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Iran Nuclear Deal Expected as Early as Friday

GENEVA—Iran and world powers expect to announce an initial deal as early as Friday to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for an easing of sanctions, a step that would mark the first breakthrough in a decade to blunt the threat of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Secretary of State John Kerry will fly to Geneva on Friday to complete the deal, the State Department said. President Barack Obama described the emerging agreement Thursday in an interview with NBC News, saying that if Iran doesn’t live up to its end, “we can crank that dial back up” on sanctions. The two sides were jointly preparing a draft agreement ahead of a likely announcement, said Iranian and Western officials, although the plan could still unravel. The White House already faces major opposition both from its allies in the Middle East and members of Congress. Israel, in particular, has been deeply skeptical. […]

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The real challenge for US-Iran talks lies at home

A year ago, the prospect of a US-Iranian nuclear settlement seemed very distant. Now, top negotiators from Iran, the US and other major powers are convening in Geneva , and may be on the verge of concluding a deal this week over Iran’s nuclear programme. All signs point to a seriousness of purpose and a determination to get to an agreement. While the differences dividing Iran and the US are significant, the more difficult negotiations may well be the one each side faces at home. Most major international negotiations are, as Robert Putnam, the Harvard political scientist, put it, a two-level game; one set of negotiations take place at the table between the parties and another set back home among different domestic constituencies. The Iran nuclear negotiations are no different, and their success will depend as much on how domestic forces align within the US and Iran as on […]

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Iran nuclear issue not insoluble, says FM Javad Zarif

Iranian technicians outside the building housing the reactor of Bushehr nuclear power plant. File photo 7 November 2013 Last updated at 09:26 The West suspects Iran’s programme is arms production – a charge Iran denies Iran’s foreign minister has expressed cautious optimism about upcoming talks on Iran’s nuclear programme, saying the issue is “not insoluble”. World powers and Iran are due to meet in Geneva later on Thursday for a further round of discussions. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the talks would be “highly laboured” but the aim was to “cross over the wall of distrust” created by Western policies. The West suspects Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. ‘First step’ Analysis The air in Geneva is clear. So is the lake. But, for the next two days, everything else negotiators face in this city may be cloudy, muddy, […]

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U.S. Will Ease Sanctions if Iran Halts Nuclear Program, Official Says

GENEVA — On the eve of a new round of talks between world powers and Iran, a senior Obama administration official said Wednesday that the United States was prepared to offer Iran limited relief from economic sanctions if Tehran agreed to halt its nuclear program temporarily and reversed part of it. The official said that the suspension of Iran’s nuclear efforts, perhaps for six months, would give negotiators time to pursue a comprehensive and far more challenging agreement. “Put simply, what we’re looking for now is a first phase, a first step, an initial understanding that stops Iran’s nuclear program from moving forward for the first time in decades and that potentially rolls part of it back,” the official told reporters. The long-stymied talks with Iran were re-energized after Hassan Rouhani, the new Iranian president, took office in August and declared that he wanted to resolve longstanding concerns about […]

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US seeks ‘first step’ nuclear deal with Iran

Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran ©AP The reactor building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, outside the southern city of Bushehr, Iran The US is looking to negotiate a “first step” deal with Iran which would halt parts of its nuclear programme in return for modest suspension of sanctions, a senior US official said on Wednesday ahead of a crucial new round of talks . The initial agreement could last for six months and would “put time on the clock” in order to allow for a more detailed negotiation about Iran’s nuclear programme. The administration official also warned that any effort by the US Congress to impose new sanctions on Iran could scupper the negotiations. “For the first time, Iran appears to be committed to moving this negotiating process forward quickly,” the US official said. “We do not see them using the negotiating process to buy time.” US officials […]

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First-step Deal on Curbing Iran’s Nuclear Program Takes Shape

GENEVA—U.S. and Iranian officials said a confidence-building deal on curbing Tehran’s nuclear activities is within reach ahead of a new round of negotiations in Geneva starting Thursday. A senior U.S. official said weeks of detailed discussions between Iran, the U.S. and other world powers have shaped a “first-step” deal that could be forged this week. It would have Iran pause its nuclear program—probably for six months—in return for a suspension of some Western sanctions. The deal would put “additional time on the clock” for the two sides to pursue a comprehensive solution to the decadelong conflict over suspicions that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb, the official said on Wednesday. “For the first time, we aren’t seeing them use this negotiating process simply to buy time,” the official said of Iran. “We are coming to understand each other in terms of what the equation would look like […]

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First-step Deal on Curbing Iran's Nuclear Program Takes Shape

GENEVA—U.S. and Iranian officials said a confidence-building deal on curbing Tehran’s nuclear activities is within reach ahead of a new round of negotiations in Geneva starting Thursday. A senior U.S. official said weeks of detailed discussions between Iran, the U.S. and other world powers have shaped a “first-step” deal that could be forged this week. It would have Iran pause its nuclear program—probably for six months—in return for a suspension of some Western sanctions. The deal would put “additional time on the clock” for the two sides to pursue a comprehensive solution to the decadelong conflict over suspicions that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb, the official said on Wednesday. “For the first time, we aren’t seeing them use this negotiating process simply to buy time,” the official said of Iran. “We are coming to understand each other in terms of what the equation would look like […]

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U.S.-Iran Thaw Grew From Years Of Behind-the-Scenes Talks

WASHINGTON—The White House heralded President Barack Obama ‘s phone call with Iranian counterpart Hasan Rouhani earlier this fall as a foreign-policy milestone born of a rush of last-minute diplomacy. But the historic conversation was more intricately choreographed than previously disclosed. Top National Security Council officials began planting the seeds for such an exchange months earlier—holding a series of secret meetings and telephone calls and convening an assortment of Arab monarchs, Iranian exiles and former U.S. diplomats to clandestinely ferry messages between Washington and Tehran, according to current and former U.S., Middle Eastern and European officials briefed on the effort. Mr. Obama had empowered the administration’s top Iran specialist, Puneet Talwar, for some time to have direct meetings and phone conversations with Iranian Foreign Ministry officials, those people say. Some of the contacts took place in Oman’s ancient capital, Muscat, U.S. and Middle Eastern officials say, which sits less than […]

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Iran Loses Nuclear Leverage as World Ignores Export Drop

Iran ’s new government, pressing for relief from oil sanctions that have squeezed as much as $5 billion from its monthly export revenue, enters nuclear talks today with limited economic leverage. Since the U.S. and European Union imposed sanctions on purchasers of Iranian oil in July 2012, higher production in the U.S. and Iraq and flat demand in Europe have more than offset the loss in world markets of more than 1 million barrels a day in Iranian exports. As U.S. consumers pay $3.23 a gallon for gasoline, almost a dime less than at the start of July 2012, Iran’s economy will contract 1.5 percent this year after shrinking 1.9 percent in 2012, according to International Monetary Fund estimates. “Right now, Iran needs to sell its oil far more than the rest of the world needs to buy it,” Trevor Houser , a partner at the Rhodium Group LLC, […]

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Iran says nuclear deal possible this week in Geneva talks

GENEVA (Reuters) – An agreement that would open the door to a resolution of the decade-long nuclear standoff between Iran and six world powers is possible this week if negotiators exert the maximum efforts, Iran’s foreign minister said on Thursday. "If everyone tries their best we may have one," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters after a breakfast meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. "We expect serious negotiations. It’s possible," he said when asked if an agreement was conceivable at Thursday-Friday talks between Iran and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany. (Reporting by Fredrik Dahl, Justyna Pawlak, Louis Charbonneau)

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Iran Oil-Export Capacity Slides 22% According to Ship Signals

