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Reuters:
"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday a comprehensive
nuclear deal could be delayed if world powers brought new issues into
play, and he would not accept a U.N. inspections regime that jeopardized
state secrets... 'Iran will absolutely not allow its national secrets to
fall into the hands of foreigners through the Additional Protocol or any
other means,' Rouhani said in a televised news conference, referring to
an IAEA provision that would allow more intrusive inspections in the
Islamic Republic... 'A problem we face on many issues is that when we
reach a framework in one meeting, our negotiating partners go back on it
in the next meeting,' said Rouhani... 'If the other side sticks to the
framework that has been established, and does not bring new issues into
play, I believe it can be solved... But if they want to take the path of
brinkmanship, the negotiations could take longer.' ... Rouhani said:
'What is important to Iran is that, in implementing this protocol, we
make it clear to the world that the accusations we have faced about
trying to build a bomb are baseless.'" http://t.uani.com/1MEzXVm
Reuters:
"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gave a vigorous defense of nuclear
negotiations to a domestic crowd on Sunday, pledging to reach a deal that
would lift the hardship of sanctions as the talks enter their final
weeks. Speaking at a televised rally in the northeastern city of Bojnord,
to mark the second anniversary of his 2013 election victory, Rouhani used
sweeping rhetoric to play up the benefits of easing Iran's long
international isolation. 'With the guidance of the Supreme Leader and the
support of the people, we will enrich both uranium and the economy in
Iran,' he told a crowd of thousands. 'We want the nation to be happy and
productive, to have a bright economy and social welfare -- and to have
centrifuges too.' ... 'We will go to the United Nations, where the
sanctions against us were written, and there we will have them lifted,'
he said, portraying the progress in nuclear talks as a diplomatic victory
for the Islamic Republic... 'Those who say sanctions are not important
don't know what is happening in people's pockets,' he said, alluding to
the high cost of foreign-made goods." http://t.uani.com/1QyBGBX
NYT:
"With a little more than two weeks before the deadline for a nuclear
deal, Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, said Saturday that he expected
relief from economic sanctions within a 'couple of months' after an
agreement with six world powers was signed. Speaking at a news conference
to recognize the second anniversary of his election, Mr. Rouhani
dismissed reports that Iranians would have to wait more than a few months
for the lifting of sanctions, which have crippled Iran's economy. Asked
whether the wait for relief could be as long as a year, he said, 'A
one-year difference is totally untrue.' 'It might be one month,' he
added. 'We are still discussing.' ... Mr. Rouhani echoed statements by
other Iranian leaders hinting that the deadline might not be met. 'We
will not waste time, but we should also not restrict ourselves to a
specific deadline,' he said." http://t.uani.com/1G7KWC1
Nuclear Program & Negotiations
WSJ:
"As international talks over Iran's nuclear program enter their
critical final stage this month, a key goal of President Barack Obama's
presidency-curtailing the world-wide nuclear threat-hangs in the balance.
Mr. Obama's campaign to stem the spread of nuclear weapons was cited as a
main reason for his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, but that signature effort has
been bogged down amid a resurgence of Middle East turmoil, tensions
between the U.S. and Russia and the growth of North Korea's arsenal.
Senior U.S. officials cite the impending deal with Iran as a major step
toward Mr. Obama's nonproliferation objective. But many nonproliferation
concerns have grown... Even a deal to curtail Iran's nuclear program in
exchange for easing economic sanctions, a main goal, may lead only to a mixed
record on disarmament. Key U.S. allies, particularly Israel and Saudi
Arabia, are voicing fears the emerging deal won't go far enough in
blocking an Iranian path to a bomb. A number of Arab states have warned
they could seek to match whatever nuclear capabilities Iran is allowed to
maintain as part of a final deal." http://t.uani.com/1HK4t0R
Reuters:
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused world powers on
Sunday of stepping up concessions to Iran to enable a deal by June 30 on
curbing its nuclear program even as Tehran balks at demands for
heightened U.N. inspections. Netanyahu has argued that the agreement in
the works would not deny Iran - which says its nuclear projects are
peaceful - the means of making a bomb, while granting it sanctions relief
that could help bankroll its guerrilla allies in the region. 'To our
regret, the reports that are coming in from the world powers attest to an
acceleration of concessions by them in the face of Iranian stubbornness,'
Netanyahu told his cabinet in broadcast remarks on Sunday. He did not
offer further details. Netanyahu's point-man on the Iranian talks, Energy
Minister Yuval Steinitz, said it appeared that world powers were prepared
to accommodate Tehran's resistance to expanded, short-order U.N. nuclear
inspections and demand to continue research and development of uranium
centrifuges that make nuclear fuel... Steinitz, who was in Washington
last week to discuss the Iran diplomacy, said the world powers -- the
