Iran Focus
London, 7 Dec – Few details have been disclosed regarding the Iranian budget that was recently submitted to parliament. Because Iran is under tremendous economic pressure as U.S. sanctions have come into effect, transparency in the budget approval process this year is not expected. However, in a news conference on December 6th, the head of the Planning and Budget Organization, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, promised that President Hassan Rouhani will unveil details later.
Iran Focus
London, 7 Dec – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei asked the Iranian Parliament on Tuesday to amend its recent bill on retirees, claiming that it contained “gaps” after some official asked for the reinstatement of a number of retired managers.
The law, which was approved by parliament in September, banned retirees from being re-employed in the public sector and resulted in several senior officials, including some deputy ministers, being replaced by younger officials. Khamenei claimed that there are some people who cannot be substituted.
Iran Focus
London, 7 Dec – Iran’s nuclear program has cost more than $500 billion since 2006, according to the Arab Strategy Forum in Dubai.
In a new report, entitled ‘The Economic Costs and Consequences of Iran’s Nuclear Program’, the Forum said that international economic sanctions have cost Iran over $500 billion to date, while some $50 billion more has been spent to develop and operate infrastructure and facilities for the program.
Iran Focus
London, 6 Dec – U.S. President Donald Trump had been threatening to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or 2015 Iran nuclear deal as it is also known, since the beginning of his presidency. European leaders pleaded with him to keep the deal intact, trying to convince him that having a weak deal in place was better than having no deal in place.
Iran Focus
London, 6 Dec – There are a number of American and foreign citizens that are currently being held captive in Iran. One of them is Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, that disappeared on 9th March 2007 after travelling to Iran’s Kish Island. It is thought that Iranian intelligence officers arrested him to use him as a bargaining chip with Washington. Some believe that Levinson was carrying out an investigation into cigarette smuggling.
Iran Focus
London, 6 Dec – Canada has arrested Huawei’s global chief financial officer in Vancouver in relation to violations of US sanctions on Iran and Canadian Justice Department spokesperson Ian McLeod said on Wednesday that she is facing extradition to the US.
Meng Wanzhou, a vice chair on the Chinese technology company’s board, was arrested on December 1, while transferring flights in Canada, and will go before a judge on Friday for a bail hearing.
Iran Focus
London, 6 Dec – The Iranian government has lost roughly two-thirds of its overall funding thanks to US sanctions but is desperately trying to conceal that fact.
Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, the head of the Islamic Republic’s Planning and Budget Organization (PBO), first revealed the shortfall on December 4, whilst addressing a gathering of representatives of disabled people, who had come to the PBO to protest government cuts related to the support of people with disabilities. However, his statements were quickly removed from official websites.
Iran Focus
London, 5 Dec – Regarding Iran’s recent ballistic missile test, a senior US official said on Tuesday that the US is pressing the European Union to consider economic sanctions on the country, warning that if Tehran’s ambitions remain unchecked, a wider regional conflict may result.
Iran Focus
London, 5 Dec – Human rights organisation Amnesty International has published a report entitled “Blood-soaked secrets: Why Iran’s 1988 prison massacres are ongoing crimes against humanity”. The report highlights that the Iranian dictatorship, by denying the families of the victims the right to bury their loved ones is prolonging the abuse. Furthermore, those that are looking for justice are being harassed and intimidated and many have been arrested and detained by Iranian authorities.
Iran Focus
London, 5 Dec – Senior officials in Washington who are denying that Iran currently has nuclear weapons are basing their assertion on little more than wishful thinking.
How do we know this? Because back in 2016, just weeks after the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), came into place, senior Reagan and Clinton administration officials warned that Iran probably already has nuclear weapons.
