AP: The Iranian parliament is considering a proposal to pick another city as the nation’s capital and move the seat of the government from the overcrowded and heavily polluted Tehran.
Iran parliament mulls changing country’s capital
Assad’s secret oil lifeline: Iraqi crude from Egypt
Reuters: The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has received substantial imports of Iraqi crude oil from an Egyptian port in the last nine months, shipping and payments documents show, part of an under-the-radar trade that has kept his military running despite Western sanctions.
UN to issue invites to Syria talks by end of year
AFP: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday invitations to the next round of Syria peace talks would be sent by the end of year as he launched a fresh appeal for Iran to participate.
Vanishing adviser reappears as Iran policy player
AP: Last year, while Jake Sullivan was traveling with his boss, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he quietly disappeared during a stop in Paris. He showed up again a few days later, rejoining Clinton’s traveling contingent in Mongolia.
U.S. will seek triggers to reimpose sanctions on Iran: Rice
Reuters: The United States and its allies will have ways to reimpose sanctions on Iran if the Islamic Republic is caught making bombs after striking a deal to freeze its nuclear program, national security adviser Susan Rice said on Sunday.
Schumer: Time to ratchet up sanctions on Iran
The Hill: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who’s leading a bipartisan effort to hit Iran with stricter sanctions, stood his ground, despite President Obama’s recent plea not to interfere in negotiations aimed at stopping Tehran’s nuclear program.
At year’s end: Will Iran prove the world wrong?
UPI: 2013 saw six world powers negotiate a comprehensive deal with Iran to halt its nuclear program. Some hailed the deal a historic achievement, others, a historic mistake.
Turkey’s Halkbank says Iran business complies with law
Reuters: Halkbank, the state-run Turkish lender whose chief executive was arrested in a wide-ranging corruption probe at the weekend, said on Monday it had not faced questioning by the police or judiciary as a corporate entity.
Iran nuclear talks suspended for Christmas
AFP: Iran’s foreign minister and the EU’s top diplomat agreed during telephone call Sunday to postpone until after Christmas talks on implementing a landmark nuclear agreement, the country’s chief negotiator said.
Big Oil sits out lobbying on Iran as Congress stands firm
Reuters: As debate rises in Washington over the first thaw in relations between Iran and the United States in decades, powerful oil companies are opting for an unusual tactic: silence.
