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nuclear weapons... The nuclear deal must not become ‘too big to fail’.”
Trump, however, has lately appeared increasingly isolated in his opposition to the JCPOA, with even his secre- tary of state, Rex Tillerson, saying he does not see eye to eye with the US president over whether Washing-
ton should withdraw from it.
The Rouhani administration has so far kept quiet about any possible measures of retaliation against unilateral American sanctions that are hindering Tehran’s attempts to attract more foreign investors. However, increasing pressure from some hardliner groups in the country forced the president to make his statement to parlia- ment. On August 13, Iran’s parliament approved more than half a billion dollars to support the country’s ballistic missile development programme and foreign operations of the elite Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in what was seen as a response to the new US sanctions.
Trump is known to be frustrated that the terms of the nuclear deal do not give the Americans any influence
over Iran’s extension of its geopoliti- cal influence in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and other conflict-torn Middle Eastern nations via its backing of militias
and deployment of IGRC troops.
On August 14, Rouhani spoke to Rus- sian President Vladimir Putin by phone. Rouhani’s office told the media that the two leaders had pledged to build on joint military efforts in the Middle East, adding: “Tehran welcomes the active presence of Russia’s investors...
in major infrastructure projects includ- ing in the fields of industry and energy.”
At his August swearing-in, Rouhani praised Europe for sending foreign ministers and other senior officials to the ceremony, prior to which he met with European foreign policy chief Fed- erica Mogherini. The EU, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and many other countries have continued to pursue new investments in Iran since the JCPOA came into effect and have shown no sign of backing Trump’s preference for disengaging from the agreement.
Uzbekistan requests Russia freeze Gulnara Karimova’s real estate assets
bne intellinews
The Uzbek Prosecutor General’s Office has asked the Russian authorities to freeze the real estate assets of Gulnara Karimova, the disgraced daughter of the late Uzbek autocrat Islam Karimov, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said on August 24. The request is currently under consideration.
Little information about Gulnara’s status and condition has been released by the Uzbek authorities since July 28 when the Uzbek prosecutor’s office revealed she had been sentenced in 2015 to.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said it is seeking to freeze $1.5bn worth
of Karimova’s assets in 12 countries. The property includes a penthouse, a villa complex, eight apartments, a hotel compound, a house, and a land lot in Moscow. The office also alleged that she illegally obtained over $590mn in assets and received $870mn in kickbacks.
In total, the Uzbek authorities claim Karimova and her associates have stolen $1.6bn, €26mn, and UZS1.27tn ($311mn), which roughly adds up to $2bn. The amounts were the focus of an international probe that involves Nordic telecom group TeliaSonera, and Russia’s VimpelCom and MTS. The companies were accused of bribing entities connected to Karimova to win licences to operate 3G and 4G services on the Uzbek mobile market. VimpelCom was fined $795mn by the US and Dutch authorities for the bribes it paid in Uzbekistan and Telia agreed on a $1bn settlement.
Karimova’s son, also named Islam Karimov, claimed that his mother has only remained alive thanks to computer files she removed from Uzbekistan prior to her detention that hold compromising materials on senior members of government. That allegation could explain rumours from last year
that Karimova had been killed by poisoning and buried in a cemetery near Tashkent and chimes with her lawyer Grégoire Mangeat’s insistence that her security is not guaranteed, despite her being in good health currently.
Find more Eurasia content at www.bne.eu/eurasia
Selected headlines from past month:
· Rouhani gets serious on reforming Iran’s unfit banking industry
· Lead managers of Tajikstan's debut US dollar bond to kick off US, Europe roadshow · Uzbekistan to fully lift currency controls on September 5
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