|
TOP STORIES
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is
fast-tracking an extension of key Iran sanctions as the Senate begins to
wrap up its work for the year. "This week, senators will have a
chance to pass the Iran sanctions extension bill that recently passed the
House on an overwhelming vote," McConnell said. "Preserving the
sanctions is critical given Iran's disturbing pattern of aggression and
its persistent efforts to expand its influence across the Middle
East." The Kentucky Republican is using a procedural shortcut, known
as "Rule 14", to place the House-passed bill on the Senate
calendar, paving the way for it to be brought up for a vote. As part of
an agreement, senators will vote on the legislation at a time determined
by McConnell and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). The House passed a
10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), which is set expire at
the end of the year, earlier this month in a 419-1 vote... McConnell
added Tuesday he expects Congress and the Trump administration next year
to "undertake a review of our overall policy toward Iran."
Weapon shipments intercepted in the Arabian sea by
Australian, French and U.S. warships this year contained large quantities
of Russian and Iranian weapons, some of which had markings similar to
munitions recovered from Houthi fighters in Yemen, according to a new
report released by an independent research group Wednesday. In October,
U.S. officials claimed to have captured five shipments of Iranian weapons
bound for Yemen. The report, published by Conflict Armament Research, or
CAR, draws on markings found on rifles, rocket launchers, anti-tank
guided missiles and munitions, providing some of the more concrete
evidence to date of Iran's logistical support to Houthis fighting in
Yemen's nearly two-year-old civil war... "CAR's analysis of the
seized materiel ... suggests the existence of a weapon pipeline extending
from Iran to Somalia and Yemen, which involves the transfer, by dhow, of
significant quantities of Iranian-manufactured weapons and weapons that
plausibly derive from Iranian stockpiles," the report says.
Iran is ready to respond if the US violates the landmark
nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and the group of six countries
known as the P5+1 by renewing sanctions against the Islamic Republic,
says the top Iranian nuclear official. "Iran has made necessary
preparations for potential US decisions about the extension of
sanctions," Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran (AEOI), told reporters on Monday. In case of the
final approval of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), it will "certainly
be a violation of the JCPOA (the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action)," he added... He said Leader of the
Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has already provided
guidelines to Iranian officials about standing ready to considerably
increase the country's nuclear enrichment capacity.
IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
The director of the CIA has warned US President-elect
Donald Trump that ending the Iran nuclear deal would be
"disastrous" and "the height of folly"... "I
think it would be disastrous," Mr Brennan told the BBC. "First
of all, for one administration to tear up an agreement that a previous
administration made would be unprecedented." He said such a move
would risk strengthening hardliners in Iran and risk other states
pursuing nuclear programmes in response to a renewed Iranian effort.
"I think it would be the height of folly if the next administration were
to tear up that agreement," he said.
NUCLEAR & BALLISTIC MISSILE PROGRAM
Senior Gulf sources revealed that the highly radioactive
material stolen recently from Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant included
an alarming supply of Iridium-192 - which can later be attached to
conventional explosives and used as a dirty bomb. A dirty bomb, if set
off, would cause radioactive pollution across the region. The use of the
weapon would contaminate the area around the dispersal agent- or
conventional explosion- with radioactive material, serving primarily as
an area denial device against civilians through radioactive pollution.
The International Atomic Energy Agency defines had warned members of the
Gulf Cooperation Council, on Nov. 18, with respect to the present hazard,
after being given notice by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI)
on the missing iridium-192, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. The iridium-192
was stolen during transportation. The car was later found but without the
radioactive substance.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
Senate Democrats are ripping Iran over threats issued by
top Iranian officials to retaliate if Congress extends sanctions that the
Obama administration has said are permitted under last summer's nuclear
deal, according to conversations with lawmakers conducted by THE WEEKLY
STANDARD... Iranian officials have threatened reprisal in recent weeks if
Congress extends the longstanding Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) and have
called the potential 10-year extension a violation of the nuclear deal...
