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TOP STORIES
The United States pressed Thursday for the International
Atomic Energy Agency to carry out more nuclear inspections in Iran,
warning that failure to do so would make the nuclear deal with Tehran
"an empty promise."
Iran may abandon the nuclear deal it reached with six
major powers if the United States decides to withdraw from it,
Iranian foreign minister told Qatar's al Jazeera TV in New
York.
Hope for Iran's long-overdue accession to the World
Trade Organization (WTO) appears to have disappeared. The July 2015
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed between Tehran and six
world powers, has done little to bring about a consensus within the
organization to proceed with Iran's membership bid. Meanwhile, on the
domestic front, the Iranian government has little to show in terms of
practical action to realize its stated aim of liberalizing the economy.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
"I think something around $60
would stabilize the market," he said, adding the price point is
"good enough to attract investors to the field, especially in
the Middle East, where there are a lot of low cost fields that can
easily ... be developed, feed the market (and) meet the requirement
in the market." Iran's energy exports suffered previously under
international sanctions imposed amid concerns that it was developing
nuclear weapons. Those sanctions were lifted earlier this year,
allowing the OPEC producer to export oil to the international energy
market. The lifting of the sanctions, along with Iran's low cost of
production and untapped energy reserves, make the country a
potentially attractive investment destination. But some experts
suggest that many major firms are not ready to commit to Iran deals.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
After years of disagreement between Iran and Turkey,
particularly regarding the war in Syria, there are many recent signs
of an increase in cooperation between Tehran and Ankara. A
range of developments on the ground, including the success of Iran and
Russia in ensuring the continuation of the Assad regime; cooperation
between the United States and the Kurds in the fight against the
Islamic State; and concern about the consequences of Kurdish
ambitions for independence, as well as Turkey's decision to send
armed forces to Syria to prevent this development have spurred the
need for an Iranian-Turkish rapprochement and growing cooperation
with Russia.
"We have sued groups such as ISIS, Hezbollah,
Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and
the Palestinian Authority and have worked on cases involving the
Japanese Red Army and the Kurdish PKK," Darshan-Leitner told Fox
News. "We have received judgments against North Korea several
times and we have many judgments against Iran and Syria for their
involvement in international terrorism. If they are not held
accountable, they become further emboldened. And for the victims, it
is a little closure and justice." Ultimately, the powerhouse
lawyer digs deep to find as many legal loopholes as possible.
SYRIA CONFLICT
Iran will build an oil refinery in Syria, the head of
downstream technologies at Iran's Research Institute of the Petroleum
Industry was quoted by Fars news agency as saying on Tuesday. The
refinery, to be built near the city of Homs, will have a production
capacity of 140,000 barrels per day, Akbar Zamanian reportedly said.
The refinery project is one of a series of business deals the Islamic
Republic has announced that point to a deepening economic role after
years of fighting in the Syrian conflict.
Israeli officials believe that Iran is winning its bid
for dominance in the Middle East, and they are mobilizing to counter
the regional realignment that threatens to follow. The focus of
Israel's military and diplomatic campaign is Syria. Israeli jets have
struck Hezbollah and Syrian regime facilities and convoys dozens of
times during Syria's civil war, with the goal of preventing the
transfer of weapons systems from Iran to Hezbollah.
IRAQ CRISIS
Turkey, Iran and Iraq may hold a trilateral meeting to
discuss the Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum, Turkey's Prime
Minister Binali Yildirim said on Thursday. Yildirim also said he
agreed with his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi to coordinate
economic and trade relations with the central government in Baghdad,
after Abadi's government took control of border crossings with
Turkey.
DOMESTIC POLITICS
THE Kurds of Iran
are calling for independence just as lustily as their cousins in
Iraq, perhaps even more so. While the mood in the streets of Iraq's
Kurdish cities was generally subdued and nervous after their
referendum on independence on September 25th, wilder celebrations
erupted across the border in Iranian Kurdistan. In the Kurdish cities
of Baneh, Sanandaj and Mahabad demonstrations lasted for two days,
even as armoured cars drove through the streets heralding a wave of
arrests. Crowds sang the anthem of the Republic of Mahabad, the
Kurdish state that briefly held sway in north-western Iran in 1946.
