Mediaboss Marketing

Shahnaz Akmali, the mother of protester Moustafa Karimbeigi.

Human rights campaigners have accused Iran of silencing the mother of a protester who was killed in post-election unrest in 2009.

Shahnaz Akmalis son, Moustafa Karimbeigi, was shot dead in December 2009 during protests after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a second term in office.

Akmali was arrested last month after intelligence officials raided her workplace and her house in Tehran. Officials have not explained the reasons for her arrest.

Akmali became politically active after her sons killing, visiting families of other victims to show her solidarity. Recently she had campaigned for the release of Arash Sadeghi, a student activist serving a 19-year jail sentence, who was on hunger strike for several months until January.

Before her arrest, Akmali had complained about pressure on her and her family, particularly her daughter. Kill me too, kill my daughter, but I will not keep quiet and will follow my sons path, she said in a video aired on Voice of Americas Persian service shortly after her arrest.

Discussing a visit to victims graves alongside other families, she said: We were just visiting the graves of our children, why would you arrest us? Why would you interrogate us at gunpoint? She was released then but detained again on 25 January.

Akmali said in the video that the authorities had threatened to kill her daughter if she did not stop advocating for the plight of other families: They called me again and said we will kill your daughter the same way weve killed your son, so shut up. Stay home and just recite Quran for your son, we will kill you and your daughter if you leave home.

Amnesty Internationals Iran researcher Raha Bahreini said Akmali had been detained solely on account of her courageous human rights work, and urged Tehran to release her immediately and unconditionally.

The continued detention of Shahnaz Akmali is another example of the repressive tactics Iranian authorities regularly resort to in a bid to deter human rights defenders from speaking out and supporting victims of violations, she said.

Instead of criminalising and jailing human rights defenders still working in the country, the Iranian authorities must investigate and hold accountable perpetrators of human rights violations, including those responsible for the torture and killing of her son Moustafa Karimbeigi during the 2009 post-presidential election protests.

Bahreini added: For years Iranian intelligence officials have been harassing and threatening families of detainees in order to scare them into silence. The threats made against Shahnaz Akmalis family to stay quiet about her detention is a very worrying escalation of that and should stop.

Human Rights Watchs Sarah Leah Whitson said: Arbitrarily detaining a woman who has repeatedly asked for justice for her son is simply shameful. The judiciary should focus on finding out who killed Shahnaz [Akmali]s son, instead of prosecuting her for peaceful activism.

Read the original here:
Campaigners urge Iran to free mother of shot protester - The Guardian

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News' "Hannity" Thursday night that his country and the United States have a "grand mission" to confront the threat of a nuclear Iran.

Netanyahu, who met President Donald Trump at the White House Wednesday, told host Sean Hannity that Tehran's aggressive rhetoric toward Israel is meant to mask their intentions against the U.S.

"They want to have [intercontinental ballistic missiles] that can reach your country. Thats what theyre working on right now. Remember, youre the Great Satan [to them]," Netanyahu said. "They believe that theyre destined to govern the world. Anybody that doesnt agree with them, theyll be able to subjugate or kill, and theyre working on the means to achieve that."

Netanyahu described his meeting with Trump as a "historical moment," as well as "a meeting of the minds and a meeting of the hearts."

"I feel we have now, as the president says, an even stronger alliance," the prime minister said. "A new day, he called it. Maybe a new age."

Netanyahu again criticized the Iran nuclear deal, a key source of his frustration with the Obama administration.

"The deal essentially said this, it said no bomb today, 100 bombs tomorrow, in ten years," he said. "Now the assumption was, people [would say] Well, OK, were kicking the can down the road. But this nuclear can of a single bomb then becomes the capacity to make dozens and dozens of bombs. And Iran doesnt change its attitude."

"Since the signing of the deal," Netanyahu said, "Iran has become more aggressive, more deadly, sponsoring more terrorism with more money, a lot more money.

"Theyve killed Americans all over the place. Theyve sponsored terrorism against Americans all over the place. Now theyre going to build ICBMs that can reach the United States and have multiple warheads to do that? Thats horrible," he added. "Its dangerous for America, dangerous for Israel, dangerous for the Arabs. Everybody now understands it and theres an American president who understands it and were talking about what to do about this common threat."

Read this article:
Netanyahu: US, Israel have 'grand mission' to confront Iran threat - Fox News

FRANKFURT, GERMANY

Iran sits on what are thought to be the worlds largest gas reserves, yet can barely supply its own domestic demand.

Since the United Nations-backed deal over Tehrans nuclear program spurred the lifting of international sanctions, the country has strived to attract foreign investment in developing oil fields and upgrading its aging infrastructure.

The Ministry of Petroleum helped to convene the CWC Iran Gas Conference this week in Frankfurt, Germany, to bring together government figures and private investors.

Watch: Energy Giants Say Iran Needs $100 Billion for Gas Upgrade

Industry experts: $100 billion needed

Industry estimates suggest Iran needs to invest $100 billion in order to fully exploit the reserves. The nuclear agreement removed some sanctions on Iran, but mainly in Europe. It remains extremely difficult for American companies to do business, according to Reiner Jahn, vice president of the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce and expert on financing deals with Iran.

