Iran Newsclips, February 18, 2015
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Washington Post journalist held in Iran denied access to lawyer, says brother, The Guardian
White House: Israel distorts U.S. position in Iran negotiations, Haaretz
U.S. delegation heads to Geneva for another round of Iran nuclear talks, Reuters
Fear of Israeli Leaks Fuels Distrust Over U.S. Talks With Iran, New York Times
Good or bad Iran nuke deal? Israel vs. the US administration, AP
Jeb Bush’s Attack On Obama Over Iran Goes Horribly Wrong, Think Progress
Slavin: Effort to Thwart Iran Deal Won’t Have Intended Effect, Voice of America
Rogin: Poll Shows Americans Want Netanyahu to Speak, Bloomberg View
How To Ease US-Israeli Iran Dispute Debated, USA Today
Netanyahu in message to Obama: If Iran deal is good, why hide details from Israel? Haaretz
Israeli ambassador: Netanyahu address to Congress on Iran deal worth price of ties with Obama, Haaretz
Khamenei vows firm Iranian nuclear stand, warns on gas exports, Reuters
'Israelis must protest Iran deal outside US Embassy,' Jerusalem Post
China's foreign minister pushes Iran on nuclear deal, Reuters
Iran denies that Khamenei replied to Obama letter on Islamic State, Reuters
U.S. University Reverses Ban On Iranian Science Students, RFE/RL
UN rights experts demand that Iran halt planned execution, AP
‘Sending Iran’s nuclear case to Security Council was a grave mistake,’ Tehran Times
Iran bans weekly for criticizing government 'concessions' in nuclear talks: ISNA, Reuters
Mamedov: EU Realignment on Saudi Arabia and Iran? Lobe Log
Disagreement keeps Hamas-Iran rapprochement on ice, Al-Monitor
Iran students protest against US Muslim killings, AFP
Argentina asks U.S. to include 1994 bombing in Iran nuclear talks, Reuters
Iran MP wants Washington Post journalist 'confession' aired, Al-Monitor
Judiciary chief defends opposition house arrests as legal, Radio Zamaneh
Samadbeygi: House Arrest Continues: Rouhani Cannot or Does Not Want To? Rooz Online
Journalists association wary of government interference, Radio Zamaneh
Iranians Take To Social Media To Challenge Media Ban On Ex-President Khatami, RFE/RL
Rouhani accommodates Iran's Jewish students, Al-Monitor
Iran's Neoliberal Austerity-Security Budget, Payvand News
Billion dollar smuggling industry drains Iran's economy, Al-Monitor
Will Iran's corruption fight attempt to attract private investors? Al-Monitor
State of Iran’s Oil Industry ‘Catastrophic’ – Oil Minister, Uskowi on Iran
Washington Post journalist held in Iran denied access to lawyer, says brother, The Guardian, February 18, 2015
Ali said the family hired a prominent defense attorney, Masoud Shafiei, to represent Rezaian , but said the lawyer has been unable to obtain the journalist’s signature, which is needed before Shafiei can officially represent him. Ali said the lawyer was prevented from dropping off the necessary paperwork on at least three separate occasions this week. “At this point, we’re at nearly seven months and Jason still hasn’t had access to an attorney, which he should have had seven months ago,” Ali told the Guardian, speaking by phone from California. “But [the Iranian authorities] have spent the last seven months stacking the deck, and they just keep on doing it.”
White House: Israel distorts U.S. position in Iran negotiations, Haaretz, February 18, 2015
The White House said on Wednesday that Israeli officials had mischaracterized U.S. negotiations on Iran's nuclear program and criticized what it called "a continued practice of cherry-picking" and leaking information out of context. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Obama administration is mindful of the need to keep the negotiations private and accused Israel of distorting the U.S. position. "There's no question that some of the things that the Israelis have said in characterizing our negotiating position have not been accurate," Earnest said at a news briefing. "There's no question about that." State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, also accused Israel of "selective sharing of information" but declined to say what information had been cherry-picked.
U.S. delegation heads to Geneva for another round of Iran nuclear talks, Reuters, February 18, 2015
U.S. negotiator Wendy Sherman will lead a U.S. delegation to Geneva on Thursday for talks with Iranian officials over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, the State Department said on Wednesday. "These bilateral consultations will take place in the context of the P5+1 nuclear negotiations with Iran, led by EU Special Advisor Cathy Ashton," the State Department said in a statement.
Fear of Israeli Leaks Fuels Distrust Over U.S. Talks With Iran, New York Times, February 17, 2015
With the Obama administration racing to negotiate the outlines of a nuclear deal with Iran by the end of March, aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel have charged in recent days that they are being deliberately left in the dark about the details of the talks. The Americans have said that is untrue, but even one of Washington’s closest negotiating partners reports being warned about being too open with the Israelis, “because whatever we say may be used in a selective way.” The tensions between the United States and Israel over negotiating with Tehran have a long and twisted history, and they plunged to a new low when Mr. Netanyahu engineered an invitation to address a joint meeting of Congress, in less than two weeks, to warn against a “bad deal.”
