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Top Stories
WSJ:
"Talks between Iran and six major powers over Tehran's nuclear
activities resumed Tuesday, with Iran outlining new proposals to curtail
its program in a bid to ease a tough sanctions regime... Iranian Foreign
Minister Javad Zarif gave a one-hour PowerPoint presentation in English
outlining Tehran's ideas Tuesday morning, according to a spokesman for EU
foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. The spokesman wouldn't comment on
the proposal's details. In an email Tuesday afternoon, the spokesman,
Michael Mann, classified Mr. Zarif's presentation as 'very useful.' ...
After the first session of the talks broke Tuesday, Iranian Deputy
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said 'the meeting was very positive but we
are going to discuss about the details of [the] Iranian plan in the
afternoon.' He said there were 'many' new things in the proposal but
declined to detail them." http://t.uani.com/1cRyYDk
NYT:
"Iran is expected to make an offer on Tuesday to scale back its effort
to enrich uranium, a move that a year ago would have been a significant
concession to the West. But Iran's nuclear abilities have advanced so far
since then that experts say it will take far more than that to assure the
West that Tehran does not have the capacity to quickly produce a nuclear
weapon. With thousands of advanced centrifuges spinning and Iranian
engineers working on a plant that will produce plutonium, which also can
be used in a weapon, Iran's program presents a daunting challenge for negotiators
determined to roll back the country's nuclear activities... In 2003, when
Iran struck its only nuclear deal with the West, it had a relative
handful of somewhat unsophisticated centrifuges. Today, Iran has at least
19,000, and 1,000 of those are of a highly advanced design and have been
installed but are not yet being used to enrich uranium. That is more than
enough, experts say, to transform low-enriched uranium to weapons grade
from the 3 percent to 5 percent range in a few months. That would provide
Iran with a so-called breakout capability that is unacceptable to the
West and Israel, even if, as expected, Iran proposes a moratorium on
enrichment to 20 percent. 'Ending production of 20 percent enriched
uranium is not sufficient to prevent breakout, because Iran can produce
nuclear weapons using low-enriched uranium and a large number of
centrifuge machines,' said [UANI President] Gary Samore, a senior aide on
nonproliferation on the National Security Council in President Obama's
first term." http://t.uani.com/167n71Q
Reuters:
"U.S. lawmakers urged President Barack Obama to keep to a hard line
on sanctions imposed on Iran on Monday, a day before the resumption of
talks on its nuclear program between world powers and Tehran. Congress
has generally been tougher on Iran than the Obama administration, pushing
for ever-stricter economic measures over Tehran's nuclear program. On
Monday, both Democrats and Republicans called for Obama to stand firm,
even as an administration official held out the possibility of quick
sanctions relief if Tehran moves quickly... In a letter to Obama, a group
of six Democratic and four Republican U.S. senators said they were open
to suspending the implementation of new sanctions on Iran but only if
Tehran takes significant steps to slow its nuclear program... The 10
senators signing the letter included Democrats Robert Menendez, chairman
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Charles Schumer, the No. 3
Democrat in the Senate, as well as Republicans John McCain and Lindsey
Graham, two of their party's most influential foreign policy
voices." http://t.uani.com/19KLTQ4
Nuclear
Program
WSJ: "The Obama administration is
weighing possible solutions to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program
that include provisions at odds with key Middle Eastern allies: allowing
Tehran the right to maintain uranium-enrichment facilities on its soil...
