No details were given of the discussion between the European Union's Helga Schmid and her Iranian counterpart, Dr. Ali Bagheri, other than this will be followed by contact between” the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, acting for the 5+1, and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Dr. Saeed Jalili.
The site reports that some Iranians cannot afford essential food such as bread and cheese because of inflation and sanctions. Asking MPs to stop price rises, Fars warns of unrest in the Bazaar and the fear and disappointment of people.
And there is another voice admitting difficulties --- Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani has said 20% of the country's economic problems are due to sanctions.
Iran has strongly denounced the detention of a prominent Shia cleric and the brutal crackdown of anti-regime protesters in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, which has been a major scene of protests over the past months.
1954 GMT: Oil Watch. Minister of Oil Rostam Qassemi has said that $5 billion of the National Development Fund has been allocated to the South Pars gas field development projects, accelerating Phases 20-24 of the project.
On 2 July, the NDF and the Ministry of Oil signed a deal for the Fund to earmark $14 billion of its assets to oil industry projects.
More than 70% will be spent on the development of oil and gas fields as well as expanding the upstream sector of the oil industry, Qassemi said, with the rest channeled into refining infrastructure.
President Ahmadinejad has claimed the NDF's assets will reach $55 billion by the end of this year. Iran transfers 20% of its oil revenues to the Fund.
The Islamic Republic's first home-constructed destroyer was launched in 2010. Another destroyer will supposedly by completed by March 2013.
0926 GMT: Oil Watch. The Japanese Parliament has approved Government guarantees on insurance for crude oil cargoes from Iran, responding to imminent European Union sanctions.
The law will take effect on June 27. It allows the Japanese government, which has succeeded in getting a waiver from U.S. financial sanctions, to provide cover of up to $7.6 billion for each tanker.
The EU sanctions, starting on 1 July, prohibit European insurance firms from covering Iran's exports.
Flame, which mined data, was designed to map Iran’s computer networks and monitor them, sending back a steady stream of intelligence for an ongoing cyberwarfare campaign. That campaign included the Stuxnet virus, which has caused malfunctions in computers linked to Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iranian authorities revealed last month that Flame had been used against computers for the country's oil industry. The Western officials said that was a unilateral Israeli operation of which the US had no knowledge.
1513 GMT: Labour Front. Ten thousand Iranian factory workers from five provinces have petitioned against subsidy cuts and demanded wage increases to match the rate of inflation.
The Free Iranian Workers Syndicate organised the petition, which cites the lack of job security, lay-offs and factory closures and demands "an increase in the minimum wage commensurate with the rate of inflation, the implementation of insurance legislation for construction workers, the elimination of contracting companies in exchange for a system that gives workers direct and permanent contracts, and the creation of mechanisms to assure the timely payment of wages".
1403 GMT: Clerical Intervention. Ayatollah Dastgheib has asserted, "Our people are politically and religiously disenfranchised." He criticised authorities for presenting this flawed system as one leading the world.
Photo: Picalm.com and BBC PersianLast year was disheartening for many civil society actors in Iran, as the regime shut down organizations, arrested many, and harassed even more. As bloggers are noting, this was a year of stagnation for Iranian activists and civil society groups, such as women and students, due to the excessive suppression and brutality of the Islamic Republic.
Yet, despite the political climate and the deteriorating economic situation, there were still moments of celebration, such as Chahar Shanbeh Suri (sometimes called Fireworks Wednesday), celebrated last week under the heavy presence of security forces in Iran.
Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the human rights section of Iran's judiciary, is interviewed by Christiane Amanpour of CNN.
Don't expect anything on human rights, however. Amanpour's attention, reflecting a media emphasis on "war" v. the possible resumption of discussions with Tehran, is almost exclusively on Iran's nuclear programme.
And on that, Larijani's line --- which would not be put out without the backing of the Supreme Leader --- is that Iran is ready for a "grand bargain", provided its right to uranium enrichment is recognised.
1744 GMT: Bank Watch. More on yesterday's story that the Central Bank has seized $1.4 billion from seven Iranian banks, claiming that they did not provide legitimate records for foreign exchange transactions --- Central Bank head Mahmoud Bahmani has defended the action as one "on behalf of the Government".
1733 GMT: Oil Watch. Parliament has extended the rights of the Minister of Oil, Rustam Qassemi, to make deals for "exploration, development, production, repair and maintenance of joint oil and gas fields" without going through formal tenders and processes for compliance.
An EA reader is sceptical:
Iranian oil income is now the personal wealth of Brigadier Qassemi and he can legally, without any Majlis oversight, give it to whomever he wants for wha ever price ---China,Russia, his cousin twice removed, his mother-in-law, you name it because it is more "expedient" this way. Even some of the "principlists" are having a hard time swallowing this one.
Based on the development plan, oil must stop being used as source of income and for funding the country’s budget and instead become a source for the progress and economic might of the country and authorities must pursue this policy ...with determination....It is necessary that we act in a manner that any decision making about our oil production and sales is up to us and based on our interests and of course we have taken good steps in this regard.
On a related matter, MP Asadollah Abbasi has claimed that 4000 Iranian oil experts have "taken refuge abroad" and this could have been stopped by higher payments to staff.
Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the human rights section of Iran's judiciary, addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, ostensibly responding to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran's human rights situation.
Even by Larijani's standards for defiance and bold declaration, it is an extraordinary eight-minute statement. He does not actually reposond to the 34-page report --- instead, he gives the sweeping assurance that Iran is a benchmark for political, economic, and scientific progress and then launches an attack on the Rapporteur, Ahmad Shaheed, the "Zionist mafia", and the US and other countries who guide a "terrorist apparatus".Larijani denounces the "chronically weak" UN system and concludes that Shaheed is "biased, ignorant, and perfunctory in his claims".
After Larijani finishes, he is implicitly reminded that "all members of the Council should use appropriate language that is commensurate with the dignity of the discussions...on the human rights issue".
Larijani's statement begins at the 10-minute mark of the video:
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at 12:47
