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Stories
WSJ: "Even after the lifting of
international sanctions against Iran, long-standing U.S. banking
limitations are impeding the country's oil resurgence by forcing energy
companies to use small lenders or barter to get their deals done.
France's Total SA in February had to arrange payments through three
smaller European banks to ship the first exports of Iranian crude to
Europe in years, said Mohsen Ghamsari, the director in charge of
marketing oil at the National Iranian Oil Co. These banks do little
business in the U.S., making them less likely to run afoul of U.S.
restrictions. Before international banking sanctions, which started
around 2006, Total often used giant French bank BNP Paribas SA for
project finance and oil shipments in Iran, according to people familiar
with the matter. A BNP representative said the bank is wary of doing
business in Iran after getting hit with an $8.9 billion fine for
breaching American sanctions last year... The smaller banks that Mr.
Ghamsari said Total used-Germany's Europäisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG,
Switzerland's Banque de Commerce et de Placements and Turkey's Halk
Bankası-don't do much business in the U.S.-if any... Royal Dutch Shell
PLC and BP PLC, which declined to comment, have yet to buy Iranian oil because
their banks refuse to deal with the Islamic Republic, Mr. Ghamsari
said. After running into banking hurdles, some European companies are
setting up complex bartering arrangements to buy Iranian
petrochemicals-bypassing the Western banking system altogether-said Ali
Mohammad Bossaghzadeh, the director of production control at Iran's
state-run National Petrochemical Co." http://t.uani.com/27TTCxf
Reuters: "Obama administration
officials told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday they would oppose new
sanctions on Iran if they interfere with last year's international
nuclear agreement, laying the groundwork for a potential fight over any
legislation. 'If legislation were to undermine the deal, by taking off
the table commitments that we had put on the table, that would be a
problem,' Adam Szubin, the acting Treasury Department undersecretary
for terrorism and financial intelligence, told a House of
Representatives hearing. 'Certainly our allies around the world would
see us taking back major chunks of the sanctions relief as bad faith,'
Szubin told a Senate Banking Committee hearing later on Wednesday.
House and Senate members are drafting new sanctions measures, accusing
Iran of supporting terrorism, human rights abuses and violating its
international commitments by testing ballistic missiles. They want to
renew the Iran Sanctions Act, a broad U.S. law imposing sanctions over
Iran's nuclear and missile programs that expires at the end of 2016.
Administration officials have urged Congress not to rush to renew the
ISA. Lawmakers argue that new sanctions will help send a message that
Washington will take a hard line, despite the nuclear pact. Every
Republican in Congress and several of President Barack Obama's fellow
Democrats opposed the agreement. 'I feel it's not so terrible to have
Congress come up with new sanctions if we feel Iran is violating its
agreements,' said Representative Eliot Engel, top Democrat on the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, who opposed the nuclear pact." http://t.uani.com/1scFNcI
Bloomberg: "Saudi Arabia couldn't stop
the Iran nuclear deal from being signed. Plan B is to limit Iran's
ability to reap its benefits. The kingdom is mobilizing its Gulf allies
to make sure that, more than four months after the lifting of sanctions
on the Islamic Republic, Iran's opening-up to the global economy
doesn't go smoothly. Last month the Saudis scuttled a bid to stabilize
crude prices because it would have allowed their bitter foe to grab a
larger share of oil markets. And in Dubai, once their main gateway to
the world, Iranian businessmen privately complain of increasing
restrictions. It's a rearguard action by the Saudis as the U.S.
reassesses its role in the Middle East and investors are drawn to the
allure of Iran as the world's last untapped major frontier market.
Still, there are other drags on doing business with Iran that play into
the Saudi effort: European banks are still reluctant to do business in
the Islamic Republic for fear of possible U.S. sanctions." http://t.uani.com/1XzA50h
U.S.-Iran
Relations
Reuters: "Iran's Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for vigilance against what he called a
'soft war' mounted by the West and aimed at weakening the clerical
establishment, state television reported on Thursday... 'Our officials
and all parts of the establishment should be vigilant about the West's
continued soft war against Iran...the enemies want to weaken the system
from inside,' Khamenei said. In a meeting with members of the Assembly
of Experts, with authority to appoint and dismiss the supreme Leader,
Khamenei told Iranian officials: 'By impairing centers of powers in
Iran, it will be easy to harm the establishment from inside.' ... 'The
only way to materialize the (1979 Islamic) revolution's goals is
national unity and not to obey the enemy,' he said... 'Iran's enemies
try to influence decision-making centers, alter Iranian officials'
positions and change people's beliefs,' Khamenei said. 'We should be
strong and empowered.'" http://t.uani.com/27TTE8a
Congressional
Action
AP: "The House voted Wednesday to
bar the U.S. government from future purchases of heavy water from Iran,
undercutting the controversial nuclear pact with that nation and
earning a certain veto threat on a key government funding bill.
Wednesday night's 251-168 vote came on an amendment by Florida GOP Rep.
Ron DeSantis to a funding bill for the Energy Department. A similar
amendment died in the Senate after a major dust-up earlier this year,
when Democrats filibustered a companion proposal by freshman Sen. Tom
Cotton, R-Ark. Last month, the Obama administration completed an $8.6
million deal to buy 32 tons of heavy water from Iran. The amendment
wouldn't affect that deal but would thwart purchases next year.
Nonetheless, the White House has weighed in strongly with a veto
promise that may get the proposal removed during House-Senate
negotiations." http://t.uani.com/1TLANpN
The
Hill: "Senate
Republicans are linking a battle over Iran sanctions to a wide-ranging
defense policy bill. Sen. Kelly Ayotte-backed by 18 other Republican
senators-has filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA) to expand sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program and
individuals who support it. Ayotte's amendments would also extend the
Iran Sanctions Act, currently set to expire at the end of the year,
though 2031... Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the
top members of the Foreign Relations Committee, have been working on
sanctions legislation for months targeting Iran's ballistic missile
program and extending the Iran Sanctions Act. Sen. John Cornyn
(R-Texas), the Senate's No. 2 Republican, has also filed an amendment
to sanction individuals involved with an incident in which Iran boarded
U.S. ships and held American sailors earlier this year. The incident
sparked outrage from lawmakers, ahead of President Obama's final State
of the Union... Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) also wants to block the
Defense Department from entering into contracts with individuals who
support currently sanctioned Iranians or are connected to the Iran
Revolutionary Guards." http://t.uani.com/1TDizbX
CNN: "The Iran nuclear deal is
being fully implemented, according to Obama administration officials
who told skeptical lawmakers Wednesday that they'll continue to sanction
Tehran for its missile tests, support for terrorism and human rights
violations. Treasury and State Department officials said that the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, the July 2015 nuclear deal reached
between Iran, the U.S. and its allies, has extended the time it would
take Tehran to get a nuclear weapon, enhancing U.S. security and that
of its allies in Europe and the Middle East. But they spent the bulk of
a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing reassuring Republican and
Democratic lawmakers who questioned how aggressively the Obama
administration is penalizing Iran for its destabilizing activities in
the Middle East and how strictly it is enforcing the deal. 'We need to
make sure it's implemented to the letter,' said New York Democratic
Rep. Eliot Engel, 'and hold Iran's feet to the fire with respect to'
what he called its troublemaking in the region." http://t.uani.com/22qnYDm
Free
Beacon: "Rep.
Brad Sherman (D., Calif.) heaped criticism on the Iranian nuclear deal
during a Wednesday hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,
calling for more sanctions on Iran to punish its military involvement
in Syria. Sherman has been one of the most vocal Democratic dissenters
from the Obama administration's diplomatic agreement with Iran... 'This
House was divided on the Iran deal, but we were united in one thing,
sanctions work and Mr. Zubin, and thanks to you and your predecessors,
you proved they work by working hard to make sure that they work,'
Sherman said. 'Some believe that the sanctions got us a good deal, some
believe the sanctions would have gotten us a better deal, the only
agreement was sanctions work. And I join with the ranking member (Rep.
Eliot Engel [D., N.Y.]) in saying that we ought to have new sanctions
and Ambassador Mull, thank you for clarifying that that will
happen.'" http://t.uani.com/1sRB54P
Business
Risk
Reuters: "Shares in Turkey's state-run
Halkbank fell more than 3 percent on Thursday over concern about
developments in a case brought by U.S. prosecutors against a
Turkish-Iranian businessman. U.S. prosecutors late on Wednesday opposed
gold trader Reza Zarrab's request to be released from custody on bail
while he awaits trial for conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against
Iran, saying his wealth makes him a flight risk. Prosecutors pointed to
Zarrab's 2013 arrest in Turkey on charges that he bribed high-level
officials to facilitate transactions benefiting Iran. Halkbank's
general manager at the time was also accused but not charged in the
2013 Turkish investigation, which was later dropped." http://t.uani.com/1P0gIfd
AP: "An Instagram account
associated with a powerful general who leads an elite unit of Iran's
Revolutionary Guard briefly was inaccessible on the application. The
account featuring images of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who heads the elite
Quds Force focusing on foreign operations, was inaccessible Wednesday,
then later restored. It's unclear whether the account, followed by some
300,000 users, is managed on Soleimani's behalf. Iran's semi-official
Fars news agency described it as belonging to him. A website associated
with Iranian state television also reported on the account's
disappearance. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, did not
immediately respond to a request for comment." http://t.uani.com/1WmqAlV
Sanctions
Enforcement
AP: "A Turkish celebrity who
lived the high life as he enabled Iran to overcome U.S. sanctions and
deceive the United States and the international banking system for
years is a flight risk and shouldn't get bail, prosecutors said
Wednesday. In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors said
Reza Zarrab, 32, had vast assets that could be used to flee to avoid
the likely decades in prison he will face if convicted of criminal
charges that resulted in his March arrest in Miami... In arguing
against bail, prosecutors described Zarrab as a 'sophisticated,
well-connected, international businessman with immense wealth and
influence.' They said he is charged with aiding Iran in its deception of
the United States and the international banking system from 2010 to
2015, enabling millions of dollars to pass through. Other charges
include bank fraud and money laundering." http://t.uani.com/25jTlBn
Sanctions
Relief
Reuters: "German exports to Iran,
especially of machines and equipment, rose significantly in the first
quarter following the removal of international sanctions against the
Islamic Republic, government data showed on Thursday. Exports to Iran
surged by 7 percent year-on-year in the January-March period to 500
million euros (380 million pounds), the Federal Statistics Office said.
