Iran Newsclips, February 2, 2015
david.cutler
Quick Links:
Hard-line judge in Iran is assigned case of jailed Post reporter Jason Rezaian, Washington Post
Editorial: Boehner's Netanyahu ploy runs onto the rocks, USA Today
McManus: In the nuclear talks, what if Iran can't get to yes? Los Angeles Times
The Days After a Deal with Iran: Congress's Role in Implementing a Nuclear Agreement, RAND
Esfandiari: The Significance of Hard-Liners’ Criticism of Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif, Wall Street Journal
Parsi: Iran’s leaders wonder who’s really in charge in U.S. They may be surprised. Reuters
French lawmaker: France acts as 'guardian' in US-Iran nuclear deal, Al-Monitor
Obama’s Domestic Challenges Prevent Nuclear Deal, Iran Review
Rouhani accuses Iranian hardliners of 'cheering on' other side in atom talks, Reuters
Zarif: some in Iran don’t want sanctions to end, Al-Monitor
Fact-checking Bibi and Company’s Talking Points on Iran, Lobe Log
Syrian rebels say holding Iranian fighter, seeking swap, Reuters
The Days After a Deal with Iran: Implications for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime, RAND
State Television Says Iran Launches New Satellite Into Space, AP
Netanyahu to UN's Ban: The world hasn't pointed at Iran for Golan attacks, until now, Jerusalem Post
Iran's Zarif backed by foreign policy heavyweight, Al-Monitor
Mousavian: US and Seven Wrong Strategies in Diplomacy with Iran, Iran Review
Iran's Revolutionary Guards take lead on foreign affairs, BBC
Turkmen Navy Sinks Iranian Fishing Boat, RFE/RL
U.S. Treasury’s Sanctions Czar Says Iran, Russia, Islamic State Weakened, Wall Street Journal
Norooz: Human Rights Concerns in Current International Sanctions against Iran, Iran Review
Noori: Incentives and Impediments to Iran-Russia Military Cooperation, Iran Review
Rohani reportedly ordered review of house arrests, Radio Zamaneh
Iranians Can Survive on One Meal a Day – Jannati, Uskowi on Iran
Minister sees losing battle in blocking social websites, Radio Zamaneh
Hard-line judge in Iran is assigned case of jailed Post reporter Jason Rezaian, Washington Post, February 1, 2015
The family of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who has been detained in Iran for more than half a year, issued a statement Sunday that was sharply critical of the Iranian government, after what they called the “very disturbing” development that Rezaian and his wife will be tried by a judge known for imposing harsh sentences. Rezaian’s brother, Ali, and their mother, Mary Rezaian, questioned the rationale for assigning the case to Judge Abolghassem Salavati, the head of a Revolutionary Court branch where sensitive cases are tried. Salavati has imposed long prison sentences, lashings and in some cases death for defendants in a number of high-profile cases involving national security and political offenses.
Editorial: Boehner's Netanyahu ploy runs onto the rocks, USA Today, February 1, 2015
When Netanyahu speaks on March 3, a pivotal deadline in the nuclear talks will be just three weeks away. While it's fair to worry about a bad deal, the time to judge is after a framework agreement is reached. To kill any deal in the crib, as Netanyahu and the most radical factions in Iran are eager to do, is to destroy the last, best chance for a peaceful outcome, because chances that Iran will capitulate and drop its program under pressure are zero.
McManus: In the nuclear talks, what if Iran can't get to yes? Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2015
But one more option appears increasingly likely: an extension of the current interim agreement with Iran, which limits Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for modest relief from economic sanctions. Under the current version, Iran is gradually converting its enriched uranium to a form that can't be used for weapons. In return, it gets access to $700 million a month of its oil earnings, money that had been sequestered overseas. That's a lot of money, but it's dwarfed by the estimated $130 billion in blocked funds that Iran could get if sanctions ended. Now let's do something unusual: Applaud Congress for constructive inaction.
The Days After a Deal with Iran: Congress's Role in Implementing a Nuclear Agreement, RAND, February 2, 2015
On one end of the spectrum of options available to Congress, lawmakers could support a deal's implementation by removing statutory sanctions; on the other, it could withhold funds needed to execute the deal or nullify it through legislation. However, Congress is most likely to take a middle-of-the-road approach that enables the administration to provide sufficient sanctions relief to appeal to Tehran. This approach could involve taking no legislative action at all, which would enable the deal to be implemented as agreed; imposing limits on the president's authority to waive or suspend statutory sanctions; or passing new sanctions designed to punish Iranian non-compliance.
Esfandiari: The Significance of Hard-Liners’ Criticism of Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif, Wall Street Journal, February 2, 2015
It is striking that while the supreme leader has, in a manner, continued to support the Iranian negotiating team, he has also permitted this barrage of criticism of the president, his foreign minister and Iran’s negotiators at a sensitive juncture in the nuclear negotiations.
Parsi: Iran’s leaders wonder who’s really in charge in U.S. They may be surprised. Reuters, February 2, 2015
Obama has succeeded in changing the underlying politics of the matter. The debate over Iran sanctions is no longer about Iran, but about war with Iran. Diplomacy with Iran is the best way of avoiding both a nuclear Iran, and bombing Iran. Any measure that undermines diplomacy, such as new sanctions, automatically enhances the risk of war. Passing sanctions on Iran used to be the safest political move in Congress. But today, imposing sanctions means supporting war, which is a move that carries a tremendous political cost. So high that Hillary Clinton chose to come out against AIPAC and Netanyahu instead.
French lawmaker: France acts as 'guardian' in US-Iran nuclear deal, Al-Monitor, February 1, 2015
As the Iran nuclear negotiations continue, the president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly, Elisabeth Guigou, said in a recent interview with Al-Monitor that she sees France playing the role of “guardian” in the nuclear talks with Iran. Guigou, who is the former French minister for European affairs (1990-1993), justice (1997-2000) and employment and solidarity (2000-2002), told Al-Monitor that the United States “seems eager to reach an agreement” quickly, and that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is also keen to reach a resolution for political reasons, including the lifting of sanctions.
Obama’s Domestic Challenges Prevent Nuclear Deal, Iran Review, February 2, 2015
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says US President Barack Obama cannot make any “wise” decision on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear file due to his “weakness” as well as the domestic problems he is grappling with. Larijani slammed Obama for seeking to get concessions from Iran by putting pressure on the Islamic Republic in Tehran's nuclear talks with the P5+1 group of world power – Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany – over its peaceful nuclear program.
Rouhani accuses Iranian hardliners of 'cheering on' other side in atom talks, Reuters, January 31, 2015
"The other side applauds their own, but here in our country, it is not clear what (the critics) are doing. It is as if they are cheering on the rival team," Rouhani he told a public gathering, quoted by the official IRNA news agency. "And when we ask them what they are going, they answer: 'We are criticizing and criticism is a good thing ... This is not criticism, it is sabotage of national interests and favor for partisan politics," he said. "Criticism is not about booing, it is not about slander and character assassination. Criticism is about showing a better and clearer way so that (we can) reach our goals faster."
Zarif: some in Iran don’t want sanctions to end, Al-Monitor, February 2, 2015
Zarif is in Nairobi meeting with Iranian businessmen to expand Iran's economic ties in Africa. At the working breakfast, Zarif said, “At the Foreign Ministry and other levels of government, there is special attention paid and specific mechanisms toward cooperation with Africa.” He said that the administration takes strengthening economic, health and scientific ties with Africa “deeply and seriously.” However, in a dig at the previous administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he added, “We have to recognize the problems from previous eras and remove obstacles.” Zarif continued, “Unfortunately, some inside the country and some outside are in a group that is opposed to the end of sanctions and see the continuation of sanctions as to their benefit. Unfortunately, in some instances, people have confused the principle of sanctions with the effect of sanctions.”
Fact-checking Bibi and Company’s Talking Points on Iran, Lobe Log, February 2, 2015
Thielmann challenges Israeli and U.S. claims that Iran is developing a long-range missile capability, which he insists Iran neither needs nor has the technological capability to produce: “Today, Iran is building short- and medium-range missiles up to 2,000 kilometers in range. No longer-range missiles have ever been seen in Iran, flight-tested or deployed by Iran. Iranian political and military leaders, who have vociferously justified Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal, have never asserted a need for ICBMs (missiles defined as having a range of 5,500-plus kilometers). If as Ambassador Dermer contends, Iranian ICBMs are designed to reach Miami, they would have to fly 11,000 kilometers!”
Syrian rebels say holding Iranian fighter, seeking swap, Reuters, February 2, 2015
A mainstream Syrian rebel group said on Monday they were seeking to swap an Iranian taken captive in the southwestern province of Deraa last month for women held in Syrian government jails. … The group's leader Abu Ahmad said his rebels captured the Iranian as he was fighting alongside government forces in the province, and killed nine other soldiers as they took over a power station near Sheikh Maskeen in the province.
The Days After a Deal with Iran: Implications for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime, RAND, February 2, 2015
A negotiated deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions would represent a major nonproliferation breakthrough. Though a deal carries some costs, it is better than the alternative: an unfettered Iranian nuclear effort that sows conflict and perhaps furthers proliferation in an already unstable region. To make the most of the deal, the United States and its allies should emphasize the relevant benefits for the nuclear nonproliferation regime—the value of universal application of the most stringent IAEA safeguards and the central role of the IAEA in verifying compliance with the NPT. Most importantly, the United States must do everything in its power to permit the IAEA to do its work in Iran, allowing the process sufficient time and space to succeed.
State Television Says Iran Launches New Satellite Into Space, AP, February 2, 2015
State television in Iran says the Islamic Republic has launched a new satellite into space, its fourth in recent years to orbit the Earth. The report Monday quoted Defense Minister Gen. Hossein Dehghan as saying the satellite, designed and built in Iran, is named "Fajr," or dawn in Farsi. The report did not elaborate.
Netanyahu to UN's Ban: The world hasn't pointed at Iran for Golan attacks, until now, Jerusalem Post, February 1, 2015
Until now, the international community has not "pointed a finger of blame" at Iran for attacks along Israel's northern borders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a phone call Sunday evening. Netanyahu reiterated his blame of Iran for last week's deadly attack near the border with Lebanon that killed two IDF soldiers, saying the Islamic Republic was attempting to "build an infrastructure of terror against Israel on the Golan Heights and with terror operations around the world."
Iran's Zarif backed by foreign policy heavyweight, Al-Monitor, February 1, 2015
In Iran, foreign policy heavyweight Sadegh Kharazi has come out in strong support of the country’s nuclear negotiating team. The head of the newly founded Reformist Voice of Iranians party, and former envoy to France, expressed his stance in a two-hour live TV debate with member of parliament Alireza Zakani.
Mousavian: US and Seven Wrong Strategies in Diplomacy with Iran, Iran Review, January 30, 2015
Iran and the United States have both differences and important common interests. The diplomatic approach taken by Washington toward Tehran during the past 35 years has been putting the highest emphasis on those differences, while it would have been better for the United States to work with Iran on common interests while engaging in dialogue on points of difference.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards take lead on foreign affairs, BBC, January 29, 2015
By sending weapons to far-flung countries, providing military training and advice, and funnelling money to client politicians, groups and militia, the Guards appear to be pursuing a new doctrine: in order to protect the Islamic Republic at home, Iran must confront threats abroad. The most recent example of this policy came with the surprise news this month that one of those killed in an Israeli air strike on a Hezbollah convoy in the Syrian Golan Heights, was an Iranian general.
Turkmen Navy Sinks Iranian Fishing Boat, RFE/RL, February 1, 2015
Iranian media has reported that Turkmen naval vessels fired on an Iranian fishing boat killing one of the fishermen and sinking the boat. The Tehran Times reported on February 1 that the incident happened in December when Turkmenistan's navy "shot a number of fishermen in the Caspian Sea without prior warning." IRNA reported the surviving Iranian fishermen were taken into custody by Turkmen forces and as yet "there is no exact information about the fate of [the] crew."
U.S. Treasury’s Sanctions Czar Says Iran, Russia, Islamic State Weakened, Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2015
Iran’s economy is now fundamentally incapable of recovery without a nuclear accommodation with the West, increasing Washington’s leverage in final negotiations with Tehran, said the Treasury Department’s outgoing sanctions czar David Cohen . “They’re stuck. They can’t fix this economy unless they get sanctions relief,” Mr. Cohen said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal about sanctions policy around the world. “I think they are coming to the negotiations with their backs to the wall.”
Norooz: Human Rights Concerns in Current International Sanctions against Iran, Iran Review, January 29, 2015
The international sanctions have caused possible violations of human rights, a rising cost of food items and high inflation, unemployment, negative effects on civil society and a lack of medicine. The rising cost of food items and unemployment are the results of sanctions through the rial devaluation and inflation. Negative effects on civil society are caused by the rial devaluation and inflation. Lack of medicine is prompted by sanctions; more directly through the inability to make foreign sanctions. The grave aftermath of economic sanctions against Iran is often noted by many reports and they imply that economic sanctions which were employed by the EU and US have more negative effects than targeted sanctions regime imposed by the UN.
Noori: Incentives and Impediments to Iran-Russia Military Cooperation, Iran Review, January 30, 2015
As the existing trends show, the number of agreement that have been signed between Iran and Russia, but their implementation has been hampered due to a host of bilateral, regional and international reasons is not small. The contract for the construction of Bushehr nuclear power plant, the contract for the delivery of S-300 missile system, and a recent memorandum of understanding to swap oil for goods are but a few examples to the point. Military cooperation between Iran and Russia has a long and bumpy road to go. Under present circumstances, both countries are more willing for cooperation.
Rohani reportedly ordered review of house arrests, Radio Zamaneh, January 31, 2015
Opposition website Saham News reports that Hassan Rohani has ordered a review of the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement in the next session of the Supreme Council of National Security. The report indicates that President Rohani announced in the last session that the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, MirHosein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard is one of the top concerns of his administration. He has reportedly stressed that the judiciary is the chief government body responsible for handling this matter and expressed dismay that the judiciary is trying to shirk its duty.
Iranians Can Survive on One Meal a Day – Jannati, Uskowi on Iran, January 31, 2015
Ayatollah Ali Jannati, the chairman of Iran’s powerful Guardian Council, told Iranians during his Friday Prayer sermons in Tehran that if the nuclear negotiations are unsuccessful and economic sanctions get worse, they can always survive on one meal a day…. Jannati also criticized Rouhani administration for sending the country’s foreign minister to Riyadh to pay respects to the memory of the late King Abdullah. Jannati instead congratulated Muslims over Abdullah’s death.
Minister sees losing battle in blocking social websites, Radio Zamaneh, January 31, 2015
Iran’s Minister of Communications says internet social networking sites cannot be blocked because the country cannot replace them. The Fars news agency reports that in a speech in Khoramshahr on Thursday January 30, Mahmoud Vaezi said: “We cannot block social networking programs because we cannot replace them.” He stressed that blocking these sites, therefore, will only lead to a greater use of computer proxies used to circumvent internet censorship.