LATEST: Kayhan Editor Denounces “Compromisers” of Iran’s Nuclear Negotiating Team
WEDNESDAY FEATURE
Prosecutor General — There is Corruption Throughout Government
The Supreme Leader continued his tactic of tough talk, while supporting Iran’s nuclear talks with the 5+1 Powers, on Tuesday.
Speaking to ambassadors of Islamic countries in Tehran, Ayatollah Khamenei said those nations must be “watchful of the plots hatched by enemies to wreak havoc on them”.
The Supreme Leader declared the vital importance of unity among Muslim countries, amid the threat from “hegemonic powers”:
One of the main objectives of provoking division among Muslims and promoting Iranophobia and Shiaphobia by the hegemonistic front…is to protect the usurping Zionist regime.
Today, the enemies have turned to an open confrontation with Islam, and their main tool is to provoke disagreements over religious beliefs and a war between Shia and Sunni.
Khamenei has put out a series of statements denouncing “bullying powers” and the US for dishonesty and malice. However, he has not withdrawn his endorsement of the Rouhani Government’s attempts to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal with Washington and the rest of the 5+1 (Britain, France, China, Russia, and France).
See Week Past, Week Ahead: Iran — Tehran’s Carrot-and-Stick With the US
Iran Analysis: Why Tehran Desperately Wants A Nuclear Agreement
High-level talks on a settlement resume in Vienna on June 16.
Tourism to Iran on the Rise
The Head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), Massoud Soltanifar, has announced plans to use the country’s holy shrines to boost tourism. The official said that over the next few years the ICHHTO would attempt to increase the number of religious tourists to Iran from last year’s figure of 2.1 million to 5 million in a bid to increase cultural exchange, create jobs and boost foreign exchange revenue.
Soltanifar said that visa issuance for religious tourists would be accelerated within the next two to three years, to encourage foreign tourists to religious cities, such as Mashhad and Shiraz. These plans are supported by Iran’s participation in international tourism fairs, such as the 2012 Borsa International Tourism Exchange (BIT) in Italy, and by an increased number of flights to Iran.
According to ISNA, Deputy Director of Iran’s Airports, Abraham Shushtari announced that, “International flights increased 18.6 percent in comparison to this same period [May] a year ago.” Western tourist agencies have also recognised Iran’s increased levels of tourism, with Lonely Planet’s updated travel guide on the Middle East containing a chapter on Iran.
At present, Iran ranks fifth in the top tourists destinations in the Middle East, behind Jordan (five million), UEA (nine million), Egypt (ten million), and Saudi Arabia (seventeen million).
Tehran Reveals Plans to Expand Oil Export
Speaking to the semi-official news agency Mehr News, Hassan Pievandi of the NIOC discuss plans to expand Tehran’s oil exports.
Pievandi said “Chinese financiers have opened seven new projects [in Iran’s] petrochemical industry…costing €3.5 to 4 billion.” He also confirmed plans for a further thirteen projects to be established in the near future. Mehr News cites the interim nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 powers as important in enabling Chinese financiers to invest in Iranian energy.
Iran’s official oil ministry website, Shana, has also reported that NIOC themselves are looking to invest in 10 new natural gas liquid processing plants at the cost of $11 billion.
These efforts are in line with the government’s plans to increase Iran’s yearly oil output to 100 million tons, which officials hope will bring Iran a turnover of $40 billion a year.
Suggestions that the government is looking at Europe as a potential market for Iranian oil has been met with criticism by the hard line Raja News agency who warned “not the sacrifice national interests.” Raja asserted that “historically, the relationship between the West, Iran and its oil has not been a prosperous one.”
(Hat tip Hanif Zarrabi-Kashani)
Facebook Trial Update: Mark Zuckerberg Not Summoned By Judge
An judicial official has denied recent reports that an Iranian judge had summoned Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, over complaints of privacy violation.
This claim has been dismissed by Public Prosecutor of the Provincial Capital of Shiraz, Ali Alqasimehr. On Tuesday he said that, while there have been complaints against Facebook, “News published by certain virtual sites suggesting Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been summoned by [the Iranian] Justice Ministry’s Fars [Province] Branch is rejected altogether.”
Alqasimehr further commented on the issue of social media in Iran, and denied reports that Whatsapp and Instagram have been filtered. The Public Prosecutor said that, “we have had no filtering in that regard so far.”
Prominent Economist Calls for Greater Transparency to Resolve Corruption
Economist Farshad Momeni has called for greater transparency to address the problem of corruption in the Iranian economy.
Writing for Khabar Online, Momeni asks, “Why has corruption become so widespread in Iran?” The issue of corruption has come to the fore recently after the execution of billionaire Amir Khosravi for his role in a $2.6 billion bank fraud.
Referring to the “transparency of five fields,” Momeni’s proposes to help resolve the situation through “decision making and resource allocation in the oil sector, decision making and resource allocation in the banking sector, export and import licensing, implementation of customs code, and public tenders.”
This comes after comments from Iran’s Prosecutor General, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, who recently spoke out about the extent of corruption in both the economy and the government.
(Hat tip Hanif Zarrabi-Kashani)
Kayhan Editor Denounces “Compromisers” of Iran’s Nuclear Negotiating Team
In his latest attack on Iran’s nuclear negotiators, the editor of the hardline Kayhan, Hossein Shariatmadari, has denounced “compromisers”.
Shariatmadari pursued his criticism by invoking examples from the situations in Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon.
8 Facebook Users Given Total of 123 Years in Prison
The Revolutionary Court in Tehran has sentenced eight Facebook users to a total of 123 years in prison for propaganda against the state, insulting the Supreme Leader, assembly and collusion against national security, blasphemy, creating public anxiety, and spreading falsehoods.
The eight defendants were arrested during the summer and autumn of 2013 by the cyber-crime intelligence unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Punishments were between 7 and 20 years.
Iranian Brigadier General Killed in Syria
Iranian news agency ABNA reports that Brigadier General Abdollah Eskandari has been killed in fighting in Syria.
ABNA says Eskandari died while protecting the “protecting the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine” in southern Damascus, the standard phrase for any Iranian killed in the Syrian conflict.
The general managed the Fars Province Foundation for Martyrs and Self-Sacrifice Affairs until he went to Syria last year.
