Iran Focus
London, 25 Jan – The 2015 Iran nuclear deal was a great source of positivity for many when it was being signed. U.S. President Barack Obama who oversaw the negotiations promised his nation that the deal would make Iran more moderate and more of an international player than it had been. The EU saw the deal as necessary in order to contain the Iran nuclear threat. But the biggest winner of all was Iran.
Iran Focus
London, 24 Jan – The Iranian Writers Association (IWA) objected to the high and unaffordable bails that judicial authorities set for three of its members, accused of vague national security charges, which has caused the members to be stuck in the notorious Evin prison.
In the IWA’s Tuesday statement, they describe the roughly $240,000 bail set for Bektash Abtin, Kayvan Bazhan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi as “unacceptable” and demanded their immediate release.
Iran Focus
London, 24 Jan – The UAE has condemned Iran for its interference in the Middle East, accusing the Gulf country of creating tension and instability in the region, during the UN Security Council’s quarterly Open Debate on the situation in the Middle East.
Saud Al Shamsi, Deputy Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN, delivered a statement to the debate, which read: “The conflicts in Yemen and Syria clearly show that Iran is the common perpetrator. Iran has created more tension and instability in our region, posing a serious threat to the stability of the Middle East. We therefore call on the international community and the Security Council to seriously pressure Iran to end its interference and support for terrorist and sectarian militias in Arab countries.”
Iran Focus
London, 23 Jan – Following allegations by the U.S., Iran’s Mahan Air has been banned by Germany’s government from operating in their country. U.S. officials say that Mahan’s aircraft transported weapons and fighters to war-torn Syria.
The move against Mahan Air is believed to be the result of pressure from the Trump administration, but a spokesman for the German government said that the ban was necessary to protect the interests of the federal government.
Iran Focus
London, 23 Jan – Europe is deeply divided over Iran into several issues and there are major disagreements on how to deal with Iranian government between the various governments that make up the EU, the factions within those governments, and even the EU’s security and political establishments.
Iran Focus
London, 22 Jan – There is little chance of Iran being able to save its damaged banking sector as US sanctions really take their toll on the economy, causing bad loans to mount up, according to a new report.
The report, released on Tuesday by Fitch Solutions, said: “Many Iranian banks are in need of recapitalisation and restructuring, having accumulated high levels of non-performing loans. We see little scope for meaningful progress.”
Iran Focus
London, 22 Jan – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo conveyed one clear message on his recent trip to the Middle East, where he was reassuring US allies that the Donald Trump administration remained committed to the region, and it was that Iran must be contained.
Pompeo travelled to Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman for high-level talks with monarchs and ministers over just seven days, but at each meeting, Iran was a focus.
Iran Focus
London, 21 Jan – A contentious documentary series, “Out of Sight,” produced by Mehdi Naghavian, which purports to be about Iran’s enemies, was recently re-released by the country’s state broadcaster. The series was first broadcast in December 2017 on Iran’s youth-oriented Channel Three. It resumed broadcasting with the ninth episode of the series earlier this week, after a year.
Iran Focus
London, 21 Jan – According to Human Rights Watch in its World Report 2019, in response to protests across the country over economic conditions, corruption, and repression, arbitrary mass arrests and serious due process violations were practiced by Iranian authorities during 2018. The crackdown on peaceful activism included detaining lawyers, human rights defenders, and women’s rights activists.
