Short News Digest for Tuesday, August 30, 2018. Read the most important news from Iran and the world here moment by moment on the thirtieth day of Mordad 1397.
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22:25 30.5.1397 Issuance of Directive on Handling Cases of 'Economic Disruptors' Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, issued a directive titled 'Procedure for Handling Cases of Economic Disruptors' to the heads of the provincial courts and prosecutors of the country. According to Mehr News Agency, the heads of provincial courts must submit the names of judges qualified to handle such cases to the first deputy of the judiciary within five days of the directive's issuance. Ten days ago, the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran agreed to the proposal of the head of the judiciary to establish a special court with three judges from the Revolutionary Court to handle the cases of 'economic corruptors.' According to this order by Ayatollah Khamenei, the rulings issued by this court, except for the death penalty, are 'final and enforceable.'
21:59 30.5.1397 US Threatens More Economic Pressure if Russia Does Not Change Behavior US government officials reported to Senate committees on Tuesday that Washington is prepared to impose more economic pressure on Russia if the Russian government does not change its behavior. At the same time, US lawmakers are calling for more serious actions to counter Russia's 'destructive' activities. According to Reuters, Sigal Mandelker, the Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury, stated in a Senate Banking Committee meeting: 'Although Russia's destructive activities continue, we believe that due to awareness of our ability to exert more economic pressure, its adventurous behavior is somewhat controlled. If Russia's behavior does not change significantly and noticeably, we will not hesitate to impose more economic pressure on that country.' Donald Trump has always stated that he supports better relations with Moscow, but relations have soured under the impact of increased sanctions from Washington.
21:54 30.5.1397 Iran Resumes Electricity Exports to Neighboring Countries An official from Iran's Ministry of Energy stated that with the decline in summer heat and power outages, electricity exports to neighboring countries have resumed. Mahmoudreza Haghighi, spokesperson for Iran's Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir), said on Tuesday that 'electricity exports started 10 days ago and are gradually increasing.' He noted that the current electricity exports to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan range from 200 to 250 megawatts, which is about one-fifth of Iran's average electricity exports last year. Due to the heat wave over the past two months, Iran faced electricity shortages and had halted electricity exports.
19:00 30.5.1397 Nasrin Sotoudeh Refuses to Attend Interrogation Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and civil rights activist who was arrested about two months ago, stated in a letter from Evin Prison that she will refuse to attend and defend herself against the prosecutor and investigator in her case. Sotoudeh was arrested on June 13, and according to her husband and lawyer, three new cases have been opened against her, one of which includes the charge of 'espionage.' In her letter, she stated that in protest against Article 48 of the Criminal Procedure Code, she will also refuse to provide any defense.
18:37 30.5.1397 Narges Mousavi: Windows of Mousavi and Rahnavard's House Opened Narges Mousavi tweeted that security agents opened the windows of Akhtar's house yesterday after eight years. Her tweet followed the news that Mousavi and Rahnavard were allowed to visit their children's home.
18:26 30.5.1397 One-Month Arrest Warrant Issued for Shoaleh-Sadi and Keykhosravi Payam Darvishan, who represents Arash Keykhosravi, stated that Mr. Keykhosravi and Qasem Shoaleh-Sadi have been charged with 'conspiracy and collusion against national security' and a one-month arrest warrant has been issued for them. The two lawyers were arrested on Saturday following a protest gathering in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and are currently in Fashafouyeh prison. Darvishan stated that Fashafouyeh prison has poor conditions and these two lawyers are being held alongside convicts of common crimes.
15:20 30.5.1397 Hundreds Hospitalized in Sistan Due to Storm Abdulrahman Shahnavazi, head of the Crisis Management Office of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, announced that 95 people from the Sistan region in the north of the province have been hospitalized due to respiratory problems caused by the storm and dust since last night. Shahnavazi stated that due to the dryness of the Hamoun Wetland, storms always cause respiratory and eye problems for the people. He noted that the concentration of suspended particles in the air in the Sistan region is 30 times above the permissible limit.
15:07 30.5.1397 Nader Fotourehchi's Account of Fashafouyeh Prison: 'Inhumane Conditions' Nader Fotourehchi, a critical journalist who was imprisoned due to a complaint from Mohammad Imami, the producer of 'Shahrzad,' published an account of Fashafouyeh prison after his release and called on Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran, to take action as soon as possible. Fotourehchi tweeted: 'Attention to the living conditions of ordinary prisoners in Fashafouyeh is an urgent necessity. No one in Iran is more 'unprotected' and 'oppressed' than them. They are literally living under 'inhumane conditions' and experiencing a double rejection that is unbearable even for a single day.' Arash Keykhosravi and Qasem Shoaleh-Sadi, lawyers, were also arrested on August 27 in front of the parliament and transferred to this prison. Fotourehchi has long been demanding clarity on the connection between the embezzlement of 1300 billion tomans from the Cultural Fund and the investment in this series through the 'No to Shahrzad' campaign.
15:07 30.5.1397 The Death Toll from Floods in Kerala, India Reaches 373 The National Disaster Management Center of India announced that 373 people have died in the floods in Kerala state, and 32 people are still missing. Following the monsoon rains in Kerala, hundreds of thousands have been displaced. On Tuesday, the army announced that with the receding waters, the intensity of rescue operations has decreased.