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Iran’s exports of handmade carpets reach USD439m in 10 months

by on February 9, 2012

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(MENAFN) Iran’s National Carpet Center said that during the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year, the country’s exports of handmade carpets reached USD439 million, reported Tehran …

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Iran’s exports of handmade carpets reach USD439m in 10 months

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Iran urges UN to condemn assassination of nuclear scientist, vows to

by on January 12, 2012

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(MENAFN – Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Iranian Ambassador to the UN Mohammad Khazaee on Wednesday urged the UN Secretary-General and the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly to …

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Iran urges UN to condemn assassination of nuclear scientist, vows to

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Jeffrey Rubin: Only A Recession Can Deliver Obama’s Energy Targets

April 6, 2011

Like many in the White House before him, President Barack Obama charted out a plan last week to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil. And like his predecessors, his road map to cut U.S. oil imports by one-third over the next decade comes against the backdrop of sharply rising oil prices and supply disruptions from an increasingly volatile Middle East. Unfortunately, we have heard this song many times before. In 1973, President Richard Nixon unveiled “Project Independence” in response to the OPEC oil embargo that was triggered by the Arab-Israeli war. President Jimmy Carter called the need to lessen U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil the moral equivalent of war in response to the supply disruptions that followed the Iranian Revolution. President George Bush Jr. referred to America’s dependence on foreign oil as nothing short of an addiction. Over the past four decades, U.S. presidents have waxed eloquent about the need to reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil. Yet the U.S. economy still relies on imports for more than 50% of the 19 million barrels of oil burned every day. As a result, the U.S. remains as vulnerable to soaring oil prices as it was during the OPEC shocks in the 1970s. In many ways, Obama’s plan is reminiscent of his predecessors by supporting more government subsidies for energy alternatives such as nuclear and bio fuels. Higher fuel efficiency standards will be mandated for cars and trucks. And, of course, there will be increased reliance on offshore drilling for deep water oil and on hydraulic fracturing in pursuit of America’s new wonder fuel: shale gas. Unfortunately, these initiatives have in one way or another been tried before by previous administrations. And many look less credible than they have in the past. As the Fukushima nuclear disaster threatens Japan with a Chernobyl-like legacy, President Obama is unlikely to find much support for more nuclear power in a country that already has more nuclear plants (and more radioactive spent fuel lying around) than any other in the world. And so far the diversion of food production to energy generation, like the 12 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol that America pumps out every year, has had a far greater impact on raising food and fertilizer prices than on lowering energy prices. While greater fuel efficiency is a laudable goal, past improvements in fuel efficiency have only encouraged Americans to drive more each year — about 30% more than at the time of the OPEC oil shocks. And they haven’t been filling up their tanks with shale gas either, which has only a quarter of the energy density of either gasoline or diesel. So far, recessions have been the only surefire way America has cut back on its fuel consumption and the need for oil imports. But, of course, that is not an option any U.S. president can pursue.

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Reserve Bank of India tightens on Iranian oil imports

December 25, 2010

Reserve Bank of India tightens on Iranian oil imports

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Arin Crumley: YouTube, Not TheirTube

August 24, 2010

In 2006, Time Magazine named “you” Person of the Year. “You” are the individual users who create content for the internet, and post it on websites that host photos, videos, music and text–sites like YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Vimeo, and Flickr. But your ability to create and post original content online is being threatened. Viacom sued YouTube in 2007 for $1 billion, claiming that YouTube should be responsible for policing its users’ content for copyright violations. The court found that YouTube expeditiously responds to copyright holders’ requests to remove infringing content and complies with the law. But the media giant has now appealed, seeking to subject YouTube (and other websites that host content) to billions of dollars of liability. If successful, the vibrant era of user-generated content as we know it could come to an abrupt end. If it is not enough for YouTube, MySpace and Flickr to respond within minutes to copyright holders’ requests, then what standard must these websites meet? According to Viacom, these sites must review, research and investigate the origins of each of the hundreds of thousands of videos uploaded to their sites each day and approve each individually in advance. Today we can post media online in mere minutes. Under Viacom’s proposed rules, however, it could take days or weeks, and if YouTube can’t figure out if the poster actually has all the rights (via license or otherwise), it should not be posted at all. We call ourselves the Sideshow Coalition because Viacom has called us a “sideshow.” In fact, we are today’s creators, distributing to the world an unprecedented quantity and variety of art and building our careers through free online distribution channels such as YouTube. Viacom apparently considers us marginal and irrelevant. Or perhaps it views our success as a threat to its business. We believe the public wants and values creative expression unfiltered and unmediated by major media corporations. Our work is not simply some distraction to be viewed on the way to the big show. Our videos have collectively been viewed about three billion times – and we are only a few dozen out of millions of users who have posted original content on YouTube. This enthusiasm for our work has enabled us to pursue careers in entertainment, and through YouTube channels we earn revenue from the videos we create. We emphatically support the protection of intellectual property; creating intellectual property is how most of us make a living. But our goal is to ensure that everyone has the ability to share and profit from their intellectual property, not just big corporations. We love the Web because it levels the playing field. Anyone with talent, internet access and a video camera can present his or her ideas. Before the internet, you either did business with major media companies on their terms or you did not earn a living from entertainment because you could not reach a mass audience. The internet has liberated us and millions of others from gatekeepers who control the traditional distribution channels for our work. We can now be our own television stations, our own record labels and our own publishers. We can also be our own newsmakers and non-profits, using sites like YouTube to achieve social change. People have used YouTube to increase voter turnout and registration in the United States, to spread awareness about the Iranian government’s human rights abuses and to raise money to feed the hungry. The “protections” Viacom seeks would benefit itself at the expense of “us”–millions of independent media producers and billions of consumers. To foster creativity, innovation, free expression and economic opportunity, we will continue to urge the court to preserve the freedom of the internet. The authors are part of the Sideshow Coalition, a group of creative individuals unaffiliated with a major corporation who post original content on YouTube.

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Video: Javedanfar Says Tehran Exchange Lacks Private Investment: Video

August 23, 2010

Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) — Meir Javedanfar, an analyst at Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Co., talks about performance of the Tehran Stock Exchange’s benchmark Tedpix index and use of the exchange as an indicator of the Iranian government’s policies. Javedanfar speaks with Margaret Brennan on Bloomberg Television’s “InBusiness.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Medvedev Says He Cannot Rule Out Euro Collapse Amid Region’s Debt Crisis

June 18, 2010

By Lyubov Pronina June 18 (Bloomberg) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he can’t rule out the collapse of the euro as the European Union struggles to contain the sovereign debt crisis. Asked if the emergency could threaten the single currency, Medvedev said, “So far, no. But one cannot rule out this danger because at least a unique situation has emerged,” according to the text of an interview with the Wall Street Journal that was provided by the Russian government. Medvedev touched on issues ranging from the BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to Iran and recent violence in Kyrgyzstan during the interview. Medvedev, 44, travels to the U.S. next week for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama before heading to Canada for a meeting of the Group of 20 nations. He is currently hosting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which began yesterday and runs through tomorrow. Commenting on the oil spill that forced London-based BP to set aside $20 billion for potential damages, Medvedev suggested the disaster could lead to the company’s breakup and said he wanted to assure that the interests of Russian shareholders in the TNK-BP venture are safeguarded. The venture, which accounts for almost a quarter of BP’s output, is half-owned by Russian billionaires, including Viktor Vekselberg . Iran Sanctions Medvedev backed the sanctions against Iran that were passed by the UN Security Council on June 9. The measures, which call for a tighter arms embargo, authority to seize cargo that could be used in nuclear weapons, and restrictions on financial transactions with Iran, represent a balanced approach, he said. “The sanctions that have been imposed are strict enough, yet at the same time they do not harm the Iranian people,” Medvedev said. “They may push the Iranian leadership to, at some point, take a decision on closer cooperation with the global community” and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Medvedev criticized the U.S. and EU for going beyond the UN resolution. The EU yesterday approved penalties targeting the oil and gas industry, including the prohibition of new investment, technical assistance and technology transfers. “Unilateral sanctions, be it U.S. sanctions or those of the EU or any other countries, would worsen the situation because they are not agreed upon with anyone,” Medvedev said. Kyrgyz Air Base Medvedev also said that the U.S. air base in Kyrgyzstan, a key installation for American operations in Afghanistan, should be closed down once its job is done. Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, has been the scene of sporadic violence since April, when President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted and replaced by an interim government. At least 189 people have died in fighting between Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups in the Central Asian nation over the past seven days. If the base “is needed for fighting terrorism, for bringing order, then OK,” Medvedev said. “But it is obvious, and it is my position and I speak openly about it, that it should not exist forever. It should, in my opinion, resolve concrete tasks and complete its work.” To contact the reporter on this story: Lyubov Pronina in Moscow at lpronina@bloomberg.net

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Targeted for Sanctions as UN Prepares to Vote

June 8, 2010

By Bill Varner June 8 (Bloomberg) — Companies controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, a bank and a top official of the nation’s atomic energy agency are targets of proposed United Nations sanctions set for a Security Council vote tomorrow. Javad Rahiqi, who heads a branch of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, is the only individual on lists that include 40 companies and government agencies cited in a text that will be taken up by the 15 nations on the council. The UN restrictions are aimed at blocking Iran’s ability to develop nuclear arms and pressuring the country to join international talks. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Quito, Ecuador, that Iran is facing its “most significant sanctions” ever adopted by the UN’s principal policy-making panel. Her national-security counterpart, Defense Secretary Robert Gates , said passage of the resolution would open the way for even tougher restrictions. “One of the many benefits of the resolution is that it will provide a legal platform for individual nations to then take individual actions that go well beyond the resolution itself,” Gates said today in London. “I believe a number of nations are prepared to act pretty promptly.” The lists form three annexes to the main text of the resolution, which calls for freezing the foreign assets of the companies and agencies and barring Rahiqi from traveling outside Iran. The targets include 15 entities “owned, controlled or acting on behalf” of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, an arm of the Iranian military with extensive business interests. Manufacturer, Ministry Also cited are three companies the resolution says are related to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and 22 companies it says are involved in nuclear and ballistic missile activities. The companies include the Armament Industries Group, identified as a small-arms manufacturer, and the Ministry of Defense Logistics Export, which the measure says sells Iranian- made weapons “to customers around the world.” The resolution also targets the Malaysia-based First East Export Bank, which is “owned or controlled” by Bank Mellat, named in previous sanctions. Mellat has “facilitated” hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions linked to Iranian nuclear defense and missile entities, according to the measure obtained by Bloomberg News from Security Council diplomats who asked not to be identified. Mellat received a license from Malaysian authorities in late 2008 to set up First East Export Bank in Labuan, Malaysia, according to a U.S. Treasury Department statement in November. Treasury has barred U.S. transactions with the bank. Bank Dropped The Export Development Bank of Iran, which was included on a list as late as yesterday, was dropped from the final version. The annexes were the focus of Security Council bargaining after the May 18 release of parameters for what will be the fourth sanctions measure aimed at Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The UN resolution would bar Iran from investing in uranium mining or construction of new enrichment facilities. It would ban sales to Iran of tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery, fighter jets, attack helicopters, warships or missiles. Nations would be asked to prohibit the licensing of Iranian banks on their territory or the opening of bank branches in Iran if there is reason to suspect a connection to nuclear activities. Financial transactions, including those related to insurance and re-insurance, would be barred if they might have a nuclear purpose. Cargo Intercepts Nations are urged to intercept and inspect any cargo by air or sea suspected of containing banned materials that would contribute to Iran’s nuclear or missile programs. Bunkering services, such as refueling as sea, are prohibited for Iranian- owned or contracted vessels suspected of carrying such goods. The text “encourages” the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency to continue talks with Iran aimed at “measures to build confidence” in its intentions. It takes note of the effort by Brazil and Turkey to reach an agreement with Iran under which half of its enriched uranium would be swapped for fuel in a form that can only be used in Tehran’s medical-research reactor. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin , attending a regional conference in Istanbul today, said he is ready to discuss Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions one-on-one with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “if necessary.” The Iranian leader last month criticized Russia’s support for the U.S.-sponsored sanctions in the UN Security Council as an “unacceptable stand.” Ahmadinejad has relied on the Kremlin for boosting his image in the past, traveling to Russia after his disputed re-election a year ago and feting Putin at a Tehran summit in 2007. To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net

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Raymond J. Learsy: The Oil Nabobs Slouching Towards Iran. Time For A Peoples Boycott

May 23, 2010

On March 15 the tanker ‘Front Page’ left the port of Fujairah, U.A.E. reportedly to drop anchor at another port in the U.A.E. and then was scheduled to sail on to Saudi Arabia. This according to the Wall Street Journal’s front page article(“Oil Trade With Iran Thrives, Discreetly” 05.20.10). Tracking information however revealed a very different course. The ‘Front Page’ made an unreported stop along the coast of Iran to load a cargo of Iranian oil. Illegal? No. Impolitic? Clearly very much so, given the acute political tensions and the draconian oppression being imposed by the Iranian government against its people. Hardly the kind of company one would like to be seen or associated with. And who was the charterer of the ‘Front Page’? None other than Royal Dutch Shell, the very same company currently in the process of petitioning Alaska and the U.S. Government to drill exploratory wells this summer in the Arctic’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The Interior Department is presently reviewing Shell’s application for a permit to drill. Given the BP Gulf oil disaster there is widespread concern and pushback in Congress to hold back any and all permitting until causes of the disaster are known. Given the evidenced duplicitous nature with whom they are dealing, clearly not a bad idea. As far as the rest of us, know that the next time you tank up at a Shell station you may well be helping the mullahs of Iran. But Shell is not alone in doing a “brisk business buying Iranian oil…” Yes, you guessed it. Here too BP stands tall. And along with BP there is Total SA, the French oil giant. Being a dutiful yet circumspect customer of the mullahs, a Total chartered tanker recently turned off its tracking transponder throughout its sail into Iranian waters and loading of oil at its Iranian port of call. In case you may not have known, this is the same Total, parent of Total Petrochemicals USA Inc., with production facilities in Louisiana and Texas producing a range of base chemicals including polyethylene, polystyrenes. The Wall Street Journal goes on to report that none of current sanction proposals in the U.N. or the U.S. would target Iran’s export oil business which happens to generate nearly half of the Iranian government’s revenues. The reason being is concern that an embargo would spike the price of oil and severely impact the economies of such major Iranian oil importers as Japan, India, and China. One needs to question whether this is not the rationale trotted out by the oil companies and delivered by their well-heeled lobbyists to our gullible bureaucrats. These, the very oil companies and oil interests who find it convenient, if not to say highly profitable, to trade in Iranian oil. Consider the following. Today the world is awash with oil. Oil storage is bulging at the seams from Cushing Oklahoma, to Rotterdam to Singapore. Iran exports currently some 2 million barrels of oil a day, a quantity that would hardly be missed given the supplies currently available. And then there is Saudi Arabia with a capability of producing over 12 million barrels a day while currently pumping but 8 million barrels, a shut in production capability of more than 4 million barrels, twice that of Iran’s exports alone. Certainly the Saudis could easily and probably happily make up for any Iranian shortfall without moving the price of oil a nickel. And should the Saudis not be cooperative, seeking to exploit the situation to their own advantage in order to spike the price of oil, they need only be reminded that if the Iranians should come knocking at their door with pistol in hand at some future date, and the Saudis then lift the hot line to call Washington as they are prone to do, no one will be at home to answer their call. (Please also see; “With Russia and China On Board Iran Can Now Be Stopped” 11.29.09.) It stands to reason that embargoing Iranian oil through governmental or business initiatives could be a highly effective way of dealing with the renegade Iranian regime, and if done thoughtfully, with minimal impact on oil’s price. This combined with a policy of shaming those who continue to do business with Iranian agencies either directly or indirectly through third party oil trading brokers, would be an effective adjunct to such an embargo policy. Finally, if governments don’t act, we as consumers can take much into our own hands by boycotting those products that may well be produced from Iranian oil. Given the sourcing policies of the oil companies, i.e. Shell, BP and Total SA., one should be cognizant that the next time you tank up at a Shell station, as but one example, you may well be helping the mullahs of Iran. If the international oil companies themselves as well as our governments do not take the initiative of boycotting Iranian oil in order to bring down a murderous regime then we must, in solidarity with the oppressed people of Iran, exercise our individual initiative. It is past time for each of us to commit to a ‘Peoples Boycott’ of products produced in whole or in part from Iranian oil, be it gasoline, heating oil, fuel oil, base chemicals and on. It is the least we can do given the deprivations being suffered by the Iranian people.

