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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran holds ex-central bank deputy for alleged economic crimes

2018-08-06

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iran has placed in durance vile Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! seven people including a former deputy central bank governor and five foreign exchange dealers for alleged economic crimes, the judiciary said on Sunday as the country prepares to face a return of US sanctions. "The foreign exchange deputy of the central bank ..., who recently I heard has been deposed, has been detained," judiciary front man Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei told state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? Ejei did not name the official but he appeared to be referring to Ahmad Araghchi, who some media reports had said was dismissed as deputy central bank governor after a wide public outcry and street protests over a rapid fall of Iran’s currency. The rial currency has lost about half of its value since April because of a weak economy and heavy demand for dollars among Iranians who fear the effects of crippling US sanctions. The central bank last week blamed "enemies" for the fall of the currency and a rapid rise in the prices of gold coins and the judiciary said 29 people had been arrested on charges that carry the death penalty . Besides the currency fall, the expected return of sanctions has triggered street protests and a public outcry over alleged profiteering and corruption. Ejei said a person working in a government department headed by an unnamed deputy of President Hassan Rowhani, four unauthorized foreign exchange dealers and an employee of an exchange shop were also arrested.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran eases currency rules, hoping to buoy rial ahead of sanctions

2018-08-06

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iran will ease foreign exchange rules, state TV reported on Sunday, in a bid to halt a collapse of the rial currency that has lost half its value since April due to fears about US sanctions likely to be imposed this week. President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... 's decision to pull out of an agreement to lift sanctions in return for Iran limiting its nuclear program caused a run on the rial as companies and savers bought hard currency to protect themselves from the economic sanctions that could be imposed from Monday. The plunge in the currency and soaring inflation have sparked sporadic demonstrations against profiteering and corruption, with many protesters chanting anti-government slogans. The central bank has blamed "enemies" for the fall of the currency, and the judiciary said 29 people had been jugged Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! on charges that carry the death penalty . On Sunday, the judiciary said it had arrested a further seven people, including a former deputy central bank governor and five foreign exchange dealers. A state body led by President Hassan Rowhani and including the heads of the judiciary and parliament on Sunday partially lifted a ban on the sale of foreign currency at floating rates, allowing exchange bureaux to sell at unofficial market rates for purposes such as overseas travel. That reverses the decision in April to ban trading currency outside the rate of about 42,000 rials to the dollar Ahead of the announcement of the new measures, the rial gained slightly on the unofficial market, trading at 98,500 to the dollar, compared with 103,000 on Saturday, according to foreign exchange website Boncast.com. Central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said the plan reflected Iran's self-confidence in the face of the looming US sanctions. "This shows our power. The same day you (Americans) impose sanctions we open our economy. We have no problems, so why should our people worry?," Hemmati said in a live televised interview. To encourage Iranians to return their hard cash to the economy, the plan allows the central bank to set up dollar savings accounts for ordinary people, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? said.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

US to publicize Khamenei’s assets to prove Iranian support of terrorism

2017-12-15

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The House of Representatives approved a draft resolution stating that the Treasury Department is required to publish a list of the assets of Iranian leaders, more specifically the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. This comes amid congressional calls for investigations on how these resources are spent on supporting and spreading terrorism. The US House of Representatives approved law number HR 1638 on Wednesday titled "Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act". The law gained a majority vote of 289 votes for, and 135 against. The draft resolution also needs to be approved by the Senate, and signed by the President in order to become a law. Personal fortunes About 70 Iranian officials have acquired a vast amount of personal wealth and are using it to support terrorist groups and militias, said Republican representative Bruce Poliquin. He had said: "This bill will allow the world to see how the top Leadership in Iran facilitates human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... abuse through funding pilfered from the Iranian people. It will allow financial institutions to see in public form the type of assets associated with these individuals and hopefully better focus anti-money laundering efforts." He also stressed that senior Iranian government officials, including Iran's supreme leader and key political and military officials, have acquired enormous wealth through dictatorship and corruption. Unidentified origins "As the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran has consistently violated its people’s basic human rights and has ignored United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... sanctions against its dangerous weapons programs," said Congressman Poliquin. "They simply cannot be trusted." The bill was passed by the finance committee of the House of Representatives last November, which called for the American government to reveal all the assets of Iran’s leaders and officials, and how they attained such wealth. The law also requires the US Treasury Department to create a full report about movable and immovable property of prominent figures including the Supreme Leader of Iran, President Hassan Rowhani, members of the Council of Guardians, members of the Expediency Council and the top military leaders. Corruption and embezzlement The bill reaffirms that these political figures, military leaders, governmental heads and Revolutionary Guard officials in Iran have received vast amounts of wealth through corruption and embezzlement The Borgen Project, a non-profit organization that works with US leaders to improve their response to the global poverty crisis, had released a report last November stating that poverty in Iran has reached record-breaking levels with the spread of government corruption and the dominance of ruling figures over the wealth of the country.

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Government

No ‘legal reason’ US could not opt out of Iran deal

2016-11-12

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Iran nuclear deal would fall apart if a US administration walked away from it, as President-elect Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... has vowed to do, the State Department said Thursday. Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani had argued on Wednesday that the deal ‐ which saw world powers lift sanctions on Tehran in return for controls on its nuclear program ‐ has been enshrined in international law. The outgoing US administration is proud of the agreement and has no intention of dropping it, but Trump said several times during his campaign that moving away from it will be a priority once he takes power in January. "Any party ‐ and I’m speaking very hypothetically here, because I don’t want in any way to attempt to hypothesize about what the incoming administration’s going to do ‐ I’m just talking purely about an agreement that any party can walk away from," State Department front man Mark Toner said. "And that will have profound consequences on the integrity of the agreement." Toner said that the Iran deal was not a legally binding treaty, but that the current US administration believes it is in Washington’s interest to continue it. Asked whether if the US withdraws support for the deal whether Iran might start building a nuclear weapons program, Toner said: "Yes. That’s the reality of the situation." "This is why we believe it to be in everyone’s interest, including the world’s interest, that if Iran abides by this agreement, and all the parties abide by the agreement, then we have shut-off Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon," he said. During the election campaign, Trump described the deal as "disastrous" and said it would be his "number one priority" to dismantle it. On Wednesday, Rowhani said: "Iran’s understanding in the nuclear deal was that the accord was not concluded with one country or government but was approved by a resolution of the UN Security Council and there is no possibility that it can be changed by a single government."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Why has Iran freed the mastermind behind Saudi embassy attack?

2016-10-22

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iranians media outlets with reformist editorials recently published a story on the release of Hassan Kord Mihin, the criminal mastermind behind the attack on the Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... embassy last January. Kord Mihin was seen attending an Ashoura ceremony days ago and had delivered a sermon in a Tehran mosque, according to Reforms News website, clearly indictating he was released on bail. The front man of the Iranian’s judiciary, Ghulam Hussein Mahssani Aijia, announced in March the release of all detainees ‐ at least 154 people ‐accused of the attack on the Saudi Embassy. Contradicting information published by mainstream Iranian media outlets also indicate Iranian authorities’ efforts in concealing the identities of the Saudi embassy attackers. Admitting Rowhani complicity Kord Mihin, a holy man who heads a pressure group close to the Supreme Leadership of Iran, has admitted to planning the attack on the embassy and inciting members of the " The revolutionary heirs of Hezbollah" from Bassij and The Revolutionary Guards to carry out the January 2015 attack. He has also reportedly admitted that the Hassan Rowhani’s government was complicit in the crime, since they authorities did not prevent the attack from happening.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran arrests nuclear negotiator over spying

