Jewish Hospital at Home in Iran

-        Many were surprised last week when the President Hassan Rouhani donated $400,000 to the Dr. Sapir Hospital

-        We Jews are a part of Iran’s history. What is important is that Mr. Rouhani makes big news out of supporting us. He is showing that we as a religious minority are part of this country too. – Dr. Morsadegh

-        They might have a different religion but they are fellow Iranians. I do not see why I should not go to the Jewish hospital. – A Muslim Student

-        The hospital started out as a clinic where all Iranians could come for medical care at vastly reduced rates.

-        For more than 50 years it has been a meeting point for Iranian Jews and Muslims and the most prominent Jewish charity in the capital

-        About 96% of patients are Muslim, like most of the hospital’s employees. But what mattered most was the message that here all people can come, no matter what religion color or race

-        Religious minorities – Jews, Christian Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Zoroastrians

-        Dr. Morsadegh said former President Mhmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated Holocaust denials left physiological scars as well. Look all Jews believe in the Holocaust, It would have been much better if the former president had not raised that issue.

Iraqi Tribes to Take Lead in Falluja Fight, U.S. Says

-        The Iraqi army is planning to cordon off a key Sunni city now occupies by Jihadists so that Sunni tribes can secure it one neighborhood at a time

-        The Iraqi plan reflects a recognition that having the Shiite dominated Iraqi Army mount a frontal assault on a Sunni city that has long been wary of outsiders could lead to an especially violent round of urban warfare and fan sectarian tensions

-        ISIS captured about a dozen Iraqi soldiers near Falluja paraded the through the city in a truck flying the black flag of Al Qaeda, then videotaped their execution the next day

-        The ISIS militants drove into Falluja and the nearby city of Ramadi in as many as 100 trucks equipped with heavy machine guns and antiaircraft guns

-        The Obama administration has not offered to assist the Iraqi forces that are preparing to retake Falluja with American-operated drones or airstrikes

-        The U.S. plans to lease six Apaches in the late summer or early fall, the Iraqi government is buying 24 more but the delivery time can be as long as three years

-        The group took three villages in a northern province, Salahuddin, and it also continued its attacks in Baghdad

Spy Chief Says Assad Has Strengthened Hold on Power in Syria

-        The country’s top intelligence official said President Bashar al-Assad’s hold on power in Syria had “strengthened” over the past year, and that he has benefited from a deal to abandon his chemical weapons arsenal

-        Syrian activists reported that government helicopters dumped barrel bombs onto neighborhoods in Aleppo suspected of housing insurgents

-        Concern has been mounting in both Congress and in the Obama administration that the policy toward Syria is faltering on several fronts.

-        Assad government has delayed taking its most dangerous chemicals to the port of Latakia so they could be shipped out of the country for destruction under the terms agreement that calls for Syria to give up its arsenal of poison gas

-        They have also blocked shipments of medicine and food to besieged areas.

-        No one in this administration (Obama) thinks we are doing enough until the humanitarian crisis has been solved and the civil war ended.

-        Critics say such talks are unlikely to succeed unless Mr. Assad is weakened militarily and has some incentive to negotiate

-        The C.I.A warned that the chaos in Syria had become fertile ground for militant groups to stage attacks outside the country

-        Syrian government’s explanations for the missed deadlines are that security dangers posed by the Syrian civil war had created problems in transporting the chemicals to the port of Latakia. Western officials have suggested this is merely an excuse

-        Four percent of the dangerous chemicals have been sent to the port for removal

Eight Killed in Attack on Sufi Gathering

-        Gunman threw grenades at a Sufi Islamic religious gathering and then opened fire on the people assembled to offer prayers

-        Four gunman three grenades at the building then raked it with automatic fire

-        Pakistan is 95% Muslim

-        Suspicion is placed on the Pakistani Taliban of their affiliated sectarian groups

-        Karachi is a fast growing city in southern Pakistan, it has often been plagued by political, religious, and sectarian violence

Iran Agrees to Provide Data on its Detonators

-        Iran’s government committed to providing information on detonators for the first as a part of a new series of confidence building measures it agreed to with the U.N. nuclear watchdog

-        Measures include additional inspections and clarification of previously asked questions

-        They will provide more access and information about uranium mines

-        Data on Iran’s development of a trigger using a technology called “exploding bridge wire” will provided.

-        We have problems with the U.S.A. over dozens of issues (Palestine issue, Middle East related issues, Syrian issues, human rights…)all these are still there nothing has changed. The U.S.A. is still the Great Satan in our view. –Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi

Pakistani Side Fails to Show Up at Taliban Peace Talks

-        Pakistani government representatives failed to appear on Tuesday for the scheduled start of peace talks with the Taliban

-        The Taliban named five public figures, including the opposition politician Imran Khan to represent them in the talks

-        It would have been better if the government side had met us. It is a God-sent opportunity that we are acting as a bridge between the government and the Tliban

-        Both sides have strong wish lists but they don’t have any methodology to achieve their wishes

-        There is a strong sympathy there for talks and the religious leader’s fee that a solution can be worked out through dialogue

-        If the talks eventually fail which is highly likely Nawaz will be left with no option but to support a military action

U.S. Penalties Over Violations of Iran Sanctions

-        The Obama administration penalized nearly three dozen companies and individuals in eight countries on Thursday, accusing them of evading Iranian sanctions

-        These actions should leave no doubt that those who seek to evade our sanctions, support Iran’s nuclear program or assist in Iran’s promotion of international terrorism will continue to be called to account

-        Joint Plan of Action- temporary agreement was devised to allow more time to negotiate a permanent accord

-        Iran froze much of its uranium enrichment activities will provide more access to United Nations nuclear inspectors

-        The Treasury said the network had helped supply money to Al Qaeda and affiliates, including the Nusra Front in Syria, which is among the groups fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad and Iranian ally