Iran Focus
London, 14 Jun – Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un have recently released a joint statement committing to “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” and while there are still issues to be sorted out and only time will tell if this will be successful, this moment should still inspire hope for the people of the world.
One thing is certain though, this meeting would never have happened if it wasn’t for the firm policy against North Korea by the US.
Iran Focus
London, 13 Jun – As the US takes measures to re-impose crippling sanctions on Iran, options to support the Iranian people’s strive for freedom and democracy are being revealed.
For instance, severing all access for Iranian banks to SWIFT, or the Society for the Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication has the potential to exert crippling economic and financial pressure Tehran that would affect the regime’s trade relations and import/export process.
Iran Focus
London, 13 Jun – Last week brought news that French carmaker Peugeot-Citroen declared that it will exit the Iranian market within two months.
According to a member of the parliamentary Industries and Mines Commission, Valiyollah Maleki, Japan’s Mazda and South Korea’s Hyundai have also suspended contracts with Iran. Maleki said in an interview on June 12th, “Mazda and Hyundai’s interests in the U.S. market are much more than in Iran, and they will not sacrifice their profit for the sake of Iran.”
Iran Focus
London, 13 Jun – The actions of Iran are driven by its perception of itself as an underdog and a revolutionary force being held back by the other countries of the Middle East and the world as a whole, which has led to an Iran’s confrontational policy of exporting the Islamic Revolution.
We can see this in the mullahs’ words and actions. For instance, when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei realised on Monday that Iran would have to accept some nonnuclear sanctions and nuclear limitations, he said that Iranians would not tolerate that.
Iran Focus
London, 13 Jun – The Canadian House of Commons passed a strongly-worded motion condemning Iran on Tuesday, after the Liberal Party sided with their Conservative opposition.
The Conservative motion, which is now supported by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, condemned Iran and called on the Canadian government to “abandon its current plan and immediately cease any and all negotiations or discussions” about restoring diplomatic relations, as well as listing the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity under Canada’s Criminal Code. The terrorist entity listing of the IRGC goes further than the US has at this point.
Iran Focus
London, 13 Jun – Given the turbulence of the Middle East at this point in modern history, it is remarkable that the region has not erupted into a large-scale conventional war, but there are rising fears that this may happen sooner rather than later.
The problem is Syria, where a civil war became the battleground for many regional foes.
Currently arch-rivals Iran and Israel are fighting in close proximity, but Israel wants Iran far away from its borders and ideally out of Syria altogether, while Iran will not budge and is determined to prop up the Bashar Assad dictatorship to the end.
By Pooya Stone
The annual “Free Iran” convention will be held in Paris on June 30th, just three weeks from now. Considering the nation-wide protests that swept across 140 cities in Iran at the turn of the year, when the Iranian people demonstrated their desire for a free and democratic Iran, this year’s conference will be an important component to fuel the momentum of the Iranian people, who are voicing their demands for regime change.
Iran Focus
London, 13 Jun – On June 11th, the exchange rate for the U.S. dollar reached record highs on the Iranian market. The dollar was traded for 69,000 rials on Tehran’s foreign exchange market. Just the previous day, traders reported on the messaging service Telegram that buyers could purchase a dollar for 67,300 rials.
As well, marking a 4 million rial rise in comparison with the price last week, the price of a standard gold coin was more than 25 million rials on the Tehran market.
The price of various models of cars has risen between 20 million and 400 million rials over the past 10 days.
Iran Focus
London, 12 Jun – One of Iran’s largest oil customers has begun scaling back its oil purchases this month following the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, which will soon see harsh nuclear sanctions reimposed in addition to the nonnuclear ones that are already being imposed.
Indian Refiner Nayara Energy – formerly known as Essar Oil – will now be limiting its import of oil from Iran to about 3-4 million barrels per month, according to a source familiar with the issue, whereas they’ve previously averaged 6 million barrels per month. This is equivalent to a 40-50% drop.
Iran Focus
London, 12 Jun – The Syrian civil war has been going on for more than seven years. It would have ended years ago if Iran had not got involved.
Syria is currently in a state of disrepair and there are stories emerging every day showing more death and destruction. The cities are being destroyed and the people are losing their homes though displacement or damage.
President Barack Obama got the Russians involved in 2014 to get a grip on the chemical weapons used by President Bashar al Assad. A year later, Russia’s involvement had already grown tremendously.
