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TOP STORIES
Iran test-fired a short-range anti-ship missile in the
Strait of Hormuz during naval drills last week that Washington
believes were aimed at sending a message as the United States
reimposes sanctions on Tehran, a U.S. official said on Friday.
Iran unveiled a next generation short-range ballistic
missile on Monday and vowed to further boost its capabilities,
Iranian media said, at a time of rising tensions with the United
States.
Iran's investment finance contracts with European,
Japanese and South Korean banks have been suspended, the director of
loans at Islamic Republic's Investment Organization has
disclosed.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran on Saturday announced it was taking back another
portion of the 20 percent enriched uranium stockpile it handed over
to Russia as part of the nuclear deal signed in 2015 with world
powers in exchange for sanctions relief. Spokesman and vice-president
of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Behrouz Kamalvandi said the
re-imposition of US sanctions following President Donald Trump's exit
in May from the accord necessitated returning the uranium for
domestic needs.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
German automotive supplier Duerr has halted its
activities in Iran, which has been hit by the reintroduction of U.S.
sanctions this week that include threats to blacklist any companies
trading with the Islamic republic.
Taiwan's Mega International Commercial Bank plans to
terminate its payment clearing mechanism between Taiwan and Iran
after November in a response to the United States' sanctions on Iran,
three people familiar with the matter said on Monday. "Our
business with Iran is too sensitive, and we should no longer get
involved in it," an official from the bank told Reuters, adding
that the bank has informed clients the payment clearing mechanism is
likely to be terminated after November.
Iran is selling oil and gas at a discount to Asian
customers as it prepares for the return of US sanctions, state news
agency IRNA reported on Monday.
The United States ambassador to the UK has called on
Britain to side with President Donald Trump on Iran or risk
"serious trade consequences" for UK businesses.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the
government on Monday of economic mismanagement and said it needed to
improve its performance to help the country better weather newly
reimposed U.S. sanctions.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on
Saturday called for "swift and just" legal action from new
courts after the head of the judiciary said the country faced an
"economic war", state television reported.
Iraq has begun to apply new U.S. economic sanctions
against Iran, turning back shipments of Iranian goods at a number of
border crossings, according to Al Hurra TV, quoting Iranian
merchants.
Confusion has surfaced over French energy giant Total's
massive South Pars gas project in Iran after the official IRNA news
agency reported that China's state-owned petroleum corporation had
been given a majority stake in the field.
A top Iranian constitutional body has approved measures
passed by parliament to bring the country more into line with global
money-laundering norms, state media said on Saturday, as Tehran tries
to attract investments despite the reimposition of U.S sanctions.
Next Iranian year [beginning March 21, 2019] will be an
"exceptional year" in Iran's contemporary history, the head
of Management and Planning Organization (MPO) and deputy President of
the Islamic Republic has predicted. Under U.S. economic pressure,
Iran's budget will be prepared in an "exceptional" form
matched with the sanctions, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said, admitting,
"The next year is going to be a tough one."
President Donald Trump's offer to Tehran of unconditional
talks suggests that the diplomatic path has not been totally cut off.
Iran will be extremely reluctant to make further concessions on the
nuclear issue and is unlikely to abandon its regional allies in
Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. But mounting economic pressure and domestic
discontent could yet force a reassessment. An Iran that was prepared
to concentrate on vital domestic reforms rather than its regional
ambitions would offer a better future to its people.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Protesters on the streets of Iran this week chanted
"Death to Khamenei" and "Death to inflation,"
mimicking the "Death to America" refrain popularised after
the 1979 Islamic revolution.
[T]he plight of Iran's persecuted Christian community
has become significantly worse over the past few weeks, with the
Islamic Republic ramping up prison terms and other judicial actions.
The Islamic regime in Tehran has sentenced an Iranian
couple to a prison term for merely practicing Christianity. Article
18, an organization that promotes religious freedom and supports
Iran's repressed Christians through documentation and advocacy,
tweeted on Thursday that "A Christian couple have reported that
a court in Boushehr has just sentenced them & 10 other Iranian
Christians to one year in prison each for 'Propagating against the
Islamic Republic in favor of Christianity.'
An Iran-based human rights group says dozens of Iranian
security personnel have raided a prison ward housing minority Sunni
inmates in the city of Karaj, beating the prisoners and taking their
belongings. In a report published Thursday, Iran's Human Rights Activist
News Agency (HRANA) said it learned of Tuesday's incident at the
Rajaei Shahr prison in Karaj's Gohardasht district from an informed
source.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that Iranian
officials are trying to head off a looming economic crisis with
threats of "new rights-abusing policies," including
applying the death penalty for economic crimes.
An Iranian photographer has caught the world's attention
after she defied restrictions that prevent women from covering men's
sporting events.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Iran gave its most explicit rejection yet of talks with
the United States on Saturday, and accused Washington of an
"addiction to sanctions" over its latest spat with
Turkey.
A semi-official Iranian news agency is quoting an aide
to the country's president as saying that he doesn't see "any
reason" for talks between Donald Trump and Hassan Rouhani at the
next United Nations General Assembly.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said there
was no meeting planned with U.S. officials including his counterpart
Mike Pompeo at the United Nations General Assembly, the semi-official
news agency Tasnim reported on Saturday. Asked about the likelihood
of a meeting with U.S. officials, including Pompeo, on the sidelines
of the United Nations General Assembly, Zarif said: "No, no such
meeting is planned..."
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on
Sunday that they had killed "10 militants" in the Kurdish
region of Iran. The same day the Democratic Party of Iranian
Kurdistan (PDKI) said they had engaged in "heavy clashes"
with the IRGC near the city of Oshnavieh and had killed 12 "IRGC
terrorists."
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iranian authorities have arrested 67 people in a drive
against financial crime, the judiciary said on Sunday, as the country
faces renewed U.S. sanctions and a public outcry against profiteering
and corruption.
The looming water crisis in Iran is "much more
severe" than what has already been predicted, the head of
Islamic Republic's Department of Environment (DoE) and deputy
President, Isa Kalantari has said, warning, "There will be no
water in Iran within less than fifty years."
Iranians bracing for tougher times now that the U.S. has
renewed sanctions are taking a jab at officials over government
spending and nepotism. A social media campaign under the hashtag
#where_is_your_kid? is asking officials to explain privileges their
families enjoy.
CONGRESS & IRAN
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the
Anti-Defamation League are urging lawmakers to co-sponsor a Senate
bill targeting Hezbollah and Hamas for using human shields.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN.
Iran and four ex-Soviet nations, including Russia,
agreed in principle on Sunday how to divide up the potentially huge
oil and gas resources of the Caspian Sea, paving way for more energy
exploration and pipeline projects.
U.S. airstrikes are softening the Islamic State at a key
border crossing without any plans for a follow-on ground offensive to
deny it to Iran.
In a recent Hezbollah sponsored media report, the party
showcased a squadron of drones among other weapons in its arsenal at
the "Mleeta Resistance Tourist Landmark." The show of force
serves to send Israel a message within the realm of psychological
warfare, retired Major General Hisham Jaber tells Annahar, while
possibly shedding light on the recent downing of an Israeli drone in
Bint Jbeil.
Satellite pictures released on Saturday by an Israeli
intelligence site appeared to show the aftermath of an airstrike on
an Iranian-run missile production facility in Syria last month, an
operation which has been attributed to Israel.
As public pressure mounts on Israeli leaders to crush
rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip, they're opting to try the
diplomatic route while a greater threat looms: Iran's presence in
postwar Syria.
The US National Counterterrorism Center considered the
classification of Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization
insufficient, stressing the need for European countries to boycott
the entire party as well as extended financial and diplomatic
sanctions.
IRAQ & IRAN
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's visit to Iran has
been canceled after he said he had no choice but to abide by U.S.
sanctions against Tehran, even though he disagreed with their
imposition.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Friday with French
President Emmanuel Macron and they discussed trade, Iran and the
Middle East, the White House said.
CYBERWARFARE
A U.S.-based cybersecurity intelligence group says
Iranian state institutions have perpetrated a growing number of
international cyberattacks for profit in recent months.
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