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Thousands of Iranians have burned the American flag and
chanted anti-U.S. slogans as they marked the anniversary of the seizure
of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by militant students 37 years ago. Such
protests take place every year outside the compound that once housed the
embassy on the anniversary of the 1979 takeover that followed the Islamic
Revolution in Iran. Iranians at the rally outside the former embassy
building on Thursday chanted "Death to America" and "Death
to Israel" and burned the U.S. and Israeli flags. On Nov. 4, 1979,
Iranian militant students stormed the U.S. Embassy, taking 52 Americans
hostage for 444 days after Washington refused to hand over Iran's toppled
shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, for trial in Iran.
An Iranian airline, backed by the country's notorious
Revolutionary Guard and used to ferry weapons and fighters to support
Syria's government, has acquired rights to fly commercial routes in more
than a dozen European and Asian countries in spite of U.S. terror-related
sanctions. The Iranian nuclear agreement, signed by six world powers last
year, ended some of the sanctions that had punished and isolated Iran for
its nuclear program. But sanctions for ballistic missile research,
terrorism, human rights violations and money laundering remain in place.
Mahan Air, the country's second-largest carrier, is under terror-related
sanctions. The U.S. has accused the company of providing
"transportation, funds transfers and personnel travel services"
to the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Forces, flying them and weapons
to Syria to train Hezbollah militants, Syrian army troops and others.
Many countries honored the U.S. terror sanctions and blocked Mahan Air.
But weeks before the nuclear deal was signed in July 2015, the airline
announced it was launching a route to Munich - its second German
destination. A wave of new routes to 15 countries followed, including
France, Russia, China and Italy. France and Denmark were added in June
2016, and talks continue to add more routes in Europe. A U.S. Treasury
official told The Associated Press that the U.S. has been trying to get
those countries to cooperate with U.S. efforts to block the airline's
financial network, but has met with stiff resistance.
Tehran is struggling to persuade western energy companies
to make a rapid return to Iran and ensure a lasting revival of the
country's antiquated oil and gas industry... western energy companies
involved in exploration and production have not so far returned to Iran
because of several outstanding issues... Chief executives say the
political risks and uncertainties in Iran make it hard to justify
investment at a time of weak oil prices and resulting capital scarcity.
"We have no shortage of projects to invest in - most of them more
straightforward than Iran," says one industry executive. There have
been some tentative signs of companies rebuilding ties with Tehran. The
UK's BP, which has its roots in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company that
pioneered exploration in Iran, this month bought its first shipment of
Iran oil since sanctions were lifted. Bob Dudley, BP chief executive,
said this month that the deal was "a good step to learn how to work
with Iran". But he warned that US sanctions were an obstacle for
European as well as US oil groups. "We're going to have to be very
careful. We don't want to violate sanctions," he said. Western
energy companies are interested in investing in Iran, but stress they
need for an appropriate business framework.
UANI IN THE NEWS
A full-page newspaper ad warning international companies
about the dangers of doing business with the regime in Tehran
"soured the mood" at last week's Iran Investment Summit in
Singapore, CNBC reported. The ad - published in the Financial Times by
the United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) advocacy group - cautioned
attendees of the first-ever-of-its-kind summit that they should be
"skeptical of the business environment" in the Islamic
Republic. "Serious financial, legal and reputational risks for
businesses, shareholders, investors, employees, and the international
community loom large in betting on Tehran," the ad said... Reporting
live from the summit, CNBC journalist Sri Jegarajah said UANI's
"inflammatory" campaign "has not gone down at all well
here." "There has been a fair share of drama and controversy
dogging this investment summit because of the politics," Jegarajah
noted.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
A senior Iranian military official welcomed Thursday what
he said was the "strong decline" of the United States, during
celebrations marking the start of the 1979 US embassy siege.
"America is no longer number one and the first power of the
world," deputy Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami told
thousands gathered outside the former US mission in Tehran.
"America's political will can no longer manage political and
military development in... the world of Islam. America's political power
has strongly declined." ... "Our fight with the Americans will
continue" Salami said. "Pursuing our ideals in the world of
Islam and in Iran, we will recognise no stopping point or red line. He
also warned the US not to criticise Iran's ballistic missiles, calling
its system "the real centre of our power (that) must be
strengthened."
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali
Khamenei reiterated on Wednesday that negotiating with the US government
will not resolve Iran's problems, but will aggravate them. In an address
to a gathering of students in Tehran on Wednesday, Imam Khamenei ruled
out the notion that 'settlement of Iran's problems hinges on
rapprochement with the US.' "We need to solve problems by ourselves
through reliance on the local capabilities and young forces," the
Leader said in the meeting, held to mark the 'National Day of Fight
against Global Arrogance.' The wrong and "very dangerous"
notion that détente with the US would resolve Iran's problems can be
proved false with detailed reasoning, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined,
referring to the US violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA), a lasting nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, as a
glaring example of falsehood of that concept.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
When Congress returns to Washington later this month to
tackle a budget impasse and a massive defense policy bill, there will be
one more contentious item on its agenda: extending sanctions on Iran. At
the end of the year, the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) expires - and with it,
the regime of existing U.S. sanctions lawmakers say are essential to
ensure Washington can "snap back" punitive measures against
Tehran should Iranian leaders violate the terms of the nuclear deal that
went into effect earlier this year. But if lawmakers go too far in their
bid to renew and possibly stiffen the sanctions, the White House fears
Tehran could interpret it as a U.S. violation of the deal - and take that
as a cue to fire up their nuclear reactors again... The Iran Sanctions
Act "should remain in place until the regime stops exporting terror
and threatening us and our allies with deadly weapons," said House
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.), who is
sponsoring the measure. "That's why I'll be introducing a
bipartisan, long-term extension of these important sanctions." But
it is unclear if the Senate will follow the House's lead - or if the
White House is even ready to accept a bipartisan renewal of existing
sanctions.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
Trade between Britain and Iran is beginning to grow but
the reluctance of large Western lenders is holding back a major expansion
of ties and needs to be resolved, government and finance officials said
on Wednesday... British trade minister Liam Fox said on Wednesday that
Anglo-Iranian relations had improved since Britain reopened its Tehran
embassy last year and it would work to expand bilateral trade following
the vote to leave the European Union. "Slowly but with increasing
enthusiasm, British companies are starting to do business with Iran again
... We are seeing the first signs of growing trade between the UK and
Iran," Fox told a City and Financial Global conference in London.
