Iran Focus

London, 31 Oct – The US is currently evaluating potential sanctions relief for countries that significantly reduce their imports of Iranian oil, according to a source in the State Department on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The US is in the midst of an internal process to consider [significant reduction exemption] waivers for individual countries. Our goal remains to get to zero oil imports from Iran as quickly as possible. We are prepared to work with countries that are reducing their imports on a case-by-case basis.”

Iran Focus

London, 31 Oct – Before the Iranian parliament, a few days ago, President Hassan Rouhani spoke about the new cabinet members he has introduced during his latest shuffle in the economic department. His comments when he was addressing the parliament were notable.

He spoke about the tough economic situation in the country and said that it has one of the least expensive education systems in the world. He also said that health care in Iran is among the cheapest in the world, as well as energy – namely diesel fuel, gasoline and ethanol – and water and electric.

Iran Focus

London, 30 Oct – Just days before US sanction on Iran’s oil sector are due to go into effect, China and India – the two biggest importers of Iranian oil – are fighting America’s push to fully stop the flow of Iranian oil, claiming that there are not enough supplies available elsewhere to make up the shortfall.

The US announced these sanctions back in May, when it withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, but China remains a party to the deal and has vowed to keep importing the oil, despite American threats to ban Chinese companies from the US financial market. China imports about $1.5 billion worth of oil every month from Iran and may be less concerned about US sanctions because it has the world’s second largest economy and it working with EU partners to bypass the sanctions by not using dollars.

Iran Focus

London, 30 Oct – During the annual United Nations General Assembly meetings, the American Iranian diaspora that stands against the Mullahs in Iran came to New York. Rudy Giuliani, former New York City Mayor, and attorney for US President Trump, gave his ninth address to them.

Iran Focus

London, 29 Oct – In a speech on Sunday to officials in charge of cyber defense, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called for the stepping up of efforts to fight enemy “infiltration”, according to reports on state television. “In the face of the enemy’s complex practices, our civil defense should … confront infiltration through scientific, accurate, and up-to-date … action,” he told civil defense officials, including those involved in cyber defense.

Western cultural influences, such as entertainment, social media, and the Internet are seen as a threat against Islamic and revolutionary values by officials.

Iran Focus

London, 29 Oct – There is a battle brewing between Donald Trump and Iran hawks in Congress over the next round of US sanctions on Iran, with many conservative lawmakers believing that the sanctions returning on November 5 do not go far enough.

These sanctions, originally lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump exited earlier this year, will target Iran’s central bank and oil industry, but Republican lawmakers fear that they are not strong enough to fulfil Trump’s promise of putting “maximum pressure” on Iran.