Eye on Iran: U.S. Considering Additional Iran Sanctions, Perhaps In May: Official

TOP STORIES U.S. Considering Additional Iran Sanctions, Perhaps In May: Official | Reuters The U.S. government is considering additional sanctions against Iran that would target areas of its economy that have not been hit before, a senior Trump administration official told reporters on Monday. The official said the administration aimed to follow through with new sanctions around the first anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and several world powers, which President Donald Trump announced last May.  Hezbollah Established New Missile Factory In Beirut- Report | The Jerusalem Post Hezbollah has built a new missile factory in Beirut with the help of Iran, a Channel 13 report revealed on Monday night. Israeli intelligence reportedly shared the new information with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri of the secret facility on his state visit to Lebanon in March and expressed his concern about the threat the terrorist organization poses to the country. Iran Hit With 3rd Major Flood In 2 Weeks | The New York Times The authorities on Monday ordered the immediate evacuation of flood-stricken cities in western Iran as rivers burst banks, dams overflowed and vast areas were cut off from communication. The highest level of alert was declared in Lorestan Province with four or five cities "completely critical," state television reported from Khorramabad, the provincial capital. "In Khorramabad the water has risen by as much as three meters in parts," the television broadcast said, with reports elsewhere of areas "completely submerged with residents stranded on their rooftops." SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS   Oil Rises On Iran Sanctions Threat, Venezuela Shutdown | Reuters Oil hit a 2019 high above $69 a barrel on Tuesday on the prospect that more sanctions against Iran and further Venezuelan disruptions could deepen an OPEC-led supply cut, and as the market became less worried that demand may slow. The United States is considering more sanctions against Iran, whose oil exports have been halved by existing measures, an official said. A key crude terminal in Venezuela, also under U.S. sanctions, has halted operations again.  Iran Says Oil Market Supply/Demand Balance Is Fragile | Reuters The balance between supply and demand in the oil market is fragile, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Monday, as he called on crude producers to be wary of troubles caused by U.S. sanctions.  Oil prices are being supported by U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela along with voluntary supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers.    Iran Says OPEC+ Pact Will Be 'Easy' To Extend Beyond June | Bloomberg The OPEC+ group could easily extend its agreement on oil-production cuts, according to Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. "My understanding is, there is no difficulty extending the cooperation. It should be easy" to prolong the deal beyond the first half of the year, Zanganeh told reporters in Moscow following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak. The current OPEC+ pact "is going ahead well," Zanganeh added. PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS Iran Rights Activist Reportedly Arrested And Later Released | Radio Farda Iranian Baha'i citizen and human rights activist, Jinous Sobhani, was briefly arrested, Iran Human rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) reported on March 31. Hours later, informed sources said she was released, but there are no details about her arrest or release. Jinous Sobhani, human rights activist and former secretary of Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi was arrested late last Saturday at her home and taken away to an unknown location, IHRDC said. More Than 600,000 Sign Petition To Free Prominent Iran Rights Defender | Radio Farda More than 600,000 have signed a petition calling for the release of prominent Iranian human rights activist and legal counsel, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Amnesty International (AI) reported. Meanwhile, in a letter dated March 30, Ms. Sotoudeh disclosed that she has been sentenced to a total of 38 years imprisonment, twelve years of it obligatory, and 148 lashes. Sotoudeh also maintained that she has been sentenced to twelve years for defending the "Girls of the Revolution Street," and "advocating corruption and prostitution." Iranian Women's Rights Activist Condemns Western Feminists For Wearing The Hijab In 'Solidarity', Saying: 'Calling The Compulsory Headscarf My Country's Culture Is Insulting' | Daily Mail A women's rights activist in Iran has said it is 'insulting' for Western visitors to wear the hijab in an attempt at solidarity. Masih Alinejad, who has spearheaded Iranian women's struggle against the head covering, said female dignitaries from Europe had left her fellow campaigners 'on their own' by choosing to wear the hijab when they visited Iran.  "It's An Insult:" Human Rights Attorney Condemns Iran's New Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi | Center For Human Rights In Iran The appointment by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of a known human rights violator to head the country's judiciary is a prelude to dark days ahead for human and civil rights defenders, Iranian attorney Abdolkarim Lahiji told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). In a wide-ranging interview, Lahiji, who for decades worked as a prominent attorney and human rights activist in Iran until going into exile in France, discussed the events leading up to Raisi's appointment to chief justice in early March 2019. IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS Iran Says US Sanctions Impeding Flood Rescue Operations | Associated Press Iran's foreign minister said U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran by the Trump administration last year have hampered successful rescue efforts for flood-stricken areas of the country where 45 people have died so far. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted late on Monday that America's "maximum pressure" policy on Iran "is impeding aid efforts by #IranianRedCrescent to all communities devastated by unprecedented floods." Iran Orders Evacuation of Flood-Hit Western Cities | Asharq Al-Awsat Iranian authorities on Monday ordered the immediate evacuation of flood-stricken cities in a western province as rivers burst their banks, dams overflowed and vast areas were cut off from communication. The highest level of alert was declared in Lorestan province with four or five cities "completely critical", state television news network IRINN reported from Khorramabad, the region's capital. Iran Denies Gas Pipeline Explosion In Western Iran | Reuters The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) denied Iranian media reports that a gas pipeline had exploded in the west of the country on Monday, saying a rockslide had caused a pipeline leak that had immediately been fixed. Earlier state news agency IRNA quoted local officials as saying that a landslide had caused a pipeline explosion in western Iran, and that a fire following the blast was under control. 5 Obstacles To Khamenei's Call For 'Boost In Domestic Production' | Al Monitor Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says this is the Iranian year for "boosting production." This is a welcome slogan for an economy facing numerous challenges, particularly unemployment and pressure on its export performance due to external sanctions. There is no doubt that an expansion of domestic production capacities would have a positive impact on the Iranian economy.  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.