|
|
Top Stories
AFP:
"President Barack Obama warned Saturday that Israel's vision of an
'ideal' nuclear agreement with Iran was unrealistic and put the chance
of any acceptable final deal emerging at no more than 50/50. But Obama
argued that the best possible available agreement with Tehran was
likely to be better than the alternatives, and it was therefore
imperative to try to secure one. Obama, speaking at the Brookings
Institution's Saban Forum in Washington, said a deal was possible that
included enough verification safeguards to assure foreign powers Tehran
could not build a nuclear bomb. He indicated that could include a very
'modest' option for Iran to enrich uranium as part of a peaceful
nuclear program under intense scrutiny by outside observers that would
ensure Tehran was kept from 'breakout' capacity needed to race to build
an atomic weapon. 'If we could create an option in which Iran
eliminated every single nut and bolt of their nuclear program and
foreswore the possibility of ever having a nuclear program, and for that
matter got rid of all its military capabilities, I would take it,'
Obama said. 'But I want to make sure everybody understands it -- that
particular option is not available, so as a consequence, what we have
to do is make a decision, as to given the options available, what is
the best way for us to assure Iran does not get a nuclear weapon?' ...
'One can envision an ideal world in which Iran said we will destroy
every element or facility and you name it it is all gone.' But he
added: 'I think we have to be more realistic and ask ourselves what
puts us in a strong position to assure ourselves that Iran is not
having a nuclear weapon.'" http://t.uani.com/1jDKRhF
Reuters:
"Iran is moving ahead with testing more efficient uranium
enrichment technology, a spokesman for its atomic energy agency said on
Saturday, in news that may concern world powers who last month agreed a
deal to curb Tehran's atomic activities. Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi
was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying that initial testing on
a new generation of more sophisticated centrifuges had been completed,
underlining Iran's determination to keep refining uranium in what it
says is work to make fuel for a planned network of nuclear power
plants. Although the development does not appear to contravene the
interim agreement struck between world powers and Iran last month, it
may concern the West nonetheless, as the material can also provide the
fissile core of a nuclear bomb if enriched to a high degree." http://t.uani.com/IW7AY6
AP:
"Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that last month's
nuclear deal with world powers has already boosted the country's
economy, as he continues a push to convince skeptics of the benefits
brought by the pact's partial sanctions relief. Rouhani told an open
session of parliament that, after the 'success' of the talks, investors
were gravitating to businesses and the stock exchange. 'Economic
activities have been shifted to the stock exchange from gold, hard
currency and real estate,' said Rouhani in his televised speech. He
gave no specific figures... Analysts say that the deal is a first step
toward economic normalcy, and thus is likely to have a psychological
effect that could boost markets." http://t.uani.com/1gSkWAm
Nuclear
Negotiations
AFP:
"Technical experts from Iran, world powers and the UN atomic
watchdog were due to start working out on Monday the nuts and bolts of
implementing last month's landmark nuclear deal. In particular the
two-day Vienna meeting, due to begin at 1400 GMT, will seek to nail
down the start date of Iran's promised six-month nuclear freeze, how
this will be monitored and when sanctions will be eased. After the
talks with representatives from the United States, China, Russia,
Britain, France and Germany -- the P5+1 -- Iranian officials will then
meet just with the International Atomic Energy Agency on
Wednesday." http://t.uani.com/1e0KYUo
Reuters:
"U.N. inspectors visited an Iranian plant on Sunday linked to a
planned heavy-water reactor that could yield nuclear bomb fuel, taking
up an initial offer by Tehran to open its disputed nuclear program to
greater scrutiny... It was the first time in more than two years that
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had been allowed to go to
the Arak heavy water production plant, which is designed to supply a
research reactor under construction nearby... Two inspectors arrived in
Tehran on Saturday and met experts from Iran's own atomic energy agency
before travelling to Arak in the evening, Iran's ISNA news agency
reported. 'The inspection is under way and will be finished this
afternoon, and they (the inspectors) will return to Tehran,' said
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Iranian atomic energy agency.
