The Iran Thread & Perso-Slavic Cooperation

[TsarSamuil]

Saudi Arabia, Israel Admit They’re Holding Secret Talks to Impede Iran.

Sputnik
MIDDLE EAST 01:33 05.06.2015

Israel isn’t a big fan of Saudi Arabia’s support of a Palestinian state. Saudi Arabia doesn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist. But if there’s one thing that can bring the two together, it’s a shared animosity towards Iran, and the two nations finally admitted as much on Thursday.

"The government of Saudi Arabia has long recognized the vital role played by UNRWA in bringing dignity to the refugees of Palestine," Saudi Fund for Development Vice Chairman Yousef Ibrahim Al-Bassam told the United Nations Relief and Works Agency at a ceremony last month.

The event was to mark the Saudi government’s signing of agreements worth $111.5 million toward Palestinian refugees, and it’s the kind of move not widely appreciated by the Israeli government. On Thursday, Israeli Ambassador to the UN David Roet accused the UNRWA of having a political agenda.

But if there’s one thing that can bring enemies together, it’s an even greater shared enemy. For Israel and Saudi Arabia, that boogeyman is Iran.

While a secret alliance has long been suspected, representatives from the two nations confirmed that Israel and Saudi Arabia had held a series of talk about how to thwart Iran’s influence in the Middle East.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington Thursday, retired Saudi general Anwar Majed Eshki used particularly alarmist language to describe Tehran. He described the Islamic Republic as aggressive nation that partakes in acts of terrorism, led by a regime which should be toppled for the greater good of the Middle East.

Eshki stood alongside Dore Gold, soon to be the next director general of Israel’s foreign ministry.

"Our standing today on this stage does not mean we have resolved all the differences that our countries have shared over the years. But our hope is we will be able to address them fully in the years ahead," Gold said.

The presentation was the summation of five top secret meetings held between Tel Aviv and Riyadh beginning in 2014.

"We discovered we have the same problems and same challenges and some of the same answers," Shimon Shapira, a retired Israeli general, told Bloomberg View. He went on to say that the two countries had considered political and economic strategies for how best to hinder Iran’s regional activities.

While suspicions of the Saudi-Israeli relationship have lingered, concrete evidence was first presented through diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks in 2010. Yacov Hadas, a former deputy director general of Israel’s foreign ministry, explained the reasoning for warming relations between his country and the Gulf Arab states.

"Gulf Arabs believe in Israel’s role because of their perception of Israel’s close relationship with the US but also due to their sense that they can count on Israel against Iran," the cable read.

As for the recent spike in covert cooperation, that can likely be traced to the Iran nuclear talks with the US and P5+1 nations, and Saudi’s unproven allegations that Tehran is arming Houthi rebels in Yemen. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia have been two of the most vocal opponents to the lifting of Iranian nuclear sanctions, and Saudi Arabia has depended on heavy assistance from the United States for its bombing campaign against the Houthis.

The final deadline for a formalized agreement on the nuclear deal is fast approaching, expiring on June 30. If everything goes according to plan – the gradual permission for Tehran to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes – fear could drive Israel and Saudi Arabia even closer.

[TsarSamuil]

Russia begins grain deliveries to Iran – Russian food watchdog.

RT.com
June 08, 2015 11:15

Russia has started delivering grain to Iran according to the Russian food safety regulator Rosselkhoznadzor. The first 100,000 tons could be part of the ‘oil-for-goods’ barter deal between Moscow and Tehran.

"Yes, deliveries began a few days ago. 100,000 tons have been already shipped at the moment," the assistant head of Rosselkhodnadzor Alexey Alekseyenko told RIA Novosti on Monday. It is expected the grain shipments would not be less than last year’s 1.3 million tons, he added.

Last week after an OPEC meeting in Vienna, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh hoped to start implementing the ‘oil-for-goods’ barter deal with Russia after June 7. He added that Russia plans to buy oil in exchange for cash, which Iran will then spend on Russian goods such as steel, wheat and oil byproducts.

Six Iranian food companies have been given access to Russian market in May. Two poultry and meat producers were allowed to start deliveries after providing safety guarantees.

In April, the Kremlin confirmed the ‘oil-for-goods’ deal between Moscow and Tehran, saying that Russia started supplying grain, equipment and construction materials to Iran in exchange for crude oil under the barter deal. Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak then said that Russia was not receiving Iranian oil supplies.

Iran currently has 20-30 million barrels of crude oil in storage and hopes a draft agreement to lift US sanctions on Iranian oil exports will soon be finalized.

Iran and the P5+1 powers (China, France, Russia, UK, US and Germany) agreed on a preliminary deal over the country’s nuclear program in April. Under the framework, Iran will not pursue new enrichment facilities, or heavy water reactors, for 15 years. A final agreement is to be reached by June 30, 2015. The country can increase shipments by one million barrels a day to 2.5 million barrels per day if sanctions are lifted, according the oil minister.

[TsarSamuil]

Rouhani: Nuclear deal annuls meaningless sanctions, protects Iran’s achievements.

RT.com
July 14, 2015 13:34

Hailing “a new chapter” in relations with the world following the nuclear deal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the global sanctions against Iran had failed to produce any effect. He is sure the deal will help protect Iran’s nuclear achievements.

“Sanctions didn’t have any effect [on Iran],” he said, although they “at the same time had affected people's lives.”

Rouhani said that “a new chapter” has begun between Tehran and the global community, and that he is “happy that 27 months of negotiations have brought success.”

