Target: Iran

[pcosmar]

Those are possible, it is likely that there are multiple parties involved but I am looking at the lion in the symbol and analyzing that.

Common and used by Many.. of various belief and region.

I suspect it is just the next to take the place of the last.. al-CIAda style.

[Swordsmyth]

India’s state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) will resume importing oil from Iran in February after a three-month hiatus that began with the U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil, Reuters reported on Monday, citing three industry sources.
In the months immediately preceding the return of the U.S. sanctions on Iran, many Indian state-run refiners had refrained from nominating Iranian oil loadings because of the initial uncertainty over which countries would be granted waivers to continue importing crude from Iran and because countries had to significantly reduce imports to qualify for potential waivers.
India—Iran’s second-largest oil customer after China—received a waiver to continue Iranian imports at reduced rates, alongside seven other major buyers of Iranian oil.
Under the waiver valid until early May 2019, India has to restrict its oil imports from Iran to 1.25 million tons, or 9 million barrels, in one month, according to Reuters.
BPCL will buy 1 million barrels of Iranian oil in February, the industry sources told Reuters today.
Another Indian state-run oil refiner, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), will also buy 1 million barrels of Iranian oil in February.
Last month, sources told Reuters that HPCL would return to buying 1 million barrels of Iranian oil in January after a pause of six months. In July, Hindustan Petroleum cancelled a crude oil shipment from Iran after its insurer refused to provide coverage for the cargo on concern about U.S. sanctions.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...anian-Oil.html

[RonZeplin]

[Swordsmyth]

Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen announced via Twitter on Jan. 8 that the European Union has enacted sanctions against the Iranian Intelligence Ministry over its role in assassination plots within Europe. The sanctions have placed a unit of the ministry – and two of its staff – on EU terrorism lists, freezing their financial assets in the European Union.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...n-plots-europe

[Swordsmyth]

After the United States pulled out of the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed and added to sanctions last year, the Trump administration granted waivers to eight countries who were already established buyers to continue buying specified amounts of Iranian oil for 180 days. Now, however, a senior Iranian energy official in Tehran says that these countries are not making use of the waivers and are instead complying fully with the strict zero-oil sanctions.
According to Iran's deputy oil minister for trade and international affairs Amir Hossein Zamaninia, "China, India, Japan, South Korea and other countries that were granted waivers from America to import Iranian oil are not willing to buy even one barrel more from Iran." The “other countries” granted waivers by the United States are Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...r-Its-Oil.html

[Swordsmyth]

FireEye reported Jan. 9 that it identified a wave of domain name system hijacking attacks affecting numerous domains belonging to governments, telecommunications and internet infrastructure companies and offices in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and North America. While the report does not link the attack to a specific group, early signs indicate a connection to Iranian entities.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...cking-campaign

[Swordsmyth]

Indian oil imports from Iran plunged by 41 percent on the year to just over 300,000 bpd in December, roughly around the level of Iranian oil India is restricted to buy under the U.S. waiver, allowing it to continue importing oil from Tehran, according to ship tracking data reviewed by Reuters.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...Sanctions.html

[Swordsmyth]

Continuing his eight day tour of the Middle East which kicked off with a speech at Cairo University, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced the United States will host an international summit next month focusing on Middle East security and Iran's regional influence in what appears the latest attempt to reassure allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia that in pulling out of Syria the US will still seek to prevent Iranian expansion and entrenchment in the region. In total Pompeo will visit nine nations, including Gulf GCC countries were he's expected to continue a heavily anti-Iran message to allies.
In an interview with FOX while speaking from Cairo, Pompeo said the international gathering would take place Feb. 13 to Feb. 14 in Poland to "focus on Middle East stability and peace and freedom and security here in this region, and that includes an important element of making sure that Iran is not a destabilizing influence."


"We'll bring together dozens of countries from all around the world,” he added, noting that invitees would include leaders from Asia, Africa, the Western Hemisphere, Europe and the Middle East, according to FOX. The White House has in recent months sought to keep up an intense "pressure campaign" on Iran and new sanctions after pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
The US has also warned Iran to cease it's "illegal" space program to launch satellites into orbit, saying the ballistic technology used in tests and launches only serve to further Iran's nuclear delivery capability. Early this month Pompeo threatened Iran via Twitter statement over plans to fire off Space Launch Vehicles which possessed, as Pompeo claimed, "virtually the same technology as ICBMs" in a "defiant" launch that will "advance its missile program" — a threat which Tehran rebuffed.
Notably, France on Friday affirmed Pompeo's warning, and in a statement condemned Iran's upcoming space launches. After Iran again announced it plans to put two satellites into orbit in the coming weeks, Foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll told reporters, "France recalls that the Iranian missile program is not conform with U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231," and added, "It calls on Iran to immediately cease all ballistic missile-related activities designed to carry nuclear weapons, including tests using ballistic missile technology."
Iran, for its part, has always maintained it is free to develop a "peaceful" space program, pointing out that the wording of the UN resolution leaves open the possibility of missile development programs unrelated to the delivery of nuclear weapons.
The resolution says that Iran “is called upon” not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles "designed to be capable" of nuclear warhead delivery while stopping short of explicitly banning the activity.
Meanwhile, on Friday the US Secretary of State arrived in Bahrain, after which he will visit the United Arab Emirates, where he's expected to push both a unifying message among increasingly splintered Gulf allies amidst an ongoing dispute with Qatar and give reassurance that the US is not abandoning the region to Iranian influence by its Syria exit. Toward this end he'll promote the administration's idea of an “Arab NATO” to counter Iran in the broader Middle East.
Ahead of Pompeo's tour of the Gulf states, the State Department issued a formal statement saying American partnerships with the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) “are critical to achieving shared regional objectives: defeating ISIS, countering radical Islamic terrorism, protecting global energy supplies, and rolling back Iranian aggression.”

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...zing-influence

[Swordsmyth]

Angered by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement that Poland will host an international conference on Iran in mid-February, Iranian authorities on Sunday summoned Warsaw's top diplomat in the country and called off a Polish film festival.The moves followed a tweet by Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who denounced the upcoming summit as America's anti-Iran "circus."


The official IRNA news agency said Iran conveyed its protest over Warsaw hosting the conference to Poland's Chargé d'Affaires Wojciech Unolt, demanding that Poland not side with this "hostile move" by the United States against Tehran.
The statement quoted an unnamed Iranian official as saying that if the summit goes ahead, Iran will resort to unspecified "counter-action" toward Poland, without elaborating.
Separately, Iran's culture ministry in a statement said it was suspending "Poland's Film Week," supposed to be held in Tehran in late January, until Warsaw reconsiders its position and starts demonstrating "appropriate behavior" toward Tehran.
Poland's Foreign Ministry in Warsaw could not immediately be reached for comment on Sunday morning. However, Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said Saturday he hoped the conference will provide a new platform for international dialogue and allow the U.S. and European Union to find a closer position on Iran.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/iran-summons-...073706186.html

[Swordsmyth]

The United States has no intention of granting any further sanction waivers to Iran crude oil buyers, the U.S. special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, said this weekend, as quoted by Reuters, just as Iran’s top oil buyers Japan and South Korea restart their purchases of Iranian crude.
Speaking on the sidelines of an oil industry conference in the UAE, Hook said “We are not looking to grant any waivers or exemptions to the import of Iranian crude,” adding “Iran is now increasingly feeling the economic isolation that our sanctions are imposing ... We do want to deny the regime revenues.”

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...Sanctions.html

[Swordsmyth]

A major military aviation disaster has unfolded in Iran on Monday at an airport belonging to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The Iranian army confirms 15 dead after a Boeing 707 military cargo plane crashed reportedly due to bad weather about 25 miles west of the Iranian capital.

Of the sixteen people on board, one survived — a flight engineer who was taken to the hospital — in the crash near Fath airport, located near Karaj in the central Iranian province of Alborz.
Reports say that the plane attempted an emergency landing after which it skidded off the runway and into a residential neighborhood where it slammed into a wall and engulfed in flames. State media footage showed residential homes and complexes burning amidst the wreckage.
The army said in a statement the aircraft had been carrying supplies: “A Boeing cargo 707 plane carrying meat from Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan had an emergency landing at Fath airport today ... the flight engineer has been dispatched to the hospital.”


Regional reports called the aircraft "decades old" — which suggests Washington's latest rounds of sanctions on Iran, targeting in part the aviation industry including civilian airplane parts, could have played a role. A number of international reports are already suggesting precisely this scenario:

The crash of the jetliner marked just the latest aviation disaster for Iran, which hoped to replace its aging fleet under terms of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
But instead, President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the accord in May scuttled billions of dollars in planned sales by Airbus and Boeing Co. to the Islamic Republic, only increasing the danger for passengers in Iran planes.

