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Despite hopes of a new dawn for Iran's economy after nuclear-related
sanctions were lifted, major Western banks are reluctant to do business
with the Islamic republic for fear of US retribution. President Hassan
Rouhani has said that to reach the target of eight-percent growth needed
to modernise the industrial sector and relaunch the hobbled economy, Iran
needs up to $50 billion in foreign investment every year. But without the
big foreign banks, that looks impossible. "For the moment, the
little European banks have agreed to work with us," said Parviz
Aghili, head of the private Middle East Bank in Tehran. They include
banks from Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, he said
without naming them. "But not a single medium-sized or big bank has
so far agreed to do it," he added... The limited number of
institutions that do deal with the Islamic republic include Raiffeisen
Bank and Erste Bank from Austria, Mediobanca and Banco Popolare of Italy,
Germany's EIH, KfW and AKA banks, Belgium's KBC, ING of the Netherlands
and Turkey's Halk, according to a banking expert in Tehran. "These
banks have established working relations with the Iranian banks to open
letters of credit for fairly small sums of 10, 20 or 50 million
dollars." But they lack the resources to finance big projects like
the deal struck between Iran and European aircraft manufacturer Airbus
for 118 airplanes, or oil and gas development projects, the expert said.
US
sees 'disturbing trend' as Iran threatens planes | AFP
The United States warned of "disturbing trends" in Iran's
behavior Tuesday after Tehran's military threatened to down two US Navy
planes over the Strait of Hormuz. Some in Washington had hoped Iran's
regime would show a warmer face to the world after this year's nuclear
deal, but a US official admitted this has not been the case. Asked about
Iran's military provocations, its ballistic missile tests and its
detention of US citizens, State Department spokesman Mark Toner
acknowledged concern. "We have seen some disturbing, as you cited,
trends," he said, adding of the threat to the planes, "we have
seen a succession of these events over the past month or so."
Ahmadinejad
Ally In Rare Apology for 2009 Iran Protest Deaths | Bloomberg News
A close ally of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has issued a
rare public apology to the families of three men who died in detention
during mass protests over the disputed presidential election of 2009.
"I sincerely apologize and express my regret and sorrow,"
Tehran's ex-chief prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi said in a letter presented
to an appeals court on Sunday, and published by the semi-official Tasnim
news agency. The letter, addressed to judges, offered an apology to
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian people and the
families of the three who died in police custody at Kahrizak prison on
the outskirts of the capital seven years ago. Mortazavi was arrested in
2013 on charges linking him to the deaths. He was disbarred from the law
and politics in December 2014.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Poll:
60 Percent Would Stop Buying From Companies Dealing With Iran | Newsmax
Sixty percent of American voters said they would stop buying products
from a company that did business with Iran - and 70 percent said it was
very important for firms to disclose any dealings with Tehran, according
to survey results released Tuesday. The poll of 1,000 registered voters -
Republicans, Democrats and Independents - was conducted by United Against
Nuclear Iran. The nonprofit, nonpartisan, education and advocacy group
was founded in 2008 to oppose the Iran nuclear deal. The organization is
chaired by former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. The survey also found
56 percent of respondents said they would sell their stock in companies
that conducted business with Iran and invest it elsewhere. Voters also
said only the Islamic State and al-Qaida were bigger national security
threats to the United States outside of a nuclear Tehran. Here are some
of the survey's key findings.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
Hatch
wants more answers from Treasury on Iran payment | Politico
Sen. Orrin Hatch asked the Treasury Department's inspector general on
Tuesday to provide proof that none of a $1.7 billion cash settlement
delivered to Iran earlier this year was paid to individuals or entities
that support terrorism. Acting in his capacity as chairman of the Senate
Finance Committee, Hatch (R-Utah) wrote to Treasury Department Inspector
General Eric Thorson, seeking answers to seven specific questions about
the controversial cash payment. Beyond seeking evidence that the U.S.
payment did not go towards the funding of terrorism, Hatch's letter also
seeks to clarify who ultimately received the payments and if they
complied with department protocol.
BUSINESS RISK
MTN
Gains After Raising $1.3 Billion of Loans Before Bond Sale | Bloomberg
News
The wireless operator is also struggling to repatriate 15.4 billion rand
tied up in its Iranian unit... MTN remains confident it will be able to
move money out of Iran "in the short to medium term," the
company said on Tuesday. It is in the process of putting in place
"the appropriate governance structures to facilitate the
repatriation of funds," it said. The process has been more complex
than it initially thought because Iran doesn't have ties with
international banks, MTN's outgoing Chief Financial Officer Brett Goschen
said at the company's first-half results presentation on Aug. 5.
"Every week we are getting a little bit closer, but it will take us
at least five to six months to get the money out once we start the first
tranche." MTN expects to start moving the funds out of Iran during
the first half of 2017, according to Goschen.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
Iran
oil terminal offers Japan priority deals as a 'thank you' for support |
Kyodo News
Prison has taken a huge toll on Nazanin. Her hair is falling out, she has
lost weight and is now struggling to walk. Richard believes the
psychological trauma is even greater though, especially the effects of
interrogation. Nazanin hasn't talked about being questioned as there's a
guard listening to her conversations, but Richard has spoken to former
detainees about their methods: "They isolate you, blindfold you, put
a bag over your head and make you face the wall. There are two or three
interrogators and the most senior you'll never see. He'll only ever be a
voice. They question you relentlessly, and go through all your personal
emails to build a case." Visits from Gabriella and her parents have
"kept Nazanin sane", Richard adds. Sleep is Nazanin's only
other sanctuary: "She says, I hate being woken up because when I'm
dreaming, I'm with Gabriella and sometimes with you. When she wakes, she
remembers where she is."
Hard-line
Iranian judge dismisses lawyer of Canadian prisoner Homa Hoodfar |
Toronto Star
The outlook for release of Montreal anthropologist Homa Hoodfar from
Iran's Evin prison darkened Tuesday with news that a hard-line judge has
dismissed her lawyer and chosen another to represent her without her
consent. "This seems to be standard procedure for this judge, who
has been violating many laws," said Hoodfar's niece, Amanda
Ghahremani, speaking from Montreal. "He's denied access to her
lawyers, her family, she is in solitary confinement and has not been
moved to a general ward. Her health is our biggest concern." The
judge, Abolqasem Salvati, known for earlier draconian verdicts, has presided
over high profile cases of Iranian-born journalist Jason Rezaian,
Canadian permanent resident Mostafa Azizi and Iranian-British charity
worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was sentenced last week to five
years in prison.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Iran's
Plan to Lure Big Oil | Amir Handjani in Bloomberg News
Far away from the bloody Syrian conflict and continuing rancor of the
Iran nuclear deal, influential policymakers in Tehran are debating the
future of the country's energy resources. They know Iran needs vastly
increased foreign investment to revive its ailing economy after years of
international sanctions and economic isolation. President Hassan Rouhani
and his oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, have come up with a master
plan to reverse decades of indifference from Western majors. But the
question for them, and the giant global oil companies they want to
entice, is whether pressure from Tehran's hardliners and potential
blowback from the U.S. government will make investing in Iran's oil
fields too risky a bet for foreigners to undertake... But perhaps the
biggest issue is that, despite nuclear-related sanctions being lifted on
Iran, prime European banks such as BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and UBS
have been skittish about financing projects for fear of falling afoul of
remaining secondary U.S. sanctions on Iran's economy and banking sector.
Will these injunctions have a similar chilling effect on energy majors
such as Shell, BP and Total? Will the risks associated with
investing and working in Iran be worth the reward?
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@uani.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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