Unless its licensed by OFAC, the U.S. sanctions authority, there is no way for an American to negotiate any transaction with an Iranian, he said.

So Iran is looking elsewhere.

Indian demand for gas is forecast to grow rapidly, and Tehran sees it as a key market. The private consortium South Asia Gas Enterprise, or SAGE, has advanced plans for the worlds deepest underwater pipeline connecting the two countries.

Our reconnaissance survey was performed between Oman and India. Unfortunately at that time the leg that went to Iran couldnt be surveyed because of sanctions. SAGE is expecting to perform the remaining leg of the survey to Iran this year, project director Ian Nash told delegates at the conference.

The 1,300-kilometer, $5 billion pipeline would lie on the seabed, more than 2,500 meters below the oceans surface. The viability of such investments depends on the price of gas, currently difficult to predict, says Vincent Groote of Dutch engineering firm Twister Supersonic Gas Solutions.

An OPEC for natural gas

You get [the price] floating up and down, which is not what investors would like. So I can imagine that as a natural development, similarly as OPEC for oil, in the long future we could think about a GPEC lets say a Gas-Producing-Exporting Country type of infrastructure.

Iran likely would wield considerable power in such a cartel, though there are clouds on the horizon.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the nuclear deal, and he has imposed new sanctions on Iran following a recent missile test. History shows that the United States could still intervene to disrupt foreign investment, says Jahn.

The U.S. invented secondary sanctions, where they sanction European companies that acted in complete accordance with EU law, but not in accordance with U.S. law. Therefore. I think they have an impact in our market, he said.

The French bank BNP Paribas was fined $8.9 billion by U.S. authorities in 2014 for breaking such sanctions.

The nuclear deal may have lifted some restrictions, but analysts say Trump has introduced new uncertainty just as foreign investment in Iran starts to build.

Read more here:
Iran Needs Billions to Upgrade Gas Fields, But Will Investors Invest? - Voice of America

Forbes

Iran Irony: IRGC And State Firms Are Benefiting From JCPOA Forbes Those who raised the Iran deal flag, mainly in the United States and Europe, claimed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) would boost trade and encourage foreign investment, enhancing Iran's private sector and eventually downgrading the ... Thursday February 16, 2017Israel Hayom Iranian Concepts of Warfare: Understanding Tehran's Evolving Military DoctrinesAmerican Enterprise Institute all 7 news articles »

Read the rest here:
Iran Irony: IRGC And State Firms Are Benefiting From JCPOA - Forbes

The Americans were greeted in Iran with red roses, smiling fans and a barrage of selfies. No diplomatic crisis here.

But that wasn't the case just two weeks ago. Back then in the wake of President Trump's now-frozen travel ban it didn't look like a group of U.S. wrestlers would be allowed to compete in one of the sport'smost prestigious events. Now many arecalling it a triumph of sports over politics.

We are very happy to be here in Iran and ready to compete! Olympic gold medalistJordan Burroughswrote in a caption to an Instagram post on Tuesday, when the team landed in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah for the Freestyle World Cup.

The accompanying photo showed Burroughs, who is leading the team, surrounded by a crowd of local fans and reporters at the airport. Greeters gave the athletes roses and took selfies with Burroughs and others.

Welcome to Iran champ!!!!" one Iranian user, Saeed Mohammadi, commented on the Instagram photo.

Another, Nima Jan, said he was traveling to the stadium to cheer for Burroughs.

You proved that you are a noble man. This is a big chance for us, Jan said. We do not pay attention to the behavior of America's government toward Iran.

The two-day tournament began Thursday, when U.S. wrestlers faced off against Georgia, Russia and Azerbaijan. But it wasn't always certain that the Americans would get to compete. Just as in years past, the athletes were at the mercy of tensions between the two governments.

In late January, Trump signed an executive order temporarily banning nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, from entering the United States. Iranian officials responded by announcing their own entry ban on U.S. citizens, including the wrestling team that was just weeks away from traveling to Kermanshah.

Wrestling is wildly popular in Iran and is widely considered as the countrys national sport. Kermanshah has also served as an epicenter for wrestling in Iran.

I love Iran. I love their people, and I don't get into politics, Burroughs told the Associated Press on Feb. 3, after the team was notified they would not be able to travel.

I wasn't going to make a political stance, he said. I was going to compete.

Then something happened. On Feb. 5, a federal judge temporarily suspended the ban, and a higher U.S. appeals court refused the government's request to immediately reinstate the executive order.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded almost immediately on Twitter, saying the judicial decisions had prompted Iran's government to reverse course and grant visas to the U.S. wrestling team.

The United States and Iran have not had diplomatic relations since Iranian militants seized hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 following Iran's Islamic revolution. But in 1998, a wrestling tournament in Iran offered a chance for a small opening.

A U.S. wrestling team became the first American sports team to visit Iran since the revolution. The wrestlers received a warm reception, and the event opened the door for other U.S. sports and cultural exchanges.

This World Cup is going to be a special one! American wrestlerJames Greentweeted on Feb. 1.

We'll be bringing nations together as always, he said. No other sport does that like wrestling.

Brian Murphy contributed to this post.

Original post:
American wrestlers in Iran welcomed with roses and selfies - Washington Post