Iran's new government says it wants to continue enriching uranium for
civilian uses, and over the weekend declared it wouldn't ship nuclear
materials out of the country. But key U.S. allies in the region,
particularly Israel and Saudi Arabia, insist that Tehran should be denied
any facilities to either enrich uranium or produce weapons-grade
plutonium because of the potential for military uses, according to U.S.
and Arab officials. Members of Congress also are pressuring the White
House to seek a complete dismantling of Iran's centrifuge machines. A
group of 10 Republican and Democratic lawmakers wrote Mr. Obama on Friday
to urge an increase in sanctions on Iran until it agrees to a complete
enrichment freeze. U.N. resolutions call for Iran to stop enrichment until
it addresses international concerns over any military dimension to its
program." http://t.uani.com/1eo10UW
LAT:
"A senior Obama administration official cautioned Monday that 'no
one should expect a breakthrough overnight' in international talks that
begin here Tuesday on Iran's disputed nuclear program, despite rising
hopes of a diplomatic solution. As negotiators from six world powers and
Iran gathered for two days of talks, the official told reporters that
although Iran has given encouraging signs that it is ready compromise,
any search for a solution will be 'very, very difficult.... We know that
the road will have bumps in it.' 'The chances of an agreement being
reached in two days are quite low,' said the official, who requested
anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. 'This is complicated
work.' The official was seeking to adjust expectations at a time when
developments have suggested that Iran and the West may be on the verge of
a compromise after 10 years of stalled negotiations." http://t.uani.com/1coObZF
WSJ:
"Despite diplomatic advances involving Iran and Syria, former
Defense Secretary and Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta
urged skepticism toward prospects of meaningful progress by either
regime. U.S. and Iranian officials are meeting this week with other
international powers to discuss Tehran's nuclear program. Mr. Panetta
cautioned that Iran's new president, Hasan Rouhani, isn't ultimately
calling the shots for his government. The regime's supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remains in charge and intelligence shows he is
concerned about establishing a relationship with the U.S., Mr. Panetta
said. 'It's really important to remain skeptical,' he said at a Seib
& Wessel breakfast hosted by The Wall Street Journal. 'I don't think
we ought to underestimate the problems that we confront.'" http://t.uani.com/1hTzVJa
NYT:
"Israel said on Tuesday that it would 'embrace a genuine diplomatic
solution' that would bring about the dismantling of Iran's potential
nuclear weapons program but warned world powers against any partial
agreement and urged them not to ease the sanctions on Iran prematurely.
As nuclear talks began in Geneva, Israel's security cabinet issued a
detailed statement laying out its case for bringing Iran's uranium
enrichment to an end and saying, 'Sanctions must not be eased when they
are so close to achieving their intended purpose.' ... 'Israel does not
oppose Iran having a peaceful nuclear energy program,' the statement
said. 'But as has been demonstrated in many countries, from Canada to
Indonesia, peaceful programs do not require uranium enrichment or
plutonium production. Iran's nuclear weapons program does.'" http://t.uani.com/GZpw3q
AFP:
"A relief carving of a naked man at the UN's Geneva headquarters was
covered up on Monday, apparently to spare the blushes of Iranian
diplomats ahead of fresh talks on the country's nuclear drive. UN
officials would not comment on why the wall relief, inspired by
Michelangelo's 'Creation of Adam', had been masked by a large white
screen, referring questions to the Swiss authorities. But Swiss newspaper
Tribune de Geneve claimed that the aim was to avoid offending the Islamic
republic's delegation for the talks taking place on Tuesday and
Wednesday... Donated by Britain to the UN's forerunner the League of
Nations in 1938, the larger-than-life reclining figure was sculpted by
Eric Gill, and tops the entrance to the building's Council Chamber where
the talks are due to take place." http://t.uani.com/1gHnPF7
Sanctions
Reuters:
"The United States held out the prospect of quick sanctions relief
for Iran on Monday if Tehran moves swiftly to allay concerns about its
nuclear program, although both countries said any deal would be complex
and take time... 'No one should expect a breakthrough overnight,' a
senior U.S. administration official told reporters. However, the official
said Washington was ready to offer Iran rapid relief from economic
sanctions it moved quickly to address concerns that the ultimate goal of
its nuclear work was to make bombs. Any potential sanctions relief would
be 'targeted, proportional to what Iran puts on the table', the official
said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'I'm sure they will disagree
about what is proportionate,' the official said. 'But we are quite clear
about what the menu of options are and what will match what.'" http://t.uani.com/GZlU1A
RFE/RL:
"In anticipation of a thaw, Iran is preparing to capitalize on
improved relations with the West. And to win skeptics over to the idea
that crippling economic sanctions targeting Iran should be dropped,
Tehran is floating a huge incentive -- the prospect of giving Western
investors access to the country's vast oil and gas reserves.
Western-friendly Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh has been sending signals
that the new spirit of openness being displayed by Iranian officials
could extend to Iran's energy market. In recent weeks, he has touted the
competitive advantages of extracting oil and gas in Iran, and said
contracts are being rewritten to allow for more foreign investment in the
sector -- including to develop the massive South Pars field. 'We will do
anything necessary to get back Iran's share in the oil market,' Zanganeh
was quoted as saying by the Iranian Oil Ministry's news agency, Shana, on
October 1. 'Contacts have been made [with foreign energy companies] to
that effect and all of them are willing to return.' Iran appears to be
exploring the idea that the lure of a more liberalized oil market and the
promise of sweetened oil contracts could get the West to loosen harsh
economic sanctions on the Islamic republic... Central to Zanganeh's
apparent attempt to lure foreign energy companies to return to Iran is to
reform the country's so-called 'buy-back' contracts. Under those
contracts, investors are paid in oil and gas from projects they develop
with their own money, but then they have to hand the project back to
Iranian state companies when finished and wait to be paid." http://t.uani.com/19Lh41V
Reuters:
"South Korea's Iranian crude oil imports more than doubled in
September from August, but its intake levels remain close to the target
of cutting shipments for the June-November period by 15 percent to extend
a U.S. sanctions waiver another six months... South Korea imported
571,909 tonnes of Iranian crude last month, or 139,736 barrels per day
(bpd), more than double the August barrels, preliminary customs data
shows. That puts the Asian country's imports from Iran for June-September
at 133,676 bpd, according to Reuters calculations. The total means South
Korea remains close to the 125,814 bpd it aims to achieve in its imports
from Iran in the six months through November. Seoul has vowed to slash
Iranian oil imports by 15 percent from 148,016 bpd imported in December
2012 to May 2013, two sources told Reuters in June... South Korea, the
world's fifth-largest crude buyer, imported a total of 10 million tonnes
of crude last month against 11.1 million tonnes in September 2012, data
from the Korea Customs Service also showed on Tuesday." http://t.uani.com/15EfHAN
Human
Rights
Al-Monitor:
"In a press conference yesterday, the Iranian judiciary's
spokesperson, Mohsen Ejei, announced that more political prisoners would
not be released on the upcoming religious holidays and said that former
President Mohammad Khatami's travel ban is still in place. Based on
statements by the intelligence and justice ministers, Iranian media had
expected the release of some high profile political prisoners,
particularly those arrested after the 2009 election protests, especially
2009 presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hussein Moussavi and his
wife, Zahra Rahnavard, who have been under house arrest without charge
since February 2011. Ejei, however, denied these claims. When asked about
the speculation over the release of Mousavi and Karroubi, Ejei said,
'This speculation is not right, and no specific event has taken place in
this field.' He added, 'With prisoners, on various occasions we have
pardons, and since the security and sedition defendants have received a
pardon for Eid Ghorban and Eid Ghadir, we have no pardons specifically
for this.' He continued, 'Of course, for other prisoners we will have
pardons, but we do not have security pardons.' Ejei used the term
'security' in this context to refer to 'political' defendants." http://t.uani.com/16drUJS
IHR:
"A prisoner was found to be alive 24 hours after being hanged and
declared dead. According to the official website of the Iranian State
Broadcasting Jam-e-Jam Online, a 37 year old man identified as 'Alireza
M.' was executed by hanging on October 9, convicted of possession of 1
kilograms of crystal (a synthetic narcotic drug) in the prison of Bojnord
(northeastern Iran)... The report then asks what will happen to the man
who survived the execution? Mohammad Erfan, a judge in the administrative
Court says: 'The man has been sentenced to death by the Revolutionary
Court and his death sentence will be carried out once the medical staff
confirm that his health condition is good enough.'" http://t.uani.com/GPvnYH
IHR:
"Hands grenades were thrown inside the main entrance of Ilam Prison
(western Iran) as some people tried to save a prisoner from being
executed, reported the Iranian state media. According to the state run
news agency Fars one prisoner was hanged early this morning in the prison
of Ilam... According to this report hand grenades were thrown inside the
