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Iran Cracks Down On Reformists As Couple Face
Death Penalty | Financial Times
An Iranian and a US-Iranian dual national were sentenced
to death in Iran on Sunday on charges of founding a "cult"
and promoting moral corruption. The defendants, who have not been
named, are believed to be a couple involved in the art industry who
were arrested in July last year. They ran a leading art gallery in
Tehran, the Iranian capital, and were known to associate with foreign
diplomats. Iran has arrested several Iranians holding dual
nationality in recent months in a move analysts suggest is intended
to intimidate those associated with foreign businesses or who have
social connections with foreigners. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran
prosecutor-general, said on Sunday that the man and woman had been
sentenced because they established "a new cult" and made
"alcoholic beverages, encouraged vice through throwing mixed
parties and exhibiting and selling obscene images at gallery."
Movie theaters in Tehran started showing a
feature-length animation depicting a battle between Iranian and U.S.
forces in the Persian Gulf amid rising tensions between the two
longtime foes. The "Battle of the Persian Gulf II" imagines
Iran's response to a U.S. attack, director Farhad Azima said by phone
on Monday. The 88-minute animation, which was first screened two
weeks ago in the holy city of Mashhad, shows the wide range of
"Iran's weaponry and military tactics" to "act as a
deterrent," he said. The animation took more than four years to
make and cost 10 billion rials ($308,000), according to Azima.
Production began before the 2015 accord that lifted a host of
economic sanctions on Iran in return for curbing its nuclear
activities. Its release, however, comes at a time of worsening
relations between the two countries after the election of Donald Trump,
who in February said he was putting the Islamic Republic "on
notice" after it carried out a missile test days earlier.
Royal Dutch Shell has bought only three cargoes of
Iranian oil since sanctions were eased a year ago, a small fraction
of what it used to buy and an indication of the legal difficulties
and high prices that still hamper the trade. The Anglo-Dutch firm did
not give a reason for the drop in purchases, which were disclosed in
its annual report, and the company declined to comment further. But
oil trading sources say Iranian oil is often too expensive and in any
case remaining sanctions make dealing with the Islamic Republic a
legal minefield. As an example of sanctions-related difficulties,
Shell's filings showed it had to disclose payments of only a few
hundred dollars when its employees bought tickets with Iranian
airlines. After an accord was reached over Iran's nuclear program,
the European Union eased sanctions on Iran in January 2016 and the
United States lifted some restrictions on dollar trade, moves that
have allowed Iran to raise its oil exports sharply.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
"The injudicious and incorrect US policies have
been the main reason behind the volatile, tense and unstable
situation in the Middle East region over the past decades and recent
years," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said
on Saturday. He added that the "wrong and meddlesome policies of
US statesmen" have generated the current tensions in the region.
"These mistakes are themselves a product of US officials'
excessive demands and lack of correct understanding and perception of
the strategic and sensitive region of the Middle East and a result of
relentless support for the [Israeli] regime occupying Jerusalem
al-Quds," the Iranian spokesperson added. He said allegations
leveled by the US official against the Islamic Republic are merely an
attempt to divert attention away from Washington's role in the
creation of terrorist groups.
BUSINESS RISK
The Tehran prosecutor general has spoken out against
directed credit schemes by banks, stressing that loan allocation
violations must be reviewed by the experts. "We are now facing
loans that have been granted based on personal recommendations and
favors while no creditworthiness assessment has been conducted for
the receiver and collaterals were fake," Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi
was also quoted as saying by Banker.ir. The official, who was speaking
at a meeting attended by the chief executives of banks and CBI
Governor Valiollah Seif, emphasized that any loan allocation to
entities active in production sector is a positive measure. "Our
problem is with individuals who enter other markets with the credits
they receive [from banks] and are not in any way concerned with
production activities," he said. The senior judicial official
noted that in the eyes of the judiciary, people who benefit from
connections are guilty of criminal conduct and those who give these
loans are also party to the offences.
On Feb. 26, the Iranian government got the go-ahead
from parliament members to sell a total of 10 trillion rials ($308
million) worth of excess properties owned by the ministries of
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as well as Labor and
Social Welfare in the upcoming Iranian fiscal year, which starts
March 21. The raised money is expected to help shore up the troubled
Post Bank of Iran and the Cooperative Development Bank. The approval
is seen as extra support for the two banks, since the ministries will
also have the right in the next Iranian year to sell a certain
portion of their assets under the Privatization Law. Toxic assets
account for 40-45% of total banking assets in the country, economic
newspaper Donya-e Eqtesad reported Nov. 9, citing official data.
Nearly 15% of these assets consist of immovable assets such as land
and buildings. The rest consists of nonperforming loans and
government debt. No official data is available about the banks' fixed
assets, but a report by Serat News website in December estimated the
total value of immovable property owned by 31 Iranian banks and
credit institutions at 448 trillion rials ($13.8 billion), without it
providing any details on the surplus properties.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
An Iranian investment fund signed a deal with Korea's
Hyundai Engineering Co on Sunday for a 3 billion euro ($3.2 billion)
petrochemical project, which is awaiting financing by Korean banks,
the oil ministry's website SHANA said. A subsidiary of the Oil
Pension Fund Investment Company signed the agreement which covers the
construction of the second phase of the Kangan Petro Refining
Company, SHANA reported. "The financing of this project will be
finalised within nine months at the rate of 95 percent ... by South
Korean banks," said Asghar Arefi, the Iranian official who
signed the accord, according to SHANA. Arefi said the first phase of
the Kangan project was 30 percent completed with an investment of nearly
120 million euros. Despite the lifting of international sanctions
against Iran in January 2016, Iranian officials have complained that
remaining U.S. sanctions have frightened away trade partners and
robbed Iran of the benefits it was promised under its 2015 nuclear
deal with world powers.
India's oil imports from Iran rose nearly 17 percent
in February from a month earlier as refiners received less crude from
key OPEC producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq after an OPEC deal to cut
output, shipping data showed on Monday. The jump meant Iran replaced
regional rival Iraq as India's second-biggest oil supplier - a role
Tehran used to occupy before Western sanctions were imposed against
it over the country's disputed nuclear program. While Saudi Arabia
remained the biggest oil supplier to India, ship tracking data and a
report compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecasts showed
imports from Iran rose to 647,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February.
That was 16.7 percent more than January, and almost trebled from
February 2016. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) pledged to curb production by about 1.2 million bpd from Jan.
1, the first cut in eight years, in a move designed to boost prices
and drain a supply glut. Iran, Libya and Nigeria were, however, granted
exemptions from the deal.
An Airbus A330 airliner arrived in Tehran on Saturday,
the second of 200 Western-built passenger aircraft ordered by IranAir
following the lifting of sanctions on Iran last year. The long-haul
aircraft, carrying IranAir Chairman Farhad Parvaresh and other
officials, landed at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport, the official news
agency IRNA reported. The A330 was handed over in Toulouse, France on
Friday and joins a smaller A321 delivered to Iran earlier this year.
Iran has ordered 100 airliners from European planemaker Airbus and 80
from Boeing and is in talks to finalise a deal to buy 20 turboprop
aircraft from ATR, jointly owned by Airbus and Italy's Leonardo
Finmeccanica. The country has not directly purchased a Western-built
plane in nearly 40 years, the one exception being the sale of an
Airbus to replace one shot down by the U.S. Navy in 1988. The A330 is
expected to be used initially on European routes and on flights to
Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.
Iran has signed a $1 billion deal with private
investors to develop Mehdiabad, one of the world's largest zinc mines,
which it expects will go on stream in the next four years and produce
800,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate per year. The Iranian Mines and
Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organisation (IMIDRO)
said in a weekend statement it signed the deal with a consortium of
six private companies, led by Iran's Mobin Mining and Construction
Company. IMIDRO, a state-owned mines and metals holding company, said
Mobin was also talking to international mining firms in Switzerland
and Spain about joint ventures to develop the Mehdiabad mine, located
in Iran's Yazd Province. Iran has struggled to lure foreign investors
since the lifting of international sanctions against it following a
historic deal signed in 2015 with six world powers in return for
curbing its nuclear programme.
Iranian Communications Minister Mahmoud Vaezi said at
the start of a meeting with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak
on Monday that the two men would discuss a deal to supply Moscow with
100,000 barrels of Iranian oil per day. "(Our delegation) is prepared
... to hold talks on this subject," he said.
Andrey Dorofeev, UAZ Export Sales Director, was quoted
by media as saying that the company first needs to assess the
capacity of the Iranian market and the demand for its products before
beginning manufacturing. "The Iranian automobile industry is
well-developed and the government protects it with hefty import
taxes," Dorofeev told Sputnik news agency. "So in order to
achieve a significant sales volume, it is necessary to assemble cars
on Iranian territory. But in order to understand the needs of the
local customers, first it is necessary to begin supplying
already-manufactured cars. We, along with our distributors, are ready
to begin this process after the certification," he added. The
necessary arrangements for the move, along with the signing of
several pertinent contracts, were made during the Iran Auto Show
2017, an international expo which was held in Tehran in February,
Sputnik added.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Nine mortar shells were fired onto Pakistani territory
during the early hours of Saturday, Pakistan's Express Tribune
reported. The shells landed near populated areas, however, there were
no reports of injuries or fatalities reported. According to Assistant
Commissioner Mehrullah Badini, who confirmed the incident, the shells
were launched from a short distance from the Iranian border. Iranian
authorities, however, denied the allegations, claiming that the
attack was unprovoked, and that a third party might be involved
behind the incident in order to create chaos and confusion between
the two neighboring countries.
Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Iran's
sovereignty over the three islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and
Lesser Tunb is "undeniable" and "permanent". The
response by the Foreign Ministry came in response to claims by the
Arab League about the ownership of the three Iranian islands.
"Such claims and statements, which are filled with lies,
cannot undermine Iran's sovereignty over these islands,"
ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi stated. Member states of the
(Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council have also claimed that Iran has occupied
these island from the UAE. In December, the leaders of the (P)GCC,
which consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates, insisted on their claim of what they called
"Iran's occupation of the three UAE islands", a claim that
Iran strongly rejects as "baseless". Historically, the
three islands have always been part of Iran and this can be proven
through historical documents across the world. The UAE, however, has
repeatedly laid baseless claims to the islands.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific
Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour has said that Iran is unable to understand
some policies adopted by Turkey. "We have make efforts to help
Turkey after the coup attempt..., but the fact is that we do not
understand some policies of the Turkish government," he told
ISNA in an interview published on Saturday. Rahimpour said,
"Some problems may have made Turkey to resort to the Zionist
regime of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Trump." He expressed hope
that the Turkish officials would adopt policies based on
"realities" and "long term objectives".
"Some of Turkey's actions in Syria have not been in line with
Iran's interests; however, we did not create a commotion and waited
for Ankara's government to understand that Iran is the best
help," the deputy foreign minister remarked. Rahimpour also said
that Iran and Russia are making efforts to involve Turkey in efforts
to settle the long-running conflict in Syria.
EXTREMISM
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu of ignorance about history and the Jewish
faith on Monday after he said ancient Persian rulers tried to destroy
the Jews. In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in
Moscow, Netanyahu said Persia had made "an attempt to destroy
the Jewish people that did not succeed" some 2,500 years ago, an
event commemorated by the Jewish holiday of Purim over the weekend.
Zarif responded overnight on Twitter, calling Netanyahu's comments
"bigoted lies" and saying Iran had saved the Jews on three
occasions in history. "Netanyahu resorting to fake history and
falsifying Torah. Force of habit," he tweeted. He linked to
longer comments in which he said the Israeli premier "distorts
the realities of today, but also distorts the past -- including
Jewish scripture". "The Book of Esther tells how Xerxes I
saved Jews from a plot hatched by Haman the Agagite, which is marked
on this very day.
MILITARY MATTERS
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency is reporting
that the country has unveiled a domestically manufactured tank and
has launched a mass-production line. The Sunday report quotes
Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan as saying: "The tank has the capability
to fire missiles and precisely guide them." Fars says the tank
named "Karrar" is equipped with an electro-optical fire
control system and laser range-finder and is capable of firing at
both stable and mobile targets day or night. Dehghan also says the
tank can compete with the most advanced tanks in the world in the
three main areas of "power, precision and mobility." Iran
has been producing its own weapons and military equipment, including
missiles, fighter jets and submarines, for more than two decades.
SYRIA CONFLICT
The French foreign ministry condemned a deadly bombing
in Damascus and called on truce guarantors, especially Russia and
Iran, to ensure a ceasefire in Syria is fully respected. The death
toll from a double bomb attack on Saturday targeting Shi'ites
visiting a pilgrimage site in Damascus has climbed to 74, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights reported on Sunday. "There is more
than ever urgency to ensure that ceasefire is respected in
Syria," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
"France calls on the truce guarantors, especially Russia and
Iran, who will meet in Astana next week, to put pressure on parties
to ensure that ceasefire is fully respected." Russian-backed
peace talks are due to take place in Astana on March 14-15.
HUMAN RIGHTS
A jailed US-Iranian and his wife have been formally
charged with hosting parties in Tehran, while another couple were
given the death penalty for running a "cult", the Tehran
prosecutor said Monday. No names were given, but the dual national
and his wife are thought to be the high-profile owners of an art
gallery in the capital that regularly hosted events for dignitaries
and foreign diplomats prior to their arrest last summer. The case
"is related to a woman and man who provided alcoholic drinks,
and encouraged corruption and debauchery by holding mixed
parties," said prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi. He said 4,000
litres of alcohol had been found in the basement of their building in
northern Tehran. The couple are known to be members of the
Zoroastrian religion, who are allowed to have alcohol for private use
but are banned from sharing it with Muslims.
DOMESTIC POLITICS
Iranians love Telegram. With approximately 20 million
Iranian users, it's the most widely used messaging app in the country
Iranians join channels based on their interests and spend hours
reading, sharing pictures and videos, and chatting about sports,
entertainment and news. But also politics. Over the years, Telegram
has helped quench Iranians' thirst for online political expression in
a country where Twitter and Facebook are banned. But leading up to
Iran's presidential election in May, Telegram is now seen by some as
a force that's stifling political speech. That's because in recent
months Iranian security and intelligence agencies have begun
arresting Telegram users and now require those who run popular
Telegram channels to apply for permits - disclosing their identities.
OPINION & ANALYSIS
The United States should adopt a strategy on Iran that
erects daunting defenses to dissuade the Islamic Republic from
challenging the interests of the United States and its allies and
that imposes sharp, painful costs should Iran do so nonetheless. In
this transition paper for the new administration, Institute managing
director Michael Singh details an Iran policy built on three pillars:
Enforcing and enhancing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,
Countering Iran's regional activities, Strengthening U.S. regional
alliances. Iran is stronger now than it was at the beginning of the
previous administration, exerting power and influence across much of
the Middle East. It is free from most international sanctions that
previously weighed down its economy and frustrated its geopolitical
ambitions. And U.S. alliances in the Middle East itself are weaker
than they were, due in part to the region's political upheaval and in
part to America's own disengagement and strategic estrangement from
regional partners.
Since former national security adviser Michael T Flynn
warned Iran that it was "on notice" for an illegal missile
test and the administration issued exceptionally narrow sanctions, we
have heard little - if anything - from the administration about the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iranian aggression in the
region, Iran's human rights atrocities or much of anything else
concerning the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. (The White
House spokesman did issue one of the sort of empty platitudes - that
it is "unwavering" in its determination to bring home
American Robert Levinson, believed to be held in Iran for 10 years -
that conservatives ridiculed during the Obama administration.)
Obviously unconcerned about being on "notice," Iran this week
yet again conducted a ballistic missile test. The Times of Israel
reports: "Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported
Thursday that the country's Revolutionary Guard successfully tested
another ballistic missile, while boasting that Iran's efforts to
build a 'better' home-made version of the Russian S-300 missile
defense system were well on their way."
Harassment of U.S. Naval forces by Iranian forces in
international waters of the Persian Gulf reveals that Iran's
leadership is prepared to test the new administration: on its
publicly stated commitment to confront Iran when it fails to meet its
obligations under the JCPOA (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action),
when it violates United Nations sanctions, or when it engages in
destabilizing activities in the region. Given the other actors
involved with the JCPOA and U.N. sanctions on ballistic missiles,
Washington has only a few unilateral options for confronting Iranian
misbehavior. One of those is designation of the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The State
Department FTO list for 2015, published in June 2016, includes
neither the Quds Force nor its parent, the IRGC.
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