Reuters: Iran and Russia are negotiating an oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5 billion a month that would enable Iran to lift oil exports substantially, undermining Western sanctions that helped persuade Tehran in November to agree to a preliminary deal to curb its nuclear program.
Iran, Russia negotiating big oil-for-goods deal
Iran commander: Hezbollah’s missile power improved
AP: The Lebanese militant Shiite movement Hezbollah has dramatically improved its missile capabilities and can now pinpoint targets anywhere in Israel, a senior commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards said Saturday.
Iran, powers complete talks on implementing nuclear plan
Bloomberg: Iran and six world powers cleared technical hurdles on how to implement an agreement to curb the Persian Gulf nation’s nuclear program in return for easing sanctions, Iranian and European Union officials said.
What’s really going on in Iraq’s Anbar Province?
Christian Science Monitor: It’s not the Al Qaeda resurgence, Sunni-Shiite fault line narrative you’ve been hearing. Iraq has a major crisis on its hands, make no mistake. The country’s civil war never really ended – it just went off the boil for a while.
Iran’s Khamenei says nuclear talks show U.S. enmity
Reuters: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday that nuclear negotiations with world powers had revealed U.S. enmity towards the Islamic state.
Senate majority support Iran sanctions bill opposed by Obama
Reuters: More than half of U.S. senators support a bill to impose new sanctions on Iran should the Islamic Republic break an agreement to curb its nuclear program, aides said on Thursday, but there was no plan yet to debate the measure.
Don’t give Iran pass on human rights
The Hill: The November nuclear deal signed in Geneva with the Iranian regime has eclipsed a range of human rights violations, bolstered by Western silence. This, while Tehran’s temporary retreat in Geneva was caused by overwhelming popular and organized movements, which Iran’s rulers now seek to completely crush.
Iran, big power nuclear talks hit snag on centrifuge research
Reuters: Negotiations between Iran and six world powers on implementing a landmark November deal to freeze parts of Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing some sanctions have run into problems over advanced centrifuge research, diplomats said.
India refiners delay Iran imports on failure to get teinsurance
Bloomberg: Indian Oil Corp. (IOCL) and two other state-run refiners said they will defer resuming purchases of Iranian crude by at least three months, having failed to get reinsurance for shipments after Europe said it would relax a coverage ban.
Ros-Lehtinen: The Iraqi Government and the UN must keep their promises
Iran Focus: The security situation in Camps Ashraf and Liberty is getting worse every day; the Iraqi Government and the UN must keep their promises and provide adequate security, says Ros-Lehtinen.
