Iranian official calls for negotiations with Washington in Iraq

[yota691]

9 hours ago

A major German company withdraws from Iran

2018-08-16T16: 22: 53Z

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Germany's Deutsche Bahn (Deutsche Bahn) has announced its gradual withdrawal from its projects in Iran after Washington imposed new sanctions on Tehran and said its client companies would be barred from doing business with the states.
The new US sanctions on Tehran took effect last week and several European companies suspended investment plans in Iran under the sanctions, including oil giant Total, BSA, Renault and Daimler.

A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn said on Thursday the company was working on two projects in Iran through its engineering and consulting unit, DB.

"As a result of changing banking practices, we have sought to end the contract in a friendly and timely manner," she said.

Deutsche Bahn signed a memorandum of understanding with the Beniad Eastern Railway Railway Company in May 2017 on the first project aimed at identifying the potential of train and regulation vehicles.

[10 YEARS LATER]

3 hours ago, Synopsis said:

 

SIR - YOU THE MAN!!! 

 

I always enjoyed the single action pistol and have one in 44 mag inspired by the fond recollections of these episodes. I also have one in 45 Colt. Well, OK, I cast my own 255 gr for the 45 colt and 300 gr for the 44 mag. I also like the lever action and have a couple of those in 30-30 Winchester Model '94. 

 

Go Moola Nova!

 

Thats a mighty fine " Starter Collection " () Y'all Have there. Think of the possibilities of expanding your collection of Fine Firearms once this thing POPS !    

[Butifldrm]

 

2018/08/17 13:50

• Number of readings 32
• Section: Monitoring
•  

Al-Abbadi's economic adviser: The special relationship between Iraq and Iran makes it vulnerable to sanctions

 

 

BAGHDAD - The appearance of Mohammed Saleh economic adviser, Prime Minister Haider Abadi, Friday, August 17, 2018 that the US sanctions on Iran will have an impact on Iraq, noting that the Iraqis are particularly sensitive to them, because their country suffered a lot of The siege, which was imposed for 12 years and caused great destruction, continues to this day.

"Any country that worsens its economic situation, its neighbors will be the first to be affected, and there will be no doubt that US sanctions on Iran will have an impact on Iraq," Saleh said in an interview with al-Masalla.

He pointed out that Iraq is not an island or a province, but a neighboring country with which it has economic and cultural ties, and that the Iraqi-Iranian relations are of a special nature. The first is religious tourism, where about three million visitors flow from Iran to Iraq annually, To the important cities such as Karbala, the holy Najaf and Samarra, there is no doubt that the citizen is affected by the level of living and economic situation, which is reflected on the tourist side as well, leaving a negative activity influential.

"He did not announce Iraq's position on US sanctions against Iran, but it was a vision and we are serious in its opposition because the Iraqi people have suffered an unjust siege and it is not right for the people to bear these sanctions," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Monday (August 13, 2018). "It is not the right of a large and powerful country to impose a blockade on a country," he said, referring to the United States. "Iran remains a neighboring country and we want to resolve all the issues of the dispute," he said. "It is in the interest of Iraq and its people to live in peace, integration and common interests between countries." The prime minister denied he had said Iraq would abide by sanctions against Iran.

The appearance of Mohammed Saleh that "the second axis is that Iran is supplying energy resources to Iraq, and responsible for about 5 to 6 thousand megawatts, by providing Iraq with electricity directly or through the supply of gas, and the matter in which financial transactions are undoubtedly affected and reflected on the status of energy In Iraq and makes it difficult, unless Iraq is looking for an alternative in the short term, medium or long.

He added that "the third axis is the trade relations inherent since the economic embargo on Iraq in 1990, as the Iranian markets open to Iraq with simple consumer goods, such as food, spare and construction."

He pointed out that "the Iraqi people want Iranian goods and licenses for the Iraqi taste, and if the trade faltered due to the faltering financial transactions and the economic situation of Iran will leave economic problems and the exchange of markets and customers, and the difference in prices."

He stressed that "the continuation of the embargo on Iran and the escalation of the crisis, made the Iraqi position towards the protection of the national economy, and helps the international community to find a point of peace and stability, instead of the blockade, which is a form of war and is a silent war in the concept of economists.

The legal expert, Tariq Harb, predicted on Sunday, August 12, 2018, that Washington will take into account the circumstances of Iraq and its conditions and will not impose sanctions in the event of violating the sanctions imposed on Iran, stressing that trade between Tehran and Baghdad will continue and will not be affected by the recent sanctions that Imposed by Washington.

The government spokesman, Saad al-Hadithi, said in an interview with the "Masala" that Iraq refuses to resort to sanctions as a means of resolving differences between countries because it harms the people and citizens and is not affected by the regulations in clarifying the position of the Iraqi government to impose US sanctions on Iran, Stressing that the Iraq issue regarding the sanctions on Iran is limited to banking and financial transactions.

 

US sanctions on Iran entered into force on the morning of August 07, 2018, covering a number of sectors of Iran's vital economy and restricting foreign companies' dealings with them in preparation for a ban on its oil.

The analyst of "Masala" political, that the Iraqi position of sanctions against Iran is not "typical" and "complimentary" in the start of the problem, on which the results were built. It distinguishes two contradictory trends between Iran, the big neighbor, which has supported Iraq more than any other country in the war on terror, and links it to the Iraqi people, economic relations, geographical proximity, religious and historical scandals, and international obligations that "can not be compromised, Protection for the Iraqi people, "as stated by Prime Minister Haider Abadi.

 

The obelisk

http://almasalah.com/ar/news/147108/المستشار-الاقتصادي-للعبادي-العلاقة-الخاصة-بين-العراق-وإيران-تجعله-يتأثر-بالعقوبات

[Butifldrm]

The dollar has begun to change Iraq's approach to Iran by joining US sanctions

 

6 hours ago

View

+ -

NRT

A newspaper "Kommersant" Russian almost that the dollar began to change Iraq 's approach to Iran, where he was forced Baghdad to join US sanctions on Tehran, through the prohibition of dealing in dollars with Iranian banks, but much depends on the Kurds, because the main smuggling from Iran line passes through the province Kurdistan , according to the newspaper.

"Iraq is the first country affected by the return of US sanctions against Iran," said a report published on Thursday (August 16, 2018). "The volume of trade between the two neighbors last year was about $ 13 billion. However, , That Baghdad will abide by US sanctions accelerated the Iraqi Central Bank to inform commercial banks to prohibit dealing with the dollar with Iranian banks The decision was not easy, relations with Iran play an important role in the economy of Iraq .

"Moreover, Iranian political influence over Iraq makes it possible to sink the neighboring country into chaos, " the report said.

"Iran and Iraq can use the euro and national currencies for mutual conversion, but ending the dollar is a very serious signal," the paper quoted a researcher at the Center for Energy Policy Studies at the European University in St. Petersburg as saying .

According to him, the Americans learned the lesson from the past years and tried to prevent Iran, as far as possible, from working through third countries, adding that "Iraq was one of the gaps through which Iran traded oil and exceeded financial constraints ."

"It is possible to make statements, and at the same time allow the Iranians to continue to circumvent the sanctions, " he said.

He said that "much depends on the Kurds, because the main smuggling line from Iran passes through the territory of Kurdistan, knowing that the head of the government of the Territory, Nigervan Barzani, a day before the speech of Haider Abadi, that the position of the Kurds on the issue of sanctions against Iran will correspond to the Baghdad line, But it must be borne in mind that the Kurds are connected to the outside world via Iran and Turkey, which intends to support Tehran . "

"If Iraq publicly violates sanctions against Iran, Washington can take action against it," said Ruslan Mamidov, program coordinator at the Russian Council for International Affairs. "Oil companies can leave the country (and make it difficult in the south), the already weak Iraqi economy, Will stop . "

He stressed Mamedov that Tehran has nothing to offer to Baghdad, to prevent worsening ofIraq 's internal problems, but only Saudi Arabia and the United States can photograph provide the necessary financial support for Iraq, and "hence the frequency of Abadi between being against the sanctions, and abide by them at the same time " .

A

http://www.nrttv.com/AR/News.aspx?id=3441&MapID=2

[Butifldrm]

Baghdad Post Friday, 17 August 2018 02:16 PM

 

An American expert reveals a possible rift between leaders of Iran's Revolutionary Guards

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Michael J. Regent, an American security expert and senior Middle East scholar at the Hudson Institute in Washington, has suggested splittingsenior leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and leaving the country in secret. 

On the sidelines of a seminar at the Hudson Institute on the ongoing protests in Iran and the impact of US sanctions on the Iranian regime, Brigant said some reports of the resignation of several senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards . 

In an interview with Voice of America on the sidelines of the seminar, Brigant said: "I have heard that many senior leaders of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have resigned and left the country with their money, but I can not find identical sources of this information." 

"We are facing a lack of information about the Revolutionary Guard commanders who have left office," he said.

"If these cleavages are confirmed, it will be very important," said the security expert and former lecturer at the College of International Security Affairs. 

"At present, what we know is that the middle class officers of the Qods Force were displeased with the Iranian Supreme Leader's flexibility towards the United States during the nuclear agreement," said Brigant. "We know there are differences between the senior leadership and the leaders of the middle class." 

This comes as the Iranian regime faces protests since the beginning of 2018 against high prices, high prices, poverty and unemployment. 

The withdrawal of the US from the nuclear deal in May and then the return of sanctions led to a rapid deterioration of the economic situation, where the local currency "Real" a historic collapse against the dollar and lost 70% of its value. 

The experts who participated in the symposium of the Institute "Hudson"Leaders split with Iranian security and intelligence services. 

"The budget of Iran is declining, and the ability of the Iranian government to pay for its security forces is shrinking," said Iran's expert on defense for democracies, Bhnam Ben Talblo, in an interview with Voice of America on the sidelines of the seminar. An important part of the Iranian economy, the question now is: Will the regime rely on its security forces to defend itself against the growing protests? " 

"This is a hypothetical question, but when severe sanctions are imposed in November 2018 and target Iran's revenues in 2019, this question will be a practical and experimental matter," he said.
 

Count

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/ar/Story/117816/خبير-أميركي-يكشف-عن-انشقاق-محتمل-بين-قادة-بالحرس-الثوري-الإيراني

[yota691]

Washington: We will impose sanctions on countries that cooperate with Iran

Trump's representative said it was unnecessary to recall this

 

 

 17/08/2018 - 15:02

 

 

 

Iran is ready to impose secondary sanctions against countries that will continue to trade with Iran after the first wave of sanctions comes into force, US special envoy to Iran Brian Hawke said.

Asked how the State Department could persuade China to comply with the sanctions, Hawk told a news conference at the State Department: "We expect business with Iran, including shipping, to be cut off by November.

"We hope our partners will abide by the sanctions regime, and I think there is no reason to recall the willingness of the United States to impose secondary (second) sanctions," he said.

Washington has imposed sanctions against Iran in several areas, including bank transfers in US currency, metals, aluminum, steel, and others, while energy and oil will hit in November.

The United States withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran in May, announcing the resumption of severe economic sanctions against Tehran, while the local Iranian currency has seen a significant devaluation of its value against foreign currencies.

[Butifldrm]

Report: Trump, Putin, Agree to Push Iran Out of Syria

By

 David Israel

 -

 6 Elul 5778 – August 17, 2018 

0

 

Photo Credit: Courtesy Kremlin.ru

Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump at APEC Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, November 10, 2017

 

Many were wondering at the time what Presidents Trump and Putin were talking about when they met for two hours behind closed doors in Helsinki last July, raising speculations regarding Trump’s troubles from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of a collusion between the two prior to the 2016 elections. There was a lot of that, as well as a discussion of extending two arms control treaties between the US and Russia. But reports emerging from the White House on Thursday suggest that secret meeting was mostly devoted to Iran’s presence in Syria.

Both Reuters and Bloomberg, citing a White House official who insisted on his anonymity, reported the two leaders came to an agreement that Iran must exit Syria. The Russian leader said getting Iran out “would be difficult,” but agreed in principle that it must be accomplished, sooner or later.

 

Since the Helsinki summit with the US president, Russia has continued its cooperation with Iran, along with Turkey, on governing post-civil war Russia, with all three countries carving out strategic portions of the country for their own military use. Which suggests that when the Russian president agreed that Iran should be out of Syria, he meant it should happen some time in the future.

On the other hand, the Russians did insist that Iran and its proxy forces pull away some 50 miles from Israel’s border in the Golan Heights.

The same anonymous White House official also suggested that when national security adviser John Bolton meets with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev in Geneva next week, Iran’s presence in Syria will take up much of their conversation.

Averyanov and Bolton last met on June 27, in Moscow, and, according to TASS, discussed the prospects for cooperation between the two countries’ security councils – which represented a 180 degree shift in Bolton’s position on Russia and President Putin, whom he previously depicted as an enemy of the US.

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/us-news/report-trump-putin-agree-to-push-iran-out-of-syria/2018/08/17/

[10 YEARS LATER]

Trump knows he can’t really  “ trust “ Putin, so it’s time to make a deal 🤝 Deal. The Game Of Empires continues. 

[Floridian]

I want to know why they are wearing the same shirt or jacket (whatever it is)?

What sort of significance does that have?  It looks stupid.

[Synopsis]

18 hours ago, 10 YEARS LATER said:

 

Thats a mighty fine " Starter Collection " () Y'all Have there. Think of the possibilities of expanding your collection of Fine Firearms once this thing POPS !    

 

Thank You, 10 Years Later, AND The Best Of Your Weekend To You, Sir!!! 

 

Yep! I have a long range project on my mind and will work that Baby through the paces!!! 

 

Go Moola Nova!

[jg1]

8 hours ago, 10 YEARS LATER said:

Trump knows he can’t really  “ trust “ Putin, so it’s time to make a deal 🤝 Deal. The Game Of Empires continues. 

He can trust Putin more than the media, the FBI, and the rest of the 3 letter words, gaurenteed.

[Pitcher]

Iran Is Throwing a Tantrum but Wants a Deal

Even in its afterlife, the Iran nuclear deal continues to polarize. Those who supported the agreement proclaim loudly that Iran will never negotiate any adjustment to it, while its opponents argue U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of it will produce a better deal.

Trump himself seems to believe a better deal is possible, having recently offered to talk to the Iranians without preconditions. On Monday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei indicated he disagrees, declaring: “I ban holding any talks with America. … America never remains loyal to its promises.” Khamenei’s ban came after Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had already insisted: “The Iranian people will never allow their officials to meet and negotiate with the Great Satan, we are not North Korea.”

That sounds strong, but I suspect Trump’s backers have the better case. History and basic political dynamics suggest Iran’s defiant attitude about negotiations will soften before long, and it’s entirely possible to imagine the two sides reaching an agreement. The next round of U.S.-Iranian negotiations, however, won’t look anything like the first—and Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely play a starring role as peacemaker.

Let’s first dispense with some mistaken assumptions on the U.S. side. Jafari’s reference to North Korea is telling, both because Iran is not a one-man show and because Trump seems to believe that his “maximum pressure” approach worked on North Korea and can work on Iran. Leaving aside whether it has worked, the two cases are quite different. On North Korea, a strong international consensus existed on stopping the regime’s nuclear program—and theTrump administration mobilized support for new, tougher sanctions. On Iran, by contrast, the president broke the international consensus by walking away from the nuclear deal. It is hard to apply maximum pressure when other governments, especially our European allies, oppose our efforts and are adopting regulations to protect their companies from U.S. sanctions for doing business with Iran. At a minimum, our allies and others are not going to be vigilant in plugging loopholes in the sanctions regime and preventing the Iranians from evading the sanctions—a practice that they have honed over time.

So much for maximum pressure. In fact, with oil prices rising, Iran is likely to be able to cover revenue losses that may occur when the Trump administration applies the second round of sanctions on Nov. 4—sanctions that require countries to reduce their oil purchases from Iran or risk not being able to do business with the United States.

But before simply accepting that Iran need not, and will not, negotiate changes to the nuclear agreement, consider the following. First, notwithstanding the new blocking regulations the European Union has adopted, European banks and companies are pulling out of Iran. When faced with the choice of doing business with the United States or with Iran, there is no choice. Already, big energy, automobile, and shipping corporations such as Total, Peugeot, and Maersk, as well as banks such as Germany’s Deutsche Bank, have pulled out. Banks and multinational corporations will do what their bottom line, not governments, tell them to do.

Second, even before the first round of sanctions were reimposed on Aug. 6, the Iranian economy was reeling. Since April, Iran’s currency has lost 50 percent of its value, meaning Iranian bank accounts are worth half of what they were then, and the Iranian public is clearly unhappy. They have been expressing their unhappiness in widespread demonstrations since last December—well before Trump pulled out of the Iran deal—over the regime’s foreign adventures, mismanagement, and pervasive corruption. Strikes are increasing, with vendors in the Tehran Bazaar holding a work stoppage on June 25. Truckers held a strike throughout the country in July; more recently, riot police were called out in response to strikes in the cities of Mashhad, Isfahan, Rasht, Ahvaz, and Karaj. Other than Ahvaz, these are conservative cities typically supportive of the regime. Not anymore, with angry demonstrators carrying placards that say, “Death to Palestine,” and “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon” as well as “Death to the dictator.” They want money spent on their needs, not billions on saving Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad or supporting Hezbollah or Hamas. For a regime that depends for its stability on fear and some semblance of popular legitimacy, this must be unnerving.

Third, when the regime feels truly squeezed, its historic pattern is to adjust its behavior. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic’s first supreme leader, proclaimed Iran would fight Iraq for as long as it took to defeat it. Yet, he ended the war in August 1988, when U.S. forces in the Gulf destroyed Iranian naval vessels and oil platforms and accidentally downed an Iranian civilian airliner—seemingly in support of Saddam Hussein. In the 1990s, Iran stopped killing dissidents in Europe when Germany threatened sanctions. Following the U.S. defeat of Saddam’s army in 2003, and fearing Iran might be next, the regime made far-reaching offers to limit its nuclear program and support for Hezbollah and Hamas. And, after declaring that they would never negotiate on their nuclear program so long as they were under sanctions—and the Obama administration doubled down on the sanctions—the Iranians negotiated.

All this suggests that as the economy falters and pressure rises in Iran, the regime will, in time, look for a way out and be willing to talk. Oil at over $70 a barrel will give the Iranians some cushion, especially because their budget was based on $55 a barrel. In addition, Iran’s leaders will wait to see how much European buyers of Iranian oil cut back and whether anyone fills in.

Still, Iran is likely to seek a way to talk—not directly, because that would look like a surrender. Instead, early next year Iran’s leaders will likely approach the Russians. They see howTrump relates to Putin, and with Putin’s interest in demonstrating Russian clout on the world stage, he will gladly be the arbiter between the United State and Iran. (Not least because Putin would likely be eager for the talks to include discussions about Syria’s future.)

One can envision Putin, perhaps in his upcoming summit meeting with Trump in early 2019, bringing a proposal to extend the nuclear deal’s limits on Iranian centrifuges and enriched material for 10 to 15 years in return for the United States dropping all its sanctions. In other words, in return for the restrictions on Iranian enrichment being extended from 2030 until 2045, the United States would drop all its existing sanctions—nuclear and nonnuclear—so there would be no remaining ambiguity about Iran’s ability to do business with U.S. banks.

In theory, such an offer falls well short of theTrump administration’s posture embodied in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s 12 demands of the Iranians—demands that require an end not only to nuclear enrichment but also to Iran’s destabilizing threats and actions in the region. But if Putin comes with such a proposal, and presents it privately to Trump, it is hard to believe that the president would simply turn it down. More likely, he will see it as an opening—even “an incredible offer,” or some other such superlative.

Anyone certain that the Iranians won’t negotiate any modifications on the nuclear deal shouldn’t be so sure. Domestic pressures and the readiness of the Russians to play the arbiter role can provide the Iranians an out. Their history suggests they will go for it.

 

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/Story/30714/Iran-Is-Throwing-a-Tantrum-but-Wants-a-Deal

 

[yota691]

US report: Iraqis transfer dollars to Iran via mules

 

 Twilight News    
 Wednesday, 15 August 2018

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Rumsfeld's decision to re-impose trade sanctions on Iran would have a negative effect on neighboring Iraq after investors suffered heavy losses at a time when Washington's ally in the region is facing widespread unrest due to economic conditions, the Washington Post reported. Hard. 
The sanctions target Iran's purchases in the automotive and transportation sector as well as its business activities and purchases of gold and other basic metals. 
The Iraqi economy has been stymied by attacks since 2015, prompting a large group of Iraqis to put millions of dollars into Iranian banks, which in turn were offering high interest rates after Tehran's nuclear deal with Washington, the newspaper said in its report on its website on Wednesday.
She noted that many Iraqis used mules to transfer thousands of dollars to Iran to avoid laws that regulate the amount of money that can be taken out of the country. 
Now, with the United States withdrawing from the nuclear deal and renewing trade sanctions against Iran, the value of the Iranian riyal has fallen to historic lows, causing investors to be shocked and shocked. 
Under the deal, Iran would curb its controversial nuclear activities in return for easing sanctions. Trump says it was a "terrible unilateral deal". 
The so-called "terms of expiration of the agreement," under which restrictions on Iran's nuclear program would expire, were unacceptable, that it did not deal with Iran's ballistic missile program and failed to stop Iran's "malicious behavior" in neighboring countries, including Syria And Yemen.
The newspaper said that the Iraqi financial crisis is a stark example of the fact that "the intensification of competition between Tehran and Washington could lead to destabilize Iraq," which is already facing a widespread state of public discontent caused by the foggy economic scene and rising concern, Where the United States and Iran have a large stake. 
"The ramifications of re-imposing sanctions on Iran also illustrate the fact that the economic well-being of ordinary Iraqis is more closely linked to the Iranian market than to the United States, which rarely feels its influence in the daily lives of Iraqis." 
The re-imposition of US trade sanctions on Iran last week sparked fierce public debate in both Baghdad and Tehran because Iraq had to comply with the terms of sanctions, although Iraq is Iran's main trading partner.
Washington is likely to impose more damaging sanctions on Iran's economy on November 5 on Iranian ports, energy, shipping and shipbuilding, Iranian oil remittances, and foreign financial transactions with Iran's central bank. 
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced at the beginning of last week his opposition to imposing sanctions in principle but now has no choice but to respect them. Which sparked a violent reaction at home and in Iran, where he called on Tehran's allies in Iraq to recognize that "sanctions betrayal," especially after Iran's support for Iraq in its war against Daqash. 
For many Iraqis, the crisis seems less philosophical and more realistic. Since Trump announced Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran's riyal has lost nearly 50 percent of its value against the dollar.
Analysts expect the Iranian riyal to continue to lose in November as the second round of US sanctions on oil sales enters into force. The 
words of Bijan Khajahpour, an expert on the Iranian banking sector, " The main attraction of investment in Iranian banks is the rate of relatively fixed exchange rate, which collapsed now." 
Some analysts hold Iraqi investors accountable. "The law does not protect the fools," says Basem Jamil Antoine, an Iraqi economist. "It is impossible to know how many Iraqis are pumping their money into Iranian banks, because they were often conducted illegally by smuggling money across borders," he said.
Karim Sadjadpour, an Iranian expert at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, notes that "the astronomical interest rates offered by Iranian banks have long been a mirage." "When you take into account how sensitive the country is to high inflation or devaluation of the Iranian currency, putting large amounts in Iranian banks is a dangerous bet," he said.

Keywords: 

[yota691]

Economist: Iraq is affected by US sanctions on Iran, but the latter is the biggest victim

Saturday 18 August

 

 

 

Economic and financial expert Bassem Antoine

The economic and financial expert in the name of Antoine, that Iraq will be affected by US sanctions on Iran, as part of the region in the region and what affects any country in the region reflected on other countries.

Antoine said in a statement to al-Ghadir that "Iraq is part of the region in the region and what affects any countries of the region reflected on the rest of the country, but in proportion to the strength of relations and the type of relations," noting that "Iraq has economic relations with Iran and imports of up to $ 11 billion To $ 12 billion in normal terms. " 

He added: "The Iraqis entered into relations and large revenues in Iranian banks by virtue of the temptation of Iranian banks to the Iraqis at a rate of 25% to be converted to Doman with the decline of Altuman .. From the status of $ 100 thousand, now not up to fifty thousand dollars as well as the suspension of Iranian banks to pay obligations This is considered the smallest of Iraqis for the private sector .. Estimated funds .. billion dollars deposits fall to 500 million dollars.

Asked about the extent to which Iraq was affected by US sanctions on Iran, Antoine said: "Certainly the sanctions on Iran are not international, they are American, and today the law of the jungle is prevailing ... the leaders are different and are fighting and the people are suffering scourges and injustice." 
Finished.

[Pitcher]

Rouhani to appear before Iranian parliament on Aug. 28: agency

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will appear before parliament on Aug. 28 to answer questions on his government’s handling of Iran’s economic struggles.

 

Iranian lawmaker Assadollah Abbasi was quoted as saying by the parliament’s news agency ICANA that “It has been agreed that the parliamentary session to question the president will take place on Aug. 28.”

It is the first time parliament has summoned Rouhani, who is under pressure from hardline rivals to change his cabinet following a deterioration in relations with the United States and Iran’s growing economic difficulties.

Lawmakers want to question Rouhani on topics including the decline of the Iranian rial, which has lost more than half its value since April, as well as weak economic growth and rising unemployment.

 

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/Story/30766/Rouhani-to-appear-before-Iranian-parliament-on-Aug-28-agency

[Pitcher]

Iran Action Group paves way for military, political action against Tehran

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The US secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Thursday that he has formed a new action group to deal with Iranian regime after the withdrawal of the U.S from the nuclear deal.

The dedicated group will coordinate and run US policy toward Iran as Trump administration moves ahead with efforts to force changes in Tehran's behavior after withdrawing from Iran nuclear deal.

Observers told The Baghdad Post that the initiative aims to give the U.S. decision maker the chance to take an action against Iran on both military and political levels.

The Iranian dilemma has become an extreme obsession for Trump administration. The pulling out of the accord and the reimposition of sanctions on Tehran are just the beginning to curb Iranian malign activities in the region, experts said.

Insiders said that the Iran Action Group will be responsible for stifling the Mullahs to ensure the work of the administration strategy.

Pompeo told reports that the initiative would be directing, reviewing and coordinating all aspects of the State department's Iran-related activity.

The group will be headed by Brian Hook, who is currently the State Department's director of policy planning, and will report directly to Pompeo.

Hook led the U.S. attempt to negotiate changes to the nuclear deal with European allies before President Trump decided in May to pull out of the accord.

"Our hope is that one day we can reach an agreement with Iran but we must see major changes in the regime both inside and outside of its borders", Pompeo said.

Trump administration re-imposed sanctions that were eased under the deal and has steadily ramped up pressure on Iran to try to get it to stop what is described as malign activities in the region.

In addition to its nuclear and missile programs, Iran is being criticized for supporting Syrian Dictator Bashar al-Assad, Houthi militias in Yemen and terrorist groups, seeking to implement Shite crescent scheme.

Trump administration has also warned customers of Iran’s oil production that they could face U.S. sanctions this November if imports from the country are not significantly reduced. The goal of those warnings is to ultimately see all imports of Iranian oil stop.

U.S. officials have also been in talks with Saudi Arabia to produce more oil to meet the global demand. 

 

To keep countries from turning away, Iran announced this month that it would slash its oil prices for all markets, especially the Asian markets, starting in September. Earlier this month Saudi Arabia also cut prices for exports everywhere but the United States.

The U.S. has also told European firms and governments that they may also be subject to penalties if they violate, ignore or attempt to subvert the re-imposed U.S. sanctions.

 

 

 

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/Story/30768/Iran-Action-Group-paves-way-for-military-political-action-against-Tehran

 

[Pitcher]

China will continue its cooperation and relations with Iran, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday, citing a statement from Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most Western sanctions, is in line with the international community’s “common interest”, the Chinese diplomat said in a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, according to Xinhua.

“We have openly indicated that we oppose the wrong practices of unilateral sanctions and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ in international relations,” Wang Yi was quoted as saying.

Beijing has cultivated close commercial links with Tehran, especially in the energy sector.

Read: Chinese business magnates flock to Turkey

China’s ties with Tehran are open, transparent and lawful, its foreign ministry said earlier in August, after US President Donald Trump said companies doing business with Iran would be barred from the United States.

Earlier this year, Trump took the call to pull the United States out of the JCPOA, ignoring pleas from the other world powers that had co-sponsored the deal, including Washington’s main European allies, Britain, France and Germany, as well as Russia and China.

 

 

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180818-chinas-top-diplomat-says-cooperation-with-iran-to-continue/

 

 

[Pitcher]

Moscow ready to send second nuclear fuel batch to Iran

 

The Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Friday announced that the second nuclear fuel consignment is ready to be sent back to Iran.

Russia consistently continues to implement its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the statement said, according to IRNA. 

“The Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation is carrying out a series of projects designed to ensure compliance with the terms of the JCPOA,” it said.
 
The ministry announced a high-tech Russian-Iranian project on reconfiguring two centrifuge cascades is successfully being implemented at a former uranium enrichment plant at Fordo with the aim of producing stable isotopes which will be used for industrial and medical purposes. 

The statement said, “Fuel stockpiles with enrichment levels of up to 20 percent for the Tehran Research Reactor are being stored in Russia.”

“They are being returned to Iran in batches of under 5 kg at Iran’s request and after receiving confirmation from the IAEA that all JCPOA prerequisites outlined for doing so have been met. The first batch was transferred to Iran in early 2017. Preparations are underway to send a second batch,” the ministry added.
In addition, Russia has confirmed its willingness to assist Iran, on an as-needed basis, in managing the surplus low-enriched uranium, the reserves of which are not to exceed 300 kg in Iran.

“We are also providing various types of assistance in implementing Annex III to the JCPOA, which contains a list of specific areas of cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran for the peaceful use of atomic energy.”

Underlining its pledges on the landmark nuclear deal, the ministry said, “We reiterate our decisive commitment to take all the necessary measures to preserve and fully implement the JCPOA.”

“The above cooperation with Iran is being carried out strictly in accordance with the JCPOA terms and UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and under full IAEA control,” the statement asserted. 

 

http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/426664/Moscow-ready-to-send-second-nuclear-fuel-batch-to-Iran

 

 

 

 

[10 YEARS LATER]

Some aren't satisfied unless the world remains on fire.

[10 YEARS LATER]

Lets just keep poking at the fires of Hell . . . see if we can't get some REAL flames going. 

[ChuckFinley]

5 hours ago, 10 YEARS LATER said:

Lets just keep poking at the fires of Hell . . . see if we can't get some REAL flames going. 

Guess these guys are testing Flash to Bang Time theory. 

[ChuckFinley]

5 hours ago, 10 YEARS LATER said:

Some aren't satisfied unless the world remains on fire.

Hell will be crowed when this is done. 

[js214]

4 minutes ago, ChuckFinley said:

Guess these guys are testing Flash to Bang Time theory. 

tis nice to have a Potus with a backbone

[ChuckFinley]

3 minutes ago, js214 said:

tis nice to have a Potus with a backbone

[yota691]

The impact of the Trump ban on Iranian relations and the Kurdistan region of Iraq

Arbil, 19 August (IRIN) - Trump's measures imposed against Iran have not and will not have any effect on the economic relations between Iran and the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the assistant of the Iraqi Chamber of Commerce of Sulaymaniyah province said.

Speaking to reporters, Rabati said that trade relations between Iran and the Kurdistan region of Iraq would continue regardless of Washington's actions, citing the recent growth in relations. 
On the rumors about the closure of the border crossings between Iran and the region, Rabati denied these rumors and said: There is no decision taken on the closure of crossings or borders between the two sides. 
The Iraqi Kurdish official also stressed that the US ban on trade between Iran and Kurdistan of Iraq is not leaked, pointing out that the region is the beneficiary of this exchange. 
Iran links Iraq's Kurdistan region with three international border crossings, which allow goods to be transported between the two sides daily.
Taha Yassin, an Iraqi Kurd journalist, told our correspondent in the Kurdistan region of Iraq: "All of Iraq must be careful about its decisions on the Trump ban against Iran because this decision is a mere American political decision that Trump himself might change for any reason, Internationally. 
Yassin stressed that the Kurdistan region of Iraq will be affected when following the embargo imposed by Trump because of the expansion of cooperation and trade between the region and Iran. 
Finished ** C ** 1718