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India grants $235m oil tender to Iranian firm

May 23, 2010

India grants $235m oil tender to Iranian firm

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Erdogan Will Meet With Lula, Ahmadinejad in Iran as Nuclear Sanctions Loom

May 16, 2010

By Ladane Nasseri and Steve Bryant May 16 (Bloomberg) — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan unexpectedly left for Tehran today to join talks on Iran’s nuclear program that may be a last opportunity to avoid tougher international sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva earlier today met with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . Neither leader mentioned nuclear talks in their statements to the press. The foreign ministers of Turkey, Brazil and Iran met for 2 1/2 hours today to discuss the nuclear issue, Turkey’s state-owned Anatolia news agency reported. “UN Security Council sanctions were a possibility because of Iran’s nuclear program,” Erdogan said in Izmir, according to Anatolia. “The talks have delayed that a little. God willing we’ll be able to overcome these difficulties with the steps that will be taken.” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on May 14 that Lula’s trip “may be the last chance” for a negotiated solution before the United Nations Security Council considers new sanctions. U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said on May 13 that if Lula fails, efforts to negotiate with Iran should end and pressure for sanctions should intensify. The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under cover of its atomic energy program. Iran rejects the claim and says its activities are solely civilian. Turkey, which borders Iran to the west, opposes additional sanctions against the country and says diplomacy must be pursued. Turkish officials have several times stated their readiness for their country to serve as a venue for a swap of low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel that can be used in a Tehran reactor for medical purposes. Bomb Core Uranium enrichment is at the center of world powers’ concern with Iran’s nuclear program. The material can fuel a reactor or, enriched to higher degrees, form the core of a bomb. Ahmadinejad, speaking at the UN on May 5, said a lack of trust in the U.S. and other Western powers is the principal reason Iran is pursuing its own enrichment program and hasn’t concluded a fuel swap agreement. “If the swap is to take place in Turkey, we thought we should go,” Erdogan said today, according to Anatolia. Under a plan put forward in October, Iran would ship low- enriched uranium to Russia and France for further processing into reactor-grade fuel. Iran has earlier said it was willing to adopt the proposal, provided the exchange is simultaneous and takes place on Iranian soil. The U.S. and its allied didn’t agree to the condition. Further UN sanctions may penalize Iranian banking, shipping and insurance industries. Business Executives Lula, in a speech to Iranian and Brazilian business executives, said he hopes for trade and investment between the two countries to advance, especially in capital-intensive industries like oil and telecommunications. He and Ahmadinejad signed an agreement to finance up to 1 billion euros of Brazilian food exports to Iran in the next five years. Air connections between the two countries should also expand, he said. Brazilian business executives from the oil, construction and agricultural industries accompanied Lula to Tehran. Trade with Iran has more than doubled to $1.2 billion since Lula took office in 2003. To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at lnasseri@bloomberg.net .

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Baghdad Bombs Kill at Least 35 People, Wound 140 in Second Wave of Attacks

April 6, 2010

By Caroline Alexander April 6 (Bloomberg) — At least 13 people were killed and another 107 injured today by a series of bomb explosions across Baghdad, state-owned al-Iraqiya television reported. It was the second wave of attacks in the Iraqi capital in three days. The neighborhoods of Shula, al-Shurta al-Rabaa, Chikook, Salhiya and Allawi were rocked by explosions, according to al- Iraqiya. Four bombs detonated inside apartment buildings, the television station reported. A fifth blast was caused by a car packed with explosives, it said. Two buildings collapsed in Shula, according to al-Jazeera television, which gave a death toll of 30. The violence follows attacks on April 3, which targeted the Iranian embassy and the German ambassador’s residence in Baghdad and killed 30 people and wounded 200 others. It comes as Iraqi political parties hold talks on forming a new government. Al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks today and is seeking to undermine security and disrupt the political process, Major General Qassem al-Moussawi Atta, spokesman for the Baghdad Military Command, said in an interview with al-Iraqiya. “We are in a state of war with the remnants of al-Qaeda,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Caroline Alexander in London at calexander1@bloomberg.net .

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At Least 35 Killed in Baghdad Blasts; Iran, Egyptian Embassies Targeted

April 4, 2010

By Daniel Williams April 4 (Bloomberg) — Three bombs exploded in Baghdad today as political parties hold talks on forming a new Iraqi government following last month’s parliamentary elections. Al-Jazeera, an Arabic language satellite television channel, said the car bombs, which hit almost simultaneously this morning, killed at least 30 people. One exploded outside the Iranian embassy, another in western Mansour district, and a third detonated near the German ambassador’s residence on a street that houses several other legations. Men disguised as soldiers yesterday killed 25 people in an assault on a village on the southern outskirts of Baghdad. Talks among major political factions to form a new government continue. The March 7 vote followed largely ethnic and religious lines and no party won a majority of the 325 seats at stake. Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s secular Iraqiya bloc won 91 seats to the 89 secured by incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite State of Law group. The two men are rivals to become prime minister and need allies to obtain a majority of 163 seats. Delays in forming a new government may hamper President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce U.S. troop strength in Iraq from 96,000 to 50,000 by August. The Iraqi government that emerges will face disputes over sharing oil revenue among regions and whether to include the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in the Kurdish autonomous region, as well as coping with hostilities between Shiites and Sunnis. To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Williams in Cairo at dwilliams41@bloomberg.net .

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At Least 35 Killed in Baghdad Blasts; Iran, Egyptian Embassies Targeted

April 4, 2010

By Daniel Williams April 4 (Bloomberg) — Three bombs exploded in Baghdad today as political parties hold talks on forming a new Iraqi government following last month’s parliamentary elections. Al-Jazeera, an Arabic language satellite television channel, said the car bombs, which hit almost simultaneously this morning, killed at least 30 people. One exploded outside the Iranian embassy, another in western Mansour district, and a third detonated near the German ambassador’s residence on a street that houses several other legations. Men disguised as soldiers yesterday killed 25 people in an assault on a village on the southern outskirts of Baghdad. Talks among major political factions to form a new government continue. The March 7 vote followed largely ethnic and religious lines and no party won a majority of the 325 seats at stake. Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s secular Iraqiya bloc won 91 seats to the 89 secured by incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite State of Law group. The two men are rivals to become prime minister and need allies to obtain a majority of 163 seats. Delays in forming a new government may hamper President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce U.S. troop strength in Iraq from 96,000 to 50,000 by August. The Iraqi government that emerges will face disputes over sharing oil revenue among regions and whether to include the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in the Kurdish autonomous region, as well as coping with hostilities between Shiites and Sunnis. To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Williams in Cairo at dwilliams41@bloomberg.net .

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Obama Urges Hu to Back Action Against Iran in One Hour Call Before Summit

April 1, 2010

By Nicholas Johnston and Patrick Harrington April 2 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama urged Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to support international efforts to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons in a one-hour phone conversation that emphasized his push to impose fresh sanctions. Obama “underscored the importance of working together to ensure that Iran lives up to its international obligations,” the White House said in a statement. The two leaders “discussed the importance of developing a positive bilateral relationship,” it said. Hu yesterday accepted Obama’s invitation to attend a nuclear security summit in Washington this month, signaling that the two countries are working to repair ties damaged by disagreements over the value of the yuan and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. The U.S. will release a report soon after the summit on whether China is manipulating its currency. Hu’s attendance and the phone call are signs of “an easing of a stressed relationship,” said Zhu Feng , director of the International Security Program at Peking University. “Both sides will intensify their cooperation on global and transnational issues like the Iranian nuclear issue and climate change.” Obama has made the reduction and eventual elimination of nuclear arms a central part of his foreign policy, and more than 40 nations have been invited to attend the April 12-13 summit. China has kept the yuan at about 6.83 per dollar for the past 20 months to support exporters and sustain growth. The U.S. Treasury Department will decide in a report this month whether to label China as manipulating its currency, a designation not invoked since 1994. To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net

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China to Join New UN Talks on Drafting Tougher Iran Sanctions, Rice Says

March 31, 2010

By Bill Varner April 1 (Bloomberg) — China will join talks in New York with the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and Russia on drafting tougher sanctions intended to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said. The ambassadors of the six nations have been given responsibility for crafting a final sanctions resolution, U.S. envoy, Susan Rice , said on CNN yesterday. Talks stalled for months because China resisted adoption of a fourth round of UN sanctions, saying more time was needed to negotiate an agreement with Iran. “China has agreed to sit down and begin serious negotiations here in New York,” Rice said. “This is progress, but the negotiations have yet to begin in earnest. We have shared our thoughts” on what elements should be in a tough Security Council resolution. Winning China’s approval for sanctions is crucial because the country wields veto power over UN measures with its permanent seat on the Security Council. China, with the fastest- growing major economy, is one of Iran’s biggest crude-oil customers. China will “join hands with other parties to make efforts toward a peaceful and proper resolution of the issue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said two days ago in Beijing when asked whether the government would back sanctions. “China opposes Iran having nuclear weapons and concurrently we believe that Iran as a sovereign state has the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.” U.S. Proposal The U.S. offered a proposal earlier this month to tighten restrictions on dealings with Iran’s banking, shipping and insurance industries. The plan also targets the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said has largely taken control of the country. President Barack Obama “has committed us to building adequate and sufficient and strong pressure on Iran to make clear to Iran that it faces a choice,” Rice said. It can either give up its nuclear weapons program and rejoin the community of nations or face increased isolation and intensified pressure, she said. At the UN in New York, Clinton told reporters the six nations have formed a “unified consultative group for more than a year” and that the group “continues to be unified.” The U.S. and its European allies, which have been trying to persuade Iran to scale back its nuclear program and embrace wider economic and political ties, offered at an October meeting in Geneva to enrich uranium Iran needs for a reactor that makes medical isotopes. The Iranian government has never formally replied to the proposal, which the U.S. has portrayed as a confidence-building measure. Iran insists its enrichment program is intended only for civilian energy projects and rejects UN demands that it restrain nuclear work. To contact the reporter on this story: William Varner in New York at wvarner@bloomberg.net