The combined carrying capacity of oil tankers leaving Iranian ports last month dropped 22 percent from September, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. The implied capacity of departing ships declined to the equivalent of 1.02 million barrels a day from 1.30 million barrels, according to signals gathered by IHS Maritime, a Coulsdon, England-based research company. The data may be incomplete because not all ship transmissions are captured. U.S. and European sanctions are curbing Iran ’s oil exports in an effort to pressure the Middle East country’s leaders to stop their nuclear program. Shipments dropped from more than 2 million barrels a day in 2011, before the latest rules took effect, according to figures from the website of the Joint Organizations Data Initiative. The table below shows estimated vessel capacities in millions of barrels a day, based on signals from tankers that stopped at Iranian ports as well as movements […]

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Iranian prosecutor killed in restive border region

AP Photo TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media say a state prosecutor has been killed in the restive southeast region near the Pakistani border, where an attack by militants less than two weeks ago killed 14 border guards. Sixteen “rebel” prisoners were later hanged there in reprisal. It was not immediately clear whether the latest killing was linked to the region’s unrest, which includes clashes with drug smugglers and battles with an armed faction that claims to fight on behalf of Iran’s Sunni minority. The semi-official Fars news agency says unknown attackers on Wednesday killed Mousa Nouri, a prosecutor in the town of Zabol near the Pakistan border. Another news agency, ISNA, quoted the region’s judiciary chief, Ebrahim Hamidi, as claiming the slaying was not connected to the October hangings. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. […]

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Iran frustrated with gas line for Pakistan

TEHRAN, Nov. 5 (UPI) — Pakistan needs to live up to its end of the bargain for a cross-border natural gas pipeline planned from Iran, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Ali Majedi said. Majedi was quoted by Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency as saying the Iranian government wasn’t going to help cover the cost of building the pipeline in Pakistani territory. “We did not make such a commitment to help Pakistan with $2 billion for the construction of the pipeline,” he said Monday. Iran has expressed concern about the project, in the planning stages for decades, because of economic uncertainty from its Pakistani counterparts. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh was quoted by Fars as saying last week the nullification of the contract “for supplying gas to Pakistan is likely.” Iran’s Western adversaries oppose the pipeline because of the economic benefits it would bring Tehran. Washington, in particular, favors a […]

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Iranian Minister Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible This Week

PARIS — Two days before negotiations resume in Geneva between Iran and the United States and other Western powers aimed at ending a fight over the disputed Iranian nuclear program, the country’s foreign minister sounded an optimistic note on Tuesday, saying a deal was possible as soon as this week. “I believe it is even possible to reach that agreement this week,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with France 24, a major television network here, before meeting with the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius. “But I can only talk for our side,” Mr. Zarif added. “I cannot talk for the other side.” Iran has been on an outreach mission since the June election of Hassan Rouhani, who appears to have made getting rid of painful economic sanctions a centerpiece of his policy. The country now appears willing both to discuss the enforcement of more comprehensive […]

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Iran Talks Tread Tricky Line on Sanctions

U.S. officials head to Geneva this week for a pivotal new round of discussions with Iran over its nuclear program. So you can be sure some tricky talks lie just ahead for the Obama administration. Tricky negotiations with the Iranians, of course. But also tricky negotiations with Congress and with Israel over the future of economic sanctions against the Iranian regime. The administration and its partners among big world powers—Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany—believe they are moving toward a two-phase agreement with Iran designed to rein in its nuclear program before it becomes capable of producing nuclear weapons. Under the first phase of that deal, Iran would freeze elements of its nuclear program immediately in return for what officials say would be “modest” relief from some of the broad and crippling sanctions the West put in place. And that’s where the rub comes in. That first phase, the […]

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Iran Burning Gas Worth Billions Set to Lead Exporters Group

