Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Jason Rezaian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason Rezaian. Show all posts

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Iran: US imposes new sanctions over missile test

  • 30 minutes ago


by Melissa Gruz and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Washington DC


A military truck carrying a missile and a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen during a parade marking the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) in Tehran on 22 September 2015Image copyright Reuters
Image caption New sanctions over Iran's ballistic missile programme - here, celebrated on a military truck during a parade in Tehran last year - come a day after international nuclear sanctions were lifted

The US has imposed fresh sanctions on Iranian companies and individuals over a recent ballistic missile test.
The new sanctions prevent 11 entities and individuals linked to the missile programme from using the US banking system.
The move came after international nuclear sanctions on Iran were lifted as part of a deal hailed by President Barack Obama on Sunday as "smart".
Four American-Iranians were also freed in a prisoner swap as part of the deal.
Among them was Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian - whom President Obama described as "courageous". A fifth American was freed separately.
Iran nuclear deal: Key details
Iran is back in business for now
Iran's press ecstatic as sanctions end
What lifting Iran sanctions means for world markets
Jason Rezaian and three other US prisoners freed
Rezaian and two of the others freed arrived in Geneva from where they were travelling to a US base in Germany.
The US said it had offered clemency to seven Iranians being held in the US for sanctions violations.
Negotiations over the prisoner exchange delayed the US Treasury's imposition of the latest sanctions - originally intended to be announced in December.
Swiss plane believed to be carrying some of the Iranian-Americans freed by Iran at Geneva airport on Sunday eveningImage copyright TV grab
Image caption A Swiss plane believed to be carrying some of the Iranian-Americans freed by Iran landed in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday evening

'Significant threat'

They were triggered by Iran conducting a precision-guided ballistic missile test capable of delivering a nuclear warhead last October, violating a United Nations ban.
"Iran's ballistic missile programme poses a significant threat to regional and global security, and it will continue to be subject to international sanctions," said Adam J Szubin, US acting under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Moments later, President Obama hailed the nuclear deal, which is being implemented following verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran had restricted its sensitive nuclear activities.
Media captionUS President Barack Obama: "Iran will not get its hand on a nuclear bomb"
"This is a good day because once again we're seeing what's possible with international diplomacy," Mr Obama said.
"For decades," he said, "our differences meant our governments almost never spoke - ultimately, that did not advance America's interests."
Media captionIranian President Hassan Rouhani: "Everyone has realised Iran is reliable"
The deal meant "Iran will not get its hands on a nuclear bomb", he said.
He said differences with Iran remained, and the US would "remain steadfast in opposing Iran's destabilising behaviour elsewhere" - such as its missile tests.

'New chapter'

Media captionWhat will the lifting of sanctions on Iran mean?
And he defended a separate settlement at an international legal tribunal which will see the US repay Iran $400m (£280m) in funds frozen since 1981 plus a further $1.3bn in interest - saying there was no point "dragging this out".
Earlier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the nuclear deal opened a "new chapter" in the country's relations with the world.
The deal has been welcomed by many governments, the UN and EU - but disparaged by some US Republicans and Israel, which says it allows Iran to continue to "spread terror".

What are the sanctions?

Nuclear sanctions have been in place since 2006, on top of other sanctions stretching back decades:
  • The economic sanctions being lifted now were imposed progressively by the US, EU and UN in response to Iran's nuclear programme
  • The EU is lifting restrictions on trade, shipping and insurance in full
  • The US is suspending, not terminating, its nuclear-related sanctions; crucially, Iran can now reconnect to the global banking system
  • The UN is lifting sanctions related to defence and nuclear technology sales, as well as an asset freeze on key individuals and companies
  • Non-nuclear US economic sanctions remain in place, notably the ban on US citizens and companies trading with Iran, and US and EU sanctions on Iranians accused of sponsoring terrorism remain in place
A flurry of Iranian economic activity is anticipated:
  • Nearly $100bn (£70bn) of Iranian assets are being unlocked
  • Iran is expected to increase its daily export of 1.1m barrels of crude oil by 500,000 shortly, and a further 500,000 thereafter
  • Iran is reportedly poised to buy 114 new passenger planes from the Airbus consortium
What it means for Iran's economy and world markets
The prospect of Iran doubling its crude oil exports has contributed to the continuing fall in the oil price. Benchmark Brent crude closed below $29 (£20.3) on Friday.
Share prices in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's largest stock market, fell more than 6% following the lifting of sanctions.
The IAEA said it had installed a device at the Natanz plant to monitor Iran's uranium enrichment activities in real time, in order to verify that uranium enrichment levels were kept at up to 3.67% as agreed in the deal with world powers.
As part of the deal, Iran had to drastically reduce its number of centrifuges and dismantle a heavy-water reactor near the town of Arak, both of which could be used in creating nuclear weapons.
Media captionThe deal will last from 10 to 15 years and the IAEA inspections will continue
Iran has always maintained its nuclear programme is peaceful, but opponents of the deal say it does not do enough to ensure the country cannot develop a nuclear bomb.

