Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Eye on Iran: Iranian Expats Hard to Woo as Western Firms Seek Foothold in Iran








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Reuters: "International firms are hunting for Western-educated Iranians to take on executive jobs in the Islamic Republic after the removal of most sanctions, but are finding it hard to win them over. Interviews with Western companies and headhunters as well as more than 20 Iranians living abroad showed that expatriates are waiting to see how promised reforms progress before deciding whether to go back, despite lucrative job offers. Many in the diaspora are put off by the poor quality of life and problems such as red tape, a murky business culture, security issues, pollution and a lack of international schools for their children. They are also concerned about their rights and protections under the Islamic Republic's judicial system. Their reluctance is making life harder for conglomerates who need help to navigate Iran's complex business world, train the local workforce and bridge a cultural and linguistic gap with affluent local consumers in the country of 80 million. 'This is the place where an expat who holds an MBA (Master of Business Administration) and has the right entrepreneurial attitude can make a real impact. Yet there's never been a queue of expats applying for jobs here,' Giuseppe Carella, the Iran country chief of Swiss food group Nestlé, told Reuters. To nurture future managers, Nestlé sends local graduates overseas for several years, honing their skills away from Iran until they're ready to go back, Carella said. Expats remain a tiny minority of the about 1,000 employees at the firm's subsidiary in Iran, 15 years after its launch... Some expatriates whose families left Iran before or soon after the 1979 revolution are skeptical about career prospects and worry that Tehran's refusal to recognize their dual citizenship status makes them vulnerable to arbitrary arrest. Security forces have arrested some dual nationals who hold U.S. and European passports in recent years on unspecified national security charges." http://t.uani.com/1Uro1OF
 
Fars (Iran): "Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said conditions are very good for the resistance front in Syria. Speaking to journalists in the Northern city of Gilan on Monday, the IRGC commander said the ancient city of Palymra has been liberated, and now the main focus is now on pushing back the terrorist group of ISIL further, and stressed that the ongoing ceasefire has not changed Russia's Syria policy as it is still in coordination with the resistance front. 'Liberation of Palmyra shows continuing coordination between Russia and Syria. As long as there is Islamic Revolution, the resistance will go on,' he added. The IRGC commander further noted that the ISIL has waged a proxy war on the resistance front, adding that conditions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen are now good and to the benefit of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. 'As maintained by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the enemies of Islam, including the Zionist regime, will be destroyed within the next 25 years,' Jafari added." http://t.uani.com/25u9PrB

Mehr (Iran): "Iran's oil minister has said Iran and French oil giant Total have signed an accord to develop South Azadegan oil field with articles to remain confidential. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told reporters on Thursday that the accord would accelerate the pace of preliminary explorative studies in the oil field; 'currently, French Total considers participation in the project,' Mr. Zanganeh told the press. Earlier in March, Zanganeh had told the press about the possibility of a Total involvement in South Azadegan oil field development, predicting a 'confidential deal' to be signed as well. In a related story, Mahmoud Mar'ashi, the project manager and the principle contractor had told Mehr News that projections about the gross total of investments for the 2nd phase of the project hit a figure well below $5bn; along with Total, other partners such as South Korean Hyundai, French Entrepose and Vinci and Japanese Marubeni Corporation would participate as well, he was quoted to have said." http://t.uani.com/1VRpAVw

Nuclear & Ballistic Missile Program

Al-Monitor: "With Russia blocking sanctions at the United Nations, the Obama administration is looking at other international avenues to rein in Iran's ballistic missile program. The White House insists it has all the unilateral authorities it needs to slap new sanctions on Iran for defying the spirit - if perhaps not the letter - of the UN Security Council resolution implementing the nuclear deal. That resolution 'called upon' Iran 'not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.' Russia insists that language is not a legal prohibition, in effect ruling out more missile-related UN sanctions. But the Obama administration, eager to calm jittery lawmakers, insists it has a number of other multilateral tools outside of UN action that it can use to counter threats from Iran's missile program. Those tools specifically include the Proliferation Security Initiative and the Missile Technology Control Regime, an administration official told Al-Monitor. Russia is a party to both agreements, which are nonbinding but are nevertheless seen as being among the best chances to prevent Iran from further developing its missile program." http://t.uani.com/1USCNxP

Extremism

IRNA (Iran): "Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, in a message to the Chairman of Senate of Pakistan Reza Rabbani to condemn the recent terrorist bombing in the country, said insecurity in Islamic world would only benefit the Zionist Regime. He slammed the terrorist operation in the city of Lahore and said insecurity and religions conflicts within the Islamic community will serve the interests of the Zionist regime and help its security." http://t.uani.com/1VRpRYs

Sanctions Relief

Press TV (Iran): "Iran says talks with Boeing over the purchase of new planes are continuing, stressing that a deal with the American aviation giant is 'very likely' to be sealed. Ali Abedzadeh, the president of Iran Civil Aviation Organization (CAO), has been quoted by the media as saying that the country's flag carrier airline Iran Air along with several other domestic aviation companies are currently engaged in talks with Boeing to purchase planes. Abedzadeh added that separate trade talks are also underway with Airbus as well as other global plane makers. The media in late January quoted a top Iranian official in a report as saying that the country plans to purchase over 100 planes from Boeing." http://t.uani.com/1Sjq2pR

Economist: "The 10,500km (6,500-mile) journey from Yiwu City in eastern China through Kazakhstan, Kyrghyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan was sluggish; but when the first Chinese train pulled into Tehran station after a 14-day haul, Iranian officials hailed a great leap forward. 'We're becoming the global hub between east and west,' waxed one minister. By April, when the new trans-Kazakh railroad opens fully, Iranian executives hope to have cut the journey time to China, currently its biggest trade partner, to just eight days-a month less than the sea route takes. Should Turkey get on board, the route might even replace the Suez Canal as a primary Chinese and Iranian route to Europe. Iranian companies will no longer be limited to an 80m-strong local market, President Hassan Rohani's advisers anticipate, but will be connected to the EU's 500m. Other rail links are coming down the line, too. Within six months, Abbas Akhoundi, Iran's British-trained transport minister, will open a track to Afghanistan's mines, and ship minerals to India via a revamped south-eastern port, Chabahar, bypassing Pakistan. Within two years, Iran will have built a bridge over the Shatt-al-Arab river into Iraq and into the Fertile Crescent, he says." http://t.uani.com/21R6AWA

Times of Oman: "An Iran-Oman joint venture to manufacture cars in the Sultanate will start operation after one year, according to a senior official of Iran Khodro Industrial Group. Saeed Tafazoli, deputy president, export and international affairs at Iran Khodro Industrial Group, said that a joint venture formed to start assembling cars in Duqm will start production of 10,000 cars in the first phase, which will be scaled up to 20,000 units in the second phase. 'A feasibility study is going on now, which will be completed by next month. Based on the findings of the feasibility study (if the project is absolutely feasible), a joint venture company will be established and the project will start construction. We will need 12 months for building assembly unit and creating other facilities for starting production,' Tafazoli told Times of Oman. A memorandum of understanding was signed by Iran-based automobile giant, which is the largest automobile manufacturer in the Middle East region, with Oman Investment Fund in January and the joint venture plans to launch Khodro's Dena brand in Oman. Apart from selling cars in Oman, the joint venture company plans to export cars to neighbouring regional markets and Africa." http://t.uani.com/1Urou3p

Syria Conflict

Reuters: "Bearded and boisterous, the man wearing a chequered keffiya scarf sings a religious song as several Iranians in fatigues beat their chests feverishly. The performance by Saeed Haddadian, a prominent Shi'ite religious singer, took place among volunteers at the front line in Syria and was posted on the Internet in January, a sign of the increasingly high-profile political role being played by the 'maddah' -- religious performers revered like pop stars among hardliners in Iran. 'In a country where music is outlawed and there is no outlet for young people to expend their energy, you have to have a replacement that is more official and without problems,' said Mohammad Javad Akbarein, a former cleric and Shi'ite scholar who studied in the holy city of Qom and now lives abroad. 'The maddah are copying from rap, rock and dance music,' said Akbarein. 'They perform their songs with the same intensity and excitement. Sometimes the songs are an exact copy of pop songs. They just take a love song and make it about religious love.' Most recently, they have played a prominent role in drumming up enthusiasm for the military venture in Syria, where a record 58 Iranians died last month helping protect the government of President Bashar al-Assad, according to the Washington Institute think tank." http://t.uani.com/25u891i

JPost: "Ali Mohammad Ghafari, a member of the Iranian Parliament, has recently joined the ranks of Iran's Revolutionary Guards forces fighting in Syria alongside the Syrian Arab Army. Pictures showing Ghafari in a village near Damascus alongside Revolutionary Guards' fighters, carrying a rifle, were disseminated on Iranian news sites in the last week. One of the images, taken on March 11-12, shows Ghafari next to a former commander in the Revolutionary Guards who is a crony of the elite Quds Force commander, General Qassem Suleimani. In a message he sent through social media before leaving for Syria, the Iranian MP said: 'I am heading to Syria to sacrifice myself for Sayyidah Zeinab (the daughter of Imam Ali, and a major Shi'ite symbol).' ... Sixty-year-old Ghafari formerly filled important roles in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Currently, he is a member of the parliamentary committees for agriculture and natural resources." http://t.uani.com/1Myp7Wb

Iraq Crisis

FT: "The head of one of Iraq's most powerful Shia paramilitary groups does not want to talk politics. 'Let's not talk about that yet, or the politicians will get scared,' Hadi al-Amiri laughs. 'Let's free our country first and then we'll talk.' But the evasiveness makes his message clear enough: like all of the leaders of the popular mobilisation forces fighting Isis - forces known in Arabic as the Hashd al-Shaabi - Mr Amiri's star is rising... Some Iraqi politicians, as well as western diplomats, worry that if Hashd leaders can join together to form a successful political bloc, they could up-end the country's power dynamics. Critics argue that a political role for Hashd leaders could worsen sectarian tensions in the country because they head a largely Shia force. Sunnis and international rights groups accuse the Hashd of kidnappings, widespread looting and summary killings... Before the US occupation of Iraq in 2003, Mr Amiri's Badr force was based in Iran and fought Saddam Hussein. After 2003, Badr forces, along with Shia militia like Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq and Kata'eb Hizbollah, were funded by Iran to fight the occupation. Many of these forces were also accused of sectarian killings. Some Iraqis believe these groups want to shape themselves into something akin to Iran's Revolutionary Guard - an elite force more powerful than the state army." http://t.uani.com/1UrnUT6

Saudi-Iran Tensions

IRNA (Iran): "Secretary of the Expediency Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Monday that footprint of a Saudi national is visible in any terrorist attack while there has been no name of an Iranian in such attacks. Rezaei made the remark in reaction to recent comments by Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir in an article carried by New York Times claiming that Iran is among supporters of terrorism. Adel al-Jubeir also repeated his anti-Iran comments in his Twitter account. Rezaei referred to the new wave of terrorist attacks across Europe and the Middle East, saying a Saudi national is behind any terrorist or suicide attack." http://t.uani.com/1UroAbh

Human Rights

ICHRI: "Political prisoner Mostafa Azizi, one of many émigrés who returned to Iran following assurances of their safe return by the Rouhani administration, has been sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 70 million rials (approximately $2,300 USD). The appeals court upheld the sentence against the Canadian permanent resident for the charges of 'acting against national security,' 'insulting the supreme leader,' and 'propaganda against the state.' 'My father was previously sentenced to eight years in prison,' his daughter, Parastoo Azizi, confirmed in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 'The [Appeals] Court has not exonerated him of any of the charges. It has only agreed to cut five years off his prison sentence with the payment of a fine,' she said. 'And two years of the three-year prison sentence is still enforceable under Article 134.' ... Mostafa Azizi, 53, was a successful television writer and producer in Iran before he and his family immigrated to Canada in 2008. Security forces arrested him on February 1, 2015-two months after he had returned to Iran-and interrogated him for a month in Ward 2-A of Evin Prison, which is controlled by the Revolutionary Guards' Intelligence Organization. He was sentenced on June 11, 2015 to eight years in prison for 'acting against national security,' 'insulting the supreme leader,' and 'propaganda against the state' by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. His appeal was heard by Judge Hassan Babaei of Branch 54 of the Appeals Court on September 20, 2015." http://t.uani.com/1StDSZz

Independent: "The Iranian Supreme Court has sentenced a man to have his eye gouged out after blinding another man in a street fight.  The 28-year-old, identified only as Saman, was convicted under Iran's strict retribution laws after fighting in the street with his then 25-year-old victim when he was 23. According to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based NGO, Saman claimed he had unintentionally blinded the man with a metal rod... Last year, a man convicted of attacking another man with acid - blinding and disfiguring him for life in the city of Qoms - was sedated and had his left eye gouged out." http://t.uani.com/1pXNsuJ

Animal Rights

Guardian: "It was in the middle of her financial struggles that an American woman, who had been in contact only a few times through Facebook, sent more than $3,000. That helped Sanei rent a 1,000 sq-metre piece of land in Chahardangeh, in the south west of Tehran province in December 2014 and open a hospice for dogs. She started with seven dogs and now has more than 60, even though she says the capacity is 40. Her initial plan was to bring in injured dogs, take care of them until recovered and then set them free and make space for other injured dogs. But with municipality workers killing stray dogs, she won't let them go until they have a home. According to Interior Ministry guidelines, municipalities are responsible for capturing stray dogs, putting up the 'useful-purebred' ones for adoption and putting to sleep the 'unuseful-infected' ones. The reality is something else. Every once in a while, a report surfaces about municipalities shooting dogs or killing them by injecting acid. It's all about money, say animal rights activists. The municipalities receive a state budget to deal with stray dogs, but look for the least costly solutions." http://t.uani.com/1XZTUf2

Opinion & Analysis

Frederick W. Kagan & Paul Bucala in AEI: "Iran is developing a new way of waging war beyond its borders using Syria as the laboratory. Combat units drawn from the conventional brigades and divisions of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have been fighting on the front lines alongside Syrian and Iraqi militias and Lebanese Hezbollah since October 2015. The units appear to be deploying as cadres-bringing most of their officers, some of their non-commissioned officers (NCOs), and only a small number of enlisted ranks-and plugging into Iraqi, Syrian, and Hezbollah militia groups that serve as their foot soldiers." http://t.uani.com/1Rx533e
       

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.

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