Conversation: Explaining Iran #39;s Moves Against Israel and the Islamic State
Stratfor Vice President of Global Intelligence Reva Bhalla and Military Analyst Paul Floyd discuss the latest military events in the Middle East. For more analysis, visit: http://www.Stratfor.com.
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Conversation: Explaining Iran's Moves Against Israel and the Islamic State - Video
Flying a DJI Quadcopter in Iran -
You don #39;t need proof as to where I was.
By: Braden Barty
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Flying a DJI Quadcopter in Iran - - Video
TEHRAN, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- There is no oil-for-goods deal currently in place between Iran and Russia, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Thursday.
"The barter of Iran's oil against Russian commodities is not true and no such an agreement has ever been signed," the minister said.
Zanganeh has hinted that the Iranian government endorsed such a deal, but nothing was formalized. Both sides already cooperate in a variety of fields, with Russia supplying fuel for Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr.
"The two countries only cooperate with each other in the oil and gas sectors," he said. "Iran will benefit from the technical and operational capabilities of Russian companies in the oil and gas industries."
His comments follow a November declaration from the Kremlin that it plans to sign contracts to deliver grain and possibly industrial products to the Iranians in exchange for oil.
Iran has long been searching for a way around the U.S. dollar to circumvent sanctions imposed by Western powers in response to its controversial nuclear program. The government said earlier this week, however, it was searching for ways to lessen the importance of oil revenue on the nation's economy.
The Iranian and Russian energy sectors are both targets of Western sanctions and both economies are contracting as a result. With oil prices off more than 30 percent from June, the World Bank said the Iranian economy has contracted at an annual rate of 1.7 percent for the current fiscal year.
Iran secured modest relief from energy-related sanctions in exchange for a commitment to curb parts of its nuclear research activity.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani this week said Iran is committed to the "tough path" ahead as nuclear negotiations enter a seven month extension phase.
U.S. officials have said it would be troubling if an oil-for-goods deal between Iran and Russia were to materialize.
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Iran: No oil swap deal in place with Russia
Nazila Fathi reported from her native Iran for The New York Times. Fearing arrest, she fled in 2009 with her family and now lives in suburban Washington, D.C. Her new book, The Lonely War, describes the challenges of reporting from the country. Hassan Sarbakhshian hide caption
Nazila Fathi reported from her native Iran for The New York Times. Fearing arrest, she fled in 2009 with her family and now lives in suburban Washington, D.C. Her new book, The Lonely War, describes the challenges of reporting from the country.
Nazila Fathi covered turbulent events in her native Iran for years as The New York Times correspondent. She learned to navigate the complicated system that tolerates reporting on many topics but can also toss reporters in jail if they step across a line never explicitly defined by the country's Islamic authorities.
Fathi recalls one editor telling her what journalists could do in Iran: "We have the freedom to say whatever we want to say, but we don't know what happens afterwards."
Five years ago, Fathi was covering the aftermath of Iran's hotly contested 2009 presidential election, when demonstrators flooded the streets to protest a vote they said was rigged in favor of the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The government warned journalists to stop covering the street demonstrations, which often turned violent, but Fathi continued to file stories for the Times.
Then one day, a government source told her that the authorities had given her photo to snipers who were believed to be shooting the protesters. Soon after, intelligence officials appeared on the street outside her apartment.
Fearing arrest, she remained in her apartment until she and her husband, along with their two small children, left for the Tehran airport in the middle of the night and took a flight out of the country.
Fathi has not gone back to Iran and now lives in suburban Washington, D.C. She's written about the challenges of reporting in Iran in a new book, The Lonely War: One Woman's Account Of The Struggle For Modern Iran.
Speaking with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Fathi says she believes that some journalists are arrested not for their reporting, but to serve as a pawn in a complex power struggle. It could involve Iran and a foreign country or it could be an internal feud between two Iranian government agencies, she says.
Here are the highlights of the interview:
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The Risks, Rewards And Mysteries Of Reporting From Iran
How to cut square type Iran automatically
Safety first don #39;t do this at home It #39;s using all safety around.
By: jaan sayeed
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How to cut square type Iran automatically - Video