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TOP STORIES
Iran said on Monday it could produce higher enriched
uranium within two days if the United States quit a 2015 nuclear deal
between Tehran and six major powers, Tehran's Arabic language al-Alam
TV reported.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Monday that the
only way to end the conflict in Syria was to support its government.
France's foreign minister traveled to Tehran on Monday
promising tough talk on Iran's ballistic missile program but was met
with stiff resistance from his Iranian counterpart, who said Western
arms deals had turned the Middle East into a "gunpowder
depot." From his first meeting with a military uniform-clad
official, Jean-Yves Le Drian's one-day trip highlighted the challenge
Paris faces in challenging Iran while at the same time trying to keep
the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers intact.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Former CIA officer Norman Roule spent more than 30 years
in intelligence gathering, now he works for an organization that
tracks international sanctions violations and has become comparing
the movements of the Vitaz with those of a North Korean ship that was
in the same area at the same time.
NUCLEAR DEAL
US Vice President Mike Pence vowed the US would withdraw
from the nuclear deal forged between Iran and six world powers in the
coming months unless lawmakers move to fix the agreement, and called
US President Donald Trump the most pro-Israel president the country
has ever had.
NUCLEAR & BALLISTIC-MISSILE PROGRAMS
Iran's powerful quasi-military Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps, or IRGC, has unveiled what it says is a "new"
combination anti-tank and short-range surface-to-air missile. From
the available images and video, it appears the weapon is actually
just a modified AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile, which could be
an indicator of local ingenuity, a lack of readily available
alternatives, or a little of both.
In May 2003, the deputy head of the Mossad presented a
top secret plan to the reclusive Israeli spy agency's senior
leadership, a group of some of the most hard-nosed security men in
the world. The plan, the product of an intensive four-month effort,
was an ultra-secret strategy to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear
weapons. This week, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
plots with U.S. President Donald Trump against an Iranian nuclear
agreement that both men have trashed as nothing more than a pathway
to a bomb, it's worth looking back at this episode to understand how
Israel's spymasters think about the problem-and why they tend to view
it radically differently than their political bosses.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
The shah wanted weapons... The administration of U.S.
president Richard Nixon was all too eager to grant the shah's wish in
exchange for Iran's help balancing a rising Soviet Union... That's
how, starting in the mid-1970s, Iran became the only country besides
the United States to operate arguably the most powerful interceptor
jet ever built, the Grumman F14 Tomcat, a swing-wing carrier fighter
packing a sophisticated radar and long-range AIM-54 Phoenix
air-to-air missiles. It's fair to say American policymakers quickly
regretted giving Iran the F-14s... The Islamic Revolution transformed
Iran from an American ally to one of the United States' most
vociferous enemies. An enemy possessing 79 of the world's most
fearsome interceptors.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNAL DISCONTENT
Iran has arrested activists and political opponents in a
clampdown on freedom of expression as use of torture continues
despite promises of reform, a United Nations report said on
Monday.
35-year-old Manijeh Tafaghod Rezaei from western Tehran,
has become another recognizable face of the women's movement through
her posts on social media. Rezaei, who was born with achondroplasia,
or dwarfism, works as a model - illegal in the Islamic Republic of
Iran. She's been cautioned and detained after sharing videos of
herself without a veil online... Rezaei, who has not made attempts to
hide her identity, receives repeated threats in person and
online."After posting videos without my hijab, I was threatened
on social media and in the real world, too. I was even threatened
with acid spraying, rape and abuse."
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up
Iranian government-owned Bank Melli's appeal of a lower court ruling
that allowed victims of militant attacks allegedly backed by Iran to
seek millions of dollars in compensation from the bank.
SYRIA & IRAN
Turkey, Russia and Iran will hold a summit in April to
discuss Syria and potential steps in the region, the spokesman for
the Turkish foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
The discontinuation of cash handouts for a large segment
of Iranians has become a controversial issue in the initial draft
budget for the next Iranian year (beginning March 21). Some suggest that
this prospect contributed to the grievances that caused the protests
in late December. On Feb. 22, the new framework of cash handouts was
finalized as part of the ratification of the coming Iranian year's
budget law. But what are the actual changes introduced by lawmakers,
and what are their consequences for the Iranian economy?
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