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NYT: "Anger is building among even
Iran's staunchest defenders of the historic nuclear agreement with the
United States, after a recent decision by the American Supreme Court
allowing relatives of victims of a 1983 bombing to sue Tehran for $2
billion in compensation from frozen Iranian funds. On Wednesday,
President Hassan Rouhani, widely seen as the executor of the nuclear
agreement, lashed out against the United States, calling the ruling a
'continuation of hostilities against Iran' and a 'flagrant theft and a
legal disgrace,' the semiofficial Iranian Student News Agency reported.
The court ruled last week that the United States Congress did not
exceed its constitutional role by enacting a law in 2012 making it
easier for families of those killed in terrorist attacks to obtain
compensation. The decision opens a path for more than a thousand
American relatives of Marines killed in the 1983 bombing of their
barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, an attack that Iran has been held
responsible for. Iranian officials have repeatedly denied
responsibility, however, and they accuse the United States of using the
pretext of an attack to steal money that is rightfully theirs. Mr.
Rouhani, one of the few Iranian leaders openly committed to restoring
relations with the United States, called the Americans 'thieves,'
adding that they 'imagine what they have pillaged belongs to
themselves.' ... Iran was expecting a bonanza in unfrozen funds and new
business opportunities after sanctions that had been imposed because of
the nuclear program were lifted. But the continued presence of
nonnuclear sanctions has slowed the process to a crawl, and foreign
banks have been afraid to lend to Iranian companies because of
potential penalties imposed by the United States. So even though Iran
has received a steady parade of business delegations from Europe and
Asia, it has been unable to sign the big deals that might help revive
its battered economy... Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
added to the chorus on Wednesday, repeating his contention that the
United States was deceitful and not to be trusted. While he had
supported the nuclear deal, he always insisted that the United States
would try to double-cross Iran. The continuing financial restrictions
are evidence of this, Ayatollah Khamenei hinted in a speech on his
website, Khamenei.ir. 'America engages in tricks and practices deceit,'
he said. 'They write on paper that banks can cooperate with Iran, but
in practice they promote Iranophobia so that no one trades with Iran.'
'American officials say that sanctions are still in place so that
foreign investors get scared and do not come,' Ayatollah Khamenei
said." http://t.uani.com/1QCHnbX
Politico: "Senate Democrats blocked the
first spending bill of the season over Sen. Tom Cotton's attempt to
force a vote on Iran, injecting controversy over the administration's
nuclear deal into what had been a relatively smooth appropriations
process. The chamber voted 50-46 Wednesday against ending debate on a
spending bill funding water and energy programs. But if the bill had
advanced over the 60-vote threshold, Democrats could have been forced
to vote on Cotton's Iran amendment, which Democrats believe amounts to
a vote on a political 'poison pill' intended to make them look bad...
The White House publicly stressed that Obama would veto the bill with
the Iran language included... In brief floor remarks Wednesday morning,
Cotton defended his proposal as a necessary congressional response
after the Obama administration announced last week that they were
purchasing so-called 'heavy water' from Iran... 'I, too, do not want to
see the appropriations process end,' Cotton said. But Cotton said he
wanted to 'ensure that the United States taxpayer is not subsidizing a
critical component of Iran's nuclear industry, which I would add we are
not required to do under the nuclear agreement with Iran.' His
amendment would block taxpayer money for being used to buy heavy water from
Iran. Republicans say the administration is essentially subsidizing
Iran's nuclear program and want to prevent any future deals over
Iranian nuclear material." http://t.uani.com/1QCMUze
Fars
(Iran): "Secretary
of the International Holocaust Cartoon Contest and Exhibition Seyed
Massoud Shojayee Tabatabayee said the event is aimed at preventing the
Zionist regime's further crime against the Palestinians, and is not at
all after antisemitism. 'We are not after anti-Semites, rather we seek
to address the fake Zionist regime,' Shojayee Tabatabayee told FNA on
Wednesday. 'The issues that we raise about the Holocaust are not
related to spreading racist hatred and violence,' he added, referring
to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's recent interview
with New Yorker on the Holocaust Contest in Iran. When asked by the New
Yorker in an interview earlier this week, why Iran allows a cartoon
festival on the Holocaust, Zarif told the US magazine 'why does the
United States have the Ku Klux Klan? Is the government of the United
States responsible for the fact that there are racially hateful
organizations in the United States? Don't consider Iran a monolith. The
Iranian government does not support, nor does it organize, any cartoon
festival of the nature that you're talking about'. Shojayee Tabatabayee
filed a response to Zarif, saying 'Generally speaking, Mr. Zarif is not
familiar with the events happening in relation to the Holocaust
exhibition (and cartoon contest) and no one has provided him with any
relevant information either'. He, meantime, pointed to the western
media (including Jyllands-Posten and Charlie Hebdo)'s blasphemous
cartoons of Islam's holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and said 'we held the
first edition of the Holocaust Cartoon Contest' as the westerners claim
that freedom of expression is limitless and anything can be worked
on." http://t.uani.com/1WsJMwS
Congressional
Action
The
Hill: "Sen.
Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Thursday slammed the White House for mocking his
knowledge of the Iran nuclear deal, saying his criticism of a proposal
to buy heavy water is no joke. 'This guy at the White House may think
it's a laughing matter to subsidize Iran's nuclear program but I don't,
I think it's a very serious matter,' Cotton said on MSNBC's 'Morning
Joe.' 'We are not obligated to take the heavy water, we certainly are
not obligated to provide U.S. taxpayer dollars to Iran's nuclear
program for that heavy water,' Cotton argued." http://t.uani.com/21h205s
Business
Risk
AFP: "The World Bank aims to
eradicate global poverty, but its push stops at the Iranian border
despite the easing of sanctions against Tehran and the country's
pressing economic needs. The Washington-based development bank seems
reluctant to reengage in a country where it stopped all new projects in
2005 in compliance with the international sanctions imposed over Iran's
nuclear program. But since those sanctions were removed in January in
the wake of a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, the World
Bank has not shifted. 'We're following the situation very closely ...
we don't have any specific plans yet,' said World Bank President Jim
Yong Kim. Iranian authorities haven't made any requests to the Bank for
help. But the reasons for the Bank's reticence can be found elsewhere
-- at the intersection of the economy and geopolitics and the desire
not to offend the United States. The United States, the largest World
Bank shareholder, and the primary supporter of Kim, an American, sends
mixed signals on just what is acceptable in doing business with Iran...
'There's certainly a political risk for the World Bank to be associated
with Iran, as Congress could respond very negatively, said Jacob
Kirkegaard, an expert at the Peterson Institute for International
Economics." http://t.uani.com/1Uj8Ia6
Reuters: "Citigroup has dropped out of
the group of banks providing a $1.5 billion bridge loan to Gulf-based
Adeptio for its planned purchase of a majority stake in Kuwait Food Co
(Americana), three sources aware of the matter said on Thursday. The
U.S. bank failed to secure internal approval to participate in the
deal, with two of the sources indicating that Americana's business
dealings in Iran had raised compliance concerns and was one of the
reasons for the bank's withdrawal. Its decision to walk away highlights
that while sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program were lifted in
January, other financial restrictions imposed by the United States on
the Islamic Republic continue to impact on trading with the country.
Citi was one of the lead institutions arranging the 18-month loan for
Adeptio, a group of investors who include Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of
Emaar Properties... The food group owns the Middle East franchises for
fast food chains KFC and Pizza Hut, as well as having a frozen food
business and other units. It is present in 13 countries including Iran,
where it owns 90 percent of restaurateur Khosh Taam International Food
Company, according to its annual report. Concerns about financing
business in Iran is particularly prominent for international banks as
falling foul of these rulings could result in American authorities
stripping lenders of their ability to make transactions in U.S.
dollars." http://t.uani.com/1Sv0ABS
Sanctions
Enforcement
WSJ: "Turkish-Iranian businessman
Reza Zarrab on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in New York to allegations
he plotted to hide financial transactions from U.S. banks in violation
of U.S. sanctions against Iran. Mr. Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian dual
national who works as a gold trader in Turkey, was detained last month
in Miami and indicted by Manhattan federal prosecutors on four conspiracy
charges, including bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy. The
charges carry a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison. Mr. Zarrab
currently is in Federal custody. Mr. Zarrab, who is married to Turkish
pop star Ebru Gundes, became a household name in Turkey after he was
the target of a 2013 investigation by Turkish prosecutors into alleged
corruption among Turkish government officials, including the inner
circle of then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mr. Zarrab had
denied those allegations... Two other defendants charged in the case,
Iranian citizens Camelia Jamshidy and Hossein Najafzadeh, are still at
large. Federal prosecutors allege Mr. Zarrab and his alleged
accomplices used a network of companies in Turkey, the United Arab
Emirates and elsewhere to help Iranian entities evade U.S. sanctions
against Iran. As a result of the alleged scheme, U.S. banks unknowingly
processed hundreds of millions of dollars of financial transactions
that violated U.S. sanctions law, prosecutors said." http://t.uani.com/245BvF7
Sanctions
Relief
Reuters: "Asian imports of Iranian oil
in March jumped 50 percent from a year earlier as shipments into India
and South Korea have climbed since international sanctions were lifted
on Iran's disputed nuclear programme. The strong exports point to
Iran's success in regaining market share in Asia after the sanctions
were eased in January. Before 2012, Iran exported around 2 million bpd,
with more than half going to Asia, mainly China, South Korea, India and
Japan. Tehran has been banned from selling oil to the United States for
decades. Iran's oil flows to Europe have also begun to pick up after a
slow start though the country has struggled to increase oil exports
because many of its tankers are tied up storing crude, some are not
seaworthy, and foreign ship owners remain reluctant to carry its
cargoes. Imports by Iran's top four buyers - China, India, Japan and
South Korea - came to 1.56 million bpd in March, up 49.9 percent from a
year ago, government and tanker-tracking data shows. India's imports
last month totalled 506,100 bpd, the highest in five years, the data
showed. The nation's imports from Iran are set to surge to a seven-year
high during the fiscal year of 2016/17, industry sources said. South
Korea's imports in March fell slightly from a two-year high in February
to 264,452 bpd but were still 94.5 percent higher than a year ago.
