Iranian official calls for negotiations with Washington in Iraq

[yota691]

France rules out preparation of economic package for Iran deal before November

France said on Friday it was unlikely European powers could prepare an economic package for Iran to salvage its nuclear deal before November.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drein told RTL radio before heading to Vienna for a ministerial meeting on the deal that European powers, as well as Russia and China, were working on a financial mechanism to ease the impact of the planned US embargo.

"We are trying to do this before sanctions are imposed in early August and then another set of sanctions in November. For the beginning of August, the time seems a bit short, but we are trying to do that by November. "

[yota691]

Iran's nuclear dealers pledge to continue importing oil from Tehran

Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to $ 77.25 per barrel

 

 06 Jul 2018 08:04 PM

The signatories to the Iranian nuclear deal have pledged to implement all the terms of the agreement, including the continued import of oil from Tehran, as they seek to preserve it.

Russia, China, Germany, Britain, France and the European Union have committed themselves to Iran in full and effective implementation of all the provisions of the agreement and to make joint efforts to preserve it, According to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

The statement of the meeting in Vienna called for the continuation of imports of oil, petroleum products, petrochemicals and gas from Iran, protecting the interests of companies investing in Iran from the consequences of US sanctions, as well as strengthening and expanding trade and economic relations with Tehran.

In May, US President Donald Trump announced a withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and his country's intention to re-impose economic sanctions on the regime in Tehran.

The Vienna meeting noted that it was agreed to work with international partners to establish mechanisms to protect economic ties with Iran, to support the modernization of the Arak reactor and to transform the Fordo facility into a nuclear, physical and technological center.

It was agreed that Britain would replace the United States as the co-chair of a working group to modernize the Arak research reactor, as well as modernize the EIB's mandate to continue Iran's external lending to avoid US sanctions and continued cooperation with Iran in land transportation Sea and air.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Araif called the joint committee meeting "serious and constructive", adding that at the request of the other signatories to the nuclear agreement, the country had responded to the "flagrant violation" of the United States' withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.

By 4:46 pm GMT, the price of Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to $ 77.25 a barrel, while the price of Nymex crude for August delivery rose 1.2% to $ 73.80 a barrel.

[Pitcher]

Iran Calls for EU Help as Shipping Giant Pulls Out for Fear of US Sanctions

 

 

One of the world's biggest cargo shippers announced on Saturday it was pulling out of Iran for fear of becoming entangled in US sanctions, and President Hassan Rouhani demanded that European countries to do more to offset the US measures, US NEWS reported on Saturday.

 

The announcement by France's CMA CGM that it was quitting Iran deals a blow to Tehran's efforts to persuade European countries to offer economic benefits to offset the new U.S. sanctions.

Iran says it needs more help from Europe to keep alive an agreement with world powers to curb its nuclear program. US President Donald Trump abandoned the agreement in May and has announced new sanctions on Tehran. Washington has ordered all countries to stop buying Iranian oil by November and foreign firms to stop doing business there or face U.S. blacklists.

European powers which still support the nuclear deal say they will do more to encourage their businesses to remain engaged with Iran. But the prospect of being banned in the United States appears to be enough to persuade European companies to keep out.

Foreign ministers from the five remaining signatory countries to the nuclear deal -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- offered a package of economic measures to Iran on Friday to compensate for U.S. sanctions that begin taking effect in August, but Tehran said the package did not go far enough.

"European countries have the political will to maintain economic ties with Iran based on the JCPOA (the nuclear deal), but they need to take practical measures within the time limit," Rouhani said on Saturday on his official website.

CMA CGM, which according to the United Nations operates the world's third largest container shipping fleet with more than 11 percent of global capacity, said it would halt service for Iran as it did not want to fall foul of the rules given its large presence in the United States.

"Due to the Trump administration, we have decided to end our service for Iran," CMA CGM chief Rodolphe Saade said during an economic conference in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence.

"Our Chinese competitors are hesitating a little, so maybe they have a different relationship with Trump, but we apply the rules," Saade said.

The shipping market leader, A.P. Moller-Maersk of Denmark, already announced in May it was pulling out of Iran.

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/29176/Iran-calls-for-EU-help-as-shipping-giant-pulls-out-for-fear-of-US-sanctions

 

[yota691]

Implications of the US-Iranian conflict in Iraq!

09/7/2018 12:00 am  Ibrahim Abadi   America has erred in its foreign policy since the Second World War and reshaped the post-war international order. It made mistakes in its military and political interventions and suffered wars and catastrophic consequences. In Korea, it intervened in the United Nations cover in 1950 and was relatively successful, in the Cuban Bay of Pigs in 1961, Vietnam in 1965, In 1983, the Americans received their shock of the painful Middle East, followed by confidence-building measures, and beyond the Vietnam complex and its deep wounds in the American political and military mind. It was the picnic of Grenada in 1984 and the overthrow of the President of Panama In 1991, the United States embarked on a major military parade in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, dropping regimes and evaluating others in accordance with an American perspective to rebuild the nations on the bases and bases of consensual democracy and strategic objectives. Serving security Nationalism of America as the world's greatest and dominant power. In all these mistakes, the American politicians did not agree on a great deal. There was an elite of the American ruling establishment that made the decisions and made them ready for the president to carry on with all the consequences of heavy losses, gambling and severe difficulties. Anyone who examines US documents published after its release discovers that the Americans are quick to indulge in problems and go to military escalation because there are powerful civilian and military politicians within the National Security Adviser and sometimes in the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs controlled by a specific ideology that burn the stages in order to achieve them. The conservative American right or neoconservatives have long accused the American political mind of not thinking of war as a way to impose America's dominance and interests on adults before young people from countries around the world. In the documents released, those who push for escalation and the logic of war are subject to the pressure of time and the desire to achieve achievement and speed in decision-making, and underestimate the value of opponents and arrogance exaggerated and underestimated the consequences of the wars. It has become clear that the influence of extremist advisors on Trump has increased significantly since the replacement of the first political team that came immediately after his inauguration. A group that has been contemplated to overthrow or damage the government in Iran by all means will have to be dealt with, This fact calls for taking necessary precautions for us in Iraq. The Iraqis have the right to be concerned if the escalation and the American blockade against Iran continue. If the Iranian reactions to the past continue to be firm and irreversible against a clear American plan, President Rohani's remarks during his visit to Switzerland Austria, and its positive reception among conservative circles in Iran, means that the US conservative right has entered into a serious challenge to the hardline right in Iran, that the battlefields will not necessarily be in the trenches of direct confrontation and the nearby seam lines, but in the squares of the intersection of influence and Iraq, This clash will leave its impact on the formation of the government And the Iranians are defending their existence, values and slogans in the face of a declared US desire to overthrow the political system, and they are not in retreat and in front of the experiences of Saddam and Gaddafi, And the Americans do not want to lose Iraq to their opponent Iran, where they lost thousands of men and over a trillion dollars. They dream of a Middle East that will walk and control it without the headache of resistance and resistance and the joy of its weapons and tactics. N the great victory over the Arab political system, the fall of the last lines stand against normalization and the official recognition. We are in the midst of a serious crisis that will be similar to the Soviet missile crisis in Cuba in 1962. Iraq needs countries to stabilize the region and ensure the flow of its oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. This calls for the formation of a government in Baghdad capable of dealing with this new challenge with all its economic, And the psychological situation in Iraq and the region. Terrorism has benefited from the great turmoil and the vibration of the security system in the region to strengthen its existence and turn into an eternal crisis. Now, this is a new opportunity to benefit from its consequences and repercussions, especially that Iran's enemies in Iraq and the region may find it an opportunity. Nasph recycle attitudes and revenge from both Hspoh days within the Iranian axis (Shiite), we need a sense of high Iraqi political blocs beyond the interests and struggles to think Iraq's homeland, the Iraqi nation, which is still living unhappiness and division and Takbtadtha. When the situation in Iran deteriorates, the conflicts of sects, tribes and bees will be more severe and more effective, especially if the goal is to redraw the political maps of the countries of the region as seen by US national security adviser John Bolton.

[yota691]

WORLD NEWS

JULY 9, 2018 / 6:22 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Germany examining Iranian bid to withdraw large sum of cash

 

Reuters Staff

1 MIN READ

•  
•  

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - German authorities are examining an Iranian bid to withdraw large sums of cash from bank accounts in Germany, a German Finance Ministry spokeswoman said.

“This is being examined,” the spokeswoman told a regular news conference.

Earlier, Bild newspaper reported that German authorities are considering a request by Iran to withdraw 300 million euros ($352.98 million) from bank accounts held in Germany and transfer the cash to Iran.

[yota691]

For fear of the crisis .. Iran asks for liquidity from Germany

- 8 Minutes Ago

A German Finance Ministry spokeswoman said authorities were considering an Iranian request to withdraw large sums of money from bank accounts in Germany.

"It is under consideration," the spokeswoman told a regular news conference on Monday, but gave no details.

Earlier in the day, Bild newspaper quoted unnamed government officials as saying the German authorities were considering a request from Iran to withdraw 300 million euros ($ 353 million) from bank accounts in Germany and transfer funds to Iran.

The paper said Iran was seeking to withdraw funds from the European European Bank for fear of facing a liquidity shortage when the United States imposed sanctions on its financial sector.

Washington pulled out of a nuclear deal with Iran last May, announced new sanctions on Tehran and asked all countries to stop buying Iranian oil by November and foreign companies to stop dealing with Iran, otherwise blacklisted.

Iran told the German financial regulator that it needs funds "to be made available to Iranian citizens who need liquidity when traveling abroad in light of their inability to obtain approved credit cards."

Bild newspaper said the German body had briefed senior officials of the German chancellery, the foreign ministry and the finance ministry on the request.

Source: Reuters

[justchecking123]

18 hours ago, yota691 said:

Implications of the US-Iranian conflict in Iraq!

09/7/2018 12:00 am  Ibrahim Abadi   America has erred in its foreign policy since the Second World War and reshaped the post-war international order. It made mistakes in its military and political interventions and suffered wars and catastrophic consequences. In Korea, it intervened in the United Nations cover in 1950 and was relatively successful, in the Cuban Bay of Pigs in 1961, Vietnam in 1965, In 1983, the Americans received their shock of the painful Middle East, followed by confidence-building measures, and beyond the Vietnam complex and its deep wounds in the American political and military mind. It was the picnic of Grenada in 1984 and the overthrow of the President of Panama In 1991, the United States embarked on a major military parade in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, dropping regimes and evaluating others in accordance with an American perspective to rebuild the nations on the bases and bases of consensual democracy and strategic objectives. Serving security Nationalism of America as the world's greatest and dominant power. In all these mistakes, the American politicians did not agree on a great deal. There was an elite of the American ruling establishment that made the decisions and made them ready for the president to carry on with all the consequences of heavy losses, gambling and severe difficulties. Anyone who examines US documents published after its release discovers that the Americans are quick to indulge in problems and go to military escalation because there are powerful civilian and military politicians within the National Security Adviser and sometimes in the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs controlled by a specific ideology that burn the stages in order to achieve them. The conservative American right or neoconservatives have long accused the American political mind of not thinking of war as a way to impose America's dominance and interests on adults before young people from countries around the world. In the documents released, those who push for escalation and the logic of war are subject to the pressure of time and the desire to achieve achievement and speed in decision-making, and underestimate the value of opponents and arrogance exaggerated and underestimated the consequences of the wars. It has become clear that the influence of extremist advisors on Trump has increased significantly since the replacement of the first political team that came immediately after his inauguration. A group that has been contemplated to overthrow or damage the government in Iran by all means will have to be dealt with, This fact calls for taking necessary precautions for us in Iraq. The Iraqis have the right to be concerned if the escalation and the American blockade against Iran continue. If the Iranian reactions to the past continue to be firm and irreversible against a clear American plan, President Rohani's remarks during his visit to Switzerland Austria, and its positive reception among conservative circles in Iran, means that the US conservative right has entered into a serious challenge to the hardline right in Iran, that the battlefields will not necessarily be in the trenches of direct confrontation and the nearby seam lines, but in the squares of the intersection of influence and Iraq, This clash will leave its impact on the formation of the government And the Iranians are defending their existence, values and slogans in the face of a declared US desire to overthrow the political system, and they are not in retreat and in front of the experiences of Saddam and Gaddafi, And the Americans do not want to lose Iraq to their opponent Iran, where they lost thousands of men and over a trillion dollars. They dream of a Middle East that will walk and control it without the headache of resistance and resistance and the joy of its weapons and tactics. N the great victory over the Arab political system, the fall of the last lines stand against normalization and the official recognition. We are in the midst of a serious crisis that will be similar to the Soviet missile crisis in Cuba in 1962. Iraq needs countries to stabilize the region and ensure the flow of its oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. This calls for the formation of a government in Baghdad capable of dealing with this new challenge with all its economic, And the psychological situation in Iraq and the region. Terrorism has benefited from the great turmoil and the vibration of the security system in the region to strengthen its existence and turn into an eternal crisis. Now, this is a new opportunity to benefit from its consequences and repercussions, especially that Iran's enemies in Iraq and the region may find it an opportunity. Nasph recycle attitudes and revenge from both Hspoh days within the Iranian axis (Shiite), we need a sense of high Iraqi political blocs beyond the interests and struggles to think Iraq's homeland, the Iraqi nation, which is still living unhappiness and division and Takbtadtha. When the situation in Iran deteriorates, the conflicts of sects, tribes and bees will be more severe and more effective, especially if the goal is to redraw the political maps of the countries of the region as seen by US national security adviser John Bolton.

