Iran Focus
London, 10 Dec – Lebanon has still not been able to form a government, thanks to the obstructionist efforts of Iran-backed Hezbollah, despite the fact that Hezbollah holds the majority of the seats. Hezbollah wants to prevent the formation of the Lebanese government in order to better serve their Iranian masters who want to leave the country, and by extension the Middle East in a state of limbo.
Iran Focus
London, 10 Dec – The rising consumer goods prices in Iran, that have occurred in less than six months, are causing people, especially those of the middle class, to become impoverished. Iran Human Right Monitor reports that the country’s the state media is saying that the high price of goods has also led to increasing crime.
Iran Focus
London, 10 Dec – Just a few days ago, in various cities across Iran, authorities detained more than 100 Christians and ordered them to have no contact with religious groups such as house churches. The arrests come after approximately 150 detentions last month.
Iran Focus
London, 8 Dec – According to a report released last week, long-held suspicions in the Gulf about Iran’s regional intentions have been confirmed: Tehran has no intention of curbing its meddling and negative influence in the Gulf region. The Arab Strategy Forum’s report entitled, “The Economic Costs and Consequences of Iran’s Nuclear Programme” proves that Tehran spent some $500 billion since 2002 on its nuclear program.
Iran Focus
London, 8 Dec – Iran is facing a severe budget deficit in the second half of the Persian calendar year and there are fears that the crisis will escalate as the Government continues its policy of zero accountability.
One member of the Iranian parliament has even accused his fellow mullahs of not telling the Iranian people the truth, preferring to paint a rosy picture over the bleak reality.
Iran Focus
London, 7 Dec – Few details have been disclosed regarding the Iranian budget that was recently submitted to parliament. Because Iran is under tremendous economic pressure as U.S. sanctions have come into effect, transparency in the budget approval process this year is not expected. However, in a news conference on December 6th, the head of the Planning and Budget Organization, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, promised that President Hassan Rouhani will unveil details later.
Iran Focus
London, 7 Dec – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei asked the Iranian Parliament on Tuesday to amend its recent bill on retirees, claiming that it contained “gaps” after some official asked for the reinstatement of a number of retired managers.
The law, which was approved by parliament in September, banned retirees from being re-employed in the public sector and resulted in several senior officials, including some deputy ministers, being replaced by younger officials. Khamenei claimed that there are some people who cannot be substituted.
Iran Focus
London, 7 Dec – Iran’s nuclear program has cost more than $500 billion since 2006, according to the Arab Strategy Forum in Dubai.
In a new report, entitled ‘The Economic Costs and Consequences of Iran’s Nuclear Program’, the Forum said that international economic sanctions have cost Iran over $500 billion to date, while some $50 billion more has been spent to develop and operate infrastructure and facilities for the program.
Iran Focus
London, 6 Dec – U.S. President Donald Trump had been threatening to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or 2015 Iran nuclear deal as it is also known, since the beginning of his presidency. European leaders pleaded with him to keep the deal intact, trying to convince him that having a weak deal in place was better than having no deal in place.
Iran Focus
London, 6 Dec – There are a number of American and foreign citizens that are currently being held captive in Iran. One of them is Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, that disappeared on 9th March 2007 after travelling to Iran’s Kish Island. It is thought that Iranian intelligence officers arrested him to use him as a bargaining chip with Washington. Some believe that Levinson was carrying out an investigation into cigarette smuggling.
