Eye on Iran: Pence In Israel: 'The Time Has Come for Changes in the Iran Nuclear Deal'

TOP STORIES Pence In Israel: 'The Time Has Come for Changes in the Iran Nuclear Deal' | Hill Vice President Pence said Tuesday in Jerusalem that the "time has come" for changes to the Iran nuclear deal, appealing to the deal's participants to join the U.S. in altering the Obama-era agreement.  Tillerson Presses Europe on Iran Deal, As France Bristles | Associated Press The Trump administration Tuesday pressed ahead with efforts to convince European allies to add tough new requirements to the Iran nuclear deal, a move met with deep skepticism in France where the foreign minister insisted "signatories must stand by their word." Iran Tests New Cruise Missile During Naval Drills | Ahmad Majidyar for the Middle East Institute The Iranian naval forces today tested its new medium-range cruise missile during a two-day drill underway in the Sea of Oman, the Iranian media reported. IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL Nixing the Iran Deal Would Be Better than a Fake Fix | Richard Goldberg for Foreign Policy President Donald Trump issued this month his final ultimatum to Congress regarding the Obama-era Iran nuclear agreement: You fix it, or I'll nix it. But in laying out his criteria for legislation, the president opened the door to countless loopholes that defenders of the deal might try to exploit. If Trump lets them, he'll unknowingly share responsibility with his predecessor, President Barack Obama, for facilitating and legitimizing a nuclear-armed Iran. Iran Rejects Western Demands for JCPOA, Missile Talks | Ahmad Majidyar for Middle East Institute The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said the Islamic Republic will not negotiate with Western powers to amend the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - the nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers in 2015... The senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei particularly ruled out any talks over the country's controversial missile program and emphasized that Iran will continue to further develop its missile power for defense and deterrence purposes. IRAN PROTESTS Rouhani's First Interview After Protests Backfires | Al Monitor Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's first televised interview after the recent unrest appears to have failed to alleviate much of the public's angry feelings. Iranian Hijab Protester: Where Is She? | BBC News A woman who became the face of protests in Iran last December is the subject of a new social media campaign in the country. Images of the woman, whose name remains unknown, defiantly taking off and waving her white headscarf - a punishable offence - in central Tehran were shared thousands of times during anti-establishment protests at the end of last year. Now, Iranians are asking: Where is she? Iranian Security Report: Public's Confidence Decline Behind Protests | Asharq Al-Awsat (U.K.) An Iranian security report on the recent protests revealed that the Iranians' confidence in the regime is declining in general, according to Iranian Deputy Minister of Interior for Security and Disciplinary Hossein Zolfaghari.  Will the Protests in Iran Affect the Regime's Priorities? | Shmuel Even for the Institute for National Security Studies (Israel) During the recent waves of protests in Iran, much criticism was voiced against the country's involvement in regional conflicts, particularly given the difficult economic situation within Iran itself. Demonstrators called for resources to be diverted from overseas to benefit the Iranian population. The large protests have since declined, but there are still some semblances of protest, indicating the resistance among portions of the public to continue sustaining the economic hardships. This article discusses the implications of the economic situation for the Iranian regime's national priorities, including its support for elements engaged in undermining regional stability in the Middle East. The Tweet Trump Could Never Send Tehran | Thomas Friedman for New York Times After violent protests recently exploded across Iran, President Trump vowed to differentiate himself from President Barack Obama by openly tweeting his support for the demonstrators. It had no effect, though. One reason is that Trump could never send the really killer tweets - the ones that might have gone viral across Iran and rattled the regime. Unrest In Iran Will Continue Until Religious Rule Ends | Haidar Khezri for the Conversation The two-week protest movement that rocked cities across Iran earlier this year has largely subsided, but the fallout from the government's harsh response has just begun.  