
were formally lifted in January, and bigger inflows are expected in
coming months. Some of the money may go into Iranian T-bills as it
awaits investment in the stock market or local business ventures.
Kardan has $650 million in assets under management, up from $300
million a year ago, and the bulk of that additional money inflows went
into its fixed income products, said Zamani." http://t.uani.com/1P9zDPi
Reuters: "Iran aims to boost its crude
oil production capacity by 160,000 barrels per day following the
completion of expansion projects at its North Azadegan and Yadavaran
oilfields, a senior Iranian oil official was quoted as saying. The two
oilfields are both operational and ready to be officially inaugurated
after the Feb. 26 parliamentary elections, Abdolreza Haji-Hosseinnejad
was cited as saying by Iran's oil ministry news agency Shana on
Saturday. Haji-Hosseinnejad is head of Iran's Petroleum Engineering and
Development Company (PEDEC). North Azadegan can produce 75,000 bpd and
Yadavaran 85,000 bpd, he said. The gas section of Yadavaran oil field
is waiting for LNG facilities to become productive, he added. China's
Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) started developing the
two fields, both located in south-western Iran, but Iran completed the
work due to international sanctions on Tehran, the official said."
http://t.uani.com/1QBWwxp
Fars
(Iran):
"While trying to unlock past commercial credits, Italian oil major
Eni has come up with a four-billion-dollar proposal to develop Phase 11
of Iran's giant South Pars Gas Field. Eni says it will invest four
billion dollars to develop the field along the Persian Gulf waters and
get it up and running for production within 36 months. Before, the
company had helped develop Phase 4 and 5 of the same field. However,
since several Iranian companies have already signed contracts to
complete the project, the possibility that Eni returns to invest in
South Pars depends on the Iranian government's decision... In the meantime,
the chief executive of Eni, Claudio Descalzi, has not remained idle.
For months he has been working with local authorities to collect
consistent commercial credits. 'I went to Tehran as the first CEO of an
oil group to unlock our commercial credits. We have worked hard to
achieve this result,' Descalzi said last May." http://t.uani.com/1Tx1Q82
Press
TV (Iran): "Iran's
mining sector has now more than $10 billion of investment pledges by
the Europeans and Chinese under its belt, Deputy Mine, Industry and
Trade Minister Mehdi Karbasian says. '$10 billion of foreign investment
package has been drawn up for three countries,' the Mehr news agency
quoted him as saying Monday. Italy's Danieli signed a joint venture and
agreed orders worth in total about 5.7 billion euros during President
Hassan Rouhani's tour of Europe last week. The venture 'Persian
Metallics', with an estimated worth of 2 billion euros, involves a
group of international and Iranian investors. Danieli would have a
majority 60% stake compared to 40% for Iran's IMIDRO in the ventures,
Karbasian has said. The company said it signed agreements to supply heavy
machinery and equipment to Iran... France's aluminum company Fives also
signed a deal to invest in Iran when Rouhani visited Paris." http://t.uani.com/1m8gbdn
Terrorism
NYT: "For more than two decades,
an investigation into the suicide bombing of a Jewish center here in
1994 that killed 85 people has faced setbacks and controversy. It
caused an intractable rift between Argentina and Iran. A former
president has been put on trial, accused of orchestrating a cover-up.