'The inspectors will go back to Vienna tonight.'" http://t.uani.com/1hI5CJF
Reuters:
"A top U.S. diplomat said Saturday that the United States would
rely on 'intrusive' monitoring rather than trust for Iran's curtailing
of its nuclear program. 'Decades of mistrust' between the United States
and Iran meant that Washington would 'have to rely on verification and
monitoring' of Iran's nuclear facilities, said Wendy Sherman, the U.S.
under secretary of state for political affairs and a lead negotiator of
last month's nuclear talks with the Islamic Republic, in an interview with
Al Arabiya News Channel. 'We have put in place, even in this first
step, the most intrusive monitoring that's existed in Iran,' said
Sherman." http://t.uani.com/J6RhIs
AP:
"Iran's president defended an interim nuclear deal that eases some
of the international community's crippling economic sanctions in return
for a freeze on part of the Islamic Republic's uranium enrichment
activities, saying Saturday that improving the economy is as important
as maintaining a peaceful nuclear program... His televised speech to
university students was interrupted by rival chanting from hard-liners
and moderates in the audience, highlighting the divide in Iranian
politics that the president faces. 'Nuclear technology and uranium
enrichment is our definite right,' Rouhani said. 'But progress, better
living conditions and welfare for the people is also our definite
right. Breaking and dismantling the architecture of the ominous and
oppressive sanctions is also our definite right.' ... His speech was
interrupted by chants of 'moderation, reforms' from supporters and
'Death to America' from hard-line students who attended the
speech." http://t.uani.com/1brXxE3
AFP:
"Diplomacy with Iran must be backed up by US military might,
Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel said Saturday in a speech to Gulf allies
anxious over a nuclear deal with Tehran. Hagel promised the United
States would maintain a 35,000-strong force in the Gulf region, as well
as an armada of ships and warplanes, despite the recent accord with
Tehran. Speaking at a security conference in Bahrain, he said the
interim deal with Iran to roll back its nuclear programme was a risk
worth taking, but that Western diplomacy should not be
'misinterpreted'. 'We know diplomacy cannot operate in a vacuum,' he
said. 'Our success will continue to hinge on America's military power,
and the credibility of our assurances to our allies and partners in the
Middle East.' The Pentagon 'will not make any adjustments to its forces
in the region -- or to its military planning -- as a result of the interim
agreement with Iran,' he added... 'Coupled with our unique munitions,
no target is beyond our reach,' said Hagel, in an apparent reference to
'bunker buster' bombs designed to penetrate deeply buried
targets." http://t.uani.com/J53o8T
WSJ:
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any comprehensive
deal reached between global powers and Iran to curb its nuclear program
must include Tehran's commitment to cease its threats against the
Jewish state and to end support for militant Lebanese and Palestinian
groups. Mr. Netanyahu's comments on Sunday marked his latest effort to
toughen the terms of any final accord reached between the international
diplomatic bloc-made up of the five permanent members of the United
Nations Security Council and Germany-and Iran over the country's
nuclear program... Mr. Netanyahu for the first time on Sunday said an
international agreement with Iran must go beyond the nuclear issue and
address Tehran's support for the militant groups fighting Israel and
Tehran's repeated threats to destroy the Zionist state. On the eve of
last month's talks in Geneva, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei referred to Mr. Netanyahu as a 'rabid dog' and the Israeli
population as less than human. '[Iran] is committed to our annihilation,
and I believe that there must be an uncompromising demand at the Geneva
talks, for a change in Iran's policy,' Mr. Netanyahu said. 'In other
words, there needs to be not just a change in the capability of Iran to
arm itself, but also a change in its policy of genocide.'" http://t.uani.com/18w5mYZ
AFP:
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that a
'military option' was 'necessary' for the success of negotiations aimed
at reining in Iran's disputed nuclear program. Netanyahu said the Jewish
state shared US President Barack Obama's 'preference' to pursue
diplomacy 'but for diplomacy to succeed, it must be coupled with
powerful sanctions and a credible military threat.' 'A diplomatic
solution is better than a military option but a military option is
necessary for diplomacy to succeed as a powerful sanction because of
the pressure,' he told a forum hosted by the Saban Center for Middle
East Policy at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank...
