Comments for Iran in the Gulf http://irangcc.com Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:14:14 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 Comment on Iranian Academic Warns of Water Conflict by Kristyna http://irangcc.com/2009/03/31/iranian-academic-warns-of-water-conflict/comment-page-1/#comment-1013 Kristyna Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:14:14 +0000 http://irangcc.wordpress.com/?p=213#comment-1013 It' s the very good article, thank you for these informations. Can I ask you something? Does have Iran any other water conflict with the other countries? And how is the situation now with lake Hamoun, have the situation improved during last year? Thank you. It’ s the very good article, thank you for these informations.
Can I ask you something? Does have Iran any other water conflict with the other countries? And how is the situation now with lake Hamoun, have the situation improved during last year?
Thank you.

]]> Comment on Refined Petroleum Sanctions Pass the Senate by admin http://irangcc.com/2010/01/28/1124/comment-page-1/#comment-922 admin Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:09:27 +0000 http://irangcc.com/?p=1124#comment-922 Hi David There are sanctions and then there are sanctions. US is most draconian where all business dealings with Iran are out except for very specific items. The UN sanctions are much more limited - mostly arms and dual-use items. The US also has informal sanctions where the treasury dept goes around the world trying to persuade banks and companies not to do business with Iran. These 'soft sanctions' depend on the persuasive powers of US officials and they have not yet gotten other countries to stop doing energy deals with Iran although they have had some success in the Gulf banking sector and now, Siemens. The main reason US business doesn't like this new bill is that it could require US business to cut off contracts with 3rd party companies that do business with Iran. This means it could get at some of these deals in Europe and Asia by freezing out their US business. very best, will Hi David

There are sanctions and then there are sanctions. US is most draconian where all business dealings with Iran are out except for very specific items. The UN sanctions are much more limited – mostly arms and dual-use items. The US also has informal sanctions where the treasury dept goes around the world trying to persuade banks and companies not to do business with Iran. These ’soft sanctions’ depend on the persuasive powers of US officials and they have not yet gotten other countries to stop doing energy deals with Iran although they have had some success in the Gulf banking sector and now, Siemens. The main reason US business doesn’t like this new bill is that it could require US business to cut off contracts with 3rd party companies that do business with Iran. This means it could get at some of these deals in Europe and Asia by freezing out their US business.

very best,
will

]]> Comment on Refined Petroleum Sanctions Pass the Senate by David Roberts http://irangcc.com/2010/01/28/1124/comment-page-1/#comment-920 David Roberts Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:22:01 +0000 http://irangcc.com/?p=1124#comment-920 Considering the rafts of sanctions against Iran from the US, UN and the EU, how can, for example, close US ally South Korea and EU member state Italy invest in the country? http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2009/11/06/Italy-South-Korea-in-deal-for-Iranian-gas/UPI-34441257525595/ Is it just because it's considered to be too small a sum to worry about? Any thoughts? Cheers David Considering the rafts of sanctions against Iran from the US, UN and the EU, how can, for example, close US ally South Korea and EU member state Italy invest in the country?

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2009/11/06/Italy-South-Korea-in-deal-for-Iranian-gas/UPI-34441257525595/

Is it just because it’s considered to be too small a sum to worry about? Any thoughts?
Cheers

David

]]> Comment on Iran’s Arrest of Kuwaiti Fishermen Highlights Gas Dispute, Gulf Sensitivities by Iran-Kuwait Gas Talks Underway « Iran in the Gulf http://irangcc.com/2009/10/29/iran%e2%80%99s-arrest-of-kuwaiti-fisherman-highlights-gas-dispute-gulf-sensitivities/comment-page-1/#comment-907 Iran-Kuwait Gas Talks Underway « Iran in the Gulf Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:10:29 +0000 http://irangcc.wordpress.com/?p=833#comment-907 [...] After tensions we reported in October, there seems to be increasing cooperating between Iran and Kuwait on natural gas.   Payvand reported in November that Iran was in talks with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for joint development of the Arash/Durra gas field the three countries share.  Today, Press TV reports that talks with Kuwait are progressing over linking Kuwait’s gas network to Iran’s South Pars field: “Iran’s gas transportation network has already expanded to Khorramshahr in southern Iran and it’s possible to further extend the network to Kuwait,” said Reza Almasi in an interview with Mehr News Agency on Monday. [...] [...] After tensions we reported in October, there seems to be increasing cooperating between Iran and Kuwait on natural gas.   Payvand reported in November that Iran was in talks with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for joint development of the Arash/Durra gas field the three countries share.  Today, Press TV reports that talks with Kuwait are progressing over linking Kuwait’s gas network to Iran’s South Pars field: “Iran’s gas transportation network has already expanded to Khorramshahr in southern Iran and it’s possible to further extend the network to Kuwait,” said Reza Almasi in an interview with Mehr News Agency on Monday. [...]

]]> Comment on Note from Djibouti by Ready When Recycled « Djab Bouti http://irangcc.com/2009/12/13/note-from-djibouti/comment-page-1/#comment-888 Ready When Recycled « Djab Bouti Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:27:50 +0000 http://irangcc.com/?p=1079#comment-888 [...] Note from Djibouti Published on December 13, 2009 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment thought to start the blog with a recent post from ‘Iran in the Gulf’: Iran continues to deploy soft power in the Horn, sponsoring a recent Iranian trade fair (October, 2009), and offering some 1m in loans to finance the building of a new Parliament building and Commercial Centre (funding committed in 2004).  On a recent trip, I noticed a group of Iranian tourists. In the wake of the departure of Royal/Dutch Shell and Total from the Djiboutian/Ethiopian market, local service stations now bear the insignia of OiLibya, a marketing arm of Libya’s National Oil Company. Neither country is a stranger to the Horn, but a strange juxtaposition, next to American and French forces, and loads of Gulf businesses.  Further indication of how everything is connected…–EDC What are Iran’s interests in the Horn, exactly?  Iranian vessels have been taken by Somali pirates.  The Iranian national shipping company sends a large number of ships through the Suez canal each year, en route to Valetta, Tripoli and elsewhere. The Somali piracy issue is as much a problem for them as for other countries. More interesting perhaps is the above-described direct aid, in places where the US and other countries have a large military presence.  If Iran controls Hormuz, who controls the Bab El Mandeb?  Western forces based in Djibouti would appear to be the closest answer. Perhaps they want a better view of what’s going on in Yemen, or an entrypoint into the Arabian Peninsula. Or perhaps it’s ’simply’ about cultivating friends in strange places, that one day might be useful? –EDC [...] [...] Note from Djibouti Published on December 13, 2009 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment thought to start the blog with a recent post from ‘Iran in the Gulf’: Iran continues to deploy soft power in the Horn, sponsoring a recent Iranian trade fair (October, 2009), and offering some 1m in loans to finance the building of a new Parliament building and Commercial Centre (funding committed in 2004).  On a recent trip, I noticed a group of Iranian tourists. In the wake of the departure of Royal/Dutch Shell and Total from the Djiboutian/Ethiopian market, local service stations now bear the insignia of OiLibya, a marketing arm of Libya’s National Oil Company. Neither country is a stranger to the Horn, but a strange juxtaposition, next to American and French forces, and loads of Gulf businesses.  Further indication of how everything is connected…–EDC What are Iran’s interests in the Horn, exactly?  Iranian vessels have been taken by Somali pirates.  The Iranian national shipping company sends a large number of ships through the Suez canal each year, en route to Valetta, Tripoli and elsewhere. The Somali piracy issue is as much a problem for them as for other countries. More interesting perhaps is the above-described direct aid, in places where the US and other countries have a large military presence.  If Iran controls Hormuz, who controls the Bab El Mandeb?  Western forces based in Djibouti would appear to be the closest answer. Perhaps they want a better view of what’s going on in Yemen, or an entrypoint into the Arabian Peninsula. Or perhaps it’s ’simply’ about cultivating friends in strange places, that one day might be useful? –EDC [...]

]]> Comment on Note from Djibouti by William deB. Mills http://irangcc.com/2009/12/13/note-from-djibouti/comment-page-1/#comment-873 William deB. Mills Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:46:52 +0000 http://irangcc.com/?p=1079#comment-873 Washington's long quest to "teach Iran a lesson" has had a real impact. Iran is learning a lesson that Washington has long since forgotten - that positive reinforcement is more effective than threats and insults. Under unrelenting U.S./Israeli pressure to kowtow, Iran is learning to soften its rough edges, offer economic incentives, and practice diplomacy. I leave it to Iran area specialists to explain why modern Iranian politicians have seemed so inept at the diplomatic game. My sense from Roman sources is that the great old Iranian empires weren't too smooth at diplomacy either, though that may just be a bias of those histories (Romans too put the emphasis on force). In any case, I wonder if anyone else is getting the impression that Washington is putting Tehran through a diplomatic (in the Metternich/Talleyrand sense) finishing school that will make Tehran a much more formidable regional player in the near future than it has been with its "shoot-myself-in-the-foot" attitude of the last generation. I would suggest that this is an important issue likely to take Washington by surprise (e.g., Ahmadinejad's Nov. visit to his buddy Erdogan and Ali Larijani's tete-a-tete this week with that stalwart Shi'ite revolutionary Mubarak). Your note is a helpful additional piece of information on this issue. Let's discuss it further... Washington’s long quest to “teach Iran a lesson” has had a real impact. Iran is learning a lesson that Washington has long since forgotten – that positive reinforcement is more effective than threats and insults. Under unrelenting U.S./Israeli pressure to kowtow, Iran is learning to soften its rough edges, offer economic incentives, and practice diplomacy.

I leave it to Iran area specialists to explain why modern Iranian politicians have seemed so inept at the diplomatic game. My sense from Roman sources is that the great old Iranian empires weren’t too smooth at diplomacy either, though that may just be a bias of those histories (Romans too put the emphasis on force).

In any case, I wonder if anyone else is getting the impression that Washington is putting Tehran through a diplomatic (in the Metternich/Talleyrand sense) finishing school that will make Tehran a much more formidable regional player in the near future than it has been with its “shoot-myself-in-the-foot” attitude of the last generation.

I would suggest that this is an important issue likely to take Washington by surprise (e.g., Ahmadinejad’s Nov. visit to his buddy Erdogan and Ali Larijani’s tete-a-tete this week with that stalwart Shi’ite revolutionary Mubarak). Your note is a helpful additional piece of information on this issue. Let’s discuss it further…

]]> Comment on Amid Bickering, GCC Says Wants To Be Heard on Iran by William deB. Mills http://irangcc.com/2009/12/19/amid-bickering-gcc-says-wants-to-be-heard-on-iran/comment-page-1/#comment-872 William deB. Mills Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:31:15 +0000 http://irangcc.com/?p=1084#comment-872 Signals from the Gulf states about their imposing Iranian neighbor understandably often seem carefully balanced, so the sort of information in this post is very useful. In the context of Erdogan's effort to fill the empty regional moderate position as leader of an international effort to drag Washington and Tehran toward a compromise, what evidence do you see of Turkish-GCC coordination? Signals from the Gulf states about their imposing Iranian neighbor understandably often seem carefully balanced, so the sort of information in this post is very useful. In the context of Erdogan’s effort to fill the empty regional moderate position as leader of an international effort to drag Washington and Tehran toward a compromise, what evidence do you see of Turkish-GCC coordination?

]]> Comment on Qatar Resumes Ferry Service to Iran, Citing Economic Ties by Mohammed http://irangcc.com/2009/08/12/qatar-resumes-ferry-service-to-iran-citing-economic-ties/comment-page-1/#comment-864 Mohammed Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:01:43 +0000 http://irangcc.wordpress.com/?p=730#comment-864 You know i'm looking for the my self but i'm pretty sure it is true. But where in Tehran You know i’m looking for the my self but i’m pretty sure it is true. But where in Tehran

]]> Comment on Tabnak on Iran-Iraq Water Tensions by Tweets that mention Tabnak on Iran-Iraq Water Tensions « Iran in the Gulf -- Topsy.com http://irangcc.com/2009/12/09/tabnak-on-iran-iraq-water-tensions/comment-page-1/#comment-860 Tweets that mention Tabnak on Iran-Iraq Water Tensions « Iran in the Gulf -- Topsy.com Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:22:59 +0000 http://irangcc.com/?p=1067#comment-860 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Alexander U Conrad, Alexander U Conrad, Blue C, Ltd., Fiona A.S. (宝石), Will Ward and others. Will Ward said: Iran-Iraq water tensions heat up http://bit.ly/5w3Pya [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Alexander U Conrad, Alexander U Conrad, Blue C, Ltd., Fiona A.S. (宝石), Will Ward and others. Will Ward said: Iran-Iraq water tensions heat up http://bit.ly/5w3Pya [...]

]]> Comment on Iran and the Dubai Debt Crisis by Schmedlap http://irangcc.com/2009/12/02/iran-and-the-dubai-debt-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-858 Schmedlap Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:32:52 +0000 http://irangcc.com/?p=1046#comment-858 Just saw <a href="http://uskowioniran.blogspot.com/2009/12/iran-uae-joint-commission.html" rel="nofollow">this</a>. Just saw this.

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