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TOP STORIES
U.S. President Donald Trump will increase pressure on
Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday, but he
declined specific comment on whether the administration would
continue sanctions waivers for countries that import Iranian oil.
Pompeo told a U.S. Senate committee he had "no
announcements" on whether Washington would continue waivers to
some countries that import Iranian crude, or for Iran's civilian
nuclear program, now that Trump has withdrawn the United States from
the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran and reimposed
sweeping sanctions
Government controlled Syrian newspaper Al-Watan has
disclosed in an April 17 article that the serious shortage of
fuel Syria is facing is the outcome of Iran halting a credit line to
Syria since October 15, 2018 under pressure from U.S. sanctions.
Al-Watan also added in this "unprecedented disclosure" that
no oil tanker has reached Syrian ports during the past six
months.Previously, other reports has mentioned Egypt being
responsible for not allowing Iranian tankers to pass through the Suez
Canal to reach Syria.
An Iranian court has held an appeal hearing for a jailed
Iranian journalist and rights activist who faces a 12-year prison
sentence for her social media criticisms of Iran's judiciary.
A report by Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency quoted a
lawyer for journalist Hengameh Shahidi as saying he and his client
appeared in court for the Tuesday hearing. Mostafa Tork Hamedani told
ISNA that the presiding judge announced the end of the appeals
process for Shahidi and pledged to issue a ruling soon.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC
NEWS
President Hassan Rouhani says the U.S. should suspend
sanctions against Iran because of the recent massive floods that have
claimed dozens of lives. State TV quoted Rouhani's as saying on
Wednesday that "if U.S officials were wise, they should have
announced they would suspend the sanctions for one year because of
the floods in Iran." Rouhani is also quoted as saying the White
House was "inhumane and filthy" for declining to allow cash
support to the Iranian Red Crescent.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday
Turkey is looking into establishing new trade mechanisms with Iran,
like the INSTEX system set up by European countries to avoid U.S.
sanctions reimposed last year on exports of Iranian oil. Those
sanctions followed President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw
unilaterally from a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world
powers to pressure Iran to curtail its nuclear program and stop
backing militant proxies in the Middle East.
Iran has shut around a dozen oil wells in its oil-rich
southwestern Khuzestan province because of massive floods, the
semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Wednesday, leading to a
drop of up to 20,000 barrels per day in crude production. Iran's worst
flooding in 70 years, which started on March 19, has killed at least
76 people, forced more than 220,000 into emergency shelters and
caused an estimated $2.5 billion in damage to roads, bridges, homes
and farmland.
The Trump administration must decide by May 2 whether to
allow Iran to continue exporting crude oil - a decision with huge
implications for Washington's Iran strategy and the oil market. The
big picture: Since withdrawing from the nuclear
deal last May, the U.S. has steadily ratcheted up economic and
political pressure on Iran. The core component of the Trump
administration's "maximum pressure" strategy is reducing
the Islamic Republic's oil exports, which provide provide a
third of government revenues.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Seconds into the third round of what some consider an
Iranian woman's first official boxing match, Sadaf Khadem had her
opponent, Anne Chauvin of France, timed up. She landed a flurry of
right hooks, knocking Chauvin's head guard off kilter. At the closing
bell, the ringside crowd in Royan, in western France, rose to give
Khadem a standing ovation. Chauvin - defeated, but no worse for the
wear after three rounds - gave Khadem a hug in the middle of the
ring, grabbed her wrist and raised her hand in the air.
Iranian authorities must stop harassing, arresting and
imprisoning women's rights defenders peacefully protesting against
Iran's degrading and discriminatory forced veiling laws, and release
those detained on this basis immediately and unconditionally, said
Amnesty International today. The organization has confirmed
that two women's rights defenders, Yasmin Aryani and Monireh
Arabshahi, have been detained in the past week and that a third activist,
Vida Movahedi, who has been detained since October 2018, was
sentenced to one year in prison last month for peacefully protesting
against forced veiling.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
A new Trump administration report on international
compliance with arms control accords provoked a dispute with U.S.
intelligence agencies and some State Department officials concerned
that the document politicizes and slants assessments about Iran, five
sources with knowledge of the matter said. U.S. President Donald
Trump is intensifying a drive to contain Iran's power in the Middle
East, which has raised fears that his administration wants to topple
the Tehran government or lay the groundwork to justify military
action.
The United States's reaction to floods that killed
dozens of people in Iran has revealed Washington's
"vicious" nature, said Iran's President Hassan
Rouhani. At least 76 people have died after torrential rainfall which
has caused damages of around $2.5bn since March 19. Iran's
Red Crescent has repeatedly complained that US banking sanctions
reimposed last year make it impossible to receive donations from
outside the country.
