|
TOP STORIES
Iran shot down a United States drone after it entered
its airspace, state media reported on Thursday, the latest escalation
in the tensions between the two countries. Press TV, a state-run news
outlet in Iran, said that what it called a "spy drone" had
been shot down in the province of Hormozgan, along the country's
southern coast on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The United
States disputed that account. "No U.S. aircraft were operating
in Iranian airspace today," said Bill Urban, a spokesman for
Central Command...
The United States sought on Wednesday to bolster its
case for isolating Iran over its nuclear and regional activities by
displaying limpet mine fragments it said came from an oil tanker
damaged in an attack last week and saying the ordnance looked Iranian
in origin. Separately, a senior U.S. official said U.S.
intelligence had confirmed that Iranian vessels had approached the
damaged tanker, the Kokuka Courageous, as well as a second one, the
Front Altair, prior to explosions that damaged their hulls last
week.
The U.S. special envoy says President Donald Trump's
Iran policy is ultimately aimed at bringing Tehran to the negotiating
table. Brian Hook briefed lawmakers at a House panel Wednesday amid
concerns from some in Congress that the situation in the Middle East
could escalate into military conflict. Hook said, "no one should
be uncertain about our desire for peace or our readiness to normalize
relations should we reach a comprehensive deal."
UANI IN THE NEWS
UANI Senior Adviser Norman Roule: Well, we should worry
that the nuclear deal has begun to unravel. Iran is likely to
continue to take steps which will allow it to exceed the agreement
while still staying within the general framework of the deal itself. It's
very unlikely Iran will undertake steps to build a nuclear weapon,
it's very likely Iran will attempt to exceed these paramaters so it
can bring pressure upon other countries to compel the United States
to cease its sanctions.
President Trump is a belligerent isolationist. In
keeping with what was historically a real, if fringe, strain of
thinking about America's approach to the world, Trump favors
unilateralism over alliances that carry obligations and
responsibilities. The paradox, of course, is that anyone who
disclaims any interest in being the world's policeman needs allies.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the escalating tensions with
Iran.
...For Jason Brodsky, policy director for United Against
Nuclear Iran, JCPOA "isn't working for many constituencies,
mostly because Iran is not receiving a bang for its buck", which
necessitates forcing it into a new negotiation "where all issues
are fair game - nuclear and non-nuclear". "Iran has a
history of exhibiting 'heroic flexibility' during international
crises, when acquiescence outweighed resistance in order to preserve
the regime. We've seen it before in Iran's decision to accept the
ceasefire ending the Iran-Iraq War in 1988 and when Tehran came to
the negotiating table during the height of international sanctions,
pre-nuclear deal in 2012.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran is in talks with Russia and China on a possible
settlement mechanism in case discussions with EU over a nuclear deal
fail, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security council, Ali
Shamkhani, said, according to Russia's TASS news agency. Tehran
said in May it would reduce compliance with the nuclear pact it
agreed with China, Russia and other world powers in 2015, in protest
at the United States' decision to unilaterally pull out of the
agreement and reimpose sanctions last year.
Britain, France and Germany are to mount a
last-ditch effort to dissuade Iran from effectively quitting the
nuclear deal, warning time was running out for negotiations and the
risk of war in the region "has not been averted". The
diplomatic offensive includes a forthcoming visit by the UK's new
Middle East minister, Andrew Murrison. A US war with Iran looms.
Don't for one second think that it is justified Iran has threatened
to take fresh steps to leave the deal on 27 June by
breaching enriched uranium limits set out in the 2015 agreement.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC
NEWS
As the Trump administration continues its hardline
approach on Iran, the European Union -- in a bid to preserve the Iran
nuclear deal -- is reluctant to impose sanctions for potential
violations of that deal, two diplomatic sources told CNN.
Federica Mogherini, the top EU foreign affairs official, has conveyed
this sentiment in meetings over recent days, the sources said, even
as Tehran has said it would scale back its commitment to the deal,
known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Italy's oil giant SpA has rejected a cargo of suspected
Iranian crude, as energy companies grapple with sophisticated
techniques used by Iran to evade U.S. sanctions. The cargo, which was
intended for the Milazzo refinery in Sicily, remains on board a
Liberia-flagged vessel named White Moon, after Eni said the
specifications didn't match those of its contract for Iraqi oil. The
ship's documents show that the cargo, which Eni bought from the
trading arm of Nigeria's Oando PLC, was Iraqi, an Eni
spokesman said.
Some evidence used to charge Huawei Technologies
Co. with bank fraud and violating U.S. sanctions on Iran was
deemed so sensitive that the Chinese telecom giant's lawyers must now
take unusual steps to review the information -- and even then, the
company may never see it. While specific evidence wasn't disclosed,
prosecutors convinced a federal judge that releasing too much would
pose a risk to national security and other governmental
concerns.
MISSILE PROGRAM
One of Iran's top military commanders reiterated
longstanding claims that the country has ballistic
missiles capable of taking out an aircraft carrier, as President
Hassan Rouhani said the country did not seek to wage war against any
nation. Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's
Revolutionary Guards Corps, said the country's development of
ballistic missile technology had changed "the balance of
power" in the region.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
A British-Iranian woman held in a Tehran prison for
years and her British husband began a joint hunger strike this week
to demand her unconditional release, even as the relationship between
the two nations has grown increasingly strained. Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, began their
campaign on Saturday, and Mr. Ratcliffe set up a small campsite on
the sidewalk outside the Iranian Embassy in central London.
World soccer governing body FIFA says it was wrong for
stewards to intervene and remove two fans at a women's World Cup
match in France on Saturday because they advocated for Iranian women
to be allowed into stadiums in the middle eastern country. Two
supporters were forced to leave a match in Grenoble because they wore
t-shirts which had slogans demanding Iranian women be allowed access
to stadiums and messages relating to the enforcement of hijabs
(headscarves worn by Muslim women).
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
The Trump administration is telling Congress about what
it says are alarming ties between Iran and Al Qaeda, prompting
skeptical reactions and concern on Capitol Hill. Briefings by
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, backed up by other State Department
and Pentagon officials, have led Democrats and some Republicans to
ask whether the administration is building a case that the White
House could use to invoke the war authorization passed by Congress in
2001 to battle terror groups as legal cover for military action
against Iran.
U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook will
travel to the Middle East on Wednesday for meetings in Saudi Arabia,
the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain to discuss
"Iran's regional aggression," the State Department
said. "He will also share additional U.S. intelligence on the
range of active threats Iran currently poses to the region," the
department said in a statement.
Know how you can tell the Trump administration's tough
approach on Iran is working? Tehran is acting out in a bid to remove
the pressure. Iran's rulers pointedly announced Monday that they'll
soon cross a red line of the 2015 nuclear deal by exceeding its limit
on stockpiles of highly enriched uranium. This comes a week after an
attack on two fuel tankers in the Gulf of Oman - attacks that the
Trump administration has laid at the feet of Iran's Revolutionary
Guard, though Tehran says it's been framed.
An air strike hit Tel al-Hara in Syria on June 12. The
mountain contained an observation area for the Syrian regime and its
allies, including groups linked to Iran. The next day, Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are accused of attacking two oil
tankers in the Gulf of Yemen. The incidents were several thousands of
kilometers apart, and help us to understand the scale of the
battlefield that links Iran and its allies, pitting them against
America's allies.
From Democratic lawmakers in Washington to Germany's
chancellor, skeptics of Donald Trump's foreign policy are starting to
agree the evidence is strong that Iran was behind attacks on two
tankers in the Gulf of Oman. It's an acknowledgment that came with
criticism of the American president's confrontational stance toward
Iran and concern that the U.S. may be headed toward war with the
Islamic Republic.
The Trump administration should consider taking
serious action if Iran further disrupts shipping activity,
according to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The situation in the
region is getting worse and American ally Israel would be in danger
if Iran's nuclear program progresses much further, Graham
told Bret Baier Wednesday on "Special Report."
"It's getting more dangerous by the day," he claimed,
adding Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should not be allowed to
"develop a nuclear bomb."
The U.S. special envoy says President Donald Trump's
Iran policy is ultimately aimed at bringing Tehran to the negotiating
table. Brian Hook briefed lawmakers at a House panel Wednesday amid
concerns from some in Congress that the situation in the Middle East
could escalate into military conflict. Hook said, "no one should
be uncertain about our desire for peace or our readiness to normalize
relations should we reach a comprehensive deal."
