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TOP STORIES
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin signaled on Wednesday the
U.S. may impose "very strong" sanctions on Iran as President
Donald Trump seeks to renegotiate a multinational accord that curbs the
Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Mnuchin, testifying before a House
appropriations subcommittee, said there will be "primary and
secondary sanctions" against Iran, referring to penalties for the
country itself and entities that do business with it. Speaking to
reporters after the hearing, Mnuchin said he was referring both to a
possible fresh round of sanctions, as well as the return of previous
sanctions that have been periodically waived as part of the nuclear deal.
All this week panicked Iranians have gathered in throngs
outside banks and other financial businesses hoping to buy dollars, as
the government seeks to head off a collapse in the rial, the national
currency. But they have met with nothing but frustration, told there were
no dollars or other currencies for them to buy at the official government
rate. In an effort to stop the run on foreign exchange, the government
has forbidden anyone from holding more than the equivalent of $10,000 in
dollars or euros, which account for most of the foreign exchange in Iran.
Long on a downward path, the rial plunged this week, losing 35 percent of
its value against the dollar and hitting what has been widely described
as a record low.
UANI IN THE NEWS
For it to be effective for the people of Syria on a
humanitarian basis, as President Trump has gone to, but also to make
clear to the Russians and the Iranians [that] we're not going to sit back
and let them come in and dominate the region, this strike by the United States-and,
hopefully, allies-has to be stronger than it was last year and probably
be more sustained.
NUCLEAR DEAL
A decision by U.S. President Donald Trump not to renew
sanctions relief for Iran on May 12 would not necessarily mean the United
States had withdrawn from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, U.S. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday.
SYRIA, RUSSIA, ISRAEL & IRAN
President Trump is threatening to launch missile strikes
against Syria to punish President Bashar al-Assad's government for a
suspected April 7 chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb. But Mr.
Trump's pick of targets is complicated by the presence of Russian troops
and Iranian militias, who are supporting Mr. Assad's forces in Syria's
seven-year civil war.
"We know that we're alone in this fight," a very
senior source in the Israeli defense establishment told Al-Monitor this
week. "Still, we have no choice but to carry on." The April 4
phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US
President Donald Trump made it clear to the Israeli leadership that "the
friendliest president to Israel ever" has no plans to change his
strategic decision to withdraw US forces from Syria and leave the arena
to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reportedly, Netanyahu did try to
explain to Trump what the implications of such a withdrawal would be. But
according to Israeli sources informed about the content of the call,
while Trump expressed his understanding of the Israeli position, he made
it clear to Netanyahu that he will not change his mind.
In a phone call, Russian President Vladimir Putin and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned each other about the
repercussions of actions related to Iran's presence in Syria.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday warned
archenemy Iran not to test Israel amid escalating regional tensions as
the country marked its Holocaust Remembrance Day in memory of the 6
million Jews systematically killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators
during World War II.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Monday praised his close
relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and emphasized that
Tehran and Moscow should continue their cooperation in Syria until the
complete establishment of security and stability in the war-torn country,
the Iranian media reported.
The top adviser to Iran's supreme leader said on Wednesday
that Tehran would support Damascus against any foreign aggression, state
TV reported, in an apparent response to U.S. President Donald Trump's
comments about a possible military strike on Syria.
Threats by some Western states to attack Syria are
"based on lies after the liberation of eastern Ghouta", Ali
Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said
on Thursday, Syrian state media reported.
Tehran continues to maintain significant drone forces at a
base in western Syria, giving them dangerously easy access to the Israeli
border and raising the risk of escalation.
While conservative outlets generally opine that a US
military attack on Syria is likely, Reformist media and figures are
urging Iranian officials to be cautious in case a war erupts. Javan
newspaper, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps, believes that the United States is preparing itself for a strike
on Syria.
ECONOMIC WARFARE
The Iranian rial plummeted this weekend to a record low of
58,880 to the dollar. Usually, economic surprises are what drive a
currency aggressively downward. But not this time. Rather, it was in
large part a response to the news that President Trump selected John
Bolton as his national security advisor. Since last month's
announcement, the rial has lost 20 percent of its value, almost 15
percent of it in just the recent days. This week, as Bolton assumes his
new role, the Iranian market fears the U.S. will pivot to more aggressive
policies aimed at curbing Iran's regional expansionism. The president
should exploit this fear of his hawkish new advisor as his administration
works to fix the flawed nuclear deal of 2015.
SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT
An international banker charged in the U.S. with laundering
more than $100 million for an Iranian construction company
"grossly" understated his net worth, prosecutors said in
opposing his request to be freed on bail before a trial.
ECONOMIC NEWS
Iranian authorities have arrested 12 foreign exchange
traders accused of illicit dealings, in the government's latest response
to the plunging value of the national currency against the dollar.
Essar Oil still owes about 500 million euros in payments for
previous purchases of Iranian crude after having paid about 2 billion
euros in outstanding dues, Chief Executive B. Anand said on Thursday.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
With international attention focused on the escalating
tension in Syria, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen today fired
several ballistic missiles at military and civilian targets in Saudi
Arabia, Iranian and Saudi media outlets reported... Saudi officials said
the country's air defense systems successfully intercepted all Houthi
missiles originating from Yemen.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The European Union extended sanctions on Iran over human
rights violations on Thursday, as the bloc prepared for a clash over
whether to impose a new set of penalties in the hope of safeguarding a
nuclear deal with the Islamic republic.
An official decision to grant unfiltered Internet access to
100 handpicked reporters in Iran threatens to backfire, with journalists
and editors blasting it as discriminatory and a transparent effort to
curry media favor beyond the already extensive reach of state censors.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Tehran's Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi has once again resigned a
few hours after Prosecutor-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri threatened
him to step down. Montazeri on April 9 called the city council's
rejection of Najafi's first resignation "political" and told
the Mayor to resign again... Some of the council members said on Sunday
that Najafi had resigned under political pressure, although he had
mentioned "illness" as the reason. Montazeri called the
council's rejection of Najafi's resignation "an act of treason,"
adding that the council should be held accountable if the ailing mayor
fails to fulfill his responsibilities... Previously, several Iranian news
websites reported "the IRGC Intelligence Organization exerted
pressure on Najafi to resign." Najafi has repeatedly spoken about
"widespread illegal actions at the Tehran Municipality" under
former conservative Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.
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