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NYT: "Iran escalated its invective
against the United States on Thursday over the court-ordered use of
nearly $2 billion in seized Iranian central bank assets to compensate
American victims of terrorist attacks overseas, calling the action 'an
outrageous robbery' and threatening unspecified retaliation. The
criticism of the United States, in a letter by Iran's foreign minister
to the secretary general of the United Nations, was among the most
strident yet in a steadily increasing display of anger from Iran over American
use of the assets, validated in an April 20 decision by the Supreme
Court. The decision concerned compensation claims by more than 1,000
Americans - survivors and relatives of people killed in attacks that
the American authorities have attributed to Iranian operatives -
despite Iran's denials of responsibility. The attacks include the 1983
truck bombing of a Marine base in Beirut, Lebanon, and a 1996 truck
bombing in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Iran had previously called the Supreme
Court decision a form of theft and had suggested it might sue the
United States in the International Court of Justice to block the ruling
from taking effect. But Thursday appeared to be the first time Iran
suggested it might be planning a reciprocal response. 'The entire court
proceedings which led to the recent ruling has been fake and phony and
a travesty of justice in every sense of law, jurisdiction, merit, fact
and process,' the foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, wrote in the
letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which was released by Iran's
United Nations Mission. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran holds the United
States government responsible for this outrageous robbery, disguised
under a court order, and is determined to take every lawful measure to
restore the stolen property and the interest accrued to it from the
date it was blocked by the United States,' Mr. Zarif wrote... 'It is in
fact the United States that must pay long overdue reparations to the
Iranian people for its persistent hostile policies,' Mr. Zarif wrote."
http://t.uani.com/1Wv22pf
Reuters: "Restoring German banks'
financial ties with Iran will take time given debt owed to Berlin and
transparency concerns, the head of the German banking association said
on Friday, dampening expectations days before a business summit in
Tehran. Iran owes Germany about 500 million euros ($569 million) under
so-called Hermes covers, a German government arrangement that protects
German companies if foreign debtors fail to pay. 'Rebuilding ties with
Iran requires patience,' Michael Kemmer, head of banking association
BDB, told Reuters. 'To begin with, the transactions regimen has to work
again before the next step of financing projects can take place.' ...
German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel will co-chair an economic
conference with Iranian counterpart Ali Tayyebnia in Tehran May 2-3,
and German companies see the event as a potential catalyst for doubling
exports to Iran to 5 billion euros. But the German government has said
guarantees for exports to Iran will not be renewed as long as Tehran's
debt is not paid. A spokeswoman for the German economy ministry said on
Friday both sides were holding 'in-depth talks' on the issue and these
could soon be concluded. She added companies could apply for Hermes
export guarantees and a decision could be made immediately after an
agreement. Credit insurer Coface said this week there was a lack of
reliable information for doing risk assessments on Iranian corporate
partners but medium-term prospects were good. Another barrier for
German banks is transparency. Kemmer mentioned a recommendation by an
international anti-money laundering group that government financial
intelligence agencies give extra scrutiny to transactions and business
relationships involving Iran and North Korea. The Paris-based Financial
Action Task Force (FATF) said in February it remained concerned about
what it called Iran's failure to address the risk of terror financing and
the serious threat this poses to the global financial system... He also
said remaining U.S. sanctions on Iran made banks wary of doing business
there for fear of hefty fines. Commerzbank AG agreed in March to pay
$1.45 billion to settle charges it illegally moved funds through the
United States for countries such as Iran and Sudan." http://t.uani.com/1NFGKE0
WSJ: "South Korea's president
heads to Iran on Sunday targeting billions of dollars of economic and
energy deals in a landmark visit. Also expected on the agenda:
Squeezing North Korea's ties to a traditional ally. President Park
Geun-hye will help establish a 'foundation of cooperation' with Iran by
becoming the first South Korean president to visit Tehran since the
nations established diplomatic ties in 1962, a presidential spokesman
said ahead of the visit. She will meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
on Monday and possibly hold talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei. If the meeting with Mr. Khamenei takes place there would
likely be 'exchanges of opinion about the North Korean nuclear issue,'
the spokesman said. As part of a tougher policy to try to bring North
Korea to talks, Seoul is prioritizing putting pressure on Pyongyang,
including by targeting its links with long-standing trade and military
partners. 'She has tried to pull away Pyongyang's allies and Iran would
be a big win if she can succeed in reducing cooperation,' said Robert
Kelly, a professor of international relations at Pusan National
University in South Korea." http://t.uani.com/21jbSvh
Business
Risk
Reuters: "German firms will struggle
to rebuild ties in Iran without the reinstatement of export guarantees,
especially while some sanctions remain in place, the head of lobby
group BGA said on Thursday, days before the economy minister visits
Tehran... German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Angela Merkel's vice
chancellor, is due to visit Tehran with a business delegation next
week. But Anton Boerner, head of the Federation of German Wholesale,
Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), said firms needed the return of export
guarantees - a form of insurance against default or non payment - that
Germany had suspended due to outstanding debts. 'Without any state
export guarantees for deals with Iran, nothing will happen on our
side,' said Boerner. 'Because of high penalties German banks had to pay
in the past due to sanction violations, all participants are very
reluctant,' he added... Gabriel also visited Iran with a business
delegation in July last year, the first senior figure from a large
Western government to do so since the accord." http://t.uani.com/21jcq4s
Bloomberg: "As the speed and scale of
Iran's return to the global crude market shows signs of surprising oil
analysts, one shipment from the Persian Gulf country that was meant to
be a milestone cargo isn't proving straightforward to shift. Iran
shipped more than 2 million barrels a day in early April, according to
ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg and the country's own figures.
