Iran Producing 1.5 Million Vehicles This Year

The Iranian auto industry is on track to produce 1.5 million cars during the current Iranian calendar year, the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade reported today [Mehr News Agency, 11 August].

In the first four months of the year (21 March to 22 July), the carmakers have produced 503,997 units, including 438,102 passenger cars, an increase of 2% over same period last year. 54,764 pick-up trucks, 9,186 trucks, 966 minibuses, and 742 buses were also manufactured during the period.

Iran Khodro Company (IKCO)'s CEO Javad Najmeddin told reporters in Tehran that the automaker, the country's largest, planned to increase its production to 730,000 vehicles a year by the end of 2011 and raise the volume of its exports to more than 600,000 cars by the end of 2016 [Press TV, 11 August].

Saudi Arabia Pushing Oil Production to 10 Million bpd

The International Energy Agency (IAE) reported on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia is significantly increasing its daily oil production, reaching 9.8 million bpd in July, the highest production level for the country in 30 years [Gulf Times, 9 August].

OPEC countries also increased their output in July, reaching 30.5 million bpd as compared to 29.9 million bpd in June. With the exception of Iran, OPEC members have exceeded their quotas this year. OPEC provides 40% of the world’s crude.

In its monthly oil market report, the Paris-based IAE said the oil output has regained levels close to pre-Libyan levels, but still below what the market demands.

Every Man's Terrorist

By Paul Iddon

The case against the use of violence, terrorism or sabotage by those opposed to the Iranian regime as a means of trying to bring it down.

U.S. embassy in Beirut after terrorist attack 1983.

 In the aftermath of the recent oil pipeline fire in Khuzestan traders have cited fears of terrorism as the cause of the fire.

Would such terrorism and economic sabotage be justified in the name of bringing down the present regime in a bid to implement a democratic government in its place?
Of course not, and here's why;

The aftermath of the June 2009 elections in Iran caught the west's attention much more than the previous reformist student protests ten years beforehand. Not only was the association of Iran as a backward country self-evidently rendered untrue, as the only clear signs of primitivism an observant viewer saw came from the Basij thugs who were shown coldly and callously lashing out at unarmed and non-violent civilian protesters with batons. The advent and prominence of modern information technology made the amateur camera phone video clip of Neda Agha Soltan's death the 'most widely witnessed death in human history' as TIME magazine so aptly described it.

I know many in Iran are feeling both scared and angry and some even vengeful and feel like fighting the oppressors back by utilizing similar violent means in which to conduct such a fight, as a form of retribution if you will. This will not serve the purpose of Iranians who are fighting and in many cases risking their lives in bringing about democratic change. The violent anti-regime groups are much loathed for rightful reasons, because they harm the country and its citizens, the Jundallah for example who have in past blown up Shiite mosques aren't exactly striking a blow for freedom, or showing Iranians and the rest world how the present regime is illegitimate and oppressive, no they're simply another group of deplorable murderous thugs who're in reality no better than the ones they're committed to destroying.

To phrase it another way, if violence is the only language the regime can bring itself to speak then the people should speak the language of peace and unity as a way of marginalizing the regime and in effect wait for it to over play its hand and sign itself into the history books, as the last Shah did when he had Iranian soldiers open fire on an assembly of protesters. I am not trying to convey or adapt some wishful hippy mindset with regards to modern Iranian politics, but I do think that a strong willed solidarity movement will be a much stronger form of resistance than a heavily armed underground insurgency. It wasn't terrorism that brought the Soviet Union down, it was the solidarity movements of the likes of the one led by Lech Walesa in Poland, it was the resolve of the collective peoples, like those in Czechoslovakia whose peaceful resolve in the famous Velvet Revolution led them down a relatively bloodless path to democracy*, or in the Baltic states where the peoples of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all joined hands in the Singing Revolution. Or even in Iran itself in 1979, where after living in fear for several years of the Shah's dreaded SAVAK secret police the Iranian people fought together in their united opposition of the megalomaniac despot ruling their country.

