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Top Stories
Reuters: "Hong
Kong will stop allowing 19 ships linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran
Shipping Lines (IRISL) from operating under its flag, a government letter
showed, in the latest blow to Tehran's sanctions-hit global trade. A
letter from the Hong Kong government's marine department (HKMD) dated
November 9 and seen by Reuters showed the authority had given notice to
the owners of the 19 ships... Hong Kong had been urged by U.S. pressure
group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) to end the flagging of 19 dry
bulk ships, which the group said were owned, managed or operated by IRISL
and its front companies. 'As it is of paramount importance to HKMD in
safeguarding the quality of Hong Kong ships, HKMD has therefore taken
action already in notifying the owners of these 19 ships for the closure
of the registration in Hong Kong within 90 days beginning from the date
of the notice being served,' S.F. Wong, Hong Kong Shipping Register's
general manager, said in the letter... A targeted campaign by UANI, which
includes former U.S. ambassadors on its board and is funded by private
donations, has already led to the exit of a number of foreign companies
from Iran. 'We applaud and thank Hong Kong for its responsible decision.
No country should be flagging Iranian vessels, given the risks and the
stakes involved,' UANI said." http://t.uani.com/Rz1M6E
WSJ:
"The U.S. Treasury Department's point man for sanctions and
terrorist financing said Monday that the Obama Administration has no
plans to weaken economic sanctions against Iran until it addresses U.S.
concerns about its nuclear program. David Cohen, undersecretary for
terrorism and financial intelligence, said the sanctions, along with 'the
Iranian government's own gross mismanagement of its economy,' were having
a major impact, and warned the pressure would continue. 'While we believe
that there remains time and space for a diplomatic solution if Iran's
leadership takes the strategic decision to make meaningful concessions,
you can be sure that we have no intention of relenting on the pressure
track so long as Iran refuses to address in a meaningful and productive
way the very serious concerns with its nuclear program,' Cohen
said." http://t.uani.com/W0POY3
Reuters:
"Iranian oil output rose in October after seven months of decline
due to Western sanctions and its exports rebounded strongly as China and
South Korea bought more oil, the West' energy watchdog said on
Tuesday...The IEA also added that a new round of sanctions against Iran
was likely to further cripple its finances although not necessarily
further reduce its oil deliveries to markets. 'With the bulk of Iranian
crude now heading to Asia, however, the main impact of the new EU
measures will likely be on the country's financial sector,' the IEA
said.... The IEA said Iranian oil output rose by around 70,000 barrels
per day (bpd) to 2.7 million bpd in October. Iranian exports jumped to
1.3 million bpd from 1.0 million seen in the two previous months... The
jump in imports could have brought Iran an additional $900 million last
month, according to Reuters calculations based on the price for its oil
of $100 a barrel. The IEA also cited estimates as showing Iranian crude
oil held in floating storage nearly halved to 13 million barrels at the
end of October from as high as 25-30 million in April as its state tanker
company is increasingly using its own fleet to deliver crude to buyers
unable to obtain shipping insurance." http://t.uani.com/Um2geF
Nuclear
Program
AFP: "President Barack Obama's
national security advisor met Monday with his Israeli counterpart at the
White House for talks on the conflict in Syria and Iran's nuclear
program, officials said. The meeting was the first high-level dialogue
between US and Israeli officials at the White House since Obama was
re-elected on November 6, and at a time when tensions between Israel and
both Syria and the Gaza Strip are rising. 'National Security Advisor Tom
Donilon hosted a delegation of senior Israeli officials on November 12
for consultations on Iran, Syria, and a range of other regional security
issues,' Donilon's spokesman Tommy Vietor said. The Israeli delegation
was led by Yaakov Amidror, the head of Israel's National Security
Council. The meetings 'were the latest in a series of regular, high-level
consultations between the United States and Israel, consistent with our
strong bilateral partnership, and part of our unshakeable commitment to
Israel's security,' Vietor said in a statement." http://t.uani.com/RzZHr9
Reuters:
"Iran unveiled new missile and artillery systems on Tuesday, Iranian
media reported, on the second day of large-scale military exercises which
officials said were aimed at sending a warning to those threatening the
Islamic Republic. Played out against a backdrop of high tension between
Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear programme, the 'Velayat 4'
manoeuvres across a vast swathe of the eastern half of the country have
focused on air defences." http://t.uani.com/Um2sus
Sanctions
AP: "An
Iranian lawmaker says the country's parliament has postponed the
implementation of a second round of subsidy cuts until 2013 over fears of
stoking already rampant inflation. The head of the parliamentary
budgetary and planning committee Gholam Reza Mesbahi Moghaddam told the
semiofficial Mehr news agency the second phase of the three-part plan
would likely cause a 15-percent jump in the inflation rate, which is
officially running at almost 25 percent. Iran began cutting subsidies on
energy and food in 2010. The second phase, which targeted gasoline
subsidies, was to take effect in March 2012. Parliament's decision
Tuesday officially pushed back the second round of cuts to March
2013." http://t.uani.com/TzQPSu
Human Rights
NYT:
"An influential Iranian lawmaker said Monday that a blogger who died
last week while in captivity had not been tortured during interrogations.
'According to a preliminary report, no traces of beating were seen on his
body,' the lawmaker, Alaeddin Borujerdi, told the semiofficial Islamic
Students News Agency. However, Mr. Borujerdi, who heads the National
Security and Foreign Policy Committees in Parliament, called for further
investigation into the case, a rare instance in which Iran's Parliament
and judiciary followed up a human rights complaint that was first raised
internationally. Iran's judiciary also confirmed the death of the
blogger, Sattar Beheshti, 35, acknowledging that five bruises were found
on his body, but said the cause of death was still being investigated. He
was held in the Kahrizak police prison south of Tehran, where three
people died during the antigovernment protests in 2009." http://t.uani.com/ZBzbB6
Radio Farda:
"Jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been allowed
to see her children in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for the first time
in weeks. Sotoudeh's husband, Reza Khandan, wrote on the Facebook
social-media site that Sotoudeh was given permission to see her
5-year-old son, Nima, and 12-year-old daughter, Mehraveh, for several
minutes on November 12. Mehraveh reportedly said that her mother was
continuing her hunger strike. Sotoudeh stopped eating on October 31 after
prison authorities banned her relatives from visiting her. Last month,
Sotoudeh was awarded the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom
of Thought for 2012." http://t.uani.com/QawohL
Regional
Meddling
Reuters:
"Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of straying onto its territory near
oil and gas fields in the Gulf and warned it was looking at how to
respond, the Saudi ambassador to the United Nations said. In a letter to
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Saudi authorities said Iranian
helicopters flew several times over a gas field at Hasba, Abdullah
al-Mualimi was quoted as saying in the daily newspaper Okaz on Monday. The
letter also said two Iranian navy boats intercepted a vessel belonging to
state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco. 'I have submitted to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a letter that details Iran's breaches of
the official conventions and treaties between it and Saudi Arabia,' Okaz
quoted Mualimi as saying." http://t.uani.com/SY6fkx
Bloomberg:
"Iran's alleged meddling in the regional internal affairs is a
concern to the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, Secretary-General
Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani told reporters in Dubai today. 'That's
always an issue that's always considered and discussed,' Al Zayani said.
'You know because that interference continues and it's of concern to all.
We don't interfere in any others' internal affairs and we don't expect others
to' interfere in ours. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have accused Iran
of fomenting protests by Shiites in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia's eastern
province." http://t.uani.com/QDPQ6G
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Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against
Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear
Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive
media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with
discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please
email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com
United Against Nuclear
Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a
commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a
regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons. UANI is an
issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own
interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of
nuclear weapons.
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