Iran Newsclips, January 30, 2015
david.cutler
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Parsi: The False Gospels That Threaten the Iran Nuke Talks, The National Interest
Pelosi says Netanyahu speech to Congress could hurt Iran talks, Reuters
Rothkopf: Obama’s Pivot to Iran, Foreign Policy
Kirk: Obama Can’t Stop Iran Sanctions, Bloomberg
Senate panel approves Iran sanctions bill, AP
Abdi: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back for Iran Sanctions Bill, NIAC
Iran says nuclear talks with Europeans 'promising' but no progress, Reuters
Cotton: As the Iranian Nuclear Talks Drag On, Congress Must Act, Wall Street Journal
Obama has agreed to 80 percent of Iran's demands in nuclear talks, Israeli officials tell Ch. 10, Jerusalem Post
Iran set to cancel Geneva pact if new sanctions emerge, Radio Zamaneh
Book Talk: Iran "insider" offers roadmap for U.S.-Iran peace, Reuters
Khamenei Adviser Meets Putin, RFE/RL
New Iran U.N. envoy appointee expected to get U.S. visa – sources, Reuters
Iran seeks ‘best relations’ with Saudi Arabia, AFP
Iran's interest in Lebanon has nothing to do with Israel, Haaretz
Hezbollah strike was 'minimum response,' warns Iran commander, Al-Monitor
Nasrallah confirms Hezbollah, Iran bolstering presence along Golan border, Reuters
At root of Argentina spy intrigue: a deal with Iran, Reuters
Rouhani: Khomeini chose peace when necessary, Al-Monitor
MP Motahari points to intensified attack on free speech, Radio Zamaneh
How Iran Is Coping With Sagging Oil Prices, Newsweek
Iranian President to Tax-Exempt Groups: Pay Up, Bloomberg
Parsi: The False Gospels That Threaten the Iran Nuke Talks, The National Interest, January 30, 2015
Pressure played a far lesser role than the two sides like to maintain. In reality, the negotiations took off because the pressure path was leading to a dead end— a war neither side wanted. In addition, there was a mutual concession: both sides accepted the other's red line. Iran accepted America's red line of not building a nuclear weapon and the Obama administration accepted the Iranian red line that it would not be deprived of the capacity to enrich uranium on its own soil. Just as the pressure paradigm did not bring about the negotiations, the last round of negotiations have made clear that it is even less likely that it will bring about a durable deal. For a solution to be reached and endure, both sides need to feel that they won something. Pressure cannot bring about that sentiment.
Pelosi says Netanyahu speech to Congress could hurt Iran talks, Reuters, January 29, 2015
"Such a presentation could send the wrong message in terms of giving diplomacy a chance," said Representative Nancy Pelosi during a news conference on the sidelines of an annual retreat for Democratic lawmakers. But Pelosi stopped short of saying that the invitation to Netanyahu should be withdrawn by House Speaker John Boehner.
Rothkopf: Obama’s Pivot to Iran, Foreign Policy, January 29, 2015
A deal with Iran, if it could be translated into action, would in theory produce a freeze on Iran’s nuclear program. That would certainly be a good thing. But it provides no guarantee that Tehran could not reverse course in the future, break its terms, or do as it has done for the past 30 years — namely, stir up mayhem in the region without the benefit of nuclear weapons. What it would provide — even in the midst of a congressional tug of war over Iran policy, with new sanctions coming from the Hill and presidential vetoes pinging and ponging up and down Pennsylvania Avenue — would be some White House-directed relief for Tehran.
Kirk: Obama Can’t Stop Iran Sanctions, Bloomberg, January 29, 2015
Congress is going to move forward with Iran sanctions legislation sooner rather than later, and there’s nothing the Barack Obama administration can do to stop it. That's the word from one of the two authors of the bill that passed the Senator Banking Committee today.
Senate panel approves Iran sanctions bill, AP, January 29, 2015
A bill that would levy tough new sanctions on Iran if it fails to sign an agreement to curb its nuclear program cleared a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday. But lawmakers are holding off on a full Senate vote to see whether diplomatic negotiations yield a deal. Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee voted 18-4 to pass the bill aimed at ramping up economic pressure on Iran starting in July if it doesn't sign an international deal preventing it from having the capability to develop a nuclear weapon.
Abdi: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back for Iran Sanctions Bill, NIAC, January 29, 2015
After a three week showdown between supporters of the nuclear negotiations with Iran and Senators bent on passing new sanctions that would upend the talks, the pro-diplomacy crowd won the day — for now. This morning, the Senate Banking Committee agreed to pass the sanctions out of committee by an 18 to 4 vote, overcoming one procedural hurdle for the bill to eventually receive a Senate vote. However, while sanctions proponents had aimed to pass the bill out of the full Senate by February, the sanctions are now unlikely to receive a full vote until at least late March.
Iran says nuclear talks with Europeans 'promising' but no progress, Reuters, January 29, 2015
Iran said talks with France, Germany and Britain on Thursday on its nuclear program were "promising" but more work was needed to settle the 12-year standoff, the official IRNA news agency reported. Political directors from Iran and the three European countries held talks in Istanbul in an effort to overcome the remaining gaps on a long-term nuclear deal by a self-imposed June 30 deadline.
Cotton: As the Iranian Nuclear Talks Drag On, Congress Must Act, Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2015
It is the nature of Iran’s regime to kill Americans, export terror, destabilize the Middle East and foment world-wide Islamic revolution. If Iran commits these crimes against the West now, imagine what Iran would do with a nuclear umbrella. Yet the nuclear negotiations have become an endless series of concessions to Iran.
