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NYT: "The trial of three Americans charged with espionage and illegal entry in Iran after their arrest almost two years ago near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan failed to resume in Tehran on Wednesday and their Iranian lawyer said he had formally protested the delay. One of the defendants, Sarah E. Shourd, was released on bail last September for medical reasons and returned to the United States. The other two, Joshua F. Fattal and Shane M. Bauer, both 28, had been set to appear for a hearing on Wednesday but their lawyer, Masood Shafiee, said they were not brought to court, news reports said. Reuters quoted Mr. Shafiee as saying he had lodged a formal protest. The case has added to the hostilities between Iran and the United States relating to many issues but focusing on Iran's nuclear enrichment program, which Western countries say aims to create weapons while Tehran says it is designed to help generate civilian electric power. The reason for the absence of the defendants in court on Wednesday was not immediately known. On two previous occasions, judges delayed the proceedings citing the absence of Ms. Shourd, 32... In a statement, Amnesty International also called for the release of the Americans, saying their case had not met international standards for a fair trial. It said the judicial process 'indicates a political motive in holding them, which may amount to hostage-taking.'" http://t.uani.com/ktxTuX
AP: "Iran is continuing to use front companies and other concealment methods to circumvent U.N. sanctions but the bans have succeeded in slowing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to a report by U.N. experts obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. The expert panel said sanctions have made it harder, costlier and riskier for Iran to acquire items needed for its banned nuclear and missile activities. 'At the same time, Iran's circumvention of sanctions across all areas, in particular the use of front companies, concealment methods in shipping, financial transactions and the transfer of conventional arms and related materiel is willful and continuing,' the panel said. 'Iran maintains its uranium enrichment and heavy water-related activities ... and in the area of ballistic missiles, continues to test missiles and engage in prohibited procurement.' It said most violations of the ban on Iran exporting conventional arms involve Syria, its neighbor and ally." http://t.uani.com/jZ2ieO
Reuters: "Iran's response to a letter from the European Union aimed at reviving talks on Tehran's nuclear program contains nothing new and does not appear to justify another meeting, the bloc said on Wednesday. 'On its own, Mr. Jalili's letter does not contain anything new and does not seem to justify a further meeting,' said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, referring to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. 'We are surprised to hear the Iranians talking about meetings. They have not been in touch with us with any proposals,' she said. 'We will be in touch with the Iranians with the aim of creating the basis to renew dialogue.'" http://t.uani.com/iLo4Ss
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
Reuters: "The United States recognizes that India will keep buying oil from Iran but is not actively suggesting ways to pay for it without violating international sanctions on Iran, a U.S. Treasury official said. India has been searching for an acceptable system to make payments to Tehran for some $12 billion worth of oil annually since December, when, under pressure from Washington, it halted use of a long-standing clearing system run by Asian central banks. 'I suspect there's a solution out there to this problem, but I guess as best we can tell so far, the Indians haven't figured out what it is,' the Treasury official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. For now, fast-growing India is continuing to import about 400,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran, essentially on credit. 'We've said to the Indians that we recognize that they're going to continue to purchase oil from Iran and it's probably the case that the Iranians are eventually going to want to get paid for it,' the official said in a recent interview. 'They need to figure out a way to make these payments and I think we've tried to be helpful.'" http://t.uani.com/jAXKVn
AP: "A confidential exchange of letters shows huge differences between Iran and six world powers over new talks about Iran's nuclear program. The letters were made available to The Associated Press Wednesday. Top EU foreign official Catherine Ashton says new talks need to focus on reducing fears about Iran's nuclear ambitions. A written response from senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili avoids any mention of that request. It talks for the need to show 'respect for democracy and the rights of the people.' Iran says it has accepted an offer for new talks but neither letter mentions any agreement to meet. The main dispute is over uranium enrichment." http://t.uani.com/ly3yBa
Commerce
Reuters: "Iran will soon sign a contract with political allies Syria and Iraq to export its natural gas to the Mediterranean region, a senior energy official was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency on Tuesday. Iranian and Syrian oil ministers said in January their countries planned to build a gas pipeline with the cooperation of Iraq to widen export options for regional energy players but that the pipeline was still at the idea stage. 'A trilateral agreement between the three countries on the transit of gas has been reached ... The first official contract is ready to be signed soon,' Javad Oji, head of the National Iranian Gas Co. (NIGC), was quoted as saying." http://t.uani.com/iXupZg
Domestic Politics
AP: "Weeks of political storms in Iran came down to this moment. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could choose to deepen his dispute with the country's top ruler. Or here was a chance to make amends and lift Iran out of an ugly power struggle. He ended up doing a bit of both. At a Cabinet meeting Sunday, Ahmadinejad lavishly praised Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But he added some jabs at those who sided with Khamenei in the showdown - which began over Iran's spy chief but quickly expanded into a test of wills between the political machine of the presidency and the towering authority of the theocracy. Ahmadinejad's half-step contrition could say much about the tone of his final two years in office: humbled and diminished to some degree, but showing no intention of drifting quietly into a lame duck exit. The main message, experts say, is that Ahmadinejad has lost his favored-son status among the ruling clerics, and now Khamenei and the hard-line theocrats are reasserting their grip with parliament elections next year and the vote for Ahmadinejad's successor in mid-2013." http://t.uani.com/jnIXxb
AFP: "Iran has adopted a $484 billion budget for the year to March 2012, an increase of 31 percent over the previous year, on the back of rising oil prices and domestic subsidy cuts, reports said Wednesday. The parliament adopted the budget after a delay of nearly two months on an average crude oil price of 81.5 dollars a barrel. Iran, OPEC's second largest crude exporter, is expected to pocket during the year oil revenues of $65 billion, up by 20 percent. The bulk of the hike in the budget comes from a hefty cut in subsidies on energy products and several essential commodities which was initiated by the end of 2010. The subsidy cuts are expected to reduce spending by $50 to $60 billion for Iran, according to estimates by experts. The government will, however, spend $38 billion in direct cash-handouts to partially compensate citizens for the scrapped subsidies." http://t.uani.com/mi6M76
Foreign Affairs
AFP: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the government of Syria can solve its 'problem' without foreign intervention, state television reported on Tuesday. 'The government and the people of Syria have reached a level of maturity to solve their own problem by themselves and there is no need for foreign intervention,' Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Istanbul, which was reported by state television Tuesday. In contrast to its vocal support of uprisings that have swept the Arab world, Iran has been cautious in its stance on Syria, its main Arab ally. The United States and Syrian opposition groups have accused Tehran of helping President Bashar al-Assad violently repress the uprising in which more than 600 people have killed since it erupted mid-March, according to rights activists. Iran has denied the allegations. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Tuesday accused Western media of exaggerating of events in Syria. 'We in no way accept violent confrontation and crackdowns against those who express their demands peacefully,' he told reporters. But he accused foreign media of what he said was an 'exaggeration' of a 'limited (opposition) movement' in Syria against Assad's autocratic government." http://t.uani.com/mTjA1g
CSM: "Leaving behind monumental political problems at home, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad returned to the international stage this week with plenty of criticism and advice. He used the United Nations conference on Least Developed Countries in Istanbul to reinforce one of his familiar themes: that the capitalist global order is unjust, 'failing,' and that Iran is willing to help reforge a new system. But it was during Mr. Ahmadinejad's hour-long press conference late on Monday that the Iranian president provided insight into his Manichean worldview, packed with vast conspiracies and vicious enemies that might appear to leave little room for compromise." http://t.uani.com/leX9J6
Opinion & Analysis
Con Coughlin in The Daily Telegraph: "When the term 'Arab Spring' entered the collective vocabulary this year, it was meant to encapsulate the youthful exuberance of the pro-democracy movements that had sprung up throughout the Middle East. After enduring decades of stultifying and repressive rule by the ancien regime, this was the moment that the region's poor and dispossessed at last laid claim to certain basic rights, such as the freedom to express their political opinions, and to a more equal share of their nations' wealth. Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution quickly led to the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, while in Egypt, mass protests forced the resignation of Hosni Mubarak.Within weeks, the contagion was wreaking havoc throughout the region, threatening the ruling elites in such disparate countries as Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Four months later, however, the worldwide enthusiasm that greeted this seemingly spontaneous outpouring of democratic fervour has been replaced by mounting concern at the way these protests have developed. In Egypt and Bahrain, as well as Libya and Syria, the hopes they inspired have been nipped firmly in the bud... The other principle is that the more authoritarian the regime, the more brutal its response is likely to be if its authority is seriously challenged. Most commentators seem to think the current reform movement began in Tunisia last December, following the self-immolation of a street vendor in Tunis. Yet the trend should be traced back to the protests that erupted throughout Iran in the summer of 2009, after President Ahmadinejad claimed victory in the disputed presidential election. Even though protesters succeeded in bringing the country to a standstill, the regime eventually crushed the dissent through the ruthlessness of its response. Thousands of protesters were killed or imprisoned as the Revolutionary Guards destroyed the opposition. Today, the only news we hear about Iran's opposition is of a steady procession of activists sent to the gallows on trumped-up charges of treason. Not surprisingly, Iran's expertise in the suppression of anti-government movements is now greatly in demand, particularly in Syria, another dictatorial regime that will brook no opposition." http://t.uani.com/iJ2K4l
Borzou Daragahi in LAT: "Syrian security forces appear to be shifting their strategy for crushing the popular uprising against the rule of President Bashar Assad to a less bloody approach similar to that used effectively by its main ally, Iran, to end massive 2009 street protests. In recent days, Assad loyalists have curbed their use of live fire, which has left hundreds of Syrian civilians dead and many more friends, relatives and neighbors willing to avenge them. Instead, security forces are increasingly using nonlethal means such as tear gas, truncheons and waves of random and targeted arrests, just as Iranian authorities did to rein in the protests that followed the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some in the Syrian protest movement and in the West, including American officials, allege that Iran is actively helping Assad retain the post held by him or his late father for more than four decades. The White House late last month imposed new sanctions on Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, alleging Iranian involvement in and support of the government crackdown. Tehran strenuously denies providing material support or advice to Syria and has called for peaceful dialogue and reform there. If Iran is involved, that could further indebt Assad to Tehran, complicating efforts by the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia to coax Damascus to loosen its ties with Iran and the Islamist militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas... 'What they're doing now is very similar to what was happening in Iran,' said Rami Nakhle, a Syrian activist who fled to Beirut this year. 'They've learned that when you kill someone, you create 10 to 20 people ready to die for him. When you arrest someone, torture him and let him go in a week, you've made 20 people afraid of going into the streets.' An Iranian reformist website, the Green Voice of Freedom, cited an official source as saying that a meeting took place in Damascus in mid-April between Syrian officials and Iranian Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Radan, the police commander who oversaw the 2009 crackdown... In recent weeks, activists in Syria have been circulating unverified tales of Iranian snipers posted on rooftops and Iranian equipment being used to beat protesters. In 2009, Iranian protesters likewise spread rumors that Lebanese members of Hezbollah were taking part in the Tehran crackdown. Still, some doubt that strategies employed by Iran would work in Syria. The uprising in Iran was caused by widespread opposition to Ahmadinejad's reelection, which was marred by blatant polling irregularities. In contrast, the Syrian revolt 'is an uprising against the secret police,' said activist Nakhle, and was sparked by the detention and alleged torture of a group of young men accused of writing anti-government graffiti in the southern city of Dara. 'It's not analogous to the Iranian situation,' said the Western diplomat. 'Torture and arrests? This is exactly the strategy that got people enraged.'" http://t.uani.com/lUeC8x
Elliot Hentov in FP: "Iran moved quickly to frame the uprisings across the Arab world as an 'Islamic Awakening' and as a parallel to its own Islamic Revolution in 1979. But Tehran is visibly shaken by the possibility of regime overthrow in Syria. Despite American efforts to highlight Iranian support for the Syrian regime's efforts to retain power, in fact Tehran has little control over the future of political order in Syria. The turbulence in Syria and Iran's limited influence have significance beyond the immediate, urgent question of the survival of Bashar al-Assad. It shows powerfully how much Iran's influence is a function of external developments rather than internal strength -- and how that influence might be severely affected by changes in the regional environment beyond its control. The longer trajectory of Iran's regional power highlights how deeply losing Syria might affect Tehran. Iranian ascendancy over the last decade has been driven by the weakening of its traditional enemies, not by its own internal development or its own actions. In 2001, U.S.-backed forces ousted the Taliban of Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks. Thereafter, the United States invaded Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein from power. These actions together transformed Iran's two most hostile neighbors into arenas of competition where Iran enjoyed geographic proximity and deep historic ties and could tap into communities of co-religionists. The 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel further amplified Iranian power, as its Lebanese proxy became the first Arab force to be considered to have tied Israel on the battlefield. Similarly, Israel's continued conflict with the Palestinians, culminating in the 2008-2009 Gaza war, enabled Iran to present itself as the leader of the forces of resistance against Western domination... But Syria has been by far the most profoundly disconcerting to the Iranian regime. It most vividly exposes Iran's double standards, even if rumors of large-scale Iranian assistance in suppressing the opposition in Syria are exaggerated. After all, Syrian protesters are unarmed Muslims in defiance of a secular and militarized regime, with reportedly more than 800 people killed so far. They therefore symbolize the mostazafan like few others and should thus be deserving of Iranian support. But clearly, given Syria's role as Iran's longest and closest Arab ally, the downfall of the Assad regime would have grave consequences for the projection of Iranian power and Iran's regional positioning. The turbulence in Syria strikes at the heart of Iran's claim that the uprisings are directed against Western hegemony, or that popular support for resistance conferred legitimacy on its allies... Any regime that would follow Assad would likely be less forthcoming toward Iran. By definition, any successor regime would be more reflective of the Sunni majority and resentful of most legacies of the current Alawite-dominated regime, including its close ties with Tehran. Most problematically, Iran lacks an alternative to Syria. There is simply no other regional player interested and able to provide comparable goods. Therefore, if Assad went down, so would Iran's regional influence. This simple fact should also serve as a reminder for the broader debate on how to deal with Tehran as a regional player, namely, that Iran's position is less a driver of regional events than a function of those events." http://t.uani.com/kYNcE7
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