Iran Focus
London, 10 Jan – A woman who accused Iranian MP Salman Khodadadi of rape was found dead in her home in East Azarbaijan Province on Sunday, with the cause of death as yet unknown, but many are speculating foul play.
Zahra Navidpour, 28, had told the Human Rights Activists News Agency that she received constant threats on her life from Khodadadi, the chair of the parliament’s Social Commission, and those close to him, some of which were recorded
By Jubin Katiraie
Ever since the US pulled out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, the European Union, Britain, France, and Germany have been trying to find a way to subvert reimposed US sanctions on Iran, but the EU needs to end this appeasement of Iran and join the US in cracking down on the Regime.
The signing of the JCPOA, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, did not stop Iran from completing work on its nuclear programme. Instead, a lack of restrictions on its ballistic missile programme, proper inspections of nuclear and military sites, and restrictions on its civilian nuclear programme allowed the Regime to push the malign parts of its programme underground and continue work on building nuclear weapons.
Iran Focus
London, 9 Jan – It has been reported that the number of Afghans that have been forced to leave Iran has dramatically increased over the past year. Figures show that around 775,000 Afghans left last year alone.
One of the main factors in this is the sanctions that were reimposed by the United States and the resolve of the Trump administration to addressing the Iran threat.
Iran Focus
London, 9 Jan – A gas flare is a device that is used to burn off flammable gas that accumulates during oil and gas production. Iran flares a large percentage of the natural gas that comes from its oil production – more than 65% – because it does not have the means or the technology to collect it.
Iran used to release official reports and figures about the country’s gas flare levels, but it stopped this practice in 2015. However, the Planning and Budget Organization has indicated that the levels have increased dramatically. The figure for last year amounts to 17.7 billion cubic meters (bcm). It also said that the goal was for it to be around the 11 bcm mark, so it went massively over. The figure for 2016 was 15.7 bcm of gas flaring volume, so the trend is on the increase.
Iran Focus
London, 9 Jan – Two natives of Iran, identified as Assadollah Asadi and Saeid Hashemi Moghadam, and the Directorate for Internal Security of the Iranian Ministry for Intelligence and Security and of individuals, an Iranian intelligence service, have been sanction by the European Union. According to a document seen by Bloomberg News, because of their involvement in an alleged bomb plot in France, the EU froze their assets on Tuesday.
The intelligence unit and the two individuals were involved in a planned bombing of an Iranian opposition group at a meeting near Paris in June, said the French government. The sanctions mirror the ones already imposed by France, and will be published in the EU Official Journal on Wednesday.
By Jubin Katiraie
On Monday, Business Insider reported upon Iran’s supposed plans to deploy warships to the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to counter American power following the arrival of a US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Last month, the head of the Iran’s naval forces declared that Tehran would not tolerate the presence of such a vessel in international shipping lanes near Iran’s shores. But of course there is little that the Iranian military or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps can do to repel the more sophisticated vessels of the US Navy.
By Edward Carney
Jason Rezaian, the Iranian-American reporter who was detained for 18 months in the Islamic Republic before being released as part of a prisoner swap in January 2016, is slated to testify in US federal court on Tuesday as part of a lawsuit that he filed against the Iranian government shortly after returning home. Domestic lawsuits against sovereign foreign nations are ordinarily not permitted under American law, but exceptions are made for cases involving allegations of terrorism, torture, or hostage-taking by nations that are designated by the US State Department as state sponsors of terrorism.
By Pooya Stone
Regarding his country’s foreign policy, Member of the Iranian Parliament, Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, said in his speech before his colleagues on Sunday, “Unnecessary costs, which are not a priority should be removed”, and that these costs would leave the regime “paralyzed on the streets of Tehran.” He also pointed out that the former Soviet Union eventually fell apart despite its nuclear warheads and influence around the world.
Jahanabadi is the head of the International Committee of the Legal and Judicial Commission, as well as the representative of three cities in Iran’s Northeastern province of Razavi Khorasan.
By Mehdi
Iran’s new budget bill has been causing anger amongst ministers, officials and parliamentarians since it was presented to the parliament on December 25, with the Health Minister even resigning over a reported decrease in the country’s health and hygiene budget.
Although the details of the budget bill, for the Persian year beginning on March 21, have yet to be publicly released, some information has been leaked that appears to show some government companies being given billions of tomans without any accountability for their expenditures.
By Jubin Katiraie
Re-imposed US sanctions are crashing Iran’s economy, and the people of Iran are struggling to afford basic goods. More unrest is expected. In fact, as Iran’s rial collapsed, vendors of the thousands of shops in Tehran’s sprawling Grand Bazaar, — traditionally a gauge of the national mood — have spoken out against the government, internal politics, and corruption.
Iran’s lower and middle classes make up the majority of the population. Their discontent highlights the dangers ahead for the government of President Hassan Rouhani. Many expect this year to be worse than last as protests over the economy continue.
