|
|
|
Join UANI
Top
Stories
NYT: "Iran's supreme leader, in an
unexpected move, replaced the general in charge of the Iranian armed
forces on Tuesday with the general's deputy, a member of the Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps. The replaced general, Hassan Firouzabadi,
had held the position of chief of staff since 1989 and is known to have
been a confidant of both the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
and President Hassan Rouhani. He was an exception among leading Iranian
generals, who are usually changed every six years. His successor, Gen.
Mohammad Bagheri, had been serving as deputy chief of staff. There were
no advance hints of the shake-up, and a terse announcement carried by
state media gave no reason for it... His successor, General Bagheri,
once served as the deputy of intelligence and operations of the
Revolutionary Guards, the elite, powerful security and military
organization that is separate from the regular armed forces." http://t.uani.com/292I7xO
FT: "Fresh milk, antibiotics and
cement: Iran finds neighbouring Iraq its closest ally in the Arab world
as well as a big market for its domestically produced goods. Once
bitter enemies, non-Arab Iran and Arab Iraq were brought closer by the
2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein in a war that replaced a
Sunni-dominated hostile regime with a government led by a friendly Shia
majority. 'Iraq needs everything, which makes it the best market for
Iranian-made goods,' boasts Yahya Ale Eshaq, head of the Iran-Iraq
Chamber of Commerce. Iran's trade with the Arab world, however, has
largely remained confined to Iraq while the United Arab Emirates, the
top trade hub in the region, is Iran's first destination for its
re-exports. Despite the obvious benefits of more regional trade,
politics has stood in the way. Although officials and analysts in
Tehran say that Iran's high levels of security, diverse economy and
educated workforce could make it a new conduit in a crisis-hit region,
hopes of better commercial ties will continue to be stymied by power
struggles and political tensions." http://t.uani.com/292rLB9
WT: "Almost one year after the
international nuclear deal was announced last July, Brett McGurk,
President Obama's special envoy in the fight against the Islamic State,
said Tuesday there has been no 'significant' change in Iran's behavior
in Syria under the international nuclear deal. Mr. McGurk said Tehran
remains a strong political and military supporter of Syrian President
Bashar Assad, whom U.S. officials insist must step down as part of any
final settlement of the country's bloody 5-year-old civil war. 'I have
not seen a significant change in Iranian behavior. They are fighting
[the Islamic State] from time to time, but they're primarily working to
prop up the Assad regime,' Mr. McGurk told a Senate Foreign Relations
Committee hearing on the status of the fight against the jihadi group
that controls large parts of both Iraq and Syria." http://t.uani.com/292wi73
Nuclear
& Ballistic Missile Program
Fars
(Iran):
"Chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and
Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi underlined that Tehran
will resume large-scale uranium enrichment if the Group 5+1 (the US,
Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany) does not abide by its
undertakings under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 'The
Islamic Republic of Iran's response to the other side's non-compliance
with the implementation of the nuclear deal will be uranium
enrichment,' Boroujerdi told reporters on Tuesday. He underlined that
if the other side does not remain committed to the nuclear agreement it
has struck with Iran in July 2015, Iran will take major strides in
uranium enrichment. Boroujerdi pointed to the recent statements of a US
presidential candidate about tearing up the JCPOA, and said, 'The
Supreme Leader (of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei)
said that the JCPOA will be burnt in response if such allegation are
put into action.'" http://t.uani.com/2958Irx
U.S.-Iran
Relations
Free
Beacon:
"Obama administration officials are orchestrating an international
campaign to encourage businesses and governments to reengage in the
Iranian marketplace, prompting accusations from leading members of
Congress that the White House is behaving as the Islamic Republic's top
global 'lobbying shop,' according to conversations with lawmakers and
multiple sources tracking the issue. The administration's efforts on
Iran's behalf-which go far beyond the requirements under last summer's
nuclear agreement-are said to have pressured the world's foremost
financial task force to reduce counter-terror efforts impacting Iran,
despite Tehran's role as the globe's top exporter of terrorism. The
Financial Action Task Force's decision coincides with multiple efforts,
both public and private, by top U.S. officials to promote increased
international trade with Iran. The pro-Iran effort, which is being
helmed by the State Department, has caused internal rifts in the Obama
administration among top officials who object to the effort. Top
lawmakers are now going on the offensive to combat these efforts
following a decision late last week by the FATF, an intergovernmental
body that counters money laundering, to roll back measures blocking
business with Iran... 'The fact remains that Iran is the world's
leading sate sponsor of terrorism. Until that changes, businesses are
right to be wary about reentering the Iranian marketplace,' House
Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) told the Free Beacon. 'Where does
President Obama's nuclear agreement state that Secretary Kerry must
serve as Iran's chief salesman?'" http://t.uani.com/292GeRJ
Free
Beacon: "The
U.S. Navy will release the findings of its investigation into Iran's
capture of 10 American sailors and their riverine boats, an incident
that preceded the official implementation of the nuclear deal in
January. The service plans to release details of the investigation,
initiated over five months ago, on Thursday, a Navy spokesman told the
Washington Free Beacon. The findings could shed more light on what led
the sailors to deviate from their planned transit route and later
surrender their two riverine command boats to Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Persian Gulf, and provide more
information about how they were treated in Iranian custody. The release
of the new details could precipitate more firings or punishments of
U.S. naval personnel involved in the incident. The Navy has already
relieved two commanders of their duties, the latest of which was
announced last week. The Obama administration has tried to couch the
Jan. 12 incident as a victory for diplomacy and proof of warmer
relations with Iran. Meanwhile, many have argued that Iran violated
international law by detaining the sailors." http://t.uani.com/292FKLo
CNS: "Secretary of State John
Kerry said Tuesday that the Obama administration will hold Iran
accountable for its sponsorship of terrorism, but at the same time he
hopes to use the promotion of trade - like the Boeing deal - to advance
'transformation' in the country. 'Doing business is one of the best
ways to create interests and vested purpose, if you will, in furthering
transformation,' he said at the Aspen Institute's Aspen Ideas Festival
in Colorado, adding that the administration was trying to 'thread a
needle' in its dealings with Iran - 'a very difficult needle to
thread.' Kerry was responding to a question about the U.S. continuing
to designate Tehran as a state-sponsor of terrorism, even while
encouraging a potentially $25 billion sale of Boeing planes to Iran.
The questioner, The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, pointed out that Iran
has a history of using civilian aircraft to resupply Hezbollah
terrorists as well as the Assad regime... In his reply, Kerry also said
it made no sense for the U.S. to negotiate a deal with Iran that allows
a lifting of sanctions, only to sit back and watch competitors benefit
while America loses out. 'Other countries like France are rushing in to
sell Airbus to the cost of Washington state and Boeing and our workers
in the United States?' he said. 'Doesn't make a lot of sense to
me.'" http://t.uani.com/292zbVj
Mehr
(Iran):
"Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces said Fri. the
British people's decision to leave the EU is in fact a rejection of
America's imposition of will against European states. Deputy Chief of
Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri
made the remark in reaction to the referendum of the United Kingdom's
membership of the European Union, better known as Brexit, in which the
UK voted to leave the EU by 52 per cent on June 23. 'Britain must pay
the price for years of colonialism and crimes against humanity, and the
separation of some parts of this country is the lowest price it will
have to pay,' he said." http://t.uani.com/292sQIT
Human
Rights
Guardian: "Iran is under pressure to
end its use of death penalty against drug traffickers after facing a
serious shortfall in the international funding of the country's
counter-narcotics campaign. An increasing number of European countries
have decided to cut off contributions even though the UN Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last year approved a five-year country
partnership programme for Iran that was aimed at providing about $20m
(then £14.4m). The agency's latest annual appeal document, obtained by
the human rights group Reprieve, which works for the abolition of death
penalty, shows that Tehran has received no money in funding for 2016.
The UK has confirmed in writing that it is no longer contributing.
Similar indications have come from Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark,
Ireland and Norway. Two senior Iranian officials have recently
complained about the lack of international support. Last week, Iran's
prosecutor general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, blamed 'imperialist' powers
for young people's addiction to drugs. In April, the Tehran Times
quoted the interior minister as saying that Europeans were
uncooperative." http://t.uani.com/297D1PB
Domestic
Politics
Reuters: "Iran on Tuesday reappointed
a former managing director of its Swiss-based trading company as part
of a broader reshuffle aimed at bolstering its oil exploration and
exports. The appointment follows the naming this month of a new boss
for the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) as Tehran looks to spur
exports and long-awaited deals with international oil firms ahead of
its 2017 presidential election. Majid Hedayatzadeh will return as
managing director of Swiss-based Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO),
the oil ministry's Shana news agency reported. The former diplomat held
the job from 2001 until 2008. 'The assignment follows a decree issued
by Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh,' Shana said. 'The decree
orders Hedayatzadeh to embark on a reshuffle in, and revival of, the
role of NICO internationally.' The NIOC, of which NICO is a part, is
looking to better compete with regional state-run rivals such as Saudi
Aramco, said Reza Mostafavi Tabtabaei, a London-based oil consultant
who has worked on projects in Iran. 'NIOC wants to get back its share
in Europe. The plan for the next Iranian year is to focus more on
marketing and to get more organised,' Tabtabaei said." http://t.uani.com/297AGV6
Opinion
& Analysis
Tzvi
Kahn in FPI:
"To mark the first anniversary of the July 2015 nuclear agreement
with Iran, the Foreign Policy Initiative is publishing a three-part
series that re-examines the Obama administration's arguments on behalf
of the deal in light of developments since its conclusion. Part I
evaluates claims that the agreement, formally known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), would create unprecedented
inspection and verification measures that would make it impossible for
Iran to pursue a covert nuclear weapons capability. Part II analyzes
the administration's claims regarding sanctions relief and its intent
to continue sanctioning Iran for aggression unrelated to its nuclear
program. Thursday's installment will examine both the administration's
forecasts regarding the regional impact of the JCPOA and the
administration's public campaign in favor of the accord." http://t.uani.com/295MR5s
Tara
Sepehri Far in Quartz: "At age 13, I was a huge fan of Iran's national
football team, and I was determined to cheer it on at the Nov. 2002
World Cup football qualifier in Tehran. With the clock ticking on the
final leg of the match with Kuwait, I remember repeatedly adjusting my
long hair under a hat as my dad drove us to Azadi stadium. As victory
edged nearer, I had hoped my makeshift disguise would convince my
father that I too could join the 90,000-plus crowd cheering wildly-but
alas, it was not to be. The Iranian government had ruled women and
girls-half of Iran's population-'out-of-bounds' in attending sporting
events, like football matches, with serious consequences for those
caught defying the ban. When I was growing up in Iran, women mounted a
number of popular initiatives, such as the 'White Scarves' campaign, to
challenge this blatant discrimination and demand that girls and women
be able to attend male football games in Iranian stadiums. Even former
president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tried to lift the ban on women attending
matches. But not only has this ban endured, it has now spread to
afflict the increasingly popular sport of volleyball, where women have
been banned from attending men's games since 2012. Meanwhile,
volleyball has become one of Iran's most popular sports. The national
team just qualified for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a
string of big wins. Iranians obsessively follow the national team and
go to stadiums wherever possible to cheer it on. But for women, the ban
is still in place, separating women and girls from their families and
friends when the team plays at home. The International Federation of
Volleyball (FIVB) may not be a household name like FIFA, the powerful
football federation, but it controls volleyball across the world, and
oversees the sport's tournaments. At the international tournament last
summer, Iranian women were shut out as Iranian authorities reneged on
promises that women could attend, restricting ticket sales to men only.
Security forces took up positions around the stadium, inspected
approaching cars at checkpoints, and turned women away. Images of
flyers published on social media showed political hardliners
threatening to stop women from entering stadiums, and comparing any
women who might attempt attendance to 'prostitutes.' This climate of
fear and intimidation has been in place since 2014, when Ghoncheh
Ghavami and several other Iranian women were arrested as they attempted
to attend one of the volleyball matches at Azadi. While most were
released soon thereafter, Ghavami was re-arrested, charged with
'propaganda against the state,' and held in Evin prison for nearly five
months... Repealing the ban on women in stadiums would be a big win for
women, and for progress in Iran. And it would show that in sports, as
in human rights, the rules really do matter." http://t.uani.com/294P6aP
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment