LATEST: US Extends Waivers From Sanctions For 11 Countries
The Supreme Leader grabbed most of the headlines in international media about Iran on Thursday, declaring that the US “will suffer…just like it did in Iraq and Afghanistan” if it intervenes with force in Syria on the “pretext” of a chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime.
What was notable, however, was not Ayatollah Khamenei’s rhetoric to the Assembly of Experts. Instead, it is the continuing — and even expanding — gap between that hard-line support of Damascus and the moderation from others in the Iranian regime.
While President Rouhani continues to avoid any blame of the Syrian insurgents for the August 21 chemical weapons attacks, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also pulled back from the allegation. Instead, Zarif’s office used his new Twitter account on Thursday to put forth the case against US airstrikes without reference to evil “takfiris” or an American-Israeli-Saudi plot to take over Syria.
And Rouhani and Zarif also made a headline intervention on another front. The offices of both men offered best wishes to all Jews for Rosh Hashanah, a sharp contrast to the public declarations of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Zarif, asked by the daughter of the US Speaker of the House of Representatives about past denials of the Holocaust, replied, “Iran never denied it. The man who did [Ahmadinejad] is now gone. Happy New Year.”
Latest Updates, From Top to Bottom
US Extends Waivers From Sanctions For 11 Countries
The United States has extended waivers for Japan and 10 European Union on financial penalties for six months, in exchange for suspension or reduction in imports of Iranian oil.
The US imposed the system of penalties in 2011. The European Union has embargoed Iran’s oil imports since July 2012, while other countries have cut purchases significantly.
In June, Japan’s imports of Iranian oil were down 38.1% from a year earlier.
The State Department will decide in December whether to extend waivers to China, India, South Korea, and six other countries.
Iran’s average monthly oil sale revenues dropped 58% to $3.4 billion in the first half of this year compared to the first half of 2011, a senior U.S. official said last week.
Top European Courts Says EU Should Unfreeze Assets of Iranian Banks
The European Court of Justice has ruled that the European Union should unfreeze the assets of seven Iranian banks and other businesses under sanctions.
The court said there was insufficient evidence that the businesses concerned — including Post Bank Iran, Iran Insurance Company, and Export Development Bank of Iran — were involved in nuclear proliferation.
Post Bank Iran, Iran Insurance Company and Export Development Bank of Iran are among those listed by the ECJ.
The ruling will not take immediate effect, as the Council of the European Union has two months within which to appeal.
The other Iranian businesses in the ruling are Good Luck Shipping; Persia International Bank, Iranian Offshore Engineering & Construction Co; and Bank Refah Kargaran. The judgement also covers Naser Bateni, manager of the Hanseatic Trade Trust & Shipping (HTTS), based in Hamburg.
The court found, however, that the asset freezes imposed on Bank Melli Iran and Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank were justified.
Zarif: I Condemn The Killing Of Jews By The Nazis
In a new Facebook page, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif publicizes an interview with Tasnim News in which he condemns the Holocaust and defends his decision to wish Jews a happy Rosh Hashanah.
Zarif said that he “condemned the killings of Jews by the Nazis” but added “and the oppression of the Palestinians by the Zionists”.
The Foreign Minister said that Iran always wished Christians a Happy New Year and that Jews are a recognized minority in Iran.
He said: “We have never had a fight with the Jews or the Jewish religion, and we oppose the Zionists who are a minority in this religion and we will not let this small group falsely advertise themselves…and lie by saying that the Islamic Republic is anti-Jewish.”
Propaganda of Day: “Iran Plots Revenge in Iraq If US Attacks Syria”
The Wall Street Journal is the outlet for sensational propaganda from some US officials:
The U.S. has intercepted an order from Iran to militants in Iraq to attack the U.S. Embassy and other American interests in Baghdad in the event of a strike on Syria, officials said, amid an expanding array of reprisal threats across the region.
Military officials have been trying to predict the range of possible responses from Syria, Iran and their allies. U.S. officials said they are on alert for Iran’s fleet of small, fast boats in the Persian Gulf, where American warships are positioned. U.S. officials also fear Hezbollah could attack the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.
The only “evidence” offered by the Journal for the dramatic claims is this assertion:
The Iranian message, intercepted in recent days, came from Qasem Soleimani, the head of Revolutionary Guards’ Qods Force, and went to Iranian-supported Shiite militia groups in Iraq, according to U.S. officials.
In it, Mr. Soleimani said Shiite groups must be prepared to respond with force after a U.S. strike on Syria.
The order itself is not produced, and the rest of the article is background and speculation about the supposed threat.