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Gates Appeals to Saudi Arabia’s King on Tougher UN Sanctions Against Iran

March 10, 2010

By Viola Gienger March 11 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates sought Saudi Arabia’s help in rallying support for tougher United Nations sanctions against Iran and urged other Persian Gulf partner nations to strengthen their militaries. Gates met with King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdelaziz al-Saud after arriving in Riyadh yesterday from Afghanistan, as the Obama administration shifts from engagement to pressure intended to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The U.S. is trying to persuade China, which holds a UN Security Council veto, to back a resolution that may penalize Iranian banking, shipping and insurance industries. Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s largest producer of crude oil, is China’s biggest supplier, and Gates’s mission follows Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ’s visit last month to make a similar pitch. Saudi Arabia could “help us in our efforts at the UN so that we can get meaningful sanctions enacted against Iran,” Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters accompanying the defense chief. The Saudis seemed to be supportive of the U.S. shift, according to an American defense official who briefed reporters on Gates’s meetings on condition of anonymity. Gates explained that the U.S. prefers to target the Iranian leadership to the extent possible and minimize the impact on the Iranian people. Closing Ranks The visit by Gates to the kingdom is intended to project the impression that partners in the region are closing ranks in opposition to Iran’s nuclear and missile development and its support of terrorist groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Gates aims to demonstrate that Iran’s military buildup in defiance of international demands won’t make the country more secure and may backfire. Weapons purchases by U.S.-allied Persian Gulf nations have grown in recent years, along with joint military training and exercises, according to an American defense official who briefed reporters before the trip. Saudi Arabia has been among the top three buyers of U.S. defense equipment and services in three periods examined by the Congressional Research Service since fiscal 2001. Deliveries to the kingdom topped the list in 2008, the latest year reported, with a total value of $1.2 billion, ranking just ahead of Israel. Modernize Forces Saudi Arabia wants to do more to modernize its force, and the U.S. is helping determine how best to accomplish that, the briefer said. The kingdom didn’t make any specific requests, the official said. Gates is pressing the region’s nations to go further and operate more among themselves. Such exhortations date back at least to President George W. Bush ’s administration and have coincided with threatening rhetoric from Tehran along with missile tests. Iran opened a new production facility to build short-range missiles that can reach targets at sea, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said this week in remarks carried by the state-run Fars news agency. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , who defends his country’s nuclear program as a legitimate energy-development effort, also was in Kabul, overlapping with Gates. The U.S. defense chief expressed amusement at the schedule. ‘Conspiratorialists’ “It’s clearly fodder for all conspiratorialists,” Gates told reporters at a briefing with his Afghan counterpart, Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak , before he left for Saudi Arabia. Gates reiterated the U.S. position that Afghanistan should have constructive ties with all its neighbors. “But we also want all of Afghanistan’s neighbors to play an upfront game in dealing with the government of Afghanistan,” Gates said. The U.S. says Iran is providing funding and other assistance to the insurgency in Afghanistan in an effort to ensure that the coalition led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization fails in the war against the Taliban. On Iraq, the Saudis are still not ready to commit to opening an embassy in Baghdad, a longstanding request from the U.S., the official said. Iraqis are awaiting official results from parliamentary elections held March 7, as candidates jockey for positions in a likely coalition government. The Obama administration hopes to ease the effect of its troop withdrawal in the next 18 months by encouraging regional partners to serve as a bulwark for Iraq, which was ostracized under Saddam Hussein . Gates urged Saudi Arabia to continue engaging with Yemen, its neighbor on the Arabian Peninsula that is struggling with two insurgencies, one of which embroiled the Saudis in recent months. The U.S. actively supported Saudi’s involvement on the border by providing resupplies of equipment, the official said. To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Riyadh at vgienger@bloomberg.net .

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U.S. Targets Iran’s Revolutionary Guard With Sanctions on Four Companies

February 10, 2010

By Jeff Bliss Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Treasury Department said today it would freeze the assets of four companies and one individual connected with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the U.S. has accused of developing weapons of mass destruction and supporting terrorism. “Today’s action exposing Khatam al-Anbiya subsidiaries will help firms worldwide avoid business that ultimately benefits the IRGC and its dangerous activities,” said Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Stuart Levey , in a statement. The U.S. has been trying to rally reluctant countries, especially China, to sanction Iran as the government in Tehran resists pressure to scale back its uranium enrichment work. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has signaled the U.S. wants to target the Revolutionary Guard, an elite military branch with extensive business interests. President Barack Obama said yesterday that Iran continues to “pursue a course that would lead to weaponization” of nuclear materials, prompting the U.S. to pursue tougher penalties in an attempt to block its path. Obama was echoing a concern of leaders in Europe and the Middle East that Iran’s enrichment of uranium to a level it says is needed for a medical-research reactor would move the country closer to producing a concentration needed for a bomb. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called yesterday for “crippling sanctions” against Iran. UN Sanctions Iran already is subject to United Nations Security Council restrictions, including a 2007 resolution freezing assets and banning travel for some Revolutionary Guard-affiliated companies and officials. The Iranian government maintains that its nuclear development work is a legitimate effort to build a civilian power industry. Levey, who has played a role in the design and enforcement of financial restrictions on Iran since the administration of President George W. Bush , was in London last month to discuss the implementation of sanctions with foreign officials. Those sanctioned today include General Rostam Qasemi, a commander in the Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, the engineering arm of IRGC, Treasury said in a statement. The firms singled out by the action are subsidiaries of Khatam al-Anbiya or have ties to it, Treasury said, and include Fater Engineering Institute, Imensazen Consultant Engineers Institute, Makin Institute and Rahab Institute. The companies fund the Guard’s operations by building streets, tunnels, pipelines, water-conveyance systems and agricultural restoration projects, Treasury said. ‘Cash Cow’ “Khatam al-Anbiya is essentially an IRGC-controlled Army Corps of Engineers ,” Cliff Kupchan a senior analyst at Eurasia Group, a New York political-risk consulting firm, said in an e- mail, referring to a U.S. government agency that does flood- control, navigation, hydropower and other projects in addition to military construction. Kupchan described the Iranian company as a “cash cow” for the Revolutionary Guards. “The U.S. has promised targeted sanctions against the IRGC and the Iranian leadership, and now that diplomacy has apparently failed, I think this is the beginning of that process,” Kupchan said. To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington jbliss@bloomberg.net .

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Iranian Who Quit as Envoy to Norway Calls for Foreign Minister to Resign

January 18, 2010

By Ali Sheikholeslami Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) — Mohammad-Reza Heydari, who said he quit his job as Iranian consul in Norway to protest his government’s crackdown on protesters, called for Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to join him in resigning. “We should be the protectors of the interests of the Iranian people,” Heydari said today in a telephone interview from Norway. “We should be with them, not against them.” The government in Iran hasn’t accepted his Dec. 24 resignation from the post at the country’s embassy in Oslo, Heydari said. He said he hoped Mottaki and other members of Iran’s diplomatic corps will also resign to show solidarity with the people. Iran has detained about 1,000 people since clashes last month that left at least eight people dead, the toughest crackdown yet on opposition supporters who allege President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ’s re-election was rigged. He denies the allegation. The government accuses Western countries of inciting the demonstrations in Tehran and other cities, and says it has arrested an unspecified number of foreigners. To contact the reporter on this story: Ali Sheikholeslami in London at alis2@bloomberg.net .

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Iran Government Loyalists Hold Anti-Opposition Rallies Following Protests