United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany -- were
considering a stop-gap whereby inspections would be decided on 'by
committee'. 'Such an arrangement might offer reassurance on paper, but in
reality it would give Iran time to cover up illegal nuclear activity or
even relocate it off-site,' Steinitz told Reuters. He added that Israel
saw no reason for world powers to allow Iran to continue research and
development on uranium centrifuges 'if this deal is indeed meant to
freeze its program for years.'" http://t.uani.com/1IFefzU
AFP:
"Russia's negotiator has described a 'very worrying' slowdown in
progress in nuclear talks between Iran and six major powers ahead of a
June 30 deadline to finalise a historic accord. Sergei Ryabkov's remarks
on Friday came as US Secretary of State John Kerry said upon his release
from hospital after breaking his leg that he would soon head to Vienna in
a bid to seal the deal after the outlines of an agreement were reached in
April. 'The rate of progress... is progressively slowing down,' Ryabkov
was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti as he arrived for the latest round of
talks in Vienna. 'This is very worrying to us because there is very
little time before the deadline and we urgently need to enter the final
stage.' Another Russian agency, ITAR-TASS, quoted a diplomatic source as
saying that the talks -- which were ongoing late Friday -- are
'practically stuck. There is a risk that the deadline will be extended
again.'" http://t.uani.com/1GnXTe6
Reuters:
"Secretary of State John Kerry said he was fully engaged in the Iran
nuclear negotiations and would join them at the end of June as he left
the hospital after treatment for a broken leg. Kerry, 71, broke his right
femur on May 31 while cycling a portion of the Tour de France route in
the Haute Savoie region of France, raising questions about how deeply he
may be able to be involved in the talks before a self-imposed June 30
deadline. Appearing in public for the first time since his injury, Kerry
sought to dispel doubts about his involvement. 'I will be absolutely,
fully and totally engaged in those talks. I am now. I haven't missed a
tick,' Kerry told reporters as he left Boston's Massachusetts General
Hospital, resting on crutches and with dark circles under his eyes. 'I'll
be traveling over there at the appropriate moment in the next days in
order to press forward at this critical moment in the negotiations. So
there's a lot of work on the table,' he added." http://t.uani.com/1KSEnd0
AFP:
"Iranian officials with access to classified information will be
forbidden from using smartphones in connection with their work because of
fears of espionage, a security official said Saturday. Such phones are
not secure as 'data entered on to them is backed up, cannot be removed
and can be accessed,' Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali told ISNA news
agency, alluding to smartphone applications and manufacturers. Jalali,
head of Iran's Civil Defence Organisation, said the new rule, which is
pending final approval, would mean officials 'should use other phones for
work that involves sensitive information.' ... The restrictions, however,
come after reports that nuclear talks between Iran and world powers which
face a June 30 deadline were compromised by cyber hacking." http://t.uani.com/1fcAjs3
Free Beacon:
"State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke claimed Friday that the
'goal posts haven't moved' in Iran negotiations as he struggled to
explain the administration's latest concessions. The United States is in
negotiations with Iran in regards to their nuclear program. During Friday's
press briefing, Rathke struggled to define what concessions or conditions
were required for the Iranians to meet for a nuclear deal to be achieved.
Associated Press reporter Matt Lee pressed Rathke to clarify what the
United States objectives are for the negotiations." http://t.uani.com/1LbkSKN
Congressional
Action
Al-Monitor:
"The Senate is expected to wrap up consideration of the annual
defense bill next week before moving on to how to fund the military...
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., filed cloture on the
National Defense Authorization bill (NDAA) on June 11 in a bid to get
through it this coming week... Other amendments that may come up include
an effort by Iran hawk Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to extend Iran sanctions
legislation until 2026. Current law allows the president to temporarily
suspend, but not remove, sanctions legislation that expires in 2016.
Extending the sanctions could be the next president's ability to stick to
any final nuclear deal. Kirk has also proposed requiring a report on how
Iran has used any funds made available through sanctions relief, out of
concern that some of the money may end up in the hands of Hezbollah or
the Iranian military. And Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., has proposed a
sense of the Senate that nuclear negotiations with Iran should not
continue without the establishment of a robust inspections and
verification system that includes access to military facilities and
scientists." http://t.uani.com/1Ifn4xH
Sanctions
Relief
WSJ:
"Dominic Bokor-Ingram recently visited a growing economy full of
well-run companies that the London-based money manager deemed ripe for
investment. The catch: The place was Tehran, a target of grinding
international sanctions. 'I've been to countries where things are booming
and it looks great, but never with the level of infrastructure Iran has,'
he said. A handful of intrepid institutional investors like Mr.
