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TOP STORIES
The U.S. case against the chief
financial officer of China's Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in
Canada last month, centers on the company's suspected ties to two
obscure companies. One is a telecom equipment seller that operated in
Tehran; the other is that firm's owner, a holding company registered
in Mauritius. U.S. authorities allege CFO Meng Wanzhou deceived
international banks into clearing transactions with Iran by claiming
the two companies were independent of Huawei, when in fact Huawei
controlled them.
U.S. sanctions are putting
pressure on Iran and its people, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei said on Wednesday, according to his official
website. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an
international agreement on Iran's nuclear programme in May and
reimposed sanctions on Tehran. "The sanctions do put
pressure on the country and the people. The Americans happily say
that these sanctions are unprecedented in history," Khamenei
said.
Washington Post journalist Jason
Rezaian asked a federal judge Tuesday to impose $1 billion in damages
against the government of Iran to deter future taking of American
hostages, saying his ordeal began when one of three Iranian security
agents pointed a gun at his head in the parking garage of his Tehran
apartment building at about 8 p.m. on July 22, 2014. "Are you
Jason Rezaian?" the gunman asked.
UANI IN THE NEWS
...David Ibsen, President
of UANI, a civil society group committed to preventing Iran from
fulfilling its nuclear ambitions, stated: "Diplomatic and
economic sanctions are the only effective approach to dealing with a
country that continues to target regime opponents on European soil
with impunity. This tactic, however, is undermined by the EU's
general approach to Iran, of providing economic benefit to the regime
in the hope that it will moderate its behaviour. Actively encouraging
EU businesses to stay in Iran, for example through the proposed
special purpose vehicle, takes the force away from this move to
sanction Iranian Intelligence staff, and ultimately renders the EU's
foreign policy ineffectual in dealing with the Iranian regime."
...David Ibsen - president of
the United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) advocacy group - stated,
"Appeasing the regime in Tehran will only allow it to continue
to target opponents abroad with impunity. Strongly sanctioning this
behavior is the only way to bring Iran into line. We urge EU leaders
to ensure these sanctions mark the beginning of a new, more robust
approach to dealing with Iran."
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC
NEWS
Turkey has resumed imports of
Iranian crude oil after a one-month hiatus in November when U.S.
sanctions on Iran were reimposed, trading and shipping sources
said. The United States granted Turkey and other countries
import waivers in early November. Turkey said it was permitted to
take 3 million tonnes a year, equivalent to about 60,000 barrels per
day (bpd), under the waiver.
After the United States pulled
out of the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed and added to
sanctions last year, the Trump administration granted waivers to
eight countries who were already established buyers to continue
buying specified amounts of Iranian oil for 180 days. Now, however, a
senior Iranian energy official in Tehran says that these countries
are not making use of the waivers and are instead complying fully
with the strict zero-oil sanctions.
MISSILE PROGRAM
New images obtained by CNN Tuesday indicate Iran is
preparing to launch a remote sensing satellite into space, the latest
sign that the Islamic Republic is moving ahead with the planned
mission despite recent warnings from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The high-resolution satellite images, captured by Planet Labs on
January 4, 6 and 7, show activity at the Imam Khomeini Space Center
consistent with steps that were taken prior to a previous launch in
2017, according to researchers at the Middlebury Institute of
International Studies at Monterey.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
Mahfouz Ould al-Walid, known as "Abu Hafs
al-Mauritani," the former Mufti of al-Qaeda, revealed in an
interview with Al Arabiya English what he described as the balanced
relationship pursued by both the Iranian regime and Qatar with armed
extremist groups. According to his interpretation, the two countries'
relations with al-Qaeda, the Takfir, Hijra, Libyan Islamic Fighting
Group and other armed groups are part of the agenda to maintain
"political interests".
The European Union imposed
sanctions on Iran's intelligence ministry and two Iranian nationals
on Tuesday as the Dutch government accused Iran of likely involvement
in two assassination plots in the Netherlands. The allegations were
contained in a letter released by the Dutch government to parliament.
