• Pence Says Trump ‘Will Never Allow Iran Regime To Obtain A Nuclear Weapon’
Vice President Mike Pence in remarks delivered to the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 1 in Maryland called the Islamic Republic of Iran “the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world”. Speaking about President Donald Trump’s efforts to make the United States safe, the vice president called Iran’s nuclear program “the greatest threat to peace and security in the Middle East” and argued that by withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement Trump has confronted that danger.
• New Report Inadvertently Reveals Iranian Forces Along Israeli Front-Lines In Syria
AMNA: new report from the Syrian Republican Guard revealed this week that several of the casualties from the Israeli attack this month on the Al-Quneitra Governorate were, in fact, Iranian soldiers. According to the Syrian Republican Guard, five of the recovered corpses from the Israeli attack on the military garrison in western Al-Quneitra were found to be the remains of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel that were positioned near the border of the occupied Golan Heights.
• Iran Regime’s Leader Warns Against Trusting Europe On Nuke Deal
Associated Press: Iran’s supreme leader has cautioned the country’s government not to pin its hopes on Europe as Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers founders under U.S. pressure. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s website quoted him on Monday as saying the landmark 2015 nuclear deal “could not fix our economic problems.” Khamenei’s comments come as the U.N. nuclear watchdog was expected to again announce that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal, which saw it limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
• Iran Regime Merging Military-Linked Banks To Stabilize Sector
Reuters: Iran is merging four military-linked banks and another financial institution with the country’s oldest bank to boost efficiency and help stabilize the sector, the central bank said on Saturday, as the economy reels under U.S. sanctions. Many Iranian banks are under pressure because of years of poor management and economic difficulties, caused by decades of international sanctions and the reimposition of U.S. sanctions last year.
• Iran’s Military Steps Back From Economy With Six-Way Bank Merger
Bloomberg: Iran is combining six local banks as President Hassan Rouhani looks to curb the military’s role in the economy and bolster the country’s financial industry. State-run Bank Sepah will take over five lenders linked with the security forces — Ansar Bank, Ghavamin Bank, Hekmat Iranian Bank, Mehr Eqtesad and the Kowsar financial credit institution.
• Iran Vehemently Rejects U.N. Human Rights Report
The Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights has lambasted the United Nations’ special rapporteur for human rights in Iran for his latest report on the country. In his latest report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council on February 27, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran Javaid Rehman voiced concern over human rights violations in Iran, in particular the way the death penalty is implemented.
• Iran’s Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terror Financing Bills In Limbo Until April
Iran’s arbitration body in its meeting on March 2 did not make a decision about anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing bills approved by parliament but rejected by the Guardian Council. This was the council’s last meeting until after the Iranian New Year on March 21. Its next meeting will not be held before April. This was the fourth time the Expediency Discernment Council (EDC) has discussed the bills but failed either to accept or reject them.
• 4 European Countries Ask Iran To Amend Its Regional Stances
Asharq Al-Awsat: Four European countries have asked Iran to amend its positions in four countries: Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and strengthen its relations with them in accordance with the Vienna Convention. Tehran must “reconcile with the international community rather than collide with it”, said European diplomatic reports sent to Beirut. France, Britain, Germany and Italy, also known as E4, hold regular meetings between their representatives and Iranian representatives to discuss unacceptable actions in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
• Yemeni Government Calls On Iran To Stop Supporting Houthis, As 30 Militia Killed
Arab News: Yemen’s Foreign Minister has called on Iran to abide by the principles of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and to stop supporting the Houthi militia, who have been at war with the Yemeni government since 2014. Khalid Al-Yamani urged the Iranian regime to stop funding the militia and to stop providing the group with weapons, in his address to the 46th Ministerial Conference of the OIC in Abu Dhabi.