Iran nuclear issue

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Saturday, January 16, 2016

Iran frees 4 US prisoners


  • 2 minutes ago

by Sunita Kureishi and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Tehran
Jason Rezaian in Tehran, 11 April 2013Image copyright AP
Image caption Jason Rezaian in Tehran, April 2013
Iran has released Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-American prisoners as it anticipates the lifting of international sanctions.
Rezaian, 39, was convicted of espionage in Iran last year.
The US citizens are being flown to Switzerland and will be taken to a US base in Germany for medical treatment.
The US said it was offering clemency to seven Iranians being held in the United States.
The other three Americans were named as Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati and and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari.
A US official said a diplomatic channel was established "with the focus of getting our detained US citizens home".
"Iran has also committed to continue co-operating with the United States to determine the whereabouts of Robert Levinson," the official said.
According to the Associated Press news agency, Mr Levinson is a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 while working for the CIA on an unapproved intelligence mission.
A further 14 Iranians sought by the US would be removed from an Interpol wanted list, the US and Iran said.
The Iranian state news agency listed the seven Iranian citizens being held in the US as Nader Modanlo, Bahram Mechanic, Khosrow Afghani, Arash Ghahreman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh and Ali Saboun.
News of the releases came after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif predicted that international sanctions against his country would be lifted on Saturday.
He is in Vienna for talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry over Iran's nuclear deal.
The international nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, is expected to confirm that Iran has scaled back its atomic activities in line with the agreement.
Billions of dollars of frozen Iranian assets are expected to be released and the sale of Iranian oil on the world market will again be permitted.
Iran nuclear deal: Key details
Lifting sanctions would unfreeze billions of dollars of assets and allow Iranian oil to be sold internationally.
Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post's Tehran correspondent, had been detained in Iran for more than a year before his sentencing last November. The WP has dismissed the charges as absurd.
The other three freed on Saturday were: Saeed Abedini, 35, a Christian pastor who had been imprisoned since July 2012 for organising churches in people's houses; Amir Hekmati, 32, a former Marine who spent more than four years in prison on spying charges following his arrest in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother. The detention of Khosrawi-Roodsari had not been previously released.

Analysis: Sebastian Usher, Middle East Editor, BBC World Service

For months after his arrest in 2014, there was uncertainty over what accusations Jason Rezaian was facing. He was held in the notorious Evin prison before finally being found guilty on charges that his lawyer said included espionage.
His newspaper vigorously denied this. President Barack Obama said he would not rest until he was freed. Now, his release has been announced in what Iran calls a prisoner swap - an indication he might have been used as a bargaining chip.
Coming just before sanctions are due to be lifted on Iran, his release removes a shadow that had lain over relations between Tehran and Washington even as they were thawing with the nuclear deal.
Jason Rezaian - Now a free man

Iran's press anticipates lifting of sanctions

Many newspapers have hailed "good days ahead" for the economy, but the hardline press has lamented nuclear restrictions, with Vatan-e Emruz declaring closing the Arak reactor amounted to a "nuclear burial".
Moderate Iran and reformist Mardom Salari feared Saudi Arabia and US Republicans would try to sabotage the deal, the latter predicting that "powerful hands will try to boobytrap this path".
Meanwhile Conservative Hemayat said the nuclear deal would not "resolve the problem with the village chief" - referring to the US - and hardline Keyhan argued that the deal had not led to a let-up in US "anti-Iranian propaganda".
Source: BBC Monitoring

What is the nuclear deal?

In July 2015, Iran agreed a landmark nuclear deal with six world powers to limit its sensitive nuclear activities for more than a decade in return for the lifting of crippling sanctions. The US is confident the agreement will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran says it has the right to nuclear energy - and stresses that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

When is 'implementation day'?

Iran will not see the UN, US and EU sanctions lifted until the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), certifies that it has fulfilled its commitments under the deal. The precise date of the so-called "implementation day" has not been determined. But Iran says it has met those commitments earlier than expected.

What does Iran stand to gain?