Democrats rejected Iranian complaints Tuesday and reaffirmed their
support for extending the ISA. "Iran is making this up. These
problems don't exist," Maryland senator Ben Cardin, ranking member
on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told TWS. "Congress, by
extending ISA, is not taking any new steps against Iran at all."
Cardin, who voted against the nuclear deal, added that the ISA is
critical for congressional "snapback" sanctions, should Iran
violate the nuclear deal. "Unless Congress acts, the congressional
sanctions don't exist after December 31," Cardin said. "The
ability to snap back wouldn't be there on the congressional side."
A Texas state senator plans to shore up, close loopholes,
and expand the state's existing divestiture standard for the Iranian and
Sudanese governments in two bills that prevent taxpayer dollars from
flowing into countries that sponsor terrorism. On Tuesday, November 22,
Senator Van Taylor (R-Plano) pre-filed legislation in preparation for the
85th session, which convenes in January. Senate Bill 253, the Terror
State Divestiture Act, and Senate Bill 252, the Terror State Contracting
Divestiture Act, strengthen the state's current Iranian and Sudanese
divestiture standards. Earlier this year, Governor Greg Abbott championed
the notion of such legislation. Currently, the 2013 Texas Prohibition on
Investment in Iran Act only bans state pension and retirement systems
from investing in Iran or with entities that do business with the Iranian
and Sudanese governments. Nothing prevents state agencies and political
subdivisions of this state from using taxpayer dollars to contract with
these same companies.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
Imports of crude oil by Iran's four major buyers in Asia
in October more than doubled from a year ago as the producer continued to
recoup market share lost under sanctions, pushed higher as the two
biggest buyers India and China each took in nearly 800,0000 barrels per
day. Iran's top four Asian buyers, China, India, South Korea and Japan,
imported 1.99 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, up 147.9 percent
on year, government and ship-tracking data showed, marking the highest
volumes since at least 2010, according to data by International Energy
Agency.
Iran and Romania have signed an initial agreement to build
a 1,000-megawatt power station near the Iraqi border, IRNA says. The
agreement was signed during a recent trip by Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif to several east European states, the news agency
reported. "The MoU for the construction of a 1,000-megawatt power
station in Mehran was signed by Iranian and Romanian investors as one of
the achievements of this trip," Mohammad Azadi, a member of the
economic delegation in the visit, said. The project signed between Pichak
Sanat Ilam company of Iran and the Romanian side calls for investment of
up $700 million, 70% of which will be sourced by the Romanians and the
rest by Iran.
MAN Diesel & Turbo announced it will deliver two of
its Refinery Train Package (ReTPac) concept turbomachinery trains to a
refinery about 450 km south of the Iranian capital of Tehran. The
multimillion dollar order was made by Iranian EPC Nargan Co., with the
machinery later to be operated by Esfahan Oil Refining Co. (EORC). The
ReTPac trains will serve the hydrotreating process to ensure an efficient
production of ultra-low sulfur fuels, the company said. In proximity to
that order, MAN PrimeServ, the company's service provider, received
several spare part orders from the Iranian Oil Pipelines and
Telecommunication Co., where MAN provides service and upgrading of
turbomachinery equipment along the Marun-Isfahan oil pipeline. This
includes delivery of spare parts for S-Series gas turbines, a heritage
brand of MAN Diesel & Turbo. "These initial orders reward our
efforts to reestablish relationships with Iranian partners now that the
international sanctions have been lifted," said Dr. Uwe Lauber,
chief executive officer of MAN Diesel & Turbo... In the course of
reentering the Iranian market the company has also reopened its local
branch, MAN Iran Power, based in Tehran.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran must end the harassment of a woman trying to learn
the fate of her brother and his newborn daughter, who disappeared from
prison more than 30 years ago, a group of United Nations human rights
experts has said. The campaign against Raheleh Rahemipour may be a direct
reprisal for her search, according to the experts. Ms. Rahemipour is now
facing criminal charges and has undergone a lengthy interrogation at the
same jail where her brother and the baby were last seen in 1984 - Evin
prison in Teheran. The UN experts are calling on Iran to drop all charges
against Ms. Rahemipour and halt the campaign against her. "Rather
than investigating the alleged disappearance of Ms. Rahemipour's
relatives, the government of Iran has decided to launch a campaign of
harassment and intimidation against her," the experts stated.
"We are concerned that the judicial process against Ms. Rahemipour
may be a direct reprisal for her human rights activism in the search for
her relatives, as well as the exercise of her rights to peaceful assembly
and freedom of expression."
DOMESTIC POLITICS
Iranian media are reporting that the country's currency
has plummeted more than five percent against the U.S. dollar in less than
10 days. The reports said the unofficial street trading rate for the rial
hit 39,300 per dollar on Tuesday, compared with 37,300 rial nearly 10
days ago... The strength of the U.S. dollar and falling oil prices in
international markets are seen as the main reason for the drop in the
rial's value.
Judicial authorities in Iran have attempted to arrest a parliamentarian
despite his legislative immunity because of the MP's scrutiny of the
judiciary chief's personal financial conduct. Mahmoud Sadeghi, an MP
close to the reformist camp who represents the constituency of Tehran and
its vicinity in the Iranian parliament, Majlis, was confronted on Sunday
by security officials who had gathered in front of his house to arrest
him. Sadeghi's supporters were angered by the move, and a group of
students, activists and parliamentary colleagues assembled near his house
to prevent officials from detaining him. It ultimately led to the
authorities reversing their decision. On Monday, Sadeghi described the
judiciary's move on Twitter as illegal, and said relevant officials had
since intervened. "These pressures will have no effect on my
determination and will, nor those of other parliamentarians in seeking
transparency and fighting corruption in all [state] institutions,"
he said in a separate tweet. Earlier this month, Sadeghi had questioned
the justice minister over allegations that the head of the judiciary,
Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, possessed 63 personal bank accounts filled with
public funds.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
President-Elect Donald Trump's national security
appointments - CIA Director-designate Mike Pompeo, future national
security adviser Michael T. Flynn and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley,
Mr. Trump's choice for ambassador to the United Nations - differ with him
or with each other on such crucial issues as relations with Russia and
the civil war in Syria. But Mr. Trump and his appointees appear united on
one point: antipathy toward Iran and the international deal limiting
Tehran's nuclear program. During the campaign, Mr. Trump repeatedly
described the 2015 accord as "a disaster" and suggested he
would tear it up and "double up and triple up sanctions." Mr.
Pompeo tweeted just before Trump announced his planned nomination that
"I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal." Mr.
Flynn has said that "the U.S. gets nothing but grief" from the
deal. We supported the nuclear pact, albeit reluctantly because of its
sunset provisions that will remove most controls on Iran's uranium
enrichment within a decade. In essence, it is a risky bet that the
Islamic republic will lose its appetite for a nuclear arsenal during that
time. But for the Trump administration to start by voiding the accord
would be a curious inversion of priorities.
While the U.S. administration maintains that Iran has thus
far complied with the nuclear deal, the recent International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) report indicates that for the second time, Iran has
exceeded the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action's (JCPOA) limit for its
inventory of heavy water. Its heavy water inventory is now slightly
greater than permitted quantities, though it does not at this stage, and
in itself, materially impact on the breakout time under the agreement.
Still, this is concerning due to the fact that Iran exceeded the limit
intentionally. And while Iran stated that it is planning to ship out five
tons of material at a later date, it shows disrespect for the nuclear
terms of the agreement. Iranian officials have also continued to flaunt
their nuclear ambitions, raising questions about whether Iran is
violating the spirit of the agreement. As recently as August 2016, Mohammad-Javad
Larijani, a foreign affairs adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,
called for building a "massive institute for nuclear research"
and said that to deter a Western attack, Iran must convince the world
that it can build a bomb within 48 hours. To assess statements of this
nature, transparency is critical, especially as Iran seeks to persuade
the world that its nuclear program is and will continue to be strictly
peaceful.
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment