U.S., Japan and South Korea have agreed to prepare a "shock therapy package" for North Korea.

U.S., Allies Preparing 'Shock Therapy' for North Korea https://t.co/AW9Ktb6JZe

— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) April 25, 2017

U.S., Japan and South Korea have agreed to prepare a "shock therapy package" for North Korea.

The U.S., Japan and South Korea have agreed to prepare a "shock therapy package" for North Korea in case it conducts another nuclear or missile test, officials here said Monday.

"Talk of shock therapy itself is sends a strong deterrent message." "Beijing has already given consent to the idea," another Foreign Ministry official claimed. "The key point is to cut off the North's sources of hard currency with the help of China, while the three countries are mulling their own sanctions like the U.S. designating the North as a state sponsor of terrorism and a secondary boycott."Read the full story here.

Japan says that Wu Dawei, the Chinese pointman on North Korea, is arriving in Tokyo today for three days of talks pic.twitter.com/D1dcxZ9hYI

— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) April 25, 2017

U.S. nuclear-powered submarine armed with Tomahawk missiles arrives in S.Korea https://t.co/LAPNF6Q7Cv pic.twitter.com/QBv3QFNATs

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) April 25, 2017

"US won't be successful in deterring multinationals from doing business with Iran"

"US won't be successful in deterring multinationals from doing business with Iran"(Taz).

After Iran and the P5+1 group reached an agreement regarding Iran's nuclear status on Nov. 24, the Islamic Republic agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities for six months in return for some relief on the sanctions imposed by the international community.

Following this change in policy, international companies started expressing their interest in doing business with Iran once again. Iran, in turn, continues to try and draw in foreign companies, encouraging them to return, invest, and receive benefits.

The advice from the U.S. on the other hand to foreign companies is not to get too excited over what might appear to be positive outcome in the negotiations. As cautioned Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Sherman last Feb. 4, "Iran is not open for business."

Explained the State Department official; "Since sanctions relief is temporary, quite limited and quite targeted." Sherman also warned that the US told the companies who want to start dealing with Iran again that "they are putting their reputations, themselves and their business enterprises at risk..."

Teaching fellow of the Department of Politics and International Studies of SOAS (University of London), Dr. Shirin Shafaie believes that to understand and assess current US approach towards Iran and the most recent nuclear deal, one should consider the wider historical context of US-Iran relations.

Coming back to what Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said with regard to companies considering doing business with Iran, Shafaie said her comments are perfectly in line with the US historical policy towards Iran.

"Mrs. Sherman is trying to make clear to these companies that the US is not interested in making a genuine deal with Iran; that her country has no intention of acknowledging and respecting Iranian national independence and sovereignty," Shafaie said. "Therefore she is politely asking them not to get too excited about the US tactical and most probably short-term change of attitude vis-à-vis Iran."

"Perhaps she is giving them clues as what is to follow the recent nuclear deal, i.e. "temporary, quite limited and quite targeted" sanctions relief in return for long-term limitations on Iran's nuclear energy program," Shafaie noted. "Moreover, the Western coercive measures are likely to continue until the day when Iran's national independence and by extension its indigenous nuclear energy program become virtually non-existent."

Shafaie said that in other words Mrs. Sherman might be warning businesses about the long duration of this process which will nevertheless need to contain short episodes of seemingly genuine negotiations, even some initially promising deals, in order for the process to be sustainable in the long term.

"Thus, according to the US government, these momentarily episodes should not be mistaken for a real change in the US approach towards Iran and the American wider agenda for the region," she said.

"Having said that, I do not think that the US government will be very successful in deterring international companies from doing business with Iran for much longer," she suggested. "The US is simply not in a position to dictate who can do what throughout the world."Read the full story here.

Iranian regime’s Finance Minister: "We're Broke" - Treasury is empty.

Iranian regime’s Finance Minister: "We're Broke" - Treasury is empty.(NCRI).

Hassan Rouhani’s finance minister said on Monday, October 28, that government is struggling with a 1,110,000 billion Rial deficit.

Ali Tayebnia told state-run news agency ILNA: “Government’s treasury is completely empty and our resources are extremely limited.” He explained, “Total cash payments for one year is 420,000 billion Rial while the income from increase in energy products for this year is 280,000 billion Rial.”

He referred to the problem in paying assistance after subsidies were cut off to a large segment of people and said that given an empty treasury it is not wise to cut off this assistance since inflation is 40%.
1,180,000 billion Rial in debts

At the same time, president of the Iranian regime Hassan Rouhani speaking to a gathering in Tehran said that his government has had to deal with “horrifying” statistics and figures since it has assumed power.

He said: “Of the 100% need of the country to agricultural products, only 44% is produced internally and the rest is imported.”

He added: “We import over seven million tons of wheat. We are facing horrifying statistics and figures that are quite worrisome. We are facing sanctions in oil, insurance, shipping, banking transactions, credit, and a thousand other problems.

Alluding to an annual income of 100 billion dollars a year he asked: “Where has all this money been invested?” He disclosed that governments’ debit to banks, contractors and the private sector is over 1,800,000 billion Rial.Hmmm.....Islamic terrorists don't come cheap these days. :)

Government Shutdown Empties Offices Enforcing Sanctions on Iran.

Government Shutdown Empties Offices Enforcing Sanctions on Iran.HT: DailyBeast.

With the government shut down, most U.S. officials enforcing sanctions on Iran are not at work, potentially undermining pressure on Tehran as U.S.-Iran negotiations recommence, according to administration officials, lawmakers, and experts.

The Treasury Department has furloughed approximately 90 percent of the employees in its Office of Terrorist Financing and Intelligence (TFI), which is responsible for the monitoring of illicit activities and enforcement of sanctions related to several countries, including Iran, Syria, and North Korea, Treasury officials told The Daily Beast. The drastic scaling down of personnel working on those activities comes just as the Obama administration is engaging in its first set of diplomatic negotiations with the new Iranian government, led by President Hassan Rouhani.

A subsection of TFI, the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), which implements the U.S. government’s financial sanctions, has been forced to furlough nearly all its staff due to the lapse in congressional funding, said a Treasury Department spokesman.

“As a result, OFAC is unable to sustain its core functions of: issuing new sanctions designations against those enabling the governments of Iran and Syria as well as terrorist organizations, WMD proliferators, narcotics cartels, and transnational organized crime groups; investigating and penalizing sanctions violations; issuing licenses to authorize humanitarian and other important activities that might otherwise be barred by sanctions; and issuing new sanctions prohibitions and guidance,” the spokesman said. “This massively reduced staffing not only impairs OFAC’s ability to execute its mission, it also undermines TFI’s broader efforts to combat money laundering and illicit finance, protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system, and disrupt the financial underpinnings of our adversaries.”

Two other subsections of TFI, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), also are working with a skeleton crew. According to FinCEN’s shutdown plan (PDF), 30 of 345 employees were kept on after appropriations ran out Oct. 1.

Administration officials often tout the various rounds of sanctions passed by Congress and signed by President Obama as crucial to pressuring the Iranian regime to strike a deal to bring its clandestine nuclear program into accordance with international standards of transparency and convince the world it is not developing a nuclear weapon.Read the full story here.

"Sanctions that Bite" - Iranian Oil Company cannot pay out profit for South Pars bonds.

Iranian Oil Company cannot pay out profit for South Pars bonds.(Taz).

Iran's National Oil Company cannot pay the profit for South Pars gas field project's participation bonds, the Iranian Jahanesanat newspaper reported.

The time for paying 20 per cent profits has now come while none of the South Pars phases have been inaugurated yet, the report said.
Ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sold foreign currency bonds worth $1.5 billion and 40,000 billion rials (approximately $1.61 billion based on official rate of 24,800 rials per each USD) to finance the South Pars gas field's development projects.
According to the report, the pay-out time for the foreign currency bonds has now arrived and the national currency bonds` profit pay-out time will arrive in a few months.
In January 2012, Iran's Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) head Mousa Souri argued that offering a profit of up to 35 per cent on the South Pars gas field bonds to attract public participation is economically justified, whilst 18 months year after that statement paying the offered 20 per cent profit seems impossible.
Considering the decrease of foreign investments in Iran due to international sanctions as well as increase of liquidity, Ahmadinejad`s administration issued 13.7 trillion rials (some $950 million) in bonds in 2011, but just $250 million of the bonds were sold.
Iran refers to the low interest rate as the main reason for the small public demand for the bonds which held 17 per cent in profit. So the Central Bank increased the interest rate to 20 per cent in February 2012.
Unlike the first round of issuing the bonds for the South Pars gas field, when 84 per cent of the bonds did not sell, some $1 billion of the bonds were issued and totally sold out for the second time.
The South Pars gas field is jointly held by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian section, which is divided into 29 phases, holds around 14 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. Iran's total gas reserves amount to 34 trillion cubic meters. The country's daily natural gas production and consumption are estimated at 554 million cubic meters and 551 million cubic meters, respectively.

"Sanctions that Bite?" - A few more indicators for Iran's economy.

"Sanctions that Bite?" - A few more indicators for Iran's economy. HT: UskowiOnIran.

In mainstream media reporting, the two indicators near exclusively cited for Iran's economy are inflation and oil export figures. Above are a few more economic indicators (and projections) provided to give a slightly fuller picture.

 -Oil and gas exports initially took a dive in 2012 due to EU sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil and US sanctions on the Iranian Central Bank, which undermined exports to non-European buyers of Iranian oil.

-Growing gas and gas condensate exports will be the main factor behind the growth of petroleum exports in the current Iranian calendar year.

-The real success story in Iranian exports is the expansion of the country’s potential in non-oil exports. -The government has set a goal to achieve balanced trade between Iran’s non-oil exports and the country’s imports.

-Based on the latest statistics from the Iran Customs Administration, in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, 2013, the value of Iran’s non-oil exports reached $7.7 billion while the value of imports stood at $9.4 million, i.e., a quarterly non-oil trade deficit of $1.7 billion.

-Taking into account the oil and gas exports, the country [will be] producing a healthy trade surplus. Though severe banking sanctions have impeded the repatriation of export revenues, Iran will develop new mechanisms to repatriate these funds and to boost its economy.

Source: Iran's Pivot to the East by Bijan Khajehpour for Al-Monitor Iran Pulse.Read the full story here.

"Sanctions that Benefit" - Turkey’s gold export to Iran rises twofold.

"Sanctions that Benefit" - Turkey’s gold export to Iran rises twofold.(HD).Turkey’s gold exports Iran has rose more than twofold through March during a time its overall gold trade receded, suggesting the two countries’ trade of gold for natural gas has been continuing increasingly after a one-month halt in January.

Turkey exported almost $381 million worth of gold to Iran in March, Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) data showed, while the overall Turkish gold exports declined by 15 percent to $467.6 million.

The exports to Iran and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have undertaken 92 percent of the country’s overall exports.While it imported $380.8 million in March, $58.9 million gold went to UAE.

Turkey, Iran’s biggest natural gas customer, has been paying Iran for its imports in Turkish Liras, because U.S. sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program prevent it from paying in dollars or euros. Iranians then use those liras, held in Halkbank accounts, to buy gold in Turkey, and couriers carry bullion worth millions of dollars in hand luggage to Dubai, where it can be sold for foreign currency or shipped to Iran.

After rising throughout the last year, Turkey’s gold exports to Iran peaked at $1.8 billion in July.

The United States has given Turkey a six-month waiver exempting it from sanctions on trade with Iran, which is due to expire in July.

Turkey sold no gold to Iran in January as banks and dealers eyed the Feb. 6 implementation of U.S. sanctions that tightened control over precious metal sales, but the trade resumed as Turkey has exported $117.9 million gold to Iran in February.

Turkey, dependent on imported energy and, while it has cut back on oil purchases from Iran, has made clear it cannot simply stop buying Iranian oil and gas.

Although it showed a sharp pickup, still Turkey’s gold exports to Iran is far from last year’s levels. As the trade ties have been coming forth from obscurity, the relations have been following a lower scale pattern compared to last year.

Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan had hinted Iranian demand to gold may decrease “unrelated to sanctions.”

“We’re already not subject to sanctions until July but the demand coming from Iran might decline,” he said. Hmmmm......Who needs enemies with such 'Allies'?US Congress?What US Congress?Read the full story here.

"New Axes of Evil" - Mehmanparast: Iran, Turkey enjoy strategic relations.

"New Axes of Evil" - Mehmanparast: Iran, Turkey enjoy strategic relations.(TI).Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has said that Iran and Turkey enjoy strategic relations, IRIB reported.

"The continuation of bilateral ties will guarantee security and cooperation in the region," he added.

Referring to the regional developments, especially in Syria and Bahrain, the Iranian official said that the Syrians should determine their destiny on their own and the Islamic Republic of Iran supports people's choice.

In March, IRNA quoted Iranian deputy trade minister Hamid Safdel as saying that Iran and Turkey have potential to increase trade turnover volume.

He referred to the current level of bilateral trade, which stands at $20 billion, as insignificant, and added that a preferential trade agreement will be signed in the current year between the two neighbors.

In January, IRNA cited data by Turkey's statistics center, indicating that the value of trade between Iran and Turkey surpassed $20.8 billion in the first 11 months of 2012, showing around 40 percent rise compared to the same period in 2011.

Turkey's exports to Iran amounted to $7 billion in the mentioned period, mainly due to the exports of gold to Iran.

Oil, gas, and petrochemicals account for the lion's share of Iran's exports to Turkey.

In December, 2012 Iran's Ambassador to Turkey Bahman Hosseinpour said the trade volume between Tehran and Ankara can potentially increase fivefold to as high as $100 billion a year.

The Iranian ambassador added that ample investment opportunities await Turkish investors in Iran.

The value of the trade between Iran and Turkey exceeded $16 billion in 2011. The two countries plan to increase the level of their bilateral trade volume to $30 billion by 2015. Hmmm....Sanctions that Bite?Yeah Whatevah...... sanctions that benefit Obama's BFF!Read the full story here.

"Incoming" - Deutsche Bank braced for £256 mln Iran sanctions charges.

"Incoming" - Deutsche Bank braced for £256 mln Iran sanctions charges.(TI). Deutsche Bank is bracing for more than 300 million euros (256 million pounds) in charges linked to suspect violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran, a German weekly reported on Sunday.

Deutsche Bank, Europe's biggest bank by assets, on Wednesday increased its provisions for litigation by 600 million euros to 2.4 billion euros, citing mortgage-related lawsuits and other regulatory investigations, Reuters reported.

Without specifying its sources, magazine Der Spiegel said the money set aside could be a sign U.S. investigations of possible Iran-linked transactions had reached an advanced stage.Deutsche Bank on Wednesday declined to lay out in detail why it had increased provisions. On Sunday, it would not comment on the magazine report.

The U.S. government is cracking down on foreign banks it accuses of undermining its effort to throttle Iran's economy. In the most prominent case, London-based Standard Chartered last year agreed to pay $667 million (437 million pounds) to settle charges it violated sanctions against Iran and other countries.

The U.S. government is cracking down on foreign banks it accuses of undermining its effort to throttle Iran's economy. In the most prominent case, London-based Standard Chartered last year agreed to pay $667 million (437 million pounds) to settle charges it violated sanctions against Iran and other countries.

Other lenders in the crosshairs of U.S. investigators include Commerzbank , Unicredit division HVB, and HSBC in Britain. Der Spiegel said that apart from the Iran probe, Deutsche Bank's 2.4-billion-euro legal provisioning included 500 million for a probe of suspected manipulation of interbank lending rates.

Several sources familiar with the investigation told Reuters on Thursday that German markets watchdog Bafin is set to rebuke Deutsche Bank over how it supervised its contribution to the setting of the lending rates.Hmmmm......It seems only Turkey is 'allowed' business as usual.Read the full story here.

"Sanctions That BITE?" - Current construction projects in Tabriz and others in Iran.

"Sanctions That BITE?" - Current construction projects in Tabriz and others in Iran.(UOI).Like other urban centers in the Islamic Republic of Iran but in certain ways more so, Tabriz is currently a beehive of construction activity. All of these photos were taken within the past six months, many in 2013. For those insistent in their belief that Iran's economy is on the brink of collapse, such photographic evidence renders such thinking as further examples of "analysis by means of wishful thinking."More to see here , here , here and here.

Here is John Kerry's picture with the rest of the mullah supporters. Hooshang Amirahmadi, for example, is the man who in an article last  year, called Hamas and Hezbollah as non-terrorist groups and stated  helping such group is not bad or wrong.  Do you see Goli Ameri of Oregon in the background?


The most recent Bilderberg Group meeting that Senator John Kerry attended was the 2012 Bilderberg Group meeting (Chantilly, Virginia, USA)

At the 2012 Bilderberg Group meeting, Senator Kerry mingled in secret with the likes of Eric Schmidt (Executive Chairman, Google), Robert Zoellick (President, The World Bank Group), Jorma Ollila (Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell) and Globalist Henry Kissinger (Chairman, Kissinger Associates).

"Chains away" - Iranian ship flees detention in Sri Lanka.

"Chains away" - Iranian ship flees detention in Sri Lanka.(Reuters) - An Iranian-flagged cargo ship has fled Sri Lanka's waters after weeks of detention by its navy, acting on a court order obtained by Germany's DVB Bank, officials and a lawyer acting for the bank said on Thursday.
The Sri Lankan navy last week fired warning shots to prevent the MV Amina from leaving but said that late on Wednesday the vessel made its departure in rough seas.
"If the ship is beyond 12 nautical miles from our shores, then we can't do anything according to U.N. laws, unless the ship has committed crimes in our country," Sri Lankan Navy spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya said.
"We tried to communicate and asked her to stop, but without responding to anything, she had gone."
This bank's attempt to seize ships to settle claims of millions of dollars in unpaid debts shows the growing difficulties facing Iran's fleet, which the Islamic Republic relies on for trade.
"The Iranians are having an increasingly hard time, especially with their oil revenues hit by sanctions," a ship industry source said. "Their fleet will face more heat, with the U.S. increasingly watching their every move." Western sanctions have cut Iran's oil revenues by half in the last year and battered the economy as the rial has crashed in value. They aim to starve Tehran of funds that might be channeled into expensive nuclear weapons programmes, but Iran says its atomic work is for peaceful purposes.
"The ship Amina has broken the arrest; that is a very unusual move," a DVB Bank spokeswoman said. "DVB is in talks with IRISL to find out how to further proceed now."
The Amina is managed by Tehran-based Rahbaran Omid Darya Ship Management, which the European Union and United States have said is a front for Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), Iran's biggest cargo carrier.
IRISL has faced Western sanctions for years based on accusations of transporting weapons, a charge it denies.
The DVB spokeswoman said the bank was seeking to seize two more Iranian ships after obtaining an order from a Singapore court.
"The bank is trying to recoup as much as they can. I would imagine the repayment process will be complex," a second ship industry source said.
IRISL officials told Reuters earlier on Thursday the ship was owned by a private company and that they could not discuss the matter. Rahbaran Omid Darya Ship Management could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday.Hmmmm......Meanwhile Obama's BFF Turkey does Gold and Gas business with Iran as usual.Read the full story here.

Iran says it may stop oil sales if sanctions tighten.

Iran says it may stop oil sales if sanctions tighten.(JPost).DUBAI - Iran said on Tuesday it would stop oil exports if pressure from Western sanctions got any tighter and it had a "Plan B" contingency strategy to survive without oil revenues. Western nations led by the United States have imposed tough sanctions on the Islamic Republic this year in an attempt to curb its nuclear program that they say is designed to produce an atomic bomb. Tehran says its nuclear plans are peaceful. "If sanctions intensify we will stop exporting oil," Iranian oil minister Rostam Qasemi told reporters in Dubai. Qasemi's statement is the latest in a series of threats of retaliation by Tehran in response to the sanctions, which have heightened political tensions across the Middle East and, analysts say, led to a sharp drop in Iranian oil exports. "We have prepared a plan to run the country without any oil revenues," Qasemi said, adding, "So far to date we haven't had any serious problems, but if the sanctions were to be renewed we would go for 'Plan B'. "If you continue to add to the sanctions we (will) cut our oil exports to the world."
Iran's official inflation rate last month, according to its central bank, was 24 percent, though analysts believe the real rate may be double. Iran has in the past said it could shut the vital shipping lane of Hormuz at the head of the Middle East Gulf, through which much of the region's seaborne oil exports pass. Earlier on Tuesday, Qasemi said Iran was still producing 4 million barrels per day (bpd), rejecting reports the country's output has fallen to around 2.7 million bpd. According to the latest secondary source estimates published by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Iran pumped just 2.72 bpd in September, and Iran's own data submitted to OPEC showed the country produced 3.75 million bpd in August. But Qasemi said Iran was pumping oil at full capacity: "It is currently 4 million barrels per day," Qasemi said, declining to give export figures. "Iran has been facing US sanctions for 30 years while successfully managing its oil sector," he said.Read the full story here.

Iran to manufacture new "Azerehsh" and "Kowsar 88" aircrafts...Kudo's for the drone technology.

Azerehsh 21.

Iran to manufacture new "Azerehsh" and "Kowsar 88" aircrafts....Kudo's for the drone technology.(TI).Iran soon plans to start manufacturing two new aircrafts, "Azerehsh" and "Kowsar 88", Iran's Air Force Deputy Commander Manuchehr Yazdani said, Fars reported. Yazdani noted that the aircraft designs have been completed already, an currently the construction works are underway. "As we are restricted by sanctions, it is difficult to import necessary parts of aircrafts," Yazdani said. "Having limited assistance, we rely on our existing knowledge." 
The imposed sanctions against country's nuclear program, make it extremely difficult for Iran to import necessary parts of jets and aircrafts. Yazdani added that as soon as first models are constructed, shortly Iran will begin manufacturing these aircrafts. Earlier this month, Iran Presidential Aide Ali Akbar Mehrabian said Iran plans to launch 15 aviation centers for selling aircrafts to general public.Hmmmm.............I guess that US Drone served it's purpose well?Read the full story here.

Iranian nurses leave country, local hospitals in panic.

Iranian nurses leave country, local hospitals in panic.(TI).The hospitals in Iran are experiencing shortage of nurses, who leave the country on a daily basis, Iran's Nursing Council Chief Gazanfar Mirzabeygi said, according to "Tehran Emruz" newspaper.According to Mirzabeygi, the nurses leave Iran because of low salaries, while abroad they are getting paid more than in Iran.
Mirzabeygi said that recently, one of Iran's neigboring countries, without revealing which country, said it seeks to invite some 30,000 of Iran's nurses for work, with a monthly salary of $2,000, the newspaper reported.
He noted that according to International standards, there should be a minimum of two nurses per each hospital bed each day, while in Iran this number is two times less.
Secretary of Iran's Nursing Council Sadighe Salimi said that daily some 40 nurses leave Iran, and the situation in the hospitals is critical.She said that newly hired nurses in Iran get a salary of some $380, and such low payment forces nurses to leave their jobs.
Salimi said that these nurses mostly leave to the U.S., Canada an Australia, where the average nursing salary ranges from $2,500 to $4,000.
In August 2011, Iranian Nursing Organization Deputy Ahmad Nejatian said that the flow of immigrants from Iran to Canada among nurses has increased over the past 6 months.
Canada is the first immigration destination for Iranian nurses with 47 percent while the UAE attracts 33 percent of immigrants. Australia, the USA and the UK are among other major destinations with suitable conditions for Iranian nurses.Hmmmm......." according to International standards, there should be a minimum of two nurses per each hospital bed each day".....Show me a country who has this kind of staff.Read the full story here.

Iranians are beginning to panic amid rising costs.

Iranians are beginning to panic amid rising costs.(IMRA).Iran has long sought to play down the effects of international sanctions on its economy but the economic crisis engulfing the country can no longer be denied. The regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad now talks of an “economic war” but Iranians are beginning to panic about the deteriorating situation and are asking themselves what will happen next.
Pensioner Kamal G no longer understands the world as he stands in a butcher’s shop waiting to purchase minced meat. The price for a kilo sets him back over 200,000 rials ($ 16), more than double what the 73-year-old paid just two months ago. Kamal has been unable to afford steaks for a considerable time while chicken moved out of his price range a couple of weeks ago.

Soon even minced meat will be beyond his budget. “Soon I will be spreading atomic energy on my bread,” he says in a joking reference to Iran’s controversial nuclear programme which has prompted the sanctions.

