AP: An Iranian official says cigarettes smuggled into Iran have been tainted with pig blood and nuclear material as part of a Western conspiracy.
Iran report: Cigarettes implicated in Western plot
Iran trade sanctions hit Dubai port
BBC: Taking the boat across Dubai’s old creek is like a journey back in time.
Iran quake measuring 5.7 on Richter scale leaves 110 injured
Iran Focus: Tehran, Jul. 30 – An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale jolted north-eastern Iran on Friday, injuring at least 110 people with one of the injured in serious condition.
Political prisoner sentenced to death in Iran
Iran Focus: Tehran, Jul. 30 – Iran’s Court of Appeal has upheld a death sentence for political prisoner Jaafar Kazemi, his lawyer said.
Political graffiti in Tehran’s bus terminals
Iran Focus: Tehran, Jul. 29 – From the Grapevine… Passengers and employees in Tehran’s southern and western bus terminals reported new graffiti in at least 30 different locations.
Tensions rise in Iran capital
Iran Focus: Tehran, Jul. 29 – From the Grapevine… Pro-democracy activists in Tehran have continued writing graffiti on metro and petrol stations, urging people to hold new anti-government protests and stage strikes.
US officials to press China on Iran sanctions
AFP: Top US officials announced Thursday they were heading to China in late August to press Beijing to “step up” and fully implement sanctions against Iran over its suspect nuclear program.
Iran’s cross merchants: The bazaar strikes back
The Economist: With its shutters down and shops closed, Tehran’s usually bustling Grand Bazaar has been quiet of late. In the first weeks of July Iran’s powerful merchants went on strike because the government tried to raise their annual income tax by 70%. Even when the government hastily agreed to lift taxes by only 15% after the protests spread to other cities, businesses stayed shut for several days.
Iran may get gasoline from Russia state companies next month, Chamber says
Bloomberg: Three Russian state-controlled oil companies, including OAO Rosneft and OAO Gazprom Neft, may begin delivering gasoline to Iran in a month, said the head of the Iran Commission of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Japan’s Mitsui maintains oil tanker was likely attacked
AFP: A Japanese shipping company maintained Thursday that its oil tanker was likely attacked in the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, dismissing reports it may have been hit by a freak wave.