U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS Pentagon Says Confronting Iran Now Tops Terrorism Concerns | Al-Monitor (Saudi Arabia / UAE) US Defense Secretary James Mattis today outlined a new vision for the Pentagon that seeks to counter Iran and other nations that the United States accuses of pursuing a world order aligned with authoritarian values. The new National Defense Strategy envisions America's military focusing on combating authoritarian ideals rather than the protracted global war on terror. The announcement comes as the Donald Trump administration has made clear in recent days that it plans to keep 2,000 US troops in Syria indefinitely to help usher in a political process to replace President Bashar al-Assad and confront Iranian influence in the country. SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT Hit Ayatollah Khamenei in His Pocketbook | Mark Dubowitz and Saeed Ghasseminejad for the Wall Street Journal The Trump administration already has offered rhetorical support to Iran's antigovernment protesters. Now, nearly a month after the demonstrations began, how can the U.S. provide material help? Follow the money. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's supporters brag about his modest lifestyle. They fail to mention that he runs a multibillion-dollar corporate conglomerate to fund his political patronage networks. His three most valuable possessions are the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order, or EIKO ; the Mostazafan Foundation; and the Astan Quds Razavi. These businesses have an interest in nearly every Iranian industry and are worth approximately $200 billion, according to our estimates. TERRORISM & EXTREMISM Hamas Wants Khamenei to Lead Fight Against US, Israel over Jerusalem | Ahmad Majidyar for Middle East Institute The representative of the Palestinian Hamas in Lebanon, Ali Barakah, has said that the militant group wants Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to unify the Islamic community and lead the fight against the United States and Israel after Washington's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Jewish state's capital. Manama Says Tehran and Its Regional Allies Sponsor "Terrorist Cells" to Destabilize Bahrain | Ahmad Majidyar for The Middle East Institute Bahrain's interior minister said on Sunday that Tehran and its regional proxies are supporting militant groups that carry out terrorist actions on the Bahraini soil, Iranian and Arab media reported.  European Parliament Questions Iranian Lawmakers about Holocaust Denial, Terrorism | Jewish Telegraphic Agency European Parliament members questioned a visiting group of Iranian parliamentarians about Iranian leaders' Holocaust denial statements and threats. Jewish groups and Israeli politicians had criticized the European Union's parliament for hosting Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who chairs the Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security of Iran's parliament, and his delegation for a two-day visit to the parliament in Brussels. NORTH KOREA & IRAN CIA Director Mike Pompeo: Iran, N. Korea Nuke Cooperation Is 'a Real Risk' | The Jerusalem Post Iranian and North Korean nuclear cooperation is "a real risk," CIA director Mike Pompeo said in a rare public appearance on Tuesday. MILITARY MATTERS IRGC Commander: We're Chasing US to Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea | Ahmad Majidyar for The Middle East Institute The deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said that the United States is no longer to "pull off a victory" in the Middle East and claimed that Tehran and its allies are driving the US forces out of the region. Iranian Military Adviser Proposes Iran-Iraq-Pakistan Alliance Against U.S. | Tehran Times Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military adviser to the Leader, on Tuesday proposed a coalition of "Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and other countries" against the United States in West Asia.  SYRIA & IRAN Khamenei's Advisor: Iran Will Stay in Syria and Iraq and Help Damascus Fight US Troops | Ahmad Majidyar for The Middle East Institute A top advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei defended Iran's costly involvement in regional conflicts and called for a long-term military presence in Syria and Iraq, Fars News Agency reported.  All We Have to Do in Syria Is Prevent the Return of ISIS and Diminish Iran | Matthew RJ Brodsky for The Weekly Standard In the wake of the U.S. military's crushing defeat of ISIS in the heart of the Middle East, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson laid out the Trump administration's pathway forward in Syria in prepared remarks he delivered at Stanford University's Hoover Institute. He included a vision of America's objectives and listed the ingredients of the recipe that would make a successful Syrian soup, or as he put it, "achieve a stable, unified, and independent Syria, free of terrorist threats and free of weapons of mass destruction." GULF STATES, YEMEN, LEBANON, & IRAN POSCO Steel Deal Blocked Amid Saudi Tensions | Financial Tribune (Iran) The latest development in the tug-of-war between Iran and Saudi Arabia has manifested in the kingdom blocking an investment deal by South Korea in Iran's steel industry. AFGHANISTAN & IRAN Iran Deports Scores of Youth to Western Afghanistan | Ahmad Majidyar for the Middle East Institute Iran everyday deports hundreds of Afghans, including a sizable number of children and teenagers, BBC Persian reports. 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.