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Stories
AP: "The Obama administration is in
a bind. Between Iran and a hard place. As it seeks to implement, preserve
and strengthen the landmark nuclear deal it negotiated with Iran, the
administration is being buffeted by criticism from all sides: Iran,
Europe, Asia, the Middle East, not to mention members of Congress,
including some who supported the agreement. Eager that a successful deal
and a new era in the U.S.-Iran relationship be part of President Barack
Obama's legacy, his administration finds itself encouraging foreign trade
with Iran even as it forbids most American commerce with the Islamic
Republic. Those efforts are complicated by the fact that the United
States continues to condemn and try to punish Iranian actions in
non-nuclear arenas such as Tehran's support of terrorist groups and
belligerence toward Israel... While the administration says it remains
vehemently opposed to Iran's missile tests and destabilizing activities
throughout the Middle East, it insists the nuclear deal has made Iran
less of a threat. The cost of walking away from the deal, U.S. officials
maintain, will be even more destabilization and a graver threat. Thus,
the U.S. has been thrust into a role of defending Iran on its nuclear
deal compliance and condemning its other actions as it simultaneously
promotes business with Iran in the context of the new leeway afforded by
sanctions relief... U.S. lawmakers, many of whom opposed the nuclear deal
on principle, have moved to prevent what they say is an administration
overreach: a proposal to ease rules relating to the use of the dollar in
third-party foreign currency exchanges in support of deals with Iran.
Administration officials say such an easing is unnecessary because those
transactions are allowed. Still, the suggestion of a change has Capitol
Hill on edge. Despite the uncertainty, the administration has refused so
far to say what, if anything, it will do to clear the air." http://t.uani.com/1NkmFgW
Reuters: "Former Iranian presidential
candidate Mehdi Karroubi, under house arrest since 2011, appealed to
President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday for a court hearing where he could
show two elections he lost were rigged. Karroubi, a former speaker of
parliament, said in a letter to Rouhani that Iran's powerful
Revolutionary Guard, Basij militia and intelligence ministry falsified
the results of the 2005 and 2009 polls that Mahmoud Ahmedinejad won. He
also said Iranian authorities used 'thugs' to attack political critics,
embassies and cultural centers. Karroubi and fellow reformist presidential
contender Mir Hussein Moussavi, who has also been under house arrest
since 2011, have been accused of stoking unrest after the 2009 polls. But
neither of the two figureheads of the country's 'green movement' have
been formally charged or had their day in court. Public criticism of
authorities in Iran, particularly from a former insider like Karroubi, is
rare. 'The only path is reform and returning to the direction of the
law,' Karroubi wrote in the letter, where he also said he did not think Rouhani
could end his house arrest... Rouhani hinted during his 2013 election
campaign that he might release the two political prisoners, but has not
taken up the issue that has polarized the Islamic Republic and could lead
to a showdown with hardliners opposed to him." http://t.uani.com/1Vi31d2
Mehr
(Iran): "Italian
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi heading a high-ranking political-economic
delegation will travel to Iran Tue. for a two-day visit, said Iran's
ambassador to Italy. Jahanbakhsh Mozaffari said the Italian prime
minister is scheduled to hold meetings with senior officials including
President Hassan Rouhani, First VP Es'hagh Jahangiri, and Parliament
Speaker Ali Larijani on April 12-13. On his official two-day visit to
Tehran, Renzi will also deliver a speech in an important economic forum
attended by both countries' businessmen and company executives, Mozaffari
added. 'The two sides will also sign a number of MoUs in the fields of
science and technology, tourism, environment and rail sector,' he said...
The Italian prime minister's visit will come at the invitation of
President Rouhani, following Rouhani's visit to Italy and France at the
end of January - a trip which resulted in a string of major trade and
investment deals being signed between Tehran and the two European
countries. PM Renzi will be accompanied by a 250-strong delegation
comprising economic officials, senior managers of major Italian banks,
businessmen and industrialists. Presidents of Italian Export Credit
Agency 'SACE', Italy's national oil company 'Eni', as well as the General
Confederation of Italian Industry commonly known as Confindustria, will
also accompany Renzi on his Tuesday visit to Tehran." http://t.uani.com/1MppToC
Nuclear
& Ballistic Missile Program
AP: "Iran's foreign minister said
Sunday the country's missile program is not up for negotiation with the
United States. The missile program and 'defense capabilities of the
Islamic Republic of Iran are not negotiable,' said Mohammad Javad Zarif
after meeting with his Estonian counterpart, Marina Kaljurand. He added
that if Washington was serious about defensive issues in the Middle East,
it should stop supplying arms to Saudi Arabia and Israel. A Saudi-led
coalition has been conducting airstrikes and battling the Iran-backed
Shiite rebels in Yemen since March 2015. Iran also supports anti-Israeli
militant groups... Zarif on Sunday also hinted that regional U.S. allies
are among those quietly supporting the extremist Islamic State group.
'The U.S. needs to view regional issues more seriously than raise
baseless and threadbare allegations against Iran,' said Zarif. 'Mr. Kerry
should ask U.S. allies where the Islamic State's arms come from.'" http://t.uani.com/1Vi1KCW
Press TV
(Iran): "A top
Iranian military official has roundly rejected US Secretary of State John
Kerry's calls for missile negotiations with Tehran and urged Iran's
Foreign Ministry to respond 'firmly to the impudence.' The strong-worded
reaction from deputy joint chief of staff of the armed forces, Brigadier
General Massoud Jazayeri, on Friday came a day after Kerry suggested the
US was open to a 'new arrangement' with Iran for resolving the issue. 'We
are stressing what has been said several times: the missile power is
non-negotiable and among the red lines of the Iranian nation and for
developing its defense capabilities, Iran doesn't get permission from
anybody,' he said. Jazayeri said Iran is 'following its deterrent
doctrine and defensive strategy for security independent of the will and
intent of arrogant powers and aliens.' The country, he said, 'will not
allow anybody to interfere in this regard' and 'will cut any hand which
is intended to interfere in it.' Jazayeri urged Iran's diplomatic
establishment which hammered out a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA) on its nuclear program 'to deal firmly and transparently with the
American meddling in Iranian affairs, especially in the defensive
sphere.' 'The country's diplomatic apparatus is expected to show a timely
and decisive reaction to American impudence, especially by the US
secretary of state,' he said. 'And by announcing strategic unity and
national determination existing in the Islamic Iran for protecting,
strengthening and developing defensive and missile capabilities, (it
should) purge any thought of a rift and ambivalence in this regard from
the minds of American officials,' he added." http://t.uani.com/1qJDIEJ
Military
Matters
Reuters: "Russia has delivered the first
part of an advanced missile defense system to Iran, Iranian media
reported on Monday, starting to equip Tehran with technology that was
blocked before it signed a deal with world powers on its nuclear program.
The S-300 surface-to-air system was first deployed at the height of the
Cold War in 1979. In its updated form it is one of the most advanced systems
of its kind and, according to British security think tank RUSI, can
engage multiple aircraft and ballistic missiles around 150 km (90 miles)
away. Russia's agreement to provide Iran with S-300 has sparked concern
in Israel, whose government Iran has said it aims to destroy. In a
recorded transmission, state television showed Foreign Ministry spokesman
Hossein Jaber Ansari telling a news conference on Monday: 'I announce
today that the first phase of this (delayed) contract has been
implemented.' Ansari was replying to reporters' questions about videos on
social media showing what appeared to be parts of an S-300 missile system
on trucks in northern Iran." http://t.uani.com/1SsOs03
U.S.-Iran
Relations
AP: "Iran said Saturday that the
United States has allowed Boeing to have direct talks with Iranian
airliners following reports that a Boeing delegation will visit the
country, the official IRNA news agency reported. The report quoted Ali
Abedzadeh, head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, as saying 'Boeing
intends to launch its talks with Iranian companies with permission from
the U.S. government.' Abedzadeh said Boeing has provided an Iranian
airline with, 'some technical issues to upgrade flight safety.' He did
not elaborate. He also said Iran has 'appropriate offers' from airplane
manufacturers in Brazil, Canada and Japan for both leasing and selling
airplanes to Iran. On Friday, IRNA said a delegation from Boeing will
visit the country to review 'possible cooperation' with Iranian airlines.
It said officials from Iran's national carrier, Iran Air, and other
Iranian airlines will meet the Boeing delegation. In March Abedzadeh said
Iran will likely sign an agreement to buy airplanes from Boeing." http://t.uani.com/22otjtn
AFP: "Iran's defense minister poured
scorn Saturday on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's accusations that
Tehran is 'destabilizing' the Middle East, countering that America should
get out of the region. The broadside illustrated new tension between Iran
and the United States, despite last year's nuclear deal, with contrasting
stances on the conflicts in Yemen and Syria underpinning the latest
barbs. If the U.S. seeks 'stability' it should 'leave the region and stop
supporting terrorists,' Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said, quoted by
the website of state television. 'If John Kerry thought about these
subjects, he would no longer utter nonsense and foolish words.' The
reaction came after Kerry speaking on a visit to Bahrain on Thursday
condemned 'the destabilizing actions of Iran,' noting that the United
States was taking Tehran's actions 'very seriously'. But Dehghan
denounced Kerry's remarks as a sign of 'frustration' at 'Iran's defense
capabilities', charging that it is the U.S. that is intervening in the
Middle East on account of massive arms sales... The secretary of state
also said that the U.S. and GCC nations 'remain united in our opposition
to Iran's missile activities'. However, a top Iranian military official
said Saturday there would be no change to the missile program. 'The U.S.
is not qualified to make comments about our defense power,' said
Revolutionary Guards deputy chief General Hossein Salami. 'Our missile
capabilities will never be negotiated or compromised.'" http://t.uani.com/1YpjZ7y
IranWire: "Two Iranian-Americans, Siamak
Namazi and his father Mohammad Baquer Namazi, are both in prison in Iran.
Siamak was arrested about six months ago, and his father was arrested
nearly two months ago, but reasons for their detention remain unclear.
Neither man has been charged or given access to a lawyer, but both are
undergoing interrogations. On March 18, US Secretary of State John Kerry
told Agence France Presse 'We have no information about charges against
Siamak Namazi and Baquer Namazi, and we believe that they have been
arrested unjustly.' He demanded their immediate release. Now, Mahmoud
Alizadeh Tabatabaei, the Namazi family's lawyer, tells IranWire the
examining magistrate in the case has issued a ruling refusing access to
the men's case files. In an interview with IranWire in March, Tabatabaei
said he had been denied access to his clients, but this ruling makes the
ban official. Tabatabaei says the magistrate's decision is based on the
new Islamic Penal Code that became law in 2013. According to a provision
added to Article 191 of this code, 'If the examining magistrate concludes
that access to certain or all papers, documents and evidence in a case
goes against the necessity to find the truth, or the crime relates to
domestic or foreign security of the country, then he can issue a verdict
banning their accessibility. This verdict will be conveyed to the
defendant or his lawyer in person.' As a result, Tabatabaei must wait for
the case to go to court. Until then, he says, 'We have no leverage over
the prosecutor.' Tabatabaei has not been able to register as the Namazis'
'attorney-on-record.' He has also been refused power of attorney based on
a provision added to Article 48 of the new penal code, which reads, 'In
the investigative period of security crimes, only lawyers approved by the
Judiciary Chief are acceptable.' ... No Iranian government agency has
announced details about the father and son's arrest. But on February 26,
Fars News, which is closely linked to the Revolutionary Guards, published
a report saying that Baquer Namazi's detention was part of a large-scale
operation to crack down on 'complex layers of vast financial and
intelligence corruption by a network linked to the UK and to
America.'" http://t.uani.com/1oQATjb
AP: "Iran's judiciary spokesman has
raised the possibility of a prisoner exchange involving two U.S.-Iranian
citizens and an Iranian consultant to the U.N. arrested in the United
States. The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Gholam Hossein Mohseni
Ejehi as saying Sunday that he has 'heard words from here and there
though nothing has been officially conveyed to the judiciary.' Ejehi was
asked about a possible exchange involving Siamak Namazi, jailed in Iran
for 'cooperation with the hostile government of the United States.' His
father, Baquer, is jailed on unannounced charges. The consultant, Ahmad
Sheikhzadeh, was arrested in March for sanctions violations. Iran released
five Americans in January, including a Washington Post journalist, after
the U.S. dropped sentences, charges or warrants against 21
Iranians." http://t.uani.com/1S52x6Q
Reuters: "The United States grabbed
Iran's share of Europe's oil market while Tehran was under sanctions,
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview
broadcast on Friday, making clear the Islamic Republic was keen to regain
its market niche." http://t.uani.com/23xh8Nh
Sanctions
Relief
Tasnim
(Iran):
"Italy's two largest oil and gas companies, Eni and Saras, seek to
buy 170,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Iran. Eni and Saras have
submitted their requests to the Iranian oil ministry for the purchase of
100,000 bpd and 70,000 bpd respectively. According to the Iranian
co-chairman of Iran-Italy Joint Chamber of Commerce, one of the main
topics due to be discussed during an upcoming visit by Italian Prime
Minister Matteo Renzi to Tehran is facilitating the purchase of crude by
the Italian firms." http://t.uani.com/1qJBiWy
AGI
(Italy): "Italian
oil and gas industry contractor Saipem is set to 'sign another Memorandum
of Understanding' in Iran next week, said CEO Stefano Cao. He was
speaking on the sidelines of the Italian-Norwegian Energy Forum. 'There
are contacts that are not definitive but nonetheless important for
embarking on a more operational phase of discussion and negotiation,'
said Mr Cao. He also said he believed there were 'opportunities in the
oil&service field upstream of exploration, that is, drilling' in
Iran, adding that Iran had to 'carry out a great deal of maintenance on
its facilities, as well as downstream and midstream'. In short, 'there
are lots of opportunities, it is just a matter of working out which we
should bring our skills to.'" http://t.uani.com/1ROBayX
Fars
(Iran):
"Italian Ambassador to Tehran Mauro Conciatori declared that his
country's major companies are willing to invest in various
infrastructural, economic and industrial projects in Iran. 'An Italian
economic delegation is slated to visit Iran on April 12 to clinch a
number of economic deals with Iranian companies in various sectors,' the
Italian envoy said in a meeting with Iran's Deputy Minister of Industry,
Mine and Commerce Valiollah Afkhamirad in Tehran on Friday. He reiterated
that Italy is to give a clear message to the world that it has entered an
executive phase of joint economic cooperation with Iran. 'Representatives
from Italian insurance companies and banking sectors will visit Iran and
have full command on current projects in Iran,' he added. In a relevant
development earlier on Friday, Iranian Ambassador to Italy Jahanbakhsh
Mozaffari underlined that Tehran and Rome are determined to further expand
the level of their mutual cooperation. 'There is no doubt that the two
sides will spare no efforts to boost their bilateral ties, specially in
the economic field,' Mozaffari said." http://t.uani.com/20uYnbA
Bloomberg: "India may invest as much as
$20 billion in Iran's energy industry and ports and boost imports of
crude from the Persian Gulf nation if it gets favorable terms, India's
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in an interview. Indian companies
are evaluating opportunities to explore for oil and natural gas, build
petrochemical plants and gas-processing facilities and expand ports
including the new industrial hub of Chabahar, Pradhan said during a visit
to Tehran. The two countries agreed to plan for development of Iran's
Farzad-B gas field, with the aim of deciding whether to award a contract
to an Indian group by October, according to a copy of the memorandum
signed by the ministers and posted on Pradhan's Twitter account. 'We were
importing a good amount of oil from Iran in the challenging days, so we
will continue to import that amount,' Pradhan said Saturday. 'That's a
business level discussion regarding my companies -- if they will be
getting good terms they may increase their import.' India is buying about
350,000 barrels of Iranian crude a day, Iran's oil minister, Bijan Namdar
Zanganeh, said after meeting Pradhan, according to the ministry's news
service Shana... India will use euros to pay $6 billion in oil payments
it owes Iran, Pradhan said." http://t.uani.com/23oFgVP
Reuters: "Iran is exporting around
350,000 barrels of crude oil a day to India and hopes to increase this
number, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying on Saturday
after meeting Indian counterpart Dharmendra Pradhan. The Shana news
agency, linked to Iran's oil ministry, quoted Zanganeh as saying Indian
oil purchases from Iran were at 350,000 barrels a day, and that 'we hope
this number will increase now that sanctions have been lifted.' The two
ministers signed a cooperation agreement covering oil exports, the
petrochemical sector and the development of a gas field, though there
were no reports of any final deals being signed. Pradhan said India was
ready to invest $20 billion in the port of Chabahar port in southeastern
Iran, according to Shana, adding that 'Iran and India's energy ties are
no longer limited to crude oil imports'. Zanganeh said Indian companies
were looking to invest in oil, gas and petrochemical projects in the
Islamic Republic, but that reaching deals was 'a difficult task and needs
time.'" http://t.uani.com/1Vid2Yp
Human
Rights
Reuters: "A senior Iranian official for
women's and family affairs has been summoned to court after saying a
village near notorious drug smuggling routes where all the men had been
executed could turn to contraband to survive. Shahindokht Molaverdi, vice
president for women and family affairs, has been called to answer charges
of spreading lies based on a complaint by officials in the southeastern
province of Sistan-Baluchistan, a judiciary spokesman said on Sunday. The
case stems from comments she made in February alleging that all the men
in a single village in the province had been executed and their remaining
family members needed support because they were all 'potential
smugglers.'" http://t.uani.com/1XqD6Oj
IHR: "On the morning of Saturday
April 9, five prisoners were reportedly hanged at Rasht's Lakan Prison
(in the provine of Gilan, northern Iran) on drug charges. The prisoners
had reportedly been transferred out of their wards on Thursday April 7
and taken to solitary confinement cells in preparation for their
executions... According to Amnesty International, 36-year-old Rashid
Kouhi was arrested in September 2011 and sentenced to death by the revolutionary
court in Rudbar (a county in Gilan) for possession and trafficking 800
grams of methamphetamine. Close sources say prison authorities contacted
Kouhi's family on April 7 and instructed them to come in for their last
visit with him on Friday April 8 before his scheduled execution the next
day." http://t.uani.com/1WnmgSm
Journalism
Is Not a Crime:
"Iranian authorities have pardoned prominent TV producer and writer
Mostafa Azizi, who has been held in Evin Prison since February 2015.
Mostafa Azizi, who had 10 months left of his prison sentence, was given
amnesty and released today, April 9, 2016, according to his son, Arash
Azizi... Azizi, a Canadian resident, was arrested in February 2015
shortly after he had returned to Iran to visit his family. He was
sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of 'collusion against
national security,' 'insulting the Supreme Leader' and 'spreading
propaganda against the system' for exercising his right to freedom of
expression, including posting on social media. The appeals court later
reduced his prison sentence to two years." http://t.uani.com/1Nknrun
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