Great op-ed piece, well thought out. Thanks, Yota.

[yota691]

Trump: Iran's threats to our fleet in the Gulf are over

Readers

 

 

Trump: Iran's threats to our fleet in the Gulf are over

 

09-07-2018 06:49 PM

 

The Euphrates -

 

US President Donald Trump announced that the threat of Iran's warships to his country's fleet in the Persian Gulf was "over" this year, unlike past years of dozens of frictions. 

"The harassment of Iranian forces by the US Navy in 2015 was 22 cases, and in 2016 it reached 36, while in 2017 it fell to 14 cases," Trump wrote in a tweet via his Twitter account on Monday citing US Navy statistics. But in 2018 it was zero. ' 
The US president's remarks, referring to the friction of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' warships with the US Navy, have been in the waters of the Arabian Gulf for the past four years. Several US naval vessels have said that Iranian boats have approached them dangerously several times, contrary to maritime customs. 

Earlier, the Trump administration said it would not tolerate these threats, as nearly a year ago approached an Iranian boat from a US warship, which almost developed into firing near the Strait of Hormuz. 

The US Navy announced in late March 2017, that Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats had protested the destruction of USS Mahan in the Arabian Gulf; prompting the latter to fire warning shots at a nearby boat.

[yota691]

      

[yota691]

 

[Pitcher]

Asian oil customers are looking to secure more oil supplies from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, to replace oil from Iran after the U.S. announced the new sanctions on Tehran, Nizar al-Adsani, CEO at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), told Reuters on Monday.

“There is demand now ... as sanctions are implemented on Iran ... Some of the companies are trying to find other options other than Iran, be it the kingdom (Saudi Arabia), Emirates, Iraq or Kuwait,” al-Adsani told Reuters on the sidelines of a China-Arab summit in Beijing.

According to the manager, KPC, the national oil company of Kuwait, has recently boosted its production by 85,000 bpd, in line with last month’s OPEC agreement to increase production, worded as ‘easing compliance rates.’ Any additional increase would depend on OPEC, the head of the Kuwaiti oil company told Reuters.

 

After the U.S. signaled two weeks ago that it would take a harder line against Iranian oil exports and would push for ‘zero’ oil exports from Iran, Asian buyers have stepped up efforts to diversify their Middle Eastern crude oil imports and look for alternatives to crude oil from Tehran.

Japanese refiners are considering stopping oil imports from Iran, and Japanese shipping companies have decided in principle not to accept Iranian oil cargoes from August onwards, in order to clear any payments before the U.S. sanctions on Iran kick in in early November. Asian buyers, however, do not seem overly concerned about a supply shortage, because Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern oil producers can provide similar-quality grades, according to Platts.

Indian refiners are also preparing for any scenario in case they won’t be able to import any Iranian crude oil, and some of the largest Indian buyers of Iranian oil have a wide basket of alternative grades.

South Korea, for its part, is said to have suspended all buying of Iranian crude and superlight crude, more commonly known as condensate, after the U.S. stepped up pressure on Iranian customers to stop importing its oil. South Korea has since denied the reports

 

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Asian-Buyers-Look-To-Replace-Iranian-Oil-Amid-US-Sanctions.html

 

[Pitcher]

Crude oil prices could jump as high as US$250 a barrel if Iran goes through with its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. pressure on oil buyers to cut their Iranian purchases to zero, RT reports, quoting analysts.

The most bullish among these analysts was Artem Avinov from online broker TeleTrade, who saw prices skyrocketing to US$250 a barrel if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, disrupting about 17 million bpd in seaborne oil trade. Avinov, however, added that this course of events is very unlikely, suggesting Iran would instead opt for “a quick economic or military retaliation, which will lead to the lifting of restrictions.”

Another analyst, from Global FX, said he expected prices to hit US$160 per barrel in the event of a Hormuz blockade, following a warning from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that they might close the chokepoint as it must be “for all or for no one,” as reported by news agency Tasnim.

Expectations of a sharp increase in international oil prices are only normal in the current geopolitical situation, and yet these expectations tend to be predominantly hypothetical. Few seem to believe that Iran will actually go all the way and—for the first time in history—make good on its threat to close off Hormuz. 

 

What’s more, the U.S. Fifth Fleet is stationed right there to ensure the safe passage of oil cargoes from its Arab allies in the Middle East. Any attempt at a blockade would be interpreted as a direct military confrontation. This would certainly push prices higher, but hardly as high as US$250 a barrel.

For now, however, prices appear to be stable, with Brent hovering around US$77 a barrel for most of last week, as upward pressure from the Iran sanctions was met and offset by downward pressure from the tariff spat between the United States and China, where everyone now expects China to announce tariffs on crude oil imports.

 

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/The-Critical-Chokepoint-That-Could-Send-Oil-To-250.html

 

 

 

 

 

[Karsten]

Iran can sabre rattle, bluster and ***** all they want.....The Iranian people have had it with the Mullahs. They are done with the money being useless, their wives and daughter being hung by Tow trucks.....In short the Mullahs  had better find a safe place just like they exiled the Shah back in the 70's. This isn't jimmy Carter or obama running the show these days

 

Karsten

[yota691]

U.S. Seeks to Thwart Iran Flying Millions in Cash Out of Germany

Iran in need of cash after President Trump reimposed sanctions

 

Foreign ministers including Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas take part in a Comprehensive Plan of Action ministerial meeting on the Iran nuclear deal / Getty Images

•  

BY: Adam Kredo Follow @Kredo0 
July 9, 2018 2:45 pm

Top Trump administration officials are working to stop Germany from allowing Iran to fly more than $350 million in cash out of the country and back to Tehran as part of a bid by the Iranian regime to restock its coffers ahead of a major financial crackdown by America, according to conversations with senior U.S. diplomats and officials on Capital Hill.

The Trump administration is already working to stop the German government from allowing this transfer following weekend reports that Iran is poised to fly around 300 million Euros out of the country as part of an ongoing scheme to skirt tough new U.S. economic sanctions, which were put back into effect after President Donald Trump decided to abandon the landmark nuclear deal.

"The mullahs are worried that they will run out of cash," according to a report in Germany's Bild news site. "Iran's justification for their plan says that they need the money ‘to pass it on to Iranian individuals who, when traveling abroad, are dependent on euros in cash due to their lack of access to accepted credit cards.'"

The disclosure of the latest scheme to skirt U.S. sanctions has inflamed ongoing tensions between the United States and Germany over its efforts to continue providing Iran with sanctions relief in the face of a crackdown by the Trump administration, which has been locked in diplomatic efforts to convince European partners to pull out of Iran.

Iranian officials have been saying for weeks that they are holding diplomatic talks with some European countries to skirt new U.S. sanctions as Tehran faces a major cash crunch that has sparked waves of popular protests against the hardline ruling regime. Much of the money Iran has spent recently has funded its war efforts in Syria, Yemen, and other hot spots.

Those said to be spearheading the cash transfer are designated by the United States for sponsoring terrorism and providing support to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, which has been waging rogue militant operations across the region, official said.

Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, told the Washington Free Beacon Monday afternoon that he and other top officials in the Trump administration are pressuring the German government to block Iran's multi-million dollar cash transfer

"We are encouraging the German government at the highest levels to intervene to stop this transfer of cash," Grenell revealed to the Free Beacon.

State Department and White House National Security Council officials following the situation said they are concerned by reports that the individual facilitating the transfer, Ali Tarzali, has been designated for supporting the IRGC and other terrorist groups. Tarzali is a senior Iranian official with Iran's Central Bank, which has been cited for sponsoring terrorism and the regime's nuclear activities.

"We are especially disturbed by the reports that the individual facilitating this transfer is Ali Tarzali who was designated by Treasury OFAC on May 15 pursuant to [Executive Order] 13224 for assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, the IRGC-Quds Force," a State Department official disclosed to the Free Beacon.

"We are deeply concerned by reports that the Iranian regime is attempting to move hundreds of millions of Euros in cash from a Hamburg-based German bank back to Iran," the official added, echoing similar comments from NSC officials who spoke to the Free Beacon.

Both officials further confirmed comments by Grenell and others about new U.S. efforts to thwart the transaction.

"We are engaging with the German government at the highest levels to understand the facts of the situation; we obviously encourage the Germans' efforts to undertake a comprehensive investigation into the purpose of this transaction," explained the State Department official said, speaking only on background. "We will be monitoring the situation closely to ensure our concerns over Iran's attempt to secure such a large amount of cash are being addressed."

The administration's effort to stop Iran's cash transfer is being met with support from anti-Iran deal lawmakers on the Hill who are engaged in parallel efforts to stop Germany's repeated overtures to Iran.

"The Germans are seemingly trying to alienate everyone in Washington," said one senior congressional official who works on these matters. "They're building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline with Russia, which gives Russia energy control over Europe, over the strong objections of the Trump administration and congressional Democrats."

Germany is "already on the wrong side of congressional Republicans because they're undermining restored nuclear sanctions, but at least there was a debate over the nuclear stuff," said the source, who was not authorized to speak on record about the sensitive diplomatic efforts. "Now it looks like they're sending physical cash to Iran's terrorist machine. Germany is choosing Iran over America."

Richard Goldberg, a former top Senate aide who helped sculpt the Iran sanctions architecture, told the Free Beacon that Germany could subject itself to potential money laundering violations by allowing Iran to fly the cash out of the country.

"The Germans would be crossing a bright red line of international anti-money laundering practices if they allowed this to happen," said Goldberg, currently a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "They’d be leaving [the] Treasury [Department] no choice but to evaluate options ranging from sanctions designations to official warnings regarding the security of Germany’s financial sector. Who would want to do business in a country where terror sponsors and proliferators can fly in and out with suitcases full of money?"

Insiders tracking the situation expect the issue to add another layer of tension to the U.S.-Germany relationship as Congress and the administration examine potential violations of sanctions if the transfer moves forward.

While tension between the United States and Germany on the Iran issue is percolating, President Trump is headed to Brussels Tuesday for a NATO summit where is expected to push allies to spend more on defense.

[yota691]

Iran / Iran Date: 2018 Jul. 10 - GMT 10:00

 

 

 

Jahangiri: US Treasury turned into an economic war room against Iran

Iran's first deputy president, Ishaq Jahangiri, said the US Treasury Department had turned into an economic chamber against Iran.

Jahangiri said at the inauguration ceremony of two steel projects in Isfahan on Tuesday that the enemy, in reference to America, aims to paralyze Iran's economy and increase pressure on its people in order to bring out popular protests.

He stressed that the United States is waging an economic war even against China and its allies, and aims to clean up Iran's oil exports as the country's most important resources, saying that the rhetoric is futile.

The first deputy stressed that the Iranian government's program is completely against US policies and the government wants to raise the volume of oil exports to the highest level to meet the needs, adding that the enemy aims to stop the main exports to Iran in the field of copper, petrochemicals and steel.

Jahangiri said that Iran is going through sensitive circumstances and stands in the face of America, which has broken its promises during the time of the nuclear agreement and implemented it in a deficient way, and took the worst option when withdrawing unilaterally.

[yota691]

Iran is maneuvering to withdraw its funds from abroad in anticipation of sanctions

Readers

 

 

Iran is maneuvering to withdraw its funds from abroad in anticipation of sanctions

 

10-07-2018 01:35 PM

 

The Euphrates -

 

The statements by Iranian officials optimistic about international support for their country in the face of US toughness are increasingly worrying about the sanctions Washington plans to begin in November, which could drag Iran's economy into a new crisis, which explains Tehran's efforts to withdraw funds abroad before that date. 

The Iranian newspaper Bild said on its website that the Iranian regime is afraid of running out of liquidity, when the US sanctions on the Iranian financial sector to take effect. 

The German government confirmed the report, where a spokeswoman for the German Ministry of Finance, said Monday in Berlin, that is currently being examined by the German Federal Agency for Financial Supervision. 

"According to my information, this is the first time such a case has been examined." 

For his part, a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said that part of the review concerns "whether there are violations of the sanctions regime" through this procedure. 

According to the report, Iran said in justification of its plans that there is a need for funds "to give it to Iranian individuals who rely on the euro cash in their foreign tours because of the difficulties they face in obtaining credit cards recognized." 

The plans have raised concern among US and Israeli intelligence, fearing that such funds would be used to finance terrorism, for example. 

In contrast, German government sources said German intelligence had no evidence. 

Germany finds itself in a difficult situation. If it responds to Iran's demands, it will appear to stand against Washington's will to force Tehran to make a radical revision of its Middle East policy. But its reluctance to give up, even in part of Iranian demands, will understand that Germany and behind it Europe chose to sacrifice the interests of its companies and sided with the administration of US President Donald Trump, who cares only about its interests. 

Analysts say the uproar surrounding Iran's demand will reveal to the authorities in Tehran the difficulties they will find in the future before and after the new sanctions date, and betting on a US-European dispute that could help break sanctions is unlikely. 

According to the report, the European European Commercial Bank of Iran in Hamburg, Germany has large assets of the Iranian regime. The bank accounts are managed by Deutsche Bundesbank. 

Iranian plans hope the Bundesbank will pay 300 million euros in cash and hand them over to Iranian officials, who will then take them to Tehran on Iranian planes. 
According to Bild's information, the German chancellery and the German ministries of foreign affairs and finance are concerned with this plan at the highest level. The negotiations are being conducted by the Iranian side Ali Tarazali, a senior official in Iran's central bank, which is covered by US sanctions. 

What makes this plan so thorny and irritating to Israel and the United States is that the Iranian regime frequently uses cash in euros or dollars to fund militias in the war in Syria or Hezbollah, as well as to threaten Israel's security. 

German government sources confirmed to the newspaper plans of the Iranian regime, saying "the German Federal Agency for Financial Supervision began a review of the bank, in accordance with the Banking and Money Laundering Law." 

Tehran is gravely concerned about the continued withdrawal of Western companies from the Iranian market, despite statements by Western officials and their "optimistic" meetings with their Iranian counterparts. 

France's CEMGM, one of the world's largest shipping companies, said on Saturday it was suspending its activities in Iran for fear of falling under US sanctions. 

Despite Europe's "understanding" of its openness to the Iranian market, its calculations tend to stand with the United States. Observers point out that Europe has begun to pressure Tehran to curtail its external influence, especially the networks it runs in Europe. 

Tehran on Sunday protested the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats from the Netherlands and threatened to "respond" to this "uncooperative behavior with devastating effects." 

Iranian diplomats were expelled ahead of Monday's arrests by French, Belgian and German authorities, including six people, including an Iranian diplomat working in Vienna, accused of involvement in a plot to blow up an Iranian opposition rally on June 30 on the outskirts of Paris. 

Observers believe that with the passage of time the crisis will increase its political weight on the authorities in Iran, especially that the Iranians are difficult to bear the new years of sanctions can be avoided by a decision by Tehran to abandon interference in foreign crises and stop the dreams of exporting the revolution to the Arab and Islamic world. 

They point out that the rejection of involvement in foreign crises has become a serious demand in the Iranian street to avoid the economic crisis experienced by the country, which will undoubtedly deepen with the new sanctions, especially in light of the expansion of corruption within the religious authority and the belt supporting them and the beneficiary. 

"Corruption has reached a level of danger to the country and the revolution," said former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, who is the most prominent figure of the reformist movement. "He no longer distinguishes between" reformists and conservatives, on the subject of corruption rampant in the country. "

[yota691]

US State Department: We will work to reduce the "Iranian militias" in Iraq and three countries

Readers

 

 

US State Department: We will work to reduce the "Iranian militias" in Iraq and three countries

 

10-07-2018 01:22 PM

 

The Euphrates -

 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a televised interview that the US administration is committed to tackling Iran's "evil" behavior, stressing that it is working to curtail Tehran's militias in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as Syria, as Washington seeks a political solution to end the conflict since 2011. .

In the interview, Pompeo revealed the American scenario to deal with the latest Iranian threats and to threaten to disrupt the movement of oil navigation in the region and close the Strait of Hormuz, after Washington re-imposed sanctions on Iran. "Everything starts with the bad behavior of Iran and the launching of rockets from Yemen targeting all the Gulf states.Therefore, American policy aims to deter such things. With regard to these threats, the world must realize that the United States is committed to maintaining shipping lines and the flow of oil to all parts of the world. This is the United States commitment for decades, and we will continue with this commitment.

The interview also addressed Iran's activities in several countries in the region, led by Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, and how the United States will work to curb these actions.

"It's great to have great partners in countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia and many other countries," said Pompeo. Bahrainis are working with us to deter evil Iranian behavior. We are working to curtail the Houthis in Yemen, and Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon. ' 

Reducing the Iranian threat in Yemen 
"The United States helps to ensure that the Huthis do not have weapons that allow them to threaten the region," he said. 
He stressed that his country worked with the UAE and Saudi Arabia to reduce the threat of the Iranian threat in Yemen, which also helped to detect and detect the smuggling of Iranian weapons to the region. 

Depriving Tehran of its financial capabilities 
"In Iraq and Syria, Shiite militias deliberately inflict real harm on ordinary citizens. Therefore, we intend to do several things. "The most important thing we are focusing on today is depriving Iran of the financial capacity to continue its bad behavior." 
"It is a wide range of sanctions that are not aimed at the Iranian people, but are aimed at convincing the Iranian regime that its evil behavior is unacceptable and will have a heavy cost," he said. 
He stressed that Washington is aware that the nuclear agreement with Iran was a way to possess a nuclear weapon and will prevent it, referring to working with the Europeans to create a new plan to stop the Iranian nuclear program. 
The American minister stressed that the Iranian regime must realize that it will not be rewarded for its malignant practices and that the economic situation will not improve until Iran returns to normalcy. 
He revealed that the United States will work to ensure the world's commitment to the implementation of sanctions imposed on Iran, asserting that access to Iranian oil after November 4 will be a violation of US sanctions. 

The need for an Iranian withdrawal from Syria 
In response to a question about the US deal based on Iran's repeated assertion of its intention to keep its forces in Syria, Pompeo said: 'Iran must get out of Syria. They have nothing to do there. ' 
"There is no reason to stay there," Pompeo said. There was Iranian influence for a long time.The Iranian forces and Iranian militias to leave Syria '. 

Russia's breach of the agreement to reduce the escalation 
On battles in southern Syria and the retreat of armed groups supported by the United States, Pompeo stressed the difficulty of the situation in the region. 
He explained: 'We have an agreement with Russia not to move in southern Syria within the agreement to reduce the escalation, and they (the Russians) clearly violated this agreement'. 

The political solution in Syria 
"From the perspective of the United States, we have to find a political solution in Syria. A solution that reflects the diversity of the Syrian state. We seek to create the conditions for a political solution '. 
He pointed to Washington's willingness to "continue the United Nations-led discussions, leading to a reduction in violence and work to calm the tension." 
Pompeo pointed out that his country seeks through the talks to allow "about six million displaced Syrians to start return and reconstruction, and finally reach a constitution and a political solution in line with what he wants and what the Syrian people really deserve."

[yota691]

What lies in store for Iran as the US readies fresh sanctions?

169 watching now

 

Al Jazeera English
Started streaming 13 minutes ago
Iranians are bracing for the impact of US sanctions that are due to snap back into place on August 6, following President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Iran nuclear deal.

The looming restrictions will block trading of precious metals, steel, coal, currency and debt, as well as Iran's purchase of US dollars. The sanctions are expected to further slow Iran’s already faltering economy, and that’s before a further round of US restrictions target Iran’s oil, energy and shipping industries in November.

Iran's mounting economic challenges present a stern test for President Hassan Rouhani. Having already faced brusque opposition by conservatives unhappy with his stewardship of the government, recent protests in Khorromshahr and Tehran’s Grand Bazaar have left him with little room for manoeuvre.

The Stream will look at how Iranians are coping in the immediate aftermath of the US’s exit from the nuclear deal and what lies in store when the sanctions begin to bite.

 

[Pitcher]

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) on Monday welcomed a statement by a senior US official on Iran’s assassination of Kurdish leader Dr. Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou with Washington saying it will pay more attention to murders carried out by Iran in the West.

Iranian assassins killed Ghassemlou in Vienna on July 13, 1989.

Last week, Brian Hook, Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, in a press briefing referred to the assassination of the Kurdish leader.

“This is – this month of July is the 29th anniversary that Iranian operatives, using diplomatic cover, assassinated the head of an Iranian Kurdish dissident group and two others,” Hook concluded.

“And so we will be, in the near term, reminding people of Iran and the violence that they have – a lot of their attacks, assassinations, bombings, cyber-attacks, kidnappings, hostage-takings, hijackings, small arms attacks, from 1979 to 2018, and we will be discussing that in every region of the world.”

“It signifies a change in the US approach toward Iran. I believe no one, even Australians, had doubted for a moment that it was Iran who did this but it was, I think, the first time a government formally talks about it. It is really important in terms of restoring justice in an international sphere,” Arash Saleh, representative of the PDKI to the US, told Kurdistan 24.

The official said Tehran is still threatening Iranian opposition leaders in Europe and the region. “Utilizing terrorism has always been a pillar in Iran’s domestic and foreign policies. The recent arrests in Europe tell us Iran has never stopped political assassinations neither at home or abroad,” he said.

“They assassinated one of our members in [the Kurdistan Region] a few months ago, and they still use assassinations at home to get rid of dissidents,” he added.

In March 2018, Qadir Qadiri, a senior Kurdish Peshmerga Commander of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iran (KDP-Iran) was killed in Rania city.

Furthermore, Komala and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) have accused Iran of attempted assassinations in recent years.

Moreover, last year, the Arab leader of an Iranian opposition party was also allegedly assassinated by Iran in the Netherlands.

“The Executive Board of PDKI welcomes and supports the United States’ recent efforts to raise international awareness on the global assassination campaign and other terrorist activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1979 to the present,” the PDKI said.

“In particular, PDKI welcomes and supports US efforts to remind Europe of the assassination of the Kurdish leader Dr. Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou by Iranian diplomats-cum-terrorists in Vienna on July 13, 1989,” the PDKI statement added.

Furthermore, on July 5, the US Bureau of Counterterrorism published a list of Iranian assassinations in Europe between 1979 and 2018, which includes the assassination of Dr. Ghassemlou as well as the murder of Dr. Sadeq Sharafkandi, who was assassinated by Iran in Berlin on Sep. 17, 1992.

The PDKI at the time held the leaders of the Iranian regime responsible for the assassination of Dr. Ghassemlou and his aides and said Austria’s decision to facilitate the free passage of the Iranian agents back to Iran obstructed justice in this case.

“Therefore, when the United States after 29 years raises the assassination case of Dr. Ghassemlou, it is a courageous step in the struggle against Iran’s global assassination campaign, which has continued unabated since 1979,” the PDKI statement added.

The Iranian Kurdish party also called on European officials that attempted to save the nuclear deal to “address Iranian terror acts on European soil, especially the assassination of Dr. Ghassemlou in Vienna, in their negotiations with Iran.”

“This is both a moral responsibility and a measure to protect the security of Europe. Iran continues its terrorist activities in Europe, which endangers the security of European countries,” the PDKI said.

On July 2, Iranians were arrested in Europe for allegedly plotting an attack on an exiled Iranian opposition group in France.

The Netherlands also expelled two diplomats last week.

The PDKI called on Western countries “to realize that Iran is the major source of terrorism in the world and that only regime change will ensure that Iran ends its terrorist activities and destabilizing foreign policy.”

“Efforts to change the ‘behavior’ or ‘policies’ of the Iranian regime are doomed to fail, as has been demonstrated repeatedly for the past four decades,” the statement concluded.

According to Jonathan Spyer, a Middle East analyst, the new US policy under President Donald Trump might result in more support for Iranian Kurds.

“There is already evidence on the ground for this. PDKI leader Mustafa Hijri, for example, just completed a successful visit to DC,” he told Kurdistan 24.

Abdullah Mohtadi, leader of Komala, and Mustafa Hijri, head of the PDKI, visited Washington last month.

“I think there is a real possibility of increased US attention to and support for Iranian Kurds if the unrest in Iran continues and spreads.”

 

http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/e79474bc-aae1-42c6-a7e0-893c7d6137c8

[Pitcher]

Iranian regime seeks to transfer 300 million euros in cash from German banks to Tehran, a move that is seen by US and Israeli officials  as a means to finance terrorism.

 

German media outlets said that the move came to evade strict US sanctions against the Iranian financial sector that will come into effect in the coming months. 

 

"The mullahs are worried that they will run out of cash," a Sunday report in BILD newspaper said. 

 

Germany's largest daily paper added that "This plan will probably lead to serious diplomatic difficulties between Germany, the US, and Israel."

 

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/29244/Germany-considers-Iran-plan-to-transfer-300-mln-euros-cash

[Pitcher]

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – The US has revealed that Iran maintains training camps inside Iraq and is using them to attack neighboring countries that are allied with the US.

On Tuesday, the State Department designated al-Ashtar Brigades (AAB) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, describing it as “an Iran-backed terrorist group in Bahrain.”

Bahrain’s population, like Iraq’s, is majority Shi’ite. However, Bahrain’s ruling family is Sunni.

Notably, Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province (once known as al-Ahsa) is also Shi’ite, and it has a long history of tensions with the religiously conservative Sunni rulers in Riyadh.

“AAB is an Iran-backed terrorist organization aimed at overthrowing the Bahraini government,” the State Department explained. In 2014, AAB killed three police officers, two from Bahrain and one from the United Arab Emirates, in a bombing attack, and in 2017, it shot dead another Bahraini police officer.

“In January 2018, AAB formally adopted Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) branding and reaffirmed its loyalty to Tehran,” the State Department continued. “AAB members have received weapons and explosives from Iran” and “training at IRGC-funded camps in Iraq,” it further explained.

US officials have long sought to downplay the significance of Iran’s growing influence in Iraq. This statement represents the first official, and clearest, US acknowledgement of the malevolent role that Iran is now playing in Iraq.

The strongest of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), the largely Shi’ite militias raised in 2014 to fight the Islamic State (IS), are backed by Iran.

In an attempt to bring the PMF under his control, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi formally incorporated them into the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). Yet they continue to answer to Maj. Gen. Qassim Soleimani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, responsible for the IRGC’s external operations—i.e. terrorism.

Although the Trump administration has declared the IRGC and its proxies to be terrorist organizations, US officials have resisted the suggestion that the Iranian-backed militias within the PMF should be designated, and treated, as terrorist organizations.

Following Baghdad’s assault last October on Kirkuk, a military operation engineered by Soleimani, in which the PMF played a central role, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R, California), complained that pro-Iranian Shiite militias had gained access to powerful, highly lethal US military equipment.

“There’s the M-1 Abrams tank, with the Hizbollah flag,” Hunter said at a Capitol Hill press conference, as he displayed pictures from the Iraqi attack on Kirkuk. “Here’s the IRGC with the militias that we’re equipping, training and sending into combat,” he complained.

Paul Davis, formerly an analyst of Kurdish affairs at the Pentagon and now a Fellow at Soran University, advised Kurdistan 24 that the US Train and Equip Program for Iraq “could very well be helping to sustain these training camps.”

Davis noted that the PMF uses US-supplied military equipment from that program, and the IRGC could easily obtain that equipment from its local proxies.

Davis also stressed that the PMF-electoral list, which did so well in Iraq’s May 12 elections—and which is headed by Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the PMF and of the Badr Organization, an Iranian-backed militia—will be major players in the next Iraqi government, once it is formed.

“The problem of Iran’s role in Iraq has been building for a long time,” Davis said. “But the US ignored it, and so it has only grown worse.”

Davis also noted that Shi’ites from Saudi Arabia are, almost certainly, training in the same terrorist training camps in Iraq as the Bahraini Shi’ites.

“They don’t distinguish between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia,” he said. “The key point is that they are all Shi’ites, repressed by Sunnis, at least in their view.”

Indeed, the Bahraini terrorist organization which the IRGC is training in Iraq has also called for violence against the British, Saudi, and US governments, the State Department explained.

 

http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/bceb5352-cf27-49f3-bf13-a742a9c41e32

[Pitcher]

NEW DELHI: 

Iran on Tuesday criticised India for not fulfilling its promise of making investments in expansion of the strategically located Chabahar port and said New Delhi will stand to lose "special privileges" if it cuts import of Iranian oil.

Iran's Deputy Ambassador and Charge d'Affaires Massoud Rezvanian Rahaghi said Iran will end the privileges being provided to India if it tries to source oil from countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the US and others to offset cuts in Iranian oil.

"It is unfortunate that Indian investment promises for expansion of Chabahar port and its connectivity projects have not been accomplished so far. It is expected that India takes immediate necessary measures in this regard if its cooperation and engagement in Chabahar port is of strategic nature," he said.

Mr Rahaghi was speaking at a seminar on 'emerging challenges and opportunities in the global diplomacy and its impact on bilateral ties with India'.

The Chabahar port is being considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with central Asian countries in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi.

In May 2016, India, Iran and Afghanistan had inked a pact which entailed establishment of Transit and Transport Corridor among the three countries using Chabahar Port as one of the regional hubs for sea transportation in Iran, besides multi-modal transport of goods and passengers across the three nations.

Referring to US sanctions on oil import from Iran, Mr Rahaghi said his country has been a reliable energy partner for India and that Iran always follows a "rationale pricing" of oil which ensures the interest of both consumers and suppliers.

"... If India were to replace Iran with countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the US and others for the 10 per cent of its oil demand then it may have to revert to dollar-denominated imports which mean higher CAD (Current Account Deficit) and deprivation of all other privileges Iran has offered to India," Mr Rahaghi said.

The senior Iranian diplomat said it was important to work together to immunise the relationship between the two countries through adoption of necessary instruments and mechanisms.

 

 

 

"We should strive to make this relationship more sustainable and durable. This requires a strong political determination," he said, adding both sides should set up banking relations, open new transaction routes and help each other's markets and business communities.

Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iran supplied 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil between April 2017 and January 2018 (first 10 months of fiscal 2017-18).

The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to "zero" by November 4 or face sanctions. The Trump administration brought back sanctions against Iran after pulling out the US from the Iran nuclear deal.

Shipping to Iran and ports in the country are also coming under the US sanctions.

India is also expected to convey to the US the importance of the Chabahar port project considering that it can be a major link for trade with war-ravaged Afghanistan.

"In such a selfish approach, the US is targeting the whole world -- either to be its friends and allies or be rival. So the US must abandon its policy of resorting to threats or use of force," said Mr Rahaghi.

In May, President Donald Trump announced that the US was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal signed by the Obama administration in 2015, under which Tehran had agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow international inspectors in return for lifting of crippling economic sanctions.  Mr Rahaghi also suggested that a regional dialogue forum should be set up

 

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/chabahar-port-iran-slams-india-for-not-making-promised-investments-in-chabahar-port-1881219

 

[skeetdog]

Thanks Pitcher...This would probably become a "Task-Order"...had Killary of won...

[yota691]

Washington intervenes on the line of Iranian funds smuggled from Germany

- 1 Minute Ago

BERLIN - The US ambassador to Germany asked Berlin on Tuesday to prevent Iran from withdrawing a large sum of money from bank accounts in Germany to counter the consequences of new US financial sanctions following Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, while Iranian Vice President Ishak Jahangiri acknowledged the severity of sanctions and its negative impact on a deteriorating economy originally.

Ambassador Richard Grenell, a critic of the nuclear deal, told the widely-circulated German newspaper Bild that the US government was deeply concerned about Tehran's plans to turn hundreds of millions of euros into Iran in cash.

"We ask the German government for the highest level of intervention and stop the plan," the US ambassador was quoted as saying. A German Finance Ministry spokeswoman said on Monday the authorities were studying the Iranian request.

Iranian officials are increasingly concerned about the sanctions, which Washington plans to begin in November, which could drag the Iranian economy into a new crisis, which explains Tehran's efforts to withdraw funds deposited abroad before that date.

Iran's vice president, Hassan Rowhani, said it was wrong to believe that new US sanctions on Tehran would not affect its economy after Washington launched a trade war with its European allies and China.

"We will sell as much oil as we can," the Fars news agency quoted him as saying, despite US efforts to halt Iran's oil exports. Bild newspaper said on its website on Monday that the Iranian regime feared that its liquidity would run out as US sanctions on Iran's financial sector came into force.

The German government confirmed the report, where a spokeswoman for the German Finance Ministry in Berlin, that is currently being examined by the German Federal Agency for Financial Supervision.

"According to my information, this is the first time such a case has been examined."

For his part, a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said that part of the review concerns "whether there are violations of the sanctions regime" through this procedure.

According to the report, Iran said in justification of its plans that there is a need for funds "to give it to Iranian individuals who rely on the euro cash in their foreign tours because of the difficulties they face in obtaining credit cards recognized."

The newspaper said the plans were a cause of concern for US and Israeli intelligence, fearing that such funds would be used to finance terrorism, for example. German government sources said German intelligence had no evidence.

Germany finds itself in a difficult situation. If it responds to Iran's demands, it will appear to stand against Washington's will to force Tehran to make a radical revision of its Middle East policy. But its reluctance to give up, even in part of Iranian demands, will understand that Germany and behind it Europe chose to sacrifice the interests of its companies and sided with the administration of US President Donald Trump, who cares only about its interests.

Analysts say the uproar surrounding Iran's demand will reveal to the authorities in Tehran the difficulties they will find in the future before and after the new sanctions date, and betting on a US-European dispute that could help break sanctions is unlikely. According to the report, the European European Commercial Bank of Iran in Hamburg, Germany has large assets of the Iranian regime. The bank accounts are managed by Deutsche Bundesbank.

Iranian plans hope the Bundesbank will pay 300 million euros in cash and hand them over to Iranian officials, who will then take them to Tehran on Iranian planes. According to Bild's information, the German chancellery and the German ministries of foreign affairs and finance are concerned with this plan at the highest level.

The negotiations are being conducted by the Iranian side Ali Tarazali, a senior official in Iran's central bank, which is covered by US sanctions.

The Arabs

[yota691]

Washington: We are studying the request of some countries for exemption from sanctions against Iran

 10 July 2018 08:18 PM
Direct : US Secretary of State said that the United States will consider requests from some countries to waive the sanctions that will be applied in November to prevent the export of Iranian oil.

Mike Pompio told Sky News during his visit to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday that some countries had asked the United States to ease the sanctions, adding that his country would look into the matter.

Pompeo stressed that any country not granted exemptions would continue to be responsible for imposing substantial sanctions.

China, India and Turkey, oil importers, have said they may not listen to US sanctions.

"On November 4, there will be a US sanction to prevent the passage of oil from Iran to other countries, and this activity will be subject to sanctions," Pompeo said.

The United States last month asked companies not to buy oil from Iran by November or face sanctions.

Washington hopes to offset supply shortages caused by Saudi Arabia, which US President Donald Trump has demanded to pump nearly 2 million bpd.