'Steps must be taken to prevent further erosion of the sanctions
because ultimately the sanctions remain an essential element of the
international effort to compel Iran to dismantle its nuclear military
infrastructure, to take apart all its centrifuges,' he said. 'We
shouldn't assume that more and tougher sanctions won't lead to a better
deal.'" http://t.uani.com/1cw2dd1
AFP:
"Gulf Cooperation Council states must be part of the negotiations
between major world powers and Iran, oil-rich Saudi Arabia's former
intelligence chief said on Sunday... 'I suggest that the negotiations
on Iran not be limited to the P5+1' comprising the United States,
China, Britain, France and Germany, Prince Turki al-Faisal said. 'The
Gulf Cooperation Council must be involved,' added the influential Saudi
royal, who also served as ambassador in both the United States and
Britain... 'Ongoing talks are incomplete and the presence of the GCC
states on the (negotiating) table will benefit everyone,' Faisal
said." http://t.uani.com/1jCbt2q
Reuters:
"The leaders of three U.S. Senate committees asked intelligence
officials on Friday for regular briefings on whether Iran is complying
with an interim agreement to rein in its nuclear program, as Congress
weighs whether to impose a new round of sanctions on Tehran... The
letter, dated Friday, asked for briefings from the intelligence
community every 45 days, starting on January 30, on whether Iran is
complying with terms of the interim deal reached in Geneva on November
24. It was from Senators Tim Johnson, chairman of the Banking Committee,
which oversees sanctions legislation, Dianne Feinstein, who heads the
Intelligence Committee, and Carl Levin, who heads the Armed Services
Committee." http://t.uani.com/1dflxdb
Sanctions
AFP:
"US lawmakers are preparing a possible vote on new sanctions
against Iran, a move President Barack Obama and his P5+1 partners fear
could sabotage the nuclear deal reached in Geneva... But even as the
six-month Geneva agreement provides for partial suspension of existing
sanctions, a bipartisan group of senators led by Senate Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, a Democrat, and Republican Senator
Mark Kirk were set to unveil a sanctions bill. The text would serve as
a stick of sorts 'if the regime cheats on the interim deal or tries to
drag out negotiations on a final deal,' said one Senate aide involved
in the sanctions discussions. 'The senators remain hopeful a deal can
be reached this week in time to put something on the president's desk
by Christmas.' The timing or legislative vehicle for the text depend on
a decision by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who last month
expressed support for introducing new sanctions legislation but hasn't
said whether he will allow a vote next week." http://t.uani.com/18NXsgc
WashPost:
"Multiple Democrats on Capitol Hill are worried that House
Democratic leaders are close to joining with House GOP leaders to
support a bipartisan measure that could undermine the White House's
efforts to reach a long term deal curbing Iran's nuclear program, I'm
told by sources involved in discussions. The worry is that Dem Rep.
