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TOP STORIES
Iranian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to
increase the country's budget for its ballistic missile program and
foreign operations by the Revolutionary Guards, a direct challenge to
new United States sanctions against the Islamic republic. Some
lawmakers shouted "Death to America" after the outlines of
the bill "to counter America's terrorist and adventurist
actions" were passed by an overwhelming number of votes in
Parliament, state television reported. The increase in the military
budget and other measures came in retaliation to legislation passed
by Congress and reluctantly signed by President Trump this month to
impose new sanctions on Iran over its missile program. Mr. Trump has
repeatedly threatened to leave the nuclear agreement, which was
struck by the United States, Iran and other world powers in 2016.
That has led to rising frustration in Iran, where the agreement was
hailed by ordinary citizens as a fresh start after years of
sanctions. It was also seen as a counterweight to hard-line forces in
the country.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced a
new hardline head of one of the country's top oversight bodies on
Monday, while former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad kept his seat
despite a string of controversies. The appointment of former
judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi as head of the
Expediency Council means Iran's conservatives have tightened their
grip on a key institution despite recent election successes for
reformists. The Expediency Council plays a critical role in shaping
policy and resolving disputes between different power centres. For
years it was chaired by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the central
figures of the Islamic revolution who sought to chart a middle ground
between Iran's hardliners and reformists. But his death in January
has opened the way for conservatives to assert their influence.
Iran's foreign minister has accused President Donald
Trump of trying to "kill" the nuclear deal between Tehran
and world powers. Mohammad Javad Zarif said on his Twitter account on
Friday that the U.S. president "always wanted to kill" the
deal that curbed Iran's controversial nuclear program in exchange for
the lifting of international sanctions. Zarif says Trump is the one
to blame and that the United States "violated the letter and the
spirit" of the nuclear agreement.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
An anti-US bill Iran's lawmakers turned into law on
Sunday urges the country's military, diplomatic and security
organizations to devise plans on countering the United States'
terrorist measures in the region and its threats against Iran. The
Iranian Parliament on Sunday ratified a motion on countering "US
adventurous and terrorist measures in the region."The 27-article
draft was endorsed after it was brought forward in the Parliament by
the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission in July. It
came after the US House of Representatives and then the Senate passed
a sweeping package of bills on sanctions against Iran, Russia, and
North Korea. The US legislation would impose mandatory penalties on
people involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and anyone who
does business with them.
BUSINESS RISK
At his swearing-in ceremony this month, Iran's president
Hassan Rouhani promised to embark on an "economic
revolution", creating jobs for the Islamic republic's army of
unemployed youth. But one huge obstacle stands in his way - the
country's ailing banking sector. For decades isolated from the rest
of the financial world, many Iranian banks struggle to comply with
international banking norms. After years of populist policies, many
are beset by high levels of bad loans. With more than a quarter of
Iranian youth unemployed, reform of the sector is seen as central to
the revitalisation of an economy desperate for foreign investment. Mr
Rouhani, who is beginning his second term after winning a landslide
victory at elections in May, has described it as his "biggest
challenge".
Iran is holding talks with European planemaker Airbus to
buy 48 helicopters for civilian use, an Iranian official was on
Saturday quoted as saying, as Iran continues its shopping spree of
Western aircraft after the lifting of sanctions. "The
Health Ministry is planning to order 45 HEMS (Helicopter Emergency
Medical Service) helicopters and the purchase is being negotiated by
the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development," Iran's Financial
Tribune daily quoted Deputy Minister Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan as saying.
"Ports and Maritime Organization is also planning to hold a
tender to purchase three search-and-rescue helicopters," he
added. An Airbus Helicopters spokesman said: "We don't comment
on discussions we may or may not be having with potential customers".
Iran has ordered more than 200 planes since international
sanctions against the country were lifted last year in return for
curbs on the country's nuclear activities.
TERRORISM
Kuwait's Interior Ministry says 12 men with links to a
terrorist group associated with Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary
Guard have been arrested. The ministry said in a statement late
Friday that the men were among a group of 26 who had received prison
sentences from Kuwait's Supreme Court in June but they refused to
turn themselves in. They were accused of weapons possession and
planning "hostile actions" inside Kuwait. One Iranian man
was tried in absentia and the rest are Kuwaiti nationals. Four men
remained at large. The case spurred Kuwait to shutter the Iranian
cultural mission and reduce the number of Iranian diplomats stationed
there last month, deepening a rift between the Gulf Arab states and
Tehran. The government says the terror group was uncovered in 2015.
When Hamas' political bureau member
Izzat al-Rishq, heading a delegation from the movement, met with
Iran's supreme leader's foreign policy adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati,
it was the first time the two men had met since 1991, when the former
was still a junior member of Hamas and the latter was Iran's foreign
minister. The 1991 meeting gave Iran a strong ally inside the
Palestinian territories and provided Hamas with steady and generous
support to take its fight with Israel to another level. This was
while the region was in the midst of a peace process that saw both
the Palestinians and Jordanians signing separate peace accords with
Israel. The normalization of ties between Iran and the Palestinian
Hamas movement appears to be accelerating amid the crisis among Gulf
states.
RUSSIA-IRAN COOPERATION
Insurgents have gained ground in the wake of President
Obama's decision to withdraw U.S. combat forces at the end of 2014.
Both groups have launched a string of deadly attacks across the
country this summer, and Afghan security forces have sustained huge losses
among their ranks. Unlike, Afghanistan's troublesome neighbor,
Pakistan, which directly supports the Taliban, it is not clear the
extent of Russia and Iran's involvement with insurgent groups.
"We haven't any indications that there are sanctuaries in Iran
right now," said Hamdullah Mohib, the Afghan Ambassador to the
U.S. told Fox News, "But the ones in Pakistan continue to be a
problem for Afghanistan."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday it
is a pity that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was
casting doubt on the 2015 deal to curtail Iran's nuclear weapons
program. "Unfortunately now our American partners call this
...(treaty) into question," Lavrov told a meeting with students
broadcast live by state television. "In the Trump administration
they continue calling these agreements wrong and erroneous, and it's
a pity that such a successful treaty is now somewhat being cast into
doubt." Trump said on Thursday said he did not believe that Iran
was living up to the spirit of the deal.
Iran has been asked to provide further information to
global soccer body FIFA over a decision to drop two players from the
national team after they turned out against an Israeli side for their
Greek club. Masoud Shojaie and Ehsan Hajsafi played for Panionios
against Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv a week ago in a Europa League
match. Iran's Football Federation last week strongly condemned their
participation, but prominent football players and many ordinary
Iranians have backed the two on social media, saying they had no
choice but to take part in the game. FIFA's statutes ban political
interference in its affiliated national associations, which can be
suspended if the rule is breached. "We are currently monitoring
the matter and will request additional information from the Iran Football
Federation," said a FIFA spokesperson in an emailed statement to
Reuters. "We have no further comment for the time being."
If a country's FA is suspended, it means both the national team and
its clubs are barred from international competition.
SAUDI-IRAN TENSIONS
Moqtada al-Sadr, a prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric and
political leader, is emerging as a key player in efforts by Saudi
Arabia and other Sunni Gulf states to weaken the influence of
regional rival Iran.The United Arab Emirates flew in Sadr for talks
with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan late Sunday.
That followed a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
in the desert kingdom last month, another rare face-to-face visit with
a senior Gulf official, in which financial aid and deeper ties were
discussed, according to Sadr's website. "The promising move
toward Iraq led by Prince Mohammed bin Salman with the participation
of the U.A.E. and Bahrain is an example of the influence of the Gulf
states once the vision and objectives are united," the Emirates'
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a Twitter
post on Monday.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Despite a decrease in the number of executions, Iran
continues to be the nation with one of the highest rates of
executions in the world, mostly for drug-related crimes. According to
Amnesty International, Iran executed a reported 567 people in 2016.
In 2015, the number was 977. Still, at 567 people, Iran was executing
more than one person a day. This issue has been openly discussed in
one of the unlikeliest places: Iran's judiciary. Hojat al-Islam
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for Iran's judiciary, in a
Aug 9 speech addressed Iran's high execution rate with respect to
drug-related crimes. "Do we want to solve all of our problems
with punishments and increasing punishments?" he asked.
"Some say, you have increased the punishment but there is still
crime. On the issue of illegal drugs, we have laws from many years
ago and many times [the punishment] has been increased and now they
want to decrease it."
Iran's parliament passed a long-awaited amendment to its
drug trafficking laws on Sunday, raising the thresholds that can
trigger capital punishment and potentially saving the lives of many
on death row. The bill must still be approved by the
conservative-dominated Guardian Council but gained parliamentary
approval after months of debate, according to parliament's website
and the ISNA news agency. According to Amnesty International, Iran
was one of the top five executioners in the world in 2016, with most
of its hangings related to illicit drugs. The new law raises the
amounts that can trigger the death penalty from 30 grams to two kilos
for the production and distribution of chemical substances such as
heroin, cocaine and amphetamine. For natural substances such as opium
and marijuana, the levels have been raised from five to 50 kilos.
DOMESTIC POLITICS
The daughter of
Iran's opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has been under
house arrest since early 2011, hides her pain behind abstract
watercolor paintings of birds and blossoms - but bullets and bars are
never far away. That's according to Narges Mousavi's latest art
exhibition, which opened on Friday in Tehran. The display, entitled "When
it Dawned," is the second public showing of her art since her
father was placed under house arrest along with another opposition
leader, Mahdi Karroubi.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Trump administration is conducting a comprehensive
review of U.S. policy toward Iran. There is no doubt top national
security officials view the Islamic Republic as a major threat, both
in terms of regional instability and proliferation. This recognition
represents the principal difference from the previous administration
and a welcome step forward. One likely outcome will be a stronger
U.S.-led effort to counter Iran's expanding presence, particularly in
Syria and Iraq. The formation of an Arab alliance against Islamic
terrorism, announced when Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia, signaled
a move toward a more effective regional stance. But there is little
to suggest that, beyond an attempt to roll back Tehran's external
adventurism, there will be a fundamental change in U.S. policy.
The Iranian government continues to
persecute religious minorities, including groups supposedly given
special recognition by the country's constitution: Jews, Christians,
and Zoroastrians. According to the U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom's (USCIRF) annual report for 2017, Iran's
government "engaged in systematic, ongoing, and egregious
violations of religious freedom, including prolonged detention, torture,
and executions based primarily or entirely upon the religion of the
accused." Because of its failure to respect religious
minorities, Iran has been considered a "country of particular
concern" by the State Department for close to two decades.
Opponents of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal often complain
that the deal doesn't address the nefarious ways in which Iran is
expanding its influence and further destabilizing the Middle East.
Such concerns, while valid, are no reason to blow up the agreement,
as President Trump is recklessly trying to do by pressing his
administration to declare, with absolutely no evidence, that Iran is
in violation of the terms. Critics often ignore the fact that the
deal was intended to keep Iran from producing a nuclear weapon, a
crucial and necessary goal. They also ignore the fact that the deal
is working, as the International Atomic Energy Agency, which
rigorously monitors Iran's activities, and even Mr. Trump's own State
Department have certified. One can imagine the challenges the United
States could be facing if the deal did not exist and this
administration were grappling with two nuclear-armed adversaries at
once. But it is not; North Korea, which traded fiery threats with Mr.
Trump in recent days, has 20 or more nuclear weapons. Iran has none
and, thanks to the deal, is significantly constrained in its nuclear
ambitions for years to come.
On the second anniversary of the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran nuclear deal, some argue that the
agreement succeeded in slowing Iran's progress toward a nuclear
weapon. However, the restrictions on the Iranian nuclear program are only
limited, as is the international inspectors' access to the country's
illicit facilities. In addition, in areas unrelated to the nuclear
agreement, the Iranian regime's behavior has only gotten worse over
the past two years. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has
escalated its nefarious activities in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, has
deliberately sought out close encounters with American warships, and
has boasted of new Iranian military equipment. The White House's
efforts to enforce a harder line on Iran policy is well justified and
the president's signing into law of H.R. 3364, which included a
title, "Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act of
2017" is a step in the right direction.
Over the last few months, Iraq's Shiite political groups
have intensified their fight for influence in Baghdad in preparation
for the parliamentary elections next year. Much to the displeasure of
Iran, which has supported a number of these groups, some Iraqi
Shiites have been publicly distancing themselves from their patron because
posturing as independent forces, free from the tutelage of foreign
powers, will win them points with Iraqi voters. Tehran is
particularly concerned that after the Islamic State (ISIS) is finally
driven out of Iraq, the political dialogue that will ensue among the
country's various political factions, as well as between Iraq's
ethnic and sectarian groups, about power-sharing will shut Iran out,
and in turn jeopardize its long-term interests for regional control.
There is now a debate in Tehran over whether the trend in Baghdad is
simply a tempest in a teapot or whether Tehran will have to learn to
live with a resurgent Iraqi Shiite nationalism.
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