Iran Focus

London, 8 Jun – American officials are currently travelling around the world to encourage other countries to stop their trade with Iran, following the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal last month, according to sources.

The officials from the US State and Treasury Departments, including Andrew Peek, deputy assistant secretary of state with responsibility for Iran and Iraq, have been in Japan and Eastern Europe to urge them to stop doing business with the mullahs in Tehran, as well as asking the European Investment Bank not to invest in firms that do business in Iran.

Iran Focus

London, 7 Jun – The Gulf States must put pressure on Europe to make the politicians understand that by preserving the nuclear deal with Iran, for whatever benefits they think this will bring, will result in huge losses from the other countries in the region.

Europe – mainly France and Germany – has been trying to save the 2015 nuclear deal ever since Donald Trump withdrew the US from it in May, but in reality they are actually trying to save their numerous trade deals with the country.

Germany’s exports to Iran were worth 2.97 billion Euros in 2017, up from around 2 billion in 2015, while France’s exports tripled to 1.7 billion Euros in the same period. That’s a lot of money to lose, but it’s also dirty money.

Iran Focus

London, 7 Jun – The Iranian judiciary will only allow 20 lawyers to represent people charged with crimes relating to national or international security, political and media during the investigative stage of a case, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Earlier this week, the state-run Tasnim News Agency published the names of the 20 lawyers allowed to defend against these charges.

This is less than 0.1% of the 20,000+ lawyers that are registered with the bar association in Tehran, but sadly it’s not strange that Iran is implementing these restrictions.

Iran Focus

London, 5 Jun – The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established almost 30 years ago. The FATF’s aim is to set standards for curbing money laundering and terrorist financing and other threats that could affect the international financial system. It is also tasked with promoting legal, operational and regulatory measures in these aims.

The FATF was the topic of a heated discussion in the parliament of Iran last week. On 27th May, there were loud debates among several members.

Iran Focus

London, 5 Jun – German Chancellor Angela Merkel has agreed that Iran’s malign activities in the Middle East are a pressing concern, particularly for the security of Israel.

During a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Merkel said: “We have the same goal that Iran must never get a nuclear weapon and the difference between us is how to do that… We support Israel’s right to security and have said this to Iran at all times.”