Bokor-Ingram, an investment manager who works for the U.K.'s Charlemagne
Capital, are considering an entry into Iran, one of riskiest frontiers of
global equities. Eager for a competitive edge, they are planning joint
ventures, hiring staff and bracing for what can be a capricious business
environment. Iran's $100 billion stock market is a major focus, given
that there is no limit on foreign investment and they view it as severely
undervalued... Unlike multinationals, companies like Charlemagne and
London-based First Frontier Capital don't have a presence in the U.S.,
where restrictions on dealing with Iran are harsher than in Europe...
First Frontier, a boutique investment bank, also announced plans in April
to set up an investment fund with Tehran's Agah Group. As with the
Charlemagne-Turquoise deal, First Frontier is trying to combine its ties
to non-Iranian institutions with Agah's knowledge of the local market to
take advantage of the opening." http://t.uani.com/1BdnXKk
Reuters:
"South Korean imports of Iranian crude nearly doubled in May from a
year ago, but its shipments from the OPEC country in the first five
months of 2015 fell 2 percent year-on-year... Seoul imported 541,510
tonnes of crude from Iran last month, or 128,041 barrels per day (bpd),
compared with 284,327 tonnes, or 67,230 bpd, a year ago, preliminary
customs data from the world's fifth-largest crude importer showed on
Monday... South Korean crude shipments from the Islamic country in 2014
were 6.2 million tonnes, or 124,497 bpd, down 7.1 percent from the 2013
average of 134,000 bpd." http://t.uani.com/1LaqLea
Syria Conflict
Reuters:
"Iran is bringing home the body of a top-ranking military officer
killed in April in southern Syria, Iranian news agencies reported, at
least the second senior Iranian to die there this year while supporting
Damascus in the war. Hadi Kajbaf, a major general in the elite Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was killed near the rebel-held town of
Busr al-Harir, about 100 km (60 miles) south of Damascus, the IRGC-linked
Tasnim agency reported late on Friday. Three other Iranians were killed
alongside Kajbaf including a mid-ranking Shi'ite Muslim cleric, the
semi-official Fars news agency reported... Kajbaf held the highest rank
used in Iran's armed forces, making him more senior than an IRGC
brigadier general who was killed in January by an Israeli missile strike
in Syrian territory near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, along with a
number of fighters from the Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah group." http://t.uani.com/1FWC6YF
Human Rights
IHR:
"11 prisoners charged with drug offenses were hanged in Karaj's Ghezel
Hesar Prison (west of Tehran) on Wednesday 10 June. This is the second
group of executions during this week. On Monday June 8, 11 prisoners were
executed in the same prison... Since May 6 Iranian authorities have
executed 77 people in Ghezel Hesar Prison. IHR has repeatedly called on
the international community to react to these executions. However, the
international community has still maintained its silence." http://t.uani.com/1TnKtFP
IHR:
"It was January 27, 2015, Naghmeh Shahi Savandi, a citizen
journalist from Kerman, arrived home from a day of shopping to be
confronted by security agents. With her mom, aunt and children present,
the agents violently raided her home and confiscated her computer, hard
drives and CDs... Naghmeh's trial was held in branch 28 of Tehran's
Revolutionary Court with presiding Judge Moghiseh. She was accused of
creating Facebook pages and spreading information about human rights
violations in Iran. The judge sentenced her to seven years and 91 days in
prison for propagating against the regime, insulting Ayatollah Khomenei
(the founder and first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran)
and insulting Ayatollah Khamenei (the current Supreme Leader)...
Naghmeh's husband left her side from the time she was arrested. She says
that he was unable to cope with the possibility that she may be raped in
prison. 'I was threatened with rape and I lived with the fear of rape,
but I was never raped.' Naghmeh says the lack of understanding of her
situation wasn't limited to her husband. 'When I was released from
prison, I was confronted by my family and friends. Anyone who saw me
would ask me whether I was raped, rather than whether I was OK.'" http://t.uani.com/1cW1Ps1
Opinion &
Analysis
WSJ Editorial:
"The Obama Administration has long insisted that any nuclear deal
will have no effect on U.S. determination to stop Iran's regional
ambitions or support for terrorism. As the political desire for a deal
grows more urgent, however, this claim is proving to be hollow... Then
there is Iran's ballistic missile program. Ballistic missiles have long
been considered an integral part of Iran's nuclear program as the most
effective way to deliver a weapon, and the Administration pushed for U.N.
