Eye on Iran: Iran's President Blames U.S. for Middle East Violence

Join UANI           Top Stories WashPost: "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday offered to help root out terrorism in the Middle East and said the United States and its support for Israel are a major cause of the violence. Rouhani told the U.N. General Assembly that terrorists excuse their brutality as a reaction to military interventions and occupations by what he termed 'newcomers' to the region. 'If not for the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and its unwarranted support for the inhumane actions of the Zionist regime against the oppressed nation of Palestine, today the terrorists would not have an excuse for the justification of their crimes,' he said. Rouhani's speech was closely watched because it was his first address to the world body since Iran finished a landmark nuclear agreement with the United States and five other nations. He said the deal, finalized in July, marked a 'new chapter' in Iran's dealings with the world, so his swipe at the United States was striking. Rouhani said the United States and its allies in the region - an apparent reference to Israel and the Sunni Muslim states in the Persian Gulf - 'only cultivate the seeds of extremism and division.' 'This must be brought to an end and its actions must be made compatible with the realities of the region,' he said... He said Iran is prepared to help bring democracy to Syria and Yemen." http://t.uani.com/1ju9EJs AFP: "An ultraconservative Iranian lawmaker hit out Tuesday at reports Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shook hands with US President Barack Obama at the UN General Assembly, branding it as unrevolutionary. The remarks came after Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency and international media outlets documented the impromptu encounter in New York on Monday. 'Dr Zarif was leaving the hall when he accidentally faced Mr Obama and John Kerry, who were about to enter. They briefly greeted each other and the two shook hands,' ISNA said, citing a source close to Iran's UN delegation. Although Kerry, the US Secretary of State, and Zarif shook hands numerous times during talks that ended with a July 14 deal on Iran's nuclear programme, the handshake with Obama would be the first known between a US president and a top Iranian official since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Despite the nuclear deal, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said the United States remains the 'number one enemy' of the Islamic republic, a statement reiterated by lawmaker Mansour Haghighatpour. 'We hope this news is not confirmed because if Mr Zarif has done such a thing, he has definitely ignored the system's red lines,' Haghighatpour was quoted as saying by the Tasnim News Agency. Haghighatpour is a member of a special committee established by parliament to review the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers led by the US. He said the circumstances were not yet right to shake hands with a US president. 'America is still the enemy of the Iranian nation and the US insists on its enmity towards Iran. Therefore, shaking hands with the enemy is contrary to the revolution's principles and against the nation's rights,' he said. In Tehran, the foreign ministry's media office said no meeting was pre-planned with Obama and the encounter was 'completely accidental,' but it did not deny there was a handshake." http://t.uani.com/1MY2rO8 WSJ: "Iraq joined Russia, Iran and Syria in a new agreement to strengthen cooperation against extremist group Islamic State, extending the Kremlin's reach in the Middle East as it rivals Washington for influence... Iraq's Defense Ministry said Sunday that the country had signed an intelligence and security cooperation pact with Russia, Iran and Syria, pledging to cooperate in collecting information about Islamic State... Mr. Putin's aggressive push into Syria in recent weeks is increasingly marginalizing the White House's influence over events on the ground, Arab diplomats said. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said late Sunday that he has been in close coordination with Mr. Putin about Russia's actions in Syria and that they both support an effort to strengthen the Assad regime. 'The government in Damascus cannot be weakened,' Mr. Rouhani told a group of American foreign policy experts and journalists in New York. Washington's ability to oust Mr. Assad, its stated goal in Syria, is rapidly diminishing, said the Arab diplomats. And any willingness by the White House to collaborate in Syria and Iraq could place it in a de facto alliance with Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization." http://t.uani.com/1RdIHoD  Nuclear Program & Agreement WSJ: "Foreign ministers from Iran and the six powers that negotiated July's nuclear agreement met Monday evening to discuss the implementation of the deal, with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini saying they hope to complete that work in early 2016. With the agreement now backed by a United Nations resolution and with efforts to defeat the accord in the U.S. Congress having failed, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and counterparts from the other nations discussed Monday next steps for putting the deal into effect-and possible hurdles ahead. Iran will only win major sanctions relief once it has carried out a whole series of measures to scale back its nuclear program and infrastructure. Iran's parliament still has to vote to approve the deal. Monday's hourlong foreign ministers meeting was the first since the nuclear agreement was sealed July 14 in Vienna. Speaking to reporters afterward, Ms. Mogherini said the group also discussed the conflict in Syria with Iran. She said the six-power group could hold future meetings with Iran on the Syrian crisis as part of broader 'shuttle diplomacy' to try to end the bloodshed... Most Western officials have said it would likely take six months or more to complete all the steps, with sanctions relief therefore coming early next year. Iranian officials say they hope to complete the steps sooner. However