Monday, July 30, 2018

Eye on Iran: U.S. Probes Web of Businesses for Ties to Alleged Hezbollah Supporters



   EYE ON IRAN
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TOP STORIES


U.S. intelligence officials are probing a transcontinental network of real-estate, weapons and electronic firms for ties to two Lebanese men blacklisted for their alleged support of terrorist group Hezbollah, according to people familiar with the matter.


Iran's rial tumbled to another historic low, resisting government efforts to shore up the economy as the restoration of U.S. sanctions looms. In an effort to signal they're taking action to fight corruption and cushion the blow of the U.S. economic offensive, authorities have rounded up more than two dozen merchants who they say exploited government currency measures for personal gain.


The Trump administration is quietly pushing ahead with a bid to create a new security and political alliance with six Gulf Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, in part to counter Iran's expansion in the region, according to U.S. and Arab officials. The White House wants to see deeper cooperation between the countries on missile defense, military training, counter-terrorism and other issues such as strengthening regional economic and diplomatic ties, four sources said.

UANI IN THE NEWS


Although [Iran Quds Force Commander Qassem] Soleimani was likely aiming his posturing, in part, at Iran's domestic hardliner audience and external proxies, this incident shows that Iran's campaign of defiance is escalating as sanctions inexorably roll out. Soleimani, Iran's Supreme Leader, and Iran's President have all recently made statements against the United States to which President Trump has responded harshly. The comments from Soleimani also may signify that Tehran is seeking to elicit a bellicose response from the United States to bolster its domestic anti-American narrative as well as to gain sympathy from Europe, which tends to overlook Iran's rhetoric as revolutionary hot air common at Iran's many political events.


And if you have [the Bab-el-Mandeb], and the Straight of Hormuz, if you're Iran, you have about 46 percent of all the oil floating every day so it's a powerful incentive for Iran to remain involved this area, and that's why it's critical that the United States support the Saudis and the Emirates in maintaining the freedom of global trade in that area.

NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM


Iran will likely have to agree to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization in any future deal with the United States, just like North Korea, a top diplomatic official signaled Friday. "Nothing in the conduct of foreign policy is ever done in a vacuum," Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Dr. Yleem D.S. Poblete, told an audience in Washington.

SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS


Iran plans to offer price and tax incentives to private investors to take over idle state projects and help boost the economy, state media reported on Saturday, as the country faces likely U.S. sanctions and the exit of many foreign companies.


MMK (MAGN.MM), one of Russia's largest steel producers, has postponed the launch of a lucrative project in Turkey due to uncertainty created by global trade wars... Tariffs are not the only Trump policy to affect MMK's strategy. The steelmaker has also stopped deliveries to Iran... against the backdrop of new sanctions Washington has promised to impose on Tehran...  [S]teel traders told Reuters earlier this month that Russian metals firms were cutting back on sales to Iran for fear, at least in part, of falling foul of the sanctions.


American victims of terror attacks have filed a civil action against the European Investment Bank (EIB) for continuing their financial ties with the Iranian regime.


Saudi Arabia agreed to build a solar power plant and sell the electricity to Iraq at a steep discount to supplies the war-torn country previously bought from the kingdom's regional arch-rival Iran. 


While Iran would prefer EU help when it comes to relief from US sanctions, Moscow might be better suited to this role than the Europeans.


Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh is imposing four-year term limits for all top oil managers at state-run energy companies, with the rule taking effect in October. 


The chairman of Iran's National Center for Persian Carpets says she plans to file a complaint against the United States at international tribunals for the sanctions Washington has imposed on handwoven Persian carpets.

PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS


Iran's top security body has approved the release of opposition figures Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, under house arrest for seven years for leading mass protests in 2009, a family member told local media. 


Human rights groups say Iranian courts have confirmed prison terms for eight Baha'is, members of a religious minority that has experienced decades of discrimination in the Shiite Muslim-majority nation. 


A Baha'i International Community representative who participated in a first-of-its-kind U.S. conference on religious freedom says she urged delegates to press Iran to stop mistreatment of its Baha'i minority.


A small group of Iranian farmers drove their tractors to the entrance to the town of Varzaneh.  The vehicles stopped next to a canal that once provided their crops, but has been dry for years. The farmers appealed to government officials for help. "We are the people," shouted Mostafa Benvidi. "Help the people. At night they go to bed hungry!"

MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS


As tensions between the US and Iran ratchet up, the Trump administration is looking at what military options may be needed to keep vital waterways in the Middle East open in the wake of attacks on Saudi oil tankers by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on July 25, according to two administration officials. Both officials emphasize that if any military action is taken it would be carried out by US allies in the region, such as the Saudis, and not by US forces. 

U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS


The United States has not instituted a policy of regime change or collapse in Iran, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday, saying the goal was still to curb what Washington sees as Iran's threatening behavior in the Middle East.


Since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, the Iranian government will move to boost its uranium enrichment capacity, as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened, and to keep testing ballistic missiles. Nevertheless, Tehran will be careful to avoid violating the deal or provoking further action from the U.S. administration for fear of international and domestic backlash. Iran, instead, will focus on its economic and political problems for now, while trying to muddle through the restored U.S. sanctions.

RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN


An official from Yemen's foreign ministry said that Lebanese 'Hezbollah' is a partner in shedding the blood of Yemenis by insisting on sabotage roles.


Russia, Iran, and Turkey, co-sponsors of Syrian peace talks held periodically in Kazakhstan, will meet on July 30-31 in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi to discuss issues related to the seven-year-long civil war. 


U.S. security aid to Lebanon has never been politically palatable, and it's facing new headwinds these days. But the strategic case for continuing it remains sound.

IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS


There is a war going on within the Iranian presidential palace, where two leading members of the administration are striving to force First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri out of the government.

GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN


A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia said Sunday it had destroyed sites used by Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen to launch missiles at the kingdom.


Saudi Arabia lamented on Friday the United Nations Security Council's inaction on Yemen, which it said helped Iran arm the Houthi militias.


How should the international community deal with state-sponsored terrorism? The official position of most countries is to not negotiate with terrorists because it encourages them to commit further acts of terrorism. Does paying a ransom encourage more of the same? The consensus is that paying for the release of captured civilians sets the ground for more kidnappings. When terrorists discover they can collect large sums of cash and get away with it, why not repeat the exercise?


The latest tanker attack by Iranian-backed rebels underlines the need to restore the entire Red Sea coast to Yemen's internationally recognized government.

IRAQ, TURKEY & IRAN


Prominent Iranian Sunni leader Molavi Abdul Hamid sent a letter July 21 to Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Ali al-Sistani, regarding the unequal status of Sunnis in Iran. Abdul Hamid asked Sistani to act as a mediator between Iranian authorities and Iran's Sunni community, with the goal of encouraging the government to adopt fairer policies toward Sunnis in Iran.

AFGHANISTAN & IRAN


Over the past four years, thousands of young Afghan Shiite men have been drawn into the war in Syria by Iran, part of a well-financed system of recruitment, training and incentives that funnels Afghan recruits to fight for a repressive Arab government. The Afghans are soldiers in someone else's war, propelled by economic woes and religious loyalty to join a foreign fight.






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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