Iran Focus
London, 10 May – The Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, has recently rebuked the security forces, the Shiite clergy forces, and his rivals ahead of the presidential elections next week.
He called them “extremists” and criticised the arrest of reformist leaders, which is strange because he has overseen the arrest, torture, and executions of hundreds of political protesters over his four-year presidency.
Iran Focus
London, 10 May – The Iranian Regime tested a high-tech torpedo near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to US officials.
The Iranian missile, called Hoot, is supposed to be based on a Russian model (the Soviet-era Russian VA-111 Shkval) which is considered to be the fastest in the world.
Iran Focus
London, 10 May – In 2016, the US gave $1.7 billion in cash to Iran in order to secure the release of American hostages, and the Obama administration reported that this was Iranian money, which had been frozen in US banks and would improve the Iranian economy.
What is new, however, are reports that Iran turned over $400 million of that cash to Hezbollah, a terror group on the US’s list of foreign terror organisations.
Iran Focus
London, 9 May – The Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, inadvertently admitted that the Iranian Regime knew about the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the Saudi Consulate in Mashhad before they happened, in a speech on May 4, 2017 (known as Teacher’s Day in Iran).
Zarif, who was giving a speech on the Iranian RRegime’s foreign policy and its current status with regard to international relations at the Faculty of International Relations, called these attacks “badly managed”.
Iran Focus
London, 9 May – Donald Trump recently announced that his first foreign trip as President will be to Saudi Arabia, a visit he described as “historic”.
Turki Aldakhil, the General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel, wrote an op-ed for Al-Arabiya in which he noted that many Saudi officials are incredibly happy at what they see as a restoration of relations that faded during the Obama administration.
Iran Focus
London, 9 May – A British lawmaker has argued that Britain can no longer ignore Iran’s horrific record of human rights abuses.
In an op-ed for Conservative Home, Mike Freer, the Conservative candidate for Finchley and Golders Green, wrote that the UK has neglected the issue of human rights in Iran ever since it signed the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, and accused the UK of putting trade at the forefront of negotiations with Iran, rather than human rights.
Iran Focus
London, 9 May – The Iranian Elections will bring no change for the people of Iran and no change to their support for terrorism but it could be the beginning of the end for the Regime, especially if the US Senate passes more sanctions against the brutal mullahs.
The election, set to be held on May 19th, was a major topic of discussion for Regime critics in Paris this week.
By Hamid Yazdan Panah
May 9 marks the seventh anniversary of the execution of Kurdish activist and teacher Farzad Kamangar inside Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. Kamangar was accused of being a member of the Kurdish opposition group PJAK and was sentenced to death following a brief trial which lacked due process.
Ethnic Kurds face systematic discrimination and repression in Iran, and continue to struggle for their own rights and autonomy. Kamangar’s activism centered not only on his identity as a Kurd but as an Iranian who resisted the theocratic regime and fought for the rights of his people and community.
Iran Focus
London, 8 May – Thirteen US Senators have signed a letter calling for answers about the prisoner-swap scandal under the Obama administration in which seven Iranian prisoners in the US were exchanged for five US hostages in Iran.
The deal, which also allowed 14 fugitives to evade justice, was one of the most perplexing political deals in the US during Obama’s presidency as it may have jeopardised the non-proliferation effort to stop Iran from getting hold of nuclear weapons.
Iran Focus
London, 8 May – The House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into the Obama administration for potentially undermining the U.S. counter-proliferation effort to thwart Iranian weapons trafficking networks, according to Politico.
Additionally, 13 Republican senators have demanded to know whether the Obama administration jeopardised U.S. national security as a result of the prisoner-swap scandal in which seven Iranian prisoners held in the US were exchanged for five US prisoners held in Iran.
