Iran Newsclips, January 9, 2015
david.cutler
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Dempsey: US eyes new ways to aid Iraq forces, AP
Ignatius: The U.S.-Iranian double game in nuclear talks, Washington Post
Kerry to Meet Iran Counterpart Next Week in Geneva, AP
Maruyama: Time clock for deal with Iran, The Hill
Divisions in Iran stall nuclear deal, says ex US negotiator, Al-Monitor
New Congress, new nuclear showdown over Iran, CNN
Mounting casualties raise questions about Iran’s role in Iraq, Middle East Eye
Iran Sent an Assassin to Intimidate the Kurds, Medium
Rafizadeh: Is Iran playing along sectarian lines in Iraq? Al Arabiya
Bahout: The U.S. is strangely absent in the diplomatic moves over Syria, The Daily Star
Iran condemns Paris shooting, with caveat, Al-Monitor
With new round of journalist detentions, prosecutions, Iran continues to silence press, Committee to Protect Journalists
Alludes to Rouhani as a “Fake Revolutionary,” Rooz Online
Iran's Rohani Condemns Violence Committed In Name Of Islam, RFE/RL
Dempsey: US eyes new ways to aid Iraq forces, AP, January 8, 2015
Asked about Iran's military operations in Iraq, which have included airstrikes, Dempsey said Iraqi leaders have kept the U.S. informed about Iranian activities against IS. So far, he said, those operations haven't threatened U.S. troops or their mission. But, if that changes, he said the U.S. will adjust its military campaign plan. "If it is a path that ties the two countries more closely together economically or even politically, as long at the Iraqi government remains committed to inclusivity of all the various groups inside the country, then I think Iranian influence will be positive," said Dempsey, adding that the U.S. is watching the relationship very carefully.
Ignatius: The U.S.-Iranian double game in nuclear talks, Washington Post, January 9, 2015
The threats that underlie the bargaining are rarely discussed publicly, but both countries recognize the dangers ahead if they don’t reach an agreement by the June 30 deadline. The United States’ leverage is its demonstrated ability to use cyberweapons to attack Iranian nuclear facilities; Iran’s leverage is its ability to target the 2,190 U.S. military personnel now in Iraq.
Kerry to Meet Iran Counterpart Next Week in Geneva, AP, January 9, 2015
After a trip to South Asia, Kerry will see Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday, a day before negotiators resume with detailed talks in Geneva on Jan. 15, department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. En route to India this weekend, Kerry will stop in Munich, Germany, for a private meeting with the Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, whose country played a key role in the secret U.S.-Iran talks that led to an interim nuclear accord with Tehran, she said.
Maruyama: Time clock for deal with Iran, The Hill, January 9, 2015
To avoid a collapse in talks, Iran needs to demonstrate concrete evidence that it is halting and undoing its nuclear program in order to obtain incremental economic relief. For their part, the P5+1 must stay united and be firm, but also give Iran sufficient room to demonstrate its commitment to a deal. Brash actions may upset the delicate balance with fatal results for a deal, nuclear diplomacy and security of the global community.
Divisions in Iran stall nuclear deal, says ex US negotiator, Al-Monitor, January 9, 2015
“In my view, the talks have become hostage to internal divisions in Tehran,” Robert Einhorn, former top arms control advisor on the US Iran nuclear negotiating team, told Al-Monitor in an interview Jan. 9. “Progress in the negotiations will require a decision in Tehran to make adjustments in Iran’s negotiating position,” Einhorn, now with the Brookings Institution, said. “It means the Supreme Leader has got to…authorize [his negotiating team] to make the adjustments that are necessary to conclude a deal. And he has not done that yet.”
New Congress, new nuclear showdown over Iran, CNN, January 9, 2015
With fewer than two months until diplomats' March 1 framework agreement deadline, and expecting the White House to start knocking on swing senators' doors, supporters know the clock is ticking to pass a sanctions bill they say will ratchet up pressure on Iran. But for opponents of additional sanctions, the ticking is more like a time bomb as a sanctions bill will torpedo negotiations and set the U.S. on a path to war with Iran, they claim.
Mounting casualties raise questions about Iran’s role in Iraq, Middle East Eye, January 9, 2015
This high profile casualty puts a spotlight on Iran’s leading role in the fight against ISIL. But it also calls into question Iran’s expanding role in Iraq and more broadly Iran’s strategic posture in the region. Most important of all it raises the question as to whether Iran needs to reach an understanding with the United States if it wants to escalate its influence-building infrastructure in the region to the next level.
Iran Sent an Assassin to Intimidate the Kurds, Medium, January 8, 2015
Tehran waged a battle against Kurdish fighters in northwest Iran less than four years before. Now the mullahs sent weapons, advisers and aerial support for the besieged Peshmerga fighters. But Iran wants the Kurds to know that aid comes with a price. Especially since the Peshmerga—with an increasing amount of Western aid—are doingbetter than Iranian-backed Shia militias on the battlefield. It’s enough for Tehran to fear losing influence over its new allies. As a result, Tehran sent a subtle warning in late December during a meeting in Iraqi Kurdistan between Iranian and Kurdish envoys.
Rafizadeh: Is Iran playing along sectarian lines in Iraq? Al Arabiya, January 9, 2015
The continuing civil war in Iraq provides a crucial platform for the Islamic Republic to project itself as a legitimate regional power to rely on, if it takes a uniting and inclusive position rather than an exclusive and sectarian one. Secondly, the civil war also provides a ripe platform to utilize political opportunism and manipulate the domestic developments. By increasingly shaping the domestic and foreign policy of Iraq, it appears that Iran has decided so far to invest in the second option.
Bahout: The U.S. is strangely absent in the diplomatic moves over Syria, The Daily Star, January 9, 2015
However, the Syrians seem to be in no doubt about their Iranian ally, and in this regard, Moallem’s travel schedule was instructive. After leaving Moscow, he headed to Tehran, where both he and the Iranian leadership restated their (paradoxical) conviction that the only solution to Syria’s crisis was dialogue between Syrians without external interference – yet facilitated by Russia and Iran. In an interview published by the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar in early November, Moallem gave the impression of being supremely confident not only about Iran’s continued commitment to preserving Assad’s rule but even about which political faction will dominate politics in Tehran in the future.
Iran condemns Paris shooting, with caveat, Al-Monitor, January 8, 2015
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham condemned the attack, saying, “Any terrorist act against innocent civilians is foreign to the teachings of Islam.” However, Afkham also said it was unacceptable “to take advantage of freedom of speech” and to “insult divine religions and the symbols of these religions.”
With new round of journalist detentions, prosecutions, Iran continues to silence press, Committee to Protect Journalists, January 9, 2015
A new wave of arrests and prosecutions has been carried out by Iranian authorities in the past month, cementing the country's status as one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. "Iran has started the new year as it ended the old: by arresting journalists," said CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, Sherif Mansour. "President Hassan Rouhani has not lived up to expectations that he would usher in a new era for the Iranian press. The very least he can do now is publicly and unequivocally call for their release."
Alludes to Rouhani as a “Fake Revolutionary,” Rooz Online, January 8, 2015
Speaking to a group of Basij members, Guards General Mohammad-Reza Naghdi said, “A person who strives for the promotion of God’s pleasure becomes more revolutionary with age. Fake revolutionaries who do not work for God talk of ending the struggle in the name of reason because they have lost the youthful zeal. They are unwise because they have wasted their youth.”
Iran's Rohani Condemns Violence Committed In Name Of Islam, RFE/RL, January 9, 2015
Iranian President Hassan Rohani has denounced violence committed in the name of Islam, in an apparent reference to a deadly attack on the office of a French satirical newspaper. Iranian media quote Rohani as saying those who carry out extremist acts in the name of religion or Islam "provoke Islamophobia."