Archive

Sunday, September 30, 2012

NAJA Marks Police Week in Tehran


Islamic Republic Security Force (“Niroy-e Entezami Jomhoori Eslami”), known by its Farsi acronym NAJA, marks the Police Week at NAJA Headquarters in Tehran. Saturday 29 September 2012. 

Top photo: NAJA Special Forces equipped with the MP-5 / MPT-9 SMG.

Photo credit: Mehr News Agency/Yunes Khani  

To read more about NAJA:

Sinking Rial, Rising Prices

As Rial Loses Value, Prices of Food, Raw Material and Consumer Goods Skyrocket

We reported late Saturday that after-hour trading had driven the exchange value of the rial to a historic low of 29,000 to the dollar. On Sunday, the rial did indeed continue its downward spiral and is now selling at 29,350 rials a dollar. The price of the official gold coin, Bahar-e Azadi, is also continuing its steep rise, also hitting a historic high of 1,156,000 rials during trading on Sunday.  

The steep decline of Iran’s national currency, the rial, has forced the prices of food, raw material and consumer goods, largely imported into Iran, to skyrocket to such heights never seen in the country. Sugar, rice, meat, corn, wheat, barley, soya, raw materials such as iron, and consumer goods such as refrigerator, washer and vacuum cleaner are among the products whose prices are on the rise on daily basis.

The situation is so dire that some shops are refusing to sell their current inventory expecting their prices to rise significantly in few days.

UPDATE: Rial is hitting a record low of 30,500 to the dollar in Sunday afternoon trading in Tehran

Iraq Has Forced Down Iranian Planes Shipping Arms to Syria - FM


Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said today that Iraq was determined to prevent the shipment of arms from Iran to Syria. Zebari told reporters in Baghdad that Iraq had already forced down Iranian planes for inspection and had turned them back out of Iraqi airspace after finding that they were carrying weapons bound for Syria. (Reuters, 30 September)
The Iraqi foreign minister said he had promised the United States that it would prevent such Iranian flights over Iraqi territory. Last week, Baghdad made a formal request to Tehran to halt the flights.

Photo credit: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (Reuters)

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Rial Continues Its Downward Spiral


The downward spiral of the rial continued late on Saturday, with the national currency hitting new lows practically on hourly basis, finishing at 28,100 rials a dollar. Reports reaching us after the closing hour of the currency exchange centers indicate that rial has hit a new low in after-hour trading; now being traded at 29,000 rials a dollar. 

Meanwhile, the price of the official gold coin, Bahar-e Azadi, hit a historic high of 1,115,000 rials.

Photo: IRNA