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FT: "An influential American lobby group that
tried to block the Iran nuclear deal is launching an international
campaign to discourage big western companies from doing business in the
country, warning that they could fall foul of remaining sanctions.
United Against Nuclear Iran, a bipartisan group which was at the
forefront of the campaign against last year's landmark nuclear
agreement, will use a mixture of newspaper adverts and public letters
to put pressure on multinationals that have either returned to Iran
since the deal or are thinking of doing so. The ramped-up lobbying
against business with Iran comes at a sensitive time when Tehran is already
complaining loudly about what it believes to be the lack of economic
benefits it has received so far from the agreement... UANI plans to
send letters warning about the continued risks of doing business with
Iran to 140 international companies who are pursuing business there, 30
of which have already been written. It will also publish a series of
newspaper and television adverts in Europe this week ahead of a major
conference in Zurich to encourage trade and investment in Iran. 'As
they get on a plane to Tehran, companies need to have a hard look at
the business risk,' said Mark Wallace, a former US ambassador to the UN
who is chief executive of UANI. 'The risk profile has not fundamentally
changed.' Mr Wallace pointed to US sanctions that are still in place
over Iranian human rights violations, support of terrorism, and its
ballistic missile programme. Any company connected to the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards is also still covered by sanctions. Responding to
the charge that he was using public pressure on multinationals to try
to unpick the Iran deal, Mr Wallace said that the agreement did offer
'limited sanctions relief' to Iran 'but in terms of a flood of
businesses going back in, that was never the idea'. It was a risk for
companies to be associated, he said, with 'the country that is the
biggest state-sponsor of terrorism'... The companies UANI has written
to so far include General Electric, Bombardier, Maersk and Siemens. In
its letter to GE, which has said it intends to do some business with
Iran, UANI said the company's decision would 'give aid and comfort to a
lawless regime that foments terrorism and unrest'. GE responded that
any business it conducted in Iran would be 'allowed by [US] laws and
regulations' and would be 'consistent with the foreign policy of the
United States and in the best interests of GE's shareholders.'" http://t.uani.com/1TFCdke
NYT: "The
United States on Friday rejected Iranian accusations that it had broken
international law with a Supreme Court ruling that allows the use of
seized assets from Iran's central bank to compensate American victims
of terrorist attacks. The Iranian accusations, which hinted that
retaliation was possible, were contained in an angry letter by Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, sent on Thursday to Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations. The letter, which Iran's United
Nations mission distributed to the news media, asked for Mr. Ban's help
in stopping the United States from carrying out the April 20 court
ruling. Under the ruling, nearly $2 billion in impounded assets from
Iran's central bank may be disbursed to more than 1,000 Americans - survivors
and relatives of victims killed in terrorist attacks that the United
States has attributed to Iranian agents. Iran, which has denied any
responsibility for the attacks, has described the ruling as an
'outrageous robbery.' Mr. Zarif's letter also asked Mr. Ban to help
ensure that the United States carries out its commitments under the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name of the nuclear
agreement between Iran and major powers that took effect in January.
Mr. Zarif reiterated complaints that the Americans were interfering
with Iran's ability to conduct financial transactions permitted by that
agreement. Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said in a
statement on Friday that American officials were aware of Mr. Zarif's
letter to Mr. Ban but that the United States rejected the complaint
about the Supreme Court ruling. 'We believe the U.S. laws and the
application of those laws by the courts of the United States comport
with international law,' Mr. Toner said. Regarding Mr. Zarif's other
complaint, Mr. Toner reiterated assertions made last week by Secretary
of State John Kerry that the United States was 'committed to doing our
part' in the nuclear deal. 'The United States is not standing in the
way and will not stand in the way of business that is permitted with
Iran' since the nuclear deal took effect, Mr. Toner said." http://t.uani.com/1UrPtuR
NYT: "Supporters of President
Hassan Rouhani of Iran have won more seats in parliamentary runoff
elections, the Iranian state news media reported Saturday, but they
failed to win enough of the 68 contested seats to secure a majority,
limiting their ability to carry out significant political and social changes.
The gains made by the moderates and reformists were not enough to
decisively alter the balance of power in Iran, the president's
supporters acknowledged. They added that political clashes between
their lawmakers and conservative hard-liners were bound to increase.
'Expect a Parliament with a slightly friendlier tone, but also many
political crises,' said Farshad Ghorbanpour, a political analyst close
to the government. After Friday's runoff elections for races that were
not decided in the first round of voting in February, the reformists
and moderate supporters of Mr. Rouhani hold 122 seats in the 290-member
Parliament, and the conservative hard-liners have 84, the state media
reported. Independents - who are likely to side with Iran's
conservative clerical leaders, particularly the country's supreme
leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on crucial issues - have 82 seats,
according to the results announced by the state media... Conservatives
expect that many of the independent candidates will vote with them, one
political analyst said. With no group controlling a majority, many
decisions will be hotly contested. 'There will be many, and intense,
discussions,' said Hamidreza Taraghi, a political analyst close to
Iran's conservative leaders. 'Making decisions will be more
complicated.'" http://t.uani.com/26Kt6G7
Nuclear
& Ballistic Missile Program
AFP: "Iran's outgoing parliament
approved a motion Sunday to increase the capabilities of the country's
ballistic missiles, a military programme that has been ruled dangerous
by the United Nations... Lawmakers said measures must be taken 'to
develop and increase ballistic missile capability' and 'short, medium
and long range anti-aircraft capabilities.'" http://t.uani.com/1rN7ngF
AP: "The sanctions lifted, the
head of Iran's nuclear program is coming to talk business with Czech leaders.
The Czech Foreign Ministry says Monday the two-day visit of Iran's vice
president and nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, will focus on developing
a bilateral nuclear cooperation. The Czechs say that would contribute
to a better international control of Iran's nuclear program. Iran is
seeking help from European nations to better its civilian program... In
Prague, Salehi is meeting the prime minister, foreign minister,
industry and trade minister and the head of the nuclear watchdog."
http://t.uani.com/1rcNCOL
WSJ: "South Korea's president said
she sought Iran's help to implement international sanctions against
North Korea as Seoul works to build pressure on its volatile neighbor
amid concerns that Pyongyang will carry out another nuclear test. 'I
explained our government's intolerance of North Korea's nuclear weapons
... and asked for Iran's cooperation,' President Park Geun-hye said in
televised remarks following talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
in Tehran on Monday. Mr. Rouhani said Iran was 'in principle, opposed
to any nuclear-weapons development' and added that Tehran hoped for
peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula... Iran and North Korea
have had military ties dating back to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s,
when Pyongyang supplied Scud missiles to Tehran. U.S. officials have
also expressed concerns about possible cooperation in nuclear
technology between North Korea and Iran, such as sharing of technology
or test data. Iran says it has no current military ties with North
Korea. But earlier this year, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned an official
in an Iranian organization that it alleged had sent missile technicians
to North Korea in recent years to work on a rocket booster being
developed by Pyongyang. Iran and North Korea have regular diplomatic
and trade links, and in 2012 signed an agreement for the expansion of
mutual cooperation in scientific, academic and technological
fields." http://t.uani.com/1rcPmaS
Free
Beacon: "Iran
is offering to help the global community construct nuclear power
plants, according to a top official, who said that Iran would be home
to seven new nuclear plants by 2020, according to recent remarks.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy
Organization, announced on Friday that Iran has the technology and
know-how to help the world's advanced nations construct nuclear power
plants. Iran is currently holding talks with a variety of nations aimed
at cementing new deals to construct new nuclear plants, Kamalvandi was
quoted as saying in the country's state-controlled press. 'Besides
Bushehr nuclear power plant and two other plants being constructed in
Iran, four others will be built by 2020,' Kamalvandi announced. Iran
has been working with Russia to construct several new nuclear plants in
the country. 'The Islamic Republic is pursuing a plan 'to build at least
one nuclear power plant every 15 years,' Kamalvandi said in separate
remarks this month." http://t.uani.com/1TfwjDj
U.S.-Iran
Relations
AP: "Iran's Supreme Leader
criticized the U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf region on Monday,
saying American forces should go back to the Bay of Pigs, state media
reported. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a group of teachers Monday that
American military drills in the region were proof of U.S. arrogance.