Ms. Mogherini confirmed the target date for implementation remains early 2016." http://t.uani.com/1LMxyuG Military Matters Sputnik: "Tehran signed contracts worth $21 billion with Moscow for the purchase of satellite-related equipment, as well as Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) aircraft, at the MAKS-2015 international air show, the managing director of Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO) told Sputnik Saturday. The Iranian delegation visited the MAKS-2015 air show held in the Russian city of Zhukovsky in the Moscow Region between August 25 and August 30." http://t.uani.com/1MXLaov Congressional Action Free Beacon: "Congress is considering new legislation that would block the Obama administration from releasing billions of dollars to the Iranian regime as was agreed to under the parameters of the recent nuclear accord, according to Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.), the lawmaker spearheading the bill. The bill, which is expected to be brought to the House floor for a vote this week, would require Iran to first pay $43.5 billion in legal penalties awarded by U.S. courts to American victims of Iranian terrorism. President Obama would then be in a position to either disregard the requirement under his executive authority, thereby clearing the way for Iran to immediately receive $150 billion, or force Tehran to negotiate settlements for these terror victims. The legislation, called the Justice for Victims of Iranian Terrorism Act, comes after a lawsuit filed by U.S. terror victims that argue they should first be paid damages before Iran sees a dime of the money promised by the Obama administration. The victims said they fear that if the money is first released to Iran, they will never receive the billions in compensation awarded to them by U.S. courts." http://t.uani.com/1FAoiZG The Hill: "A pair of Republican lawmakers want the head of an international energy agency monitoring Iran's nuclear facilities to clarify Tehran's role in the inspections. The two lawmakers said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should be upfront about Iran's role given the controversy surrounding side deals between Tehran and the IAEA signed during negotiations between Iran and the U.S. and five other countries. 'We ask that you ... fully explain the role Iran plays in verifying its nuclear facilities under the secret side deals Iran and the IAEA have concluded, and affirm that this arrangement in no way is precedent setting for future inspections of any kind,' Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) wrote in a letter to Yukiya Amano, the IAEA's director general... They added in Monday's letter that any deal that excludes IAEA inspectors 'sets a dangerous precedent for future inspections, whether related to settling outstanding PMD issues or verification issues that arise after Implementation Day of the JCPOA, and undermines the credibility of the IAEA.'" http://t.uani.com/1KPO1tL Sanctions Relief FT: "People with experience of doing business in Iran report significant interest -- 'everyone is coming for a visit', says one Tehran-based investment manager. But they add that foreign investors are also treading carefully. Given how long it took for Iran and the international powers negotiating with the country's leaders to reach an agreement, investors are testing the water and getting ready to jump in without actually making the leap. Naked hostility to the deal from Republicans in the US, including presidential candidates, has added to the air of caution. 'The bigger players will be quite cautious in terms of how quickly they can make tangible progress,' says Ali Ghezelbash, co-founder and deputy chairman of the non-profit European Iran Research Group (EIRG). 'Some of them have been [to Iran] already to see how quickly they could potentially ... get things up and running. But they will be quite slow to do deals - although they will want to show intent much quicker.' A key event everyone is waiting for is the lifting of banking sanctions, according to Dominic Bokor-Ingram, portfolio adviser for frontier markets at asset manager Charlemagne Capital. 'Because there are so many sanctions, compliance departments [in western banks] will take a long time before they are comfortable,' Mr Bokor-Ingram says... 'The larger multinational and financial companies probably will not come immediately - perhaps in a year or two,' says Ramin Rabii, Turquoise's chief executive. 'They will ... want some sort of guarantee from the US Treasury that they are not crossing any red lines. That said, we will have smaller and more regional organisations - boutique banks, for example - doing business here.' Observers say oil and gas companies and larger banking institutions will want to show a willingness to return to Iran but at the same time without taking on too great a risk. In March, 47 Republican senators sent an open letter to the Iranian leadership warning that the next US president could undo any nuclear agreement with the 'stroke of a pen'. 'If I was in [the oil executives'] shoes,' says Mr Bokor-Ingram, 'I would want to see this deal hold for a couple of years before committing a few billion dollars. If the US reimposes sanctions, any money that they put in is, shall we say, not 100 per cent safe.'" http://t.uani.com/1FAsatB Politico: "At the heart of the landmark Iranian nuclear agreement is a promise: If Iran complies with the limits on its nuclear program, the U.S. and other nations will lift the painful economic sanctions that have been hobbling its economy for years. This is no small matter. Iran is one of the largest economies in the Middle East, and companies, especially European firms, are already champing at the bit to re-open valuable Iranian business channels. But how exactly will it happen? To sort through the diplomatic delicacy ahead, POLITICO senior policy reporter Darren Samuelsohn sat down with Chris Backemeyer, the deputy coordinator for sanctions policy at the State Department... His first message for businesses: Don't hold your breath. Some minor lines of trade will open up-and some not-so-minor ones, like passenger aircraft-but most U.S. sanctions against Iran are driven by issues like human rights, terrorism and its 1979 Islamic revolution, and those aren't going anywhere. In the interview, Backemeyer explains that the 'complicated relationship' between the two countries hasn't gotten any less complicated. And no, Washington has no plans to open up a trade mission in Tehran." http://t.uani.com/1h7dnuu Reuters: "Iran's condensate exports in September hit the highest monthly total so far this year, after its top client China resumed buying of the ultra-light crude for the first time in six months, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday... Iran has had to store tens of millions of barrels of oil, mostly condensate from its South Pars gas fields, onboard ships due to a drop in China's demand over the summer and an outage at a major plant. 'Unlike crude oil that could be cut back, Iran has had to keep South Pars pumping to supply its local gas market,' said one of the sources with direct knowledge of supplies to China... The source said that China's Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's largest refiner, Sinopec , imported about one million barrels of Iranian condensate in September, with the same monthly amount due to be shipped through to March... Iranian condensate exports in September were around 210,000 barrels per day (bpd), topping 200,000 bpd for the first time this year after China resumed imports, a second source with knowledge of the data said. Other buyers included Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Poland, said the source. Iran has the capacity to export about 500,000 bpd of condensate, but buyers took about 180,000 bpd on average in the first nine months this year, according to the sources." http://t.uani.com/1h7s4h4 Reuters: "China will prioritize its energy and financial cooperation with Iran, as the recent nuclear deal means there is now even more opportunity to work together, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani. China and Iran have close diplomatic, economic, trade and energy ties, and China has been active in pushing both the United States and Iran to reach agreement on the nuclear issue... Meeting in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations, Xi told Rouhani that once the nuclear agreement was put in force 'Iran will have ever more opportunity for foreign cooperation, and Sino-Iran ties will face a new development opportunity', China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. China wants increased cooperation in the fields of railways, roads, iron and steel, auto manufacturing, electricity and high-technology, Xi said. '(We) must prioritize energy and financial cooperation,' he added, without elaborating." http://t.uani.com/1KPTdOq Reuters: "India will make a $700 million oil payment to Iran on Wednesday, sources said, the first release of such funds after the July deal that sets the roadmap for the lifting of sanctions aimed at Tehran's nuclear activities... Refiners will be making payment in rupees equivalent to $700 million to the state-run UCO Bank on Wednesday this week, said three sources with direct knowledge of the matter. They said UCO Bank has already bought dollars in the forward markets for payments into the Central Bank of Iran's account with Oman's Bank Muscat. The sources said U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has already approved the banking mechanism and payment of $1.4 billion by Indian refiners in two equal instalments to Tehran. Timing for the second installment is not yet known, the sources said." http://t.uani.com/1KPU81e Reuters: "Poland sent a high-level delegation including pharmaceutical, chemical and railway executives to Iran on Friday, joining a string of Western states hoping to exploit opportunities opened by Tehran's nuclear agreement with world powers. Economy Minister Janusz Piechocinski was heading a group with representatives of some 60 Polish businesses, including railway manufacturers Newag and Pesa. Poland is interested in exporting foodstuffs as well as home appliances and furniture to the Islamic Republic, Piechocinski told reporters before boarding the flight to Tehran. 'Our countries could also cooperate in oil and gas exploration, mining and energy efficiency sectors,' he said... 'The Germans and French have already been to Iran, the Spanish are going too. We also have to be there,' said a Polish government source, speaking on condition of anonymity." http://t.uani.com/1KPUgxB IRNA (Iran): "Owner and manager of the Austrian Bertsch Group said family-owned Austrian companies have always received warm welcome from their Iranian counterparts because they have never betrayed each other's trust. 'Austrians are very welcome in Iran and they will be very welcome in Austria, because they trust each other,' said Hubert Bertsch in an interview with Shana during a Tehran visit. The Bertsch Group is active in the business of power plants and waste-heat recovery systems and it is very much in the oil, gas and in the general industry, said Mr. Bertsch. The company has a long history of presence in Iran because the mentality of Iranian and Austrian people is very much aligned... The Austrian industrialist added, 'We have partners here in Iran. I personally have been here 20 years ago and it's a good country and we will have a good future together.'" http://t.uani.com/1JtEKWt Syria Conflict FP: "President Barack Obama said Monday he is willing to work with two longtime military foes - Russia and Iran - to end nearly five years of civil war in Syria but stood firm on U.S. demands that President Bashar al-Assad give up power as a necessary pathway to peace. Obama's olive branch was the flip side of the uncomfortable new reality he now faces in Syria and Shiite-led states in the Mideast. Russia, one of Assad's longest and strongest benefactors, is boosting its military forces in Syria and doing so with the aid of Iran and even Iraq - a nation the United States has tried to turn into a reliable democratic ally. 'The United States is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict,' Obama said. 