Iran Events
IRAN: “Negotiating With the United States Before Things Go South!”
After the meeting of the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the president of the United States (Donald Trump) predicted in an interview that by increasing the pressure of sanctions on Iran’s economy, the regime will be forced to initiate a talk and give into a negotiation!
The idea of a negotiation is something that Iran’s regime has not only reflected upon, but also surprisingly welcomed. The crew of Hassan Rouhani has expressed directly and indirectly that they’d prefer to hold a debate before things get to a point where they’d have no other option but to completely surrender, and thereby, lose everything.
At the European office of the United Nations, Iran’s former diplomat Ali Khorram has also emphasised on the importance for Iran to shift its attention from chanting its anti-US slogans to negotiating with it instead: “given the current circumstances, both regionally and internationally, the government must consider participating in wise negotiations with the US before it’s too late, and before the consequences become irreparable.
Iran’s Tea Farms on the Verge of Destruction
Due to excessive tea import, lack of incentives for domestic tea producers and a systematic corruption, many of Iran’s tea gardens are about to be destroyed, with the rest following suit if no change in the situation is going to take place.
While it’s been years now that Iran’s tea growers have been dealing with different problems, Hassan Rouhani’s government is yet to address any of them, causing tea producers to eventually change their tea farms’ land use, cultivate another crop or even sell their farms altogether.
“The quality of Iranian tea has significantly deteriorated over the past several years. Besides, the total area under tea cultivation has also reduced from 34 thousand hectares to below 20 thousand, causing many tea workers to lose their jobs,” says head of Tea Growers Association of Northern Iran in his interview with state-run ILNA news agency on July 13, 2018.
Japan set to halt imports of Iranian oil
Japanese oil distributors are preparing to suspend imports of Iranian crude oil in line with U.S. demands, which come with threats of sanctions against companies that refuse to comply.
Japan’s oil imports from Iran are expected to fall to zero as early as October. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among possible alternative suppliers.
The U.S. told oil distributors like Japan’s JXTG Holdings and Idemitsu Kosan in late June to stop imports of Iranian crude and condensate altogether by Nov. 4, when it plans to resume sanctions on Tehran. It threatened to impose penalties on companies that continue to do business with the Middle Eastern country.
IRAN: Workers Protest Outside Health Ministry
Dozens of workers’ representatives from across Iran gathered in front of regime’s Health Ministry headquarters in Tehran to protest against the ministry’s aggression on the assets belonging to the Social Security Organization (SSO).
To commemorate the Social Security Day, the gathering was held on July 18, 2018, at a time when it’s reported that withdrawals from the workers fund has left it on the verge of bankruptcy.
According to clause 13 of this year’s budget, the funds allocated to SSO’s healthcare program will be kept by the country’s treasury.
Included in the country’s 2018 budget by Hassan Rouhani’s government, the clause was approved by regime’s parliament and the Guardian Council last year, despite being widely criticized by labor formations.
According to clause 13, the total funds allocated to healthcare have to be placed in a Social Security Healthcare Insurance Account held by the treasury, so the SSO can spend them according to the social security law.
European Investment Bank cannot invest in Iran, EIB chief says
The European Investment Bank would put its global operations at risk by investing in Iran, its president said on Wednesday, the most public rejection yet of an EU plan to help save a nuclear deal with Tehran that Washington has abandoned.
Werner Hoyer said that while he supported EU efforts to keep alive the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran is a place “where we cannot play an active role.”
The EIB, the European Union’s lending arm, fears that working with Iran would jeopardise its ability to raise money on U.S. markets and have far-reaching consequences for its operations. Hoyer said the bank is indebted by 500 billion euros ($580.80 billion) in bond issues.
Coalition Forces Spokesman: RSADF Destroy A Ballistic Missile Fired by Al-Houthi Militias on KSA
The official spokesman of the Coalition Forces (The Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen) Colonel Turki Al-Malki stated that at 10:15 a.m., the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces (RSADF) monitored a ballistic missile launched by Iran-backed Al-Houthi militias from Yemeni territories (City of Saada) towards the Kingdom’s territories.
Colonel Al-Malki added that this hostile action by terrorist Al-Houthi militias backed by Iran proves the continuing involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting Al-Houthi armed militias with qualitative capabilities in a clear and explicit defiance for the violation of United Nations resolutions (2216 and 2231) in order to threaten the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the regional and international security and that launching ballistic missiles towards densely populated cities and villages is contrary to the international humanitarian law.
Teachers In Iran Launch A Campaign To Protest Low Wages
The campaign, under the banner of “No! to Payslips and Salaries” was launched by several teachers’ rights activists almost immediately after the Ministry of Education declared it will increase teachers’ salaries six to ten percent for the next school-year, a local news website, Khabar Online reported.
This is unacceptable for teachers, who have one of the lowest salaries; often paid irregularly.
The campaign started on Wednesday, July 11, and will continue for ten days, the Inspector of Coordination Council of Teachers’ trade unions across Iran, Ja’afar Ebrahimi has affirmed.
Iranian teachers have repeatedly held protest rallies in recent years, demanding “their rights”, including the right to launch independent trade unions.
Three prominent teachers’ rights activists, Esma’eil Abdi, Mahmoud Beheshti Langarudi and Mohammad Beheshti are currently behind bars for the same vague charges, human rights organizations say.
Jail for Iranian pastor’s son found guilty of ‘acting against national security’
The son of an influential pastor silenced by the Iranian government has been handed a four-month jail sentence for his involvement with illegal house churches.
Ramil Bet Tamraz’s lawyers were informed of the sentence for “acting against national security” on 8 July. One of the friends with whom he was arrested also received a four-month sentence.
Ramil, a Christian from an ethnic Assyrian background, was arrested in August 2016 with a group of Christian friends during a picnic in the Alborz Mountains, north-east of Tehran. The other four had all converted from Islam.
The five men were held and interrogated in the notorious Evin Prison, and released one by one. Ramil and one other were released after posting bail equivalent to US$33,000 each.
A Case Of Corruption And Embezzlement Angering Iranians
A court in Tehran has been silently investigating a major financial corruption case during recent weeks, reformist daily Sharq revealed on Wednesday July 18.
The case is about Samen al-Hojaj Finance and Credit Institution, one of many similar institutions that offered unusually high interest rates to investors, but failed to honor their commitments due to mishandling of funds.
Subsequently, when these institutions proved to be unable even to return the original investments, thousands of investors took to the streets staging protests almost all over Iran for nearly a year now.
Samen al-Hojaj was one of the biggest of these institutions that no one had regulated or supervised.