Good or bad Iran nuke deal? Israel vs. the US administration, AP, February 17, 2015
With only a few weeks left until the March deadline, Iran — which insists it does not want nuclear arms — seems to be ahead in pushing the other side to compromise. The main dispute is over the size and potency of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which can make both reactor fuel and the fissile core of a weapon. The U.S., along with Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, came to the table demanding that Tehran dismantle 80 to 90 percent of the nearly 10,000 centrifuges now turning out enriched uranium along with all of the 8,000 or so other machines set up but not working. But faced with Iranian resistance, diplomats now say the U.S. is prepared to accept 4,500 operating centrifuges — perhaps more — if Tehran agrees to constraints on their efficiency.
Jeb Bush’s Attack On Obama Over Iran Goes Horribly Wrong, Think Progress, February 18, 2015
“The administration no longer seeks to prevent nuclear enrichment, now it seeks merely to regulate it,” Jeb Bush said. “Prevention of nuclear weapons in Iran was once a unifying issue in American foreign policy. Leaders of both parties agreed to it.” … But “managing” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, as Bush puts it, isn’t a position that originated in the Obama administration. As the New York Times points out, George W. Bush officials eventually conceded during his presidency that “there was no way to reach a deal without Iran retaining at least a face-saving amount of enrichment capability.”
Slavin: Effort to Thwart Iran Deal Won’t Have Intended Effect, Voice of America, February 17, 2015
Determined to prevent President Barack Obama from accepting a “bad” deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems bent on destroying chances for a reasonable one that could prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon for at least another decade and open the door to diplomacy on other pressing regional issues.
Rogin: Poll Shows Americans Want Netanyahu to Speak, Bloomberg View, February 18, 2015
Those are detailed questions for a news survey, which was conducted by Paragon Insights, and one can debate whether the reference to Netanyahu's credentials was relevant. (The full methodology and text of all questions can be found here.) Nonetheless, the responses make clear that more Americans than not now believe it’s a good idea to let Netanyahu make his case.
How To Ease US-Israeli Iran Dispute Debated, USA Today, February 18, 2015
US Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations Martin Indyk and former US diplomat Dennis Ross offered creative ways to reconcile the differences between Israel and the US over Iran nuclear talks at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Indyk, who played a key role in the last round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, suggested a joint Israel-US nuclear defense pact as a way to assuage Israeli fears. Proposing "a nuclear guarantee for Israel" that would address Israeli apprehension of Iran crossing a "nuclear threshold," he spoke of a prior plan previously discussed at Camp David in 2000 between former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the late Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat.
Netanyahu in message to Obama: If Iran deal is good, why hide details from Israel? Haaretz, February 26, 2015
"Just as Iran knows what kind of agreement is being offered, it's only natural that Israel should know the details of the deal being formulated," said Netanyahu during a meeting with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. "But if there are those who think this is a good agreement, why must it be hidden?"
Israeli ambassador: Netanyahu address to Congress on Iran deal worth price of ties with Obama, Haaretz, February 17, 2015
Three Israeli diplomats, some of whom were briefed subsequently on the details of the meeting, told Haaretz that Dermer tried to downplay the crisis with President Barack Obama’s administration. He admitted that Israel would pay a price for Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, they said, but denied that this would deal a mortal blow to the U.S.-Israeli relationship.
Khamenei vows firm Iranian nuclear stand, warns on gas exports, Reuters, February 18, 2015
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed on Wednesday that his country would resist global sanctions imposed over its disputed nuclear program, saying that Iran might respond to international pressure by cutting back gas exports. "The enemy is using the lever of sanctions to the hilt and their goal is to stop our people's progress," Khamenei said in a public speech in Tehran carried by the official IRNA news agency. "I believe that if we allow them to dictate to us on the nuclear issue, they will still keep the sanctions in place because what they are against is the very foundation of our revolution."
'Israelis must protest Iran deal outside US Embassy,' Jerusalem Post, February 18, 2015
Israelis
should take to the streets and protest in front of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv
against the emerging Iranian nuclear deal, former Strategic Affairs Ministry
director-general Yossi Kuperwasser said Tuesday.
Kuperwasser, who before the ministry job he left at the end of 2014 was a
senior officer in Military Intelligence, attributed a great deal of importance
to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress.
