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Top Stories
AP:
"Iran's elite Quds Force and Hezbollah militants are learning from a
series of botched terror attacks over the past two years and pose a
growing threat to the U.S. and other Western targets as well as Israel, a
prominent counterterrorism expert says. Operating both independently and
together, the militant groups are escalating their activities around the
world, fueling worries in the U.S. that they increasingly have the
ability and the willingness to attack the U.S., according to a report by
Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Studies. His
report points to two attacks last year - one successful and one foiled by
U.S. authorities - as indications that the militants are adapting and are
determined to take revenge on the West for efforts to disrupt Tehran's
nuclear program and other perceived offenses. The report's conclusions
expand on comments late last year from U.S. terrorism officials who told
Congress that the Quds Force and Hezbollah, which often coordinate
efforts, have become 'a significant source of concern' for the U.S."
http://t.uani.com/XRUQSq
Reuters:
"Trade in Turkish gold bars to Iran via Dubai is drying up as a
growing number of banks and dealers refuse to buy the bullion to avoid
the risks associated with Turkey's gold-for-gas trade with Iran. U.S.
officials say they are concerned the trade between the two countries
provides a financial lifeline to the Iran, which is largely frozen out of
the global banking system by Western sanctions. The U.S. State Department
said in December that diplomats were in talks with Ankara over the flow
of gold to Iran after the Senate approved expanded sanctions on trade
with Iran's energy and shipping sectors, which would also restrict trade
in precious metals. That increasing U.S. pressure has already started to
create troublesome repercussions for exporters of Turkish gold. Many
dealers in Dubai's crowded and boisterous gold souk now refuse to take
gold bars produced in Turkey. Some ask for a deep discount, saying their
clients such as banks and other traders had suspended dealing with
Turkish bullion over the past couple of months." http://t.uani.com/VnrfAa
Bloomberg:
"The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. was ordered by a judge to
turn over funds belonging to Iran-based entities to the families of 17
U.S. Air Force service members killed in a 1996 attack in Saudi Arabia.
U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan ordered the transfer
today. The assets at issue total about $357,000 and Bank of Tokyo said it
doesn't oppose releasing them, according to the filing. The families
sought the judgment against Iran after a federal court in Washington
ruled Iran provided support for the attacks and entered judgment against
Iran for damages of $336,658,063, according to today's ruling. The case is
Estate of Michael Heiser, 11-cv-1601, U.S. District Court, Southern
District of New York (Manhattan)." http://t.uani.com/Vpwlxs
Nuclear Program
Reuters:
"The U.N. atomic watchdog made clear on Tuesday it had seen no sign
of any explosion at one of Iran's most sensitive nuclear plants, backing
up Tehran's denial of media reports that such an incident had taken place
last week. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in an unusual
move, made a brief statement after some Israeli and Western media at the
weekend reported there had been significant damage at the underground
Fordow uranium enrichment facility... 'We understand that Iran has denied
that there has been an incident at Fordow. This is consistent with our
observations,' IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor said in an emailed statement
in response to a question." http://t.uani.com/Xi30V5
Sanctions
Reuters:
"The eight Indian crew members on board the MV Amina had no inkling
they were trapped on the frontline of the West's economic war against
Iran. All experienced seamen, they joined the Iranian-flagged cargo ship
last year. Within months, they were caught up in a fight to prevent the
ship fleeing to international waters to escape port arrest in Sri Lanka.
Having disobeyed the captain's orders to weigh anchor, their courage
turned to fear. 'The captain taunted us that if you fall in the water I
will give a report that says that you tried to commit suicide,' said
42-year-old Jesuraj, a foreman of the ship, speaking to Reuters after he
and the others eventually made their way home. 'We had a lifeboat on
standby and were ready to escape if required. We slept with our life
jackets with the hope that if the ship did leave for Iran we would jump
off and try to get the attention of some fishing boat.'" http://t.uani.com/WPPKXT
Human Rights
Fox News:
"On the day he was confirmed as Secretary of State, John Kerry went
farther than his predecessor had in condemning Iran for imprisoning an
American citizen, a Christian pastor who was sentenced this week to eight
years in prison for evangelizing in the Islamic Republic. Kerry, the
longtime Democratic senator from Massachusetts, made the statement in
response to a written query from fellow Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who
asked if Kerry, as secretary of state, would join the National Security
Council's call for Saeed Abedini's release. 'We remain deeply concerned
about the fairness and transparency of Mr. Abedini's trial,' Kerry told
Rubio. 'I, along with the U.S. government, condemn Iran's continued
violation of the universal right of freedom of religion and call on the
Iranian authorities to respect Mr. Abedini's human rights and release
him.'" http://t.uani.com/Yh9qVz
RFE/RL:
"Mohammad-Hossein Aghasi, the Tehran-based lawyer for the family of
the former FBI agent who went missing in Iran in 2007, Robert Levinson,
says Tehran should question another American allegedly involved in the
case. Mosaddegh Katouzian conducts an exclusive interview with Aghasi for
RFE/RL's Radio Farda." http://t.uani.com/YE7fiV
Terrorism
NYT:
"Israel strongly criticized Argentina on Tuesday, summoning its
ambassador to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem to explain Argentina's
agreement with Iran to establish a joint commission to investigate the
1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, an attack for
which Tehran is widely blamed. The Foreign Ministry's deputy director
general for Latin America 'conveyed Israel's astonishment and
disappointment at the Argentine government's decision to collaborate with
Iran,' according to a statement from the ministry. It added that Israel
had 'protested the unacceptable attitude of the Argentine government
toward Israel since the beginning of contacts between Buenos Aires and
Tehran,' saying that Argentina had not responded to Israel's requests to
be kept informed of the diplomatic moves with Iran, nor of how Argentina
envisaged bringing the perpetrators to justice." http://t.uani.com/WwUtji
Domestic
Politics
AP:
"In a year when Iran will elect a new president and could face
make-or-break decisions about its nuclear program, the country's most
prominent political family appears poised to extend its influence, which
would strengthen the rule of hard-line clerics as they struggle with
other power centers. Larijani brothers now sit atop two of Iran's three
branches of government, the parliament and the judiciary, which they have
used to attempt to foil populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Now speculation
is rife that the best known of five Larijani brothers, parliament speaker
Ali Larijani, will make a second bid for the presidency when Ahmadinejad
completes his final term in June. The rise of the brothers, staunch
defenders of Islamic rule who have the confidence of Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and their tensions with the more nationalist
Ahmadinejad have underscored the competing strains of conservatism in
Iran's increasingly fractious politics." http://t.uani.com/129hKeZ
RFE/RL:
"Iran's Guardians Council has approved changes to the country's
election law that significantly diminish the government's authority over
elections. A Guardians Council spokesman said the new law stipulates that
elections will be run by a new central election board made up of
representatives from the three branches of power, as well as seven
'national, political, social, and cultural' figures. Previously, the
Interior Ministry was tasked with organizing and overseeing all
elections. Now it will play a much smaller role.The changes, which come
as the Islamic republic prepares for a June 14 presidential vote, appear
to be a preemptive move to prevent President Mahmud Ahmadinejad from
using his office to manipulate the vote. 'A major part of the changes
were made because of the concerns of the conservative critics of the
Iranian president who are worried that Ahmadinejad and his team could try
to interfere in the election and influence the results,' says Iranian
journalist Roozbeh Mirebrahimi. 'They have therefore limited to a great
extent the authority of the [Interior Ministry] to prevent such a
possibility.'" http://t.uani.com/VVOcvV
Opinion &
Analysis
Claudia Rosett in
Forbes: "Although sanctions have forced Iran to cut
back dramatically on its shipping traffic, some Iranian-linked vessels
continue to slip through the net. For a brazen example, take the case of
an Iranian-flagged oil tanker named the Tour 2, currently off Cyprus,
which earlier this month paid a call at the Syrian port of Tartous. The
Tour 2 is not on the U.S. sanctions list, though if sanctions are to be
the U.S. tool of choice for dealing with Syria and Iran, the Tour 2 comes
with a record that should transfix any dedicated sanctions enforcer. Over
the past year, it has made at least three circuits between
U.S.-sanctioned Iran and U.S.-sanctioned Syria, calling at Syria last
March, July and just this month. These trips appear to be part of Iran's
effort to bolster Syria's regime against the uprising in which more than
60,000 people so far have died. While Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps has abetted the Assad regime in the killing, Iranian-controlled
tankers have helped the Syrian regime defy U.S. and European Union
embargoes on its oil sales by sending ships to pick up Syrian crude, for
onward sale that benefits Iran's embattled ally, President Bashar Assad.
The Tour 2 has been one of these ships. The Tour 2 has also put on a rich
display of what Treasury has described in similar Iran-linked cases as
'deceptive practices.' While it is not unusual for ships to change names
and flags, the Tour 2 has gone noticeably beyond the norm. Since 2011,
this tanker has sailed under three slightly varied names, and four
different flags, including Malta, Bolivia, Sierra Leone and Togo, before
reverting just a few weeks ago, by at least one account, to its original
flag - Iran. It has also had at least three shell company owners in three
different countries over the past year, at least two of those visibly
linked to Iran. Fortunately, the ship itself can be tracked by way of its
IMO number, the unique hull number issued to every major vessel under
rules of the International Maritime Organization. This makes it easier to
keep an eye on the actual tanker, despite the razzle-dazzle of changing
flags and owners. For the Tour 2, the IMO number is 9364112, and the
following account of its pedigree is based on ship-tracking data from two
highly-respected ship-tracking services, Lloyd's List Intelligence and
Equasis; as well as records of various corporate and shipping registries,
public findings of the U.S. Treasury, documents of the United Nations and
stories that have riffled through the international press." http://t.uani.com/VUahey
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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