Steny Hoyer, the number two House Dem, may join with GOP Rep. Eric
Cantor on a resolution or bill that will either criticize the current
temporary deal with Iran, or call for a new round of sanctions, or set
as U.S. policy some strict parameters on a final deal with Iran, such
as opposition to any continued uranium enrichment, House Democratic
aides say. House Dems and outside foreign policy observers have
communicated such worries to Hoyer's office, sources add... Any
resolution or bill along these lines that has the support of any House
Dem leaders would increase the pressure on Senate Democrats to pass a
measure of their own, which the White House opposes." http://t.uani.com/IXhWqE
WT:
"As the Obama administration lifts some of the sanctions against
Iran as part of the West's nuclear deal with the Islamic republic, some
U.S. companies are looking at Iran for possible business opportunities
even as skeptics warn that Iran remains an unstable environment for
business... Now, Iranians are ready to spend, and they are looking to
the U.S. and elsewhere for cars, airplanes and mining equipment,
according to the newly founded Iran America Chamber of Commerce... But
skeptics are warning against doing business with Iran, even if the
sanctions are lifted. 'American companies are playing a dangerous game
in thinking of going back into Iran now,' said Nathan Carleton,
spokesman for United Against Nuclear Iran. 'An interim diplomatic
agreement that has consistently been described as temporary and
reversible is not a justification to rush back into Iran or do business
with the regime. Sanctions must still be obeyed and enforced.'" http://t.uani.com/18OVxbf
Military
Matters
NYT:
"In the past six months, this small United States Navy coastal
patrol ship has engaged Iranian gunboats three times in international
waters here [in the Persian Gulf]. Crew members on both sides came up
on deck to snap photographs or take video from 300 yards away -
souvenirs for the Americans, surveillance for the Iranians, Navy
officials say - before the vessels went their own ways without
incident. 'They eyeballed us, and we eyeballed them right back, but
everything was professional,' said Lt. Cmdr. Jared W. Samuelson, 33,
the skipper of the Whirlwind and its 27-member crew." http://t.uani.com/IW3WNP
AP:
"Iran has dramatically improved the accuracy of its ballistic
missiles by using laser systems, its defense minister said Monday. In
comments broadcast on state TV, Hossein Dehghan said Iranian missiles
can now strike within two meters (yards) of their targets, compared to
200 meters (yards) previously. 'The inaccuracy of (our) ballistic
long-range missiles in hitting targets is so minimal that we can
pinpoint targets. The accuracy of surface-to-surface missiles is now
two meters, while at some stage in the past it was 200 meters. We
strive to reach zero inaccuracy,' Dehghan said." http://t.uani.com/1f1yloC
Domestic
Politics
AFP:
"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told university students Saturday
that tolerance could resolve the issue of political prisoners, as some
of them chanted for opposition leaders under house arrest to be freed.
'My government is committed to the promises it has made to the people,
but we need to create internal consensus to achieve the objectives,'
Rouhani told students at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. 'We need
tolerance and patience? We need to distance ourselves from an emotional
atmosphere. Reason and moderation can resolve the issues,' he added
during the meeting, organised to mark Students' Day. He was speaking in
reaction to some students chanting slogans calling for the release of
political prisoners. Among them are opposition leaders Mir Hossein
Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been kept under house arrest since
February 2011 and without being officially charged." http://t.uani.com/1bR3ddn
Reuters:
"Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said tackling inflation and
boosting growth were the country's economic priorities as he presented
an austerity budget, his first, to parliament on Sunday. Inflation has
soared in the last few years, a trend analysts say is due to
increasingly tough economic sanctions and fiscal mismanagement by
former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 'Employment is the most important
future issue for the economy but now the biggest problem is (tackling)
stagflation,' Rouhani in a live address on state television. 'The
combination of stagnation and inflation over the past two years was
unprecedented,' he said. Iran's budget for the year starting in March
2014 tops $66 billion, calculated on an open-market exchange
rate." http://t.uani.com/18v63Sf
Foreign
Affairs
AFP:
"Iran wants all foreign forces to leave Afghanistan, President
Hassan Rouhani told his visiting Afghan counterpart Sunday amid a row
between Kabul and Washington over a long-delayed security pact. Iran
'is opposed to the presence of any foreign force in the region, the
Middle East, the Persian Gulf and particularly the Islamic country of
Afghanistan,' Rouhani told Hamid Karzai, who was in Tehran for a
one-day visit. 'Iran is concerned about tensions caused by the presence
of foreign forces in the region,' Rouhani added in remarks reported by
the state broadcaster on its website, iribnews.ir." http://t.uani.com/1bR3f50
AFP:
"The funeral service of Nelson Mandela could be a 'trap' for
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani because he could run into US President
Barack Obama, a hardline Iranian daily warned Sunday. The Islamic
republic has yet to announce who will travel to South Africa for Tuesday's
memorial service and next Sunday's funeral for the late president and
Nobel laureate. Hardline newspaper Kayhan warned in an editorial that
if Rouhani attends it could bring him face to face with Obama, 'head of
the Great Satan government'. 'Some domestic and foreign media outlets
are using the funeral ceremony as a pretext to push Rouhani towards a
meeting with the head of the Great Satan government,' Kayhan
said." http://t.uani.com/J52qtp
Opinion
& Analysis
UANI President Gary Samore in Iran Matters:
"I am here in Saudi Arabia as a guest of Prince Turki al-Faisal of
the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.
