{"id":6225,"date":"2024-06-27T08:31:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T13:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/?p=6225"},"modified":"2024-06-29T11:49:12","modified_gmt":"2024-06-29T16:49:12","slug":"6225","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/2024\/06\/27\/6225\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

“Two candidates drop out of Iran presidential election, due to take place Friday amid voter apathy,\u201d<\/a> AP, 6-27-24.\u00a0\u00a0Hashemi and Zakani withdrew to strengthen the chances of another (front-running) hardliner.\u00a0 This dropping out action has also occurred at other Guardian Council-Presidential races, most recently in the 2021 election.\u00a0 It is coordinated with the Office of the Supreme Leader in order to influence the outcome of the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cUS intel indicates war between Israel and Hezbollah inching closer,\u201d<\/a> Politico, 6-27-24.\u00a0\u00a0TBD by Iran\u2019s leaders.<\/p>\n

So, Iran\u2019s hold on the Strait is forcing SA to make concessions.\u00a0 Another successful blackmail.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSaudi Arabia said seeking China\u2019s help in solving Houthi crisis in Red Sea,\u201d<\/a> Times of Israel, 6-27-24.<\/p>\n

\u201cA cold revenge: How Iran baited Israel on October 7,\u201d<\/a> JPost, 6-27-24.<\/p>\n

\u201cEx-president Hassan Rouhani backs sole reformist running in Iran elections,\u201d<\/a> Dawn, 6-27-24.\u00a0\u00a0And Khatami the same.\u00a0 \u201cFormer Presidents Call on Iranians to Vote as Boycott Campaign Grows,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 6-27-24.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe job of Iran\u2019s president is a study in humiliation,\u201d<\/a> Economist, 6-27-24.<\/p>\n

Written by Sanger and Fassihi.\u00a0 \u201cAs Iran Picks a President, a Nuclear Shift: Open Talk About Building the Bomb,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 6-27-24.\u00a0\u00a0First, Iran is officially a \u201cthreshold\u201d nuclear state.\u00a0 Second, \u201cin April, Iran had fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, most of which Israel intercepted.\u00a0 \u2026\u00a0 The Iranians most likely emerged from the experience determined that the country needed a more potent deterrent.\u201d\u00a0 Third point of the article, under the terms of the 2015 JCPOA Deal (which I opposed in six op-eds), \u201c97 percent of Iran\u2019s nuclear fuel was shipped out of the country to Russia.\u00a0 \u2026\u00a0 But there was a weakness in the deal, acknowledged by negotiators at the time.\u00a0 Iran insisted that it had to hold onto its major enrichment facilities, So the underground facility at Fordow remained, spinning nonnuclear material.\u00a0 \u2026\u00a0 So did the main enrichment site at Natanz, which is much closer to the surface and easier to destroy. \u00a0\u2026\u00a0 And, largely out of the sight of IAEA inspectors, Iran developed its new IR-6 centrifuges, able to produce fuel far faster than the old IR-1s.\u201d\u00a0 In short, the JCPOA did not alter reality, that at its base, Iran says it doesn\u2019t want nuclear weapons but it doesn\u2019t act that way.\u00a0 Fourth, I\u2019m glad this article included that \u201cIran has insisted that it cannot manufacture or use nuclear weapons because of a 2003 \u201cfatwa,\u201d or religious edict, issued by the country\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The country said the fatwa remained in effect even after Israel stole, and then made public, a huge archive of Iranian documents that made plain the country was trying to design a weapon.\u201d\u00a0 But remember, as this blog has also reminded several times, the fatwa is nowhere to be seen\u2014no official can produce a copy of it.\u00a0 It never existed.\u00a0 Last, the NYT article points out that \u201cIranian officials have dropped the ritual assurances that Iran has only peaceful uses in mind for its nuclear program\u201d and mentions by name and quotes those who now say peaceful uses are not the only aim of Iran\u2019s program:\u00a0 Kamal Kharazi, adviser on foreign policy to Mr. Khamenei and a former foreign minister; Abbas Araghchi, former deputy FM and a nuclear negotiator for the 2015 deal; and IRGC Gen. Ahmad Haq Taleb, commander for defending Iran\u2019s nuclear sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran is preparing to open a new front in its war against Israel,\u201d<\/a> Telegraph, 6-27-24.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Illegal Christian activities\u2019: Iran sentences tourist to 10 years in prison for possessing New Testament,\u201d<\/a> The Christian Post, 6-27-24.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran election: Private Republican Guard polling shows Pezeshkian clear favourite,\u201d<\/a> MEE, 6-27-24.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran\u2019s only moderate presidential candidate takes surprise poll lead,\u201d<\/a> Telegraph, 6-27-24.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOne observer says the popularity of Masoud Pezeshkian may force the regime to rig the result \u2018more invasively than usual\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Two candidates drop out of Iran presidential election, due to take place Friday amid voter apathy,\u201d AP, 6-27-24.\u00a0\u00a0Hashemi and Zakani withdrew to strengthen the chances of another (front-running) hardliner.\u00a0 This dropping out action has also occurred at other Guardian Council-Presidential races, most recently in the 2021 election.\u00a0 It is coordinated with the Office of the … <\/p>\n

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