Iran Focus
London, 7 Sep – On Wednesday, residents of Tehran lined up outside moneychangers as Iran’s rial fell to a record low, a 140-percent drop in value since America exited the nuclear deal last May.
The Iranian week begins on Saturday, and by the end of the day on Wednesday, the Iranian peoples’ money had lost a quarter of its value.
“Everyone’s just nervous,” said one resident. However, state media has not acknowledged the drop.
Iran Focus
London, 6 Sep – Hassan Rouhani was summoned by parliament to answer questions on the country’s mounting economic crisis last week. He blamed the economic problems on an “American conspiracy”, but his argument was rejected, and he is now facing a judiciary review. Putting further pressure on him, is the fact that two of his ministers were impeached last month.
In May, US President Trump exited the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed the sanctions the deal had lifted. Following this, Iran’s economy plummeted, with Trump’s warnings to foreign companies that they will face penalties for continuing to do business with Iran.
Iran Focus
London, 5 Sep – For months, Iran-back Iraqi armed factions have been working to develop ballistic missiles that they threaten to use against American forces in the country, according to Shiite commanders and Iraqi security officials.
Iranian proxy forces using improved missile technology in yet another country in the Middle East is concerning to Arab countries and the US. The ballistic missiles that the Houthi militias fired at Saudi Arabia earlier this year were confirmed to have come from Iran, who is also accused of helping Hezbollah build factories in Lebanon to produce similar weapons.
Iran Focus
London, 5 Sep – The following report by Human Rights Watch is and indicative and an illustration of the methods of retaliation of the ruling system in Iran against student activists who want nothing but their normal civil rights, many talented students are denied higher education only for being active in peaceful demonstrations against the theocratic government:
This time of year in Iran, graduate school applicants learn if they’ve been accepted into the programs they’ve strived for based on their national exam rank. But over the past decade, authorities have been quietly barring student activists from furthering their education, marking their application status with a “star” that indicates their application is “missing documents.”
Iran Focus
London, 4 Sep – America’s allies in Europe are plotting ways to bypass U.S. sanctions on Iran as they work to keep the nuclear deal alive without the United States.
With a second round of U.S. sanctions set to take effect in November, European officials are working at cross-purposes with Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign as they try to preserve as much business as possible with Iran. The goal is to persuade Iran’s leaders to stay in the deal for a few more years — perhaps long enough for Trump to be replaced and for a new U.S. president to rejoin the deal.
Iran Focus
London, 4 Sep – Because it fears an attack by the United States, Iran has reasons to want a stealth fighter, but its dream is nowhere near to becoming a reality.
Israel and the United States have some of the most capable air arms on the planet. Iran is also competing for regional dominance with multiple Arab states who are equipped with fourth and 4.5-generation F-15, F-16, Typhoon and Rafale jet fighters. But, although Iran’s once state-of-the-art U.S.-built F-4 Phantom and F-14 Tomcat fighters have been kept in operational condition for decades, this falls far short of developing a working stealth fighter.
Iran Focus
London, 3 Sep – According to reports, on the unofficial market amid continued economic difficulties following the reimposition of nuclear sanctions by the United States, Iranian currency has hit another record low against the dollar. In the past three days, the rial has lost around 15 percent of its value on the open market, according to Bonbast.com, which tracks Iran’s rates it is trading at 128,500 to $1 by September 3rd.
After Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati announced that tighter restrictions on allocating foreign exchange reserves on September 1st, according to financial journalist Maziar Motamedi, the rial latest drop occurred. “Hemmati said that he wishes to be much more careful in allocating foreign currencies at government rates, signaling a potential forthcoming shortage of hard currency,” Motamedi said in an interview.
Iran Focus
London, 3 Sep – Those being targeted include lawyers and activists associated with the campaign against forced wearing of the hijab Today Amnesty International reported in a press release
‘The human rights situation in Iran has reached crisis point’ – Philip Luther
The Iranian authorities have arrested three human rights lawyers and a women’s rights activist over the past four days, part of an escalating crackdown to crush civil society in the country.
Iran Focus
London, 1 Sep – December 2017 through January 2018 saw a mass uprising in Iran that began in the holy city of Mashhad and quickly spread across some 140 cities in the country. Some 30 people were killed in the protests, but officials have still not conducted impartial investigations into their deaths, nor has law enforcement’s excessive use of force to repress protests been addressed.
Demonstrations and protests continue in the country, and since August 2, 2018, authorities have detained more than 50 people during protests in Tehran.
In a statement Human Rights Watch issued on August 31st, the group said that Iranian authorities should drop all charges brought against protesters for peaceful assembly and release those detained on that basis.
Iran Focus
London, 30 August – According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, all non-essential travel by France’s diplomats and foreign ministry officials to Iran should be postponed indefinitely. The memo cited a plot to bomb a rally held earlier this summer by an exiled Iranian opposition group near Paris, as a sign of Tehran’s more aggressive stance towards France. The instructions were also relayed to officials in government departments outside the foreign ministry to be passed on to staff who intended to travel to Iran.