Added to the amount the nation refines itself, that implies production
is already close to pre-sanctions levels. But it hasn't all proved
plain sailing: a tanker that was supposed to be hauling one of the
first post-sanctions cargoes has gotten stuck near Romania and it's not
clear exactly why. The Distya Akula, a 21-year-old vessel, still hasn't
unloaded its 1 million-barrel cargo and has been bobbing for weeks off
the eastern European country's coast, tracking data show. Shortly after
the vessel left Iran at the start of February, its owner initially
celebrated what could have been the very first cargo delivered to
Europe since sanctions were lifted against Iran. The vessel's owner at
first said Litasco SA, a unit of Lukoil, had booked it. The shipping
company also initially said the carrier would go to Constanta on
Romania's Black Sea coast, where Lukoil has a refinery. While that's
where the vessel has indeed ended up, the owner corrected its initial
statement and said Litasco wasn't the buyer and Constanta wasn't the
destination. Throughout its odyssey, Distya Akula has spent time
waiting. It was near the southern entrance of Egypt's Suez Canal for
more than 30 days. Now it's been near Romania for more than three
weeks. Tehseen Chauhan, an external spokeswoman for Elektrans Shipping,
the Mumbai-based owner, declined to comment on why the ship's voyage
has been longer than normal." http://t.uani.com/1SUF2ke
Sanctions
Relief
Korea
JoongAng Daily:
"An economic mission consisting of representatives from 236 of the
nation's businesses are heading to Iran with President Park Geun-hye
next month now that the sanctions against Iran have been lifted. According
to the Federation of Korean Industries, executives of the nation's
leading businesses in steel, construction, oil, IT, finance and
medicine will visit Iran with officials from government agencies and
business lobbying groups from May 1 to May 3. This will be the largest
presidential economic mission in history. A presidential mission to the
United States last October, consisting of 166 business representatives,
was previously the largest. 'Since the president is visiting Iran, we
expect significant progress in many businesses,' said Hong Joon-pyo, a
researcher at the Hyundai Research Institute. 'Considering that Korea
and Iran were economically important to each other before the
sanctions, this would be an opportunity to rebuild the two countries'
partnership.' ... The nation's No. 3 conglomerate, SK Group, will send
its chairman, Chey Tae-won, as well as executives from its oil refiners
SK Innovation, SK Networks and SK Energy... Posco's chairman, Kwon
Oh-joon, is visiting Iran to discuss building an integrated steel mill
there. The company singed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) about the
project in February." http://t.uani.com/1XXZLlk
Korea
JoongAng Daily:
"Posco is looking to enter the Iranian market through exports of
its proprietary technologies... This February, Posco signed a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran's Pars Kohan Diarparsian
Steel (PKP) to tap into the country's high-potential market. Under the
agreement, it will build a plant with an annual production capacity of
1.6 million tons in Iran's Chabahar free economic zone. The project
will be carried out in two stages, with the first involving
construction of an integrated steel mill using Finex and CEM
technology. The second stage will involve the addition of a cold
rolling mill and a continuous galvanizing line. Posco aims to break
ground on the plant within the first half of next year, with commercial
production slated to begin in 2018. The MOU also involves Posco
transferring its innovative steelmaking technology, which combines
Finex and CEM, to its Iranian partner. Posco's subsidiaries are
partnering with Korean companies to ease the multinational steelmaker's
entry into the Iranian market. Posco Daewoo, along with Hyundai
Engineering & Construction (E&C), signed a deal with Iran's
Ministry of Health and Medical Education to build a hospital for Shiraz
University of Medical Sciences, one of the country's top medical
schools. Posco Daewoo will supply medical equipment, while Hyundai
E&C will be responsible for construction. Posco Energy, in
cooperation with the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), Posco
E&C and PKP, recently signed an MOU for an off-gas power plant and
desalination project in Iran. Posco Energy and Kepco will be in charge
of operating and maintaining the plant and desalination facility, while
Posco E&C will oversee their construction." http://t.uani.com/1Tjedk9
Korea
JoongAng Daily:
"International economic sanctions on Iran were lifted in January,
and Korean companies have wasted no time getting back into the market.
