LATEST: Security Forces Prevent Journalists from Honoring Paris “Charlie Hebdo” Victims

While promoting his “Resistance Economy” if there is no nuclear agreement, the Supreme Leader has warned Iranians that economic hardship lies ahead.

Speaking in Qom on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei’s immediate message was that Iran must remain firm in the nuclear talks with the 5+1 Powers despite US-led sanctions. While continuing to support the discussions, he enjoined the Government:

Officials should not pin hopes on foreigners and should know that one step in retreat prompts the enemy to advance. You should take the instrument of sanctions out of the enemy’s hands. If you pin hopes on the enemy, sanctions will remain in place.

See also Iran Feature: Supreme Leader Makes Plea on Economy — “We Must Be Immune to Sanctions”

But what if there was no nuclear settlement, given the failure to reach an agreement in November and extension of the talks to July 1? Khamenei gave the vague solution, “Efforts must be made to immunize Iran against the sanctions.”

While putting out the surface declaration of “a completely bright future for the country”, the Supreme Leader could offer nothing more specific for that future than a decrease in reliance on oil revenues, amid the sharp fall both in Iran’s exports and the global oil price.

Instead, he called on Iranians to unite behind him despite the difficulties that may be in store, denouncing the “sedition” after the disputed 2009 Presidential election:

There are great incentives to [disregard] the past three decades so that the great decisive Islamic Revolution is forgotten, but when the nation is alive and the hearts of the faithful are motivated, such an event will not occur.

High-ranking members of the regime offered parallel comments on Wednesday. The head of judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, told court officials that the path out of the economic problems is reliance on “high self-esteem” and the “Resistance Economy”. He continued:

We must not tie economic issues to nuclear talks. Iran is a rich country with plentiful resources and hardworking intellectuals. By relying on our natural and human resources we have no reason to be afraid of sanctions and enemies’ economic plots.

Security Forces Prevent Journalists from Honoring Paris “Charlie Hebdo” Victims

Security forces in Tehran have prevented a gathering of Iranian journalists who were hoping to show solidarity with the victims of the mass killing at the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.

The demonstration was to be held on Thursday at the building which had housed the Association of Iranian Journalists before it was shut down by the regime in August 2009.

A journalist said the reporters had planned to place flowers and light candles in front of the building as a sign of respect for the staff members of Charlie Hebdo who were killed on Wednesday. However, they were forced to leave after an hour of attempted negotiation with the police.

“We just wanted to express our disgust regarding the terrorist attack,” said another journalist.

President Rouhani said after his election victory in June 2013 that he would try to lift the ban on the Association of Iranian Journalists; however, Iran’s judiciary ordered the continued ban on the 4,000-member association four months later.

Report: Judiciary Orders Blocking of Social Networking Sites

The judiciary has issued orders to block the social networking sites Line, WhatsApp, and Tango.

The orders are an apparent victory for the judiciary against the Rouhani Government, which has promised to open up access to the Internet and social media.

A spokesperson for the Internet Censorship Committee announced the decision on Wednesday. State news agency IRNA says the orders are for a full block and not “smart filtering”.