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TOP
STORIES
EU
demands Iran disclose details of nuclear parts making | AFP
The European Union is demanding that Iran share with the U.N.
atomic agency full details of its manufacture of parts for machines that
could be used to make the core of nuclear arms, in a statement reflecting
its concern over the sensitive issue. The draft statement was seen by The
Associated Press Friday, ahead of its planned delivery next week at a
board meeting of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency and a week
after the agency reported that Iran started making rotor tubes for
centrifuges in June. It demands the "full cooperation of Iran"
on the issue in talks with the IAEA and calls for updates from the agency
to the 35-nation IAEA board... Any overproduction could hint at possible
plans by Iran to expand advanced centrifuge testing beyond pact limits.
Iran
crude exports hit five-year high near pre-sanctions levels: source |
Reuters
Iran's August crude oil exports jumped 15 percent from July to
more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd), according to a source with
knowledge of its tanker loading schedule, closing in on Tehran's
pre-sanctions shipment levels of five years ago. The No. 3 OPEC producer
has more than doubled its crude exports, excluding the ultra light oil
condensate, since December. Economic sanctions targeting Iran's disputed
nuclear program were lifted in January, and it has been battling since
then to regain market share lost to other Middle East producers over the
previous four years. The strong demand for Iran's crude in Asia and
Europe has enabled it to raise its oil output to just over 3.8 million
bpd as of this month, still shy of the 4 million bpd level Tehran says is
a precondition for discussing output limits with Saudi Arabia and
Russia... Iran's August exports are the highest since January 2012,
boosted by record purchases from the world's third-largest oil importer
India and a 48 percent jump that brought European sales to 630,000 bpd,
tanker loadings for last month also showed.
Iran's
Rouhani heads for Venezuela, Cuba | AFP
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani set off Friday for a tour of Venezuela
and Cuba before heading to New York for next week's UN General Assembly,
official media reported. Rouhani will take part in a summit of
Non-Aligned Movement countries and hold separate talks with Venezuelan
counterpart Nicolas Maduro, the IRNA news agency said... Speaking to
journalists before leaving Tehran, Rouhani described Cuba as a
"friendly and revolutionary country" and said he would meet
President Raul Castro, and his brother and revolutionary leader, Fidel.
NUCLEAR & BALLISTIC MISSILE PROGRAM
After
nuke deal was signed, Iran dissidents came to Israel to discuss its
consequences | Times of Israel
A group of high-profile Iranian dissidents visited Israel for a
conference with local scholars shortly after the July 2015 signing of the
nuclear deal between Tehran and major world powers, an unprecedented move
that came as Tehran was being welcomed back in the community of nations.
The precise who, when and where of the conference, convened to discuss
how the nuclear deal was being viewed through Iranian eyes, are still
being kept secret a year later in order to protect the dissidents and
their families. But it has been revealed that they included former ministers
and diplomats, former founding members of Iran's revolutionary bodies and
foundations, former student leaders, current leading pro-democracy and
civil society activists, intellectuals, authors, writers, media
personalities, and journalists, all of whom no longer live in the Islamic
Republic.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
General
Soleimani raps Dennis Ross's "divisive" remarks | Pars Today
(Iran)
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Commander,
Major General Qassem Soleimani, blasted the recent remarks by former US
Secretary of State's Special Adviser, Dennis Ross, warning that enemy
politicians like him always attempt to create rift among the Iranian
people. "...those in the front of the enemies of the Revolution and
the holy Islamic Republic always make their remarks with the aim of
sowing discord and inspiring confrontation among the united and
integrated lines of the revolutionary and brave people of Iran, which
should never be heeded", General Soleimani said in a statement on
Thursday... His remarks came after veteran US diplomat Dennis Ross raised
some allegations against General Soleimani in an interview with the
English section of the Saudi-owned London-based political news journal
Majalla.
BUSINESS RISK
Oman-Iran
gas pipeline cost to rise due to new route: source | Reuters
A planned subsea natural gas pipeline between Iran and Oman is
expected to have a higher estimated cost after the two countries had to
change the project's route and design to avoid waters controlled by the
UAE, an industry source said on Thursday.
Iran
deal may see tough days under new US president: Salehi | Press TV (Iran)
The Iranian nuclear chief says the nuclear deal between Tehran and six
world powers could face tough days under the next US administration,
which may seek to throw a wrench in the agreement's implementation
process. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of
Iran (AEOI), was speaking at the European Council on Foreign Relations in
London on Thursday. "Regarding US presidential elections, we believe
the JCPOA may have more difficult days ahead, and I do not rule out the
possibility that the new US president may put its implementation at
risk," added Salehi, using an acronym for the nuclear deal called
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
Iran
sends 1 mln barrels of oil to Austria's OMV in spot delivery | Reuters
Austria's OMV said on Friday it received 1 million barrels of
crude oil from Iran in a spot delivery at the Italian port of Trieste
which the energy group will send to its two refineries in Austria and
Romania. The delivery was Iran's first to OMV since 2012, when sanctions
were imposed on the country. OMV is in talks with Iran about future
deliveries, although no such contract has been signed yet, a spokesman
said.
India's
Iran oil imports surge to highest in at least 15 years in August |
Reuters
India's daily oil imports from Iran in August surged to their
highest in at least 15 years as the OPEC producer boosted its shipments
to recoup market share ceded to rivals Saudi Arabia and Iraq under
pressure from economic sanctions. India received about 576,000 barrels
per day (bpd) of Iranian oil in August, up about 10 percent from July,
according to trade sources and ship arrival data compiled by Thomson
Reuters Supply Chain & Commodities Research. The August imports from
Iran are likely a record although reliable data is available only back to
2001.
