Iran Digest Week of April 8 - April 15
/AIC’s Iran digest project covers the latest developments and news stories published in Iranian and international media outlets. This weekly digest is compiled by associates Tony Liu and Cynthia Markarian.. Please note that the news and views expressed in the articles below do not necessarily reflect those of AIC.
US-Iran Relations
Iran sanctions 24 US officials over ‘terrorism’ and rights abuses
Iran has added 24 United States officials and people to its blacklist of sanctioned individuals over charges of “terrorism” and violations of human rights of the Iranian people.
These, among others, include George W Casey Jr, former Chief of Staff of the US Army and Commanding General of Multi-National Forces in Iraq; Joseph Votel, former commander of the United States Central Command; former attorney to Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani; and several current and former American diplomats in Palestine and Lebanon.
This list mainly includes people who helped impose and expand punishing US sanctions on Iran during the Trump and Obama administrations.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that the promulgations and application of Unilateral Coercive Measures is a stark violation of the fundamental principles of international law set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and a blatant transgression of international law and impede enjoyment of human rights,” the foreign ministry statement said.
Previously, Iran had announced sanctions on US officials on two occasions, targeting 60 individuals overall. Those included Trump, his top officials, including former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, and dozens of officials representing US military and diplomatic interests across the region.
(Al Jazeera)
Nuclear Accord
Iran supreme leader optimistic though nuclear talks stalled
Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday insisted negotiations over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal “are going ahead properly,” even after repeated comments by American officials that an agreement to restore the accord may not happen.
But restoring the deal remains in question, apparently over Iran's demand that its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard be delisted by America as a terrorist group.
Khamenei made a point to praise the country's foreign minister and negotiating team, something that he had grown sour on under the government of previous President Hassan Rouhani, who attended the event Tuesday night in Tehran as well.
“There is nothing wrong with criticizing and commenting on their performance, as long as it is free from suspicion and pessimism and, as I have said many times, does not weaken the elements of the field and disappoint the people,” Khamenei said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
(ABC News)
Iran Opens New Centrifuge-Parts Workshop At Natanz, UN Watchdog Says
"On April 12, the agency completed the installation of the surveillance cameras at this location and then removed the seals from the machines," Reuters quoted the confidential report to member states from the International Atomic Energy Agency as saying, without describing where at Natanz that location was.
"On April 13, Iran informed the agency that the machines would start operating at the new workshop the same day," it added, without saying whether it had verified that the machines had started operating.
The development comes as Iran and several global powers negotiate a revival of the 2015 nuclear accord under which Tehran had significantly limited its sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
Under the administration of President Joe Biden, Washington has expressed an interest in rejoining the agreement if Iran returns to full compliance.
Several rounds of talks over the past year have brought the two sides close to an agreement, though the discussions recently stalled over several remaining issues.
(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Economy
Iran says preliminary deal reached on frozen funds abroad
Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that a preliminary deal had been reached with a foreign bank over frozen funds belonging to the Islamic republic.
Tens of billions of dollars in Iranian money were blocked in a number of countries, including China, South Korea and Japan, after the United States reimposed sanctions on the Islamic republic in 2018.
According to Tasnim news agency, the deal announced on Wednesday aims to find a solution for frozen Iranian assets valued at more than $7 billion.
Last year Tehran threatened legal action unless Seoul released frozen funds for oil shipments, worth that same amount.In early January, Iran had urged South Korea to unlock the funds and not to await the outcome of Vienna talks aiming to revive the nuclear agreement.
Amir-Abdollahian said a delegation from the concerned country, which he did not identify, had visited Tehran on Tuesday to follow up on the implementation of the deal with the foreign bank.
Iran has been engaged for a year in talks with France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China directly, and the United States indirectly, to revive the nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Inside Iran
Iran hoping to host World Cup fans after agreement with Qatar
Iran has reached a series of agreements with Qatar as it hopes to host fans of the men’s football World Cup that will be held in its neighbouring country later this year.
The Qatari transport minister, Jassim bin Saif al-Sulaiti, was hosted by Iran’s roads minister Rostam Ghasemi during a two-day visit to the resort island of Kish. Al-Sulaiti also met Saeed Mohammad, the head of the Organization of Free Trade-Industrial Zones of Iran.
On Monday, the two countries signed an agreement for operations to link the Doha Flight Information Region (FIR) with the Tehran FIR, Qatar News Agency reported. They also agreed to increase the number of flights between them and discussed enhancing transport cooperation and private investment opportunities in the port sector.
Iranians hope the increased cooperation will facilitate fans’ stay on Kish island, which is a 40-minute flight or a six-hour boat journey away from Doha, in addition to boosting boat routes and flights that would take fans back and forth at regular intervals.