Kurdish flags flew from lampposts.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
'Cut, and cut cleanly," Sen. Paul Laxalt advised
Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, urging the Philippine president to resign
and flee Manila because of widespread civil unrest. The Nevada
Republican, Ronald Reagan's best friend in Congress, knew what his
president wanted, and he made the point with customary Western
directness. President Trump could profitably follow Mr. Laxalt's
advice today regarding Barack Obama's 2015 deal with Iran.
Iranian leaders strongly denounced today's referendum
vote for the Iraqi Kurdistan region and warned that the move could
have serious ramifications for Iraq and the broader region. In a
telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan,
President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran and Ankara should "give a
clear message to those who seek to undermine security and stability
in the region." The Iranian media did not provide details about
whether the Iranian and Turkish leaders discussed any joint
retaliatory measures against Erbil. Rouhani also emphasized that
"preserving Iraq's national unity and territorial integrity is
of paramount importance" to the Islamic Republic. The Iranian
president also discussed the issue with Russian President Vladimir
Putin over the phone.
An Iraqi militia group today accused the Kurdish
peshmerga forces of having "occupied" the province of
Kirkuk and stressed that his forces are ready to "liberate
disputed regions" in Iraq. "The Iraqi government should act
with determination to liberate Kirkuk from separatist paramilitaries
before it is too late," Harakat al-Nujaba, an Iranian-sponsored
group fighting in Iraq and Syria, said in a statement as Iraqi Kurds
were casting their ballots for an independence referendum. Hashim
al-Mousavi, the group's spokesperson, further emphasized that the
Iraqi forces should particularly focus on recapturing oil-rich
regions within Kirkuk and not allow the Kurds to "steal Iraqis'
national wealth." He said P.M.F. paramilitary forces are waiting
for an order from the Baghdad government to seize Kirkuk.
Turkey's Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar, leading
a high-ranking military delegation, will visit Tehran for strategic
talks next week, the Iranian media reported today. Akar is expected
to meet with his Iranian counterpart General Mohammad Hossein
Bagheri, President Hassan Rouhani and other top Iranian military and
political leaders. According to the Iranian media, the two sides will
discuss the implementation of bilateral defense and security
agreements signed during Bagheri's visit to Ankara last month. The
conflict in Syria and the aftermath of Iraqi Kurdistan's independence
vote will be other key agenda items. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan
is also scheduled to attend a "bilateral strategic summit"
in Tehran in early October.
Iran will start constructing an oil refinery in Syria by
this year's end, a senior official of Iran's Research Center of
Petroleum Industry (R.I.P.I.) announced today. "This refinery
will be built as relative peace is established in Syria, and it was
decided that mostly the capabilities of Iranian companies will be
utilized to build this refinery," Mansour Bazmi, R.I.P.I.
Vice-President for Technology and International Relations said at a
press conference in Tehran. He added that the project will cost about
one billion dollars and a consortium of Iranian, Venezuelan and
Syrian companies will execute the project. The consortium is
reportedly negotiating with potential investors to finance the
project. R.I.P.I. will provide technical knowledge and expertise for
the plant. The refinery will be constructed near the city of Homs and
will have an initial production capacity of 70,000 barrels per day,
and the production will double up to the full capacity of 140,000
barrels per day later. Light and heavy crude from inside Syria will
be processed at the plant.
Iranian leaders and state-run media outlets reacted
angrily to Iraqi Kurdistan's decision to hold an independence
referendum on Monday, and threatened retaliatory actions against
Erbil. Tehran halted all flights to and from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah
in northern Iraq and the Iranian military launched war games near the
Kurdish border. Senior Iranian officials stressed that the Islamic Republic
rejects the plebiscite and described it as an "Israeli and
American plot" to divide Iraq and counter Iranian influence in
the region. President Hassan Rouhani also discussed the issue with
his Russian and Turkish counterparts and called for collective action
to preserve Iraq's territorial integrity. More ominously,
Iranian-backed Iraqi militia commanders threatened violence against
the Regional Kurdish Government (K.R.G.) and vowed that the
"resistance front" would not allow a "second
Israel" to be established inside Iraq.
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