|
TOP STORIES
The deputy head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned
Europe that if it threatens Tehran, the Guards will increase the
range of missiles to above 2,000 kilometers, the Fars news agency
reported on Saturday. France has called for an
"uncompromising" dialogue with Iran about its ballistic
missile program and a possible negotiation over the issue separate
from Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards are ready to help rebuild
Syria and bring about a lasting "ceasefire" there, chief
commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said, adding that disarming Lebanon's
Hezbollah is out of the question, state TV reported on
Thursday.
Iranian state television aired videos Sunday targeting a
Briton and an American serving time on espionage charges, likely
trying to pressure the U.S. and Britain as London considers making a
$530 million payment to Tehran.
UANI IN THE NEWS
David Daoud, a research analyst on Hezbollah and Lebanon
at United Against a Nuclear Iran, said it's important to look at the
last three speeches Nasrallah has given since the Hariri crisis began
on November 4. "My takeaway is that he is nervous about Hariri's
moves and wants to deflect [criticism of Hezbollah's hold on Lebanon]
from the substance to the form," he said. Because Hariri's
actions appear shadowy and unclear, Nasrallah can shift the focus to
the actions of the Saudis. In Saudi Arabia, Hariri claimed his life
was in danger in Lebanon, and Riyadh attacked Hezbollah for
threatening Lebanon and the region. "In the first [Nasrallah]
speech he wanted to be responsible," said Daoud. "He wants
to be Mr. Lebanon, Mr. Sovereignty, and he wants to distract from the
content [of Hariri's critique]. If he screams and yells, he confirms
what Hariri says, so he says we must follow a political
process."
IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
Speaking Thursday, International Atomic Energy Agency
chief Yukiya Amano told the IAEA's 35-nation board that the
"commitments being undertaken by Iran are being
implemented."
U.S.-IRAN
RELATIONS
Iran yesterday accused the United States of
responsibility for "atrocities" in Yemen through its
support for Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition fighting
Tehran-backed Huthi rebels.
BUSINESS RISK
A small gas field on the edge of the British North Sea
could become a litmus test for U.S. policy towards Iran. London-based
BP this week agreed to sell to North Sea producer Serica Energy three
fields in the ageing offshore basin... Because of the Iranian
involvement, BP needs a licence from the U.S. Treasury's sanctions
enforcement arm - the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) -
allowing U.S. nationals and companies to take part in the field's
operations. The licence was renewed in September, a month before
Trump sought to reverse the U.S. position on the nuclear deal with
Iran. Serica will apply for its own licence in the coming months.
TERRORISM AND EXTREMISM
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards will play an active
role in establishing a lasting "ceasefire" in crisis-hit
Syria, its chief commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said, adding that
disarming Lebanon's Hezbollah was non-negotiable, state TV reported
on Thursday.
Iran confirmed on Thursday that it was determined to
support its Houthi ally in Yemen and stressed on refusing to discuss
pulling out the arms of its other ally in Lebanon,
"Hezbollah."
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Iran has told jailed Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe that she will appear in court next month accused of
spreading propaganda, her husband, Richard, said on Thursday.
The Iranian state-owned TV station accused of peddling
lies about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the jailed British mother, is
operating from a former car factory in Acton, west London. The Sunday
Times can reveal that the UK office of Islamic Republic of Iran
Broadcasting (IRIB) is headed by a British resident, while several
former staff have settled in this country after moving from Tehran.
The UK's acceptance of these journalists contrasts with Iran's
hostility towards BBC staff and its incarceration of
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker, whom IRIB has accused of being a
British spy, a claim that Britain denies.
SYRIA CONFLICT
The trilateral meeting between Iran, Russia and Turkey
in the Russian resort of Sochi this week was "a right step, at
the right time" for stability in Syria, Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani told Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, AND IRAN
The busiest square in Tehran is dominated by an enormous
billboard with a drawing of a young man in the uniform of the
Revolutionary Guards Corps, extending his hand to invite Iranians to
follow his path... After years of cynicism, sneering or simply tuning
out all things political, Iran's urban middle classes have been swept
up in a wave of nationalist fervor.
The shock and awe unleashed by Saudi Arabia's crown
prince has prompted concern in Iran, where speculation is mounting
that the U.S. and Israel will unite with the kingdom to take the
fight to its bitter regional rival.
Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince called the Supreme
Leader of Iran "the new Hitler of the Middle East" in an
interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, sharply
escalating the war of words between the arch-rivals.
Iran's official IRNA news agency is reporting that the
country's Foreign Ministry has taken aim at Saudi Arabia's
"adventurous" Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, urging him
to recall the fate of the region's autocratic rulers.
IRANIAN DOMESTIC ISSUES
An Iranian official said 3.7 million Euros and $530,000
were embezzled from the accounts of non-aligned countries, during a
summit five years ago, which was also during the term of former
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad... Mohammed Ali Bourmukhtar,
member of the judicial committee at the Iranian parliament, held
Ahmedinejad's aide Hamid Baghaei responsible and said the latter had
the money.
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment