Monday, August 5, 2013

Eye on Iran: Iran, U.S. Signal Will to Engage as New President Sworn In











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Reuters: "Iran and the United States signaled a fresh will on Sunday to seek to end the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program after Hassan Rouhani was sworn in as president and called for dialogue to reduce 'antagonism and aggression'. Hopes for a diplomatic resolution increased with Rouhani's win over conservative rivals in June, when voters replaced hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a cleric whose watchword is 'moderation' but who is still very much an Islamic Republic insider. 'The only way for interaction with Iran is dialogue on an equal footing, confidence-building and mutual respect as well as reducing antagonism and aggression,' Rouhani told parliament after taking his oath of office. 'If you want the right response, don't speak with Iran in the language of sanctions, speak in the language of respect,' he said. Within hours, the United States said it was ready to work with Rouhani's government if it were serious about engagement. 'The inauguration of President Rouhani presents an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's deep concerns over Iran's nuclear program,' White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. 'Should this new government choose to engage substantively and seriously to meet its international obligations and find a peaceful solution to this issue, it will find a willing partner in the United States.' Iran's critics say it has used previous nuclear negotiations as a delaying tactic while continuing to develop nuclear weapons-related technology - something Tehran denies." http://t.uani.com/1c1AW4a

AP: "As Iran's new president takes over, new U.S. penalties against the country appear a done deal. In a letter to President Barack Obama, 76 senators are demanding tougher punishment on Iran's economy until the Islamic republic scales back its nuclear program. It also urges Obama to consider military options while keeping the door open to diplomacy. The Senate letter, a copy of which was obtained Saturday by The Associated Press, comes just days after the House overwhelmingly passed new restrictions on Iran's oil sector and its mining and construction industries. Senators are expected to take up the same package in September. 'Until we see a significant slowdown of Iran's nuclear activities, we believe our nation must toughen sanctions and reinforce the credibility of our option to use military force at the same time as we fully explore a diplomatic solution to our dispute with Iran,' says the letter, which will be delivered Monday... 'Iran today continues its large-scale installation of advanced centrifuges,' their letter said. 'This will soon put it in the position to be able to rapidly produce weapons-grade uranium, bringing Tehran to the brink of a nuclear weapons capability.' 'We need to understand quickly whether Tehran is at last ready to negotiate seriously,' it added. 'Iran needs to understand that the time for diplomacy is nearing its end.'" http://t.uani.com/16tyYVg

NYT: "Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, vowed Saturday to work with the outside world to lift the 'oppressive sanctions' crippling the Iranian economy, as he received the official backing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a ceremony marking the start of his presidential term. In an acknowledgment of the growing toll that international economic restrictions connected to Iran's nuclear program are having on the population, both Mr. Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei made the economy a major theme of their remarks. 'People called for change and improvement in their living standards, they want to live better,' Mr. Rouhani said. But he and the ayatollah offered somewhat different solutions. Whereas Mr. Rouhani said that interactions with the world, meaning talks with Europe and potentially the United States, were a way out of the crisis, Ayatollah Khamenei, who as supreme leader has final word on all important issues, expressed pessimism that such overtures would yield fruit. 'Some of our enemies do not speak with our language of wisdom,' he said, urging self-sufficiency... 'Rouhani's economic success depends on the determination of Iran's other leaders to find a solution for the nuclear support,' an economics professor, Mohsen Renani of the University of Isfahan, told the Web site Neco News. In another sign of dissatisfaction over the consequences of Iran's nuclear stance, an influential political professor publicly expressed doubt recently over the benefits of the nuclear program. 'Why are we producing radioisotopes when we can import them much cheaper?' the professor, Sadegh Zibakalam of Tehran University, told the reformist weekly Aseman. 'Why should we maintain a nuclear program when we have no economic justification?'" http://t.uani.com/12T6m8R
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Presidential Inauguration

AP: "Iranian state TV is quoting the country's new president as saying that the United States is seeking an excuse to confront Iran over its nuclear program. The late Saturday report says the remarks by Hasan Rouhani came during his meeting with North Korean official Kim Yong Nam, who is Tehran for Rouhani's Sunday inauguration. 'We believe the United States and the Westerners are seeking an excuse to confront the countries that they do not consider friends,' Rouhani was quoted as saying." http://t.uani.com/14Xdtat

AP: "Iran's new president expressed his country's support to Syria's embattled leader Bashar Assad's regime Sunday, saying no force in the world will be able to shake their decades-old alliance... Rouhani made the comments during a meeting in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Sunday with Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi, Syria's state news agency SANA said. Syria has been Tehran's strongest ally in the Arab world since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has been one of Assad's staunchest backers since Syria's crisis began. Tehran is believed to have supplied Assad's government with billions of dollars since the country's crisis began in March 2011. Iran-supported Hezbollah also has sent fighters into Syria to bolster an offensive by Assad forces. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran aims to strengthen its relations with Syria and will stand by it in facing all challenges,' SANA quoted Rouhani as saying in a report from Tehran. 'The deep, strategic and historic relations between the people of Syria and Iran ... will not be shaken by any force in the world.'" http://t.uani.com/16tziTX

AP: "Iran's new president on Sunday called on the West to abandon the 'language of sanctions' in dealing with his country over its contentious nuclear program, hoping to ease the economic pressures now grinding its people... 'If you seek a suitable answer, speak to Iran through the language of respect, not through the language of sanctions,' the president said in a speech broadcast live by Iranian state television. He later added that any negotiations would require 'bilateral trust building, mutual respect and the lessening of hostilities.'" http://t.uani.com/16VAuNZ

AFP: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at new Iranian President Hassan Rowhani on Sunday, saying that he shared his hardline predecessor's aim of destroying the Jewish state. 'The president of Iran said the day before yesterday (Friday) that Israel is a wound on the body of Islam,' Netanyahu's office quoted him as saying at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. 'The president of Iran may have been changed but the aims of the regime there have not,' Netanyahu said. 'Iran's intention is to develop a nuclear capability and nuclear weapons, with the aim of destroying the state of Israel.'" http://t.uani.com/16nwvtv

Quds Day

NYT:
"Iran's president-elect touched off an international uproar on Friday with disputed comments about Israel, engendering a furious rejoinder from the Israeli prime minister that illustrated the wide gap between the two countries, fed by decades of hostility, even as the new Iranian leader has signaled his wish to pursue a more conciliatory approach in world affairs. The comments from the president-elect, Hassan Rouhani, came two days before he officially takes office, plunging him into what amounted to his first international test over Israel, one of the most vexing topics for an Iranian politician. Attending an annual pro-Palestinian holiday in Iran known as Al Quds Day, a reference to the Arabic name for Jerusalem and an occasion in which Iranians march and shout 'Death to Israel,' Mr. Rouhani told state television that 'a sore has been sitting on the body of the Islamic world for many years,' a reference to Israel. At least three Iranian news agencies appeared to misquote him as saying: the 'Zionist regime is a sore which must be removed.' Later in the day they posted corrections... Meir Javendanfar, an Iranian-Israeli who runs the blog Middle East Analyst, said the flap showed that 'everybody is hypersensitive with regards to any statement that Iran makes regarding Israel.' He said that 'after eight years of Israel being called a virus and a cancer, and Holocaust denial, Israelis are very sensitive about anything that is said about their country.' ... Mr. Javendanfar said that in Israeli eyes, Mr. Rouhani's remarks still reflected a basic Iranian antipathy that will not change under his tenure. An optimist might think that 'we've been upgraded from a cancerous tumor to a wound,' he said, but a realist would say, 'Despite the fact that Ahmadinejad is not in charge, hostile statements from Iran continue to be directed toward Israel.'" http://t.uani.com/17sNABn

AFP: "Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah made a rare public appearance Friday at a Beirut rally held to mark Quds (Jerusalem) Day in support of the Palestinian people, an AFP photographer said... In his speech, Nasrallah thanked 'Iran and Syria for all they are doing for Palestine and Jerusalem, and for all they have given to resistance movements (fighting Israel) in Lebanon and Palestine.'" http://t.uani.com/19GVltD

Nuclear Program


WSJ: "Iran could begin producing weapons-grade plutonium by next summer, U.S. and European officials believe, using a different nuclear technology that would be easier for foreign countries to attack. The second path to potentially producing a nuclear weapon could complicate international efforts to negotiate with Iran's new president, Hasan Rouhani, who was sworn in Sunday in Tehran. It also heightens the possibility of an Israeli strike, said U.S. and European officials. Until now, U.S. and Western governments had been focused primarily on Iran's vast program to enrich uranium, one path to creating the fissile materials needed for nuclear weapons. Now, the West is increasingly concerned Iran also could use the development of a heavy water nuclear reactor to produce plutonium for a bomb. A heavy-water reactor is an easier target to hit than the underground facilities that house Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities... In recent months, U.S. and European officials say, the Tehran regime has made significant advances on the construction of a heavy water reactor in the northwestern city of Arak." http://t.uani.com/193ZuIH

Sanctions

WashPost: "Iran's economy is showing signs of foundering just as the country prepares to inaugurate its first new president in eight years, with Western sanctions cutting ever deeper into the Islamic republic's financial lifelines and increasing pressure for a nuclear deal with the West. A welter of new data shows accelerated financial hemorrhaging across multiple sectors, from plummeting hard-currency reserves to steadily falling oil exports, Iran's main source of foreign cash. U.S. officials and analysts say the tide of bad news will complicate the task awaiting Hassan Rouhani, the incoming president, but it could also increase Iran's willingness to accept limits that would preclude it from developing nuclear weapons. Although many Iran experts think that the chances for a bargain remain small, recent warnings about the economy from within the regime suggest that the nation's leaders may be looking for a way out, analysts say. 'The Iranian elite now publicly admits that the economy is in serious trouble, and this president was elected with a mandate to do something about that,' said Clifford Kupchan, a former State Department official and a Middle East consultant with the Eurasia Group. 'Despite Iranian rhetoric, that can only make the prospect of a deal more attractive.'" http://t.uani.com/1cCV2zn

Daily News (Tanzania): "Philtex will in the near future, no longer be Zanzibar's agent for registering international ships, the Minister for Infrastructure and Communication, Mr Rashid Seif Suleiman informed the House of Representatives. 'We are now in the process of breaking the contract with Philtex. Soon the company will no longer be our registrar for international ships,' said Rashid when responding to furious backbenchers who demanded to know how the government has been benefiting from Philtex. He said that Philtex's unconvincing deals of registering Iranian tankers contrary to the EU/US led sanctions on Iran's contested nuclear programme. Philtex Corporation Ltd is a United Arab Emirates company in Dubai - Deira, belonging to Ship Management & Registration industry." http://t.uani.com/1cBR2PN

Human Rights

HRW: "Iran's incoming government should take concrete steps to improve the country's dreadful human rights record, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to President-elect Hassan Rouhani. The letter identified key reform areas, ranging from freeing political prisoners to cooperating with UN rights bodies, that Rouhani and his new administration should take on during their next four years in office." http://t.uani.com/15Hjax3

Domestic Politics

AP: "Iran's new president has appointed a prominent reformist as his top deputy, state TV reported Monday, his most prominent pick as he tries to fill out a government balanced between the reformists who helped secure his election and the conservatives who still have tremendous influence in the running of the country. Hasan Rouhani named Eshaq Jahangiri, a former industry and mines minister, as First Vice President, the broadcast said. Jahangiri is a close ally of former reformist president Mohammed Khatami, who is disliked by hard-liners. Iran has several vice presidents, but Jahangiri would be first in line of succession of anything were to happen to Rouhani... Also Monday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to an advisory body. In a decree announced on state TV, Khamenei appointed Ahmadinejad as a member of the Expediency Council, a body that advises the top leader on state matters. The council is headed by former powerful president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a bitter enemy of Ahmadinejad." http://t.uani.com/1b6AkGB

Foreign Affairs

Reuters: "Britain is taking seriously allegations that a British-Iranian citizen who went missing in Dubai in June may have been kidnapped by 'elements in Iran', a government source in London said on Saturday. Abbas Yazdi was reported missing on June 25 and his wife Atena has told Dubai-based news website 7Days that she fears he may have been kidnapped by Iranian intelligence officers. 'We believe that allegations that elements in Iran might be responsible for Mr Yazdi's disappearance are plausible, and we are taking them very seriously,' the source told Reuters." http://t.uani.com/192SeNh

