Iran Focus

London, 09 Apr – Iranian farmers staged a protest at a major site in the capital city of Isfahan Province on Saturday, April 7, despite the suppressive security forces’ attempts to disperse them.

Videos posted on social media show the angry farmers chanting anti-government slogans near the historic Khaju Bridge, with chants targeting President Hassan Rouhani and the state-run media.

Some of these chants were: “Water of Zayandeh Rood is our absolute right”, “Farmers Moaning, Zayandeh Rood wailing” and “[Energy Minister] Ardakanian Yazdi! You’re water mafia!”

Iran Focus

London, 07 Apr – An open letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was sent by a group of 300 of Iran’s most conservative figures and Basij officials. It outlined their concerns about Iran’s internal conditions, and criticized the country’s policy regarding the nuclear deal and efforts toward regional dominance.

Although they have always supported the regime’s supreme leader, they warned him about their worry for the future of the country, as seen in the the gap between the people and the authority, and stressed that the internal problems include all bodies of the authority.

Iran Focus

London, 06 Apr – Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is the richest autocrat Iran has ever had and yet he preaches about how his starving citizens need to be less greedy. Political scientist Dr. Majid Rafizadeh believes it’s time to impose sanctions on the Khamenei himself.

Khamenei is worth at least $95 billion, making him likely the richest man in the world. Some reports even state that members of Khamenei’s family hold billions of dollars in foreign banks. Most of this money was gained after he became Supreme Leader in 1989, through a series of shadowy deals, no oversight, and, of course, some dipping into the public purse.

Iran Focus

London, 06 Apr – Rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia in proxy conflicts across the Middle East are rekindling doubts over the success of the OPEC+ oil production deal and could lead to the collapse of the deal altogether in June.

Earlier this year, commodity analysts warned that high oil prices are even making some of the deal’s signatories nervous, including Iran. Last month, Iran’s Energy Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that Iran was concerned that if their oil was being sold for more than $70 US per barrel, that this would encourage increased oil production in other countries.

Iran Focus

London, 05 Apr – Officials in Iran are trying to ban the popular messaging application “Telegram”. It is a widely used chat application that has more than 20 million users in the country.

It was reported that the secretary of the Iranian High Council of Cyberspace (HCC) Hassan Firouzabadi has given his support for a full ban of the application. He said that the application’s recent Initial Coin Offering (ICO) has the potential to endanger the Iranian national currency.