Iran Focus
London, 23 Apr – President Barack Obama visited Riyadh last Wednesday 20 April to meet with King Salman of Saudi Arabia. The two countries have been increasingly losing patience with each other recently as past actions catch up with them.
At least 11 Iranian, Afghan fighters killed in Syria in recent days
Iran Focus
Tehran, 23 Apr – At least 11 persons who were members of either Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) or Iran’s regular army, killed in Syria in the recent days, have been buried in various Iranian cities.
The state run ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday that the public relations section of the IRGC in the central Iranian Qom Province had issued a statement announcing the burial of seven Afghan mercenaries who were killed in Syria. Their names were given as Habib Rezaie, Mehdi Hosseini, Abdolhakim Rasouli, Hossein Hosseini, Mohammadjavad Askari, Khodabakhsh Mohammadi, and Hassan Reza Rastegari. They were all members of the Fatemiyoun Division of the Quds Force, the foreign operations division of the IRGC.
US Supreme Court says Iran must pay $2 billion in terror compensation
Iran Focus
London, 22 Apr – The US Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets will be given to the American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut amongst other attacks with links to the Iranian government.
In 2012 the US Congress passed a law stating frozen funds should go towards paying the $2.65 billion US federal court judgement won by families of the victims against the Iranian government in 2007. The court ruled 6-2 that the US Congress did not undermine the authority of the judicial system.
Iran steps up crackdown on women over attire
Iran Focus
Tehran, 22 Apr – The Iranian government has launched a new plan to rigorously enforce veiling laws. Some 7,000 morality officers have been dispatched to Tehran with the task of alerting official law enforcement to instances of “mal-veilling” and other perceived “violations” of the law including noise pollution.
Iranian General injured in Syria conflict
Iran Focus
London, 20 Apr – Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh, a former General in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and former governor general of Yazd Province, was injured in Aleppo, Syria, on 12 April, Iranian state media agency Tabnak news reported.
Jordan cuts ties with Iran
Iran Focus
London, 20 Apr – Jordan recalled its ambassador in Iran to protest the Iranian government’s interference in Arab countries’ affairs. A report from Petra, the official Jordanian state news agency, on Monday quoted the Jordanian government spokesman and State Minister for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani as saying the diplomat was called back for “consultations”.
In a statement Momani said that after the Iranian government and the P5+1 countries reached a nuclear agreement, Tehran was taking positions antithetical to Jordan’s and not respecting basic principles of good neighbourliness. This was compounding the instability of the region.
Fruit prices go up in Iran
Iran Focus
Tehran, 20 Apr – Fruit prices have sharply risen in Iran during the last week. Seyed Hossein Mohajeran, the head of the Fruit and Vegetable Sellers Union told Mehr, a state-run news agency, that rising prices have affected the supply chain of the Iranian marketplace.
Price increases happen weekly, with the price on Sunday for tomatoes going up by 50 percent and reaching 2500-3500 tomans ($0.83-$1.16). The price of bananas has also increased by 30% and oranges by 20%, the National Council of Resistance of Iran reported.
Iran steps up executions even as European officials visit
Iran Focus
London, 19 Apr – There were at least 24 people executed in Iran during the last week. Reports from a prison in Birjand, north-east Iran, state that five men and two women were hanged on Thursday 14 April.
Only two of the victims were identified, Mohammad Niazi and Moheb Rahmati, they were accused of drug-related offences, according to the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). On Saturday 16 April three more people were hanged in Rasht prison, northern Iran. Only the initials and ages of the victims were released; E.M., 29, D.A., 51, and F.V., 31, the NCRI said.
Maryam Rajavi: Iran’s fate is linked to Syria’s Assad
Iran Focus
London, 18 Apr – In an interview with pan-Arab daily newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat Maryam Rajavi, who heads the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), took aim at the Iranian government’s regional and domestic strategies of interference.
Rajavi told the paper on Sunday that the Iranian government was resting on three main pillars: nuclear capabilities, absolute oppression inside Iran and exporting terrorism and extremism outside.
Iran displays parts of Russian-made missiles in rally
Iran Focus
Tehran, 18 Apr – Iran has displayed parts of a new Russian-made missile system during its annual Army Day celebrations. State-run news agency ISNA showed S-300 missile tubes and radar equipment as part of a military parade through southern Tehran.
The S-300 missile system is being purchased by Iran from Russia at a cost of $800m (£545m). The missiles can be used against multiple targets – such as jets or other missiles. The fully mobile units are capable of tracking objects over a range of 185 miles. Sophisticated radar and relays allow the S-300 system to guide up to 12 missiles simultaneously and engage six different targets at once. Five of these systems have reportedly been sent to the Iranian government.
