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TOP STORIES
Another trans-Atlantic showdown is looming as the Trump
Administration prepares its next tranche of financial sanctions on Iran,
and the puzzle is why Europe keeps backing itself into a corner.
Brussels and European Union states seem ready to stage a battle with
Washington over an obscure but important financial-service
network-against Europe's own interests.
Twitter accounts originating in Iran masqueraded as
foreign journalists and concerned U.S. citizens in their attempt to
push political messages on the social media site until they were
suspended earlier this year, according to research published Wednesday.
Turkey's top refiner, Tupras, is in talks with U.S.
officials to obtain a waiver allowing it to keep buying Iranian oil
after Washington reinstates sanctions on the Islamic Republic's energy
sector in November, industry sources said.
UANI IN THE NEWS
"I realize they had arrested me for my work on human
rights, the defense of women's rights activists, and the fight against
the death penalty. Still, I will not be silenced." With this
courageous cri de coeur, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh launched
her hunger strike.
Many Western analysts highly underestimate the existential
nature of the repeated threats by Iranian leaders to the destruction of
Israel.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran's foreign minister has charged that the latest round
of U.S. sanctions is violating the human rights of Iranians and that
"the U.S. addiction to sanctions is out of control."
Iran has dismissed threats from the United States to cut
its oil exports to zero as a "political bluff," Reuters
reported Wednesday, citing a report published by Tasnim news agency.
Ali Kardor, the head of state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC),
said President Trump "has done whatever he can" but knows
Iran's oil exports won't be reduced to zero.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Even as debilitating U.S. sanctions targeting Iran's oil
industry remain slated to snap back in November, Tehran may seek to
maintain a status-quo arrangement with the West until the fate of the
Trump presidency becomes clearer, according to top Iran expert Karim
Sadjadpour.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran's prosecutor general said Wednesday there would be no
repeat of women watching football matches inside stadiums, saying it
would "lead to sin." The comments by Mohammad Jafar Montazeri
came a day after around 100 women were allowed to watch their country
take on Bolivia in a friendly at the national stadium an extremely rare
step in the Islamic republic.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
The United States Secretary's Special Representative for
Syria Engagement, Ambassador James Jeffrey, has started his tour to
Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on October 15 to carry out discussions
with allies and partners about Syria. In Turkey, Ambassador Jeffrey
will meet with Turkish government officials, Syrian opposition leaders,
and Syrian civil society groups.
Twitter Inc. has published data sets comprising millions
of tweets, images and videos and thousands of accounts linked to
operatives based in Russia and Iran, shedding light on how bad actors
outside the U.S. sought to manipulate social-media discourse in their
home countries and abroad.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Saudi Arabia's alleged involvement in the disappearance of
U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi could place Riyadh's longstanding
rival Iran at an advantage.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Using a meeting on scientific progress as an opportunity
to slam Western nations, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said
that Iran must turn to the East to advance the nation's power.
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