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TOP STORIES
U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran's oil industry will
"cripple" the Middle Eastern country's economy after they
take effect in early November, according to a new report released
Wednesday.
"The proliferation of forged documents enables a
host of illegal activities, like the travel of sanctioned or wanted
individuals and other forms of illegal immigration. It is also a
deliberate attack on the authority to secure its borders," said David
Ibsen, Executive Director of the not-for-profit, non-partisan policy
organization Counter Extremism Project (CEP). "This is not
surprising, as Iran will do what it can to circumvent
sanctions."
The European Union's top defense and diplomatic
officials convene in Vienna on Thursday with the teetering Iran
nuclear agreement and Middle East stability at the top of their
agenda. The meetings coincide with publication of the International
Atomic Energy Agency's quarterly Iran inspections report, which is
due by Friday and will likely show the Islamic Republic continues
meeting nuclear obligations made under an agreement jettisoned by
President Donald Trump in May.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Standard Chartered Plc has already paid a painful
penalty for secretly moving billions of dollars through the U.S. on
behalf of Iranian clients, in violation of sanctions. But a sweeping
investigation has found evidence suggesting that the bank's Iranian business
was more extensive than it admitted, according to five people
familiar with the matter.
Iran will halt Middle East oil exports if it's not
allowed to ship its crude through the Strait of Hormuz, according to
a top military official.
The Iranian energy minister said German engineering
conglomerate Siemens has vowed to continue to collaborate on the
transfer of know-how for the F-class gas turbine technology to Iran
despite its withdrawal from Iran following new US sanctions.
An FBI agent investigating a massive Turkish-Iranian
sanctions-busting scheme confirmed that the Turkish government had
pressured Washington for the release of key defendants in the illicit
trade and that legal proceedings against co-conspirators were far
from over.
The current Iranian narrative-that economic problems
stem from domestic mistakes rather than foreign pressure-complicates
the U.S. policy of using sanctions to force change.
The U.S. should close the loophole on petroleum
condensate exports.
As the Trump administration prepares to renew sanctions
on Iran's energy sector, it has an opportunity to help the U.S. oil
and gas industry with the right enforcement policy.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
When a British-Iranian charity worker was abruptly
released from a Tehran prison last week on a three-day leave and
allowed to see her daughter, joy erupted among supporters in Britain,
where her case has received extraordinary attention. But when her
request for an extension was denied, the elation turned to despair and
anger.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch blasted the
Islamic Republic of Iran for its sweeping violent crackdown on
Christians and Dervishes, including imposing lengthy prison terms on
the members of the religious minority groups.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused
the United States on Wednesday of bullying even its own allies, as he
arrived in Turkey which is locked in a row with Washington.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
A top Iranian general on Wednesday claimed the United
States would pay a "heavy cost" for an attack on the
regime, due to Tehran's strong deterrent capabilities.
Iran's intelligence minister has boasted on state
television about his country's successful recruitment of a former
Cabinet-level official from a "hostile" country, signaling
Tehran's first acknowledgment of compromising an arrested Israeli
official.
Two incidents in late August 2018 involving Islamic
Republic of Iran Air Force F-5F Tiger II fighter jets underscored the
ongoing crisis in Iran's air force.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran's supreme leader has told the nation's president
and Cabinet to work "day and night" to resolve economic
problems that have put President Hassan Rouhani under unprecedented
political pressure.
Rouhani... has apparently accepted the role of scapegoat,
which he must think is the most politically prudent course to
maintain his presidency and his power, including a shot at eventually
becoming Iran's supreme leader. But he is wrong, and he will very
likely pay a high price for choosing not to go on the offensive.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on
Wednesday held previously unannounced talks with President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish presidency said, with the situation in
Syria likely to have dominated the agenda.
In a pointed warning to Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said Wednesday that any country that threatens to destroy
Israel risks meeting a similar fate, while vowing to continue taking
action against the Islamic Republic's military presence in Syria.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded
Wednesday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed that the Israeli
military "will continue to act with full determination and
strength" against Iran's military entrenchment in Syria.
The United Nations has called on Russia, Iran and Turkey
on Thursday to forestall a battle in Syria's Idlib province that
would affect millions of civilians and could involve both sides using
chlorine as a chemical weapon.
Israel on Wednesday renewed its threat to attack Iranian
military targets in Syria, after the two Muslim allies signed an
accord on security cooperation.
Netanyahu's persistent diplomacy with Putin failed to
contain more troubling developments across the border that threaten
his country's long-term stability.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
The coalition of Arab states fighting against Yemen's
Iran-aligned Houthis on Wednesday denounced as inaccurate and biased
a report by U.N. human rights experts that said some of its air
strikes may amount to war crimes.
IRAQ & IRAN
Recently declassified U.S. interrogation reports shed
new light on one of Iraq's most prominent Shiite political figures
and Iran's role in training and arming Iraqi militias that attacked
U.S. troops during the Iraq war.
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