Nokia Signs
Contract to Launch TDD-LTE in Iran | Fars News
Nokia Corporation, a Finnish multinational communications and
information technology company, and an Iranian internet service provider
company inked an agreement in Helsinki to launch TDD-LTE (high-speed
wireless communication for mobile phones and data terminals) in Iran. The
agreement was signed in a ceremony participated by the Iranian and
Finnish communications ministers as well as the CEOs of Nokia and the
Iranian company. According to Mohammad Hassan Shanehsazzadeh, the CEO of
the Iranian company, the agreement will open the way for using Nokia's
know-how and solutions to launch TDD-LTE services in Iran.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Zarif
meets Mexican counterpart in Mexico City | Mehr News (Iran)
Iranian FM Zarif arrived in Mexico City on Wednesday to meet his
Mexican counterpart on his way to the ministerial summit of the
Non-Aligned Movement to be held in Venezuela. Iran's Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Claudia Ruiz Massieu, the Mexican Secretary
of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday at 10:00 AM local time just an hour after
arriving in Mexican capital city of Mexico City and being welcomed by the
Mexican Director General of the Foreign Ministry's Middle East and Africa
Department at the airport. Exchanging views on issues of bilateral
interests, Zarif and his Mexican counterpart discussed the ways to deepen
the ties in the future... Claudia Ruiz Massieu also broke the news of her
plan to travel to Tehran in the near future.
REGIONAL DESTABILIZATION
Hariri
slams Iran's 'hateful' rhetoric against Saudi Arabia | The Daily Star
(Lebanon)
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri lambasted Iran Thursday,
accusing it of spreading terrorism in the Muslim world and orchestrating
a conspiracy aimed at destroying Arab society. "Iran is leading the
widest operation to destroy the Arab societies, from Lebanon to Syria, Iraq,
Yemen, and every country infiltrated by the Revolutionary Guard,"
Hariri tweeted. He accused Iran of precipitating all the ills afflicting
the Arab world. "For displacing the Syrian people, dividing Iraq,
impairing Yemen's unity, and helping those accused of killing Rafic
Hariri escape," he said. "[Iran has] no right to point the
finger at Saudi Arabia and its history of protecting moderation."
DOMESTIC POLITICS
Enigmatic
Iran General Vows to Stay a Soldier Amid Election Talk | Bloomberg
Top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani said he hopes to
remain a soldier "until the end" of his life, in remarks that
follow weeks of media speculation he might contest presidential elections
in May. "I am a soldier of Velayat and the Islamic Republic regime
and the brave population, which I value more than my own life,"
Soleimani said in a statement published by Tasnim news agency on
Thursday. "God willing, I will remain in this role of soldier until
the end of my life." Velayat refers to Iran's ultimate arbiter on
all matters of state, the supreme leader, currently Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei. Soleimani's popularity has surged as he became the most
high-profile face of largely Shiite Iran's fight against the Sunni
jihadists of Islamic State. He regularly visits frontlines in Iraq and
Syria, where the governments are Iranian allies, and in recent months his
interests have appeared to spread to social issues and foreign policy.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
UANI Advisory Board
Member Dennis Ross: Iran cannot be a partner in the struggle against ISIS
| Interview by Joseph Braude in Majalla Magazine
In his interview with Majalla, Ross reflects on outcomes of the
Iranian nuclear deal. He outlines an alternative course of action vis a
vis Iran and the struggle against its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, and
elsewhere. He assesses the legacy of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war ten
years later and prospects for a regional strategy to weaken Hezbollah
today.
The
Galling Chutzpah of Iran's Zarif | Max Boot in Commentary
If you want a good laugh-or at least a contemptuous chortle-then
read this op-ed that appeared in the New York Times today by Mohammad
Javad Zarif, the foreign minister of Iran. It is a full-throated
denunciation of Saudi Arabia for-wait for it-spreading extremist
ideology. He writes that "the key driver of violence has been this
extremist ideology promoted by Saudi Arabia." He has a fair point
about the baleful impact of Saudi proselytizing around the world, which
has radicalized numerous Muslim communities, even if he does not
acknowledge the important steps that Saudi Arabia also takes to help the
U.S. and other allies to also fight terrorism. Anyone who is interested
in a fair-minded treatment of this complex subject should read this
lengthy report by New York Times reporter Scott Shane. Zarif's op-ed, on
the other hand, is good mainly as an example of sheer chutzpah. Here is
the representative of the Iranian revolutionary regime complaining
"that the worst bloodshed in the region is caused by Wahhabists fighting
fellow Arabs and murdering fellow Sunnis," even though in Syria-to
take but one example at random-far more people have been killed by Iran's
client, Bashar Assad, than by all of the Sunni rebel groups. Assad is
bombing civilians on a daily basis, blowing up hospitals, and
dismembering babies. Sure, Islamic State and Nusra Front are awful, but
they have not racked up a body count to compete with Assad's. And, of
course, Assad would have been deposed long ago were it not for the arms,
advisers, and even troops he has received from Iran and its proxies such
as Lebanese Hezbollah. Zarif's fiery denunciation of Wahhabi terrorism
also conveniently ignores the long-standing links between his own
government and Al Qaeda. Those connections were summarized in this
excellent Wall Street Journal op-ed by former Senator Joe Lieberman. He
noted that the 9/11 Commission found "strong evidence that Iran
facilitated the transit of al-Qaeda members into and out of Afghanistan
before 9/11, and that some of these were future 9/11 hijackers."
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