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TOP STORIES
Iran's currency fell at least 5.5 percent on Sunday, extending
a slide to a new record low on continued concerns over a return of
crippling sanctions.
In our judgement, Ambassador Bolton has a breadth and
depth of experience in national security, and a reputation for
knowing the ins and outs of Washington. These qualities will make him
an effective national security advisor... .After his tenure [as U.S.
permanent representative to the U.N.], Ambassador Bolton joined us at
United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), a bi-partisan advocacy group, to
highlight the danger the Iranian regime poses to the international
community. Alongside UANI, Ambassador Bolton worked with experts from
both sides of the aisle, fostering dialogue and debate, and proposing
actionable ideas to combat the threat posed by Iran.
Syria and Russia blamed Israel on Monday for early
morning airstrikes on a Syrian military base that a conflict
monitoring group said killed 14 people, including fighters from Iran.
UANI IN THE NEWS
The world pulled back, including the U.S. under
President Obama, let this country [Syria] go wild, [let] Assad do
whatever he wanted. Iran was already in there, increased its
presence. They have tens of thousands there. And then ussia saw an
opening and moved in. And Assad now he can do whatever he wants with
his people, including breaking that line of civil behavior and using
gas.
NUCLEAR DEAL
Donald Trump will regret it if he pulls out of the
nuclear deal with Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday,
warning the U.S. president that Tehran's response would be stronger
than he thinks.
NUCLEAR & BALLISTIC-MISSILE PROGRAMS
Iran's president has lashed out at the United States as
Iran marked "National Nuclear Day," dedicated to the
country's achievements in nuclear technology.
President Hassan Rouhani has declared that Iran's
nuclear industry is advancing at a faster pace, as one of his senior
cabinet officials warned the country could ramp its uranium
enrichment to 20 percent on short notice, if the United States
withdraws from the nuclear agreement.
CONGRESS & IRAN
With the Trump administration's two top foreign policy
positions in transition and a May 12 deadline - which requires that
the White House either renew an Iran sanctions waiver or withdraw
from the Iran nuclear accord - fast approaching, the United States has
urgent need of an approach that addresses the deal's shortcomings
without creating new foreign policy headaches. Congress should remove
this artificial deadline and allow the administration to focus on the
range of Iranian threats and how best to counter them.
SYRIA & IRAN
President Trump on Sunday lashed out at Russia and Iran
for "backing animal Assad" in Syria following a suspected
chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday reports of a gas
attack in Syria were not based on facts and were an "an
excuse" by the United States and Western countries to take
military action against Damascus, the official Iranian news agency
IRNA reported.
President Trump reportedly has ordered the Pentagon to
withdraw all US troops from Syria as soon as possible - within
months. That risks giving a giant gift to Iran.
House [Homeland Security Committee] Chairman Michael
McCaul (R-Texas) said there must be consequences after a reported
chemical attack killed dozens in Syria.
Russia, Iran, and North Korea all play a role in the
Syrian regime's chemical attacks on its own people.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
This year's freestyle World Cup could have been one of
the most intriguing wrestling tournaments outside of the Olympics in
years. The powerhouse Russian and Iranian teams were looking to
topple the Americans - last year's team winner at the world
championships - in Iowa's fabled Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Unfortunately
for fans, the Russians and Iranians failed to show up and the U.S.,
fresh off its first world team championship in 22 years, appears to
be in position for a crown that likely would ring a bit hollow.
BUSINESS RISK
Even if Europe doesn't restore sanctions, banks and
insurers won't want to end up on the wrong side of a presidential
tweet.
SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman has
condemned a recommendation by U.S. prosecutors that a Turkish
Halkbank executive get 20 years in prison for helping Iran evade U.S.
sanctions.
OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran's currency took another big hit, falling between
6-9 percent on Sunday, extending a slide to a new record low on
continued concerns over a return of crippling sanctions if U.S.
President Donald Trump carries out his threat to exit a nuclear deal
with Tehran. The U.S. dollar jumped to as much as 58,000 rials on the
open market in the capital Tehran, according to some reports.
Parliament on Sunday invited the economy minister and the central
bank governor to attend a closed session on Tuesday to discuss the
accelerating fall of the national currency, Iranian news agencies
reported. Local media reports on Monday indicate a freeze of trading
on open market. Exchanges are displaying 55,000 rials to the dollar
on their screens but actually they are reluctant to buy and sell.
The Iranian rial has lost about a third of its value
over the last year, burnishing claims that the economy is stumbling.
But while the devaluation is concerning, it does not point directly
to real economic weakness. As such, it looks less like a hedge to
protect assets and more like a bubble in which Iranians are investing
enthusiastically.
CYBERWARFARE
Hackers have attacked networks in a number of countries
including data centers in Iran where they left the image of a U.S.
flag on screens along with a warning: "Don't mess with our
elections", the Iranian IT ministry said on Saturday.
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
A senior official of the United Arab Emirates has called
on Iran to end its "occupation" of the three islands of Abu
Musa, Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb, the Arab press
reported.
On the eve of the third anniversary of the war in Yemen,
Houthi rebels fired a barrage of missiles into Saudi Arabia. Saudi
Arabia's airports were targeted. An Egyptian national in Riyadh was
reportedly killed and at least two other civilians were injured. The
United States strongly condemned the attacks.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Hundreds of people were executed in Iran last year,
including some who were minors at the time of their alleged crimes,
and the grizzly practice of public executions continues, according to
a report from the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC).
HEZBOLLAH & LEBANON
A top Iranian cleric warned that Hezbollah now has
powerful weapons and if Israel were to attack the Lebanese terror
group, it could raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Protests in the mainly Arab-populated regions of
southwestern Iran entered their second week April 5, with at least
160 people detained in the oil-rich Khuzestan province. According to
local reports, anger flared after a TV show aired on state-run media showing
a child fixing dolls dressed in different traditional garments onto a
map of Iran without a doll representing Arab dress.
An Iranian cleric said Friday the state-sanctioned
broadcaster owes an apology to the country's Arab minority for
insulting them in a recent program.
Telegram, the most popular social media app in Iran,
will be blocked nationwide, state media reported Sunday, a move
expected to deal a severe blow to communications and commerce across
the Islamic Republic. The semi-official Fars news agency quoted
Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the telecommunications minister, as
saying the app used by an estimated 40 million Iranians - half the
population - would be blocked effective 10 a.m. Monday.
Shirin Ebadi, Iran's Nobel Peace Prize-winning human
rights lawyer, has had enough. For years she represented her
country's dissidents in the Islamic Republic's corrupt courts. She
spoke out for the rights of women, minorities and students abroad.
But she never called for the end of the regime she was fighting to
reform. Until now.
The most important annual speech in Iran is Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei's lengthy address to pilgrims in Mashhad on March
21, Nowruz Day (not to be confused with his less significant midnight
television address marking the beginning of the holiday). Over the
years, the Mashhad speech has been the best indicator of what
Khamenei has in mind for either domestic policy, foreign affairs, or
both over the coming year.
Iran seems to be "working as usual" as it's
using the Houthis in Yemen to launch missiles that target Riyadh upon
Soleimani's orders... However, Iran cannot continue to pursue this
policy of "working as usual" for a long time because the
political campaign launched by some European countries is tantamount
to issuing a warning to Tehran to decrease Soleimani's military
activity which may reignite the problems that Iran suffered from
before the nuclear deal was sealed - or perhaps cause even worse problems.
RUSSIA & IRAN
Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft is interested in
oil and gas projects in Iran's Zagros province, after signing a deal
last year to do business in the country, an official document showed
on Friday.
IRAQ & IRAN
Hadi al-Amiri, the head of the Badr Organization, has
said that an alliance of Shiite militia forces that fought against
the Islamic State will now shift attention to politics and will
participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. In an interview
with the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV, Amiri said that the Fateh Alliance,
a coalition of Iranian-supported Shiite units within the Iraqi
Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), will take an active part in the
elections and expressed the hope that it can play a major role in the
next government.
The commander of Iran's paramilitary Basij Force
Gholamhossein Gheybparvar held a meeting with Iraqi political figures
in Baghdad this week under shrouded circumstances. The meeting was
attended by the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, as well as members of the
Fatah Alliance - a political coalition in Iraq formed to contest the
2018 general election. The main components of the alliance are former
groups involved in the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Units.
Iraj Masjedi, Tehran's ambassador to Baghdad, held
separate meetings with Iraqi President Fuad Masum and prominent
Shiite leaders in the run-up to the Iraqi parliamentary elections
slated for May 12, Iranian and Arab media outlets reported.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran convened for a
summit in Ankara on April 4 ostensibly to discuss Syria. (Putin,
Erdogan and Rouhani). Most pundits noted two salient inferences, that
the US was conspicuously absent and the conclave would lead to
nothing longterm since the countries involved had divergent goals in
Syria. Ergo the whole thing served as little more than a grand
photo-op.
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