Given that the Iranian air force does operate Boeing 707s and that state media and officials have used the word "martyrdom" to describe the fate of the crash victims — a word commonly used for casualties during military service — it was likely an air force owned and operated aircraft.
But it is perhaps only a matter of time before other tragic aviation disasters hit Iran's civilian passenger side given the impact of sanctions, which Tehran has sought relief from through Europe.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...ation-industry

[Swordsmyth]

[Swordsmyth]

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) for transactions between Iran and the European Union will be formed within the next two to three weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 17. The SPV will likely operate from France, feature a German managing director and include British stakeholders.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...s-within-weeks

[Swordsmyth]

China’s largest crude oil refiner, Sinopec, has offered US$3 billion to Iran’s state oil company, NIOC, to jointly expand the development of a major field in Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources in the know.
The sources, who wished to remain unnamed, said the Chinese company considered the offer safe from the sanctions the United States reimposed on Iran last November because the initial deal for the development of the Yadavaran field was inked back in 2007.


More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...-Iran-Oil.html

[goldenequity]

Brasco_Aad
@Brasco_Aad
How humiliating:

Nobody wants to attend Fat Mike @SecPompeo's anti Iran summit in traitor nation Poland.


EU Nations Set to Snub Washington’s Latest Anti-Iran Push

https://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-nati...sh-11547745315

[Swordsmyth]

Japan has resumed purchases of Iranian crude oil, the governor of the central bank of Iran told state news agency IRNA, Reuters reports.
“After China, South Korea, India and Turkey, Japan also started the process of importing Iranian oil,” Abdolnaser Hemmati said.
Japan refinery industry insiders said late last year that they were planning to resume imports of Iranian crude in early 2019, with Trade Minister Hiroshige Seki telling Reuters in November “It would be up to the judgment of private firms, but based on this decision, the (Japanese) companies would likely prepare for resuming Iran crude imports.”


The current restart may also be temporary: the current sanction waivers expire in March, and chances are that Japan, like South Korea, will not risk angering Washington unless it expressly extends the waivers, which many observers believe will happen as alternative sources of crude oil at low enough prices are hard to come by.
Meanwhile, Iranian oil exports inched up in December from November, according to data from the International Energy Agency, to an average daily of 1.3 million bpd, despite the fact Japan and South Korea were not buying Iranian crude that month.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...l-Imports.html

[Swordsmyth]

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports jumped by 534,000 bpd month on month in November to 8.24 million bpd—the highest level in years as the Kingdom moved to offset supply losses from Iran with the return of the U.S. sanctions on Tehran’s oil industry.
According to data by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) database, which collects self-reported figures from 114 countries, Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports hit a 24-month high, while crude oil production surged to an all-time high of 11.09 million bpd in November.
The month before that, Saudi Arabia had increased its October crude oil exports to what was then the highest level since January 2017, when the initial OPEC/non-OPEC production cut deal began.


More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...-Returned.html

[Swordsmyth]

A top Trump ambassador is winning kudos for his part in convincing Germany to ban Iranian airline Mahan Air amid allegations it ran weapons to Syria.
Officials said that Richard Grenell, U.S. ambassador to Germany, played a key role and scored his latest victory since landing last May when he warned, “German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.”

Iran’s Mahan Air is shut down in Germany, immediately. Thank you to the German government for their leadership. https://t.co/kPrqua3lbG
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) January 21, 2019

More at: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/w...-blocking-iran

[Swordsmyth]

A special payment channel between Bern and Tehran to facilitate transactions for humanitarian-related trade is now ready to operate, but it does not yet contain any Iranian funds, the president of the Iran-Switzerland Joint Chamber of Commerce said Jan. 22.

Switzerland is Iran's largest trading partner for pharmaceutical equipment, but Swiss companies will not be able to export to the Islamic republic if Iranian capital is unavailable to facilitate the trade. Since Tehran has almost no ability to generate cash by exporting to Switzerland, it will be required to transfer currencies into the Swiss banking system, which has proven to be problematic in the past due to U.S. sanctions on Iran and several banks' unwillingness to allow such transactions. The U.S. Treasury Department has previously allowed Iran to transfer cash during a 24-hour window, although it is not clear if the U.S. Treasury Department would permit such a transfer again.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...ranian-capital

[AZJoe]

India Begins Paying For Iranian Oil In Rupees

[Swordsmyth]

[devil21]

A special payment channel between Bern and Tehran to facilitate transactions for humanitarian-related trade is now ready to operate, but it does not yet contain any Iranian funds, the president of the Iran-Switzerland Joint Chamber of Commerce said Jan. 22.

