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TOP STORIES
Iran's nuclear chief on Wednesday inaugurated the
Islamic Republic's new nuclear enrichment facility that is geared
toward producing centrifuges which will operate within the limits of
the nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers... In the interview,
[he] said the facility's construction began even before the 2015 deal
was signed and that he hopes the first centrifuges - known as
old-generation centrifuges - will roll out in a month's time.
Iran will not heed a call to cooperate more fully with
U.N. nuclear inspectors until a standoff over the future of its
agreement with major powers is resolved, its envoy to the agency said
on Wednesday. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is
policing the restrictions placed on Iran's activities under the deal,
has said Tehran is implementing its commitments, but also called for
"timely and proactive cooperation" on providing access for
snap inspections.
Boeing will not deliver aircraft to Iran in light of US
sanctions, effectively aborting a pair of large contracts with
Iranian carriers, a Boeing spokesman said Wednesday.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
The star of a live television interview in Iran's new
nuclear workshop wasn't the head of the country's atomic agency, but
three centrifuges labeled in English in the background, advanced
devices Tehran is prohibited from using by the nuclear deal with world
powers. The placement of the centrifuges, identified as IR-2M, IR-4
and IR-6, may have served as a subtle warning to Europe as it tries
to salvage the atomic accord after President Donald Trump's decision
to withdraw from it and restore U.S. sanctions.
Experts from the countries still in the Iran nuclear
deal were holding a scheduled meeting in Tehran Thursday, with the
accord hanging in the balance after the United States withdrew.
Iran, China and Russia may seek ways to salvage the
nuclear deal ditched by Donald Trump when their leaders meet this
weekend at a summit on the Chinese coast.
Iran - along with the EU, China and Russia - wants to
keep the accord to remove the stigma surrounding its nuclear program
and put the Islamic Republic on a path toward reintegration into the
global economy. But large businesses, including energy, shipping and
manufacturing firms, are already winding down operations in the
country and will have to terminate their investments absent a waiver.
To stop this trend, Iran has responded by leveraging fear, stating
its intent to incrementally increase its nuclear capacity so that
European politicians, banks and businesses provide Iran with
sufficient incentives to abide by the deal. However, it's not clear
how successful Europe's initial efforts have been, as most banks
remain risk-averse.
The United States is aware of reports that Iran plans to
increase its uranium enrichment capacity and Washington will not
allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo said on Wednesday.
On June 5, 2018, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization
(AEOI) head Ali Akbar Salehi told Fars News Agency that Iran would
soon start new centrifuge production at a site in the Natanz
enrichment complex... If it has not done so recently, the IAEA will
surely want to visit this site in light of Salehi's announcement and
Iran's recent letter to the IAEA and ascertain its status,
activities, and plans. It is important to note that the existence of
this facility has likely been known and it has likely been
safeguarded by the IAEA; its start is also not against Iran's JCPOA
obligations. Recent Iranian announcements, however, could mark a
return to pushing against the JCPOA provisions and signal that Iran
is increasing pressure on the parties to the JCPOA to maintain the
accord in the face of U.S. withdrawal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting
opposition in European capitals to his aggressive stance against
Iran.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
U.S. officials are touring the globe to pressure
countries to shun trade with Iran following Washington's withdrawal
from a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, a move that
undermines European efforts to save the accord, sources said.
European refiners are winding down oil purchases from
Iran, closing the door on a fifth of the OPEC member's crude exports
after the United States imposed sanctions on Tehran, company and
trading sources said.
France's FIEV car equipment lobby group has canceled a
July trip to Iran in light of current tensions between the United
States and other European powers over a 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Procter & Gamble Co. confirmed today that the
company plans to stop selling products in Iran as a result of
President Donald Trump pulling the United States out of an agreement
to limit Tehran's ability to develop nuclear weapons.
When President Trump announced the return of U.S.
sanctions on Iran almost one month ago on May 8, there was a great
deal of skepticism about how many global businesses would cease
operations in Iran or with Iranian agents... Despite the statements
from European and Asian leaders in support of Iran, it seems that
America's economic weight is too great to ignore. Businesses of all
types, ranging from insurance companies to car manufacturers to
shipping companies are now announcing that they will cease business
with Iran or in Iran because of U.S. sanctions. Here's a list
of some of the larger companies that have announced exits or plans to
exit Iran..
