Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Eye on Iran: Rare Iran Protest Over Food Price Hikes






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WSJ: "Several thousand Iranians protested rising prices of food-and chicken in particular-in the northeastern city of Neishabour, in what appeared to be the first incident in which the country's beleaguered economy sparked street unrest. Demonstrators gathered Monday on the city's main Imam Square and its surrounding streets chanting 'Death to inflation' and 'Shame on you government, you must resign,' according to a video posted on YouTube and on opposition blogs and websites. Large crowds of men and women, young and old, packed the sidewalks holding up their mobile phones as another crowd marched on the main street, according to the video. Iran's official news student news agency, ISNA, and the official website for Neishabour's Friday Imam, which carries local news, also posted reports as well as pictures of the demonstration. The reports said the soaring price of chicken and a shortage of poultry available at a government flat rate brought people to the streets." http://t.uani.com/NI0Zyu

AP: "Iranian commanders and political leaders - facing an increasing squeeze from international sanctions - have sharply stepped up threats and defiant statements in recent weeks over the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint at the mouth of the Gulf that is the route for one fifth of the world's oil. While it appears unlikely that Iran is ready to risk an almost certain military backlash by trying to close Hormuz - which is jointly controlled with Oman - the latest flurry from Tehran shows that Iranian authorities see the strait as perhaps their most valuable asset in brinksmanship over tightening sanctions and efforts to resume nuclear talks with world powers. In Iran's view, the strait offers a rare combination of strategic and economic leverage. Warnings from Tehran in the past about possible closure have been enough to boost oil prices to offset the blow of sanctions." http://t.uani.com/QwLnRJ

CNN: "Iran is in an 'open war' with Israel, President Shimon Peres said Monday, as he pointed the finger at Iran and Hezbollah for last week's bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israelis. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Peres said Israel will act to prevent further attacks. Peres said Israel has 'enough' hard intelligence to link the Bulgaria attack to Iran and its proxy Hezbollah, and believes more attacks are being planned as part of what he called an 'open war against Israel.' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement were responsible for a number of attacks and attempted attacks against Israeli targets in Thailand, Georgia, India, Greece, Cyprus and other countries." http://t.uani.com/OUx3fJ
Lebanon Banking Campaign   
Nuclear Program 

Bloomberg: "Iranian and European Union officials meet in Istanbul today in an attempt to establish common ground for another round of international talks on the Islamic republic's nuclear program. The meeting will be between Helga Schmid, deputy head of the EU's foreign relations arm, and Ali Bagheri, Iran's deputy negotiator on the nuclear issue, according to a statement by the office of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton yesterday. After that, Ashton and Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief negotiator, will be in contact 'about the prospects for a future meeting at the political level,' it said." http://t.uani.com/SRTvL8

RIA Novosti: "Iran will start enriching uranium to 56-percent level if Israel and Western world keep on pressurizing the Islamic Republic with sanctions, Kabir News reported on Monday citing Iranian religious leader Seyed Reza Taghavi. 'Currently Tehran produces 20-percent-enriched uranium but we will transform it to 56-percent-enriched uranium if Western countries continue their hostile viewpoint against Iran. All the restrictions and sanctions are because of the great power of the Islamic Republic.' Seyed Reza Taghavi added... Taghavi also warned that 'if Israel makes any mistake,' Iran 'will target the heart of Tel Aviv directly from Tehran,' adding that 'Iran will not bow in front of the massive sanctions from Western countries,' Kabir News said." http://t.uani.com/QwSrxw 

Sanctions
  
Reuters: "Iran launched its first domestically-produced aframax oil tanker, Iranian media reported on Tuesday, sidestepping growing Western sanctions which have targeted oil exports and battered its maritime trade. The oil tanker was ordered by Venezuela, Iran's Fars news agency reported. 'The production of the aframax ship is the first export shipbuilding activity of Iran, and we must continue by attracting more customers,' said Mehdi Etesam, managing director of Iran Maritime Industrial Company SADRA, according to Fars. It was not clear if further Iranian-made aframaxes were under order. Aframaxes can carry up to 700,000 barrels of oil." http://t.uani.com/OWjxYO