main entrance of the prison as some people tried to save the prisoner
from being executed." http://t.uani.com/167sjCI
AFP:
"Iran has arrested a man accused of opening fake Facebook accounts
in the names of some cabinet ministers, judiciary spokesman Gholam
Hossein Mohseni-Ejeie said on Monday. In recent weeks reports suggested
some ministers were active on Facebook, but the ministers denied they
have any social media accounts, Mohseni-Ejeie said, cited by IRNA news
agency. An investigation was launched and a man was arrested for having
opened 'these fake accounts, and he is now in prison,' the spokesman
added." http://t.uani.com/16dpxGI
Foreign
Affairs
YnetNews:
"Iran's Supreme Spiritual Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on
Monday that 'we should not make a mistake in knowing the main enemy, who
in the present time is global arrogance and the criminal Zionist
network.' In his address to the hajj pilgrims, Khamenei mentioned Israel
several times: 'we should properly identify the methods of this hostile
enemy which is creating discord among Muslims... Moreover, we should
identify their agents and those who are, knowingly or ignorantly,
dependent on them.' Khamenei also leveled sharp criticism at the West.
'Arrogant governments, headed by the USA, conceal their true character
with the help of comprehensive and advanced propaganda tools. By claiming
that they support human rights and democracy, they deceive public opinion
in different countries,' he said." http://t.uani.com/171gn6c
Opinion
& Analysis
Ray Takeyh in WashPost:
"The great powers are again resuming diplomatic efforts to settle
the Iran nuclear issue. Expectations are high, as Iran is now presumed to
be ruled by pragmatists who seek to end its isolation. Although much of
the recent international focus has been on President Hassan Rouhani and
his indefatigable foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the critical
decisions will be made by Iran's Supreme National Security Council. The
composition of that body and its new leadership say much more than
Rouhani's proclamations do about the direction of Iran's foreign policy.
The council increasingly is populated by a cohort of hard-liners who have
spent much of their career in the military and security services. The
head of the council is Ali Shamkhani, a hardened member of the
Revolutionary Guards and former minister of defense who has played a
critical role in all of Iran's important national security decisions
since the inception of the theocracy. Shamkhani's deputy is a shadowy
Revolutionary Guards officer, Ali Husseini-Tash, who for decades has been
involved in Iran's nuclear deliberations... Despite their interest in
diplomacy and embrace of more tempered language, Shamkhani and his
advisers believe that Iran must claim its hegemonic role. With the
displacement of Iran's historical enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq, and
the unsteady political transitions in the Arab world, they sense that it
is a propitious time for the Islamic Republic to claim the mantle of
regional leadership. Tehran has been offered a rare opportunity to emerge
as the predominant power of the Persian Gulf and a pivotal state in the
Middle East. It is immaterial whether its assessment of regional trends
is correct, as such perceptions condition its approach to international
politics. The newly empowered conservatives at the council's helm also
believe that Iran needs a nuclear capability to enhance its influence. As
Husseini-Tash noted in 2006 during a rare public appearance, 'The nuclear
program is an opportunity for us to make endeavors to acquire a strategic
position and consolidate our national identity.' But they also recognize
the importance of offering confidence-building measures to an incredulous
international community. All of this is not to suggest that Iran is
inclined to suspend its nuclear program or relinquish the critical
components of such a program. They are, however, more open to dialogue
than the Ahmadinejad government was. Moreover, they stress that a
reasonable Iran can assuage U.S. concerns about its nuclear development
without having to abandon the program. Despite its softened rhetoric, the
new Iranian regime can be expected to continue asserting its nuclear 'rights'
and to press its advantages in a contested Middle East. The Islamic
Republic plans to remain an important backer of the Assad dynasty in
Syria, a benefactor of Hezbollah and a supporter of Palestinian
rejectionist groups. It will persist in its repressive tactics at home
and continue to deny the people of Iran fundamental human rights. This is
a government that will seek to negotiate a settlement of the nuclear
issue by testing the limits of the great powers' prohibitions. Washington
need not accede to such Iranian conceptions. The United States and its