And a prosecutor involved in the case died last year in murky
circumstances. But now, Argentina's new government is pledging to
finally get to the bottom of a case that cost the country about $3.5
million last year alone, and that took on a life of its own, swallowing
up many who touched it. President Mauricio Macri, who took office in
December, has revamped the government department assigned to the
bombing investigation and has vowed to introduce legislation that would
allow for the trial of suspects in absentia. The question is whether
those efforts, which face considerable legal hurdles and political
opposition, will translate into lasting results in the long-running
case. The president wants to 're-establish the commitment of the
Argentine state' to solving the attack, said Mario Cimadevilla, who has
been appointed to head the investigative department." http://t.uani.com/1PM1h42
Syria
Conflict
AP: "Peace talks aimed at ending
Syria's five-year civil war got off to a shaky and chaotic start
Friday, with the main opposition group at first boycotting the session,
then later agreeing to meet with U.N. officials - while still insisting
it would not negotiate. That small commitment by the group known as the
Higher Negotiating Committee came just minutes before U.N. special
envoy Staffan de Mistura met with a delegation representing the
government of President Bashar Assad. The developments gave a glimmer
of hope that peace efforts in Syria might actually get off the ground
for the first time since two earlier rounds of negotiations collapsed
in 2014. The conflict has killed at least 250,000 people, forced millions
to flee the country, and given an opening to the Islamic State group to
capture territory in Syria and Iraq. It has drawn in U.S. and Russia,
as well as regional powers such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The
HNC, a Saudi-backed bloc, had previously said it would not participate
in the U.N.-sponsored talks without an end to the bombardment of
civilians by Russian and Syrian forces, a lifting of blockades in
rebel-held areas and the release of detainees. An HNC statement said
the opposition decided to take part in the talks after receiving
assurances from friendly countries about those humanitarian issues, and
that a delegation headed by HNC chief Riad Hijab will leave Saudi
Arabia for Geneva on Saturday. Only once the conditions are met will
the delegation negotiate, the statement added." http://t.uani.com/1PM2NU3
Iraq
Crisis
WSJ: "The abduction and killing of
scores of Sunni civilians in eastern Iraq this month and attacks on
their property by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militiamen could constitute a
war crime, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Sunday. Shi'ite militiamen
deployed this month in Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of
Baghdad, after two blasts killed 23 people near a coffee shop where
they often meet. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks
which it said had targeted Shi'ites. New York-based HRW said members of
the Badr Organisation and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, leading groups in the government-run
Popular Mobilization Forces fighting Islamic State, were responsible
for retaliatory attacks it described as 'serious violations of
international humanitarian law'. 'Again civilians are paying the price
for Iraq's failure to rein in the out-of-control militias,' said Joe
Stork, deputy Middle East director at New York-based HRW. 'Countries
that support Iraqi security forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces
should insist that Baghdad bring an end to this deadly abuse.'" http://t.uani.com/1PLYRlY
Domestic
Politics
Bloomberg: "Away from the offices and
hotels where Iranian officials greet foreign executives, the narrow,
winding walkways of Tehran's bazaars are a stream of chattering
shoppers stocking up on reality. It's been two weeks since sanctions
were formally removed from Iran's economy on Jan. 16 and something else
is already audible again beneath the traders' appeals to would-be
customers ambling past their fruits, spices and housewares: the groans
of concern and caution over the country's future. 'I can't really be
optimistic, we're long passed that point now,' said Vahid, 37, who has
worked on his family's stall selling luggage at the Tajrish bazaar
since he was a child. The cost of living is too high after rampant
inflation and people have no spending power, he said. 'For the economy
to change, everything has to be turned on its head.' Compared with the
cheering and honking of car horns in Tehran when the nuclear deal was
inked last year, there's been little reveling. Iranians knew they
weren't going to wake up to a new prosperity, and what's dawned on them
is the long and arduous journey they face as the country plugs back
into the global economy... Housewife Mahnaz Mohkdari and her sister
Shahnaz were scouring lush fruit and vegetables for the weekend. They
expected prices to have started to come down already, and were
disappointed when days went by and nothing happened. 'Iran's economy
hasn't just got a cold, it's as though it has cancer, said Mahnaz, 49.
'It's much harder to treat.'" http://t.uani.com/1QC3qCD
Foreign
Affairs
TASS
(Russia): "Iran
and Russia can play a constructive role in the region and on
international arena in ensuring peace and security, Iran's Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's top adviser on international affairs,
Ali Akbar Velayati, said on Monday. On February 1 Velayati started his
four-day visit to Moscow. 'During the trip I plan to meet with several
high-ranking Russian officials and discuss security issues with them,'
IRINN TV channel quoted Velayati as saying. 'As two countries that have
great influence on the situation in the region and on international
arena, Iran and Russia can play a constructive role in ensuring peace
and forming favorable conditions for international exchange and
regional cooperation,' he added. He noted that both countries are
working in close cooperation with Syria in the four-state coalition
that also includes Iraq in fighting against terrorism. 'Russia and Iran
are main players in the sphere of regional cooperation,' Velayati
said." http://t.uani.com/1QC5fzy
Opinion
& Analysis
WSJ
Editorial:
"In other news from the receding tide of war, the Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei has given medals to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who
recently captured and humiliated American sailors. Iran state media
reported Sunday that the Supreme Leader had awarded the Fath, or
Victory, medal to the head of the Revolutionary Guards navy and four
commanders who were involved in seizing two U.S. Navy boats in January.