The agreement with P5+1 symbolizes an important point in Iran’s development, he said.

“This month Ramadan [Muslim religious holiday] has brought us good news – a good agreement. Today we are in an important point of the development of our country, which crowns a 12-year history of negotiations with world powers on Iranian nuclear program.”

On Tuesday Iran and P5+1 (the United States, the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China) signed a comprehensive plan for ending international sanctions against Iran in exchange for putting restrictions on its controversial nuclear program. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) acknowledges Iran's right for peaceful nuclear development on par with any other signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The agreement, however, wasn’t welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who branded it as a historic mistake that would have grave consequences.

“From the initial reports received, it is already possible to say that this agreement is a historic mistake for the world,” Netanyahu said.

“Wide-ranging concessions were made in all of the areas which should have prevented Iran from getting the ability to arm itself with a nuclear weapon’’ but “the desire to sign an agreement was stronger than everything else,” he said.

According to Rouhani, Iran has never “sought to manufacture a nuclear weapon and will never seek to manufacture a nuclear weapon.''

“The whole world knows very well that manufacturing a nuclear bomb ... is considered forbidden.''

The agreement goes both ways as the successful implements of the deal “can dismantle the wall of mistrust brick by brick,” Rouhani said in a televised address from Tehran that followed the deal.

“Upon Iran Deal implementation all sanctions will be lifted - not suspended. Otherwise, there was no need for 18-day round-the-clock Iran Talks.”

Iran didn’t expect the deal “to come easily” as “extensive negotiations in light of mutual respect and a win-win mentality were absolutely crucial.”



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Vid,
rt.com/news/273589-israel-blasts-iran-deal/

'Stunning historical mistake': Netanyahu says Israel is not bound by Iran nuclear deal.

RT.com
July 14, 2015 13:17

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is not bound by the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, adding that it will always defend itself against Tehran, which “continues to seek its destruction.”

“From the initial reports received, it is already possible to say that this agreement is a historic mistake for the world,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded Tuesday when asked about the agreement reached in Vienna.

"This agreement and what it means endanger many countries including, of course, Israel,"Netanyahu said, adding that "Israel is not bound by this agreement. The Iranian regime is committed to the destruction of Israel and Israel has the right and the obligation to defend itself, by itself, against any threat. As Prime Minister of Israel, I would like to make it clear: Israel will not allow Iran to develop a military nuclear capability."

“Wide-ranging concessions were made in all of the areas which should have prevented Iran from getting the ability to arm itself with a nuclear weapon,” the Israeli Prime Minister stated. “The desire to sign an agreement was stronger than everything else.”

Netanyahu has been campaigning against negotiating with Iran for months, most notably attending a US Congress joint session in March without White House approval to deliver a Tehran-blasting speech before American legislators.

In the last days he intensified his effort online, launching a Farsi-language Twitter account to convince ordinary Iranians that the deal would hurt them. He argued that the Iranian government would be encouraged to suppress the population after it is signed.

The nuclear-related sanctions hurt the Iranian economy, which was denied foreign credits and part of oil revenues due to Western restrictions. The country experienced currency devaluation, shortages of certain goods like medicine and other adverse effects that the Iranian people had to endure.

Israeli is expected to continue its effort to torpedo the deal through lobbying American lawmakers, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely implied.

“The implications of this agreement for the foreseeable future are very grave,” she said. “The state of Israel will employ all diplomatic means to prevent the confirmation of the agreement."

Israel says it opposes the deal because it does not ensure that Tehran would not acquire nuclear weapons, an argument that proponents of the deal call false. It also believes that lifting economic sanctions would give Iran additional resources to fund Israel's enemies in the region.

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'Iran deal was fight for every preposition, victory for diplomacy' - Escobar.

RT
Jul 14, 2015



During nuclear talks Iran was strongly opposed to a Western proposal of installing security cameras at nuclear facilities, which would allow foreign inspectors to monitor them round-the-clock. Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar says it's one of numerous major hurdles to overcome.

[TsarSamuil]

CrossTalk: Iran - Game Changer?

RT
Jul 20, 2015



Iran and the global powers have a deal, but what is next? Can Israel’s allies on Capitol Hill derail the agreement? Can we expect the Israelis and the Saudis to respect the process hammered out in Vienna? And most importantly, how does this deal change the geopolitics of the Middle East?

[TsarSamuil]

Persia's approaching gold rush.

Pepe Escobar is the roving correspondent for Asia Times/Hong Kong, an analyst for RT and TomDispatch, and a frequent contributor to websites and radio shows ranging from the US to East Asia. Born in Brazil, he's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, and has lived in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Washington, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Even before 9/11 he specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central and East Asia, with an emphasis on Big Power geopolitics and energy wars. He is the author of 'Globalistan' (Nimble Books, 2007), 'Red Zone Blues' (Nimble Books, 2007), 'Obama does Globalistan' (Nimble Books, 2009) and a contributing editor for a number of other books, including the upcoming 'Crossroads of Leadership: Globalization and the New American Century in the Obama Presidency' (Routledge). When not on the road, he alternates between Sao Paulo, New York, London, Bangkok and Hong Kong.

RT.com
22 Jul, 2015 15:01

You may have heard of the N-11. Yes, it’s another clever Goldman Sachs concoction, to the benefit of that prized specimen - the “global investor”. These are the next BRICS, the new emerging powers.

