All the Tyrant’s Men: Chipping Away at the Assad Regime’s Core
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Month: August 2013
Iran’s president appoints new head of central bank as nuclear program sanctions eat at economy
Excerpts from the article “Iran’s president appoints new head of central bank as nuclear program sanctions eat at economy” which appeared in Fox News website on 25/08/2013
– The report Sunday said President Hasan Rouhani picked Valiollah Seif to run the country’s financial regulator. It said Seif will replace outgoing central bank head Mahmoud Bahmani.
– Seif ran the private Karafarin bank in Iran. He also supports independence for the central bank and a floating rate for Iran’s currency, the rial, against foreign currencies.
قائد «الحرس» يزور مضيق هرمز: سنردّ بحزم على تهديد مصالح إيران
Excerpts from the article “قائد «الحرس» يزور مضيق هرمز: سنردّ بحزم على تهديد مصالح إيران” which appeared in Al Hayat Newspaper website on 26/08/2013
– تفقّد قائد «الحرس الثوري» الإيراني الجنرال محمد علي جعفري قواته في مضيق هرمز الحيوي لنقل النفط في العالم، مشدداً على أن بلاده «ستردّ بحزم على أي تهديد لمصالحها».
– وشدد على أن «الحرس الثوري سيرصد التحرّكات المهددة، بعيون ثاقبة أكثر مما مضى»، مضيفاً: «لم نعتدِ على أي دولة، ولكن ايران ستردّ بحزم وقوة على أي تهديد لمصالحها، مباشر أو غير مباشر، إذ نعتبر الدفاع حقاً مشروعاً لنا».
– في غضون ذلك، أعلن وزير الدفاع الإيراني الجنرال حسين دهقان أن بلاده «ستسعى، من خلال التنسيق مع السياسة الخارجية للحكومة، إلى تكريس التعاون مع دول الجوار بالدرجة الأولى، ثم مع سائر الدول في المجال الدفاعي وتبادل الخبرات، بينها تصدير معدات دفاعية».
– إلى ذلك، عيّنت ايران رضا نجفي مندوباً جديداً لدى الوكالة الدولية للطاقة الذرية في فيينا، خلفاً لعلي أصغر سلطانية الذي تنتهي مهمته مطلع الشهر المقبل.
– في غضون ذلك، اعتبر رئيس مجلس تشخيص مصلحة النظام هاشمي رفسنجاني أن الإيرانيين انتخبوا حسن روحاني رئيساً لـ «تجنّب حرب».
– وأفادت وكالة «فارس» بأن الجمعية العامة للمصرف المركزي الإيراني التي يرأسها روحاني، عيّنت ولي الله سيف حاكماً للمصرف خلفاً لمحمود بهمني.
وأشارت إلى أن سيف كان المدير التنفيذي لمصرف «كرافارين» وتولى رئاسة مجلس إدارة «بنك المستقبل» وكان مديره منذ عام 2004.
– وأعلن ولي الله سيف وجوب إن تتناسب معدل الفائدة المصرفية مع معدل التضخم، مضيفاً: «يجب مراجعة أسعار الفائدة، بحيث تكون أقل من معدل التضخم». واعتبر أن سعر صرف الريال في مقابل الدولار الأميركي في السوق الحرة، البالغ 32 ألفاً للدولار، «ليس غير طبيعي». ورأى وجوب «تعديل أسعار صرف العملات الأجنبية سنوياً، على أساس معدل التضخم».
Reference: http://alhayat.com/Details/545101
Stalemate over detention of Indian tanker by Iran persists
Excerpts from the article “Stalemate over detention of Indian tanker by Iran persists” which appeared in Free Republic website, copied from Economic Times of India, on 25/08/2013
– The deadlock over detention of an Indian oil tanker by Iranian authorities at Bandar Abbas port failed to resolve with virtually no progress on the issue even as it entered the 14th day today.
– A top official of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) also said that “Efforts are on to get the ship released. All 32 men on board it are also there besides the team which was sent to inspect the oil tanker for any pollution.
Reference: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3058764/posts
Sign of Changing Times?
Excerpts from the article “Sign of Changing Times?” which appeared in The Iran Primer website on 26/08/2013
– In unusual coverage of a diplomatic visit, the Iranian press issued several pictures of new Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcoming U.N. Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, who is also a former senior U.S. official.
– The Iranian press has traditionally issued standard photographs of officials formally sitting next to each other in chairs or across a table. But Mehr News Agency issued a series of candid shots of Zarif’s warm welcome, including the one below on August 26.
Reference: http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2013/aug/26/sign-changing-times
CIA Files Show U.S. Played Role in Iraq’s Chemical Attacks on Iran
Excerpts from the article “CIA Files Show U.S. Played Role in Iraq’s Chemical Attacks on Iran” which appeared in NYmag on 26/08/2013
– According to recently declassified CIA documents and interviews with former intelligence officials, the U.S. government had evidence that Iraq was using chemical weapons in 1983, but concealed those facts as Iran tried to prove that to the United Nations.
– Even worse, toward the end of the war, the U.S. shared information with Iraq about Iran’s military position that it knew was likely to lead to a chemical attack.
– When Iraq began using mustard gas in 1983, the U.S. government wasn’t sharing intelligence with Hussein, but CIA reports show that top Reagan administration officials were regularly updated on the attacks.
– Top officials decided to share information on Iran’s strategy with Iraq, providing satellite imagery and reports on the Iranian military’s abilities. Soon after, Iraq launched sarin attacks that killed thousands.
Reference: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/08/cia-files-us-aided-iraq-with-iran-gas-attacks.html
Iran adds to atom capacity, holds down stockpile growth
Excerpts from the article “Iran adds to atom capacity, holds down stockpile growth: diplomats” which appeared in Reuters on 26/08/2013
– A report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog is expected to show that Iran is pressing ahead with its nuclear program by further increasing its capacity to enrich uranium, diplomats said on Monday.
– On the other hand, the diplomats said this week’s report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is also likely to include data showing that Iranis limiting growth of its most sensitive nuclear stockpile, a step that could buy time for negotiations with major powers.
– It is expected to say that Iran has continued to install both first-generation IR-1 centrifuges and advanced IR-2m machines, the Western diplomats said.
– A U.S. security institute (they mean ISIS) last month said it believes that Iran will by mid-2014 will have the capability to produce, without being detected, sufficient weapons-grade uranium from its declared low-enriched stock for a nuclear explosive.
– Iran plans to commission the heavy-water research reactor in the first quarter of 2014. Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed power, has bombed such constructionsites in the region before – in Iraq in 1981 and in Syria in 2007.
Reference: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/26/us-iran-nuclear-iaea-idUSBRE97P0JY20130826
Petropars to implement Phase 11 of South Pars development plan as foreign firms pull out
Excerpts from the article “Petropars to implement Phase 11 of South Pars development plan as foreign firms pull out” which appeared in The Tehran Times on 25/08/2013
– Iran’s Petropars Company will implement Phase 11 of the South Pars gas field development project as France’s Total, Malaysia’s Petronas, and China’s CNPC have pulled out of the project, IRNA reported.
– Phase 11 is projected to yield 2 billion cubic feet of sour gas and 80,000 barrels of as condensates per day.
– Iran is currently producing 300 million cubic meters per day of gas from the South Pars.
Crossing red line on Syria will have severe consequences, Iran warns U.S.
Excerpts from the article “Crossing red line on Syria will have severe consequences, Iran warns U.S.” which appeared in The Tehran Times on 25/08/2013
– “The United States knows the boundaries of the red line of the Syrian front and any crossing of the red line on Syria will have severe consequences for the White House,” the deputy chief of the general staff of Iran’s armed forces, Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri, said on Sunday in reference to recent hawkish remarks on Syria by U.S. officials.
– “The Syrian government and people have the upper hand in the imposed war (waged by) terrorists (and backed by) the global arrogance (forces of imperialism) and reactionaries, and the propaganda campaign mounted by Western media outlets is due to Syria’s achievements in dealing with its enemies,” he said.
UN under-secretary general to visit Iran Monday
Excerpts from the article “UN under-secretary general to visit Iran Monday” which appeared in The Tehran Times on 25/08/2013
– Feltman, a former U.S. diplomat, will hold a meeting with new Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
– According to reports, he is scheduled to discuss developments in Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon with Iranian officials.
Reference: http://tehrantimes.com/politics/110266-un-under-secretary-general-to-visit-iran-monday-
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