December 30, 2009

By Henry Meyer and Ali Sheikholeslami Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — Crowds of government supporters massed in the Iranian capital Tehran, some calling for the death of Iran’s opposition leaders, as the police warned it will crush any further anti-regime protests. State television showed live footage of the pro-government street rallies today, three days after security forces violently dispersed the biggest opposition demonstrations in six months, in which eight people were killed. Iran has detained about 1,000 people since the Dec. 27 protests in Tehran and other cities, the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said. The disputed June re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sparked the worst unrest since the overthrow of the Shah in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran yesterday accused Western countries of inciting the latest demonstrations. The U.S. and European Union states have condemned the authorities’ use of violence, a factor that could harden Iran’s stance toward its nuclear dispute with the West, analysts said. General Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam , Iran’s police chief, said there will be “no mercy” for anyone who takes part in opposition rallies, the state-run Fars news agency reported. He said that what he called a period of leniency was over, Fars said. “Anyone attending such rallies will be crushed.” Protesters Arrested The police arrested 500 people on Dec. 27, Ahmadi-Moghaddam said, adding that 120 officers were injured during that day’s clashes. Other demonstrators have since been detained by intelligence services, he said. “The information available once again suggests excessive acts of violence by security forces,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement from Geneva today. “Those who have been arrested, for whatever reason, must be accorded due process.” In today’s counter-rallies, some people could be heard on state television shouting “Death to Mousavi” and “Death to Karrubi.” Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi , a former prime minister, was the main challenger in the June 12 election. Former parliament speaker Mehdi Karrubi was another opposition candidate in the June poll, which he and Mousavi said was rigged. The crowds in Tehran held up photos of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the Islamic Revolution, and set fire to a British flag. ‘Nauseating Masquerade’ Ahmadinejad yesterday called the opposition protests a foreign-backed “nauseating masquerade” in comments cited by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency . Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador after U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Iranian citizens were showing “great courage.” The renewed unrest comes as the U.S. and its allies step up pressure on Iran to prove it’s not seeking to build nuclear weapons. The U.S. government has threatened to impose more sanctions after a Dec. 31 deadline unless Iran responds to diplomatic efforts aimed at securing international controls over its nuclear work in return for better ties with the West. Kazakhstan today denied a report that it planned to supply Iran with a large consignment of uranium as “groundless insinuations” in a statement posted on the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s Web Site . The Iranian mission at the United Nations also issued a statement denying the report. The Associated Press said that Iran was close to agreeing on a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan. It cited an intelligence report. Uranium Enrichment Iran has refused UN demands to suspend enrichment of uranium, which can produce material for a bomb or to fuel power stations. The oil-rich Persian Gulf country says its nuclear activities are purely aimed at generating electricity. The U.S. is preparing limited sanctions against Iran that would target elements of the regime rather than broader economic sanctions that could alienate the Iranian people, the Washington Post said today, citing unidentified U.S. officials. “The U.S. should be very careful not to impose broad-based sanctions that hurt the people, not the regime,” said Trita Parsi, head of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council, the largest U.S.-Iranian association. The worst thing the Obama administration could do right now is to provide ammunition for efforts to “wipe out the opposition,” Parsi said in a phone interview from New York. Post-Election Unrest Opponents of Ahmadinejad have been protesting since the June election. The government said 36 people were killed in a crackdown in the aftermath of the vote, while the opposition said twice as many died. About 4,000 protesters were detained and more than 140 have been put on trial. Unrest flared again this month at the funeral of a leading clerical opponent of Khamenei, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said it feared that the 1,000 detainees, who include prominent opposition activists and journalists, would be tortured to produce false confessions that the protests were instigated by foreign governments. “We’re seeing a pattern of the government shooting itself in the foot with brutality,” Parsi said. “At the moment, the momentum seems to be with the opposition.” To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Dubai at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net ; Ali Sheikholeslami in London at alis2@bloomberg.net .

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Iran Detains 1,000 in Crackdown on Opposition Protests, Rights Group Says

December 30, 2009

By Henry Meyer and Ali Sheikholeslami Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — Iran has detained about 1,000 people in a continuing crackdown after the biggest anti-government demonstrations in six months, a human rights group said. The Iranian police warned it will crush any further protests. The New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said it feared that the detainees, who include prominent opposition activists and journalists, would be tortured to produce false confessions that the protests were instigated by foreign governments. “It may be assumed that many detainees will be subjected to torture followed by ‘show trials’ and convicted of crimes that carry the death penalty in the Islamic Republic,” a spokesman for the group, Aaron Rhodes , said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday. The figure for the number of arrests is based on the group’s monitoring of reports by rights activists and opposition Web sites inside Iran, Rhodes said in a telephone interview today. Iran yesterday accused Western countries of inciting the Dec. 27 clashes between opposition supporters and security forces in the capital Tehran and other cities, which killed at least eight people, according to state media reports. The U.S. and European Union states have condemned the crackdown, a factor that could harden Iran’s stance toward its nuclear dispute with the West, analysts said. Police Warning General Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, Iran’s police chief, said police will deal severely with anyone who takes part in opposition rallies, the state-run Fars news agency reported. He said that what he called a period of leniency was over, Fars said. The police arrested 500 people on Dec. 27, Ahmadi-Moghaddam said, adding that 120 officers were injured during that day’s clashes. Some more demonstrators have since been arrested by intelligence services, he said. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , whose disputed re-election in June sparked the unrest, called the latest protests a foreign-backed “nauseating masquerade” in comments cited by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency . Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have repeatedly linked the demonstrations to Western efforts to undermine Iran, rejecting opposition allegations of vote fraud. The renewed unrest comes as the U.S. and its allies step up pressure on Iran to prove it’s not seeking to build nuclear weapons. Nuclear Tensions The U.S. government has threatened to impose more sanctions after a Dec. 31 deadline unless Iran responds to diplomatic efforts aimed at securing international controls over its nuclear work in return for better ties with the West. Kazakhstan today denied a report that it planned to supply Iran with a large consignment of uranium, Russian state news service RIA Novosti reported, citing a spokesman for the Kazakh Foreign Ministry. The Iranian mission at the United Nations also issued a statement denying the report. The Associated Press said that Iran was close to agreeing on a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan. It cited an intelligence report. The transfer of any uranium yellowcake to Iran would constitute a clear violation of UN Security Council sanctions, State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly wrote in an e-mail yesterday. “The transfer of uranium to Iran is prohibited,” Kelly said. Uranium Enrichment Iran has refused UN demands to suspend enrichment of uranium, which can produce material for a bomb or to fuel power stations. The oil-rich Persian Gulf country says its nuclear activities are purely aimed at generating electricity. The U.S. is preparing limited sanctions against Iran that would target elements of the regime rather than broad-based economic sanctions that could alienate the Iranian people, the Washington Post said today, citing unidentified U.S. officials. “The U.S. should be very careful not to impose broad-based sanctions that hurt the people, not the regime,” said Trita Parsi, head of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council, the largest U.S.-Iranian association. The worst thing the Obama administration could do right now is to provide ammunition for efforts to “wipe out the opposition,” Parsi said in a phone interview from New York. Opponents of Ahmadinejad have been protesting since the June election, which sparked the largest anti-government demonstrations since the overthrow of the Shah in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The protests were violently suppressed. The government said 36 people were killed in the aftermath of the vote, while the opposition said twice as many died. About 4,000 protesters were detained and more than 140 have been put on trial. Unrest flared again this month at the funeral of a leading clerical opponent of Khamenei, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. “We’re seeing a pattern of the government shooting itself in the foot with brutality,” Parsi said. “At the moment, the momentum seems to be with the opposition.” To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Dubai at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net ; Ali Sheikholeslami in London at alis2@bloomberg.net .

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Iran Detains 1,000 in Crackdown on Opposition Unrest, Rights Group Says

December 30, 2009

By Henry Meyer Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — Iran has detained about 1,000 people in a continuing crackdown on the opposition after the biggest anti-government demonstrations in six months, a human rights group said. The New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said it feared that the detainees, who include prominent opposition activists and journalists, would be tortured to produce false confessions that the protests were instigated by foreign governments. Police have said more than 300 were arrested. “It may be assumed that many detainees will be subjected to torture followed by ‘show trials’ and convicted of crimes that carry the death penalty in the Islamic Republic,” a spokesman for the group, Aaron Rhodes , said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday. Iran yesterday accused Western countries of inciting the Dec. 27 clashes between opposition supporters and security forces in the capital Tehran and other cities, which killed at least eight people, according to state media reports. The U.S. and European Union countries have condemned the Iranian crackdown. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , whose disputed re- election in June sparked the unrest, called the latest protests a foreign-backed “nauseating masquerade,” in comments cited by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency . Rejecting Allegations Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have repeatedly linked the demonstrations to Western efforts to undermine Iran, rejecting opposition allegations of vote fraud. Opponents of Ahmadinejad have been protesting since the June election, which sparked the largest anti-government demonstrations since the overthrow of the Shah in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and were violently suppressed. The government says 36 people were killed in the aftermath of the vote, while the opposition says twice as many died. About 4,000 protesters were detained and more than 140 have been put on trial. Unrest flared again this month at the funeral of a leading clerical opponent of Khamenei, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. “We’re seeing a pattern of the government shooting itself in the foot with brutality,” said Trita Parsi, head of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council, the largest U.S.-Iranian association. “At the moment, the momentum seems to be with the opposition.” Among those detained were the sister of Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi , a top aide to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi , who was the main challenger in the June 12 election, and a former foreign minister, Ebrahim Yazdi , according to the New York-based rights group and dissident Web sites. Former parliament speaker Mehdi Karrubi , another challenger in the June election, is under “semi-house arrest” as his government-assigned bodyguards are refusing to protect him outside of his residence, opposition Web site rahesabz.net reported yesterday. Karrubi’s car was attacked by unknown assailants on Dec. 28, according to rahesabz.net. Editors: Aaron Sheldrick, Dave McCombs. To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Dubai at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net .

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Iranian Troops Leave Disputed Iraqi Oil Field After Armed Confrontation

December 20, 2009

By Kadhim Ajrash and Zahraa Alkhalisi Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — Iranian troops withdrew from a disputed Iraqi oil well in the East Maysan field after an armed confrontation at the deposit, Iraqi government officials said. The Iranian forces left the al-Fakah well late Dec. 19, Iraq’s deputy minister of oil Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi told reporters in Baghdad yesterday. Iranian control of the well was “a violation of the Iraqi border,” al-Luaibi said. “The issue at the al-Fakah well was resolved diplomatically.” The Iranian flag was been taken down from the well, though Iranian soldiers remained in Iraqi territory, Ali Al-Dabbagh , an Iraqi government spokesman, said in comments on Iraqi television and to reporters in Cairo yesterday. Iranian tanks entered the area on Dec. 17, triggering the dispute with its neighbor that drove up oil prices. Iran has said the well is on its territory. Clashes between the two countries over disputed oil fields near the border have occurred previously, caused by “the lack of a formally demarcated border between the two countries,” Stratfor , an Austin, Texas-based intelligence-consulting group, said in an e-mailed statement Dec. 18. The foreign ministers of the two countries have discussed the “misunderstanding” that led to the al-Fakah standoff, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported yesterday. Manouchehr Mottaki and Iraq’s Hoshyar Zebari agreed in a phone conversation Dec. 19 to hold a technical committee meeting on border issues, IRNA said, citing the foreign ministry. Iraq this year signed contracts with several foreign companies to develop its oil fields. The Maysan oil fields, also known as Missan, were among the development contracts offered to foreign oil companies in June, though no bids were received. Missan is composed of the Buzurgan, Abu Ghirab and Fauqi fields. Production began at Buzurgan and Abu Ghirab in 1976 before halting in 1980 during Iran-Iraq war. It restarted in 1998. The disputed well has not been in production since the war. To contact the reporters on this story: Zahraa Alkhalisi in Dubai at zalkhalisi@bloomberg.net ; Kadhim Ajrash in Baghdad through the Dubai newsroom or mchmaytelli@bloomberg.net ; Anthony DiPaola in Mumbai at adipaola@bloomberg.net .

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Credit Suisse Will Pay $536 Million to Settle U.S. Payment-Processing Case

December 16, 2009

By Joshua Gallu, Karen Freifeld and Cary O’Reilly Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse AG agreed to pay $536 million to settle claims the bank helped process payments that let Iran and other nations avoid government sanctions and gain access to U.S. financial markets. The bank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement as part of the settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, a spokesman for U.S. District Court in Washington said today. The settlement, which included a local prosecutor and the Federal Reserve, relates to a previously disclosed probe of dollar payments from 2002 through April 2007, the bank said today in a statement. “This will be the biggest settlement ever coming to New York,” said Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau , who in January announced a $350 million agreement with Lloyds TSB Bank Plc for similar acts. “If you violate U.S. sanctions, you’re going to pay a big financial penalty,” he said in an interview yesterday. Morgenthau and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder scheduled separate news conferences at 4 p.m. today to discuss the case. Credit Suisse, Lloyds and eight other foreign banks have been investigated for “stripping” wire transfer information to conceal illegal money transfers. Credit Suisse altered its dollar payments by removing Iranian names and references from payment messages, according to court documents. The bank used code words for sanctioned entities when executing trades involving U.S. securities and instructed Iranian customers on how to format dollar-denominated payments to evade detection. ‘Alterations, Code Words’ “Credit Suisse knew that without such alterations, amendments and code words, automated (U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control) filters at U.S. clearing banks would likely halt the payment messages and securities transactions,” prosecutors said in charging documents. In the agreement, Credit Suisse admitted to “falsifying the records of New York financial institutions,” Morgenthau’s office said in a statement. The bank agreed to train employees who process dollar- denominated payments or securities-trading orders in carrying out United Nations, U.S. and European Union sanctions against Iran. Chief Executive Officer Brady Dougan has until June 30 to certify training is complete, according to the agreement. “Credit Suisse is committed to the highest standards of integrity and regulatory compliance in all its businesses, and takes this matter extremely seriously,” the bank said in the statement. The company “has enhanced its procedures to prevent practices of this type from occurring.” Funds Set Aside Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s biggest bank by market value, had set aside funds anticipating a settlement and may record a charge of 360 million francs ($346 million) in the fourth quarter, the company said. Lloyds used a similar stripping technique to disguise clients in Iran and Sudan who were barred from doing business in the U.S. Lloyds admitted that from 2001 to 2004 it let Iranian banks, including Bank Melli, Bank Saderat and Sepah Bank, and their customers move more than $300 million, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said in January. Barclays Plc also was cooperating with the probe, according to its 2007 annual report. The London-based lender said results of its internal review are being shared with U.S. agencies. The report said it wasn’t possible to predict the potential effect of any resolution, which could be “substantial,” though wouldn’t have a “material adverse effect.” Kerrie Cohen , a Barclays Capital spokeswoman, declined to comment. ‘Sensitive Countries’ In 2005, Credit Suisse said it wouldn’t enter into any business with clients in “sensitive countries,” terminating relationships when possible and beginning “controlled withdrawal” while fulfilling contractual obligations. The bank terminated business with all parties sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2006. As part of the investigation of the banks, prosecutors said they found evidence Iranian interests tried to buy tungsten and other materials used in the guidance systems of long-range missiles. Lloyds wasn’t the bank involved in those attempts, prosecutors said. U.S. laws bar the transfer of funds from Iran and other sanctioned countries without U.S. Treasury Department authorization. The investigation emerged from a probe of the suspicious movement of money by alleged Iranian front companies and charities, Morgenthau said in January. Morgenthau, who turned 90 in July, is retiring as Manhattan District Attorney this month after 34 years. He began as a prosecutor of white-collar crime in 1961, when President John F. Kennedy named him U.S. attorney in New York. He was elected district attorney in 1975. His father, Henry Jr., was Treasury secretary for President Franklin D. Roosevelt . The case is U.S. v. Credit Suisse AG, 09-cr-352, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington). To contact the reporters on this story: Joshua Gallu in Washington at jgallu@bloomberg.net ; Karen Freifeld in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan at kfreifeld@bloomberg.net ; Cary O’Reilly in Washington at caryoreilly@bloomberg.net .

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Iran’s Crackdown Against Opposition Demonstrations Condemned by U.S., U.K.

December 7, 2009

By Ed Johnson and Ladane Nasseri Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. and Britain condemned Iran’s crackdown on opposition protests and said the government is disregarding human rights as authorities clashed with demonstrators in the capital, Tehran. Riot police used tear gas and batons yesterday against demonstrators, some of whom fought back by throwing stones, according to the opposition Web site, Peykeiran. Security forces fired shots during a protest in Palestine Square, al-Arabiya television reported. The government in Tehran has moved to crush opposition rallies since the disputed June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad triggered the biggest street demonstrations in Iran since the 1979 revolution. Hundreds of former officials, journalists, political analysts and activists have been arrested and tried. The U.S. will continue to bear witness to “these kinds of brutal attempts to suppress people who are trying to exercise their democratic rights,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters in Washington. “The continued harassment, arbitrary detention and conviction of individuals for their participation in peaceful demonstrations” shows a “disregard for the kind of rights that are enshrined in the Iranian constitution.” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was concerned by the “use of force to stifle” the demonstrations. ‘Freedom of Speech’ “Freedom of speech and freedom of political expression are fundamental values which all governments should respect,” Miliband said in a statement . “We look to the Iranian authorities to uphold the freedoms of their own citizens, not stifle them.” Relations between Iran and several Western nations, including the U.S. and U.K., are strained over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program. The U.S. and Britain say Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb and are pushing the government to halt uranium enrichment. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, including the generation of electricity. The clashes broke out yesterday as opposition demonstrators used Student Day gatherings to reinvigorate protests against Ahmadinejad’s re-election. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and the other main challenger, former parliament Speaker Mehdi Karrubi , say the vote was fraudulent, an allegation rejected by the president. Students Attacked At least 10 people were arrested yesterday, Peykeiran said, citing witnesses. Rioters, wearing green clothes indicating their support for the opposition movement, destroyed an entrance to Amir Kabir University and attacked students on the campus, state-run Press TV reported on its Web site. Foreign journalists have been banned from covering events on the streets since the post-election protests began in June, making it impossible to independently verify reports of violence. Iran has accused the Western media of encouraging dissent. Amnesty International said those arrested yesterday should be released immediately and unconditionally. “The Iranian authorities continue to treat peaceful dissenters as criminals in violation of Iran’s constitution,” the London-based human rights organization said in an e-mailed statement. To contact the reporters on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net ; Ladane Nasseri in Beirut at lnasseri@bloomberg.net .

