New York Times: I was involved in the formation of all five of Iraq’s governments between 2003 and 2010, and I know that the coming weeks will be decisive, turbulent and violent, as leaders from all factions jockey for both power and money — to help represent their respective communities and to siphon away billions of government dollars through systemic patronage.
Iraq’s last chance
Iran: Nuclear deal by November deadline unlikely
AP: Iran’s foreign minister said Friday that Tehran is unlikely to reach a final nuclear accord with world powers by a November deadline. Parliament’s news website quoted Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying that even if a general agreement is reached before the deadline, the two sides will require more time to discuss details. “Hence, it is unlikely to reach a final conclusion before a four-month span,” he said.
IAEA says chief to visit Iran for nuclear talks Sunday
AFP: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, will visit Iran on Sunday to try to advance cooperation over its contested nuclear drive, the organisation said. Amano, who last went to Tehran in November, is due to hold talks with Iranian leaders and senior officials, the IAEA said.
Iran to drill south pars gas as it reviews oil contracts
Bloomberg: Iran plans to finish developing its giant South Pars gas field within three years, regardless of the sanctions on its economy, and is rescheduling a campaign to woo U.S. and European oil companies with investor contracts. Iran, holder of the world’s largest natural gas reserves, expects to expand production at the Persian Gulf deposit that it shares with Qatar.
Iraq’s Maliki finally steps aside, paving way for new government
Reuters: Nuri al-Maliki finally bowed to pressure within Iraq and beyond on Thursday and stepped down as prime minister, paving the way for a new coalition that world and regional powers hope can quash a Sunni Islamist insurgency that threatens Baghdad. Maliki ended eight years of often divisive, sectarian rule and endorsed fellow Shi’ite Haider al-Abadi in a televised speech.
Still no help for Iranian dissidents
The Hill: Consider three principles. First, in Plato’s Republic, one definition of justice is to give each person that which is due. Second, Martin Luther King stated, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Third, King also said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” It is intolerable for the State Department to ignore virtual imprisonment by Baghdad of Iranian dissidents stuck in Iraq.
Why Iran fears Iraq’s Kurds
Daily Beast: At the end of June, Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, visited Tehran to meet with Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. When Shamkhani met Barzani he was dressed in full navy uniform. “I intentionally met with Nechirvan Barzani in uniform so that he would understand that for us the integrity of Iraq is important,” Shamkhani said after the meeting.
Maliki plans to carry bid for power to Iraq courts
New York Times: Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Wednesday that he would press ahead in the Iraqi courts with his increasingly unlikely bid to retain power, and would not turn to the army. With so many political forces now aligned against Mr. Maliki, including the United States and Iran, and with his retreat from veiled threats to use force, the political crisis that has gripped Baghdad in recent days diminished in intensity.
Chennai petroleum plans Iran oil imports after two years
Bloomberg: Chennai Petroleum Corp. (MRL), a unit of India’s largest refiner, plans to resume crude imports from Iran after a two-year gap as insurers return to the market. “This year, we plan to restart Iran oil purchases,” Managing Director S. Venkataramana said in a phone interview. “We are already talking to the re-insurers for this, and we are getting positive responses so far.”
Iran retakes top spot in money-laundering risk ranking index
Wall Street Journal: Iran is once again the country posing the largest money-laundering risk, taking the spot back from Afghanistan in the latest edition of the Basel AML Index. The 2014 edition of the index, published by the Basel Institute on Governance, covers more than 160 countries, and said it is the only country-level rating of money laundering and terrorist financing risk by a nonprofit.
