LATEST: Surge in Executions in January
FRIDAY FEATURE
Tehran to World “Please Help Us With Our Oilfields”
Facing the dual issues of nuclear negotiations and the Syrian conflict, Iran has used Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s visit to Moscow to proclaim the strength of its ties with Russia.
Press TV’s top six stories in its Iran section are on the Zarif mission, including a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, who “hailed Iran’s efforts to advance nuclear talks”.
The outlet says that President Rouhani has invited Putin to Tehran, and Zarif said there were discussions about the construction of new nuclear power plants in Iran.
Little is said about Syria, however, beyond Zarif’s denunciation of “preconditions” for Iran’s participation in next Wednesday’s international conference in Switzerland — a moot point, given that the US has vetoed any place for Tehran at the top table.
Surge in Executions in January
Amnesty International claims that Iran has carried out 40 executions in January, with at least 33 in the past week.
Since the beginning of 2014, Amnesty International has recorded 21 executions which were officially acknowledged by Iranian authorities, and 19 executions through reliable sources.
An activist tells EA that most of the executed were Balochs from southeastern Iran.
Police Chief Criticizes Pakistan Over Border Attacks
Iran Police Chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam has criticized Islamabad for failing to halt attacks on Iranian forces near the Iran-Pakistan border: “The Pakistani government must take the necessary cooperation regarding their pursuit with practical measures, but unfortunately they pretend to cooperate and the Pakistani government has not taken any practical steps in this regard.”
In recent months, the Sunni insurgent group Jaish ul-Adl has carried out a series of deadly operations in southeastern Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province. In October, one attack killed 14 border guards, including three members of the Revolutionary Guards.
Iranian forces have responded on occasion with firing across the border; however, Ahmadi Moghaddam said, “We have no intention to directly intervene on Pakistani soil and pursue [the attackers].”
World Bank: Small Economic Recovery for Iran in 2014
The World Bank has projected that Iran’s Gross Domestic Product will grow by 1% in 2014.
The Bank said GDP fell 1.3% in 2013. That decline was still a relative improvement: Iran’s Central Bank reported that the economy contracted 5.4% between March 2012 and March 2013.
The Bank predicts 1.8% and 2% growth in Iran’s GDP in 2015 and 2016.
Intelligence Minister to Media: Don’t Cover Corruption Cases
Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi has said that Iran’s media should not cover cases of corruption.
“There is no need to publish instances of action against corruption in the media,” Alavi said. “Covering these cases affects investment’s security instead of harnessing corruption.”
Iran has been wracked by a series of major financial scandals in recent years, including a $3 billion bank fraud and an insurance case in which former 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has been implicated.
Earlier this month the arrest of billionaire Babak Zanjani was confirmed. The tycoon was accused in a Parliamentary report over embezzlement from the Social Security Funds, when it was headed by senior Presidential advisor Saeed Mortazavi.