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Iran Plans to Build 10 More Uranium Enrichment Plants in Defiance of UN

November 29, 2009

By Cotten Timberlake Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) — Iran announced expansion of its nuclear program in defiance of United Nations demands, a move the Obama administration said will further isolate the Islamic Republic from the international community. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Cabinet ordered the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to begin building 10 uranium enrichment sites within two months, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported . All would be at the same scale as Iran’s Natanz site, producing fuel for power plants to generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity, the state news agency said. “It’s a defiant, blustery response” to a Nov. 27 censure of Iran by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, Cliff Kupchan , a senior analyst at Eurasia Group, a New York political-risk consulting firm, said in a telephone interview. Such an expansion is “well beyond Iran’s technological capability,” he said. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Iran’s reported plans “would be yet another serious violation of Iran’s clear obligations under multiple UN security council resolutions, and another example of Iran choosing to isolate itself.” The U.S. and some major allies say Iran’s work is cover for weapons development. Iran denies the charge, saying the program is for peaceful purposes. “Time is running out for Iran to address the international community’s growing concerns about its nuclear program,” Gibbs said in an e-mailed statement. UN Censure Former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani described as “very cruel” the Nov. 27 IAEA decision to censure Iran for concealing a uranium enrichment plant, repeating calls for the government in Tehran to suspend nuclear activities and cooperate more fully with investigators. “We should adopt an active and preventive policy in dealing with such behaviors in the international arena,” Rafsanjani told a group of university students, according to the state news agency. “This is how they respond when confronted by a threat from the West,” Kupchan said. “Tehran felt threatened, especially by Russian and Chinese consent to Friday’s IAEA resolution.” Upping the Ante Iranian hardliners who control the country “are going to react to threats by upping the ante, and that’s what they did,” Kupchan said. Anthony Cordesman , a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Iran’s announcement “doesn’t mean they have the resources” to carry out the government’s plans. “A lot of what this is sort of a semantic game,” Cordesman said. “This type of announcement now has just been trotted out in one form or another every time they come to another crisis with the international community.” The IAEA resolution, drafted by Germany, passed with 25 votes at the IAEA board of governors meeting in Vienna, according to notes of the UN atomic watchdog agency meeting. Three countries voted against the measure, six others abstained and one country wasn’t represented. The resolution extends the six-year UN probe into Iran’s atomic work and will again send the 35-member IAEA board’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear work to the UN Security Council. It’s the first IAEA resolution censuring Iran since the country’s case was sent to UN headquarters in 2006. Iran’s Rights “We welcome friendly ties with the world,” Ahmadinejad said, according to IRNA. “In the meantime, we never let them violate the legitimate rights of Iranian nation as little as a needle-head,” The Iranian Cabinet also decided yesterday to consider producing 20 percent enriched uranium for use in medical research, the Iranian state news agency said. One proposal made earlier this year is that Iran’s 3.5 percent enriched uranium be shipped to Russia for further enrichment to 19.75 percent, the level needed for use in a research reactor to make medical isotopes. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Nov. 18 that Iran won’t send uranium abroad for further enrichment, though an exchange of the material for imported nuclear fuel is possible if the transfer takes place inside the country. Uranium enriched above a 20 percent concentration is defined as highly enriched, which can set off the chain reaction seen in a nuclear explosion. Most modern atomic weapons contain around 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of the heavy metal enriched to 90 percent. Ahmadinejad last week made a regional Latin American tour during which he received backing for Iran’s nuclear program from Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez . To contact the reporter on this story: Cotten Timberlake in Washington at ctimberlake@bloomberg.net

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Iran Laptop With Data on Nuclear Facilities Stolen in Tehran, Jahan Says

November 18, 2009

By Ali Sheikholeslami Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — A laptop computer belonging to an Iranian nuclear scientist and carrying confidential data about Iran’s nuclear facilities was stolen in Tehran by “foreign intelligence services,” Jahan News Web site reported without giving further details. To contact the reporter on this story: Ali Sheikholeslami in London at alis2@bloomberg.net

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French FM excludes military option to resolve Iranian nuclear issue

November 10, 2009

French FM excludes military option to resolve Iranian nuclear issue

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Iran Charges Three U.S. Hikers With Espionage; Clinton Presses for Release

November 9, 2009

By Ali Sheikholeslami and Ladane Nasseri Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) — Iranian authorities charged three U.S. citizens with espionage, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they were innocent and called for their release. Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal are accused of spying, state-run Press TV cited Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari- Dolatabadi as saying today. “The investigation on the case of these three people continues,” Jafari-Dolatabadi said, adding that more comments will be made in the “not so distant future,” the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The three were arrested in a province bordering Iraq on July 31. U.S. officials said the three were hiking when they mistakenly crossed into Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan. The charges will stir more tension with the U.S., which with its allies is entangled in a dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear program. “We believe strongly that there’s no evidence to support any charge whatsoever,” Clinton told reporters in Berlin today. Iran sparked a crisis in 2007 when it seized and held 15 U.K. sailors and marines for two weeks. Two years earlier, Iran jailed a French and a German citizen who had strayed into Iranian waters during a fishing trip. Sentenced to 18 months in jail, they were released after being granted clemency by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . Swiss Embassy Report The three Americans are in good health, Swiss diplomats told the families after visiting the detainees on Sept. 29. The Swiss Embassy, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, “reported that Shane, Sarah and Josh are in good shape and are being well treated,” the families said in a statement. In protests that followed the disputed June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, foreigners were among people arrested for fomenting unrest. Iranian-U.S. scholar Kian Tajbakhsh was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of a role in the protests, his lawyer said Oct. 20. Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian reporter working for Newsweek, was allowed to fly to London on Oct. 20 after four months in jail. Farhad Pouladi , an Iranian reporter for Agence France- Presse, was also detained in Tehran on Nov. 4, AFP said. He was released on Nov. 7. Embassy Seizure Iran held celebrations on Nov. 4 to mark the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy, in which 52 American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days. The Iranian opposition used the occasion to revive protests over the presidential election. The trial of a French academic, Clothilde Reiss, 24, who was arrested on July 1, will resume shortly, AFP reported, citing the Tehran prosecutor today. Reiss has been living in the French Embassy since she was freed from jail in mid-August. Two Canadian reporters and one Japanese were held on Nov. 4 for “unauthorized reporting,” state-run Fars news agency said. To contact the reporters on this story: Ali Sheikholeslami in London at alis2@bloomberg.net ; Ladane Nasseri in Beirut, Lebanon at lnasseri@bloomberg.net .

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Matthew Sugrue: A License to Chat

October 30, 2009

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) should clarify its position regarding the legality of Microsoft’s offering its instant messenger service within Iran. As a result of ambiguities within OFAC’s guidelines on Iran sanctions, Microsoft Corporation voluntarily withdrew its Windows Live Messenger program from Iran in late 2008. Preventing such a potentially valuable resource from being downloaded does not inhibit the Iranian government from accomplishing any of its goals, but it does impede the ability of ordinary Iranians to communicate. One solution is simple and effective: OFAC’s director should issue a general license to Microsoft to allow Windows Live Messenger to be made immediately available to the Iranian people. According to OFAC’s guidelines on sanctions for Iran, “the receipt or transmission of postal, telegraphic, telephonic or other personal communications, which does not involve the transfer of anything of value, between the United States and Iran is authorized.” In addition, ” informational materials ” such as films, tapes, compact discs, and news wire feeds are also allowed. From these and other similar items on OFAC’s list, it is reasonable to assume that online messenger services should be allowed, since they clearly fall under the “personal communications” and “informational materials” rubrics. Microsoft explains, however, that though the “personal communications” aspect of Windows Live Messenger is authorized, the downloadable software required for operating the service is not. Windows Live Messenger falls between two seemingly contradictory policies: on the one hand, Messenger is used for personal communication, and is therefore allowed. On the other hand, using Messenger requires that the program’s relevant “valuable” software be downloaded. Microsoft is nervous about the potential legal liability for carrying out activities in Iran, and has therefore decided to err on the side of caution, and understandably so. Windows Live Messenger is of negligible value to those groups — the Iranian government and military — which are the targets of U.S. sanctions. Allowing Windows Live Messenger to be available in Iran would not benefit the government. Even if Iranian authorities access the programming code that runs Windows Live Messenger, it will not provide the government with any sensitive, or even particularly useful, technology. Messenger’s true value lies in its ability to facilitate the Iranian peoples’ communication with each other and the outside world–something they desperately need. Social networking services greatly enhanced the organizing and communications abilities of the Iranian opposition movements both during and after June’s disputed election. The U.S. government has acknowledged the utility of social networking sites for the Iranian democracy movement. The State Department asked Twitter to postpone a scheduled maintenance shutdown due to its prominent use in the post-election protests. The U.S. government viewed Twitter as facilitating personal communication and informational material. What is more, there is no more basic founding principle of the United States than the notion that individual freedoms must be promoted and protected. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution both present the construction of a free society as the most important foundational principle of the United States. Indeed, Benjamin Franklin once said, “Where liberty dwells, there is my country.” A belief that people, regardless of nationality, should be allowed to organize, speak and generally conduct their lives as they see fit is at the center of American domestic and foreign policy. Consequently, it is only consistent with American values and ideals to promote these same freedoms to people around the globe who need them most. By hewing to the letter, rather than the spirit of US sanctions, OFAC is unintentionally aiding President Ahmadinejad, Supreme Leader Khamenei and the IRGC in their efforts to limit the ability of the Iranian people to organize demonstrations and communicate with the rest of the global community. Limiting the ability of citizens to communicate is one of most effective tools that totalitarian governments have for controlling the flow of information and preventing opposition movements from gaining supporters. President Obama, referring to the Iranian election in June , said “The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.” It is time for the U.S. government to stand with the Iranian people not only through rhetoric but also action. An important symbol of U.S. support would be to state unequivocally that anything that helps the Iranian people speak out against repression has the support of the US Government.

