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Stories
AP: "The 120-nation Nonaligned Movement headed by
Iran accused the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday of violating
international law by ruling that nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian
assets can be paid to victims of attacks linked to the country. A
communique issued by the NAM's Coordinating Bureau follows an Iranian
appeal to the United Nations last week to intervene with the U.S.
government to prevent the loss of their funds. Iran's Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif called the ruling an 'outrageous robbery,
disguised under a court order.' The NAM, comprising mainly developing
countries, called the U.S. waiver of 'the sovereign immunity of states
and their institutions' a violation of U.S. international and treaty
obligations. It called on the U.S. government 'to respect the principle
of state immunity' and warned that failing to do so will have 'adverse
implications, including uncertainty and chaos in international
relations.' It also warned that a failure would also undermine the
international rule of law 'and would constitute an international
wrongful act, which entails international responsibility.' The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled on April 23 that the families of victims of a 1983
bombing in Lebanon and other attacks linked to Iran can collect nearly
$2 billion in frozen funds from Iran as compensation. The court's
ruling directly affects more than 1,300 relatives of victims, some who
have been seeking compensation for more than 30 years. They include
families of the 241 U.S. service members who died in the bombing of the
Marine barracks in Beirut." http://t.uani.com/1TrSg26
WSJ: "British oil giant BP will
open an office in Iran this summer, according to Rokneddin Javadi,
chairman of the National Iranian Oil Company. Quoted on the state-owned
oil news service Shana, Mr. Javadi said BP is looking to transfer
technology and capital to Iran. BP declined to comment... BP's CEO Bob
Dudley previously has been cautious on investing in the country.
Speaking earlier this year, he said his company would choose
opportunities carefully. Other Western oil companies that have made
moves to return to Iran include Austria's OMV and France's Total SA.
OMV earlier this week announced that it signed a memorandum of
understanding with the National Iranian Oil Company, giving it the
opportunity to pursue a number of potential oil and gas projects in the
country." http://t.uani.com/1WcD3Ix
MEMRI: "On May 14, 2016, the third
Holocaust International Cartoon Contest is set to open in Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has denied that there is
any connection between the Iranian government and this event. He told
The New Yorker magazine, in an interview published April 25, 2016, that
'it's not Iran' that is holding the contest, and that it is organized
by an NGO that is 'not controlled by the Iranian government. Nor is it
endorsed by the Iranian government.' He added that the NGO 'doesn't
need a permit to hold the function' but that '[w]e need to issue visas
for people who come [to the exhibition], and we take into consideration
that people who have preached racial hatred and violence will not be
invited.' However, Massoud Shojaei Tabatabaei, the secretary of the
contest and of the two previous contests, said that Zarif was speaking
for himself alone. On April 27, in an interview with the Iranian
website Nasimonline, Tabatabaei explained that the organization he
heads 'cooperates with the Ministry of Culture' and that everyone in
the regime 'knows that this exhibition is highly respected. Therefore,
the foreign minister's statements are not in line with the [activity
of] the Ministry of Culture.' He added that the exhibition was not aimed
at proving or disproving the Holocaust, but at asking why the people of
Gaza and Palestine should be the ones to pay for it. On April 29,
exiled Iranian journalist Aida Qajar wrote, in an article titled 'The
Holocaust Cartoons and Zarif's Lies' on Iranwire, a website of exiled
Iranian journalists, that the foreign minister had either lied about or
ignored the Iranian regime's and government's connection to the cartoon
exhibition." http://t.uani.com/1T4NP3k
U.S.-Iran
Relations
Al-Monitor: "In the latest attack, Iran's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - who has always distrusted the
United States while simultaneously giving the green light for the
nuclear negotiations - accused the United States of being anti-Shiite,
the predominant sect to which the majority of Iranians belong. 'Today,
anti-Islam, anti-Iran and anti-Shiism are the definitive policies of
America and the governments who are affiliated with it,' said Khamenei
during a May 5 speech to administration officials, the heads of
branches of the government and ambassadors from Islamic countries on
the occasion of the anniversary of the day Muslims believe Prophet
Muhammad received his first revelation. Khamenei criticized the United
States, which he referred to with the religiously charged terms of
'ignorance and idolatrous,' for having dropped atomic bombs on
Hiroshima, killing hundreds of thousands but after many years 'still
not ready to apologize.' He also blamed the United States for
destroying the infrastructure of countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq
and not being willing to accept responsibility for what they have done.
