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TOP STORIES
A week after it was announced that French carmaker
Peugeot-Citroen had left the Iranian market, Japan's Mazda and South
Korean Hyundai have also suspended contracts with Iran, according to
a member of the parliamentary Industries and Mines Commission.
Austria's Oberbank will withdraw from Iran because of
increased risk for European companies in light of potential U.S.
sanctions, it said on Wednesday.
Iranian authorities on Wednesday jailed a prominent
human rights lawyer who has defended women who removed their
mandatory Islamic head scarves in public. Nasrin Sotoudeh was
arrested at her home by unidentified agents and taken to Evin Prison
in Tehran, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, an
advocacy group. Her husband, Reza Khandan, said the agents told him
she must serve a five-year sentence but did not say on what charges
she was being detained, the group said. Separately, state media
reported that Farhad Jafari, a well known writer in the city of
Mashhad, was arrested 12 days ago for supporting "the girls of
Enghelab Avenue," near the Tehran square where, in December, a
woman removed her headscarf in protest of modesty laws that require
Iranian women to cover their hair.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran will begin uranium enrichment at its Fordow plant
and will install new nuclear equipment at its Natanz facility if it
withdraws from a nuclear deal with major powers, the spokesman for
the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said.
The Trump administration's withdrawal from the Iran
nuclear deal and a subsequent speech by Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo have engendered a range of responses: Some welcomed the new
hard line, but most expressed concern and criticism. Critics have
accused the administration of calling for war or regime change;
others have denounced its strategy as unrealistic. In actuality,
though, the Trump administration's approach has a reasonable chance
of succeeding with Iran.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
The White House is moving to defend U.S. President
Donald Trump's deal allowing Chinese telecom giant ZTE to stay in
business despite violating sanctions against Iran and North Korea.
OPEC nation Iran said it expects the group to stick with
its pact to restrain oil supply as world markets don't need more
crude. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its
partners will meet next week and debate whether to restore output
halted last year. Saudi Arabia and Russia have said it's time to
reverse the cuts and appear to have begun reviving supplies, but face
opposition from Iran, Iraq and Venezuela.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in
South Africa yesterday to discuss ways of expanding bilateral ties,
Iranian media reported... Zarif is accompanied by a senior trade
delegation that includes representatives both from the government and
private sectors.
SYRIA, RUSSIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said he needs the
assistance of Iranian and Hizballah forces in Syria and they will
stay for as long as they deem necessary.
The Hezbollah terror group is refusing a Russian request
that it evacuate sites along the Syria-Lebanon border, according to
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Iranian President Hassan defended Iran's growing
military presence in Syria, claiming that the Islamic Republic was
engaged in "fighting terrorism."
Senior officials from Iran, Russia and Turkey will meet
in Geneva on June 18-19 for consultations with the United Nations
about setting up a constitutional committee for Syria, U.N. Syria
envoy Staffan de Mistura said in a statement on Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused
Iranian-backed militias in Syria of fueling sectarian tensions and
divisions in the war-torn country.
Russia's engagement with Israel and the United States on
Syria does not pose a direct threat against Iran, and could even turn
out to be beneficial for Tehran in several aspects.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Like so many people around the world, I am excitedly
preparing for this year's World Cup. But as an Iranian woman now
living in America, I know this year will be different. It will be
first time in my life that I'll be able to enjoy the games freely, in
public, wearing whatever I want with whomever I please.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
An open letter addressed to two-time president
(1997-2005) and Reformist icon Mohammad Khatami, urging him to
salvage the political movement that he pioneered in 1997, has been
signed by 100 Iranian activists.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
A Saudi-led alliance of Arab states launched an attack
on Yemen's main port city on Wednesday in the largest battle of the
Yemen war, aiming to bring the ruling Houthi movement to its knees at
the risk of worsening the world's biggest humanitarian crisis... So
far, the Arab states have not tried to capture such a heavily
defended major city since joining the war three years ago against the
Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the capital, Sanaa, and most of the
populated areas.
IRAQ, TURKEY & IRAN
As Iraq's fragmented political forces negotiate how to
form a new government following last month's elections, two issues
loom large. Will Iraq's recent policy of carefully balancing ties
with Iran and its rivals, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia-an approach
championed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi-survive in a new
political environment? And will Iraq's new government be able to take
painful steps to jump-start economic reforms, eliminating inefficient
subsidies and dismantling corrupt patronage networks that stifle
development?
Turkey is in contact with Iran about conducting a
possible military operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
militants in the northern Iraq region of Qandil, close to the Iranian
border, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
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