Iran Focus

London, 25 Sep – In a rare and bold rebuke, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been strongly criticized by the head of Iran’s Department of Environment, Issa Kalantari.

The former Minister of agriculture, Kalantari, criticized the IRGC for its meddling in the agricultural sector, as well as wasting the country’s financial resources on ineffective projects. He pointed out that Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture cannot devise and implement effective policies because it is “under the influence of military institutions.” Military leaders make key decisions on agricultural issues that are often counterproductive.

Iran Focus

London, 25 Sep – On 22nd September there was a deadly attack at a military parade in the south-western part of Iran. Dozens of people were killed and Iran has accused the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel of being behind the attack. Tensions are rising between the countries and Iranian officials are making the matter worse by threatening revenge.

This tension will no doubt affect Iranian President Hassan Rouhani when he attends the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He has already said that he intends to “expose U.S. breaches of international regulations” and there is no doubt that he will have a lot to say about the U.S. exit from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Iran Focus

London, 24 Sep – As the UN General Assembly begins, during a press briefing on Thursday September 20th, US Department of State’s spokesperson Heather Nauert said that the United States holds Iran responsible for last week’s attacks on American establishments in Iraq. She said, “We recognize that Iran continues to be a destabilizing element in the region. They continue to try to attack other governments and individuals through their proxy militias. We will hold them responsible for any loss of American life. I just want to be clear about that.” Previously, the U.S. had warned against any attack by Iran-backed Iraqi militia against US forces in Iraq.

Iran Focus

London, 22 Sep – In May, Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear between Iran and six world powers and sent the foreign-policy establishment into overdrive with opposition.

They warned that Trump’s promise to bring back sanctions – specifically on Iran’s oil exports – would fail because America’s allies and the other signatories to the nuclear deal would continue to do business with Iran. Then, as if they were dealing with Schrödinger’s sanctions, they said that if the sanctions worked, then the US would be dealing with increased oil prices that would bite the American people and possibly even cause a recession.