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TOP STORIES
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that the
financial messaging service that moves money around the global
banking system will be cutting off Iran's Central Bank. "I
understand that SWIFT will be discontinuing service to the Central
Bank of Iran and designated Iranian financial institutions,"
Mnuchin said in a tweet. "SWIFT is making the right decision to
protect the integrity of the international financial system."
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is continuing to
take oil from Iranian oilfields where it has ownership stakes, even
after the United States re-imposed sanctions on the country's oil
sector, a company executive said on Friday.
The Trump administration is considering designating
Yemen's Houthi rebels a terrorist organization, people familiar with
the discussions said, as part of a campaign to end that country's
civil war and put pressure on the Houthis' ally Iran. The terrorist designation,
which would inject an unpredictable new element into fragile
diplomatic efforts to initiate peace talks, has been discussed
periodically since at least 2016, according to several of the
individuals.
UANI IN THE NEWS
First of all, we see this approach paying off today with
the announcement by Foreign Minister Zarif in an interview with USA
Today that the Iranian regime would consider talking now to the
United States under the right circumstances, he was purposely vague
about that. But we're seeing some softening in their approach, and
that's because they know winter is coming in regards to the sanctions
being reimposed on Iran.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC
NEWS
Turkey has been granted a waiver of around 25 percent on
U.S. oil sanctions against Iran, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez
said on Friday, amounting to around three million tonnes of oil
annually.
A South Korean delegation including oil buyers is
expected to head to Iran next week to discuss resuming Iranian oil
imports after a three-month halt, three sources with knowledge of the
matter said.
JXTG Holdings, Japan's biggest oil refinery operator, is
considering whether to resume Iranian oil purchases after Japan was
granted a waiver from U.S. sanctions targeting Iran, Senior Vice
President Yasushi Onoda said on Wednesday.
Arash Sepehri, 38, a citizen of Iran, pleaded guilty on
Nov. 7, to a federal charge stemming from his role in a conspiracy to
cause the export of controlled goods and technology to Iran, in
violation of U.S. Department of Commerce and military controls, as
well as in contravention of sanctions imposed against Iran.
India has welcomed a U.S. decision to allow it to
continue to import Iranian crude oil and develop an Iranian port for
trade with Afghanistan despite Washington's reimposition of sanctions
on Iran.
Washington had been pushing governments to cut imports
of Iranian oil to zero. But, fearing a price spike, it granted Iran's
biggest buyers - China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece,
Taiwan and Turkey - sanctions waivers. That will allow the
eight, which account for about 75 percent of all Iran's oil exports,
according to trade data, to import at least some oil for another 180
days.
Iran's plan to develop an alternative channel to monetize
its oil through a local energy exchange faces many obstacles but
holds real potential of boosting domestic capacities.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
Danish authorities say three members of an Iranian exile
opposition group arrested on suspicion of supporting terrorism have
been released. Police detained the three on November 7 under the
accusation of having praised those behind a deadly attack in the
southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz in September.
This administration has an opportunity to teach Iran
that "what goes around comes around" is not just an empty
slogan in the context of the Beirut Marine families' remarkable quest
for justice.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
World football's governing body FIFA said on Thursday it
would work with Iran to end a long-running ban on women attending
matches but offered no insight on when to expect the
breakthrough.
Campaigners in Iran remain hopeful that local women will
be permitted to attend the Asian Champions League final in Tehran on
Saturday, bringing an end to almost four decades of exclusion from
top club matches in the country.
The designation of financial institutions that support
human rights violators constitutes a welcome development in U.S.
sanctions policy. However, Washington has yet to target numerous
Iranians for their roles as architects of widespread abuses,
including some key officials tied to the IRIB and LEF.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that it is
in Iran's best interests to toe the line and listen to Washington or
else its people will pay the price.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
More than 400 current and former student activist have
published an open letter warning that the very existence of the
Iranian people is at stake.
MISCELLANEOUS
Italian police discovered 270 kg (600 lb) of heroin
hidden in a container that arrived aboard a ship from Iran, the
biggest such haul for at least 20 years in Italy, police said on
Thursday.
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