World Threats

This will be a multi-part update as most of them these days are. In addition, I will be posting articles from the Jerusalem Post and Ha’aretz on activities in southern Lebanon. Based upon the information contained in this Iran Update, I believe that that the heightened level of Hezbollah activity is directly related to the international pressure being placed on the government of Iran. With that said, these from our friends in Iran.

Economic news – none of it good.

Tehran, July 8, 2010. Though the government has not officially announced it but the news speaks of a rise in gasoline price up to 650 Tomans.

Rasht, July 7, 2010. Agencies in Rasht are facing a severe shortage of gasoline and the drivers are becoming discontent of the problem not being addressed by the city’s governor.

Tehran, July 8, 2010. “You now that we are not in a good condition because of the imports from China and everybody are broke. Right now 70% of fabric factories are closed…and now all of a sudden they announce that the taxes have gone up 70% do they want to close Bazaar. They tried to close Bazaar after Ahmadinejad was elected but we tried to prevent that but now they are giving an excuse to them…
I went to Bazaar and tried to convince them but I wasn’t successful. As I see the crisis will get worse. We must do something that the crisis doesn’t get worse. The government must do anything to open Bazaar on Sunday. Right now plainclothes and agents of Places Bureau are present in Bazaar all the time and they are checking who has participated in the strike and who has not. They even know that some have come from outside Bazaar provoking them to unrest. Some students leaded them…”

Tehran, July 8, 2010. The amount of Ahmadinejad’s government’s debt to domestic and non-domestic organs reaches 127 billion dollars. The government tries to control it by increasing taxes, cutting subsidy for gasoline and bread (flour) but these will lay the ground for new unrest. Nonpayment of governmental debts to banks has made them incapable to provide credit for economical projects and this has caused decrease in job opportunities and production. About government’s budget Aftab News wrote: “government has 60000 billion Rials of budget deficit.
The protest of merchants of Bazaar can reach the whole country. Tax policies are just chaos; sanctions have paralyzed the trade all these can have affect in shortening regime’s life. What will have a devastating affect on regime would be increase in gasoline’s price having in mind that gasoline with subsidy will be cut from the coming Fall. Price of gasoline is a touchstone for increase and decrease in prices of other goods. This will lay the ground for new protests and new unrest.

Tehran, July 9, 2010. The government has decided to reduce flour’s subsidy in Fall. This will highly increase the price of bread which is the most common nutrition for Iran’s poor family.

Tehran, July 7, 2010. In Qazvin electricity is cut four to five hours daily and the residents of the province are very discontent. On July 1 right at the time of soccer match between Holland and Uruguay the electricity was cut and this made people angry and they came by the windows immediately and on the roof tops chanting Allah O Akbar.

Labor unrest – continued.

Tehran, July 9, 2010. From July 8 the employees of Tehran’s Bus Driving Company, Department of Passengers Control for fast speed buses lines one, two and three have been warned to either comply with the anti-laborer conditions of this company or they will be fired. They have to put a 2 million tomans bail in the company and some credible personality must guarantee them. Fulfilling such conditions for these workers who are mostly between 18 to 25 years old is impossible and they will most probably be fired.

Tehran, July 7, 2010. More than 120 workers of Qazvin’s Naz Nakh factory who had not received their wages for 6 months gathered in protest in front of regime’s parliament from July 4 till July 6. One of the workers said: “the government and officials lie to us…the factory was closed for maintenance for two months and we were supposed to receive the wages for these two months. After two months we were confronted with the closure of the company”. These workers have not been paid 6 months of their wages.