Factbox: Facts about Cuba's Fidel Castro

Sat Nov 26, 2016 | 2:30 AM EST Factbox: Facts about Cuba's Fidel Castro Cuba's former President Fidel Castro (R) and President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (L) meet in Havana, Cuba, October 26, 2016, in this handout photo provided by Cubadebate. Courtesy of Cubadebate/Handout via Reuters Cuba's former President Fidel Castro (R) and President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (L) meet in Havana, Cuba, October 26, 2016, in this handout photo provided by Cubadebate. Courtesy of Cubadebate/Handout via Reuters Factbox: Facts about Cuba's Fidel CastroX The following are some facts about former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. * Fidel Castro led Cuba for five decades and was the world's third longest-serving head of state, after Britain's Queen Elizabeth and the King of Thailand. He temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul in July 2006 after undergoing intestinal surgery. The handover of power became official in 2008. * In his last years, Castro occasionally appeared in public and in videos and pictures usually meeting with guests. He wrote hundreds of columns for the official media. Stooped and walking with difficulty, Castro was seen in public twice in 2012 and twice in 2013. He was seen in public on Jan. 8, 2014, at the opening of a cultural center, though photos of visiting dignitaries at the Castro home appeared after that. * Castro holds the record for the longest speech ever delivered to the United Nations: 4 hours and 29 minutes, on Sept. 26, 1960, according to the U.N. website. One of his longest speeches on record lasted 7 hours and 30 minutes on Feb. 24, 1998, after the national assembly re-elected him to a five-year term as president. * Castro claimed he survived 634 attempts or plots to assassinate him, mainly masterminded by the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S.-based exile organizations. They may have included poison pills, a toxic cigar, exploding mollusks, and a chemically tainted diving suit. Another alleged plan involved giving him powder that would make his beard fall out and so undermine his popularity. * Despite the plots, a U.S.-backed exile invasion at the Bay of Pigs and five decades of economic sanctions, Castro outlasted nine U.S. presidents, from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton, stepping down while George W. Bush was in office. * Castro used to chomp on Cuban cigars but gave them up in 1985. Years later he summed up the harm of smoking tobacco by saying: "The best thing you can do with this box of cigars is give them to your enemy." * Time Magazine in 2012 named Castro as one of the 100 most influential personalities of all time. * Castro had nine children from five women. His eldest son Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, who is the image of his father and is known as Fidelito, is a Soviet-trained nuclear scientist born in 1949 out of his brief marriage to Mirta Diaz-Balart. Daughter Alina Fernandez, the result of an affair with a Havana socialite when Castro was underground in the 1950s, escaped from Cuba disguised as a tourist in 1993 and is a vocal critic. Castro has five sons with his common-law wife since the 1960s, Dalia Soto del Valle. He also has a son and a daughter born to two other women with whom he had affairs before coming to power. (Reporting by Marc Frank and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Venezuela postpones inauguration for cancer-stricken Chavez

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Inauguration of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez Postponed 02:19 09/01/2013Tags: cancer, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela Related News Venezuela Govt. Says Chavez Condition Unchanged Argentine President to Visit Chavez in Havana Chavez Inauguration May be Postponed – Venezuelan VP Media Outlets Probed Over Failure to Report on Chavez Health Multimedia Venezuelans Celebrate Chavez Election Victory MOSCOW, January 9 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez asked the parliament to postpone his inauguration, scheduled for January 10, citing doctors’ recommendations, Venezuela’s Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday. Local media reported citing Maduro that Chavez submitted with the parliament a relevant request asking to be sworn in at a later date. Chavez, 58, who has ruled Venezuela for 13 years, underwent four operations for cancer and four courses of chemotherapy in Cuba and Venezuela within a year. He underwent his fourth surgery to remove cancerous tissue in Cuba on December 11. According to the latest official reports, Chavez is being treated for ''respiratory deficiency'' after complications from a severe lung infection. Venezuela's opposition has already accused the government of violating the constitution as it stipulates that new presidential elections must be held within 30 days if Chavez is not fit enough to be sworn in on the scheduled date. ================ Venezuela postpones inauguration for cancer-stricken Chavez Tue, Jan 08 20:15 PM EST 1 of 5 By Brian Ellsworth and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will postpone the inauguration of President Hugo Chavez for a new term due to health problems, the government said on Tuesday, another sign the socialist leader's cancer may be bringing an end to his 14 years in power. The 58-year-old former soldier who has dominated the South American OPEC nation since 1999 has not been heard from since surgery on December 11 in Cuba - his fourth operation since he was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer in June 2011. The announcement outraged opposition leaders who insist that Chavez must be sworn in before the National Assembly on January 10 as laid out in the constitution, or temporarily step aside and leave an ally in power. "The commander president wants us to inform that, based on his medical team's recommendations, the post-operative recovery should extend past January 10," said Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's chosen successor, in a letter read to the legislature. "As a result, he will not be able to be present at the National Assembly on that date." The letter said authorities would seek another date for the inauguration ceremony but did not say when it would take place or give a time frame for Chavez's return from Havana. Rather than being sworn in by the legislature, he would take his oath at a later date before the Supreme Court, the letter said, as allowed by the constitution. Government leaders insist Chavez is completely fulfilling his duties as head of state, even though official medical bulletins say he has a severe pulmonary infection and has had trouble breathing. The government has called for a massive rally outside the presidential palace on Thursday, and allied presidents including Uruguay's Jose Mujica and Bolivia's Evo Morales have confirmed they will visit Venezuela this week despite Chavez's absence. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has announced plans to visit Chavez in Havana on Friday. But the unprecedented silence by the president - famous for regularly speaking for hours in meandering broadcasts - has left many convinced he could be in his last days. His resignation or death would upend politics in the oil-rich nation, where he enjoys a deity-like status among poor supporters thankful for his social largesse. His critics call him a fledgling dictator who has squandered billions of dollars from crude sales while dashing the independence of state institutions. CONSTITUTION DISPUTE The constitution does not specify what happens if the president does not take office on January 10. The Supreme Court, which has been expected to provide a constitutional interpretation of the issues of the inauguration date, called a press conference for Wednesday. Opposition leaders argue that Congress chief and Chavez ally Diosdado Cabello should take over, as mandated by the constitution if the president's absence is formally declared. Cabello has ruled that out, saying the president continues to be in charge. If Chavez dies or steps aside, new elections would be called within 30 days. Before leaving for Havana in December, the president instructed his supporters to back Maduro in that vote if he were unable to continue. During a rambunctious session of Congress, opposition deputies accused Socialist Party leaders of failing to follow Chavez's instructions - a scene that would have been unimaginable before Chavez's prolonged absence. "President Chavez is the only one among you who has spoken clearly," said opposition leader Julio Borges. He was drowned out by pro-Chavez deputies clapping and chanting the socialist leader's name and rebuffed by Cabello, who had long been considered a potential successor to Chavez until he was passed over for Maduro. "It's not my fault you weren't chosen, don't take your frustration out on me," Borges quipped. Another opposition deputy complained that during the debate a copy of the constitution was thrown across the chamber from the direction of the Socialist Party's deputies. Chavez's supporters have held near-daily vigils for his recovery, while opposition activists accuse the president's allies of a Cuban-inspired manipulation of the situation. Maduro has taken over the day-to-day running of the government and looks set to continue in the role past Thursday. The mustachioed former bus driver lacks Chavez's charisma, but he has sought to imitate the president's style with vituperative attacks on the opposition and televised ribbon-cutting ceremonies. With the micro-managing Chavez away, major policy decisions in Venezuela, such as a widely expected devaluation of the bolivar currency, appear to be on hold. Venezuelan bond prices, which had soared in recent weeks on Chavez's health woes, dipped on Monday and Tuesday as investors' expectations of a quick government change apparently dimmed. "The 'regime change' euphoria seems excessive taking into account the unclear legal transition and perhaps, more importantly, the risk that regime change does not allow for policy change," New York-based Jefferies' managing director Siobhan Morden said in a note on the bonds. (Editing by Daniel Wallis and Eric Beech) ===============

Crews extinguish fire at Venezuela's El Palito refinery

Sat, Sep 22 11:03 AM EDT CARACAS (Reuters) - Firefighters extinguished a blaze in a fuel storage tank at Venezuela's El Palito refinery, state oil company PDVSA said on Saturday. The fire was started by a lightning bolt during a storm Wednesday night, but the 146,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) El Palito facility continued operating. Two tanks were initially set alight, but the fire in one was put out within hours. In a statement, PDVSA said the blaze in the second storage tank was completely extinguished late on Friday. No one was hurt in Wednesday night's lightning strike. The second refinery accident in a month has increased concerns about state oil company PDVSA's safety record and practices ahead of an October 7 presidential election. In August, PDVSA halted almost all output at the country's biggest refinery, Amuay, for six days after a gas leak caused an explosion that killed 42 people. PDVSA has suffered a string of accidents, outages and unplanned stoppages for maintenance across its refinery network in recent years, hurting the OPEC nation's vital fuel exports. (Reporting by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Vicki Allen)

'US sets stage for war against Iran'