2016-08-29

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iran has locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! a member of the negotiating team that reached a landmark nuclear deal with world powers on suspicion of spying, a judiciary front man said on Sunday. The suspect was released on bail after a few days in jail but is still under investigation, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said at a weekly news conference, calling the unidentified individual a "spy who had infiltrated the nuclear team," state media reported. The deal that President Hassan Rowhani struck last year has given Iran relief from most international sanctions in return for curbing its nuclear program, but it is opposed by hardliners who see it as a capitulation to the United States. Ejei was responding to a question about an Iranian politician’s assertion last week that a member of the negotiation team who had dual nationality had been arrested on espionage charges. Tehran’s prosecutor general on Aug. 16 announced the arrest of a dual national he said was linked to British intelligence, but made no mention of the person being in the nuclear negotiations team. On Sunday, Ejei did not explicitly confirm that the arrested person had a second nationality. Britannia said on Aug. 16 that it was trying to find out more about the arrest of a joint-national.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Russia publicizing Iranian bases was ‘kind of show-off’

2016-08-23

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iran’s defense minister criticized Russia on Monday for having "kind of show-off and ungentlemanly" attitude for publicizing that it used an Iranian air base to launch Arclight airstrikes on Syria, the first sign of government dissent over the unprecedented stationing of foreign troops in the Islamic Theocratic Republic. The comments by Gen. Hossein Dehghan come after he chastised parliament this weekend for asking questions about Russia using the Shahid Nojeh Air Base to refuel its bombers striking Syria. His remarks Monday, reported by state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? , signal officials beginning to recognize how unpopular the decision could be with the public. There was no immediate response from Moscow. Last week, Russia announced it used the airfield some 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Iranian city of Hamedan. Iranian officials only confirmed Russia’s presence a day later. On Monday, state TV quoted Dehghan as saying that Russia "will use the base for a very short and fixed span, corresponding (to) operation in Syria." So far, Russia has carried out three days’ worth of strikes from the base. Responding to a question about why Iran didn’t initially announce Russia’s presence at the airfield, Dehghan appeared prickly on the state TV broadcast. "Russians are interested to show they are a superpower to guarantee their share in political future of Syria and, of course, there has been a kind of show-off and ungentlemanly (attitude) in this field," he said. His remarks also suggest Russia and Iran initially agreed to keep Moscow’s use of the air base quiet. Its announcement likely will force a response from Iran’s Sunni-ruled Mideast neighbors, which host American military personnel. For Iran, allowing Russia to launch strikes from inside the country is likely to prove unpopular. Many still remember how Russia, alongside Britannia, invaded and occupied Iran during World War II to secure oil fields and Allied supply lines. But while Britannia withdrew, Russia refused to leave, sparking the first international rebuke by the nascent United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Security Council in 1946. Analysts have suggested Russia potentially leveraged Iran into allowing it to use the airfield over either economic or military interests, such as Tehran wanting to purchase Sukhoi-30 fighter jets or its deployment of Russian S-300 air defense missile systems. Russia initially held off on supplying the missile system to Tehran amid negotiations over Iran’s contested nuclear program. Over the weekend, photographs of President Hassan Rowhani were published in Iranian state media near a Bavar-373 missile defense system. That system is designed to be the local equivalent of the S-300 - perhaps an Iranian signal back to Moscow that it’s capable of defending itself without the Russian missile system. In his comments Monday, Dehghan said the Bavar-373 can hit targets at the height of 27 kilometers (16.7 miles) - the same height the S-300 can reach. "When we make Bavar-373 operational, we will not need to purchase another high-altitude and long-range air defense system," he said.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran says it imprisoned culprits behind Saudi embassy attack

2016-05-01

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iran has imprisoned the perpetrators who stormed the Saudi embassy in the capital Tehran in early January, according to an Iranian minister. The attack has led the kingdom to cut ties with the Islamic republic. Iran’s minister of culture Ali Jannati said that the "perpetrators who stormed the Saudi embassy... were placed in durance vile Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! and are now in prison," according to semi-official Fars News. The report did not name the identities or number of people detained over the attack. The minister added that "Tehran wants to find reasonable and balanced relations based on multilateral cooperation with the countries of the region." The minister did not reveal the identity or the number of the culprits behind the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, but he stressed that "this attack has been condemned by all officials within the Iranian establishment and the Iranian regime will hold accountable all sides involved in this incident." The culture minister’s remarks appear to contradict an announcement by attorney general in March, which said that all 154 people detained after the attack had been released. The attorney general said on April 10 that "there were no detainees in the Saudi embassy incident, but the indictment included 48 accused," without announcing any specific judicial proceedings. The government of moderate President Hassan Rowhani - who said that damage to Saudi’s diplomatic post was "by no means justifiable - is seeking to save Iran from regional isolation after the Arab world’s broad condemnation of the attacks.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Pakistan, Iran agree to open two border crossings

2016-03-26

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Pakistain and Iran agreed on Friday to enhance economic ties and open two more border crossings to increase trade, the government said. Iranian President Hassan Rowhani, who arrived on a two-day state visit to Pakistain, met with Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... and held talks on matters of mutual interest, Islamabad said in a statement. "Our trade and economic ties have suffered due to sanctions. We have agreed to strengthen our bilateral ties in diverse areas of trade, economy and energy," the statement quoted Sharif as saying. After the talks, Sharif and Rowhani witnessed the signing of six agreements related to rade and economy including a "Five Year Strategic Trade Cooperation Plan." Sharif said both countries also decided to open two additional crossing points along their border to encourage trade. Rowhani, according to the Pak statement, said the two sides discussed ways to explore new opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector, including the export of electricity from Iran to Pakistain.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Rowhani: Iran didn't ask for nude statue cover-up

2016-01-28

So Rome pre-emptively surrendered? How thoughtful of them. [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iranian President Hassan Rowhani says Iran didn't make any specific requests for Rome museum officials to cover up naked statues but says he nevertheless appreciated the welcome he received. Rowhani laughed Wednesday when asked at the end of a three-day visit to Italia about the statue cover-up, which made headlines in Italia and around the world. Some Italian politicians decried the "cultural submission" implied in Italia's gesture. The Iranian president said Iran made no specific request for the cover-up, saying there were "no contacts about this" from his side. But he added: "I know that Italians are a very hospitable people, a people who try to do the most to put their guests at ease and I thank you for this." Ahead of a joint news conference Monday with Premier Matteo Renzi, wooden panels were erected around some Roman-era statues in Rome's Capitoline Museums. The Iranian president also told news hounds on Wednesday that freedom of expression doesn't extend to insulting other people's faith.

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Arabia

Iran should be last to speak on Syrian stability: Saudi FM

2015-09-30

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has said "Iran is the last to talk" on establishing stability in Syria, according to an interview he gave to Al Arabiya News Channel at the sidelines at the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... in New York. Jubeir's comments came after Iranian President Hassan Rowhani's speech at the General Assembly when Tehran said it was "prepared to assist in the eradication of terrorism and in paving the way for democracy." Rowhani also said: "As we aided the establishment of democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are prepared to help bring about democracy in Syria and also Yemen." Tehran has been providing financial and military support to the Damascus regime as well as military advisers on the ground in Syria, where more than 240,000 people have died and four million people have been driven from their homes. "Evidence has shown that Iran has militarily aided Yemen's Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... militias and are the main reason behind the conflict and civil war in Yemen," Jubeir told al Arabiya News in response to Tehran's comments on Yemen. With regards to Iran's recent statements on the hajj stampede in Mina, Jubeir stressed that Tehran was seeking to exploit a human tragedy for political gains, adding that an investigation is still ongoing to find the main reasons behind the incident.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Rowhani says ready to discuss 'plan of action' for Syria

2015-09-28

President Rouhini has had an awful lot to say, recently. [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iranian President Hassan Rowhani said in an interview Sunday that he is ready to discuss a "plan of action" for Syria's post-war future after the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group is defeated. Iran, which along with Russia is allied with Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... in the war, has until now been kept out of U.N. diplomatic efforts to piece together a political solution for Syria. "That is not a problem for us from right now, to start holding discussions and dialogues so as to determine and reach the conclusion of the next plan of action after the Death Eaters are driven out that territory," Rowhani said in an interview to NPR radio. "But we must all act in unison and have a formula that is required to drive out the terrorists, immediately." Rowhani is expected to address the crisis in Syria in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, after President Barack Obama Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though.... and Russian leader Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... take the podium. The Iranian leader said his country was ready to discuss "the upcoming options" and added that the Syrian government should be included to "reach a plan of action."

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