Iran will lead a club of the world’s biggest natural gas exporters as its own shipments abroad are hampered by U.S. and European Union sanctions that force the country to burn off billions of dollars worth of the fuel. Mohammad Hossein Adeli , the country’s former deputy foreign minister, was elected secretary-general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum , whose 13 member countries hold 60 percent of the world’s reserves, the group said yesterday in a statement. Adeli, who will replace Leonid Bokhanovsky of Russia next year, vowed to turn the Persian nation into a “major player among the gas exporting countries,” he told reporters after a group meeting in Tehran. U.S. and EU trade sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program have cut the Persian nation’s crude exports, its largest revenue source, by half since 2011 and are stifling projects to export some of its gas reserves, the world’s largest. […]

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Iran urges elimination of all nukes ahead of talks

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran’s U.N. ambassador called nuclear weapons the greatest threat to present and future generations on Monday, just days before Tehran resumes talks with six world powers aimed at reining in its suspect nuclear program. Mohammad Khazaee told a meeting of the General Assembly’s disarmament committee that “the total elimination of these inhuman weapons is the only absolute guarantee against their threat or use.” The election of President Hassan Rouhani, viewed as a moderate, has led to a revival of talks in Geneva aimed at allaying Western fears that the real aim of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program is producing nuclear weapons, not nuclear energy and medical isotopes as it claims. For years, Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is purely peaceful, and that it opposes nuclear weapons, but Khazaee’s comments were especially strong. “Before they consume us all together, we must consume them all together,” […]

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Iranian official says Iran doing its part on gas pipeline to Pakistan

TEHRAN, Nov. 4 (UPI) — Iran has done most of the work needed to get a troubled gas pipeline developed for the Pakistani market, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said. “Iran has done a major part of the work [necessary] for the implementation of the project and now Iran’s gas has reached near the border with Pakistan with a high capacity,” Zanganeh was quoted as saying in a Press TV report Sunday. Zanganeh questioned the prospects for the pipeline last week, saying Pakistan was having trouble financing construction of the pipeline in its territory. Iran’s Fars News Agency quoted Pakistani lawmaker Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani as saying the pipeline “must be completed.” Pakistan’s aging infrastructure and energy sector mismanagement have left most the country without a reliable source of electricity, observers say. The U.S. government warned Pakistan earlier this year the pipeline would violate sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector. U.S. […]

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Iran’s inflation hits 36.2 pct in 12 months

TEHRAN, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) — Iran’s inflation for 12 months ending on Oct. 22 hit 36.2 percent, 11.4 percentage points up from its corresponding figure last year, Tehran Times daily reported Saturday, quoting the Statistics Center of Iran. On Oct. 27, Iran’s Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayebnia said the government planned to reduce the nation’s inflation rate by 6-7 percent by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2014). Through curbing the runaway liquidity growth, the inflation rate is expected to be brought down, Tayebnia was quoted as saying. Adopting proper and efficient monetary and fiscal policies will help curb the inflation rate as well, he added. Also, Valiollah Seif, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran has pledged to control liquidity and bring down inflation, as President Hassan Rouhani has agreed to separate monetary and fiscal policies, giving the bank more independence, according to […]

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Iran's inflation hits 36.2 pct in 12 months

TEHRAN, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) — Iran’s inflation for 12 months ending on Oct. 22 hit 36.2 percent, 11.4 percentage points up from its corresponding figure last year, Tehran Times daily reported Saturday, quoting the Statistics Center of Iran. On Oct. 27, Iran’s Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayebnia said the government planned to reduce the nation’s inflation rate by 6-7 percent by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2014). Through curbing the runaway liquidity growth, the inflation rate is expected to be brought down, Tayebnia was quoted as saying. Adopting proper and efficient monetary and fiscal policies will help curb the inflation rate as well, he added. Also, Valiollah Seif, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran has pledged to control liquidity and bring down inflation, as President Hassan Rouhani has agreed to separate monetary and fiscal policies, giving the bank more independence, according to […]

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Iran criticizes Iraq for increasing crude exports