Imports by China and Japan fell from a year ago." http://t.uani.com/1SC3d1v
Military
Matters
Press
TV (Iran): "Iran
and Russia have developed 'specific plans' for bolstering the two
countries' military and technical cooperation, says Iran's defense
minister. Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan made the announcement
following a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held on
the sidelines of the 5th Moscow Conference on International Security
(MCIS) in the Russian capital on Wednesday. During the meeting 'Russia
and Iran reached... some agreements and drew up specific plans towards
furthering military and technical cooperation,' he noted. Referring to
Iran's historical nuclear agreement, Dehqan said 'under the current
conditions bright horizons can be drawn for strategic cooperation
between the two countries in various fields.' ... Dehqan noted that
close cooperation between Tehran and Moscow will help return 'stability
and security' to the world and hasten the eradication of terrorism and
the problems it creates." http://t.uani.com/1N2Ncoz
Opinion
& Analysis
Patrick
Clawson in WINEP:
"On April 25, following the first post-Implementation Day meeting
of the joint P5+1/Iranian committee in Vienna, Deputy Foreign Minister
Abbas Araqchi stated that all parties had approved the creation of a
task force to address his government's complaints about sanctions
removal related to the nuclear deal. This was the latest step in Iran's
largely successful campaign to blame the United States for the various
problems that continue to hinder its businesses, especially in terms of
accessing the international banking system. On April 15, Iranian
foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters that Tehran and
the EU 'will put pressure on the United States to facilitate the cooperation
of non-American banks with Iran.' Visiting EU foreign policy chief
Federica Mogherini was present at the joint press conference, and news
accounts of the event implied that she agreed with Zarif, though she
did not say so directly. The Wall Street Journal wrote, 'The absence of
large western banks to underwrite deals and set up broad financial
links is stymying the delivery of concrete projects, [and] European
officials fear this could spark a downward spiral of mistrust over the
nuclear accord.' Similarly, an Iranian business consultant told the New
York Times, 'If the situation doesn't change for the better -- banking,
more deals -- for Iran this will be a growing risk for the deal.' The
paper also quoted European Parliament member Marietje Schaake complaining
that 'Europe is being held hostage by American policy...We negotiated
the nuclear deal together, but now the U.S. is obstructing its
execution.' Indeed, Washington has erected significant barriers to
Western banks seeking to work with Iranian banks. Yet the reasons for
this practice have nothing to do with the nuclear issue. In fact, some
of the most significant obstacles are completely unrelated to any of
the deep foreign policy differences between the United States and Iran.
One of the most serious barriers that banks and insurance companies
face when contemplating transactions with Iranian financial
institutions is compliance with tax avoidance laws. The 2010 U.S.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) places tough requirements on
foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to report accounts of U.S.
taxpayers. As the IRS guidance on the law explains, 'FFIs that do not
both register and agree to report face a 30% withholding tax on certain
U.S.-source payments made to them.' Agreeing to report means dealing
only with FATCA-compliant FFIs. In practice, almost every financial
institution in the world insists that its correspondents be
FATCA-compliant because that is the only way to avoid the heavy
withholding tax... Therefore, rather than assuring Europeans they can
have peace of mind in dealing with Iran, U.S. regulatory and tax
agencies will continue to insist that EU financial institutions apply
the same tough rules to their Iranian counterparts that they apply to
all others. Observing those standards is a daunting task for Iranian
banks, which are not yet up to the stricter international norms adopted
during the years when their country was under nuclear sanctions. These
new rules are very burdensome; major international banks spend billions
of dollars implementing them. Newly confronted with all they must do,
no wonder Iranian banks complain. In a speech posted to his website on
April 27, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei argued, 'On paper the United
States allows foreign banks to deal with Iran, but in practice they
create Iranophobia so no one does business with Iran.' If Washington is
worried that such sentiments will lead people to accuse the United
States of not living up the nuclear deal, then the best defense is a
good offense. Rather than implicitly accepting Zarif's formulation that
the U.S. government has to reassure European banks, Washington should
instead point out that if Iran wants to enjoy the fruits of the nuclear
deal, it must join the rest of the world in implementing the tough
standards adopted over the past decade regarding tax avoidance,
financial reporting, money laundering, and other issues. The message
should be clear: any financial institution that fails to implement
those standards, no matter what country it calls home, will be under
close U.S. scrutiny." http://t.uani.com/1Sv7Z4m
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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