Iran Focus

London, 6 Dec - Canada has arrested Huawei’s global chief financial officer in Vancouver in relation to violations of US sanctions on Iran and Canadian Justice Department spokesperson Ian McLeod said on Wednesday that she is facing extradition to the US.

Meng Wanzhou, a vice chair on the Chinese technology company’s board, was arrested on December 1, while transferring flights in Canada, and will go before a judge on Friday for a bail hearing.

Iran Focus

London, 28 Nov - The US has three crucial objectives that it intends to meet with its reimposition of sanctions on Iran.

First, prevent Iran from ever legally building a nuclear weapon – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’s (JCPOA) restrictions run out in 2024. Second, stop Iran from supporting terrorist groups across the Middle East and beyond, while reducing its influence in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. Third, to dismantle Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Iran Focus

London, 6 Dec - The Iranian government has lost roughly two-thirds of its overall funding thanks to US sanctions but is desperately trying to conceal that fact.

Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, the head of the Islamic Republic’s Planning and Budget Organization (PBO), first revealed the shortfall on December 4, whilst addressing a gathering of representatives of disabled people, who had come to the PBO to protest government cuts related to the support of people with disabilities. However, his statements were quickly removed from official websites.

Iran Focus

London, 26 Nov - Iran has faced international condemnation for likening Israel to a “cancerous tumour”, which has led many leaders around the world to criticize Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for making anti-Semitic remarks.

On Saturday, Rouhani called Israel a “cancerous tumour” in the Middle East during a speech.

He said: "One of the ominous results of World War Two was the formation of a cancerous tumour in the region.”

Iran Focus

London, 5 Dec - Regarding Iran’s recent ballistic missile test, a senior US official said on Tuesday that the US is pressing the European Union to consider economic sanctions on the country, warning that if Tehran's ambitions remain unchecked, a wider regional conflict may result.

Iran Focus

London, 26 Nov - Many have criticised current U.S. President Donald Trump for his foreign policy decisions with regards to Iran. Many have slammed his decision to exit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or 2015 Iran nuclear deal as it is known. Many have also criticised him for the crippling economic sanctions that are currently being implemented.

Iran Focus

London, 4 Dec - On Tuesday, the steelworkers’ strike in Iran entered its 25th day and protesters once again staged a rally in front of the offices of the Khuzestan government and the offices of the governor of Ahvaz, Khuzestan’s capital. They called out “I’m Kaveh the blacksmith — I will not stand for injustice”, a reference to a mythological Iranian figure who led a popular uprising against a cruel foreign ruler and is the de-facto symbol for the fight against tyranny and injustice in Iran.

Iran Focus

London, 26 Nov - As the brave employees from the Haft Tapeh sugar cane mill in Shush, southwest Iran, continue their latest strike into its third consecutive week, more workers from other factories and businesses are taking part in their own protests.

Iran Focus

London, 1 Dec - The Nile Net Online Website promises Egyptians “true news” from its offices in the heart of Cairo’s Tahrir Square, “to expand the scope of freedom of expression in the Arab world.”

And while Nile Net Online once had more than 115,000 followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, a Facebook map showing its location dropped a pin onto the middle of the street, rather than any building. Regulars at the square, including stall holders and a policeman, have never heard of the website.

Iran Focus

London, 22 Nov - Iran is trying to violate the terms of the ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in order to reignite a war in the Gaza strip, according to Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference in Jerusalem, he said: “There are forces out there that want to push us all into the abyss of a confrontation.”

Iran Focus

London, 30 Nov - Tehran has come under suspicion over several foiled terrorist plot attempts in France and Denmark. These activities have led to a more assertive shift of policy towards Iran from the European Union foreign ministers.

In fact, on November 12th, EU ministers voiced support for “targeted sanctions” against Tehran after being briefed by France and Denmark about recent Iranian terror plots on their soil. Some 150 MEPs from six major political groups in the European Parliament, who represent 27 different countries, signed a joint statement protesting the “new wave of terrorism” instigated by Iran.

Iran Focus

London, 22 Nov - Two Christian converts in Iran, who were planning to meet in a northern city of the Shiite-run country, were detained on Friday, November 16, in what some human rights activists are calling a rash of arrests in the area.

Behnam Ersali and Davood Rasooli, both converts from Islam who live in Karaj, had arranged to meet in Mashhad, according to advocacy organization Middle East Concern (MEC), but their calls are believed to have been intercepted by the Iranian intelligence.

Iran Focus

London, 30 Nov - According to US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell the US government will contemplate sanctions against French and German entities that seek to evade sanctions on Iran’s clerical dictatorship. Grenell said, “The US will consider sanctions on those entities participating in these tactics,” and added that the French and German activities “would not be a smart move.”

Iran Focus

London, 21 Nov - According to Reuters, on Monday European diplomats agreed to consider targeted sanctions on Iranians after representatives from France and Denmark traveled to Brussels this week to brief foreign ministers on foiled attacks by the hardline regime in France and Denmark. This meeting could set the course for a more unified West-ern policy toward Tehran's non-nuclear threats, according to a regional expert.

Iran Focus

London, 29 Nov - The strike at the Haft-Tappeh Sugarcane Mill in southeastern Iran is now entering its fourth consecutive week, with workers demanding long-overdue wages, that the mill is re-nationalised, and that the two activists still being held over the strike be released immediately and unconditionally.

Iran Focus

London, 21 Nov - The US has placed sanctions on six people and three entities involved in smuggling Iranian oil shipments to Syria to evade US sanctions, according to the Treasury Department on Tuesday.

The individuals listed include two Iranian nationals, a Russian, a Syrian, an Iraqi and a Lebanese person, while two of the entities are based in Russia and one in Iran.

US officials reported that Iranian officials had been working with Russian companies to ship "millions of barrels of oil to Syria”, something that violates recently imposed US sanctions on Iran and benefits the Bashar al-Assad Government in Syria.

Iran Focus

London, 28 Nov - US sanctions on Iran are beginning to take their toll, with oil prices plummeting and falling sales plaguing Iran and, no doubt, keeping the mullahs up at night.

This is largely due to the success of America’s continued energy production, which many observers expected to reach a plateau. This is stopping Iran from reaping the benefit promised during the nuclear deal in the same way that sharp price spiral of oil did in 2016. Even though Iran’s black market sales of Iranian oil are likely to yield little financial profit.

Iran Focus

London, 21 Nov - A senior US official has said that US sanctions on Iran, reimposed on November 5, have been effective and have received "almost entire compliance" from the world at large.

During an interview with VOA's Arabic-language sister network Alhurra in Dubai on Monday, Brian Hook, the US Special Representative for Iran, said: "We have seen almost entire compliance with our sanctions regime. And we don't anticipate having to sanction any major companies, because we haven't seen any evidence that these companies want to choose the Iranian market over the United States market."