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:08:39 GMTThe recent allegations made by the United States against Iran have set the stage for a war against the Islamic Republic, an American analyst says. "With the typical backdrop of alarmist propaganda in place, the stage is now set for a new war, this time with Iran," Robert Parry said in an article on Global Research. "There is now a cascading of allegations regarding Iran, as there was with Iraq, with the momentum rushing toward war," he added. The analyst noted that "tougher and tougher Western sanctions against Iran have pushed the various sides closer to war… as happened with Iraq -- when harsher economic sanctions merged with a US troop build-up." Warning of "devastating consequences" of a "prospective war with Iran," Parry also said Washington's allegation that Iran is on pace to build a nuclear bomb resembles accusations that Iraq possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). In 2003, the US invaded Iraq under the pretext that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein possessed the Weapons of Mass Destruction. However, it was later revealed that not only Iraq was not in possession of WMDs but also that US and UK leaders were aware the non-existence of such weapons. The US analyst blasted the recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Iran, saying that the report "was widely accepted as gospel truth without any discussion of whether the IAEA is an unbiased and reliable source." Parry said the documentary evidence showed that IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano was installed with the support of the United States and that he privately indicated to US and Israeli officials that he would help advance their goals regarding Iran. In November, the IAEA accused Iran of conducting activities related to developing nuclear weapons before 2003, adding that these activities “may still be ongoing.” Iran, however, rejected the report as “unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure mostly from the United States.” Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on their allegation that Iran's nuclear program may include a covert military aspect. Iran insists that it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA.=======================Iran dismisses U.S. sanctions on its Central Bank -report01 Jan 2012 08:59Source: Reuters // ReutersTEHRAN, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Iran dismissed on Sunday Washington's move to impose new sanctions on financial institutions dealing with the Islamic state's central bank over the country's disputed nuclear programme, the Students news agency reported.President Barack Obama signed the bill, approved by Congress last week, which aims to reduce Tehran's oil revenues but gives the U.S. president powers to waive penalties as required.The head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Mohammad Nahavandian, rejected the move as "unjustifiable", saying such sanctions would have reciprocal consequences."The Iranian nation and those involved in trade and economic activities will find other alternatives," said Nahavandian.Washington and the European Union have already pushed four rounds of sanctions through the United Nations over Iran's nuclear programme and imposed unilateral measures that have deterred Western investment in Iran's oil sector, making it harder to move money in and out of the country.Imposing sanctions on the central bank would tighten that screw and make it more difficult for Iran to receive payments for exports -- particularly oil, a vital source of hard currency for the world's fifth-biggest crude exporter.Iranian officials insist that foreign sanctions have had no impact on the country's economy."The sanctions have raised the cost of trade and economic transactions but it has not managed to change Iran's political behaviour," Nahavandian said.So far, Iran's leaders have shown no sign of changing the country's nuclear course despite mounting international pressure to force it to stop.U.S. financial institutions are already generally prohibited from doing business with any bank in Iran, including the central bank, so the new measure by Washington would have to be carried out with international agreement.Nahavandian said European countries should not miss the investment opportunity in an emerging market like Iran."Considering the economic crisis in Europe, the European companies are after finding new markets ... political disputes should not have an impact on trade relations," he said.Senior U.S. officials said Washington was engaging with its foreign partners to ensure the sanctions can work without harming global energy markets and stressed the U.S. strategy for engaging with Iran was unchanged by the bill.Washington and its allies say Iran is trying to build nuclear bombs under the cover of a civilian programme. Tehran denies that, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate power. (Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Paul Tait)=========================Persian Gulf no place for arrogant powersSun Jan 1, 2012 3:38AM GMTThe commander of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah SayyariThe commander of the Iranian Navy says the message of the ongoing Velayat 90 naval maneuver is that arrogant powers have no place in the Persian Gulf region.Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari made the remarks during a visit to the domestically- manufactured Jamaran destroyer on Saturday. “We (Iran) are diplaying our defensive and preventive capabilities in the free waters through the Velayat 90 maneuver,” he said. He noted that the presence of foreign navies in the region causes regional insecurity and emphasized that the establishment of sustainable security in the region in cooperation with neighboring countries is one of the goals of the naval maneuver. Iran's Navy launched the massive 10-day Velayat 90 naval exercise on December 24, covering an area stretching from the east of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden. EU foreign ministers failed in their attempts to enforce an embargo on Iran's oil exports during a meeting in Brussels on December 1, about a week after the United States, Britain, and Canada imposed unilateral sanctions on the Islamic Republic's energy and financial sectors over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran has warned that it can respond to proposed Western oil sanctions and threats against the Islamic Republic by choking the oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz. Sayyari announced on December 30 that the country's naval forces can block the strategic Strait of Hormuz if necessary, saying, “Our (Iran's) intention is to bring stability and security to the region, and we would like to show everyone that we can provide security in the region without a need for extra-regional powers.” And Iranian First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi warned on December 27 that the imposition of oil sanctions against the Islamic Republic would prompt Tehran to prevent oil from passing through the strategic route. “If they impose sanctions on Iran's oil, not even a drop of oil will be allowed through the Strait of Hormuz,” he added. =====================FACTBOX-Sanctions imposed on Iran02 Jan 2012 13:48Source: Reuters // ReutersJan 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law on Saturday new sanctions against financial institutions dealing with Iran's central bank, which if fully implemented could hamper Tehran's ability to sell oil on international markets.The bill gives the White House some discretion to issue waivers to protect energy markets, and U.S. officials say Obama will discuss with international partners how to impose the measures without causing major oil market disruption.The European Union is also expected to consider at the end of this month whether to impose an oil embargo.While Iran will still probably be able to sell oil to customers in Asia, they will demand a discount, which would cut Tehran's income from its main export sector.Following are details of major sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the United States and the United Nations over the years.EU SANCTIONS:- On Aug. 12, 2010 the EU toughened its sanctions against Tehran, including banning the creation of joint ventures with enterprises in Iran that are engaged in the oil and natural gas industries and any subsidiary or affiliate under their control.- Member states must prohibit the provision of insurance and re-insurance to the government of Iran.- The import and export of arms and equipment that could contribute to uranium enrichment or have a "dual use" is banned.- The sanctions forbid the sale, supply or transfer of energy equipment and technology used by Iran for refining, liquefying natural gas, exploration and production. The EU expects the effects of the sanctions to increase over time as existing parts wear out.- In May 2011, EU foreign ministers significantly extended sanctions and added 100 new entities to a list of companies and people affected, including those owned or controlled by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).- In October, the European Union imposed sanctions on 29 people, extending the list targeting individuals associated with human rights violations to 61.- On Dec. 1, EU foreign ministers decided new sanctions should be drawn up in time for their next meeting in Jan. 2012.Separately, they added 180 Iranian people and entities to a sanctions blacklist that imposes asset freezes and travel bans on those involved in the nuclear programme.U.S. SANCTIONS:- Initial sanctions were imposed after Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy and took diplomats hostage in 1979. Iranian products cannot be imported into the United States apart from small gifts, information material, foodstuffs and some carpets.- In 1995, President Bill Clinton issued executive orders preventing U.S. companies from investing in Iranian oil and gas and trading with Iran. Tehran has looked for other customers.- The same year, Congress passed a law requiring the U.S. government impose sanctions on foreign firms investing more than $20 million a year in Iran's energy sector.- In Oct. 2007, Washington imposed sanctions on three Iranian banks and branded the Revolutionary Guards a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction. The Treasury has since added numerous other Iranian banks to its blacklist.- The Treasury has identified about 20 petroleum and petrochemical companies as being under Iranian government control, an action that put them off-limits to U.S. businesses under the trade embargo.- Congress approved tough new unilateral sanctions on June 24, 2010, aimed at squeezing Iran's energy and banking sectors, which could also hurt companies from other countries doing business with Tehran.- The June, 2010 law imposes penalties on firms that supply Iran with refined petroleum products worth more than $5 million over 12 months. It also effectively deprives foreign banks of access to the U.S. financial system if they do business with Iranian banks or the Revolutionary Guards.- In May, 2011 the United States blacklisted a 21st Iranian state bank, the Bank of Industry and Mines, for handling transactions on behalf of two previously sanctioned institutions, Bank Mellat and Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank.- It also announced new sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, and six other smaller oil and shipping firms for engaging in trade with Iran in violation of the U.S. ban, prompting fury from Hugo Chavez's government.- On June 11, it announced new sanctions applicable to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Basij Resistance Force, Iran's Law Enforcement Forces and its commander, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam. The sanctions freeze any of the targets' assets under U.S. jurisdiction and bar U.S. persons and institutions from dealing with them.- On Nov. 21 the United States named Iran as an area of "primary money laundering concern", a step designed to dissuade non-U.S. banks from dealing with it. The United States also blacklisted 11 entities suspected of aiding its nuclear programmes; and expanded sanctions to target companies that aid its oil and petrochemical industries.- U.S. sanctions against Iran can be found on the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control website: http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/pages/iran.aspx- On Dec. 31, 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law a defence funding bill that imposes sanctions on financial institutions dealing with Iran's central bank, which is the main conduit for oil revenues. Sanctioned institutions would be frozen out of the U.S. financial markets.- The sanctions would take effect after a 2-6 month warning period. Under the law, the president can issue waivers if doing so is in the national security interest of the United States or otherwised necessary for energy market stability.OTHER COUNTRIES:BRITAIN: On Nov. 21, in a coordinated action with the United States and Canada, Britain ordered all British financial institutions to stop doing business with their Iranian counterparts, including the Iranian central bank. The sanctions were in response to a Nov. 8 IAEA report which said Iran has worked on developing a nuclear weapon design.CANADA: Canada announced on Nov. 21 it would immediately ban the export to Iran of all goods used in the petrochemical, oil and gas industry, as part of an international sanctions package, the government said.SWITZERLAND: Added five people and 111 organisations to its list of Iranian entities under sanction on Nov. 18. Earlier sanctions included a ban on certain financial transactions and Swiss companies selling or delivering so-called dual use goods.U.N. SANCTIONS:- The Security Council has imposed four sets of sanctions on Iran, in December 2006, March 2007, March 2008 and June 2010.- The first covered sensitive nuclear materials and froze the assets of Iranian individuals and companies linked with the nuclear programme.- The second included new arms and financial sanctions. It extended an asset freeze to 28 more groups, companies and individuals engaged in or supporting sensitive nuclear work or the development of ballistic missiles.- The third increased travel and financial curbs on individuals and companies. It expanded a partial ban on trade in items with both civilian and military uses to cover sales of all such technology to Iran.- A Security Council resolution passed on June 9, 2010, called for measures against new Iranian banks abroad if a connection to the nuclear or missile programmes was suspected.- It expanded a U.N. arms embargo against Tehran and blacklisted three firms controlled by IRISL and 15 belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The resolution called for setting up a cargo inspection regime.- Annexed to the draft resolution was a list of 40 companies to be added to an existing U.N. blacklist of firms. (Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit, and Peter=========================Iran threatens action if US carrier returns-IRNA03 Jan 2012 09:27Source: ReutersMembers of Iran's Navy cheer after launching a long-range shore-to-sea missile called Qader (Capable) during the Velayat-90 war game on the Sea of Oman's shore near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran January 2, 2012. REUTERS/Jamejamonline/Ebrahim Norouzi. This image has been supplied by a third party. It is distributed, exactly as received by Reuters, as a service to clientsTEHRAN, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Iran will take action if a U.S. aircraft carrier which left the area because of Iranian naval exercises returns to the Gulf, the state news agency quoted army chief Ataollah Salehi as saying on Tuesday. "Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasise to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Salehi told IRNA. "I advise, recommend and warn them (the Americans) over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Salehi as saying. Salehi did not name the aircraft carrier or give details of the action Iran might take if it returned. Iran completed 10 days of naval exercises in the Gulf on Monday, and said during the drills that if foreign powers imposed sanctions on its crude exports it could shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of the world's traded oil is shipped. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, said it would not allow shipping to be disrupted in the strait. Iran said on Monday it had successfully test-fired two long-range missiles during its naval drill, flexing its military muscle in the face of mounting Western pressure over its controversial nuclear programme. Iran also said it had no intention of closing the Strait of Hormuz but had carried out "mock" exercises on shutting the strategic waterway. Tehran denies Western accusations that it is secretly trying to build atomic bombs, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity. The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the Islamic state's nuclear row with the West. The European Union is considering following the United States in banning imports of Iranian crude oil. U.S. President Barack Obama signed new sanctions against Iran into law on Saturday, stepping up the pressure by adding sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Tim Pearce) ((parisa.hafezi@thomsonreuters.com)(+98 21 8820 8770)(Reuters Messaging: parisa.hafezi@thomsonreuters.com))=================Iran threatens U.S. Navy as sanctions hit economy=203 Jan 2012 23:23Source: Reuters // Reutersa hard bargain. China, which bought 11 percent of its oil from Iran during the first 11 months of last year, has cut its January purchase by about 285,000 barrels per day, more than half of the close to 550,000 bpd that it bought through a 2011 contract.The impact of falling government income from oil sales can be felt on the streets in Iran in soaring prices for state subsidised goods and a collapse of the rial currency."The rate is changing every second ... We are not taking in any rials to change to dollars or any other foreign currency," said Hamid Bakshi at an exchange office in central Tehran.The economic impact is being felt ahead of a nationwide parliame===============EXCLUSIVE-WRAPUP 1-In major blow, EU agrees embargo on Iranian crude04 Jan 2012 17:54Source: Reuters // Reuters(Corrects to 2.6 million bpd in paragraph 6, sted 2.6 billion bpd)* Oil move targets key sector of Iranian economy* Embargo would force Iran to seek business elsewhere* Ban could hurt Iran's revenues, stoke tensions at homeBy Justyna Pawlak and Parisa HafeziBRUSSELS/TEHRAN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - European governments have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil, EU diplomats said Wednesday, dealing a potentially heavy blow to Tehran that crowns new Western economic sanctions imposing real pain just months before an Iranian election.The prospective embargo from the European Union, along with tough U.S. financial measures signed into law by President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve, form a concerted Western campaign to impose sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme.Iran says its nuclear programme is strictly peaceful, but Western countries say a November U.N. report shows it has sought to build an atomic bomb. Talks between Tehran and major powers broke down a year ago.Diplomats said EU envoys had held talks on Iran in the last days of December, and that any objections to an oil embargo had been dropped - notably from crisis-hit Greece which gets a third of its oil from Iran, relying on Tehran's lenient financing. Spain and Italy are also big buyers."A lot of progress has been made," one EU diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The principle of an oil embargo is agreed. It is not being debated any more."The embargo will force Tehran to find other buyers for oil. EU countries buy about 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iran's 2.6 million bpd in exports, making the bloc collectively the second largest market for Iranian crude after China.The news caused a spike rise in oil prices, with Brent crude peaking at nearly $114 a barrel in intraday trading, up nearly $2 from Tuesday's close.Tehran insisted it would have no trouble: "We could very easily replace these customers," said S. M. Qamsari, International Director of the National Iranian Oil Co.But the new U.S. sanctions have already made it difficult for Iran to keep the customers it has, and could force it to offer steep discounts to countries willing to risk doing business with it, hurting its revenues.Biggest trading partner China, driving a hard bargain, has cut its order of Iranian oil by more than half this month.REAL IMPACTWestern countries have imposed various sanctions on Iran for years with little impact but the latest measures are qualitatively different, directly targeting Iran's oil industry, which forms 60 percent of its economy.Most traders expect Iran will still find buyers for its crude, mostly in Asia, but it is going to have to offer substantial discounts, cutting back the revenue that the state relies on to subsidise basic goods for its citizens.Tougher sanctions appear to be having an impact already on Iran's streets, where prices for foodstuffs are soaring. The rial currency has lost 40 percent of its value against the dollar over the past month.Currency exchanges have shut in Tehran and Iranians have queued to withdraw their savings from banks and buy dollars.That economic hardship is being felt by the public two months before a parliamentary election, Iran's first since a disputed 2009 presidential vote that led to massive street demonstrations, put down violently by Iran's rulers.Iran's leaders are anxious to prevent any popular unrest, especially after the Arab Spring revolts last year showed the vulnerability of Middle Eastern governments to street protest.Iran has warned that any steps to cut its oil exports could cause havoc in international oil markets at a time of global economic pain. In recent weeks it has also resorted to increasingly aggressive military sabre-rattling.Tehran threatened last month to shut the Strait of Hormuz - outlet to the Gulf through which 40 percent of traded oil flows - and on Tuesday threatened to take unspecified action if a U.S. aircraft carrier sails through the strait.Washington, which has a carrier strike group led by the USS John C Stennis in the Arabian Sea, brushed off that threat and said its navy would continue to sail the strait.Most analysts dismiss the sabre-rattling as a bluff and say they do not expect war."There's an anticipation that it might lead to an escalation of military activity in the region, but we think this is overplayed," said Gareth Lewis-Davies, energy strategist at BNP Paribas in London.The EU diplomats said member countries had not yet agreed on how soon the embargo should take effect and were still debating other possible sanctions.France has said it wants the EU embargo and other sanctions agreed at a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers at the end of this month. Paris also seeks a ban on transactions with the Iranian central bank, similar to what Washington has imposed.The new U.S. financial sanctions, if imposed fully, would make it all but impossible for many refineries to pay for Iranian crude. The law grants Obama the power to issue temporary waivers to prevent shocks in energy markets.A Turkish energy official said Ankara, which buys about 30 percent of its oil from Iran, was seeking a waiver from Washington for its biggest refiner, Tupras.Washington says it is discussing with its allies how to implement the measures without causing an oil supply shock. (Additional reporting by Julien Toyer in Brussels and Peg Mackey in London; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Jon Boyle)======================Trading oil on Iran: untangling rhetoric from reality06 Jan 2012 20:17Source: Reuters // Reuters(Fixes typo in additional reporting by credit)* Some traders see oil supply disruption fears overblown* Memories of shipping continuing in Iran-Iraq war* Global economy concern, Saudi supply pledge caps pricesBy Dmitry Zhdannikov and Simon FalushLONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - How does an oil trader play the market when Iran threatens to shut the Strait of Hormuz and strangle Middle East oil supplies?"Buy!" some would say.But "Sell!" could come from cooler heads, the grizzled veterans who can cut through the bellicose( war like) rhetoric and who remember the 1980s Gulf "tanker war" in the Iran-Iraq conflict.Iran did not block the Strait then, nor during decades of tensions with the West."There's a lot of rhetoric," said Rob Montefusco, trader at Sucden Financial. "Some people who have been around a long time are saying 'we've seen it all before', so they are using the recent price spikes as an opportunity to sell."Back in the 1980s, the United States, with its mighty Fifth Fleet stationed in the region, threatened to go to war if the strait was closed."We've seen this movie before," said Cliff Kupchan, an Iran analyst at the Eurasia Group. "Neither side wants a war. A lot of this rhetoric is overstated."Iran is OPEC's second biggest exporter, but the prospect of the loss of a chunk of supply seems to be sparking fewer and fewer doomsday predictions that oil prices will soar to $200 a barrel, very common just a few months ago.Benchmark Brent oil prices have fluctuated around $110 a barrel, despite rising fears about Iranian oil supply as a result of tensions with the West over Tehran's nuclear programme.Prices have been capped by fears of a steep downturn in euro zone economies, which could upset the recovery around the world and crush demand for crude, and by expectations that OPEC leader Saudi Arabia's will fill the supply gap as it did last year when Libya's oil was lost.Doing without Libyan production in 2011, although less than half that of Iran, with only a manageable price spike gave the oil market a taste of coping with a supply shock.The most serious fears debated at oil trading desks include the possibility of Iran mining the straits, attacking ships as it did during the Iran-Iraq war, or challenging the legality of the passage of some vessels through its territorial waters."The Iranians have raised the rhetoric stakes hugely in the last two weeks, but for them the game has changed," said Philip Wiper from oil brokerage PVM."One could even envisage the Iranians putting a few mines in the Strait with little effort, and maximum inconvenience for a few days while the U.S. navy clears them up," he added.But bracing for even the second or third worse case scenarios may not be a feasible trading position for now."Everyone loves the idea of being long oil into an Iran situation but I can't just sit on the bid hoping that something will kick off. So to take it seriously, something serious needs to happen," a veteran products trader said."Until then it's something on the sidelines. Any rallies we are seeing on the news is purely day trading, and it may reverse just as quickly as it rallies."Nor has there been much evidence of big hedge funds or speculators rushing to the options market to buy cheap out-of-the-money calls in order to profit from a price spike.A call owner has the right to buy crude at a preset strike price. Calls begin to pay off when oil rises and when rising price volatility increases the odds the option will expire in the money.CBOE's oil volatility index has eased for the past three days, trading near its lowest since early August. Open interest in June $140 strike calls jumped by by more than 7 million barrels this week, but other key contracts for both Dec 2012 and Dec 2013 were all but unchanged, suggesting no great rush to buy upside insurance.Unusually, there's been a bias toward trading "puts", which confer the right to sell oil at a predetermined price if the market falls, a bearish trade."As the Iranian news has made its way into the market over the last few weeks, I've seen a greater influx of call and put buying than I normally see at this time of year, with an emphasis on the put side," said Anthony Rosado, options broker at GA Global Markets in New York.WORST CASE SCENARIOLate December was a lesson in the ups and downs of headline trading on Iran. Oil prices jumped by around 2 percent when Iran threatened to block Hormuz but pared most gains the next day after the U.S. Fifth Fleet said it would not allow any disruption to oil flows.On Friday, oil barely moved when Iran said it would hold new naval exercises in the Strait.The U.S. Fifth Fleet keeps one or two aircraft carrier battle groups either in the Gulf or within striking distance in the Indian Ocean."If Iran prohibits the U.S. warships from transiting in their territorial waters this is not by itself a case of "casus belli" to retaliate militarily on Iran. Furthermore, the U.S. warships could still transit the strait... on the Omani side," said Olivier Jakob from Petromatrix consultancy.Traders said that a full loss of Iranian oil would no doubt trigger a major spike in oil prices as Saudi Arabia would be forced to use all its spare output capacity, a crucial safety cushion for oil markets.But the European Union and the United States appear to be taking a calculated risk approach by planning a gradual phase out of Iranian oil which might take months.The EU is close to imposing sanctions on Iranian oil but with some exceptions while the United States, which has banned it since 1979, is talking to China, Japan and South Korea to persuade them to reduce purchases from Tehran.Jakob said he believed Iran will continue the soft escalation to keep the oil prices high to increase revenues amid what looks like an inevitable loss of exports volumes."I don't see any serious threat to supply even if there is a full blown war. It will last for two weeks during which the U.S. will kick the hell out of Iran and make sure all is fine in the Strait of Hormuz," said a veteran trader with oil majors and trading houses.In the event of a big stoppage the consuming nations' International Energy Agency would very likely release emergency government stocks to tame prices, as it did in June last year when Libyan output was lost.(Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson, Claire Milhench and Peg Mackey, and Jeff Kerr in New York, editing by Richard Mably and Alden Bentley)=======================U.S. slaps sanctions on China state oil trader over Iran13 Jan 2012 03:44Source: Reuters // Reuters* U.S. takes first swipe at China state energy sector* Move comes as U.S. seeks to squeeze Tehran* Sanctions seen as signal to China oil majors* Follows trip to China this week by U.S. Treasury Secretary (Adds no comment from China, Kuo)By Andrew QuinnWASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on China's state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, which it said was Iran's largest supplier of refined petroleum products, as it sought to impress on Beijing and Tehran its resolve to increase economic pressure over Iran's nuclear program.