Top Stories
NYT: "President Obama on Thursday signed into law new
unilateral American sanctions on Iran that go beyond the penalties imposed by
the United Nations last month as he tries to escalate the pressure on Tehran to
halt its nuclear enrichment program. The
new law, passed by Congress on overwhelmingly bipartisan votes last week, tries
to further restrict investment in Iran's energy sector and cut off financing
for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that oversees nuclear and missile
programs. It also cracks down on federal contractors that do business with
Iran." http://nyti.ms/atcWal
AP: "A senior Iranian official said Thursday that new
U.N. sanctions do not ban Russia from delivering sophisticated air defense
missiles to Iran as agreed under a 2007 contract, countering the Russian
stance. Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali
Larijani said the contract for delivery of the powerful S-300 air defense
missiles to Iran was concluded before the U.N. Security Council approved new
sanctions last month." http://bit.ly/9rFD6j
WSJ: "U.S. lawmakers and financial analysts say dozens of
European, Japanese and Middle East banks continue to do business with
sanctioned Iranian banks. Among those
that could face legal challenges and fines are Japan's Big Three
banks-Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and
Mizuho Financial Group Inc.-as well as European firms such as Commerzbank Bank
AG and Deutsche Bank AG, all of whom have businesses inside Iran." http://bit.ly/dpOt2S
Nuclear Program
Reuters: "Lloyd's of London (LLOY.L: Quote), the
insurance market, is restricting cover for any ships carrying petroleum to
Iran, the Financial Times reported on its website late Thursday. Lloyd's was quoted as saying it would ensure
its members complied with new U.S. rules once President Barack Obama signed new
sanctions legislation." http://bit.ly/d4aJBY
AFP: "A defiant Iran said Thursday it has told UN
Security Council members that new sanctions will not affect its nuclear
program, prompting France to say Tehran was not heading in the right direction. Tehran "considers that the adoption of such
(UN) resolutions will not affect its utterly peaceful nuclear program," the
official IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying
in letters to the 15 Security Council members." http://bit.ly/bNsEbI
Sky News: "Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have been
smuggling in components for their deadly roadside bombs from Iran and Pakistan,
a senior British officer says. Major
General Gordon Messenger said the insurgents had been forced to look to other
countries to obtain some of the more sophisticated items they needed to build
improvised explosive devices (IEDs)." http://bit.ly/9rdPG6
Insurance Journal: "California Insurance Commissioner
Steve Poizner announced that his focus on reducing the exposure of California
policyholders to risky Iran-related investments resulted in insurers selling
nearly one-fifth of the assets the industry holds in the 50 companies the
California Department of Insurance (CDI) has identified to be doing business
with Iran's nuclear, energy and defense sectors in the first quarter of 2010." http://bit.ly/dkdORf
Domestic Politics
Bloomberg News: "The Iranian Central Bank needs more
independence from the government in order to combat inflation, according to the
country's Parliament Research Center. The bank scored 31 percent in a study carried out to
measure its independence from the government, the research center said on its
website today. Control over monetary policy should be in the hands of an
autonomous body in order to reduce inflation, it said." http://bit.ly/cIqmQS
AFP: "Tehran has freed from jail
an aide to Nobel peace
winner Shirin Ebadi who was arrested before the anniversary of Iran's
disputed
2009 presidential election, an opposition website reported Friday."
http://bit.ly/cJ78Tr
Foreign Affairs
AP: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit
Nigeria this weekend as the West African nation assumes the rotating presidency
of the United Nations' security council, an Iranian diplomat said Thursday." http://bit.ly/b3Oz2U
Opinion
Boston Globe Editorial Board: "President Obama should
make it clear to King Abdullah that the best way for the Saudis to reduce the
chance of war and limit the influence of Iran would be to increase their own
oil production. That would drive down the value of Iranian crude and make the
new economic sanctions sting. At the same time, Obama should reassure the
Saudis that if Iran were to obtain nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia would be protected
under a US defense umbrella." http://bit.ly/9JrojP
Clifford May in National Review Online: "Will sanctions, applied
seriously, cause the regime to change its behavior - or cause Iranians to change
the regime? No one knows...This is, without question, the most serious
national-security threat of the 21st century. Passivity and appeasement should
not be an option." http://bit.ly/9mgHF2
Stuart Eizenstat in WSJ: "The overwhelming international
support for the new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran represents one
of the most tangible successes of the Obama administration's foreign policy.
While not mandatory, these new sanctions call upon states to prevent any
financial service-including insurance and reinsurance, freezing any assets, and
prohibiting new banking relationships-that contributes to Iran's nuclear
proliferation program." http://bit.ly/aDHy1F
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