'We must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the prewar status quo.' In a lengthy address to the U.N. General Assembly, Obama made it clear that the rise of the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, has overtaken the removal of Assad as America's primary national security goal in Syria." http://t.uani.com/1WvF5Bl AFP: "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday he saw a widespread acceptance among major powers that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad should stay in office. 'I think today everyone has accepted that President Assad must remain so that we can combat the terrorists,' Rouhani told CNN... 'In Syria, when our first objective is to drive out terrorists and combatting terrorists to defeat them, we have no solution other than to strengthen the central authority and the central government of that country as a central seat of power,' said Rouhani, who is visiting New York for the UN General Assembly." http://t.uani.com/1JAfmOP NYT: "Secretary of State John Kerry sought on Saturday to draw Iran into the search for a political solution to the Syrian conflict as he began a week of diplomacy over the brutal fighting there. 'I view this week as a major opportunity for any number of countries to play an important role,' Mr. Kerry said at the start of a meeting at the United Nations headquarters with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister. 'We need to achieve peace and a way forward in Syria, in Yemen, in the region itself.' In early 2014, the Obama administration blocked Iran from attending a peace conference on Syria, on the grounds that its paramilitary Quds Force was a belligerent in the conflict and that Iranian officials did not accept that the goal of the talks should be the formation of a transitional Syrian administration with the 'mutual consent' of the opposition and the government... 'Iran is currently a major actor with respect to adverse consequences in Syria,' Mr. Kerry said then. But with the Islamic State terrorist group making gains in Syria, a tidal wave of migrants swamping Europe, no formal peace talks in sight and Russia engaged in a military buildup at an air base near Latakia, on Syria's Mediterranean coast, Mr. Kerry is now reaching out to Iran, which has been a major backer of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, to see if there is a basis for resuming negotiations. Mr. Kerry has also been consulting with Russia, European nations and Arab states. Mr. Kerry's meeting with Mr. Zarif was his first since six world powers and Iran reached a nuclear accord in July." http://t.uani.com/1L2bqM2 Reuters: "Iran can be a facilitator in a political solution in Syria but President Bashar al-Assad cannot be part of it, French President Francois Hollande told his Iranian counterpart in a meeting on Sunday, according to a French official. 'Iran is a player (in the region), but also a facilitator,' said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. '(Hollande) said that the question of Assad could not be offered as an answer.' The meeting, the first between the two leaders since a nuclear deal was reached in July between six global powers and Iran, was aimed to help prepare a scheduled state visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to France in mid-November to boost business and political relations... The official said the two presidents had discussed the situation in Yemen, Lebanon as well as Syria, adding that while Hollande had offered his condolences to Rouhani over the Haj tragedy, he cautioned that the incident should not add to tension between Shi'ite-dominated Iran and its Sunni rival Saudi Arabia. 'What Rouhani wanted was to show that Franco-Iran relations have restarted bilaterally at a high-level after the nuclear deal and so that in Paris we can talk in-depth about the other subjects.'" http://t.uani.com/1KOGD0U Extremism Fars (Iran): "Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri said the Thursday stampede in Mina which killed over 2,000 Hajj pilgrims may have resulted from a plot, given the good relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv. 'Given the usurper Zionist regime's infiltration and influence on the al-Saud, there is a growing possibility that the crane crash incident at the Grand Mosque (in the holy city of Mecca) and the death of thousands of people in Mina were the result of deliberate crime,' Jazzayeri told FNA on Monday. The deputy chief of staff, who made the remarks during a visit to FNA today, further cautioned that making the Grand Mosque in Mecca unsafe and insecure is a major policy of the US and Israel. 'Given the eyewitness accounts and the increasing possibility that the two painful and regrettable incidents at the Grand Mosque and Mina have been the result of intentional action, fact-finding groups from all Muslim states have the responsibility to decrypt this al-Saud' crime.'" http://t.uani.com/1P3U6bj Human Rights WashPost: "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that he would work for the release of three Americans imprisoned in Tehran if the United States would free Iranians held in U.S. prisons for sanctions violations. 'If we can help free folks who are detained there and they can take reciprocal steps, we'd welcome that approach,' he said through an interpreter at a reception that the Iranian mission to the United Nations held for scholars who specialize in the Middle East as well as some journalists. Rouhani mentioned the jailed Americans after he had spent almost 90 minutes answering questions submitted in writing and then posed by the interpreter. He said the United States is holding people who are not guilty of any crime except working to get around sanctions the United States imposed to prevent corporations and individuals from doing business with Iran... Those who broke the sanctions, Rouhani said, 'tried to do something which they won't be punished for now.'" http://t.uani.com/1QJz6Fb Free Beacon: "President Obama has only issued sanctions against a few Iranian officials and entities for human rights abuses since the start of nuclear talks with Tehran, despite his assurances that he would continue to apply pressure, according to the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In a letter to the White House Monday, Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.) urged Obama to impose economic penalties on senior Iranian officials who have violated the human rights of their own citizens. Under Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, perceived as a more moderate leader by some analysts, the Islamic regime in Tehran has continued to jail or execute hundreds of political prisoners, Royce said. Obama has failed to punish repressive Iranian officials since the United States began negotiation with Iran and other world powers to limit Tehran's nuclear program, Royce said... 