Eye on Iran: U.S. Sent Cash to Iran as Americans Were Freed

Join UANI       Top Stories    WSJ: "The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward. Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials. The U.S. procured the money from the central banks of the Netherlands and Switzerland, they said. The money represented the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement the Obama administration reached with Iran to resolve a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal signed just before the 1979 fall of Iran's last monarch... The settlement, which resolved claims before an international tribunal in The Hague, also coincided with the formal implementation that same weekend of the landmark nuclear agreement reached between Tehran, the U.S. and other global powers the summer before. 'With the nuclear deal done, prisoners released, the time was right to resolve this dispute as well,' President Barack Obama said at the White House on Jan. 17-without disclosing the $400 million cash payment. Senior U.S. officials denied any link between the payment and the prisoner exchange. They say the way the various strands came together simultaneously was coincidental, not the result of any quid pro quo... But U.S. officials also acknowledge that Iranian negotiators on the prisoner exchange said they wanted the cash to show they had gained something tangible. Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and a fierce foe of the Iran nuclear deal, accused President Barack Obama of paying 'a $1.7 billion ransom to the ayatollahs for U.S. hostages... This break with longstanding U.S. policy put a price on the head of Americans, and has led Iran to continue its illegal seizures' of Americans, he said. Since the cash shipment, the intelligence arm of the Revolutionary Guard has arrested two more Iranian-Americans. Tehran has also detained dual-nationals from France, Canada and the U.K. in recent months... The Obama administration has refused to disclose how it paid any of the $1.7 billion, despite congressional queries, outside of saying that it wasn't paid in dollars." http://on.wsj.com/2auk32H WSJ: "Iran's government on Wednesday approved new oil-field contracts designed to attract Western oil investors following the lifting of sanctions in January, an oil-ministry spokeswoman said. However, Iranian officials didn't disclose the terms of the new contracts, which have long been awaited by international oil companies that once worked there... The spokeswoman also said the terms of the new deals would still have to be approved by a parliamentary committee in charge of reconciling new legislation with old, and signed off by the assembly's speaker Ali Larijani. The contracts have been at the center of an [internal regime] struggle... [President Hassan] Rouhani's oil ministry proposed new contracts that would allow foreign oil companies to at least recoup their costs and last up to 20 years. The new deals were supposed to address concerns with the pre-sanctions contracts, called 'buybacks,' which included a fixed lump sum and, typically, a five-year deal. After pressure from hard-liners in recent weeks, Iranian officials have said that the contracts for working in some parts of the country would continue to resemble the buyback deals of the past." http://on.wsj.com/2auBkPz AP: "Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that world powers have not fulfilled their commitments under the landmark nuclear deal, harming Iranian economic growth. Speaking on state TV, Rouhani said that 'if the other party had acted properly, we would be in a better situation today.' He said Iran still cannot access its foreign assets, although it is able to export more oil and to access the international banking system. He said [the] U.S. [C]ongress, Israel and other regional countries are thwarting the implementation of the deal." http://apne.ws/2aufaqD U.S.-Iran Relations Washington Examiner: "Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's latest complaints about the nuclear agreement struck with the West last year is another threat to pull out of the deal unless President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry drum up business for the regime, according to a leading opponent of the pact. 'To President Obama and Secretary Kerry: please focus on American safety and security, not on preserving this deal at any cost,' Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., said Tuesday. 'Iran is harboring al Qaeda terrorists, taking U.S. citizens hostage and using its forces to foment destruction around the globe. Stop using U.S. taxpayer dollars to purchase goods from Iran and to license the sale of potential military tools, like aircraft. It is not your role to act as agents of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce. America's security depends on you acknowledging that this agreement has not changed Iran's behavior in any material way.' Pompeo dismissed that speech as an attempt to rattle Kerry and Obama. 'The ayatollah, and other senior Iranian leaders, continue to make clear their hostility toward the U.S. and their intention to walk away from the nuclear deal if we refuse to provide assistance beyond what is required in the agreement,' he said. 'Do not come to American taxpayers seeking additional welfare for your country, beyond the $150 billion that was, unfortunately, provided to you as part of the deal.'" http://washex.am/2aNerVq Congressional Action Washington Free Beacon: "A member of the House Intelligence Committee has launched a probe into whether a leading architect of the campaign to sell the Iran nuclear agreement last summer coordinated with the White House to mislead the media and the American public, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The inquiry is part of a larger effort by lawmakers to discern the origins of a shadow campaign that top White House officials admitted to running in order to enlist journalists and experts to boost support for the agreement. The latest probe, launched by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.), centers on Joe Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, a left-leaning foundation that quietly bankrolled a core part of the White House's campaign to sell the nuclear agreement." http://bit.ly/2ai4kZl Business Risk Reuters: "Iran's oil contracts are not yet fit for Austrian energy group OMV to invest in planned projects in the country, which hopes foreign investment will revamp its ageing oil infrastructure, OMV's chief executive told Reuters... In May, four months after most international sanctions against Iran were lifted after it agreed to shrink its nuclear programme, OMV signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Iranian Oil Company for several projects there.  said in an interview that talks to fine-tune a model contract for international oil companies have not been successful yet. 'This process is still ongoing, this is taking quite a long time... We have not yet defined a clean framework for the projects that are interesting for us,' [OMV Chief Executive Rainer] Seele said when asked how long this might take. 'We can make an investment decision only when we really know what the framework and the conditions are'... Another hurdle for OMV to start injecting fresh money into Iran, which needs $200 billion to return to pre-sanctions output levels, is an outstanding debt Iran owes OMV to reimburse it for past appraisal and exploration activities. 'If you owe me money and you're not giving it back to me and then want to proceed with me in the future, would you think that's a good combination?' Seele said of the debt linked to OMV's activities before international sanctions were imposed on Iran in 2006." http://reut.rs/2auyfsw Bloomberg: "Iran has long been wary of outside influence, especially when it comes to exploiting its natural resources. But now, the government is offering international oil companies their biggest role since 1979, when the newly-founded Islamic Republic nationalized the country's reserves. In theory, it's an attractive proposition for both sides. Iran needs oil revenue to revive its economy, the third-largest in the Middle East, which was set back by years of sanctions. Foreign companies are tempted by the potential profits that could be made even without a rebound in the price of oil. However, there are plenty of risks to investing in Iran, and the government has struggled to find a formula that can entice foreign companies without provoking nationalist outrage... Can Iran attract the top technology, hefty investments and long-term commitments it seeks? Big oil companies won't pass up Iran's fields lightly... But the list of risks is long. Business regulations in Iran are complex. Investors will have to enter a joint venture with a local partner, making it harder to comply with international anti-corruption legislation and the remaining U.S. sanctions. The government hasn't clarified whether it will agree to bring disputes with companies to arbitration through international tribunals such as the International Court of Arbitration. Longer-term contracts will offer more opportunity to exploit difficult fields but will also lock investors into an unpredictable environment. Elections in May 2017 could see Rouhani replaced with a more protectionist candidate. In an extreme case, political shifts in Iran or the U.S. could undermine the nuclear deal and bring back sanctions." http://bloom.bg/2aBvsiz Sanctions Relief Reuters: "India's July oil imports from Iran rose by over a fifth from June, surging to its highest level in five months as two state- run refiners resumed shipments from Tehran after a gap of years, preliminary tanker arrival data obtained by Reuters show. Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum, India's second- and third-biggest state-owned refiners respectively, halted Iranian oil imports after western sanctions against Tehran's nuclear programme barred insurance cover for plants processing Iranian oil... India's oil imports from Iran for the fiscal year that began in April are set to surge to a seven-year high, with the nation's state-owned and private refiners together buying at least 400,000 bpd... Indian Oil Corp, the country's biggest refiner, was the top buyer of Iranian oil in July, shipping in about 158,000 bpd oil, while Essar Oil slipped to the No. 2 position with 126,300 bpd, the data showed." http://reut.rs/2ai2s2L Human Rights AP: "A British-Iranian woman held in Iran for months over accusations she planned the "soft toppling" of the government while visiting relatives with her young daughter has appeared in court for the first time, her family said Tuesday. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, will be tried by Judge Abolghassem Salavati in Tehran's Revolutionary Court, her husband said. Salavati is known for his tough sentences and has heard other politically charged cases, including where he sentenced Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian to prison. Zaghari-Ratcliffe's first hearing was Monday and she was to present the name of her lawyer Tuesday for approval, husband Richard Ratcliffe said in a statement. No trial date has been set and the exact charges she faces remain unclear. Since Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, hard-liners in the Islamic Republic have seized a number of dual nationals visiting the country and accused them of a variety of security-related charges." http://apne.ws/2aNtjne Domestic Politics AP: "Iran's official IRNA news agency is reporting that authorities have arrested a hard-line theorist for criticizing the Iranian army... Hassan Abbasi, the head of the Centre for Doctrinal Strategic Studies, a think-tank, was arrested on charges of 'spreading lies' and 'creating an atmosphere of skepticism about the armed forces.' In a video published on social media networks in Iran, Abbasi, who calls himself the 'Kissinger of Islam,' criticizes the army for inaction, particularly when it comes to social and political issues. He later appeared in a military court, and defended his remarks. They drew strong condemnation from the army and the powerful hard-line military group, the Revolutionary Guards." http://wapo.st/2azTLgB         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.