The N-11 is made up of: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam. Some of these upstarts may even become members of the increasingly assertive BRICS.

The moment the sanctions regime vanishes, arguably sometime in early 2016, Iran will become the hottest N-11 in the world. It’s very hard to beat its roll call of assets: a consumer market of more than 80 million, largely well educated people; a human capital mix that is even more attractive than Turkey; and in the all-important energy front, a combination of as much oil as Saudi Arabia, as much gas as Russia, and arguably more mineral resources than Australia.

And soon back with a vengeance in the global market. Talk about an economic game-changer.

Join the caravan

Even under a nasty UN/US/EU package of sanctions – which Tehran always qualified as unlawful and unjust - Iran has built the most solid industrial base in Southwest Asia. It ranks, for instance, among the Top 15 global steel producers and Top 15 global car manufacturers. It is the worlds’ top exporter of cement, pistachios, saffron and caviar.

Iran is well positioned among global leaders in nanotechnology and stem cell research. It is the certified scientific power in Southwest Asia; the 17th largest producer of scientific papers in the world – ahead of Turkey and Israel. Not to mention Saudi Arabia, that global leader of, well, beheadings.

As the sanctions vanish, Iran will be able to boost its already sprawling industrial and scientific infrastructure. It will be a quest for selected Western technology. For the moment, technology breakthroughs come from BRICS member-nations China, Russia and India.

The Lausanne agreement was barely inked when a global corporate caravan - spanning Europe to Asia – began hitting the Persian trail, positioning themselves for the grand (re)opening of the Iranian bazaar.

On energy, that included European giants Royal Dutch Shell and Eni, French ambassador to the US Gerard Araud was forced to placate hawks at the Atlantic Council think tank with an obvious fact; “Really, we lost a lot of money, not the Americans,” Araud noted as European companies were forced to abide by US-concocted sanctions. He added, “so stop taking the moral high ground.”

Russian envoys, for their part, had already been crisscrossing Iran for months, exchanging political, economic and military data. Russian-Iranian relations, extremely nuanced, are based on pragmatism.

The concrete possibility of Iran starting to sell huge amounts of gas to the EU is of course a very sensitive subject for Moscow – especially because this new drive is pushed by Washington. Yet for Russia, that may be a relatively short-term risk, up to 2020 at most, because in the long run Gazprom’s top business will be with China – and the rest of Asia. Five years is what it takes to build and expand the ‘Pipelineistan’ network across Siberia towards China.

And there’s always a Chinese-style “win-win” at hand; as the conventional arms embargo progressively vanishes, Tehran will be buying more Russian weapons, not only the S-400 missile system.

Boeing or Airbus?

Post-sanctions, Iran will take maximum advantage of one of its key assets; location, location, location. Iran is nothing else but the privileged crossroads/trade hub connecting Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Southwest Asia – what the West calls the Middle East. It’s right at the center of the Chinese-led New Silk Roads, and an ideal candidate to join the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) – increasing trade with Central Asia, as in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan even share a common language – Persian and its derivations, Dari and Tajik. Countries bordering Iran – from Afghanistan and Armenia to Turkey and Turkmenistan – will see an immediate trade surge; after all sanctions never managed to stop cross-border trade.

A boom in the Iranian tourism industry is inevitable – involving a rush of customers from Europe to Asia and all points in between. The shipping industry – already in good shape – will prosper. And of course there will be a pressing need for a lot of passenger jets.

One of the most perverse consequences of US-driven sanctions is that for decades, Iranian carriers were forced to source and repair their jets from the black market. And until recently just two months before the Vienna deal was signed, we had the case of Mahan Air, Iran’s second largest carrier, having to resort to an Iraq-based front company to buy nine Airbuses.

Iran now needs no less than 400 passenger jets over the next decade. Iran Air's chairman, Farhad Parvaresh, is interested not only in both Boeings 777 and 787, but also the Airbus A321. And he does not discount the new 747-8, which has been a hard sell for Boeing.

Now imagine Iranian carriers expanding their flights to a slew of European and Asian capitals. That will provide serious competition to Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, attracting everyone who lives and works everywhere from Central Asia to the Caucasus.

It’s a gas, gas, gas

Iran will soon be back to its pre-2012 level of oil exports; 2.5 million barrels a day. At the moment, it’s down to 1.5 million barrels a day – due to Washington’s relentless campaign to arm-twist Iranian energy customers such as South Korea, Japan and the EU. China, still growing at 7 percent a year, will remain the customer of choice. And by 2018, with other major Asian economies such as India and Indonesia picking up growth, Iran’s exports will definitely surge.

According to National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) estimations, Tehran is ready to add from at least 600,000 to up to 1 million barrels of oil a day to the global market. This means prices going further down in the foreseeable future – which benefits non-oil producers with huge populations such as Pakistan and Egypt.

From a Pakistani angle, this will translate into the conclusion of one of ‘Pipelinestan’s’ eternal soap operas; the IP (Iran-Pakistan) gas pipeline. The Pakistani stretch is being financed by China. From an Egyptian angle, this will translate into lower transportation costs and more traffic through the Suez Canal.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a more complex proposition. Dubai will profit handsomely, as it is already an Iranian trade/commercial/banking center where tens of billions of US dollars in Iranian funds are parked. Yet Iran’s energy offensive will be focused essentially on regaining market share from its Persian Gulf competitors, including the UAE. Add to it that Saudi Arabia’s reserves are slowly but surely diminishing – as it is spending its oil capital to bomb Yemen.

