Iran Focus
London, 5 Oct – Iran failed on Wednesday to persuade the highest court in the United Nations to overturn the punishing economic sanctions from the US that are bringing the Iranian economy to a grinding halt.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, whom Iran appealed to in July, has left most of the nuclear sanctions in place, only ordering the US to lift sanctions that affect imports of medicine, food and civilian aircraft parts.
Iran Focus
London, 5 Oct – Reports are surfacing the value of the Iranian rial is on the rise, after several months of declines, but that fifty Iranian economists are calling for Iran to end “the secondary forex market,” an arrangement that has “pushed millions of Iranians below the poverty line” and could lead to at least one million job losses.
In a letter to the heads of three branches of government, the economists explain that the creation of a secondary market has lifted control on the foreign exchange rates and brought 60% inflation.
Iran Focus
London, 4 Oct – Every month, Iran Human Rights Monitor releases a report in the situation of human rights in Iran and it always makes for uncomfortable reading. The September version was no different, with an unprecedented crackdown on human rights advocates, several official reports of cruel and inhumane punishments, and at least 33 executions.
We’ve produced a summary of the report here, but, as always, we encourage you to download the full PDF and learn more. When reading either piece, please remember that because of the closed and insular nature of the Iranian government, the figures given may be much smaller than in reality.
Iran Focus
London, 4 Oct – The Iranian currency unexpectedly rose in value on Tuesday, following months of depreciation triggered by US sanctions, but caused overall by government corruption and mismanagement.
At one point, exchange shops in Tehran were offering one US dollar for 135,000 rials (compared with highs of 190,000 just the day before). This led many Iranians to rush to exchange their rials for dollars to beat the inevitable drop in value that will happen when further US sanctions are applied next month.
Iran Focus
London, 3 Oct – In an op-ed written by TIP Senior Fellow Julie Lenarz and published on Thursday, she claimed that after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels failed to attend peace negotiations in Geneva, the capture of the port of Hodeidah by Coalition forces is the only way to end the conflict in Yemen.
Lenarz said, “Iran’s use of Yemen as a southern gateway to attack Gulf states via Houthi missile attacks, primarily aimed at the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has been one of the most concerning developments of the conflict,” adding that, “Their ability to wage proxy war on the region, which has seen nuclear power plants, civilian airports and oil tankers all targeted, may well be curtailed by the capture of Hodeidah.”
Iran Focus
London, 3 Oct – Some of Iran’s leading prosecutors have threatened the country’s striking truck drivers with execution, according to state-run media.
On September 30th, the strike entered its second week. The truck drivers are protesting what they call “terrible working conditions”. They are demanding better pay, pensions, and stronger trade unions, as well as government subsidies to buy such things as tires and expensive parts that must be imported.
Iran Focus
London, 3 Oct – Almost five months after Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord, the countries still party to the deal are becoming increasingly desperate to find loopholes to the US sanctions on Iran.
While a second lot of US sanctions on Iran, this time targeting its oil industry and central bank, will come into place on November 5 and it doesn’t seem likely that any country or company will get the sanctions waivers they desire, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has written that he will allow the five other countries (the UK, Germany, France, Russia, and China) a “short grace period” to offset these sanctions. This came after a meeting between the six nations at the UN General Assembly.
Iran Focus
London, 2 Oct – The US has called an Iranian missile attack on supposed militant targets in eastern Syria “reckless, unsafe and escalatory”.
In a statement on Monday, Pentagon spokesperson Commander Sean Robertson said that Iran took no measures to notify other military powers in the country of the predawn missile strike, something that “professional” military forces, like the US-led coalition, would have done to ensure maximum safety.
Iran Focus
London, 1 Oct – In the past year, the average cost of buying a house in Tehran has jumped by a massive 74%, according to the Central Bank of Iran. In the past Iranian month (August 21-September 21) alone, residential unit prices have jumped by 9.4%.
The CBI reports that the one square meter of an average unit in Tehran is currently worth around 84,000,000 rials ($2,000, based on Iran’s artificial exchange rate, or $500, based on the global exchange). The latter figure is more relevant in this case, as sellers can’t get cheap dollars based on the government rate.
Iran Focus
London, 1 Oct – Over 2,200 doctors and civil rights activists have sent a letter to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the chairs of the Iranian Parliament’s Health and Cultural Commissions, voicing their concerns over the deteriorating health of Farhad Maysami, a prominent publisher, physician and cultural activist currently held behind bars.
The letter reads: “The way Mr. Maysami is treated is not only inappropriate for a teacher, publisher and physician, but it’s also unbecoming for any of the dissidents in the Shi’ite country [Iran].”
