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TOP STORIES
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. on Monday ordered
Iran to pay $104.7 million to victims of a June 1996 truck bombing in
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia that killed 19 U.S. military personnel, though
it is unclear when and how the plaintiffs might collect.
As the deadline for US sanctions on Iranian crude oil
draws near, loadings are still going on from Iran and some shipping
companies view it as an opportunity to get hefty premiums, market
participants said late last week.
Turkey, Russia and Iran reached an agreement to conduct
bilateral trade in their own currencies, and to avoid the use of US
dollars, Turkey's state-owned Anatolia news agency reported.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran's nuclear chief told The Associated Press on
Tuesday that he hopes the atomic deal between Tehran and world powers
survives, but warns the program will be in a stronger position than
ever if not..
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
The United States has issued a fresh warning to airlines
to exercise caution when operating in Iran's airspace, citing
concerns over military activity including an unnamed U.S. civil
operator being intercepted by fighter jets in December 2017.
Iran is moving cautiously forward on legislation to
combat money laundering and terror financing, as the steps crucial to
the health of Iran's economy must not be seen as concessions to
outside pressure.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
A United Nations rights panel has issued a strongly
worded opinion calling on Iran to immediately release an American
scholar imprisoned two years ago while doing historical research that
the Iranian authorities had approved.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Iraq's Kurdish kingmakers used to side with Washington.
Now, Tehran seems like a more attractive partner.
With Baghdad's politics back in chaos, America needs to
up the battle against Iran's influence over Iraq.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
A top Iranian military leader warned on Monday that Iran
is plotting strikes outside of its own borders and will even go
"beyond the seas" to carry out attacks on those it
perceives as enemies, statements that further highlight Iran's
clandestine operations inside the United States and in Europe.
While propaganda plays a major role in forming local and
international public opinion, it may also be deployed as a tool of
"soft deterrence," designed to tilt the calculations and
military strategies of other countries in another country's favor.
Iran's financial investment in its media presence, with dozens of
satellite channels broadcasting in a number of languages, demonstrates
the seriousness with which the state takes this form of propaganda.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
President Hassan Rouhani's appearance before parliament
to answer economic questions did not satisfy Principlists or
Reformists. It did, however, please Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN.
High-level diplomats from Iran, Russia and Turkey were
meeting Tuesday with the U.N. envoy for Syria about creating a
committee to revise the war-battered country's constitution.
The U.S. is working with France and the U.K. on plans
for a coordinated military strike in Syria if the regime uses
chemical weapons in an expected offensive against the country's last
major rebel haven, President Trump's national security adviser said.
John Bolton warned Monday that a new attack by the Western allies
would be much stronger than the two airstrikes launched in April 2017
and April 2018 after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was accused of
using chemical weapons that killed scores of civilians in the past 17
months.
The trial of four Hezbollah suspects in the
assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri enters the
final stretch Tuesday with closing arguments in the long-running
case. Hariri's son Saad, Lebanon's premier-designate, is expected to
attend the special UN-backed court in the Netherlands as prosecutors
and defence lawyers make their final statements.
IRAQ & IRAN
A flood of Iraqi shoppers to Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province
in the southwest has led to protests and tensions.
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