Everywhere we look Eurasia integration – with Iran as a protagonist - proceeds unabated.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the sidelines of the BRICS/SCO summit in Ufa. Rouhani expects India to invest $8 billion in key infrastructure projects – centered on the development of the strategic port of Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman. India is already leasing two berths at the port, using them as multi-purpose cargo terminals. Next step is to help building the second and third terminals as well as a railway connecting it to the rest of Iran.

Chabahar will be not only India’s gateway to Central Asia, but it will also open a sea route to landlocked Afghanistan. Both India and Iran are very active in Afghanistan – in both the commercial and security fronts.

The Syrian tangle

One of the worst kept “secrets” in Brussels has always been the EU’s burning desire to do energy business with Iran. According to European Parliament numbers, Iran may soon export more than 150 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year. Compare it to Gazprom’s current export total of 140bcm to the EU.

Iran’s are the second-largest natural gas reserves in the world after Russia; a whopping 15.8% of the global total. And Iran holds the largest offshore gas field in the world; South Pars/North Dome in the Persian Gulf, partially shared with Qatar.

So ‘Pipelineistan’ is an absolute must. For obvious reasons, there is no Iran pipeline geared towards the EU - yet. What exists is the Tabriz-Ankara pipeline, from Iran to Turkey, which should be expanded; that would be the “Persian pipeline”, 3,000 km crossing Turkey from east to west and then a maritime link to Italy, where it will split into a northern and southern section, feeding Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Spain.

This is the prime wet dream not only in Brussels but especially in Washington; because it entails bypassing Russia. With the Persian pipeline completed, the EU would soon be importing as much as 30 bcm a year, which was the current total export by Gazprom to Germany and Italy in 2013.

What happens in Iran from now on deeply affects, simultaneously, Ukraine and Syria. Gazprom is already planning to totally bypass Ukraine in its gas shipments to the EU. So Ukraine, from an energy transit point of view, is a dead chicken for the EU – on top of having turned into a de facto failed state.

Syria’s case is way more complex. The $10 billion Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline remains in play. It is, of course, one of key strategic reasons for Turkey and Qatar to be obsessed with regime change in Damascus, and be involved in the destruction of Syria. Because the rival gas pipeline to Iran-Iraq-Syria would be Qatari, transiting through the mirage of a “Sunni-friendly”, Muslim brotherhood-dominated Syria.

So everything will hinge on a major strategic decision by the EU and its energy majors. Should they invest in the Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline, thus supporting the current power in Damascus? That would imply fighting - for real - the genuine threat of ISIS/ISIL/Daesh, whose partition of “Syraq” has much to do with keeping two states broken and unable to plan and coordinate such a strategic project as a steel umbilical cord.

It’s up to the EU to finally devise its forever debated, but never accomplished, energy policy. If a strategic decision is made, Iran is what the EU needs. Then we will have EU energy majors committing enormous investments to upgrade Iran’s refining capacity and accelerate the completion of the Persian Pipeline.

There’s already some substantial movement. Iranian companies have just signed a $2.3 billion agreement to build 1,300 kilometers of the Iran Gas Trunkline-6 (IGAT-6), connected with South Pars. That will be essential to boost Iran’s gas exports through Iraq.

The initial mantra of the Islamic Revolution in Iran was “neither East nor West”. Based on my observations of Iranian diplomats negotiating the nuclear deal in Vienna, it’s fair to say post-sanctions Iran will apply the mantra to the core. And it will be with a unique Persian twist of aggressive – or heroic – defense and charming offense.

[TsarSamuil]

Iran preparing to enter WTO, set up preferential trade with EU.

RT.com
23 Jul, 2015 12:19

Iran wants to join the World Trade Organization after putting the final signatures on a nuclear deal with the six world powers. Tehran is also interested in a preferential trade deal with the EU, says Industry Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh.

"Iran is preparing to join the WTO, and one political obstacle has already been overcome. Tehran is also interested in the negotiations with the EU and Central Asian countries in establishing preferential treatment in trade," said Nematzadeh Thursday, speaking at a conference on investment and trade between Iran and the EU in Vienna.

He added that Tehran is interested in “a two-way trade,” and “no longer interested in a unidirectional importation of goods and machinery from Europe,” as the Iranian market has changed a lot over the years of sanctions.

Iran wants to boost manufacturing, mechanical engineering, extraction and other sectors of the economy, the bilateral investments are likely to spread not only to Iran, but to the whole region of 300 million people, Nematzadeh said.

The world’s developing economies, BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are also interested in strengthening ties with the Iran. In July, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attended the BRICS/SCO summits in Ufa, Russia to discuss various questions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of other nations that attended the summits. Iran’s joining the SCO after the embargo is withdrawn was among the questions raised. Iran now has an observer status with the bloc.

Last week Iran and the six international negotiators (the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China) signed a long-awaited deal on the Iranian nuclear program. The problem was on the agenda for more than a decade. Tough negotiations culminated in the adoption of a joint comprehensive action plan. If Iran manages not to breach the settlement, it will be freed from economic and financial sanctions by the UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union. The UN watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency is to confirm the deal by verifying the Iran has complied with the nuclear-related measures.

[TsarSamuil]

Iran: Russia's most important Middle Eastern partner is Iran, says Novak.

Ruptly TV
Oct 21, 2015



Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak participated in the Ministerial Meeting of the Joint Economic Commission for Coordination of Infrastructure Projects following a protocol meeting with Iranian Minister of Communications Mahmoud Vaezi in Tehran, Wednesday.