'Since September 2013-roughly the start of the nuclear negotiations-your Administration has designated only one Iranian official and two other entities for human rights violations,' Royce said in the letter." http://t.uani.com/1MDNjCN AFP: "Iranian-American protesters said Monday that the country's current regime has executed about 2,000 dissidents in less than two years, making human rights a key issue in U.S.-Iran relations. Thousands gathered in Dag Hammerskjold Plaza outside the United Nations just as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was to speak to the world body's General Assembly. The protesters want him removed. 'We want to show that not only is the Iranian regime a threat to the international community, but also a threat to the people within Iran,' said Ben Borhani, a student at Irvine Valley College in southern California. He noted that executions often follow arrests on 'arbitrary drug trafficking charges. ... A majority of the time, these people are political prisoners.' ... Borhani said he would like to see 'a true democracy' in which Iranians could express themselves freely." http://t.uani.com/1LiTgYs Foreign Affairs NYT: "President Hassan Rouhani of Iran suggested on Monday in his United Nations speech that the nuclear agreement with major powers including the United States had helped create the basis for a broader engagement, in what appeared to be a difference - in tone, at least - with his own leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Addressing the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting, Mr. Rouhani spent considerable time extolling the diplomatic success of the agreement. It will lift years of painful economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for verifiable guarantees that its nuclear activities remain peaceful. In what would have seemed unthinkable a few years ago, when Mr. Rouhani's predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, emphasized what he viewed as the evils of the United States in his United Nations speeches, there were no shrill anti-American denunciations. 'From our point of view, the agreed-upon deal is not the final objective but a development which can and should be the basis of further achievements to come,' Mr. Rouhani said, according to the official English-language translation of his speech. At another point, he said: 'I say to all nations and governments: We will not forget the past, but we do not wish to live in the past. We will not forget war and sanctions, but we look to peace and development.'" http://t.uani.com/1h7A1mC Reuters: "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Friday that ties with the United States had improved, although there was 'still a long road to travel' before the two estranged nations could have normal relations. 'The situation has certainly changed,' Rouhani, in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, told a group of senior editors from media organizations at a nearby hotel. 'We can point to the tangibles, the many steps forward, but there is still a long road to travel.' He described the historic nuclear deal between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China as a 'big test' for U.S.-Iranian relations and said that it was important to create an atmosphere of trust. 'If we continue on the path, the road will be paved to further cooperation and collaboration,' he said, adding that 'we have seen good faith between the two sides.' The White House has said there was no meeting planned between Rouhani and U.S. President Barack Obama while they are at U.N. headquarters in the coming days. Rouhani suggested it would be premature to discuss encounters between the two men. 'Before talking about meetings or handshakes,' Rouhani said, the two countries should focus on resolving issues." http://t.uani.com/1MDSJxC AFP: "Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Monday talked up ties between their two nations at a UN summit dominated by Moscow's push on the conflict in Syria. Russia and Iran both back the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and the Kremlin is pressing the West to side with him and Tehran in its fight against jihadists from the Islamic State group. 'I would like to note that our relations are developing quite actively,' Putin told Rouhani at a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting. 'As for our cooperation, we are satisfied with it, including in the international arena, in the fight against terrorism.' Rouhani likewise lavished praise on the 'good consensus' between Tehran and Moscow on the instability in the Middle East and said the two countries 'play a very important role' in ensuring security of the region. 