LATEST

Iran’s Government has made another public push for a nuclear deal with the 5+1 Powers, with both President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif issuing high-profile statements on Sunday.

Rouhani’s office put out Tweets of the President’s engagement with China, one of the 5+1:

Rouhani restated, “A final nuclear deal is well within reach should counterparts display sufficient political will.” He also praised Iranian-Chinese relations which “would help establish and maintain stability and peace in Asia, especially in the Middle East, countering terrorism and violence”.

Iran and the 5+1 (US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China) face a July 1 deadline for a comprehensive settlement, after two deadlines were missed last year. Both sides have said there will be no further extension if an agreement is not reached.

Despite intensive talks in the last month, the two sides appear to be no closer on resolution of issues such as Iran’s centrifuges for uranium enrichment, the lifting of US-led sanctions, and the duration of an agreement.

Last week, the Supreme Leader called for an agreement, with compromises on both sides, but said it must be a “one-stage”, final resolution. The US Government had indicated that it would seek agreement on General Principles by the end of March, with the comprehensive deal following by July 1.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Zarif appealed to Europe to bring the Americans towards the Iranian position.

Speaking after a meeting with Norwegian diplomat Wegger Christian Strømmen, Zarif declared, “Europe can assume a major role in this process and substantially contribute to the clinching of a comprehensive agreement and the lifting of sanctions.”

Iran wants US and European sanctions on Tehran’s oil and banking sectors must be lifted within six months of a deal. Washington has reportedly said that the process will take “years”.


Oil Minister Warns of Investment Crisis for Iran’s Fields

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has warned MPs of an imminent crisis for the Iran’s oilfields because of a lack of investment.

Zanganeh said:

The petroleum industry needs financial resources.

When the oil price was at $100 [per barrel] and we sold 2 million barrels of oil, the Petroleum Ministry’s share was $13 billion. But for next year [March 2015-March 2016], the Parliament has predicted the oil price at around $40 a barrel and exports are a bit higher than 1 million barrels. The Petroleum Ministry will get less than $3 billion.

How can we run the petroleum industry with this [meager] money?

Zangeneh said the Oil Ministry’s share of sales should increase from 14.5% to 30% to allow for accelerated development, warning, “With this trend, investment from our own resources will be nil next year.”

Iran’s oil and gas industry has been crippled by the withdrawal of investment by foreign firms soon after the disputed 2009 Presidential election and amid increased US and European sanctions. Zanganeh had spoken hopefully of renewed investment with the completion of nuclear talks, but has stepped back recently amid the inconclusive discussions.

Hardline Weekly Banned for Criticizing Government Over Nuclear Talks

The hardline weekly 9Dey was banned on Monday for criticizing the Rouhani Government over nuclear negotiations with the 5+1 Powers

The supervisory board for the press ruled that the newspaper had published articles “insulting towards the Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini] and against the regime’s nuclear policy”.

9Dey, seen as a supporter of the Ahmadinejad Government and hardline elements in Iranian politics, had chided Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after last month’s talks in Geneva. Referring to a walk through the city by Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry during their 7-hour discussions, “Each step [Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad] Zarif took destroyed 100 kilos of reserves of enriched uranium.”

Foreign Ministry Rejects Claim of Supreme Leader’s Letter to Obama

The Foreign Ministry has “strongly dismissed” a claim, made by an unnamed Iranian official to the Wall Street Journal, that the Supreme Leader has replied to a letter from President Obama.

“This claim by the American newspaper Wall Street Journal is an unprofessional media ploy,” spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said Sunday.

Obama sent a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei in October, reportedly suggesting areas of US-Iranian cooperation against the Islamic State if Tehran and the 5+1 Powers can reach a comprehensive nuclear deal.

Afkham did say that the President’s previous letters — he sent at least two in 2009 to the Supreme Leader — “have been answered in some cases”.

Former President Rafsanjani Challenges Supreme Leader in Interview on Islamic Revolution

In a lengthy interview about the 1979 Islamic Revolution, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has challenged the Supreme Leader’s rule.

Speaking to the Jomhouri Islami newspaper, Rafsanjani — mentor of President Rouhani, head of the Expediency Council, and likely candidate for chair of the Assembly of Experts next month — said, “I should confess that we may have made mistakes over these years but they may be justified based on the Social conditions of the time.”

However, his most striking remarks amounted to criticism of the Supreme Leader, suggesting that an alternative form of leadership should have been adopted in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini:

The suggestion was to create a council of leadership rather than having a Supreme Leader…and I also suggested a 10-year period for leadership.

Ayatollah Khamenei was in favor of both of these more than anyone else. He felt that a permanent Supreme Leader where people have no option to change or remove him can lead to dictatorship….

Of course the single Supreme Leader option won the most number of votes, and at the time no one better than Ayatollah Khamenei was available, which is still the case today.

Yet we should think sbout the future. We are worried about after Ayatollah Khamenei.

Rafsanjani also attacked the head of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, over Jannati’s derisory remarks about the death of Saudi King Abdullah last month:

I think this is the peak of extremism. Some sacrifice the intrests of the system for their personal grudges. Unfortunetally Iranian extremists are like those of ISIS [the Islamic State].

Ahmadinejad’s Vice President Rahimi Begins Serving 5-Year Sentence

Mohammad Reza Rahimi, 1st Vice President under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from 2009 to 2013, has been transferred to Evin Prison to serve his 5-year sentence for fraud.

After years of allegations, Rahimi was convicted last autumn of involvement in a multi-million dollar insurance fraud. He was also punished last month with a fine of 10 billion Rials (about $330,000) and restitution of 28.5 billion Rials (about $1 million).

Rahimi subsequently denounced Ahmadinejad in a lengthy letter and claimed that he had been used by the Government to pay bribes to 170 MPs. Ahmadinejad’s office issued a statement that the insurgance fraud occurred before Rahimi was appointed in autumn 2009, chiding “relentless attacks” against the former President and claiming “certain people and groups” were trying to take political advantage.