Friday, August 18, 2017

Eye on Iran: Mehdi Karroubi, Iranian Opposition Leader, Ends Hunger Strike


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One of Iran's most prominent opposition leaders ended a one-day hunger strike on Thursday, after the government agreed to meet some of his demands, his son reported on social media. Officials promised the opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, 79, that the 12 guards watching over him around the clock would no longer be permanently stationed in his house, his son, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, said. Mehdi Karroubi, who has been held under house arrest in Tehran since 2011, will remain so, but the government also promised to "endeavor" to realize his longstanding demand for a public trial, his son told the Saham news website. "The hunger strike is over," Mohammad Taghi Karroubi wrote on Twitter. "The government has promised to do all it can to realize his second demand, which is for a public trial."


Iranian authorities have denied the appeal of a Princeton University student who had been convicted on espionage charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison, the university and his wife said on Thursday. Xiyue Wang, a history doctoral student and U.S. citizen who was conducting dissertation research in Iran in 2016 when he was detained by Iranian authorities, was accused by Iran of "spying under the cover of research," a claim his family and university deny. "Iranian authorities have denied Xiyue Wang's appeal of his conviction and 10-year prison sentence for espionage that he did not attempt or commit," Princeton University said in a statement. "We are distressed that his appeal was denied, and that he remains unjustly imprisoned." It was not immediately clear when exactly Wang's appeal was denied. News of his detention in Iran and his 10-year sentence first came in mid-July.


Nikki Haley, President Donald Trump's envoy to the United Nations, will travel to Vienna next week to discuss the US government's concerns about the Iran nuclear deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The high-profile visit comes as the former South Carolina governor has staked out a hard line on Iran and sharply pro-Israel positions, perhaps with an eye to her own future political ambitions. The US ambassador to the UN and rising Republican star has been sharply critical of Tehran.  Haley will hold meetings with IAEA leaders and experts in Vienna on Wednesday, the US mission to the UN confirmed to Al-Monitor. "She will meet with IAEA leadership, Iran safeguards experts and others," a spokesperson said. The IAEA has consistently certified Iran's compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, which was reached in 2015 after years of negotiations and went into force in 2016. In addition to requiring Iran to remove several thousand centrifuges from its Natanz uranium enrichment facility, pour concrete into the core of its plutonium reactor and turn its underground Fordow enrichment facility into a research site, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) also set up what negotiators have called the most extensive nuclear inspections and monitoring regime in history.

UANI IN THE NEWS


Jeb Bush and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will be among the speakers at summit on Iran next month. The Florida Republicans will appear at the Sept. 19 event in New York hosted by United Against Nuclear Iran and timed for the opening of the U.N. General Assembly. "The day-long event of interviews and discussions will examine the political and economic environment since the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran -- with particular focus on Iran's role in the region, its relationship with North Korea, and the future of Iran policy in the Trump administration," UANI said in a release.

BUSINESS RISK


A penalty issued last week by the U.S. Treasury Department on a risk-mitigation firm highlights the challenges of trying to perform due diligence for potential business in Iran, experts said. The penalty on Phoenix-based IPSA International Inc., according to a penalty notice issued by Treasury, concerned two contracts its foreign subsidiaries performed in 2012 that included conducting due diligence on various individuals, including some Iranians on the ground in Iran. Experts said the case highlights how difficult it can be for American companies, especially a small business, to completely fence themselves off from any involvement in Iranian business by a foreign unit, as is required by U.S. sanctions, and that the policy underlying the penalty could restrict legitimate Iranian trade.

MILITARY MATTERS


Iran is resolved to boost its missile power, especially ballistic and cruise missile capabilities, PressTV television channel reported on Thursday, citing Deputy Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami. The Brigadier General was speaking on Thursday before the parliament, which discussed his candidature proposed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for the post of the country's defense minister. "In the next four years, apart from enhancing combat and defense capabilities, we will devote a special effort to boost missile and ballistic power, strategic air power as well as strategic maritime power and increase rapid reaction forces," PressTV quoted Hatami as saying. "Iran has achieved defense deterrence power and the enemies acknowledge Iran's high defense power in the region and the world," he stressed. He also said that 10 rapid reaction brigades had been established in the country. The nominee for the post of the defense minister pointed to the failure of enemy attempts to isolate the country. "Many of the governments, which pioneered sanctions against Iran, are now trying to develop cooperation with Iran."

SYRIA CONFLICT


Syria is hosting its first international trade fair in five years, a sign of increased stability in the embattled nation's capital and a statement of victory from the government, which has been embroiled in a war with armed opposition groups and jihadists since 2011. Despite ongoing violence between the Syrian army and insurgents in the city's suburbs, the 59th Damascus International Fair was set to commence Thursday, claiming to host representatives of 23 nations and companies from 20 more. Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis, who was appointed last year by President Bashar al-Assad, said the event marked a major turning point for the country and that nations such as Russia and Iran, which supported Assad and his army throughout the war, would be given priority in securing trade deals to invest in Syria, according to state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). "We must be partners of the Syrian Arab Army in victory and establishing the best future for our people and future generations," Khamis said Wednesday in a press statement, according to SANA.

YEMEN CRISIS


Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi said that Iranian plots meant for his country have failed and has found rejection among the Yemeni People. Hadi's comments came during his meeting here today with Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen Saleh, Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Dagher, and a number of Yemeni senior officials. Hadi reiterated that the outcome of the national dialogue and the building of a federal Yemen based on partnership, justice and equality is the choice of the Yemeni people, pointing out at the same time that the coupist militia continues its rejection of the peace calls based on the three authorities. In 2014, Iran-allied Houthi militias joined forces with armed loyalists backing the ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh and overran the capital Sana'a. Armed and funded by Iran, each of Saudi Arabia and the United States consider the coup to be part and parcel of Iran's expansionist ambitions in the region.  After insurgency militias took over Sana'a, the internationally-backed government led by Hadi was forced to relocate to the now-temporary capital, Aden.