Opinion & Analysis

Rep. Ed Royce in The Jewish Journal: "Before the election of President Hassan Rohani, Iran's centrifuges were spinning at an unprecedented pace.  After his election, they continue to not only spin, but multiply.  In response, the United States must once again deliver a firm message to Tehran: Halt your illicit nuclear program or face isolation and financial ruin.  Although international sanctions over its illicit nuclear program have sent its economy into a tailspin, the ruling elite - from President Rohani to Supreme Leader Khameni - remain undeterred. The May report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) showcases Iran's failure to abide by its obligations as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran continues to grow its stockpiles of near-20 percent enriched uranium, approaching levels where it could rapidly seek a military breakout, developing a nuclear weapon.  It is now installing advanced centrifuges that could quadruple the pace of nuclear enrichment.  Moreover, a heavy water reactor facility at Arak, which could provide an easier alternative to a plutonium-based nuclear weapon, is nearing completion. And Iran has taken great pains to sanitize the Parchin military site where suspected nuclear testing took place, stonewalling IAEA efforts to gain access along the way.  Action-by-action, Iran is becoming a greater-and-greater threat to the United States and our allies, including Israel. In Rohani, we find a man who is intimately familiar with the secret construction of Iran's illicit nuclear facilities in Arak, Natanz and Isfahan, which weren't publicly exposed until 2002.  In 2003, Rohani took charge as Iran's lead nuclear negotiator - negotiations which gave Iran time to complete its uranium conversion plant and to rapidly increase its number of centrifuges.  During his presidential campaign, Rohani boasted that during his tenure as negotiator, Iran didn't suspend enrichment - on the contrary, he said, 'we completed the program.' As the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I have worked closely with Ranking Member Eliot Engel of New York in securing House of Representatives passage this week of bipartisan legislation that will significantly strengthen the impact of existing sanctions on Iran for its continued resistance. The objective is to prevent Iran from 'completing the program.' The Iranian mullahs have consistently demonstrated that they place a higher premium on their nuclear quest than the economic well-being of their people. Enactment of our legislation, the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013, along with robust implementation and enforcement, is needed to greatly increase the costs to Iran for its ongoing nuclear pursuits.  We have no time to spare. An Iranian nuclear weapon would trigger a regional arms race in the Middle East and beyond, jeopardizing American security and economic interests. Iran already engages in heavy-handed repression at home and exports terror abroad.  Imagine its behavior if emboldened by nuclear weapons.  It is clear that preventing an Iranian bomb, not containing it, is the only viable option." http://t.uani.com/1cpPNES

Jeffrey Goldberg in Bloomberg: "Finally, a reason to believe that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's energetic intervention in the Israeli-Arab dispute might work: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran (I can never get over the fact that this is his actual title) is a bit worried -- so worried that he, or one of his fundamentalist factotums, has taken to Twitter rather epically to denounce any Muslim who dares talk to the perfidious Zionist entity. The occasion for the outburst is Quds Day, an Iranian-devised holiday meant to mourn the existence of Israel ('al-Quds' is Arabic for 'the Holy,' a reference to Jerusalem). The content of the messages suggests that Khamenei is nervous that peace talks could bring about greater Muslim recognition of Israel. The extended rant (at @khamenei_ir, which is generally believed to be the Twitter account emanating from the supreme leader's office) began yesterday afternoon Tehran time, with a somewhat whiny observation: 'After nations have risen up with strong demands agnst Zionist regime; based on what logic do some Muslim govts maintain ties with Israel?' ... The rant moved quickly to a prescriptive phase. 'Any operational plan 4 Palestinian cause should be based on All Palestine for all Palestinians. Palestine is from the river to the sea.' This is the official position of anti-Semites, by the way. Denying the Jewish people any right at all to a nation-state in their historic homeland is by definition anti-Jewish... Finally, a Khamenei rant wouldn't be complete without some good old-fashioned conspiracy-mongering: 'Once Europeans and Americans realize their biggest problems are due to Zionist dominance over their govts, they'll rebel against their govts.' And then a threat: 'How long can you deceive ur nations? Once Americans realize how you have sacrificed their interests for Zionists, what will they do to you?' Apparently, they will re-elect you. Khamenei, and other opponents of Israel's existence, can't fathom U.S. support for Israel. They turn to the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' for understanding, when in fact they should turn to the Gallup organization, which has polled Americans on Middle East questions for decades. Each time the subject is raised with American voters, they show themselves to be pro-Israel. Which doesn't mean that they oppose compromise." http://t.uani.com/14t6eOq