'All in the world now understand that without solving the problems of the Middle East those problems will spill into other regions and engulf the entire world,' he said." http://t.uani.com/1L2d93X Reuters: "For regional adversaries at loggerheads over the crises in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, the disaster at the haj is unlikely to be a game changer in the contest between Iran and Saudi Arabia, merely adding venom to their mutual acrimony. But a deepening of already profound mistrust between the conservative Sunni kingdom and the revolutionary Shi'ite theocracy will make the task of stabilizing the Middle East's many trouble spots even harder to achieve than it already is. While the Gulf rivals have managed to put aside bad blood after past flare-ups, such moments of detente happened in a much more stable Middle East, years before turmoil in Iraq and Arab Spring uprisings unleashed sectarian hatreds across the region. Today, Iranian and Saudi participation would be crucial in stabilizing Iraq, Syria, Yemen or Lebanon, where the two sides back sectarian proxy forces that are either at daggers drawn or openly at war in conflicts killing thousands each month. Riyadh also accuses Tehran of fomenting trouble in Bahrain and even Saudi Arabia itself. Tehran accuses Riyadh of plotting its destruction with Washington. The animosity worsened in the wake of the deadliest disaster to befall the annual haj pilgrimage in 25 years." http://t.uani.com/1FAwlpj USNI: "While the U.S. government speaks with a unitary voice on policy matters, Iran offers different messages for four distinct audiences-the West, the Islamic world at large, the Shi'ite minority in Islam and to countries in West Africa and Latin America-the author of a new book on Iran's ambitions said Friday. Ilan Berman, who wrote Iran's Deadly Ambition: The Islamic Republic's Quest for Global Power, said the Iranians adopt a voice of 'pragmatic materialism' in discussions with the West, as they did during the recently concluded nuclear agreement talks. 'But Iran is not a status quo power,' he said during a talk at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think-tank. It is a stance Iran has maintained since the 1979 revolution overthrew the shah and established the Islamic Republic. In that regard, the Iranians are similar to the Russians and Chinese; they see themselves pursuing a course of 'global activism.' Berman added, 'Iran sees itself as the center of the universe,' especially in the Middle East. When speaking to the Islamic world, its voice is one of primacy; to Shi'ites it's one of empowerment; to West Africans and Latin Americans it's one of revising world order-playing to Third World populism." http://t.uani.com/1JAaOI3 Opinion & Analysis David Rothkopf in FP: "When Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, met with journalists in New York last Friday, he took pains to note that Iran and Russia were not joining together in a 'coalition' in Syria. They were sharing intelligence. They were discussing strategy. They were in constant communication. But a coalition? No. Two days later, the Iraqi government announced it too was sharing intelligence with Russia, Iran, and Syria. So perhaps Rouhani was being literal in a different way when he disavowed being in a coalition with Russia - because what he was actually involved in was a coalition with Russia, Iraq, and Syria. During his discussion of the non-coalition coalition, Rouhani did not hesitate to emphasize how closely aligned his country's views regarding the situation in Syria are with those of the Russians. He described them as 'a mirror' of one another. Then, in recounting a conversation he had with Vladimir Putin prior to the recent Russian military buildup in Syria, he spoke of the Russian president's expressed desire to get involved in that country in order to mount a 'more effective' campaign against the Islamic State (IS)... Interestingly, Rouhani also said that Putin told him that he had let Barack Obama know of his plans to dial up the heat during a conversation with the American president. This is unsettling because the United States has seemed so unprepared for the Russian escalation, although apparently the White House had a president-to-president heads-up that it was coming. Indeed, according to recent reports like this one in the Washington Post, Obama, for his part, is still reportedly trying to figure out what the heck his next halfway measure should be in Syria - should he dial up more tweets from the NSC or perhaps give another speech about how bad the options are in that country? Certainly, his U.N. address on Monday did not offer any clear answers - about anything. (For those of you who missed it, here is a summary of Obama's U.N. remarks: 'Good morning. Cupcakes. Unicorns. Rainbows. Putin is mean. Thank you very much.') ... Putin has repeatedly shown that he would not hesitate to put boots on the ground (even if periodically he does resist the temptation to send his troops in wearing other pieces of their uniforms - for example, insignia as in Ukraine). Neither has Iran shown any hesitation in extending its influence in the region via either its military, military advisors, or sponsored proxy warriors, or toward using the economic, political, or intelligence means at its disposal. In fact, according to a senior Israeli official, Bibi Netanyahu's government believes that Iran has moved some 1,500 troops into Syria in recent days. The governments in Damascus and Baghdad have long been beholden to the kindness of the not-quite-strangers from Tehran and Moscow. All of these actors see the rise of the Islamic State and the civil wars in Syria and Iraq as direct and serious threats to core interests (in ways that others with proxy stakes in Syria - like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, or Qatar - do not). For all of these reasons, quite apart from the more recent heads-up from Putin, the president of the United States and his advisors must have known that the most likely people to answer their wishes and step up to deal with IS must have been this non-coalition coalition. And since the United States has only taken steps to empower the Iranians of late while soft-pedaling issues that might have put us in even more adversarial positions vis-à-vis Putin, Bashar al-Assad, and the Iraqis, it seems clear that the president was perfectly comfortable giving them the room to do as they have done. Obama's plan is now becoming clear. We'll leave Syria and Iraq to the Russians and the Iranians. Both of the war-torn countries are a mess. There is no political will in the United States to get more involved. What could go wrong? What could the long-term implications be of allowing the Russians and the Iranians to continue their clear and thus far successful strategies of extending their influence in their overlapping neighborhoods by fueling fractures within their neighbors and then stepping in and gaining influence over chunks of those neighbors, thereby also weakening their opponents? It is an approach that has given Russia bits of Georgia and Ukraine and has explained muscle-flexing in Belarus and the Baltics. It is the approach that has expanded Iranian influence from Lebanon to Yemen (not to mention, of course, Syria and Iraq). No matter that Russia has aggressively positioned itself as a rival to the United States worldwide and that Putin has, due to domestic economic and demographic calamity, only one card to play in maintaining his 80 percent approval rating at home - which is 'restoring Russian greatness' through aggression abroad. No matter that he has crushed democracy, dramatically ramped up military spending, modernized his nuclear forces, and rattled his saber aggressively. No matter that the crucial balance between Sunni and Shiite blocs in the Middle East is being eroded as the Sunnis have sustained setback after setback (many self-inflicted) and that virtually every Sunni loss is matched by an Iranian gain. No matter that these are two of the most dangerous players in the world, both high on the list of potential adversaries our leaders in the Pentagon worry about... When my guests at Foreign Policy's most recent Editor's Roundtable podcast discussed which world leader had done the best job of advancing his or her country's international influence during the Obama years, it was a near dead heat between Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Putin for the top spot. The No. 3 position went to the head of a quasi-state, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In other words, the big winners were U.S. adversaries who took advantage of the lack of resolve, vision, and unity among the leaders of the West to enhance their own standing and that of the state or aspirant state they represented. But this was not a partisan podcast hit job. Two members of the panel (myself and Rosa Brooks) served in Democratic administrations. Instead our conversation, for what it's worth, was more a recognition of what is perhaps the moral of the more troubling elements of the Obama foreign-policy tale to date: In geopolitics, as in physics, nature abhors a vacuum." http://t.uani.com/1PLy2Ak Congressman Pat Meehan in Medium: "Among the many dangerous consequences of the proposed nuclear deal with Iran will be the removal of an array of sanctions on Iran and the Ayatollah's regime. The removal of these sanctions and the release of Iranian assets frozen overseas will pump $150 billion into the Iranian economy seemingly overnight. Many of these dollars will line the pockets of Iran's radical Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC, through its paramilitary Quds Force, has funded some of the world's most violent Islamic terrorist groups and has left in its wake decades of bombings, hijackings, murders and kidnappings. Hundreds of Americans are among Iran's victims. Courts have found Iran complicit in some of the most horrific acts of terror in American history, including the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, and the 9/11 attacks. Federal law allows the victims of state-sponsored terrorism to bring suit against the nations responsible. To date, American courts have awarded some $43.5 billion in damages to Iran's victims and their families, all of which has gone unpaid. In other words, Iranian hardliners will soon get a multi-billion dollar payday--while Americans who suffered at the hands of Iran and its terrorist allies still await compensation for the damages incurred. That's why I've introduced the Justice for Victims of Iranian Terrorism Act. The legislation requires the Obama Administration to certify that Iran has paid every penny it owes its victims before it receives any sanctions relief. Every American victimized by Iran and its agents has a story to tell. Many of them, or their families, have successfully brought suit in federal court and been awarded damages. Below are just some of the victims that have been awarded judgments by U.S. courts." http://t.uani.com/1LZsnDj Maziar Bahari in Medium: "The Iranian government has a choice to make when President Hassan Rouhani visits New York this month: It can either remain a backward regime led by fundamentalist clerics or it can become a legitimate member of the world community. I predict that President Rouhani will try to present a more rational image of his government in his speech, on 28 September, addressing the 193 countries of the United Nations General Assembly and in individual meetings with world leaders. He will highlight signing the nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers as proof that the Iranian government is modern and peaceful. But he and his diplomats will also lie about the atrocities they commit against their own people. The best way to test the Iranian government's will for a new chapter in its relationship with the rest of the world is to question them about their treatment of 300,000 Iranian Baha'is, the country's largest religious minority. The Baha'is have been the most persecuted group of Iranians since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. As such, they should be viewed as the barometer of the government's domestic and international policies. Every time a more liberal faction has come to power--such as when Mohammad Khatami, a moderate cleric, was elected president in 1997--and has attempted to give more freedom to Iranians and to repair its international relations, the Baha'is have enjoyed a relative relief from persecution. But when the regime has curbed civil liberties and become hostile to other countries, such as after the rigged election in 2009, the first victims of the ensuing crackdowns have been the Baha'is. The Baha'i Faith began in the 19th century and its fundamental beliefs are non-violence, universal education and equality. Baha'is believe that their prophet, Baha'u'llah, is the latest prophet of God. Ever since the faith was founded in Iran, the Baha'is have been persecuted by some Shia Muslims who call them heretics and corruptors of the earth--crimes punishable by death in Islam. The clerics have especially objected to two Baha'i beliefs: the equality of men