allies are entering this week's negotiations in a strong position. Iran's
economy is withering under the combined pressures of sanctions and its
own managerial incompetence. The Iranian populace remains disaffected as
the bonds between state and society have been largely severed since the
Green Revolution of 2009. The European Union is still highly skeptical of
Iran, a distrust that Rouhani's charm offensive has mitigated but not
eliminated. Allied diplomats can use as leverage in the forthcoming
negotiations the threat of additional sanctions and Israeli military
force. Given the stark realities, it is time for the great powers to have
a maximalist approach to diplomacy with Iran. It is too late for more
Iranian half-steps and half-measures. Tehran must account for all its
illicit nuclear activities and be compelled to make irreversible
concessions that permanently degrade its ability to reconstitute its
nuclear weapons program at a more convenient time. Anything less would be
a lost opportunity." http://t.uani.com/H1nr6k
Yochi Dreazen in
FP: "Wendy Sherman, the U.S. State Department's
chief nuclear negotiator, held talks 13 years ago with the leaders of one
opaque, mercurial country prone to deception and rabidly anti-American
rhetoric. Those talks were ultimately a bust. This week she'll hold talks
with the leaders of another opaque, mercurial country prone to deception
and rabidly anti-American rhetoric. The success of those new negotiations
could spell the difference between a long-term peace and a perilous
showdown -- and give Sherman a rare second chance to prevent a U.S.
adversary from getting a nuclear weapon. Sherman, who was part of the
U.S. team that negotiated with North Korea in the 1990s, heads the
American delegation that will sit down with senior Iranian officials in
Geneva on Tuesday, Oct. 15, to open talks over the future of Iran's
nuclear program. Little known outside the State Department, Sherman faces
the extraordinarily difficult task of determining whether the moderate
tone of Iran's new leader, Hasan Rouhani, means that Tehran is genuinely
prepared to open its nuclear sites to international inspection and halt
its enrichment of certain types of uranium or is simply trying to wring
concessions from the West... Gary Samore, who served as Obama's chief
advisor on weapons of mass destruction until earlier this year, said that
the United States had managed to delay North Korea's nuclear program for
a few years but had been unable to persuade Pyongyang to abandon it
altogether. He said this might be the most that could be expected from
this week's talks with Iran, which begin with both sides' demands already
largely laid out. Tehran wants freedom from the Western sanctions against
its banking and oil sectors that have decimated its economy and have
driven the value of its currency to record lows. Washington wants Iran to
stop producing near-weapons-grade uranium, put its nuclear facilities
under strict international supervision, and shutter its heavily fortified
underground uranium-enrichment facility near Qom. U.S. and Israeli
officials believe the facility plays a key role in Iran's push for a
nuclear weapon because it would be extremely difficult to destroy from
the air. 'The supreme leader won't give up his desire for a nuclear
capability,' Samore said. 'The best we'll be able to do is come up with
an agreement that limits, delays, and contains Iran's nuclear program. I
don't think there's any chance they'll give it up altogether. We're not in
a position to dictate those types of terms to them.' All the same,
Sherman, who Samore describes as having an 'iron fist in a velvet glove,'
will have to get as much from the talks as she can. Her work will be
closely followed in the capitals of key allies like Israel and Saudi
Arabia, which fear that the Obama administration is prepared to accept a
deal that would leave Iran with the ability to continue enriching
uranium. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recent described
Rouhani as a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' and reiterated his promise that
Israel would act militarily, alone if necessary, to prevent Iran from
obtaining a nuclear weapon. The Qom facility would likely be at the top
of any Israeli target list. Robert Einhorn, a former State Department
official who worked with Sherman during the on-again, off-again
negotiations with North Korea in the 1990s, said she is a skilled
negotiator with a deep understanding of the complex politics surrounding
the nuclear talks, particularly among skeptics from both parties on
Capitol Hill. 'She knows that world,' he said. Still, Samore cautioned
that the success of the talks will be determined by Iran's willingness to
strike a deal, not just Sherman's talents at the negotiating table.