According to government sources, contractor Daelim Industrial is
expected to sign a $4.9 billion contract to build a railway to connect
Al Wajh and Isfahan, as well as a $2 billion contract to build the
Bakhtiari Dam hydroelectric power plant, as early as next week. They
will be the first major contracts won by a Korean company since GS
Engineering & Construction (E&C) won a gas field development
project in South Pars in October 2009 - which was before economic
sanctions levied by the international community in 2010. Daelim's
advantage was its strong connection with Iran. The contractor
maintained four employees in Iran even after the economic sanctions
went into effect. That kept its networks going - and earned points with
Iranian government officials and businesspeople... Daelim isn't the
only company with such a history. Contractors like Hyundai E&C,
Daewoo E&C, Samsung C&T and GS E&C have similar
experiences. They also maintained offices in Iran all through the
sanctions, even though they couldn't do any business, to keep up their
connections. Now, they're poised for new contracts... Hyundai
Engineering is close to signing a framework agreement on the South Pars
gas field's phase 12 extension work worth $3.6 billion. Hyundai E&C
and Posco Daewoo are trying to join a project building a 1,000-bed
hospital for Shiraz University of Medical Sciences worth $500
million... Korean automakers like Hyundai Motor, which is sending its
president, Chung Jin-haeng, as a member of President Park Geun-hye's
delegation, expect to resume their partnership with Iran. 'Car sales in
Iran shrank from 2011's 1.7 million units to 1.1 million units in 2014,
but we believe that the market will grow in the future, as the
country's overall economy is expected to boom,' said Hwang Kwan-sik, a
spokesman for the carmaker." http://t.uani.com/249mzG8
Tehran
Times:
"Sigmar Gabriel, the German vice chancellor and economy minister,
will travel to Iran next week (May 2016) to attend the Iran-Germany
Joint Economic Committee meeting in Tehran, a meeting held for the
first time after 15 years. This is Gabriel's second visit since the
nuclear deal and with the hope that it will upswing the economic
relations between the two countries. 'I expect strong measures since
Mr. Gabriel is not only the minister of economy, he is also Germany's
vice chancellor,' says Helene Rang, the executive director of Germany's
Near and Middle East Association. Volker Treier, the managing director
of the economic policy division of the Association of German Chambers
of Industry and Commerce, has also pointed to the importance of the
visit to Iran and said, 'It has been months that political and economic
officials from different countries are traveling to Iran seeking
billions in contracts, while Chancellor Angela Merkel is maintaining
distance with Iran.' ... However, there are still some problems
regarding business in Iran. The main problem that prevents many German
companies from boosting deals with Iran is the lack of funding through
German banks. 'The key issue that needs to be solved in short term,'
said Rang. Most German banks holding back on lending in order not to
get lost in a maze of confusion which can cost them in the end. The
reason is that they believe it is not yet clear which businesses are
really allowed in Iran and which are still not, since they believe some
of the sanctions are still in force." http://t.uani.com/1WXezCB
IOL
(South Africa):
"As President Jacob Zuma concluded a two-day visit to Iran, aimed
at bolstering trade relations with his counterpart President Hassan
Rouhani, MTN said it would repatriate R15 billion from the Middle
Eastern country by June. Economic sanctions were lifted in January,
allowing Iran to re-enter the global economy. 'The easing of sanctions
in Iran and its related economic uplift offers significant
opportunities to expand our services in the country, particularly in
the digital space where we have a strong market position,' Phuthuma
Nhleko, MTN's group executive chairman, said at the release of its 2015
annual report. 'We are working towards the remittance of R15bn during
the first half of 2016,' Nhleko added." http://t.uani.com/26AzEqC
Tehran
Times:
"Tehran will host 1,787 domestic and foreign companies in the 21st
International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition of Iran
(Iran Oil Show 2016), which will be held from May 5 to 8, said an
official with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). 'Some 996
domestic companies and 634 foreign ones from 35 countries, as well as
157 representatives of foreign companies in Iran will take part in the
event,' NIOC public relations director Mohammad Nasseri said, hailing
the return of prominent international companies to Iran, the IRNA news
agency reported on Wednesday. 'This is the country's first oil show in
post-sanction era and number of foreign participants has notably
increased,' he underlined. As he added, China, South Korea, Turkey,
Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Austria and Finland are among the
countries that plan to set up their special pavilions in this show,
which will be held at Tehran Permanent International Fairground." http://t.uani.com/1VEzKdj
Reuters: "Last month, Reliance
received about 89,000 bpd oil and condensate from Iran, as the Indian
conglomerate resumed purchases from Tehran after a six-year-long gap.
