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Diplomatic Travel to Iran Restricted by France’s Foreign Ministry Due to Security Risks

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Diplomatic Travel to Iran Restricted by France’s Foreign Ministry Due to Security Risks

Emmanuel Macron

Iran Focus

London, 30 August – According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, all non-essential travel by France’s diplomats and foreign ministry officials to Iran should be postponed indefinitely. The memo cited a plot to bomb a rally held earlier this summer by an exiled Iranian opposition group near Paris, as a sign of Tehran’s more aggressive stance towards France. The instructions were also relayed to officials in government departments outside the foreign ministry to be passed on to staff who intended to travel to Iran.

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For Taking Part in University Protests, Iranian Student Sentenced to Seven Years

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For Taking Part in University Protests, Iranian Student Sentenced to Seven Years

Parisa Rafei

Iran Focus

London, 30 August – According to her lawyer and Iranian media, 21-year-old Parisa Rafei, a student of fine arts at the University of Tehran, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for taking part in university protests.

On Monday, it was reported by the reformist newspaper Shargh, that she was convicted of “assembly with the intention of acting against national security, propaganda against the system and disrupting public order.”

In a post on Twitter, her lawyer, Saeed Khalili, described the sentencing as “unfair and unreasonable”. He was also quoted by Shargh as saying, “In my view, none of these charges are logical or a legally sufficient reason to indicate that she has committed a crime.”

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Iran Faces Heavy Criticism for Threats to Close Key Oil Shipping Route

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Iran Faces Heavy Criticism for Threats to Close Key Oil Shipping Route

Sergey Lavrov- Adel al-Jubeir

Iran Focus

London, 30 August – The Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister criticised Iran and insisted that the rogue state deserves more economic sanctions on Wednesday, following the mullah’s announcement of plans to close a key shipping channel in the Persian Gulf.

After a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Adel al-Jubeir lashed out against Iran, called the country’s nuclear programme “weak”, and advocated for more US sanctions targeting Iran.

Jubeir said: “Regarding the Iranian nuclear programme and the historic deal around the programme, we have said from the very beginning that the programme is weak and does not envision active measures that would prevent Iran from continuing its nuclear programme as soon as possible.”

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Haley: I Never Thought Iran Nuclear Deal Would Work

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Haley: I Never Thought Iran Nuclear Deal Would Work

Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the UN

Iran Focus

London, 29 August – Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the UN, said on Tuesday at an event organised by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, DC, that she “never thought the Iran deal could be fixed”.

She said that the months that the Donald Trump administration spent consulting with other countries on the Obama-era deal could have made it a better deal, but they “couldn’t change it to be a good deal”.

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Iran’s Oil Exports Drop Below 70 Million Barrels

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Iran’s Oil Exports Drop Below 70 Million Barrels

Iran’s oil exports drop below 70 million barrels

Iran Focus

London, 29 August – Iran’s exports of crude oil and condensate are set to drop below 70 million barrels in August, for the first time since April 2017, months ahead of the incoming US economic sanctions that specifically target Iran’s oil industry.

According to data from Thomson Reuters Eikon, Iran’s total volume of exported crude and condensate (an ultra-light oil from natural gas fields) is about 64 million barrels in August or 2.06 million barrels per day (bpd). This shows a significant drop compared with their peak in April of 92.8 million barrels or 3.09 million bpd, which came just a month before Donald Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear deal and announced the reintroduction of sanctions against the country.

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Iran Files Suit Against US at the Hague

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Iran Files Suit Against US at the Hague

Iran files suit against Us at The Hague

Iran Focus

London, 29 August – Iran has filed a suit against the US before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague to stop US sanctions from coming into place, but the US views the suit as “meritless” and will fight against it.

Iran’s claim is based on the 1955 “Treaty of Amity” between the US and Iran, which is a strange treaty to bring up as it has already been before the ICJ several times.

In 2003, when the US and Iran were attacking each other’s oil platforms and shipping industry, the ICJ ruled that the treaty was in force, despite being signed by previous governments, but that the US and Iranian claims based on that treaty were not valid. While during the 1979-80 hostage crisis, the ICJ found in the US’s favour and ordered the return of the American hostages, but ignored the ruling.

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Iran Must Leave Syria

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Iran Must Leave Syria

Iran must leave Syria

Iran Focus

London, 29 August – There is much talk about removing Iran from Syria and, in recent months, many actors in the Syrian civil war have done their best to force Iran to leave.

Israel has repeatedly shelled Iran-backed forces that are too close to its border, while Russia has called on Iranian forces to move from that border and stated that it doesn’t support Iran’s presence in Syria, despite the fact that they are both fighting to keep the Bashar Assad in power. Meanwhile, the US and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly tried to tempt Assad to kick Iran out.

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U.S. State Department: Reimposition of Iran Sanctions Are Justified

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U.S. State Department: Reimposition of Iran Sanctions Are Justified

Iran Sanctions

Iran Focus

London, 28 August – The reimposition of nuclear-related sanctions against Iran is a legal and justified national security measure that cannot be challenged by Tehran at the United Nations’ highest court, according to the U.S. State Department Legal Adviser, Jennifer Newstead.

On August 28th, Newstead called on judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to reject Iran’s request to order the suspension of the sanctions reimposed by the Trump administration after the withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers that curbed Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for lifting crippling sanctions.

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Iran’s Global Social Media Propaganda Campaign

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Iran’s Global Social Media Propaganda Campaign

Fire Eye

Iran Focus

London, 28 August – After being alerted by the vigilant researchers at the cybersecurity firm FireEye, Facebook, Google, and Twitter have deleted hundreds of accounts.

The FireEye team followed what looked to the untrained eye like unrelated threads for the last few month. They examined the phone numbers used by these accounts to sign up for Twitter, the emails they used to register domains, and the changes to their account names over time. The Iranian operation began to unravel.

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U.S. President’s Predicaments Won’t Stop the Us From Getting Tough on Iran

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U.S. President’s Predicaments Won’t Stop the Us From Getting Tough on Iran

U.S. president

Iran Focus

London, 28 August – Pro-Iranian governments and Hezbollah media outlets are gloating over the news that Donald Trump’s days in office may soon be ending, which reflects entirely how much of a threat he posed to their continued existence and how his policy on Iran constantly thwarted the mullahs.

Trump is going through a significant political crisis, but he has not yet been impeached or otherwise forced out of office. Therefore, any errant speculation by the media of a country or by officials themselves will not help these countries if Trump remains in power until the end of his first term.

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