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Top Stories
AFP:
"US President Barack Obama made a powerful plea Tuesday to give
diplomacy a chance to resolve a decade-old standoff with Iran over its
nuclear program, as he vowed to veto any new sanctions bill... 'It is
American diplomacy, backed by pressure, that has halted the progress of
Iran's nuclear program - and rolled parts of that program back - for the
very first time in a decade,' Obama said. Thanks to the six-month accord,
the Islamic republic has begun eliminating its stockpiles of enriched
uranium, has agreed to daily inspections and is not installing advanced
centrifuges, he said. 'With our allies and partners, we're engaged in
negotiations to see if we can peacefully achieve a goal we all share:
preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,' he stressed. But he
warned that negotiations for a comprehensive deal, due to start in New
York next month, 'will be difficult. They may not succeed.' Answering
criticism from some lawmakers about negotiating with Iran, Obama said the
US was 'clear-eyed' and any deal would not be based merely on trust but
on verifiable actions. 'The sanctions that we put in place helped make
this opportunity possible. But let me be clear: if this Congress sends me
a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto
it.'" http://t.uani.com/1fwtnQO
The Hill:
"Lawmakers are 'stunned' by President Obama's nuclear deal with
Iran, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said
at a hearing Tuesday on the agreement's implementation. Members of both
parties used the hearing to attack the preliminary deal with Iran that
went into effect last week, particularly its provisions allowing Iran to
continue low-level uranium enrichment. They also urged the Senate to
break with the White House and pass new sanctions that would set in if
Iran doesn't agree to a final deal within six months. 'I think all of us
are a little stunned,' Royce said. 'I think we're stunned that not only
does Iran continue to enrich uranium, but they're very, very vocal about
the fact that they're going to continue the research and development of
faster and faster spinning centrifuges.'" http://t.uani.com/1fdknAU
Reuters:
"Renault has resumed shipments to Iran and expects its car
production in the country to pick up progressively throughout the first
half of 2014, the French automaker said. A temporary easing of sanctions
has begun to allow a 'very low' volume of parts shipments for vehicle
assembly in Iran, Renault's regional boss Gilles Normand told Reuters in
an interview late on Tuesday. 'The important thing is that we can
gradually restart the supply of parts for vehicle production as well as
the flow of payments,' said Normand, head of the carmaker's Asia-Pacific
operations, which include the Middle East. 'There's a window of
opportunity for the next six months.' Overland shipments of parts for the
Tondar model, an Iranian version of Renault's low-cost Logan car, have
been leaving from Romania in the last 10 days after a six-month hiatus
caused by last year's further tightening of sanctions." http://t.uani.com/1jISsgn
Nuclear Program & Negotiations
Free Beacon:
"The full text of the recently inked Iranian nuclear deal is being
kept in 'a super secret location' shrouded in 'a cone of silence,'
according to House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) member Rep. Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.) Lawmakers and experts alike criticized the White
House for refusing to release publicly the full text of the deal, which
temporary halts some of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for billions
of dollars in economic sanctions relief. Ros-Lehtinen said on Tuesday
during a HFAC hearing about the deal that even members of Congress must
climb through hoops in order to view the deal. 'Why is it that members of
Congress have to go to a super secret location, a cone of silence ... to
look at the deal?' Ros-Lehtinen asked a panel of nuclear experts... Iran
is already experiencing an economic boom as the United States begins to
roll back sanctions, according to United Against Nuclear Iran CEO Mark
Wallace. 'The true value of sanctions relief is well more than $20
billion dollars,' said Wallace, contradicting White House claims that the
deal will give Tehran around $7 billion in relief. 'Iran's economy is
blossoming.'" http://t.uani.com/1fayCVJ
Reuters:
"U.N. nuclear inspectors visited an Iranian uranium mine for the
first time in nearly a decade on Wednesday, Iranian media reported, as
Tehran gradually opens up its disputed nuclear program to greater
international scrutiny. A three-member team from the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) went to the Gchine mine near the southern Gulf port
city of Bandar Abbas, a spokesman for Iran's atomic energy organization
said. The IAEA was last there in 2005. They 'are now conducting their
inspection,' Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted as saying on the web site of
Press TV, Iran's English-language state television. Allowing the U.N.
nuclear agency - which is investigating suspicions that Iran may have
carried out atomic bomb research - to go to Gchine was among six concrete
steps Iran agreed to under a November 11 cooperation agreement with the
IAEA... Going to Gchine would allow the IAEA to know the amount of
uranium mined there, making it 'harder for Iran to generate a secret
stock of natural uranium', the U.S. Institute for Science and
International Security (ISIS) said last month." http://t.uani.com/1iLggQw
Reuters:
"An international deal capping Iran's nuclear work set the programme
back by just six weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on
Tuesday, accusing Tehran of using the hiatus to hone technologies with
bomb-making potential... 'All told, we assess that the agreement put Iran
six weeks further away, no more than that, from the place where it was
beforehand,' Netanyahu told a security conference in Tel Aviv. 'So the
test remains for a permanent deal, if achieved, to prevent Iran from
achieving a nuclear capability altogether,' he said, alluding to further
planned international talks with Iran aimed at a fuller agreement on the
disputed nuclear programme." http://t.uani.com/1d7JW2h
AFP:
"Iran said Tuesday that Israel is using Tehran's nuclear programme
to distract from its 'crimes' against the Palestinians, during a rare
visit by an official from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
Israel, along with Western countries, has long accused Iran of covertly
pursuing nuclear weapons alongside its civilian programme -- charges
denied by Tehran -- and the Jewish state criticised a landmark nuclear
deal reached with world powers in November. 'Under the pretext of Iran's
peaceful nuclear energy (programme), the Zionists have always tried to
distract governments and nations' public opinion from their own crimes in
Palestine,' Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a statement. He
made the remarks during a visit to Iran by Jibril Rajub, a senior
official in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which is currently
engaged in US-brokered peace talks with Israel... [Rajub] called on the
'Iranian people and their government to redouble their support of the
Palestinians against the occupation and against Israel's plans to Judaise
the Holy City and expel its inhabitants.'" http://t.uani.com/1njwFfw
Trend:
"'More sanctions would only result in more centrifuges,' Iran's
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in reference to Iran's steady
progress in installing thousands of centrifuges for the enrichment of
uranium over the past few years... He also went on to say that the Geneva
nuclear deal is a great success for his country. 'For one decade there
was only one image in the West's mind, that there is only one option,
that is, zero enrichment, and that Iran's uranium enrichment must be
stopped,' he maintained." http://t.uani.com/1e7gDDd
Sanctions
Relief
Reuters:
"Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Iran to
bolster trade and energy relations, state TV said, in what also looked
like a bid to defuse tensions over Syria by capitalizing on Tehran's
diplomatic opening to regional rivals and the West. Iran has been a
strong strategic ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the start
of the uprising against him, while Turkey has been one of his fiercest
critics, supporting his opponents and giving refuge to rebel fighters...
Analysts said the main focus of Erdogan's visit would be expanding
economic cooperation, finessing the political disputes for now.
'Considering that the economy and energy ministers are accompanying
Erdogan, we can say this trip is business-targeted,' said Tehran-based
analyst Hossein Foroughi. Three trade deals were signed on Wednesday
after Erdogan's arrival, Iranian state television said, without
elaborating... Iranian officials say trade between the countries stood at
$22 billion (16.2 billion euros) in 2012, before dipping to $20 billion
in 2013. It is expected to reach $30 billion in 2015." http://t.uani.com/1by6wBt
AFP:
"Iran wants to use Japanese, South Korean and Swiss banks to handle
international trade exempted from Western sanctions under a landmark
nuclear deal, a senior official said on Tuesday. Intensifying US
sanctions since 2008, mirrored by the European Union in 2012, had
effectively shut Iran out of the international banking system, making all
foreign trade difficult. But under the November agreement, which went
into effect last week, major powers agreed Iran could set up a financial
channel to pay for the import of goods already exempt from Western sanctions.
The same designated banks will be used to handle income Iran receives
from the partial easing of EU and US sanctions over the next six months
in return for its scaling back of its controversial nuclear programme.
