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TOP STORIES
Lukoil, Russia's second biggest oil producer, said on
Tuesday it had decided not to go ahead with plans to develop projects
in Iran at the moment due to the threat of U.S. sanctions, a company
official said.
Total, which became the largest foreign investor in
Iran's energy sector after sanctions were eased in 2016, will have 60
days to secure an exemption from US penalties or China's state-owned
CNPC could take over its stake in the South Pars project, Iranian oil
minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Russia and Israel have reportedly reached an
unprecedented deal which would allow Bashar al-Assad's forces to take
remaining rebel territory in southern Syria - so long as Iranian
fighters do not participate.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Two Indian banks have asked exporters to complete their
financial transactions with Iran by August in response to the threat
of new U.S. sanctions, according to the country's main exporters'
organisation and bank letters seen by Reuters.
Swiss lender Banque de Commerce et de Placements (BCP)
has suspended new transactions with Iran and is winding down
Iran-related activities, the latest company to halt business after
the United States said it would reimpose sanctions on Tehran.
Pro-American EU states are saying US ties are more
important than Iran amid disagreement on the nuclear deal.
MISSILE PROGRAM
A senior Iranian military official has warned the U.S.
that his armed force's missile development and regional influence was
too powerful to be dismantled even in the event of a direct
conflict.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week delivered a
powerful speech that essentially defined U.S. policy objectives toward
Iran by three noes: no nuclear program, no regional terrorism and
aggression, and no domestic oppression. He offered a three-part
strategy to achieve those goals, the central element of which is
"unprecedented financial pressure" on Tehran. But even with
Iran's currency crisis and popular discontent, sanctions can only be
one tool in a broader U.S. plan.
In his first major policy speech as secretary of state -
delivered Monday at the Heritage Foundation - Mike Pompeo set out the
Trump administration's Iran strategy. It's heartening that the United
States has a plan: ditching the nuclear deal is well and good, but
it's not a strategy. But is the plan a good one?
SYRIA, RUSSIA, ISRAEL & IRAN
The Syrian regime is threatening to move against an
antigovernment stronghold in the country's southwest, raising
pressure on Russia to keep Iran and its proxies out of a fight that
could inflame tensions with Syria's neighbor, Israel.
Tuesday morning's barrages of mortar shells and rockets
into southern Israel were quickly rumored in Gaza to be the work of
the Islamic Jihad terror group. And hours after more than two dozen
mortar shells hit Israel, the IDF carried out retaliatory strikes
that were mainly directed at Islamic Jihad's military wing. Islamic
Jihad's role indicates we are witnessing an attempt by Iran to spark
a war on the southern border. And if the deterioration of the
situation is not halted in the very near future, the attempt may
prove successful.
Tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated, and
this month, they spilled into a military exchange in Syria between
the two countries. The final outcome of this escalation has yet to
play itself out. Yet, so far it is Russian President Vladimir Putin
who is coming out as the winner. For the Kremlin, tensions between
anyone - whether friends or foes - present opportunities for
weakening both sides, and thus strengthen Moscow's position by
comparison. Putin likely views current tensions between Israel and
Iran in the same vein.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran's Interior Ministry has approved another measure
that restricts areas where public demonstrations can be held.
The Baha'i International Community (BIC) at the United
Nations has expressed alarm over a spate of arrests of Baha'i faith
members in three Iranian provinces by agents of the Intelligence
Ministry.
The United States says religious persecution continues
to be widespread around the globe as it unveiled its annual report on
religious freedom, with violations cited in Russia, Iran,
Afghanistan, and Pakistan, among other countries... In Iran, which
the United States in 1999 designated as a Country Of Particular
Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998,
the penal code provides for the death sentence for
"proselytizing and attempts by non-Muslims to convert Muslims,
as well as for moharebeh (enmity against God) and sabb al-nabi
(insulting the prophet)," the report notes.
[T]he regime has despised political prisoners with such
rancour, thousands have been slaughtered within the prison system,
and many detainees, whatever their gender, have been tortured,
physically beaten or raped. Due to the vast number of arrests, the
majority of female activists abandoned any form of dissention, and in
desperation to seek freedom, many of their number had fled the
country.
On Monday, May 10, 2018, Iran Human Rights (IHR)
reported the execution of Kiomars Nasouhi, a prisoner sentenced to
death for drug offenses. This execution is the first drug-related
execution registered by IHR since the latest amendment to the
Anti-Narcotics Law was enforced on November 14, 2017. According to
reports by IHR, at least 77 people, among them three juvenile
offenders have been executed between January 1. and May 20,
2018.
Alireza Aghasi wasn't too worried when Iran first banned
the Telegram messaging app that's the backbone of his digital
advertising agency. As tensions with the U.S. heat up, however, the
widening assault on freedoms could begin to cost him business.
Iran's Education Ministry is violating Iranian law and
the country's commitments to the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) with job application requirements
that prevent many people with disabilities from applying. "The
guideline's many restrictions and constraints will effectively result
in the exclusion of the majority of people with disabilities,"
an Iran-focused disability rights activist told the Center for Human
Rights in Iran (CHRI).
OTHER IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
An education official has delivered a rare rebuke to
Iran's law and security authorities in the presence of Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech cheered by both reformists and
hardliners.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Yemeni forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition
are closing in on the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, a campaign that
could prove a turning point in the war against the Houthis and a
setback for Iran's interests in the country.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
Some of the dozens of mortars and rockets fired into
Israel by Gaza-based terrorists on Tuesday were made in Iran and
smuggled into the Strip, the army said.
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