'They sit together, scheme and say that Iran must not hold war games in
the Persian Gulf. What a foolish remark! They come here from the other
side of the globe and stage war games. What are you doing here? Go back
to the Bay of Pigs. Go and hold exercises there. What are you doing in
the Persian Gulf? The Persian Gulf is our home,' said Khamenei. State
TV broadcast part of his speech. His remarks were an apparent reference
to the 1961 failed invasion of Cuba by 1,500 CIA-trained exiles.
Muslims also view pigs as unclean animals as the Quran prohibits
followers of Islam from eating pork." http://t.uani.com/1VGUeSG
Reuters: "The United Nations on Friday
suggested it would be willing to assist in a dispute between Tehran and
Washington after Iran requested U.N. help in convincing the United
States to stop what the Islamic Republic says are violations of state
immunity. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote to U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday to ask him to intervene with
his 'good offices' after the top U.S. court ruled that $2 billion in
frozen Iranian assets must be paid to American victims of attacks
blamed on Tehran. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed receipt of
Zarif's letter. 'We'll obviously take a look at it,' he told reporters.
'As a matter of principle ... the Secretary-General's good offices are
always available should both parties to whatever tensions or issue
request it.' State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United
States was aware of the letter. 'To the extent that this letter was
prompted by the recent Supreme Court decision in the Bank Markazi v.
Peterson case, we believe the U.S. laws and the application of those
laws by the courts ... comport with international law,' he said." http://t.uani.com/21pQUec
Business
Risk
DW: "Following the relaxation of
some Western sanctions, Iran is embracing its role as a regional
hegemon and not shying away from direct conflict with Saudi Arabia. But
it's also a country with lamentably decrepit infrastructure and a
strong desire for Western know-how, particularly of the kind that leads
to long-term cooperations. That's why 150 business representatives are
joining German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel as he travels to Tehran
this Monday. 'We see great potential for closer cooperation, especially
in the fields of mechanical engineering or renewable energy,' a
spokesman for Gabriel said. Gabriel (pictured above during his last
visit to Iran) became one of the first Western politicians to visit
Iran shortly after the historic resolution of the years-old nuclear
dispute with the Islamic Republic. Even back then, Gabriel didn't mince
his words: A trip to this strict Muslim country is never without
controversy. Thus Germany must make utterly clear: 'Whoever has
sustainable relations with us, they may never call Israel's right to
exist into question,' Gabriel said at the time. The youth organization
of Gabriel's Social Democrats, the Young Socialists, however, views the
minister's trip critically. Branches in Lower Saxony and Berlin
distributed a statement that called for the trip to be canceled. 'He
who makes deals with an anti-Semitic dictatorship that threatens Israel
with annihilation and is a world leader in human rights violations, is
complicit,' the statement read... The German government's coordinator
for transatlantic relations, Jürgen Hardt, is also cautious when it
comes to doing business with Iran. He said it would be premature for
Chancellor Angela Merkel to visit Iran as long as the country puts a
'Greetings to Israel' label on its rockets. 'If the Iranian president
were to seize the occasion of a trip to Germany to officially
acknowledge Israel's right to exist, it would exactly be the right
place to do so,' Hardt argued. This makes it abundantly clear that
there may be hopes for good business, but bilateral relations will
remain difficult medium-term." http://t.uani.com/26KyaKk
Sanctions
Relief
AFP: "Iran and South Korea have
decided to triple their annual trade volume to $18 billion, President
Hassan Rouhani announced Monday after meeting his South Korean
counterpart Park Geun-Hye. 'The two sides decided to increase by three
times the current trade volume of around $6 billion (5.2 billion euros)
to $18 billion,' Rouhani said in a joint televised press conference.
'We also spoke about tourism, direct flights between Seoul and Tehran,
and Korean investment in Iranian tourism infrastructure, including building
hotels,' he added. Park is the first South Korean president to visit
Iran since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1962,
and as Seoul seeks new markets to turn around a lengthy decline in
export revenues. Her three-day visit comes just months after a historic
nuclear deal with world powers lifted sanctions crippling Iran's
economy in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. Park, who is
accompanied by several ministers and a 230-strong business delegation,
will also be received by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The two countries have pledged to develop their relations in the energy
sector. 'We will expand relations in energy projects and
infrastructure... and in oil, gas, railways and ports,' Park said.
Tehran hopes this month to increase its oil exports to Seoul to 400,000
barrels per day from a current 100,000 bpd, according to Oil Minister
Bijan Zanganeh. The two governments signed 19 cooperation documents in
the presence of the presidents, and further memorandums of
understanding were due to be signed by the private sector, Rouhani
said." http://t.uani.com/1SXf0go
Tehran
Times: "International
prominent oil companies will take part in the 21st International Oil,
Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition of Iran (Iran Oil Show
2016), the Director of Iranian Oil Ministry's Public Relations
Department Akbar Ne'matollahi announced, the ministry's public
relations department reported on Saturday. 'Renowned international
companies namely Gazprom, Lukoil, Sulzer, Lincoln Electric, and FUCHS
are the definite participants of the oil show, while some Italian
companies are conducting negotiations to confirm their presence in the
show,' Ne'matollahi, who is also the head of policymaking council of
oil ministry's exhibitions, said. The official said that by the time,
more than 900 Iranian companies and above 800 foreign ones have
purchased their booths in the exhibition. The total number of
participant companies will surpass 1,900 ones, he added... Tehran will
host the named exhibition, which is the country's first oil show in
post-sanction era, at Tehran Permanent International Fairground from May
5 to 8." http://t.uani.com/24iwo4D
Reuters: "India's oil imports from
Iran rose 48.8 percent in April from a year ago as refiners bought more
crude after the lifting of sanctions against the OPEC producer,
although the purchases were down from a multi-year high hit the
previous month. Refiners in the world's third-largest crude importer
took in 393,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil in April, the first
month of the new contract year, according to preliminary tanker arrival
data from trade sources and ship-tracking services on the Thomson
Reuters terminal. The April shipments were down 22.4 percent from
Iranian volumes in March, when imports from Tehran topped 500,000 bpd
to reach the highest level in at least five years. India's oil imports
from Iran are set to surge to a seven-year high in the year that began
April 1, industry sources said early last month, with the nation's
state-owned and private refiners together buying at least 400,000 bpd.
Part of India's recent resurgence in Iranian purchases comes from
Reliance Industries, operator of the world's biggest refining complex,
which in March took oil from Iran for the first time in six years for
its plant in western India. The private refiner, however, did not take
any parcel from Tehran in April, accounting for most of the drop from
the previous month. Its purchases in March were done under spot deals,
although it is looking to sign up for long-term supplies from Iran.
Another private refiner, Essar Oil, was the biggest buyer of Iranian
oil in April, shipping in about 181,300 bpd, followed by Mangalore
Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd with about 110,200 bpd, and Indian Oil
Corp with 101,400 bpd, the shipping and terminal data showed. In the
first four month of 2016 India's Iran oil imports more than doubled to
322,500 bpd, the data showed, in comparison with 160,500 bpd in the
same period last year." http://t.uani.com/1TFDiIC
Reuters: "Two European refiners are
set to receive their first oil cargoes from Iran since international
sanctions were lifted in January against the country, which is ramping
up crude exports in a battle to take back market share... Italy's IPLOM
booked a 1 million barrel cargo of Iranian crude that is sailing
towards the country aboard the Poetic, industry sources told Reuters.
It will be the first post-sanctions cargo to arrive in Italy. Oil
trading and shipping sources said Greek refiner Motor Oil Hellas would
also receive its first post-sanctions delivery of Iranian crude aboard
the Kriti Breeze, which loaded at Kharg Island on April 20... France's
Total, Spain's Cepsa and Greece's Hellenic Petroleum have booked
Iranian crude for their European refineries this year. Others,
including Italy's Saras and ENI, have expressed interest in buying. But
exports have been much slower than Iran targeted due to struggles with
shipping and insurance." http://t.uani.com/1OapLEH
Reuters: "German Economy Minister
Sigmar Gabriel has fallen ill and therefore cancelled a trip to Iran
where he was expected to co-chair an economic conference with his
Iranian counterpart, a German government official said on Sunday.
German industry has been hoping for a surge in exports to Iran after
international sanctions were lifted in January in return for the
Islamic Republic complying with a deal to curb its nuclear programme.
The government official did not give further details on Gabriel's
illness. No new date for a visit had been fixed, the official said. The
minister had planned to co-chair an economic conference with Iranian
counterpart Ali Tayyebnia in Tehran on Tuesday, and German companies
had seen the event as a potential catalyst for increasing exports to
Iran to as much 5 billion euros per year, double their current worth.
But the head of the German banking association on Friday dampened such
expectations, saying it would take some time to restore banks'
financial ties with Iran due to old debt still owed to Berlin and
general transparency concerns. 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." http://t.uani.com/1SUXLcz
Congressional
Action
Daily
Caller: "A
new bill set to be introduced Friday by Rep. Peter Roskam and
co-sponsored by Jackie Walorski aims to prevent the Department of
Defense (DOD) from awarding contracts to companies that do business
with Iran. If passed, companies that want to do business with the DOD
would have to certify they are not conducting a significant amount of
business with Iranian nationals designated by the Department of the
Treasury. The intent of Roskam's bill is to signal to companies they
can either do business with the U.S. or Iran, but not both. The bill
intends to specifically target Iranian entities with connections to the
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the paramilitary
organization that operates under Iran's supreme leader. It would apply to
any Iranian individual named on the Treasury Department's Office of
Foreign Asset Control's (OFAC) specially designated nationals and
blocked persons lists. The IRGC is well-known for funding and
coordinating with Iran's various terrorist proxies across the globe,
such as Lebanon's Hezbollah. 'This is common sense. If a company
subsidizes terrorism, it should not be eligible to receive taxpayer
dollars in the form of DOD contracts,' Roskam told The Daily Caller
News Foundation... 'I look forward to offering the No Defense Contracts
for Terror Profiteers Act as an amendment to the NDAA once it hits the
House floor and expect it to receive widespread support,' said
Roskam." http://t.uani.com/1rcUvj9
Daily
Caller: "Rep.
Robert Pittenger, along with 22 of his congressional colleagues, demand
the Obama administration explain why it ceased sanctions on a Chinese
telecommunications company accused of violating export bans imposed
against Iran. In a Thursday letter sent to Secretary of Commerce Penny
Pritzker, Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew and Secretary of State
John Kerry, Pittenger and his colleagues allege that in 2012, Chinese
telecommunications giant ZTE illegally sold communications equipment to
the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI), a state-run entity. The
equipment could be utilized by the government to monitor and suppress
Iranian citizens and dissident voices, according to the letter. It is
believed that the Commerce Department made a deal with ZTE to cease
sanctions as the government's investigation continues. 'We are
concerned that if ZTE is not ultimately punished for its reported
conduct, American export control laws and international efforts to promote
human rights in Iran will be weakened,' said Pittenger and his
colleagues in the letter. Pittenger explained in an interview with The