Omid Memarian in FP: "Two days before he takes office, Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani remains something of a blank slate. A conservative who took up a portion of the reformists' cause during the campaign, Rouhani has yet to convince Iranians -- or Americans, for that matter -- of what kind of president he will be. The unveiling of his cabinet at the inauguration ceremony on August 4, therefore, will provide the first concrete indication of which way Iran is headed -- and how the moderate Rouhani will differ from former reformist President Mohammad Khatami and outgoing radical conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Above all else, Rouhani has presented himself as a moderate. During the campaign, he repeatedly emphasized 'moderation' and 'being a moderate,' attractive phrases that resonate with many Iranians, as well as observers in the West who are fed up with eight years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But in Iran's highly polarized political environment -- split between conservatives and reformists, and increasingly between conservative groups who have serious internal disputes -- what Rouhani represents is both ambiguous and mysterious. The haziness envelopes not only Washington, where diplomats are waiting to see how Rouhani's government will approach the nuclear standoff, but also Tehran, where hardliners and reformists are struggling to figure out which direction Rouhani plans to take the country and how he plans to implement his moderate policies -- both foreign and domestic. Without a doubt, Rouhani owes reformists big time. With his strong roots among the traditional clerics in Iran, Rouhani initially had little chance of winning the presidential election. But the intervention of two former presidents, Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, on Rouhani's behalf prompted the only reformist candidate in the race, Mohammad Reza Aref, to withdraw just days before the election and paved the way for his victory. Rouhani also benefitted from his intensely conservative background and, in particular, his sudden turn to the center: His embrace of political rights and civil liberties on the one hand, and his promise to eliminate sanctions on the other, helped generate serious momentum in the race. Rouhani not only earned the votes of the urban middle class, he also got the votes of those suffering the most under the economic conditions of today's Iran. Many of these voters are deeply conservative. Now that Rouhani will be president, both groups are demanding their share of his victory... Conservative pressure is building on Rouhani from numerous quarters. According to a political activist in Tehran who is knowledgeable about cabinet developments, even the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has submitted a list of its favorite candidates to Rouhani. 'Ayatollah Khamenei has rejected the first five candidates Rouhani suggested for the ministries of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Intelligence, Science and Technology, Interior, and the Environmental Protection Organization,' the activist said on the condition of anonymity." http://t.uani.com/1b5I37H

Evan Moore & Patrick Christy in US News & World Report: "With the upcoming inauguration of Iranian President-elect Hasan Rouhani this weekend, some U.S. policymakers, lawmakers, and pundits argue that Washington should offer preemptive concessions to persuade Tehran into yet another round of nuclear negotiations. The trouble is Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - not the Iranian president - remains the ultimate decision-maker on the country's nuclear program. If the United States and like-minded partners have any hope of compelling the Iranian regime to abandon its dangerous nuclear ambitions, then they should maximize economic and diplomatic pressure now, before Iran achieves nuclear weapons-making capability. President Rouhani's inauguration will not alter Iran's quest to improve its capability to make nuclear weapons on ever shorter notice. Not only does Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei retain full control over Iran's nuclear program, but Rouhani's track record indicates he is not the 'moderate' some in Washington had hoped he would be... With Iran's current regime unlikely to abandon its nuclear program in the absence of more pressure, Congress is taking action. Yesterday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation - the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013 - authored by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce of California, and co-sponsored by Ranking Member Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. and 372 other members of Congress. The bill incorporates aspects of Senate legislation introduced by Sens. Mark Kirk, Republican of Illinois, and Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, which seeks to block Tehran's access to non-local currencies. Moreover, the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act would reduce Iranian oil exports by one million barrels per day by the end of 2014. While the steady implementation of aggressive sanctions has had a clear impact on Iran's energy production, Iran's oil exports remain a critical source of revenue for the regime... However, some in Washington still believe that alleviating, not intensifying, sanctions is necessary to encouraging Iran to agree to a diplomatic solution. This week, a handful of lawmakers wrote a letter to House leadership urging a delay to the Royce's Nuclear Iran Prevention Act for fear that the bill would impair the Obama administration's ability to use concessions on sanctions as a tactic in negotiations with Iran. They argue that, in advance of Rouhani's upcoming inauguration, additional sanctions would undermine the alleged moderate's attempt to reach a diplomatic agreement with the West. These lawmakers, however, ignore Iran's long history of using negotiations as a stalling tactic to advance its nuclear program... Independent analysts have repeatedly warned that the window of opportunity to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons-making capability is rapidly closing... If the crisis over Iran's nuclear program is to have any chance for a peaceful resolution, then the United States and like-minded nations must take all possible non-military actions, now rather than later, to compel Iran to halt its drive to nuclear weapons-making capability and comply fully with its international obligations. First, lawmakers can ensure the Obama administration fully implements existing sanctions. Second, the United States and other nations can do more to restrict Iran's energy exports. And third, Washington can work with allies and partners to halt Tehran's access to non-local currencies. The crisis over Iran's nuclear program has reached a moment of truth. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons-making capability, then there will be disastrous consequences for the security and interests of the United States and its allies and the future stability of the Middle East. U.S. policymakers and lawmakers must show resolve against Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and use intensified pressure - not preemptive concessions - to persuade Iran to abandon its dangerous nuclear ambitions." http://t.uani.com/1b5IleV

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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