In his book The Persian Puzzle author Kenneth Pollack asserts that they're two clocks ticking in Iran at present, one clock is ticking down the time until Iran enriches enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon, and the other one is ticking down the time the dictatorial theocracy has left until it can no longer assert its hold on power and the public's imagination.
I myself am opposed to the United States or Israel launching any form of a pre-emptive strike against any of Iran's nuclear facilities as I know there is a strong possibility that it would prompt the regime to respond militarily and therefore result in the United States military bombarding Iran to the extent that most of its infrastructure will be devastated as to prevent it from being capable of projecting conventional strength past its own borders, such an attack would be devastating to the country and its inhabitants.

The current US contingency plan to attack Iran has a list that ranges some 10,000 targets, this would most likely start with high ranking targets such as nuclear facilities, then ballistic missiles, air defence systems, air bases and army bases and then on to basic infrastructure such as roads etc., such a bombardment could break the back of the country, and increase the senile theocracies hold on domestic power as under the fog of war they would be able to brutishly crush opposition groups and solidify their own hold on power over a people stricken by the effects such an attack would have on the country at large. The regime in its prime youthful days held itself together in exactly this manner, when Saddam Hussein launched his invasion in 1980 the Islamic revolution was solidified as the invasion was seen by them as not only an attack on Iran, but an attack on Islam and thus a holy war, therefore the regime self justified itself in its own mind as it crushed any reformist groups at will under the guise of them being not only Iraqi-inspired enemies of the state but also as enemies of the revolution, and therefore enemies of Islam itself.

My main point is that if under the scenario outlined above in which the regime itself would likely to be able to tighten its grip on power and buy itself some more precious time then what good would domestic terrorism or economic sabotage do in the first place?
Leave that to the same fanatics who plundered the Iranian peoples hopes for a proper democratic system for the second time in the 20th century, as the real Iranian patriots who are looking to the future are the ones building up, not tearing down, they're the ones who see Iran as Iran, and who see the present as the 'Islamic Republic' phase and they're sure as hell not going to devote their energy into taking up a campaign of violence in a bid to take down the regime in an arduous and counter productive struggle that could see extensive damage done to the countries infrastructure.

If the regimes main proxy, Hezbollah is any example it is clear the enforcers and maintainers of the Islamic regime would strive with Iran and her people subject to poverty, destruction and defeat. This fact alone shows violent and terrorist methods of resistance and regime change would be dangerously futile and is inevitably a form of playing the regimes game, on their field, with their rules, made by them in a bid to give them a monopoly over the games primary tactic; violence.

More aptly put, blowing up oil installations and sabotaging economic assets isn't a productive way of paving the proverbial highway of Iran towards a brighter and more prosperous future.

* The Iranian regime is so insecure about the people in which it governs that it even expressed paranoia in the past over a peaceful 'Velvet Revolution' breaking out in Iran.

Iran's famine relief effort for Somalia

click photo to enlarge

An IranAir Cargo Boeing 747-21AC/SCD (EP-ICD) takes on part of a 50 ton shipment bound for Somalia, at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. The shipment is being donated by the Iranian Red Crescent Society as part of Iran's plan to donate USD $25 million to the famine-stricken people of Somalia.

Photo: Naser Azimi at Fars News Agency

Iran Oil Minister Calls for Massive Investment in Oil Sector

Gen. Rostam Qasemi, Iran’s newly appointed Oil Minister, said today in Tehran that the country’s oil and gas sector immediately needs at least $40 billion in new investment in maintenance and development projects.

"Considering the extensive oil and natural gas fields, their development needs heavy investment; therefore, the task can be accomplished by securing the capital from domestic as well as foreign sources. Definitely a part of the needed resources will be secured from the country's general budget, but for the remaining part we will explore domestic sources that include the private sector and the banking system," Qasemi said [IRNA, 9 August].

Qasemi added that Iran would be issuing a "great volume of various bonds" this year to help finance the projects.

India’s Mengalore Pays $1.43 Billion of Its Debts

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) announced on Monday that one of the Indian refiners, Mengalore, has paid $1.43 billion of its debts to Iran through a Turkish bank, with $1.2 billion remaining. NIOC consequently lifted the ban on crude shipment to that refinery. Other Indian refiners still carry large debts to Iran. The total amount of India’s debts to Iran prior to the recent payment by Mengalore totaled $5-7 billion, depending on different numbers provided by NIOC, the Central Bank of Iran and the Iranian press.

Investing in Asia – A New Paradigm for Iran

Cash Trapped in India, South Korea and China Turned into Investment. A Historic Opportunity for Iran

By Nader Uskowi

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported this week that Iran's economy is growing by 3.2% in 2011. The positive assessment of the Iranian economy reversed IMF’s own prediction of 0% growth made in April. IMF identifies a recovery in agriculture during rising food prices across the globe and higher oil prices as the main factors in the growth of the country’s GDP.

The IMF praised Iran's subsidy reforms, implemented by President Ahmadinejad in December 2010, which resulted in the removal of nearly $60 billion in annual product subsidies, equivalent to 15% of GDP. I have been an early and strong supporter of Ahmadinejad’s subsidy reform program. It will spur additional GDP growth in the coming years.

The publication of the IMF report coincided with other published reports indicating Iran’s serious problems in colleting payments for its crude oil sold to its major Asian customers. This blogger understands that nearly $30 billion of the country’s cash is trapped in India, South Korea and China due to inability of those countries to transfer those funds to Iran because of US banking sanctions. But this problem can be turned into a historic opportunity for Iran. Let me explain how.

In the past six years or so, in writings and in discussions with the country’s senior economists and policy makers, I have argued that Iran could not afford to regard its oil revenues as the never-ending hard currency source for its budgetary needs. Iran needs to invest a significant portion of those revenues, generating income, with the government receiving its share by taxing the income so generated. The investments, I have argued, should include foreign investment. Now that considerable amounts of the country’s cash are trapped in major Asian markets, and in spite of that the country’s economy is growing at a healthy rate, as indicated by the IMF report, the Iranian government should turn these oil payment problems into a historic opportunity to start major investments in India, China and South Korea, in the tune of $30 billion as a starter.

To be successful, Iran needs to find a niche for its investments that would be common in those three countries. I believe automobile industry is the solution. Iran is already having success with its domestic car production. It can use nearly $5 billion in cash it now has in South Korea as the initial investment in a major Korean car manufacturing to gain added technology needed in today’s automobiles. It can use its nearly $7 billion cash in India and reportedly nearly $20 billion in China to start joint ventures with the local automobile producers to build its brands in the two countries that will be growing for years to come, with families getting rich enough to purchase multiple new cars. The profits generated could be reinvested in these projects with huge implications for Iran’s growing market shares in the fastest growing industry in top two fastest growing economies. This would be a new paradigm for the country, a historic opportunity that the government should not miss.

Iran Oil Fire Extinguished

Firefighters have extinguished a massive fire that raged for more than ten hours after a major oil pipeline exploded in Iran's southwestern province of Khuzestan, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported. The explosion occurred at 1:30 AM local time on Friday near the town of Qale Naar at Qala Naar-Ahvaz pipeline. The 20-inch pipeline carries 4,000 barrels a day.

“The production of oil in the southern area is still continuing at full capacity and the oil output from the wells is being transferred to other pipelines,” Hormoz Qalavand, Executive Director of the National Iranian South Oil Company, said [IRNA, 5 August].

Brent oil futures prices jumped on the news of the explosion, and pared some of the increases after Qalavant’s statement. Traders cited fears of terrorism in a major OPEC producer.

Iran, construction galore!

by Amir Taheri



Unusual would be NOT to see a construction site somewhere near you when you are in Iran. It doesn't matter if its next to your house that a new apartment block is going up or at work where a new office is raising with its massive columns or some new mall popping up on your way to work. The skyline of most cities is covered with cranes, most road networks are littered with expansion projects, and projects compete with each other to be the "biggest". It is not uncommon for 2-3 similar projects nation-wide claiming to be the "biggest" of what they offer.

As Iran grows both economically and in population new structures to support their needs is a natural occurrence. Such has been the rapid population expansion that in the last 20 years or so, the culture (outside of Tehran) of home owning has shifted to apartment owning. Today, owning a house in town is almost seen as a luxury and prices reflect that reality. As such expansion has occurred, there has been an interesting effect, migration of "dahaties" or villagers into towns. With the land prices explosion that started a few years ago, a nouveau riche class has been created in Iran. These dahaties have sold their lands or homes and moved into nearby cities with their money but lacking of an understanding of the modern world as we know it or the education that at times accompanies such wealth. This money influx has also aided the further massive building of Iran's cities.

In Iran there is a mixture of public works that focus on roads, highways, metros, dams, and mass housing that crisscross with the private sector that dominates the construction industry (quotes of up to 95%) of homes and business buildings. As limited space within cities have been overcrowd with people and cars, there is a movement to the creation of suburbs. In a very short time, an entire suburb or "new city" goes up near a major metropolis. Each major city has one of these now Tehran, Tabriz, Shiraz, etc. Parand, near Tehran, for example one of these new towns, has a population approaching 100,000 people. Shiraz also has Sadra City. This suburb is the focal point of most of Shiraz's largest projects. It boasts a recently started and under construction medical city catering to foreign medical tourists. Iran's and the Middle East's largest water park. A bird park is being developed that, when I asked at a recent tourism convention of what is so special and large with this park that the answer quickly satisfied me. The friendly spokesman informed me that artificial environments will be developed for the birds that will simulate their migration over time. The birds that live within the environment will simply migrate to a new part of the park where other weather conditions will be simulated for them. In one months time, a jewel in the Shiraz suburbs construction plans will be inaugurated, the Persian Gulf Shopping Complex. This complex, said to be largest mall in the world for number of shops, 2,500, is being built with both foreign and local investors with a sum of over $840 million. Tehran is also getting two mega malls, one built by Malaysian investors with over $500 million and one by the daughter of Turkey's former President. This project also reported in the sums of hundreds of millions dollars, will be around 35 stories.

Another aspect of this massive construction wave started a few years back with an initiative by President Ahmadinejad is the Mehr housing project. This is an interesting endeavor as it aims to provide housing opportunity to all Iranians. It offers government lands to builders that build on a massive scale targeted for those not yet owning their own residents. The individual "owns" the property for a total of 99 years and afterwards it reverts back to government control. What makes the program so appealing is that the person entering this agreement gets an apartment for as low $16,000 and can even use a low interest government backed loan for this sum. The program is fast approaching its target of 1.5 million homes. This again is an offering across Iran and near every major Iranian city.

Each region of Iran also has its own reason to massively invest in its expansion. Shiraz serves as the number one local vacation spot with this ancient Persian sites and has its peak of visits during the Persian new years, which easily doubles or triples the population of this city. One after another, new hotel complexes are being launched here. Mashhad, the resting place of Imam Reza, one of the 12 Saints of Shiite Islam, draws more than 20 million pilgrims a year, a sum even more than Mecca! With this number of visitors a year, hotels, shopping malls, and eateries must exist to support them. Who would have thought that one of the best shopping experiences in Iran could be in such a holy city. Mashhad's airport is second only to Tehran's domestic airport, even busier than the Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran. Many international flights also land at Mashhad bringing pilgrims. A high-speed train is in the works from Tehran to Mashhad, reducing the burden on roads and airports. Tabriz serves an industrial base for many heavy industries, like tractor, bus, and manufacturing to name a few. The close proximity to Turkey also serves to further the trade relations and even further construction. Turkish investments have come in the form of petrochemical plants being built and recently a takeover, relaunch, and expansion of a fabric plant.

Government infrastructure projects are also abundant. Just in the last week, Iran's largest cement dam built domestically was inaugurated, this after Japan had pulled out of the project years ago under US pressure. Also last week, Iran's largest cable bridge was opened in Ahwas. I have mentioned before that almost every major city in Iran is set to getting a metro system. It is said that Iran boast the highest number of underground projects in the world, a mixture of metros, tunnels, and underground complexes built by the defense ministry. It was made easier with the localization of technology that digs underground. A monorail line is under construction in Qom and it will serve as a test bed for a future Tehran monorail system. Around $13 billion of new rail projects were signed with China a few months ago. Savings from the subsidy program, estimated around $60 billion are planned to be injected back into further infrastructure projects. I challenge you to try to look around or take a picture in Iran without at least 1-2 sites being in your view!


Editor’s Note: Amir Taheri is one of the authors of Uskowi on Iran. His weekly columns appear here on Fridays.

South Korean Oil Payment Problems – Another India

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Iran is facing oil payment problems with South Korea similar to problems it faces with India. The report claims that South Korea has been unable to use international banking system to transfer $3.82 billion to Iran for the crude oil it has purchased this year. Iran has a similar problem with India where some $5-7 billion of its cash is trapped due to the inability of Indian banks to transfer the funds to Iran.

