Yes, the Iranian people must pay the price for our enslavement to Israel.
"Economic pressures and diplomacy have pushed Iran to the point of considering an ultimatum-style endgame in efforts to seek relief from the US and European sanctions, which have targeted Iran’s vital oil exports and its ability to use international banking networks."
I think we all know what that is, readers.
"Iranians sign petition protesting hardships; Workers feeling sanctions’ effect on economy" by Brian Murphy |
Associated Press, October 02, 2012
TEHRAN — For weeks, a manifesto complaining about Iran’s stumbling
economy circulated in secret among factories and workshops. Organizers
asked for signatures and the pages began to fill up.
In the end, some 10,000 names were attached to the petition addressed
to Iran’s labor minister in one of the most wide-reaching public
outcries over the state of the country’s economy, which has received a
double pounding from tightening Western sanctions and alleged
mismanagement by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government.
The rare protest document — described this week by labor activists
and others — suggests growing anxiety among Iran’s vast and potentially
powerful working class as the ruling system struggles with the latest
sanctions, which have targeted critical oil exports and blackballed Iran
from international banking networks.
Undoubtedly true; however, the second purpose of such a thing to be found in my intelligence operation called a newspaper is to create the conditions for a cover story regarding an attempted coup.
It also appears to reinforce assertions by the United States and
Europeans that the economic squeeze is bringing increasing pressures on
Iranian authorities. President Obama and others argue that sanctions and
diplomacy are the best way to wring concessions over Iran’s nuclear
program, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushes for a
‘‘red line’’ declaration that could trigger military action.
I don't like the devil's choice of no war, therefore sanctions are okay. Get rid of the damn sanctions! Heck, apply them where they belong and slap 'em on Israel instead!
While Iran’s leadership still has broad-based public support in the
nuclear standoff with the West, the petition and sporadic street
demonstrations over the slumping economy suggest a growing distinction
between the national pride of nuclear technology and the economic
hardships from Tehran’s defiance.
The Iranian currency, the rial, hit another all-time low
against the dollar Monday, which is certain to further drive up prices
of imported goods.
Jafar Azimzadeh, a labor rights activist and gas-pipe fitter, warned
of stronger fallout if the government does not find ways to prop up
salaries and rein in prices. ‘‘Workers would not stay at the level of
writing petitions,’’ he said. ‘‘They would go toward street gatherings
and other actions.’’
Iranian officials have made no comment on the petition, which was
reported only by the semiofficial ILNA news agency and proreform Shargh
daily. But some lawmakers voiced their support. Abbas Ali Mansouri, a
Parliament member, said higher wages are needed ‘‘while workers are
falling under the poverty line.’’
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the drop in the
value of the rial ‘‘speaks to the unrelenting and increasingly
successful international pressure that we are all bringing to bear on
the Iranian economy. It’s under incredible strain.’’
As if they are proud of making the Iranian people suffer so they can have regime change.
Hey, wait a minute, isn't that terrorism?
Iranian officials have repeatedly said Iran can ride out the
sanctions through measures such as keeping oil flowing to Asian markets
that include China and India. But Ahmadinejad last month acknowledged
that Iran faces ‘‘barriers’’ to selling oil and making the international
banking transfers that are critical to keep commerce flowing.
In May, Ahmadinejad was cheered in the northeastern city of Mashhad
as he promised to create 2.5 million new jobs and boost worker benefits.
It was a reception he welcomed after facing mounting criticism for
policies that include scattershot privatizations and allowing inflation
to surge.
But the petition sent to his labor minister, Abdolreza
Sheikholeslami, offered a far more bleak assessment of a country
burdened by rising prices and increasing economic isolation....
Official reports put Iran’s inflation rate at 23 percent, but Iran’s
Parliament speaker estimated last week that it was close to 29 percent.
The unemployment rate is officially 12 percent, but some economists
place it nearly three times higher.
Sound familiar, 'murkn?
‘‘It’s not ideology that is the weakest link for Iran’s ruling
system,’’ said Sami al-Faraj, director of the Kuwait Center for
Strategic Studies. ‘‘It’s the economy. This, of course, was an important
element of the Arab Spring, and that fact is definitely not lost on
Iran.’’
It's the economy, stupid!
Iran’s factory workers and laborers have provided the tipping points
at pivotal moments. They gave vital populist backing to the 1979 Islamic
Revolution and generally sided with the ruling clerics when the
mullahs were under threat by riots after Ahmadinejad’s disputed
reelection in 2009.
Overthrew our guy the Shah back when after Operation Ajax put him in power.
The petition contains no warnings or ultimatums against the Islamic
system, or references to the nuclear program, activists say. But the
scope of the signatures — representing several Iranian cities — is an
unusual show of grass-roots unity without umbrella organizations such as
unions.
The signatures included those of mine workers in the mineral-rich
center and west, food and textile producers in Tehran and central Iran,
and bus drivers in Tabriz, in northeastern Iran. Conspicuously absent,
activists said, were workers in the oil industry, which provides up to
80 percent of Iran’s foreign revenue. Iranian oil workers usually
receive better wages than others.
Oil workers in Iran must be akin to bankers in AmeriKa.
--more--"
And didn't I say something about a coup being fomented?
"Clashes in Tehran over plunging value of currency" by Thomas Erdbrink |
New York Times, October 04, 2012
TEHRAN — Clashes and at least one spontaneous protest erupted in
Tehran on Wednesday over the plunging value of Iran’s currency, as
black-market money-changers fought with riot police who were dispatched
to shut them down, and hundreds of angry citizens demonstrated near the
capital’s sprawling merchant bazaar, where many shops had closed for the
day. The official media reported an unspecified number of arrests
including two Europeans.
The clashes were the first instance of violence over the
money-changing business in Tehran since the national currency, the rial,
which has been gradually losing value in recent years, dropped
drastically over the past week. The rial hit a record low, losing 40
percent of its worth against the dollar. Economists have called the
plunge a reflection of the economic pain in Iran caused in part by
government mismanagement and the Western sanctions over Iran’s disputed
nuclear program.
Witnesses in and around Manoucheri Street, where the black-market
money changers do business, described cat-and-mouse chases between
motorized riot police armed with tear gas and batons, and money changers
and their customers, who were forced to scatter.
But anger over the rial’s plunge spread to Tehran’s grand bazaar,
where many merchants closed their stores and hundreds of shoppers joined
in what appeared to be a spontaneous protest, accusing the government
of failing to protect their currency from collapse.
Abdullah, a young man selling textiles, complained that it has become
extremely difficult to do business when the value of the rial is so
unpredictable.
‘‘The checks our customers give us, bounce; we don’t know what prices will be tomorrow,’’ he said. ‘‘How can we earn a living?’’
The violence and protests came a day after President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, in a nationally televised news conference, asked Iranian
citizens not to sell their rials for other currencies, suggesting the
problem had been caused in part by speculators.
--more--"
Screwing with someone's money supply and currency value is what is known as a "soft" coup.
"Grand bazaar reopened in Tehran; Heavy police presence after day of protests" by Rick Gladstone |
New York Times, October 05, 2012
Most merchants in Tehran’s grand bazaar reopened for business
Thursday as an unusually large number of police officers were deployed
around the city’s black-market money trading district, witnesses
reported. The reopening came a day after a crackdown on suspected
speculators led to civil disturbances and a large protest march by
Iranians demanding relief from the plummeting value of the currency, the
rial....
Economists have attributed the problems to government mismanagement
and Western sanctions imposed on Iran in response to its contentious
nuclear program, most notably a severe restriction on the country’s
ability to sell oil and its expulsion from the global banking network.
Witnesses in Tehran said there was no resumption of protests over the
rial, which had fallen by about 40 percent since last week and had
contributed to panic selling on the black market by worried Iranians.
But there were also no black-market transactions in Tehran on Thursday,
as traders and their prospective customers stayed away after having been
scattered by riot police officers on Wednesday....
Political economists have called Wednesday’s protest a harbinger,
particularly if the politically powerful merchant class in Iran loses
confidence in the government. But there have been no public demands for
the government to be more flexible over the nuclear issue, which could
lead to an easing of the West’s antinuclear sanctions.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranian leaders have called
the sanctions the equivalent of blackmail and have vowed to never
capitulate on what they call Iran’s right to peaceful uranium
enrichment.
Western powers say they suspect Iran’s real purpose in uranium enrichment is to develop the ability to make nuclear weapons.
The possibility of further sanctions over the nuclear issue advanced
Thursday in Europe, where diplomats said European Union foreign
ministers could impose new limits on Iranian gas exports during a
meeting in Luxembourg on Oct. 15.
An EU embargo on Iran oil that took effect in July has played a large
role in severely restricting Iran’s ability to sell oil, its most
important export.
See: E.U. Equivocates on Iranian Oil Embargo
You see where there is no equivocation, right?
--more--"
Related: As Iran’s economy crashes, sanctions could yet bear fruit
I was told they already were, but....
"Iran bans ‘luxury’ imports as sanctions bite" by Brian Murphy
and Nasser Karimi |
Associated Press, November 09, 2012
TEHRAN — The Islamic Republic announced a ban Thursday on imports of
75 so-called luxury products, ranging from high-end cars to coffee to
toilet paper, part of efforts to promote domestic products and stem the
outflow of dollars and other foreign currency as Western economic
pressures increasingly choke off Iran’s commerce and critical oil
revenue.
Is toilet paper really a luxury?
It is the most sweeping measure so far to batten down the Iranian
economy, although the move is not likely to leave showrooms and store
shelves empty.
It allows for foreign parts to be shipped in for local assembly
plants, which make cars such as Peugeots, European-brand home
appliances, laptops, and mobile phones — all covered by the new ban.
There also are many Iranian-made alternatives to the list of
now-blocked toiletries and beauty products — toothpaste, soap, shampoo,
cosmetics, even toilet paper — but many consumers strongly prefer often
better-quality imports from Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East.
So serving Israel's designs is in effect hurting our own economies in this time of sluggish growth and austerity?
‘‘It seems the government is desperate to control the flow of money
outside the country,’’ said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, a Syracuse University
professor who follows Iranian affairs. ‘‘If you want a clear signal
about how the sanctions are hitting Iran, this is a good one.’’
Western sanctions have cut sharply into Iran’s oil sales, which
account for 80 percent of the country’s foreign currency revenue. At the
same time, Iran has been barred from the major international banking
systems, which has helped push the Iranian currency to record lows and
forced merchants to resort to hand-carrying gold and cash from the
nearby commercial hubs of Istanbul and Dubai.
Last week, in an attempt to control the rush of capital out of its
borders, Iran prohibited exports of gold without a license issued by the
country’s central bank.
Iranian officials have floated proposals to roll back some of the
country’s uranium enrichment — the centerpiece of the battle over
Tehran’s nuclear program — if the United States and its European allies
remove some sanctions.
And as usual, we're not listening.
Western leaders have given no clear response
about the possibility of resuming nuclear talks with such proposals on
the table.
Well, they are talking now.
President Obama has strongly favored a combination of sanctions and
diplomacy to try to wrest concessions from Iran.
Related: Obama Steps on the Gas For Israel
Thanks, Obama. Now I know why gas prices have been shooting up!
In Paris last week,
President Francois Hollande said France would favor as many sanctions as
necessary to rein in Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which the West and
allies fear could lead to atomic weapons. Iran says it seeks reactors
only for energy and medical research.
Just one more reason the socialist's popularity is tanking. When the French elected him they didn't think they were getting more foreign interventions and more subservience to banks.
It is unlikely that squeezing consumer choices will be enough to
touch off major street protests, which would certainly be met by swift
crackdowns. But the steps could directly affect Tehran’s main bazaar,
which acts as a clearing house for many imported products.
Isn't that closed?
--more--"
What isn't a luxury:
"Iran’s medical crisis deepens as economy sputters; Global sanctions drive up cost of drugs, treatment" by Nasser Karimi | Associated Press, January 09, 2013
TEHRAN — For the first time in more than a decade, the black market pharmaceutical peddlers are back on Nasser Khosrow Street near Tehran’s main bazaar.
‘‘Medicine, medicine,’’ the street dealers shout. ‘‘Any kind you want.’’
Business is brisk. For many Iranians, such underground channels are now the only way to get needed drugs as Western sanctions over the country’s nuclear program have indirectly limited normal supplies to hospitals and pharmacies.
But, but, but.... we let in humanitarian and medical supplies, right?
But for others, even the sidewalk touts are not an option. Iran’s sinking currency has more than doubled the prices of some of the imported medicines and supplies.
While medicine and humanitarian supplies are not blocked by the economic embargoes on Iran, the pressures are clearly evident in nearly every level of Iranian health care. It’s a sign of the domino effect of sanctions on everyday life.
Restrictions on Iran’s access to international banking networks mean major obstacles to pay for imported medicine and equipment — the same troubles facing many businesses in need of shipments from abroad.
Meanwhile, the nation’s slumping currency — seen as collateral damage from sanctions — has driven up prices sharply.....
Isn't the proper way to write that phrase "sharply driven up prices?" Shouldn't the adverb be in front of the verb and not at the end of the sentence? It's like leading a sentence with but. Reporting isn't what it used to be, is it?
The economic blows from sanctions are most acutely felt in key industries such as oil, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of Iran’s foreign revenue. On Monday, the head of Iran’s parliamentary budget committee, Gholam Reza Kateb, said receipts from oil and gas exports have fallen by 45 percent in the past nine months. The announcement appeared part of political early warnings before expected austerity measures in March that will likely include major tax increases.
The whole world is in austerity, isn't it?! And cui bono?
But Iranian authorities also know the challenges of trying to squeeze more money from an economy showing serious signs of strain.
Something AmeriKan leaders do not!
Cheaper Asian parts and products are increasingly taking the place of Western goods.
We are $CREWING OUR$ELVES for I$RAEL, folks!
Factories depending on imported raw materials are struggling to stay in operation. Prices for nearly everything continue to climb....
Scenes of overcrowded state hospitals are now common across Iran after fees for private health care have nearly doubled in recent months. The costs in state-run facilities are far cheaper, but that also comes with shortages and long waits....
Hossein Ali Shahriari, head of parliament’s health committee, said even powdered milk for infants is not available in some pharmacies.
Shades of the war-criminal sanctions versus Iraq, but I guess the "price was worth it."
Iran’s health ministry and charity organizations, in separate letters to international bodies, have requested an easing of the banking embargo for health and medicine sectors....
Still waiting for a response.
--more--"
Related: Iran’s health chief fired after criticizing drug import problem
Also see: Let's Talk About Iran's Nukes
They are going to be needed those cancer treatments.