(Al Jazeera)
Regional Politics
U.S. sets up new Mideast naval task force amid strained Gulf ties
The U.S. Navy on Wednesday said it was establishing a new multinational task force that would target arms smuggling in the waters around Yemen, the latest American military response to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Washington has sought to reassure Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who see the U.S. commitment to the region as waning, by providing additional military support in recent months following the missile and drone attacks on the Gulf nations.
Fifth Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said that the task force would, from Sunday, ensure a force presence and deterrent posture in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and Gulf of Aden.
"These are strategically important waters that warrant our attention," Cooper said on a call with reporters, adding that the trafficking of people and drugs would also be targeted.
The waters around Yemen are a key passageway for global trade, including oil supplies, and vessels have in the past been targeted by the Houthis, as well as other forces.
(Reuters)
Saudi, Kuwait to develop gas field despite Iran condemnation
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will develop a disputed gas field despite Iranian objections while urging Tehran to engage in negotiations.
The Gulf allies will honour their deal – branded “illegal” by Iran – to develop the Arash/Dorra maritime gas field, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
But the two countries also issued a new invitation for Iran to negotiate over the boundary of the gas field, the subject of a dispute that goes back decades.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Kuwait, as a single negotiating party, renew their invitation to the Islamic Republic of Iran to hold these negotiations,” the statement said.
Tehran in late March said the deal contravened “previously held negotiations”, adding it “reserves its right to exploit” the field.The dust-up comes as energy prices remain high in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(Al Jazeera)
Russia ‘using weapons smuggled by Iran from Iraq against Ukraine’
Russia is receiving munitions and military hardware sourced from Iraq for its war effort in Ukraine with the help of Iranian weapons smuggling networks, according to members of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias and regional intelligence services with knowledge of the process.
RPGs and anti-tank missiles, as well as Brazilian-designed rocket launcher systems, have been dispatched to Russia from Iraq as Moscow’s campaign has faltered in the last month, the Guardian has learned.
An Iranian-made Bavar 373 missile system, similar to the Russian S-300, has also been donated to Moscow by the authorities in Tehran, who also returned an S-300, according to a source who helped organise the transport.
Using the weapons-trafficking underworld would signal a dramatic shift in Russian strategy, as Moscow is forced to lean on Iran, its military ally in Syria, following new sanctions triggered by the invasion of Ukraine.
The developments also have huge implications for the direction and volume of trade in the international weapons trafficking business.
(The Guardian)
Iran summons Afghan envoy after diplomatic mission attacks
Iran has summoned Afghanistan’s charge d’affaires in Tehran over attacks on its diplomatic missions in the neighbouring country after unverified videos circulating on social media purported to show Afghan refugees being beaten in Iran.
The formal protest came after protesters on Monday pelted Iran’s consulate in the Afghan city of Herat with rocks. They also reportedly broke security cameras and burned the Iranian flag before dispersing after Taliban security forces fired warning shots.
The protests came after videos allegedly showed Iranian border guards and mobs hurting Afghan refugees.
Iran’s foreign ministry and embassy in Kabul have dismissed the videos, saying they are aimed at harming historical and cultural ties between the two countries and their people.
“Unfortunately, some clips and comments are being published with the goal of creating fear of Iran and Afghanistan that have targeted arousing the feelings of the countries’ peoples, and require increasing vigilance by the people and officials of both countries,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement on Monday.
(Al Jazeera )
Analysis
Opinion: If the Iran nuclear deal fails, Iraq could suffer the fallout
By: David Ignatius
Iraq, now and always, sits on the fault line between Iran and the Arab world. Its current leader, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, wants a diverse, democratic Iraq to act as a bridge. It is a noble vision, but right now it’s a perilous one.
“Our region cannot take any more wars,” Kadhimi told me during an interview here on Sunday. He hopes the United States and Iran can agree on a new nuclear pact as a first step toward reducing tensions. “We need a deal that brings some calm to the region,” he argued.
Kadhimi spoke in his stylish office in a building that is a modern recreation of the ancient tower of Ziggurat. Around him was a Baghdad that looked almost normal, as the April heat began to make the city sizzle. The 2003 U.S. invasion that shattered Iraq’s stability, but also brought democracy, seemed far distant.
Kadhimi wants continued U.S. support, including a small non-combat military presence, to help stabilize his nation. “We truly believe in our relationship with the United States, as a country that helped us get rid of dictatorship and also … advance our democratic system,” he argued. It is hard to find a leader in the Middle East these days who is so unabashedly pro-American.
(Read More Here)