AP Photo TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s Oil Minister says Iraq has increased its crude oil exports to compensate for a fall in Iranian exports as a result of sanctions over Tehran’s suspected nuclear program, calling the policy “not friendly at all.” Bijan Namdar Zanganeh is quoted by the semiofficial Mehr news agency Saturday as saying that Iraq’s oil policies are to Iran’s detriment. Iran’s oil exports are believed to have fallen from about 2.5 million to over 1.2 million barrels a day as a result of a Western oil embargo against Iran over Tehran’s uranium enrichment program. The U.S. and its allies fear that Iran may ultimately be able to develop a nuclear weapon, a charge Iran denies. Iran generally enjoys good relations with Iraq’s Shiite-led government. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more […]

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Tehran Faces Water Rationing Unless Usage Drops: Minister

Iran may be forced to impose water rationing in Tehran should the capital’s residents fail to cut consumption by about 20 percent, Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said. Water rationing is under consideration in part as levels of reservoirs outside Tehran have fallen due to a sharp decline in rainfall this year, Chitchian told reporters after a Cabinet meeting yesterday, according to the Tehran Times newspaper. His comments follow those by President Hassan Rouhani, who this week called for a national water-conservation plan to address Iran’s “historic” water shortage. Overuse of city tap water should be curbed, the farm industry must become more efficient and use irrigation, and protecting underground sources and preventing illegal drilling of wells is needed, said Rouhani, who took office in August. Iran, holder of the fourth-largest proven oil reserves whose population has grown to 77 million amid recent dry spells, will struggle to meet […]

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Iran attempts to woo investors with new energy contract terms

TEHRAN, Oct. 30 (UPI) — A new way of thinking about Iranian energy contracts could help meet the expectations of domestic and foreign investors, an Iranian lawmaker said. Shana, the Iranian Oil Ministry’s official news agency, said the government expects to unveil a new framework for oil contracts within the next six months. “It seems that the existing contracts could not meet the expectations of domestic and foreign investors and contractors and we need to reconsider them,” Gholam-Reza Manouchehri, a lawmaker tasked with assessing energy contracts, was quoted as saying Tuesday. Western sanctions on Iran’s energy sector are designed to starve it of revenue it could use to finance its controversial nuclear program. “In revision of oil contracts, key and positive points in the oil contracts [signed in] Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and the North Sea littoral states will be studied and taken into account,” Manouchehri said. “In […]

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U.N. Atomic Agency and Iran Call Meeting Productive

Iran and the United Nations’ nuclear monitoring agency said Tuesday that they had held a “very productive” two-day meeting aimed at resolving questions about the Iranian atomic energy program, and that they would reconvene Nov. 11 in Tehran. The announcement, made in an unusual joint statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting, did not specify what progress had been made, but it said Iran had presented a new proposal. The tone of the statement suggested renewed optimism that the concerns of the nuclear monitoring group, the International Atomic Energy Agency, would be addressed. The meeting, held at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, was the first face-to-face encounter between Yukiya Amano, the director general, and an Iranian delegation dispatched by Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, who has made it a priority to resolve Iran’s enduring nuclear dispute and reduce tensions with the West. Mr. Amano has been outspoken in […]

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Iran outlines plan to win back Western oil interest  

Iran outlines plan to win back Western oil interest Page added on October 29, 2013 Iran is planning to offer international companies more lucrative contracts to attract at least $100 billion worth of investment in its oilfields over the next three years, the Financial Times reported on Monday. An adviser to Iran’s oil minister, Mehdi Hosseini, was quoted in the Financial Times article as saying the Islamic republic would scrap its current system of “buyback” contracts, which do not allow foreign companies to book reserves or take equity stakes in Iranian projects. According to the article, Hosseini said a new “win-win” type of contract, details of which are expected to be announced in London next March, was in the works and leading companies could benefit, “whether American or European”. Iran said last week that it would reach out to old oil buyers and was ready to cut prices if […]

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Iran pledges ‘new approach’ to easing rift with U.N. watchdog

VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran’s deputy foreign minister pledged a "new approach" to resolving U.N. concerns about its nuclear program as he began talks on Monday on easing a deadlock over an investigation into suspicions of illicit nuclear bomb research by Tehran. Abbas Araqchi met U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Yukiya Amano in Vienna, the first such high-level encounter since Iran’s election in June of a moderate president committed to improving its foreign relations after years of increasing confrontation. "It is very important for all of us that we can show concrete progress," Amano said, sitting across a table from Araqchi at International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna. "We think this is the time to take a new approach to resolving (questions) between Iran and the IAEA and look to the future for further cooperation in order to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program," Araqchi said. He gave […]

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Iran pledges 'new approach' to easing rift with U.N. watchdog

VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran’s deputy foreign minister pledged a "new approach" to resolving U.N. concerns about its nuclear program as he began talks on Monday on easing a deadlock over an investigation into suspicions of illicit nuclear bomb research by Tehran. Abbas Araqchi met U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Yukiya Amano in Vienna, the first such high-level encounter since Iran’s election in June of a moderate president committed to improving its foreign relations after years of increasing confrontation. "It is very important for all of us that we can show concrete progress," Amano said, sitting across a table from Araqchi at International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna. "We think this is the time to take a new approach to resolving (questions) between Iran and the IAEA and look to the future for further cooperation in order to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program," Araqchi said. He gave […]

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Iran shuts down paper, cites anti-Islamic article

AP Photo TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has shut down a reformist newspaper over an article that allegedly undermined Islamic values. State TV reported Monday that Iran’s media supervisory body banned the daily Bahar, citing a law authorizing media closures over articles deemed to violate Islamic values or insult Islam. Bahar published an op-ed article on Wednesday that expressed doubts the Prophet Muhammad had appointed a successor – a statement that contradicts the beliefs of Shiite Muslims. Shiite Muslims believe Muhammad designated Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib, his son-in-law, as the leader of the Islamic society. Last week, Bahar’s chief editors temporarily shut the publication down for two weeks, possibly in an effort to avoid the ban. Since 2000, Iran’s judiciary has shut down more than 120 pro-reform newspapers and jailed dozens of editors and writers. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not […]

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Senior Iran lawmaker says 20 percent uranium enrichment continuing

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran has not halted its most sensitive uranium enrichment work, a senior Iranian parliamentarian said, contradicting a statement by another lawmaker last week. Diplomats accredited to the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday they had no information to substantiate the report that Tehran had halted enrichment of uranium to 20 percent. Israel also dismissed the original report as "irrelevant". Any halt of enrichment would be a big surprise, as Western experts believe Iran would want to use such activity as a bargaining chip to win relief from international sanctions. An end to Iran’s higher-grade enrichment of uranium is a main demand of world powers negotiating with Tehran over its disputed nuclear work. Enriching uranium to 20 percent is sensitive as it is a relatively short technical step to increase that to the 90 percent needed for making a nuclear weapon. "Enrichment to 20 percent is continuing," […]

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Iranian capital takes down some anti-American posters

DUBAI (Reuters) – Tehran authorities have taken down some anti-American posters, amid signs Iran is seeking better relations with the United States as the two sides prepare to hold talks over its nuclear program. A Tehran municipal official said some anti-American billboards had been put up illegally and had been taken down, state news agency IRNA said on Saturday. "In an arbitrary move, without the knowledge or confirmation of the municipality, one of the cultural institutes installed advertising billboards," said spokesman Hadi Ayyazi. Ayyazi did not say which posters had been taken down. According to IRNA, new anti-American posters were put up in busy Tehran thoroughfares since last week, ahead of the November 4 anniversary of the 1979 seizure of hostages in the U.S. Embassy. One depicted an Iranian negotiator sitting at a table with a U.S. official who is wearing a suit jacket but also army trousers and […]

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Israel dismisses reports Iran halting higher-grade enrichment

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel on Saturday dismissed as "irrelevant" reports that Iran had halted its most sensitive uranium enrichment activity, and said Tehran’s nuclear program must be dismantled. A senior member of Iran’s parliamentary national security commission was quoted as saying Iran had stopped refining uranium above the 5 percent required for civilian power stations, as it already had all the 20-percent enriched fuel it needed for a medical research reactor in Tehran. But diplomats accredited to the U.N. nuclear watchdog said they had no confirmation Iran had halted enrichment of uranium to 20 percent – a sensitive issue because it is a relatively short technical step to increase that to the 90 percent needed to make a nuclear warhead. "The discussion on whether or not Iran has ceased 20 percent enrichment is irrelevant," said an Israeli official. Israel fears its arch enemy Iran is developing atomic weapons capability, […]

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White House, Congress Clash on Iran

WASHINGTON—The White House is pressing Congress to hold back on new sanctions against Iran, pitting the administration’s hopes for a re-energized diplomatic engagement against the growing concern of some lawmakers and foreign allies. The Obama administration is arguing that diplomatic efforts need more time to contain Tehran’s nuclear program. But a number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers want to bring a new sanctions bill targeting Iran’s oil exports and finances to a Senate vote by the end of next week. A similar bill cleared the House of Representatives in July and is waiting to be reconciled with the Senate’s. “Iran needs to immediately end its systematic noncompliance with the repeated demands of the U.N.,” said Rep. Eric Cantor (R., Va.), the House majority leader. “We all want negotiations to succeed, but time is clearly running out.” Senators have delayed action once already, after Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state, […]

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Sanction Side-Step: Iranian Oil Flows Back Into China – China Real Time Report – WSJ

After a three-month break, China has resumed importing Iranian fuel oil, a practice that has helped it avoid U.S. sanctions designed to punish countries that import crude oil from Iran. China is unique in that it has a significant amount of small refineries, called teapot refineries, that are configured to process fuel oil — a cheap byproduct of refining — rather than crude oil. This gives China the ability to make more valuable fuels such as gasoline and diesel without the need to raise imports of crude oil. Associated Press A service station worker updates fuel prices at a Sinopec gas station in Beijing The U.S. has stepped up sanctions ( pdf ) against Iran over the past decade in response to Western charges that Tehran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons — charges the Iranians deny. In late 2011, Congress passed a law penalizing financial institutions that conduct […]

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Senior parliamentarian says Iran has halted 20 percent enrichment

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran has stopped enriching uranium to 20 percent, one of the key demands of world powers in talks over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program, a senior Iranian parliamentarian was quoted as saying. There was no immediate comment from the U.N. nuclear agency in Vienna which regularly inspects Iranian nuclear sites and would likely be aware of any production halt. One diplomat in Vienna also said he was not aware of any halt to production. Any such move would come as a major surprise, as Western experts believe Iran would want to use its higher-grade enrichment as a bargaining chip to win relief from crippling sanctions. Iranian MPs have in the past made statements about Iran’s nuclear program that were later denied by the government. Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, a senior member of Iran’s parliamentary national security commission, also said Tehran had only stopped enriching uranium to levels above […]

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Lawmaker Says Iran Has Halted Enrichment

TEHRAN — An influential Iranian lawmaker says his country has halted the production of enriched uranium up to 20 percent, a level that experts say is only a few technical steps from what is needed to produce a nuclear weapon. The remarks by the lawmaker, Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, who is the deputy head of the national security and foreign policy committee in Parliament, were published on the Parliament’s official Web site, Icana, on Tuesday. No other officials confirmed the news, but Mr. Naqavi Hosseini and his committee have recently visited nuclear sites and on Saturday were briefed by one of Iran ’s main nuclear negotiators, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Mr. Naqavi Hosseini is the first lawmaker of such stature to make such a statement. If his report is true, then Iran may be edging closer to accepting one of the main demands of world powers, that it suspend […]

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Some Iranians Seek to Renew an Old Chant

TEHRAN — Born during the hostage crisis days after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the chant “Death to America” has enjoyed a long run on the Iranian stage. But it has been getting a little threadbare in recent times, and has even come under threat, with no less a person than the newly elected president, Hassan Rouhani, suggesting that the country no longer needed slogans. While for some this may be a refreshing sign of political maturity, others are determined to inject new life into the old chant. Toward this end, several hard-line groups have announced plans for a “Down With U.S.A.” conference next month, highlighted by “The First Major International Award of ‘Down With America’ ” for the best photograph, poster, video, song or caricature. The contest winners will be announced in December, and will receive cash awards of as much as $4,000. While the slogan in Persian, “Marg bar […]

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Iran’s diplomacy shows a recognition of its decline – FT.com

Iran’s positive attitude in its negotiations with the US, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia over its nuclear programme marks a clear shift in policy. This welcome development, seen during the past week in talks in Geneva, follows Tehran’s willingness to go along with the Russian-initiated deal on chemical weapons in Syria – where Iran is backing the Assad regime. The Islamic Republic appears to be softening its longstanding policies in favour of a more conciliatory approach. The shift is caused by the country’s long-term decline in the Middle East – and Tehran’s recognition that it must act on this decline. Iran’s stance will hold the key to a number of interlocking regional conflicts, so identifying its cause helps shape policy responses to it. If an agreement with Iran does come to pass, many will argue that economic sanctions , imposed by the UN Security Council, the EU and […]

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Nuclear Talks Divide Hard-Liners in Iran

BEIRUT—The revival of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers has carved a new divide among Tehran’s hard-line leaders over whether to bend to Western demands in exchange for relief from the sanctions that have crippled their economy. As Iran’s new president and his foreign minister have shown a willingness to end their country’s nuclear stalemate and improve relations with the West, high-ranking conservatives have both praised and condemned these initiatives. On one side is the familiar rhetoric aired by the senior cleric leading the Friday prayer service in Tehran, who said the West was using nuclear negotiations to wage war against Islam. On the other, a cleric close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly questioned at prayers in Isfahan whether it was wise to continue chanting “Death to America” at public gatherings if Iran was going to normalize relations with the U.S. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, the second-in-command […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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White House Weighs Easing Iran Sanctions’ Bite With Slow Release of Assets

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, in the wake of a promising first round of nuclear diplomacy with Iran , is weighing a proposal to ease the pain of sanctions on Tehran by offering it access to billions of dollars in frozen funds if the Iranian government takes specific steps to curb its nuclear program , a senior administration official said Thursday. Such a plan, under which the United States could free up Iran’s frozen overseas assets in installments, would avoid the political and diplomatic risks of repealing the sanctions, which had been agreed to by a diverse coalition of countries, the official said. It would also give President Obama the flexibility to respond to Iranian offers that emerge from the negotiations without unraveling the global sanctions regime the administration has spent years cobbling together. The official likened the plan, which is still being debated inside the White House and […]

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An enriching dialogue with Iran — with limits

THOUGH FEW details of Iran’s new offer on its nuclear program have been released, two broad points were clear following this week’s negotiations in Geneva . One is encouraging: The Iranian government is more serious than it has been in years about negotiating a deal with the United States and its five partners. The other is ominous: Tehran is still insisting that it will never give up its capability to enrich uranium , which is the key to nuclear weapons production. The detailed proposal set out by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was a stark change from previous rounds of negotiations , which featured filibustering by Iranian negotiators who offered only vague ideas. Mr. Zarif made clear that Iran is eager to come to an agreement that would lift the sanctions crippling its economy. He reportedly talked about finalizing an accord within three to six months . Several reports, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple