RFL/RE – For the past four weeks, Iranians have been glued to their state-controlled televisions watching a team of highly competent and devoted intelligence officers catch spies and toss corrupt officials in prison. The secret agents and foreign spies are among the main characters in a popular counterintelligence series that appears to be trying to upgrade the sketchy image of …

Radiofarda – A top anti-smuggling official in Iran has said that around 11 million liters or close to 3 million gallons of gasoline is smuggled out of the country on daily basis, according to Fars news agency This is more than 10% of the daily fuel sold to drivers in the country. Iran offers the cheapest fuel for vehicles in …

Radiofarda – The Islamic Republic has executed at least 110 people between January 1 and June 30, 2019, in prisons or in public, Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRO) reports. The number shows a rise compared with the same period last year. Two juveniles were among the executed, IHRO says, adding, the executioners hanged them in the central prison in the …

Al-Arabia – Iran demanded on Friday that Britain “immediately release” an oil tanker it has detained in Gibraltar, accusing it of acting at the bidding of the United States. A senior foreign ministry official “described the UK move as unacceptable” in a meeting with the British ambassador, who had been summoned to hear a formal protest, the ministry said in a statement. …

RFL/RE – The United States said it welcomed Britain’s seizure of an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar, labeling it “excellent news,” while Tehran condemned what it called the “illegal interception” of the vessel.“Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace 1 laden with Iranian oil bound for Syria in violation of EU sanctions,” U.S. national-security adviser John Bolton tweeted on …

VOA – When it comes to saving Iran’s nuclear deal, Europe finds itself in the impossible situation of trying to salvage an accord unraveling because of the maximalist U.S. sanctions campaign. Since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord over a year ago, a slow fuse has burned through Iran. At first, it appeared Iranian officials thought they …

Al-Monitor – Extreme foreign exchange-market fluctuations are highly likely to continue to menace Iran’s national currency, the rial, and the Iranian economy. A new integrated foreign exchange market is in the works to meet this challenge. NIMA, the state-run secondary foreign exchange market launched just over a year ago, hasn’t brought about the intended results for the Iranian economy due to the Central …

Radiofarad – Iran has loaded 573,000 tons of Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in June 2019, marking a 31 percent rise in comparison to May, and a 46 percent increase compared to same month last layer, Kpler, a firm that tracks the movement of oil tankers, told Radio Farda on Thursday July 4. Nearly all of the Iranian gas exports, except …

Al-Arabia – The recent US sanctions on the Iraqi-based South Wealth Resources Company (SWRC) have shined a light on how Iranian-backed militias are continuing to receive arms legally despite sanctions. The SWRC, which was sanctioned for smuggling arms worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Iraqi militias linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), is just one of many …

Iran-HRM – In the footage uniformed officers can be seen standing around a police car as they attempt to detain a woman. She struggles against him as he drags her towards the back seat of the waiting police car, but he shoves her in before slamming the door. Other people on the scene, mostly other girls, are heard screaming and …