Iranian Increases Defense Capabilities in the Persian Gulf, Adds Anti-Ship Missiles
Analysts say Iran has developed an arsenal of sophisticated anti-ship missiles in the Persian Gulf, and it has expanded its fleet of submarines and fast-attack boats to increase its defense capabilities (Washington Post 7/26).
P5+1 Talks with Iran to Resume “Soon”
EU foreign policy spokesman Michael Mann said a meeting between top EU and Iranian representatives to discuss the nuclear issue “will happen soon, but we don’t yet have the date,” (AP 7/26).
Khamenei Advisor Says Talks Will Continue Until “Positive Conclusions” are Reached
Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, commented on nuclear negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran, saying, “The talks will be continued until they reach positive and constructive conclusions,” (AP 7/27).
US Lawmakers Call for Investigation of ZTE for Alleged Sanctions Violations
Seventeen members of the US House of Representatives have written a letter asking Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to investigate ZTE Corp, a Chinese telecommunications equipment maker, over allegations that the company sold a surveillance system and computer equipment to Iran (Reuters 7/27).
India bans US-sanctioned Iranian ships from entering its water
India’s largest importer of Iranian oil, Manglore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, announced that it has only been able to import a fraction of the oil from Iran that it originally intended to import due to U.S. and E.U. sanctions (Economic Times 7/27).
Sanctions’ Effects on Ordinary People Unprecedented
A 36% reduction in car manufacturing in Iran, increases in the prices of food staples including sugar, and inflation, among other factors, have made the effects of current sanctions on ordinary Iranians unprecedented (insideIRAN 7/26).
American Pleads Guilty to Charges for Sanctions Violation
Andro Telemi pleads guilty to felony charge for attempting to export missile parts to Iran without a license from the US government. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years and a $250,000 fine (Reuters 7/26).
Notable Opinion: “Nuclear Submarine Program Surfaces in Iran”
The International Civil Society Action Network analyzes the effects sanctions have had on Iranian women:
As one women’s rights activist stated, “the international community’s sole focus on the nuclear issue has resulted in the adoption of policies that inflict great damage on the Iranian people, civil society and women. Militarization of the environment will prompt repressive state policies and the possibility of promoting reform in Iran will diminish.”
Iranians’ wariness of the international community, however, has not quelled criticism of their own government. They have neither an appetite for war nor for the bellicose language of the state. They criticize the government’s mishandling of the economy in recent years. They balk at the continued imposition of social restrictions. Those involved in civil rights activism including students, workers, women and leaders from ethnic groups and religious minority communities are among the first to feel the endless pressures and limitations imposed on them. Not least because the sanctions and threat of war allow the state to invoke “a state of emergency” and in so doing suppress critics and voices of dissent.
Read the full report on ICAN’s website