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Meeting British MPs at Westminster on 16 January, the son of the former shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi called on the US and UK governments to engage with Iranian opposition forces. “We are not demanding world governments to advocate a policy of regime change. We are, however, asking them to support the legitimate and rightful demands of our citizens to have free and fair elections in Iran,” he told GSN afterwards.

Iran
Issue 939 - 24 January 2013

Syria: Iranian pilgrims freed

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On 9 January, Syrian anti-government forces freed 48 Iranians who had been held since August, in exchange for the release of more than 2,000 detainees (GSN 934/5). The exchange was brokered by Iran, Turkey and Qatar.

Iran | Syria
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The Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) was officially set up on 25 May 1981 in Abu Dhabi, when the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates agreed to set up a council whose aims were to “achieve unity”, formulate “similar regulations” in fields including economics, customs, commerce, communications, education and culture, and to stimulate scientific and technological progress.

Iran | Kuwait | Saudi Arabia | Bahrain | Oman | United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Qatar
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Iran’s poor human rights record and repressive treatment of women have been widely condemned, but it is the nuclear debate that commands most attention. The United Nations, European Union and United States have all slapped heavy sanctions on Tehran, to attempt to deter it from building atomic weapons, but Tehran denies wrongdoing and talks have yet to yield much progress. Iran’s relationship with its Gulf neighbours is characterised by the Shiite/Sunni divide. The Gulf Sunni monarchies regularly accuse Iran of stirring dissent among their Shiite communities, and the battle between SaudiArabia andTehran for regional dominance underlies much of the regional narrative.

Iran
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Bahrain hosted the 33rd summit of the Gulf Co-operation Council on 24 and 25 December, with the summit’s final statement, the Sakhir Declaration, reiterating a ‘commitment to implementing all the decisions of the supreme council on GCC integration in all areas’

Iran | Kuwait | Bahrain
Free

The narrative for Iran’s passage from Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s modernising, economically rational nuclear programme of the 1950s-70s to one capable of delivering an atomic bomb has been marked by persistent delays and a profound lack of intelligence – and understanding – of players’ intentions.

Iran
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Iran claimed on 4 December that it had recently seized a US drone flying through its airspace. Though the US Navy quickly denied the report, saying it was not missing any of its unmanned aircraft in the region, the incident reflects growing tensions over drone surveillance of Gulf waters, and the risk of low-level confrontations that could easily ignite a wider conflict.

Iran
Issue 937 - 06 December 2012

Tehran seeks to boost tourism revenues

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Iran has been trying to boost tourism revenues to offset the pain of sanctions. The vast majority of visitors are religious tourists and, in an effort to increase numbers, head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation (CHHTO) Hojatoleslam Mohammad Javad Adabi announced in September, during the conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, that the government would lift visa restrictions for 60 member states.

Iran
Free

Iran’s nuclear programme remains at the heart of its troubled relationship with the West.Attempts to find a diplomatic solution have yet to make any significant progress

Iran
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There is growing concern – and mounting international pressure – over the deteriorating health of imprisoned Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been on hunger strike since 17 October. Sotoudeh, who has represented opposition activists, juveniles facing the death penalty, women and prisoners of conscience, was arrested in September 2010 on charges of spreading propaganda and conspiring to harm state security, and sentenced to 11 years in prison, a 20-year ban on her practising law and 20-year ban on foreign travel. An appeals court reduced her sentence to six years in prison and a ten-year ban on practising law.

Iran
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Committed to Israel, worried about Iran and with huge business interests at stake, the US can’t just pull out of the Middle East as many Americans would like. But strategic shifts apparent for several years will be accelerated as the superpower rethinks its political and commercial alignments.

Iran | Saudi Arabia | United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Qatar
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The European Parliament (EP) has awarded its prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2012 jointly to imprisoned Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and Iranian film director Jafar Panahi, who has also spent time in jail for his work. The prize, awarded annually since 1988, “honours exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression to defend human rights and freedom of expression”.

Iran
Issue 935 - 08 November 2012

Iran shipments to South Africa on hold

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Having made headlines in mid 2012 by saying South Africa was uncomfortable with United Nations and European Union (EU) sanctions on Iran being extended to the oil trade, and having secured a US exemption from financial sanctions, the Pretoria authorities have fallen into line with the boycott.

Iran
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Iran has again been agitating over the disputed islands of Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunbs, which lie in the Strait of Hormuz and are also claimed by the UAE. On 4 November, according to Iranian news reports, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) inaugurated a naval base in the city of Bandar Lengeh, in the southern province of Hormozgan, north of the islands.

Iran | United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Issue 934 - 26 October 2012

Eutelsat pulls plug on Iranian channels

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A European satellite provider’s decision to take 19 Iranian state television and radio channels off air – following a two-year campaign by human rights organisations – has angered Tehran, which used them to spread its influence through Europe and the Middle East

Iran