Short News Summary for Tuesday, August 1, 2018. A collection of the most important news from Iran and the world on the ninth day of Mordad 97.
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22:06 9.5.1397 - Several institutions express readiness to hold a street concert for Homayoun Shajarian. The head of the Tehran Municipality's Communications and International Affairs Center announced the municipality's readiness to hold a street concert for Homayoun Shajarian. Mohammad Ali Karimi stated in an interview with ISNA that cultural officials from Tehran Municipality will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the conditions for the street concert. Hamid Reza Nourbakhsh, CEO of the House of Music, also announced that the House of Music is ready to cooperate with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the municipality for the concert. Additionally, the Music Office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has expressed readiness to issue permits for free concerts in support of the community and the people. Homayoun Shajarian, a famous Iranian singer, announced his willingness to hold a free street concert to improve people's conditions if there are no permit issues, shortly after the cancellation of the concert-performance 'Si' in sympathy with the people's economic situation.
22:02 9.5.1397 - "Inflation, high prices / a scourge for the people" was the slogan of demonstrators in Karaj. According to reports from Karaj, on Tuesday, August 1, a group of people gathered in the city and chanted protest slogans against economic mismanagement.
20:26 9.5.1397 - "15 governors in Iran will be changed". The Minister of the Interior of the Islamic Republic announced on Tuesday, August 1, that 15 governors in Iran will be changed. According to Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the changes are following a parliamentary resolution prohibiting the employment of retirees in managerial positions. He stated, "We are not opposed to change in principle, and based on this resolution, about 15 governors will be changed, and the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior has been tasked with introducing experienced personnel from the Ministry of Interior, prioritizing the current deputies of the governors for the positions of governors." News agencies have not reported which governors will be affected by this resolution. According to the parliamentary resolution passed on August 2, relevant agencies are required to remove individuals employed contrary to the provisions of this resolution within 60 days of the law coming into effect and settle accounts with them, and those individuals must resign from their positions within the legal timeframe.
18:53 9.5.1397 - Mike Pompeo has no plans to meet with Zarif in Singapore. An American official stated that Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, has no plans to meet with his Iranian counterpart during the Southeast Asian Nations summit in Singapore. He said to reporters ahead of Mr. Pompeo's trip to Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, "Iran is not a party to any multilateral agreement, so there is no plan for engagement with this country." The mentioned summit began on Monday, August 1, and will continue for six days. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, is expected to travel to Singapore to sign documents for Tehran's accession to the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).
17:10 9.5.1397 - The Farrokhzad House is one step away from national registration. Sepideh Sirousnia, the Deputy of Cultural Heritage of the Tehran Cultural Heritage Department, announced that based on existing documents, the house of Forough Farrokhzad's father in Khadem Azad Alley in the Amiriyah neighborhood of Tehran has been identified and will be registered nationally. Mehrdad Farrokhzad, Forough's brother, said on Tuesday to Radio Farda that some cultural activists are working to have their parental home, which is now owned by someone else, registered nationally, and the owner has agreed to transfer it. Today (Tuesday), these efforts bore fruit. The Deputy of Cultural Heritage of the Tehran Cultural Heritage Department confirmed that this property belonged to Mohammad Farrokhzad, Forough's father. Sepideh Sirousnia told ISNA, "We are in the process of preparing the initial work for the national registration of the house, even though we do not have the building's blueprint. Nevertheless, we are preparing its file and will send it for registration to the General Directorate of Historical Heritage.
16:34 9.5.1397 - Decrease in dollar price and gold coins. ILNA reported that the price of the dollar has decreased compared to the previous day, and in the early hours of Tuesday, each dollar was traded in the range of 10,700 to 11,000 tomans. According to this report, the price of gold coins has also decreased after several days, with each full gold coin dropping by 15,000 tomans to reach 4,350,000 tomans. On the other hand, the website Entekhab reported that the price of gold coins has fallen below four million, and some brokers are selling their coins and dollars in the market out of fear of loss. The decrease in the dollar price occurred a day after Donald Trump, the President of the United States, expressed his willingness to meet unconditionally with Iranian officials.
15:28 9.5.1397 - A letter from 200 members of parliament to the president to change the economic team of the government. Abolfazl Soroush, a representative from Tehran and a member of the Hope faction, told ISNA that 200 representatives have sent a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the president, requesting a change in the government's economic team. This representative stated, "If these three or four economic managers of the government are not changed with the agreement of the parliament and the government, we will have to remove these individuals through impeachment."
15:17 9.5.1397 - Nateq Nouri: We should not reject negotiations with the U.S. Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, referred to the U.S. President's proposal for an unconditional meeting with Iranian leaders and said, "We should not initially reject negotiations and say he is wrong; we should have patience and not rush, nor should we be overly excited, as Trump might take advantage of this excitement; it could be a test for us." According to Jamaran, Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri also speculated that the visit of Yusuf bin Alawi, the Omani Foreign Minister, to the U.S. and possibly Iran could be for mediation between the two countries.
15:05 9.5.1397 - A letter to the heads of the three branches for the release of environmental activists. The families of several imprisoned environmental activists on August 1 published a letter to the heads of the three branches, requesting attention to the situation of these prisoners. They pointed out that the Minister of Intelligence and the head of the Environmental Protection Organization have called the accusations of espionage against these activists unfounded, and the spokesperson for the judiciary has also announced the end of investigations. They expressed concern about the conditions of these activists. The signatories requested that a selected delegation from the parliament and the government meet with these detainees in Ward 2-A of the IRGC Intelligence and listen to their statements in a free atmosphere. Eight environmental activists, Amir Hossein Khalighi, Hooman Jokar, Taher Ghadirian, Sam Rajabi, Niloufar Bayani, Sepideh Kashani, Morad Tahbaz, and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, along with Kavous Seyed Emami, were arrested more than six months ago. Mr. Seyed Emami died in prison two weeks after his arrest. Prison officials attributed his death to suicide, but his family has rejected the suicide claim.
14:59 9.5.1397 - Sentencing of 11 citizens from Arak and Shahin Dezh to prison and lashes for "disturbing public order". Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer, and 10 other civil activists residing in the cities of Shahin Dezh and Arak have been sentenced to one year in prison and 74 lashes each for participating in the protests of December 2017 on charges of "disturbing public order". These sentences were issued in Branch 102 of the Criminal Court 2 of Arak. These civil activists are Ali Bagheri, Abbas Safari, Behzad Ali-Bakhshi, Mohammad Yaghoubi, Youssef Shiri Lord, Neda Yousafi, Davood Rahimi, Masoud Ajalu, Mohammad Torabi, and Kian Sadeghi. Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer, and Ali Bagheri, Abbas Safari, and Kian Sadeghi, three civil activists, have also been accused of "spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion" through interviews with foreign media, including Radio Farda, and have received an additional two-year prison sentence for this charge. Mohammad Najafi, the lawyer, and Ali Bagheri were arrested in December 2017 after informing about Vahid Heydari, who died in custody during the protests.