The letter indicates Iran is suspected in at least four assassination
and bomb plots in Europe since 2015, which will probably bolster the
Trump administration's calls for greater international isolation of Tehran.
The European Union added two
Iranian individuals and the directorate for internal security of the
Iranian Ministry for intelligence to the bloc's terrorist list, it
said in a statement on Wednesday. "These listings
have been adopted by the Council as part of its response to recent
foiled attacks on the European soil," the statement said.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran's Culture Ministry says it is considering action
against an Iranian pop singer and his recording company amid
accusations that Mehdi Yarrahi sullied the "martyrs" and
ideals of past conflicts. The ministry last week dismissed reports
that it had already blacklisted Yarrahi, saying it was awaiting a
response from the company that produced the clip in question for the
song Torn Rock.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
has ordered an investigation into claims by a mill workers
representative that he was tortured while in detention. Hessamoddin
Ashena , an adviser to Rouhani, wrote on his Telegram account that
the president ordered a probe into the claim of violence against
Esmail Bakhshi. Earlier on Friday, Bakhshi, a representative of
workers of a sugar cane mill in southwestern Iran, wrote on his
Instagram page that he was beaten and tortured when he was in
detention for nearly a month in November.
The family of Lebanese citizen
Nizar Zakka, who was arrested in Iran in 2015, has said that a video
report was recently broadcast on Iranian state television framing
him. It said in a statement on Tuesday that Zakka has been moved to a
Revolutionary Guard prison from Evin prison in Tehran. According to
the statement, the video was a clear attempt by Zakka's
"kidnappers" to convince the Iranian public that the
detention was justified, despite "the Iranian presidency's
request for his release."
An Iranian cleric who is a
judicial official has said that imprisonment in the Islamic Republic
can reduce punishment in your afterlife. Ali Mozafari, who heads the
Judiciary in Iran's Khorasan-Razavi province declared that being
imprisoned in the Islamic Republic has "an impact on
afterlife", including "avoiding punishment in
hereafter".
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
A U.S. Navy veteran has been
held in an Iranian prison since July after visiting his girlfriend
there, according to his family. The New York Times reported Monday
that Michael R. White's mother learned three weeks ago that her son
is alive and being held at an Iranian prison. His arrest was first
reported by an online news service by Iranian ex-patriots who
interviewed a former Iranian prisoner who said he met White at
Vakilabad Prison in the city of Mashhad in October.
Iran seized a Navy veteran from
California five months ago while he was visiting the country and is
still holding him on unspecified charges, his family said Tuesday.
Michael R. White was captured by authorities in late July, when he
was there to visit his Iranian girlfriend, the veteran's mom, Joanne
White, told NBC News.
Iran's supreme leader has called
U.S. officials "first-class idiots," mocking American
leaders as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tours the Mideast.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments on Wednesday were unusually harsh,
reflecting broader tensions between Iran and the United States after
President Donald Trump withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal
with world powers. Khamenei also recounted a story about a U.S.
official who once predicted he would celebrate Christmas in Iran.
The U.S. State Department said
on Tuesday it was aware of reports of the detention of a U.S. citizen
held in Iran for more than six months, amid heightened tensions
between the countries following the reimposition of U.S.
sanctions. The New York Times reported on Monday that Michael R.
White, a 46-year-old U.S. Navy veteran, was seized while visiting
Iran and has been held in jail since July on unspecified
charges.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo said on Tuesday that the United States was "redoubling
not only our diplomatic but our commercial efforts to put real
pressure on Iran". He said the U.S. decision to withdraw
troops from Syria did not jeopardise efforts to counter threats in
the region, which he characterised as coming from Islamic State and
Iran.
President Donald Trump has
tapped Iran hawk Richard Goldberg to be director for countering
Iranian weapons of mass destruction on the National Security Council,
multiple media outlets reported on Monday. As a staffer for former
Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Goldberg helped write legislation that served
as the basis for the Barack Obama administration's sanctions regime
on Tehran prior to the nuclear deal.
In a joint press conference with
his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, US Secretary of State, Mike
Pompeo stressed over Washington's commitment to Jordan's security,
and to confronting the most important threats facing the region, ISIS
and Iran. Pompeo assured the relations between the two countries will
continue to strengthen, in terms of settling the Syrian crisis and in
the fight against terrorism.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran's military is not as strong
as previously believed, according to a US think tank. While Tehran
has made major advances in building its ballistic and cruise
missiles, as well as asymmetric forces, the report says Iran's
conventional military is aging. "Sepending data shows that many
of Iran's conventional military foces are equipped with aging,
mediocre weapons," the Centre for Strategic and International
Studies, said.
Former Israeli cabinet minister Gonen Segev is to be
jailed for 11 years after he admitted spying for Iran, Israel's
justice ministry says. Segev, who served as energy minister in the
1990s, was allegedly recruited while working as a doctor in Nigeria.
He was accused of leaking details about Israeli officials and
security sites. Segev was detained in Equatorial Guinea in May and
extradited to Israel. He pleaded guilty to serious espionage as part
of a deal with prosecutors.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Following the death of Ayatollah
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi after a long illness, Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has chosen the current head of the
judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, to another powerful post:
chairman of a council tasked with resolving disputes among government
branches and potentially playing a role in selecting Khamenei's
successor.
lawmaker in Iran has warned that the "unnecessary
costs" and bad priorities of the Islamic Republic's foreign
policy could lead to its collapse, pointing to the failure of the
Soviet Union as an example. Reformist politician Jalil Rahimi
Jahanabadi made the remarks this week before Iran's parliament,
according to Radio Free Europe. He took aim at the negative
consequences that Iran's actions throughout the Middle East and
internationally have brought to his country, including mass
demonstrations in the streets of major Iranian cities.
RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
The U.S. decision to withdraw
troops from Syria will not jeopardize Washington's efforts to counter
threats in the region, which come from Iran and Islamic State,
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday. Pompeo was in
Jordan, making his first visit to the Middle East since President
Donald Trump's abrupt announcement that he will pull the 2,000 U.S.
troops from Syria, which caused alarm among U.S. allies in the region
and prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
A former Israeli government
minister charged with spying for archenemy Iran will serve 11 years
in prison as part of a plea bargain with authorities, Israel's
justice ministry said Wednesday. The ministry said Gonen Segev agreed
to the deal after confessing to severe espionage and passing
information to an enemy. The plea bargain will be brought to a judge
next month and no further information was provided.
Iran has the right to defend its
interests in Syria, Qatar's Ambassador to Russia, Fahd bin Mohammad
Al-Attiyah told the Interfax News Agency on Sunday. "Iran
just like any other country has legitimate interests,"
Al-Attiyah said. "We don't mind these legitimate interests to be
protected."
GULF STATES, YEMEN & IRAN
15 Houthi militants were killed attempting to launch
ballistic missile towards Saudi Arabia from Al-Tayyar district in
Saada province on Wednesday, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya News Channel
reported. The United Nations envoy for Yemen held talks on Tuesday
with the country's president, as he sought to shore up a truce in key
port Hodeidah.
AFGHANISTAN & IRAN
The Taliban must have a role in Afghanistan
in future, Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday, but added that
the hardline Islamist group should not have a dominant role.Efforts
for a negotiated settlement of the 18-year war in Afghanistan have
gathered pace in recent weeks, even as reports that U.S. President
Donald Trump plans to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops have
triggered uncertainty in Kabul.
After years of
accusations, Supreme National Security Council Secretary
Ali Shamkhani confirmed that Iran had been holding talks with
the Taliban during a Dec. 26 visit to neighboring Afghanistan.
Shortly after this trip, Taliban representatives headed to
Tehran to discuss the Afghani peace process with Iranian officials.
Redefining the Taliban is part of Tehran's strategy of
defensive engagement in its efforts to adapt to the changing
geopolitics of Afghanistan.
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