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Austria to host IAEA meeting on Iranian uranium enrichment

October 14, 2009

Austria to host IAEA meeting on Iranian uranium enrichment

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Majority in U.S. Would Back Attack to Prevent Iran Nuclear Bomb, Pew Says

October 6, 2009

By Janine Zacharia Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — A majority of Americans are skeptical that diplomacy with Iran will succeed and say the U.S. should use military action if necessary to prevent the Iranian government from developing a nuclear weapon. A Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey released today found 61 percent of Americans would support a military strike. Twenty-four percent said it is more important to avoid conflict even if that means Iran will end up building nuclear arms. The survey by the Washington-based group found 63 percent support direct U.S. negotiations with Iran to push the country to abandon its nuclear program. Still, 64 percent said such efforts won’t succeed. The poll was conducted last week, when Iran held talks with the U.S. and other United Nations powers and agreed to widen discussions on the nuclear dispute. The U.S. and its European allies are concerned that Iran is making headway on acquiring the capability to build a nuclear weapon. Iran told UN nuclear inspectors last month that it is building an underground nuclear-fuel plant, a facility that the U.S., Britain and France said was a secret site. During an Oct. 1 meeting that took place near Geneva with the U.S., other members of the UN Security Council and Germany, Iran agreed to allow an inspection of the new enrichment facility outside Tehran. The country also agreed to meet with negotiators for the U.S. and other UN members later this month. The talks were dubbed a “constructive beginning” by President Barack Obama , who urged the Iranian government to follow it with “constructive action.” Speaking at the White House on Oct. 1, Obama said negotiations over Iranian nuclear development can’t go on indefinitely and the U.S. is ready to pressure Iran if the government isn’t responsive. Iranian Disclosures Defense Secretary Robert Gates signaled yesterday that Iran has other nuclear facilities to disclose in order to make progress in talks with the U.S. and its European allies. The U.S. negotiating position depends on “what nuclear sites they’d be prepared to be transparent about that have not been declared at this point,” Gates said at a forum with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton . Gates has expressed skepticism about the value of an attack. “There is no military option that does anything but buy time,” he said last month. In the Pew survey, while 78 percent said they would approve of tougher economic sanctions on Iran, 56 percent said they didn’t expect the measures would persuade Iran to drop its nuclear program. The poll was conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 4 among 1,500 adults, with an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Sanctions Hearing The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing today to discuss possible new sanctions on Iran. The committee’s chairman, Democrat Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, said he would push for comprehensive sanctions legislation this month that would impose penalties on companies that support Iran’s import of refined petroleum products. A top energy official in the Persian Gulf nation said today that Iran can circumvent any gasoline sanctions the U.S. imposes over its nuclear program by tapping fuel reserves and by switching suppliers. “If for any reason we are short of gasoline, we will move from one region to another, from one refinery to another,” said Hojatollah Ghanimifard , vice president for investment affairs at the National Iranian Oil Co. To contact the reporter on this story: Janine Zacharia in Washington at jzacharia@bloomberg.net

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IAEA to Inspect Iranian Qom Nuclear Facility on Oct. 25, ElBaradei Says

October 4, 2009

By Ladane Nasseri Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) — Mohamed ElBaradei , head of the United Nations nuclear agency, said inspectors would visit Iran’s newly disclosed uranium processing plant near the holy city of Qom on Oct. 25. ElBaradei, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general, said Iran’s relations with the international community were at a “critical moment” as it was “shifting gear from confrontation to transparency and cooperation.” Iran’s new plant, disclosed in September, is its second built to enrich uranium and isolate isotopes of the metal to generate fuel used in a nuclear power reactor. In higher concentrations enriched uranium can be used to make a bomb. ElBaradei, whose comments were aired live on the state-run Press TV channel, was speaking during a two-day visit to the Iranian capital, where he met with the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi . Iran will also hold talks with the U.S., Russia and France in Vienna on Oct. 19 over a project to enrich fuel for its research reactor, ElBaradei said. To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Beirut at lnasseri@bloomberg.net .

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Raymond J. Learsy: Putting a Stop to Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions Without Export Embargoes

September 27, 2009

On June 21st a Huffington Post submission (” Boycott Iran’s Oil Immediatley “) called for the immediate boycott of Iran’s oil. It was a seemingly draconian suggestion that was met with widespread skepticism. After all, what would happen to oil markets without Iranian oil? Well, on today CNN’s State of the Union program, Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind), being interviewed by John King on the timely subject of Iran’s nuclear pronouncements (or lack thereof), made a rather startling revelation. According to Senator Bayh, the Russians had informed their American interlocutors that the greatest fear of the current Iranian regime was that they would be denied access to world markets for their oil. Clearly the financial bounty generated by oil sales are key to maintaining their hold on government power and the funding of their nuclear and missile programs, not to speak of buying the loyalty of their goon militias giving them the wherewithal to terrorize their citizenry. Certainly now is the time to establish the kind of international cooperation needed to boycott Iranian oil. With recent revelations about Iran’s nuclear deception, the growing and shared concerns of the major European states and a far more amenable Russia and China, the moment for an international boycott has come. The boycott would simply be a refusal to buy Iran’s oil, either directly or indirectly (i.e. not lifting oil from Iranian ports nor from offshore storage facilities, nor turning a blind eye to third party exchanges). It would be analogous to boycotting Coca Cola (apologies Coca Cola) because of a nasty dispute with its management. No one buys Coke any longer. Soon their warehouse is full. Then their factories shut down. Then after a while one would hope the workers organize to oust the management so that business can carry on as before. Please recall that although Iran produces some four million barrels of oil a day, only some 2.1 million is exported. It is the one year equivalent to the of 700 million barrels plus being held in our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Given the potential national crisis at hand, certainly the SPR should be considered for a strategic role in the current imbroglio. More significant, however, is the fact that currently, Saudi Arabia’s excess, unused capacity is approximately 4.5 million barrels/day. That is more than twice the current exports of Iranian oil. It is probably more in the interest of Sunni Saudi Arabia to keep Shia Iran nuclear weapon free than virtually any other nation. Saudi Arabia should welcome the opportunity to play a role in defusing Iran’s nuclear ambitions by declaring they will supply any and all oil to world markets caused by a consumers boycott of Iran’s oil. A willing Saudi Arabia should be celebrated. An unwilling Saudi Arabia should be placed on notice that the nuclear defense umbrella proffered by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (please see ” Hillary Clinton’s Nuclear Defense Umbrella for the Oil Price Gougers–Who Pays? “) will remain moot and tucked away in an umbrella stand in the halls of Foggy Bottom. By not buying Iran’s oil the mullahs understand their sway over Iran’s brave citizens will begin to crumble and the petro-potentates of Tehran will eventually have to cede governance to the Iranian masses without a foreign shot having been fired and without a blockade nor an embargo of goods and services having been put into place.

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Cuba slashes tariffs on Iranian imports

September 10, 2009

Cuba slashes tariffs on Iranian imports

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Iran Gives UN Inspectors Access to Arak Reactor for First Time in a Year

August 20, 2009

By Bill Varner Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — Iran gave United Nations inspectors access last week to its Arak heavy-water reactor for the first time in a year and allowed increased monitoring of the Natanz uranium enrichment site, a UN official said. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors went to Arak for the first time since August 2008, according to the official, who spoke on condition of not being identified. The Vienna-based agency also was able to install more surveillance cameras and data collection equipment at Natanz, the official said. Both steps had been requested in a report to the IAEA’s board of governors in June. An IAEA report in June said that almost 5,000 centrifuges were enriching uranium at Natanz, an increase of 1,000 since the beginning of 2009, and 2,000 more would be operating by the end of the year. Iran is under three sets of UN sanctions for its refusal to halt enrichment, a process to isolate a uranium isotope needed to generate fuel for a nuclear power reactor or, in higher concentrations, to make a weapon. The government in Tehran denies allegations by the U.S. and some of its major allies that it seeks an atomic weapon, insisting the nuclear work is intended to generate electricity. U.S. President Barack Obama has said the Iranian government must respond by late September to his invitation for talks on curbing the nuclear program. To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net

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U.S. Investigating Reports Iran Arrested Three American Hikers on Border

August 1, 2009

By Nandini Sukumar Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) — Iran arrested three U.S.

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Gates to Assure Israel U.S. Will Pressure Iran on Nuclear Weapons Program

July 26, 2009

By Viola Gienger July 26 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will seek to assure Israeli leaders during a visit this week that the Obama administration stands firm in its demand that Iran forgo any development of nuclear weapons. Gates, scheduled to arrive in Israel tomorrow, will ask the Israeli leadership for patience while President Barack Obama tries diplomatic engagement with Iran, according to an American defense official who briefed reporters. The U.S

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