The Latest from Iran (3 August): Keeping Tehran on Hold in the Nuclear Talks

See also Iran Feature: The Banning and Detention of Conservative Bloggers
Iran Analysis: West To Tehran on Nuclear Issue "Accept Our Demands or No More Talks"
The Latest from Iran (2 August): Worrying About Syria

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2000 GMT: Oil Watch. India's State-run Hindustan Petroleum has made its first payment for Iranian oil in rupees, partially settling a bill for cargo imported in May.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL.NS), the biggest Indian buyer of Iranian oil, will make a rupee payment on Monday, a company official said.

India is Iran's second-largest oil buyer, but has struggled since the end of 2010 to find ways to pay for the oil amid Western sanctions that blocked arrangements in dollars and Asian currencies.

After months of discussions, Tehran and New Delhi agreed in January for part-payment in rupees. The Indian currency is not internationally convertible, but Iran can use the revenues to buy products from Delhi.

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Iran Document: The Repression, Abuse, and Execution of Iranian Kurds

The five Iranians executed in May 2010Soon it will be two years since the executions of four Kurdish activists shocked the international community. One of those executed was the teacher Farzad Kamangar, whose plight had been the focus of an international campaign. Ali Heydarian, Farhad Vakili, and Shirin Alamhouli were also hung, as was political prisoner Mehdi Eslamian.

This month the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) details the repression of the Kurdish-Iranian community and the targeting of Kurdish-Iranian activists in a 70-page report, “On the Margins: Arrest, Imprisonment and Execution of Kurdish Activists in Iran Today". The document reveals reveals a disturbing and shocking pattern of repression and violence by the Islamic Republic of Iran against its Kurdish community.

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