Thursday, September 20, 2018

Eye on Iran: U.S. Again Names Iran As Leading Terrorism Sponsor



   EYE ON IRAN
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The United States has once again named Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, accusing it of fueling conflicts and undermining governments throughout the Middle East. 


The United States is seeking to negotiate a treaty with Iran to include Tehran's ballistic missile program and its regional behavior, the U.S. special envoy for Iran said on Wednesday ahead of U.N. meetings in New York next week. 


The Trump administration persuaded Volkswagen AG to comply with sanctions on Iran and end almost all of its business in the country, according to a U.S. official, a symbolically charged step in undercutting European Union efforts to keep the 2015 nuclear deal alive.

SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS


German chemical giant BASF has made a firm commitment to comply with all U.S. sanctions against Iran, becoming the latest in a string of large European companies to back away from ambitious plans to invest in the Islamic Republic following Washington's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. BASF said in a statement that while it will maintain a business presence in Iran, it would "strictly comply with all prevailing rules." 


Iran said it will veto any OPEC decision that harms the Islamic Republic and warned that some oil producers are trying to create an alternative suppliers' forum that supports U.S. policies hostile to the government in Tehran.


Iran's oil exports started to fall noticeably in August as key customers in Asia began to curtail oil purchases to either comply with the U.S. efforts to bring Iranian exports to zero, or to win waivers with the U.S. Administration. 

TERRORISM & EXTREMISM


The State Department released a report Wednesday identifying Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism with a "near-global reach" and accusing it of sending suspected operatives to the United States. The annual Country Reports on Terrorism for 2017 said Iran and the proxy groups it finances were responsible for attacks or attempted attacks in the Middle East, Europe, South America and Africa.


France will not name a new ambassador to Tehran before getting information from Iran following a foiled plot to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris last June, 


The State Department released its annual Country Reports on Terrorism today... As in past assessments, State says that Iran "has allowed" al Qaeda to operate its key facilitation network on Iranian soil.

U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS


The United States' economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran is expected to reach its crescendo in early November with the imposition of oil and gas sanctions. The Iraqi Kurds who were punished by Tehran and snubbed by Washington last year following their ill-conceived referendum for independence are under extensive pressure to choose a side in this international affray.

RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN


The United States has evidence Iran is helping Hezbollah build missile production facilities in Lebanon, a senior official in Washington said Wednesday, though he did not offer proof.


Hezbollah will stay in Syria "until further notice", the leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday in a televised address.


Iran asked the United Nations to condemn what it described as Israeli nuclear threats against it on Thursday, while Israel said it was stepping up security around its atomic sites as a precaution against threats from Tehran and its regional allies.


The naming of a street in the Lebanese capital Beirut after a late military commander of the Hezbollah movement has sparked a political row. Mustafa Badreddine, after whom the street in the suburb of Ghobeiry is named, is alleged to have masterminded the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.


Israel Atomic Energy Commission Director General Zeev Snir called for action against Iran and Syrian nuclear sites during the 62nd General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday. 


An Iranian delegation comprising representatives from 180 companies visited Syria to assess business opportunities in the war-torn country, Iranian and Arab media reported. 


Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, said Wednesday that Israel must stop its "intolerable" attacks in Syria.


Tehran, not Baghdad, will determine whether to launch Iranian rockets stationed in Iraq against Israel, former National Security Council chief Maj.- Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview. 

GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN


A series of clashes between Yemeni Houthi militias and the Saudi-led coalition have escalated over the past week, further fueling tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which allegedly provides financial assistance and weapons to the Yemeni rebels.

OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS


President Emmanuel Macron will separately meet his US and Iranian counterparts, Donald Trump and Hassan Rouhani, during the UN General Assembly in New York next week, the French presidency said Wednesday.


Britain on Wednesday advised British-Iranian dual nationals against all but essential travel to Iran, tightening up its existing travel advice and warning it has only limited powers to support them if detained.  

MISCELLANEOUS


"Six years ago, when I entered USA as a refugee, I never imagined that someday I would be standing in front of you," said 29-year old Holakou Rahmanian, speaking to professors of mathematics and computer science at his graduation from the University of Santa Cruz, California in 2018. As a member of the Baha'i religious minority, which is subject to official discrimination in Iran, Rahmanian was not allowed to study at a university in his home country.






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.

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