LATEST: Former Chief Prosecutor Mortazavi Disbarred Over Protesters’ Deaths

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has issued a pointed warning of the economic squeeze facing Iran amid critical negotiations with the 5+1 Powers for a comprehensive nuclear agreement.

Facing a 30% fall in the global price of oil, Iran’s main export, Zanganeh said on Saturday, “Iran intends to adopt a contractionary monetary policy for next year and raise tax revenues to compensate for the effects of the oil price slide.”

Zanganeh’s declaration echoes the statement of President Rouhani to MPs earlier this month.

Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia) resumes their negotiations in Vienna on Tuesday, six days before the expiry of interim arrangements over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Zanganeh said the Government would try to shore up the economy “by drawing upon its National Development Fund to reimburse contractors active in upstream projects…[to] make up for the impact of oil revenue decline on these projects”.

The Minister said Iran would try to encourage a cut in global oil output to prop up a price which has falling from almost $120 per barrel in June to about $80 per barrel in November; however, he admitted the outcome would probably be limited.

“Returning to previous oil prices is difficult, but we should modify prices as much as the new market situation allows,” he said after a meeting with the Venezuelan Foreign Minister in Tehran.

President Rouhani subsequently appealed to the Foreign Minister, Rafael Ramirez:

“The sudden fluctuations in oil prices (negatively) influence the stability of the global market and hence we should try to maintain balance in oil prices….

Tehran and Caracas should always stand beside each other and they should help each other to prevent the enemies from harming their national interest.

Former Chief Prosecutor Mortazavi Disbarred Over Protesters’ Deaths

Saeed Mortazavi, former Tehran Chief Prosecutor and senior aide to President Ahmadinejad, has been disbarred and banned for five years from all positions in the Government.

The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling which found that Mortazavi ordered the abuse of at least three protesters who died in the Kahrizak detention center after the disputed 2009 President election.

Critics pressed for years for Mortazavi to stand trial, but Ahmadinejad stood by him, naming him as head of Iran’s Social Security Organisation. While there, he was accused of assisting others — notably the tycoon Babak Zanjani — in diverting funds.

Mortazavi was finally put on trial in 2013. His opponents wanted a long prison sentence for his role in the Kahrizak deaths.