Eye on Iran: Republicans Seek Answers on Obama Actions around Hezbollah

Eye on Iran will next be published on Wednesday, December 27. Happy Holidays from United Against Nuclear Iran. TOP STORIES Republicans Seek Answers on Obama Actions around Hezbollah | Politico Congressional Republicans on Thursday demanded action and sought more information following a POLITICO report that the Obama administration derailed a law enforcement campaign against drug trafficking by the terrorist group Hezbollah as former President Barack Obama sought to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) urged President Donald Trump to reinstate a task force to combat illegal activities by Hezbollah in the U.S., and he called on the Justice and Treasury departments to investigate the matter. Saudi Arabia Threatens To Go Nuclear: If Iran Allowed To Enrich Uranium, So Should We | Haaretz Saudi Arabia should not forfeit its "sovereign" right to one day enrich uranium under its planned civilian nuclear program, especially as world powers have allowed Iran to do so, a senior Saudi royal told Reuters. Former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal's comments reinforced Riyadh's stance on what is likely to be a sensitive issue in talks between Saudi Arabia and the United States on an agreement to help the kingdom develop atomic energy.   Iran Denies British-Iranian Aid Worker Might Be Released Soon | Reuters Iran's justice ministry confirmed on Friday that authorities have opened a new case against British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been sentenced to five years in jail, and denied she might soon be released.  U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS U.N. Vote a Resounding Global 'No' To U.S. Intimidation: Iran's Zarif Tweets | Reuters The United Nations General Assembly's vote on Jerusalem on Thursday was a clear international rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump administration's "thuggish intimidation", the Iranian foreign minister said on Twitter.  HUMAN RIGHTS Iran Rejects Claims Release of British Woman Is Tied to Deal | Associated Press Iran is rejecting speculation that a possible release of a detained British-Iranian woman is tied to a "swap deal" involving 400 million pounds ($530 million) held by London, a payment the late Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi made for Chieftain tanks that were never delivered. SYRIA CONFLICT Tehran Pressures Syrian Regime Into a Kurdish Standoff | Asharq Al-Awsat (U.K.) Tehran continues its pressure on the Syrian regime in Damascus to go into a military confrontation with the Washington-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a largely Kurdish group, Kurdish sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. IRAQ CRISIS Iran Willing to Normalize Ties with KRG, But Not Without Change | Al Monitor Iran appears to be preparing to normalize its relations with Iraqi Kurdistan after two tumultuous months in which it helped Baghdad bring the Kurds to their knees following their ill-fated Sept. 25 independence referendum.  GULF STATES, YEMEN, LEBANON, AND IRAN What Would A Saudi-Iran War Look Like? Don't Look Now, But It Is Already Here | Thomas E. Ricks for Foreign Policy When asked to address the question of what a Saudi-Iran war would look like, my first instinct is to ask the reader to look around because it is already happening. IRANIAN DOMESTIC ISSUES Iran Detains 230 Boys and Girls for Drinking, Dancing | Associated Press Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency is reporting that police have detained 230 boys and girls at separate parties in the capital Tehran in which alcohol was involved. Rouhani: No One Above The Law, Not Even Prophet Muhammad | Al Monitor One year ago President Hassan Rouhani unveiled an Iranian bill of rights, called the Citizens' Rights Charter, that would offer Iranians more personal freedoms. On Dec. 19, Rouhani, along with his advisers and Cabinet and parliamentary officials, marked the one-year anniversary of his citizens' rights charter at a gathering called the National Conference Report on the Progress and Solutions for the Realization of Citizens' Rights.  During his speech, Rouhani called for more transparency in the country and for Iranians to hold government institutions accountable. Rouhani stressed the importance of applying the law impartially to all, saying, "No one, not even the prophet of Islam, is above the law." Second Earthquake In 24 Hours Hits Iran, Light Damage | Radio Farda A 5.2-magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Iran Thursday evening, less than 24 hours after a similar tremor killed one person in the capital Tehran. 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.