According to Khamenei, 'reactionary Islam' - the violent jihadi
movements taking over parts of the Middle East - and 'American Islam' -
a softer and more liberal type of Islam promoted by Western countries -
are two movements with the same goals. Khamenei also repeated an old
claim that terrorists groups in the Middle East are supported by the
United States, saying, 'Corrupt groups who committed the worst crimes
in the name of Islam are supported and backed by the West.' He
continued, 'In appearance the West forms an anti-Islamic State
coalition, but in reality they support this group and within the
anti-Islam framework refer to them as the Islamic State and ruin the
image of Islam.' ... Iran's President Hassan Rouhani also addressed the
crowd at the event, echoing many of Khamenei's criticisms of the United
States. Rouhani said that anti-Islam Westerners and their mercenaries
in the region are 'the two blades of a scissor.' While he did not blame
the United States or the West for supporting terrorist groups in the
region, he did criticize the US occupation of Afghanistan and invasion
of Iraq, and the chaos those military campaigns created, saying, 'The
responsibility for all of these crimes is [on] the Zionists and the
Americans.' Rouhani's criticism of the United States is perhaps his
strongest since taking office in 2013." http://t.uani.com/1ZmruN2
Sanctions
Relief
FT: "Python & Peter, a
leading Swiss law firm, has opened an office in Tehran in a further
sign of the country opening for business in the wake of the
groundbreaking nuclear agreement signed last year. The new office will
aim to advise foreign multinationals on how to operate in a country
slowly awakening from years of international isolation and numerous
economic downturns. In February, Germany's CMS was the first
international law firm to open an office in Tehran since the 1979
Islamic Revolution... Iranian law firms with international standards
are also rare. But a new generation of lawyers has been encouraged with
the entrance of foreign law firms into the country, said Encyeh Seyed
Sadr, partner and attorney at law in Bayan Emrooz, a new local law
firm. Lack of trust in Iran's judicial system, fears of bias and
corruption as well as often lengthy proceedings and high tariffs means
many foreign companies are wary of losing their investments should they
run into difficulties with their local partners... In a further sign of
the growing international interest in setting up business in Iran, a
team from the Swiss Chambers' Arbitration Institution visited Tehran
last week, offering fair, independent and flexible arbitration services
in any potential future disputes between Iranian and foreign
companies." http://t.uani.com/1O2LBz4
Press
TV (Iran): "The
21st International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition of
Iran - Iran Oil Show 2016 - opened in capital Tehran on Thursday.
Around 1,900 companies - 900 from Iran and 880 from 38 countries - are
showcasing their latest achievements in the Show which will continue
until 8 May. Figures on participants show that Europeans outnumber
others in this year's exhibition - the first after the removal of
multiple-year sanctions against Iran. Overall, the number
of companies attending this year's exhibition shows an increase of 60
percent compared to last year in what Iran's oil officials say is a
sign of the growing interest of global industries to invest in the
country's oil projects now after the removal of the sanctions.
Companies from the United States that include Lincoln Electric are also
participating in the Show through their European representatives. Major
corporations that have been listed by the media include Siemens,
Lukoil, Gazprom, OMV and Saipem." http://t.uani.com/1WNLol2
BusinessKorea: "Daewoo Engineering &
Construction Co. ., a major South Korean builder, announced on May 4
that it had meetings with officials at major Iranian contractors and
won two tentative deals worth US$11.5 billion (13.29 trillion won) in
Tehran on the 3rd to construct a petrochemical plant and road
infrastructure. The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
with Bahman Geno Co., a local energy company, to build a large refinery
plant for about US$10 billion (11.56 trillion won) along with Hyundai
Engineering & Construction... Bahman Geno issued a letter of intent
to Hyundai E&C and Daewoo E&C in April for the engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) and financing deal and it will add
local companies to carry forward the project according to the Iranian
government regulations. Daewoo E&C also signed a MOU for Tehran
Shomal Freeway Lot 3 construction." http://t.uani.com/24xyRYY
Reuters: "The central banks of India
and Iran have reached an arrangement to use European banks to process
pending oil payments to Tehran, India's Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
told Reuters, unlocking $6.4 billion in stalled funds... Indian
refiners have been holding 55 percent of its oil payments to Iran after
a route to make payments through Turkey's Halkbank was stopped in 2013,
although payment of some of those funds was allowed after an initial
temporary deal to lift the sanctions. 'There is an agreement between
(India and Iran's) central banks. European banks will be the clearing
agent. They will be dealing with Iranian banks and we have to pay those
European banks,' Pradhan told Reuters in an interview... Indian
government sources said during Pradhan's visit to Tehran last month
Iran had asked India to consider clearing the oil payments through
Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank (EIH) of Germany, Central Bank of
Italy and Halkbank of Turkey." http://t.uani.com/1Zmpog4
Human
Rights
ICHRI: "Iran's Intelligence Ministry
officials are increasingly harassing and threatening independent journalists
in an apparent move to dissuade them from feeling emboldened by
reformist and centrist candidates' gains in the county's recent
Parliamentary elections. 'I received calls on my mobile phone two or
three times a day from an unknown number. After three days I finally
answered and a man who introduced himself as an agent of the
Intelligence Ministry asked me to go to the Laleh Hotel's restaurant
for a friendly meeting,' one journalist, who asked to remain anonymous,
told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The agent
then reminded the journalist about the 'red lines' journalists should
not cross, the source told the Campaign. 'He told me not to be deceived
by promises. My place is not in prison, he said, and he told me not to
assume something significant has happened with the change in
Parliament's make-up [which has tilted] in favor of the reformists,'
said the journalist. 'He said I'm under surveillance and warned me that
[while I] may not be arrested, my articles would be saved as evidence,'
added the journalist. The intimidation of journalists has been a
long-standing practice of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Yet these recent
incidents involved the Ministry of Intelligence, which is under the
direct authority of President Rouhani." http://t.uani.com/1T2nQGD
IHR: "Five prisoners hanged in
northern Iran in the span of two days: one in public on murder charges
and four at Ghezel Hesar Prison on drug charges." http://t.uani.com/1Xclzvq
Opinion
& Analysis
John
Podhoretz in NYPost:
"Congratulations, liberals of the Washington press corps and elite
organizations: You're a bunch of suckers. We all know this because the
Obama White House just told us so. In an astounding New York Times
piece by David Samuels, senior White House officials gleefully confess
they use friendly reporters and nonprofits as public relations tools in
the selling of President Obama's foreign policy - and can do it almost
at will because these tools are ignorant, will believe what they're
told, will essentially take dictation and are happy to be used just to
get the information necessary for a tweet or two. Their greatest
triumph, according to Samuels, was selling a misleading narrative about
the nuclear deal with Iran - the parameters of which were set a year
before the administration claimed and which had nothing to do with the
fact that a supposedly more accommodating government had risen to
power. The mastermind of the Obama machine is Ben Rhodes, a New Yorker
who joined the Obama campaign as a speechwriter in 2007 and has risen
to become the most influential foreign-policy hand in the White House.
Rhodes drips with contempt for almost everyone but his boss. He
consigns all those who do not share every particular of the
Obama-Rhodes foreign-policy perspective to a gelatinous mass called
'The Blob' - including, Samuels writes, Hillary Clinton... A
foreign-policy reporter named Laura Rozen, the most credulous conveyor
of pro-Iran-deal news last year, is given a specific shout-out by White
House digital guru Tanya Somanader. 'Laura Rozen was my RSS feed,'
Somanader tells Samuels. 'She would just find everything and retweet
it.' The Iran deal, you may recall, was wildly unpopular with the
American people. To ensure senators didn't cast a two-thirds vote
against it and kill it, the White House set up a digital response 'war
room' whose purpose was relentlessly to make the case that a vote
against the deal was a vote for war. It could only work if
water-carriers did the White House's job for it, and nonprofit
water-carriers did their faithful duty. 'We created an echo chamber,'
Rhodes tells Samuels about the journalists and think-tankers who were
discussing the Iran deal based almost entirely on information given to
them by the White House. 'They were saying things that validated what
we had given them to say.' Little did these denizens of Rhodes' echo
chamber know their loyalty would be seen as servility and would become
the subject of post-victory gloating. 'We had test drives to know who
was going to be able to carry our message effectively, and how to use
outside groups like Ploughshares, the Iran Project and whomever else,'
Rhodes says. 'So we knew the tactics that worked.' The storyline they
peddled was that the Iran deal had been negotiated in a furious round
of back-and-forthing in 2014 and 2015, with the United States getting
far better terms out of Iran than it expected due to the flexibility of
a newly moderate government in Tehran. It was, Samuels says, a
deliberately misleading narrative. The general terms were actually
hammered out in 2012 by State Department officials Jake Sullivan and
William Burns, rooted in Obama's deep desire from the beginning of the
administration to strike a grand deal with the mullahs... What the
Samuels piece shows is that the Obama administration chose to attempt
to get its way not by winning an argument but by bringing an almost
fathomless cynicism to bear in manipulating its own clueless liberal
fan club." http://t.uani.com/1OgNseD
Aida
Qajar in IranWire:
"On May 14, Iran will host the second Holocaust Cartoons contest,
a competition that was widely condemned around the world when it was
first launched a decade ago. In an interview with the US magazine The
New Yorker published on April 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad
Javad Zarif denied that the Iranian government had anything to do with
the competition and the accompanying exhibition. 'It's not Iran,' he
told the journalist Robin Wright. 'It's an NGO that is not controlled
by the Iranian government. Nor is it endorsed by the Iranian
government.' But Zarif was not telling the truth, or at least not the
whole truth. The fact is that this competition has the official backing
of the Iranian government, and the government has helped with its
preparation. The Holocaust Cartoons competition and festival was first
launched in 2006, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the president of Iran.
After the Danish cartoon scandal, when the newspaper Jyllands-Posten
published several cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad, the Islamic
Republic retaliated by organizing a two-day International Conference to
Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust. Manouchehr Mottaki,
Ahmadinejad's foreign minister, opened the conference proceedings.
Holocaust deniers from around the world attended, including David Duke,
a former Ku Klux Klan leader. The newspaper Hamshahri, published by the
office of Tehran's mayor, sponsored the event, and Ahmadinejad had
strong links to the office since prior to becoming president he had
served as mayor. His press advisor, Mohammad Ali Ramin, was among the
officials who publicly supported the exhibition... This chain of
command leaves no doubt that the government of the Islamic Republic
directly supports the Holocaust Cartoons competition. And the
government has played other roles as well. Zarif told the New Yorker
that the exhibition did not need a permit but the fact is that any
exhibition or conference in Iran needs a permit from the Ministry of
Culture and Islamic Guidance. A condition for such a permit is that the
exhibition or conference must not insult beliefs through 'sight, sound,
paintings or caricatures.' When asked about Zarif's statements,
cartoonist and organizer Shojaei Tabatabaei told Nasim news agency,'We
are coordinating [the competition] with Ministry of Culture and
officials...have been kept informed about the event.'" http://t.uani.com/1TMsVmj
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