Mediaboss Marketing

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Saturday it had many options to neutralize the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on its oil exports, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, adding that Tehrans regional influence could not be curbed as demanded by Washington.

FILE PHOTO - Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Iran?s Supreme National Security Council Director, speaks to the media after his arrival at Damascus airport, September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri

Apart from closing Strait of Hormuz, we have other options to stop oil flow if threatened, Secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani told Tasnim.

Iran has plans in place that will neutralize the illegal U.S. sanctions against Irans oil exports, Shamkhani said. We have many ways to sell our oil.

Tensions between Iran and the United States increased after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers last May, and then reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

The restoration of sanctions is part of a wider effort by Trump to force Iran to further curb its nuclear and missile programs as well as its support for proxy forces in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East.

Washington had been pushing governments to cut imports of Iranian oil to zero. But, fearing a price spike, it granted waivers to eight Iranian oil buyers when the sanctions on oil imports started last November.

Iranian officials have threatened to disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf countries if Washington tries to strangle Tehrans oil exports.

Carrying one-third of the worlds seaborne oil every day, the Strait of Hormuz links Middle East crude producers to key markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond.

There are multiple ways to make that (blockage of Hormuz) happen. We hope we would not be forced to use them, Shamkhani said.

Iran the dominant Shiite Muslim power which is in a rivalry with Saudi Arabia and the United States other Sunni Arab allies has been President Bashar al-Assads most supportive ally against insurgents throughout the nearly eight-year Syrian civil war.

We have achieved 90 percent of Irans goals in Syria, said Shamkhani, a close ally of Irans top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

There will be important developments in promoting deterrence capability of the resistance front in Syria, said Shamkhani when asked about Israels possible future attacks in Syria, according to Tasnim.

Iran often refers to regional countries and forces opposed to Israel and the United States as a resistance axis.

Israel, increasingly concerned that its enemy Iran may establish a long-term military presence in neighboring Syria, says it has carried out over 200 attacks against Iranian targets in Syria in the last two years.

Defying Israeli threats that they might be targeted if they do not leave the country, Iran says it will continue to provide military advisers to Syria for as long as necessary in support of Assads forces.

Iran is capable of confronting any military threat ... Trump and Israel are well aware of Irans military might, Shamkhani said. They know that they cannot enter a war with Iran. That is why they publicly threaten Iran.

Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Toby Chopra

Go here to read the rest:
Iran has various options to neutralize 'illegal' U.S ...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on Monday evening to a threat issued by an Iranian commander, saying that if Iran attacks Tel Aviv, it "would be the last anniversary of the revolution that they celebrate."

Haaretz Weekly Episode 15Haaretz

Speaking at a rally earlier Monday celebrating the40th anniversaryof the Islamic revolution, asenior Revolutionary Guards commander said that Iranwould demolish entire cities in Israel if the United States attacked the Islamic Republic.

I do not ignore the threats of the Iranian regime but neither am I intimidated by them," Netanyahu said. "If this regime makes the awful mistake of trying to destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa, it will not succeed. However, this would be the last anniversary of the revolution that they celebrate. They should take this into account.

Yadollah Javani, the Guards' deputy head for political affairs was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA that"the United States does not have the courage to shoot a single bullet at us despite all its defensive and military assets. But if they attack us, we willraze Tel Aviv and Haifato the ground,"

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched and some burned U.S. and Israeli flags on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the triumph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shi'ite cleric who toppled the Shah in an Islamic Revolution that rattles the West to this day.

>>Burned by Israel strikes, Iran to move weapons supply center out of Damascus

On Feb 11, 1979, Iran's army declared its neutrality, paving the way for the fall of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the United States' closest ally in the Middle East.

We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting.

Please try again later.

The email address you have provided is already registered.

State TV showed crowds defying cold rainy weather and carrying Iranian flags while shouting "Death to Israel, Death to America," trademark chants of the revolution which ousted the United States' most important ally in the Middle East.

"Much to the dismay of America, the revolution has reached its 40th year," read one banner.