The South Korean authorities have allowed Iran to open an account in the local currency won. The refiners who purchase Iranian crude have been transferring funds to this won account. Iran can use the funds to purchase South Korean goods, but Iran has a large trade surplus with the country and most of the cash would still be trapped inside South Korea if Iran continues selling oil to the country.

South Korea imports some 230,000 barrels of Iranian crude per day.

Kish Oil Exchange Fails to Generate Business

Kish Oil Exchange, set up in the Persian Gulf island of Kish, opened for business last month to act as a major trade platform for Iranian light crude. On 13 July, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) offered the first batch of 600,000 barrels of sweet crude to be traded at the exchange, but due to its high asking price no trade was registered. Yesterday, NIOC offered another 600,000 barrels at the asking price of USD 113.22 per barrel and a premium fee of 85 cents a barrel. Again no buyers were found and the exchange closed without registering any trade.

Apparently, the NIOC does not fully comprehend the nature of commodity exchanges. After spending a huge sum to set up the ultra-modern Kish Oil Exchange building, complete with electronic billboards and hundreds of computers and all types of amenities, the NIOC produces only two relatively low-volume batches of light crude in nearly a month (instead of having the supplies available on daily basis) and then sets up unrealistic minimum bidding prices and at the end comes out empty handed on both occasions. This is not the way to run a commodity exchange.

Meanwhile, the NIOC today reduced next month’s crude export prices to the lowest level this year. It set Iranian light rude for September shipment at USD 1.01 a barrel over the average of Persian Gulf benchmark Oman and Dubai grades, down USD 0.60 from August.

Photo: Kish Oil Exchange Billboard. 13 July 2011. FNA

Two Americans to Be Freed – Iran Ambassador

Iran's ambassador to Iraq Hassan Dannaie-Far has told the Associated Press in an interview that Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, the two American hikers held in Iran on espionage charges, will be released during Ramadan. The Islamic holy month began on Monday and ends on or about 29 August [AP, 4 August].

Bauer, Fattal and a third American, Sarah Shourd, were arrested in July 2009 after they said they mistakenly crossed into Iran while hiking in Iraq. Shourd was released on bail last September.

Rostam Qasemi Becomes New Oil Minister

Also New Ministers of Industry, Labor and Sports

By a vote 216-22, with 7 abstentions, the Majlis today overwhelmingly approved the nomination of Rostam Qasemi to become the new oil minister. Qasemi is an IRGC general officer and until now was the commander of its Khatam al-Anbia base, the massive business and industrial arm of IRGC. Qasimi’s experience at Khatam al-Anbia is thought to be relevant at the oil ministry whose priority is completing construction and maintenance projects despite international sanctions against investments in oil and gas industry. Critics raise concerns over IRGC's growing influence over Iran's economy.

The Majlis also approved the nomination of Mehdi Qazanfari to become the minister of Industries, Mines and Trade. The new ministry was created by the merger of the ministry of Industries and Mines and the ministry of Commerce.

The Majlis also approved the nominations of Abdol Reza Sheikholeslami as the minister of Labor and Social Welfare and Mohammad Abbasi as the first minister of the newly created ministry of Youths and Sports.

The overwhelming approvals of the mew ministers by Majlis put an end to months of bitter negotiations and power struggle between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani on which ministries to merge to comply with new laws to bring down the number of cabinet departments to 17 and whom to appoint as new ministers. At the end, the speaker and his conservative majority in the parliament triumphed and Ahmadinejad was forced to follow Majlis guidelines on which departments to merge and whom to name as ministers. Qasemi and the other new ministers are not regarded by Majlis as members of Ahmadinejad’s inner circle or sympathetic to the “deviationist” tendencies.

Neda & Rachel

By Paul Iddon

Debunking a shallow political argument used by the shameless defenders of the Iranian regime in their attempt to belittle the brutality and oppression it afflicts upon its own people.

Rachel Corrie & Neda Agha Soltan

A tendency I find amongst many who defend the present Iranian regime is to divert attention away from the brutality the regime has exercised against its own people by instead pointing the finger at how harshly the Palestinians have been treated at the hand of the Israelis. On a personal level I've seen someone trying to belittle the murder of Neda Soltan by instead opting to point an accusing finger at Israel over the death of Rachel Corrie, who was an American political student activist who was killed when she was crushed to death by an Israeli Army bulldozer in Gaza.

While their deaths were similarly tragic there is a clear differentiation, in the sense that Rachel Corrie was an American citizen who after becoming enthralled in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict found herself highly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, this sympathy coupled with her political activism took her to the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada, (a very dangerous time to say the least) where she was killed when she attempted to stop the bulldozer that ran over her from demolishing Palestinian houses by stepping in its path.

She was by all means a political activist who was killed while putting herself in harms way thousands of miles from her home, Neda Soltan on the other hand was generally considered to be for the most part apolitical, however she was like most of her compatriots was infuriated at the injustice the regime was presenting them with. Furthermore during the height of the political turmoil following the June 2009 elections in Tehran she was brutally murdered, when driving to participate in a protest in Tehran and upon discovering her car air conditioner had a fault she subsequently proceeded to step out onto the street a few feet away from a large conglomeration of protesters to escape the blistering heat when she was suddenly shot in the chest by a Basij gunman. The rest is history.

My central point is the difference between being as politically orientated as to go out of your way to protest the actions of another countries policy (Corrie's protesting of Israel's treatment of Palestinians) and getting killed while putting yourself in harms way doing so is in stark contrast to being apolitical and getting killed on a public street in the capital city of your own country for the simple act of taking a breath of fresh air. This to me is clearly a night and day difference.

Another underlining point this argument flat out presumes is that the Iranian regime is fit to represent the plight of the Palestinians, while at the same time suppressing its own people from publicly voicing their discontentment with their states foreign and domestic policies. A good example of this took place during the 2009 Al Quds Day ceremony where those in attendance as per tradition all came together in solidarity and chanted slogans stating in effect that they will give their blood and their lives for Palestine and bring an end to the 'Zionist entity' in Jerusalem, demonstrators who showed up at this parade solemnly chanted; “no to Gaza and Lebanon, I will give my life for Iran.”

This in effect clearly showed they were sick of the regime trying to subvert the discontent felt by them by fomenting hate for Israel and staunchly supporting the most extreme examples of Palestinian militancy and terrorism all while ignoring their genuine and heartfelt grievances with how the state in which they live is run.

I'm not going to insinuate or attempt to pretend that in death Neda hasn't been romanticized and used as a tool for the gains of the various democratic and anti-regime groups prevalently attempting to bring about an end to the present regime. But in death she has become symbolic of the cynical cruelty the regime has shown itself capable of inflicting upon innocent citizens.

The First Intifada in the Palestinian territories that begun back in 1987 put an abrupt end to the popular conception of Israel metaphorically being David battling Goliath (Goliath in this case being the millions of neighbouring Arabs hell bent on destroying Israel), this widely held perception was brought to an end by images and video clips of angry discontent Palestinians as young as 8-years-old throwing stones at heavily armoured Israeli tanks and bulldozers in their defiance against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Neda Soltan in death has similarly stopped cold the present Iranian regimes capability of making any credible or believable claims to be neither legitimate, sane, or even merely humane.

Editor’s Note: Paul Iddon is one of the authors of Uskowi on Iran. His weekly columns appear here on Wednesdays.

Iran’s Oil Production at 3.6 Million bpd

The semi-official Fars News Agency reported today that Iran’s crude oil production in the Iranian calendar month of Tir, ending 20 July, was at 3.6 million bpd, a decrease of 38,000 bpd from the production level in June. Meanwhile, OPEC members together produced 30.6 million bpd in July, an increase of 607,000 bpd over June production [Fars News Agency, 2 August].

Amnesty International Urges UN to Take Urgent Action on Syrian Bloodshed

1500 Dead Since March

Following the deadliest assault to date on Syrian protesters Sunday and more casualties reported Monday in the shelling of the city of Hama, Amnesty International repeated its demand that the UN Security Council urgently respond to the bloodshed.

“It is long past time for the UN Security Council to take concrete steps to end the bloody crackdown in Syria that continues to claim countless lives amid peaceful protests,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Since the start of the Arab Spring, many people have lost their lives in their quest for dignity and freedom in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya. But the scale of bloodshed in Syria is unprecedented, with more than 1500 people dead in the past five months. The Syrian leaders are indeed committing crimes against humanity and should be brought to justice.

Iran’s Export to Afghanistan Rising

Iran's Ambassador to Kabul Fada Hossein Maleki said today the volume of Iran's annual exports to Afghanistan has reached $1.3 billion. Food products and consumer goods are the main items being exported. Ambassador Maleki added that Iranian companies are also active in industrial, mining, infrastructure, irrigation and dam construction projects in Afghanistan.

Iran Oil Ministry: No Shipment of Oil to India, Not Yet!

Contradicting NIOC Announcement on Payment Dispute Resolution

Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency today quoted an unnamed senior official at the Oil Ministry that the suspension of oil exports to India is still in effect and there were no plans for any shipment of crude to Indian refineries in August. The Oil Ministry official added that one of the Indian refineries, Mangalore Refinery, is trying to pay up its debts through a Turkish bank and if successful the ministry would lift the ban against shipment of crude to that particular refinery.

The report contradicted an announcement yesterday by National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Managing Director Ahmad Ghalebani that the payment dispute with India had been resolved and the shipment of oil to Indian refineries will continue as normal.

Oil Payment Dispute with India Resolved - NIOC

Iran announced today that the oil payment dispute with India has been resoled. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Managing Director Ahmad Ghalebani said India will pay part of its overdue invoices in the next few days, with the balance to be paid incrementally in the future. Ghalebani did not disclose the details of the payment terms.

“Following bilateral negotiations, the two sides agreed to settle the outstanding bills as soon as possible," Ghalebani said. “Part of the arrears will be paid in the next few days and the remaining part will be paid by the Indian customers gradually,” he added [SHANA, 31 July].

Ghalebani said oil exports to India will resume as usual. India buys about 400,000 barrels of Iranian crude per day.

Summer Vacations: Iranians Flock to Antalya

More than a million Iranians visit Turkey each year; most of them flock to Turkish Mediterranean resort town of Antalya. The Financial Times in a report from Tehran discusses Iranian obsession to visit Antalya. Such is the enthusiasm that hardliners in parliament have vowed to restrict the travel agencies' promotion of overseas tourist attractions.

"They [Iran's rulers] think if we do not mention the name of Antalya, people won't go. But the fact is that lots of people want to go [to Antalya] ," says a travel agent in Tehran who promotes Mediterranean packages [Financial Times, 30 July].

The Antalya resorts offer lively nightlife and access to mixed beaches that are denied to Iranians at home. Moreover, Antalya hotels generally offer better levels of service and cheaper prices than the resorts in Iran’s Caspian Sea and Kish Island. A one-week package to Antalya including flights and full-board ranges from $500 to $1,000 a person. A standard two-bed room in a top hotel in one of Caspian resorts, complete with social restrictions, costs about $200 per night. The figure for a similar room on the Gulf island of Kish in the south, is usually more than $150.

"A one-week tour package to Thailand or Malaysia or Turkey is cheaper than the same package to Kish — and the levels of service are much higher," says Mustafa Shafe'ei Shakib, a member of the Iranian Travel Agencies Guild Association.

Banned singers and dancers, most of whom live abroad, also flock to destinations popular with Iranians. Googoosh, a legendary pop singer, and Mohammad Khordadian, a renowned classical dancer, are performing in Antalya this week to sold-out crowds of visiting Iranians.

Local travel agents believe that out of the six million trips taken by Iranians overseas each year, more than one million people go to Turkey for a holiday or for shopping — or both. The figure is not much below that for the combined number of Iranian pilgrims visiting shrines in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iraq.

File Photo: Antalya, Turkey / AP

Ahmadinejad’s Remarks Generate Controversy

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday had held a meeting in Tehran with the members of the cabinet and their principle deputies. The content of his speech at the gathering has become a subject of dispute in the media and has raised tensions with the office of the supreme leader. The question is whether he implied that the country’s senior executives should ignore religious leaders, which presumably include Khamenei, and do what is best for the country.

The first reports of the speech carried by some of the newspapers on Thursday contained this passage: “You have to work for God; even if everyone or any religious guide disagrees with you, don’t pay any attention to them. God will take care of them and will sweep them into the dustbin of history.”

Today, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported that the passage quoted should have read: “We hesitate before we take any action, What would that person say? What would that religious guide say? God is not like us… God does not have these considerations… and will sweep anyone (not performing his duties) into the dustbin of history.”

The reference to ignoring a religious guide in performing one’s duties, however, still exists in the new interpretation offered by Fars, and is the heart of the newest controversy surrounding the president.