This compares with a 0.7 percent rise in overall, year-on-year German
exports in the same period. 'This is quite reasonable,' said Michael
Tockuss, head of the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce. 'Machines and
equipment are doing exceptionally well, but also grain and wheat.' For
decades before sanctions were imposed, Germany was Iran's biggest
trading partner... German industry anticipated a steep rise in exports
to Iran after world powers lifted crippling sanctions against the
Islamic Republic in January in return for Tehran's compliance with a
deal to curb its nuclear ambitions. However, Tockuss said great
expectations arising from the nuclear deal have been dampened by
difficulties in financing as Western banks remain reluctant to do
business in Iran for fear of transparency issues that could lead to
fines... 'The whole big euphoria that existed a few months ago has
evaporated a little bit,' said Tockuss. 'This is mainly because of the
big difficulties with financing.' He added that Iran had shown interest
in large-scale projects to build refineries and petrochemical factories
and cement plants, but was unable to finance such undertakings with
credit from foreign banks. 'Its own banks lack liquidity. They are
dependent on our banks to finance projects,' Tockuss said. Despite such
difficulties, he said, Germany should expect business with Iran to
outperform activity with most other emerging markets. German exports to
Iran could reach 2.5-3 billion euros this year, up from 2 billion euros
in 2015, he added." http://t.uani.com/1TDfN6A
Tehran
Times:
"Christian Benger, the regional minister of Austrian state of
Carinthia for economy, agriculture and tourism, says there is high
know-how technology in the fields of solar and other green energy
resources as well as water management in Austria and the country is
keen to help Iran in these areas. In an interview with the Tehran
Times, Benger said, 'There is also high know-how in Austria for
recycling plastics. You have petrochemical industry and we have
technology to recycle your products, so a lot of opportunities we can
develop.' The interview came on the sidelines of a meeting between
Benger, heading a high-ranking trade delegation, and Masoud Khansari,
the chairman of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and
Agriculture, in Tehran on Wednesday. The Austrian minister mentioned
problems with the banks and money transfer as the main downside for
business in Iran, while noting, 'I think this will be solved in the
very near future.' Austrian banks help remove this obstacle, Benger
said, adding, 'Raiffeisen Bank is one of the main Austrian banks in the
international business. It's the Austrian control bank, which controls
every international money transfer. This bank and all other banks are
active and support resolving this problem. So, solutions will be seen
in the near future.'" http://t.uani.com/1sAMbul
Press
TV (Iran): "A
senior Iranian trade official says Austria's Oberbank and Raiffeisen
Bank International (RBI) are now connected to Iranian banks. Tehran
Chamber of Commerce Chairman Masoud Khansari said that the two Austrian
banks have started opening letters of credit (LCs) for Iranian
businesses, facilitating trade transactions between the two countries.
He announced the news in Tehran on Wednesday on the sidelines of a
meeting between Tehran Chamber of Commerce and a trade delegation from
the state of Carinthia in southernmost Austria, headed by Christian
Benger, the regional minister for economy, agriculture and tourism...
