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TOP STORIES
As President Donald Trump considers whether to certify
to Congress the controversial 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, word that
the United Nations' nuclear watchdog can't verify a crucial part of
the agreement could tip the scales with time running out by the
middle of next month. U.S. Ambassador to
the U.N. Nikki Haley indicated Thursday that Russia was shielding
Iran by blocking the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from
verifying part of the deal... under a requirement from Congress,
Trump must choose whether to certify the deal by October 15.
The United States says it is adding Iran to the list of
countries it accuses of failing to crack down on human trafficking
and that it has increased restrictions against Russia, which was
already on the list.
Afghan immigrant children as young as 14 are being
recruited in Iran to fight - and die - in Syria, a prominent human
rights organization said Sunday... Iran is home to many Afghans, who
have traveled there to work or as refugees fleeing conflict in their
country. Human rights groups have long expressed concern that
vulnerable Afghan refugees are being pressured by the Iranian
authorities to fight in Syria.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said
[President Trump not issuing another certification regarding the Iran
nuclear deal] could also corral Iranian negotiators. "My own
feeling is that it will take more than a threat of decertification to
get the Iranians back to the table," Lieberman told the
Washington Examiner on the day of Trump's UN speech. "My guess
is, we're going to have to actually decertify."
IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
The main facilitators of the 2015 accord on Iran's
nuclear program, slammed as the worst deal ever by U.S. President
Donald Trump, could be among the top contenders for this year's Nobel
Peace Prize, according to researchers who predict potential winners.
Federica Mogherini, the European Union's foreign affairs chief, and
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, are the best
candidates because they convened the process that ended with the
easing of sanctions against Tehran in return for nuclear
restrictions...
Iran's foreign minister has said he assumes that the US
will abandon the international deal restricting his country's nuclear
activities. But Mohammad Javad Zarif said he hoped Europe would keep
the agreement alive.
Iranian diplomats say they expect President Donald Trump
to abandon the international deal restricting Tehran's nuclear
activities. They are intensifying their lobbying of European
governments, especially the signatories to the agreement, France,
Britain and Germany, hoping they can dissuade the U.S. administration
from repudiating the agreement.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
Heightened tensions between the US and Iran has raised
concerns that Tehran could organise Houthi attacks on merchant ships
passing through strategic trading routes in the Gulf. "There
will be concern over the potential of Iran being in a position to
threaten maritime traffic through the Bab el Mandeb," said Jon
Lee, an analyst at Dorian Risk Consulting. "Tensions between
Iran and the US in the Straits of Hormuz are likely to increase. By
extension, those tensions are also a concern for Saudi Arabia, the
Gulf States, and western nations who rely on the region for energy
supplies. Iran could in the near future use the Houthi as surrogates
to threaten the Bab el Mandeb as well, giving Tehran the ability to
control or influence maritime traffic through two of the most
important chokepoints in the world," said Mr Lee.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke called Iran a grave threat
on Friday, saying the administration's energy dominance plan will
help address the Mideast power's development of nuclear missiles
economically by cutting the country's oil profits. "I'm
concerned about Iran. I'm concerned about their development of
intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear capability,"
Zinke said at the Heritage Foundation. "And Iran is a grave
threat. And it is better to have options to address Iran economically
and not just militarily," he said.
SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT
If the US
reimposes sanctions on Iran's oil sector without the support of
Europe, China and Russia, it will see grudging and uneven compliance
by international energy companies and will not be able to stop crude
flows that returned to the market in 2015, according to sanctions
expert Elizabeth Rosenberg.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
The planes can carry 70 passengers and would be used in
flights over a maximum distance of 1,528 kilometers. Iran Air took
delivery of the first four ATR aircraft in May, with the rest due to
be handed over to the country by the end of 2018, including a further
three this year. Iran Air's deal with ATR that was signed in early
2017 includes options for a further 20 aircraft and a training
program for Iranian pilots and engineers.
Iran Air is to launch a new subsidiary airline to
regional countries under the title "IranAir Regional", said
the company's chief executive officer. According to Farzaneh
Sharafbafi, Iran's flag-carrier is to launch the service to
neighboring countries using the recently delivered ATR 72-600
aircrafts, Iranair.com reported. Earlier in September, Sharafbafi had
said the flag carrier had plans to use its ATR fleet in Ardebil-Baku
and Ardebil-Van flights in near future.
A commercial delegation from the Tehran Chamber of
Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture to Geneva, Switzerland,
has met with the Central European nation's parliamentary officials
among many others, who heralded a better future for Iranian-Swiss
banking ties. "Our two biggest banks are facing challenges in
working with Iran because of the stance taken by the US, but our smaller
banks are ready to have a presence in Iran," an unnamed member
of the Swiss Parliament was quoted as saying by the official news
portal of TCCIM.
RUSSIA AND IRAN
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on September
28 said Russia is trying to "shield Iran" from inspections
by the UN's nuclear watchdog of some activities that could contribute
to developing a nuclear bomb. Nikki Haley has been pushing to
increase and broaden the inspections conducted by the UN's
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is charged with
monitoring compliance with restrictions on nuclear activities that
Tehran agreed to in exchange for sanctions relief under the 2015
nuclear deal.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Facing potentially debilitating oil sanctions from the
Trump administration, the Caracas government is searching desperately
for new ways to get its most valuable commodity - oil - to awaiting
buyers. Enter Iran and Syria. The Venezuelan government is working
with Iran and Syria to start construction this year on a new refinery
in Syria that will process up to 140,000 barrels of oil per day,
according to an announcement by Iran's Research Institute of the
Petroleum Industry.
Dozens of Afghan forces are said to have been killed in
repeated insurgent attacks over the past week in western Farah
province, which borders Iran. Politicians and residents in the
province have told local media that Taliban insurgents also have
captured several security outposts in and around the Bala Buluk
district. While officials have not yet discussed battlefield details,
a provincial police spokesman told Ariana News channel Afghan forces,
backed by airpower, have killed more than 30 Taliban assailants and
destroyed a number of their military vehicles in ongoing
counteroffensives.
Iran's foreign minister [Mohammad Javid Zarif] has
arrived in Oman for a daylong visit with officials in the sultanate,
which has served as a crucial link between Iran and the U.S. in the
past... Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported that Zarif will
speak with Omani officials about the wars in Iraq, Syria and Yemen,
and other issues. Zarif is due to travel to Qatar on Tuesday. His
visit to the peninsular nation comes as four Arab nations are
boycotting Qatar over its alleged support for extremists and what
they say are Qatar's overly warm ties to Iran. Qatar denies
supporting extremists.
IRAQ CRISIS
As the United States continues its battle against
Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, some analysts believe Iran
has turned its attention to captured ISIS fighters, recruiting them
unwittingly to join militias that target U.S. interests in the region
and to instigate growing sectarian violence as the regime continues
to influence Iraq's military, political and economic affairs.
Iran has banned the transportation of refined crude oil
products by Iranian companies to and from Iraq's Kurdistan region,
the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Friday, after Tehran
vowed to stand by Baghdad following the region's vote for
independence.
Iranian and Iraqi central government forces are to hold
joint military exercises near their borders, Iran's state television
reported on Saturday, as part of Tehran's effort to support Baghdad
after the Kurdish independence referendum. State television quoted a
military spokesman as saying the decision to hold the war games was
taken at a meeting of Iranian military commanders which also
"agreed on measures to establish border security and receive
Iraqi forces that are to be stationed at border posts".
OPINION & ANALYSIS
The U.S. must articulate a coherent and comprehensive
strategy to contain Iranian expansion within Syria. Such a strategy
must be backed by credible deterrence to ensure that hard-won gains
of former ISIS territory not fall into the hands of the
Assad-Russia-Iran-Hezbollah axis. It should also seek to bolster the
capacity of the Arab and Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces to hold
territory. Finally, the U.S. should consider designating the entirety
of the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization, and in particular
should target IRGC entities engaged in war profiteering in Syria as a
means of staunching the IRGC's attempted takeover of Syria.
Iranian diplomats can reassure with calm words, but in
the Islamic Republic it's the Supreme Leader and the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps who call the shots and direct policy. And
yes, that goes for nuclear policy as well. That is why it is so
important that the International Atomic Energy Agency, if it is to
retain any credibility, not shy away from inspecting Iranian military
sites where weapons design and warhead work might be ongoing.
I have no idea what the president will do - he is far
too erratic to be predictable - but I can offer my own viewpoint as
someone who opposed the Iran deal because I thought it was too
lenient. The deal did not end Iran's nuclear program but merely
suspended it for a decade, and it did not address Iran's other
regional threats, namely its sponsorship of terrorism and development
of ballistic missiles. And yet I would not recommend pulling out of
the deal now - not when the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose
inspectors monitor 27 separate sites, has certified that Iran is in compliance.
Instead of nuking the nuclear deal, the United States should take
other steps to check the growth of Iranian influence. Instead of
nuking the nuclear deal, the United States should take other steps to
check the growth of Iranian influence.
Iran's Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari said today that
the country's naval forces will unveil its new domestically-built
naval assets this year and will also extend their area and scope of
operations beyond the Persian Gulf region.
The deputy chief commander of the Islamic Revolution
Guards (I.R.G.C.), Brigadier General Hossein Salami, said on Thursday
that the Trump administration will not be able to seek
A senior Iraqi delegation arrived in Tehran on Wednesday
to coordinate "joint military efforts" between the two
countries. According to the Iranian media reported, Lieutenant
General Othman al-Ghanmi, the chief of staff of Iraqi Armed Forces,
and his Iranian counterpart Major General Mohammad Bagheri discussed
two key issues: joint counterterrorism measures along the two
countries' common frontier and how to respond to the Iraqi
Kurdistan's push for independence.
A spokesman of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces
(P.M.F.) has said that the paramilitary forces will "not rush to
a civil war sought by" Iraqi Kurdistan's President Masoud
Barzani, but cautioned that P.M.F. forces will not "allow the
separatists to take the Kurds from their Iraqi brothers."
In an interview with Lebanese al-Mayadeen news outlet, Ahmad
al-Assadi stressed that the Baghdad government and P.M.F. forces
should take all necessary measures to recapture Kirkuk Province, which
has been under the control of Kurdish Peshmerga forces since the
emergence of the Islamic State in 2014. Assadi particularly
emphasized on seizing regions in Kirkuk where most of the oil fields
are located. The P.M.F. spokesman further noted that the paramilitary
forces are present near Kirkuk to assist the Hawija offensive and are
ready to carry out any mission ordered by the Baghdad government.
Christian believers inside Iran - and especially
converts from Islam - face their own troublesome news reports. Accounts
of human rights abuses under Iran's radical mullahs persist. Since
1999, Iran has been declared a "Country of Particular
Concern" by the United States State Department. "During the
past year [2016], the government of Iran engaged in systematic, ongoing,
and egregious violations of religious freedom, including prolonged
detention, torture, and executions based primarily or entirely upon
the religion of the accused..."
"We are the obstacle hindering the Iranian project
in the region," as one informed Kurdish source put it. "The
Kurdish leaders have refused to allow Kurdish areas to be corridors
for Iranian weapons shipments to Syria." This is why the US
position was shocking to the Kurds, as it effectively endorsed Iran's
projects in Iraq. "They proved their loyalty to their biggest
ally, Iran, despite their claims that it is a threat to their friends
and that it is a sponsor of terror." The Kurds are apprehensive
that Iraq will be dominated by Iran, and they feel marginalized and
excluded. They perceive the US, Turkish, Iranian, and Iraqi reactions
to their vote as unfair and unjust.
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