Obama has agreed to 80 percent of Iran's demands in nuclear talks, Israeli officials tell Ch. 10, Jerusalem Post, January 30, 2015
According to unnamed officials, Washington “has given the Iranians 80 percent of what they want” out of the negotiations, Channel 10 is reporting. Jerusalem officials appear alarmed at the prospect that the United States will soon strike a deal with the Iranian regime that will leave it with a “breakout capacity” of months during which it can gallop toward a nuclear bomb.
Iran set to cancel Geneva pact if new sanctions emerge, Radio Zamaneh, January 29, 2015
Iranian Parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission has announced it is preparing a bill to cancel the Geneva nuclear agreement if new sanctions are imposed against Iran. Hossein Taghavi Hosseini, the spokesperson for the commission, says 80 members have signed the bill, which states: “should the U.S. Congress pass a new sanction on Iran, we will nullify the Geneva agreement and continue on our course.”
Book Talk: Iran "insider" offers roadmap for U.S.-Iran peace, Reuters, January 29, 2015
Hossein Mousavian thinks a big reason Iran has not struck a deal with six major powers over its nuclear programme boils down to a lack of understanding between Tehran and Washington, and a lack of U.S. appreciation for gestures Iran has made. He's in a position to know because he has held sensitive positions as a member of Iran's National Security Council and as a senior nuclear negotiator when President Hassan Rouhani served as the chief negotiator.
Khamenei Adviser Meets Putin, RFE/RL, January 29, 2015
A top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises Khamenei on international affairs, also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak. The Kremlin said the meetings in Moscow on January 28 focused on bilateral relations, as well as regional and international issues, although few other details were disclosed.
New Iran U.N. envoy appointee expected to get U.S. visa – sources, Reuters, January 29, 2015
Iran's newly appointed U.N. ambassador is set to receive a U.S. visa so he can take up that key post, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday, likely removing a major strain on Tehran's tense relations with Washington. Washington had infuriated Iran's leadership last year by rejecting its previous appointee as head of its sole diplomatic mission on U.S. soil over his suspected role in a 1979-81 hostage crisis.
Iran seeks ‘best relations’ with Saudi Arabia, AFP, January 30, 2015
“Iran’s long-term policy is essentially based on establishing the best of brotherly relations with countries in the region, especially Saudi Arabia,” Boroujerdi told reporters. “We believe that the more that countries in the region consolidate and strengthen their relations, the more we can establish security and stability,” said Boroujerdi.
Iran's interest in Lebanon has nothing to do with Israel, Haaretz, January 29, 2015
From Iran’s point of view, Syria and Lebanon are a package deal; one cannot be given up in exchange for the other. That is why Iran ascribes such importance to political moves in Lebanon. The most significant of these is the political dialogue between Hezbollah and its rivals, such as the al-Mustaqbal ("Movement of the Future") bloc, headed by former prime minister Saad Hariri, as well as some of the Christian movements, and even the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah’s ally, who warned against the opening of a new front in Lebanon.
Hezbollah strike was 'minimum response,' warns Iran commander, Al-Monitor, January 30, 2015
At a conference today called “Jihad Will Continue,” Jaffari told reporters, “Hezbollah’s response to Israel was a minimum response that was given to the Israelis, and I hope this response will be a lesson not to make these mistakes anymore.” He continued, “The response the tyrant Israelis received for their ugly actions, which our brothers in Hezbollah gave them along the Lebanese-Syrian border, was a minimum response.”
Nasrallah confirms Hezbollah, Iran bolstering presence along Golan border, Reuters, January 30, 2015
Hezbollah on Friday confirmed Israeli suspicions that it was establishing a greater military presence near the Syrian-Israeli frontier on the Golan Heights. The Shi'ite group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, gave a televised address in Lebanon in which he extolled the "fusion of Lebanese-Iranian blood on Syrian territory."
At root of Argentina spy intrigue: a deal with Iran, Reuters, January 29, 2015
But the underlying story of the dispute, sources close to both the agency and Fernandez's leftist government tell Reuters, is more complicated, with roots in Iran and a terrorist attack two decades ago that has never been fully solved. They say Fernandez has been in open conflict with her own spy agency for two years, following a deal in which she enlisted Iran's help to investigate the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.
Rouhani: Khomeini chose peace when necessary, Al-Monitor, January 29, 2015
At a ceremony in honor of Ayatollah Khomeini’s return to Iran after a 15-year exile Feb. 1, 1979, Rouhani said, “Imam [Khomeini] taught us the path of moderation, progress and development. An imam that at various points stood up to arrogance and the enemy and taught us anti-arrogance and had the courage to, when necessary, choose the path of peace and continue the path of stability and development for the country.”
MP Motahari points to intensified attack on free speech, Radio Zamaneh, January 30, 2015
Tehran MP Ali Motahari says freedom of speech has become more strained under the Rohani administration and self-censorship has become more common in the media. He stressed that continued pressure on the Rohani administration is the chief cause of the strain on the media. Motahari said in an interview with Tasnim website that when the administration is reformist, there will be more pressure to prevent the government’s tendency toward opening the political atmosphere. He stressed that self-censorship becomes more prominent under these conditions, as publishing permits keep being revoked and newspapers shut down.
How Iran Is Coping With Sagging Oil Prices, Newsweek, January 30, 2015
But lower revenues have already forced President Hassan Rouhani to significantly reduce budget projections and even decrease Iran’s dependence on oil. More steps may lie ahead, depending on both the market and the results of Iran’s talks with the world’s six major powers on a nuclear deal.
Iranian President to Tax-Exempt Groups: Pay Up, Bloomberg, January 29, 2015
To make up for lost growth, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has called for conglomerates controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and conservative religious foundations to give up their tax-exempt status and pull their weight. Although the Parliament backs Rouhani, he faces powerful groups including the Guards and Setad, a holding company controlled by the office of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s highest authority.