iran panorama

Message on International Workers Day My fellow workers, sisters and brothers, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations on the International Workers Day to each and every one of you. This day harbingers a bright future where workers are no longer exploited, plundered or oppressed but enjoy freedom, justice, equality and fraternity. I would like to salute the workers who gave their lives for this lofty cause, those who embraced the pain of being imprisoned, losing their jobs and being deprived of their rights. I hail Iran’s young workers and unemployed youths who took to the streets in the courageous uprisings of December and January, and especially those who gave their lives. Hail to the workers who continuously staged strikes and protests throughout last year to demand their rights. The workers of HEPCO and Azarab in Arak, the Steel workers of Khuzistan, the workers of Mahshahr’s Petrochemical Plant, the workers in Gachsaran and Asalouyeh, and the Sugarcane worker...

Reported by PMOI/MEK April 29, 2018  -- The merchants of Baneh, Kurdistan, continue the strike the started more than two weeks ago in protest to new regulations set by the regime that increases restrictions on imports and border gates. As the government has failed to respond to their demands, shop-owners and merchants continue to refuse to open for business. In tandem with closing their shops, a large group of merchants gathered in front of the governor’s office in protest and called for the governor resign. Photo shows almost all stores are closed due to 3-week long strike. On Saturday, the merchants of Saqqez joined the protests and closed their shops in solidarity with the merchants of other western cities and in protest to repressive the rules set by the regime.

Analysis by; PMOI/MEK April 29, 2018 -- Iran is expressing grave concerns over the determination of the North Korea nuclear dossier and such a finale being completely against its interests. South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a bridge next to the Military Demarcation Line at the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday. The state-run Arman daily ran a piece on Sunday saying very specifically: “On the brink of an increasing number of hardliners such as John Bolton and Mike Pompeo entering [U.S. President] Donald Trump’s decision-making team, North Korean leader Kim Jung Un made a visit to China and announced a new policy that came as a shock for the world over. He first spoke of suspending North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, going on to discuss a path of his country’s economic and progressive growth… “The meaning of these remarks and the truth behind Kim Jung Un’s decisions remains a mystery. North Korea went to the ne...

By Mahmoud Hakamian Iran’s domestic paper production has come to a standstill, state-run Mehr news agency quotes head of Paper and Cardboard Syndicate as saying. The main reason for this, according to Abolfasl Roghani, is lack of support for domestic paper manufacturers and paper import by the government and its associated entities like the Ministries of Education and Islamic Guidance, as they’re unwilling to buy domestic papers and prefer imported ones instead. “Import of writing and printing papers is attractive for importers as they can benefit from such facilities like discounted currency rates. This adds to lack of support for domestic producers to drive the factories into closure”, says Roghani. Roghani then points to the country’s three major paper manufacturers, namely Mazandaran Wood and Paper, Tabriz Paper, and Pars Paper, saying that “none of these manufacturers had a significant output last year.” “Besides, the situation this year is expected to get even ...

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed the Iran Human Rights and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (H.R. 4744). The bipartisan legislation shines a light on the Iranian regime’s long record of human rights abuses and hostage-taking. It also mandates sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for wrongful, politically motivated jailing of U.S. citizens. On the House floor earlier this week, Chairman Royce delivered the following remarks (as prepared for delivery): “In January, this body came together – in a near unanimous vote – to support the Iranian people who were engaged in legitimate protests against an oppressive regime. At the time, tens of thousands of Iranians had taken to the streets in the largest demonstrations since the Green Revolution of 2009. The protests, aimed at economic stagnation, widespread corruption and the Revolutionary Guards Corps’ control of the economy, quickly spread across Iran as people sought to exercise the fundamental ...

Analysis by PMOI/MEK PMOI, April 27, 2018  - The three day visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the U.S. and his talks with his American counterpart Donald Trump came to an end after mainly focusing on the Iran nuclear agreement and how to resolve the existing crisis of Washington threatening to abandon ship on the accord. The result of this visit has been the subject of a variety of analysis from different viewpoints. Foreign outlets and state media in Iran are running the same line of thought. The end result is that one cannot come to a firm conclusion about the outcome of Macron’s talks with Trump, and how will the U.S. President decide come his May 12 th  deadline. No official statement or newsletter has been published as of yet, otherwise we would not be witness to such a conglomerate of perspectives. Trump is always answering with terms such as, “You will see” or everything will be resolved May 12 th . Reactions from inside Iran are also derived from dif...

By Zalmay Khalilzad  Washington Post, April 25, 2018  - The debate over the Iranian nuclear deal has so far largely neglected a factor that potentially gives the United States leverage: the deteriorating economic and political situation in Iran. The Trump administration should integrate this factor into its strategy. Iran’s currency, the rial, has lost  25 percent  of its value against the dollar in the past several weeks. Two weeks ago, Tehran decided to set up an official exchange rate of 42,000 rials to the dollar, but that move is unlikely to succeed, given that the market prices the rial at 60,000 to the dollar, some 43 percent less. Inflation is also very high.  Iranians are also struggling to contend with a severe credit crisis; several financial institutions have gone bankrupt, depriving depositors of their savings. Iranian expatriates brought a considerable amount of capital back into the country after the nuclear deal’s signin...

By Shahriar Kia Daily Caller, April 26, 2018 -  Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has been in the United States for a visit which coincides with stateside stops by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Macron and Merkel are meeting with President Donald Trump.) Zarif is apparently invited by the Council on Foreign Relations and in New York City to take part in a United Nations peace conference involving senior officials. Zarif’s timing is no coincidence and his main objective, of course, is related to the future of the already controversial Iran nuclear deal. In various interviews, Zarif has mentioned exchanging U.S. citizens taken captive in Iran if the U.S. “changes its attitude.” He has also raised against Washington in the case of Trump scrapping the deal. It’s interesting how Zarif claims independence for Iran’s judiciary and the government has no say in the release of the mentioned prisoners, while also indic...

By: PMOI/MEK staff writer   Washington, PMOI, April 26, 2018 --  French President Emmanuel Macron said he believes U.S. President Donald Trump will exit the Iran nuclear deal, delivering a crushing a blow to the Iranian regime’s hopes of continuing to live off an accord that has rendered nothing but a regime causing even more havoc inside the country and throughout the Middle East. “My view — I don’t know what your president will decide — is that he will get rid of this deal,” Macron told journalists Wednesday in Washington. It is worth noting how Macron, during his three-day visit to Washington, went the limits to encourage Trump to stay in the accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Iran’s concerns are increasing as Macron spoke of “a period of tension in such a scenario,” adding how Trump believes “this period of tension could be fruitful because it could push them to move." Macron’s remarks came a day after he proposed a new framewor...

David Gerstman The Tower.org, April 25, 2018  -  There’s a famous quote attributed to Henry Wotton that “An ambassador is an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.”   If one takes this aphorism to heart, it is not limited to ambassadors, but to anyone in a nation’s foreign policy establishment.   Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is not an honest gentleman, has taken the art of lying for his country to a new level. He brazenly lies about easily verifiable facts. He claims that his nation that is currently exporting its revolution across the Middle East is the unfair victim of the United States. And he claims that Iran has never sought a nuclear weapon.   Zarif’s serial dishonesty was on display this weekend when he appeared on the CBS news show, “Face the Nation,” and answered the questions asked by the show’s moderator, Margaret Brennan.  We do not mean that Zarif engaged in only seven deceptions, but...