Short news updates for Thursday, September 13, 2018. Read the most important news from Iran and the world on the 22nd day of September 97 here moment by moment.
The latest news: The first street concert in Tehran, "banned from working". Mohammad Motamedi, who recently held his first free concert in Tehran's "Water and Fire" park under the direction of Ali Akbar Ghorbani, announced on his Instagram page that he has been banned from working. Mr. Motamedi stated: "The police prohibited him from professional activity because his permit was only for playback, but he went on stage with an orchestra and male and female musicians." He added: "I admit that three hours before the street concert in Water and Fire Park, I was strongly reminded by phone that the orchestra should not come on stage and that I only had permission for playback, but I ignored it and did not let the conductor and respected members of the group catch a whiff. This concert had to be performed, and I am willing to pay the price alone." For the first time, Homayoun Shajarian expressed his readiness to empathize with the problems of the Iranian people in holding street concerts.
Jafari described recent missile attacks as "a message to enemies and superpowers". The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that the missile attacks by this force on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan region "carry a very meaningful message for enemies, especially superpowers that think they can impose their wicked goals and bullying on us." Mohammad Ali Jafari, in remarks apparently referring to the United States and Israel, stated: "Those who have forces, bases, and equipment within a radius of two thousand kilometers of the sacred soil of Iran should know that all the missiles of the IRGC are highly accurate." The IRGC announced on September 9 that in response to the operations of Kurdish groups in the border areas of Marivan and Kamyaran in recent weeks, they targeted the location and meeting place of one of these groups' leaders and their affiliated training center with seven short-range ground-to-ground missiles. According to Kurdistan 24, these attacks resulted in 14 deaths and at least 40 injuries.
The UK government insists on the suspects' membership in the Russian intelligence agency. Reuters reported on Thursday that the two individuals identified as the main suspects in the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal are "Russian intelligence agents", and the government has no doubt about this. Earlier, these two appeared in front of the cameras of "RT" and claimed that they were wrongly identified as suspects in the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and that they only traveled to the UK for tourism in March of this year. They stated that their names are real but they are not members of the Russian intelligence agency; rather, they work at a sports club. A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied the two's membership in the intelligence agency.
The British prosecution announced last week that it had charged two Russian men named Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who are security agents and acted with the approval of "high levels in the Russian government".
The performance of "An Enemy of the People" by Ibsen in China has been halted. Reuters reports from Jiangsu province in China that the performance of the play "An Enemy of the People" by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen has been stopped by state authorities. According to Reuters, the performance was halted when several audience members shouted in defense of freedom of expression. The political play "An Enemy of the People", which was first staged over 130 years ago, addresses issues such as administrative corruption and the brainwashing of the masses. According to this report, last week during a performance by a group from Germany, some audience members stood up and shouted in defense of freedom of expression. In China, media and the internet are under strict control and surveillance by the communist government.
"25% growth" in Iran's non-oil exports in the spring of this year. The official news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday, citing the Statistical Center, that "the amount of non-oil foreign trade in the spring of this year compared to last year shows an increase of 24.77%." According to this data, the value of agricultural, hunting, and forestry exports in the spring of 97 increased by 26.84% compared to the same season last year. Meanwhile, the value of fishery exports in the spring of this year increased by 47.48% compared to the same season last year but decreased by 13.49% compared to the previous season, which was last winter.
"Decrease" in Iran's government revenue this year. The state news agency IRIB reported on Thursday, citing the Planning and Budget Organization, that this year "the increase in the exchange rate has not generated any surplus revenue for the government, and the government's revenue sources have significantly decreased." According to the statement from this organization, this official statement was issued in response to comments suggesting that the increase in foreign exchange rates in the country over the past few months has generated abundant revenue for President Hassan Rouhani's government. The statement noted: "Recently, some individuals have reported an abundance of government revenues due to the increase in exchange rates in the form of economic analyses. It hereby announces that this year, no revenue from the increase in exchange rates has been added to the government's budgetary resources."
A government official stated: The Assembly of Experts has no authority to oversee other powers. Ali Akbar Gorji, who oversees the implementation of the Constitution in the Iranian presidency's legal department, stated in an interview with ILNA that the Assembly of Experts lacks the authority to oversee other powers, including the government. According to Mr. Gorji, such authority is not provided for the Assembly of Experts in the Iranian Constitution. He emphasized that the duty of this assembly is to oversee the performance of the Supreme Leader, stating: "The Assembly of Experts has, for several years, instead of fulfilling its duty to oversee the leadership, been advising other powers." He further advised the members of this assembly, chaired by Ahmad Jannati, to oversee the leader's performance and the leader's subordinate institutions: "History will never hold the representatives of the Assembly of Experts accountable for not overseeing the President and ministers, but it will seriously question how they oversee the leader and the subordinate institutions of the leader."
Ahmad Jannati, the chairman of the Assembly of Experts, defended the Supreme Leader in his opening speech at the fifth plenary session of the Assembly on September 4, attributing the existing chaos and problems in the country to other powers, especially the government.
The only crossing between Israel and Gaza has been reopened. AFP reports from Israel that on Thursday, the only crossing between this country and the Gaza Strip was reopened after several days of closure. The reopening of this crossing follows several days of calm in the region and efforts by Egypt and the UN to achieve a long-term ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas group. Eight days ago, the Israeli army announced that following protests by the people, "rebels" had destroyed part of this crossing, and it would remain closed until the repairs were completed.
The Ministry of Economy reports on "sabotage directed from abroad". The official news agency IRNA reported that the Iranian Ministry of Economy and Finance published a report on Wednesday detailing "a number of methods of sabotage and theft of Iran's economic opportunities directed by the intelligence services of enemies." The Security Center of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance stated in its report: "Tracking suspicious cases of major clients of Iranian enterprises shows that there is a smart process for identifying Iran's commercial contracts with individuals and legal entities." The report stated that "enemies consult with companies that have invested in Iran to convince them to withdraw their capital from the country."
Consumption of "toxic and counterfeit" alcohol claimed four victims. The prosecutor of Karaj stated on Thursday that the consumption of "toxic and counterfeit alcoholic beverages" has poisoned 39 people in Karaj, sending them to the hospital, of which four have died so far. According to Hajir Reza Shakeri, one of the victims was a woman. He continued: "12 people were transferred to Shahid Rajaei Hospital in Karaj due to poisoning on September 9 this year. However, after a few hours, their number increased, and the poisoned individuals rose to 39."