Eye on Iran: US Designates Hezbollah, 4 Other Groups As Top Threats

TOP STORIES US Designates Hezbollah, 4 Other Groups As Top Threats | Voice of America U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday designated five groups, including the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Central American street gang MS-13, as "top transnational organized crime threats," targeting them for stepped up prosecutions by the Justice Department. Iran Says Its Land-To-Sea Missiles Can Now Travel 700km: Farsi | Reuters Iran has extended the range of its land-to-sea ballistic missiles to 700km (435 miles), a senior Iranian military official said on Tuesday, as tensions over the weapons rise with the United States.   Iranian Crude Exports Fall Further As Trump's Sanctions Loom | Reuters Turkey and Italy are the last buyers of Iranian crude outside China, India and the Middle East, according to tanker data and an industry source, the latest sign that shipments are taking a major hit from looming U.S. sanctions. The Islamic Republic has exported 1.33 million barrels per day so far in October to India, China, Turkey and the Middle East, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. No vessels are shown heading to Europe with Iranian crude. UANI IN THE NEWS UANI Chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman on US-Saudi Relationship | Fox Business The facts as we are being told them but don't know about Khashoggi's disappearance are troubling...I'd be careful to wait until we see what the facts are because again I want to say Saudi Arabia is our ally, not just economically, which the President has correctly referred to, but it's also our number one ally in the regional conflict that matters most to us which is the Islamic Republic of Iran. SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS   Market Can Cope with Push for Zero Iranian Oil Sales, Says U.S. Envoy | Reuters The United States still aims to cut Iran's oil sales to zero and does not expect restored oil sanctions against Tehran to have a negative impact on a market that is well-supplied and balanced, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.  High Prices Helping Iran Make Up for Loss of Half of Oil Exports, VP Says | Radio Free Europe Iran has lost some customers for its oil because of looming U.S. sanctions, but high prices are making up for the lost sales, Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri has said.  Iranian Papers Ask US Outlets to Condemn Sanctions | Al Monitor In a joint editorial four of Tehran's top newspapers decried the US exit from the nuclear deal and asked American journalists to speak up against the imposition of "tyrannical sanctions" against Iran.  Iran Says Trump Cannot Bring Oil Prices Down by 'Bullying' | Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump cannot bring oil prices down by "bullying" other nations, Iran's oil minister said on Tuesday, adding that the market was suffering from short supply.  PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS Iran: Arrests, Harassment of Baha'is | Human Rights Watch Iranian intelligence officials have increased the arrests of the country's Baha'i religious minority over the past two months, with no clear charges, Human Rights Watch said today. In August and September 2018, authorities arrested more than 20 Baha'i citizens, as well as a city council member who a colleague said offered support for those arrested. Struggling to Make Ends Meet, Iranian Teachers Go on Strike | Radio Free Europe News reports and social-media posts suggest that dozens of teachers across Iran have reportedly refused to appear in classrooms. Instead, they appear to be staging sit-ins to protest low wages.  MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS Iranian Security Forces Kidnapped on Border with Pakistan | Reuters At least 10 Iranian security personnel, including members of the Revolutionary Guards, were kidnapped on the border with Pakistan on Tuesday, state media reported, and a Sunni separatist group said it was responsible.  RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN Iran's Growing Influence in Syria Sparks Concern | Voice of America While Russian and Iranian-backed Bashar al-Assad's regime is consolidating its grip on most areas once controlled by various rebel groups in Syria, Iran's involvement and military footprints in the country have some experts and U.S. lawmakers concerned that Tehran might be in the process of establishing long-term presence in Syria in an effort to project regional power in the long term. TURKEY & IRAN Iranian Embassy In Ankara Threatened with Suicide Attack, Envoy Says | Radio Free Europe An individual who claimed to have links to the Islamic State extremist group threatened to attack the Iranian Embassy in Ankara, Tehran's envoy in Turkey said on October 15. 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.