South Korea to Further Cut Oil Imports from Tehran
The political future is not bright for Saeed Jalili — current lead nuclear negotiator, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and candidate in this month’s Presidential election.
Jalili started strongly in the campaign but faded in the days before voting and finished third. Meanwhile, he clashed not only with the victor Hassan Rouhani — his predecessor at the Council and in nuclear talks — but also with Ali Akbar Velayati, the Supreme Leader’s key advisor on foreign policy. Velayati bluntly told Jalili that his poor diplomacy and negotiating style had been costly to Iran’s position and reputation.
Now, Jalili — facing dismissal from his posts and the political wilderness — is trying to claw back some credibility with comments on the Syria crisis.
Jalili, in a meeting with the Lebanese Foreign Minister on Sunday, warned that the decision by some Western and Arab states to provide military support to the Syrian opposition is a “threat to the security of all world states”.
The effort may not be enough: Jalili is expected to return to Imam Sadegh University, where he earned his Ph.D. after Rouhani is formally sworn into office in August.
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Glasgow Caledonian University Posts Extracts From Rouhani’s MPhil And PhD Theses
Glasgow Caledonian University, the alma mater of President-elect Hassan Rouhani, has posted extracts of his MPhil and PhD theses, as a response to popular demand.
Both are on religious topics.
Rouhani’s MPhil thesis is titled The Islamic Legislative Power with reference to the Iranian experience, and his PhD is titled The Flexibility of Shariah (Islamic Law) with reference to the Iranian experience.
South Korea to Further Cut Oil Imports from Tehran
Sources have told Reuters that South Korea has pledged to cut imports of Iranian crude by another 15% in the next six months to secure its next waiver from the US.
Earlier this month, Washington renewed a six-month exemption on sanctions for China, India, South Korea, and six other countries. The next review is in November, with any country failing to achieve a waiver liable for sanctions that exclude its banks from the American financial system.
After meetings between US and South Korean officials, South Korea’s government has instructed refiners to make the import cuts, the sources familiar with the plan said. .
Imports from Iran to South Korea for December to May stood at 148,016 barrels per day, down 20% from a year ago. The cut would leave South Korean refiners importing just under 126,000 bpd.
SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank are the only two South Korean refiners that import Iranian crude.
Basij Head: US Begging for Talks with Tehran
Is this a sign that the regime is preparing the ground for direct talks with Washington or is just a bit of defiant propaganda? The head of the Basij militia, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, has said that the US has been begging the Islamic Republic for discussions for the past 15 years.
Regional Results of Presidential Election Finally Announced
Ten days after the Presidential election, Khabar Online posts region-by-region results of the vote.
A visual representation indicates that the runner-up, Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, came closest to challenging Hassan Rouhani’s majority in the northeast around Mashhad.
However, the biggest revelation may be that the only three provinces in which Rouhani was second were claimed not by Qalibaf, but by the former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei, who led in Khuzestan and two adjacent areas in western Iran.
Rouhani Speaks with Lebanon President, But What Was Said?
Amid the Syrian conflict and escalating tension in Lebanon, President-elect Rouhani spoke with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman on Sunday.
State media gives no details of the conversation, however, beyond Rouhani’s ritual denunciation of foreign intervention in Syria and Sleiman’s congratulations to Rouhani for last week’s electoral victory.
