Iran Newsclips, January 8, 2015
david.cutler
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Sheffrey: Preventing Iranian nukes without further sanctions, The Hill
What's Holding Up the Iran Nuclear Deal? Al-Monitor
Costello: Iran nuclear talks 101, The Hill
In Washington, Gantz warns against concessions with Iran, Jerusalem Post
Iran-Backed Militias Are Getting U.S. Weapons, Bloomberg View
Tehran Visit Leaves Ex-Congressman 'Guardedly Optimistic,' RFE/RL
Iranian Journalists Stopped From Showing Solidarity With Paris Victims, RFE/RL
Iran press says France must review policy after deadly attack, AFP
Muslim Press Reacts To Charlie Hebdo Attack, RFE/RL
Iran's Judiciary Blocks WhatsApp, Other Communication Apps, RFE/RL
The Story Behind Iran’s Censorship Redirect Page, PBS
Iran's new budget to focus on privatization, subsidy reforms, Al-Monitor
Sheffrey: Preventing Iranian nukes without further sanctions, The Hill, January 8, 2015
Congress does have a role to play, but its role is not to sabotage negotiations with unwise legislation. Congress is institutionally incapable of micromanaging foreign policy. Sanctions alone will not prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Sanctions didn't stop Iran from getting to where it is today, but sanctions did get Iran to the negotiating table where, in exchange for limited, temporary and easily reversible sanctions relief, Iran stopped or rolled back key elements of its nuclear program. Should the talks fail, Congress could authorize (to the extent authorization is needed) U.S. military action against Iran, as well as additional economic and diplomatic sanctions.
What's Holding Up the Iran Nuclear Deal? Al-Monitor, January 8, 2015
Informed European sources told me that the negotiators were on the verge of announcing a political agreement in Vienna, but it was blocked for apparently unknown reasons. … Judging from my numerous recent exchanges with a wide range of informed, well-placed sources within the P5+1, I am confident that a comprehensive agreement is absolutely within reach, provided that the process is not torpedoed by the US Congress and Netanyahu.
Costello: Iran nuclear talks 101, The Hill, January 8, 2015
If talks collapse, the U.S. would likely amplify sanctions on Iran. Far from convincing Iran to surrender, new sanctions would likely trigger Iranian counter-escalations that could lead to war. Further, military strikes cannot erase Iran’s nuclear know-how and would likely only incentivize an Iranian push for a nuclear deterrent. Short of a costly, open-ended occupation costing trillions and involving hundreds of thousands of troops, there is no military option to eliminate the nuclear threat.
In Washington, Gantz warns against concessions with Iran, Jerusalem Post, January 8, 2015
At a dinner in his honor at the Israeli embassy in Washington, outgoing IDF chief of general staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz warned US defense staff, administration officials and congressmen that war might result from failed negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. "Now is not the time for concessions," he told the group, that included General Colin Powell, Senator Lindsey Graham and Ambassador Ron Dermer, among others. "Iran is currently under major pressure." Israel prefers a diplomatic solution, he said, but the failure of talks— by Israel's standards— will prolong the decade-long crisis. "It will lead to war," he said.
Iran-Backed Militias Are Getting U.S. Weapons, Bloomberg View, January 8, 2015
U.S. weapons intended for Iraq’s beleaguered military are winding up in the possession of the country’s Shiite militias, according to U.S. lawmakers and senior officials in the Barack Obama administration. These sources say that the Baghdad government, which was granted $1.2 billion in training and equipment aid in the omnibus spending bill passed last month, is turning hardware over to Shiite militias that are heavily influenced by Iran and have been guilty of gross human-rights violations.
Tehran Visit Leaves Ex-Congressman 'Guardedly Optimistic,' RFE/RL, January 8, 2015
Slattery: I think leaders on both sides would like to improve the relationship between the United States and Iran, and where there is a will, there’s generally a way. I think that’s where we are right now. So I am guardedly optimistic. I’m not naive, I know that this is going to be enormously complicated, but we have an obligation to pursue diplomatic solutions to these kind of very difficult problems before we engage in some kind of military action. So I think it’s very important for us to find a diplomatic solution to this issue and do so with mutual respect.
Iranian Journalists Stopped From Showing Solidarity With Paris Victims, RFE/RL, January 8, 2015
The demonstration was attempted on January 8 near the building which had housed the Association of Iranian Journalists before it was shut down by former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s government in August 2009. But witnesses said police and security forces prevented the journalists from gathering in front of the building, which has been sealed since it was raided by security forces in 2009.
Iran press says France must review policy after deadly attack, AFP, January 8, 2015
France “is tasting the bitter medicine of its support for terrorism,” said the conservative daily Resalat, which criticised the “neglect” of French security forces who “remained indifferent to the growing activities” of extremist groups. The reformist newspaper Ebtekar said that the rise of ISIS, “which appears to be the result of the military actions of Western governments in Islamic countries, have given birth to the bloodiest terrorist operations.” The reformist Shargh newspaper called on the United States and Europe "to review as quickly as possible their policies towards the Middle East and the Islamic world".
Muslim Press Reacts To Charlie Hebdo Attack, RFE/RL, January 8, 2015
In Iran, the morning papers offered very diverse coverage of the event. Although overall coverage was low-key compared to Western media, some newspapers covered the attack on their front pages. It was noticeable that both conservative and reformist outlets criticized Charlie Hebdo for publishing cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad and questioned whether such cartoons constituted free speech.
Iran's Judiciary Blocks WhatsApp, Other Communication Apps, RFE/RL, January 8, 2015
Iran's official IRNA news agency says the country's judiciary has ordered three personal-communication software applications to be blocked, in a move that has long been opposed by President Hassan Rohani's administration. The report says the judiciary ordered that the LINE, WhatsApp, and Tango apps all be shut down, and that the order would go into effect later on January 7.
The Story Behind Iran’s Censorship Redirect Page, PBS, January 8, 2015
The changes in the page demonstrate the evolution of how Iranian state has represented its censorship policies. This page serves as one reflection of state policies regarding online expression in the age of President Hassan Rouhani. Rhetoric, words and the actions of Iran’s leaders now often seem liberal — Rouhani’s support of a free Internet, and the active presence of his cabinet on the blocked platforms of Facebook and Twitter — but bloggers still face arrest, and platforms continue to be blocked.
Iran's new budget to focus on privatization, subsidy reforms, Al-Monitor, January 8, 2015
The Iranian economy has embarked on 2015 with a number of challenges that will directly influence the overall economic performance of the country. Low and falling oil prices as well as the wait-and-see mode in the nuclear negotiations are inducing massive uncertainties into Iran’s economic outlook. Since the extension of the nuclear talks on Nov. 24, the Iranian rial has lost 7% of its value on the free currency market and is now trading at 35,000 rials to the dollar. The concern about the outcome of negotiations as well as worries about the negative impact of a low oil price on the government’s financial position are driving the market, despite reassurances by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) that a collapse of the rial would not be on the horizon. Nonetheless, the markets are nervous and the overall trend is to use the hedging effect of hard currency investments in an uncertain economic environment.