"The banking sector's ongoing concerns about facilitating payments
or providing financial services means that the benefits of sanctions
relief are not yet being fully realised. Resolving these problems remains
a priority for this government." Norman Lamont, Britain's trade
envoy to Iran and a former British finance minister, said the deadlock
over progress on banking access to Iran was "profoundly
unsatisfactory"... Justine Walker, director of financial crime with
the British Bankers' Association (BBA), which represents the industry,
said primary U.S. sanctions still in place could not be ignored.
"For any of the global banks, they do have a very strong U.S.
presence and that is something that they need to get comfortable with in
how they insulate their U.S. exposure and that is taking time and
involving changing lots of policies," she told Reuters.
Iran's second-largest carrier, Mahan Air, is flying
commercial routes to more than a dozen European and Asian countries in
spite of U.S. terror-related sanctions. Backed by the country's notorious
Revolutionary Guard, the airline is sanctioned by the U.S. for providing
"transportation, funds transfers and personnel travel services"
to the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Forces, flying them and weapons
to Syria to train Hezbollah militants, Syrian army troops and others.
Many countries honored the U.S. terror sanctions and blocked Mahan Air.
But weeks before the nuclear deal was signed in July 2015, Mahan
announced it was launching a route to Munich - its second German
destination. A wave of new routes followed to more than a dozen
countries, including France, Russia, Thailand and Denmark. A look at the
countries that have granted landing rights to Mahan Air commercial
flights or are home to companies affiliated with the airline.
TERRORISM
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, the country's
elite military force, is sending assets to infiltrate the United States
and Europe at the direction of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,
according to recent Farsi-language comments from an Iranian military
leader. The IRGC "will be in the U.S. and Europe very soon,"
according to the Iranian military commander, who said that these forces
would operate with the goal of bolstering Iran's hardline regime and
thwarting potential plots against the Islamic Republic. "The whole
world should know that the IRGC will be in the U.S. and Europe very
soon," Salar Abnoush, deputy coordinator of Iran's Khatam-al-Anbia
Garrison, an IRGC command front, was quoted as saying in an Iranian
state-controlled publication closely tied to the IRGC... "The IRGC
is [the] strong guardian of the Islamic Republic," Abnoush was
quoted as saying. "The Fedayeen of Velayat [fighting force] are
under the order of Iran's Supreme leader. Defending and protecting the Velayat
[the Supreme Leader] has no border and limit."
REGIONAL DESTABILIZATION
The Islamic Republic remains a revolutionary state
dedicated to its founding principles of exporting its ideology to
neighboring countries. A recent interview with Major General Hassan
Firouzabadi, a senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader, provides
valuable insight into the regime's perceptions of its soft and hard power
efforts.[1] Firouzabadi is a close confidant of Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei and was the only armed forces chief of staff to serve
Khamenei until his retirement in June 2016. Firouzabadi's rhetoric is
likely an accurate reflection of the regime's consensus over its broader
outlook and priorities. In the interview, Firouzabadi underscores the
reality that Iran's commitment to building a network of armed and unarmed
proxies, partners, and allies is deeply ingrained within the regime's
core principles. This priority will continue to shape Iran's foreign
policy regardless of any transactional agreements with the U.S. or its
allies. Firouzabadi also details Iran's support of actors in Syria, Iraq,
Yemen, and the Levant, and publicly confirms Iranian military deployments
to Gaza. Iran's support of Hamas and other Sunni militant organizations
is an important reminder that sectarian divisions do not necessarily
limit Iran's regional aspirations.
HUMAN RIGHTS
A former high-ranking Iranian judicial official who came
to symbolize Iran's violent suppression of rights activists and
journalists has been sentenced to 135 lashes in a corruption case. The
punishment of the former official, Saeed Mortazavi, who built his
reputation as a feared judge and prosecutor in Tehran beginning in the
early 2000s, was reported on Wednesday by the official Iranian news
media. It was unclear when, or even whether, the punishment would be
carried out on Mr. Mortazavi, who has been described by Human Rights
Watch as a "serial human rights abuser." Lashing or flogging,
widely regarded as torture in much of the world, is still a common
sentence in Iran for crimes like adultery, theft and alcohol
consumption... Rights activists on Wednesday were critical of the
punishment in the corruption case, describing it as a barbaric sentence
that distracted from what they called Mr. Mortazavi's real crimes.
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