By Jubin Katiraie
The Swedish media have been reporting on the protests in Stockholm by supporters of the Iranian opposition over the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The protesters held their demonstration outside the Swedish Foreign Ministry building on Wednesday, during a meeting between Zarif and Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström.
By Pooya Stone
The United States will “aggressively” enforce its sanctions against Iran in order to deter the private sector or any foreign government from helping an Iranian oil tanker travelling through the Mediterranean that Washington want to seize, according to a State Department official on Thursday.
By Jubin Katiraie
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has submitted a bill to the country’s Parliament to propose eliminating four zeros from the Iranian national currency rial.
The proposed bill would change Iran’s national currency from rials to toman, with each toman worth 10,000 rials.
By Pooya Stone
The British Council worker sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for spying on behalf of the UK is being used by the Iranian authorities as a “bargaining chip”, according to her fiancé.
Aras Amiri, 33, lost an appeal against her prison sentence, for the charges of “acting against national security”, earlier this week. Her lawyer had to be approved by the authorities and she had no access to them in the appeal process, so it cannot be considered a fair trial.
By Jubin Katiraie
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened the safety of international waterways, on Wednesday, if Iran’s oil exports are cut to zero.
During a meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Rouhani said: “World powers know that in the case that oil is completely sanctioned and Iran’s oil exports are brought down to zero, international waterways can’t have the same security as before. So unilateral pressure against Iran can’t be to their advantage and won’t guarantee their security in the region and the world.”
By Pooya Stone
US officials say that a US military MQ-9 drone was shot down over Dhamar governate, in Yemen, which is just southeast of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa; the second incident of its kind this year.
One official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the drone was shot down late on Tuesday by a surface-to-air missile operated by the Iran-backed Houthis, confirming the statement of Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria, but did not give any specifics. The official said that, whilst losing the armed military drone made by California-based General Atomics, was expensive, it was not unprecedented and the US would not have a major response.
By Jubin Katiraie
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to meet Iranian officials this weekend’s G7 summit to talk about how to reduce tensions between Washington and Tehran, he announced on August 21.
Donald Trump accused Macron of sending mixed signals to Iran, saying no one was allowed to speak to Iranian officials on behalf of the US.
By Pooya Stone
The US has warned that Iran has sent a second oil tanker to Syria in clear defiance of US and EU sanctions.
Intelligence sources told Fox News that the Bonita Queen oil tanker was loaded with 600,000 barrels of crude oil near Iran’s Kharg Island on August 2. Shortly after that, the tanker was de-flagged by the country of St. Kitts and Nevis, fearing US sanctions.
By Jubin Katiraie
Federal authorities in the US have accused a man of plotting to export metal-processing machines to Iran, a move that violated the US’s non-nuclear proliferation and terrorism sanctions.
According to the 21-count indictment unsealed Tuesday by federal prosecutors, Mehdi Hashemi, also known as Eddie Hashemi, is accused of taking part in a scheme to export computer numerical control machines, which are used to process raw materials, such as metals that could be used to create nuclear weapons, to precise standards. These machines are export-controlled to Iran for nuclear non-proliferation and anti-terrorism reasons.
By Pooya Stone
The British charity worker wrongfully jailed in Iran is now having her access to her family restricted, according to her husband.
Richard Ratcliffe explained that new rules instituted by the Iranian authorities mean that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe can’t make international calls to him in London and is only allowed to see their five-year-old daughter, who is being looked after by her grandparents in Tehran, once a month.