Reliance is looking for long-term supplies from Iran." http://t.uani.com/1pOoHjB
Reuters: "Essar Oil, Iran's key Indian
client, imported about 21 percent more oil from Tehran in 2015/16 as it
stepped up shipments in the last quarter of the year after western
sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation were lifted, according to
tanker arrival data obtained from trade sources and ship-tracking
services on the Thomson Reuters terminal. Essar shipped in 204,500
barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran last month, a jump of 66.3
percent from February, the data showed. The private refiner skipped
purchases from Iran in March 2015 under pressure from sanctions.
Essar's oil imports from Iran averaged at about 120,000 bpd in the year
to March 31, 2016, the data showed. Iran's share in overall imports by
Essar Oil in the last fiscal year rose to about 37 percent from about
28 percent a year earlier." http://t.uani.com/1NFGXXC
Congressional
Action
Free
Beacon: "The
Obama administration is dodging a congressional inquiry into its
refusal to designate recent Iranian ballistic missile tests as a
violation of an international statute barring such tests, prompting
frustration on Capitol Hill from lawmakers who accuse the
administration of breaking past promises to enforce the missile ban,
according to recent communications sent by the State Department and
obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Lawmakers launched an
investigation earlier this month into what they describe as Obama
administration efforts to mislead Congress about the nature of last
summer's comprehensive nuclear agreement. The administration's refusal
to say that Iran's missile tests violated the nuclear agreement has
emerged as a key diplomatic sticking point in recent months and
prompted congressional leaders to launch an investigation into claims
that the administration misled lawmakers about the terms of the deal.
Administration officials initially promised Congress that United
Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which formally governs the
nuclear deal, would prohibit Iran's ballistic missile program. However,
the resolution only 'calls upon' Iran to refrain from these tests,
sparking accusations from lawmakers that the administration is rewriting
the terms of the nuclear agreement. Reps. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.), Peter
Roskam (R., Ill.), and Lee Zeldin (R., N.Y.) petitioned the State
Department in a letter this month to explain its shift on the ballistic
missile issue. 'While many lawmakers, ourselves included, are certain
that Iran's latest tests violate UNSCR 2231, your decision to cease
labeling the launches a violation is alarming,' they wrote. 'We are
troubled by reports that the administration is stifling voices within
its ranks for stronger action against Iran-putting the [nuclear
agreement] and political legacy above the safety and security of the
American people.' The State Department, in its response to the letter,
continued to dodge questions about the shift in policy, declining to
provide lawmakers with information about why it no longer views Iran's
missile tests as a violation, according to a copy of the letter
obtained by the Free Beacon." http://t.uani.com/24p3mNg
Syria
Conflict
WT: "Iran has begun to ask its
teenage boys to volunteer to fight in Syria in a sign the hard-line
Islamic regime's military is suffering rising casualties in the
five-year war and needs a morale boost, an opposition group says. The
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) released a translated
video it says was produced by the Tehran's Bassij Music House and was
shown over several days on state-run television this month. The selling
pitch to youngsters: You will be defending sacred Shiite shrines in
Syria and will position yourselves to invade Israel, whose destruction
is an Iranian regime priority. The four-minute clip shows a group of
boys in a courtyard, with three of them singing to another boy they are
trying to recruit as he watches from a window. The singers are dressed
in camouflage and combat boots. On camera, they tie on a cloth headband
to complete the warrior look." http://t.uani.com/1pOr0TS
Domestic
Politics
AP: "Iranians voted Friday in the
country's parliamentary runoff elections, state media reported, a key
polling that is expected to decide exactly how much power moderate
forces backing President Hassan Rouhani will have in the next
legislature. The balloting is for the remaining 68 positions in the
290-seat chamber that were not decided in February's general election,
in which Rouhani's allies won an initial majority. Iran's next
parliament will set the legislative course for the Islamic Republic
following last year's landmark nuclear deal with world powers. And
though the parliamentary vote isn't expected to herald large-scale
change in Iranian policies, it may strengthen Rouhani's hand and make it
easier for him to deliver in areas such as promoting social freedoms