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also imposed sanctions on Singapore's Kuo Oil Pte Ltd and FAL Oil Company Ltd, an independent energy trader based in the United Arab Emirates, the State Department said in a notice.The State Department said the move was part of a broadening international effort to target Iran's energy sector and persuade Tehran to rein in its nuclear ambitions."The sanctions announced today are an important step toward that goal, as they target the individual companies that help Iran evade these efforts," the statement said.The sanction bar all three companies from receiving U.S. export licenses, U.S. Export Import Bank financing or loans over $10 million from U.S. financial institutions, the department said, stressing that the sanctions apply only to the companies and not to their governments or countries.The U.S. announced the decision after China's rebuff this week of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who traveled to Beijing to press China on U.S. demands it do more to help curb Iran's oil revenues.A Zhenrong spokeswoman and China's Foreign Ministry both said they had no immediate comment.'SHOT ACROSS THE BOW'Analysts said the U.S. move was largely symbolic, given that Zhenrong was unlikely to have much U.S. business exposure.But the move will send a signal to Beijing and its state-run oil giants such as China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec Corp) and China National Offshore Oil Corp. , they said.These companies have invested billions of dollars in the U.S. energy sector, and are much more exposed to the impact of potential sanctions."It's a good shot across the bow and signals the U.S. is serious about vigorous sanctions enforcement," said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington pressure group that favors stronger sanctions on Iran."This could be the beginning of a cascade of more sanctions on Chinese companies if China doesn't curtail its Iranian trade."Zhuhai Zhenrong - one of four dominant Chinese state oil traders - brokered the delivery of over $500 million in gasoline to Iran between July 2010 and January 2011 in contravention of U.S. sanctions law, the State Department said.While the U.S. move targeted Zhenrong for its gasoline sales, the Chinese company has a broader role in Beijing's energy dealings with Iran.It has been a major buyer of Iranian oil since at least 1995, typically selling the oil to Sinopec and PetroChina, the country's two dominant refiners.Zhenrong has been buying about 240,000 barrels per day for several years, representing about 5 percent of China's imports. Sources last week said China would cut crude imports from Iran for a second month in February.In mid-2010, Zhenrong joined Chinese state energy giants in filling a void left by Western oil companies and trading houses that had halted sales of gasoline to Iran because of toughening U.S. sanctions.Derek Scissors, an expert in the Chinese economy at the Heritage Foundation think tank, said the action against Zhenrong would send a message to other Chinese state oil majors."We don't want to be taking action against Sinopec, CNPC and CNOOC. They are huge, and politically powerful," he said."But Zhenrong is close enough to them, and won't really do that much harm beyond sending the signal."TARGETING COMPANIESThe U.S. announcement followed Western moves to tighten the economic noose on Tehran through unilateral sanctions.President Barack Obama has signed a U.S. law imposing sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, its main clearinghouse for oil exports, while the European Union is expected soon to agree to a new ban on Iranian oil imports.Washington has sought to impress on friends and foes that it means business, sending U.S. officials around the world to warn of the dangers of dealing with Iran.A senior Obama administration official stressed that the purpose of sanctions was to draw Iran back to the negotiating table to discuss curbing its nuclear ambitions, the other half of the 'two-track' U.S. policy of pressure and engagement."The theory of the case here is that these two tracks will ultimately converge and Iran will make a decision that it is important to come to the table to try to remove some of these sanctions, to improve their economy," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.The other two companies listed by the State Department, both well-known names in the Asian oil trading world, are smaller, private trading firms that typically specialize in shipping bunker fuel or heavy residual products but, like Zhenrong, had also begun doing deals to sell gasoline to Iran.The State Department said Kuo Oil had provided over $25 million in refined petroleum to Iran between late 2010 and early 2011, while FAL provided over $70 million in refined petroleum to Iran over multiple shipments in late 2010.Kuo had no immediate comment, a senior official said.In all cases, individual deliveries were worth significantly more than the $1 million threshold under U.S. law and the total value of the transactions was well above the $5 million threshold for sanctionable activities within a 12-month period, the State Department said. (Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner, Jim Bai and Chris Buckley in Beijing and Randy Fabi in Singapore; Editing by Peter Cooney and Sandra Maler)=====================Japan policy on reducing Iran oil in doubt13 Jan 2012 10:38Source: Reuters // Reuters* PM Noda distances himself from cutting Iran oil imports* Some in Japan worry Iran sanctions will push up oil prices* French formin: sanctions won't necessarily boost prices (Recasts)By Stanley WhiteTOKYO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Japan's policy on Iranian oil was left in doubt on Friday after the prime minister distanced himself from the finance minister's pledge to reduce oil imports in support of a U.S. push to prevent Iran from making nuclear weapons.Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said the pledge, made by Finance Minister Jun Azumi only a day before in a joint press conference with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, was Azumi's "personal opinion" and that the government wants to discuss the matter with the business community.The foreign minister and the government's top spokesman also made comments suggesting Japan was not yet committed to reducing Iranian oil imports, which could potentially damage the credibility of its foreign policy and its dealings with the United States, its most important ally."The outlook shared by Finance Minister Azumi, I believe, was a personal one," Noda said in a press conference."Going forward, the government will deal with this issue by conducting working-level discussions."U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner travelled to China and Japan this week, seeking cooperation on stricter sanctions as the U.S. tries to choke off oil revenue to Iran, an OPEC member and the world's fifth-largest crude exporter.Iran denies Western suspicions that its nuclear programme has military goals, saying it is for purely peaceful purposes. Washington has rejected Iran's assertion and has pressed ahead with new sanctions.Other countries, including major Iran oil buyers such as South Korea and India, are also scrambling to react to the new sanctions law as countries fear that conduits for Iranian oil payments could snap under the U.S. pressure.Buying less Iranian oil is sensitive for Japan because its reliance on energy imports has jumped after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year.But unless it does so, it will not win an exemption for Japanese banks from sanctions that would freeze financial institutions out of U.S. markets for facilitating trade in Iranian crude.On Thursday, a few hours after Azumi pledged to take "concrete" steps to lower oil imports, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said importing less Iranian oil was only one of many opinions on how to deal with the matter.Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba also said on Friday the government hasn't reached a decision, Kyodo News said.Iranian crude makes up 10 percent of Japan's overall oil imports and some in Japan are concerned the new sanctions could drive up oil prices, dealing a blow to its economy, which is recovering from last year's earthquake and nuclear power disaster.Separately, Gemba said in a joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe that sanctions would be ineffective if they end up boosting oil prices, a negative development for the global economy, but a boon for oil producing Iran."The higher oil prices go, the better it gets for Iran ... We need to take steps in a careful, smart way," he said.Juppe, however, said he did not fully share Gemba's concerns, saying that when there was a similar situation with Libya, there was not much of an increase in oil prices and that there were other countries to turn to for oil.Iran faces the prospects of cutbacks in oil sales to China, Japan and India, its top three buyers who together take more than 40 percent of its crude exports. The European Union, a major buyer, has committed to banning imports of Iranian oil.President Barack Obama authorised a law on December 31 imposing sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, the country's main clearing house for oil payments.The United States can waive some institutions if it deems it necessary for energy market stability or if the institutions' home country significantly reduces trade with Iran. (Additional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Neil Fullick)===============China's Wen presses Saudi Arabia for oil accessRELATED QUOTES^DJI 12,422.06 -48.96^GSPC 1,289.09 -6.41^IXIC 2,710.67 -14.03By Chris Buckley – Sat Jan 14, 10:40 pm ETBEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pressed Saudi Arabia to open its huge oil and gas resources to expanded Chinese investment, media reports said on Sunday against a backdrop of growing tension over Iran and worries over its crude exports to the Asian power.The Saudi kingdom is China's biggest source of imported oil, and securing energy security was high on Wen's agenda in Riyadh, in part reflecting concerns about how nuclear tensions and sanctions could unsettle ties with Iran."China and Saudi Arabia are both in important stages of development, and there are broad prospects for enhancing cooperation," Wen on Saturday told Prince Nayef, who is a senior member of the Saudi government, according to Xinhua."Both sides must strive together to expand trade and cooperation, upstream and downstream, in crude oil and natural gas," said Wen, referring to access to extracting oil and gas and then processing the them.The Xinhua report made no mention of any discussion of Iran, whose oil exports to China face pressure from new U.S. sanctions. The U.S. sanctions threat is a particular worry for China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil. Only Saudi Arabia and Angola sell it more crude."Beijing is concerned with the potential response to Iranian bellicose statements and with the spike in oil prices that would ensue from greater turmoil in Syria and Iran," Michal Meidan, an analyst in London with the Eurasia Group who studies Chinese energy investment and policy, said in an emailed research note.Late on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry denounced U.S. punishment of China's state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp.On Thursday, the Obama administration invoked U.S. law to sanction Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, which it said was Iran's largest supplier of refined petroleum products."Imposing sanctions on a Chinese company based on a domestic (U.S.) law is totally unreasonable, and does not conform to the spirit or content of U.N. Security Council resolutions about the Iran nuclear issue," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement issued on the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn)."China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and adamant opposition," said Liu.The Obama administration said its sanctions against the Chinese company and two other firms are part of a broadening effort to target Iran's energy sector and press Tehran to curb in its nuclear ambitions, which Western governments say appear aimed at developing the means to make atomic weapons.Iran says its nuclear activities are legitimate and entirely for peaceful ends.China cut oil imports from Iran in January and February in a commercial dispute over contract terms, and has been looking for alternative supplies.Yet China is unlikely to dramatically boost crude imports from Saudi Arabia, even with the Iranian worries, said Meidan, the analyst with the Eurasia Group."In the likely event that Iran will offer discounted oil, Chinese traders will buy more Iranian barrels and could consequently reduce their Saudi imports," she said."Wen will therefore need to convey both commercial and diplomatic realities to Saudi Arabia, China's number one source of crude imports, and ensure that bilateral ties remain on steady footing."MORE TRADE TOO, PLEASEWen also said his government wants "strong and reputable" Chinese companies to invest in Saudi Arabia's ports, railways and infrastructure, the Chinese Xinhua news agency reported.China and Saudi Arabia should keep deepening cooperation "in the face of changeable and complicated regional and international trends," he said, according to Xinhua.Crown Prince Nayef is King Abdullah's half brother and became heir to the throne in October. The Xinhua report paraphrased the prince as saying that Saudi Arabia is willing to expand cooperation in energy and infrastructure.China is already Saudi Arabia's biggest customer and the kingdom is keen to diversify its economic ties.On Saturday, the state-run Saudi oil giant Aramco and Chinese companies finalized an initial agreement signed last year to develop a 400,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Yanbu, on the kingdom's Red Sea coast.Aramco will hold a 62.5 percent stake in the joint venture formed to develop Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co (YASREF), and Sinopec will own the rest.In the first 11 months of 2011, top supplier Saudi Arabia shipped 45.5 million tons of crude to China, a rise of 12.9 percent over the same period in 2010, according to Chinese customs data. Angola and Iran were China's second and third biggest suppliers.Wen is also scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.(Reporting by Chris Buckley, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)====================Obama vows to work with Israel to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear power2012-02-06 07:22:03 [ Big Normal Small ] 　CommentWASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the United States will work with Israel to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, signalling that a diplomatic resolution to the current crisis is still possible.In an interview with the NBC television from the White House, Obama said both the United States and Israel, which is "rightly" concerned about Iran's nuclear program, believe that "Iran has to stand down" on the current standoff.When asked if Israel is determined to attack Iran, Obama said he didn't think that Israel has made such a decision, adding that the United States and Israel will work "in lockstep" on dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue. "I will say that we have closer military and intelligence consultation between our two countries than we've ever had," he said.The president emphasized his goal in resolving the nuclear standoff diplomatically, though repeating that he was not taking any options off the table."We're going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and creating an arms race -- a nuclear arms race -- in a volatile region," Obama said.When asked about the possibility of Iran launching a retaliatory attack on the U.S. soil, Obama said he didn't see "any evidence that they have those intentions or capabilities right now."Obama made the remarks after media reports revealed Thursday Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's suspicion on Israel's attack toward Iran this spring.Panetta believed there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June before Iran enters a "zone of immunity" to commence building a nuclear bomb, according to an article written by the Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.The article said Obama and Panetta had cautioned the Israelis that Washington opposes an attack, citing that it would derail an increasingly successful international economic sanctions program and other non-military efforts to stop Iran from crossing the nuclear threshold.While believing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not made a final decision on attacking Iran, senior U.S. officials are still worried about "the guns of spring -- and the unintended consequences," the article added.The U.S.-led West and Iran have been in a standoff over the latter's nuclear program since last November, when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapons capacity. Iran has strongly dismissed the claims, stressing its nuclear program is solely for peaceful use of nuclear energy despite the West's suspicion that it is an attempt to acquire nuclear weapons.The standoff escalated in December 2011, when Iran held large-scale military exercises in the Gulf and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic route in transferring one-fifth of oil traded worldwide, to protest the Western sanctions over its nuclear program.Washington warned Tehran against crossing the red lines to block Strait of Hormuz and to acquire a nuclear weapon, which will provoke dire consequences including a military strike. Washington has also been rallying its allies in imposing crippling sanctions on Iran, including a ban on its export of crude oil and financial transactions with Iran by foreign countries.On Dec. 31, Obama signed a bill on imposing new sanctions on Iran, targeting foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank, the main conduit for its oil revenues. In late January, the European Union (EU) imposed further sanctions against Iran's oil exports as well as its central bank, following the U.S. steps.U.S. Central Intelligence Agency director David Petraeus, who testified at a Jan. 31 Senate hearing, said the new sanctions on Iran "have been biting much, much more in recent weeks," though it remained to be seen whether they would force Iran to change its course on its nuclear program.=========================

