National Interest Online: We could thus lose on two fronts. The Iranians get a green light to pursue their nuclear program while at the same time enjoying U.S. approval for their rising preeminence inside Iraq and the region. We’ve made enough mistakes already. Let’s not double down and make another one by trying to work with Iran.
A really bad bargain: A U.S.-Iranian “strategic relationship”
UN’s Iran nuclear probe stalls again
AP: A new and seemingly promising U.N probe of allegations that Iran worked on atomic arms has stalled, diplomats say, leaving investigators not much further than where they started a decade ago and dampening U.S. hopes of reaching a deal with Tehran by a November deadline. Expectations were high just two weeks ago, when chief U.N. nuclear inspector Yukiya Amano emerged from talks in Tehran.
Iran denies pulling out of Sudan cultural centers
AP: A semi-official news agency in Iran reported Wednesday that the Islamic Republic has denied pulling out of its cultural centers in Sudan after the government there ordered them closed. The report by the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Iranian deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahaian as saying Sudan’s leaders will thwart any attempt to damage relations between the two countries.
Iran oil minister vows to bypass sanctions after new U.S. curbs
Reuters: Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Tehran would continue to bypass sanctions after the United States penalised a number of companies for violating sanctions imposed on Iran, mostly in connection with its nuclear programme. On Friday, the United States imposed a fresh round of curbs on a number of Iranian and foreign companies, banks and airlines.
Commerzbank said near $650 million settlement on Iran
Bloomberg: Commerzbank AG, Germany’s second-largest lender, will probably agree in coming weeks to a settlement of at least $650 million with U.S. regulators over allegations of sanctions violations involving Iran. The resolution of Commerzbank’s case is likely to involve a deferred-prosecution agreement, similar to other settlements involving sanctions violations reached in recent years.
Ex-officials urge aid for Iranian dissidents at Camp Liberty
Washington Times: A bipartisan group of former officials and retired military officers is urging President Obama to provide humanitarian aid to hundreds of Iranian dissidents living at a former U.S. military compound near Baghdad’s international airport. Gen. Jones said the dissidents require similar protection as the religious minorities who are fleeing persecution from the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
A Christian prisoner in Iran
Wall Street Journal: Iran’s leaders are preparing for another visit to New York this month for the U.N. General Assembly, but many of their citizens aren’t going anywhere as they languish in the regime’s prisons for political crimes. One notable case is Farshid Fathi, an evangelical Christian pastor who this week will spend his 35th birthday in jail.
Sudan government closes Iranian cultural centers
AP: Sudan announced Tuesday it closed the Iranian cultural center in the capital and other branches, saying the establishment violated its mandate and became a social and ideological threat to the largely Sunni country. The official statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman Youssef al-Kordofani came a day after local media reported the Iranian center was shut in the capital, Khartoum.
After deadline, Iran says it is still working on nuclear steps for IAEA
Reuters: Iran held talks with the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Sunday about its investigation into suspicions that Tehran has conducted atomic bomb research. Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, appeared to acknowledge, however, that Tehran had missed a deadline of Aug.25 to meet five requests from the International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuclear programme.
Iran unveils new surface-to-air missile, radars
AP: Iran has unveiled a new surface-to-air missile and two radar systems it claims will boost the country’s defense capabilities. Air defense chief Gen. Farzad Esmaili says the missile will enable Iranian forces to “shoot down any hostile target,” even at high altitudes. He says the Talash-3, or Endeavor-3 missile was successfully test-fired recently. Esmaili’s speech was broadcast on state TV Tuesday.