If the US administration's goal is to weaken Iran's
reform movement, it deserves a round of applause. Since coming to
power, President Donald Trump has taken consecutive steps to distance
Washington and Tehran - and, in the process, to increasingly
damage Iranian moderates and Reformists. All the while, Iranian
hard-liners couldn't be more content. They are now certain of victory
in the upcoming 2020 parliamentary polls and 2021 presidential vote
as people are disappointed with those in Iran who have for years been
calling for negotiations with the United States.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran showcased its domestically made fighter jets by
flying the aircraft over Tehran during a military parade Thursday
marking National Army Day as the country grapples with U.S. sanctions
and the Trump administration's recent terrorism designation of Iran's
powerful paramilitary force. TV footage showed the aircraft
performing during the parade, including the latest all-Iranian
fighter jet dubbed Kowsar, which in Islamic meaning refers to a river
in paradise and is also the title of a chapter in the Muslim holy
book, the Quran.
President Hassan Rouhani said Iran's armed forces did
not pose a threat to its neighbors as he addressed a display on
Thursday of Iran's latest military equipment, including domestically
produced fighter jets and Russian-made missile systems. The parade to
mark Army Day came as U.S. President Donald Trump pursues his drive
to contain Iran's power in the Middle East by means of
sanctions.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on countries
across the Middle East to unite against the United States during an
address at an Army Day parade in Tehran. Speaking at a ceremony on
Thursday, Rouhani also urged neighbouring countries to "drive
back Zionism", saying the US and its ally Israel were the root
cause of the region's problems.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on April
17 denied the veracity of remarks by one of its former generals who
has claimed to have worn Iran's Red Crescent Society's (IRCS) uniform
for "military purposes" during the civil war in Bosnia.
Saeed Qassemi (Ghasemi), retired IRGC General, is an outspoken
ultraconservative, renowned for his vitriolic attacks on reformist
former President Mohammad Khatami, and the incumbent
"moderate" President Hassan Rouhani.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday met
with Iran's foreign minister, who arrived in Ankara to brief him on
his meeting with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey supports
Syrian opposition rebels and Iran backs Assad in Syria's long war,
but the two sides have been expanding contacts amid international
efforts to end the fighting. Kazakhstan will host a fresh round of
Syria talks on April 25-26 in its capital, recently renamed from
Astana to Nur-Sultan.
Wednesday, Turkey and Iran reiterated their commitment
to efforts to reach a permanent peace in Syria, establishing a
constitutional committee and preserving de-escalation in Idlib
province. "For permanent peace in Syria and preserving the
cease-fire in Idlib, we continue to work together to coordinate
various issues, including the U.S.' decision to withdraw from
Syria.
The representative of the Lebanese Hezbollah in Iran
says a significant number of young Lebanese are currently in Iran,
helping relief operations for the flood-stricken people. Speaking to
the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)-run Tasnin news agency,
Sheik Mo'ein Daqiq said on Tuesday that the Secretary-General of
Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has called upon all young Lebanese and
members of the armed group to join Iranian Armed forces,
"jihadi" elements, and Iranian Red Crescent to help the
flood-hit Iranians.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called on Middle East
states on Thursday to "drive back Zionism," in an Army Day
tirade against the Islamic republic's arch-foe Israel. Speaking
flanked by top general as troops paraded in a show of might, Rouhani
also sought to reassure the region that the weaponry on display was
for defensive purposes and not a threat.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
The Saudi Red Crescent Authority, in coordination with
the Emirates Red Crescent sent a relief plane to Tehran carrying 95
tons of humanitarian aid to support those affected by the floods in
Iran. Last Friday, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
announced a joint initiative to help alleviate the suffering of
Iranian citizens affected by the recent floods.
The Bashar Assad regime has killed at least 548
Palestinians by torture in Syrian prisons, according to a recent
report by a London-based human rights monitor tracking the situation
of Palestinian refugees in Syria said. The report published by the
Action Group for Palestinians of Syria (AGPS) on April 16 said that
the Palestinians who have been tortured to death in regime-controlled
prisons included women and children.
MISCELLANEOUS
Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, began
removing pages and accounts run by people associated with the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps this week after the US government
officially designated the IRGC a terrorist organization on Monday,
Instagram confirmed to CNN. Iran's semi-official Mehr News
Agency reported earlier this week that Instagram accounts belonging
to some IRGC generals had disappeared.
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