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TOP STORIES
The Israeli military faces thousands of cyber attacks a
day and many are orchestrated by Iran whose hacking capabilities are
improving, the Israeli general in charge of network security said.
Major General Nadav Padan, who heads the military's command, control,
computer, communications and intelligence (C4I) plus cyber division,
told a Reuters Summit that Iran has mounted attacks on Israel with
the help of proxies like Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah.
There are no winners among Iraq's Kurds, just weeks
after Kurdish president Masoud Barzani gambled away his people's
autonomy in a defiant independence referendum. The losing bet has
come at a steep price for everyone involved. Barzani has had to give
up the presidency, his Kurdish political foes have angered their
popular base, and the Kurdish people, who overwhelmingly voted to
break away from Iraq, feel further than ever from their lifelong
dream of independence. The ultimate winner, analysts say, is Iran,
widely believed to have backed and orchestrated Iraqi Prime Minister
Haider al-Abadi in his Oct. 16 offensive to recapture Kurdish
held-areas, including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. "The Iranians
outwitted the Americans; they were the driving force behind the deal
to hand over Kirkuk," said Hassan Shaaban, a political
commentator and rights activist in Baghdad.
The Iraq-Saudi alliance is meant to anchor what may be a
broader involvement of Saudi Arabia, not only in Iraq but also in
eastern Syria. If that materializes over the coming year it would
signal to Iran that there is a competing "crescent" of
influence bisecting their land corridor which encompasses Tehran,
Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut. This all hinges on whether America's
game-plan for Baghdad comes to fruition and Iraq is pried loose from
Iran's vast influence.
IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
Donald Trump has announced two important and long
overdue changes to Iran policy. First, he committed to addressing the
shortcomings of the Iran nuclear deal, without terminating it.
Second, he called for a comprehensive strategy to counter Iranian
aggression throughout the Middle East. More sanctions, however, will
not be enough to accomplish either of these goals.
NUCLEAR & BALLISTIC-MISSILE PROGRAMS
Iran has no need to increase the range of its ballistic
missiles as they could already reach U.S. forces stationed in the
region, the head of the Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), called war between Iran and the
United States an impossibility.
The State Department confirmed Tuesday that Iran declined
a special high-level meeting with the Trump administration during the
United Nations General Assembly.
SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT
The politically charged trial of Iranian-Turkish gold
trader Reza Zarrab that's scheduled to begin next month in New York
might start without the key actor: Zarrab himself.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
Iran is seeking $50 billion in
investment for its mining industries out to 2022 and has signed
agreements with several European and Asian banks in the past few
months, the country's deputy mining minister said on Wednesday.
RUSSIA & IRAN
Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Iran for
trilateral talks with Tehran and Azerbaijan. Putin's trip Wednesday
is his first since coming to Iran in November 2015. He also traveled
to Iran in 2007.
IRANIAN DOMESTIC POLITICS
Following his candidacy in the May presidential
elections, First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri has appeared as a
capable and likely candidate for the Reformists in Iran's next
contest in 2021. However, the recent detention of his brother over
allegations of corruption may have thrown some obstacles in his path.
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