Iran Focus

London, 04 April - Donald Trump has until May 2 to decide whether to renew sanctions waivers given to eight importers of Iranian oil last November, but analysts warn that despite a promise to crush Iran’s funding, Trump will likely renew the waivers in order to stabilise global oil prices with the hope of ensuring re-election in 2020.

By Pooya Stone

Britain, France and Germany have accused Iran of developing missile technology in violation of UN resolution, following recent activities, and called for a full UN report in a letter sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday.

The three countries said that Iran’s launch of a space vehicle and unveiling of two new ballistic missiles in February are part of a "trend of increased activity inconsistent" with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was adopted just after the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal, more formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

By Jubin Katiraie

A human rights group has published the cases of 100 human rights violators in Iran in the first volume of a series of books, titled "The Face of Crime", which declares that many of those in power in Iran are guilty of despicable crimes against humanity, including the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, and Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeisi.

Iran Focus

London, 04 April - Three of eight countries granted sanctions waivers by Washington last year so that they could continue importing oil from Iran have now cut their imports to zero, according to a US official on Tuesday.

Brian Hook, the special US envoy for Iran, said: “In November, we granted eight oil waivers to avoid a spike in the price of oil. I can confirm today three of those importers are now at zero.”

He did not say which nations had stopped.

By Mehdi

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, recently made a statement in an interview with Iran’s state-owned Channel 2, regarding the Iran nuclear deal, saying it has done nothing to stop Iran from making advances in its nuclear program. He boasted, “If we have to go back and withdraw from the nuclear deal, we certainly do not go back to where we were before … We will be standing in a much, much higher position.”

 By Pooya Stone

APT39 is cyber espionage group with links to Iran and it has recently been discovered that it was behind a huge theft of personal information. Cyber security experts have been tracking the group’s activity for a number of years now – mainly to protect companies from malicious attacks by the group.

Iran Focus

London, 03 April - During his Nowruz (Persian New Year) speech just over a week ago, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke about the effect of the U.S. sanctions on Iran and about the ways the country can overcome its economic hurdles. He said that domestic production must be increased, meaning that the levels of imports must be drastically reduced.

By Jubin Katiraie

According to local officials across Iran, severe losses have been sustained due to the floods that hit 28 of the country’s 31 provinces during the past week. While no comprehensive reports regarding the economic impact of the floods is available yet, reports have surfaced saying a terrible blow has been dealt to housing, roads, farmlands, animal husbandry farms, and fish farms. As well, officials who deal with agriculture announced a preliminary estimate of $200 million worth of destruction to that sector.

In Kerman Province in the southeast, it is reported that some 1,600 kilometers of rural roads have been washed away by the floods. There are no reports about extent of damage in the city of Shiraz, as people dig out of the mud that is clogging the streets.

Iran Focus

London, 01 April - The Middle East is undergoing major changes after years of war and conflict. Iran is becoming increasingly desperate as its options run out, especially now that it is subject to tough economic sanctions.

It has been reported in recent weeks that Iran has the assistance of foreign financial institutions. Financial entities in Lebanon and Iraq are said to have been setting up money laundering schemes to circumvent U.S. sanctions and to funnel hard currency to Iran.

Iran Focus

London, 01 April - Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he was pulling the United States out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), or 2015 Iran nuclear deal as it is known. Crippling economic sanctions were re-imposed and the U.S. State Department said that all countries must reduce their imports of Iranian oil to zero.

Initially, waivers were not to be granted, but as the deadline got closer, it was not feasible for some of Iran’s biggest oil importers to cut their imports to zero. Waivers were granted to a certain number of countries and strict conditions were applied.

Iran Focus

London, 30 March - Recently, the US Treasury and State Department took measures against 14 individuals and 17 entities linked to the Iranian Ministry of Defense, who are reported to be associated with Iran’s attempts to build nuclear weapons.

Although many proponents of the Iran nuclear deal argue that Tehran has curtailed its nuclear weapon ambitions per the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) shows that the Islamic Republic is complying with the nuclear deal, there are several reasons why some believe this conclusion is inaccurate.

By Jubin Katiraie

As part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), or 2015 Iran nuclear deal as it is known, Iran’s nuclear facilities are to be inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Inspections have taken place, but many are very unsatisfied with the level to which they are carried out.

For example, since the huge nuclear archive was discovered and handed over to the relevant authorities, no additional inspections have been carried out at any suspect sites. Inspections at pre-verified sites allow the Iranian regime to potentially carry out nuclear activities at a number of other sites – something that is very likely given the content of the nuclear archive that was discovered a year ago.

Iran Focus

London, 29 March - Since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump has been on a campaign to curb the Iran threat. He has quite rightly identified Iran as the number one threat to peace and security in the Middle East and the number one state sponsor of terrorism.

His administration is in the midst of pursuing a maximum pressure campaign that has the aim of cutting the government off from the extensive revenue that it uses to fund terrorist activities and its militias and proxy groups that are scattered across the region. Some of Iran’s main allies in the region include the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Bashar al Assad of Syria, and the Shiite militias in Iraq.

Iran Focus

London, 29 March - Large parts of Iran have been affected by major flooding in the past few days. A large number of people have lost their lives and an even bigger number of people have been injured or have lost their homes to severe damage.

The people have not been given any support by their local authorities and the regime has tried to cover up the extent of the devastation. It has been reported that journalists have been blocked from entering hospitals so that they cannot write or speak about the number of killed or injured.Tehran, the nation’s capital, is about to face a crisis because of the rising water levels. The city, which is home to 9 million people, is being spoken about widely on social media.

Iran Focus

London, 29 March - Last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the people of Lebanon to stand up to the terrorist Hezbollah group and its “criminality, terror and threats”. He made it very clear that the United States would be applying additional pressure to both Iran and Hezbollah – Iran’s Shiite ally.

Pompeo also said that the people of Lebanon are being given a choice - to “bravely move forward” or to “allow the dark ambitions of Iran and Hezbollah” dictate their future. He emphasised that the United States would continue to curb Iran and Hezbollah’s malign influence as peacefully as possible.

Iran Focus

London, 28 March - Domestic unrest has reached unprecedented levels in Iran, to the point where the totalitarian leader Ali Khamenei is strengthening his position on his policies of persecution, power projection, and terror by appointing hard-liner loyalists to critical positions in state institutions to ensure that they remain faithful to the "principles" of the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

In fact, Khamenei recently appointed Ebrahim Raisi to head Iran’s judiciary. Raisi ran against, and lost to, Hassan Rouhani in the presidential elections of 2018. His loss was largely due to the fact that Raisi is known to the Iranian people as a violator of human rights. He played a leading role in "the summer of blood" — the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners.