Iran Newsclips, January 22, 2015
david.cutler
Quick Links:
Fabius, Hammond, Steinmeier and Mogherini: Give diplomacy with Iran a chance, Washington Post
Bob Menendez, Bibi & the GOP: The alliance sabotaging Iranian nuclear talks, Salon
Democratic Iran hawks hesitate on overriding Obama, Politico
Kimball: Congress Shouldn't 'Blow Up' Iran Nuke Talks, The National Interest
Johns and Canterbury: Avoid new sanctions now and keep Iran’s nuclear program in check, The Hill
Iraq coalition tensions emerge in Islamic State fight, AP
Shams: Looking Beyond a Nuclear Agreement with Iran, Lobe Log
Mossad chief denies opposing new sanctions on Iran, Haaretz
Argentine Phone Calls Detail Efforts to Shield Iran, New York Times
Obama meets wife of pastor jailed in Iran, USA Today
Slavin: Deepening Israel-Iran Conflict Likely to Bring More Violence, Voice of America
Obama’s claim that Iran’s nuclear program has been ‘halted’ and its nuclear stockpile ‘reduced,’ Washington Post
India asks refiners to cut Iran oil imports ahead of Obama visit – sources, Reuters
Iran holds trump card on oil: petrochemicals, Al-Monitor
Politics and rivalry shape Iranian response to Paris attack, Reuters
Fabius, Hammond, Steinmeier and Mogherini: Give diplomacy with Iran a chance, Washington Post, January 21, 2015
Maintaining pressure on Iran through our existing sanctions is essential. But introducing new hurdles at this critical stage of the negotiations, including through additional nuclear-related sanctions legislation on Iran, would jeopardize our efforts at a critical juncture. While many Iranians know how much they stand to gain by overcoming isolation and engaging with the world, there are also those in Tehran who oppose any nuclear deal. We should not give them new arguments. New sanctions at this moment might also fracture the international coalition that has made sanctions so effective so far. Rather than strengthening our negotiating position, new sanctions legislation at this point would set us back.
Bob Menendez, Bibi & the GOP: The alliance sabotaging Iranian nuclear talks, Salon, January 22, 2015
And at least the neocons are honest: they’re perfectly upfront that no nuclear deal with Iran will be adequate for them and the only way to resolve this (“resolve”) is to bomb the dickens out of Iran. Much more frustrating are the Democrats, like Sen. Bob Mendendez, who claim that they’re only seeking to impose new sanctions on Iran to aid the administration’s diplomatic efforts. You know who doesn’t seem to think that new sanctions, such as those put forth by Mendendez and Sen. Bob Corker, would help the administration’s diplomatic efforts? The administration.
Democratic Iran hawks hesitate on overriding Obama, Politico, January 22, 2015
In interviews Wednesday, several Democrats who had supported a previous version of Iran legislation sponsored by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) said they are reconsidering their positions. Meanwhile, a previous version of an Iran bill offered by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) did not have any Democratic co-sponsors.
Kimball: Congress Shouldn't 'Blow Up' Iran Nuke Talks, The National Interest, January 22, 2015
Members of Congress should understand that moving forward with additional sanctions at this time is not the smart way to “get tough” on Iran. In fact, it would make it far tougher to curb Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Iran’s moderate leaders and its population are more eager than ever to dismantle the ongoing, punishing sanctions regime, which continues to hurt their economy. New U.S. sanctions at this time would only tip the political balance inside Iran to the hardliners who flourish in a “resistance economy” and who support an unconstrained Iranian nuclear program.
Johns and Canterbury: Avoid new sanctions now and keep Iran’s nuclear program in check, The Hill, January 22, 2015
In spite of steady diplomatic progress to deny Iran a nuclear weapon, some hardliners in Congress are seeking to scuttle any deal. Indeed, Republicans—and a few Democrats—have said they wish to pass a new sanctions bill in the coming weeks while the talks are ongoing – a risky move that experts say will most likely derail this delicate diplomatic process.
Iraq coalition tensions emerge in Islamic State fight, AP, January 22, 2015
Two to three Iranian military aircraft land at Baghdad airport a day, bringing in weapons and ammunition. The elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its commander, Gen. Ghasem Soleimani, are organizing Iraqi forces and have become the de facto leaders of Iraqi Shiite militias that are the backbone of the fight. Last month, Iran carried out airstrikes to help push militants from an Iraqi province on its border. Iraqi government officials noted Iran's willingness to quickly accommodate requests for weapons and frontline assistance in the absence of faster support from the coalition. They have also claimed that coalition forces have provided more support to Kurdish fighters in semiautonomous northern Iraq.
