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Top Stories
Bloomberg:
"Iraq's crude production overtook Iran's last month for the first
time in more than two decades as Iran led a decline in OPEC output ahead
of a European Union ban on purchases from the nation, according to the
producer group. Iraq pumped 2.984 million barrels a day in June,
outpacing Iran's 2.963 million, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries' Vienna-based secretariat said today in its Monthly Oil Market
Report. That's the first time Iraq's output has exceeded Iran's since
1988, when the countries ended their eight-year war, statistics compiled
by BP Plc (BP/) show." http://t.uani.com/OxvBQU
AFP:
"Iran has warned the media against the publication of reports
concerning the impact of Western sanctions, urging it to cooperate so
that 'the country is not hurt,' local newspapers reported on Wednesday.
'Our country is not in a position to allow the media to publish (any)
news or analysis which is not compatible with the regime's and national
interests,' said Mohammad Hosseini, the Minister of Culture and Islamic
Guidance, whose ministry oversees the Iranian print media and official
news websites. 'The situation regarding sanctions and other pressures,
especially in economy ... requires more cooperation by the media so the
country is not hurt,' Hosseini said in comments originally published on
the dolat.ir government site." http://t.uani.com/NlGYgV
Just-Auto:
"Iranian components division, SAPCO (Supplying Automotive Part Co)
says it is dramatically increasing the localisation of content to build
IKCO's new Peugeot 405-based pick-up truck next year as supply from the
French automaker starts to dry up... 'There are some problems now in
Peugeot delivery about parts, but we are very urgently and very quickly
localising direct sourcing from other countries,' SAPCO (Supplying
Automotive Part Co) development department project manager, Mohsen
Alikhani, told just-auto from Tehran. 'Peugeot has not stopped supplying
parts but [it] has been diminished, it is reduced.' ... Powerful US lobby
groups such as United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) have specifically
targeted Paris and and Detroit by highlighting the 'taxpayer-funded
US$50bn bailout of GM' in order to pressure both parties." http://t.uani.com/LHMmhf
Nuclear
Program
Bloomberg: "Iran's
military continues to improve the accuracy and killing power of its long-
and short-range ballistic missiles, including designing a weapon to
target vessels, according to a Pentagon report to Congress. 'Iran has
boosted the lethality and effectiveness of existing systems by improving
accuracy and developing new submunition payloads' that extend the
destructive power over a wider area than a solid warhead, according to
the June 29 report signed by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The
improvements are in tandem with regular ballistic-missile training that
'continues throughout the country' and the addition of 'new ships and
submarines,' the report found." http://t.uani.com/MjnNDB
Sanctions
Reuters:
"Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia ramped up output to record rates in
June despite a big drop in oil prices as Iranian production sank to its
lowest in more than 20 years, OPEC said on Wednesday... Iran's output
slumped by almost 190,000 bpd to 2.96 million bpd, according to secondary
sources, OPEC said, allowing former rival Iraq to overtake it as the
12-member group's second biggest producer after Saudi Arabia... Iran did
not submit its own production figures to OPEC for June, the first time it
has not done so this year. In May, it reported an output figure of 3.76
million bpd, 600,000 bpd above estimates from secondary sources." http://t.uani.com/S4ftdn
CNN:
"Despite sanctions that have crippled Iran's oil exports, the
country continues to pump at nearly pre-sanction levels. And since the
oil rich nation is struggling to sell its oil, it has begun funneling the
excess crude to storage locations on land and sea. So why doesn't
Iran simply turn off some oil wells to manage its production? Well,
shutting off oil fields isn't as simple as turning a tap. It's a
complicated process that ultimately could harm future production... A
cargo broker in New York estimated that Iran has used up about half its
tanker storage capacity. At a million barrels a day, it's only a matter
of weeks before storage runs out completely. 'Then things get really
interesting,' said the broker." http://t.uani.com/MkyqpJ
Reuters:
"India has given state-run insurers approval to provide limited
cover to its ships transporting Iran's oil, allowing refiners to avoid
any interruption in supplies because of the constraints of an Iranian
fleet struggling with tough Western sanctions. An oil embargo by the
European Union took effect on July 1 and bans firms from insuring Iranian
shipments, forcing China and India to ask Iran's oil shipper, NITC, to
deliver crude in its vessels... India's Insurance and Regulatory and
Development Authority has agreed to allow state-run insurers to replace
their European counterparts, enabling at least Shipping Corp Of India to
resume transporting Iranian oil, officials said... General Insurance Corp
of India will be the re-insurer and cover will be extended by any of four
state-run non-life insurance firms: United India Insurance, New India
Assurance Co. Ltd., National Insurance Co. Ltd. and the Oriental Insurance
Co. Ltd." http://t.uani.com/S4xiJx
Reuters:
"Japanese insurers are expanding their maritime coverage to allow
more domestic tankers to transport Iranian crude, as Tokyo looks to keep
oil flowing despite tough Western sanctions, industry sources said on Wednesday.
Japan, Iran's third biggest oil buyer, is expected to resume imports of
the OPEC member's crude in August after halting shipments this month as
buyers held back to avoid any risk of running afoul of European Union
sanctions, which took effect last week... To maintain Japan's oil trade
with Iran, the Asian country's insurers have increased their cargo and
hull cover for tankers carrying Iranian crude to 39 billion yen ($491
million), up 30 percent from an initial plan unveiled in April, industry
sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the
matter, said. That will allow two supertankers, instead of one, to
transport Iranian oil through the Middle East Gulf at one time and boost
the country's shipping capacity from Tehran to more than 200,000 barrels
per day." http://t.uani.com/NgAdeF
Bloomberg:
"Wealthy Iranians in Turkey are collecting gold on behalf of the
Iranian central bank and exporting it to Iran, Turkey's Zaman newspaper
reported. The expatriates are strengthening the resources of the Islamic
republic's central bank amid concern over tougher sanctions against Iran,
the Istanbul-based newspaper reported, citing a Turkish economy
administration official it didn't name. Iranians in Dubai and India are
also collecting gold and sending it to the Iranian central bank, Zaman
said, citing the official. Some gold is being imported into Turkey from
Europe, refined or re-shaped and then exported to Iran, Zaman said."
http://t.uani.com/Oxr0OE
Bloomberg:
"Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his nation has
become immune to Western sanctions and won't suffer. 'These days,
Westerners are making a whole lot of noise regarding sanctions against
Iran,' Khamenei was quoted as saying in Tehran today by the official
Islamic Republic News Agency. 'They don't understand that throughout the
last 30 years they themselves vaccinated the Iranian nation against
sanctions.' ... 'The Iranian nation in the past three decades stood
against all the conspiracies and sanctions and made progress and now we
are 100 percent stronger than 30 years ago,' Khamenei said." http://t.uani.com/MijVq2
Bloomberg:
"Iran's government has postponed further cuts in energy and food
subsidies until the next Iranian year that starts March 21, 2013, Shargh
reported, citing Saeed Arbabi, a member of the parliament's economic
committee. The government and the economic committee made the 'rational'
decision to halt the plan in light of the level of inflation, Arbabi
said, according to the Tehran-based newspaper. Raising prices by as much
as 20 percent when they are already high 'would have serious
consequences,' he said." http://t.uani.com/Nk0AT9
Terrorism
AP:
"Two Iranians accused of planning attacks on Western targets in
Kenya shipped more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of powerful explosive
into this East African country, and most of it has not been recovered, a
police officer told a court Tuesday. Iranian nationals Ahmad Abolfathi
Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi are charged with preparing to commit
acts intended to cause grievous harm after they were arrested last month
and led officials to a 15-kilogram (33-pound) stash of the explosive RDX.
Police Sgt. Erick Opagal, an investigator with Kenya's Anti-Terrorism
Police Unit, asked the court to deny the two suspects bail because more
than 85 kilograms (187 pounds) of the explosive authorities say was
shipped into Kenya has not been found." http://t.uani.com/NKGRdz
National Post:
"Canada's Foreign Affairs department issued a warning Tuesday to
Iranian diplomats who are allegedly using their Ottawa embassy to recruit
Iranian-Canadians to serve the Islamic Republic's interests.
'Iranian-Canadians have rejected the oppressive Iranian regime and have
chosen to come to Canada to build better lives,' a spokesperson for
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said in a statement to the National
Post. 'The Iranian Embassy should not interfere in their choices.
Canadian security organizations will act to prevent threats and
intimidation of Canadians.' ... Experts say Mr. Mohammadi's startlingly
blunt interview has not only jeopardized Canada's national security
reputation abroad, but also sparked very real fears of espionage,
terrorist recruitment and a possible attack on the U.S. from north of the
border." http://t.uani.com/NjZnv1
Human Rights
CNN:
"It has been more than 1,000 days since a Christian pastor was
thrown into an Iranian jail for leaving Islam and sentenced to death for,
as the U.S. State Department put it, 'simply following his faith.' On
Monday, the agency once again called on Iran to release Youcef
Nadarkhani. 'Pastor Nadarkhani still faces the threat of execution for
simply following his faith, and we repeat our call for Iranian
authorities to release him immediately,' said a statement from State
Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. His next scheduled court date is
September 8." http://t.uani.com/NodpeU
Foreign Affairs
Fox News:
"A little more than a week after accusing Iran of supplying arms for
Syria's bloody crackdown on democracy-minded rebels, the UN has given
Tehran a key seat at negotiations for a global arms treaty. The stunning
appointment by member states attending the UN Conference of the Arms
Trade Treaty in New York came last week, and is just the latest example
of the world body appointing rogue and repressive regimes to leadership
roles. The 15-nation committee to which Iran was appointed hopes to guide
what could eventually become the first legally binding global treaty
aimed at regulating the international trade of conventional arms. Critics
say asking Iran to help craft a treaty aimed at stopping arms
proliferation to terrorist groups and rogue states makes a mockery of the
talks. Just two weeks ago, the UN Security Council accused Tehran of
shipping arms to Syria, and Iran is also suspected of hiding illegal
nuclear weapons facilities from international watchdogs." http://t.uani.com/LNjn70
AFP:
"The United States insisted Tuesday that it sees no role for Iran in
resolving the conflict in Syria, in an implicit rebuff to UN envoy Kofi
Annan's outreach to Tehran. Annan left Tehran on Tuesday after a visit to
drum up support for his UN and Arab League peace plan for Syria, saying
Iran could play a 'positive role' in ending a crisis that has cost more
than 17,000 lives. In Washington, officials were skeptical, and insisted
the situation will not be resolved until Tehran's Syrian ally President
Bashar al-Assad steps down and allows a negotiated political transition.
'I don't think anybody with a straight face could argue that Iran has had
a positive impact on developments in Syria,' White House spokesman Jay
Carney told reporters aboard US President Barack Obama's jet Air Force
One." http://t.uani.com/O5krC0
Opinion &
Analysis
John Bolton in The
Weekly Standard: "The ongoing failure of talks
concerning Iran's nuclear weapons program, most recently in Istanbul on
July 3, is no surprise. This latest negotiation charade between Iran and
the Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany (P5+1) is the
culmination of 10 years of innumerable diplomatic endeavors. These
efforts rested on the erroneous premise that Iran could be talked out of
its decades-long effort to build deliverable nuclear weapons. Now, almost
no one argues there is light at the end of the negotiation tunnel. The
most they hope for, especially President Obama, is that the plain
futility of diplomacy's latest pretense will not lead Israel to attack
Iran's nuclear program before our November 6 election. Obama fears such
an Israeli strike more than he fears Iran actually fabricating nuclear
weapons because of his dangerous misperception that a nuclear Iran could
be contained and deterred. Even worse, Iran fully understands Obama's
thinking, and sees no reason to believe it will change if he's reelected.
We are well past the point where sanctions against Iran's nuclear program
achieve more than making their proponents feel good about 'doing
something.' They neither restrain Iran's nuclear program nor effectively
advance the goal of replacing the mullahs with a regime that would truly
forswear nuclear weapons. Combined with material assistance to Iran's
extensive opposition, sanctions could help destabilize Tehran, but
unfortunately both the Obama and Bush administrations have failed on that
score. And even Team Obama does not believe sanctions will stop Iran's
weapons program. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on June 30, for
example, that 'the pressure track is our primary focus now, and we
believe that the economic sanctions are bringing Iran to the table.' That
is a far cry from actually terminating the weapons program. Moreover,
what would a negotiated deal look like? Our goal is to deny Iran nuclear
weapons; Tehran manifestly wants the opposite. What is the compromise?
Iran gets to keep a small nuclear weapons program? Not even the most
effervescent Obama supporters (publicly) endorse such a result. The
fundamental problem today is that there simply is no effective,
enforceable sanctions regime that will compel Iran to abandon its nuclear
aspirations. It may once have been possible, a decade ago or more, but
even then would have required full, active cooperation from Russia,
China, and others; comprehensive sanctions, not the ad hoc structure
actually created; armed enforcement; and checkmating Iran's highly
successful cheating and evasion efforts. That theoretical chance has long
since disappeared." http://t.uani.com/PQrHsR
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear
Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive
media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with
discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please
email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
United Against Nuclear
Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a
commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a
regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons. UANI is an
issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own
interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of
nuclear weapons.
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