The sanctions imposed by the US and European Union have finally been having the desired effect on Iran since the beginning of the year. “The suspension of any co-operation by international banks with Iran is the worst one of all,” says one economics expert in Tehran. “Nobody can pay or get paid.” Iran lost between 25 and 40% of its primary income as a result of the oil embargo while sanctions have also crippled the country’s hopes of attracting foreign investment. Small businesses that have for decades enjoyed a healthy export trade can no longer continue doing business with foreign companies as a result of the banking embargo. Iran is looking at opening up alternative trading channels in Latin America and Africa but economic experts do not take this plan seriously. The value of the rial is seen as a symbol of the crisis. The national currency has lost two-thirds of its value against foreign currencies since the beginning of the year and even sectors that have nothing to do with foreign markets are feeling the effects. Even the bazaar merchants who are considered a part of the establishment and in many cases supporters of Ahmadinejad have had enough. “How can I conduct responsible business when the currency rates change dramatically from one day to the next?” asks Hossein-Ali, a merchant in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. The continued uncertainty led Hossein-Ali and many other merchants to decide on a short-term strike last week.Read the full story here.

Video - Massive Anti-regime protest in Tehran, "DEATH TO DICTATOR" .

Shouts can be heard: 

“Marg bar in dolat-e mardam-farib!” (Death to this hypocrite government).

“Natarsid, natarsid, ma hameh ba ham hastim” (Don’t be afraid, we are in this together).

“Sorieh ra raha kon, fekri be hal-e ma kon” (Leave Syria alone, do something for us)

Video - Massive Anti-regime protest in Tehran, sec forces.

Video - Update on Demonstrations in Iran.

Sources in Iran say that the Revolutionary Guards have orders to shoot to kill. HT: IsraelMatzav.

Iran - People burning tires, shouting slogans against authorities in Tehran, shopkeepers forced to close down their shops.

Iran - People burning tires, shouting slogans against authorities in Tehran, shopkeepers forced to close down their shops.(TAZ).General Secretary of Islamic Market Associations Ahmad Karimi Isfahani said that the merchants and shopkeepers were forced to close down their shops because of the protesters in the streets. "They at first did not want to close the market, yet there was an initial plan to do so for security reasons. The market will be open tomorrow," Isfahani said.
He added that by themselves the merchants at the market do not breach security, however those people outside the market behave differently, so the decision has been made to close the open markets for today. Following the unstable ups and downs of Iran's currency markets, people at the market are gathering up, burning tires and shouting slogans against government, Iranian media outlets reported.
Opposition website Kalemeh says protesters are out on the street, planning to march to the Imam Khomeini Square. These reports have not yet been confirmed. Mehr reported that local shopkeepers and merchants have closed their shops for security reasons, protecting their businesses from people in the streets. According to Mehr, people hit the streets on Wednesday noon, in Nasir Khusraw street and Tehran bazaar. Dollar prices at Iranian markets have risen to new heights after yesterdays conference of Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ILNA reported.
After Iran's president held the Tehran press-conference, the dollar price started to grow, reaching 36, 200 rials. On Monday, a USD was sold at 29, 700 rials in the morning, but sharply increased to 35,500 rials by the evening. As a result of the rapid drop, as much as 660 trillion rials in cash assets of country's citizens were lost on Monday evening. After the press conference the dollar prices at Iran' open markets risen up by 3000 rials, reaching 36,200 rials per dollar. Today morning the dollar prices were not available at Iran's online currency rate websites. British pound is currently being exchanged at 58,100 rials per pound, and Euro is being exchanged at 47,100 rials per one Euro. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking at Tehran press-conference yesterday said that the Central Bank of Iran will eventually sort out this problem of jumping currency rates. Today morning several gold and currency rate websites have become unavailable, one of which was the independent Iranian currency rate website Mazanex. The website posted a message that "access to the website, and several other similar websites has been closed". While the website itself is accessable, it is not being updated.Read the full story here.

Iran - Food Situation is Getting Worse and Worse, lengthy queues for subsidised chicken.

Iran - Food Situation is Getting Worse and Worse, lengthy queues for subsidised chicken.(EAWN). Iran - Chicken Watch. More clerical advice on Friday on how to cope with the soaring cost of chicken, with Ayatollah Alamolhoda, the Friday Prayer leader in Qom, telling his audience "Eat eshkeneh (egg soup) instead of chicken."Hmmmm..........There are No Chickens where the hell will the Eggs for the soup come from 'Genius'?Read the full story here.