Tehran's Warning to Riyadh Regarding Oil Prices

The newspaper Te'adol has reported on "Tehran's warning to Riyadh," stating: "Last week, Tehran sent a message to Riyadh in response to the continued decline in oil prices." The newspaper quotes "Amir Mousavi, director of the Center for Strategic Studies and International Relations" in Iran, as saying: "Saudi Arabia is confident that Iran will not react easily, but in my opinion, this time is different, and if necessary, Saudi economic interests in the region and the world will be targeted." The newspapers Kayhan, Resalat, and Hemayat have dedicated their front pages on January 7 to the verbal attacks and new accusations from some conservative figures against Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Kayhan quotes Fereydoun Abbasi, former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, stating: "During the sedition of 2009, due to the security apparatus being preoccupied with controlling the sedition, a suitable environment was created for enemies to identify and assassinate Iranian scientists, including nuclear scientists." Resalat, quoting Abdullah Motulian, described as a "strategic issues expert," stated: "The return of seditionists to power without repentance is a project" and "the seditionists want to create a new sedition as they approach the eleventh government." This newspaper, close to conservatives, also quotes Mohammad-Naghi Mesbah Yazdi, stating: "The Supreme Leader's decree prevented the execution of the leaders of the sedition." Ebrahim Asgarzadeh, in an interview with the newspaper Arman, said: "Ahmadinejad's supporters are plotting against Rouhani in the shadows." The newspaper Shargh reported that Elham Aminzadeh, the legal deputy, in a specialized meeting on "citizens' rights with an emphasis on privacy from the perspective of jurisprudence and law" at Shiraz University, referred to the details of the "Citizens' Rights Charter" drafted by the eleventh government, stating: "The Citizens' Rights Charter considers boundaries such as physical privacy, personal data, etc., for every citizen of society, and under each citizen's right, the relevant laws are noted." The newspaper Etemad also noted that Hassan Rouhani's promise regarding citizens' rights, "although it has progressed somewhat, is now awaiting a new measure for legalization," as the "Citizens' Rights Charter" presented by Rouhani's government contains "a series of good ethical recommendations for enhancing citizens' rights without enforcement guarantees and commitment." Lawyers Nemat Ahmadi and Kambez Nourouzi emphasized in an interview with Etemad the lack of "enforcement guarantees" and the "repealability" of the government's Citizens' Rights Charter even if approved by the cabinet against "legislation passed by the parliament." Kambez Nourouzi told this newspaper: "It seems that this charter cannot function more than a statement in any case," and for this reason, "this charter is doomed to failure and non-implementation." The newspaper Khabar reported on a new Central Bank report on economic indicators, which stated that the inflation rate for the 12 months ending in Azar has decreased to 17.2 percent, quoting economist Mohammad-Hossein Mahdavi-Adeli, who advised the government to be cautious of a "recession trap" alongside reducing the inflation rate. The newspaper Iran reported on the "arrest of the founder of the Pakdasht Disabled Care Center," stating: "The founder of the mental disability care center was arrested due to the fatal poisoning of three men. In this mysterious poisoning, 30 other disabled individuals were sent to the hospital and saved from certain death." The newspaper Iran dedicated its front page to Kianoush Ayari, director of the film "Khaneh Pedari," and published a report on the "struggle over the screening" of this film. Kianoush Ayari stated that "this film was very well received at Kourosh Complex," telling Iran: "In the seven or eight screenings, no one fainted, nor did any audience member feel unwell. They watched 'Khaneh Pedari' in complete calm, but it is unclear why some describe this film as violent." The newspaper Ebtekar reported on the "repeated denial of withdrawals from the National Development Fund," stating: "The $4.1 billion withdrawal by the government from the National Development Fund was a news that some parliament members insisted that the government had violated in this regard and should apologize to the people," but on Saturday, Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht denied this news again, stating: "Those who announced this matter should apologize to the people." "The huge lost income from mobile phone smuggling" is the front-page headline of the seventh issue of Te'adol, reporting on the $3 billion smuggling market for mobile phones in Iran. This newspaper wrote: While the eleventh government is facing a balance crisis in income and expenditure for the year 1394 due to the decline in crude oil prices in global markets, the government can generate income by identifying the entry points of smuggled goods and regulating the entry of some of these goods, "but it is unclear whose interests are preventing this from happening." The newspaper Khorasan reported on the "commemoration of the birthday of Hakim Tousi at the Ferdowsi House," stating: "Last Friday evening, the birthday of Ferdowsi, the author of Shahnameh, was held with a speech by Mohammad-Jafar Yahaghi." The escalation of tensions over falling oil prices; Tehran's warning to Riyadh. The newspaper Te'adol reported on "Tehran's warning to Riyadh," stating: "Last week, Tehran sent a message to Riyadh in response to the continued decline in oil prices, while some believe that Saudi Arabia, as in the past, is pursuing its political goals through market saturation of crude oil, goals aimed at countering its major regional rival, Iran." This newspaper reviewed the trend of falling oil prices from summer to the end of Azar this year, stating: "The price of oil has dropped from $115 per barrel in the summer to less than $60 per barrel." It noted: "In Shahrivar this year, Saudi Arabia exactly followed this trend; it raised crude oil production to 9.6 million barrels per day and offered the produced oil in markets that were already saturated with cheap oil; Saudi Arabia also offered discounts to its ever-increasing Asian customers just days after increasing crude oil supply in the market," and after this, "the price of crude oil in the global market rapidly decreased by 30 percent." The newspaper Te'adol also wrote: "Oil markets remain important for the confrontation of interests between Tehran and Riyadh in proving superiority," pointing out that Saudi Arabia's use of crude oil as "a weapon against its rival Iran is not unprecedented," as "in November 2006, Nawaf Obaid, one of Saudi Arabia's security advisors connected to Prince Turki al-Faisal, wrote in a Washington Post article: If Saudi Arabia increases crude oil production and reduces the price by 50 percent, this issue would be devastating for Iran." This newspaper emphasized that "Riyadh essentially hopes that increasing crude oil production will force Hassan Rouhani's government to implement austerity measures that will ultimately lead to political unrest and bring people back to the streets," quoting Amir Mousavi, who is described as "the director of the Center for Strategic Studies and International Relations," stating: "The actions of Riyadh and its allies are a proposal from the Zionist regime [Israel] to strike at Iran's economic and political capabilities in the region. Iran's support and successes in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine in the fight against terrorism and Takfiri groups demonstrate Iran's economic and diplomatic power. Moreover, Iran has pursued a successful diplomacy in its negotiations with the 1+5 group, so that if it weren't for the sabotage of some governments and regimes, a comprehensive agreement would have been signed in Vienna." The expert from Te'adol also stated: "Saudi Arabia is taking advantage of Iran's good nature; for 35 years, Riyadh has done everything to strike at Tehran, and now it has openly entered the field with this action. Tehran has dealt with restraint and dignity from the massacre in Mecca to today, but in my opinion, this time playing with fire is a kind of suicide." The newspaper Te'adol even quoted "Amir Mousavi, director of the Center for Strategic Studies and International Relations" in Iran, stating: "Saudi Arabia is confident that Iran will not react easily, but in my opinion, this time is different, and if necessary, Saudi economic interests in the region and the world will be targeted." This newspaper also wrote: "The message of the Islamic Republic of Iran was sent to Riyadh last week to end this confrontation as soon as possible; now we must wait for Riyadh's reaction," while "observers hope that Riyadh will use the remaining opportunity and that the wise and rational elements of Saudi Arabia will control the extremists; it should not be forgotten that this country is very vulnerable in terms of governance and internal issues, and if it continues its policy of striking at Iran, it should expect a tough response from Tehran." The newspaper Te'adol also noted that "some experts regarding the reason for the decline in oil prices believe that this issue is not significantly related to changes in oil supply by Saudi Arabia and attribute the main cause of the price drop to the shale oil revolution in the United States." This newspaper emphasized that "shale oil is gradually challenging Saudi Arabia's ability as the largest crude oil producer; there is no doubt about it; however, given the limited reserves of shale, Riyadh still has a strong capacity and position to create changes in the crude oil market."