and reforming the economy. In February, a bloc of reformists and
moderate allies of Rouhani won an initial majority - 106 seats - in a
vote that saw a 62-percent turnout. The bloc needs to win 40 seats
Friday to ensure its control over the parliament, which begins work in
late May. But hard-liners, who have in the past controlled the chamber
and who only won 64 seats in February, are also hoping to boost their
presence in the next parliament. The political affiliation of the other
52 winners in February's election, among them five members of Iran's
religious minorities, remains unclear. That makes the runoff so
important to cement the control of reformists and moderate
conservatives." http://t.uani.com/23d75uR
Reuters: "President Hassan Rouhani and
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have sharply ideological
differences but the fragility of Iran's economy has forced them into an
uneasy alliance at least for the time being. In the past, the two
powerful figures had offered contrasting visions for the Iranian
economy with the conservative Khamenei calling for self-reliance and
the pragmatist Rouhani urging cooperation with the world. But now,
after having achieved a nuclear deal with the West, both leaders have a
vested interest in setting aside their differences to secure their
political futures and turn the economy round. 'Rouhani's political
career depends on this issue. If he fails to improve the economy, he
will lose the leader's support and will turn into a lame-duck
president,' said a reformist former official, who is close to Rouhani.
'His failure in the economic field, will lead to his political
failure.' ... The president's second term will very much depend on
Khameinei's blessing and this in turn will depend heavily on a
favorable economic outcome. Some analysts said that there are still
very limited chances for more social and political freedom in Iran,
where hard-liners control the judiciary, security forces and state
media, despite Rouhani's successes. 'Rouhani is a regime insider,' a
pro-reform politician said. 'He is clever enough to avoid confrontation
with the leader.'" http://t.uani.com/1N6xHMk
Opinion
& Analysis
UANI
Advisory Board Member Michael Singh in WSJ: "Two recent announcements by
the Obama administration regarding implementation of the Iran nuclear
agreement have critics of the deal up in arms. The first is a proposal
to relax or clarify U.S. financial restrictions on other countries'
firms doing business with Iran. Details of this pending step are still
obscure, and the benefits may ultimately prove modest. Iranian
officials have complained that foreign banks remain reluctant to do
business there though most sanctions have been lifted by the U.S., the
European Union, the United Nations, and others. In short, they are unhappy
that Iran has yet to realize what they believe should be the economic
benefits of the nuclear deal. Then came news that the Energy Department
has agreed to purchase 32 metric tons of heavy water from Iran. Heavy
water can be used in the production of fuel for nuclear weapons, though
it also has scientific and industrial applications. As part of the deal
announced last July, Iran agreed to redesign its heavy-water reactor
and to limit its stockpile for 15 years. Iran has had difficulty
finding buyers for this material, and the U.S. purchase would help it
keep to the limits prescribed by the nuclear agreement. State
Department spokesman John Kirby said that removing the heavy water from
Iran ensures it would be used for 'research and non-nuclear industrial requirements.'
This defense raises the question of why Iran was permitted to continue
producing such a sensitive material under the terms of the nuclear
deal... This beyond-the-agreement approach is unlikely to benefit
U.S.-Iran relations or Iranian moderates in the long run. The
challenges that Iran's banking system faces are largely of its own
making. Iranian banks do not comply with international financial
standards to prevent money laundering or inhibit terrorist financing.
Making it easier for Iran to avoid implementing such standards does no
favors for economic reformers. As for the heavy water, an alternative
to selling it is halting production, a step that could make it more
difficult for Iran to resume its related activity down the line. The
need for this purchase also underscores the wastefulness of Iran
pouring resources into its nuclear sector. That the U.S. is propping up
Iran's government-operated nuclear industry while prohibiting trade
with private entrepreneurs makes little sense if one's objective is to
help reform-minded Iranians. Obama administration officials often say
that they successfully used a mix of sanctions and engagement to clinch
the nuclear deal with Iran. Rather than rushing to resolve Iran's
problems at no cost to Tehran, the administration could employ that
same mix of disincentives and incentives in these and similar cases.
Instead of offering additional concessions to help Iran realize the
benefits of sanctions relief, U.S. officials could explain to Iran the
steps it could take to ease other countries' concerns about its banking
sector, and make new relief conditional upon implementation of those
steps. The U.S. could also leave Iran to prove, by itself, that nuclear
endeavors such as producing heavy water are economically viable,
offering incentives to divest rather than preserve such enterprises.
Iranian leaders might cry foul at such a harder-nosed approach, but it
could nonetheless benefit Americans and Iranians both." http://t.uani.com/1TjaSSf
Sen.
Marco Rubio & Sen. Mark Kirk in Fox News: "Last year, as the Obama
administration urged support for the flawed Iran nuclear deal, it
repeatedly claimed the deal would not undermine America's broader
efforts to halt Iran's destructive behavior in the Middle East and
beyond. 'We harbor no illusions about the Iranian government's
nefarious activities beyond its nuclear program,' Treasury Secretary
Jacob Lew wrote in July 2015. 'Make no mistake: we will
continue to impose and aggressively enforce sanctions to combat Iran's
support for terrorist groups, its fomenting of violence in the region,
and its perpetration of human rights abuses.' But now that the
administration has implemented the flawed deal against the will of
majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives, it has
dropped the tough talk on Iran. Worse, Secretary of State John Kerry is
leading U.S. officials in siding with the Iranian terror regime's
complaints that the deal-which, among many other things, unfroze over
$100 billion in overseas assets-still did not provide enough sanctions
relief. On Friday, Secretary Kerry tried to reassure international
financial institutions about the risks of doing business with Iran.
But as he tries to offer new unilateral concessions to Iran, Secretary
Kerry is willfully ignoring an important fact: Iran is denied
access to America's financial system and transactions in U.S. dollars,
not because of the Iranian nuclear program, but rather because of
Iran's abuse of its own financial system to promote terrorism and other
dangerous activities... Iran does not need access to the U.S. dollar,
nor should we allow it because it would serve to facilitate and further
all of its destabilizing activities by boosting the very same Iranian
financial system that the administration is now trying to enrich and
empower. Access to the U.S. dollar is not an international right. But
if Tehran wants access, the onus should be entirely on Iran to clean up
its act and reduce the risk that Iran's dangerous activities pose the
global financial community. Yet Iran refuses to address grave and
growing concerns about its destabilizing activities and deceptive
financial practices. And, sadly, the administration appears to be
more focused in capitulating to Tehran than in forcing Iran's terror
regime to fundamentally change its behavior. It's time for the U.S. to
stop making unreciprocated concessions and to start holding Iran fully
accountable for continuing its dangerous and destructive
behavior." http://t.uani.com/1QF1er3
Peter
Kohli in Nasdaq:
"There has to come a point when the economy of Iran either opens
its doors to foreign investors or closes shop. But there appear to be
mixed signals from Tehran-based economists, the Iran Central Bank, and
prognosticators such as Alireza Ramezani, who penned an article for
Al-Monitor titled, 'Is Iran really ready for foreign investment?' In
his article, Mr. Ramezani says, 'Other prominent economists also
believe that the Iranian economy is still far from ready to welcome
foreign investors on a large scale, despite the sanctions relief.' And
in all the research I have done, he appears to be correct. The article
names several obstacles believed to be preventing foreign investment in
Iran, such as lack of economic infrastructure, wrong economic policies
pursued by the government, and the severe decline in the price of oil.
By the way, Iran has the fourth largest reserves at 157.8 billion
barrels of recoverable oil, which translates to 9.3% of global
reserves. Not an insignificant number. But in my opinion, investor
protection and political instability are the bigger hurdles to clear.
In my research, I was unable to find any enforceable investor
protections, which are a must for foreign investors. As far as the
political situation is concerned, the Iranian government is the one
controlling those strings and they need to reduce the volatility. If
the government is serious about attracting foreign capital, and they
should be to make up for the severe decline in oil revenues due to a
budget based on much higher oil prices, they need to convince investors
that these two issues have been resolved." http://t.uani.com/1Tjd3Fl
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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
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email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
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