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US President Donald Trump is poised to impose new sanctions on multiple Iranian entities, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Tehran while crafting a broader strategy to counter what he sees as its destabilising behavior, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. In the first tangible action against Iran since Trump took office on Jan 20, the administration, on the same day he insisted that "nothing is off the table," prepared to roll out new measures against more than two dozen Iranian targets, the sources said. The announcement is expected as early as Friday, they added. The new sanctions, which are being taken under existing executive orders covering terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, may mark the opening shot in a more aggressive policy against Iran that Trump promised during the 2016 presidential campaign, the sources, who had knowledge of the administration's plans, said. But the package, targeting both entities and individuals, was formulated in a way that would not violate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated between Iran and six world powers including Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, they added. The sources said the new sanctions had been in the works for some time and that Iran's decision to test-fire a ballistic missile on Sunday helped trigger Trump's decision to impose them, although Washington has not accused Iran of violating the nuclear deal. The White House declined comment. A US State Department official said: "As standard policy, we do not preview sanction decisions before they are announced." The White House signaled a tougher stance toward Iran on Wednesday when Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, said he was putting Iran "on notice" after the missile test and senior US officials said the administration was reviewing how to respond. A top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country would not yield to "useless" US threats from "an inexperienced person" over its ballistic missile program. The adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, did not identify a specific US official in his comments. The impact of the new sanctions will be more symbolic than practical, especially as the move does not affect the lifting of broader U.S. and international sanctions that took place under the nuclear deal. Also, few of the Iranian entities being targeted are likely to have U.S. assets that can be frozen, and U.S. companies, with few exceptions, are barred from doing business with Iran. But the administration is working with congressional staffers and outside experts on a still-evolving broader plan aimed at hitting Iran’s pressure points, including its already restricted nuclear program, missile development and support of militant groups in the region, several sources said. Leading a chorus of Republican calls for new sanctions, Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said the United States should stop "appeasing" Tehran. "I would be in favor of additional sanctions on Iran," he told reporters. Options that may be among the first to be implemented include sanctioning Iranian industries that contribute to missile development and designating as a terrorist group the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been blamed by US officials for fueling regional proxy wars. The designation could also dissuade foreign investment because it oversees a sprawling business empire. Another approach would be “zero tolerance” for any Iranian violations of the nuclear deal, by taking a stricter interpretation of the terms than the Obama administration. That could include US opposition to Iranian requests for waivers from restrictions requiring the approval of a committee comprising the United States and its negotiating partners, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, the sources said. “Michael Flynn did not put Iran on notice as mere empty words,” said Mark Dubowitz, an Iran sanctions expert and head of the conservative Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies who is advising the Trump administration. "Iran's continued missile and terrorism activities will lead to dozens of new US designations and tough new congressional sanctions." Some experts questioned how quickly the administration could develop the new strategy as many of the technical specialists on Iran have left the government. 'NOTHING IS OFF THE TABLE' Trump’s declaration that nothing had been ruled out in response to Iran appears to leave open the possibility of military action, although experts said both sides would take care to avoid armed confrontation in the oil-rich Gulf. Still, the US threats of reprisals, coupled with Iran’s defiant reaction, could dangerously ratchet up tensions. Every recent US president, including Obama, a Democrat, has said US military options were not off the table to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Trump has gone much further in his rhetoric, especially in criticising the Iran deal as weak and ineffective. Since taking office, Trump and his aides have not repeated campaign rhetoric about tearing up the deal. He may instead be trying to force Iran to either renegotiate the terms or pull out unilaterally, thereby shouldering the blame internationally. Defenders of the deal said there was little chance Iran could be goaded back to the negotiating table and warned that too stringent an approach could escalate into a confrontation and embolden Iranian hardliners. In the latest move, one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about eight Iranian entities were to be sanctioned or designated, for terrorism-related activities and about 17 for ballistic missile-related activities under separate existing US executive orders. The source declined to name the entities, which were targeted under executive orders signed by President George W Bush in 2001 and 2005. Sanctions designations can lead to asset freezes, travel bans and other penalties. Republican lawmakers said they were working with the Trump administration to push back on Iran without risking the collapse of the deal, widely supported internationally. Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Reuters that his panel was "in the early stages" of working on legislation on Iran.  ....

Published at: 2017-02-03 00:00:04

Police rescued a teenage girl from Bhandaria upazila in Pirojpur district on Thursday night, 35 days after she had been abducted from Jessore. The abducted girl was identified as Surma Akter, 14, daughter of Masud Mondal of Singhakhali village in Bhandaria upazila of Pirojpur district, according to UNB report. Police also arrested a young man on charge of his involvement in abducting. The suspected abductor was identified as Al-Amin, 25, son of Shah Alam Molla of Gaherpur village in Sadar upazila of Jessore. Hayat Mahmud, sub-inspector of Jessore Kotwali Model Police Station, said the victim's family used to live in Gaherpur of Sadar upazila in Jessore. On December 28, Al-Amin allegedly abducted Surma from near her house and took her to Bhandaria upazila in Pirojpur. Later, Firoza Begum, mother of the victim, filed a case with Jessore Kotwali Model Police Station accusing Al-Amin and his friend Belal on Wednesday. Police then conducted a drive in the area and rescued Surma from a house and arrested Al-Amin on Thursday night.....

Published at: 2017-02-03 00:00:04

Police in a drive arrested two people along with 2.3 million fake Indian currencies at Kiranganj border point in Shibganj upazila on Wednesday. The arrestees were identified as Mokhlesur Rahman, 27, son of Mafizul and Jasim, 18, son of Firoz Ali of Kiranganj village, reports UNB. Tipped off, a police team conducted a drive at the village and arrested Mukhlesur and Jasim along with the fake notes in the afternoon, said Ramzan Ali, officer-in-charge of Shibganj Police Station. A case was filed.....

Published at: 2017-02-02 00:00:04

Two people were killed and 10 others injured when a bus crashed into a roadside tree on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Chandina upazila early Thursday. The identities of the deceased could not be known yet, reports UNB. Quoting locals, in-charge of Eliotganj police camp SI Manirul Islam said the accident took place around 12:15 am near Palki Cinema Hall as a Chandpur-bound 'Padma Express' bus from Dhaka hit a tree as its driver lost control over the steering, leaving two people dead on the spot and 10 others injured. The injured were taken to different hospitals and clinics.....

Published at: 2017-02-02 00:00:04

The Trump administration wants to revamp and rename a US government program designed to counter all violent ideologies so that it focuses solely on Islamist extremism, five people briefed on the matter told Reuters. The program, "Countering Violent Extremism," or CVE, would be changed to "Countering Islamic Extremism" or "Countering Radical Islamic Extremism," the sources said, and would no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States. Such a change would reflect Trump's election campaign rhetoric and criticism of former President Barack Obama for being weak in the fight against Islamic State and for refusing to use the phrase "radical Islam" in describing it. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for attacks on civilians in several countries. The CVE program aims to deter groups or potential lone attackers through community partnerships and educational programs or counter-messaging campaigns in cooperation with companies such as Google (GOOGL.O) and Facebook (FB.O). Some proponents of the program fear that rebranding it could make it more difficult for the government to work with Muslims already hesitant to trust the new administration, particularly after Trump issued an executive order last Friday temporarily blocking travel to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Still, the CVE program, which focuses on US residents and is separate from a military effort to fight extremism online, has been criticised even by some supporters as ineffective. A source who has worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the program said Trump transition team members first met with a CVE task force in December and floated the idea of changing the name and focus.  In a meeting last Thursday attended by senior staff for DHS Secretary John Kelly, government employees were asked to defend why they chose certain community organisations as recipients of CVE program grants, said the source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions. Although CVE funding has been appropriated by Congress and the grant recipients were notified in the final days of the Obama administration, the money still may not go out the door, the source said, adding that Kelly is reviewing the matter. The department declined comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. PROGRAM CRITICISED Some Republicans in Congress have long assailed the program as politically correct and ineffective, asserting that singling out and using the term "radical Islam" as the trigger for many violent attacks would help focus deterrence efforts. Others counter that branding the problem as "radical Islam" would only serve to alienate more than three million Americans who practice Islam peacefully. Many community groups, meanwhile, had already been cautious about the program, partly over concerns that it could double as a surveillance tool for law enforcement. Hoda Hawa, director of policy for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said she was told last week by people within DHS that there was a push to refocus the CVE effort from tackling all violent ideology to only Islamist extremism. "That is concerning for us because they are targeting a faith group and casting it under a net of suspicion," she said. Another source familiar with the matter was told last week by a DHS official that a name change would take place. Three other sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such plans had been discussed but were unable to attest whether they had been finalised. The Obama administration sought to foster relationships with community groups to engage them in the counterterrorism effort. In 2016, Congress appropriated $10 million in grants for CVE efforts and DHS awarded the first round of grants on Jan 13, a week before Trump was inaugurated. Among those approved were local governments, city police departments, universities and non-profit organisations. In addition to organisations dedicated to combating Islamic State's recruitment in the United States, grants also went to Life After Hate, which rehabilitates former neo-Nazis and other domestic extremists. Just in the past two years, authorities blamed radical and violent ideologies as the motives for a white supremacist's shooting rampage inside a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina and Islamist militants for shootings and bombings in California, Florida and New York. One grant recipient, Leaders Advancing & Helping Communities, a Michigan-based group led by Lebanese-Americans, has declined a $500,000 DHS grant it had sought, according to an email the group sent that was seen by Reuters. A representative for the group confirmed the grant had been rejected but declined further comment.  "Given the current political climate and cause for concern, LAHC has chosen to decline the award," said the email, which was sent last Thursday, a day before Trump issued his immigration order, which was condemned at home and abroad as discriminating against Muslims while the White House said it was to "to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals."  ....

Published at: 2017-02-02 00:00:04