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TOP STORIES
The United States officially designated Iran's elite
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist
organization, according to a notice published in the U.S. Federal
Register on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week
he would make the symbolic but unprecedented move, which immediately
was condemned by Iran and created concerns about reprisal attacks on
U.S. forces. The IRGC is in charge of Iran's ballistic missile
and nuclear programs. It also is involved with the country's banking
and shipping industries.
The Trump administration has reached a critical juncture
in its efforts to tighten United States oil sanctions against Iran
and Venezuela. By pressuring China and India to end or sharply reduce
oil purchases from Iran and Venezuela, American officials are seeking
to cut off a key economic lifeline for what the administration
considers to be two rogue nations that threaten the stability
of the Middle East and Latin America.
U.S. President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser
John Bolton says he is going to discuss Iran in a meeting with his
Israeli counterpart soon. Bolton wrote on his Twitter on
Sunday that he was "Looking forward to meeting with Israeli
National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat tomorrow. We have much to
discuss, including our shared commitment to countering Iranian malign
activity and other destabilizing actors in the Middle East and around
the world."
UANI IN THE NEWS
Last week, the US announced that it will designate the
Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist
organisation. Noting that the IRGC "actively participates in,
finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft," the
White House has signalled it is now going to take a tougher stance on
Iran's use of proxies abroad. This move met mixed reactions from
certain quarters, both in the US and internationally. Critics of the
move fear that it may invite violent reprisals against troops
stationed in the Middle East. Iran has already retaliated by
designating US troops in the region as terrorists. In addition, there
are fears that it may complicate pursuing diplomatic options with the
Iranian regime in the future.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif issued a
"reminder" Monday to European powers that Tehran
is allowed to enrich uranium under its nuclear deal after a senior
French diplomat claimed otherwise. "There is no prohibition on
the enrichment of uranium by Iran," Zarif tweeted. His comments
were addressed to France, Germany, and Britain who signed up to the
landmark 2015 accord with Tehran under which uranium enrichment is
curtailed but not banned.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC
NEWS
The Trump administration consistently admonishes our
European allies for their cooperation with the Iranian regime. So the
recent rhetorical flare-ups between Tehran and Brussels should come
as a welcome surprise, although they have little to do with U.S.
policy. While Europe shows no signs of abandoning dialogue with the
Islamic Republic as Washington has, tensions are mounting. Europe,
however, has economic leverage over Iran and seems prepared to use it
as a means of reining in bad Iranian behavior.
South Korea's imports of Iranian crude last month
reached 1.2 million tons, or 8.8 million barrels which was a
23-percent increase on February and a fivefold increase in January,
when Korean refiners resumed their purchases of Iranian crude.
Reuters reports the daily intake rate for March was a bit above
280,000 barrels, which on an annual basis represents a 12-percent
decline. This is understandable as this time last year the U.S. and
not yet reinstated sanctions against Tehran and everyone was buying
its oil without concern.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
China, Iran and Russia have defended their support
of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as the U.S. criticizes them
for backing the socialist leader it is trying to oust. During an
interview Saturday with Voice of America Spanish, Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo once again asserted that "all options [are] on the
table" in ensuring the departure of Maduro, whose country has
faced a historic economic crisis exacerbated by U.S. sanctions and is
experiencing a political challenge by National Assembly
President Juan Guaidó.
Abbas Mousavi, the new spokesman for Iran's Foreign
Ministry has characterized U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's
remarks about Iran's interventions in Latin America as
"laughable". According to the Iranian State TV's news
agency, Mousavi accused the United States of "obvious and
unilateral" intervention in the domestic affairs of Venezuela.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
The devastating floods that have swamped many parts of
Iran since March have left two million people in need of humanitarian
aid, the Red Crescent said Monday. The International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called the floods the
"largest disaster to hit Iran in more than 15 years."
According to the IFRC, the floods have killed at least 78 people and
injured more than 1,000 others.
Poor crisis
management in the aftermath of the recent floods in Iran has
highlighted the weaknesses of management in the country. In fact,
deficiencies have become apparent on all levels - whether it's crisis
prevention and management, or lack of coordination and clarity of
responsibilities among various state organs. But before
discussing some of the shortcomings, it is important to underline
that the extent of the recent floods would have been difficult to
manage for most countries in the world - and that disaster-related
damages would have indeed been inevitable.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Normalizing relations with Israel breaks with the Koran
and Islamic faith, Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said
on Monday. The Iranian regime is avowedly committed to Israel's
destruction, and trains and arms terror groups in Lebanon and Gaza
with that declared goal. Israel says it is seeking a nuclear weapons
arsenal in order to annihilate the Jewish state.
Plans to link the railway networks of Iran, Iraq and
Syria have been revealed by a source at the Syrian Ministry of
Transport. "Now, the countries are working on the resumption of
the project connecting the railways of Syria, Iran and Iraq,"
the source told Al-Watan newspaper yesterday. "[They] are
determining the date of the meeting between the representatives of
the countries to develop the points of view."
GULF STATES, YEMEN & IRAN
The Arab coalition on Monday said it had shot down 11
drones launched by the Iranian-backed Houthis targeting Seiyun and that
Saada and Amran governorates were still being used by the militia as
storage areas for ballistic missiles. Coalition spokesman Col. Turki
Al-Maliki told a news conference in Riyadh that the coalition was
committed to preventing the delivery of sophisticated weapons to the
Houthis and it was taking all necessary measures to protect civilians
and vital locations against the threat of drone attacks.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iran's ambassador to Iraq confirmed on April 12 that
hundreds of members of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU)
entered Iran to help with flood relief. According to
Ambassador Iraj Masjedi, the PMU, which was formed in
response to a 2014 religious edict issued by Grand Ayatollah Ali
Sistani to defend Iraq against the Islamic State, entered the
provinces of Khuzestan and Lorestan after acquiring visas through
Iran's embassy and consulate.
Iraq Struggles To Distance Itself From US-Iran
Tensions | Al Monitor
Iraq is trying hard to dissociate itself from the rising
hostilities between Iran and the United States, as it hopes to
preserve its national interests without aligning with either axis in
the conflict. Following his recent visit to Iran, Iraqi Prime Minster
Adel Abdul Mahdi announced April 9 that he will
soon visit Saudi Arabia to sign economic and security
agreements, as Iraq has done with Jordan and Iran.
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