PHOTO: “Morality police” challenge a woman over improper dress


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THURSDAY FEATURE

Amid Syria and Saudi Pressure, Supreme Leader’s Message of Support for Hezbollah


In a renewal of his challenge over Iran’s social space, President Rouhani has criticized the expansion of “moralIty police” in the capital Tehran.

Responding to a reporter’s question on Wednesday, the President commented on the recent addition of 7,000 undercover agents recruited to report “moral transgressions”:

God has given human dignity to humanity, and this dignity precedes religion. The dignity of all must be preserved….We do not have the right to interfere in the public and private lives of the people except regarding the implementation of laws.

On Monday, Tehran police commander Hossein Sajedinia announced the addition of the 7,000 undercover agents. They do not have the power of arrest but will alert police to crimes such as “noise pollution, harassment of women, improper veiling, and reckless driving”.

Rouhani distanced the Government from the initiative, “The administration implements some plans in the country, and others are implemented through other apparatuses like the Judiciary or other forces.”

During his 2013 campaign, the President promised to curb the prosecution of Iranians for moral offenses, and he has regularly challenged restrictions and punishments. In May 2014, he chided clerics and officials for trying to “take people to heaven through force and a whip”:

They have no work, no profession, they are [filled] with delusions. They are incessantly worried about people’s religion and the afterlife. They know neither what religion is nor the afterlife, but they’re always worried.

See Iran: Rouhani Hits Back at “Delusional” Hardliners Over “Heaven’s Whip”


Zarif to US: Lift Restrictions on Our Access to European Financial System

In a discussion with the editorial board of The New York Times, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has clarified Iran’s position on the lifting of US financial sanctions after the July 2015 nuclear deal.

Zarif said that Tehran does not want access to the US financial system, as the deal’s critics have alleged, but that the US must “allow European financial institutions to have peace of mind for dealing with Iran”.

The barriers to Iranian access to financial markets have become the central tension over the implementation of the nuclear agreement and US-Iranian relations. The Supreme Leader has accused the US of undermining the deal and implied that the Rouhani Government’s foreign policy of “engagement” has appeased Washington.

Zarif met US Secretary of State John Kerry for three hours on Tuesday to discuss the matter, and another meeting is scheduled for Friday.

Kerry said after the discussion that both sides were working to ensure that “the nuclear agreement is implemented in exactly the way that it was meant to be and that all the parties to that agreement get the benefits that they are supposed to get out of the agreement”.

Mr. Kerry said the US Treasury had taken steps to carry out the nuclear agreement “but I don’t think it’s enough”: “They need a much more proactive approach to just letting people know that they won’t be punished for dealing with Iran.”


Oil Minister: Production Freeze Amounts to “New Sanctions” on Iran

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has strongly denounced the agreement by other oil-producing nations — including Iran’s ally Russia as well as its foe Saudi Arabia — to freeze output amid the sharp decline in global prices.

Members of OPEC and Moscow have negotiated for months to limit production as prices dropped below $30 per barrel, down almost 75% from summer 2014. However, Iran has held out against any cap on its production as it seeks to revive exports after the lifting of sanctions.

A summit in Qatar on Sunday failed to resolve the situation, with Iran — either because of Saudi obstacles or Tehran’s refusal — not even attending.

Zanganeh said on Wednesday that other countries were to blame for saturating the market and are now trying to impose the cost on Tehran:

They are mainly seeking to divert public opinion on the lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran….They look forward to imposing new sanctions against Iranian oil industry.

Iran’s oil exports fell by up to 60% amid the tightening of US and European sanctions from 2012, dropping below 800,000 barrels per day. During negotiation of the July 2015 nuclear agreement, they recovered to 1.4 million bpd.

Since January’s implementation of the deal, Tehran’s sales have risen above 1.6 million bpd, but Zanganeh has set a short-term target of 2 million bpd.