IRAN GROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
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Nobel Winners Join Call for Release of US Hikers in Iran [Jun 3]
” A group of rights activists, including Nobel laureates and US actress Mia Farrow, have called for the release of three US hikers held in Iran on the occasion of Iranian Mother’s Day. The activists, all mothers, signed a statement calling on Iranian authorities to release Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd, who were arrested in July 2009 after straying over the Iraqi border into Iran. “On the occasion of Mother’s Day in Iran, we urge the Iranian authorities to use this happy occasion to demonstrate the values of mercy and compassion and release Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd on humanitarian grounds,” said the statement. “These three young people have been denied their freedom for too long. It is high time they came home to their families,” it added. “Individual citizens should not pay the price of tensions between nations or be used as bargaining chips.” Among the signatories to the statement are Louise Arbor, the former United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees and Mairead Maguire and Betty Williams, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize for their work fostering peace in Northern Ireland..” [Complete Report]
Iran Court Confirms Jail, Lashes for Film Maker [Jun 3]
“An Iranian court has confirmed a sentence of three-and-a-half years in jail and 50 lashes for a journalist and film maker found guilty of anti-state propaganda and insulting the supreme leader, media reported. Mohammad Nourizad was arrested late last year after he published on his blog letters deemed disrespectful to Iran’s highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other senior officials. Opposition blogs say he has been beaten while in detention in Tehran’s Evin jail where he has begun a hunger strike. The confirmation of his sentence comes as authorities prepare for the first anniversary, on June 12, of the disputed presidential election which brought millions of people to the streets in protest amid concerns about vote rigging. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government says the vote was fair and blamed foreign powers for stirring unrest..” [Complete Report]
Iran Eyes Chinese LNG Deal [Jun 3]
“China is exploring a $1.2 billion deal with Iran to build six tankers in the coming years to transport liquefied natural gas, Iranian officials said. Mohammad Souri, president of the National Iranian Tanker Co., said each LNG tanker was worth around $200 million. The project, he said, would likely be carried out within three years, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reports. Iran is looking for export routes for its rich natural gas reserves in the face of tighter sanctions over its controversial nuclear program. LNG shipments are less politically sensitive than conventional natural gas pipelines. Souri added that if Tehran comes through with the necessary credit for the Chinese LNG tankers, Iran could begin preparations for LNG exports as early as 2012..” [Complete Report]
Nokia-Siemens Rues Iran Crackdown Role [Jun 3]
“Nokia-Siemens Networks on Wednesday (2 June) admitted its share of the blame for Iran’s brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrators last year after selling mobile phone surveillance to the authoritarian regime. “We absolutely do find ourselves in a tricky situation and need the help of people in this room to help us navigate in these challenging times,” Barry French, head of marketing and corporate affairs with Nokia-Siemens Networks, a joint venture of Nokia (NOK) and Siemens (SI), told MEPs during a hearing on human rights and new information technologies. The Finnish-German telecoms joint venture was at the centre of an ethics controversy last year when it emerged that it had supplied surveillance technology to two Iranian mobile phone operators. The technology was used to track down dissidents amid the mass protests following the contested re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009..” [Complete Report]
Contraband Trade in Iran Worth $19 Billion [Jun 3]
“Iranian contraband trade is worth 19 billion dollars a year, according to estimates by the head of Iran’s anti-smuggling department, cited by a local newspaper on Thursday. “Some 16 billion dollars worth of goods have been smuggled into Iran, while three billion dollars worth have been exported illegally during the last Iranian year,” that ended in March 2010, Saeed Mortazavi was quoted as saying in Donya-e Eqtesad newspaper. Smuggled imports represent one third of what Iran imports legally, which amounted to around 50 billion dollars during the same period, another official from the same department, Samad Marashi, was reported as saying by the Mehr news agency. Mortazavi, who was Tehran’s hardline prosecutor prior to his recent appointment, gave no further details of the goods being smuggled into and out of the country. “Only three percent of smuggled goods are identified and seized by the police,” he said, adding that the large majority of contraband is smuggled “by powerful organised gangs that we must identify.” Much of the illegal trafficking takes place between Iran and its number one trade partner the United Arab Emirates, with around one hundred speedboats smuggling goods daily across the Gulf, an official at the Iranian chamber of commerce Hamid Hosseini said last year..” [Complete Report]
Gold Falls as Higher Equity Markets May Curb Investment Demand [Jun 3]
“Gold fell in New York on speculation gains in equity markets will curb investor demand for the metal. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of shares jumped 0.3 percent after the gauge rose 2.6 percent yesterday. Through the end of May, gold climbed 11 percent as investors sought an alternative to falling equities and currency values. “In the short term, strength in equities could suppress gold prices,” said Bayram Dincer, a commodity analyst at LGT Capital Management in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland. “If risk aversion is declining, this will not attract new buyers in gold.” Gold futures for delivery in August dropped $3.10, or 0.3 percent, to $1,219.50 an ounce at 8:39 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The precious metal has gained in all major currencies this year, led by a 30 percent increase in gold priced in euros, on speculation Europe’s debts will slow economic growth..” [Complete Report]
Time Not Right for Closer Relations with Iran: MOFA [Jun 3]
“The time is not right for Taiwan and Iran to develop closer relations, despite a strong desire by both sides to do so, a Taiwan foreign ministry official said Thursday. Taiwan and Iran both intend to boost their already strong trade relationship but “the time is not right” to take the bilateral relations to the next level, said Lin Jinn-jong, director-general of the Department of West Asian Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), at a press briefing. As the international community has been contemplating sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear energy policies, “it’s not appropriate at this moment to step up exchanges (with Iran) , ” Lin said. On May 21, the Associated Press reported that Taiwan had turned down a request by Iran to open a “diplomatic mission” in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Timothy C.T. Yang rebutted the report May 25, saying that his ministry has not received any request from Iran to open a trade office in Taiwan. According to Lin, Iran is Taiwan’s third largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait..” [Complete Report]
Cosmetics Flood Iran’s Markets [Jun 3]
“Make-up was banned in Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution, but cosmetics have become so popular now that Iran is the second-largest market in the Middle East for cosmetics. Following the revolution, the morality police patrolled the streets, fining or even arresting women who did not follow the strict rules in place until they were eased after the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. Many women were quick to catch on after a decision to allow imports in the mid-1990s and it became increasingly common to see a chicly dressed urban woman wearing make-up. According to a recent survey Iranians spend about $2 billion a year on cosmetics and this country of 74 million accounts for 29 per cent of the Middle East market, which is dominated by Saudi Arabia..” [Complete Report]