Reuters: "South Korea imported just over 176,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude oil in June, down about a quarter from a year ago, as shipments wound down ahead of a complete halt in July due to an EU ban on insuring tankers carrying Iranian oil. The world's No.4 buyer of Iranian crude imported 34.51 million barrels from Iran during the first six months of this year, down 17.1 percent from the same period a year ago, data from state-run Korea National Oil Corp showed on Monday. South Korea became the first major Asian consumer of Iranian crude to announce a halt to imports after the government said last month that shipments would be suspended from July 1 due to the European Union insurance ban." http://t.uani.com/MZ66Hb

Reuters: "Iran will allocate up to $30bn at a low official exchange rate for the import of basic goods, such as meat and medicine, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted a trade official as saying on Monday. Iranian media reported on Saturday that the government planned to introduce a three-tiered exchange rate for the purchase of different classes of imports... Mr Kermanshahi named dozens of goods that could be imported using the cheaper dollars, including red meat, chicken meat, live sheep and cows, barley, corn, raw oil, raw sugar, industrial powdered milk, pharmaceutical drugs, medical equipment not produced inside Iran, truck tyres, cotton and tractors. Goods such as olive oil, cameras, tobacco, washing machines, tyres, sauces, cigarette papers, suitcases, mobile phones, vehicles and clothing cannot be imported using the cheaper dollars, Mr Kermanshahi said. The cost of these goods is therefore likely to rise." http://t.uani.com/Nt5KOU

WSJ: "The oil market fell sharply, turning away from worries about Iran and news of pipeline outages, on renewed concerns about the euro zone. Front-month oil futures settled fell 4.2% to settle at $88.14, while Brent crude futures traded down $3.54 at $103.29 a barrel... In ruminating about the euro-zone crisis, the market turned its eyes away from the Iran story, which dominated news last week, sending prices higher for seven days in a row. After the recent trading, Iranian geopolitical concerns 'have been priced in and some stability in the Iranian risk factor is expected,' said James Ritterbusch, president of the oil-trading advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates, in a note." http://t.uani.com/NI1jx9

Terrorism

AFP: "The trial of two Iranians charged with possession of explosives allegedly destined to be used in bomb attacks in Kenya began Monday in a Nairobi court. Ahmed Mohammed and Sayed Mansour, who were arrested in June and charged with suspected links to a terror network planning bombings in Mombasa and Nairobi, are accused of possessing 15 kilos (33 pounds) of the powerful explosive RDX. Both men have denied the charges." http://t.uani.com/SRThn6

Foreign Affairs

WashPost: "The Olympics are supposed to be a time when nations put aside their differences, no matter how large, and square off on the playing field for some intense yet friendly competition. But when it comes to Iran and Israel, two countries that have each been on edge with anxiety about the other this summer, it appears that's not going to happen. Despite an Iranian assertion on Monday that its athletes would compete against Israeli ones at the 2012 Games, just hours earlier the Iranian team departed for London, leaving behind the lone athlete who had the possibility of facing an Israeli opponent." http://t.uani.com/Qh529a

AFP: "The energy-rich Gulf Cooperation Council on Monday expressed support for Yemen's security days after Sanaa said it uncovered what it called an Iranian spy cell. GCC secretary general Abdelatif Zayani praised Sanaa for dismantling the alleged spy ring and said the six-nation council 'fully backs Yemen in all the measures it undertakes to reinforce stability and security,' a statement said. Yemen's defence ministry said last week that authorities dismantled an 'Iranian spy network that had been operating in Yemen for seven years under the leadership of a former leader in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.'" http://t.uani.com/OWlXqk

Reuters: "A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Tuesday any foreign powers intervening in Syria would suffer 'decisive blows', specifically referring to 'hated Arabs' - a veiled reference to regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar. 'Not yet one of Syria's friends and the large resistance front has entered this arena, and if this were to happen, decisive blows would be struck against the enemy's front and specifically the hated Arabs,' Masoud Jazayeri was quoted as saying by Fars news agency." http://t.uani.com/NI3BfJ

Opinion & Analysis

Emanuele Ottolenghi in WSJ: "Ordinary Iranians are having to tighten their belts since the European Union's oil embargo came into force on July 1. The decades of economic mismanagement by Iran's authoritarian leaders have culminated in five years of increasingly stern sanctions, which are crippling Iran's economy. And notwithstanding the regime's defiant dismissal of their impact, sanctions have left many Iranian families with empty bank accounts and hollow stomachs. While government fat cats are unaffected, ordinary Iranians must contend every day with a currency devalued by hyperinflation and an official unemployment rate of 29.1 percent for the under 25, which some analysts believe to be twice as high. And things are about to get worse. The threat of further sanctions in the wake of the oil embargo and a new U.S. ban on doing business with Iran's central bank won't only affect Iran's energy sector. It's not just in their quality of life that ordinary Iranians are suffering. The state has long lost any legitimacy through its censorship and human-rights abuses. In recent weeks, not only have special forces begun to enforce the ban against satellite dishes with new intensity, but new raids on coffeehouses and stricter clothing regulations have exasperated an already frustrated population. A brain drain now threatens Iran's ability to compete in the modern world. Meanwhile, the regime's paranoia for dark international conspiracies is running amok. Government officials blame 'Zionist bankers' for the global economic downturn and impute a fierce drought in the country's southern districts to a "soft war" waged by the West. In a functioning democracy, an ill economy and an increasingly disaffected population would trigger a change of government, a drastic reassessment of national priorities or both. In Iran, the state can only try to pin the blame elsewhere, inventing enemies at home and conspiracies abroad while the house burns down around it. Given the nuclear threat, however, Western powers dealing with Iran seem content to reach an agreement with this ruthless regime. Their strategic priorities are understandable but shortsighted. For the West, the best way out of the current impasse is not an agreement that might give the state a lifeline, but a popular uprising in the pattern of the Arab Spring." http://t.uani.com/NH0XXp

Bennett Ramberg in Politico: "By late Tuesday, we could see the restart of the ticking clock that can lead to military action against Tehran's atomic program. These are the stakes should the second round of the European Union-Iran technical nuclear talks in Istanbul fail to make progress. Breakdown could make impossible any resumption of these stalled plenary negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran. Though sanctions have yet to play out, deadlock makes force increasingly plausible. However, many analysts and government officials in the United States and elsewhere have taken a glum view about the practicality of such a step. Airstrikes, they argue, may set Tehran back only a few months, and instead energize the government's efforts to get the bomb. Policymakers sound stumped. But they shouldn't be. If the decision to apply force were made, the international community can prevent an Iranian nuclear rebirth through inspectors who have the authority to destroy remaining nuclear contraband. Farfetched? Not at all. The global community actually did it before - in Iraq 1991-1994. This could repeat in Iran. History provides perspective. The belief, or, better put, hope that airstrikes can dramatically set back nuclear weapons programs goes back to World War II and the Allied airstrike on the Norsk Hydro heavy water plant in Nazi-occupied Norway. This installation produced a vital ingredient for the German war effort. The bombing did stop one plant - but not the program. Fortunately, Adolf Hitler's scientists did not figure out the riddles of atomic weapons by V-E Day. Only Germany's defeat and program dismantlement during occupation ended this program. In 1981, Israel sought to one-up the World War II template by striking the critical linchpin to Saddam Hussein's suspect program, the Osirak reactor. The Israelis believed that would end the nuclear threat. The attack came after a slew of other efforts - diplomatic demarches, public relations assassination and sabotage - collectively failed to halt construction of the French-engineered plant. The flawless airstrike destroyed the reactor - and with it Baghdad's source for nuclear weapons plutonium. But it did not end Iraq's weapons ambitions. In the decade that followed, Iraq dramatically increased nuclear funding and personnel. Baghdad turned away from the plutonium to a concealed uranium path to the bomb. It explored multiple enrichment technologies - but the lack of scientific expertise, advanced technology and sophisticated management led to labored progress. All the while, however, Iraqi officials feigned fidelity to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Then the 1991 Persian Gulf War blew away this facade. U.S. aircraft hit numerous industrial and suspect targets in Iraq, including locations that harbored much of the secret atomic venture. It was only after the war, however, that the international community realized the program's scope - uncovering some 40 nuclear facilities that housed three enrichment programs, as well as a plutonium separation facility." http://t.uani.com/OsRZKT

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@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.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.

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