Iran Focus
London, 28 Aug – The Iranian Regime’s influence in Syria is a major concern to the rest of the Middle East but what can be done about it?
Well, unfortunately, a number of factors have come together which makes removing Iran from Syria will be particularly complicated.
The first of which is the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries (the US, UK, France, China and Russia, plus Germany) which makes international action against Iran more difficult.
Iran Focus
London, 27 Aug – The families of Rajaeeshahr political prisoners, currently on hunger strike have been harshly, offensively treated by security guards in Iranian regime’s prosecutor’s office, the reports say.
The event took place on Wednesday August 23, when the families of Rajaeeshar’s prisoners of conscience referred to regime’s prosecutor office three weeks after the inmates began a continued hunger strike to realize their basic rights inside prison.
The families were going to hand over a letter to regime’s Prisons Organization describing prison officials’ unlawful conduct towards inmates, but the security guards in prosecutor office treated the families harshly and offensively.
Iran Focus
London, 26 Aug – A former US ambassador has stated that the Iranian Regime poses more of a threat to the security of the Middle East than the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
James Franklin Jeffrey, who served as the US Ambassador to Turkey and Iraq under President Obama, said: “I think the Saudis and the Turks see the biggest threat in the region not as ISIS but as this Russian-Iranian-Syrian alliance — and I believe they are correct. I’ll go further: It’s the Turks and the Saudis who are correct and the Obama Administration is wrong. As I see it, all kinds of recent events, including the execution of Nimr al-Nimr and the recent, more aggressive Turkish actions are part of an effort to get America to wake up.”
Iran Focus
London, 26 Aug – The US Ambassador to the UN has made it clear that the US wants indepedenat inspections of Iranian military and non-military sites to determine whether or not the Iranian Regime is compliant with the 2015 nuclear pact.
Nikki Haley made these comments shortly after returning from meetings at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.
She said: “As good as the IAEA is, it can only be as good as what they are permitted to see. Iran has publicly declared that it will not allow access to military sites but the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) makes no distinction between military and non-military sites.”
Iran Focus
London, 26 Aug – Iran has attempted to restore its crude oil exports to a pre-sanction level, once they were lifted per the JCPOA last year, and some European, Russian, and Asian firms have signed preliminary agreements or letters of intent with Iran that have the potential to turn into billions of dollars of investments. Some of the largest European and Chinese oil companies made preliminary deals with Iran’s energy sector.
Sanctions were slapped on Iranian companies in response to a ballistic missile program, and President Trump recently signed an act imposing more new sanctions on Iran. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have intensified. Tehran has warned that it could quit the nuclear deal and begin enriching uranium “within hours” if the United States imposes further sanctions.
Iran Focus
London, 26 Aug – A threat was issued by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that Iran could restart its nuclear program in a matter of “hours” if it chose to.
Rouhani’ desires to be seen as a moderate, but this is in contrast with his foreign policy record. The fact is, Rouhani’s tenure has been characterized by an aggressive regional foreign policy, as his regime has sent troops to Syria, involved itself in a civil war in Yemen, and meddled in Iraqi politics. This, while Iran attempts to legitimatize itself as a partner for peace, and as trustworthy in regards to the nuclear deal.
Iran Focus
London, 24 Aug – The new photographic evidence published by a Washington, D.C., think-tank, which they provided to Congress, shows Iran using its flagship commercial carrier, Iran Air, to ferry militants to Syria, who have joined the fight against U.S. forces. The photos have upset congressional leaders, who accuse Iran of violating the nuclear deal, which prohibits it from using commercial air carriers for military purposes. They are demanding that the Trump administration investigate further, and consider imposing new sanctions on Iran.
Iran Focus
London, 24 Aug – Following new US sanctions, and Donald Trump’s criticism of the Joint Comprehensive Program of Action (JCPOA), Iran responded by saying that it would be able to start enriching uranium within five days of a dissolution of the landmark nuclear deal.
This doesn’t mean that Iran will be developing a nuclear bomb in a matter of days. Experts estimate Iran’s to ability to develop a nuclear weapon at between six and 12 months.
Additionally, INSS Iran expert Emily Landau, and other experts, believe that Iran’s threat is a sign of continued noncooperation, as the debate about how the US and Israel should view the deal continues.
Iran Focus
London, 24 Aug – On Monday August 22 the (IAEO) made remarks that demonstrate that the regime still plans to acquire nuclear bomb despite the nuclear agreement it reached with the six world powers and the economic and political concessions it received.
Ali Akbar Salehi repeated the threats made by the regime in an interview with state-run network. In the same manner as Javad Zarif, the regime foreign minister, and Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, he emphasized that, “Our highest priority is to preserve Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” as well as, “We worked very hard to achieve JCPOA, and did not achieve it easily to lose it easily.” However, Salehi added, “We are able to resume 20 percent-enrichment in at most five days at Fordow. Maintaining Fordow facility is an advantage of JCPOA.”
Iran Focus
London, 24 Aug – Nikki Haley, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, announced on Tuesday, August 22, that the US wants to know if the United Nations’ Atomic Watchdog is planning to inspect Iran’s military sites to verify that the Iranian Regime is in compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.
Haley, who met with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials in Vienna on Wednesday, asked the question as part of the Donald Trump administration’s review of the agreement between Iran, the US, and five other world powers.
The deal, agreed by President Obama, lifted most sanctions against the Iranian Regime in an effort to curb their nuclear weapons programme but has not worked as well as expected.