A top Iranian official on Wednesday predicted that no
military conflict with the U.S. was coming, despite the Trump
administration's decision to send more troops to the Middle East amid
tensions with Tehran. "There will not be a military
confrontation between Iran and America since there is no reason for a
war," said Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's
Supreme National Security Council, according to state media
outlet IRNA.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is Iran's
premier military force. It's also much more. As the official
protector of the 1979 revolution that overthrew Iran's monarchy and
established an Islamic Republic, the Guard exerts political and
economic power and has a direct line to the country's highest
authority. Through the years it's been accused of supporting militant
organizations and terrorist activities around the world. Most
recently it's been accused of involvement in the explosions that
damaged two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on June 13.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
Loopholes in U.N. Security Council sanctions procedures
are allowing blacklisted al Qaeda and Islamic State terrorists and
their supporters to tap their bank accounts despite a U.N. asset
freeze, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal
and people familiar with the matter. Those gaining access to their
funds include Khalifa al-Subaiy, a Qatari financier who the U.S. says
long provided financial support to senior al Qaeda leadership,
including Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Tehran Police Chief Hossein Rahimi appears to have
changed his mind about night life in Tehran in what seems to be a
U-turn from his previous hardline position. Police Chief who had
ruled out any night life in Tehran after 1 PM in an interview earlier
this week, said on Wednesday June 19 "The police has not made
its final decision yet," adding that his men are currently
addressing traffic and security aspects of the matter.
The Iranian judiciary has dismissed 60 judges since
early May in an anti-corruption drive launched
by Ebrahim Raisi, the recently appointed conservative chief
justice. During a presser in Tehran, Raisi's first deputy,
Gholam-Hossein Ejei, announced that the sacked judges came from a
wide range of ranks in the judiciary. An unspecified number of those
fired have also been barred from any future appointment in the wider
public service.
IRANIAN REGIONAL AGGRESSION
Citing unidentified "high-level Egyptian
sources", Iranian state-run Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported on
Tuesday, June 18 that Tehran- Cairo contacts have recently taken
place as a result of escalating tensions in the region, including the
attack on two oil tankers in the Sea of Oman last Thursday.
"Cairo has recently opened a line of communication with Tehran,
revealing that Iranian officials visited the Egyptian capital last
week, and held talks with senior leaders of the General Intelligence
Service," MNA asserted.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Israel wrapped up its largest military drill in years on
Wednesday, with thousands of troops from the army, navy and air force
simulating a future war with the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group
amid fears that Iran would draw its Shiite proxy into the recent
growing tensions in the Persian Gulf. The Israeli military said the
four-day exercise had been planned long in advance and focused on the
immersion of all branches against threats emanating from Israel's
north.
Iran imports Russian equipment and agricultural products
in exchange for crude oil it had already sold to Moscow, Russian
Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Tuesday, June 18, in Tehran.
Novak arrived in Tehran Monday to hold talks with the Iranian Oil
Minister, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh. The Islamic Republic state-run
monopolized TV&Radio news agency (IRIB) cited Namdar Zanganeh as
saying ahead of the meeting with his Russian guest, "we are
discussing bilateral relations and Iran-Russia global
cooperation."
Tehran is well aware that Israel has a weak
spot when it comes to the winding West Bank border,
making the West Bank a strategic location in
the conflict between Iran and Israel. Iranian officials have
repeatedly declared that despite the geographical and
logistical challenges of delivering weapons to Palestinian
factions in the area, arming these groups remains a
priority.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
OPEC's month-long wrangle over a date for its next
meeting has highlighted a changing dynamic in the group with
decisions increasingly driven by long-time leader Saudi Arabia in
tandem with non-OPEC Russia, angering member states like Iran.
Decision-making has never been easy in the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries, which groups 14 Arab and non-Arab oil
producers, some of which have longstanding rivalries.
A Saudi desalination plant was struck by a missile that
appeared to come from within Yemen, according to a senior U.S.
official. It wasn't clear if there were any casualties in the attack,
the official said. Senior officials from a range of U.S. government
agencies were called back to the White House to meet Wednesday
evening, the official said. "The President has been briefed on
the reports of a missile strike in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,"
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday. "We
are closely monitoring the situation and continuing to consult with
our partners and allies."
IRAQ & IRAN
As tension intensifies between Washington and Tehran,
attacks against US interests in Iraq are increasing quickly
and significantly. A short-range Katyusha missile on June
19 hit the Burjesia site that houses the operations and
residential headquarters of several global oil companies,
including US energy giant ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell of
the Netherlands and Italy's Eni. The complex is west of Basra in
southern Iraq, near the Zubair oil field and the Iranian border.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic
adviser traveled to Iran on Wednesday to hold talks with local
officials as part of European efforts to reduce tensions in the Gulf
region, a presidency official said. "The diplomatic
adviser did indeed travel to Iran on June 19...to hold high-level
talks with the objective of contributing to a de-escalation of
tensions in the region," the official said, confirming
information from two diplomatic sources.
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment