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To Expand Repression, Iran’s Judiciary Takes Control of the Internet

Pooya Stone
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To Expand Repression, Iran’s Judiciary Takes Control of the Internet

In December 2020, when Iranian society was struggling with small and big problems from the coronavirus to the lack of water and power outages, in hidden and a silent atmosphere a plan called the ‘Requirement to publish data and information plan’ was presented to the parliament, and until a few days ago no one was aware of the existence of such a plan.

Then suddenly everyone began to speak about it, and many lawyers in Iran called it a plan worse than the plan ‘to protect the rights of users in cyberspace.’

Once this plan is finalized and approved, the government will own information about all people’s lives and businesses, and it seems that the scars of this plan will go deeper into the body of society than the wounds of the ‘protection of the users’ rights in the cyberspace.

According to the written law of this regime who is one of the leading governments in the suppression of freedom of speech and information access, everyone has the right to access public information unless prohibited by law, while it is stated in this plan put on the agenda of MPs that the specialized committees under the Supreme Council for the Supervision of the dissemination of Information will be formed to check the availability of public data and information published by individuals.

It is also prohibited to upload data and information to systems or websites that have not received permission from the Council after the finalization and notification of this plan.

One of the issues that seem to have difficulty publishing and free access to information if this plan comes into force is the lack of direct reference to everyone’s right to access information. The proposed plan further emphasized the bans.

On the other hand, it seems that with the approval of this plan, the authority to disseminate information and data is out of the hands of the government and the Commission for the Publication and Open Access to Information, which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and is provided to the Supreme Council for monitoring the dissemination of information under the judiciary, and even government agencies must ask for permission from this council that is under the judiciary to publish their information.

According to the ‘Requirement to Publish Data and Information’ plan, a council should be formed to monitor the dissemination of information, supervise the implementation of laws relating to transparency, protect the rights of communication and information privacy, monitor the rules governing the sovereign secrets of the Supreme Council for The Monitoring of The Dissemination of Information, within one month of the notification of this law in the Judiciary.

The 20-member council is headed by the Head of the Judiciary and attended by the First Vice President, the Minister of Information, the Minister of Communications, the Chief of The General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Head of the Inspector General’s Office, the Head of the National Cyberspace Center, three expert judges familiar with the field of information dissemination and data protection (for three years), five members of parliament as observers without the right to vote, three experts and reliable experts active in the field Dissemination of information (selected by the Supreme Council of Cyberspace), an expert and activist in the field of information dissemination is chosen by the Expediency Council and one of the experts active in the field of information dissemination is chosen by the Supreme Court of Calculation.

According to the projections made by the Council, it must set standards for the production, processing, operation, publication, transmission, disclosure, and protection of data and information. The Council is also responsible for determining the criteria and instances of sovereign secrets, job secrets, and communication and information privacy.

The Council shall provide information related to crimes related to violations of the communication and information privacy of individuals and the expose of government secrets and occupational secrets of individuals to security and judicial institutions and authorities.

At the end of this plan, the Council has been obliged, from the date of notification of this law, in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and relevant agencies, to prepare the criteria for the creation, administration, and updating of the websites and information bases of the persons concerned in terms of content, ease and access of users, reliable and understandable to the public, and after approval in the Board of Ministers for implementation.

It is important to note that from the date of entry into force of this plan, the Law on the Publication and Open Access to Information approved in 2008 will be abolished, which means that Iran’s parliament, by submitting this plan, seeks to obsolete the law on the publication and free access to information, and take the authority to disseminate information and data from the government and give it over to the judiciary.

Each government launches a system to facilitate its affairs, as well as to review and comment on various matters, to maintain the public safety of the community. Therefore, an organization must have access to public information and protect it from abuse.

But this law will allow abuse of the people’s privacy, if such a thing even exists in Iran, because the government could spy on every element of the people’s lives, according to social rights activists.

Iran’s Government in the Name of a Free Market Plunders the People

Jubin Katiraie
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Iran’s Government in the Name of a Free Market Plunders the People

The growth of the Iranian Stock Exchange index led to about two million units in August 2020 so that many people went to invest in the stock exchange.

Returns and profits in the stock market had snatched the competition from other less risky areas of investment, including housing, coins, and dollars, and many people poured their money into the capital market. However, after a short time, Iran witnessed a fall in the stock market – an earlier issue that was predicted by many of the government’s economists, who described it as a fast-blowing bubble that would explode very soon.

There is a ratio in the economy that shows how much the country’s financing structure has become a capital-driven market. This ratio is higher in Iran than in the world. This ratio is nearly 80 percent in Iran.

While the ratio of the role of capital market in financing structure in countries such as Turkey and China is 30 percent and Germany, and the United Kingdom is about 40 percent.

This ratio is not normal in Iran at all, and the main cause is the bubble that has been created in the Iranian stock exchange.

Iranian politicians have turned the use of stock exchanges to finance and maintain the stock exchange bubble into a looting ideology and are even promoting it.

Their excuses for this harmful propaganda to the country’s economy are the small shareholders. Interestingly, the misery, poverty, and death of many people due to coronavirus and many other issues of the people are not very important, but they are still allergic to the situation of small shareholders.

The false boom in the stock market and the preservation of the bubble in different ways is a policy that has been implemented over the years under the pretext of micro-shareholders, but to gain access to the people’s dollars.

The fact that the financial structure of the country depends so much on the capital market has many consequences. One of the consequences is that the country’s public resources are not available to small and medium-sized enterprises and the public.

Iran’s Stock Exchange is practically an archipelago of private but government-controlled enterprises whose managers are non-governmental enterprises and entities. These entities are plundering the people and the economy in the name of the free market, so the financial resources of the capital market are practically in the hands of stock exchange firms that are private but government-controlled.

Regarding the rise of the price of the dollar, which in the last 10-12 years has increased about 25-times, and the effects of these entities on the dollar price, it should be said that for large firms to be able to make big profits on the stock exchange, these stock exchanges must keep the dollar price high, as well as the inflation of the commodities, should hold high so that this ailing and crisis-ridden economy can survive.

Last year, the government’s budget deficit was 250 trillion tomans. In the same period, 20 stock exchanges have had a net profit of 250 trillion tomans.

All their profits have been practically from rent-seeking sources, oil, and gas energy. If this rent is cut, these firms will also lose. The profit growth comes as the taxes paid by these firms in previous years were less than 6 percent. But the operating income of these 20 enterprises was higher than the government budget.

These so-called private but government-controlled enterprises are benefiting from various government concessions and economic and political rents and on other the side, they are allowed to sell their products at any desired price. Therefore, this trend is not competitive for real private and small entities.

People suffered great losses in these stock exchange conditions, and the huge losses that were inflicted on people because of this ailing economy are much more than the money those small shareholders lost on the stock exchange.

It should be noted that people’s wages have doubled in the last three years, but people’s purchasing power has decreased to a fifth. People can no longer afford to buy a home, while property owners’ assets have increased between 8 to 10 times.

No one in the government mentions these losses caused by the increase in the role of the capital market in the financing structure of the country’s economy and the power of rent-seeking private government-controlled enterprises. This is a fact about the corruption from which most of the officials benefit.

Big Hurdles on the Path of the New Iranian Government

Mehdi Hosseini
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Big Hurdles on the Path of the New Iranian Government

Iran’s government is making its lasts steps, therefore is showing its concern and fear about many issues which each of them are becoming a painful challenge without having any solution for it.

Two of these subjects which are related to its foreign policy but have a serious impact on the regime’s internal policy are its approach to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“All our foreign policy issues are directly or indirectly involved in foreign policy issues. The withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA and the cessation of the fulfillment of its obligations is a big stone in front of us that has stopped our movement, and as long as we do not remove this stone from the path, it will be very difficult for us to continue.”

“Western governments, which claim to resolve the JCPOA immediately, they do not hate it because of their hostility that we remain these subjects unresolved, as all of our movements in the development of economic relations, economic diplomacy, the development of relations even with our neighbors and our strong presence in international forums are tied to this problem.” (Khabar Online, August 26, 2021)

Despite all the regime’s boasts having the upper hand, these phrases show that the regime’s foreign policy and the connected interior policy are stuck. So that even for simple trade and trade relations with neighboring countries, despite many countries are showing their goodwill, and serious determination to engage, but the regime still faces serious problems, at least the problem is that they say if our countries decide to engage, they fear that because of cooperating with the regime they get caught up in sanctions.

Therefore, many of the regime’s officials say that the priority of the new government will be to solve the JCPOA case. In addition to the issue of the JCPOA, the issue of removing Iran from the list of high-risk countries of the FATF is the second priority, if not a parallel priority. The issue of passing FATF-related laws has also deprived the regime of large-scale financial transactions and international banking transactions.

Even if the regime’s assets are released by resolving the implementation of western parties’ obligations in the JCPOA and the regime is going to use these assets to invest domestically, it will definitely need healthy ways to bank and credit exchanges, one of which is membership in FATF, that has created a big headache, because the regime must money laundering and its financial support of terror proxy groups in the Middle East.

Its third problem is losing its dominance in the Middle East which is isolating the regime.

“In the next priority, we can also discuss improving relations with our neighbors, and by fueling Iran fear, our enemies have been able to move away from many potentially friendly and partner countries from Iran to regulate their relationship with Israel. We must take Iran-fearing weapons from the enemies of Iran and remind our neighbors of the good relations that have always been our country’s foreign policy plan and practically take action to solve the problems between us.” (Khabar Online, August 26, 2021)

Changing the entire government and expelling all the members of the so-called reformist faction from the government will not help and solve any of the regime’s problems and priorities. According to observers, the regime is forced to solve these problems, or will it witness the slow dusk of its 42-year reign.

Iran’s Strange Oil Revenue Statistics

Pooya Stone
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Iran’s Strange Oil Revenue Statistics

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says Iran’s crude oil production has hit a 40-year low under US sanctions.

Iran’s crude oil production has fallen to less than 2 million barrels per day under U.S. sanctions specifically targeting the country’s oil industry, as well as the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on global crude demand, the Energy Information Administration said in its report which was published on August 12, 2021.

“In 2020, Iran produced less than 2 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil, an almost 40-year low in Iran’s production levels according to our analysis, which we updated in July. Several factors contributed to Iran’s low crude oil production in 2020, including the global economic decline that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and international sanctions on Iran’s crude oil that limited its crude oil exports.”

Before the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and the restoration of sanctions, Iran produced about 3.6 million barrels per day of crude oil and exported 2.5 million barrels of it.

After the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal and after the completion of waivers granted to oil importers from Iran, the country’s average exports in 2020 fell to less than 0.4 million barrels per day.

“We estimate that exports of Iran’s crude oil and condensate fell from more than 2.5 million b/d in 2017, the year before the United States re-imposed sanctions, to an average of less than 0.4 million b/d in 2020.”

Ebrahim Raisi Iran’s new president on August 22, 2021, at the outset of the Parliament’s examination of the competence of the ministers proposed by the Thirteenth Government regarding the sale of oil, stated that “there are people who are concerned about oil sales, there are many possibilities and fields to this issue, so don’t worry.”

Earlier, Javad Owji, the proposed minister of oil in Ebrahim Raisi’s administration, said at a meeting of the Strategic Faction of the Parliament: “We promised Mr. Raisi that the will is to sell oil by using the capable managers present at the ministry and using the methods that exist today in the oil sales debate.”

But the statistics of the country’s budget are saying something else. The details of the performance of the budget resources and expenditures in the spring of this year have a vague point, which is the revenues from oil and petroleum products, which indicates the realization of three percent of the approved rate.

In this year’s budget, exports of 2.3 million barrels of oil per day were priced at $40, which was very optimistic, and given the continuation of the sanctions, it was clear from that time that this figure would not materialize. Of course, oil prices rose and the average price of $60 per barrel of oil was registered this year.

In such circumstances, the realization of 3 percent of projected oil revenues is very strange. Simply put, if the total projected oil revenue in the budget was to be realized in the spring of this year based on $40 oil and exports of 2.3 million barrels of oil per day, that would mean $92 million a day and about $8.5 billion in the entire spring.

When it is said that only 3 percent of spring oil revenues have been realized, the total oil revenue this spring was $256,680,000, considering about $60 per barrel of oil, which means that less than 4.3 million barrels of oil were sold over three months, that is, 46,000 barrels a day.

But it is unlikely that this amount of oil exports is correct, and it seems that these statistics have problems. Part of this statistic is related to the export of petroleum products. Unless the price of Iranian oil exports is much less than $60 and there is a high discount.

This 3 percent figure, given that according to OPEC statistics, Iran’s oil production has increased slightly this year, is the sign of the increase in the volume of Iran’s oil storage this spring in the hope of lifting the sanctions.

What didn’t happen, of course, and it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. But in any case, the realization of 3 percent of oil revenues is a serious challenge to the budget this year, which necessitates a reform of the budget by the Raisi government if sanctions are not lifted.

Ministers Approved for Ebrahim Raisi’s Cabinet

Jubin Katiraie
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Ministers Approved for Ebrahim Raisi’s Cabinet

The parliament of the Iranian government officially approved the chosen ministers for the new president, Ebrahim Raisi’s cabinet on Wednesday, August 25 under orders from the country’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

The parliament approved 18 ministers proposed by Raisi and only rejected one of them, Hussein Baghgoli, the proposed minister of Education.

Raisi himself was selected for the presidential position by Khamenei. His history of human rights abuses leads to the suspicion that he was selected to help Khamenei consolidate power within the regime. During the vetting process of the candidates for the ministerial positions, the infighting in the regime became evident.

The infighting reached a point that Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf acknowledged and reminded the parliament that the entire vetting process is a show. It is Khamenei who makes the ultimate decision.

Ghalibaf stepped in when the quality of one of the prospective ministers was questioned by a regime MP and stated that Khamenei is ‘personally responsible for defense, security, and foreign policy matters’, and that previous governments also sought Khamenei’s approval for the appointment of key ministers.

Ebrahim Raisi has claimed he intends to resolve Iran’s economic and social crises, and ‘The situation requires this administration to start working’. But he refused to say how his administration would resolve Iran’s crises.

The Minister of Interior position has been filled by Ahmad Vahidi, a Brigadier General in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and former head of the IRGC’s Quds Force, known for their terrorist activities. He currently has an arrest warrant out for him in Argentina in regards to his role in the Jewish Community Center bombing in the country that took place in July of 1994.

Javad Owji has been assigned to the role of Minister of Oil. He has previously served as a manager for two financial institutions under the control of Khamenei, the ‘Execution of Khomeini’s Order’ and the ‘Mostazafan Foundation’.

The Execution of Khomeini’s Order (EIKO) is the same plundering institution tasked with producing vaccines but has only devoured billions of dollars. The lack of vaccination has resulted in over 372,000 deaths due to the novel coronavirus across Iran.

The construction minister position went to Rostam Ghassemi, who previously served as oil minister under Ahamdinejad and was once involved in one of the largest embezzlement cases in Iran’s history, the corruption case of Babak Zanjani.

As for Raisi’s Foreign Minister, that position went to Hossein Amir Abdollahian, a key member involved in the regime’s terrorist schemes.

During the Sunday session of the Majlis, [Abdollahian] vowed to support the “resistance front,” an umbrella term the regime uses to refer to its proxy terrorist groups in the Middle East region. Amir Abdollahian previously vowed to continue the path of “Qassem Soleimani,” the eliminated commander of the Quds Force.

The majority of the cabinet is made up of men with extensive criminal histories, and the question remains as to whether or not they are the best people to control the crises that Iran is currently facing.

Khamenei handpicked this government and selected Raisi to complete his policy of consolidating his regime by increasing oppression and plunder. Khamenei has chosen this path out of desperation because his regime cannot resolve people’s problems, as it has created them.

Leaked Images of Iran’s Evin Prison Scare the Officials

Hoshang Amiri
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Leaked Images of Iran’s Evin Prison Scare the Officials

Four days after the release of images and videos of some hacked cameras in Evin Prison on social media which is showing only a corner of the brutal and inhumane treatment with defenseless prisoners by the Iranian regime, many of the regime’s officials have been forced to react to this event.

This chain of desperate reactions started with the apology of Mohammad Mehdi HajMohammadi, the head of the prisons organization which was expressed in a tweet.

The shared reaction between all of them is the blow on the Iranian regime, fearing its consequences in the public, while the situation of the regime is very unstable and facing many challenges. This event was absolutely not with pleasure for the regime’s news President Ebrahim Raisi and his entering government who are trying to show a ‘Justice Seeking’ face of themselves.

Some fearing its consequences on the regime’s human rights case, especially at a time when the trial of one of the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre Hamid Nouri is taking place now in Sweden. Other officials and regime officials are fearing its impact on the JCPOA negotiations (Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers) and raising their concerns that the regime’s human rights case will be attached to the JCPOA case, and the regime will have no chance to reject or circumvent this situation.

But despite all this, this is just a small proof of the years-long struggle of the Iranian opposition, the MEK, and NCRI to attract the attention of western governments to the human rights situation in Iran.

Below are just some of the hundred reactions by the regime’s officials.

MP Ebrahim Rezaei at the parliament meeting of Wednesday said: “It must be dealt with the doers of the Evin events.”

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said: “The Commission of Principle 90 has followed up on the issue.”

“A member of parliament called for dealing with the perpetrators of what happened in Evin prison. Prosecutor General’s Office investigates Evin prison pictures.” (State-TV, August 25, 2021)

“The First Deputy of the Judiciary is investigating the publication of images of Evin Prison.” (State-run news agency Daneshjoo)

“The Speaker of the parliament instructed the Commission on Article 90, in coordination with the Attorney General, to investigate the story of the films released from Evin.” (Parliament Session August 25, 2021)

“Mahmoud Sadeghi’s letter to Ejei following the publication of CCTV footage of Evin Prison: Your immediate order to address this issue, as well as the head of the Prisons Organization, to accept responsibility for the unacceptable behavior of the guards and to declare the commitment not to attempt to repeat such bitter events…” (Asr-e-Iran, August 25, 2021)

“Mir Mohammad Sadeghi, lawyer: The prisons organization’s stance after the publication of images of Evin prison should be taken as a good omen.” (Official Parliament website Mizan, August 25, 2021)

“The shock of leaking controversial images from Evin prison sparks storm. With the release of CCTV footage from Evin Detention Center, the country is in a strange shock. – These pictures are in Iran’s most famous detention center in the north of the capital, which has been repeatedly named because of the presence of political defendants…” (State-run website Hadeseh 24, August 25, 2021)

“Esmaili, the then head of the Prisons Organization, denied beatings in Ward 350 of Evin Prisons. In the recent issue of the leaked films of Evin Prison, an apology is not enough. The perpetrators of this tragedy, which shows that beating prisoners has been a routine task, including by the officers.” (State-run website Tik Tak, August 25, 2021)

The Jomhouri Eslami (Islamic Republic) newspaper reacted to the publication of Evin prison videos, saying: “Should public opinion know what is going on in prisons and what is all this violence for? And as soon as possible, Evin officials and the prison guards will be prosecuted so that the system is not more in the crosshairs of the opposition’s goals.”

“A TV presenter reacts sharply to leaked films from Evin prison. Television presenter Mohammad Delavari reacted to the footage released from Evin prison, describing it as unfortunate.” (State-run website Jamehe 24, August 25, 2021)

“Evin Prison from within: The release of CCTV footage of Evin Prison over the past two, three days has been met with widespread public reaction, especially from social media users.” (State-run website Rooz-e-no, August 25, 2021)

“Ejei order to the attorney general: Check the mistreatment of Evin prisoners without wasting time.” (State-run website, Ofogh News, August 25, 2021)

“Mohammad Hassan Asefri calls for treatment of sewing officers in Evin prison: The Representative of Arak, regarding the publication of images of Evin Prison, says that prison is not a place for creating criminal and that the perpetrators should be treated seriously.”

“What is behind the story of the images of Evin Prison? Some of the images from the Evin Prison are neither defensible nor acceptable. It is worthy to appoint an experienced team to handle and announce the results publicly.” (State-run daily Ofogh News, August 25, 2021)

“What pictures have been published of Evin Prison? The head of the Prisons Organization, emphasizing on respecting the rights of prisoners, promised to compensate for unacceptable behavior in Evin.” (State-run daily Aftab, August 25, 2021)

Iran’s Taxing System, Extortion of the Underprivileged

Pooya Stone
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Iran’s Taxing System, Extortion of the Underprivileged

In Iran gold and the supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s financial foundations are not subject to tax, but the poor society especially the working class must tolerate the burden of much of the government’s spending by paying taxes.

Rich institutions like the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), the Mostazafan Foundation, the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, etc., and other entities, such as the financial empires of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), are exempt from paying taxes.

Furthermore, the gold tax has shrunk to zero. It is in large part in the hands of government officials and institutions.

On July 7, 2021, the newspaper Industry, Mine and Trade wrote, “With the current inverted tax system, the main burden of taxation has fallen on wage earners.”

And the state-run daily Vatan-e-Emrooz confirming this process on August 22, 2021, wrote: “Due to poor regulatory structure and lack of transparent information systems, the lower classes of society have always been at the forefront of paying taxes, and the main beneficiaries of the economy most of whom are active in the unrealistic and speculative sector are exempt from paying taxes.”

‘The main beneficiaries are the institutions mentioned above. Government economic experts estimate that institutions affiliated with Khamenei hold 80 percent of the country’s economy and resources, while 96 percent of people live below the poverty line.

And their share of the country’s incomes and wealth is so low that it is not counted, as we see during the Coronavirus crisis that the country’s health and treatment system is so backward that they cannot afford to treat the patients.

The state-run daily Hamdeli on August 15, 2021, wrote: “Now that COVID-19 is killing many Iranians, the authorities should be asked what you did with people’s money. Tax money and oil sales in all previous years, if it was not supposed to help the Iranian people in a critical situation like a disease, then what was its purpose? Where has the money been spent? What have the people achieved?

“If the authorities say there is money, but it is not possible to provide vaccines, medicines, and other items for any reason, why should people give their money to those who don’t know how to break down barriers and provide them with the right services at the lowest cost?

“If people are going to treat themselves at home in the face of illness, why should they pay for health care services under the name of premiums? These people who now do all the health work by themselves have no right to ask the authorities what you did with the tax and oil money that was sold in all the past years?”

In the meantime, the government’s budget deficit is an unbelievable amount of 400 to 450 trillion tomans. According to a lawmaker, most of the budget deficit is related to the lack of tax collection from the government institutions as a pending tax, which amounts to ‘270 trillion tomans.’

In July 2021, media outlets affiliated with both regime factions wrote, as the head of the Tax Administration said, tax evasion in the country reached 100 trillion tomans.

Regarding the tax evasion, the regime’s TV moderator said to Mohammad Reza Pour Ebrahimi, chairman of the Economic Commission of the parliament:

“The share of taxes in GDP is almost an average of around 20 percent all over the world, we approved in the Sixth Plan law around 10 percent. The number that was approved in 2020 is 5.5 percent, the simple concept is that as much as we are taxing, almost we are witnessing the amount of tax evasion.” (State-TV Channel Five, August 5, 2021)

Jabar Koochaki Nejad, an MP from Rasht city, pointing 120 trillion tomans of the government’s budget, about the tax exemptions and evasion said:

“Unfortunately, tax evasion in our country is more than 70 trillion tomans. Of course, this is other than tax exemptions, and the number of tax exemptions is very high.” (State-run website Bazar News, August 8, 2021)

Iran’s Next Foreign Minister Shows Support for Middle Eastern Terror Groups

Shahin Mahmoudi
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Iran’s Next Foreign Minister Shows Support for Middle Eastern Terror Groups

The Iranian regime’s incoming foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian has once again confessed his support of terrorism regarding the regime’s foreign policy.

In a session of the Majlis (parliament) last Sunday, Abdollahian, who has been nominated and destined for the Foreign Minister position in the administration of the regime’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, professed his support of the ‘resistance front’, the name used by the mullahs’ clerical regime to refer to their many proxies’ terrorist groups, based across the Middle East region.

The regime is currently funding, training, and providing logistics support to more than a dozen terrorist groups in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.

Abdollahian had made his comments in a speech during the meeting of the parliament, as officials were showing their support towards his appointment to his new role as Raisi’s top diplomat. His will to push terrorist policies comes as no surprise, considering his close relationship with the former leader of the IRGC’s Quds Force and the mastermind behind the regime’s terrorist activities, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in January 2020 during a drone attack in Iraq.

He previously held the role of Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs under the previous administration, so he is no stranger to the regime’s policies.

Amir Abdollahian has a long history of enabling the regime’s terrorist policies in Iraq and other countries of the region. And he makes no secret of his ties to the regime’s terrorism apparatus.

Abdollahian announced, in an earlier meeting with the parliament’s culture commission, that he ‘cooperated with Soleimani in the foreign policy domain’ and that he will ‘continue Soleimani’s path’.

The regime’s diplomacy is closely controlled by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and its foreign terror arm the Quds Force, a fact that regime officials have made no secret of.

The former Foreign Minister of the regime, Mohammad Javad Zarif highlighted in a recent interview that the regime’s foreign policy is heavily dominated by IRGC and that 98 percent of the diplomatic achievements, regarding the regime, were attained by the Quds Force and, specifically, Soleimani himself.

Hassan Rouhani, the regime’s former president spoke at a cabinet meeting on April 8, 2021, seemingly confirming that the regime’s diplomacy is based around terrorism. He said that from his 32-year experience in the Supreme National Security Council, ‘the frontline and diplomacy are two arms’ of the mullahs’ regime. During his speech, Rouhani went on to say, “If anyone believes that either the frontline of the negotiations must-win, then I must say that their words are incorrect.”

Many of the regime’s senior diplomats and embassy staff were members of the Quds Force and reported to Soleimani, including Assadollah Assadi, a Vienna-based diplomat who is currently serving 20 years in prison for a failed attempt to bomb a major rally of the Iranian resistance in France in 2018.

There Is No Solution for Iran’s Collapsed Economy

Pooya Stone
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There Is No Solution for Iran’s Collapsed Economy

These days, Iran has been swept by the fifth coronavirus wave since the pandemic began in early 2020. While citizens need decent nutrition, the price of essential goods has once again increased. In such circumstances, Covid-19 patients, in particular, witness additional difficulties.

Local reports from the central province of Isfahan point to unusually high prices. “Today, I went shopping for some red meat, but I saw was bones being sold for 400,000 rials [$1.50] per kilo. This is while the market had a discount, and it was previously selling it for 720,000 rials [$2.66],” said a woman.

In a July 23 dispatch, Mehr news agency titled, “The chicken flew from people’s food basket.” “I saw a big notice on a chicken shop, declaring, ‘Poultry for 249,000 rials [$0.92] per kilo.’ I hastily entered the shop and asked, ‘Sorry, have you brought government-subsidized chicken?’ Shopkeeper impatiently answered, ‘Have you just been awakened? The period of government-subsidized chicken has been over,” Mehr reporter wrote.

“Once again, I asked the shopkeeper, ‘How much is poultry per kilo right now?’ ’400,000 rials [$1.50],’ he shortly answered. ‘At least, put down the notice of ‘Poultry for 249,000 rials per kilo’ and do not harass clients,’ I told him with annoyance,” the reporter added.

On August 15, state-run media reported a 20-percent increase in dairy prices. The semiofficial Beytoote website laid blame on the dairy association. “Twenty-percent increase in dairy prices on behalf of producers / The spokesperson of dairy industry association: We have not remained to wait for the government’s decision,” the website titled.

In his interview with Tasnim news agency, association spokesperson Mohammad Reza Bani-Taba pointed to the official increase in the price of raw milk. “There is no bill for increasing the dairy products. However, regarding an official increase in the raw milk price, we have to increase the price of our products,” Bani-Taba said.

“The association sent official letters to the President, Industry Minister, and Agriculture Minister. However, the raw mild price did not change… Government officials receive salaries to make the correct decisions in such circumstances, but they have left the dairy industry in a suspended situation. We cannot shut down dairy factories until officials make decisions,” he added.

Furthermore, the government faces massive budget deficits. Massoud Mir-Kazemi, the new chief of the Budget and Planning Organization, revealed damning details about the country’s bankrupted economy.

He revealed that the government’s debt to the banking system was 1.04 quadrillion rials in the beginning of former President Hassan Rouhani’s tenure in 2013. Currently, this debt is over 6.50 quadrillion rials, showing a four-fold increase in eight years.

To compensate for its massive deficits, the government resorted to two paths. First, increasing the price of essential goods such as the shocking 200-percent increase in gas prices in November 2019 ignited a nationwide protest in 200 cities across the country.

Second, the government ordered the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) to print unsupported banknotes, leading to unprecedented liquidity in Iran. For instance, despite the four-fold increase in the government’s debt to the banking system; however, the value of 6.20 quadrillion rials is too lower than 1.04 quadrillion rials in 2013.

This liquidity directly impacted people’s food baskets while their purchasing power is vanishing as their pockets are being filled with unsupported money. In this status quo, the catastrophic is too complicated than being resolved by claims and publicity stunts.

In this respect, Mir-Kazemi anticipates further economic failures under new President Ebrahim Raisi and mentions there is no possible solution for the government. “The situation is very tough, and we deliver the government in undesirable condition. This year’s budget has deficits. Why have the government’s ordinary expenditures reached 9 quadrillion rials [$33.333 billion]? These expenditures had a ten-fold growth. So, do we have a nice economic condition? What shall we do in the coming years?” Tasnim quoted him as saying on August 15.

Iranian Government Demands Access to Japanese Frozen Funds To Continue Nuclear Activities

Esmaeil Mohades
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Iranian Government Demands Access to Japanese Frozen Funds To Continue Nuclear Activities

Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi has met with the Japanese Foreign Minister, Toshimitsu Motegi to demand the release of $3 billion, frozen in Japanese banks as a result of sanctions by the United States on Iran’s banking sector.

A number of infamous regime officials were present at the meeting which took place on Sunday, August 22, including the National Security Council secretary Ali Shamkhani, Majlis (parliament) speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the regime’s former Foreign Minister.

The demand comes after five rounds of talks between world powers and the Iranian regime in Vienna to curb Tehran’s dangerous nuclear program and revive the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

As Raisi was declared as the next president of Iran, a sixth-round of talks was adjourned. According to state media sources, during the meeting with Motegi, Raisi questioned the justification for keeping the U.S. sanctions in place and stated that ‘Iran has no problem with the principle of negotiation’.

The meeting came just after the release of a new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which laid out that the regime has already produced enriched uranium up to 20 percent purity, and that the production capacity has recently been lifted to 60 percent. These worrying figures point to a nuclear program aimed at creating nuclear weapons.

The regime has shown no sign of slowing down its nuclear enrichment to earn the international community’s trust. This is just the latest manifestation of the regime’s lack of respect for global peace and the breach of its commitments.

The regime’s former president, Hassan Rouhani spoke out in July saying that Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization already has the ability to enrich uranium between 20% and 60%, and if the reactors need it, the uranium can be enriched up to 90% purity.

Raisi’s new cabinet is filled with former members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a terrorist organization in charge of running Iran’s economy and the nuclear weapons program.

The regime is blackmailing the international community to gain concession while experts are warning that even a return to the JCPOA will not block the regime’s path to a nuclear bomb.

The former U.S. Undersecretary of State for International Security, Robert Joseph stated that the regime has cheated in regards to every agreement it has made with international governing bodies and he questioned why agreements are still made with them, knowing their history.

Analysts believe that letting the regime access the frozen funds will only encourage them to work harder and faster on producing nuclear weapons.

The Iranian Resistance (NCRI) has stressed time and again, only a firm policy will curb the regime’s nuclear ambitions. The continuation of the decades-long appeasement policy will allow Tehran to keep and hide its dangerous nuclear weapons program.

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