Prince Turki hosted a lunch and seminar for me with Saudi academics and
foreign policy experts and a public speaking event on 'Creating a WMD
Free Zone in the Middle East.' ... On the Iran nuclear issue, I was
struck that the Saudis are less concerned with the details of the
nuclear negotiations and more with how the nuclear issue fits into the
broader geopolitical threat they perceive from Iran. Unlike Israelis,
who see the Iranian nuclear program as an existential threat, the
Saudis see the Islamic Republic itself as an existential threat. The
threat to Saudi Arabia is not a nuclear attack, but Iran's conventional
forces and potential to stir up dissention among the Arab Shi'a of the
Arabian Peninsula by working through proxies such as Hezbollah. Bahrain
is exhibit one. They fear that the Shi'a of Saudi Arabia's Eastern
Province could be next. Informed Saudis understand that Washington and
Tehran are not on the verge of imposing a condominium in the region.
Even if the nuclear issue were somehow resolved (and Saudi foreign
policy experts understand this is not likely to happen anytime soon),
there are too many other points of dispute between the U.S. and Iran.
Nonetheless, the Saudis fear that the U.S. will accommodate Iran on
other issues of importance to the Kingdom in exchange for Iranian
cooperation to resolve the nuclear issue. One theory making the rounds,
for example, is that President Obama decided not to increase military
support for the Syrian rebels in order to avoid upsetting the secret
US-Iranian talks in Oman. Frustrating Riyadh further, they see Iran's
regional isolation slipping away as Turkey and the smaller Gulf States
respond to Tehran's regional 'charm offensive' and prospects for
business opportunities if the nuclear issue is resolved." http://t.uani.com/18OW90B
Josh Rogin in The Daily Beast:
"The latest blow to the opposition delivered by Washington was the
P5+1 deal with Iran over that country's nuclear weapons program, Corker
and many others said. 'There's no question that the Iranian deal has
lifted the morale of the regime and it has deflated the opposition,
from that standpoint,' said Corker. 'The sanctions relief will allow
more money to flow to Syria from Iran, so there will be a tangible
effect if sanctions are lifted, that money could end up in the hands of
groups like Hezbollah fighting on the ground in Syria.' Oubai
Shahbandar, a former Pentagon official now advising the Syrian
opposition, was more blunt. 'Many Syrians feel that the Iran deal has
signaled the West's readiness to cede Syria to the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force and Hezbollah occupational forces.
Both Iran and Assad are emboldened. A renewed commitment is needed to
prevent Iranian expansion in Syria and the region,' he said. Iran's
potential participation in the Geneva 2 discussions would be an
additional indignity to those in the Syrian opposition who still seek cooperation
with the United States and the West. House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers told The Daily Beast that he
doesn't think Iran should be included. 'I don't believe Iran is an
honest broker in Syria to any degree. They are operating Hezbollah,
supporting them, giving them weapons, giving them intelligence,' he
said. 'That would not be a great outcome. You cannot continue to
alienate our allies in the region, just to get a deal.' State
Department officials said that Iran would be invited to the conference
if they publicly come out in support for the Geneva 1 communique, which
calls for a transitional governing body to take power while elections
are scheduled. The U.S. and Russia disagree over whether that body
would have full executive powers during said transition. 'It's about
embracing the Geneva communique, which they have not done. If they do
that, we will evaluate whether or not we'd support an invitation to
[Iran] to attend the conference,' said State Department Spokeswoman Jen
Psaki. For many experts, the Obama administration's stance is
increasingly more aligned with the Assad regime and its allies than
with the opposition. 'Rightly or wrongly, the administration' view the
jihadist opposition as the real enemy. What they would like is for the
U.S.-backed centrists and moderates to work with the regime against the
real extremists. The Iranians would like to see that as well,' said Jim
Hooper, a former U.S. diplomat in Damascus." http://t.uani.com/1f1AUa8
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment