News feeds

Press TV
Iran denies it has forces in Syria
Reuters
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran denied on Friday it had forces in Syria supporting President Bashar al-Assad's army, one day after foreign backers of his rebel foes demanded Tehran withdraw its fighters from Syrian territory. "The true enemies of Syria make up ...
Iran dismisses claims about military presence in SyriaPress TV
Official Rejects Allegations about Iran's Military Support for SyriaFars News Agency
Iran denies role in Syrian civil warUPI.com
Pravda -Jewish Daily Forward -Trend.az
all 22 news articles »

BBC News
Eight candidates approved to stand in Iran election
BBC News
Election campaigning is under way in Iran after the Guardian Council approved eight candidates, all considered conservatives. Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who entered at the last minute as a reformist candidate, was disqualified.
FP Passport: A guide to Iran's elite eight presidential candidatesForeign Policy (blog)
In Iran, Rafsanjani reacts to ejection from presidential race with relief ...Washington Post
Iran's Rafsanjani Blasts Clerics, Says ReportABC News
New York Post -MiamiHerald.com -CNN (blog)
all 62 news articles »

Presidential candidate Mohammad Gharazi says that the normalization of relations with the United States is against Iran’s interests.

Presidential candidate Mohammad-Reza Aref says the impact of illegal sanctions against Iran can be cut by interacting with other countries within the guidelines set by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Presidential candidate Mohammad-Reza Aref says Iran can minimize the impact of illegal sanctions against Iran by interacting with other countries within the guidelines set by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Arab News
Embassy Row: Pressure on Iran
Washington Times
The House and Senate this week advanced bills to broaden sanctions against Iran because of its suspected nuclear weapons program and continued abuse of human rights, as the theocratic regime in Tehran took steps to manipulate its June 14 presidential ...
US official praises India for supporting sanctions against Iran by reducing ...Fox News
PM: Sanctions have failed in stopping Iran's nuclear questJerusalem Post
Iran: IAEA report shows nuclear drive is peacefulArab News
The Jewish Press -Carnegie Endowment for International Peace -FrontPage Magazine
all 37 news articles »

Salon
Iran Has Hacked US Energy Companies
Gizmodo
According to the WSJ, Iran has hacked US oil, gas and power companies. The hackers were able to gain access to control-system software "that could allow them to manipulate oil or gas pipelines". Basically, the hackers are far enough inside that people ...
Iran Hackers Accused of Targeting US Energy FirmsNewsmax.com
Iran hackers aiming at US energy firmsSalon
Iran Hacks Energy Firms, US SaysAll Things Digital
TG Daily -FAS Strategic Security Project (blog) -ITProPortal
all 7 news articles »

The Weekly Standard
Iran Dispute Shows Hurdles to Syria Peace Negotiations
Bloomberg
A dispute over whether to include Iran in proposed negotiations to end the fighting in Syria is complicating the effort by the U.S. and allies to present a unified front against President Bashar al-Assad's regime. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ...
The Brezhnev Doctrine, Iran-styleThe Weekly Standard

all 219 news articles »

Iran Hacks Energy Firms, US Says
Wall Street Journal- India
WASHINGTON—Iranian-backed hackers have escalated a campaign of cyberassaults against U.S. corporations by launching infiltration and surveillance missions against the computer networks running energy companies, according to current and former ...
Iran Has Hacked US Energy CompaniesGizmodo

all 2 news articles »

Press TV
PM: Sanctions have failed in stopping Iran's nuclear quest
Jerusalem Post
Economic and diplomatic pressure has failed to stop Iran's nuclear program, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told British Foreign Minister William Hague before meeting with him in Jerusalem on Thursday. “The just released report of the International ...
Iran nuclear program unaffected by sanctions: NetanyahuPress TV
Israel, Syria, Iran: Mounting Tensions and ThreatsFrontPage Magazine
Netanyahu: Diplomacy, Sanctions Unable to Stop IranAntiwar.com

all 268 news articles »

Iranian political commentator Mohammad Marandi says as a supporter of dictatorships across the world, the US is in no position to pass judgment on Iran’s electoral process, Press TV reports.

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was not approved by the Guardian Council to run for the forthcoming presidential poll on June 14, says the country needs unity and calm in order to pass through the current difficult times.

Iran Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has congratulated the Lebanese nation, officials, and resistance movement Hezbollah on the anniversary of the liberation of southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation in 2000.

AFP
A grand retreat from confronting Iran?
Jerusalem Post
Pickering and his senior “Iran Project” colleagues want President Obama to altogether drop sanctions and covert action against Iran. They assert that sanctions are only “contributing to an increase in repression and corruption within Iran,” and alas ...
US slaps new sanctions on Iran over weapon programsXinhua
US adds 20 individuals, firms to Iran blacklistAFP
The Wide-Reaching Implications Of Iran Trade Sanctions On UAE BusinessGulf Business News
Wall Street Journal (blog)
all 7 news articles »

The Guardian
Glencore and Trafigura 'may have supplied Iran's nuclear programme'
The Guardian
A confidential UN panel of experts report on Iran, seen by Reuters, states: "If confirmed, such transactions may reflect an avenue for procurement of a raw material in a manner that circumvents sanctions." The report, which was complied by a panel of ...
REFILE-Glencore says Iran metals swap deals did not violate sanctionsReuters
Exclusive: Glencore, Trafigura deals with Iran may have skirted sanctions - UNReuters Africa
Ivan Glasenberg, chief executive officer of Glencore Xstrata, whcih has denied ...Telegraph.co.uk
MINING.com
all 27 news articles »

Iranian presidential candidate, Saeed Jalili, has criticized the administrative structure of the country as wasteful and weak.

UN report says that if links with Iranian company are confirmed they could form breach of international sanctions

The UN has warned that trades by the commodity companies Glencore and Trafigura could have breached international sanctions by supplying a company linked to Iran's nuclear programme.

The Guardian reported in April that Glencore had traded $659m (£430m) of goods, including aluminium oxide, with Iran last year.

Glencore, which is run by the multi-billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, has admitted that some of its aluminium oxide ended up in the hands of the Iranian Aluminium Company (Iralco), which has provided aluminium to the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI).

A confidential UN panel of experts report on Iran, seen by Reuters, states: "If confirmed, such transactions may reflect an avenue for procurement of a raw material in a manner that circumvents sanctions."

The report, which was complied by a panel of international experts and distributed to some members of the UN security council but which has not been published, says: "Iran continues to seek items for its prohibited activities abroad by using multiple and increasingly complex procurement methods, including front companies, intermediaries, false documents and new routes."

The panel listed 11 violations of sanctions since June 2012 and said it was investigating at least six possible sanction violations; one of those is thought to be Glencore's dealings.

The report calls on member states to show additional vigilance in order to "identify suspicious transactions".

Kodjo Menan, the Togolese ambassador to the UN and deputy chairman of the security council's committee on sanctions, confirmed to the Guardian that members were concerned about the reports of Glencore and Trafigura's dealings with Iran.

A spokeswoman for the British mission to the UN expressed concern that the report, or elements of it, might never be made publicly available if some members of the security council vetoed its publication.

Trafigura, which hit the headlines for dumping toxic oil waste in the Ivory Coast in 2006, has also admitted trading aluminium oxide (also known as alumina) with Iralco.

Dealing with AEOI has been banned by UN sanctions since 2006. Iralco has been subject to sanctions since December 2012. Both Glencore and Trafigura said their deals with Iralco were completed before sanctions came into force.

Glencore said it ceased transactions with Iralco immediately when it learned of its links to Iran's nuclear programme, and the last trade was in October 2012.

"Glencore complies with applicable laws and regulations, including applicable sanctions," a spokesman said.

Trafigura said: "No deliveries have been made or exports received since new EU sanctions were published in December 2012. Trafigura Group companies are compliant with national and international law where applicable."

The UN experts' report comes days after Gary Fegel, Glencore's head of aluminium, told friends that he planned to leave the company.

Fegel, 39, is the ninth-largest shareholder in Glencore, holding a stake in the company worth $800m. He was named as the world's 22nd youngest billionaire by Forbes magazine this year.

Galsenberg has begun a three-month review of Glencore's aluminium business. A company spokesman said that Fegel's exit from the firm and Glasenberg's review were unrelated to the possible sanctions breach allegations.

• Trafigura
• Glencore
• IPOs
• Iran
• Middle East and North Africa

Rupert Neate
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Iranian military has launched the second phase of Beit-ul-Muqaddas 25 exercises in the central province of Isfahan, with the aim of testing new simulator systems.

An Iranian deputy foreign minister has congratulated the Syrian nation on the Syrian army’s overwhelming victories against foreign-backed terrorist networks fighting in the country such as the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.

Independent presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei says if he wins Iran’s June election he would form a federal economy to resolve the economic problems in the country.