'Under the Geneva agreement, a banking mechanism is to be designated by
the United States and Western countries... for purchases of food
products, medicines and medical equipment,' said Abbas Araqchi, one of
Iran's top negotiators. 'Banks from Japan, South Korea and Switzerland
have been selected,' Araqchi told Iranian media, without naming the
banks. Araqchi said the move would facilitate some 18 billion dollars a
year in food and medical imports that are not themselves subject to
Western sanctions but which Iran has struggled to make payment for
because of the Western banking sanctions. The same mechanism would be
used to handle revenues from the slightly more than one million barrels
per day in oil exports Iran is allowed to make under the agreement, which
are expected to generate some $15 billion in revenues." http://t.uani.com/1dMm3NV
Bloomberg:
"Insurance for tankers to export Iranian crude may be unusable even
after the U.S. and the European Union eased sanctions against the Persian
Gulf state, a group covering vessel owners said. Ship owners hauling
Iran's oil may go unpaid if they claim against insurance policies after
July 20, the date temporary relief of sanctions on the nation is due to
expire or be renewed, Gard AS, an Arendal, Norway-based organization
covering against risks including oil spills, said in an update on its
website today. The Office of Foreign Assets Control, part of the U.S.
Treasury, declined to clarify whether claims would be recoverable after
July even if the incident happened before then, Gard said... 'Members and
clubs should proceed on the basis that beyond 20 July 2014, clubs will
not be able to respond to any claims presented in respect of liabilities
arising during the 20 January/20 July suspension period,' Gard, the
largest P&I provider, said in its notice. 'This has the effect of
rendering the current suspension of sanctions on insurance cover, and in
particular P&I cover, of very limited, if any, value to
shipowners.'" http://t.uani.com/1aHvALJ
Congressional
Sanctions Debate
The Hill:
"Critics and advocates of President Obama's Iran diplomacy are
eagerly awaiting his State of the Union speech - but with opposite
expectations. The liberal, pro-Israel group J Street hopes the president
will tell lawmakers once and for all to back off their threat to pass new
sanctions that the White House says could scuttle any chance at a nuclear
deal. 'We hope he addresses it directly,' said Dylan Williams, the
group's chief lobbyist. 'It will show that he feels this is a fight he
can win and he's coming from a position of strength vis-a-vis those in
Congress who are pushing for new sanctions.' ... United Against Nuclear
Iran, which supports sanctions, thinks the president should instead
engage lawmakers on what the terms of a final deal should be. 'The Obama
administration has not been doing this so far,' said CEO Mark Wallace.
'In fact they have been extending olive branches to Iran, while attacking
Congress as reckless and war-hungry.'" http://t.uani.com/1ll1rWS
Human Rights
IHR:
"According to sources Iran Human Rights (IHR) has been in contact
with the two Ahwazi Arab activists Hadi Rashedi and Hashem
Shabani have been executed. Iranian intelligence ministry offcials
have informed the families of the prisoners that the executions were
carried out four days ago. However, Ahwazi activists believe that Hadi
Rashedi and Hashem Shabani were executed immediately after their transfer
from the Karoun prison of Ahwaz. Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly
condemns execution of Ahwazi Arab activists. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the
spokesperson of IHR said: 'the leadership of the Iranian authorities must
be held accountable for the unlawful executions of the Ahwazi Arab
activists. We once again urge the United Nations to send an independent
fact finding mission to Iran to investigate these executions'. On January
20, 2014, 13 human rights NGOs issued a statement calling to stop
execution of Ahwazi Arab activists." http://t.uani.com/L8Wkbp
Domestic
Politics
Al-Monitor:
"The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) is making news in Iran for all the
wrong reasons. It's falling, and fast. Its main index peaked at 89,500
points on Jan. 5 of this year. Then it started to fall. By Jan. 26, it
had fallen to 81,905 points. At one point, its dive was described as
'historic.' A loss of 7,595 points within three weeks (almost 7%) is a
lot for any stock exchange, especially the TSE, one of the fastest rising
in the world. In mid-August 2010, it crossed the 16,000 points threshold
and that was considered major news. Now, despite the recent falls, its
value is almost 400% higher than then." http://t.uani.com/1by4t0d
Foreign Affairs
WSJ:
"A group of British lawmakers who visited Iran earlier this month
said Tuesday that they expected a return visit by some of their Iranian
