Iran Focus
London, 17 Apr – Three women were executed last week in Iran, all on the same day, just as European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was about to lead a trade delegation to Tehran.
According to reports received from Iran, a woman was sent to the gallows in Kashmar, north-eastern Iran, on Thursday, 14 April.
Ameneh Rezaiyan, 43, from Taybad in eastern Iran, was sentenced to death two years ago.
Iran Focus
London, 16 Apr – Former Governor of Pennsylvania and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, published an op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer about the global struggle with Islamic extremism and called for an international alliance of moderates.
“Only if we recognize that moderates in both the West and the Muslim world are suffering at the hands of the same radical ideologies – and come together as one force – can we strike a crucial blow against the Islamic State and its ilk. And ordinary people contribute to this mission every time they refuse to discriminate and instead offer sympathy and openness”, Tom Ridge wrote.
Iran Focus
London, 16 Apr – The oppression of women in Iran has increased in recent weeks as the country’s Gasht-e-Ershad (meaning Guidance Patrol, but commonly known as the “morality police”) steps up its operations. Tasked with enforcing the strict laws governing women in Iran, the police have set up more “morality stations” throughout the country.Elaheh Arj, the vice chair of the Women’s Committee of the main Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) told the International
By Hamid Yazdan Panah
This past week Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi journeyed to Iran in search of diplomatic opportunities and financial gains. Renzi was joined by over 60 Italian business leaders, looking to peddle everything from fashion, to credit, to military defense. The trip culminated in a multibillionaire dollar deal signed on Monday, ensuring significant economic investment by Italy not only in the Iranian economy, but in the Iranian regime itself. The deal was protested by Iranian dissidents inside and outside Iran, many who claim that such investments not only prolong the life of the repressive regime, but created a vested interest in its survival by foreign powers.
Iran Focus
Tehran, 16 Apr – Iran’s state-run media have published a rare acknowledgement of the severity of the poverty crisis that is rampant throughout Iran.
Deputy Interior Minister Morteza Mir-Bagheri was on 12 April quoted by the state-run Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) as saying that the rate of unemployment has reached 70 percent in at least 1,200 Iranian towns.
Iran Focus
London, 13 Apr – The European Union has decided to renew sanctions against Iranian officials and entities in light of human rights abuses. The sanctions will now continue to 13 April 2017.
According to papers published on Eur-Lex 73 individuals have been sanctioned as of 11 April. Implementing Regulation 2016/556 and Decision (CFSP) 2016/565 are not related to the nuclear sanctions which are in the process of being lifted.
Iran Focus
Tehran, 13 Apr – Shahindokht Molaverdi, Iran’s Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, has been summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office in order to explain remark she made about executions in the villages of Baluchistan and Sistan in the southeast of the country.
State-run news agency ISNA carried a statement from Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’ii, a Judiciary spokesperson, which said: “Mrs. Molaverdi has been summoned and is due to report to the Prosecutor’s Office to explain about the file that has been opened”.
London, 13 Apr – British banks are reluctant to begin trading with Iran again due to concerns that the United States could still fine or discipline them.
As part of the nuclear deal between Tehran and major world powers several sanctions imposed on Iran were to be lifted. These included banking restrictions. Despite sanctions with countries other than the United States easing the biggest economy in the world is not yet opening itself up to Iran. As such private banks are unable to engage and trade with the country.
Iran Focus
Berlin, 12 Apr – German prosecutors brought espionage charges against two Iranian men on 8 April. Maysam, P., 31, and Saied, R., 33, were accused of spying on exiled opposition members on behalf of Iranian intelligence since January 2013 and August 2014 respectively. The men were indicted on 22 March in Berlin, their full names were not disclosed in keeping with German privacy rules.
Iran Focus
London, 12 Apr – Photos from Iran show children suffering from Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), also known as butterfly disease for its effect on the strength of the skin. The pictures have been published in several state-run websites since 5 April and highlight the lack of adequate healthcare in Iran.
Epidermolysis Bullosa is a group of connective tissue diseases that makes the skin incredibly fragile and susceptible to breaking from the slightest friction. The children in the pictures come from the south of Roudbar, south-eastern Iran. Five children, Zeinab, Yalda, Hamideh, Zahra, and Danial playing with toys or smiling with relatives feature in the series.