Daily Caller News Foundation that China was part of the international
sanctions regime imposed on Iran when the sale occurred, which means
ZTE should not have been allowed to sell the equipment to Iran. 'Iran's
abuse of human rights is ongoing,' said Pittenger to TheDCNF, noting
that the Islamic Republic has only become more aggressive since the
signing of the Iran nuclear deal last July. 'What changed in Iran to
allow this to happen?'" http://t.uani.com/1VGX7mw
Extremism
JTA: "The U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum challenged a claim by the Iranian foreign minister that Iranian
government authorities had nothing to do with a Holocaust cartoon
contest. 'The organizations associated with the contest are sponsored
or supported by government entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps, the Tehran Municipality, and the Ministry of Islamic
Guidance,' the museum said Friday in a statement. 'Previous contests in
2006 and 2015 have had the endorsement and support of government
officials and agencies,' the museum said. 'There are reports in the
Iranian press that the Ministry of Culture is asserting its support for
the upcoming contest.' Javad Zarif last week told the New Yorker that
his government 'does not support, nor does it organize, any cartoon
festival of the nature that you're talking about.' He said the festival
is organized by a non-governmental organization 'that is not controlled
by the Iranian government.' ... Zarif said the government's role in
this case is limited to issuing visas for those who attend. 'We take into
consideration that people who have preached racial hatred and violence
will not be invited,' he said... In its statement, the Holocaust museum
said it 'urges global leaders to hold the Iranian government to Foreign
Minister Zarif's promise to deny visas to some contest participants and
that neither he nor President Rouhani would attend the contest.'" http://t.uani.com/1SFY2RI
Regional
Destabilization
AFP: "Iran has passed a law
allowing the government to grant citizenship to the families of
foreigners killed while fighting for the Islamic republic, the official
IRNA news agency reported Monday. 'Members of the parliament authorised
the government to grant Iranian citizenship to the wife, children and
parents of foreign martyrs who died on a mission... during the
Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) and afterwards,' it said. Citizenship must be
awarded 'within a maximum period of one year after the request', IRNA
added... The law could apply to 'volunteers' from Afghanistan and
Pakistan who are fighting in Syria and Iraq against jihadists including
the Islamic State group and Al-Nusra Front... Tehran says its
Fatemiyoun Brigade, comprised of Afghan recruits, are volunteers
defending sacred Shiite sites in Syria and Iraq against Sunni
extremists like those of IS... Iranian media regularly report on the
death of Afghan and Pakistani volunteers in Syria and Iraq, whose
bodies are buried in Iran." http://t.uani.com/1TpQn6h
Daily
Star (Lebanon):
"Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri blasted Iran during a visit to
Turkey Friday, saying its 'negative interference' in the affairs of
regional states is preventing the establishment of good ties with
Tehran. He also staunchly rejected reported proposals for the election
of a Lebanese president for two years, saying such a move needs an
amendment of the Constitution. Hariri spoke to reporters after holding
talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Yildiz Palace
in Istanbul... 'I also explained to the president the impact of the
presidential vacancy on the situation in Lebanon, particularly the
economic and political life. We also talked about the Iranian role in
the region. We want good relations with Iran, but its negative
interference in the countries of the region is preventing these good
relations. We will continue the discussion with Turkish Prime Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu.'" http://t.uani.com/1VGUNvI
Human
Rights
FT: "Setayesh Ghoreishi, was just
six when she died. The Afghan girl was allegedly raped and killed by a
17-year-old, who then destroyed her body with acid. Her case could have
disappeared in the Iranian court system - Afghan migrants, who number
about 2m, often face discrimination by the judiciary and other institutions.
