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TOP STORIES
The United States called on Iran to keep the straits of
Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab open, a State Department official said on
Tuesday after the United States a day earlier demanded that Iran oil
buyers halt their purchases by May 1. "We call on Iran,
and all countries, to respect the free flow of energy and commerce,
and freedom of navigation" in the straits, the official said.
President Donald Trump and his advisers are considering
revoking sanctions waivers that have allowed several countries to
collaborate with Iran on civil nuclear projects, including those
intended to restrict Iran's nuclear production capabilities, two
sources familiar with the matter said. Trump administration officials
have held several meetings in recent weeks to discuss eliminating
some or all of the nuclear sanctions waivers, but a decision has not
yet been reached, an administration official and source familiar with
the discussions told CNN.
Europe pledged to keep afloat its efforts to aid Iran
after the U.S. tightened the screw by targeting all exports of
Iranian oil for sanctions. The French government and the European
Union both said they will abide by the terms of the Iran nuclear
accord with world powers even after the latest U.S. move. France and
its European partners intend to continue efforts to ensure that Iran
derives economic benefits as long as Tehran complies with its nuclear
obligations, the Foreign Ministry in Paris said.
NUCLEAR DEAL &
NUCLEAR PROGRAM
If there's one thing the huge (and growing) field
of Democratic presidential aspirants largely agrees on, it's that the
U.S. ought to reenter the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. This
week, Pete Buttigieg and Beto O'Rourke became the latest
to join the chorus. Unfortunately, going down this path
would be a big mistake - and a missed opportunity. Known as the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal was negotiated
by President Barack Obama's administration and agreed to by Iran and
six world powers in 2015.
SANCTIONS,
BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
President Donald Trump has warned other countries for
months that they must choose between doing business with Iran and the
U.S. Now, the president will show how serious he is about a decision
to deny any exceptions from his ban on Iranian oil exports. The move
puts the administration in direct conflict with Iran oil customers
that are important to the U.S. in different ways, and it risks
hampering important initiatives on trade and security, from China to
South Korea, India and Turkey.
Iran is willing to negotiate with America only when the
United States lifts pressure and apologizes, Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani said on Wednesday, according to state media. Oil prices hit
their highest level since November on Tuesday after Washington
announced all waivers on imports of sanctions-hit Iranian oil would
end next week, pressuring importers to stop buying from Tehran and
further tightening global supply.
The European Union is criticizing the U.S. decision to
impose sanctions on countries that buy Iranian oil and warns that the
move could damage an international effort to stop Iran developing
nuclear weapons. European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic
expressed "regret" Tuesday over the U.S. decision and that
it "risks further undermining" the Iran nuclear deal.
The 'Instex' mechanism set up by France, Britain and
Germany for Iran to skirt U.S. sanctions is making positive progress,
said the French foreign ministry on Tuesday, as it responded to the
latest moves by the U.S. government to put pressure on Iran. "The
work that has been put in place is making positive progress, with a
view to an eventual conclusion. Iran must also, for its part, make
progress on its equivalent counterparty," said the French
foreign ministry in an electronic briefing.
Energy analysts at Raymond James & Associates are
warning that U.S. imposition of tougher Iranian oil sanctions is
"unambiguously bullish" for the price of oil. The analysts
say in a report Tuesday that U.S. ally Saudi Arabia will take its
time to ramp up oil production to make up for the lost Iranian oil
exports. U.S. President Donald Trump announced sanctions last year,
but then gave countries waivers to keep importing from Iran.
President Donald Trump's decision to end all waivers
that allowed importers of oil from Iran to avoid economic sanctions
will not result in higher oil prices, White House economic adviser
Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday. "I don't see any palpable
impact. The world is awash with oil," Kudlow said during an
appearance at the National Press Club.
The United States has made a bad mistake by politicizing
oil and using it as a weapon, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said
in a parliamentary session on Tuesday, the Islamic Republic News
Agency (IRNA) reported. Oil prices on Tuesday hit their highest level
since November after Washington announced all waivers on imports of
sanctions-hit Iranian oil would end next week, pressuring importers
to stop buying from Tehran and further tightening global supply.
Saudi Arabia is ready to boost oil production in
response to tighter U.S. sanctions on Iran, but doesn't plan any
radical moves. The world's largest crude exporter wants to see a
decline in Iranian shipments before raising output significantly,
according to people familiar with policy deliberations in Riyadh. The
kingdom's caution stems from experience. When Trump first said last
year he planned to drive Iranian exports to zero, Saudi Arabia took
the threat literally responded to pressure from the White House by
boosting production to an all-time high above 11 million barrels a
day.
Saudi Arabia's energy minister said on Wednesday he saw
no need to raise oil output immediately after the United States ends
waivers granted to buyers of Iranian crude, but added that his
country will respond to customers' needs if asked for more oil.
Speaking in Riyadh, Khalid al-Falih said he was guided by oil market
fundamentals, not prices, and global oil inventories continued to
rise.
A South Korean delegation will head to Washington as
early as this week for talks with U.S. officials after the United
States announced plans to end all Iran sanction waivers, two South
Korean government officials said on Tuesday. South Korea, a
major buyer of Iranian oil, was among seven countries that won
exemptions from U.S. sanctions late last year. It allowed South Korea
to buy limited amounts of Iranian oil, mainly condensate - an
ultra-light form of crude oil used for petrochemical products.
After months of debate inside his administration,
President Trump has finally decided to further tighten sanctions on
Iran. Iran hawks have for months been urging the president
to end the waivers that granted eight nations to continue importing
Iranian oil, the Islamist regime's main source of foreign cash. In
doing so, Trump is taking a substantial risk. But it is one worth
taking. The fallout from the move could lead to a substantial hike in
oil prices this summer.
Bahrain welcomed on Monday the decision of US Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo concerning Iran's oil exports. "This step
is crucial in order to further support and strengthen efforts exerted
in combating terrorism and eradicating Iran's malign and dangerous
activities that aim to undermine security and stability and support
terrorist organizations and militias in the region," Bahrain's
foreign ministry said.
U.S.-IRAN
RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Two days after the United States announced the
elimination of exemptions for buying Iranian oil, announced April 22,
senior Iranian officials finally began to react on Wednesday, while
Iranians on social media are debating the expected impact on the
country. Both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan
Rouhani sounded defiant in the face of the U.S. decision to
stop exemptions for allies to import Iranian oil. Khameni said Iran
will sell oil as much as it wants, while Rouhani said U.S.
"apology" is a precondition to any negotiations.
IRANIAN INTERNAL
DEVELOPMENTS
Google has acted against two Iranian state
broadcasters, Press TV and Hispan TV,
blocking access "without warning" to their YouTube and
Gmail accounts. According to Israeli press reports, this came as
a response to the publication of incendiary, false accusations that
Israel had been conducting medical experiments on Palestinian
prisoners. Google declined to comment on the reason for the blocks,
but there has been an intensifying crackdown on Iranian social media
in light of the U.S. government tightening restrictions on the
country. The article, published by Iran's Spanish-language
service Hispan TV and targeting outlets in Latin
America, claimed that "Palestinians held in Israeli jails
are being used as guinea pigs in new medical trials," citing
"reports that the health ministry (of Israel) granted licenses
to several international companies to carry out medical tests on
Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israeli prisons without their
knowledge."
"Iran and Pakistan will form a rapid reaction force
to fight terrorism on their shared border,"
President Hassan Rouhani announced at a presser in Tehran
following closed-door talks with visiting Pakistan Prime
Minister Imran Khan April 22. "We are glad the Pakistani side
has branded as terrorists the militant groups that conduct inhumane
activities in this area," Rouhani added.
Organizers of the 32nd Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) have set
the stage for the Iranian capital's greatest annual cultural event,
despite the ongoing paper crisis that has afflicted
domestic publishers, and the devastating recent floods that led to
the closure of dozens of libraries across the country. The
10-day TIBF will, nonetheless, kick off April 24 in Tehran's
Mosalla prayer ground, and members of the TIBF's policy-setting
council have picked the motto "Reading is
ability" for the high-profile cultural event.
RUSSIA, SYRIA,
ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN
A United States initiative toward three key figures
within Hezbollah's financial networks would be the first in a series
of actions against the Lebanese militant group to drain it of
resources, analysts predict. The U.S. on Monday offered $10 million
for information on three financiers of the Lebanese terror group.
"This looks like it will be one move of many targeting the
funding streams Hezbollah uses," Phillip Smyth, a research
fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told VOA on
Tuesday. "While some offers for rewards have been better with
some groups over others, this may show further cracks within the
group regarding overseas financiers and those linked to them,"
he added.
Over two consecutive nights, rumors of airstrikes by the
US against pro-Syrian regime forces in eastern Syria have led to
false reports and denials. The frequency of the reports points to
attempts by different actors in the conflict to create tensions
between not only Iran and the US, but also between the Syrian regime
and the Syrian Democratic Forces, which are backed by Iran and the
US, respectively. The reports are laundered via various publications
and spread on social media. For instance Al-Masdar News, which is
generally supportive of the Syrian regime, claimed on Tuesday night
that the US is "plotting to expel [the] Syrian army, IRGC from
key border town."
At the start of April, Hebrew media reports quoted
unnamed Israeli security officials as saying that the Iranian-backed
Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror faction, whose rocket arsenal is
larger than even that of Hamas, was planning a significant attack on
Israeli targets. The information appeared to achieve its goal of
discouraging the perpetrators, and no attack transpired. But the fact
that PIJ was reportedly planning an incident that could have upset
Egyptian attempts to restore calm to the Gaza Strip could hint at a
wider struggle taking place within Gaza between Egypt and Iran.
CHINA & IRAN
Iran will increase naval ties with China in the Northern
Indian Ocean, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi
told his Chinese counterpart, saying it would accelerate the
withdrawal of other countries from the region. "Given the strategic
geopolitical situation (of both states), today, we are witnessing a
leap in marine civilization in the Pacific Ocean by China and
Northern Indian Ocean by Islamic Iran...
GULF STATES,
YEMEN, & IRAN
Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defense Minister, Prince Khalid
bin Salman, said that "Iran is spreading chaos in the region
through destruction and blood," in a speech at the International
Security Conference in Moscow, Russia. "The Iranian regime
continues to feed sectarianism and disrespect international
laws," the minister said. Adding that it is "spreading
chaos in the region through destruction and blood."
Saudi Arabia reiterated on Tuesday its support for the
US administration in its efforts to stopping Iran's destabilizing
policies and its backing for terrorist groups. The Saudi cabinet
chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz stressed the Kingdom's policy to
stabilize the global oil market in the larger interests of oil
producers and consumers and to ensure the growth and stability of the
world economy.
Yemeni human rights activists decried Houthi militias
over their wide-reaching campaign for recruiting women and girls in
territories under their control. In a fashion which is foreign to
Yemen's Arab heritage, drafted women and minor girls are being trained
in armed combat and tasked with specialized missions. The Iran-backed
insurgency group has recently celebrated graduating a new all-female
brigade, which joined the religiously branded 'Zaynabiyat' force. The
new unit is said to be led by Zainab al-Gharbani and holds light arms
and electricshock weapons.
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