sanctions on Iran's missiles in 2010. When it came time to negotiate,
however, the Administration gave in to Tehran's insistence that it would
accept no missile limitations, thus separating the missile and nuclear
programs. But now that a deal is near, the Administration is reversing
itself again, claiming that for the purposes of sanctions Iran's missile
program is 'nuclear-related,' meaning the U.S. is prepared to lift the
missile sanctions. And there's more. 'Of the 24 Iranian banks currently
under U.S. sanctions,' noted the Associated Press in a story last week,
'only one-Bank Saderat, cited for terrorism links-is subject to clear
non-nuclear sanctions.' In other words, once the 'nuclear-related'
sanctions go, so go all the rest, notwithstanding Administration
promises. It may be too late to prevent President Obama from striking
this deal. But as its contours become clearer, it looks increasingly like
a betrayal of our friends, a whitewash of history-and a gift to a
dictatorship." http://t.uani.com/1dGc6Jn
Jeffrey Lewis in
FP: "Fareed Zakaria has written a predictably buzzy
article suggesting that, whatever Saudi officials might say, Riyadh is
simply too backward to build a nuclear weapon. 'Whatever happens with
Iran's nuclear program,' Zakaria writes, '10 years from now Saudi Arabia
won't have nuclear weapons. Because it can't.' While I don't think it is
terribly likely that Saudi Arabia will choose to build nuclear weapons, I
think it is deeply misguided to conclude that Saudi Arabia (or pretty
much any state) cannot do so. Simply put, Zakaria is wrong - and it's not
all that hard to demonstrate why. Zakaria isn't explicit about what he
believes to be the technical requirements for building a nuclear weapon,
but he clearly thinks it is hard. Which was probably true in 1945 when
the United States demonstrated two different routes to atomic weapons.
Since then, however, the technologies associated with producing plutonium
and highly enriched uranium have been developed, put to civilian use, and
spread around the globe. The fact that most states don't build nuclear
weapons has a lot more to do with restraint than not being able to figure
it out. Zakaria's argument that Saudi Arabia can't build nuclear weapons
is pretty shallow and relies largely on two assertions: a flip comment
about Saudi Arabia lacking even a domestic automotive industry, and a
superficially data-driven claim about Saudi Arabia's 'abysmal' math and
science ranking... The United States was deeply skeptical that Pakistan
could build centrifuges in the 1970s because of the country's limited industrial
base. What U.S. analysts didn't grasp was that Pakistan's industrial base
- and that of every other proliferator - was the entire world. There is
no reason to think this problem went away with A.Q. Khan. Take a spin
around Alibaba, the big Chinese online B2B procurement site sometime.
Moreover, a proliferator doesn't have to try to acquire the most modern
centrifuges. When U.N. inspectors were stumbling across the remnants of
the Iraqi nuclear program in the early 1990s, they made a surprising discovery:
Calutrons. These were an obsolete uranium enrichment technology
(electromagnetic isotope separation) from the 1940s that fell out of
favor after World War II. Inefficient, sure, but good enough to make the
highly enriched uranium for the Little Boy bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
Frankly, we're lucky that nuclear weapons have not spread as quickly as
the technology to make them. Some of the success in slowing the spread of
nuclear weapons is down to sanctions, export controls, and the occasional
air strike. Most of the success, however, goes to the regime that
discourages states that could build nuclear weapons from doing so in the
first place. If you ask a policy wonk whether the nonproliferation regime
has been successful or not, the chances are better than even that you'll
hear about President John F. Kennedy's famous warning that 'I see the
possibility in the 1970s of the President of the United States having to
face a world in which 15 or 20 or 25 nations may have these weapons.'
(It's kind of a standard talking point we all learn early on.) That
didn't happen - and credit usually goes to the 1970 Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)." http://t.uani.com/1FiOzEA
Adam Goldman in
WashPost: "Nearly four years ago, Amir Hekmati, a
former U.S. Marine, flew to Iran to visit his grandmother. Days before he
was scheduled to return home, he vanished. Frightened family members
searched frantically for him. It took months before they found out that
Iranian authorities had secretly detained him. U.S. and Iranian officials
urged his relatives to remain quiet, family members said recently,
arguing that public attention would complicate his release. They
complied. Nevertheless, in December 2011, Iran abruptly charged Hekmati
with spying and sentenced him to 10 years in prison for cooperating with
a hostile government. The advice routinely given by American and European
officials (as well as private outfits) involved in hostage and prisoner
negotiations is this: If you want to help, keep the abduction a secret.
In cases involving hostages taken by Islamist militiamen or by
governments - from the dozens of kidnappings in Syria to the four
Americans detained by Houthi fighters in Yemen last month - the
prescription appears to be the same. And family members, terrified by
uncertainty, defer to the experts. But some families are beginning to
question whether following this course is the right move when secrecy has
failed them repeatedly. 'Our family learned later that our silence
allowed Amir to suffer the worst torture imaginable,' Hekmati's sister
told a congressional hearing this month. This advice can also put others
unwittingly in harm's way, by keeping the public in the dark about the
risks. That's what happened in Syria, where the Islamic State repeatedly
targeted journalists and aid workers in the hopes of ransoming them, as
still others trickled into the country. In the end, worldwide attention
may be better than none at all." http://t.uani.com/1IfqjoX
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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