Islamic Republic of Iran
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Israel backed by the US and Iran backed by China, there's no way to tell how it will go in the long run. But today? No chance. Iran is still an entry level player in the high tech sector. They are only now entering the 90s.
Protest-hit Iran abolishes morality police
Iran has scrapped its morality police after more than two months of protests triggered by the arrest of Mahsa Amini for allegedly violating the country's strict female dress code, local media said Sunday.
Iran abolishes morality police after months-long anti-hijab protests
Iran has scrapped its morality police after more than two months of protests triggered by the arrest of Mahsa Amini for allegedly violating the country's strict female dress code, local media said Sunday.Women-led protests, labelled "riots" by the authorities, have swept Iran since the 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran.
"Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary" and have been abolished, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
His comment came at a religious conference where he responded to a participant who asked "why the morality police were being shut down", the report said.
The morality police -- known formally as the Gasht-e Ershad or "Guidance Patrol" -- were established under hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to "spread the culture of modesty and hijab", the mandatory female head covering.
The unit began patrols in 2006.
The announcement of their abolition came a day after Montazeri said that "both parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue)" of whether the law requiring women to cover their heads needs to be changed.
President Ebrahim Raisi said in televised comments Saturday that Iran's republican and Islamic foundations were constitutionally entrenched "but there are methods of implementing the constitution that can be flexible".
The hijab became mandatory four years after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the US-backed monarchy and established the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Morality police officers initially issued warnings before starting to crack down and arrest women 15 years ago.
The vice squads were usually made up of men in green uniforms and women clad in black chadors, garments that cover their heads and upper bodies.
The role of the units evolved, but has always been controversial even among candidates running for the presidency.
Clothing norms gradually changed, especially under former moderate president Hassan Rouhani, when it became commonplace to see women in tight jeans with loose, colourful headscarves.
But in July this year his successor, the ultra-conservative Raisi, called for the mobilisation of "all state institutions to enforce the headscarf law".
Raisi at the time charged that "the enemies of Iran and Islam have targeted the cultural and religious values of society by spreading corruption".
In spite of this, many women continued to bend the rules, letting their headscarves slip onto their shoulders or wearing tight-fitting pants, especially in major cities and towns.
Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia also employed morality police to enforce female dress codes and other rules of behaviour. Since 2016 the force there has been sidelined in a push by the Sunni Muslim kingdom to shake off its austere image.
Iran abolishes morality police after months-long anti-hijab protests
Iran's Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri announced that the country's morality police has been abolished following months of protests triggered by Mahsa Amini's death.
You're obviously happy about that since you don't support democracy or human rights.
you mean I wont be getting certificate of hypocrisy from ppl who support dictators & terrorists that would be a distinction worth maintaining.
Here's Iran calling out British impotency once again while Britain's busy hunting for it's non existent balls. It's become so regular it's not even news anymore. What do you suppose Britain'd do Paddy ? Apart from sucking it's thumb that is .
No, it's just who you are. Russia and Iran are your best friends, both dictatorships with no human rights who annex other other countries, either by proxy or directly. And this after 76 years complaining about colonialism, yet you still mention hypocrisy.you mean I wont be getting certificate of hypocrisy from ppl who support dictators & terrorists that would be a distinction worth maintaining.
And how are we propping up both Iran & Russia, Paddy ? Iran is currently under UN sanctions hence can't export it's oil though China's importing it in good quantities. India isn't . As far Russia goes , Europe is still the leading importer of Russian oil & gas directly or indirectly . A good qty of Indian refined petroleum of Russian origin finds it's way to Europe & the US . Wonder why doesn't self righteous Europe & the US unilaterally boycott such imports ?
As far as hypocrisy goes , we've learnt it from the best in the business - you . If you don't like being subjected to what you're subjected to , you know who to blame.
(almonitor, feb.14)
As sanctions bite, Iran's Raisi talks business in China
The trip came at a moment of increasing international isolation, which has left Iran with fewer options than ever before in selling its lifeline oil.
TEHRAN — Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in China on Tuesday for a three-day state visit, where according to his spokesman, trade was topping the agenda.
Raisi is heading a high-level delegation comprising ministers of oil, finance, transport, agriculture, industry and foreign affairs as well as the country's top nuclear negotiator and the central bank governor.
In the first few hours of the visit, the state-run IRNA news agency reported that 20 memoranda of understanding were inked between the two sides, encompassing a diverse range of fields from trade, agriculture and information technology to health care, environment and tourism.
Also expected to be signed is a key transport agreement worth $12 billion that allows Chinese investment in a high-speed rail line project connecting the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad to the capital Tehran, while giant Chinese projects in the development of Iran's strategic southeast Makran coast are to be in focus as well.
'Look to the East' policy
Ahead of the visit, Raisi sat down with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to local media, for what seemed to be last-minute tips and advice on the visit. As the man maintaining the absolute final say in all major foreign policy and domestic matters, Khamenei has for years been robustly advancing what is known in Iran as the "Look to the East" policy.
The strategy seeks to explore alternative paths of trade and diplomacy in China and Russia to ease the onerous burden of Western sanctions that have targeted the Iranian economy over the past four decades.
To materialize the notion, Khamenei ordered the administration of former President Hassan Rouhani in 2021 to sign a 25-year strategic partnership deal with China. Bypassing legislative procedures, the accord drew ferocious criticism at home for its shadowy and controversial nature, leading to speculation that the Islamic Republic was effectively taking the first step toward turning into a China colony over time.
Nearly two years into the deal's signing, Iranian authorities continue to remain vague on the status of the progress. Pursuit of the very same agreement, Iranian media said, is at the core of the talks during the ongoing Raisi visit.
Facing draconian international banking restrictions, Iran has had a hard time selling out its crude, the lifeline to its ailing economy, and has thus been hoping for sanctions relief by reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. Nonetheless, the dim prospects in the negotiations have further shrunk Iran's options, making it more reliant on China as the top customer, which enjoys generous discounts during the desperate sanctions times.
Whether the Islamic Republic should be putting all eggs in the China basket is also a pressing question raised by pundits at home, as they cite Washington's particular fixation on Beijing to reduce purchases from Tehran.
China's latest approach in its ties with Iran's regional rivals — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — have not been the best of what the Islamic Republic could be expecting. Back in December, Chinese President Xi Jinping threw his weight behind Abu Dhabi's claim on three disputed Persian Gulf islands controlled by Tehran, a highly sensitive sovereignty issue in the minds of Iranian authorities.
Yet minding the fine line and cautious not to risk losing one of the very few remaining partners, the Islamic Republic only expressed mild and diplomatic criticism. Despite relentless pressure from domestic media, Iranian officials did not "summon" the Chinese ambassador, but rather asked him for a "meeting" at the Foreign Ministry to present him with Iran's expression of "discontent" rather than condemnation. /end
What explains mysterious poisonings of schoolgirls in Iran?
The persisting lack of clarity has led to wide-ranging speculation as to who is poisoning the students.
Gone from beating them to death to poisonings now. #Friends of Russia.
@Bon Plan, @RASALGHUL, @randomradio, @jetray, @Picdelamirand-oil, @Amarante
news.sky.com
@Bon Plan, @RASALGHUL, @randomradio, @jetray, @Picdelamirand-oil, @Amarante
Iran: Protests break out over suspected poisoning of schoolgirls
Hundreds of girls in more than 30 schools have become ill, with Iran's interior minister saying investigators have found "suspicious samples".
Iran: Protests break out over suspected poisoning of schoolgirls
Hundreds of girls in more than 30 schools have become ill, with Iran's interior minister saying investigators have found "suspicious samples".