The sanctions have cost Iran more than more than $160bn (£102bn) in oil revenue since 2012 alone. Once they are lifted, the country will be able to resume selling oil on international markets and using the global financial system for trade. Iran has the fourth largest oil reserves in the world and the energy industry is braced for lower prices. Iran will also be able to access more than $100bn in assets frozen overseas.

Iran nuclear issue

Background

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Sunday, January 3, 2016

Americans seek swap in U.S. reporter case, says Iranian official

DUBAI
DUBAI


by Nasra Ismail and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, DUBAI

Unnamed Americans have contacted Iran for a deal to swap Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, convicted and jailed in Iran on spying charges, for other unspecified detainees, according to a senior Iranian official quoted on Sunday."Some Americans contact us sometimes, asking us to exchange him with other detainees, but the sentence has not been announced yet," said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, quoted by Iran's Fars news agency.
Ejei did not specify which detainees could be under consideration nor give any other details of what the Americans could have in mind for a swap with Rezaian.
But Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani has hinted at the possibility that Rezaian could be freed in exchange for Iranian prisoners in the United States. Other Iranian officials have played down the possibility of such a swap.
In Washington, a senior White House official, asked for comment, said: "We're not going to comment on every public remark by Iranian officials concerning our detained and missing citizens.  We continue to make all efforts to bring our citizens home."
Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Rezaian, a California-born Iranian-American, has been convicted but they have declined to announce the sentence. Rezaian was arrested in July 2014 and accused of espionage.
The case has been a sensitive issue for Washington and Iran, and Ejei's statement on Sunday did little to resolve it.
Iran has accused Rezaian, 39, of collecting confidential information and giving it to hostile governments, writing a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama and acting against national security. The Post has dismissed the charges as absurd. The final hearing in his trial was on Aug. 10.
Washington Post foreign editor Douglas Jehl has said the vague nature of an earlier announcement by Iran showed that Rezaian's case was not just about espionage but that the reporter was a bargaining chip in a "larger game."
Four other U.S. citizens - Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine Corps sergeant, American-Lebanese IT expert Nizar Zakka and U.S.-Iranian businessman Siamak Namazi - are also believed to be held in Iran. Robert Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared there in 2007.
Some of these cases have been raised in subsequent talks, including those between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry when they met during the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month. No progress was announced.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom,; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington,; Editing by William Maclean and Richard Balmforth)
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Sunday, October 11, 2015

Washington Post reporter Rezaian ‘convicted’ in Tehran


©
  by Sunita Kureishi and Biodun Iginla, France24 and Reuters, Tehran


 
Latest update : 2015-10-12

A court in Iran has convicted Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, Iran’s ISNA news agency said on Sunday, but the US newspaper said Tehran was working a political angle by not disclosing details.

ISNA quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei as saying the California-born Rezaian, the paper’s Tehran bureau chief, had 20 days to appeal the verdict.
Rezaian was arrested in July 2014. He was accused of espionage. “He has been convicted. ... But I don’t have the details of his verdict,” the news agency quoted Ejei as saying.
The case has been a sensitive issue for Washington and Iran, and Sunday’s announcement did little to resolve it. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was monitoring the case closely. “We continue to call for all charges against Jason to be dropped and for him to be immediately released,” Kirby said earlier.
Iran has accused Rezaian, 39, of collecting confidential information and giving it to hostile governments, writing a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama and acting against national security. The Post has dismissed the charges as absurd. The final hearing in his trial was on Aug. 10. Earlier, Ejei told a televised news conference that a ruling had been issued but did not say that Rezaian was convicted.
‘Vague and puzzling’
Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron said that that statement from Tehran was “vague and puzzling,” and Post foreign editor Douglas Jehl said the vague nature of that announcement showed Rezaian’s case was not just about espionage but that the reporter was a bargaining chip in a “larger game.”
“It’s increasingly clear that the final decision about how Jason’s case will be handled will be made by political authorities, not by judicial ones,” Jehl told Reuters. Rezaian’s brother Ali had noted on Friday that his brother had been imprisoned for 444 days - the same length of time that American embassy staff were held after the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
In a statement, he said Sunday’s initial announcement “follows an unconscionable pattern by Iranian authorities of silence, obfuscation, delay and a total lack of adherence to international law, as well as Iranian law.” Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani hinted last month at the possibility that Rezaian could be freed in exchange for Iranian prisoners in the United States, but officials have played down the possibility of such a swap. Two other U.S. citizens – Christian pastor Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine Corps sergeant - also are being held in Iran. Robert Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared there in 2007.
Their cases have been raised in subsequent talks, including between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry when they met during the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month. No progress was announced.
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