Iran Focus
London, 28 Aug – The Iranian Regime has sentenced to death imprisoned spiritual healer Mohammad Ali Taheri, one of his lawyers announced on Sunday, August 27.
The Erfan Telegram channel, which is run by Taheri’s followers, posted a copy of the official statement from lawyer Zeynab Taheri.
Another of his lawyers, Mahmoud Alizadeh-Tabatabaei, told the Regime-affiliated Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) that Taheri had “apparently” been sentenced to execution.
Iran Focus
London, 28 Aug – Political prisoners on hunger strike over conditions at Iran’s notorious Gohardasht prison are shaming the so-called moderates in the Iranian Regime according to one political scientist.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh wrote an op-ed for Arab News in which he addressed that President.
Hassan Rouhani, often lauded as a moderate in the West, is once again breaking his election promises of protecting and promoting human rights.
Iran Focus
London, 28 Aug – The Iranian Regime’s influence in Syria is a major concern to the rest of the Middle East but what can be done about it?
Well, unfortunately, a number of factors have come together which makes removing Iran from Syria will be particularly complicated.
The first of which is the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries (the US, UK, France, China and Russia, plus Germany) which makes international action against Iran more difficult.
Iran Focus
London, 27 Aug – The families of Rajaeeshahr political prisoners, currently on hunger strike have been harshly, offensively treated by security guards in Iranian regime’s prosecutor’s office, the reports say.
The event took place on Wednesday August 23, when the families of Rajaeeshar’s prisoners of conscience referred to regime’s prosecutor office three weeks after the inmates began a continued hunger strike to realize their basic rights inside prison.
The families were going to hand over a letter to regime’s Prisons Organization describing prison officials’ unlawful conduct towards inmates, but the security guards in prosecutor office treated the families harshly and offensively.
Iran Focus
London, 26 Aug – A former US ambassador has stated that the Iranian Regime poses more of a threat to the security of the Middle East than the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
James Franklin Jeffrey, who served as the US Ambassador to Turkey and Iraq under President Obama, said: “I think the Saudis and the Turks see the biggest threat in the region not as ISIS but as this Russian-Iranian-Syrian alliance — and I believe they are correct. I’ll go further: It’s the Turks and the Saudis who are correct and the Obama Administration is wrong. As I see it, all kinds of recent events, including the execution of Nimr al-Nimr and the recent, more aggressive Turkish actions are part of an effort to get America to wake up.”
Iran Focus
London, 26 Aug – The US Ambassador to the UN has made it clear that the US wants indepedenat inspections of Iranian military and non-military sites to determine whether or not the Iranian Regime is compliant with the 2015 nuclear pact.
Nikki Haley made these comments shortly after returning from meetings at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.
She said: “As good as the IAEA is, it can only be as good as what they are permitted to see. Iran has publicly declared that it will not allow access to military sites but the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) makes no distinction between military and non-military sites.”
Iran Focus
London, 26 Aug – Iran has attempted to restore its crude oil exports to a pre-sanction level, once they were lifted per the JCPOA last year, and some European, Russian, and Asian firms have signed preliminary agreements or letters of intent with Iran that have the potential to turn into billions of dollars of investments. Some of the largest European and Chinese oil companies made preliminary deals with Iran’s energy sector.
Sanctions were slapped on Iranian companies in response to a ballistic missile program, and President Trump recently signed an act imposing more new sanctions on Iran. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have intensified. Tehran has warned that it could quit the nuclear deal and begin enriching uranium “within hours” if the United States imposes further sanctions.
Iran Focus
London, 26 Aug – A threat was issued by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that Iran could restart its nuclear program in a matter of “hours” if it chose to.
Rouhani’ desires to be seen as a moderate, but this is in contrast with his foreign policy record. The fact is, Rouhani’s tenure has been characterized by an aggressive regional foreign policy, as his regime has sent troops to Syria, involved itself in a civil war in Yemen, and meddled in Iraqi politics. This, while Iran attempts to legitimatize itself as a partner for peace, and as trustworthy in regards to the nuclear deal.
Iran Focus
London, 24 Aug – The new photographic evidence published by a Washington, D.C., think-tank, which they provided to Congress, shows Iran using its flagship commercial carrier, Iran Air, to ferry militants to Syria, who have joined the fight against U.S. forces. The photos have upset congressional leaders, who accuse Iran of violating the nuclear deal, which prohibits it from using commercial air carriers for military purposes. They are demanding that the Trump administration investigate further, and consider imposing new sanctions on Iran.
Iran Focus
London, 24 Aug – Following new US sanctions, and Donald Trump’s criticism of the Joint Comprehensive Program of Action (JCPOA), Iran responded by saying that it would be able to start enriching uranium within five days of a dissolution of the landmark nuclear deal.
This doesn’t mean that Iran will be developing a nuclear bomb in a matter of days. Experts estimate Iran’s to ability to develop a nuclear weapon at between six and 12 months.
Additionally, INSS Iran expert Emily Landau, and other experts, believe that Iran’s threat is a sign of continued noncooperation, as the debate about how the US and Israel should view the deal continues.