Switzerland is Iran's largest trading partner for pharmaceutical equipment, but Swiss companies will not be able to export to the Islamic republic if Iranian capital is unavailable to facilitate the trade. Since Tehran has almost no ability to generate cash by exporting to Switzerland, it will be required to transfer currencies into the Swiss banking system, which has proven to be problematic in the past due to U.S. sanctions on Iran and several banks' unwillingness to allow such transactions. The U.S. Treasury Department has previously allowed Iran to transfer cash during a 24-hour window, although it is not clear if the U.S. Treasury Department would permit such a transfer again.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...ranian-capital

edit: wait, no, on second thought scratch that. The bankers always fund both sides of every war (BIS is there, hence Swiss neutrality in all wars) so it would make sense to have open money and supply/trade lines in place.

[Swordsmyth]

edit: wait, no, on second thought scratch that. The bankers always fund both sides of every war (BIS is there, hence Swiss neutrality in all wars) so it would make sense to have open money and supply/trade lines in place.

Iran is very likely controlled opposition.

I have made that argument and collected the evidence in this thread:

Israeli minister publicly confirms contacts with Saudi Arabia amid growing threat from Iran

I don't expect that there will be war with Iran, I just keep track of the possibility because I could be wrong.

[devil21]

Iran is very likely controlled opposition.

I have made that argument and collected the evidence in this thread:

Israeli minister publicly confirms contacts with Saudi Arabia amid growing threat from Iran

I don't expect that there will be war with Iran, I just keep track of the possibility because I could be wrong.

Israel and KSA working together is nothing new at all. Both are run by the same yahudi clan seeking the Greater Israel vision. The House of Saud is only muslim publicly and their historically draconian rule has been to keep the people (many of which know that truth) under control. It's just always been kept out of media. Dunno if Iranian leadership could be considered controlled opposition yet but cozying up to the Swiss bankers usually means yes to some extent. But like I said, the bankers have always funded both sides of every war and the leaders of the countries involved in the major wars of history actually worked together.

[Swordsmyth]

Israel and KSA working together is nothing new at all. Both are run by the same yahudi clan seeking the Greater Israel vision. The House of Saud is only muslim publicly and their historically draconian rule has been to keep the people (many of which know that truth) under control. It's just always been kept out of media. Dunno if Iranian leadership could be considered controlled opposition yet but cozying up to the Swiss bankers usually means yes to some extent. But like I said, the bankers have always funded both sides of every war and the leaders of the countries involved in the major wars of history actually worked together.

The headline of the thread is less important than the information on Iran that I posted later in that thread, you should go there and read it.

They are quite likely to be controlled opposition.

[devil21]

The headline of the thread is less important than the information on Iran that I posted later in that thread, you should go there and read it.

They are quite likely to be controlled opposition.

The entry about Ahmadinejad being from a Jewish family that converted to Islam (probably only publicly) fits with the overall gist of what's really going with the various leaderships of most countries. Fake convert to the dominant religion of the region to gain acceptance, then work the way up to ladder to power. It's based in Sabbatai Zevi's history as one of the first crypto-jewish "converts" and is still followed today by much of the ruling class.

[Swordsmyth]

The entry about Ahmadinejad being from a Jewish family that converted to Islam (probably only publicly) fits with the overall gist of what's really going with the various leaderships of most countries. Fake convert to the dominant religion of the region to gain acceptance, then work the way up to ladder to power. It's based in Sabbatai Zevi's history as one of the first crypto-jewish "converts" and is still followed today by much of the ruling class.

[devil21]

Don't get too carried away. It also applies to Drumpf. Changed name....see the trend?

[Swordsmyth]

Don't get too carried away. It also applies to Drumpf. Changed name....see the trend?

I have never denied that Trump was a member of the ruling class but there appears to be a faction war among the oligarchs and Trump seems to be part of the faction that is better for the rest of us.

[Swordsmyth]

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said Paris is ready to impose sanctions on Iran if talks over its ballistic missile program fail, Reuters reported on Jan. 25.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...s-fail-foreign