Shams: Looking Beyond a Nuclear Agreement with Iran, Lobe Log, January 21, 2015
“A deal that truly resolves the nuclear issue can be a foundation for progress,” the report concludes. In the immediate aftermath of an agreement, the United States should pursue a patient, limited and incremental approach.” But the animosity between Iran and the US won’t go away overnight, nor will a “resolution of the nuclear issue…untangle the violent web of politics in the Middle East,” the report says. Still, a deal on the nuclear issue would provide Washington and Tehran with an opportunity to address the other outstanding issues in the region. To deal with all the other hurdles in the bilateral relationship, both parties will need a good deal of strategic patience.
Mossad chief denies opposing new sanctions on Iran, Haaretz, January 22, 2015
Mossad chief Tamir Pardo issued a rare press release on Thursday denying reports that he told U.S. senators he was opposed to further sanctions on Iran during its negotiations with world powers over its contentious nuclear program. In a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office, Pardo noted that he did meet with a delegation of senators on January 19, at their request, and with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approval.
Argentine Phone Calls Detail Efforts to Shield Iran, New York Times, January 21, 2015
Intercepted conversations between representatives of the Iranian and Argentine governments point to a long pattern of secret negotiations to reach a deal in which Argentina would receive oil in exchange for shielding Iranian officials from charges that they orchestrated the bombing of a Jewish community center in 1994.
Obama meets wife of pastor jailed in Iran, USA Today, January 22, 2015
"I am extremely thankful the president took the time to meet with our family and told us that securing the release of my husband is a top priority," said Naghmeh Abedini in a statement. Her husband, Saeed Abedini, an American citizen, was arrested in Iran in 2012.
Slavin: Deepening Israel-Iran Conflict Likely to Bring More Violence, Voice of America, January 21, 2015
Two developments this week linked to the long-running conflict between Israel and Iran are likely to generate even more violence and uncertainty at a time when threats are already multiplying from Sunni Muslim extremists.
Obama’s claim that Iran’s nuclear program has been ‘halted’ and its nuclear stockpile ‘reduced,’ Washington Post, January 22, 2015
Words have consequences, especially in a State of the Union address. The president could have claimed that “we’ve slowed the progress of its nuclear program and reduced its stockpile of the most dangerous nuclear material.” But instead he choose to make sweeping claims for which there is little basis. Thus he earns Three Pinocchios.
India asks refiners to cut Iran oil imports ahead of Obama visit – sources, Reuters, January 22, 2015
India has asked its refiners to slash oil buys from Iran in the next two months to keep the imports in line with the previous fiscal year's levels, sources with knowledge of the matter said, days ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to New Delhi. India, the second-largest buyer of Iranian oil, has raised its crude shipments from there by more than 40 percent over the first nine months of the current fiscal year, when as part of the temporary deal that eased some sanctions on Tehran it was meant to hold them steady. Now, the sources said, India's oil ministry has told Essar Oil, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd and Indian Oil Corp -- the Indian refiners that buy from Iran -- to cut those imports to keep the annual figure in line with the nuclear deal.
Iran holds trump card on oil: petrochemicals, Al-Monitor, January 22, 2015
With some energy experts predicting that oil prices will average below $60 per barrel in 2015, officials hope to attract enough investment for the country's petrochemical industries, which have been described as key to the government’s stated policy of maintaining a “resistance economy.” Experts now believe Iran’s petrochemical industries will become an alternative economic engine and a platform for development.
Politics and rivalry shape Iranian response to Paris attack, Reuters, January 22, 2015
Some 25 years on, Iran's stance must be viewed in light of the bitter sectarian rivalry in the Middle East between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims, political analysts say. The Paris attack was claimed by al-Qaeda, a leading Sunni militant movement which, along with its offshoot Islamic State, Shi'ite power Iran regards as a serious threat to its allies in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Iran is also treading a delicate line as it seeks to strike a deal with Western powers - including France - over its nuclear program to put an end to the sanctions that have crippled its economy.