counterparts to London, possibly in June or July, although no dates have
been fixed yet. If confirmed the visit would mark another step in the
gradual thaw in relations between Britain and Iran. The two countries
severed diplomatic ties in 2011 when protesters overran the U.K. embassy
in Tehran in response to the sanctions regime on the country, prompting
Britain to expel Iran's diplomats. 'It's not fixed but it is going to
happen,' Jeremy Corbyn, one of the four U.K. lawmakers who visited Tehran
in early January, told reporters when asked about the possibility of a
visit to Britain by Iranian lawmakers. He added that it had been agreed
in principle with representatives of Iran's parliament." http://t.uani.com/1fwtnQO
Opinion &
Analysis
UANI Advisory
Board Member Matthias Kuentzel:
"On the one side, a majority in the U.S. Senate supports a bill to
strengthen the American negotiating position vis-à-vis Iran by
threatening further sanctions if Tehran violates the Geneva Agreement or
backs away from the planned final accord on its nuclear program. 75
prominent foreign policy advisers and publicists have supported this bill
in an Open Letter to leading members of the Congress. On the other side,
the U.S. president is threatening to veto this bill. He is supported by
influential senators such as Dianne Feinstein, the National Iranian
American Council, a pro-Iran lobby group, and grassroots organizations
such as the Jewish organization JStreet. Their campaigns appeal to the
war-weariness of the American population. The JStreet-Sticker bears the
slogan: 'No Iranian bomb. NO NEW WAR. No to Senate Bill 1881.' Tehran has
been betting on such a division for months. 'If we think that there is a
unified voice in America, we are mistaken,' maintained Iran's foreign
minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. 'By utilizing the opposing views in the
U.S. we can be the winners on the (diplomatic) scene.' President Rohani's
consultants came to the same conclusion. They recommended 'enhancing the
influence and power of political forces in Washington that ... believe
that the U.S. current policy of pressure against Iran should abandoned.'
The most important force who believes that the pressure should be
abandoned, at least temporarily, is the President. While the Senate
majority assumes that Iran will change its nuclear policies only under
pressure, Mr. Obama maintains that the absence of pressure is necessary
for the diplomatic path to prevail. How Mr. Obama came to this belief is
unclear. He himself puts the possibility of a final agreement with Iran
at just 50 percent. In addition, Tehran's announcements and activities
since the signing of the Geneva Agreement of November 24 have made it
clear that relying on voluntary Iranian concessions is a lost cause.
After the entry into force of this agreement, not only Tehran's efforts to
complete the plutonium breeder of Arak will continue but also the
operation of a new generation of centrifuges 'for research purposes'. On
20 December, the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency even announced that it
wants to make Iran a uranium enrichment center for the whole of Western
Asia5, while the Office of the Supreme Leader maintained that the
six-month period of the Interim Agreement is meaningless: A final nuclear
deal could 'require even 20 years of bargaining time.' On January 14,
President Rouhani put Tehran's attitude in a nutshell: 'Do you know what
the Geneva agreement is? It means the superpower's surrender to the great
Iranian nation.' This is proof that voluntary concessions from Iran
cannot be expected. Instead, the threat of non-military and military
pressure seems to be a prerequisite for an acceptable outcome of the
negotiations. But why is the public anger of the President not directed
against the troublemakers in Tehran but instead against those American
lawmakers who do not want to be humiliated by Iran but demonstrate with
their bill what Senator Robert Menendez called a 'reasonable pragmatism'?
http://t.uani.com/1iJ2bmI
David Albright
& Paulina Izewicz in ISIS: "The interim steps
under the Joint Plan of Action are not expected to seriously affect
Iran's centrifuge research and development program. These steps may delay
the final development of new centrifuges that have not yet used uranium
hexafluoride at the Natanz Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant. However, Iran can
continue developm ent of several existing types of advanced centrifuges
there. More significant limitations on Iran's centrifuge R&D combined
with greater transparency of this program should be included in the final
step of a comprehensive solution, given that Iran's development of more
advanced centrifuges would greatly ease its ability to conduct a secret
breakout to nuclear weapons." http://t.uani.com/1iaAXTf
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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