The Latest from Iran (30 June): "Talk to Us"
Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 9:04See also Iran 1st-Hand: The Squeeze of the Sanctions
The Latest from Iran (29 June): The Pressure Builds
1822 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. A letter signed by 141 Iranian journalists has expressed support for their detained colleague, Bahman Ahmadi Amoui.
The journalists express concern that Ahmadi Amoui was imprisoned for his critical articles on the economy, noting his exile to Rajai Shahr Prison and transfer to solitary confinement.
Ahmadi Amoui was arrested just after the June 2009 Presidential election. He was sentenced in January 2010 to seven years and four months in prison.
1815 GMT: Anti-Semitism Watch. The Foreign Ministry has responded to the furour over this week's statement by 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi that Jews control the international illegal drug trade. Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said:
Respecting divine religions is an integral part of the universal teachings of Islam. Taking this issue into consideration, the Islamic Republic of Iran respects all divine religions and is regarded as one of the founders of dialog among divine religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism....
Tarnishing the image of Judaism via the political organization of Zionism has been opposed by all freedom-lovers and even the followers of Judaism and so accusing the Islamic Republic of Iran of racism is a totally wrong conception and approach.
1810 GMT: Clerical Intervention. Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani has declared that imprisoning women and separating them from their families is a "major sin".
1524 GMT: Currency Watch. Today's recovery of the Iranian Rial (see 0910 GMT) has been short-lived --- the currency has fallen back to Thursday's level of 19970:1 vs. the US dollar.
1246 GMT: Oil Watch. Iran has called for an emergency meeting of OPEC to discuss the falling oil price.
Facing international sanctions and rising production from other OPEC members, Tehran has sought an OPEC decision to restrict output. Brent crude oil has fallen below $100 per barrel this spring and now stands at just under $98.
Minister of Oil Rustam Qassemi said, in a statement on the Ministry website, "We have asked the secretary general to set up an extraordinary meeting as prices have become irrational."
1243 GMT: Economy Watch. Amid worries about declining domestic production, officials have urged Iranians to start "home industries" to boost local manufacture of goods.
1230 GMT: Oil Watch. Amir Paivar of BBC Persian summarises Iranian attempts to circumvent oil sanctions, including this note:
The Pacific islands of Tuvalu have some 11,000 inhabitants on a total of 26sq km (10 square miles) of land.
In recent weeks, the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) has changed the names and flags of its fleet to try to avoid sanctions by the EU [European Union].
0910 GMT: Currency Watch. The pressure on the Iranian Rial has eased slightly today, with the currency gaining 1.5% to a level of 19680:1 vs. the US dollar.
The Rial had lost more than 10% in value in the last week, nearing the psychological low of 20000:1 against the dollar.
0755 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Mehr sets out four steps Iranian officials might take in response to toughening US and European Union sanctions: 1) removal of dollars and euros from oil transactions; 2) replacing insurance coverage, now provided by European outlets but due to end on 1 July, for oil tankers; 3) new storage facilities for oil; 4) closing the Straits of Hormuz.
Of the four measures, the first has already been tried --- through barter arrangements and alternate currencies --- with limited success. The second is being attempted but so far has had little impact. The third does not deal with the crisis of declining sales of Iranian oil.
And the fourth? Blocking the Straits runs the risk of a major political and possibly military escalation into a crisis.
0715 GMT: The Battle Within. The head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, put out a verbal challenge to President Ahmadinejad at a conference in Mashhad, declaring, "We should not allow illusions and fantasties of 'red lines'" against prosecution of individuals for corruption.
Last summer Ahmadinejad defiantly said "red lines" should not be crossed to pressure his Ministers and close advisors.
Earlier this week, prominent MP Ahmad Tavakoli criticised the judiciary for giving way before those red lines, noting the failure to try 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi for his alleged role in a major insurance fraud.
0705 GMT: Sanctions Watch. More on Friday's special session of President Ahmadinejad and advisors over sanctions....
Those present included Minister of Economy Shamseddin Hosseini, Minister of Industry Mehdi Ghazanfari, Minister of Oil Rustam Qassemi, and Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani. State media put out the description of "special measures for the management of sanctions and conversion of threat into opportunity", but no details were given.
0645 GMT: While the Tehran Friday Prayer leader tried to assure his audience, "Iran is prospering despite sanctions," there were signs elsewhere of nerves. One example came from New York, where Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaei, called on the "West" to talk with Tehran, while adding that the US and its European allies are "apparently not ready for constructive negotiations ".
Khazaei tried to maintain defiance by declaring that the Islamic Republic "knows how to deal with foreign pressure without bowing to the illegitimate demands of the West". It is notable, however, that this is the second occasion this week when the envoy bemoaned the exclusion of Islamic Republic, as it faces economic pressure, from discussions --- he also spoke of Iran's absence from today's international conference on Syria.
Press TV emphasises that United Nations envoy Kofi Annan, whose proposal for Syria is being discussed in Geneva, spoke by phone with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Friday and "underscored the importance of Iran's role with regard to settlement of the Syrian crisis".
The European Union's cut-off of oil from Iran starts tomorrow.
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