Eye on Iran: U.S. to Close Consulate In Iraq, Citing Threats from Iran

TOP STORIES U.S. to Close Consulate In Iraq, Citing Threats from Iran | Wall Street Journal The State Department will close the U.S. consulate in Basra, Iraq, and evacuate the diplomats stationed there, citing security risks from Iran, according to administration officials.  Iran Sentences Three People to Death for Graft As Sanctions Bite | Bloomberg Iran sentenced three people to death for corruption on Sunday, in the strongest warning yet to officials and merchants not to exploit the country's financial troubles as the next round of U.S. sanctions loom.  Iran Airs Video Said to Show March Encounter with US Carrier | Associated Press Iran's state TV has broadcast footage purporting to show a close encounter between the Revolutionary Guard's navy and the USS Theodore Roosevelt early this year.     SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS Iran Plans to Use Other Currencies to Get Around U.S. Sanctions | Washington Post Iran plans to get around U.S. sanctions on its oil sales by selling its petroleum and conducting international trade in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the Iranian diplomat who negotiated the nuclear deal said Saturday.  Iranian Official Says Oil Deal with Europeans Is Close Despite Threat of U.S. Sanctions | New York Times Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said on Saturday that Tehran was closing in on an agreement to sell oil to European nations despite American threats of sanctions against any countries that do business with Iran. Iran, US In Tense Wait for World Court Sanctions Ruling | Agence France-Presse The International Court of Justice will hand down an eagerly awaited decision this week on Iran's demand for the suspension of debilitating nuclear-related sanctions imposed by the United States.  Iran Has No Plans to Reduce Oil Output: National Iranian Oil Company Boss | Reuters Iran has no plans to reduce oil production, the head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company, Ali Kardor, said on Monday, according to the Tasnim news agency.  Asia Faces a Devil's Bargain Over US Sanctions on Iran's Oil | South China Morning Post In just over a month, on November 5, the US government is due to re-impose sanctions on Iran's exports of oil. As Iran's biggest customer - buying roughly a third of its 2 million barrels a day of exports last year - China will be heavily affected by the US action. How Chinese oil buyers respond will have deep implications, not just for China itself, but for other economies across Asia and around the world. MISSILE PROGRAM Iran Boasts of Fastest Missile Launchpads 'in the World' | Times of Israel The Iranian Navy on Saturday boasted that it possessed airships capable of carrying out the swiftest missile strikes in the world against enemy targets. TERRORISM & EXTREMISM German Court Approves Extradition of Iranian Diplomat | Associated Press A German court said Monday it has approved the extradition of an Iranian diplomat wanted in Belgium on suspicion he was part of a failed plot to bomb an Iranian opposition rally near Paris.  Iran Lawmaker Says Negligence Led to Parade Attack | Associated Press A prominent Iranian lawmaker said an attack on a military parade in the southwestern city of Ahvaz that killed 24 people was the result of negligence by security forces, semi-official ISNA news agency reported Saturday.  PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS Iranian Groups Press for Rights-and Tehran Hits Back | Wall Street Journal The artillery-scorched mountainside of this border area bears evidence of Iran's effort to combat Kurdish rebels-just one of several groups who are now more vigorously fighting for greater autonomy within the Islamic Republic. The Kurdish group operating here fled Iran more than two decades ago, but like other militants is now seeking to use international pressure on Tehran, particularly from the U.S. and its Gulf allies, to advance its struggle. U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS State Department Issues Report on Iran's 'Destructive Behavior' at Home and Abroad | Radio Farda The State Department has released an extensive report on the scope of the Iranian regime's "destructive behavior" at home and abroad on the eve of the Islamic Revolution's 40th anniversary. Foreign Minister: Pompeo Has Made 'All The Wrong Moves Against Iran' | The Hill Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview aired Sunday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made "all the wrong moves against Iran." Team Trump's Timely Message To Iran - And Its Enablers | New York Post Editorial The Trump administration's top officials last week unleashed a full-court rhetorical press at the United Nations against Iran - and, more important, against Tehran's enablers, who are working hard to undermine Washington's reimposed sanctions regime. How The U.S.-Iran War-Of-Words Could Play Out | Jerusalem Post Although most believe a direct confrontation is unlikely in the short-term, Tehran's regional expansionism could eventually place it in President Trump's crosshairs. MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS On Iran, White House Criticism Grows, But U.S. Military Posture Recedes | Wall Street Journal The Trump administration has been steadily ramping up its rhetoric on the threat posed by Iran this year. But the U.S. military has scaled back its presence in the Persian Gulf region, say officials and military experts, removing ships, planes and missiles that would be needed in a major confrontation. IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS Iran Says 31 People Have Died from Drinking Tainted Alcohol | Associated Press Iran's state-run IRNA news agency says 31 people have died from drinking tainted alcohol across the country. Iran MP Criticizes Security Personnel over Military Parade Attack | Reuters A senior Iranian parliamentarian on Saturday criticized security personnel for failing to act decisively to stop a shooting attack that killed 25 people at a military parade last weekend, the semi-official news agency ISNA reported.  RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN In Syria, Trump Administration Takes on New Goal: Iranian Retreat | Washington Post The Trump administration has opened a new chapter in American involvement in Syria, vowing to remain until the civil war's conclusion in a bid to halt Iran's expansion across the Middle East.   Iran Strikes Syria, Targets Parade Attack Ringleaders | Bloomberg Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired several surface-to-surface ballistic missiles into Syria early Monday, saying they were targeting ringleaders of last month's attack on a military parade in the southwestern city of Ahvaz. Six missiles were fired from a distance of 570 kilometers while seven drones bombarded the positions of the terrorists in Syria, Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Iranian FM: Holocaust No Excuse For Israel's 'Apartheid Policy In Palestine' | Times of Israel Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview broadcast Sunday that the Holocaust cannot be used "as a justification for an apartheid policy in Palestine."  Netanyahu's Speech Wasn't About Iran's Nuclear Capability, But Credibility | Jerusalem Post Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Thursday about Iran at the UN is not likely to create any sudden changes in the nuclear standoff any more than US President Donald Trump's earlier speech. Netanyahu also did not actually go after Iran in any serious way for increasing its nuclear capabilities. So his speech was really another very public opportunity to peel away at the Islamic Republic's credibility on the nuclear issue. The United States Still Lacks a Realistic Policy on Syria and Iran | Washington Post Editorial So the good news is, President Trump is not planning to start a war with Iran in Syria without congressional authorization. The bad news is, his administration still lacks a realistic policy for ending the ongoing conflict and the threat that it, and Iran's presence, pose to vital U.S. interests. GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN UAE Foreign Minister Condemns Iran's Meddling in The Arab Region | Al Arabiya (Saudi Arabia / UAE) Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, the United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that his country rejected extremism and that their policy of countering terrorism was firm. UAE, Bahrain Call for Confronting Iran's Threats | Asharq Al-Awsat (U.K.) UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed accused Iran on Saturday of being a "rogue state" and "attacking the security of the region."  IRAQ & IRAN Iran Foreign Minister Blasts Trump Officials Over Consulate Closure | Reuters Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday denied that his country was responsible for increased threats against a U.S. consulate in the Iraqi city of Basra. 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.