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WSJ: "Secretary of State John Kerry and
his European allies, in their renewed drive to promote stability in the
Middle East, are increasingly reliant on the two countries the U.S. has
historically argued only undermine stability-Russia and Iran. The engagement
of Moscow and Tehran by the U.S. and Europe exemplifies the shifting
balance of power in the region, as President Barack Obama has made clear
his intent to minimize the U.S. military role there, according to U.S.
and Arab officials. But the West is taking risks by including the
Russians and Iranians in diplomacy, said Emile Hokayem, a regional
analyst at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies,
expressing a view that is shared by many Arab officials. Neither country
has shown that it shares the same long-term interests as Washington or
European capitals. In many cases, both still actively oppose those
interests. In addition, the security and alliance structure the U.S. has
created over the past five decades in the Middle East is at risk of
fraying, as Arab countries look to the Kremlin as much as the White House
for guidance. 'What happens in Syria will be key to the new Middle
Eastern order,' said Mr. Hokayem. 'The immediate benefit may seem worth
it. But over time, the U.S. will find it more difficult to rally its
partners and convey determination on other regional security issues. The
long-term costs of what are tactical arrangements with Moscow and Tehran
will be high.' ... Still, many U.S. allies in the Mideast remain deeply
skeptical about Iran's and Russia's intentions. Tehran has shown few
signs that it was serious about engaging constructively with the U.S.
since the nuclear accord was signed." http://t.uani.com/1GDji6K
Fars (Iran): "Iranian Supreme
Leader's representative at the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ali
Saeedi warned of the US plots and attempts to penetrate into Iran through
cultural invasion. 'The US penetration could happen in a number of
dimensions; first is through economy and impregnate Iran's market with
luxurious and consumption goods; second is through policy; and third is
through cultural invasion which should be seen as the most crucial move
of the enemy against Iran,' Saeedi said in Tehran on Sunday evening. He
referred to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali
Khamenei's warnings about cultural penetration, and said, 'In his view,
the US cultural penetration cannot be tolerated and the government and
different walks of people should prevent it through cultural works.'
Saeedi warned that the US which has held talks with Iran within the
framework of Tehran-powers nuclear negotiations and is after increasing
interactions with the country is pursuing the 5 goals of starting
negotiations on other issues than the nuclear case to meddle with Iran's
missile, military, etc. issues; resolving Europe's economic problems
through using the Iranian market potentials; cutting Iran's relations
with Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Hezbollah; strengthening the compromise
and reconciliation-seeking streams, victimizing the resistance front in
Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and stirring difference and division
between Iran and Iraq." http://t.uani.com/1RxfMLw
Tasnim (Iran): "Commander of Iran's
Army Ground Force vowed that the country's long-range missiles will rain
on Israel in case of any anti-Iran move, saying the Zionist regime's
collapse may happen sooner than the next 25 years, a period cited in the
Supreme Leader's comments. 'We are willing that Israel take (military)
action (against Iran), so that we would turn the Supreme Leader's remarks
into reality as soon as possible,' Brigadier General Ahmad Reza
Pourdastan said in an interview with Al Alam Arabic-language news channel
on Sunday." http://t.uani.com/1i9sOTn
Nuclear Program & Agreement
Mehr (Iran): "A memorandum on
construction of Iran's first specialized nuclear hospital in the
country's capital city, Tehran, was signed on Mon. between AEOI, Ministry
of Health and Tehran's Municipality. Director of the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi, Health Minister Seyyed
Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi and Tehran's mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on
Monday signed an MoU on the construction of a major specialized nuclear
hospital at Velayat Park, southwest of Tehran, where the hospital is
planned to be built. The AEOI head noted that the nuclear hospital would
be the first of its kind in West Asia, adding once the hospital became
operational, there would be no need for patients to seek treatment abroad.
'The AEOI provides locally-produced diagnostic and therapeutic
radiomedicines for one million patients and this is a great service,'
said Salehi, adding Iran is the only producer of such medicines in the
Middle East. He further noted that the issue of 20 percent uranium
enrichment was raised to meet the medical need of the Iranian nation...
According to Salehi, under the signed agreement, the nuclear hospital is
planned to be constructed in 48 months, although some equipment needs 3
to 3.5 years to be acquired." http://t.uani.com/207bzV3
U.S.-Iran Relations
AP: "The Iranian government has criticized a U.S. court's
decision to sentence an engineer with dual citizenship to more than eight
years in prison for trying to send sensitive military documents to Iran,
the official IRNA news agency reported Sunday. IRNA quoted Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham as saying 'the sentence for Mozaffar
Khazaee is totally unfair.' Khazaee was sentenced Friday to more than
eight years in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for trying to
send hundreds of sensitive U.S. military documents to Iran as he applied
for teaching jobs at state-run universities there. He was accused of
seeking to export 1,500 documents containing trade secrets and 600
documents with sensitive defense technology. Prosecutors said Khazaee
stole and shared with contacts in Iran materials related to the Air Force
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the F-22 Raptor and other U.S.
military jet engine programs. Khazaee, a former employee of defense
contractors including Pratt & Whitney, pleaded guilty in February to
violating the Arms Export Control Act." http://t.uani.com/1N2jdef
Sanctions Relief
Press TV (Iran): "France's Total and
Russia's Lukoil are in a new round of talks with the National Iranian Oil
Company (NIOC) and have reached a preliminary agreement on oil purchases
from Iran, a senior energy official says. According to NIOC director for
international affairs Mohsen Qamsari, numerous talks have been held with
a number of oil giants for sales of Iranian oil, including Japanese
refiners. 'The process of negotiations with Total and Lukoil is being
assessed as desirable and initial agreements have been reached with these
two companies for sales of crude oil,' he said on Sunday. Qamsari said
Japanese companies are also seriously looking to raise oil imports from
Iran which seeks to regain its 10% share of the market in the world's
fourth largest crude importer." http://t.uani.com/1LRkxw1
Press TV (Iran): "Russia says its
state-owned energy giant Zarubezhneft will take up several projects worth
a total of $6 billion in Iran's oil industry. The announcement has been
made by Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak was has just returned
from a landmark visit to Iran. Novak said Zarubezhneft's participation in
Iranian oil projects will be in line with a series of agreements that
were reached with the country to expand mutual economic ties. He added
that the two countries have devised a package of projects that are
collectively worth $35 billion to $40 billion. Novak, heading a 50-member
delegation, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for a two-day visit to discuss
joint economic projects." http://t.uani.com/1N2mCti
Press TV (Iran): "German airliner
Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines plan new flights to Iran
amid a growing demand as business and tourism is crawling back to life in
the resource-rich country, media reports say. Lufthansa will launch
flights from Munich to Tehran and switch to larger planes for its flights
from Frankfurt to Tehran from the summer of 2016, the IRNA news agency
said, citing the German aviation website aerotelegraph. 'The German air
carrier will use a Boeing 747 on its route from Frankfurt to Tehran
instead of an Airbus A340,' it said. Austrian Airlines is also expanding
its flight service to Iran, offering one extra daily flight to Tehran
starting March 11, 2016. As a result, Austria's national carrier will be
departing twice a day from Vienna for the Iranian capital. Deploying an
Airbus A320, Austrian Airlines will also offer a day flight in addition
to the existing night flights, the report said. It quoted Chief
Commercial Officer of Austrian Airlines Andreas Otto as saying that his
company was 'receiving clear signals of a revival in economic relations
between Austria and Iran from the business community and political
decision-makers'. 'That's why we wanted to react quickly,' Otto added.
Austrian President Heinz Fischer became the first Western head of state
to visit Iran in more than a decade in September." http://t.uani.com/1kHK307
Press TV (Iran): "Russia's largest
internet search engine, Yandex, is to open offices in Iran, says Iranian
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.
Vaezi made the announcement during a meeting with Russian Minister of
Communications Nikolai Nikiforov, in Tehran on Sunday. Furthering cooperation
in the fields of research and development, network security, social
networks, search engines, postal services were the main topics discussed
in the meeting. During the meeting, it was agreed that Yandex would open
an office in Iran to optimize its services for the Iranian people, he
added." http://t.uani.com/1S6aIii
Shana (Iran): "The conference to
unveil Iran's new oil contracts will be held in Tehran on November 28-29,
said an official in the Ministry of Petroleum. Chairman of Oil Contracts
Revision Committee Mehdi Hosseini told Shana that the two-day event will
introduce details of the new contract models for domestic and foreign
investors. Earlier, Hosseini announced that a follow-up conference will
be also held in London on February 22-24. 'Both events have their
exclusive advantages. In the Tehran conference, Iranian companies can
have a stronger participation,' he added, 'There are no limitations for Iranian
and foreign firms to attend the Tehran or London conferences.' The London
conference was postponed from December 2015 to February 2016 so that it
will be held after removal of sanctions, the official said. 'With the
official lifting of sanctions, foreign firms and investors face no
international limitation to take part in the event.'" http://t.uani.com/1S6d28T
Syria Conflict
Reuters: "Two members of a unit of Iran's
elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have been killed in Syria,
including an ex-bodyguard for Iran's former president, Iranian media
reported on Friday... 'Abdollah Bagheri Niaraki and Karimi were martyred
in Syria while protecting a religious site near Aleppo.' The spokesman
gave no first name for Karimi. Niaraki, who for a while was the bodyguard
of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was killed on Thursday, the
semi-official Fars news agency reported. Fars news agency also reported
Reza Khavari, 'one of the leaders of Fatemiyoun Brigade was killed in
Syria while on duty. Fatemiyoun Brigade is formed of Iran-based Afghan
expatriates who are trained by Tehran to fight in Syria... Four Iranian
commanders were killed this month fighting in Syria, and an IRGC
commander was killed in June." http://t.uani.com/1PNWtjR
Regional Destabilization
Reuters: "Supporters of Lebanon's Iran-allied
Shi'ite group Hezbollah chanted 'Death to the Saud family' as their
leader railed against Sunni-led Saudi Arabia on Saturday in a sign of
deepening hostility towards the U.S.-allied kingdom. Speaking on Ashura,
the day on which Shi'ites commemorate the death of Prophet Mohammad's
grandson, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah listed the Saudi
leadership alongside traditional enemies Israel and the United States...