and women and the idea that a clergy is not necessary for religious guidance. These beliefs threatened the patriarchal system of the clergy and its livelihood. In the 19th century, Baha'is were shackled and paraded in the streets of Iranian cities and their homes were burnt to the ground. Iran's government has persecuted the Baha'is in a more systematic fashion since the clerics came to power after the 1979 revolution. Hundreds were kidnapped or murdered in the early 1980s. Baha'is are barred from teaching and studying in universities. They can't be employed legally, and their businesses, cemeteries and places of worship are regularly ransacked by vigilantes supported by government agents... When Iranian officials are asked to explain why they persecute the Baha'is, they simply don't tell the truth. They claim that Baha'is are not discriminated against, and that those Baha'is who have been killed or imprisoned in Iran have been subjected to severe punishments for committing other crimes, mainly espionage, and not because of their faith. The Iranian government has not produced even a single document to prove that an Iranian Baha'i has spied for any country. You can be sure that if the Islamic regime had a shred of evidence they'd have spread it across their media outlets. In recent conversations, such as one I had before writing this piece, pro-Rouhani Iranian officials claim they don't condone the treatment of the Baha'is. 'May God be my witness, if Mr. Rouhani had the power, he would've stopped all discriminations against the Baha'is,' a friendly Iranian foreign ministry official told me in a Skype call. 'But this is not the right time to raise the Baha'i issue. We're trying to convince our own radicals that this nuclear deal is an opportunity for Iran to have better relations with other countries, have a better economy and provide the basics for our people. We have more important priorities than the Baha'is now. We should talk about them and other problems when we have a calmer situation in Iran, and the region.' I had to stop my friend before he continued. 'Then, you mean, not in this lifetime?' I asked. My friend hung up on me. But Iranian reformists have repeated this half-hearted line for twenty years. They have tried to make Iran a more inclusive country but they have failed to find the courage to address religious zealotry--the main reason behind the problems that have plagued Iran since the 1979 revolution. President Rouhani now has a chance, on a global platform, to improve his government's relationship with the rest of the world and his own people. It's time for him and his government to start by explaining why they have systematically persecuted the Baha'is for almost forty years. Expecting an instant change of heart by Iranian officials is unrealistic--but if they told the truth about the suffering of 300,000 Iranian Baha'is, it would lead to constructive dialogue and point the way to true change." http://t.uani.com/1KOMbZc Phillip Smyth in The Hill: "With attention focused on ISIS and the daily bloodletting in Iraq and Syria; and involvement of American forces in those countries, the rising temperature in the region's next hotspot is being overlooked.  Bahrain is the Persian Gulf's geostrategic hot seat, home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, along with around 5,000 sailors and Marines essential to sustaining the U.S. military presence and stability in the region. But Bahrain is also the home of a growing Iranian-aided Shia Islamist insurgency targeting the country's Sunni government. At the moment, the threat is relatively contained. But what will happen if Tehran concludes, in the wake of its new found riches as a result of the nuclear deal, that it is time to turn up the flame? On a recent trip to Bahrain, Major General Tariq al-Hassan, chief of Bahrain's Public Security Forces told me, 'We are all waiting for zero hour, but we don't yet know when it will come.' Nuclear agreement or not, Tehran's full-court press in the region shows no sign of relenting, and every indication of gaining steam and momentum toward their objective of acquiring more power and territorial control via their use of sectarian proxy forces to achieve the ultimate goal of singularly dominating the Gulf and kicking Sunni Arab states to the curb... There are clear examples that Iran's fingerprints are all over the rise in tactical capabilities and increasingly advanced weapons systems in Bahraini Shia Islamist militant's possession and the growing numbers of attacks. Many of these weapons shipments have been smuggled by Iran into Bahrain by sea, and Bahraini military units have made a number of high profile seizures. The most infamous example was the apprehension of a ship carrying suppresser-equipped Kalashnikov type rifles, more than 50 Iranian-made hand grenades, EFPs, Claymore type IEDs, hundreds of pounds of C4 plastic explosive and a belt-fed machine gun. During an independent research trip to Bahrain this summer, I was given exclusive access to weapons seized from one Bahraini dhow intercepted on July 15, 2015, ironically, a day after the announcement of the nuclear agreement with Iran. The ship had sailed out to international waters where it was met by a boat from Iran. Weapons were then passed to the Bahraini boat. The cargo included around 100lbs of C4, detonators, and Kalashnikov type rifles with their serial numbers sanded off. Iran is not concealing their vision for the region. Only two days after the seizure, the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced, 'The Iranian nation will not stop supporting the oppressed nation of Palestine, Yemen, [or] Bahrain'... Public statements by U.S. officials reaffirming Gulf security and stability, combined with denouncements Iran's adventurism are required. But lip service is not enough. Actions speak louder than words. The U.S. needs to assess and then address the issues with these Iranian-sponsored elements. If Washington continues to avert its eyes from the militant Shia Islamic threat in Bahrain, it will be doing so at its own peril." http://t.uani.com/1FFqsXK           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.