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Thursday’s Iran Mini Report – December 6, 2018

Thursday's Iran Mini Report - December 6, 2018

• Suicide Car Bomber Kills at Least Three in Southeast Iran: Governor

Reuters: At least three people died and 24 others were injured in a suicide car bomb attack on the police headquarters in Iran’s southeast on Thursday, state media reported, adding that the perpetrator was killed. Television also reported shooting in the area, located in the region of Sistan-Baluchestan, which is home to a Sunni Muslim minority in the largely Shi’ite country and has long been plagued by violence from both drug smugglers and separatists.

• Huawei Technologies CFO Arrested in Canada, Accused of Violating Iran Sanctions

The Wall Street Journal: Canadian authorities in Vancouver have arrested Huawei Technologies Co.’s chief financial officer at the request of the U.S. government for alleged violations of Iranian sanctions, the latest move by Washington to crack down on the Chinese cellular-technology giant. A spokesman for Canada’s justice department said Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 and is sought for extradition by the U.S. A bail hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Friday, according to the spokesman. Ms. Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, serves as the company’s CFO and deputy chairwoman.

• To Feed U.S. Troops, Businessman Violated Iran Sanctions, Charges Say

The Wall Street Journal: A wealthy businessman who until recently was head of the company that feeds American troops in Afghanistan has been charged in federal court with violating sanctions against trade with Iran, along with other offenses. The federal indictment charged Abul Huda Farouki, 75, a Jordanian-American and philanthropist from Virginia with longstanding ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton, with conspiracy to commit money laundering, violating sanctions against Iran, and fraud.
• Iran Says Looking For Exemption From Any Oil Output Cuts

Reuters: Iran is looking to be exempted from any OPEC oil output cuts because of U.S. sanctions, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told reporters ahead of Thursday’s OPEC meeting. “We should be excluded from any decision about the level of production in the future till the lifting of the imposed illegal sanctions,” Zanganeh told reporters upon arriving in Vienna.

• U.S. Iran Sanctions Envoy Makes Rare Foray onto OPEC’s Home Turf

Bloomberg: On the eve of the OPEC meeting, the senior U.S. official overseeing sanctions on Iran made a rare foray into the group’s home turf, for a discreet Viennese breakfast with the cartel’s most powerful member. Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, met one-on-one with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih on Wednesday morning in the Austrian capital, said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the talks were private.

• Iran’s Loss of Oil Revenue as Sanctions Take Effect

According to statements from the head of the Islamic Republic’s Planning and Budget Organization (PBO) that were quickly removed from official websites The Iranian regime has lost two thirds of its funding, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht painted the dire fiscal picture December 4 while speaking at a gathering of representatives of disabled people assembled at the PBO to protest cuts to government funds allocated to support them.
• U.S. Confirms Its Iran Envoy Met Saudi Energy Minister In Vienna

Reuters; The U.S. government confirmed that Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih met with U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook in Vienna on Wednesday, contradicting a Saudi denial that the talks had taken place. Sources familiar with the meeting said earlier that Hook, a senior policy adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, had spoken with Falih a day before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was due to debate oil output cuts.