Nasrallah condemned what he called the 'U.S.-Saudi aggression' against
Yemen. Thousands of black-clad supporters responded 'Death to the Saud
family! Death to the Saud family!'. The chant is mostly reserved for
Israel and America. On the war in Syria, Nasrallah forecast victory for
Assad and his allies. 'Syria will not fall,' he said... Nasrallah warned
rival Lebanese politicians against waiting for Saudi Arabia and Iran to
broker an end to a standoff that has paralyzed government and prevented
the election of a new president. 'Don't wait for Iranian-Saudi dialogue.
Matters in the region are getting more complicated,' he said. 'Don't
await an American or Western initiative. Lebanon is beyond the concerns
of foreign states. Lebanon is today left to its leaders.'" http://t.uani.com/1N2hplw
Domestic Politics
WashPost: "Dueling narratives in the Iranian
press last week over a jailed Washington Post journalist are bringing
into sharper focus the country's internal political struggles and how they
could be playing out as the reporter's case moves toward sentencing on
charges including espionage. The contrasting accounts in rival media -
one conservative and the other reformist - emerged a week after an
Iranian court announced it had convicted Post correspondent Jason Rezaian
following a closed-door trial that drew widespread condemnation. Critics
including rights activists and press freedom groups as well as United
Nations experts and the White House denounced the trial as unfair and the
charges as politically motivated. While the opposing Iranian media
reports differed over various allegations against the 39-year-old Rezaian
- including a claim that he had insider access to Iran's reformist
government - the broader implications highlight the long-running
ideological clashes within Iran between entrenched hard-line factions and
opponents seeking to undercut their influence." http://t.uani.com/1PPG4dL
Opinion & Analysis
Naghmeh Abedini in WashPost:
"When my husband, pastor Saeed Abedini - a U.S. citizen - was put in
the notorious Evin Prison in Iran on Sept. 26, 2012, because of his
Christian faith, I could have never anticipated that the journey would take
so long or that it would be so painful. I had so much hope that we could
get Saeed released and back on American soil quickly. Now, as we begin
his fourth year of imprisonment, it is increasingly difficult and
discouraging when I think about my husband's fate. During the past three
years, there was much hope that Saeed would be freed soon. I continue to
struggle to explain to my children why their father never returned from
what was supposed to be a short trip to Iran to help Iranian children
with the construction of a new orphanage. When Iran elected a more
'moderate' president (Hassan Rouhani) in 2013 and when President Obama
spoke for the first time with President Rouhani in September 2013, I was
sure that it meant that my husband's freedom was near. Sadly, that did
not happen. When our government had direct dialogue with Iran, and we
learned that the American hostages were being discussed on the
'sidelines' of the nuclear talks, there was much hope that this meant
that the freedom of my husband and other Americans was near. This turned
into yet another disappointment. After my two children and I met with
President Obama in January 2015 and the president promised my son, Jacob,
that he would do all that he could to bring Saeed home for my son's seventh
birthday (in March 2015), we were very hopeful that Saeed's release was
at hand. We faced more heartbreak. Finally, when the United States agreed
to a nuclear deal with Iran in the summer, there was much hope and
anticipation that Iran would do the right thing and release my husband
and the other Americans it was holding hostage. The reality: The deal did
not produce freedom for our loved ones. My heart goes out to the families
of the other Americans who are being held hostage in Iran. I had the
privilege of meeting the families of the other Americans when we
testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in June 2015. The
faces of each family member and each tear that they shed as they
described their nightmare are forever imprinted in my heart. I think
about Bob Levinson's family and them not knowing what has happened to
their beloved father and husband since 2007. I think about Amir Hekmati
and the pain and his anguish his parents and siblings continue to go
through and have gone through these past four years. I am heartbroken and
frustrated about the continued injustice and false accusations facing
Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist who has been in prison for
more than a year. I pray for strength for those Americans and their
families. And I pray for hope. Because without hope, it is impossible to
continue. No matter how difficult, we hold on to the hope of seeing our
loved ones again. Since the nuclear deal in the summer, it is not only
more difficult to maintain hope, but the reality of my husband's
situation has grown worse. He remains in grave danger and in need of
medical treatment. Even as President Rouhani was preparing to address the
United Nations in New York last month, Saeed was being beaten and
interrogated by Iranian guards in prison. During that encounter, guards
interrogated Saeed and used a stun gun on him. Although there was no
detailed information provided, Saeed was told he would face additional
new charges, possibly extending his eight-year prison sentence. The
continued imprisonment of Saeed has taken a very emotional and tragic
toll on our family. My kids have had to grow up without a father. Saeed
has missed so many birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions. And
being separated from his family is taking a toll on Saeed as well. In a
recent letter delivered to family members during a prison visit, Saeed
wrote that he had traveled to Iran in order to help the orphans - never
anticipating that this trip would leave his own children without a
father." http://t.uani.com/1jLi1AD
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
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email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
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