Instead, her death provoked a social media storm, with an online
outpouring of grief and a show of solidarity with Afghan migrants. A
vigil for the murdered child was organised via Telegram, a popular
messaging app in Iran, and eventually the judiciary took notice and
promised to fast-track her case. The public outcry over the murder is
an example of how social media has allowed Iran's civil society to hold
accountable hardliners in the judiciary and other state bodies without
directly challenging the regime. 'Those people who were suppressed [for
pro-democracy activities] are not dead and live under the city's skin,
have created a vibrant information society,' said Hamid-Reza
Jalaeipour, a reform-minded sociologist. 'They react to anything that
concerns them but are not covered by official media. The murder of this
Afghan girl could have gathered at least 10,000 people if the police
had not intervened.' ... Another successful social media campaign is
helping a detainee of the notorious Evin Prison. Omid Kokabee, an
Iranian physicist associated with the University of Texas, has been in
the jail since being arrested on charges of espionage in 2011. He is
currently suffering from kidney cancer, and Iranians blame the regime
for delaying treatment two years ago that could have helped prevent its
spread. A #freeomid campaign has prompted a response from
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, a hardline spokesman of the judiciary who
has denied any failure on the part of the authorities but said the
prisoner's 10-year sentence could be reconsidered depending on his
medical condition. 'What would Kokabee have done if he were free?' said
Mr Ejei. 'He would have gone to hospital. He is in hospital now.'"
http://t.uani.com/1SXfP8U
ICHRI: "In a long-established
practice of targeting the family members of Iranian journalists who
live outside Iran, the Revolutionary Guards have sentenced the brother
of a journalist to five years in prison, on trumped up national
security charges. The Guards have long harassed the relatives of
Iranian journalists living abroad, in an effort to intimidate
foreign-based reporters and silence critical media coverage of the
Islamic Republic. In the most recent case, Davoud Assadi, the brother
of the well-known Iranian journalist Houshang Assadi who lives in
Paris, was sentenced to the five-year prison term for 'assembly and
collusion against national security.' Yet Davoud Assadi, while referred
to for six months by Iranian news media as a 'journalist' in detention,
is neither a journalist nor has he ever been interested or involved in
politics. Rather, he is the marketing manager of a private company
based in Tehran. He is in his early 30s, married, and has a
child." http://t.uani.com/1Tfx7YP
Domestic
Politics
AFP: "Iran's new parliament will
have more women than clerics when its members are sworn in this month,
a first in the Islamic republic and a sign of the country's evolving
politics... After the second round of elections a record 17 women will
become lawmakers in the 290-seat parliament -- one more than the number
of clerics, which has hit an all time low. In the first parliament that
followed the Islamic revolution in 1979 there were 164 clerics
elected... Although the 17 women, nearly all reformists, elected
represent only nine percent of the total it is a high for the Islamic
republic and almost double the nine conservative women in the outgoing
chamber. The previous high for female MPs was 14." http://t.uani.com/1rN50us
Foreign
Affairs
The
Hindu: "In a
bid to balance India's relations in West Asia, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi is expected to make a visit to Iran later this month. According to
sources, the dates are yet to be finalised, but the Prime Minister is
likely to travel to Iran between May 21 and May 23. In the run-up to
the visit, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Oil and
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan have made trips to Iran where
they held extensive discussions on the agenda for the Prime Minister's
visit, where he will possibly travel to Tehran, Chabahar and visit gas
fields of India's interest. According to officials involved in the
planning of the visit, Mr. Modi will have a three-pronged agenda: of
connectivity, energy and balance in the region." http://t.uani.com/1SXh1sP
Opinion
& Analysis
UANI
Advisory Board Member Olli Heinonen in FDD: "The Joint Comprehensive Plan
of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the international community limits
Tehran's heavy water inventory to no more than 130 metric tons for the
current Arak reactor before reconfiguration to a smaller capacity. In
February, the first International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report
following the nuclear deal's implementation confirmed that the Islamic
Republic had briefly exceeded this limit before shipping 20 metric tons
'out of Iran.' A look at the corresponding footnote, however, indicates
otherwise: 'The quantity of heavy water shipped out of Iran will be
verified by the Agency.' In other words, the IAEA was merely confirming
a statement made by the Iranians themselves rather than presenting
facts on the ground. This is not the first time the IAEA's reporting
has been insufficiently clear regarding Iranian inventories of nuclear
material. In its January report, for example, the agency also provided
insufficient information on how Tehran had reduced its enriched uranium
inventories to the agreed limits. Iran's February statement to the
agency that it had shipped out its excess heavy water also raises
questions. U.S. officials said the heavy water was shipped to Oman to
await transport to the United States. According to standard IAEA
verification practices, however, inventory changes are only registered
when material has left a country's territory and receipt of material is
acknowledged elsewhere. Until then, it continues to be considered part
of the original country's inventory. According to the State Department,
a contract for 32 tons of heavy water was signed in Vienna on April 22
to be delivered to the U.S. 'in the coming week.' It remains unclear,
however, whether this refers to an additional 12-ton shipment on top of
the 20-ton shipment cited in the IAEA's February report, or as a
separate shipment altogether. Whatever the case, the real concern is
Iran's excess production above the agreed-upon limits. If the heavy
water's destination is unclear due to Tehran not being able to find a
partner to take it, then U.S. negotiators should say so. Even if that
were the case, however, Iran should have simply halted heavy water
production until it was able to comply with the agreement. After all,
the JCPOA's nuclear inventory limits were set for a purpose. Iran is
continuously enriching uranium and producing heavy water, and exceeding
the JCPOA's limits threatens to cut its nuclear breakout time - namely
the time needed to produce material for a nuclear bomb... It is Iran's
responsibility to comply with the limits delineated in the JCPOA by
exporting or diluting excess material as stipulated in the deal. And
when no buyer can be found, it is not the international community's
responsibility to become a buyer in an already saturated market where
both heavy water and uranium are in excess supply." http://t.uani.com/1TfyxCE
Dan
Levinson in WashPost: "Recently, reports have surfaced that the U.S.
government is going out of its way to grant Iran access to the dollar
for financial transactions, which officials had said would not happen
as a result of last summer's nuclear deal. For my family, such a
failure by the Obama administration to stand by its commitments
concerning Iran would be another in a series of failures that are very
personal to us, with life-and-death consequences. My father is Robert
Levinson, the longest-held hostage in U.S. history, who was kidnapped
in Iran on March 9, 2007. What incentive does Iran have to send my
father home if it is already being handed everything it wants? I have
no doubt that if the administration told Iran there would be no further
negotiations on any other issues until my dad is returned, Tehran would
move quickly to resolve his case. But Washington has shown an
unwillingness to do that, and we feel helpless. My father appears to be
a secondary issue. Last June, I testified before the House Foreign
Affairs Committee with family members of three other Americans held in
Iran to press for the return of our loved ones. In January, my family
found out while watching the news that my father was the only one of
those captives not coming home as part of an exchange. Meanwhile, media
outlets have quoted an Iranian official as saying that the two sides
are close to another deal involving two Iranian Americans arrested in
recent months. Once again, my father, a CIA contractor and ex-FBI agent
who was the only one of the imprisoned Americans acting in service to
his country when he was taken, is being abandoned. We've lost track of
how many times he has been left behind. In the three weeks after the
January swap, we went on a full-court press in the media, asking
#WhatAboutBob . During that time, we did not hear directly from a
single administration official. The only comments we heard were those
made on TV, sometimes immediately before or after we went on the air
ourselves. When officials did talk about my father, they said they
weren't sure he was in Iran anymore. This was news to us, considering
that the FBI, tasked with the day-to-day investigation of the case, had
repeatedly told us it believed he was still there. We were eventually
granted meetings with President Obama, Secretary of State John F. Kerry
and FBI Director James B. Comey. During those meetings, there was never
any question that the U.S. government believed the Iranians know what
happened to my father. The White House is not doing enough to pressure
Iran. On March 9, the ninth anniversary of my father's disappearance,
the FBI released a statement calling him the longest-held hostage in
U.S. history. The House and Senate unanimously passed resolutions
saying that he is the longest-held U.S. civilian in history. Yet the
White House and State Department have avoided acknowledging the basic
fact that he is a hostage. When pressed by a reporter about this, a
State Department spokesman spent 3½ excruciating minutes refusing to
call him a hostage. My father has appeared in a video pleading for help
and in pictures wearing chains, clearly being held against his will.
What further evidence is needed?" http://t.uani.com/1Z2TWU1
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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