Marchers carried cardboard cutouts of dogs.One had the face of Trump and the other the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

State TV showed a cartoon of the Shah being thrown into the "dustbin of history", wearing clothes in U.S. colors and holding Iranian newspapers headlined "The Shah has left!"

The rest is here:
Netanyahu fires back at Iran: Attack Tel Aviv and 'it'll be ...

Religion

The vast majority of Iranians are Muslims of the Ithn Ashar, or Twelver, Shite branch, which is the official state religion. The Kurds and Turkmen are predominantly Sunni Muslims, but Irans Arabs are both Sunni and Shite. Small communities of Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are also found throughout the country.

The two cornerstones of Iranian Shism are the promise of the return of the divinely inspired 12th imamMuammad al-Mahd al-ujjah, whom Shites believe to be the mahdiand the veneration of his martyred forebears. The absence of the imam contributed indirectly to the development in modern Iran of a strong Shite clergy whose penchant for status, particularly in the 20th century, led to a proliferation of titles and honorifics unique in the Islamic world. The Shite clergy have been the predominant political and social force in Iran since the 1979 revolution.

There is no concept of ordination in Islam. Hence, the role of clergy is played not by a priesthood but by a community of scholars, the ulama (Arabic ulam). To become a member of the Shite ulama, a male Muslim need only attend a traditional Islamic college, or madrasah. The main course of study in such an institution is Islamic jurisprudence (Arabic fiqh), but a student need not complete his madrasah studies to become a faqh, or jurist. In Iran such a low-level clergyman is generally referred to by the generic term mullah (Arabic al-mawl, lord; Persian mull) or khnd or, more recently, rn (Persian: spiritual). To become a mullah, one need merely advance to a level of scholarly competence recognized by other members of the clergy. Mullahs staff the vast majority of local religious posts in Iran.

An aspirant gains the higher status of mujtahida scholar competent to practice independent reasoning in legal judgment (Arabic ijtihd)by first graduating from a recognized madrasah and obtaining the general recognition of his peers and then, most important, by gaining a substantial following among the Shite community. A contender for this status is ordinarily referred to by the honorific hojatoleslm (Arabic ujjat al-Islm, proof of Islam). Few clergymen are eventually recognized as mujtahids, and some are honoured by the term ayatollah (Arabic yat Allh, sign of God). The honorific of grand ayatollah (yat Allh al-um) is conferred only upon those Shite mujtahids whose level of insight and expertise in Islamic canon law has risen to the level of one who is worthy of being a marja-e taqld (Arabic marja al-taqld, model of emulation), the highest level of excellence in Iranian Shism.

There is no real religious hierarchy or infrastructure within Shism, and scholars often hold independent and varied views on political, social, and religious issues. Hence, these honorifics are not awarded but attained by scholars through general consensus and popular appeal. Shites of every level defer to clergymen on the basis of their reputation for learning and judicial acumen, and the trend has become strong in modern Shism for every believer, in order to avoid sin, to follow the teachings of his or her chosen marja-e taqld. This has increased the power of the ulama in Iran, and it has also enhanced their role as mediators to the divine in a way not seen in Sunni Islam or in earlier Shism.

Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are the most significant religious minorities. Christians are the most numerous group of these, Orthodox Armenians constituting the bulk. The Assyrians are Nestorian, Protestant, and Roman Catholic, as are a few converts from other ethnic groups. The Zoroastrians are largely concentrated in Yazd in central Iran, Kermn in the southeast, and Tehrn.

Religious toleration, one of the characteristics of Iran during the Pahlavi monarchy, came to an end with the Islamic revolution in 1979. While Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are recognized in the constitution of 1979 as official minorities, the revolutionary atmosphere in Iran was not conducive to equal treatment of non-Muslims. Among these, members of the Bah faitha religion founded in Iranwere the victims of the greatest persecution. The Jewish population, which had been significant before 1979, emigrated in great numbers after the revolution.

Read the original post:
Iran - Religion | Britannica.com

The Iranian navy plans to deploy warships into the Atlantic Ocean, a senior Iranian commander announced Friday.

Iranian warships will set sail for the Atlantic in March, Rear Adm. Touraj Hassani, Iran's naval deputy commander, told state media IRNA, adding that Iran's new stealth destroyer the Sahand could be a part of the naval flotilla deployed to the Atlantic for a five-month operation.

Iran launched the domestically produced destroyer at the start of December. At that time, Hassani suggested that Iran may send two to three warships to Venezuela.

Read More: Amid rising tensions with the US, Iran launched a new stealth destroyer that it says can evade radar at sea

The announcement comes as Iran bristles at the presence of a US Navy aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

The USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier is currently operating in the Persian Gulf, its presence specifically intended as a deterrent for hostile Iranian activities.

And Iran's not pleased. "We will not allow Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis to come near our territorial waters in the Persian Gulf," Iranian Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari warned in December.

Read More: The US Navy is sending an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf in a message to a belligerent Iran

Iran has long desired to counter American activities in its home region by showing the flag near American waters and elsewhere, Reuters reported.

"By their continuous presence in international waters, Iranian naval forces aim to implement the orders of commander-in-chief of the armed forces (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), wave the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran, thwart the Iran-ophobia plots, and secure shipping routes," Hassani explained.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been on the rise since President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, as well as reimpose sanctions, last year. Whether or not Iran will, or even can, send warships into the Atlantic remains debatable.

Read more from the original source:
Iran says it will send warships into the Atlantic - Business ...

LONDON (Reuters) - A powerful Iranian council approved an anti-money laundering bill on Saturday, state media reported, a major step towards reforms that would bring Iran into line with global norms and could facilitate foreign trade in the face of U.S sanctions.

FILE PHOTO: An exchange currency dealer sits at his shop as he waits for customer in Tehran's business district October 24, 2011. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

Iran has been trying to implement standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental organization that underpins the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Foreign businesses say Irans compliance with FATF standards and its removal from the organizations blacklist are essential if they are to increase investment, especially after reimposition of the U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

However, Iranian hardliners have opposed passing legislation toward compliance with the FATF, arguing it could hamper Iranian financial support for allies such as Lebanons Hezbollah, which the United States lists as a terrorist organization.

Parliament last year passed the anti-money laundering bill, one of four amendments Iran needs to implement to meet FATF requirements, but the Guardian Council, a vetting body, rejected it, saying it was against Islam and the constitution.

On Saturday, the Expediency Council, a body intended to resolve disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council, approved the bill with some changes, state news agency IRNA said, quoting a member of the council.

The move came after Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani - the chief of hardline judiciary - was appointed last week as the head of the Expediency Council. He is the brother of Ali Larijani, the speaker of the parliament.

Seven months after his harsh dismissal of parliamentary efforts to adapt FATF and other international conventions on money laundering, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seems to have warmed to the reforms, a reversal that experts say is aimed at preventing Irans economic collapse.

In recent months, cities have been rocked by demonstrations as factory workers, teachers, truck drivers and farmers protested against economic hardship. The sanctions have depressed the value of Irans rial currency and aggravated annual inflation fourfold to nearly 40 percent in November.

U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a nuclear deal with Iran last year and reimposed the sanctions on its banking and energy sectors, hoping to curb its missile and nuclear programs and counter its growing influence in the Middle East.

European signatories of the nuclear deal are still committed to the accord and seek to launch a mechanism, a so-called special purpose vehicle (SPV), aiming to sidestep the U.S. financial system by using an EU intermediary to handle trade with Iran.

The director general of Irans Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, an advisory body set up by Khamenei, voiced his support for the FATF-related bills on Friday.

It is better to finalize the FATF and CFT (counter financing of terrorism regimes) in the earliest time, so the Europeans have no excuse not to implement the (SPV) mechanism, Abdolreza Faraji was quoted by semi-official ISNA new agency.

Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Alison Williams

See more here:
Iran approves anti-money laundering bill to ease foreign ...