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TOP STORIES
Argentina issued another extradition warrant Thursday
for an Iranian ex-foreign minister over the deadly bombing of a
Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994, the government said.
Investigating Judge Rodolfo Canicoba asked Baghdad to extradite Ali
Akbar Velayati, who is on the Interpol wanted list, since he is
currently on Iraqi soil. He asked Iraq to arrest Velayati "in
order to extradite him, after learning via the international press
that the accused travelled to Baghdad" on Wednesday, the Argentine
justice ministry said in a statement. In July Argentina issued a
similar warrant to Singapore and Malaysia after learning Velayati was
on a lecture tour to those countries. Argentine investigators accuse
Velayati and four other Iranian former officials, including
ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, of orchestrating the July 18,
1994 car bombing at the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association in Buenos
Aires.
The U.S. Treasury moved to disrupt the fundraising and
operation of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group on Thursday, imposing
sanctions on four operatives and a firm that have assisted the
organization, long seen as a terrorist outfit by Washington. In a
related action, the U.S. State Department sanctioned Hezbollah
commander Haytham 'Ali Tabataba'i under U.S. counter-terrorism rules.
'Ali Tabataba'i has commanded Hezbollah special forces, has operated
in Syria and has been reported to be in Yemen, the State Department
said in a statement. The sanctions prevent U.S. citizens from doing
business with the individuals and organization, Global Cleaners SARL.
Saudi Arabia joined the United States in imposing sanctions on some
of the people, the Treasury Department said in statement.
Western insurers are slowly reaching deals with Iran
as they seek to re-enter a multi-billion dollar market although the
pace of business is hampered by banking restrictions ten months on
from the lifting of international sanctions... Despite the removal of
international banking restrictions in January, Tehran has secured
ties with only a limited number of smaller banks as U.S. sanctions
remain in force. By contrast, Iran is in more active talks with
insurers to provide cover in a market valued at $9 billion overall
last year and potentially double that in the next decade. Western
companies need insurance in order to resume business with Iran.
Shipping and trade credit insurance, which remove the risk of
non-payment for goods, are the first types of insurance being
offered. "There is generally a lower degree of fear and
apprehension and that is because you have not had the big fines on
the insurers that the banks have faced," said leading London
sanctions lawyer Nigel Kushner.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and Mrs Jenni
Haukio will make an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran
from 25 to 26 October. President Niinistö will meet Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday 26 October. Their discussions will cover
international, regional and bilateral issues. The situation in the
Middle East and the Persian Gulf, including Syria and Iraq, relations
between the EU and Iran, migrant and refugee flows, as well as closer
political and economic relations between Iran and Finland, will
feature in the discussions. President Niinistö will also meet Speaker
of the Parliament of Iran Ali Larijani and Minister of Foreign
Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif. President Niinistö will be accompanied
by Kai Mykkänen, the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, and
a business delegation representing high-level, Finnish innovation and
technology expertise in areas such as cleantech, bioeconomy,
information technology and health technology.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
A business forum between Iran and Saxony State of
Germany is scheduled to be held in Saxony from November 28 to
December 2, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and
Agriculture (ICCIMA) announced on Wednesday. The event to be attended
by entrepreneurs and businessmen from the two sides covers various
spheres including information technology, banking, machinery,
technology and environment-related industries and etc.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The wife of an Iranian-Austrian man sentenced recently
by an Iranian court to 10 years in prison on spying charges has told
RFE/RL's Radio Farda that her husband is a "simple
businessman" unjustly imprisoned. Harika Ghaderi's husband,
businessman Kamran Ghaderi, was initially detained in Tehran in
January but his conviction and sentence for espionage and cooperation
with the United States were revealed earlier this week. "How can
they say something like that about Kamran? I don't understand,"
Ghaderi's wife said, adding that he had no ties to the United States
and was not involved in politics... Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas
Jafari Dolatabadi said on October 18 that the 52-year-old Ghaderi was
among six individuals who received 10-year sentences for what he
described as spying and working with the hostile government in
Washington... Ghaderi is the CEO of Avanoc, an IT management and
consulting company that has worked in Iran for many years, his wife
told Radio Farda.
DOMESTIC POLITICS
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has dismissed his
pro-reform culture minister after mounting pressure by hardliners who
accuse his centrist government of adopting cultural policies that
contravene Islamic ethics. Many artists have credited Ali Jannati,
the minister, with pushing for more cultural freedoms in the Islamic
republic and his dismissal is likely to disappoint Mr Rouhani's
supporters in the middle class as he prepares for elections next
year. Under Mr Jannati's watch, the quality and quantity of Iranian
cinema and theatre improved, and censorship of books decreased
following eight years of suppression of cultural activities during
the hardline presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. The number and
diversity of music concerts also increased, while new art galleries
opened across the country. But regime hardliners and conservative
clergy have been highly critical of the government's policies, most
recently when it granted approval for music concerts to be held in
the holy cities of Mashhad and Qom. Hardliners argued that the concerts
would promote "vice" and the events in Mashhad were
cancelled.
Finally, after a week of speculation, three members of
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's Cabinet were replaced Oct. 19.
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati, Education
Minister Ali Asghar Fani and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mahmoud
Goudarzi all resigned on the same day. Though all three were said to
have stepped down voluntarily, various reports indicate that Rouhani
wasn't content with them, an idea that was affirmed by a government
official. Mohammad-Bagher Nobakhat, the spokesman for Rouhani's
administration, appeared on state TV on Oct. 19 to explain the reason
behind the Cabinet reshuffle. Nobakht said, "The change is aimed
at improvement. ... The president's goal is to fulfill expectations
as best as possible." ... Since Rouhani took office, the three
ministers, especially Jannati, have been at the center of
controversies.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
The explosive title of an article published Oct. 13 by
the Iranian Student News Agency gave a dire picture of Iran's economy
after the nuclear deal and underlined concerns about the agreement's
durability. "The real rate of unemployment reaches 80% in some Iranian
cities," was the headline, a quote from the chief of an
anti-narcotics commission working for a government body known as the
Expediency Council. U.S. officials assert that they have done
everything required by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
to implement sanctions relief in return for Iranian curbs on the
nuclear program. But despite the lifting of so-called secondary
sanctions that inhibited foreign investment in the Iranian economy
and the recovery of Iranian oil exports to pre-sanctions levels, most
Iranians are not feeling any benefit. With a few exceptions, such as
the sale of U.S. civilian airliners, Iranians continue to face
restrictions on direct dealings with the United States. It is still
impossible for Iranians to wire money to relatives in the United
States or for Iranian-Americans to send funds directly to Iran.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval
ships' frequent, aggressive behavior towards the US Navy has hit new
levels in the past few months, triggering several risky encounters in
the Persian Gulf, even prompting a terse exchange during the first
presidential debate between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump over who
would respond better to such provocations if they were in the White
House. Then US navy ships in the Red Sea were targeted on Oct 8 and
12 by missiles from Yemen's Houthi rebels, a capability the group may
have gained from their Iranian backers. Why have the waters in the
Middle East become more dangerous recently? Here are five reasons,
(hint: they all have to do with Iran).
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