HUMAN RIGHTS


Thirteen Sunni Arabs have been beaten by security and plainclothes agents and arrested for publicly praying in Ahvaz, the capital of Iran's Khuzestan Province, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned.  The men, all between the ages of 20 and 27, were taken into custody on August 11, 2017 for holding a traditional Sunni group prayer, Arab ethnic rights activist Karim Dahimi told CHRI on August 15. "They were on an excursion in the Karkheh area west of the city of Shush," said Dahimi. "At noon, they held a group prayer based on Sunni rituals out in the open in public view. Suddenly the security forces and plainclothes agents attacked and beat them with batons and took them all away." "The families first went to the Intelligence Ministry's office in Shush, but were told the detainees had been transferred to the ministry's branch in Ahvaz," added Dahimi. "But the authorities in Ahvaz are claiming to have no information either."


Hundreds of Iranian women and children's rights advocates in Iran are urging Parliament to prohibit underage marriage in the country. "In defense of children's human rights, we call for an end to the phenomenon known as child spouses," said a statement signed by more than 800 activists addressing members of Parliament on August 12, 2017. "Marriage at a young age, which is currently spreading at an alarming rate all over Iran, is an example of child abuse and a violation of children's rights, especially little girls," added the statement. "By ignoring the harm caused by this phenomenon, the Civil Code, in its present form, is perpetuating child marriages." Article 1041 of the Iranian Civil Code, which permits marriage for girls from the age of 13 and for boys from the age of 15, prohibits marriage before puberty except "by the permission of the guardian and on condition of taking into consideration the ward's interest is proper."

DOMESTIC POLITICS


Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi called off his hunger strike on Thursday after authorities accepted one of his demands and withdrew security agents from his home where he has been held since 2011, his website said. Karroubi was hospitalized earlier in the day shortly after launching a hunger strike to demand a public trial and withdrawal of security men from his residence, which is under 24-hour surveillance by the powerful Revolutionary Guards.  Karroubi's son, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, confirmed the report, saying via Twitter: "My father has called off his hunger strike after ... the withdrawal of the agents from his house."  "Officials have also promised to take measures regarding my father's demand for a public trial," Karroubi's son wrote.  Opposition leaders Karroubi, Mirhossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard have been confined to their homes for six-and-a-half years after calling for rallies in solidarity with pro-democracy uprisings then shaking Arab countries.

OPINION & ANALYSIS


The revelations about Iranian plans to build missiles in Syria only add a new layer of evidence to Iran's multipronged attempts to increase its power in the Middle East. The parliament in Tehran recently sought to increase funding for Iran's ballistic missile program by $260 million. A high level Israeli delegation of intelligence officials is reportedly leaving for Washington in the next weeks. This also ties into Hezbollah's missile build-up and the close ties between Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Mark Dubowitz, chief executive officer at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Wisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher recently detailed in The Wall Street Journal the extent of Iran's projects in Lebanon. "Buried more than 50 meters below ground and protected from aerial attack, these facilities could produce highly sophisticated rockets with ranges of more than 300 miles and equipped with advanced guidance systems."


We can sense fear in statements made by Iranian officials and most recently President Hassan Rouhani who warned against the consequences of the big scheme's collapse - the reconciliation agreement with the West based on the nuclear deal signed during the term of former US President Barack Obama. The Congress shocked the Iranian government when it reinstated a number of economic sanctions on Iran, and US President Donald Trump insisted on his stance that the nuclear agreement serves Iran more than the US, threatening to abolish it. Countries of the European Union (EU) are keen to preserve the agreement, which they believe it ushered in a new phase with the Iranian regime. Since signing it, they rushed to seal huge trade deals with Tehran, a move that was previously not possible because the US government would have put any European company that dealt with Iran on the blacklist.


During June's presidential election in Iran, many Westerners strongly hoped for a Hassan Rouhani victory. Rouhani, the incumbent president, was a "moderate," the argument went, and during the campaign he had criticized the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and promised to have women and minorities in his cabinet. Now it is mid-August, and it is already evident that there will be no reform, and that Rouhani's promises were meant only to attract votes-not to bring about any change, liberalization, or reform in Iran. Mehdi Khalaji of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy tells the sad story in a recent article entitled "Rouhani's Road Already Taken." There Khalaji notes that two of Rouhani's rivals for the presidency have already been elevated by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, to the Expediency Council, so that body actually has more hardliners than it did before the election. But that was Khamenei, defenders of Rouhani as a moderate might say. Khalaji notes that while Rouhani criticized the IRGC during his campaign, "he immediately toned down the rhetoric after winning."


Qatar's new lie flew out the window of its "fingers crossed" policy which it had been implementing since the quartet boycott. This time, Doha claimed that Saudi Arabia wants a mediation with Iran. This statement was never declared by any Saudi official or even the Iraqi Foreign Minister for example. It was reported that while he was in Iran, Iraqi Interior Minister Qassim al-Araji stated Riyadh has asked for Iraq's mediation. Saudi Arabia was quick in denying the reports about seeking mediation,"Saudi Arabia has not requested any mediation in any way with the Republic of Iran," adding that what has been circulated on news in this regard is completely untrue, logic and series of events in the region makes it impossible that Saudi Arabia would request a mediation with Iran amid current conditions. Aside from that, negotiations with Iran was impossible especially after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman settled the issue and stated his country's clear position of this supposed dialogue: "There is no common ground between us and Iran.".






Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email press@uani.com.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.

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