Iran Focus

London, 7 May – The new Iranian embassy in Algeria was gravely concerning to those in the Arab world, but then things got worse, with the arrival of Iranian diplomat Amir Mousavi.

Mousavi, who first appeared to be interested in increasing cultural ties with Algeria, soon began interfering in the dispute between Algeria and Morocco over the Western Sahara conflict.

Iran’s interference in the dispute, supporting the Polisario Front’s bid for control of the Western Sahara, an area where Morocco controls about 90% of the territory, has already caused Morocco to cut diplomatic relations with Iran. In this, Morocco gained the support of the Arab League.

Iran Focus

London, 5 May – In Iran on Monday, following the ruling by the Tehran-based Culture and Media Court, access to the hugely popular Telegram messaging app gradually began to be cut off by Web service providers. A judicial order was issued to block Telegram, affecting tens of millions of Iranian users.

The chief of Iran’s judiciary is appointed by the supreme leader. The judiciary pushed the ban of the app in the wake of mass demonstrations late last year, in an attempt to disrupt the ongoing uprising, and disrupt peoples’ communication.

Iran Focus

London, 4 May – Oil prices evened out on Friday, following recent gains, but global supplies remain limited as the market prepares for Donald Trump’s decision on the fate of the 2015 nuclear deal.

On Monday, April 30, Brent crude oil hit a 3-1/2 year closing high of $75.17, but by Friday, this has dropped by 30 cents to $73.32 a barrel. US light crude had also dropped 20 cents to $68.23.

ANZ analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari wrote: “Rising geopolitical risks have been a big factor behind oil’s strong rise this year. The extent of the rally would have been significantly weaker if not for recent tightness in the market. We expect the market to tighten even further in H2 2018.”

Iran Focus

London, 3 May – A pair of Iranian software developers has created a modified version of Telegram to subvert Iran’s latest attempt to block the instant messaging app.

Amin Sabeti and Nariman Gharib created a version that uses Psiphon software to help Iranians that aren’t already using a circumvention tool or virtual private network (VPN) to evade prying eyes.

The Iranian judiciary ordered that Telegram, which is used by around half of Iran’s 82 million people, be blocked on April 30 for its use by protesters in the ongoing uprising against the Mullahs.