SOT, Mahmoud Vaezi, Iranian Minister of Communications (Farsi): "Various companies from our countries have launched a lot of projects which are currently successfully developing both on the Iranian and Russian territories."

SOT, Mahmoud Vaezi, Iranian Minister of Communications (Farsi): "In new conditions when authorities from both countries have frequently confirmed political will to develop bilateral relations, we cannot be satisfied with the current level of trade balance."

¤SOT, Alexander Novak, Russian Minister of Energy (Russian): "Iran is the most important partner of Russia in the Middle East and the country has a very strong economic potential."

SOT, Alexander Novak, Russian Minister of Energy (Russian): "I'm pleased to inform you that interest of Russian companies in both Iran and Iranian energy sector continues to grow."

SOT, Alexander Novak, Russian Minister of Energy (Russian): "The representatives from Russian business are actively searching for Iranian partners and constantly holding talks aiming to agree on concrete projects."

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Russia: Iranian warships join Caspian flotilla at Astrakhan port.

Ruptly TV
Oct 21, 2015



A convoy of Iranian warships arrived on Wednesday at the port of Astrakhan, the base of Russia's Caspian Sea flotilla.

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Iran: Russia and Iran consider bank to finance joint projects.

Ruptly TV
Oct 22, 2015



Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak and Iranian Minister of Communications Mahmoud Vaezi signed a Memorandum on closer trade and economic cooperation between two countries in Tehran, Thursday. This Memorandum is aimed to boost trade and economic cooperation in a number of areas.

SOT, Alexander Novak, Russian Energy Minister (Russian): "Besides that, another instrument is a possibility of setting up a joint Russian-Iranian bank by national banks and Economy Ministries as well as a possibility of Iranian government joining Eurasian Development Bank."

SOT, Mahmoud Vaezi, Iranian Minister of Communications Mahmoud Vaezi (Persian): "With various projects that we are defining and assigning financial resources, today we can say certainly that the volume of our relations in the upcoming future will change to much more than this."

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[TsarSamuil]

the whole world should do the same..

Iran bans US consumer goods.

RT.com
6 Nov, 2015 13:23

Coca-Cola and Wrigley gum won’t see a newly-opened Iranian market. On Thursday, the Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh directed a blockade of American consumer goods, Press TV reports.

The minister said the decision is based on guidance from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani.

According to Khamenei, the nuclear accord with world powers reached in July, should help the Iranian economy become more independent, which should have happened years ago. This includes boosting national production and checking imports of US-made goods. Rouhani said he would comply with the guidance.

The Iranian media has reported Khamenei met with students, where he said the United States still remains the main enemy of Iran.

In mid-July in Vienna, Iran and the P5+1 countries finalized the text of an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of all economic and financial restrictions against the Islamic Republic related to its nuclear program.

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No food & DVDs: Iran to impose sanctions on US-made goods import.

RT
Dec 17, 2015



Five months since the historic deal was reached on Iran's nuclear program, Tehran says sanction relief is a matter of weeks away. Despite that invitation, one country is not welcome. Tehran has decided to block the import of more than 200 American consumer goods.

[TsarSamuil]

Russia to loan Iran $7bn.

RT.com
12 Nov, 2015 13:24

Iran will be loaned $5 billion by the Russian government, and another $2 billion from the Russian infrastructure bank VEB, RIA Novosti reports.

The Iranian First Deputy Industrial Minister Mojtaba Khosrowtaj confirmed the $7-8 billion loan from Russia.

“Yes, we have reached a high-level agreement. Now it’s the work of the banks to agree on the technical details of this scheme,” Khosrowtaj told RIA Novosti in an interview.

According to Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak, Iran asked Russia for a loan of $5 billion for infrastructure projects, mostly likely electrical power generation and the development of railways.

The loan is expected to boost trade between the two countries. The target is $10 billion, from the current $1.6 billion.

Novak visited Tehran in October, where he announced that Russia and Iran are considering setting up a bank to finance joint projects.

[TsarSamuil]

Iran: Orban meets with Rouhani in Tehran to discuss strengthening bilateral ties.

Ruptly TV
Dec 1, 2015



Iranian President Hassan Rouhani welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Tehran on Tuesday.

[TsarSamuil]

Iran: Russia presents over 80 companies at trade and industry exhibition in Tehran.

Ruptly TV
Dec 21, 2015



Russian minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov led a 350-strong Russian delegation at the Russia-Iran Trade and Industrial Dialog exhibition in Tehran, Monday, where representatives of 80 leading Russian companies showcased their products at the biggest foreign exhibition of its kind held in Iran.

[TsarSamuil]

‘Significant step:’ Iran transports its enriched uranium to Russia.

RT.com
28 Dec, 2015 23:49

Iran has made a major step towards fulfilling its commitments under the July nuclear deal agreed upon with six world powers by shipping most of its low-enriched uranium materials to Russia, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.

Kerry confirmed that a ship carrying 11 tons of low-enriched uranium has left Iran for Russia, marking a milestone in the process of implementing the Iranian nuclear deal.

“The shipment included the removal of all of Iran’s nuclear material enriched to 20 percent that was not already in the form of fabricated fuel plates for the Tehran Research Reactor,” Kerry said, as quoted by Reuters.

