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What Happened at the Iran Diplomatic Gathering?

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What Happened at the Iran Diplomatic Gathering?

Iran diplomatic gathering

Iran Focus

London, 21 August – Last month in Tehran, the Iran hosted its annual gathering of its ambassadors and representatives in foreign countries. The main role of this gathering was to brief its diplomats about the arrest of the Iranian representative to Vienna on terrorism charges in Germany, teach them how to confront Iranian resistance on an international level, and increase the morale of the attendees to prevent their defection.

One of the main goals of this gathering was to increase coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Intelligence, the Qods Force, and the agencies involved the attacks (both physical and verbal) on the Iranian Resistance.

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Iran Official Admit MEK Role in Protests

Jubin Katiraie
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Iran Official Admit MEK Role in Protests

MEK role in protests

By Jubin Katiraie

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, spoke out about the ongoing uprising in Iran last week and tried to pretend that the Iran was definitely not in a deadlock and did not need to negotiate with the West.

However, senior officials, including Iran’s Minister of Interior Affairs and officials in line with Iran’s President Rouhani, who spoke about the crises Iran was facing on national TV on August 15 undercut Khamenei’s statement and credited the Iranian Resistance with organising and helping to carry out the protests, even if they did use some unfortunate words to describe the Resistance.

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Brian Hook Named US Special Representative for Iran

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Brian Hook Named US Special Representative for Iran

Brian Hook and Mike Pompeo

Iran Focus

London, 17 August – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo named senior policy adviser Brian Hook as Washington’s special representative for Iran on Thursday.

This announcement came as the Trump administration is increasing economic pressure on Iran by restoring sanctions last week, which are designed to get Iran to close down its nuclear weapons programme and end its support for militant groups in the Middle East, where Iran is exacerbating several conflicts.

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Trump and Putin Agree That Iran Must Leave Syria

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Trump and Putin Agree That Iran Must Leave Syria

Trump and Putin

Iran Focus

London, 17 August – Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are reported to have “agreed in principle” that Iranian forces should leave Syria, during their meeting in Helsinki last month.

A US official in the Trump administration spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity about the closed-door meeting in July and explained that both parties agreed about the need for forces from the Iranian military and militias back by Iran to leave the war-torn nation.

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Suspicious Iranian Ship Likely Transporting Weaponry — Sanctions to Be Reinstated

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Suspicious Iranian Ship Likely Transporting Weaponry — Sanctions to Be Reinstated

Iranian ship

Iran Focus

London, 17 August – An Iranian ship, the Saviz near Bab-el-Mandeb raised suspicions because of its obviously non-commercial activity. The ship falls under the lifted sanctions within the nuclear deal, but US officials inspected it and determined that it was likely transporting weaponry or was being used for military purposes. Experts believe that it will be returned to the list of US sanctions against Tehran in the second batch scheduled for next November.

The Saviz was delisted from US sanctions as part of the effort to implement the landmark nuclear deal with Iran, US officials confirmed.

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Iran’s Interference in Iraq Facilitated by Presence of ISIS

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Iran’s Interference in Iraq Facilitated by Presence of ISIS

Iran’s interference in Iraq facilitated by presence of ISIS

Iran Focus

London, 17 August – The political situation in Iraq has degraded once again and the Iran is meddling and taking advantage of the turmoil. Again.

The Islamic State group is back and picking up pace. There are thousands of active militants in the country and in Syria. The United States Defense Department believes that there are around thirty thousand Islamic State fighters. This is not far off the number of fighters that it had during its peak three years ago.

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US Oil Sanctions on Iran Will Hit Hard

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US Oil Sanctions on Iran Will Hit Hard

US oil sanctions on Iran will hit hard

Iran Focus

London, 17 August – Following the imposition of the first round of US sanctions on Iran, there is little evidence of either side changing its stance, which means that the second round of sanctions (this time targeting Iran’s oil exports) will likely go ahead in November and create a much bigger impact on the Iranian economy.

Indeed, Donald Trump has already made clear that he wants all of Iran’s oil exports reduced to zero by November 5, when sanctions would take place.

Any buyers that are granted sanctions waivers by the US (and Trump has so far denied that any will be given out) will still have to make sweeping cut to their Iranian oil and gas imports.

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Iran Minister Shocker by $250 Billion Worth of Import Licenses

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Iran Minister Shocker by $250 Billion Worth of Import Licenses

Iran minister

Iran Focus

London, 17 August – The Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Business has said that fluctuations in the local forex market over the past four months has tripled the number of applications for import licenses, which have now risen to $250 billion.

Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari described the figure as “unbelievable” and described those seeking licences as profiteering individuals who are trying to “fish in troubled waters”, which is believed to be a reference to the current economic crisis facing Iran.

The $250 billion figure is also triple that of Iran’s annual oil income.

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Congress’s NDAA Gives Permission to Confront Iran

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Congress’s NDAA Gives Permission to Confront Iran

Congress’s NDAA Gives Permission to confront Iran

Iran Focus

London, 16 August – US President Donald Trump signed The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Monday. This Act encourages the Defense Department and State Department to come up with a strategy to confront Iran in Syria, and prevents US support for Iraq in aiding Iran’s allies. It has an unprecedented focus on Iran as a threat to both the Middle East and US national security.

The Trump administration’s stated goal is the confrontation of Iran in the region, beginning with its exit from the Iran deal and reinstating sanctions. The NDAA goes further, proposing a strategy on how to best confront Iran’s activities in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere.

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German Carmaker Pulls out of Iran to Avoid US Sanctions

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German Carmaker Pulls out of Iran to Avoid US Sanctions

German carmaker Daimler

Iran Focus

London, 16 August – German carmaker Daimler has shelved its business plans with Iran in light of returning US sanctions, despite attempts by the EU to get businesses to continue investing in Iran, and they’re far from the only firm taking such a move.

These companies are bravely resisting the EU’s demands that European firms ignore US sanctions, which call for all companies to cut ties with Iran or face US secondary sanctions.

Last week, when the first of US nuclear-related sanctions came into force, following Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal in May, the European Commission issued a blocking statute that instructed that all firms continue to do business with Iran, unless they have already withdrawn or have special permission from the EU. If the firms ignore the EU’s warnings, they could face being sued by EU member states.

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