'We're in very good hands in terms of skills and toughness of our
negotiator,' he said. 'But no matter how good a negotiator you are, if
the other side isn't prepared to negotiate, you're not going to get
anywhere.' Sherman herself seems to understand that potential pitfall quite
well. 'No deal,' she told the Senate this month, 'is better than a bad
deal.'" http://t.uani.com/1gHoVAP
Senator Marco
Rubio in USA Today: "To successfully negotiate with
someone, you need to understand and be honest about who is sitting across
the table from you. From Russia and Syria, to North Korea and now Iran,
this has been a failure of the Obama administration's foreign policy. We
would all like to wake up tomorrow to the news that Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei has decided to abandon his nuclear weapon ambitions. But
especially on matters of national security, we should not be guided
simply by our hopes. We must be guided by reality. The reality is that no
matter how much Iran's political leaders say they do not have plans to
build a nuclear weapon, their actions say something else. They have
dramatically increased their ability to enrich uranium, and they continue
to spend millions of dollars on their nuclear program and on developing
long-range missiles. We hear all this talk about how Iran's new president,
Hassan Rouhani, may be a reformer, but he is also someone who has bragged
about how he used negotiations to buy time to increase Iran's enrichment
capacity. And in the end, even if he is a reformer, he is not the
ultimate decision maker. The ultimate decision maker is Iran's supreme
leader. And so far, no one has accused him of being a reformer. The main
reason why Iran's leaders are making noises about negotiating with the
world now is because, over the last few years, the United States and the
European Union have imposed significant sanctions on Iran. Those
sanctions are starting to hurt the regime. It has made it more difficult
for them to export terrorism around the world. It has hurt their effort
to continue to buy parts for their nuclear and missile programs. The
sanctions are also causing many Iranians to ask why their government is
going to such great lengths to develop these capabilities. As a result of
all this, their plan now is very simple: they are trying to see if they
can get these sanctions suspended or lifted, without having to give up
too much. Then, at some point in the future, when the world has moved on
to some other issues, they can quickly take the final steps to build a
bomb. That is why, as talks between the so-called P5+1 group of nations
and Iran are about to restart, we are at a critical juncture. We should
meet with Iran and see if they are serious, but we cannot put at risk the
hard-earned leverage that took so long to assemble... The United States
and the international community have succeeded in bringing Iran to the
negotiating table through firm action. We all hope those talks work out.
But Iran does not have forever to prove they are serious. We cannot allow
them to continue to use these talks to buy themselves time and space while
they pursue a nuclear weapons capability. We cannot allow them to use
these talks to continue to spread terror and undermine their neighbors.
As our diplomats sit down in Geneva this week, let's be honest about who
we are dealing with and what they are trying to achieve. Let's not gloss
over their record of murder, brutality, lies and obfuscation. That moral
clarity, not desperation for a deal, is what sets us apart from them and
is what will prevent us from waking up one day to discover a nuclear Iran."
http://t.uani.com/1ghA7q0
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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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