Iran attack decision nears, Israeli elite locks down
Thu, May 17 12:39 PM EDT
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By Michael Stott

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A private door opens from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in central Jerusalem directly into a long, modestly furnished, half-paneled room decorated with modern paintings by Israeli artists and a copy of Israel's 1948 declaration of independence. It contains little more than a long wooden table, brown leather chairs and a single old-fashioned white projector screen.

This inner sanctum at the end of a corridor between Netanyahu's private room and the office of his top military adviser, is where one of the decade's most momentous military decisions could soon be taken: to launch an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear program.

Time for that decision is fast running out and the mood in Jerusalem is hardening.

Iran continues to enrich uranium in defiance of international pressure, saying it needs the fuel for its civilian nuclear program. The West is convinced that Tehran's real objective is to build an atomic bomb - something which the Jewish state will never accept because its leaders consider a nuclear armed-Iran a threat to its very existence.

Adding to the international pressure, U.S. ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro said this week American military plans to strike Iran were "ready" and the option was "fully available".

The central role Iran plays in Netanyahu's deliberations is reflected in the huge map of the Middle East hanging by the door of his office. Israel lies on one edge, with Iran taking pride of place in the centre.

Experts say that within a few months, much of Iran's nuclear program will have been moved deep underground beneath the Fordow mountain, making a successful military strike much more difficult.

LOCKDOWN

As the deadline for a decision draws nearer, the public pronouncements of Israel's top officials and military have changed. After hawkish warnings about a possible strike earlier this year, their language of late has been more guarded and clues to their intentions more difficult to discern.

"The top of the government has gone into lockdown," one official said. "Nobody is saying anything publicly. That in itself tells you a lot about where things stand."

Last week Netanyahu pulled off a spectacular political surprise, creating a coalition of national unity and delaying elections which everyone believed were inevitable. The maneuver also led to speculation that the Israeli leader wanted a broad, strong government to lead a military campaign.

The inclusion of the Iranian-born former Israeli chief of staff and veteran soldier, Gen. Shaul Mofaz, in the coalition, fuelled that speculation - even though both Mofaz and Netanyahu deny that Iran was mentioned in the coalition negotiations.

"I think they have made a decision to attack," said one senior Israeli figure with close ties to the leadership. "It is going to happen. The window of opportunity is before the U.S. presidential election in November. This way they will bounce the Americans into supporting them."

Those close to Netanyahu are more cautious, saying no assumptions should be made about an attack on Iran - an attack with such potentially devastating consequences across the volatile Middle East that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas even went so far as to predict in an interview with Reuters last week that it would be "the end of the world".

Israelis particularly fear retaliation from Iran's proxy militias - the Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon and the Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip. Both are believed to possess large arsenals of rockets which could hit major Israeli towns and cities.

Hezbollah's deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem told Reuters in February that an Israeli attack on Iran would set the whole Middle East ablaze "with no limit to the fires". "Gone are the days when Israel decides to strike, and the people are silent," he said.

The Israeli Prime Minister and his key allies repeat for public consumption the mantra that economic sanctions against Iran must be given time to work and that now is not the time to speak about military options.

Top officials explain the new coalition on purely domestic grounds, saying it was needed to tackle the thorny and divisive issue of pressing Orthodox Jews into military service - in other words, that its formation has much more to do with the agenda inside Israel than abroad.

BURIED NUCLEAR STATES

Diplomats are divided. "I think the Iran thing is a red herring," said one senior Western envoy. "This is 98 percent about domestic politics". Others are less convinced.

Mofaz himself refuses to speak about military action against Iran, even in the theoretical.

A military veteran with almost 40 years' operational experience, whose office in the Israeli parliament displays a poster of Israeli warplanes flying low over the Auschwitz concentration camp, he scoffs at the idea that his Iranian descent gives him special influence on an Iran attack decision. He derides the idea any serious official in the know would talk to visiting journalists about such a sensitive military subject.

But behind the carefully evasive language of top officials, basic facts are clear. Time is running out. Iran's nuclear program - regarded by Netanyahu as an existential threat to the state of Israel - will soon be buried deep enough underground to render an Israeli attack impossible. The Jewish state's options are narrowing.

"I think they've gone into lockdown mode now," the senior Western diplomat said. "Whatever happens next, whatever they decide, we will not find out until it happens."

There are indeed those who see in Israeli posturing over Iran only bluff intended to press world powers into harsher sanctions and avoid war. Some military experts openly doubt how much damage Israel could inflict. The risk of a fiasco is big.

Perhaps the strongest clue as to Israel's real intentions is to be found in Netanyahu's private office, behind his desk. Officials say the Israeli premier was strongly influenced by his father, who died last month at the age of 102.

Benzion Netanyahu was a distinguished scholar of Jewish history and his strong sense of the past lives on in Benjamin, who laments to visitors that "most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time".

On a shelf behind Netanyahu's desk, along with pictures of his family, is a photograph of Winston Churchill. Netanyahu admires the British wartime premier because he saw the true dangers posed by Nazi Germany to the world at a time when many other politicians argued for appeasing Hitler.

The parallels with modern-day Iran are obvious and Netanyahu is explicit about the dangers he believes are posed by militant Islam: as he puts it, its convulsive power, its cult of death and its ideological zeal.

But Churchill, although eloquent on the dangers posed by the rise of Nazi Germany during the 1930s, ultimately failed to prevent Hitler's ascent to power, the world war he unleashed or the Holocaust in which six million Jews were murdered.

Netanyahu, those who know him say, is determined to avoid going down in history as the man who shirked his opportunity to stop Iran going nuclear. (Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul and Crispian Balmer; editing by Ralph Boulton)

(Created by Michael Stott)

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China's crude imports from Iran rise 53.2 percent in April
A Chinese oil tanker (file photo)

Mon May 21, 2012 9:58AM GMT
China's oil imports from Iran have increased by 53.2 percent in April to 388,034 barrels per day (bpd) from 253,302 bpd a month earlier, Chinese customs data shows.


The jump in China's crude imports came after Tehran and Beijing "resolved disputes over annual contracts," Reuters reported.

The Monday data also indicated that China's oil imports from Iran stood at 355,989 bpd in January-April.

Last week, data released by Italy's oil refining industry body Unione Petrolifera (UP) showed that the country's oil imports from Iran increased by 6 percent in March to 425,200 tons, compared with the 401,600 tons in February.

The growth in Italy's crude imports from Iran came despite the oil embargo imposed by the European Union on the Islamic Republic.

On January 23, the European Union approved new sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors. The sanctions are meant to prevent EU member states from buying Iranian crude or doing business with its central bank. The sanctions will come into force as of July 1.

The US and the EU have imposed new financial sanctions as well as oil embargoes against Iran since the beginning of 2012, claiming that the country's nuclear energy program includes a military component.

Tehran refutes such allegations, noting that frequent inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency have never found any diversion in Iran's nuclear energy program toward military purposes.

Iran's Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Shamseddin Hosseini has warned that if EU sanctions against the Islamic Republic take effect, oil prices will soar to as high as USD 160 per barrel.

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IRAN/TERRORISM (PIX, TV)

Hitler wrongly invested on the Vatican but not on US politicians Israeli Hitler receives a standing ovation in US congress
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Bin Laden may be remembered as the Muslim warrior who was able to attack targets inside America and who had forced the Americans to launch very costly wars on Afghanistan and Iraq respectively, in 2001 and 2003. Many believe it was Dr Ayaman Al-Zawahiri who should be credited with expanding the limited agenda of Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda from freeing the holy Saudi Arabian lands, from the boots of the American infidels, to fighting continuous Islamic Jihadi wars throughout the world similar to Trotsky’s permanent socialist revolution.



Because of the death of the 19 attackers and because of security reasons, the full details of what had happened on September 11, 2001 are still unknown. Nevertheless, the ability to launch damaging attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon despite the presence of 15 US intelligence agencies showed Al-Qaeda to having operators with quasi superhuman talents.

While in Egypt, Medical Doctor Al-Zawahiri was credited with planning the assassination of President Anwar Al-Sadat on October 6, 1981, following his visit to Israel. Those close to Bin Laden know that their leader is not the person with the exceptional capabilities or with the high intelligence but they give credits to others, some still faceless, and to Dr Al-Zawahiri in carrying out spectacular attacks. It will take Al-Zawahiri some time before proving his worth in evading the US bullets and in launching the next attack which he promised to avenge the death of Bin Laden.

Al-though Al-Qaeda hasn’t been in the news lately despite their daily attacks in Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen. However, Dr Al-Zawahiri’s job is being facilitated by the American unlimited support for the intransigence of the extreme right-wing government of Netanyahu-Liebrman in Israel and by the American desperate attempts to undermine the on-going Arab people uprisings against the USraeli Arab agents in government.


The Americans have eliminated the enemies of the Islamic revolution in Afghanistan (2001) and in Iraq (2003), naturally to the cheers of the Iranians. The Arabs will also cheer the Americans if they eliminate their enemies in Israel.

Be reasonable and ask the impossible from the American Zombies whom I have given up on them. Despite 5000 universities and high teaching institutes, the Americans are unable to connect the dots and end up being ruled by imbeciles like Ronald Reagan and G.W. Bush. The stupid Americans went to invade and destroy Iraq while they should have invaded Saudi Arabia. They are currently trying to undermine Iran while they should concentrate on Pakistan where most of the terrorists are being bred and exported. The Americans can't name one single Iranian or Iraqi who have carried out terrorist attack anywhere on earth. Bin Laden was a Saudi so were 15 out of the 19 who carried out the attacks on 9/11. Al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian so was Mohammed Al-Atta. Al-Zarqawi was a Jordanian.

Catholic Hitler introduced a Church Tax in order to keep the Vatican on his side while fighting the Jews who were implicated in the crucifixion of Jesus and who refuse to recognize Christianity. In this regard, Hitler was successful as his ally Mussolini became a close friend of Pope Pius XII while Jews were being killed in German-occupied territories. But Hitler's biggest mistake was in ignoring investment on the US legislators who were like him vehement anti-communist.

Like Netanyhu, Hitler would have received standing ovations if he had given an address to the US congress announcing operation Barba Rossa; to invade and to destroy the communist Soviet Union and to topple Stalin, while his forces remained occupying Austria, the Czeck Republic and Poland.
Someone once said “victims of abuse tend to abuse others.” That is why one should not be surprised to seeing the Jewish victims of Nazi crimes establishing a state that carries out Nazi-style atrocities. Here are some of the similarities between German and Israeli Nazi practices:
1. The German Nazis preached the superiority of the Arian race. Similarly, the Jews believe that they are superior to others and are being preferred by God over the rest of his creatures.
2. The Germans had established the SS (Schutz Stafel/defense force) and the Gestapo (Geheimstaatpolizei/secret state police) to detain, torture and to assassinate all the 'undesirables' including Communists and Jews. The Israelis have established IDF (Israeli Defense Force), SHABAK, SHIN BEIT and MOSSAD which are known for carrying out heinous crimes against Palestinians in Israel, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Europe and Lebanon.
3. Germans discriminated against Jews, Israelis discriminate against Christians and Muslims.
4. The Germans developed and used sophisticated Luftwaffe, Panzers and Chemical weapons. The Israelis developed and used all kinds of weapons including cluster and phosphorus bombs.
5. The German Wehrmacht gave itself the right to attack neighboring countries. The Israeli IDF have invaded Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and the West Bank.
6. In 1947, the Irgun, Haggana and Stern gangs surrounded Deir Yassin and hanged the entire male population of (180-800) to frighten the population. That was a page taken from Himmler's book of atrocities in the former USSR.
While the German Nazi rule lasted from 1939-1945, the Israeli Nazi atrocities are on-going since 1948. The Americans fought NAZI Germany, albeit late, but are currently embracing Israeli Nazi-style atrocities and crimes.


Jews were always persecuted by Christians and not by Muslims. It was only in 1964 when the Jews were exonerated( to free from blame) by the Vatican from the blood of Christ. For hundreds of years, Churches of Germany, Italy and France had statuesand paintings depicting Jews as devils, blood suckers and wild beasts. Now with Jewish money and political clout, many Christians started to embrace Zionist causes. Western politicians, the like of Thatcher, Tony Blair, G.W. Bush, Barak Obama, David Cameron, Nikolai Sarkosi and Angela Merkel owe their positions to Jewish money. In the US, most senators and members of the house are on the payroll of the Jewish financial mafia(s) (see Bernie Madoff's list of political donations.)



Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
======================================================================================
25 Jun 2011 11:33

Source: reuters // Reuters

* Leaders of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan attend conference

* Region has been battlefield for U.S. "war on terrorism"

* Tehran turns tables on Western claims it backs "terrorism"

By Mitra Amiri

TEHRAN, June 25 (Reuters) - Iran used a conference on stopping terrorism on Saturday to accuse the West of being the main sponsor of political violence against civilians.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told delegates who included the leaders of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan -- the main battlefields for the U.S. "war on terrorism" -- that Washington, Israel and Europe were the worst culprits.

"It is unfortunate that I have to announce that the individuals and groups responsible for these (terrorist) incidents are supported by certain European governments and some American politicians," Ahmadinejad told the "International Conference on Global Fight Against Terrorism".

By accusing the West, Tehran was turning the tables on accusations that Tehran supports militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, which are considered terrorist organisations by Israel and its Western allies.

In a message read out at the conference, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Washington had committed "terrorist behaviour and financial and military support to organized terrorists" in the Middle East.

He said drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the downing of an Iranian civil airliner by a U.S. warship in 1988 and the assassination of two Iranian nuclear scientists -- for which no one has claimed responsibility -- were incidents from a "shameful and unforgettable list" of U.S. "terrorism".

Washington has led a global diplomatic offensive to tighten sanctions on Iran which it believes is seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. The two countries have been enemies since the 1979 revolution, which overthrew the U.S.-backed shah, and the subsequent occupation of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who has backed Washington's actions against militants in his country, echoed U.S. rhetoric about a "war" on terrorism.

"Our forces are in the trenches, the very front line in the great battle of the 21st century. We are fighting a war that will determine not only the future of my country but the future of your countries and the entire world," he told the meeting.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who received Iran's defence minister on a landmark visit to Kabul last week in an ominous move for Washington which fears Tehran increasing its influence in the region, also addressed the meeting.

"Despite our attempts in the last 10 years to build the foundations of the country, not only has our country not achieved peace but terrorism is still a threat to Afghanistan and the region," Karzai said.

In a private meeting on the sidelines of the conference, Khamenei told Karzai he believed Washington wanted a permanent military presence in Afghanistan. "As long as American soldiers are present in Afghanistan, real security will not be established," he was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani reiterated a point made by all speakers, that Islam must not be perverted to justify "terrorism" and warned foreign countries against supporting groups like al Qaeda.

"There is a mistaken understanding in some regions that those believe themselves of the Islamic faith use Islam to further their evil aims, whereas Islam is about peace and must be used against the phenomenon of terrorism.

"This phenomenon nearly destroyed our country and those who are supported wither financially or otherwise by foreign countries are mistaken," Talabani said. (Writing by Robin Pomeroy, editing by Alistair Lyon)

==

Disarmament conference in Tehran (8 images)
[Iran host the second international conference on disarmament and non-proliferation in Tehran]
Iran host the second international conference on disarmament and non-proliferation in Tehran
Representatives of Pakistan, Qatar, and Algeria participate in the second international conference on disarmament and non-proliferation hosted by Iran in Tehran on June 12, 2011.The two-day conference will focus on nuclear disarmament issues. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian

Read more: http://www.upi.com/News_Photos/News/Disarmament-conference-in-Tehran/5251/#ixzz1QIXX4B4Y

===

Leader: Terrorism, global powers' tool
Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:41AM

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says dominant powers use terrorism as a tool to achieve their illegitimate objectives.


“An important and shocking point [about terrorism] is the evil calculation of dominant powers which have introduced using terrorism as a tool for achieving illegitimate objectives into their policies and planning,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in his message to the International Conference on the Global Fight against Terrorism on Saturday.

The conference, which brings together senior officials from at least 60 countries and representatives from several international organizations including the UN, opened on Saturday in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

“The historical memory of the regional nations will never forget how imperialist states organized terrorists groups such as the World Zionist Organization and more than ten other similar groups to occupy Palestine and estrange its innocent nation.”

“The Zionist regime [of Israel] has publicly continued its terrorist actions inside and outside of Palestine and has announced them shamelessly,” the Leader said in his message relayed by his foreign policy advisor Ali Akbar Velayati.

“Another example is the regime of the United States of America which has created a long list of terrorist actions and also financial and arms support for organized terrorists in the countries of the region.”

The leader added that the US, the UK and some other Western countries which have a dark and condemning record of terrorist actions, are advocates of fighting terrorism.

“From the viewpoint of the leaders of hegemonic powers, terrorism is whatever that threatens their illegitimate interests.”

The Leader said one of the activities of the International Conference on the Global Fight against Terrorism could be providing a clear and accurate definition of terrorism.

==

FACTBOX-Sanctions imposed on Iran

28 Jun 2011 09:07

Source: reuters // Reuters

(refiled to remove garble, copy unchanged)

June 28 (Reuters) - Following are details of sanctions imposed on Iran in recent years by the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.

* U.S. SANCTIONS:

-- Initial sanctions imposed after Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy and took diplomats hostage in 1979. Iranian products cannot be imported into the United States apart from small gifts, information materials, foodstuffs and some carpets.

-- In 1995, President Bill Clinton issued executive orders preventing U.S. companies from investing in Iranian oil and gas and trading with Iran. Tehran has looked for other customers.

-- The same year, Congress passed a law requiring the U.S. government to impose sanctions on foreign firms investing more than $20 million a year in Iran's energy sector. It was extended for five years in September 2006. No foreign firms have yet been penalised, although many have curtailed operations in Iran.

-- In October 2007, Washington imposed sanctions on three Iranian banks and branded the Revolutionary Guards a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction. The Treasury has since added numerous other Iranian banks to its blacklist.

-- The Treasury has identified about 20 petroleum and petrochemical companies as being under Iranian government control, an action that put them off-limits to U.S. businesses under the trade embargo.

-- Congress approved tough new unilateral sanctions on June 24, 2010 aimed at squeezing Iran's energy and banking sectors, which could also hurt companies from other countries doing business with Tehran.

-- The 2010 law imposes penalties on firms that supply Iran with refined petroleum products worth more than $5 million over 12 months. Firms can be banned from the U.S. financial system or denied U.S. contracts. It also effectively deprives foreign banks of access to the U.S. financial system if they do business with Iranian banks or the Revolutionary Guards.

-- In February 2011, Bank Refah was sanctioned for facilitating the purchase of millions of dollars worth of missiles and tanks by Iran's Defence Ministry.

-- In May, the U.S. blacklisted its 21st Iranian state bank, the Bank of Industry and Mine, as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction for handling transactions on behalf of two previously sanctioned institutions, Bank Mellat and Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank.

-- It also announced new sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA and six other smaller oil and shipping firms for engaging in trade with Iran in violation of the U.S. ban, prompting fury and warnings from Hugo Chavez's government.

-- On June 11, it announced new sanctions applicable to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Basij Resistance Force, Iran's Law Enforcement Forces and its commander, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam. The sanctions freeze any of the targets' assets under U.S. jurisdiction and bar U.S. persons and institutions from dealing with them.

-- U.S. sanctions against Iran can be found on the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control website: http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/iran/iran.sh tml and http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2194/text

* EU SANCTIONS:

-- The EU has imposed visa bans on senior officials such as Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Ali Jafari, former Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar and former atomic energy chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh, and on nuclear and ballistic experts.

-- Britain announced last October it was freezing business ties with Bank Mellat and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), both of which have previously faced sanctions from the United States.

-- New EU measures approved on July 26, 2010, said European airports would bar cargo flights to or from Iran except those in which limited amounts of cargo were carried on passenger planes.

-- On Aug. 12, 2010 the EU toughened its sanctions against Tehran, including banning the creation of joint ventures with enterprises in Iran that are engaged in the oil and natural gas industries and any subsidiary or affiliate under their control.

-- Member states must prohibit the provision of insurance and re-insurance to the government of Iran. The sale, purchase, brokerage or assistance with the issuance of public or public-guaranteed bonds by the Iranian government, central bank or Iranian banks is banned.

-- The import and export of arms and equipment that could contribute to uranium enrichment or have a "dual use" is banned.

-- The sanctions forbid the sale and supply or transfer of energy equipment and technology used by Iran for refining, liquefying natural gas, exploration and production. The EU expects the effects of the sanctions to increase over time as existing parts wear out.

-- The transfer of funds over 40,000 euros will require prior authorisation from the member state concerned. Sums of more than 10,000 euros not related to foodstuffs or healthcare and medical equipment will require notification.

-- For the full EU sanctions decision click: (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:281:0001:0077:EN:PDF)

-- In May 2011, EU foreign ministers significantly extended its sanctions and agreed to add more than 100 new entities to a list of companies and people affected by sanctions including those owned or controlled by the IRISL. Among the shipping companies targeted by the EU were Safiran Payam Darya Shipping Lines, which it said took over IRISL's bulk services and routes and used vessels previously owned by IRISL.

-- EU diplomats said the May 23 sanctions list included German-based EIH bank, which specialises in business in Iran.

* U.N. SANCTIONS:

-- The Security Council has imposed four sets of sanctions on Iran, in December 2006, March 2007, March 2008 and June 2010.

-- The first covered sensitive nuclear materials and froze the assets of Iranian individuals and companies linked with the nuclear programme. It gave Iran 60 days to suspend uranium enrichment, a deadline ignored by Iran.

-- The second included new arms and financial sanctions. It extended an asset freeze to 28 more groups, companies and individuals engaged in or supporting sensitive nuclear work or the development of ballistic missiles, including the state-run Bank Sepah and firms controlled by the Revolutionary Guards.

-- The third increased travel and financial curbs on individuals and companies. It expanded a partial ban on trade in items with both civilian and military uses to cover sales of all such technology to Iran, and added 13 individuals and 12 companies to the list of those suspected of aiding Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. In September 2008, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution again ordering Iran to halt enrichment. Iran again disregarded the order.

-- A Security Council resolution passed on June 9, 2010, called for measures against new Iranian banks abroad if a connection to the nuclear or missile programmes was suspected, as well as vigilance over transactions with any Iranian bank, including the central bank.

-- It expanded a U.N. arms embargo against Tehran and blacklisted three firms controlled by Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and 15 belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The resolution called for setting up a cargo inspection regime similar to one in place for North Korea.

-- Annexed to the draft resolution was a list of 40 companies to be added to an existing U.N. blacklist of firms. (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; editing by Mark Heinrich)

===


OPEC top official urges IEA to halt oil release
Jun 28, 2011 at 21:30
http://en.news.maktoob.com/20090000842532/OPEC_top_official_urges_IEA_to_halt_oil_release/Article.htm


By Reuters
VIENNA (Reuters) - The IEA order to release emergency oil stocks should be halted immediately, OPEC's Secretary General said on Monday at the end of cooperation talks with the European Union.

Years of producer-consumer harmony have come under threat after the International Energy Agency last week ordered the release of 60 million barrels of oil following the collapse of an OPEC meeting early in the month without a deal.

"I hope this practice will be stopped and stopped immediately," Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri told a news conference in Vienna following EU-OPEC dialogue.

"We don't see a good reason to release this quantity and I hope the IEA will refrain from using this practice."

The dialogue bringing together representatives of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and EU consumer countries has taken place every year since June 2005.

Typically, it has been an uneventful debate of topics including the impact of speculation and the need for regulation.

EU officials insisted Monday's talks had been constructive, although they accepted both sides had taken a different view of the IEA reserves release.

"Obviously, there was a disagreement on this particular issue," said Tamas Fellegi, president of the EU's energy council and also Hungary's development minister.

"Even if the IEA made this action, it has to remain extraordinary and limited in time, this is very important, and should not undermine the cooperation between the EU and OPEC and should not disrupt the market mechanisms."


IRANIAN OPPOSITION

Iran, current holder of the rotating OPEC presidency, was among seven members of the 12-nation producer group that blocked a Saudi-led proposal earlier this month to increase OPEC's output targets.

Immediately after the June 8 OPEC meeting collapsed without a new supply deal, leading exporter Saudi Arabia said it would pump all the oil the market needed, but the IEA still ordered a release from emergency stocks.

The IEA presented the emergency reserves release as a response to the loss of Libyan oil output to civil war, but Iran's Acting Oil Minister Mohammad Aliabadi said it was meddling that contradicted free-market principles.

"Why they are not abiding by those principles is really a big question for us. We believe that prices should be set by the market itself," Aliabadi told reporters on Monday.

Iran is not alone in arguing there is more to the IEA reserves release than meeting a supply shortfall.

Analysts have noted an economic element, as the world frets about the impact of oil prices above $100 a barrel on a fragile world economy, and a political element as U.S. President Barack Obama positions for re-election.

They also say the consequences could be severe for the oil market and any short-term price fall might not be sustained.

BP Chief Economist Christof Ruehl said in a television interview with Reuters Insider the single biggest risk for the oil market this year was "a war of attrition between OPEC and the IEA and that it goes on for a long time."

It could be a risk to both the upside and downside, he said, depending on the extent of both sides' response.

Brent crude fell to a session low of just above $102 a barrel on Monday, roughly 10 percent lower than the market close on Wednesday, the day before the IEA announcement. The price rallied slightly in late trade.

The IEA has had far more impact on the market than OPEC's inability to reach a new supply agreement and analysts said the producer group could be impotent for months to come.

"The big problem is that Iran has the presidency of OPEC in 2011 and is using it as a political tool," said analyst Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix.

"The statements coming out of OPEC are currently irrelevant as Iran has kidnapped OPEC and we will have to wait for 2012 to maybe see OPEC work again as an institution."

If the price falls too far, however, analysts predict OPEC could reunite as a force, just as it did at the end of 2008 when prices crashed below $40 a barrel.

The price collapse prompted OPEC to agree a record output cut of 4.2 million barrels per day.

That reduction theoretically remained in place until this month when OPEC's failure to reach agreement leaves all OPEC members at liberty to pump whatever they can.

After Iran moves aside as OPEC president, Iraq, which also opposed the Saudi-led push for an output increase at the June meeting, will take over at the beginning of next year.

(additional reporting by Daniel Fineren in Dubai; writing by Barbara Lewis; editing by William Hardy)

===
Rocket attack kills 3 American soldiers in Iraq
APBy LARA JAKES - Associated Press | AP – 4 hrs ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — A rocket attack on a U.S. base near Iraq's border with Iran killed three American soldiers, an official said Thursday, blaming the strike on a Shiite militia linked to Tehran.

The deaths came at the end of the bloodiest month for U.S. troops in Iraq in two years, and with just six months before the American military is scheduled to leave after more than eight years of war.

Wednesday's rocket attack struck a U.S. base in southern Iraq that is located a few miles (kilometers) from the Iranian border, a U.S. military official said. He said the type of weapons used bore the hallmarks of a Shiite militia with strong links to Iran.

The official refused to give more details, and would not describe what kind of rockets were used against the base, or where it was. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

American intelligence officials have long believed that the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, is one of the only militias to use weapons known in military jargon as IRAMs, or improvised rocket-assisted mortars, against U.S. troops. The weapons are made in Iran.

Kataib Hezbollah, which has links to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group, is solely focused on attacking U.S. troops and other American personnel.

The U.S. military is preparing to leave Iraq by the end of the year, as required by a 2008 security agreement between Baghdad and Washington. But as both governments now consider extending the deadline to have thousands of troops remain in Iraq into 2012 — in part to counter Iran's influence over the unstable nation — at least three major Shiite militias have stepped up attacks on soldiers to force the military out.

Kataib Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a June 6 rocket attack on a U.S. base in Baghdad that killed five soldiers. In all, 15 U.S. troops have died this month in Iraq, all but one in hostile attacks. It's the highest number of military deaths in Iraq since June 2009.

Wednesday's deaths bring to 4,469 the number of American troops who have died in Iraq. That's according to an Associated Press count.

==

FACTBOX-Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez

01 Jul 2011 02:36

Source: reuters // Reuters

June 30 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez announced on Thursday that he had undergone a successful operation in Cuba to extract cancerous cells from a tumor and was on the road to full recovery. [ID:nN1E75T1QY]

The 56-year-old gave no indication of when he would return to Venezuela and did not name a temporary substitute to lead the South American OPEC member nation of 29 million people.

Here are some key facts about Chavez:

* Born to a poor family in the Venezuelan plains or "llanos" on July 28, 1954, Chavez once aspired to be a painter and then a professional baseball player. He often explains politics using baseball metaphors and the folksy language of the "llanos" he learned during his childhood.

* A former lieutenant colonel, Chavez spent much of his later military career conspiring with other leftist officers to overthrow the country's traditional political order. He led a 1992 coup that failed but made his reputation and propelled him toward the presidency.

* Chavez won power in a 1998 presidential vote and took office the next year. Opposition politicians and dissident troops led a coup against him in 2002, but supporters and loyal soldiers swept him back to power in less than two days. Chavez accuses the U.S. government of backing the putsch.(
A sudden attempt by a group to overthrow a government)

* Chavez has enjoyed wide backing among Venezuela's poor majority with massive social spending to expand health and education programs financed by income from oil exports. He has also cultivated support by confronting the United States, which he denounces as a decadent empire.

* He first warned in 2004 that he would shut off oil supplies to the United States if it tried to invade the Andean nation or impose a trade blockade against his country -- after he accused then U.S. President George W. Bush of backing the short-lived 2002 coup attempt. The following month, he backed away from the threat and said he did not have any intention of damaging relations with Washington.

* Inspired by his friend and mentor, Cuba's Fidel Castro, Chavez has taken Venezuela down an increasingly radical path, nationalizing large swathes of the economy and running the government with a personalized -- many would say autocratic -- style. Opponents say he has become an old-style Latin American "caudillo" or dictator, repressing critics, squandering the nation's oil wealth and ruining its economy.

* Chavez has a deliberately populist style and is famous for his strong language and long-winded speeches that often drag on late into the night. His weekly Sunday TV talk show, "Hello, President," has lasted as long as eight hours. (Reporting by Caracas bureau; Editing by Eric Walsh)