China's foreign minister pushes Iran on nuclear deal, Reuters, February 16, 2015
A deal with Iran on its controversial nuclear program would help it escape from sanctions and allow more efforts to be spent on economic development, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a trip to Tehran. … "Reaching comprehensive agreement is beneficial to Iran upholding its own legal rights, including the right to the peaceful use of nuclear power, and for the people of Iran to throw off the difficulties of sanctions as early as possible and focus on energetically developing the economy," Wang said.
Iran denies that Khamenei replied to Obama letter on Islamic State, Reuters, February 16, 2015
Iran has denied a Wall Street Journal report that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently responded to a letter sent in October by U.S. President Barack Obama suggesting cooperation with Iran in fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. "There has been no new letter from Iran's side," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said, according to a report carried late on Sunday by the official IRNA news agency. "The claim made by the Wall Street Journal is an unprofessional media game."
U.S. University Reverses Ban On Iranian Science Students, RFE/RL, February 18, 2015
The University of Massachusetts at Amherst says it will accept Iranian students into its science and engineering programs. The university said in a February 18 statement that it will develop individualized study plans to meet the requirements of a U.S. sanctions law. The announcement follows criticism of the university's announcement last week that it would no longer admit Iranians into science-related fields, including engineering and chemistry, in order to comply with U.S. sanctions.
UN rights experts demand that Iran halt planned execution, AP, February 18, 2015
U.N. human rights experts are demanding that Iran halt the planned execution of a man who was arrested at age 17 and says he was tortured into confessing. Saman Naseem was arrested in July 2011 after a firefight between Iran's Revolutionary Guard forces and members of a Kurdish rebel group. He was convicted for "enmity against God" and "corruption on earth" over his supposed involvement with the Kurdish armed group. The U.N. special investigators on human rights in Iran and on extrajudicial executions said in a statement Wednesday that the execution of a juvenile offender is "clearly prohibited by international human rights law." The rights group Amnesty International last week said the Iranian Kurdish man had been informed he would be hanged this week.
‘Sending Iran’s nuclear case to Security Council was a grave mistake,’ Tehran Times, February 18, 2015
“Referring Iran’s nuclear case to the UN Security Council was a grave mistake and now that it has been clarified that Iran is not after the acquisition of nuclear weapons, all restrictions should be removed,” Nahavandian stated. “The Americans should be brave enough to correct their path,” he added, Fars reported.
Iran bans weekly for criticizing government 'concessions' in nuclear talks: ISNA, Reuters, February 16, 2015
Iran has shut down a hardline conservative weekly for criticizing the government's nuclear negotiations with six major powers aimed at ending a decade-old standoff, the Students News Agency ISNA reported on Monday. The broad goal of the talks is to restrain Iran's nuclear energy capacity to remove any concerns it could be put to developing bombs in return for the lifting of sanctions that have ravaged the Iranian economy. The Noh-e Day weekly, run by hardline member of parliament Hamid Rassai, had repeatedly criticized pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani's government for "making too many concessions" during the nuclear negotiations.
Mamedov: EU Realignment on Saudi Arabia and Iran? Lobe Log, February 17, 2015
This unprecedented criticism of Saudi Arabia, officially an “ally,” by a EU institution contrasts with the relatively milder treatment accorded to Iran, an official “foe” and Saudi Arabia´s regional antagonist. In its last resolution adopted in May 2014, the EP criticized Iran for its human rights abuses, but the overall tone was much more positive, highlighting an array of possible areas of cooperation.
Disagreement keeps Hamas-Iran rapprochement on ice, Al-Monitor, February 18, 2015
As Hamas’ talks on a rapprochement with Iran reached their peak and in light of the preparations for its political chief Khaled Meshaal to visit Tehran, Hamas-Iranian ties have suffered a sudden setback when media outlets with ties to Hezbollah and Iran published reports that contributed to a “temporary disturbance.”
Iran students protest against US Muslim killings, AFP, February 18, 2015
Hundreds of Iranian students protested Wednesday in Tehran against the murder of three Muslim American students in the United States by a white neighbour last week. Shouting "Death to America" 200-300 students linked to the bassiji Islamist militia demonstrated outside the Swiss embassy, which represents US interests in Iran, an AFP correspondent said.
Argentina asks U.S. to include 1994 bombing in Iran nuclear talks, Reuters, February 17, 2015
Argentina wants the United States to help it get to the bottom of a deadly 1994 bombing at the heart of a current political scandal by including the crime in the U.S. nuclear talks with Iran, its foreign minister said on Tuesday…. Foreign Minister Hector Timerman released a letter to his U.S. counterpart John Kerry in which he said Argentina had made the request before. "I am asking you again that the AMIA issue be included in the negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran," it said.
Iran MP wants Washington Post journalist 'confession' aired, Al-Monitor, February 17, 2015
Hard-line Iranian Parliament member Hamid Rasaei has been on a mission to connect the case of detained Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian to the administration of President Hassan Rouhani. Rasaei has accused a figure within the administration of granting Rezaian high level access to sensitive institutions and called for the airing of an alleged confession by Rezaian on Iranian TV.
Judiciary chief defends opposition house arrests as legal, Radio Zamaneh, February 17, 2015
The head of Iran’s Judiciary says there is no legal obstacle to the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement according to the country’s laws. Speaking at a conference commemorating two martyrs, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani slammed recent U.S. statements about the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, MirHosein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard as interference in the country’s internal affairs. “The U.S. State Department has issued a statement about Iran and the judiciary and has blatantly interfered in out internal affairs and it has said that no one should be under house arrest,” said Ayatollah Larijani; “and they are telling our judges and legal experts, ‘Your own constitution does not allow house arrests’.”
Samadbeygi: House Arrest Continues: Rouhani Cannot or Does Not Want To? Rooz Online, February 16, 2015
Because the policy of asking people to remain silent on the issue has continued for such a long period it has raised the protests of Mousavi’s daughters. They have said that during the last year, nobody has been able to even ask about the prison conditions of their parents. They have strongly protested the position of the administration. “Some say that demands in this regard should not be raised again as a way to prevent the situation from getting more complex and difficult. But this possibly results in forgetting the issue and softening the public demands in this regard,” they have argued.
Journalists association wary of government interference, Radio Zamaneh, February 16, 2015
The Association of Iranian Journalists describes the ministry’s actions as “opportunistic” and calls on the ministry to stop interfering in the business of worker and professional organizations. The association also urges the president to step in and end the interference. Last July, the president’s cultural advisor announced the imminent launch of the Association of Journalists. The head of the Association of Iranian Journalists, Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, said the proposed change involves more than the group’s name and, indeed, the nature of the organization would also be altered.
Iranians Take To Social Media To Challenge Media Ban On Ex-President Khatami, RFE/RL, February 18, 2015
Some Iranians are protesting against a state media ban on former President Mohammad Khatami by posting his pictures on social media under the hashtag "We will be Khatami's media" (in Persian: #رسانه_خاتمی_میشویم) The ban was formally announced earlier this week by judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei who said that, according to a judicial order, media don't have the right to mention Khatami and to publish his statements and photographs.
Rouhani accommodates Iran's Jewish students, Al-Monitor, February 17, 2015
Thanks to the government of President Hassan Rouhani, as of Feb. 4, Jewish students officially no longer have to attend school on the Sabbath. This is an important step by the Rouhani administration to welcome Iranian Jews.
Iran's Neoliberal Austerity-Security Budget, Payvand News, February 16, 2015
This budget should be of particular interest to Iran watchers at a time when sanctions are biting, oil prices have fallen and the country is in the midst of nuclear negotiations. Tehran blames a foreign plot by Saudi Arabia and the US for these troubles, but such complaints are of no use for a besieged economy that needs a far deeper understanding of global economic trends, a better appreciation of successful development models, and smarter economic management. However, if the new budget is any indication, that understanding, appreciation and management are still lacking, despite promises by the Rouhani government.
Billion dollar smuggling industry drains Iran's economy, Al-Monitor, February 13, 2015
Habibollah Haghighi, chief of an Iranian task force to combat smuggling, announced that up to $25 billion worth of contraband was smuggled into the country between March 2013 and March 2014. Haghighi's announcement came during a Jan. 22 meeting in Qom among seminary heads, in which he stated that the "trafficking of contraband goods hindered domestic production and had negative impacts on the economic, health care, medical and cultural sectors." According to the official, the amount of contraband over the year was double the country's development budgets.
Will Iran's corruption fight attempt to attract private investors? Al-Monitor, February 17, 2015
By elevating the issue to a national security threat, Rouhani is opting for a more intense momentum in the fight against corruption, though the overall political structure will make the fight very challenging. Evidently, there are many dimensions in the current process; the behavior of all key stakeholders is political — it is related to factional competition but also to the positioning of key political forces for the March 2016 Majles elections. All key political figures have weighed in and presented their remedies for fighting corruption. Rouhani views the main causes of corruption as the lack of transparency, inappropriate laws and regulations, and accumulation of power in some entities. His remedies include increased transparency through e-governance, breaking monopolies, reforming relevant laws and regulations, and engagement of civil society and the media.
State of Iran’s Oil Industry ‘Catastrophic’ – Oil Minister, Uskowi on Iran, February 16, 2015
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told Majlis, the Iranian parliament, that the current status of Iran’s oil industry is “catastrophic,” with no money for key oil projects. Zanghaneh said the falling oil prices have drained his ministry’s revenues to an extent that “no cash is currently available for the oil industry’s crucial investments.” “The Oil Ministry has come across problems in paying the salaries of its own staff, let alone making (crucial) investments in shared fields,” Zanghaneh added.