Oberbank is an independent regional bank located in the heart of Europe
and headquartered in Linz in the north-center of Austria and Raiffeisen
Bank International is the central and the largest institution of the
Raiffeisen Banking Group." http://t.uani.com/1qLGngi
Reuters: "China's National
Transportation Equipment & Engineering Co is close to agreeing with
Tehran on a $3 billion railway project to connect the capital with the
northeastern holy city of Mashhad, a Chinese source familiar with the
talks told Reuters." http://t.uani.com/27TUyl9
Terrorism
Asharq
Al-Awsat:
"Iran decided to provide fixed financial support to the
Palestinian Jihad Islamic Movement, has visited Tehran in April,
Palestinian sources close to the movement stated. The PIJ delegation
was headed by its Secretary General Ramadan Shalah and included his
assistants Ziad Nakhleh and military official of the movement Akram
Ajuri. It held several public meetings with Iranian leaderships and
other private meetings with the Commander of the Iranian National Guard
and Commander of the Quds Force Qassem Soleimani. The parties discussed
various files that elaborated the Iranian vision for the PIJ Movement
in the coming years. One of the major decisions taken by Qassem
Soleimani and approved by the political and military offices of the
Movement, according to the sources, was restructuring al-Quds Brigades,
the armed wing of the PIJ, and assigning Khaled Mansour the general
commander of the Brigades in Gazza Strip. Notably, Mansour is
considered to be one of the most prominent leaders who are close to
Iran and is respected and honored by the PIJ Movement. Soleimani also
ordered allocating $70 million as an annual budget for the Quds
Brigades, transferred from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's treasury.
Tehran pledged funding the movement consistently after a hiatus for two
years." http://t.uani.com/1P0keGk
Bloomberg: "The Afghan Taliban said its
former leader traveled frequently to the Middle East from Pakistan over
the past decade to raise funds for an insurgency against U.S.-led
forces, highlighting the ease with which the group was able to move
around the region. Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, who was killed in a
U.S. drone strike on Saturday, used a Pakistani passport to visit the
United Arab Emirates, Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban's main spokesman,
said by phone. Mansour had been on a United Nations no-fly list since 2001.
'He held meetings with Afghan businessmen and Islamic nations in the
U.A.E. to discuss our Afghan holy war and raise funds for Taliban
operations in Western-occupied Afghanistan,' Mujahed said. He added
that Mansour also traveled to neighboring Iran on 'unofficial trips.'
... 'Ongoing battle obligations' obliged Mansour to visit areas in Iran
near its borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to Mujahed,
the Taliban spokesman... Mansour's death is a major blow to Pakistan
and possibly also Iran, which may have forged links with the Taliban to
undercut U.S. interests in the region, according to Waheed Muzhda, a
former Foreign Ministry official in the Taliban regime who is now a
political analyst in Kabul. 'Iran has always opposed the U.S. presence in
Afghanistan,' Muzhda said. 'Iran may also have been behind the curtain
to stab the U.S. in the back using Taliban militants.'" http://t.uani.com/22qmQ2N
Domestic
Politics
Reuters: "Long used to lucrative state
contracts, Iran's biggest construction company faces leaner times, as
overseas firms better able to attract financing push for orders in an
economy trying to open to the world after years of sanctions. The
misfortunes of Khatam al Anbia Construction Headquarters (KAA) are an
unwelcome novelty for its powerful owners, the Revolutionary Guards, a
military unit created by the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini which also secured an economic foothold after the
1980s Iran-Iraq war. The conglomerate came to dominate the building
sector under the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad between 2005 and
2013, winning billions of dollars of state contracts for oil and gas
facilities, roads and dams. The Guards have not hesitated to make their
displeasure public. 'The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has huge
potential in construction fields,' Tasnim news agency quoted Guards
chief Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying in March. 'Unfortunately, the government
has not welcomed its (project) suggestions and activities.' KAA chief
Ebadallah Abdollahi, who as a Guards commander often wears military
uniform, said this month that one million people were working on the
company's projects. But KAA's dominance looks likely to fade as
President Hassan Rouhani's administration draws up plans for huge
infrastructure projects to jump-start the economy after international
sanctions over Iran's nuclear program were removed in January, industry
executives and analysts say. Instead of enlisting KAA, the government
is turning to foreign firms to discuss contracts for the projects
partly because, with its budget strained by low oil prices and damage
from the sanctions, it wants financial support from abroad." http://t.uani.com/27TUyl9
Opinion
& Analysis
Business
Standard (India) Editorial: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received some
unsolicited advice on his two-day Iran visit from an unlikely source:
one-time Democratic Party vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman.
The maverick former Senator, who has repudiated much of his earlier
liberalism in favour of a hawkish foreign policy outlook, now chairs an
organisation called United Against Nuclear Iran that opposes closer
ties with the country that had labelled the US 'The Great Satan' for
decades. In this capacity, Lieberman has taken it upon himself to issue
a press release warning Modi of the risks of doing business with Iran
because it sponsors Hamas and Hezbollah. 'Prime Minister Modi has a
special opportunity to focus his efforts on pressuring Iran to halt its
destabilising and provocative behaviour, rather than prematurely
rewarding the regime with lucrative business opportunities,' the press
release quotes Lieberman as saying. He seems to be unaware that India
did business with Iran even when the US-led sanctions regime was in
place." http://t.uani.com/1OPkkeI
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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
Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive
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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
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