Eye on Iran: U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy Puts New Focus on Iran and Proxies

TOP STORIES U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy Puts New Focus on Iran and Proxies | Reuters The Trump administration is giving greater priority to Iran and radical groups it backs in a new U.S. counterterrorism strategy document released on Thursday that further increases the pressure from Washington on Tehran. The strategy, unveiled by National Security Adviser John Bolton, is the first issued since 2011 when the Obama administration's view of counterterrorism was focused almost exclusively on the threat posed by al Qaeda after the death of its founder, Osama bin Laden. Oil Industry Snubs EU Effort to Defy Trump Sanctions on Iran | Financial Times (U.K.) Big European oil companies are spurning the EU's attempt to shield Iranian crude from US sanctions because of fears the effort would leave businesses exposed to harsh penalties from the Trump administration. U.S. Puts Sanctions on Lebanese Businessman for Hezbollah Ties | Wall Street Journal The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday put sanctions on a Lebanese businessman and seven companies he owns, alleging he has supported an insider with the militant group Hezbollah. UANI IN THE NEWS Iran's False Narrative on Al Qaeda | UANI Senior Advisor Norman T. Roule for the Cipher Brief The United States and its allies routinely describe Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. Despite this designation, the regime proudly supports Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Tehran funded, trained, armed and supported terror groups targeting U.S. military personnel in Iraq. But the regime's relationship with Al Qaeda deserves attention. NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM Merkel in Israel Says Iran Must Not Obtain Nuclear Arms | Agence France-Presse German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Thursday to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons but disagreed on how as they met to showcase cooperation between their countries.  SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS   US Accuses Former HK Official of Breaking Iran Sanctions | Financial Times (U.K.) US prosecutors have accused a former Hong Kong official working on behalf of a Chinese conglomerate of facilitating arms transactions in Africa and the Middle East, as well as brokering business with Iran that violates US sanctions. Iranians: Dollars Still Expensive As Currency Recovery Stalls | Voice of America A sharp recovery of Iran's currency against the dollar stalled Wednesday, as some Iranians complained that they could not find dollars for the cheaper prices being reported by Iranian media.  Defying Trump, EU Plans to Support Trade with Iran | Handelsblatt (Germany) The European Union, China and Russia, battling to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran after the United States withdrew from it in May, plan to create a system of export loans to stop US sanctions crippling trade with Iran, Handelsblatt has learned. Chinese Oil Company Official Talked Arms Deals and Evading Iran Sanctions, U.S. Says | New York Times The mysterious Chinese oil company known as CEFC China raised eyebrows wherever it went. Its executives hinted at deep connections within Beijing's halls of power as well as with China's powerful military. Then, last year, prosecutors in the United States arrested one of its top executives, accusing him of bribery in an effort to secure oil rights in Chad and Uganda. Now, they say, he also explored businesses beyond oil: brokering arms deals in other countries and looking for ways to dodge American sanctions on Iran. Rivlin Urges Merkel to Join Iran Sanctions to Ensure Global 'Stability' | Times of Israel [Israeli] President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday urged visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to join the US in imposing economic sanctions on Iran to ensure global "stability." In a speech ahead of a luncheon at his official Jerusalem residence, Rivlin called on Berlin to stop looking for ways to skirt the sanctions and keep the Iran nuclear deal alive. Europe Plans a Way to Evade Sanctions on Iran. Will It Work? | New York Times Big questions loom over the European Union's plan to create a money-transfer system to help Iran. Among them: Can this entity help sustain a meaningful amount of trade with Iran? Can it be safeguarded from the United States' financial sleuths? Will it require significant use by two of America's biggest adversaries, China and Russia, to really work? France's Schizophrenic Iran Policy | Charles Bybelezer for the Media Line  As Paris freezes assets of Iranians involved in bomb plot, the Macron government is working to circumvent renewed American sanctions on Tehran MISSILE PROGRAM The Threat Posed by Iran's Missile Capability Has Become Horribly Clear | Con Coughlin for the National (UAE) Iran wants the world to believe that the missile strikes it launched this week in eastern Syria against what it claims were terrorist targets were simply its response to last month's attack on a military parade in Ahvaz. While retaliating against those whom Tehran holds responsible for the worst terrorist attack on Iranian soil for nearly a decade was clearly a key factor, the response needs to be seen within the wider context of the growing sophistication of Iran's military arsenall, with all the implications that has for the wider security concerns of the region. TERRORISM & EXTREMISM Alleged Iranian Bomb Plot in France Is a 'Wake-Up Call' for Europe, U.S. Says | NBC News U.S. officials have condemned Iran over a foiled bomb plot in Paris that France blames on Tehran, saying the attempt drove home why European governments need to impose more economic pressure on Tehran.  German Bank Transferred Nearly $44,000 to Terrorist Group Hamas | Jerusalem Post A bank in Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia sent $43,720 to the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Germany's best-selling paper Bild reported on Thursday that the bank, which was not named, sent the money in February to the US- and EU-designated terrorist entity Hamas because the country's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) did not swiftly crackdown on the transfer. PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS Veil-Safe Plan: Iran's Khamenei Sees the Hijab As the Answer to #Metoo Woes | Radio Free Europe Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an opponent of gender equality whose establishment enforces discriminatory laws against women, has marked the one-year anniversary of the global #metoo movement by offering strict Islamic dress as a solution to the problems women face in the West. U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS White House Outlines Counterterrorism Strategy, Slams Iran | Associated Press President Donald Trump's national security adviser on Thursday unveiled the administration's long-awaited counterterrorism strategy, delivering it with harsh words for Iran. Calling Iran the "world's central banker of international terrorism," Bolton said the strategy will rely on traditional military action to fight terrorists, but also seek increased emphasis on non-military means to battle not only Islamic State militants but those backed by Iran and other groups. US Not Seeking War With Iran: Top General | Agence France-Presse The United States is not seeking conflict with Iran, the general overseeing America's military involvement in the Middle East said Thursday, even as some Trump administration officials have stepped up rhetoric against Tehran. IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS Khamenei Vows 'Never' to Allow Iran to Bow | Agence France-Presse Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed Thursday "never" to allow the Islamic republic to bow to the demands of its enemies, at a time of increased tensions between Tehran and Washington. The Reformist Project in Iran Is Dead | Al Jazeera (Qatar) The events of the past year show that the Reformist movement can no longer offer a 'pro-democracy' alternative in Iran. RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN Top American Commander: US Will Counter Iran In Syria by Just Being There | Washington Examiner The U.S. military has no orders to do anything specific to counter Iran in Syria, but its mere presence will have an indirect deterrence effect, the top U.S. commander for the region said Thursday.  Hezbollah's Urban Missile Factories Put Civilians At Risk | Hanin Ghaddar and Matthew Levitt for the Washington Institute Even if exposing missile sites does not convince the group to dismantle them, it would at least counter the narrative that 'resistance' is good for the Lebanese people and economy. GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN Ending the Not-So-Futile War in Yemen | Husain Haqqani for the American Interest The Western media narrative about the ongoing war in Yemen frames it as a "futile" or "disastrous" conflict. After all, Yemen has been prone to tribal and sectarian quarrels for decades, leading to insurgencies and full-blown civil wars. But the historic complexity of Yemen's politics, and its fraught relationship with Saudi Arabia, should not blind us to Iran's efforts to establish a bridgehead in the Arabian Peninsula by empowering Yemen's Houthi militia. 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.