Hartford Courant: United Technologies Corp. disclosed in regulatory filings Friday that one of its foreign businesses worked on the security system for the Paris branch of Iran’s national bank, an entity singled out under U.S. economic sanctions against the Middle East country.
UTC reporting business with Iran despite sanctions
Iran is said to want direct talks with U.S. on nuclear program
New York Times: Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq told the Obama administration this month that Iran was interested in direct talks with the United States on Iran’s nuclear program, and said that Iraq was prepared to facilitate the negotiations, Western officials said Thursday.
Renault may scale back in Iran
Wall Street Journal: French car maker Renault SA, one of the last large European companies still active in Iran, is considering winding down its sales to the country as the impact of international sanctions deepens, according to people familiar with the matter.
Iran inflation accelerates, poses headache for Rouhani
Daily Star: Iran’s inflation rate surged to 45 percent in June, official data showed, adding pressure on squeezed Iranian households and an indication of the huge task President-elect Hassan Rouhani faces to repair the economy.
No boring old inauguration for this incoming Iranian president
Wall Street Journal: The inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President-elect Hassan Rouhani, scheduled for Aug.4, is being carried out with unusual diplomatic fanfare. For starters, Iran decided to depart with its tradition of a low-key inauguration ceremony.
Schlumberger discloses Iran operations wind-down
Wall Street Journal: Oil field services giant Schlumberger said late Wednesday its non-U.S. subsidiaries provided oilfield services to the National Iranian Oil Co. in the first half of the year as the company completed its wind-down of the operations during the second quarter.
OPEC to reduce exports as demand passes peak, oil movements says
Bloomberg: Crude shipments from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will decline from near their highest in a year as summer demand passes its peak, tanker-tracker Oil Movements said.
Ahmadinejad tepidly received on final Iraq visit
Al-Monitor: Ahmadinejad’s first visit to Iraq in 2008 was of significant importance for Iranian and Iraqi parties, as well as for the US, which was holding talks with Iran at the time about Iraq and other issues.
U.S. makes it easier to sell medical supplies to Iran
Reuters: The United States on Thursday expanded the list of medical devices that can be exported to Iran without special permission, as it seeks to show support for humanitarian needs in a country that has been hit hard by Western sanctions.
Death toll hits 11 in Indonesia boat sinking
AP: Rescuers have recovered the bodies of two more asylum seekers who were aboard a boat that sank off Indonesia, bringing the death toll to 11, police said Thursday. The group was believed to consist of around 204 migrants from Sri Lanka, Iran and Iraq who were bound for Australia.