The two patrol boats were seized after they somehow entered Iran's
territorial waters. The Pentagon hasn't publicly explained what
happened, but the Revolutionary Guards have said they believe the boats
entered their waters by mistake. The Guards released the boats and
crew, but not before deliberately embarrassing the sailors, the Navy,
and the U.S. by broadcasting photos of the Americans in captivity,
including the one nearby of the U.S. sailors on their knees with their
hands behind their heads under armed Iranian guard. Secretary of State
John Kerry initially hailed the return of the sailors as a sign of the
great new era of U.S.-Iran cooperation in the wake of the nuclear
accord. 'I think we can all imagine how a similar situation might have
played out three or four years ago, and the fact that today this kind
of issue can be resolved peacefully and efficiently is a testament to
the critical role diplomacy plays in keeping our country safe, secure,
and strong,' Mr. Kerry said. Mr. Kerry later said he was 'infuriated'
by the footage of the U.S. sailors and that 'I immediately contacted my
counterpart. And we indicated our disgust.' Apparently that disgust
didn't register with the people who really run Iran-that is, the
Revolutionary Guards and the Ayatollah, who has now slapped the U.S.
again by awarding medals to those who humiliated our sailors. Maybe the
Ayatollah will give Mr. Kerry a medal too." http://t.uani.com/1P9BNhI
Export
Law Blog:
"One of the issues that has received little attention in all the
hubbub about Implementation Day is the survival of the name and shame
provisions adopted by Congress in section 219 of the Iran Threat
Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, which amended the
Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to require that all 'issuers' who
are required to file annual or quarterly reports with the SEC must
report certain Iran-related activities by the company itself or its
'affiliates.' The activities that must be reported are activities
specified in sections 5(a) and 5(b) of the Iran Sanctions Act, sections
104(c)(2) and 105A(b)(2) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 and any transactions with the
Government of Iran or with persons blocked under Executive Orders 13224
or 13382... Significantly, section 219 may require disclosure of
activity that is not prohibited under U.S. sanctions. If any of the
above described transactions is engaged in by a foreign company (that
is not a subsidiary of U.S. company) and does not involve any U.S.
origin goods, the transaction, although subject to one or more
sanctions (such as debarment from U.S. government procurement), is not
prohibited as a matter of law. Some, but not all, of the secondary
sanctions listed above were lifted on Implementation Day for foreign
firms (other than those that are U.S. subsidiaries). Nevetheless, the
reporting requirements set forth in section 219 remain in place for
those foreign firms that are also issuers required to file annual or
quarterly reports. The situation is somewhat more complex for foreign
companies that are owned or controlled by U.S. companies. Prior to
Implementation Day, the activities listed above were absolutely prohibited
to those companies. Now, General License H permits some (but,
again, not all) of those activities (provided no U.S. persons
facilitate those activities other than through revising policies or
making global IT systems available). Importantly, it permits, for
foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies, transactions or dealings with
the Government or Iran and its state-owned enterprises. As with
completely foreign firms, these foreign subsidiaries that are owned and
controlled by U.S. companies will be required to report all of the
above listed activities, except for one, under section 219. The
exception is for transactions or dealings with the government of Iran
and its state-owned enterprises authorized by General License H.
Because the SEC has stated that a general license constitutes the
specific authorization referred to in Section 219, those transactions
by foreign subs of U.S. parents will no longer be required to be
reported under Section 219. Ironically, because General License H
applies only to entities owned or controlled U.S. persons, wholly
foreign firms that do not meet that criterion will still be required to
report these transactions with the Government of Iran and its
state-owned enterprises under section 219." http://t.uani.com/1QTu386
Michael
Cavna in WashPost:
"As Jason Rezaian walks the halls of The Post's gleaming home this
week, saluted and celebrated by colleagues and administration officials,
I smile at his homecoming after 18 months in an Iranian prison. But
today, my thoughts are also with a woman who reportedly still sits in
the prison that Jason just exited. Today, according to the Cartoonists
Rights Network International, is the birthday of Atena Farghadani, the
young Iranian artist and activist who two summers ago drew members of
her nation's parliament as animals. For that visual lampooning to
protest their votes to curb birth control, she was jailed for a few
months. Upon her release, she was outspoken about her mistreatment and,
as a result, spent most of last year in prison, sentenced to more than
12 years behind bars. Atena, unlike Rezaian, holds no dual citizenship.
And her work is largely seen not through a media outlet, but on social
media. Her artwork and news of her plight have spread around the world,
but it's been up to rights groups to plead and persuade and agitate for
her case. Last year, I drew in order to ask others to draw, in what was
a social-media campaign to draw attention to Atena's plight. We render
because in Iran, injustice was rendered. Today, in that spirit of
#Draw4Atena, I ask artists and supporters not to forget a political
cartoonist who authorities have previously tried to keep from drawing
herself. She tried to lay hands on makeshift supplies in that Tehran
prison, but they were confiscated. And today, you may even be moved to
light a candle. The birthday flame also burns as vigil - the light of
truth that shines against the shadows of injustice." http://t.uani.com/1nIcexH
Tehran
Bureau in The Guardian: "As a student and political activist in Iran, Abbas
Hakimzadeh was jailed three times between 2007 and 2010. He survived
physical and psychological abuse, enduring torture for up to 15 hours a
day. Suspecting a fourth arrest was imminent, in 2010 Hakimzadeh fled
across the border to Turkey. The Iranian authorities had confiscated
his travel documents, and Hakimzadeh took the risk of being shot by
border guards to avoid yet another stint in prison. Still, the ordeal
he faced over five years ago pales in comparison to what currently
awaits activists and journalists who fall into the clutches of Iran's
justice system, he says. Since the unrests of 2009, the Islamic
republic expanded its use of legal tools, including capital punishment,
to silence dissidents. 'The stakes are much higher now,' says
Hakimzadeh. 'In my time, the price you paid for activism was prison.
But since the Green Movement, this price has gone up.' One example is
the charge of moharebeh, or 'waging war against God', which carries the
death penalty. Iranian authorities have expanded the scope of its
definition from 'armed war against the state' and 'heresy' to include
'working to undermine the Islamic establishment' and 'cooperating with
foreign agents or entities'. This allows Iranian officials to adjust the
meaning of moharebeh to apply to anything from an angry post on
Facebook or Twitter to participating in a spontaneous protest rally.
Hakimzadeh believes there are steps activists in Iran can take to
better protect themselves, both inside and outside prison walls. He
belongs to a group of over a dozen activists who used their hard-earned
personal experiences to create a 19-chapter booklet in Farsi and
English titled Safe Activism: Reducing the Risks and Impact of Arrest.
Designed to teach activists and journalists how to avoid careless
behaviors that could endanger them and those around them, the booklet,
now online, also offers guidelines on what to do in case of arrest and
how to mitigate the consequences of incarceration... Activists have no
real way of telling when and if they will be arrested or how serious
their punishment will be. The arrest strategies employed by Iranian
officials also differ. Some arrests are quick and predictable while
others come as a surprise as authorities take time to 'gather information
and get to know the person better.' 'For others, they prepare a
scenario and wait for certain things to transpire before playing out
that scenario...They let the fruit ripen first and then pluck it,' says
Hakimzadeh. The booklet gives readers insight into what to expect
during arrest and prison admission, as well as tactics commonly used by
interrogators: threatening physical harm and arresting the subject's
family members, employing physical and psychological torture, sexual
assault, as well as performing random acts of kindness. Readers are
also advised to not incriminate others when 'confessing'. In written
confessions, the authors recommend giving vague answers and including
the interrogator's questions in their statements. They advise detainees
to write what is in their best interest as opposed to what they told
the interrogator. To prevent prosecutors from using the confession as
evidence against them in a later case, the detainees should number and
date all pages. They should also prevent additions by crossing out all
blank spaces. Detainees may also write illegibly and scratch out words
to make their confessions inadmissible in court. Preparing activists
for solitary confinement, a common method used to break detainees, is
perhaps one of the most significant undertakings of the guide.
Hakimzadeh, who spent a total of 190 days in solitary, describes it as
a vacuum that felt like death. 'I haven't experienced death but I think
this is how it must feel. It is very sudden and unexpected. In an instant,
you are cut off from everyone and everything,' he says. 'You can't do
trivial things that were once normal and you took for granted like
opening a door, looking at yourself in the mirror, or checking the time
on your cellphone.' As time went by, exercise, meditation, positive
thoughts and cleaning his cell, among other things, helped Hakimzadeh
keep insanity at bay." http://t.uani.com/1PtzLN8
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