“This removal of all this enriched material out of Iran is a significant step toward Iran meeting its commitment to have no more than 300 kilograms of low-enriched uranium,” he added.

Russia also confirmed that it had finished the removal of enriched uranium from Iran under the deal, TASS reports, citing Russian diplomatic sources. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov had said earlier that Russia planned to take Iran’s low-enriched uranium before the end of the year.

The removal of enriched uranium was one of Iran’s key obligations under the deal, which aims to reduce the country’s capability to potentially create nuclear weapons. In exchange, Russia will transfer 140 tons of raw uranium to Iran for further enrichment and use in its nuclear plants.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Iranian atomic energy organization, recently claimed that Iran has already received the uranium ore, AP reported.

However, Iran still has to significantly reduce number of its uranium enriching centrifuges, as well as re-engineer a reactor so as to cut its output of plutonium. Both processes are well underway, according to the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In the meantime, on December 15, IAEA’s board of governors adopted a resolution in which it stated that the Agency had “no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009. Nor has the Agency found any credible indications of the diversion of nuclear material in connection with the possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program.”

The report was the IAEA’s final step under the “Road-map for the clarification of past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program,” concluded between the IAEA and Iran in July in Vienna.

After IAEA confirms that Iran has met all of the deal’s necessary requirements, most international sanctions imposed on Tehran due to its nuclear program will be lifted. This stage, known as implementation day, is expected to take place next month.

[TsarSamuil]

MSM ignores Navy’s entrance into Iranian waters.

RT America
Jan 13, 2016



If you watched the mainstream media’s coverage of Iran’s capture of American Navy sailors, one would think that these sailors were snatched out of their beds somewhere in middle America and were not engaged in a hostile action, says journalist and author Max Blumenthal of Alternet. CNN repeatedly covered the story without mentioning the sailors were in Iranian waters, Blumenthal tells RT’s Ashlee Banks.

[TsarSamuil]

EU, US lift Iran sanctions as UN watchdog says Tehran ‘has kept nuclear promises’

RT.com
16 Jan, 2016 20:48

Western sanctions against Tehran have been officially lifted after the UN nuclear watchdog – the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – released a statement saying Iran has fulfilled all of the measures required under its deal with six world powers.

"The report was submitted to IAEA board of governors and to the United Nations Security Council," IAEA director general Yukiya Amano said on Saturday, adding that "it was issued after agency inspectors on the ground verified that Iran has carried out all measures required under the JCPOA to enable implementation day to occur."

“The release of the IAEA director’s report on Iran’s nuclear program inaugurates the beginning of the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA],” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The JCPOA, known as Iran’s nuclear deal, was signed between Tehran and six world powers (the so-called P5+1 group comprised of China, France, Russia, the UK, the US and Germany) on July 14, 2015. The deal saw Iran agreeing to shrink its atomic program, with the US, EU and UN promising to lift sanctions in return.

Multilateral and national economic sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program will be lifted within hours, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini announced on Saturday, following the release of the IAEA statement.

"Today we have achieved Implementation Day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," Mogherini told reporters in Vienna.

An executive order revoking US sanctions against Tehran has been issued by US President Barack Obama, Reuters reported.

Guidelines detailing the sanctions lifted have been issued by the EU and US, Mogherini added.

To finalize the process of lifting EU sanctions, an official decision is required by the European Council with the participation of the leaders of all 28 EU members states, Reuters reported. A publication in the EU’s Official Journal is also necessary, but the procedure should be rapid, according to the news agency.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani congratulated his nation in a tweet: “Implementation Day – I thank God for this blessing and bow to the greatness of the patient nation of Iran. Congrats on this glorious victory!”

The IAEA certification of Tehran keeping its obligations will allow Iran to immediately recoup some $100 billion in assets frozen overseas, AP reports.

The US Treasury Department has announced that it will permit foreign subsidiaries of American firms to operate in Iran.

The sanctions lifted by the US included a ban on commodities trade for non-Americans, Reuters reported. More specifically, non-US citizens will now be permitted to trade with Iranian government institutions, as well as sell goods and services, such as steel, gold, coal, vehicles and insurance to the country, according to the US Department of Treasury.

The US has so far lifted only “secondary sanctions” against Iran, which means American citizens are still banned from trading with Iran, the US Department of Treasury said. In addition, while some 400 Iranian companies and individuals are to be removed from the US sanction list, 200 others remain blacklisted.

Meanwhile, America’s decades-old ban on exporting civilian passenger aircraft to Tehran has already been lifted. The move was announced prior to the implementation of Iran’s historic nuclear deal with world powers. “That should happen relatively soon, certainly in the coming days. That is when sanctions relief is initiated,” US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Friday.

Earlier this week, Iranian and US officials confirmed that Tehran’s Arak heavy water reactor had been disabled after its core was removed and concrete was poured into its central vessel.

The reactor core was capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium, and its fate was a major point of disagreement during the negotiations between six leading world powers and Iran.

According to the agreement, the reactor is to be retrofitted with the help of foreign specialists to be used for research projects and the production of medical radioactive isotopes.

In the meantime, oil majors Total and Shell have sent senior executives to Tehran ahead of the expected lifting of sanctions, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency. They are set to meet with officials from Iranian state oil companies on Sunday.

The news also comes just days after two US Navy boats were seized by Iran after straying into the country’s territorial waters, after one of them allegedly suffered a mechanical failure. Ten US Navy troops were briefly held before being released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Iran has also freed five prisoners, four of them with dual Iranian-US nationality, including Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who was arrested in Tehran more than a year ago, the Tehran public prosecutor said on Saturday.

“In line with orders from the Supreme National Security Council and in the national interest, four Iranian dual national prisoners have been released in a prisoner swap,” Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi was quoted as saying by Iranian news agencies.

Moreover, the US was expected to free seven Iranian nationals, IRNA news agency said, naming them as Nader Modanlo, Bahram Mechanic, Khosrow Afghahi, Arash Ghahreman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh, and Ali Sabouni. According to AP, they have already arrived in Tehran.



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Iran’s ‘golden page' in history: Rouhani sees economic windfall as sanctions lifted.

RT.com
17 Jan, 2016 10:46

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has described the nuclear deal with world powers, implemented Saturday in Vienna, as a "golden page" in the country's history. He told lawmakers that it was also a long-awaited opportunity for Tehran's economy to cut its "umbilical cord" to oil.

Rouhani, elected in 2013 on a promise to scale down Iran's international isolation, said the deal has increased national confidence, state TV reported.

Tehran, which has been shut out of international markets, reemerged from years of economic exclusion, with sanctions crippling Iran's economy finally lifted in return for Tehran complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions.

Iran expects 5 percent economic growth in the next year, which starts in Iran in March, Reuters reported Rouhani as saying on state television. Tehran is now also seeking to attract at least $30 billion in foreign direct investment over the next five years, Rouhani added.

Iranian shares rose to their highest level since August, Bloomberg reported, referring to data on an Iranian website.

On Sunday, a claim by Washington and Tehran was settled at the Hague, which will allow Iran access to $400 mn that have been frozen since 1981, Reuters reported. Iran will also get access to an additional $1.3 billion in interest.

"He has proved both domestically and to the West that he can deliver," Ellie Geranmayeh, an Iran specialist at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP, saying that the deal has allowed Rouhani "to contrast his pragmatic diplomacy" against his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's antagonism.

Iran plans to boost oil exports while stocks in the Middle East drop

The implementation of the nuclear deal also paves way for Iran to boost its crude exports. With nearly 10 percent of the world's proven oil reserves located in the country, preparations for oil exports have already begun, Iranian officials announced.

"Iranian oil supply will come to the market as early as today or tomorrow," Nayal Khan, the Riyadh-based head of institutional equities sales trading at Saudi Fransi Capital, told Bloomberg.

Tehran is working on an immediate increase in shipments of 500,000 barrels a day, Iranian deputy oil minister for commerce and international affairs Amir Hossein Zamaninia said on Sunday, adding that another half million barrels are planned to be added to that figure within months.

The Iranian president called oil revenues "supplementary income."

Meanwhile, following the easing of western sanctions against Iran and expectations of new oil flows to the market, stocks across the region plummeted on Sunday, Bloomberg reported. All share index at stock exchange in Saudi Arabia, whose oil revenue make up over 70 percent of national income, dropped over 5 percent, to the lowest level in nearly five years.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had the final word on the nuclear agreement, throwing his weight behind the deal, looking forward for sanctions to end. He warned in October, however, that any new sanctions could be a deal-breaker.

Presenting the draft budget for the next fiscal year, the Iranian president hailed the deal as a "turning point" for the country's economy of 80 million people. Rouhani has managed to cut inflation to 13 percent from over 40 percent under Ahmadinejad, but economic growth has been weak. With tens of billions of dollars worth of Iranian assets due to be unfrozen and barriers to international business expected to come down, Rouhani said that Iran can reach 8 percent annual growth if it secures at least $30-50 billion of foreign investment.

International companies previously barred from doing business in Tehran will now be able to exploit a market hungry for everything from cars to airplane parts. The US Treasury Department said it will permit foreign subsidiaries of American firms to operate in Iran. The sanctions lifted by the US included a ban on commodities trade for non-Americans, Reuters reported. More specifically, non-US citizens will now be permitted to trade with Iranian government institutions, as well as sell goods and services, such as steel, gold, coal, vehicles and insurance to the country, according to the US Treasury Department.

"The nuclear deal is an opportunity that we should use to develop the country, improve the welfare of the nation, and create stability and security in the region," Rouhani said, addressing the parliament.

The UN nuclear watchdog announced on Saturday that Tehran had abided by an agreement reached with six world powers last summer to curtail Iran's nuclear program. Shortly after, Washington formally lifted key sanctions on Iran. The European Union has also launched the process of lifting its sanctions.

"Iran has carried out all measures required under the [July deal] to enable Implementation Day [of the deal] to occur," the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement.

The IAEA certification of Tehran keeping its obligations will allow Iran to immediately recoup as much as $100 billion in assets frozen overseas, AP reported.

While the nuclear agreement lifts only part of Washington's economic restrictions against Iran, with sanctions for Tehran's alleged human rights violations remaining in place, the deal makes two exceptions to the trade embargo. Allowing Iran to buy US civilian passenger aircraft is one of the changes. The second exception specifies an allowance to sell Iranian crafts, such as carpets, to the US.

Critics of the Iran nuclear deal, including GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, have accused Iran of violating its international commitments.

Rouhani offered reassurance in his comments that the deal would bring positive respects. “The friends of Iran are happy and its competitors need not worry, we are not a threat to any government or nation. We are a messenger of peace, stability and security in the region and the world,” he said in his live broadcast on state television.

"Everybody is happy except the Zionists, the warmongers who are fueling sectarian war among the Islamic nation, and the hardliners in the US congress," the Iranian president added.

Iran has repeatedly denied its nuclear program was ever aimed at obtaining an atomic bomb. Israel made it clear it does not believe Rouhani's rhetoric, however.

"Even after the signing of the nuclear agreement, Iran has not abandoned its aspirations to acquire nuclear weapons, and continues to act to destabilise the Middle East and spread terrorism throughout the world while violating its international commitments," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement Saturday night.

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US slaps new sanctions on Iran - hours after 'historic thaw'

RT
Jan 18, 2016



USA has slapped Iran with new sanctions - over a recent ballistic missile test. It comes just a few hours after the so called 'historic thaw', when international nuclear-related sanctions were scrapped. The new measures target 11 officials and companies, linked to the missile programme.

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[TsarSamuil]

China and Iran relations enter ‘new chapter,’ strategic ties to be expanded.

RT.com
23 Jan, 2016 12:32


A picture provided by the Iranian Presidency on January 23, 2016, shows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) ahead of a meeting in Tehran. © Iranian Presidency / AFP

President Xi Jinping’s visit to Iran – the first by a Chinese leader in 14 years – has resulted in 17 agreements being signed between the two countries, with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani saying this opens a new chapter in their relations.

The negotiations between Rouhani and his Chinese counterpart ended Saturday with the signing of 17 accords and agreements, including a number aimed at creating a modern version of the ancient Silk Road trade route, as well as cooperation in developing peaceful nuclear energy.

International sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic were lifted on January 16, after Iran fulfilled key aspects of a deal signed with global powers.

“The important visit by… President Xi Jinping… marks an important, historic event and I am sure that a new chapter has started in relations between Iran and China,” Iranian media outlet Press TV cited President Rouhani as saying.

Xi Jinping also praised a new “prospect in relations between the two countries” that would serve “regional and global peace.”

Beijing is seeking “strategic ties with Iran,” particularly in the energy market, the Chinese president said, as quoted by Press TV.

A top oil consumer, China continued to buy Iranian crude even after international sanctions targeting Tehran’s energy sector were introduced, according to Press TV.

“We are happy that President Xi visited Iran after the lifting of sanctions ... Iran and China have agreed to increase trade to $600 billion in the next 10 years,” Reuters cited President Rouhani as saying during a televised news conference. As of 2014, transactions between Tehran and Beijing amounted to $52 billion.

“Iran and China have agreed on forming strategic relations (as) reflected in a 25-year comprehensive document,” Rouhani also said, mentioning countering “terrorism and extremism in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen” as among the most burning issues.

The Chinese president is set to meet with Iran’s spiritual leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, later on Saturday.

China’s leader is on a Middle East tour that started on January 19, having already visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia.



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The $600billion handshake: Chinese president Xi Jinping meets Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to seal mega trade deal after landmark nuclear agreement struck by Tehran.

By TOM WYKE FOR MAILONLINE
18:17 GMT, 23 January 2016

Iran and China have agreed to expand bilateral ties and increase trade to $600 billion (£420 billion) in the next 10 years following Chinese President Xi Jinping visit to Tehran.

Xi is the second leader of a U.N. Security Council member to visit Tehran and and meeting with President Hassan Rouhani following the nuclear deal Iran struck with world powers last year.

Iran emerged from years of economic isolation this month when the United Nations' nuclear watchdog ruled it had curbed its nuclear programme, clearing the way for the lifting of sanctions.

'Iran and China have agreed to increase trade to $600 billion in the next 10 years,' Rouhani said at a news conference with Xi broadcast live on state television.

'Iran and China have agreed on forming strategic relations (as) reflected in a 25-year comprehensive document,' he said.

Iran and China signed 17 accords today, including on cooperation in nuclear energy and a revival of the ancient Silk Road trade route, known in China as One Belt, One Road.

'China is still heavily dependent on Iran for its energy imports and Russia needs Iran in terms of its new security architecture vision for the Middle East,' said Ellie Geranmayeh, policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

'Iran plays quite an integral role for both China and Russia's interests within the region, much more than it does for the Europeans,' Geranmayeh said.

Xi was quoted as saying by China's Xinhua news agency: 'The China-Iran friendship ... has stood the test of the vicissitudes of the international landscape.'

The Chinese state-backed Global Times newspaper said in an editorial on Saturday that China hoped to improve ties with Iran as part of its sweeping plan to rebuild trade links with Europe and Asia and carve out new markets for its goods.

'China is of course considering its self interest in strengthening cooperation with Iran, especially at a time when China is in the midst of expending efforts to push forward the One Belt, One Road initiative, Iran is an important fulcrum,' the paper said.

Rouhani said the countries had also agreed to cooperate on 'terrorism and extremism in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen'.

China signalled its support for Yemen's government, which is fighting an Iran-allied militia, during Xi's visit to Saudi Arabia, Iran's rival for influence in the region, this week.

Iran has called on China to join the fight against ISIS and play a more active role in the region.

'Although China and Russia backed U.N. sanctions against Iran on its nuclear programme, they were also heavily pushing for special waivers to continue trading with Iran,' Geranmayeh said.

'Iran had a relationship both politically and economically with China and Russia for the last ten years in ways that it hasn't had with Europe. So it's quite natural to see it opening up first to these countries.'

The Chinese president was to meet Iran's most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, later in the day.


President Rouhani and President Xi shake hands at the official arrival ceremony