The United States has reached a deal with Chinese
telecommunications giant ZTE Corp. that includes a $1 billion fine,
according to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The fine comes on top of
the roughly $1 billion ZTE has already paid for selling equipment to
North Korea and Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.
ZTE, the Chinese telecommunications company trying to
resolve a seven-year US export ban, has sent out reprimand letters to
35 current and former employees involved in illegal sales to Iran and
is seeking to claw back bonuses from those who have left the company,
according to people familiar with the matter. The reprimand and
forfeiture of bonuses were part of the original settlement that ZTE
had reached with the US government.
Iraq and Iran have not yet begun exchanging crude oil,
for technical reasons, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on
Wednesday, contradicting Iran's oil ministry news agency. Iraq agreed
last year to ship crude from the northern Kirkuk oil field to Iran
for use in its refineries, after which Iran would deliver the same
amount of oil to Iraq's southern ports.
When President Trump announced last month that America
would leave the global nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose U.S.
sanctions, Europe's leaders vowed to create financial mechanisms that
would enable their firms to do business with Tehran and protect them
from U.S. financial retaliation... [But], there are growing signs
that side-stepping America is easier said than done. One big bank or
business after another, European or otherwise, is choosing continued
ties to the U.S. economy over new trade and investment opportunities
with the Islamic Republic. That decision reflects a basic reality:
however much President Trump rankles world leaders by abandoning
global pacts and questioning long-held orthodoxies on trade and other
issues, America's economy remains simply too big and too enticing to
keep the United States truly isolated.
NORTH KOREA & IRAN
The scars from the contentious congressional debate over
the Iran nuclear deal are spurring lawmakers to press for a role in
President Trump's talks with North Korea.
SYRIA, RUSSIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
The night before his trip to Europe ends, political
sources in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's entourage said that
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and
British Prime Minister Theresa May had agreed that Iranian forces
should be removed from Syria and that the goal "had been
significantly advanced."
Israel's navy successfully completed a complex training
program last week led by a flotilla of missile boats, including both
defensive and offensive attacks at sea, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit
announced Wednesday... Hezbollah is believed to have long-range
missiles, including precision ballistic missiles received from Iran,
which can hit the rigs and ships inside [Israel's exclusive economic
zone] that are the responsibility of the navy. "We believe that
Hezbollah has the ability to strike any spot in our waters," [a]
senior naval officer stated.
In recent months, Israel bombed Iranian objectives
inside Syria several times. Iran absorbed casualties, serious damage
and international humiliation. Iran is eager for revenge, but what
can it do? Does Iran want to go to war?
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
In a new onslaught on moderate President Hassan Rouhani,
former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attacked the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the signature foreign policy
achievement of the incumbent administration.
Iran's official IRNA news agency says hackers have
disrupted the arrival and departure monitors in the Tabriz
international airport in the country's northwest... Last month,
hackers identifying themselves as "Tapandegan", or
"Pulsating," managed to interrupt routine broadcasts on
monitors in Mashhad international airport, replacing them with images
of anti-government protests from January.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Yemen's Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Yamani has called on
the United States for cooperation to thwart any attempt of a new
Hezbollah being formed in Yemen, which would threaten security and
stability in the region. Al-Yamani said, during his meeting in Riyadh
with the US Ambassador to Yemen Matthew H. Tueller, that his government
supports the United States position towards the Iranian regime and
rejects its "intervention and its absurd agenda" in the
region.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
The Al-Nasser Salah Al-Din Brigades, the military branch
of the Popular Resistance [Committees], marked the upcoming
International Qods Day by conducting a military drill. Abu Yousuf, a
spokesman for the Brigades, expressed "blessings, appreciation,
and gratitude to Iran" and called upon Arab and Islamic
countries to follow the example set by Hizbullah and Iran.
IRAQ & IRAN
A senior United Arab Emirates (UAE) official said in
remarks published on Thursday that Iraq's parliamentary election, won
by a block led by nationalist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, was a setback
for Iran's regional ambitions.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
No one here believes the fight is over. Nearly three
weeks after hundreds of Taliban insurgents invaded this provincial
capital in western Afghanistan, the sidewalk bazaars are back in
business... but a Humvee or armored vehicle stands guard every two blocks...
Even as Afghan officials last week put on an impressive display of
weapons confiscated during the 36-hour street battle, some complained
that arms are being sold back to the insurgents, that political feuds
are weakening the government's side, and that Iran - which shares a
lengthy border with the province - is backing and advising the
Taliban.
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